by Rue, Rebekah
I huff. “You’re too kind,” I say. “And I’m okay with being friends, but that’s as far as this goes.”
He seems pleased with a satisfying smile on his face. “One day you’ll regret that decision, but, for now, your virtue is safe with me. Or should I say from me?” He leans in, elbows resting on the table, eyes amused. He watches me. I softly scratch my neck, completely out of my element.
“What?” I ask.
He pauses. “Nothing.” Kindly, Talon reaches over and grabs my near empty tray. “Let’s head out.”
I jump up like the bench is on fire—or maybe it’s my nerves—and get into the cabin of the truck that smells of just him and me.
“Thank you for dinner,” I say.
“You’re very welcome.” He pulls the truck back out onto the main road.
This wasn’t so bad. Now that we’ve got that settled, he can take me home and forget about this lost cause. I’m boring, not a bad-girl bone in this body. My head turns in the passing direction when we blow by the street I live on. “Hey, wasn’t that my—?” I point.
“Yep.”
“Well, aren’t you going to—?”
“Nope.”
Great. I sigh and quietly rest my hands in my lap, peering out the window.
Fifteen minutes later, in pretty bright lights, the words “The Disney BoardWalk” come into view. Talon pulls up to a guard shack, where a man wearing a cute security hat greets us. “Welcome to the Disney BoardWalk, checking in?” Talon flashes his license, and the security guard waves us in. “Have a great stay.”
“Have a great stay? Come here much?” I ask in an accusatory tone.
He laughs softly, and reaching over, places his large hand on my knee and gives it a couple of light squeezes. “Stick with me and I’ll teach you a thing or two.” I don’t doubt that.
We park the truck, and Talon leads me down a path that’s barely lit. There are no people behind the hotel. This doesn’t feel right. Where is he taking me? “Talon, I don’t think were supposed to be back here.”
“Just trust me.”
With a few more steps, we emerge right in the middle of tons of excitement. A wave of relief washes over me as I take in all the colorful bright lights blazing against the dark night from every building. The scene is overwhelming. There are boardwalk performers, kids playing fair games, savory smells seeping from restaurants, and boats motoring back and forth across a lake that houses a large lighthouse in the center. Smiling, Talon reaches down and encloses his hand around mine, leading me through the sea of crazy tourists, keeping me close to his side. My first instinct is to pull away, but I convince myself he’s only doing this so we won’t get separated in the massive crowd.
Once the thickness of bodies thins, I break my grip on his hand, making him look down at me.
We enter a soda shop, and my mouth waters at the scent of simmering burgers and freshly pressed waffle cones. This place is hopping. The floors are checkered in black and white, and an antique jukebox is pumping out the oldies. We both order ice cream in waffle cones to go, and my eyes bulge at the colossal mound of sugary cream he hands me. I’m never going to finish this. Talon gets strawberry and I choose chocolate. Sliding my tongue against the creamy deliciousness, I start to feel like a kid again. Chocolate makes me happy. “This is absolutely the best ice cream that has ever touched my lips,” I say while walking back to the boardwalk, Talon by my side.
Something flares across his face, and I’ve got his full attention on my lips. “Well, you’re a hard girl to impress.”
“You don’t need to impress me; just be real.” He has nothing to say to that.
We stroll side by side down to the beach area where ducks were splashing and waddling about. We take a seat in a double lounger off to the side, away from the families, keeping a respectable amount of space between us so as not to touch. The disappearance of the sun tells me it’s getting late. Only the light of the moon and the twinkling of the boardwalk lights are casting a glow bright enough for us to see. Resting back, I relax. Life has been so serious lately; it feels great to let loose. I haven’t done that since my days with Heath; though Talon is quickly writing over those memories.
Talon leans over and nudges my shoulder with his. “Did you know Donald Duck has a middle name?” I look at the side of his face as he watches the ducks. “It’s Fauntleroy.”
“No, you lie.”
He turns to me. “No really.” He pauses. “Did you know ducks have three eyelids?”
“Why?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Don’t know; go ask one.”
I softly laugh, questioning if this is him loosening up.
“Did you know they don’t mate for life?”
My smile slides to neutral. “That’s sad.”
He pulls his eyebrows together and turns back toward the ducks. “Nah, they got the right idea.”
Popping the last bit of my cone in my mouth, I groan, stuffed. “After all this fabulous food, I’m going to have to hit the gym tomorrow.”
“Well, just so you know, I’m making you my honorary spotter, so I’ll be coming by to pick you up every time I go.”
I let my fingers brush across the soft sand, smiling like a school girl. “You’re a big boy; you can go by yourself.”
“No way, safety first.” Talon smiles innocently and my heart unexplainably swells. Though I push those feelings away, knowing I mustn’t get attached. “So why’d you move to Florida? Your parents split?”
“No . . . they’re very much together. What about you?”
“Me? I was born here, and raised was a term that was used very loosely in our house. It was more like every man for himself—a free for all.”
“Wow, I would have loved to have that.”
“No, you wouldn’t.” He sneered.
“Yes, I would. Everything was always a schedule for me—church on Sunday, piano lessons on Tuesday, family night on Fridays—and the time in between I spent studying.”
“Didn’t you ever want to just say fuck it?”
“Every day. You sound like quite the rebel. What? Did your parents try to send you to military camp or something?”
“Nah, I don’t want to talk about them.”
Just then, rapid booms thunder to our left, saving him from me probing further and sending me across the lounger into his arms.
“Sorry,” I say, as I try to move away. Warm chuckles and solid arms keep me from pulling away.
“It’s fine. What are friends for?” He stares down at me and smiles, not all seductive like before, but friendly and meaningful. So far Talon has been a complete gentleman and seems sincere. It throws me. If he’s so bent on getting into my panties, I’m sure he would have tried by now. I’m sure it’s not his style to invest a whole night with a chick when it’s guaranteed he won’t get laid. I wonder if all the rumors are even true.
Easily, we watch the spectacle of lights, beautiful designs of blues, greens, and reds glittering in the night sky. We stay dazed in that position, smiling upward until it all goes still and dark. How perfect.
“Ready to go?” Talon stands. I nod, taking the hand he offers up. From behind, he cuffs his arm around my waist and smoothly swings me out of the sand. It surprises me when he kneels down and gently brushes the tiny crystals from my feet, tickling a laugh from my lips as people walk around us. My happy sound makes Talon glance up with warmth in his eyes and a smile on his face. Who is this guy and what’s with this place? All the magic in the air must turn all the frogs into Prince Charmings.
We stroll side by side back to his truck where he drives slowly to my condo. I’m sad to have the night end. Whether I like to admit it or not, he’s growing on me. All his mannerisms ooze comfort and friendship—two out of the three feelings I feel tonight—but my running mantra reminds me that this isn’t the real Talon. I know this. He’s upping the charm for his one true goal, and no matter how much pixie dust he sprinkles on me, it will never happen.
The air-conditioned hall in my condo does nothing for our heated silence. I reach into my clutch, fumbling for my keys, and when I finally peer up at him, his expression makes me all breathy.
“I had a really am-amazing time.” Swallowing, I look down, clutching the keys tighter to keep them from rattling in my shaky hands. I take a deep breath and glance back up finding a calling look I can’t shake studying me.
My heart starts kicking at my ribs when he softly cups my cheek and strokes the edge of my lower lip with his thumb. Friends don’t touch like this. Maggie’s touches don’t feel like this. We’re friends. His whole hand covers so much of my face that it’s burning.
My hip starts burning when his finger hooks in the waistband of my jeans and drags me flush to him. I’m going to pass out. He is danger and this can’t end well. Dropping his head, he slowly trails his cheek along my jawline to my ear and growls. “Lo?”
With the heat of his voice, a tiny spark ricochets down me, searing every inch. His breath acts like a poisonous vapor clouding my mind, so when his fingers palm my neck, I look up willingly. Way up, he’s big to my little. He’s studying my mouth, and that sexy tongue strokes across his parted lips, wetting them. “Please don’t hate me in the morning,” he whispers, inching his face closer and closer.
Hate him? The only thing I’ll hate is admitting how much I want to kiss him. I can almost taste him, locked in his spell. I can practically feel his lips on mine, inching closer, a breath away from sweet unity, when suddenly the apartment door swings open and Maggie appears.
“My, my, look who’s home. I do hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
I flush and step away, dislodging his hands.
Talon runs a hand over his short hair and blows out a tense breath. “Hi, Mags.” We’d been caught; thank God Maggie stopped us.
“Lo, do you mind giving me a minute to talk to Talon?”
In that moment, I revert back to feeling like a teenage girl being caught making out by her parents. “Sure” Then I look to Talon. “Thanks again for everything. Good night.” I give him a shy smile and a small wave.
“Good night, Lo.”
When I shut the door behind me, I notice muffled voices. Don’t judge me. I do what any normal person would do. I press my ear to the door.
Maggie: “Muffle . . . told you before Lo . . . muffle muffle . . . off limits to you. So keep . . . muffle . . . grubby overused man . . . muffle . . . penis in its cage.”
Talon: “Muffle, muffle, muffle . . . she looks like that.”
Maggie: “Please, Talon, don’t fuck . . . muffle . . . up. I happen to . . . muffle . . . people we hang with. And Lo deserves . . . muffle . . . more. You can’t . . . muffle, muffle . . . she’s been through.”
Talon: “Come on, Mags. You know me. Muffle, muffle, muffle . . . fuck her.”
Maggie: “She’d nev . . . muffle . . . give it up to you anyway. I’ll bet my left ovary on that one.”
All of a sudden, a high-pitched whistle has me jumping out of my skin. Pushing off from the door, I run down the hall, slipping on the rug, through the living room, and into the kitchen, gently removing the kettle from the stove. The faint sound of the front door closing and the chain lock engaging has me breaking out in a nervous sweat. A talk is unavoidable. I know this, so I take a seat on the sofa and wait for Maggie to join me. Diddy prances up to me, curling his furry body against my thigh. I know I’m about to get an earful, so I stroke his back, eliciting a pleasant purr. Just as I gave her earlier, Maggie gives me the one-minute finger and enters the kitchen. After a few minutes, she comes back, carrying two steaming cups of tea, handing one to me, and taking a seat on the end of the couch. Slowly, I breathe in the vapors, collecting my thoughts. After a few long minutes, Maggie breaks the silence. “You know you scared the shit out of me tonight. I didn’t know if you were pissed for some reason or got abducted by our neighbor, Creepy Carl.”
I let go a light laugh, drawing my knees up onto the couch and snuggling the warm cup of tea against my chest. Maggie continues to stare from across the couch. “I don’t know why I’m asking because I can already see the dreamy look on your face, but how was your date?”
I shake my head at my tea. “It wasn’t a date.” Sighing, I glance up. “But if he makes other girls feel what I felt tonight, I can see why he’s so successful with the ladies.
Maggie’s mouth hangs open in shock. “You little slut!”
“No, no, no, we did not. He didn’t even try.”
“Phew, that’s a relief. As much as I enjoy guarding your love tunnel, I’m glad you just didn’t lie down and let him take it.” She leans over and gives me a little nudge with her elbow. “You know, Lo, Talon is a good guy even though he’s got a bad track record. But not letting him lick the kitty is the only way you’re going to maintain respect with him. I’ve seen it with him before.”
“Well, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.”
“Good girl,” she says with a smile, standing and placing her cup on the end table, and taps my knee. “I’m glad you’re home safe and I love you. I’m heading to bed. I have a full day of clients in the morning.”
“Love you too.” I watch her slip off to her bedroom.
I’m tired from the day but wound so tight from all my thoughts. Talon makes me feel again, pulling me a little out of my darkness.
But he is pure trouble.
He is pure man.
One look into his eyes and he has me wanting to do things I normally wouldn’t do.
He doesn’t do love, commitment, or romance. His only intention is a quick fuck at the end of the night. He’s a taker; he’ll take everything and leave me with nothing.
My standards are different. I’ll only settle for a stable, solid relationship based on love. We’ll never work. Sure there’s sexual attraction, but that only goes so far.
With that last sad thought, I force myself to get ready for bed, taking a quick shower. When I come out towel drying my hair, I notice my phone light up with a new text. Dropping my towel, I swipe open the message.
(407)555-5347: I must admit . . . best non-date ever! Sleep well, friend.
I smile down at the message, feeling girly and a faint flutter in my tummy. I recall every tender moment, allowing them to saturate my mind and evoke silly feelings.
No. No, I don’t like him. I had a horrible time. If I say it enough, maybe I’ll start feeling it. Drawing in a deep breath, I know what I have to do. I have to shut Talon down.
It’s all fun and exciting to own a grenade, but when it explodes, it’s nothing but a disaster. I don’t reply to his text. I plug the phone into its charger and rip down my covers, getting cozy, hoping to fall fast asleep. God help me.
Chapter 6
Lo
I wake to knocking on the front door. Too bad for whoever that is or Maggie can answer the door. Snuggling up in just the right spot, I tug the sheets higher around my neck, my eyes drifting closed. After a few more minutes of continuous knocking, the knocking turns to fist-banging. “Go away,” I yell, peeking at the clock. It reads 9:12 a.m. When the fist-banging doesn’t stop, I throw my covers off in a violent rage, pissed, stomping all the way to the front door and yanking it open. There he stands, Talon, in all his morning glory, smiling, holding two cups of coffee. “Good morning. It’s about time,” Mr. Fucking Sunshine says.
“Argh,” I grumble, slamming the door in his face. My hair is probably a wreck, my breath stinks, and I have to pee. Catching the door with his foot, he follows close behind me to my room, where I toss myself back in bed and throw the covers over my head like Houdini. In a blink of an eye, all the blankets are ripped off, and I’m left exposed and curled up in a ball.
“Oh, no, you don’t. Get your lazy ass out of bed. You have duties you must fulfill.”
“You’re satanic,” I cry.
“And you’re getting up now!” He grabs my ankle and starts dragging me off the bed.
I fight, kicking at his hand. “Okay, ok
ay, you win,” I say when I see I’m not getting anywhere.
He lets go, and I slowly mope to my closet, pulling out some running shorts, sports bra, and a tank. Talon watches me with hawk eyes. I glower at him. “Do you mind?” I twirl my finger. “This show isn’t free; turn around.”
He laughs and turns around. “You don’t have anything I haven’t seen before, you know. Oh wait. I think I just saw a nip,” he teases, laughing.
I’m careful, shielding myself so as not to show him anything he might enjoy.
Finishing up, I make a quick pit stop in the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth, pull my hair into a ponytail, and retrieve my gym bag from Talon’s outstretched hand.
“Now get your sweet ass to the truck,” he says, giving my butt a good swat on my way out.
Over the next few weeks, we quickly develop a pattern and go to the gym together every other day. Afterwards, we head to either his place or mine, and he fixes us a light breakfast. Being Talon’s official spotter is pure torture, well except for the view. Talon is a sexy man and obviously knows how to take care of himself. Fortunately for him, all the other women in the vicinity also take notice. I watch the way women stare, eating him alive with their eyes when he walks by. The bold ones come right up to him, candy coating their voices, bending in the right manner to display a breast or ass cheek, and praying he chooses them. There is never a shortage of women ready and available wherever we go, especially at Wrecker’s. It’s sickening to watch. Sometimes I wonder what I look like acting as his shadow. I must seem pathetic.
Sometimes he’s a little too honest with some of them. I guess he can be that selective when he’s that attractive. If they’re peacocking and he isn’t interested, he not so gently turns them down. I’m not complaining; even I stare a bit too long at the rows of carved muscles just under his smooth skin that tighten and twist with each move. It’s hard not to notice him, and the more we hang out, the more he appeals to me.
Needing a break from his strict routine, I make a beeline to a Zumba class.
“Whoa, where do you think you’re going?” Talon says, gripping my upper arm, stopping me.