Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1) (15 page)

I felt as if my insides
had been sliced open without my knowledge, exposing every thought, feeling, and
fear for everyone to see. Tabor knew what I felt for him, but I wasn’t sure the
feeling was mutual. I hoped it was. I suspected it was. But I wasn’t ready to
put my heart on the line without some assurance it would be returned.

“This is not a
conversation I want to have over the phone,” I finally said.

Before I could say
anything else, I heard some noise through the phone. “I’m coming back,” Tabor
said, ending the call before I could argue.

D A N I

“What’s going on?” I
asked when I answered the door.

Tabor’s hands were
braced on the doorframe and his eyes trailed the length of my body, taking in
my T-shirt and cotton shorts that exposed my legs. When his eyes met mine, my
stomach swirled, unsure of his reason for rushing over.

“Are you okay?” I asked,
breaking the silence.

“I think there’s
something you want to talk about,” he said. “Can I come in?”

No sound came from my
mouth. Somehow I’d lost my voice in that moment and all I could do was step
aside. I closed the door behind him and rested my head against it, trying to
quell my nerves. I took a deep breath and turned around to find him still
watching me.

“Want something to
drink?” I took a couple of steps, only to realize that he wasn’t budging.

Tabor stood with his
arms crossed over his chest, straining his shirt across his arms.

“Okay…should we go to
the living room?”

“What conversation do we
need to have, Dani?” Tabor sighed and looked nervous as he gauged my mood. “Are
we breaking up?

“What! Wait…what are you
talking about?”

“You said you didn’t
want to do it over the phone, so I came back. I was hoping we could talk it
out.”

I closed my eyes and
took a deep breath. Breaking up wasn’t on my radar, and the fact that he
thought that’s where my head was made me feel like a jerk. I was messing the
whole thing up.

I stepped around him and
he followed me into the living room, sitting on the end of the couch. I took
the seat farthest from him, needing the space. My wine from earlier had grown
warm, but I swallowed the last of it anyway. The TV was on and still muted,
offering a distraction.

“Break up,” I repeated
before looking at him. “Why would I want to do that?”

“I don’t know, you just
sounded so serious.”

“I thought you knew.”

“What am I supposed to
know? If you don’t want to break up, can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m an idiot,” I said.

“No you’re not. C’mere,”
he said, reaching for my hand.

The living room was
dark, only the TV and the kitchen light illuminating the space. I scoffed. “You
come over here.”

He wasted no time in
bridging that gap, taking my legs across his lap as he had done earlier. His
thumb was brushing over my shin while his other hand found mine.

“What’s going on?” he
asked.

“First off, I don’t want
to break up,” I said.

His lips pressed to mine
and I was thankful for the distraction. I ran my hand to his neck, pulling him
closer to me. Tabor deepened the kiss, running his hand up my thigh. We
continued kissing in the darkness and my heart thumped in my chest. I leaned up
and moved, placing my legs on either side of his, knowing what I wanted.

I reached down, pulling
his shirt over his head, and tossed it to the floor. His hands traveled beneath
my shirt, his palms pressing against my bare skin.

My heart was pounding so
hard and fast that I wondered if he felt it too. I placed my hand over his
heart and kissed him one last time before pulling away. Tabor wrapped his hand
over mine and I knew he was watching me as I stared where we joined on his
chest.

I could hear the blood
rushing and pounding in my ears, the room feeling like a sauna.

Say it.

“We don’t have to
do—”

I put my other hand over
his mouth and shook my head.

Say it.

He kissed the palm of my
hand and I softly ran it over his jaw.

“I’m scared,” I
whispered, unsure if I’d said it loud enough. I stared at his lips, unable to
meet his eyes.

“I’m not going to hurt
you,” he answered back and I shook my head.

“That’s not what I’m
scared of. I’ve been hurt and I’ve survived.”

“Then what are you
afraid of?”

“What I feel for you.”

“What’s that?”

“I can’t say it,” I
said, fear lacing my voice.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s been a
long time.”

“Say it, Dani,” he
pleaded.

“Why? It might ruin
everything.”

“Or maybe it won’t.”

“I’ve never said it to
someone first,” I admitted.

He knew what I wanted to
say, that much was clear. Why he wanted me to say it so badly was beyond me.

“Look at me,” he
commanded. When my eyes met his, the light reflected in his that I’d come to
know so well, I had no choice.

“I love you,” I said, as
if it were my last breath. I felt like my world was spinning in that instant.
If I hadn’t been in Tabor’s arms, I probably would have passed out from the
sheer weight of those three words.

Lucky for me, I
was
in his arms, and he pulled me
closer, pressing his mouth to mine. My lips parted, our tongues grazing and
exploring. I held his face in my hand, kissing him with every bit of love I
could muster. Saying the words had freed me, allowing me to open up to him the
way I wanted, and he hadn’t rejected me or laughed in my face.

Abruptly, Tabor’s hands
gripped my shoulders, separating our lips and placing distance between us. I
wasn’t sure what was happening, but I was embarrassed as I began to
second-guess myself.

“Hold on,” he said, our
shaky breaths beginning to normalize. He moved me off his lap and paced the
room, placing his hands behind his head.

I couldn’t help it, I
felt like a fool. I’d exposed my heart, and though I didn’t regret it, it hurt
like hell to see his reaction. I wanted to curl into myself and hug my knees to
my chest while I waited for his words, but I refused to show weakness. He
walked over and sat on the coffee table in front of me.

“Dani,” he said,
reaching for me.

“It’s okay, Tabor,” I
said, fighting off a wave of tears. I was thankful for the dark, and hoped he
didn’t see the wetness creeping its way to the surface. “It really is.”

“No, it’s not,” he said.

“You don’t have to say
anything.”

Please. Just stop. Walk out the door and leave me with my
dignity.

He huffed a laugh and
reached out for me. I wanted to slap him. How could he laugh at me?

“You don’t understand,”
he said, entwining out fingers. “This is all wrong.”

“What is?”

“This. Right now. All of
it.”

“Let’s just call it a
day and talk tomorrow,” I offered, needing the space.

“Fuck,” he muttered. “I
fucked this all up.”

“It’s fine. Really,” I
said, mustering up all my conviction to sell it.

“Let me start over,” he
said, inching toward the edge of the table, closer to me. “I love you, too. And
I should have said it back as soon as you said it, because I feel the same way.
God, Dani. I love you so fucking hard that I think I must be crazy.”

I was stunned into
silence and he continued.

“I didn’t want you to
think I was saying it just because you said it, or to get you into bed…”

I leaned forward and
silenced him with a kiss.

“I love you, Tabor,” I
whispered against his lips before planting another kiss on him.

My fingers grabbed hold
of his shoulders, pulling him to me on the couch. His bare chest rested against
mine I wanted to shed the clothing between us.

“Shirt,” I muttered,
hoping he’d take care of it for me. And with one fluid movement my shirt was
removed, tossed somewhere on the floor along with his. My shorts offered little
in the way of modesty, but I didn’t care. Tabor’s free hand trailed along the
elastic waistband, stopping at the small of my back.

“Wait,” I murmured
against his lips, placing small kisses as we slowed. He shifted his weight on
his elbow, almost falling off the couch, causing me to laugh. “This isn’t going
to work.”

“I think you’re right,”
he laughed, sitting up and pulling me with him. He kissed the tip of my nose
sweetly and reached down for his discarded shirt. I scrunched my forehead and
watched as he began turning the shirt right-side out. I grabbed it from his
hand and tossed it to the floor where it belonged, and he looked from the floor
and back to me.

“Upstairs,” I said,
standing up and grabbing his hand. It took him less than a second to realize
what I was saying before falling in behind me. As I got to the first step, I
turned and faced him, enjoying that we were at eye level.

“You’re so beautiful,”
he said, looking into my eyes.

“Please don’t break my
heart,” I warned.

“I’m pretty sure it goes
both ways, baby.”

I nodded in
understanding and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him again. I loved
the feeling of his skin beneath my hands, and I wanted more.

“Are we doing this right
here?” he asked between kisses. “Because I don’t care where it happens.”

I moved away and darted
up the stairs, disappearing into my room to the right. I stripped off my
shorts, tossing them into the hallway so he could see them, leaving me in
nothing but my black bra and panties. I heard his feet racing up the stairs and
I stood waiting for him as he entered my room.

Tabor looked like he was
about to pounce, and I smirked as his shadow loomed in the threshold. He
sauntered toward me until he was up against my body. His hand ran up my back
and tangled in my hair as I raised my face to his. He dropped his mouth to
mine, devouring me as my fingers unbuttoned his shorts.

He was stunning to look
at, but knowing his heart and that it belonged to me made him so much more
amazing. I briefly closed my eyes and thanked God for bringing this man into my
life, because I couldn’t recall a time when I’d been happier.

I sat down on my bed and
pushed myself up to the pillows, waiting for him. My entire body buzzed in
anticipation of what was about to happen between us, and I was more than ready.
I loved this man and though I was glad he’d said it too, somewhere deep inside,
I knew he’d felt it before he said the words.

His knee pressed into
the mattress, his weight shifting the bed. Slowly, like a lithe animal, he
crawled onto the bed until he was positioned over me. The only things
separating us were insignificant pieces of material that might as well have
been cinderblocks.

“Tabor,” I whispered,
feeling warmth throughout my body. I reached up and stroked the side of his
face, needing to touch him in some way. “I’m a virgin.”

His entire body stiffened
and the air shifted. “What?”

The silence settled
between us and I burst into laughter.

“I’m kidding,” I
laughed. “That’s not what I was going to say, but I couldn’t pass it up.”

“So not the time for
jokes,” he chuckled before kissing me.

“No?”

“No.”

“Sorry,” I murmured into
his mouth. “I’ll make it up to you.”

“Promise?” he asked
seductively.

“Promise,” I whispered
as his body sunk onto mine. “But Tabor…” I tugged on his boxers. “We need to
take these off.”

Before I registered the
action, he’d taken them off and managed to remove my lace panties as his hand
skimmed my thigh. Tabor’s lips trailed a line of kisses up my stomach, causing
it to clench in anticipation. I was about to make love to him, and for some
reason I wasn’t self-conscious at all. We loved each other, and that was all I
needed to know. The time was right. For us.

His hand skirted along
my side, causing me to squirm beneath him. As he made his way up my body, his
finger ran along the edge of my bra and stopped at the strap where he slid it
off. His kisses ignited a fire inside of me that I was ready to douse, though a
slow burn was acceptable.

“Are you sure?” he asked
once more.

I grabbed his face and
put everything into that kiss, telling him, without a doubt, what it was that I
wanted.

Only. Him.

D
A N I

I couldn’t stop messing
with my hair.

Up?

Down?

Flatten it?

What will Tabor’s mom like?

The thought had plagued
me all day and I was nervous that I wouldn’t make the cut. Of course she had to
be the most amazing person on the planet. Tabor made that very clear. His mom
was the sun and the moon and everything in between…though I doubted she was
actually a saint.

I’d been introduced to
plenty of mothers in my time.

Okay….one. But still,
she had thought I was too good for her son. She told me so herself.

But Tabor was a
different beast. I wondered if his mom was the protective type who thought no
woman was ever good enough for her “little” boy.

When I asked Tabor to
tell me something about her, the recurring theme was that she had done
everything for him. Hell, the woman sounded like a superhero—a thought
that was both sweet and scary as hell.

I looked at my
reflection in the mirror and squared my shoulders, mustering the confidence I
knew was hidden in there somewhere.

Simple.
A ponytail and neutral makeup.

I knew that it didn’t
matter what I did—she would either like me or hate me as soon as we were
introduced. Meeting a boyfriend’s family had never been as important as it was
that day, because by then I could admit I was completely, madly, crazy in love
with Tabor. The tough part would be explaining to others that it had nothing to
do with “who” he was to everyone else. It was “who” he was to me that counted.

Tabor walked into the
bathroom and wrapped his arms around me from behind, joining me to stare at our
reflections. He kissed the side of my neck and smiled. “You look beautiful.”

My cheeks flushed at his
compliment and he lightly squeezed me against him.

“Do you think your mom
and sister will like me?” I asked, hating the nervousness in my voice.

He took a deep breath,
his face impassive as he exhaled. “If they don’t, I’m gonna have to stop seeing
you.”

It felt like the blood
was draining from my body and I wanted to vomit. I nodded slowly, understanding
what he was telling me when he laughed and turned me to face him. His hands
cupped my cheeks and he placed a chaste kiss to my lips.

“They’re going to love
you, Dani. And even if they don’t, I do. Just be you, and they’ll see why I’ve
fallen for you.”

It was hard not to smile
when he complimented me so sweetly. My heart was an easy thing to sway when it
came to Tabor. Unfortunately, my mind wasn’t as easy to convince. While I hoped
what he said was true, a larger part knew how moms were about their sons.

I’d heard Millie say
numerous times that no one would ever be good enough for her Colton. And he
wasn’t even a year old!

I wrapped my arms around
his neck and looked into his eyes, searching for the truth. If he was lying, I
couldn’t tell, so I gave up and decided that it was possible I was worried for
no reason.

“You just better hope
they don’t like me more,” I said, adding a wink.

“God, I love you,” he
said, kissing me again.

“What time will they be
here?”

It was the first time
I’d stayed at Tabor’s place since we had admitted how we felt about each other,
but I felt as if I belonged. I didn’t want his mom or his sister to get the
wrong idea, but then again, how could they not?

“Any minute. The driver
called and they’re less than ten minutes away,” he said before kissing me again
and letting me go. “You look good.”

I did a little turn and
ended with a pose, showing off my fitted button-down blouse and denim shorts. I
wanted to look like I hadn’t tried too hard, even though it took me easily an
hour to select the perfect outfit.

Tabor glanced at his
phone screen and raised a brow. “We have some time.”

I stepped closer to him
and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You think?”

“I know,” he said,
kissing me between the words. Just when I was ready to give in, the doorbell rang
and I stepped back.

“Quickest ten minutes
I’ve ever heard of,” I noted.

He looked at his phone
again and winced. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t see when the text was sent.”

“Raincheck?”

He pulled me against him
and kissed me, letting me know that he intended to collect.

“Let’s go,” he said,
inclining his head in that direction.

“Okay.”

We walked down the
hallway hand in hand, only to see his mom and sister already standing at the
entrance, waiting for us near the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey, Mom,” he said,
smiling widely. He dropped my hand and embraced her with such love and
affection that it made
me
smile.
“Hey, Abs.”

They exchanged
pleasantries and then his sister nudged his arm and looked at me. I ran my
hands along my sides, finally settling them in my back pockets where they
wouldn’t flail and make me look weird.

“Oh shit.” He winced and
jogged over, walking me the rest of the way down. “Mom. Abbi,” he started, and
wrapped his arm around my waist. “This is Dani Miner.”

“Hi,” I said, sticking
my hand out as he continued.

“My girlfriend,” he said
unexpectedly.

My world seemed to pause
on that simple announcement. Even though I considered him my boyfriend, it
wasn’t something I’d said out loud because we had yet to label or discuss it.
But there he was, laying it all out there for the two most important women in
his world.

“It’s nice to meet you,
Dani,” his mom said sweetly. “I’m Tabor’s mom, but you can call me Marta.”

“Hi, Marta, it’s so nice
to meet you. Tabor’s said nothing but wonderful things about you both,” I said,
reaching out to shake Abbi and Marta’s hands.

“Now I know you’re
lying,” Abbi snorted. “Tabor never says anything good about me.”

She playfully hit at his
stomach and he wrapped her into a single-arm hug.

“Let’s go sit down,” he
said, dragging Abbi into the living room.

I started to follow when
Marta reached out and touched my arm loosely, holding me back.

“Let’s just give them a
second to catch up.” She smiled sweetly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“Ah, Tabor bragged about
saving the damsel in distress,” I joked, but went silent when she shook her
head.

“No. He told me about
the strong-willed woman who had no clue who he was.”

“Really?

“Yeah.”

“He’s a great guy,” I
complimented.

“He is,” she agreed. She
cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms. “Did you really not know who
he was?”

Her tone wasn’t
accusatory, but I could tell that it was something she found hard to believe.

“Mrs. Hunter…” I paused
and shook my head. “My sister had to tell me that Tabor and JT Hunter were the
same person. That’s how oblivious I am to all things football.”

She gently wrapped an
arm about my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m glad. He’s had a run of women chasing
after him on name alone, so I’m afraid my son has been more than a little
gun-shy when it comes to dating.”

“I can imagine,” I said.
“You must be so proud of him.”

“I am.” She smiled.

“Can I ask you
something?”

“Sure.”

“Where did you get the
name Tabor?”

“Funny story, actually.
I met my husband at a concert when I was eighteen. I can’t tell you the names
of any of the bands that played, but I can tell you exactly what Paul was
wearing when I first spotted him. We went on a few dates and he said that it
was his dream to play in a band someday.”

“Was he a musician?” I
asked.

“No,” Marta said,
laughing softly. “He couldn’t carry a tune to save his life and tried to play
just about every instrument. Never had the gift. So when we found out that we
were pregnant, he said if he had a son, he hoped he’d grow up to be a rock star
so he could live out his dreams through his boy.”

“That’s sweet,” I said.

“Yeah, except when it
came time to choose a name, we agreed on Jordan right away, but the middle name
was a constant battle. He said he’d heard the name Tabor somewhere and that it
meant drummer. The man practically begged me to allow it.”

“And you gave in,” I
observed, smiling at Tabor as he talked with Abbi.

“Only after making a
list of my own demands—like nightly foot massages for a year, and I would
get to select all future baby names.”

“Nice.”

“Yeah, except we later
heard that Tabor also meant
loser
,”
she laughed. “His sister had a field day when she found that one out.”

Abbi heard that last
part because she started laughing as Tabor put his head down in defeat, shaking
his head.

“Thanks, Mom,” he said.

“She asked me a
question, what was I supposed to say?”

“You could have just
left it at what Dad thought the name meant,” he huffed. He was outnumbered and
he knew it, though it appeared the teasing was par for the course with the
Hunters.

“Where’s the fun in
that?” Abbi asked, winking at me and laughing.

I excused myself to give
them some time to visit and allow me to get some air into my lungs. It felt as
if I’d been holding my breath, waiting for them to be tacky or rude. But they
were far from either of those. Abbi seemed like someone I would have been
friends with, regardless of meeting Tabor. And Marta was one of those ladies
who was genuinely nice all the way to her core, and it was pretty amazing.

***

“So is it serious?” I
heard Abbi ask as I made my way back to the living room.

I shouldn’t have
stopped, but I knew they were talking about me and my curiosity got the best of
me.

“I think so,” he
answered and I smiled. “But there is this
one
thing.”

A shock ran up my spine
and I cocked my head to the side to get a better listen. I knew I’d regret
hearing whatever he was about to say, but I just couldn’t seem to walk away.

“What’s that?” Abbi
asked.

“She doesn’t like
football,” he said, growing silent.

“Yeah, so what’s the big
deal?” she asked.

I leaned my back against
the wall and found myself disappointed. I knew the sport was a huge part of his
life, but knowing it was a tick against me hurt. I took a deep breath and
prepared myself to enter the living room, but when I turned, Tabor was standing
right in front me with that all-knowing smirk.

“I saw your shadow,” he
said, raising an eyebrow. He tilted his head toward the living room and I
followed to see Abbi chuckling as she patted the seat next to her.

“I like you,” she said.
“Besides, you have no idea how weird this one got over you.”

“Abbi,” he said, trying
to remain straight-faced. “I’ll disown you.”

“What are you talking
about?” I asked, angling my body to face her.

“He was all awkward and
stuff. And then he said that he introduced himself as Tabor and I died laughing,”
she said. “Loser.”

“There went the
expensive flowers you wanted for your wedding,” Tabor teased.

Abbi narrowed her eyes,
clearly not concerned by the threat, and nudged my arm. “And then he went all
girl on me. ‘
When should I call her?’
I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarrassed to be his sister, and trust me,
he’s done some crazy shit.”

“That’s it, wedding’s
canceled,” he laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You suck.”

“Hey, you’re giving her
a hard time, I figure it’s only fair to level the playing field,” Abbi
defended. Then she turned back to me and sarcastically added, “A field is what
Tabor plays football on.”

I rolled my eyes and
laughed. “I
know
what football is, I
just don’t watch it.”

“If it wasn’t for this
one, I wouldn’t watch either,” she said, nodding her head at Tabor.

“Does your family like
football?” Marta asked.

“They do. In fact, I’m
convinced I was switched at birth because that’s just one of the things I don’t
have in common with them,” I joked.

“Yeah, but she does have
their sense of humor,” Tabor admitted. “Good people.”

I smiled and nodded,
agreeing.

***

“It was so nice meeting
you both,” I gushed as I grabbed my purse and walked to the front door.

Marta hugged me to her
and squeezed gently. “Take care of my boy, okay?”