It broke any tension there might have been in the room without a doubt. She loved his sense of humor and the fact that he could make her laugh with only a look.
Saturday night was the last night they would be at the beach. Stacy and Andrew decided they wanted to try the best chicken wings place on the coast, Foster’s Grill.
“You really can’t beat wings and a large Coke,” Stacy said, sipping from her straw with a big grin on her face.
“These wings are incredibly hot.” Faith said, foregoing her straw and drinking from the cup itself, filling her mouth up to cool it down.
“You got the wrong ones then,” Darryl said. He scooted his plate toward her. “I got mild. You wanna try one?”
She looked at him. “You’re a man, and you’re eating mild wings?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Well, excuse me. I guess I’ll take the offer back then.” He hooked his finger on the plate and attempted to pull it back toward himself, but she slapped his fingers lightly.
“No, no, I was only teasing. Yeah, I wanna try your wings.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “I got a sensitive stomach when it comes to hot stuff.” He admitted. “You won’t see me eating any curry or getting into one of those ‘see if you can eat the hottest wings on the planet’ contests. No thanks.” He folded his arms in front of him on the table and leaned forward with a smile.
“Me neither.” Faith shook her head. “And yeah, I guess I got the wrong wings.”
“It’s all you can eat night,” Stacy said. “You can get a different kind for the next round.”
“How many are you going to eat?” Faith asked incredulously. “You’ve already had, like, twenty of them.”
Stacy shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe a dozen more?”
“You can have these. I can’t eat them.” Faith pushed her plate toward Stacy, who opened her eyes wide and stared at the plate as though she hadn’t already had almost two dozen of them.
“Oh yum! Thank you, girlfriend.”
Faith laughed and nodded. She looked over at Darryl, who was staring across the room, a watchful look on his face. She turned so she could see what he was looking at. Ethan was across the room with two girls, one arm around each of their shoulders. He was talking loudly, but they couldn’t hear what he was saying.
“What do you think he’s doing over there?” Faith asked, looking back to Darryl. He ran his tongue over his lips and shook his head, drawing in a deep breath.
“No idea. Why? You want me to go fetch him for you?”
She was surprised and looked at him, tilting her head. “No.” She laughed. “Why would you even ask that?”
He shrugged. “I thought you liked him.”
She was surprised again and looked closely at him. It looked as though something was bothering him. “Are you all right?”
“Sure.”
“I’m gonna go over there for a minute.” Stacy grabbed a chicken wing off Faith’s plate and scooted out of the booth, not indicating where she meant by “there.” She looked at Andrew. “Come with me, Andrew.”
“But I’m ea…”
“Grab a wing and come with me, Andrew!” Stacy demanded, lightheartedly, moving her eyes in Faith and Darryl’s direction for a moment. Andrew looked at the two and then back at Stacy.
“Oh! Oh, all right, yeah, let’s go over there.” He scooted over the bench toward Stacy, who had stood up.
Stacy grinned at Faith. “Clueless!” She said softly before grabbing Andrew’s hand and tugging on him, moving through the crowd.
Faith watched them leave. “What was that all about?” She turned back to Darryl. He still looked somewhat sullen, and she didn’t understand why. “What is going on with you, Darryl? What are you thinking about?”
“Well, I was just wondering,” Darryl said. “Do you still want to tutor me in English? I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious that Ethan doesn’t want to go out with you.”
Faith lifted her eyebrows in surprise. “Well! Where did that come from?”
“I think it’s the truth. Don’t you?”
“Well…” she turned her eyes and looked at Ethan again. He wasn’t paying her any attention. He hadn’t for most of the weekend. She’d enjoyed spending her time with Stacy and Darryl. She hadn’t really thought that much about Ethan or the “deal” she’d made with Darryl to tutor him in exchange for his help in getting a chance to date Ethan. “I kind of thought that since you were friends with him, you could help me out with that, bring me to his attention.”
Darryl huffed and shook his head, his face turning a bit dark.
She put one hand on his folded arm.
“But, Darryl, I see now that he…well, he isn’t really my type.”
He looked at her, and she felt her heart jump. His eyes were very revealing. He was a blunt kind of guy anyway. But even if he hadn’t been, she would have been able to see what he was thinking in his eyes.
“I can see that he isn’t interested.” She conceded.
“So where does that leave me? I have to worry about my future, you know. I have to think about my classes and football and all that. I don’t have time to be messing around. He can spend his time getting drunk and doing stupid things.”
“Or girls.”
Darryl couldn’t resist smiling. “Yeah. That, too. I have my future to think about.”
“I know. I do, too.”
“You know what you’re going to do in your future. You don’t have to worry about it.”
She sighed. “Well, I wouldn’t say that. I mean, anything can happen, you know? I know being an elementary school teacher doesn’t sound like much, but it’s important to me, and I don’t want to mess it up either, any more than you want to mess up the career you have in mind.”
“Are you still thinking about dating Ethan? You still want me to talk to him for you? I talked to him that one time but…well, I haven’t said anything to him since then.”
“I don’t see as how you’ve had much of a chance considering you’ve been hanging around with Stacy and me and Andrew all weekend.”
“Yeah, true. But do you still want me too?”
Her original thoughts had been to tutor Darryl and try to make Ethan jealous. But it seemed now that the opposite had happened. Darryl was jealous that she wanted to date Ethan and wanted him to talk to the boy for her. She felt an overwhelming sense of affection for Darryl and gave his arm a squeeze where she was still holding it.
“You don’t have to talk to Ethan for me, Darryl.”
She was amused by the look of relief that swept over his face.
He was glad she didn’t want him to talk to Ethan. Over the weekend, his belief that she deserved better than his friend had only gotten stronger. He’d discovered that she was not just smart and not just pretty. She had a good soul and a kind heart. She had a great sense of humor. She had everything he wanted in a girl and he didn’t want to see her with some scoundrel who was only going to take advantage of every good thing about her.
“You shouldn’t be with someone you can’t trust, Faith.” He said quietly.
She nodded. “I know.”
“You deserve better than what he dishes out.”
When she replied, her voice was as soft as his. “I know.”
She realized she desperately wanted him to say that he was the one she deserved. She wanted him to ask her out. She wanted him to kiss her and never stop.
She wondered if he could see that when he looked at her.
They stared at each other for a few minutes. “Darryl.” She said his name and bit her lower lip when he flushed a little bit. All she’d done was say his name. She gave him a soft smile, and he returned it.
“Who do you think I should go out with?” She asked. Why didn’t he say it? Why didn’t he just ask her out?
He didn’t respond for a moment.
“Come on; you’re always open and up front with me. You’re so blunt. Surely you know who I should be with.” She turned a
nd looked through the room. “How about Dwayne? Over there.” She pointed at one of the other players. “I could date him. Or how about Johnny? He’s pretty cute. Or I could take Andrew from Stacy, ooh, that would be fun, wouldn’t it? Our own little soap opera? Or…”
“No, Faith.” He stopped her, reaching up to gently turn her face back toward him. “I don’t think so.”
His touch sent a jolt of electricity through her. His eyes told her the whole story, but she wanted to hear him say it.
“I’m the one you should be with.”
Finally, she heard the words she wanted to hear. She pulled in her breath and held it for a second. When she responded, her voice shook a little bit. “You?”
She found her breath coming and going quickly.
“Yes.” He breathed. “Me. I want you to be with me.”
He leaned forward and touched her lips with his, sending a warm flood of emotion through Faith’s body. Her legs went numb for a moment. She kissed him back more forcefully, thinking how incredibly soft his lips were.
They kissed a few more times before pulling away from each other. She looked in his eyes and felt her heart melting.
“Oh Darryl, I’m so glad you finally said something.”
“You are?” He grinned. “I thought you wanted to be with Ethan.”
She giggled. “I did. But that’s all changed. I…we would be a great couple.”
He leaned forward so that he was within kissing distance again but he didn’t kiss her. “I think so, too.” He said before touching her lips with his once more. He pulled back slightly and whispered, “Does this mean I have to pay for my English tutoring now?”
She threw back her head and laughed before throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him tight. She put her lips against his ear and said, “Oh, you’ll be paying for them all right.”
He laughed with her and shook his head. “Oh Lord, what have I gotten myself into?”
*****
THE END
Table of Contents
SPORTS Romance – Game On
WESTERN BILLIONAIRE Romance - A Heart in Trouble
ROCKSTAR Romance - Rock Me, Rockstar
COLLEGE OLDER MAN Romance - Studied by my Dad’s Best Friend
BILLIONAIRE BOSS Romance – What the Boss Wants, He Gets
MOTORCYCLE Romance – Outlaw Biker’s Baby
MOTORCYCLE CLUB Romance - Bad Boy Biker’s Bride
COLLEGE Romance Collection – College Desires
BWWM ROMANCE COLLECTION
SPORTS Romance - Hard Play
SPORTS Romance – The Coach’s Game
SPORTS Romance – The Perfect Game
WESTERN BILLIONAIRE Romance - A Heart in Trouble
I tried to avoid looking at the clock. It always seemed to make my shift pass slower when I knew the time. Instead, I surveyed the grocery store for any customers that may come my way and found none, really. Working in the wee hours of the morning would do that I suppose, but it made every night drag on almost unbearably.
My book that I had brought with me wouldn’t last the entire night and I was hoping to save it until later so I could finish on the bus ride home. But, it was an indulgence I couldn’t avoid, so I picked up the small paperback and committed myself to a couple hours of reading.
“Ahem…” I heard from behind my register.
I looked, assuming it was my boss, and I wasn’t wrong.
“Cassidy, I know it’s a boring night, but could you at least make it look like you’re doing something? If it stays this slow then I’ll have to send you or Margaret home.” He said while pushing his funny little glasses back to the crook of his nose.
“Understood,” I said with a sigh while replacing my bookmark and book. The windows looked a bit dirty, so I snagged a nearby bottle of window cleaner and a rag and begrudgingly trudged toward the new task.
As I passed, I shot Maggie a glance of utter boredom and desperation.
“If I didn’t need money, Maggie, life would be a lot easier. And, I wouldn’t have to deal with cleaning windows when my degree says I should be designing buildings.” I said in passing.
“If I didn’t need money then I probably wouldn’t be sober right now.” She replied.
I giggled and continued for the entrance. The doors parted, and I walked through in a regal manner. I pretended they opened just for me; closing my eyes to imagine the court waiting for my grand entrance.
Then I bumped into him.
“Excuse me,” I said, “sorry, I didn’t mean to-“
He was, unfortunately, gorgeous and the klutz that I imagined myself as made me blush in embarrassment. His face was rugged, and square jawed with a tousle of light auburn hair poking from his weather beaten cowboy hat. What caught my notice the most were his perfect blue eyes, gazing down at me.
He stifled a laugh and I knew my chances were pretty nil on him asking me out on a date.
“So, do you like to walk with your eyes closed often?” he asked, a bit of an accent slurred from his tongue. He must be a southerner judging from the hat and the accent.
“Well, a queen doesn’t need to watch where she’s going,” I responded with a devilish grin.
“Queen, eh? Well, your majesty, do you think you could help me with some shopping? I’m a bit new ‘round here and I’m sure a Queen would know these parts best.” He replied.
“Oh, of course!” I struggled out, “One moment.”
I threw the rag and the bottle of cleaner to Maggie, while mouthing the words, ‘so hot’. She nodded and couldn’t help but laugh. I straightened my hair and clothes a bit and returned to the stranger.
“Right this way,” I said.
He offered out an arm, which seemed like a bit of an odd gesture, but I gladly maneuvered to his side and hooked my arm under his.
“Alright, so what are you looking for, mister …?”
“Harris, John Harris. Glad to meet you, for the first time missy.” He said.
“Oh, Mr. Harris-“
“John, please. Mr. Harris is my dad’s name. And he ain’t dead yet. Lovely lady like you callin’ me Mister would just break my heart,” He said.
I was now feeling a little flush over the kind compliment; I don’t think I’ve ever been called a ‘lovely lady’ before.
“I need some orange juice and soup for a good buddy of mine who went and got himself sick on the ride over. Think you could help me out, miss…” he said with a smile.
“Cassidy,” I replied, “just Cassidy. And, I can help you with that just fine. Follow me.”
I led him around the store; he bought a few things more than just some juice and soup. After the few small moments we spent wandering around the store like a new couple we slowly started to return to my register.
“I suppose this is where we part ways,” he said, a bit downtrodden at the thought before he added, “I’ll be here for about a week before heading home, wouldn’t suppose you’d be interested in showing me the ins and outs of the area on your day off?”
I started feeling flush again; this charming cutie asking me out on a date was overwhelming. I barely managed to say anything in response.
“Ye … yes, I think I can work something out. I’m off tomorrow if you’d like,” I said.
“How about the day after,” he replied, “I’m a bit busy tomorrow; unless you want to show me around the city at night, say around 6pm?”
It went from a daytime stroll to an evening date in just one sentence, and it was an offer to which I couldn’t imagine saying ‘no’.
“Okay, tomorrow afternoon at 6pm. BUT, since I don’t know you well enough to be out past 10 o’clock I may need to call it an early evening. Think you can handle that, MISTER John?”
He smiled, with those amazing high cheekbones, at my attempt at humor.
“I think I can handle that MISS Cassidy. Wear something for walkin’; don’t need to dress up all fancy for me. I like knowing you aren’t expecting me to carry you everywhere whe
n a shoe breaks.” He said.
He pulled out a small notepad from his pocket along with a pen and wrote down a phone number and address.
“Be out front of there at 6 and we’ll have ourselves a time.” He grabbed his bags, gave me a brief hug and left.
Meanwhile, I stared at his butt in those tight jeans as he walked out the door. Then I heard a snapping sound in my ear.
“Cassidy, if you keep staring your eyes are going to fall out.” resounded Maggie’s voice echoing in my head.
“Maggie, if they fall out, at least the last thing I got to see was that.”
With another laugh, she wandered back to her register and I to mine. I reached down, picked up my book and shoved the note inside. Tomorrow would be quite interesting.
2.
I must have had the wrong address. I was standing in front of what I can only assume was the most expensive hotel in the city. It was easy to laugh at myself over the prank John must’ve been pulling on me. Call myself a queen and meet at a hotel that only a queen would stay in.
Nevertheless I wanted to see if he would still show. I pulled out the slip of paper from between the pages of my book and dialed the number.
“Hello?” it was him and at least he hadn’t given me a fake phone number as well.
“Hi, this is Cassidy. Okay, I’m laughing at your joke. Are you really meeting me in front of this palace?” I quipped.
“Joke?” he said quizzically, “I’ll be down in a minute, wait right there.”
The line went silent and I got lost in thought for a moment. I slapped myself on the cheeks to see if I was perhaps dreaming but all I felt was the sting of my own hands. If he really was staying at this place I would have to ask him how.
It wasn’t too long before he strolled out of the building. This time he was wearing a plain leather jacket over a sturdy white shirt and his hat still resting on his head. The jacket looked like it could barely hold in his broad shoulders and his rough jeans were still stained with dirt. He looked quite out of place when compared to the other suit wearers adorning the sidewalk.
Romance: Teen Romance: Game On (A Nerd and a Bad Boy Romance) (New Adult High School Sports Romance) Page 3