by Cee, DW
She laughed in my face and walked away again. With two giant steps I reached her and pulled her back to our original spot. “OK. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that.”
“Mr. Taylor...” I could hear her heart breaking with the sound of my name. “You couldn’t begin to understand the truth to those last five words. You’ve made your intentions clear to me. I know I don’t mean anything to you, but I’m tired of being your punching bag. Just because I don’t show it on the outside, doesn’t mean I’m not black and blue on the inside.”
Delaney... Now my heart was breaking. It was never my intention for her to think she meant nothing to me. If she knew my heart at all, she’d know that she meant the world to me. In no way did I want her hurt because of me or anybody else.
I watched her sit down to lunch with Josh, and then I watched her walk over and get Ellie from her parents. I decided once both our hearts settled, we’d have an honest talk and see where that might take us. Jake might have been correct about my feelings for his cousin.
On the other side of the tent, I saw another woman I needed to make amends with since our parting in Hawaii. I walked over and greeted her. “Hello Kate. You had a comfortable flight back?”
“Yes.” She wouldn’t be Kate Beauvais without all that cool sophistication. She looked out of place under this big top, and I supposed that’s how it had always been. No matter how it appeared, she and I didn’t run in the same circles. She belonged in a champagne and caviar circle, and I belonged in the family pool party and BBQ on a Sunday afternoon circle.
I pulled her aside and made sure I hadn’t burnt any bridges with her. “How have you been?”
“I’ve been better. How are you, and how’s it going with Laney?”
“I can’t say that anything in my life is going as planned.” We both stared at Delaney who had jumped in the dunk tank with Josh. Every time the buzzer went off signaling her descent into the water, her holler could be heard throughout the tent. The two of them had a large crowd gathered around them.
“She is as fun as ever, I see. You haven’t been able to woo her with your charm?” There was anger in every one of Kate’s words.
I hoped one day, Kate would let go of the unnecessary bitterness and find happiness for herself with the right man. “Delaney and I are...friends. What the future holds for us, I’ve no idea.”
“I’m surprised you and she haven’t hooked up by now.”
“She’s not a hook-up kind of gal.” I answered without much thought, but realized I had offended Kate in the meanwhile. “I’m sorry, Kate. I didn’t mean it that way.”
“No. I think you did. That’s all we’ve been to one another, bed partners.”
“Kate. We’ve known each other a long time, and I don’t want it to end on a sour note. I wish you only the best.”
As I was doing my best to ameliorate Kate’s anger, I saw Delaney watching us. She watched and walked the perimeter of the tent so she wouldn’t get anywhere near us.
“I see I’m boring you. Go ahead to the girl who puts that smile on your face.” I didn’t realize I was smiling. “Good-bye.” Kate walked away, and this time for good.
I was damn psyched my “relationship” with Kate was done and over. It wasn’t an ideal ending, but I knew it was an ending. Closure was had by all!
“Donovan?”
I looked up to find the chief in front of me. “Yes, Chief?”
“Are you busy?”
“Not particularly. Do you need me to do something for you?”
“If you’re not busy, why don’t you come over and have a beer with me and watch the playoffs?”
Chief Henry Reid had always been kind, but he’d never invited me over for any reason. Whatever his reasoning, it was a chance to talk to Delaney. “Sure.”
We sat in the kitchen and started on a beer when Delaney walked in.
“Hey. You want a beer?” I acted as if she was in my home.
“No. That’ll put me straight to sleep. As it is, I’m halfway there. What brings you here?”
The chief explained my presence. “I invited him in to have a drink with me. Your brother went out, your mom’s asleep already, and I found that this young man had no place to be. So I thought I’d see if he wanted to catch a game and do what men do.”
“Are you drunk? You sound like you’ve had one too many beers, Dad.”
“De, honey. What time is it?”
“Only 7:00pm. Why?”
“Shit! I have to get some shuteye. I have an early meeting with the board of directors, tomorrow. Stick around, Son, and keep De company for a while. Sorry to skip out on you. Beer and basketball another night?”
“Sure, Chief.”
“That was so bizarre! Did you ask him to leave so you could harass me again?” Really?
“No, I didn’t ask your father to leave, and yes, he did invite me in.”
“I thought you were leaving with your girlfriend? Why are you still here, and where’s Kate?”
“That was a smooth move, walking all the way around the tent to try and avoid us. I don’t think more than the entire tent noticed what you were doing in that bathing suit of yours.” I laughed, and Delaney almost laughed with me.
“If you’re done with your beer, I’d be happy to walk you out. I sure am tired.” She was kicking me out when I desperately wanted to be here with her, and iron out all our misunderstandings.
“Why do I feel so lost when I’m around you?” Most likely now wasn’t the best time for a confession but I couldn’t help the outpouring. “Usually, I’m this self-assured guy who’s been known to be suave around women and say outrageously flirtatious comments. Around you, I get tongue-tied, I say the stupidest things that end up hurting your feelings, and yet I don’t want to be away from you. Why is that, Delaney Reid?”
Her jaw was to the ground. Finally, she caught her bearing and spoke. “I’m unsure, Mr. Taylor. But what I am sure of is that you’re involved with another woman.” No, I’m not, Delaney. You were the straw that broke a ten-year dysfunctional relationship. “A woman who was not happy when she mistakenly thought I was getting between you two, and a woman who will not be happy to know that her man is sitting in my kitchen hanging out with a girl who is not his woman. As you pointed out this morning, I don’t know anything about men and relationships, but I do know that I’m worth a lot more than being someone’s curiosity. Mr. Taylor, your life is too complicated. A friend of mine once lamented that her boyfriend wanted to ‘have his cake and eat the whole damn bakery, too.’ That’s you, and I will not be a part of that. When I finally have a relationship, I’ll be with someone whose eyes, mind, heart, and body are wholly with me.”
She walked away and left me to find the door myself.
The car sat idle in front of Delaney’s house for quite a long while. After my embarrassing confession and her declaration of what she wanted in a man, I should’ve left and never looked back. It amazed me the words that came out of my mouth whenever I was around this girl. Many times, I didn’t like who I became when I was around her. She made me insecure, embarrassed of my actions, and an outright jerk.
This was a girl who knew what she wanted and had no qualms about letting me know I wasn’t it. Even after being embarrassed and walking with my tail between my legs I couldn’t leave. I needed resolution but more than that, I just didn’t want to be apart from her.
“Mr. Taylor, you’re back. Did you forget something?” I knocked on her door in hopes that she would answer.
“What are you up to right now?”
“I was going to grab a bite to eat, and then finish up some schoolwork?” It was cute the way her voice squeaked with the last word.
“Can you come out with me for little bit? Grab a jacket and let your parents know you might be a little late.”
“OK…” She didn’t know what to make of me.
As soon as she went upstairs, I called Cindy my assistant, and asked he
r to send me the firm’s tickets for tonight’s baseball game.
“Ready?”
“I guess so. I’m unsure what I am ready for, but I’ll warn you, all I had today is a corn dog so I’m very hungry right now.” She was in jeans, a sweatshirt, and a baseball hat. Unknowingly, she was dressed perfectly for our outing. Putting my hand on her back, I led her toward my car and headed for the baseball stadium.
“You taking me to a real baseball game?”
“The firm has great seats, but nobody ever uses them. I thought it would be fun to come and watch a game. Are you OK with that?” I hated the way her hesitation made me feel insecure.
She gave me her signature smile. “As long as you don’t feed me a hot dog I’m OK with a baseball game.”
“The seats come with dinner service so you can order to your heart’s content.”
“Hot damn! I didn’t know the firm had such great seats. Do they have seats for basketball and hockey as well?”
“They do. They’re not as great as the baseball seats, but they’re also good seats. Why, you want to watch a basketball game?”
“I’d like to watch a hockey game.” Of course she’d throw me off and tell me she wanted to be at a hockey game. She wasn’t like any other girls I knew. “I’ll have to ask Grandfather to take me one day.”
“Why would you ask Roland when you can ask me?” That pissed me off.
She wouldn’t answer. This girl liked to go mute whenever I asked her questions about us. “I’m sure you don’t want to hang out with someone who’s a ‘pain in your ass.’ I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m doing my best not to bother you.”
“Delaney.” I placed my hand over hers. “You’re not a pain, and I like it when you ‘bother’ me. Our friendship makes me happy and you make me laugh. I hope I make you as happy as you make me.”
“I make you happy?” She had no clue how happy she made me. I had no clue how happy she made me.
“If you want to go to any sporting events, come to me first.” She still didn’t believe me. “You promise?” She nodded with much hesitancy. “Let’s eat!”
During the course of the game, Delaney leaned into me and we talked about the game, the spectators, and life in general. I liked the feeling of her arm touching mine, and her face close enough to kiss. The chief would kick my ass if he knew my thoughts, but sometimes my mind just worked in wrong ways.
“Now there’s a catcher!” She was awed by the catcher’s save of a wild pitch, and making a crack at my catching abilities.
“If you wouldn’t throw so many wild pitches, I’d do a better job catching.” I barked kindly.
“Sure. Blame the girl who does all the work. All you do is sit there and catch what comes to you. You don’t have to do a thing.”
“All I do is sit there? Are you kidding me?”
She laughed. “Yeah. I’m just kidding. I’m not as good as I used to be. It must be old age. The agility is gone.” Her smile was brighter than the stadium lights. “There was a summer when I begged my father to take us across America on a baseball trip. I wanted to go to all the great stadiums, but Dad refused and took us to Hawaii instead. I was so mad!”
“When was this?”
“I think about the time you dropped off the face of the earth and stopped being my friend.” She teased and did that girly giggle. “I asked Jake once where you’d gone, and he told me you were busy with your new girlfriend.”
“Well, how about I make up for being a shitty friend, and take you to a cool ballpark next time I go away on business?” She appeared skeptical. “I’m supposed to be in Boston in a few weeks. You want to come with me? We can go catch a game at Fenway.”
“That’s an unbelievable offer, but no thank you.”
“Why won’t you come?”
“Because I have school, and because I don’t want to cause any trouble for you and Kate again. I know we’re just friends and there’s no hidden meaning behind your offer, but I don’t want Kate to think otherwise.”
“Would you come with me if Kate and I were no longer together?” I couldn’t wait to hear her answer.
“No.” She said this with a half-laugh. “That wouldn’t be right either.”
“What the hell, Delaney?”
“That would be even weirder.”
“What the hell does that mean...‘weirder?’ Is that even a word?”
“You and I are not together, and you’re not related to me, so it’s usually not commonplace for a man and a woman to travel and do things together when they are not a couple.”
What she said was entirely correct, but I wanted to travel with her like a couple. I enjoyed our time together.
“What if there was another person who came with us?” I was trying every which way to get her to agree to go away with me.
She looked at me, and held back her laugh before she said, “I’m not into threesomes.” Then she cackled away.
I couldn’t help but laugh with her as I pulled her into me and kissed her temple. “You can be such a smartass at times.”
“Just send me pictures from the ballpark when you visit. That’ll be plenty for now. One day, maybe I’ll visit with some girlfriends or maybe my future husband will be a fan of baseball and want to fulfill this girly dream of mine.” I didn’t like the thought of her being married to another man. That would mean our friendship would change and we’d never have this alone time, ever again.
“I have a feeling you and I will end up at a few more ballparks than this one. You mark my word, Delaney Reid.” I gave her a promise I didn’t know I could keep.
After a fun night with Delaney, I wasn’t crazy about getting up at dawn to participate in this golf tournament today. The game went into extra innings last night, and we stayed until the bitter end when our team lost by a run. By the time we got out of the traffic jam and I dropped Delaney off at home, it was early in the morning. We had a sweet time together and it felt like we were finally headed in a direction where possibly, once I owned up to my feelings, we could move forth...somewhere.
“You think he’s fun, you should see my mother...” That voice was unmistakable, and the person behind the voice, undeniable. Lately, that was the only voice on my mind and the lone person in my heart. Unexpectedly, she was here at this golf tournament. My enthusiasm was at its highest, and I couldn’t wait to golf with her again.
I grabbed us both a cup of coffee and walked over to see why she was here. “Delaney.”
“Good morning!” Her lips opened up to an honest, welcoming smile.
What the hell? “Nolan.” I greeted him with no enthusiasm, as I wasn’t happy to see him here, and with Delaney. There was not one reason why this man should be off his island.
“I thought you weren’t playing today. Isn’t that what you told me?”
“I wasn’t, but Dad’s two partners got food poisoning, so here I am.”
“Here you are...together?” Had I known, we could’ve played together. How the hell did Nolan get in this scenario?
“Yeah.” She sounded nervous.
Nolan spoke instead. “I asked Laney to golf with me this weekend and we ended up here.”
“I see,” was my unemotional answer. I didn’t know what else to say.
A little pissed with this situation, I joined my work colleagues and of course, Kate was standing among them. She, too, had said she wouldn’t play. This morning was starting off on all the wrong feet.
“Donovan.” Her greeting was a little too knowing and welcoming for two people who would never share a bed, ever again.
“Kate.” I nodded. “I didn’t know you were coming out this morning.”
“You know I like to golf. I thought we could partner up like old times.” Shit! Not what I wanted!
Everyone else had partnered up believing that we were still together. I had no choice. We pulled up to Delaney’s cart and I was about to wish her good luck when Kate started talking trash abou
t beating Delaney’s team. Delaney couldn’t hide her disbelief at Kate’s bold statement and she looked as if she might tell Kate off. Her sweet face crinkled between her eyebrows, and began turning red with anger. I knew we were in for a hell of a fight once Delaney got on the greens. Chuckling, I waved good-bye to her.
“We can beat her, Donovan. How good can she be? Remember what an amazing team we made at Pebble Beach? And you remember that time in Laguna when we played with that famous movie star? What was his name?”
That was the theme of our entire day. “Remember when?” Kate was driving me nuts with her attempts at reminding me how good we were. All thoughts of her had erased a long time ago, but my big mistake of sleeping with her a couple of months ago gave her renewed hope. Kate wouldn’t leave my side for eighteen holes. If that wasn’t bad enough, Delaney’s team was right behind us and I could hear her laughter and see her goofing around with Nolan. What was worse was when I couldn’t see or hear her. Not knowing was far worse than watching them frolic.
Six torturous hours together, Kate and I were done with this damn golf tournament. The chief proudly showed me their scorecard and I went to congratulate the winner.
“I guess I can’t beat you out here. Damn! And I thought I was the best one out here.”
“You are one of the best ones out there. But today, I was better.” Her smile slowly faded into a worrisome face. “What’s the matter?” she asked with her hand carefully touching my arm. “You all right?” she whispered and stepped a little closer.
I peered into those blue eyes, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her. I wanted to make a statement, claim this girl as mine, and be done with this misery. But, I couldn’t. I wasn’t positive she was the right woman for me, regardless of my attraction, and I didn’t want to make any more mistakes with women. If I made a mistake with this one, it would ruin my relationship with the Reids and that was a chance I wasn’t going to take. “It’s been a long day,” was all I could say. “You staying for dinner?”
“I don’t think so. I don’t know. Nolan wanted to go grab a bite to eat, but I’m unsure Daddy will let us leave.”