Then Summer Came (7 page)

“Thanks,” I said staring down at the keys.  “You sounded really good, too.  I never expected to walk in to you singing and playing my piano.”

“You were out all night, so I didn’t expect you here so early.  I love music, and I saw it and wanted to play.  I haven’t written anything in weeks, so I was just messing around.” 

I smiled and my eyes fell on his tattoo.  “Is that what this tattoo is?  Your own lyrics?” I asked, not recognizing the words. 

“Yeah,” he said looking down at my finger on his arm.  “It’s just some stuff I wrote.  Some of my favorites.”

I pulled my fingers away and clasped my hands in my lap, and he smiled over at me.  It was hard to look away from him.  Derek and I used to have perfect moments like that, where we’d play together or go dancing, and now Beck was there doing those things with me.  My eyes swept across his face, stopping only momentarily to appreciate his perfect features, and I suddenly missed Derek so much that my neck was hot. 

Beck swallowed hard, and his gaze became intense.  I couldn’t make myself look away from him.  He was staring at me the same way Derek used to, and I longed for Derek to be there with me.  It’d felt like forever since I’d actually seen him.  That five minutes at the show just wasn’t enough.

Beck’s eyes were warm and inviting.  He lifted his hand, and I shuddered when his fingers touched my chest, just below my neck, sending violent shockwaves through my body. 

“Is this my mom’s necklace?” he asked, staring at the silver charm between his fingers.

“Hu?” I blinked dazed.  I looked down and saw the heart pendant Derek had given me right after he’d asked me to marry him resting between Beck’s fingers.  “Oh,” I said, looking back at him.  “Yeah, Derek gave it to me.”

He swallowed loudly.  “I remember it…it looks nice on you.”  His voice was husky and it made my mouth run dry.

I tried to say “thanks” but my voice cracked. 

He dropped the pendant, and his fingers drug across my chest as he pulled them away.  I realized I’d been holding my breath, and my shoulders fell as I exhaled the stale air in my lungs. 

Beck’s eyes fluttered, and I saw his tongue slide subtly along his bottom lip, and I watched his mouth as it slowly came closer to mine.  I swallowed and felt the desire surge through me at the thought of his kiss. 

“Lis?”  I hadn’t even heard Derek come in. 

Beck pulled away, and we both turned as Derek appeared in the doorway.  I jumped off the bench and ran into his arms.  He hugged me as tightly as I hugged him and pulled my lips to his. 

“I missed you so much,” I said against his lips as I kissed him harder, with all of the desire that was coursing through me. 

He pulled me in closer to him and I ran my hands over every inch of him from the waist up.  His tongue slid against mine, and I got lost in him until Beck spoke up behind me.  “Hey man.”

Derek kissed me for a half second longer and then pulled away and said hello to his brother.  I clung close to him as they exchanged niceties, and then I stood on my tiptoes to kiss him again.  It’d been far too long since I’d seen him, and I wanted to touch and kiss him.  He could talk to Beck later. 

“Were you guys playing?”

“Hu?  Oh, yeah,” I stuttered, looking over at Beck who was much cooler. 

“Yeah, she knows some James Morrison,” he added calmly, patting his brother on the arm.  “She caught me playing.”

Derek laughed and pulled me into his side.  I waited for them to finish talking and I pulled him out into the hallway.  I didn’t feel comfortable with Beck watching us.

“I had a second so I wanted to come see you before I left.”

“Oh, where are you going?”

“I have to catch a flight to Houston in a few minutes.  The bid from San Diego was bought out.  So, we’re conferencing in Houston.”  He smiled down at me, his fingers tracing my lips.  “I’m gonna miss you, Lis.”                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

I pulled his face back to mine and moaned into his mouth as I kissed him again. 

He sighed back into mine.  “I love you,” he whispered, and I said it back in between kisses. 

“Can’t you just stay tonight?  You can catch another flight in the morning.”

“No, I have to close this deal tonight.”  His hands slid under my hair and around my neck.  “But I’ll be back in a few days and you can have me all to yourself then.”

I tried to forget that he was leaving in a few seconds, and I just melted into him, forgetting the world.

He finally pushed me back, a satisfied grin on his lips, and told me goodbye as he headed out.  I noticed Olivia waiting outside when he opened the door, and I waved at her to be polite.  She smiled shyly and fell in behind Derek as the door closed back. 

I heard some shuffling behind me and I turned to see what Beck was doing.  He was cramming his duffel bag with clothes, towels, and his weights. 

“What’s up?” he asked when he caught me staring. 

“Hu?  Oh, nothing.”  I smiled.

He threw the bag over his shoulder and grabbed his water bottle. 

“Hey,” I blurted before he made it to the door. 

He turned, gripping the bag, eyeing me. 

“I still have those tickets…if you wanna go see that game.”

He blinked for a minute and then looked over at the clock next to the TV.  “What time’s it start?”

“Seven.”

“Yeah,” he nodded, dropping the heavy bag, “I think we can make it.  I’m gonna go change.  I’ll bring the jerseys and the foam fingers, unless…you just want to do the shirtless, body paint thing?”

I shook my head at him.  “No,” I said dryly, “I think jerseys will be just fine.”

Beck had decked us both out in rally gear.  He’d brought me a jersey—his favorite player’s number—a foam finger, a hat, and some face paint.  “You gotta look the part of a fan, Auburn!” he shouted as he smeared the blue paint across my cheek bones.  “Else, you’re gonna get pummeled!” 

I had never had so much fun at a hockey game.  Beck was loud and passionate about the sport.  I liked hockey, but I didn’t know too much about it, just a few rules and a few teams.  I just liked to watch the games.  But Beck, he knew everything there was to know.

I was far more entertained by his enthusiasm than I was the actual game. 

“Mik,” Beck shouted.  Mik was a few rows down from us, sitting with a younger boy.  He looked up and waved at Beck through the roaring fans.  A few minutes later, he and the boy made their way up to where we were sitting. 

“Hey, man.  Hey Lissa.”  He one-arm-bro-hugged Beck and then looked to me.  I stood and hugged him, too.  He was so nice.  I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone nicer. 

He introduced us to his little brother, and they sat with us for the rest of the game. 

When the game was over we told Mik and his brother bye and headed back to the apartment.  He ordered some food from a dinner he’d fallen in love with over those few months, and we ate and discussed the game for a second before we both headed off to our beds.



The next few days went by quickly.  I managed to catch everything up at the office and helped Gina prepare a new Fall Line. 

I hadn’t even heard from Derek, aside from the call to let me know he’d landed, and I missed him terribly.  Luckily, work had kept me busy.  Emily’s finals were getting scary close, and she had buckled down for a few days, so I was literally bored out of my mind. 

Somewhere Derek’s phone was flashing
758 Missed Calls From Lis
, given that I had called him for over two hours. 

I was headed up to my apartment, so I stopped at Derek’s floor and ran in to search his desk for Walden’s phone number. 

“Walden Cunningham,” he answered in his annoyingly prestigious tone. 

“Walden, it’s Lissa.  Can I speak with Derek?”

“Ms. Auburn, Mr. Easton is in the middle of a conference—”

“It’ll be two seconds, Walden!”

He cleared his throat.  “Mr. Easton, it’s Ms. Auburn, sir, I’m sorry.” 

I scoffed and rolled my eyes.  No one should be apologizing.  I hadn’t talked to him in a few days, and I wanted to hear his voice, to know that he was alright, and everything was okay.  He should’ve already called me, but I was willing to forget that if he’d just talk to me. 

“Lis, babe, I can’t talk.”  His voice was almost a whisper, but a sharp whisper. 

“I know.  I’m sorry.  I just wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

“Everything is fine, but I have to go, okay?”

“Derek, it’s five damn seconds.  It’ll be okay.  Can you come home tomorrow?  I really want to see you—”

“Lissa,” he almost snapped.  “This is important and five seconds can make all the difference.  I can’t believe you’re doing this.  I have to go.”  And with that, he hung the phone up. 

I tossed the phone on the counter and stared at it, like I thought I might’ve been able to blow it into a million pieces with just an angry stare. 

The front door shut, and I moved around the counter so I could see who it was—even though I already knew. 

Beck was kicking his shoes off by the door.  I watched as he fiddled with his belt, then slid it off and tossed it at the couch.  He reached over his head and pulled at his shirt.  The muscles in his back rippled as he pulled it over his head, and his tattoos stretched in the sexiest way they knew how.  I eyed the wicked looking trees on his side, their branches twisting around onto his back, and my mouth went dry. 

I didn’t see Derek's body much; he almost always kept it concealed under an overly-expensive suit.  So, when Beck just came in and casually stripped in the living room, I tended to melt. 

I never knew how distracting it would be to have his body even slightly exposed to me that often.  His clothes always hinted at how perfect he looked underneath and reminded me of how perfect Derek looked naked.  It made it difficult for me to concentrate on anything else, when all I could think about was what was under that tight, white t-shirt.

I was freakin' pitiful when he came up from the gym, shirtless, sweaty, and clinging sweatpants that always seemed to be just barely hanging onto his hips:  easily the most ridiculously sexy thing I've ever witnessed.  They seriously should've kept a giant poster of Beck, shirtless, hanging in the fitness room in front of the treadmills as motivation for the other tenants.  

He looked exactly like my fiancé…it was eerie.  They had their differences, but he still looked so much like Derek.  I have to admit, I did love seeing Derek at the front door, undressing and kicking his shoes off.  I knew it was Beck, of course, but it looked like Derek, so I just enjoyed the show.  I would’ve given anything to see Derek by the door every day, like I saw Beck. 

He finally stopped his mesmerizing, assumingly-unintentional strip tease, and his eyes met mine. 

“Oh, hey,” he smiled.  “I didn’t realize you were standing there.”

I cleared my throat and nonchalantly said, “I just stopped by to get a phone number.” 

“Well, stay.  There’s a billiard room downstairs,” he said, smiling.

"Yes…” 

“Well, you any good?” 

I teetered my hand and turned my lip up in an eh-I’m-alight-I-guess manner. 

“Good enough.”  He clapped his hands together and grabbed his shirt off the couch and slid it back over his head, and a little disappointment pecked at me. 

Chapter Seven

I bounced the rubber end of my pool cue off the floor, humming idly while he chalked his cue.  I observed as he racked the balls and set the game up. 

“You wanna break?” he offered. 

I shook my head, and he bent and aimed his cue.  The balls cracked and shot out in all directions and three solids found a pocket. 

“Solids it is.”  He sounded satisfied with himself. 

Honestly, I was a house rules kind of girl.  I liked to call what I was from the beginning and just shoot the balls in, but he played pool with all of the rules intact. 

I missed my first shot but managed to sink a ball a few times, and he cheered me on when I did.  However, the trash talk commenced when I only had one more ball on the table than he did.

Beck had one ball left on the felt and he called the back, left pocket and lined his shot up.  The red ball bounced off the edge of the pocket and he grumbled. 

"You want someone to show you how that shot is really done?" 

I looked over at the busty, half-dressed woman, who’d taken my opportunity for trash talking Beck.  She was wielding a pool stick and smiling suggestively at him, chewing the side of her bottom lip. 

"Hmph."  The sound shot from my throat without warning.  I didn't mean to do it, but she was so overly-confident looking, and it truly irritated me.  She needed to put her tits back in her shirt and mind her own damn business.  Beck didn't need her slutty pool lessons. 

"Oh, I think you should
definitely
show me," Beck chuckled. 

My eyes shot to him. 
Of course he wants her to show him
…
he's Beck
.  I tried not to roll my eyes, but it proved impossible. 

The busty brunette sauntered over, pool stick in hand, and bent over the table, flinging her long hair over her shoulder and into Beck's face.  She adjusted her feet so that her daisy-duke “
covered
”—if that’s what you want to call it—ass wobbled back and forth.