Embracing Everly (10 page)

“I’m sorry.” I covered my large hand over both of hers. She gazed down for a few seconds, studying them and then tugged them out from under mine. I missed her touch instantly, and that in itself should have alarmed me right there, but I couldn’t stop myself from trying.

“Not your fault. I have a better question to start this friendly date off. When was your first kiss?” Her eyes lit up as bright as the North Star when she asked.

I huffed not wanting to play, but did want to find out more about her, so like an ass I played. “You really want to do this?”

She nodded excitedly, and I found myself suddenly wanting to answer her grade school questions.

“Sixth grade, her name was Jenny Wilson and it sucked. How about you?”

Her eyes grew big as saucers, but she shot me a genuine smile a second later. “Ninth grade. He had these horrible braces, and they got stuck on my lip at the movie theater.” She laughed, and I couldn’t help but smile and laugh along with her.

“How’d you get loose?” I asked, picturing her sitting in one of those uncomfortable seats trying to pry her mouth from his.

“It took a few sloppy minutes, but we managed. My turn. First base?”

I sighed and shook my head unable to believe I was doing this at my age. “You’re really jumping in with no parachute, huh?” She nodded. “All right, then. Ninth grade, home run and before you ask it was quick and embarrassing.”

“Ninth grade?” she shouted, shock written all over those baby blues. I could tell she was most likely comparing notes with her measly little movie kiss versus my first sexual act with the way her forehead got this little crease in the middle.

“And you?”

“Junior year in college and before you ask why so late, I was waiting for the right guy.”

“What happened?” I glanced all around pretending to look for him. “Where’s Mr. Perfect?”

She huffed out a deep breath and her chest rose and fell right along with it. “I was wrong.” She took a sip of beer, all the time her eyes never leaving mine, surely catching me checking her out, but she didn’t call me on it.

“And what about Charlie?”

“He’s my second and before you go on the ‘I hate Charlie campaign’ he’s been pretty good to me. Not the greatest boyfriend out there, but you win some and lose some, right?”

I leaned forward and pulled her hand back into mine, missing her touch. “I hate hurting you, Everly, but that man is a piece of shit, and unfortunately I’m going to prove this to you within the next twenty-four hours. And you win some and lose some, really?” I asked incredulously. “I didn’t peg you for a girl who sat back and lived with ‘you win some and lose some.”

She pulled a ragged breath in as she listened to my question.

I sighed when she didn’t respond. “Don’t hate me and shut me out afterwards, please?”

“His frat has a big party tomorrow night. I told him I had a gig and couldn’t make it. He didn’t even question it.”

“All right well, let’s eat and then tomorrow… we’ll just see what happens.”

Part of me was excited to finally get her to see the real asshole he was, the other part felt horrible for proving that fact. I wasn’t the kind of man that was all hearts and flowers. Hell, I pretty much thought Hallmark invented Valentine’s Day to make some serious bank, so I didn’t buy into it. I wasn’t even one who stuck around long enough to give a shit, but I found myself at a crossroad. I could go either way at this point—friends or lovers. I was just afraid the lover part wouldn’t last since it never did, and then she’d regret ever meeting me.

I didn’t know if I could muster up the feelings to deserve her. I wanted to. I liked her. I liked her a lot. But if I went breaking her heart, could I be man enough to pick her up and fix her like I promised? That was the big question running through my head. I had a job to do, and I was doing it, but what would Dawson say if he found out about us? What would her father say? Could I even last in a relationship? I could barely believe I was having these thoughts to begin with. All those unknown wonders were bopping around inside my head for days on end that it was beginning to drive me straight to the nut house.

Once back from dinner, I hovered outside of her apartment. “So,” I started, waiting outside her door for her to invite me in. “You going to bed, or…”

She shrugged. “No. Maybe soon though.”

“Movie?” I asked, quirking my eyebrow, hopeful she’d invite me in.

She played with her hair as I waited for her answer to a very basic question, but she was taking so long you’d think I asked her to solve the energy crisis. “Goodnight.” Rapidly, she tried to block me out by shutting the door, but I shoved my foot in its path, stopping it.

“Not happening, Angel,” I looked around her and saw her stack of CD’s and envelopes scattered all over her coffee table. “What is all that?”

“Oh, that’s nothing.” She tried to step in front of my view, but I refused to let her shut me out now. I was all in for this little ride.

“You want help?” I asked still searching her apartment with my eyes until finally she drew me back in with a sigh.

“I can do it alone.” She started twirling her hair around one of her fingers again, and I could tell I was making her more nervous than a cat in a room full of rocking chairs. And I liked it.

“I know you can. Let me rephrase. May I help you? I really want to.” I told her, dying to get inside to get a better glimpse of who she was and what made her tick. Figure out what the hell ran around inside the gorgeous head of hers.

“I look horrible.” She glanced down, and I couldn’t figure out what the hell she was talking about. We just went out for pizza, and she was fine about it. She was a walking rocker’s dream with those cute concert shirts that hugged every curve. Actually, any man’s dream. And I swore if I got another glimpse of her bare shoulder I might just pass the fuck out if I couldn’t touch it—kiss it. Every once in a while she swung her hair and exposed her luscious tanned skin that I was dying to get a taste of.

“You look better than you think, Angel. Now, let me in.” I pushed past her, entered her apartment and made myself at home by kicking off my boots and taking a seat. I clapped my hands, ready to jump in. “What can I do?”

We labeled and stuffed envelopes for over an hour with her CD’s when she finally seemed to relax and talked about everything. Her parents, school, her music and the dreams that went along with them letting me get a better glimpse of whom she really was. And I liked who she was before, but now I liked her even more. She was real, she was hopeful, she was honest and she was stunningly perfect when she let her guard completely down.

“How about one more favor before I take off?” I figured what the hell. It might be my only chance.

“What?” She waited, her legs crossed sitting on the floor with filled envelopes surrounding her looking like, well, an angel.

“Play me one song.”

She looked at her guitar and then swung her eyes back to me. “What do you want to hear?”

“Can you play The Kinks?” The Kinks was one of my old time favorites. I loved most music, but the one thing we seemed to share was the love of older, classic rock music. I hated most of the shit being put out now, except for some cool Indie stuff.

“Of course,” she smirked, obviously pleased with herself. “Which one?”

“How about ‘You Really Got Me?’ It’s a classic.”

I was in a hazy fog the entire time she sang. I shifted my legs on the couch as the song came closer to an end. My dick was rock hard against my briefs, watching her and listening to her voice as she gave me the private show I had secretly been dying for. It took every ounce of strength I had to stand up when she looked at me to say something and to not take her and make her mine. Because the instant she gave me the green light that was what she was going to be. Mine.

I stood figuring what the hell, why hide the raging hard on she caused. Let her see how worked up she could get me. “That was fucking awesome, Angel. What a show.” It didn’t take long for me to come up with something to hear her sing. Every lyric of that song was exactly how I was feeling about her. It fit my passion for her to a tee at that point.

“My mom taught me a long time ago. It’s nothing.”

I looked back at her CD’s stuffed, knowing she was counting on one of them to make it into the right hands to get her dream off on the right foot. I wished I knew someone to help her out. Anyone to give it to, but I didn’t. She rose and stood directly in front of me. Her soft smile was waiting like it was an invitation for me to do something about it. I didn’t want to be that guy. The one that made her cheat and feel bad about herself, which was huge for me. Normally I’d take whatever the hell I wanted and walk away with zero guilt. Instead of kissing her like my mouth yearned to do, I tugged her hair playfully.

“Tomorrow night, Angel and then, well, I guess we’ll see won’t we?” I had slipped out the front door before I allowed myself to say anything else more thickheaded. But as I sat there watching her sing to me, it just felt so right that I knew my heart couldn’t be wrong on this one. It was rare for me to take a chance on anyone anymore, but I felt it stronger than anything I’d ever experienced before.

“I’LL WAIT OUT
here,” I told her as soon as we pulled a few houses away from the showdown. I knew she’d see his true colors tonight and a piece of me wanted to grab her and run so she couldn’t be hurt by him, but the other piece of me knew this was something she had to see for herself. I could tell her, his friends could tell her, but sometimes if you didn’t witness it with your own eyes, you could pretend it wasn’t true. You could stay in the safe and secure zone you had been in. “You see anything you don’t like, you march that pretty ass back out here,” I ordered her as we sat inside my truck, staking out the frat house from the street.

“You’re not coming?” The disappointment on her face was almost enough to make me give in, not to mention the entire black outfit she was wearing head to toe. She said it was to stay undercover and I couldn’t stop it from melting my heart a little when she answered the door earlier with those blue smoldering eyes, and her cute explanation of why she was dressed like a 007 agent.

I shook my head. “There is no way I’m making it through those doors.”

“There’s a bathroom on the right side of the house. I’ll go in and unlock the window and wait for you. If I’m not there, he’s seen me, and it’s a bust.”

I rubbed the scruff on my chin and contemplated her idea knowing it was insane. I’d probably be getting my ass kicked if I didn’t go in with some protection. Normally I wouldn’t care about the odds, but me against an entire frat house didn’t sound too promising. A quick gaze to my glove box and I remembered the pistol stowed in there. I couldn’t turn that face down no matter how hard I tried. Especially right now since she was pretending to pout like a small child. Jesus, she could turn Satan into a saint with that damn face of hers. “You’ve got a deal.”

“Thank you,” she rushed out the words as she wrapped her arms around my neck. I hated it and loved it at the same time. She was making me feel something for her, and I wasn’t sure if I was ready for everything that came with it.

“Get a move on, girl.”

She nodded into my shoulder, and I breathed her sweet scent in one more time. She held up her hand, flashing her five fingers to remind me to meet her in the bathroom in five minutes. “I’m going to prove you wrong,” she challenged.

I wished she could for her own sake, but I knew better. Men like Charlie had only one thing on their mind, and no girl, even someone as fantastic as her would stand in his way of a one-night stand.

I smoked a quick cigarette and checked my gun before placing it in my waistband. I felt ridiculous doing this college schoolboy bullshit, but I promised her I’d do it, so there I was making my way around the house a few minutes later.

My fingers wrapped around the bottom of the wood and the glass pane lifted with ease. My hands gripped the sill, and I felt her soft hands grab hold. “Hurry up. He doesn’t know I’m here.”

Fuck! I looked up and saw her sexy little smile that always sped my heart up. “Move over and let me in.” I hopped over the sill and fixed my shirt that had raised some to hide my gun and placed one of my favorite baseball caps on. “You owe me, Angel.” With that, she opened the door, and the only thing I could do was smile knowing I was falling and falling hard.