by Cherrie Lynn
“Then call him being friendly. Be friendly as you mention that it was great seeing him and you’d like to hang out with him more.”
“We’re not that friendly. It would be totally weird if I did that.”
Sam looked at Macy and sighed. “We’ve got to teach this girl how to land a man. She’s hopeless.”
“Hopeless is good right now.”
“No, it’s not.”
“The guy allows a picture of his junk to be on display in his tattoo parlor. Hopeless is damn good in this case.”
Sam burst out laughing as Candace gave Macy’s shoulder a shove. “He was messing with you, Mace. I’m telling you.”
“And lighten up. Jesus,” Sam interjected. “I think it’s hot that he’s pierced downstairs. I’ve always wondered what it would be like.”
“To get pierced down there?” Macy asked.
“No. Well, yeah, that too. But mainly to have sex with someone who is. I’ve heard it’s amazing. You know Candace is wondering too.” Sam winked at her.
“She’s wondering what it’s like to have sex at all.” The two of them burst into another fit of giggles as Candace’s mouth dropped open and she swept a glance around the coffee shop, wanting to melt through the floor.
“Could you maybe, um, not announce it to the whole room?”
“Aw, she’s blushing. Stop it, Sam, you’re embarrassing her.”
“Me? You’re the one who trumpeted it. Poor girl is going to give it up just so we’ll stop harassing her about it.”
It had occurred to her once or twice. But their ribbing was good-natured, so she tolerated it fairly well, even if she thought her friends—Macy especially, although Sam had her moments—were a little too overprotective of her whenever a guy came sniffing around. As if her hymen was a handicap. She was actually surprised that Sam was so gung-ho for her to initiate anything with Brian.
“So why are you so happy about this?” she asked her friend, when curiosity got the better of her.
“Honey, I just think it’s time.”
“And she should pick someone off the street because it’s time?” Macy asked in horror.
“No, you idiot, she should pick someone she likes. And she likes him a lot. You can tell from that dopey look she’s had on her face ever since we started talking about him. She stares at that card as if she wants to frame it.”
Candace tossed her straw wrapper at Sam. “Leave me alone. I might have always liked him, but I doubt I’ll hear from him again. As far as sleeping with him…” She trailed off, unable to complete the sentence. Oh well, it didn’t matter. It was so impossible it didn’t even bear thinking about. But then why was she nearly breathless?
“There’s no telling what kind of freaky stuff he’s into,” Macy said seriously, all joking aside. “Really. You don’t want your first time to be with someone who scares the hell out of you.”
Candace dropped her gaze and took a long pull on her drink, uncomfortable under her friends’ scrutiny. If Macy only knew some of the fantasies she’d entertained about him, she might roll out of her chair in a dead faint.
“I’m sure he’ll forgo the freaking ball gag her first time out, Macy,” Sam said sardonically.
“He might. He might even be considerate of where he stabs her as he sacrifices her virgin body to his demon gods.”
Okay, Candace had to laugh out loud at that.
“Do you have a mental disorder?” Sam asked. “I mean seriously. You’ve gone completely off the reservation.”
“Will you stop encouraging her!”
“Will you stop discouraging her? You’re the one trying to scare her.”
“Okay, if you guys don’t stop it, I’m seriously leaving. I officially declare the matter closed.” Candace downed the last of her icy slush and leaned over to pick up her purse, holding it in her lap like a shield. Both her friends looked crestfallen. “Now, are we going to get a movie or what?”
“So you are in fact not calling him, right? I win?” Macy asked, collecting her own bag from the one empty seat at the table.
“No, you don’t win—”
Candace raised her voice to talk over Sam’s outrage. “You did not win, because I made that decision the second he gave me his number. That’s why I gave him mine, and as you know, I haven’t heard from him. You two have been going on and on for nothing.”
“Dammit, Candace,” Sam muttered, shaking her head. Candace blinked innocently at her just as the cell phone deep in her purse rang.
Tired of the wild jolting of her heart every time her ringtone blared for the past week, she’d assigned Brian his own ringer ID. That way there were no more instants of sheer panic when she heard the thing. Now there was only the moment of mild annoyance when the external display showed it was her mother calling.
“Great,” she muttered. There’d be an inquisition later if she didn’t answer, so she flipped it open and greeted her mom as she and her friends stood to leave the shop.
Not one for small talk or beating around the bush, Sylvia cut right to the chase. “Candy, have you spoken with Deanne?”
Deanne was her cousin, and Michelle’s older sister. Despite being close as sisters to Michelle, Candace rarely spoke to Deanne unless forced to at family functions. “Um, no. Should I have?”
“I got off the phone with her a little while ago. She’s in a tizzy. One of her bridesmaids has been dismissed and she’s desperate for a replacement. I told her you’d be glad to stand in for her.”
Dismissed. Wow. Two weeks before the wedding. And how nice of her mother to volunteer her services. “Does she even want me?”
“She was all for it. I think she’d take anyone at this point.”
Anyone? Sometimes, Candace swore someone had left her abandoned on Sylvia and Phillip Andrews’s doorstep when she was an infant. “I’m bowled over,” she muttered.
“Don’t be cute. Tomorrow you’ll go to the dress shop with her and see what alterations need to be made, so they’ll have plenty of time to get them done.”
“Okay, yeah, fine. Can she call me up and ask me to do this? Since I’m her bridesmaid and all?”
“She has a million things to worry about right now. We don’t have time for you to get all in a snit. I’m sure she’ll get in contact with you and tell you what time.” Her mother paused for a moment. “Where are you?”
Great. She glanced up at the back of her friends’ heads as they walked down the sidewalk of the shopping center toward Blockbuster. Falling behind a few more steps, she pitched her voice lower and mumbled her answer, knowing full well how her mother felt about Samantha. “I’m out with Macy.”
She could hear the relief in her mom’s voice. “Oh, good. What are you girls up to tonight?”
“We’re going to rent a movie and go to her place.”
“Well, have fun, dear. If Deanne doesn’t call you, then call her. She’s likely to forget all about it, she’s in such a state.”
Right. Candace flipped her phone closed and shoved it in its pocket in her purse, jogging to catch up with her friends.
Samantha smiled at her, and she felt like throwing herself under the car that was easing by out in the parking lot. Was she such a coward that she couldn’t stand up for someone who’d been such a good friend? It wasn’t fair. Sylvia’s disapproval didn’t even have anything to do with Sam as a person, but the girl’s mother was an alcoholic who’d been in and out of jail and rehab. So naturally, in Sylvia’s eyes, Sam must be one too, or either on the brink.
“I have to be a bridesmaid in Deanne’s wedding,” she told them.
“Oh, you have to, huh? Fun,” Sam said.
“Hey, maybe you’ll meet someone at the wedding. Fall madly in love and not give another second’s thought to what’s his name.”
Not likely. Not even possible. Candace sighed. “No, Macy, I will not meet someone there. I can say this with absolute certainty.”
Macy wouldn’t be dissuaded. She pulled open the door of the video stor
e and they all filed in. “How?”
“Because Brian’s the one,” Sam said happily. “Now we have to reel him in.”
Yeah, this was pretty much one of those moments when she felt like strangling both of them. “Did you guys trip over the dead horse? Please, stop beating it.”
It was at that moment something happened that almost caused her knees to give out. For a split second she thought someone else’s cell phone was ringing, but when Sam and Mace looked at her in puzzled expectancy, she realized it was her own. Playing a ringtone she’d heard only once…when she’d set Brian’s number to it.
“Oh…oh, God.” Her fingers were shaking as she plunged her hand into her purse and scrabbled to get it out of its pocket. She fumbled and dropped it into the depths of the bag, uttered a word she rarely used, and followed the little square of light to retrieve it again.
Sam was practically standing on top of her. “Is it him? Is it?”
“Damn it,” Macy muttered.
“Oh, crap, it’s him.” Candace was almost stuttering.
“Answer it, fool!”
Licking lips that were suddenly dry as the Sahara, she flipped it open and almost dropped it again before she got it to her ear. “Hello?”
Sam beamed at her. Macy glowered.
“Hey,” came the casual reply in her ear, toe-curlingly deep and with that easy male confidence that could drive a girl right out of her mind. Her heart was beating so crazily she wondered if her friends could hear it. “A phone number is like the combination to a safe, isn’t it? I figured you gave me yours because you wanted me to crack it open, and it would be a shame to let it go to waste.”
As his voice purred into her ear, the breath left her lungs in a rush. It was a struggle to fill them again before she could speak. “Of course, I wanted you to use it.”
“I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“Oh, no, not at all.”
Sam was bouncing on her toes. The three girls were practically blocking traffic flowing into and out of the store, so Macy grabbed them both by their shirt sleeves and tugged them out of the way before they could get cussed out.
“Hmm, doesn’t look like it.”
That was an odd thing for him to say. “So…what are you up to?” she asked.
“I’m looking at a pretty girl.”
Huh? If this were texting, that would definitely earn a WTF reply. “Okaay…”
“She’s blonde, wearing blue and standing with two friends. She’s talking on her phone, probably to some unworthy jerk, but damn, I wish I were him.”
Her head came up as the light bulb went on, and she scanned the aisles in the video store, searching…and she’d only thought the breath had fled her before. At the sight of him grinning at her from one of the far corners, it was knocked out completely.
“He’s here,” she said to her friends, then realized she still had the phone to her ear. Their heads cranked around faster than Linda Blair’s to follow her stare. “You’re here,” she said stupidly.
“That I am.” She saw him clip his phone closed and beckon her over with slow sweeps of his index finger. Swallowing hard, she put her own phone away.
“Oh. My. God.” Samantha leaned in close. “That was one sexy move right there. Macy, you’re insane. Candace, get your ass over there now. Don’t mind us.” For good measure, Sam planted the flat of her palm on Candace’s back and practically shoved her away. Macy was obviously not amused, but held her tongue, recognizing her sound defeat.
Rows of movies passed her in a blur as she tried to maintain a casual stroll without tripping over her own feet or sprinting toward him. He was wearing jeans that hugged his thighs and ass like a dream and a black Affliction tee with splotchy white chaotic patterns. Those tattoos flowed down his forearms with an almost liquid fluidity. Greens and blues and… She was staring. Crap. She didn’t need to do that. But she wanted to lick him like there was candy in his skin; there was really no use denying it.
She almost plowed over two little boys who ran in front of her. Lifting her gaze to Brian’s face as her legs ate up the last distance between them, she saw light glint on the two hoops through his right eyebrow. His hair was just long enough to brush the collar of his shirt, and it fell over his face as he looked down at whatever movie he was holding in his hand. He was in the horror section.
It occurred to her that he’d probably seen her fumbling freak-out and Sam’s happy dance when he’d called. That was wonderful. She wasn’t safe anywhere.
“Hey, you,” he said, closing one eye in a wink. “How’s the tat?”
That was probably all he wanted to ask. “Oh! It looks great. Hasn’t given me any problems at all.”
“Cool.”
Why had she never really noticed that he was oh-my-God tall? When she stood next to him, the top of her head came no higher than his shoulder. He’d have to bend to kiss her, and she’d gladly rock up on her tiptoes to meet him halfway…
He cleared his throat. “I’ve been wanting to call you.” Candace wondered if she should confess the same thing to him. It hadn’t seemed— “It didn’t seem right, for some reason,” he finished.
“I know what you mean.” Her gaze was focused resolutely on the cover of The Evil Dead sitting on the shelf in front of her. She hated how small her voice sounded.
“But I saw you there just now and…it seems ridiculous that we can’t still be friends, doesn’t it?”
Well. Ouch. She thought only girls were supposed to run the “let’s be friends” line. Of all the bad ideas in the world, this had been the granddaddy. As much as it wounded her, she should accept his casual friendship and stop obsessing. Quit setting her fool self up for heartbreak. Because that’s all she was doing.
But she missed him. Seeing him in his tattoo parlor last week and thinking about him all day every day since then had shown her how much. His breakup with Michelle had devastated her more than her cousin, if only because if Michelle wasn’t seeing him, then Candace couldn’t see him, either.
“It seems really ridiculous,” she said, not intending for the sad note to enter her voice. “I always liked hanging out with you.”
She had the bad feeling that he wanted to reach over and rumple her hair, and she didn’t think she could bear the kid-sister gesture right now. “Likewise, sunshine.”
This wasn’t going nearly how she’d planned when she first looked up and saw him standing over here. That excitement was in ashes now, incinerated by one little “f” word that under normal circumstances was not considered dirty.
Sam was going to be so disappointed. Somehow, the thought of watching her face fall when she heard they’d decided to be friends in the horror section at Blockbuster was the most devastating thing of all.
But she supposed having him in her life in that capacity was better than not having him at all.
“I didn’t mean to abandon you when Michelle and I stopped seeing each other. I figured you were mad at me, or you didn’t care.”
“Oh, no. Don’t ever think that. Whatever happened with you guys, it wasn’t my business.”
“I know how close you two are.”
“We’re close, but she never told me why you ended things. It’s cool. I totally understand why you didn’t keep in touch. It’s the same reason I didn’t.”
He put the movie he’d been looking at back on the shelf and turned to face her. “How is she?”
This kept getting worse. “She’s great. She’s still working on getting her Master’s degree, happily seeing some guy I don’t like at all.”
He laughed. “That makes me feel better.”
“How so?”
“I’d hate the thought of you liking her new guy better than me.”
“That would never, ever happen.” She couldn’t look at him as she said it, and he didn’t reply. Maybe she’d shocked him. Maybe that had been too suggestive. But it was the truth, and she wanted him to know it. “So, um…what are you looking for here?”
&nb
sp; “Anything. I was bored and hoping I could find something to catch my interest. Not much luck so far.”
“Why? Seen everything?” she asked teasingly, reaching over to give his arm a pinch. She really just wanted to touch him.
“Pretty much, yeah.”
Wow. She’d known he liked scary movies because Michelle had always whined about it. Candace wanted to roll her eyes at the thought. They didn’t bother her in the slightest, and given the opportunity to snuggle up and grab onto him during the jumpy parts…no, she wouldn’t have any problems with that whatsoever.
“Have any recommendations for me?” she asked.
“What are you into?”
“Um…what do you mean?”
“Well, do you like slashers, or gory torture porn, or psychological? Or what?”
“I have no idea.”
He laughed. It was a deep rumble that melted her very bones. “Most of the drivel Hollywood churns out lately is crap. You have to look to other countries to get the good stuff. France is awesome. Very extreme.”
“I’ve never seen a French horror movie.”
“They’re definitely not for the faint of heart.” He strolled away a few steps, scanning the shelves. “Let’s see… Hey, there’s a good one. Have you ever seen The Descent?”
“No, I wanted to, but…”
“But?”
“Well, honestly? I love scary movies but my friends hate them, and I don’t like watching them by myself. It seems every little creak or bump freaks me out afterward. I know it’s stupid.”
“Aw, getting spooked out is the most fun,” he drawled, flashing her that grin she really wished he’d stop flashing before she ended up hanging onto his leg. He bent to snatch a movie from the shelf. “You’re watching Descent, I insist. It’s one of the best to come out in recent years, in my humble opinion, but if I have to come over and babysit you through it, then so be it.”
“Hey, now. I don’t need a babysitter.”
“You totally do. What are you doing now?”
“Now? Um…” She glanced over the shelves to where Sam and Macy were strolling through the new releases a few aisles away, occasionally sending her a glance and a thumbs up. She hated to skip out on her friends, but Sam had told her not to mind them… “The girls and I were going to watch something tonight, but it wasn’t set in stone or anything.”