Taking Charge (29 page)

Robyn swung her arm back and punched Brad hard on the
jaw, sending him reeling back into an empty table. Plates smashed
on the floor, the Chinese waitress screamed and went running toward
the kitchen, her face in her hands, and Mickey stopped eating the
prawn crackers to turn toward the scene. He stood up and meandered
over to them.

“You going to come and finish ordering?”

“No, we’re done here,” Robyn said, taking Cole’s
hand.

“Robyn, you need to think about what you’re doing.
You don’t belong with him,” Brad called, picking himself up and
touching his face.

“Do you think if I called Sarah now and told her we
had sweet and sour balls by the dozen she would come down? I mean
she does love chicken balls. Actually maybe you should call her,”
Mickey suggested to Robyn.

“We’re leaving,” Robyn said, pulling Cole toward the
door.

“Look, Sarah’s dumped you. She doesn’t want you, get
over it,” Brad hissed, his lips set in an angry scowl.

“Get over it? What like you? Pining after Robyn for
years? Turning down the cell number of that dancer at Taboo?
Doesn’t sound like you’ve gotten over anything yourself,” Mickey
replied.

“Fuck you Mickey…and fuck you,” Brad snarled, glaring
at Cole.

He put his cap back on his head, roughly pushed
passed Cole and belted out the door.

“I want to kill him,” Robyn blasted as she burst
through the front door of the house.

“You don’t want to kill him.”

“Why don’t you want to kill him?”

“Because I kind of know how he feels and it’s not
good,” Cole told her.

“I’ve done nothing to make him think I feel anything
for him, you know, that way,” Robyn assured him.

“You don’t have to explain anything to me.”

“There isn’t anything to explain, Cole, honestly,
nothing,” Robyn said, stopping in her tracks and looking up at
him.

“I know that.”

“Do you?”

“Yes, because I know you,” Cole told her.

He reached out, took a strand of her hair in his
fingers, and tucked it back behind her ear. She caught his hand in
hers and brought it to her mouth, kissing his knuckles.

“I’m scared, Cole,” Robyn whispered, putting another
kiss on his hand.

“Scared of what?”

“Of how I feel about you…and what I should do about
it,” Robyn said, swallowing.

“We should eat something. We haven’t eaten and I’m
starving,” Cole said, looking away from her.

He was trying to buy time, for what he didn’t really
know. He was scared too, but he didn’t want her to know that. After
his comment about food, she was now looking at him like he was the
most insensitive jerk she had ever met. At the moment, he agreed
with her. If they could just get the monster trucks on the TV and
rip open a bag of chips this could all be saved for another day.
Another day when he might feel able to cope with it, because he
couldn’t deal with it now. He was only one step away from wanting
to take her clothes off, but if he did that it would ruin
everything. He knew she couldn’t handle that yet. He could be
patient, he could wait, but it was hard—really hard.

“I love you, okay? There, I’ve said it,” Robyn
blurted out, putting her thumb to her mouth and chewing on her
nail. Her eyes were fixed on his face, waiting for his reaction,
whatever it was going to be. She saw him swallow, the lump at his
throat bobbing down and then slowly rising up again.

“I should have told Brad the whole truth tonight. I
should have told him I’m in love with you and I should have told
him we’re getting married,” Robyn carried on, determination in her
tone.

Cole shook his head.

“Look at me,” Robyn ordered, her hand lifting his
head up to meet her eyes.

“Don’t Robyn, please,” he begged.

“Don’t Robyn, please? What’s that supposed to mean? I
tell you that I love you and you don’t want me to? We’re meant to
be getting married!”

“We are getting married,” he assured her.

“Then what’s the problem?” Robyn questioned, looking
at him with confusion in her expression.

“Listen, it’s late, I’m tired, maybe we should just
turn in,” Cole suggested, glancing at his watch.

“Oh my God. I just tell you that I love you and all
you want to do is eat or sleep! What’s going on here?”

She kicked her shoe against the baseboard and looked
at him for some sort of explanation.

He took a deep breath and finally met her eyes with
his. In one quick move, he took her face in his hands and brought
it to his, kissing her hard, shocking the air from her and moving
his body close. Robyn wrapped her arms around his neck and drew him
toward her, kissing him back, wanting more and more of him.

She slipped one hand up under his t-shirt, touching
his abdomen and then tracing a line down to the waistband of his
jeans. He ended the kiss and stepped back like he’d been poked by a
cattle prod.

“Did I do something wrong? Is it still that bruise
Brad gave you? Because if it is then you maybe ought to see the
doctor,” Robyn said, watching him as he ran his hands through his
hair.

He grabbed hold of her hands and took them in his,
softly massaging her fingers.

“I love you, Robyn. I’ve loved you since before I
asked you to marry me,” he admitted.

“It feels scary to say it, doesn’t it?” Robyn asked,
smiling at him.

“It isn’t that. I’m not scared by that, at all,” Cole
said, shaking his head.

“Then what is it?”

“I want you, Robyn, you know…I want you…and that’s
wrong after all you’ve been through, and I shouldn’t be thinking
like that yet, I know that. We’re waiting and that’s cool, it
really is but…well I said it and there it is,” Cole told her,
folding his arms across his chest.

“Right,” Robyn said with a matter of fact nod.

“I’m sorry,” Cole told her.

“Yeah, me too, because that wasn’t who I thought you
were,” Robyn said.

“I don’t know what to say,” Cole said with a
shrug.

“I don’t want you to say anything. I want you to take
me upstairs and we’ll figure this whole thing out together. Because
that’s what people who are getting married should do,” Robyn told
him.

“I shouldn’t have said anything,”

“Do you actually know how hot you look without your
shirt on? Do you know how many times I’ve miscounted jars of
pickles in the stockroom because I’m thinking about you with no
shirt on? Believe me, you don’t have enough fingers to count it. I
don’t know if I’m ready or not, but I’m not going to shatter into a
million pieces if you touch me,” Robyn said.

“I’m not that guy, Robyn, I don’t want to do anything
you’re not ready for, but I love you so much and…” Cole began.

“Shh…just stop talking,” she said, taking the first
step up the stairs.

She took her t-shirt off and threw it on the floor.
She pulled off her socks, hopping on one foot as she made her way
over to the bed. She’d run up the stairs and she’d heard him follow
her. Another second and he’d be in the room. How did that make her
feel? Soon she’d find out.

He paused outside the door and took a breath. Was
this really what she wanted? Or was she reacting to what he’d said?
Maybe she hadn’t really meant it. Perhaps she was waiting to see if
he would do the right thing. What was the right thing in this
situation? He put his hand on the doorknob.

“I own about ten sets of matching lingerie, all
bought by Clive, but I didn’t bring any of them. So, this is
it…this is me,” Robyn said as Cole stepped into the bedroom.

She was shaking and she didn’t know what to do with
herself. How did you make yourself look alluring in a white
non-wired bra that had seen better days and plain cotton panties?
She wanted to look alluring but she didn’t know where to start. She
looked up at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking as he
gazed back at her.

She watched him remove his t-shirt and she swallowed,
taking in his toned physique. He was so hot. There wasn’t a better
word for it, he was just hot, hot as Hell.

He sat down next to her on the bed and she took hold
of his hand. She placed it onto the strap of her bra and took her
hand away.

Cole put his thumb underneath the strap and slowly
lowered it down toward her elbow. She took a breath in and closed
her eyes as his thumb traced a line over the top of her breast,
before moving over to the other strap. He eased it down her arm and
teased the fabric over and off her breasts. She felt him unclasp
the hook at her back and then he discarded the bra on the
floor.

She opened her eyes to look at him and he caught her
mouth with his and pushed her down onto the bed.

“Just hold me and touch me and tell me you love me,”
Robyn begged him as she ran her hands over his shoulders and down
his arms.

“I love you Robyn…I love you,” Cole said and his lips
crashed against hers again.

Robyn let the water run over her face as she
showered. Last night had been so different from everything she’d
got used to in her life. Cole had touched her and held her like no
other man had and although they hadn’t gone the whole way, what
they’d done together had been perfect.

She ran a hand through her hair and it was then she
remembered the other events of the night before. The knuckles on
her right hand were bruised and sore, and her shoulder ached from
the jarring when her hand had connected with Brad’s jaw. She hadn’t
known what else to do. Nothing she said to him seemed to sink in.
She didn’t want to lose his friendship, but the way things were
going, she wasn’t sure how long it would last.

The shower door opened and Robyn swung round. And
there he was, her fiancé, absolutely naked and gorgeous. She bit
her lip and looked at him, all the way down as he did the same to
her.

He stepped into the shower and kissed her on the
mouth, pulling her toward him.

“You smell so good,” he said, running his hand down
her back.

“Exfoliation, you know, the one you’re always
borrowing,” Robyn replied with a smile as he kissed her neck.

“You should have woken me up,” Cole said, stepping
under the showerhead and circling his arms around her.

“You were asleep and I needed to find the Advil.”

“How’s your hand?”

“Hurting. Listen, I’m going to the roadhouse this
morning and then to the hospital. Dad was going down at seven, he
won’t be done until at least two,” Robyn informed him.

“D’you want me to meet you there? I could get out of
work,” Cole offered.

“No, you need to work. Your mom would kill me if she
thought I was making you skip work. And if you’re planning to keep
me in gherkins and beer and treat me to nights at the Old Country
Buffet, we need to keep the dollars rolling in,” Robyn reminded
him.

The phone rang.

“We should get it, it might be the hospital. I’ll
go,” Robyn said, opening the shower door.

“Hello,” Robyn answered, wrapping a towel around her
and holding the phone against her ear with her shoulder.

“Oh, Robyn, it’s me,” Pam said soberly.

“Pam? What’s happened? Is it Dad? Oh God, it’s Dad,
isn’t it? I gave the hospital my number, why didn’t they call me?”
Robyn exclaimed, panicking.

“It isn’t the hospital, honey, it’s Brad. He turned
up here drunk last night and…” Pam started.

“And you’re calling me why?” Robyn asked.

“Because he wouldn’t stop talking about you. We made
him about two gallons of coffee, but it didn’t help. In the end,
Bob took him down in the basement to sweat it out playing hockey,”
Pam continued.

“I still don’t know why you’re calling me. Didn’t he
tell you I hit him?”

“What?”

“He’s being an ass.”

“Robyn, he’s upset. He’s behaving like he behaved
when Michelle left him for Randy Dennis. Could you talk to
him?”

“No.”

“Robyn, you didn’t see him after Michelle left, he
was a wreck. He almost lost his place on the force and he was out
of control. I don’t want that to happen again.”

“You aren’t his mother, Pam, and he’s a grown man.
Besides, I said all I had to say to him last night, and he didn’t
want to listen because nothing I said was what he wanted to
hear.”

“He said you and Cole are dating.”

“Yes.”

“I thought you were just friends, you told me you
were just friends.”

“And now we’re more than that. Why is that so hard
for people to get? I can’t run his life for him, I’m struggling to
keep mine together right now. I don’t know what to suggest. Call
his dad, maybe let him take responsibility for once,” Robyn said as
she watched Cole come into the bedroom, toweling himself dry.

“Robyn, are you sure about Cole? I mean, we’ve all
known Brad a long time and he thinks the world of you and…” Pam
started.

“Oh my God! I can’t believe I’m hearing this! I’m
going to put the phone down now.”

“Robyn…”

“Goodbye,” Robyn said, ending the call.

She tossed the phone down on the bed and began
furiously rubbing at her hair with the towel.

“You okay?” Cole asked, watching her.

“I’d be better if people kept their noses out of my
business.”

“That’s what it’s like when you live in a close knit
community—that’s what you love about it,” Cole reminded her.

“I like giving my opinion on other people’s lives; I
don’t like it so much when they’re giving me their opinions on
mine.”

“Who was it?”

“It doesn’t matter. It isn’t important. I need to get
going. Old Mrs. Dill is popping in this morning with the new
cushion covers. She’s almost ninety, she smokes roll ups, and the
last time she came around, she drank half a bottle of gin,” Robyn
said, getting dressed.