Back to Life (13 page)

Rory
rolled her eyes. “Whatever, I do not. I am just glad that this night went
smoothly for you. From hearing the few things Vivian has told me, I always
thought he sounded like a bastard,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “Guess I
was wrong.”

“I
guess,” I said. I still couldn’t shake this feeling that he was up to something,
but I didn’t care about that now. “So, what do we do now?” I said, taking her
other hand into mine so that we were face to face.

She
looked up at me and smiled. “You are going to drive me home and kiss me good
night like a good little boy,” she said, matter-of-factly.

“You
are really going to make me suffer, aren’t you?” I laughed.

“I’m
just trying to get you all excited for when we finally
make love
,” she
teased.

“You
really are a brat, you know that?” I groaned and followed her to my car. It
took every ounce of self control I had to not pull over and ravage her on the
way to her apartment. Once we got there, I stepped out of the driver’s seat and
helped her out of the car. When we got to the front door, she was getting her
keys out of her purse when I stopped her. “Rory?”

“Yes?”
she asked, her big chestnut colored eyes on me.

“I
just wanted to thank you again for coming with me tonight. I really don’t think
I could have gotten through that without you.”

“It
was my pleasure. Besides, that crème brulee made the night totally worth it,”
she said, smiling.

I
grinned and took a step closer to her. I reached up and touched her face.
“You’re so beautiful,” I whispered, and I leaned my lips to hers. I could feel
her smiling against my mouth as my tongue traced her bottom lip. She opened her
sweet mouth to me and touched my tongue with hers. She melted into me as I
pulled her closer, resting one hand on her back and the other in her hair. She
gently nipped at my bottom lip, and I was on the verge of begging to come
upstairs with her and throw all patience out the window when she pulled away.

“Good
night, Liam,” she whispered, smiling mischievously.

I
nodded and blew a breath out. “All right, all right. Good night,” I said,
kissing her cheek. “Can I call you tomorrow? I have to check in at work
tomorrow at some point, but can we maybe get together tomorrow night?”

She
nodded and smiled. “Sure. That sounds great.” She looked at me for a moment,
and something flashed in her eyes…it almost looked like fear. She shook her
head and took a deep breath. “Okay, good night. For real this time,” she said,
and gave me a quick kiss on the lips. With a wave, I watched her walk into her
apartment. As I walked back to my car, my cell phone ping. I had a text from
Nick asking if I wanted to hang out at my apartment and watch a basketball
game. Since I was free, I typed back that I’d pick up beer on the way home. As
I got into my car, I looked up at Rory’s building one more time and drove away
with the taste of her kiss on my tongue.

Rory

One
Month Later

“I
know, I know, I’m late! I’m so sorry!” I called out to Samantha as I ran into
the salon.

She
smiled at me, her perfect white teeth glowing. “It’s okay, calm down. You are
only ten minutes behind, relax. You don’t have a client until ten,” she said.

I
sighed in relief. “That’s good. Thanks, girl,” I said, and I walked out onto
the salon floor which was already getting busy. “Good morning everyone,” I
called out.

Everyone
said hello to me, and Brian, who was doing an eyebrow wax, raised a speculative
eyebrow at me. “Late again, huh?”

I
looked at him with a pointed glare. “Good morning to you too, Brian,” I said,
walking over and putting my bag on the hook. “How was your night?”

“Not
as good as yours, I’m sure,” he said, winking at me. “This is the third time
you’ve been late this week. Aren’t you getting enough sleep?” he asked, a
teasing tone in his voice.

I
rolled my eyes at him, and then looked at Fiona. “Is there coffee in the break
room?”

“Yeah,
I just put on a fresh pot,” she said, smiling much like Brian was. I noticed
Emily and Nicole exchange similar looks. Shaking my head, I turned and walked
toward the break room. I knew what they were all thinking. I was obviously late
because I’d been with a man and sex got a little crazy, making me late for
work. And they were half right. Well, sort of. Liam and I had been dating for
the past month, but we hadn’t slept together yet. The attraction was there…dear
lord was it there. Liam and I were both sticking to our “waiting until its right”
rule, but we’d been teasing the shit out of each other with it. I know that he
was just trying to be patient and gentle with me physically and emotionally
because of Mason’s death. However the passion that was burning between us was
just under the surface and it was about to reach a fever pitch. I know he
wanted to know in his mind that I was completely ready for us to take that next
step. It had been so long since I’d been with anyone, and even though it took
all I had to not ravage him, I appreciated him for that. Even though the
physical attraction was definitely there, I had to really get beyond myself and
my grief in order to have that kind of relationship again. I never thought I
could until I met Liam.

It
was Friday, and I could not wait to get this day over with. It was our one
month anniversary today, and I had decided that tonight was the night that Liam
and I were going to finally be together. He didn’t know that, so tonight was
going to be fun all around. We weren’t doing anything major since we’d only been
together for a month. He wanted us to go to dinner and then he said he had a
surprise for me after. All he would tell me is that I didn’t have to dress
fancy, and that to wear whatever I was comfortable in. I brought my change of
clothes with me to the shop so that we could leave right after I was off. I
didn’t know what it could be, but I didn’t care because one way or another this
night was going to be memorable.

As
I sipped my coffee, I heard footsteps behind me. I turned around and saw Fiona,
Emily, and Nicole standing there staring at me, arms crossed and smiles on
their faces. “Can I help you with something?” I asked, my eyebrow cocked. My coworkers
had definitely noticed a change in me, and they were irritated that I wouldn’t
tell them anything about Liam.

Nicole
uncrossed here arms and waved them dramatically. “Seriously, Rory? Stop with
the secretive stuff. Who is this guy that has you running late and looking all
dreamy eyed?”

As
I looked at their faces one by one, I knew the time was apparently now to fill
them in. Even though we really didn’t hang out outside the salon, they had been
there when Mason died and tried support me as much as I’d let anyone. I should
be thanking God that they were still even talking to me after how much I
flipped out. Because of that, I felt I owed them this much to let them in on my
happiness now. “His name is Liam,” I said quietly, smiling.

They
all squealed like teenagers, and Brian called out, “Wait! Don’t say anymore
until I’m done!” His client giggled as well. I walked back out onto the salon
floor and back to my station to sit and wait until he was done. It only took
five minutes for him be finished, but judging from Emily, Nicole, and Fiona, it
may as well have been a lifetime. Once Brian’s client had paid and was out the
door, he came running back in and sat in the station next to me. “Okay, girl,
spill!”

“Again,
his name’s Liam and he’s a cop.” Deafening squeals were heard all around.

“A
cop? That’s hot,” Emily said. “Where did you meet him?”

“Well,
it’s actually kind of funny. I met him at Shadow the night Brody came into
town. It turns out his mother has been a client of mine for a few years, and
she’s been trying to get us together. She knew Marissa and I were taking Brody
there, and suggested he go.”

Emily
smiled. “Aw, that’s sweet. Who’s his mom?”

“Vivian
Tanner,” I answered.

“You
mean the mega rich lady that comes to you every six weeks like clockwork?”
Nicole asked.

“That’s
the one. I knew she’d get us to meet eventually, but the strange thing is that
he and Brody were friends in college. They both went to Indiana University
together. I mean, isn’t that crazy?”

“It’s
not crazy. It sounds to me like it was fate,” Fiona said.

I
smiled dreamily. Brian said, “So, when do we get to meet this guy?”

“Oh,
I don’t know about that. I want to date him for a bit before you scare him
off,” I joked.

At
that moment, Samantha came walking onto the salon floor with wide eyes. “Uh,
Rory? Your ten o’clock and ten thirty appointments are here,” she said.

“All
right. Samantha, you okay?” I asked. I couldn’t tell if she looked scared or
turned on.

“Y-yeah,”
she said, looking to the other stylists, a smile spreading across her face,
mouthing the words, “Oh my God!”

I
was curious as to why she’d have this kind of reaction, so I quickly walked
through the beaded curtain to see what client I would have that would have that
effect on her, and immediately I knew. I smiled when I saw not only Liam
standing there, but Nick as well, both in jeans and tight tee shirts. “Hey
boys, what are you doing here?” I asked, hugging them each before returning
back to Liam’s waiting arms. I heard the shuffle of quick footsteps as everyone
came rushing up to the reception desk.

“Well,
Nick and I both needed our hair cut, and we heard around town about this hot
little red head that worked here. I hear she’s the best,” Liam said to me,
grinning. “You surprised?”

I
smiled back and kissed him quickly on the lips. “I am. I missed you.”

Nick
barked out a laugh. “Jesus, Rory, you just saw him an hour ago.” He then made a
fake puking noise. “You two are so damn sweet it makes me sick.”

 I
flipped him off. “Love you too, asshole,” I said, and he laughed. At that
moment, everyone came through the curtain with smiles on their faces. I sighed
and rolled my eyes. Liam looked at the group and smiled at me, curiosity on his
handsome face. “Well, I guess I have to introduce you to these idiots,” I said.
His arm still around me, I said, “Guys, this is Fiona Taylor, Emily Phillips,
Nicole Hiatt, Brian Torres, and Samantha Gilman. They all work with me,
obviously.”

Liam
nodded at them politely while Nick looked at my coworkers (with the exception
of Brian) like he was staring at a buffet table full off food. I slapped him
hard on his abs and said, “Don’t even think about it.”

Nick
grinned playfully at me. “What?”

I
turned back to the group and said, “Everyone, this dumbass here is Nick
Ramirez, and this guy,” I stopped, placing my hand on his torso, “is Liam
Tanner. Nick and Liam are partners at the precinct.”

Brian
walked out to them first, his hand extended. “Well, it’s nice to meet you
both.” As they shook hands, Brian looked at me wide eyed and enthusiastic.

“You
too,” Liam said, and he squeezed me tighter.

“We
were all wondering when we’d get to meet the mystery man in Rory’s life,”’
Nicole said.

Liam
looked down at me, amused. “Mystery man, huh? You haven’t told them about me
yet?” he teased.

“No,
I wanted you all to myself before I unleashed these heathens on you,” I joked.
He chuckled and kissed the top of my head. There was a collective “Aw” that
came out of them. “Okay, enough everyone. These guys are clients too, and I
need to get to work, so move!” I said, and everyone laughed as I shuffled them
back through the beaded curtain. As we were about to walk through, I saw Nick’s
eyes lingering on Samantha. I grabbed his tee shirt and pulled him forward,
then slapped him on the back of the head.

He
laughed at me. “What is it? She’s cute!”

“And
she’s my coworker, Nick. She’s a great girl, and you’re not going to use her
just to add another notch in your belt,” I said.

He
sighed. “All right, fine. I’ll be a good boy. Halo is on, I promise,” he said.

“Thank
you,” I said, and he playfully shoved me as I led them to my station.

Thankfully,
my day was pretty empty since I’d set aside that afternoon for walk in clients.
Liam and Nick’s haircuts took longer than they should have because we talked
and laughed with everyone in the salon. Samantha even spent her lunch break in
the salon with us instead of going out like she usually does so she could
openly ogle Nick. I know I told him to steer clear of her, but they way they
were looking at each other clearly meant that that was a promise he wasn’t
going to be able to keep. We usually shut the salon down from noon to one
o’clock for lunch, and Liam and Nick happened to have that time free as well so
we all had lunch there in our break room. Liam insisted on buying us all lunch,
which made my heart melt a little bit more. He seemed to like everyone here, he
loved Marissa like a sister, and Brody was already his friend. He fit so
seamlessly into my life that it sometimes made me scared to think of what would
happen if he ever knew the extent of my downward spiral after Mason died. I had
not just gone crazy…I went completely bat shit crazy and lost a lot of people I
cared about and that I thought had cared about me in the process. Marissa,
Brody, and my crazy little group of coworkers were all I had in the world, and
I was grateful that they stood behind me through all of it.