by Various
Her heart melted at his obvious joy. She sighed deeply.
Movement caught her eye, and she smiled at Vance as he climbed the stands to sit beside her.
“Hey, Coach!”
“Hey, yourself,” he said. “I’ve got good news. Your Junk Trunks are doing their job. We had some kid hit in the balls within the first thirty minutes. In fact, the whole place came to a standstill to see his reaction. He was a little in shock. Took a look down his pants and tapped himself a time or two before giving the thumbs up. Everybody cheered, reassured your gel packs were gonna work.”
“That is good news. Sort of wish I had been here to see it. How many of your kids did you get to try them?”
“Christ, Lolly, you should have seen it. I took a couple of the older guys aside and explained about your prototype. I sort of put the fear of God in them because I don’t want to be liable for anything. Then I showed them your squishy, golden, alien-jock-rocks and they couldn’t wait to get their hands on them. Dropped their pants right in my office and applied them directly to the skin. The suction cup part worked great. Maybe too great. I thought I’d been transported to a Chippendales show the way these guys were wiggling and shaking their privates trying to get the things to drop off.”
Lolly covered her mouth in horror.
“I get them to put their pants back on, and the next thing you know, I’ve got a line of kids wanting to try your cups.”
“Oh, I would have loved to have been here for all that.”
“No. No, you wouldn’t. It got a little out of hand, but I have to say it started the day off with some team building I hadn’t planned on. Right now most of the kids are wearing them. They all wanted to wear them directly against their body, but I figured we’d better have half of them wear them in their jocks, for comparison purposes. However, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to design a jock to go with the cup since the shape is different enough. It was a tough fit in some cases.”
Lolly looked at Vance as if he were a genius. “Oh My God! Why didn’t I think of that? Why didn’t any of us think of that?” She jumped up and started down the stands. “Hopefully I can have a few to you tomorrow. More by the end of the week. Thanks, Vance. Great idea!” She stopped and turned. “Oh, tell Brooks I left to get started on this. Tell him to stop by if he gets a chance.”
“Will do,” Vance said, watching Brooks frown as Lolly ran off. He headed out to the mound to explain. No sense having his pitcher distracted.
***
Friday. Thank God, it’s Friday.
After spending five days with sixty boys ages fourteen to eighteen, Vance had the overwhelming urge to write every coach, every teacher, and every adult who ever had a leading role in his life a letter of apology. He knew he hadn’t been one of the lazy ones, but he was afraid he may have been one of the whiners. And probably one of the day dreamers. There was a good chance he had been found among the disrespectful. And he knew damn well he’d been right there leading the charge for all the complete idiots who thought they knew everything.
It was amazing how much you knew in your teens.
Right now, turning thirty, he didn’t know which end was up. And while a cold beer sounded really good, spending time playing pool and having to be nice to the weaker sex, clearly another apology letter to someone, did not sound inviting.
Jesus! Now he was whining.
He opened the door of The Situation and felt the tension and weariness drain from his body. Because right there in front of him was a fresh-faced Lolly DuVal looking as pretty as a bowl of strawberries. He licked his lips as his eyes locked onto her happy smile, a smile directed at him, with those red ripe lips just perfect for kissing.
Kissing. Jesus! Now he was daydreaming, and right into dangerous territory.
Still, it was hard not to notice that having her standing there waiting for him was a soothing balm for all his mental aches and pains. Brooks Bennett was one lucky son of a bitch.
“Miss DuVal,” he smiled. “Sorry I’m late.”
“You’re fine,” Lolly pacified. “And you look hot,” she whispered, her eyebrows lifting twice.
“I always look hot. It’s the other stuff we’ve got to worry about.”
“You’ll be fine,” she comforted, taking his arm and walking him slowly off to the left, heading toward the pool room. “These girls are all here under the guise of meeting Brooks. Your joining the group will be a pleasant surprise. So, just…be you, but at half throttle.”
Vance scoffed. “Like I do anything at half throttle.”
“Which is why you need a tutor, isn’t it?” she chided. “Now, Lisa is the redhead, and she knows everything there is to know about any sport anywhere. And when I say that, I mean she can probably tell you the names of the top Big Ten wrestlers.”
“Who the fuck cares about Big Ten Wrestling?”
“Only their parents. But still, she’ll be very easy to engage in conversation.”
“I’ll probably like Lisa.”
Lolly laughed. “You probably will. Pam is the tall brunette. She’s a lawyer and she’s into music.”
“Well, I’m interested in lawyers. And music.”
“And the blonde is Holli. Don’t let her airhead act fool you. She is a brilliant mathematician. Works for the military.”
“I’m not interested in Holli. But I’ll be nice.”
“You haven’t even met Holli.”
“I don’t do blondes.”
“Well, tonight you aren’t doing anybody. You’re playing pool. You’re playing nice. You are making three new friends,” Lolly stressed. “You are going to be as nice, safe, and boring as you can possibly be.”
“If I have to,” he groaned and then smiled because he’d made Lolly laugh.
Lolly pulled him to a stop. “Vance, girls are so easy. Wait!” She held up her hand before he could ask her to tell him something he didn’t know. “Let me restate that. What I mean to say is that usually, girls make small talk easy because we’ll ask a lot of questions and you guys can talk about yourselves.” They started walking again. “Since you aren’t going to be falling back on any of your lines tonight and your goal here is to get to know these women personally, not in the biblical sense, then asking questions like where they live and what they do is just good social etiquette.”
“I’m not a moron, Lolly. I just usually skip this part.”
“Yeah, well, no skipping tonight. In fact, tonight we are going to drawww this part out,” she teased. “But—now take this with a grain of salt and remember you are in half throttle—flirting is a part of the male-female experience. As long as it’s fun. Light. Cute.”
“Huh. And here I was doing so well with smooth and sexy,” he teased back.
“Vance. We know you can pick up women. What we are here to find out is if you can tolerate them without the endgame dangling like a carrot.”
“Endgame. As in end up in my bed.”
“Exactly.”
Vance took a deep breath. “Okay, but if they start throwing themselves at me I cannot be held responsible if light and cute turns into dark and dangerous. ’Cause women love dark and dangerous,” he said as he left her side.
“And don’t I know it,” Lolly muttered.
***
Brooks winked at Lolly as she ushered Vance into the room. He had to laugh thinking about Lolly giving Vance directives. For Vance, winning over women was like taking candy from a baby. Any pep talk would have served Vance better had it been directed at her friends. No obnoxious giggling. No howling at inside jokes. No screaming when their favorite songs played on the jukebox.
Brooks shook his head as he racked up the pool balls. Lisa, Pam, and Holli were oozing a whole lot of young and innocent, reminding him of those Disney movies where the princess or mermaid or milkmaid broke into song every five minutes. He glanced up and watched as Lolly joined them at the bar. He motioned to the bartender to add their drinks to his tab.
Different shapes, different sizes, all ran
ging somewhere between cute and beautiful. It was a G-rated flick if he’d ever seen one. Nothing his XXX-rated buddy had any business trying to fit into. Good cop reared his head and started to think this was a very bad idea.
He held out his fist as Vance approached. “Coach,” he greeted.
“Faithful assistant,” Vance bumped him.
“Fucking A,” Brooks laughed. “Now I’m not sorry I had to cut out early.”
“That pitcher have my name on it?” he asked, nodding at the beer and mugs sitting on the windowsill behind Brooks.
“Help yourself.”
Vance went over and poured himself a glass, topping off Brooks’ mug while he was at it. “What are the ladies drinking?” he asked before taking a healthy gulp.
“I’d say we’re about to find out.” Brooks straightened and smiled a greeting at the four women heading straight for them. He took the lead.
“Pam, Lisa, Holli, I’d like you to meet a friend of mine, Vance Evans. Also a graduate of State. Vance, this is Pam, Lisa, and Holli, friends of Lolly’s from Raleigh who are gracing Henderson with their presence tonight.”
“Ladies,” Vance smiled. “No need for a designated driver tonight?” he said, nodding at their margaritas.
“We’re spending the night at Lolly’s,” Pam replied.
“And I know a cop or two who can make sure we get home safe!” Lolly grinned.
When Vance glanced over, Brooks knew exactly what he was thinking. Girls drinking margaritas. “Everybody like nachos?” Vance asked the group as a whole. “How ’bout I order some? Be right back.”
“Good idea,” Brooks agreed.
“Holli and I aren’t much at pool,” Lolly said as Vance headed to the bar. “But I think Lisa and Pam might give you a run for your money,” she told Brooks.
“Is that right?” he said, addressing Lolly’s ringers. “Which one of you is better?”
“I am,” they both said at once.
Brooks’ face broke out into a broad grin. “Well, now,” he said, looking to Lolly. “I think I’m gonna like your friends. Pam, why don’t you team up with me? Lisa, I’m going to saddle you with Vance. He’s not much to look at, but he knows how to hold a pool cue.”
The girls laughed. Lolly and Holli sat down and put their heads together at a table close by while Pam and Lisa stepped over to a rack to pick out their cues. When Vance returned and got the lay of the land, he shook hands with Lisa and said, “You drew the short straw, huh?”
“That’s what they tell me,” she replied, chalking her cue.
“Lolly says you follow Big Ten wrestling.” He stepped aside indicating that she should go ahead and break.
“Oh, like you don’t,” she quipped, leaning over and lining up her shot.
Vance cracked up. “This just might turn out to be fun after all,” he said to Brooks.
Three games and a heaping pile of nachos later, a third pitcher of margaritas was delivered as Vance and Brooks stood several feet away from the girls seated at the table.
“So either you’re a great actor or you’re actually enjoying yourself,” Brooks teased.
“I’ve got to admit, Lolly must be working her magic because I’m having ten times the fun I thought I would. But I’m not gonna lie. I may not be considering which one I’m planning to undress, but I’m definitely picturing myself making out with them.”
“Which ones?”
He held his beer out toward the table. “All four.”
“Four? What four? Ah, no, no, no, you are not picturing yourself making out with Lolly.”
“It’s a fantasy, dude. And she’s at the top of the list.” As Brooks began to foam at the mouth, the music changed. “Ah and wouldn’t you know it….” Vance bit his lower lip and gave his buddy a raise of his eyebrows. “Miss DuVal, I believe they are playing our song,” he called out. “Would you care to dance?”
Lolly looked up, bright-eyed and a little stunned. She was definitely tongue-tied as Vance walked over, took her by the hand, pulled her out of her seat, and led her off to the dance floor. Right under Brooks’ nose. “What the hell do you mean, they’re playing your song?” he yelled as they passed.
“She’s my best friend’s girl––” Vance sang, with a unholy grin on his face. “She’s my best friend’s girl,” he continued as he pulled Lolly out of the room and down the hall to the dance floor.
“She used to be mine,” the lead singer of The Cars sang out, haunting Brooks down to the depths of his soul with every stinking note.
“Brooks!” Pam yelled, motioning him over to the table and pushing out the seat Lolly just vacated. He flopped down into it.
Holli pushed over the pitcher of margaritas and a fresh glass. “He’s just messin’ with ya.”
“Trust us,” Lisa nodded, picking up the pitcher and pouring him a glass. “She’s worn that bracelet every day since we’ve known her. Never added a charm, even when we gave her one for her birthday. She’s kept it exactly the same since the day you gave it to her.”
“I gave it to her?”
The girls traded looks. “You are Darcy Bennett’s brother, right?”
Brooks nodded lamely.
“Well, according to Lolly, you gave her a charm bracelet as a high school graduation present. Gave your sister one too.”
Brooks’ mouth dropped open. “I forgot,” he said as he rubbed two hands through his curls. “The funny thing about that? When I bought that bracelet for Lolly, they wrapped it up real pretty. So my mom notices it sitting on my dresser. Tells me how delighted she is that I thought to buy my sister a gift. Truth was, I hadn’t even thought about Darcy. Of course, then I had to go back to the store.” He sighed. “I had completely forgotten about that.”
“Well, Lolly never did. We can attest to that.”
***
“I’ve got to give it to you,” Lolly told Vance as they moved around the dance floor. “You can be charming when you want to be.”
“I am my father’s son.”
“Well, you’ve done him proud tonight. The question is, are you having any fun?”
Vance smirked. “I think you know the answer to that. The real question is…are all your friends as funny as Lisa, or as beautiful as Pam or a little less blond than Holli?”
“What in the world is your problem with blondes?”
He shrugged a shoulder, grabbed her hand, and spun her under his arm. “They never seem to measure up to my expectations.”
When Lolly scowled, he relented. “I have this vision in my head sometimes. It tends to pop up after I’ve taken some random woman to bed. A vision of a curly-haired, dewy-eyed blonde. Big smile shining bright.” He shrugged again, taking both Lolly’s hands in his. “It’s just a head shot, a 3-D head shot, but there is emotion there. Or personality. Something.”
“Who is it?”
“No one I know. Which is the problem. This vision sets a very high standard for all other blondes. I stopped trying to find one who’d live up to it.”
Lolly squinted, tilted her head, and sighed. “You are one complex man, Vance Evans.”
He laughed, pulling her into his arms and spinning the two of them around. “And don’t I know it.”
“My cousin Molly was blond.”
“Your cousin Molly was a handful,” he assured her. “And that happened a long time ago. Before the vision.”
“She was engaged at the time.”
“All I did was ask her is if she wanted to run away for the weekend. I cannot be held responsible for the fact that she said ‘yes.’”
“When are you going to start using these powers of yours for good?”
“Lollypop, I’ve been a changed man for two whole weeks. And you’ve had a front row seat for all of it.”
“You’re kidding, right? Over the past two weeks you’ve tried to seduce me at least three times.”
Lolly felt a wide, splayed hand surf its way around her waist, right before it yanked her hard against his chest.
&n
bsp; A whoosh of air left her lungs. Vance’s sculpted upper body emanated heat that synthesized with her own, causing a riveting, adrenaline-producing sensation to spread through her breasts and thread its way up her neck. Her chin was firmly clasped between his thumb and forefinger, forcing her gaze up to meet his eyes. Eyes that smoldered into a deep forest green with enough insidious emotion radiating from them to prevent her from drawing another breath. But she felt the rapid rise and fall of his chest as he slowly lowered his mouth to her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered shut as she felt his mouth slide to her ear and press against it.
“Foreplay,” he growled. “Do not kid yourself, little one. If my intention was to seduce you, you’d know what the ceiling of my bedroom looks like. Brooks or no.”
Holy God. She trembled.
Lolly’s forehead dropped forward to Vance’s chest when he released her chin.
His hands ran up and down her back. Eventually he cleared his throat. “Ah. Sorry,” he said.
Lolly pressed a hand between them and pushed firmly against his chest, easing herself away from all of the warm, solid temptation. She muttered something about finding the ladies’ room and turned without looking Vance in the eye.
She put one foot in front of the other and walked somewhat blindly toward a back hallway. Pushing into the bathroom, she headed into a stall while her body continued to swirl in its whirlpool of sensation. A whirlpool that could drag her under, she realized, hiding her face in her hands. It took about seven seconds for Vance to make that abundantly clear. And the worst part was he knew it. He’d known it all along.
She wasn’t in charge of this relationship. Not a moment of it. Vance had, indeed, been on his best behavior over the past couple of weeks. She had been naive thinking his flirtatious behavior was the crux of his seduction skills. Thank God for Brooks. If it wasn’t for him, there was no doubt she would have found herself the newest addition to a very long list of conquests.