Foreplay: The Ivy Chronicles (20 page)

His words flayed me. He made it sound so ugly. Like I was using him. I guessed technically I was, but I’d always been up front with him, and he had wanted to do this, too. I thought we were enjoying each other. At least that’s what I told myself. Besides, he was the one who initiated things that night he pulled me upstairs after him.

“No,” I whispered, but I wasn’t sure what I was denying exactly. That Hunter was the end goal for me? He still was. He had to be. I’d spent the last seven years believing in that.

It just felt wrong to label Reece a distraction. He was more than that to me. What, precisely, I didn’t know. But definitely more.

The weary look came over him. He waved a hand toward the exit. “Why don’t you just go? You really don’t know about any of this. You don’t know me.”

I sucked in a breath and resisted pointing out that I thought I was starting to know him. From the first moment I met him, when he pulled over and announced that he didn’t feel right leaving me alone on the side of the road, I’d had a good understanding of him. But I didn’t point that out to him. Because obviously he didn’t
want
me to know him. It was in every tense line of his lean body and the hard set to his jaw.

“Okay,” I murmured. “Good-bye.” I pushed up from the table, leaving the half-eaten food behind. Skirting him, I fled the bar, convinced that this time I wouldn’t be back. This time he’d asked me to leave. He wanted me gone. It didn’t matter what I wanted.

Chapter
23

H
opping back
into the car, I handed Hunter his soda and bag of chips as I settled in against
the plush leather seat of his BMW. Definitely a luxurious way to travel home.
More comfortable than my Corolla. Plus, I didn’t have to drive all by
myself.

“Bugles?” I questioned, shaking my head with a
smile as he ripped into the bag. “Never took you for a Bugles kind of guy.”

He grinned. “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried
it.”

“Oh, I have. I think I was seven when I last ate
them.” When I lived with my mom we’d subsisted on a steady diet of vending
machine fare.

“Well, then you know the wonder that is the tiny
Bugle.” He held aloft one tiny bugle-shaped chip as if it were the Holy Grail.
“Go on. Try just one.”

“I’m fine. Really.”

“If you can resist, then surely you’ve never tasted
one.”

Giggling, I reached inside the bag, grabbed a few,
and threw them into my mouth. Chewing the salty, cheese-powder-coated chips, I
said, “There. Satisfied? I tasted and can still resist.”

“You’re simply not human.”

Shaking my head again, I unscrewed the cap on my
water bottle and took a sip, washing away the taste of Bugles from my mouth.

“Bet you didn’t know I liked jerky, too.”

“No way. You? Wow. But they don’t serve that at the
country club,” I mocked.

“I haven’t been to the country club since I don’t
know when. Not really my scene anymore, you know?”

No, I didn’t. I might have known Hunter all my
life, but I didn’t really know what he did with his free time. Aside from
studying to get into med school and devoting the last two years of his life to a
demanding girlfriend.

He looked both ways and pulled back out onto the
two-lane highway, leaving the gas station behind. We were soon gliding along the
curving road past gorgeous fall foliage. Soon the trees would be shrouded in
white, but right now they were a stunning blend of gold, red, and yellow.

We’d been driving two hours but it didn’t feel like
it. It was fun and easy being with him. We went from regaling each other with
childhood stories of Lila to discussing our classes and what we hoped to do with
ourselves after college. Hunter was excited when I told him I was considering
med school with my psychology degree. If I was going to help people with their
problems, having a degree in medicine might make that easier.

My phone buzzed from inside my bag. I dug around in
it on the floorboard, expecting another text from Em moaning about having to
spend the day shopping with her father’s new girlfriend, who was only five years
older than herself.

Only it wasn’t from Em.

Reece: I’m sorry

My thumb locked, poised over my phone. I hadn’t
expected to hear from him again. Or even see him. Not unless I just bumped into
him on the streets in a freak coincidence. But now he was here, reaching out to
me, pulling me back in.

Me: It’s ok

Reece: I was a jerk. I shouldn’t have told
you to go. I wanted you to stay

A smile played on my mouth.

Me: Understandable. Your dad just came down
on you

Reece: Well. Could have let you finish your
food at least

Me: You saved me from the stroke that was
sure 2 follow that meal

Reece: Wimp

Me: I don’t run a half marathon every morning
like you

Reece: But you’ll run with me

I paused again, thinking. He was asking if we were
going to see each other again. Inhaling, I typed.

Me: I thought we had seen the last of each
other?

Reece: Do you want to see the last of
me?

“Everything okay?”

I jerked at Hunter’s question, startled. I had
forgotten I was in the car with him. Forgotten he was even here. “Oh. Sorry.
Didn’t mean to be rude.” I typed off a quick reply.

Me: Gotta go. TTYS

Exhaling, I forced a bright smile and returned my
attention to Hunter, focusing on him and refusing to touch my phone again.

T
hanksgiving with Gram brought back a flood of memories. I was hugged so
much and smiled so much my cheeks ached. All the residents of Chesterfield
Retirement Village were family to me. The place was home, even if
unorthodox.

At eight o’clock Thanksgiving night, still stuffed
from turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, yams, and all the other goodies
associated with the holiday, I borrowed Mrs. Lansky’s car from next door since
she hardly used it anymore and headed over to Lila’s house.

I didn’t even have a chance to push the doorbell
before the door was yanked open and Lila locked me in a suffocating embrace with
a happy squeal.

Pulling back, she sized me up, assessing me from
head to toe. “Damn, you look good! You highlighted your hair. I love it!”

She pulled me into the impressive foyer with its
vaulted ceiling. Linking arms with me, she led me into the kitchen, whispering
into my ear even though no one was around to overhear. “Whatever you’re doing
with Hunter, it’s working. He hasn’t stopped asking me when you’re getting
here.”

“Really,” I murmured, heat washing up my neck.

“Uh-huh. He’s waiting in the kitchen.”

Voices carried from that room, and I knew what I
would find before I entered—Lila’s parents and grandparents intent over a
Monopoly board. Hunter stood at the island, bent over a slice of pumpkin pie as
he watched the proceedings.

Everyone exclaimed when they saw me. Hunter
straightened, his lips curving in that blinding smile of his as all the
Montgomerys surrounded me and took turns lavishing me with hugs. After peppering
me with questions about school and my grandmother and forcing me to accept a
slice of pie, they returned to their game, and Lila, Hunter, and I headed
upstairs for the game room to watch a movie.

I blushed as Lila made a point to sit on the far
side of the big, comfy couch, making sure I had to sit beside her brother. Not
exactly subtle.

After scrolling through movies to rent, we selected
the new James Bond movie.

“Want some Chex Mix?” Hunter asked after it
started.

I groaned, rubbing my stomach. “I can’t eat for
another month.”

“I’ll have some.” Lila pushed
PAUSE
as Hunter headed downstairs, then directed a
hard stare at me.

“All right, so what’s the plan?”

I shook my head. “Plan?”

“Yeah . . . you want me to fake a
headache so you two can have some alone time?”

I shook my head. “No, no. Don’t do that. I want to
spend some time with you, too.”

“We’re shopping tomorrow and doing lunch. We’ll
have the whole day. This is the only time you two have before you head back on
Sunday.”

“It’s fine, really,” I hissed as I heard his
returning steps thudding on the stairs.

“Here he comes,” she whispered, giving me a knowing
wink and settling back into the corner of the couch. She punched
PLAY
on the remote.

I shook my head at her, hoping to convey that she
shouldn’t invent some excuse to leave me alone with her brother.

Thirty minutes later, she released an exaggerated
sigh. “I’m really tired. Guess turkey really does make you sleepy, huh?” She
unfolded her sleek dancer legs that she had tucked under her and rose gracefully
to her feet. “I’m going to bed. Need my beauty sleep. Especially if we’re going
to hit all those sales in the morning. I’ll pick up you up at seven, Pepper.
Okay?”

I glared at her as she waved good night.

Hunter smiled easily at me. I forced a smile back,
willing away my sudden discomfort. I turned my attention back to the movie, but
didn’t really see anything. Just images flashing on the screen that I couldn’t
process.

His arm stretched along the back of the couch
behind me. I felt it there, the fingers grazing softly at my shoulder. I noted
the passing of minutes on the digital clock on the Blu-ray player. Ten minutes.
He shifted on the couch. The graze of his fingers was a full-blown touch.
Fifteen minutes. His fingers moved, stroking my shoulder in small circles.

My stomach knotted with anxiety, torn between
wanting him to make a move and wanting to flee. Was he waiting for an
invitation? I couldn’t help thinking that Reece would have acted by now. I’d be
under him. Or over him. We’d have half our clothes off and his hands would be
everywhere. My pulse jackknifed against my throat, remembering how it was with
him.

Suddenly I found myself staring at Hunter, studying
his profile. Even though his hand stroked my shoulder, he was watching the
movie, following the characters through the action scenes. He must have sensed
my stare. He turned. I held his gaze.

“Pepper?” His voice fell softly, hesitant and
inquiring.

I closed the distance and kissed him. Pushed my
lips against his own and serious-as-a-heart-attack kissed him, willing myself to
forget Reece in the taste of him.

He was motionless for a second before reacting.
Before kissing me back. He was a good kisser. I recognized that at once. He knew
what to do. With his lips. His tongue. His hand came up to hold my face like I
was something precious and fragile. Even so, I didn’t feel it. The zing, the
consuming ache filling every inch of me.

Sensation didn’t slam through me like it did with
Reece.
Had
. Like it
had
with him. I reminded myself of that.
Had
. It was
over.

Desperate, frustrated for something to be there
between us, for me to feel something—Oh, God,
anything
—with Hunter, I climbed up on my knees and straddled him,
never breaking my mouth from his.

He stilled, obviously startled, for half a second
before his mouth resumed kissing. He was definitely into it now, groaning when I
nipped at his lip, sucking it between my teeth. His hands skimmed down my back,
his palms stroking up and down rhythmically.

I tore my lips from his and kissed his jaw, his
neck, sucking at the warm skin.

His hand buried in the back of my hair. “God.
Pepper. What are you doing to me?”

His words sank inside my mind, forming into a very
real question.
What was I doing?

The answer came back to me, clear and ugly,
resounding like a bell in my ears. Using him. Searching for something, desperate
to feel with him what I felt when I was with Reece.

Only it wasn’t working. It wasn’t there. Not with
him.

I lifted my lips from his throat and stared down at
him, stunned, horrified. He blinked, looking up at me, his deep brown eyes
glassy with desire. “Pepper? Everything okay?”

I shook my head, words stuck in my throat.

“Hunter! Lila and Pepper!” Mrs. Montgomery called
from the base of the stairs. “We’re putting up the desserts. Want any
first?”

Annoyance flashed across Hunter’s face at the
interruption. “No thanks, Mom!” His gaze zeroed back on me. He brushed his thumb
against my cheek. “Pepper?”

“I—I need to go home.”

“Now?”

I nodded and climbed off him. “Yes. I gotta get up
early to meet Lila.”

He rose to his feet, one hand stretching out for me
like he wanted to touch me but was unsure. “Are we okay?”

I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, avoiding
his gaze. He actually sounded worried. “Yeah. We’re good.”

“Is it that guy from Gino’s? Reece?”

My gaze snapped back to him. “Why do you ask
that?”

“I saw how you were together.”

“We’re not together,” I snapped, too quickly
probably.

“You’re more than friends. I could see that
much.”

“No,” I bit out. “We’re not.”

He nodded slowly, as if trying to accept that.
“Okay. Good. Then I—” He stopped and dragged a hand through his hair. “Then I
want to give us a shot, Pepper. I’ve been thinking about you a lot the last
couple of weeks. I know it’s tricky considering you and my sister are best
friends, but I think it’s worth the risk.”

This was it. Finally. He was offering what I’d
always wanted. A chance to be with him. The rest, the fireworks I’d felt with
Reece, they would come. They had to. I refused to believe otherwise.

“I want to try, too,” I said slowly, the words
withering something inside me.
What was wrong with
me?
Where was the elation?

He reached for my arm, slid his fingers down, and
captured my hand in his. “Well, all right then. Let’s do this. I’m going to
court you, Pepper.”

“
Court
me?”

“Yeah. Like you deserve.”

God
. It was like a
dream. Those words. From Hunter. Directed at me.

I knew I should say something. “Oh,” I managed to
get out.

He smiled, seemingly unbothered at my lack of
enthusiasm.

Holding my hand, he walked me outside to Mrs.
Lansky’s car parked in their circular driveway. I unlocked the door.

“I’ll pick you up Sunday morning. Eight o’clock
okay?”

I nodded, accepting his quick peck on the lips.

He opened the driver’s door for me and I slid
inside. Buckling my seat belt, I started the car and waved good-bye.

P
epper, you home already?” Gram poked her head in my room. I didn’t
bother telling her I’d been home for over an hour and it was already eleven
thirty. Gram slept off and on throughout the day like a cat. I didn’t know if it
was her age, the pain of her arthritis, or the myriad of medicines she took
keeping her up all hours.

“Yes, Gram. I got home a little while ago.”

She stood at the threshold in her housecoat. The
kind that snaps up the front. She still wore one of those. I’m not sure what
store even sold them anymore, but she seemed to have an endless supply of
them.

Her heavily lined mouth worked in an exaggerated
manner before speaking, her tongue darting to moisten her lips. I asked her once
why she did that and she said her medication made her mouth dry. “Did you have a
good time at the Montgomerys’?”