Taking Chances (The Chances and Choices Duology - Book 1 of 2 - Contemporary Romance) (8 page)

It was still early afternoon when we left the
party. I had a few hours before girls’ night with Courtney would begin, so I
wanted to spend that time with Seth. I’d been dying to see the pole barn where
he built his boats, so I asked him to take me there.

He seemed surprised, but delighted by the
request. We drove there in silence, holding hands. Occasionally, Seth would
look over and smile at me, and I grinned back at him, perfectly content.

The building was even bigger than it had looked
from Seth’s camper. I don’t know what I had been expecting to see, but it
wasn’t what I found when we entered the huge structure.

The enormous wooden boat in the center of the
room was breathtaking. I stared at it in awe that Seth was able to build
something so impressive. I had imagined that he made canoe-like boats, not
anything as grand as this behemoth.

The building was pristine with a freshly swept
floor and each tool in its spot. It was clear from looking around that Seth
took great care and pride in his work, and he had every reason to.

“This is amazing!” I exclaimed, walking around
the stern. “I had no idea.”

He looked truly happy at my compliment, but
asked, “Did you think I spent my time making makeshift skiffs?”

“No, but I had no idea how grand your boats are.
May I?” I asked, indicating the ladder that led up to the hull.

“Of course, but she’s not finished,” he replied.
I had already kicked off my jeweled sandals and scrambled up, so he followed
me.

I smoothed my hand along the glossy side of the
vessel. “People must be lined up wanting to purchase one of your boats.”

“There is a bit of a waiting list.” He looked
down, seeming slightly embarrassed.

I sensed there was more, so I asked, “How long
is a bit?”

“About two years.” He beamed at me, and his beautiful,
perfectly straight smile nearly knocked me on my butt. He went on, “but I don’t
compromise quality. If people want one of my boats, then they have to wait for
it.”

“I bet they do, too.” I grinned back at him.

He nodded, “I’ve had people try to bribe me to
rush or to go to the front of the line, but I don’t want any part of that. It
wouldn’t be fair to the people who have waited.”

This man was good and solid and kind and fair
and gorgeous and smart and sweet, and I wanted him in the worst way. I tried to
put on my sexy voice as I said huskily, “This boat needs to be broken in.”

“She’s not quite ready to put in the water,” he
answered, misunderstanding my meaning.

I decided that I would have to be more direct,
so I removed my wide belt and unzipped the floral dress that I had borrowed
from Courtney. My breasts had been straining for freedom all day, and they
spilled out as the dress pooled at my bare feet. I slipped out of my panties
and laid back on the long bow, offering my naked body to Seth.

He licked his lips, and then sprang into action.
He quickly ripped the golf shirt over his head. In one smooth move, he shed
himself of his khakis and boxers. Then he joined me on the ship’s bow. We ran
our hands over each other as our tongues tangled. I was almost manic in my
hunger for him.

We melted together, our bodies completely
entwined. He was hard, pressing into my belly. It wasn’t nearly enough, so I
reached my hand down between us and guided him to me. He groaned as he slid
inside me. I left my hand between us, touching us both as he pumped over me. My
other hand reached around to grab his ass, pulling him into me, harder.

I cried out as I came. Pleasure pulsed through
me. As I squeezed, Seth buried his head into my shoulder. His thrusts quickened
until he released with a loud groan.

We stayed that way for a while. Seth was still
inside me, as I rubbed a hand lightly over his back. “You’re amazing,” he said,
nuzzling into my neck.

I was happy. There was no other word for it. I
didn’t recall ever having felt so complete, so satisfied. “I love you.” The
words bubbled out before I had a chance to think through voicing them out loud.

Seth stiffened, and I immediately regretted
saying it. He stayed frozen for a while, but I felt him emotionally disconnect.
Then he slipped out of me and said, “We should probably get going. You don’t
want to be late for girls’ night.” He grabbed his clothes and went down the
ladder.

I had a burning lump in my throat. I felt like
crying, but was afraid I wouldn’t be able to stop, once I started.
How could I have proclaimed my love so soon?

I sat there for a while, stunned, and then I slowly
put on my clothes and went to find Seth. He was sitting in the Jeep waiting for
me. We didn’t talk the whole way back to my house. When we arrived, he turned
to me and said a brisk, “Take care.”

I couldn’t even respond. I nodded and quickly
exited his vehicle, focusing on not allowing the tears to start flowing. As I
walked up the sidewalk to my front door, a sob escaped, but I didn’t have to
worry about him hearing it because he was already backing out of my driveway.

“How could I have said something so stupid?” I
asked, plunking my head down on the table for the umpteenth time.

“Telling someone that you love them isn’t
stupid.” Courtney defended me, as she always did.

“It sure feels that way. What if I scared him
off? What if he doesn’t want to see me again?” I moaned as I checked my phone
again, sighing at its blank face staring back at me, mocking me.

“If those three little words scared him off,
then he doesn’t deserve you, anyway.” At my sad look, Courtney grabbed my hand
and continued, “Stop worrying. He’ll call. You just took him by surprise.
That’s all.”

Joe stopped by the table with our tacos, and I
suddenly wondered why he always waited on us, rather than having one of the
waitresses
serve
our table. Maybe there was something
to this Courtney and Joe idea that Seth had suggested.

I decided that thinking about the possibility of
the two of them hooking up would help keep my mind off of Seth for a while, so
I dipped my toe in the water. “Joe looks especially hot tonight.” I waggled my
eyebrows playfully at her.

He did look rather handsome, with his unkempt,
surfer-dude look. Court responded to my prompt with a non-committal “
mmmhmm
,” so I pushed on.

“He has his own business, he’s kind, he’s smart,
he’s funny and he’s crazy about you, Court. A girl could do a lot worse.”

“Did he ask you to talk to me?” Her face
crumpled as she said it. “I told him to let it go.” As she slid out of the
booth, she added, “It will never work out, so just drop it. I need a tissue.
I’ll be right back.”

I was shocked that Courtney and Joe had talked
about the possibility of a relationship and slightly hurt that Court hadn’t mentioned
it to me.
How could she think of herself
as unworthy of being happy? What kind of demons was she carrying around with
her
?

When she returned to our table, I weighed my
words carefully before saying, “Sweetie, I don’t care if you want to be with Joe
or with someone else or with no one. I just want you to be happy.” She smiled,
so I continued. “You are a wonderful person, and you deserve happiness. I hope
that you are able to find peace with yourself because you shouldn’t be carrying
this heavy burden. If you aren’t able to talk to me about it, maybe we should
get you an appointment with a professional.”

“A shrink?” Courtney snorted. “Been there, done
that. It didn’t work for me.” At my concerned look, she continued. “I’ll be
fine. I just have some things from my past that I’m not proud of. I need to
work through them in my own way and in my own time.”

“In other words, you want me to butt-out.” I
smiled to let her know I wasn’t angry. “You take your time. I’m always here for
you, if you need anything. You know that, right?”

“Same goes for you, Sister. Hug it out?” Court
stood and extended her arms to me.

“That is
soooo
hot,
but a kiss would really seal the deal for me.” Joe said the words near our ears
as we hugged, ending the sweet moment. Court balled her napkin and threw it at
him as he swaggered away with a big smile on his face. I shook my head with an
exasperated, “Men!”

I was at work. It was Thursday, and I hadn’t
heard from Seth since letting the dreaded three-word salute fly on Sunday. I
checked my cell phone again. Nothing.

I had started to text him more times than I
could count. I had pulled him up in my contacts to call him numerous times, as
well. Each time I chickened out, wondering why he hadn’t contacted me.

I pulled my phone out again, and then I put it
back in my pocket with a sigh. “Oh for Peter’s sake,” Annie shook her head
“just text him.”

I had been around Annie so much that I barely
noticed anymore how she butchered idioms. She looked like she was completely
exasperated with me. “Give me the phone,” she glowered, holding out her hand.

I tried ignoring her, but she shook her hand,
indicating she meant business. I tentatively moved it towards her. She snatched
it up and quickly typed a message. “There, let the chocolate chips fall where
they may,” she said handing the phone back to me.

I looked at the words she had texted to Seth
from my phone. “I’m off tomorrow. Want to go on a picnic?”

“I’m not off tomorrow, Annie.”

“You are now. I’m sick of looking at your gloomy
mug of root beer.” I tilted my head at that one, but she continued on. “Get out
of here, and go fix yourself up. You look like a ragamuffin. Relax in a nice,
warm bath or take a yoga class or something.” She placed a hand on my shoulder
and gently pushed me toward the door, accentuating her point.

From anyone else, her brutal honesty might have
hurt my feelings, but I knew Annie loved me unconditionally and had my best
interest at heart. So, I followed her not-so-gentle nudge and waved behind my
head as she yelled after me, “Don’t worry. He will call, or he’ll have me to
deal with.”

I smiled at the thought of the tiny firecracker
that was Annie trying to take on big, strong Seth. He probably wouldn’t know
what hit him if she shook her finger at him and defended me with her
characteristic, nonsensical zingers.

When I got home, I took Annie’s advice and
pampered myself a little. I put my cell phone on silent and hid it in a drawer,
so that I wouldn’t be tempted to check it compulsively. Then I relaxed in my
sudsy tub, letting the jets massage my achy body for nearly an hour. After
that, I slathered myself with the thick, body cream that I save for special
occasions.

I went to Courtney’s room for nail polish, and beat
Tab to the punch by hissing at her when she glared at me from Court’s bed. I
settled on deep blue for my toenails and seashell pink for my fingernails. Once
my fresh
mani
and
pedi
were dry, I glared at the drawer with the cell phone
in it.

Surely he
had called or texted me back, right? It would be rude not to. But what if he
hadn’t?
I was almost scared to look, but knew that I needed to. “Here goes nothing,” I
muttered as I blew out a breath and looked at the phone. Nothing.

I plopped down on the floor as the tears started
to roll down my cheeks. I tried to think of any other logical explanation for
why he wouldn’t have contacted me. I knew that if he was sick or had been injured,
his family would have contacted me. I wondered if maybe he had lost his cell
phone with my contact number, and almost became hopeful, but there had been
plenty of time for him to stop by to let me know.

I devised numerous scenarios to try to come up
with a valid excuse for his silence, but shot each one down. I didn’t want to
admit what I knew the truth to be. I was being blown off. That was the plain
and simple explanation, but it hurt like hell to face it, especially knowing
that it was completely my fault for saying too much, too fast.

A sob escaped my throat as I curled into the
fetal position on the floor, devastated. I fell asleep that way and didn’t wake
until morning. My body was sore and my eyes felt like they’d been rubbed with
sandpaper. I stretched and scowled at my cell phone.

I hadn’t turned it off silent mode, so maybe I
had missed something. I couldn’t keep the hope at bay, even though I knew it
would be in my own best interest. I took a deep breath and pushed the button.
Nothing. It was like having my heart ripped out.

I knew that I should enjoy my day off, but I
just didn’t feel like doing anything. I climbed up on my bed and went back to
sleep. Courtney’s knock aroused me from a deep sleep. She entered my room with
a tray of food. I rolled away from her and tried to re-enter the sweet oblivion
of sleep. “You need to try to eat something.” Her voice was filled with
concern, but I steadfastly ignored her, and she left me alone.

I slept and slept until I had no concept of what
time it was. The next time Courtney knocked on the door, she came in and sat on
the edge of my bed. She saw the untouched tray of food and chastised me. “
Ab
, you didn’t eat any of this.” I didn’t respond, so she
tried a different tact. “Time to get up. You need to get ready for work.”

“I’m off.” I grumbled at her.

“I talked to Annie and she told me she gave you
yesterday off,” she responded. “Today is Saturday, and it is time to rise and
shine.”

I was shocked that I had slept through an entire
day, but I didn’t have any desire to get up. “Call Annie and tell her I’m not
coming in today.”

“You never call in sick.” Her eyes were filled
with concern.

I didn’t want her or Annie to worry, so I said,
“I just need some more time, Court. Tomorrow is Sunday, and the shop is closed.
I’ll be back to my mean-old self by Monday, I promise.” I made an effort to
smile at her, but ended up just wincing. I hoped that I would be able keep my
promise to her, but it didn’t feel possible.

After she left, I went back to sleep. It was the
only place where the weight of sadness didn’t feel like it was crushing the
breath out of me. Even my dreams were troubled, though, and I awoke in the
dark, covered in sweat.

I tried to sleep more, but my stomach was
rumbling. I rolled over and grabbed a couple of stale potato chips from the tray
Courtney had left, then I took a few sips of water and sat up.

My cell phone was sitting on the table, mocking
me. Court had plugged it into the charger for me. I vowed not to get my hopes
up, even as I felt my heart rate increasing when I reached for it. I cringed as
I pushed the button. Nothing.

I curled back up on my bed and pulled the covers
over my head, seeking oblivion.

When I awoke again, it was daylight, and I was
starving.
Life has to go on
, I
reasoned with myself. So, I got up, threw the duvet over my bed, picked up the
tray of leftover food and went downstairs to make some breakfast and try to get
over Seth Davis.