Tough Talk

by Jessie Gussman

  “You’re an idiot,” Tough said from under the dash.

  “Oh.” Kelly paused with the open box of cereal over the sunroof. Turbo reached up and dumped it in.

  “That’s what they make shop vacs for. Trust me.” He grinned. “You’re good?”

  She thought of Preston and if he were to do something like this to her. Would she be okay with him allowing his name to be linked to some other woman? As long as it wasn’t true.

  “Yes.” She dumped the cereal in and grabbed another box.

  “You good, bro?”

  “Peachy.” Tough’s voice was muffled since his head and shoulders were under the car. “This would have been a lot easier if I could have put it on the lift.”

  “Quit complaining. Kelly doesn’t want to hear it.” Turbo threw one last smirk over his shoulder before he sauntered off.

  “Bet he was a firecracker when he was a kid.” Kelly ripped open another box of cereal.

  Tough snorted. “He’d come in the front door with one girl and walk out the back with another.”

  Kelly laughed at the picture, even though she felt bad for the girls.

  A clang of metal on metal came from under the car. “I’ve not met the woman he couldn’t charm.”

  “He’s funny, but I’m not charmed.”

  Tough grunted. “He wasn’t trying.”

  That was fair. He probably wasn’t trying. And he did get her to stay with Tough even though she had a fiancé. Maybe she did get charmed.

  “Could you hand me the horn?”

  “Sure.” Turbo had unboxed it, and she handed it to Tough before going back and opening cereal boxes as fast as she could. The floor of the car was actually getting full.

  Kelly eyed the pallet. “Bet all this cereal cost a fortune.”

  “Turbo got Becky down at the box store to save the boxes that were out of date. That’s just what she was able to keep.”

  “Oh. So, what’s happening with the horn?”

  “It’ll blow every time he hits the brakes.” Tough wiggled and twisted out from under the car. Kelly dumped another box in.

  Tough’s shoulders bunched as he pushed off the ground. “That’s the plan, anyway. It’s not a real train horn. There’s no air compressor, and there’s just not enough room, not enough time.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. “Crap.”

  He dropped his tools into the bag and grabbed a cereal box. “Turbo said to hurry. Torque is getting suspicious.”

  Kelly tried to make her hands go faster, and they tore through the boxes in record time.

  The car was almost full, and there was still a layer of boxes left when Tough’s phone buzzed again. He dumped the box he was holding before reaching for the phone. He blew out a breath and shoved the phone back in his pocket. “I’m not going to have time to change. I think Torque’s coming to look for us.”

  “Which door is he coming out?” Kelly pulled the pins and band out of her hair and shook it with her fingers. Suddenly, nothing was more important than making sure that Tough and Turbo’s prank wasn’t discovered. If she were jumping in, she was jumping in the whole way.

  Tough glanced at his phone again, pushing cereal down with one hand and dumping a last box in. “He’s headed downstairs, Turbo’s trying to stall him...so probably the basement door where Gram and I came in.”

  She grabbed his hand. “Come on.” They started running toward the door.

  “Wasn’t there a window at ground level right by the door?” she asked as they careened around the corner.

  “I think so...yeah.” Tough answered as they reached the stoop. Kelly ran into him. He tried to jerk out of her way, but his boot caught on the stoop, and they tumbled down.

  She landed on top of him. His breath whooshed out beside her ear. This wasn’t exactly what she had planned, but it would look awful if they scrambled up now. They’d just have to work with it.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered. She could hardly struggle to get up.

  Thankfully there was only a narrow alley between the church and the next house, which looked to be a funeral parlor. They weren’t in plain sight of anyone unless they were looking out the church window.

  Her hair fell around them, shielding their faces as they panted, their breath mingling together. Under her, Tough was solid and hot.

  He just lay there, gulping deep breaths of air. “Dang Turbo, anyway,” Tough said, his gravelly voice sending pricks of current through her body.

  “I’m sorry,” she said, trying to move.

  “NO! IT’S NOT YOU.” He reached for her, but she struggled off him, landing on her side, their legs tangled together as he moved with her, lying on his side facing her, her hair caught around his neck, his face close to hers. “It’s not you.” He moved one hand through her hair, threading it through his fingers, feeling the softness drift over his callouses.

  His breath was coming back to him. The closeness, and the shock of her body on his, the proximity of her lips and the neck he’d been fantasizing about earlier. All the sweeping buildup of emotions poured through his body, his lungs seized, and he couldn’t get enough air; it felt like he was drowning, and he wanted to pull her closer, but all he could do was feel. It was too much, too fast, too soon. He wanted it all, all of Kelly, but not that way.

  His eyes dropped to her lips again. “I want to kiss you.”

  Her hands tightened on the hairs on the back of his neck; her body pushed closer. He forgot the reasons why he shouldn’t pull her closer, forgot his very name. But she didn’t say the word that would make it okay.

  He touched his lips to her forehead, just above her left eyebrow. Another beside it. Just a light, feathered touch, to feel the softness, smell the freshness, taste the sweetness. Each kiss brought him closer until he touched the tip of his tongue to the necklace that lay in the curve of her neck. Hard metal. Soft, sweet skin. Warm. Just like he’d known it would be.

  He lifted his head, just a little. “Kiss me, Kelly.”

  Conflict raged across her face, and his heart shuddered. Choose me. Choose me. He touched his lips to the corner of her mouth, just barely to the side. “Please.”

  The church door burst open. “Tough?”

  Tough dropped his forehead onto Kelly’s. He’d forgotten all about Torque. Well, their little play should have been convincing because it had been very real. At least on his end. He wasn’t so sure about Kelly. He didn’t exactly have tons of experience in kissing girls. He didn’t think she was struggling to get away, but that might have been because she was pretending. There weren’t too many times in his life where he wanted to punch something, but this was definitely one of them.

  He hadn’t been pretending. She had to know it. Now he had to face his brother.

  “Really, Tough?” Torque stood in the open doorway, holding onto the doorknob, one hand on the doorframe. “Knowing Turbo the way I do, I was sure he’d dragged you and Kelly into some kind of prank.” He shook his head in disbelief. “I thought she had a fiancé?” He turned to go back in. “Never mind. None of my business. You want to practice your moves some other time?” He took a step then stopped. “Sorry about that, Kelly. Nothing wrong with you at all. He’s bigger, stronger, and if he had the sense God gave a goat, he’d treat you with a little class.”

  Turbo stuck his head out the door, under Torque’s arm. “Technically, billy goats do have a certain reputation...”

  “Shut up and get back upstairs.” Torque shoved Turbo’s head back inside.

  “Come on, Tough,” he said over his shoulder.

  “It wasn’t him...” Kelly started to say.

  Tough put a finger over her lips. He wanted to quiet them another way, but...

  “I’m sorry, Torque. You’re right. We’ll be right in,” he said.

  He waited until the door shut before he took his finger off Kelly’s lips. Looking up, he met Torque’s eyes through the glass as he walked back through the fellowship hall and to the door.

 
“You didn’t have to lie here and take that,” Kelly said softly. “I mean, I know we kind of wanted Torque to get the wrong idea so he wouldn’t be suspicious of the real reason, but we hadn’t meant to trip.”

  Or for it to be so real.

  She hadn’t forced him to kiss her. He’d wanted to. And more. He’d completely forgotten about fooling anyone and had been only focused on the woman beside him. Who was engaged to another man and didn’t want him. But he’d forgotten. Yeah. He deserved everyone to think he was a jerk. Because he was.

  “I’m sorry,” he said and climbed to his feet, offering a hand down to Kelly.

  “Sorry for what?” she asked. Lines appeared on her forehead. He knew how soft that skin was. Her lips turned down.

  He shrugged and turned, opening the door.

  “Tough.” Her tone held irritation and impatience.

  He turned, looking over her shoulder.

  “Are we here again? Back at this spot where you won’t look me in the eye and won’t talk to me? Really?” She huffed then brushed past him, sweeping inside, grass still stuck to her blouse and skirt.

  “Stop.” He couldn’t let her go upstairs like that.

  She kept walking.

  “Stop.” He put a little more command behind it.

  She ignored him. He moved after her, feeling like he was chasing her but knowing she couldn’t go upstairs with grass all over her. He’d figured people might suspect something then find out tomorrow that they’d been pranking Torque’s car. He had never meant for it to become something that people knew. He didn’t want to hurt Kelly, and as much as he didn’t want her to marry Preston, he didn’t want to be the cause of their breakup, either.

  She reached the door and yanked. He slapped his hand flat against it. The door didn’t budge.

  Sighing, she turned toward him. “What?”

  He propped his boot against the door, so he could remove his hand. She’d said he wouldn’t look her in the eye. It was true, he struggled with the intimacy of eye contact. But she wanted it, apparently. Got upset when he gave in and didn’t force himself to be uncomfortable. So, deliberately, he captured her gaze with his. Tightness shifted down his jaw, but he kept his eyes on hers. His head automatically moved as though to look at the side, but he didn’t lose her gaze.

  Lifting his hand, he languidly moved it through the air, resting it on the back of her shoulder. She closed her eyes.

  “No.”

  She was forcing him to look at her. She’d better keep her eyes open too.

  They popped back open. He slid his hand down her slender back, down to the outward flare of her hip, catching the grass in his fingers, keeping his eyes locked with hers while his hand moved slowly. His throat burned, and his heart raced, but he refused to look away. This is what she wanted. He brought his hand around and held it up, showing her the stems he’d pulled off. Her eyes shifted, widened.

  Now, he needed to talk.

  His voice sounded scratchy, like it was being pulled from the very bottoms of his feet. “You have grass.”

  She dropped her gaze to his hand. Her lips flattened. “Thanks.”

  “I’d tell you to turn around so I can get it all, but I won’t be able to look in your eyes.”

  She turned. He picked a few more blades from her blouse.

  “There’s more. Lower.”

  Her hand moved around, and he allowed himself to close his eyes, to rest from the depth of emotion. A little relief from the sweet pain that pumped with each beat of his heart. She’s not yours. She didn’t choose you.

  “Did I get it all?” she asked.

  He forced his eyes open. “One more.”

  “Where?” Her hand came around. His temple throbbed. This was torture. Devised by Romans, this was most definitely how they tortured their victims.

  “Other side.”

  She laughed. “Okay. Got it, I think.”

  He took a peek. “It’s gone.”

  “Your eyes are closed.”

  He opened them and stared straight into hers. Please don’t ask me to talk, too.

  She searched his gaze as though looking for something. “Ready?”

  For answer, he opened the door, allowing her to walk through first, wishing he could turn and walk right out the basement door. He’d rather take Torque’s car apart piece by piece in six feet of snow with crocodiles chained to both ankles than spend any more time with Kelly. Outside, she might have been pretending it was real, but now, all his energy had to be focused on pretending it wasn’t.

  Chapter 9

  Kelly tramped back up the stairs. Her whole body still tingled and buzzed from Tough’s touch. The first, very first thing she was going to do when she got home was call Preston. It was tacky to break off an engagement over the phone, but for the first time in her life, she was going to be tacky.

  His mother would be so disappointed in her. How would Kelly break the news to her?

  It didn’t matter.

  She had to. Surely Mrs. Fitzsimmons would understand she couldn’t be rolling around on the ground, enjoying it, with another man while she was engaged to Preston. That was wrong. It was one thing to help the guys with their wedding pranks, but it was a completely different animal to do what she’d done, to feel what she’d felt. Even if things never worked out with Tough—and how could they, as different as they were—she couldn’t stay with Preston now.

  She stopped at the top of the steps. What was she going to do? Without Preston, her whole life plan had just evaporated. She might not have been all in with their engagement, but it wasn’t like it was a surprise. Everyone, including herself, had expected it to happen sometime.

  Tough put a hand on her shoulder. She realized that everyone had stopped what they were doing and stared at them. Well, Tough wasn’t going to say anything, not in front of all these people, so she supposed that was up to her...

  “I’m sorry we held you up.” Tough’s voice shocked her.

  “It’s okay.” Cassidy smiled. “We’ve finished with the children, and their nanny has taken them to the park for a while.” She indicated the other couples. “We’ve decided to pair you two together, since everyone else has been practicing. You’ll be last.”

  While they were told where to stand and what music would be playing and how her hand would rest on his arm, Kelly tried to gather her scattered wits. Things had gotten out of hand today. She had no choice but to tell her fiancé. Before she could do that, she had to pretend she wasn’t as affected as she really was, while still having Torque believe that she was so smitten with Tough that she’d lie on the grass outside and make out with him. Ugh. Too complicated.

  She forced her face, which felt like an unwieldy piece of furniture attached to her neck, into a smile she hoped looked not too bright but bright enough, then she slipped her hand in the crook of Tough’s elbow. Which was a mistake.

  His bicep twitched, and she fought not to slide her hand up farther. Something rough scraped her palm. “Oh, you have dirt on here.”

  He jerked away like her touch was hot. “I’m sorry. I didn’t realize.”

  Now that she looked a little closer, he had grass all over him. They’d been so busy brushing her off, they’d forgotten about him.

  “It’s everywhere.” She tried to slip her hand back in, but he moved away.

  “No. I don’t want you to get dirty.”

  “It’s fine. It’s just grass and soil.”

  “No, you’re clean.”

  Was that really the problem? Or did he not want to touch her? She tried to meet his eyes. He realized she was looking at him and started to do the eye-forcing thing he’d done downstairs, where he looked like a martyr being burned at the stake and refusing to scream as the fire licked up his legs and torso as he met her eyes.

  “I just had dirt and grass all over me. We were lying on the ground, remember? I don’t turn purple and die of rabies if I touch dirt.”

  His lips twitched. “Purple?”

  “Yo
u are trying to see if I can make steam come out of my ears, aren’t you?”

  He closed his eyes. “It’s you who’s torturing me.”

  Her touch was torture? That bad? “You don’t want me to touch you?” she asked, aghast. She pushed the hurt, surprisingly strong, aside. “Fine, but you tell Cassidy.”

  “No. Take my arm. They’re waiting. We can do this.”

  “Today, if possible,” Torque said from the front of the church.

  “I’d say they’re doomed from the start if they can’t manage to get themselves down the aisle of the church without arguing about it.” Dusty shifted impatiently next to Turbo, who had his hands in his pockets and a smirky little grin on his face like watching his big brother make a total and complete idiot out of her was the best entertainment he’d had in years. Kelly stifled the urge to tell him he needed to get out some. Probably his gram kept him in a cage. It was the only safe place for a guy like Turbo. If it weren’t for him, they wouldn’t be in this mess...

  They started up the aisle. “Do you think Turbo did that on purpose?”

  “Probably. Don’t really know what you’re talking about, but Turbo is usually guilty.”

  She’d been talking about Turbo allowing them to be found by Torque, but she didn’t say that, because Turbo hadn’t been the one to come up with the compromising position.

  That had been her. An accident.

  The organist was playing, and normally she loved organ music, but it was so slow. It felt like they’d never get to the end. She needed a distraction to pass the time. “Hey, don’t you have another brother?”

  Tough nodded. “One more. No one knows where he is.”

  “Oh.”

  “Actually, I’m not even sure he is our brother. He has a normal name,” Tough said, this time out of the side of his mouth just before they parted at the top.

  The rest of the rehearsal went by quickly, and less than an hour later, they were packed up and ready to go eat.

  “Do you think you can find the pavilion okay?” Cassidy asked as she walked out of the church with Kelly, while Torque followed with the men and Jamal.