Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) (10 page)

D A N I

The better part of my
morning was spent trying to find the outfit that said
I’m interested, but not trying too hard.
In the end, I opted for a
pair of shorts and a fitted button-down shirt with my Converse. I pulled my
hair into a simple ponytail and decided to forego the makeup since the rest of
my day would be spent in the gym sorting through equipment.

It was supposed to be a
beautiful day, and despite my nerves I was ready to spend it with Tabor.

He’d surprised me when
he mentioned his foundation and the donation. I wasn’t sure what that would
consist of, but I would gladly take just about anything. The kids needed this
program to survive, and I wanted that for them.

After my conversation
with Will and Viola, I had spent an hour writing up a list of the pros and cons
of dating JT Hunter. When it was completed, I stared at the list, and the good
far outweighed the bad, but I was still apprehensive.

The smell of coffee
filled the condo and I poured another cup. I’d made more than usual, in case
Tabor wanted some. I was both nervous and excited to see him again and hoped
that he didn’t mistake my apprehension for disinterest.

I startled when I heard
the knock at my door, and checked myself in the hall mirror to make sure I
looked okay. As I opened the door, he stood in front of me in a pair of beige
cargo shorts and a light blue T-shirt that showed every muscle in his chest. He
was grinning as he looked me up and down.

“Good morning,” I said,
stepping aside. He looked so much more handsome in person than the few pictures
I’d seen online. He didn’t look comfortable in the spotlight, but with me, he
seemed himself. Or what I figured was the real him.

He walked inside and I
closed the door behind him, but when I turned he was standing a short distance
away from me. I cocked my head to the side and waited for him to say something,
but when he didn’t I spoke up.

“Did you have a good
night?” I grinned.

He nodded, but still
hadn’t spoken a word.

“How ‘bout some coffee
before we go?”

He nodded again, his
eyes glued to mine and a sweet smile playing on his lips. I wanted to know what
he was thinking—hell, I wanted him to speak. His deep voice made my
stomach flip and twist in ways I didn’t know were possible. I started to move
past him and bring him into the kitchen when his hand reached for mine. He
leaned against the wall, making it evident the conversation was going to be had
then and there.

I looked at our hands and
then back at him and said nothing, figuring it was his turn to feel awkward.
I’m not sure how long we stood like that—it could have been seconds or
minutes before he spoke.

“I did some thinking of
my own last night,” he said.

I swallowed hard,
fighting to not break the eye contact we were engaged in. I was afraid I would
be lost forever, but being lost in him might not have been so bad. “And?”

“The fact that you’re
intimidated by the spotlight makes me like you even more. And if you want to
see what’s happening here without everyone knowing, then that’s what I want
too.”

“You mean, like our own
little secret?” I asked, intrigued by the offer.

“Yeah,” he answered as
his fingers threaded with mine. He tugged gently so I stepped toward him,
forcing me to tip my head further back to look at him.

“People already saw us
together last night,” I said, barely audible.

“And you’ve already
talked about me to your friend,” he said.

“Friends—plural,”
I responded.

His brows pinched
together and he pursed his lips.

“Yeah, I needed some
help with my thinking,” I admitted.

“What did you come up
with?”

Instead of giving him an
answer, I took another step closer so I was flush against his body, but I still
had to stand on my toes. I rested my free hand against his chest, my mouth
inches from his. Before I could talk myself out of it, I pressed my lips to
Tabor’s and felt his arms at my waist as he returned the kiss. It was a
frenzied kiss, and when I felt his tongue graze mine I couldn’t get enough of
him. One hand held me firmly against him while the other traveled up to the
nape of my neck.

It was the best answer I
could give him at the moment. As the kiss slowed I felt my cheeks flush, and I
knew he had questions. I tried to step away, but Tabor held me close and lifted
my chin to look at him.

I was barely able to
compute the action as he wrapped both arms around my waist, lifting me off the
floor so I was looking into his eyes. My arms were around his neck, but I felt
like a rag doll. As much as I wanted to wrap my legs around him and hold on for
dear life, I had to pace myself.

He kissed me again
before setting me on my feet but still holding my hand. I didn’t know if he
expected an answer then, and I wasn’t sure I could give him one.

“As far as anyone knows,
this is a working relationship. If you want to tell people that you wrote my
foundation and we agreed to help sponsor your program, we can do that. I’m not
sure how long people will buy it, because I like being around you and I like
who I am with you.”

“I like who you are
too,” I admitted. “Let’s just give it a little time, see what happens before
people find out?”

“Whatever you need,” he
agreed.

“Coffee,” I answered,
clearing my throat. “I need my coffee.”

I walked into my tiny
kitchen and poured a mug for Tabor, and grabbed mine before joining him at the
table. The way he stared at me made me feel beautiful and wanted. I tried so
hard to quell the way he electrified every sensation in my body, but it was no
use. Despite myself, Tabor Hunter was someone I wanted to get to know, and he
was someone worth taking the time to learn about.

“Tell me more about your
program,” Tabor said. He sounded like a businessman again and it was pretty
sexy.

“It’s something I
started last year for kids who have no place to go after school. We do a lot of
activities, arts, skills training, and whatever else the kids are interested
in,” I gushed proudly of what we’d been able to accomplish in one year.

“How do you get your
funding?” he asked. “Sorry. I’m not trying to be nosy.”

“I don’t mind. Grants,”
I said simply. “Lots of grants and a few sponsors.”

“But there weren’t as
many this year?” he asked.

“There were a few, but
the corporate sponsors we had bailed at the end of the year. My boss waited
until the then to tell me what was going on. We managed to get by with what we
had, but the kids and I are so grateful, we accept whatever we can.”

“Have you ever
approached any local businesses to see if they’d be willing to help?”

“I tried several. But
when you mention River Valley, they suddenly remember that they maxed out their
charitable contributions for the year,” I scoffed.

“Does your program have
a wish list or a budget of what is needed to help it succeed?” Tabor asked.

“Honestly, I didn’t know
what I was getting into when I created it. I did some general searches online,
but I really just wanted to give these kids something to do after school. The
other teachers have been amazing. If I had to make a list of things we needed,
it would be pretty scary.”

“So why don’t we start
there?” he asked. “We can drop off what I have and see what else you need.”
Tabor stood up and extended his hand. “Come on, let’s go.”

***

We got to the school and
I parked in the back lot nearest the gym where the activities took place. The
athletic coach had given me access to the sports closet and said we could use
anything we wanted. I unlocked the building and disarmed the alarm before we
set foot inside. Our shoes echoed and squeaked on the wooden gym floor as we
walked to the closet.

“Aside from this
program, what do you teach?”

“American History,” I
said over my shoulder.

“Cool,” he responded.
“Was that your focus in college?”

“Actually, no.” I
smirked. “Spanish.”

“Really?”

“Yep. It’s helped me a
lot,” I admitted. “Someday, I want to go to Central America and really immerse
myself in it.”

He looked at me and
raised a brow and pointed. “You realize Tijuana is
literally
right there.”

“Yeah, I know.” I
shrugged and opened the closet door. “But I’m talking like Honduras or
someplace like that.”

I flipped the light
switch and watched as Tabor looked through the items we had at our disposal.
None of it was great and most of it needed updating, but the kids rarely
complained. The grant money we’d received over the school year had been used to
buy activity sets and supplies for a classroom that had gone unused the year
before. We hadn’t received much, but we were grateful just the same.

“It looks like you could
use a lot of,” he looked around and back at me, “well, everything.”

“Pretty much,” I sighed.

I walked over to the
tattered equipment that had been donated to the school. Some of it looked like
it had been around since the Reagan administration, but the kids never seemed
to mind. I started picking up cones, bats, basketballs, and other odd pieces to
inspect their shelf life when I felt Tabor watching me. I was too nervous to
actually look and verify my suspicions, so I kept moving around, losing track
of what I was doing.

He was beginning to have
a way with distracting me—something I liked and hated.

“You really love what
you do, don’t you?” he asked from behind me.

I turned to face him and
nodded. “These are some of the most amazing kids. They don’t have much, and the
school isn’t able to offer much, but they have big dreams. I want them to have
every chance of seeing them become reality.”

Tabor strolled to where
I stood and glanced at the soccer ball in my hands. It was worn and the
stitching looked as if one more kick would shred it, but I held onto it for
dear life.

I swallowed and tried to
ignore the way my pulse accelerated, rapidly beating inside my chest and
leaving me flushed. “I was lucky growing up. I had parents that were able to
let me try whatever I wanted, and a school that had the means to encourage my
dreams. This school might not have much, but it does have an army of teachers
that would do anything for these kids.”

Tabor reached for the
ball in my hands, his fingers igniting a trail of goose bumps over my skin. He
took the soccer ball out of my hands and put it back on the shelf. My hands
were empty and I tried to keep myself from wringing them.

“That sounds pretty damn
good to me,” he said, lifting my chin so our eyes met.

“What’s that?”

“A teacher who cares.”

“You think?”

He nodded once and
lowered his face so his lips were inches away from mine.

“I know,” he said and
sealed those words with a kiss that I felt all the way to my toes. I wrapped my
arms around his neck as he wrapped his arm around my waist. It felt so cliché
to be making out in a closet at school, but it was officially summer break and
no one was there that day.

Tabor made me want
things, things that I had never really considered, and it scared me. If he had
been a regular guy and I’d felt about him the way I did, I would have been
ecstatic. But he was so much more than a regular guy, and I was intimidated by
what came as part of the package.

I slowed the kiss to
give myself space and hopefully return to the task at hand, but damn if I
didn’t want to continue kissing him. Those full lips and deep hazel eyes could
hypnotize me without my consent. I wasn’t
that
girl, and yet, it appeared I
was
.

“Tabor,” I murmured
against his mouth as we parted.

“Don’t think about it,”
he pleaded, as if he could read my mind. “It’s just me.”

“But you come with a
lot,” I admitted. I hated my own indecisiveness on the situation. I could only
imagine what was going through his mind, because mine was a muddled mess.

“And like I said, we’ll
take this at whatever pace you want,” he said, brushing his thumb softly
against my cheek.

“Let’s start with
friends?” I almost whispered, shocked that
that
was the offer I was putting on the table. My heart wanted to give it a try, but
my stupid head seemed to be in control.

There was no denying the
disappointment that flashed in his eyes, and regret flooded my veins. But I was
too stubborn to take it back, to tell him what I really wanted. And Tabor was
too much of a gentleman to push me into something I wasn’t ready for.

“If that’s what you
want,” he said quietly.

I nodded, unable to say
anything else past the lump that formed in my throat. I don’t think I had ever
experienced such disappointment as I had in that moment. And then he placed one
last chaste kiss to my temple before giving me some much-needed space. As he
let go of my hand he stood next to me, staring at the shelves in front of us.