Fumbled (The Girls of Beachmont #1)

by T. K. Rapp

  “God, I love you,” he said, kissing me again.

  “What time will they be here?”

  It was the first time I’d stayed at Tabor’s place since we had admitted how we felt about each other, but I felt as if I belonged. I didn’t want his mom or his sister to get the wrong idea, but then again, how could they not?

  “Any minute. The driver called and they’re less than ten minutes away,” he said before kissing me again and letting me go. “You look good.”

  I did a little turn and ended with a pose, showing off my fitted button-down blouse and denim shorts. I wanted to look like I hadn’t tried too hard, even though it took me easily an hour to select the perfect outfit.

  Tabor glanced at his phone screen and raised a brow. “We have some time.”

  I stepped closer to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. “You think?”

  “I know,” he said, kissing me between the words. Just when I was ready to give in, the doorbell rang and I stepped back.

  “Quickest ten minutes I’ve ever heard of,” I noted.

  He looked at his phone again and winced. “Yeah, I guess I didn’t see when the text was sent.”

  “Raincheck?”

  He pulled me against him and kissed me, letting me know that he intended to collect.

  “Let’s go,” he said, inclining his head in that direction.

  “Okay.”

  We walked down the hallway hand in hand, only to see his mom and sister already standing at the entrance, waiting for us near the bottom of the stairs.

  “Hey, Mom,” he said, smiling widely. He dropped my hand and embraced her with such love and affection that it made me smile. “Hey, Abs.”

  They exchanged pleasantries and then his sister nudged his arm and looked at me. I ran my hands along my sides, finally settling them in my back pockets where they wouldn’t flail and make me look weird.

  “Oh shit.” He winced and jogged over, walking me the rest of the way down. “Mom. Abbi,” he started, and wrapped his arm around my waist. “This is Dani Miner.”

  “Hi,” I said, sticking my hand out as he continued.

  “My girlfriend,” he said unexpectedly.

  My world seemed to pause on that simple announcement. Even though I considered him my boyfriend, it wasn’t something I’d said out loud because we had yet to label or discuss it. But there he was, laying it all out there for the two most important women in his world.

  “It’s nice to meet you, Dani,” his mom said sweetly. “I’m Tabor’s mom, but you can call me Marta.”

  “Hi, Marta, it’s so nice to meet you. Tabor’s said nothing but wonderful things about you both,” I said, reaching out to shake Abbi and Marta’s hands.

  “Now I know you’re lying,” Abbi snorted. “Tabor never says anything good about me.”

  She playfully hit at his stomach and he wrapped her into a single-arm hug.

  “Let’s go sit down,” he said, dragging Abbi into the living room.

  I started to follow when Marta reached out and touched my arm loosely, holding me back.

  “Let’s just give them a second to catch up.” She smiled sweetly. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

  “Ah, Tabor bragged about saving the damsel in distress,” I joked, but went silent when she shook her head.

  “No. He told me about the strong-willed woman who had no clue who he was.”

  “Really?

  “Yeah.”

  “He’s a great guy,” I complimented.

  “He is,” she agreed. She cocked her head to the side and crossed her arms. “Did you really not know who he was?”

  Her tone wasn’t accusatory, but I could tell that it was something she found hard to believe.

  “Mrs. Hunter…” I paused and shook my head. “My sister had to tell me that Tabor and JT Hunter were the same person. That’s how oblivious I am to all things football.”

  She gently wrapped an arm about my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m glad. He’s had a run of women chasing after him on name alone, so I’m afraid my son has been more than a little gun-shy when it comes to dating.”

  “I can imagine,” I said. “You must be so proud of him.”

  “I am.” She smiled.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “Sure.”

  “Where did you get the name Tabor?”

  “Funny story, actually. I met my husband at a concert when I was eighteen. I can’t tell you the names of any of the bands that played, but I can tell you exactly what Paul was wearing when I first spotted him. We went on a few dates and he said that it was his dream to play in a band someday.”

  “Was he a musician?” I asked.

  “No,” Marta said, laughing softly. “He couldn’t carry a tune to save his life and tried to play just about every instrument. Never had the gift. So when we found out that we were pregnant, he said if he had a son, he hoped he’d grow up to be a rock star so he could live out his dreams through his boy.”

  “That’s sweet,” I said.

  “Yeah, except when it came time to choose a name, we agreed on Jordan right away, but the middle name was a constant battle. He said he’d heard the name Tabor somewhere and that it meant drummer. The man practically begged me to allow it.”

  “And you gave in,” I observed, smiling at Tabor as he talked with Abbi.

  “Only after making a list of my own demands—like nightly foot massages for a year, and I would get to select all future baby names.”

  “Nice.”

  “Yeah, except we later heard that Tabor also meant loser,” she laughed. “His sister had a field day when she found that one out.”

  Abbi heard that last part because she started laughing as Tabor put his head down in defeat, shaking his head.

  “Thanks, Mom,” he said.

  “She asked me a question, what was I supposed to say?”

  “You could have just left it at what Dad thought the name meant,” he huffed. He was outnumbered and he knew it, though it appeared the teasing was par for the course with the Hunters.

  “Where’s the fun in that?” Abbi asked, winking at me and laughing.

  I excused myself to give them some time to visit and allow me to get some air into my lungs. It felt as if I’d been holding my breath, waiting for them to be tacky or rude. But they were far from either of those. Abbi seemed like someone I would have been friends with, regardless of meeting Tabor. And Marta was one of those ladies who was genuinely nice all the way to her core, and it was pretty amazing.

  ***

  “So is it serious?” I heard Abbi ask as I made my way back to the living room.

  I shouldn’t have stopped, but I knew they were talking about me and my curiosity got the best of me.

  “I think so,” he answered and I smiled. “But there is this one thing.”

  A shock ran up my spine and I cocked my head to the side to get a better listen. I knew I’d regret hearing whatever he was about to say, but I just couldn’t seem to walk away.

  “What’s that?” Abbi asked.

  “She doesn’t like football,” he said, growing silent.

  “Yeah, so what’s the big deal?” she asked.

  I leaned my back against the wall and found myself disappointed. I knew the sport was a huge part of his life, but knowing it was a tick against me hurt. I took a deep breath and prepared myself to enter the living room, but when I turned, Tabor was standing right in front me with that all-knowing smirk.

  “I saw your shadow,” he said, raising an eyebrow. He tilted his head toward the living room and I followed to see Abbi chuckling as she patted the seat next to her.

  “I like you,” she said. “Besides, you have no idea how weird this one got over you.”

  “Abbi,” he said, trying to remain straight-faced. “I’ll disown you.”

  “What are you talking about?” I asked, angling my body to face her.

  “He was all awkward and stuff. And then he said that he introduced himself as T
abor and I died laughing,” she said. “Loser.”

  “There went the expensive flowers you wanted for your wedding,” Tabor teased.

  Abbi narrowed her eyes, clearly not concerned by the threat, and nudged my arm. “And then he went all girl on me. ‘When should I call her?’ I don’t think I’ve ever been so embarrassed to be his sister, and trust me, he’s done some crazy shit.”

  “That’s it, wedding’s canceled,” he laughed, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “You suck.”

  “Hey, you’re giving her a hard time, I figure it’s only fair to level the playing field,” Abbi defended. Then she turned back to me and sarcastically added, “A field is what Tabor plays football on.”

  I rolled my eyes and laughed. “I know what football is, I just don’t watch it.”

  “If it wasn’t for this one, I wouldn’t watch either,” she said, nodding her head at Tabor.

  “Does your family like football?” Marta asked.

  “They do. In fact, I’m convinced I was switched at birth because that’s just one of the things I don’t have in common with them,” I joked.

  “Yeah, but she does have their sense of humor,” Tabor admitted. “Good people.”

  I smiled and nodded, agreeing.

  ***

  “It was so nice meeting you both,” I gushed as I grabbed my purse and walked to the front door.

  Marta hugged me to her and squeezed gently. “Take care of my boy, okay?”

  “Yes ma’am,” I said, returning the hug.

  “But don’t kiss his ass,” Abbi said good-naturedly.

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I said. “I hope I get to see you both before you leave.”

  “I’m sure we will,” Marta said. “Be safe.”

  Tabor threaded his fingers with mine as we walked to the front door. I hated to leave him, but I wanted to give him space. When we stepped onto the front porch, he looked down at me and lifted my chin so we were looking at each other.

  “Told you they’d love you,” he said.

  “They’re really great, Tabor.”

  “You know you don’t have to leave.” He pulled my body against his, relaxing into me. “I want you to stay.”

  “I’d love to. But you need to be with your family.”

  “I need to be with you,” he shot back.

  “Go inside. Call me later.”

  “Yeah,” he muttered and kissed my cheek. “Okay.”

  He walked me out to my car and opened the door but didn’t shut it. Instead, he draped his arm over it and gazed down at me.

  “Text me when you get home?”

  I nodded and turned the key in the ignition after he shut the door. He squatted next to the door and tapped on the window so I rolled it down.

  “Yeah?”

  He wagged his finger, beckoning me closer, so I did as requested and willingly accepted his final kiss of the night. He ran his knuckles along my jaw and his lips quirked into a smile.

  “Goodnight,” he said.

  “G’night,” I answered, watching as he started walking away.

  I threw the car into reverse but when he called my name I stopped.

  “I love you,” he said with a smile. My heartbeat increased every time I heard those words come out of his mouth.

  “I love you back.”

  C h a p t e r 17

  D A N I

  I didn’t plan on going back to Tabor’s house the next day, but he insisted that his mom and sister wanted me around. Marta and Abbi proved to be as charming and entertaining as Tabor. Their closeness wasn’t contrived or superficial; it was real and sweet. I felt at ease with all three of them because they were so similar to my own family. I found myself joining in on the banter the more comfortable I became.

  When I asked Abbi about her fiancé Marshall and how they met, she looked at Tabor and scoffed. “Didn’t tell Dani about the blind date from hell, huh?”

  “He failed to mention that,” I remarked. “Do tell.”

  Abbi scooted forward as if she was letting me in on a big secret. “It was the blind date from hell,” she whispered before bursting into laughter.

  Tabor laughed and I looked between the two of them, waiting for the punch line, but it became clear that there wasn’t one.

  “Abbi was set up by Tabor’s old girlfriend,” Marta explained, much to my horror. I knew there were others, but I didn’t want to know about them. “Tabor and Jenny were on and off for years during college, and when he was drafted—they were off. But when she heard Tabor was coming home for the weekend she ‘accidentally’ ran into Abbi.”

  “Yeah, on purpose,” Abbi interjected. “She did the old ‘whoops, I didn’t see you there’ when I was at the coffee shop. Chick nearly made me spill hot coffee on myself.”

  “So what happened?”

  “Jenny happened,” Tabor pointed out. “She was always good at getting people to talk, and she’d pick the bits of info that would benefit her.”

  “Yeah, like when I mentioned I was single, I swear, her ears perked up like a rabid dog. She was practically drooling at that bit of information,” Abbi laughed. “She suddenly remembered this friend of hers that just got out of a relationship and he was ready to get back out there.”

  “But there was a stipulation,” Marta said.

  “And that was?”

  “Dear, sweet Jenny was worried about this friend Max and didn’t want to abandon him.”

  “And you went out with him why?” The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them and I slapped my hand over it, completely mortified.

  “That’s what I asked when Abbi called me,” Tabor said, patting my leg. “But she insisted that Jenny was up to something and she wanted to catch her in a lie. So she agreed to the date.”

  “Yeah, and she was uncomfortable about being the third wheel, so she asked if I thought Tabor would join—just as friends,” Abbi mocked, using air quotes.

  “So what happened?” The tale was entertaining, but I liked the glimpse into the sibling dynamic they shared.

  “Abs told me about her theory, so I went for the show. When we walked up, Jenny was in deep conversation with the friend. She saw me and started smiling and waving at us,” he said with a smirk.

  “Tabor said hello and Jenny stood up, expecting a hug or something. The look on her face when he just sat down was priceless. I was waiting for her to introduce me, and she was so lost in her own head that she waved at the guy next to her—‘Marshall, this is Abbi.’ And the moment the words came out her eyes shot open. ‘Marshall Maxwell. I call him Max. Or Marshall.’ She was caught in her lie, but she just. Kept. Going,” Abbi said as she laughed.

  “Marshall actually looked pretty entertained too, because he sat back in his chair sipping his coffee as the crazy Jenny show unfolded,” Tabor said.

  Marta was shaking her head and chuckling at the story while I looked on, waiting to see how it played out.

  “So Tabor looks at Marshall and points at him. ‘So how do you know Jenny?’ And Marshall just shook his head. ‘Just met her five minutes before you two walked in. She was in the middle of begging me to play along with her game.’ The look on Jenny’s face was perfect,” Abbi said through her laughter.

  “Turns out, Jenny had been running around telling people that we were still dating and when she found out I was coming home for a visit, she had to do something to make it all believable,” Tabor said. “That was the last time I saw her.”

  “She ran out of there so fast,” Abbi said.

  “And Marshall?” I asked. He was, after all, the reason for the story.

  “I walked over to introduce Tabor and myself and apologize for Jenny and her crap. He was adorably sweet and barely paid any attention to Tabor. And a big selling point, he didn’t know who Tabor was.” She smiled shyly before narrowing her eyes, a playful gleam in them. “I think you and Marshall have something in common.”

  “So I left the two lovebirds alone and the rest is history,” Tabor finis
hed.

  “Not exactly,” Abbi interjected. “Because about a week later, Jenny showed up to the same coffee shop and tried to get Marshall to go out with her. I guess it was some sort of payback, but he turned her down and said he was seeing me. Needless to say, she was not happy. And word got around what she tried to pull.”

  “Wow, that’s pretty bad,” I huffed when the story was done. “When was the last time you saw her?” I asked Marta and Abbi.

  “I see her every once in a while at the grocery store, but she practically runs in the other direction,” Marta said.

  The rest of the evening’s conversations were full of stories about Tabor as a kid and how much he and Abbi fought growing up. They were so easy to talk to and made me feel like one of them. It must have been a Hunter family trait. Despite my efforts to give them alone time, they insisted that I go to dinner.

  When dinner was over, they suggested we go back to Tabor’s for dessert and a movie.

  And when the movie ended, they demanded that I stay the night because it was late and staying at his place would be safer.

  “Goodnight, you two,” Abbi teased. “Just keep in down, will ya? Some of us have a long plane ride tomorrow.”

  My cheeks burned and if I’d known Abbi a little better, I might have pushed her or come back with something witty. But my mouth was frozen shut and I wanted to die.

  “Ignore her,” Marta cooed, wrapping me in a warm embrace.

  “I have a sister…I know how it goes,” I confessed.

  “Thank you for loving my boy,” she whispered in my ear.

  She released me from her hold and gave me a knowing wink, but all I could do was nod lamely.

  Walking into Tabor’s room felt weird with his family in the house. Nothing was going to happen, but it still felt inappropriate. Tabor tossed me a T-shirt and I scurried off to the bathroom to change my clothes. I pulled the shirt on and it swallowed me up. Of course it did, considering Tabor’s size. I laughed and pulled my hair into a ponytail so I could wash my face, and when I looked down I spotted a brand new toothbrush on the side of the sink.

  I peeked my head out of the door and saw him reclined on his bed, flipping the channels on his TV.