Going All In

by Alannah Lynne

  He stared, speechless. Something that didn’t go unnoticed.

  “Mountain lion got your tongue?” Her grin was sly and playful as she scooped up another glob of ketchup.

  “Mountain lion?”

  “Yeah.” Her grin grew and that damned dimple that seemed to be mocking him made another appearance. “It would be silly to say ‘cat got your tongue.’ You’re too big and tough for that. Although, it’s probably silly to say anything got your tongue. What does that even mean?” She snapped her mouth shut and ran her tongue over her teeth, then grabbed her burger and shoved it into her mouth like a plug, stopping the flow of words.

  He laughed at her quirkiness and switched his attention to her mouth, opened wide, and her pretty pink lips wrapped around the burger. The nasty thoughts that had started getting their groove on were cut short, though, as her white teeth sank into the burger and reality cut the fantasy off at the knees.

  He cleared his throat and tugged on his jeans while shifting his position. “I admit you surprised me with the restoring furniture thing, but that’s cool. Where do you get the pieces?”

  “Here and there, mostly secondhand shops.” She paused and diverted her gaze. “I haven’t gotten up the nerve to go to yard sales yet, but I’m working on that. What about you? How do you spend your evenings?”

  A chill slivered through him as he looked into her eyes, once again projecting an inner naivety and innocence that would be permanently sullied if he answered her honestly. Lying wasn’t his thing, but he also found the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but incredibly unappealing in the face of her guilelessness. Searching for a truthful answer that wouldn’t be brutally honest, he said, “I hang out at a couple different clubs.” Details beyond that weren’t necessary. “If I’m not doing that, I sit next to the campfire on the beach and watch the night sky change.”

  She froze with a fry halfway to her mouth. “Campfire?”

  “Yeah, you know… a pile of wood, a match, a log to sit on, and a cold beer.”

  She shook her head and the ends of her hair swished back and forth over her shoulders. “I’ve seen them on TV and in the movies, but I’ve never been to a campfire.” She paused and gave him that cute little grin again. “It’s not that I have anything against them. I’ve just never had the opportunity to… sit around one?” She posed it as a question, like she wasn’t sure of the proper terminology.

  He wasn’t surprised by her admission, but it was beyond his comprehension that someone could reach her age without ever having hung around a fire, either for pleasure and relaxation or for heat. Apparently he also found it unacceptable, because without thought he said, “We’ll have to rectify that.”

  Her smile weakened, but she nodded anyway. “Uh, okay. That’d be great.”

  “Let me guess. You’re not an outdoorsy girl.”

  “I don’t know.” She laughed self-consciously and studied her food again. “I like sitting around the pool, and I enjoy shopping at outdoor malls. I know this sounds crazy, but I’ve never had much of a reason to be outdoors. I don’t like the beach.” She shivered. “I don’t like the feel of sand on my skin, and… well, I had a bad experience at the beach once.”

  How could anyone have a bad experience at the beach? Unless sharks were involved…

  “I’ve never been in the woods or to a campfire. I’ve never gone golfing.” She brightened. “I do like to play tennis.”

  The conversation was surreal because she’d never done any of the things that were a normal part of his life. Well, except the golf thing. He didn’t play either, so at least they had that in common. But he grew up in the North Georgia mountains. He was more comfortable outside than inside, and he couldn’t imagine not spending part of his day—a large part—outside, soaking up nature.

  “You think I’m weird.”

  He started to tease her by agreeing, but when he looked at her sad face and the way she worried her bottom lip, he found himself reaching across the table for her hand. A gesture that surprised her as much as him. “No, not at all. I’m just surprised.”

  In a million ways over a million things.

  “I spent more time outside than inside as a kid. Still do, actually. It’s one of the reasons I love working construction. Except for the god-awful paperwork, everything I do is outside.” The paperwork that accompanied the foreman’s position had taken a lot of getting used to, but it was a small sacrifice for the additional pay, as well as the satisfaction of overseeing a project from start to finish. “Would you be interested in trying some outdoor activities?”

  What the hell was wrong with him? Why was he asking her that? Why was he holding his breath, waiting for her answer?

  And why, for the love of God, was he still holding her hand?

  Her smile held more confidence this time as her head bobbed enthusiastically. “Absolutely. Stepping out of my comfort zone is something I’ve been working on. I can’t guarantee I’ll be any good at it, but I’m willing to try.”

  He laughed at her excitement and squeezed her hand… then let go like he’d been stung. He was enjoying the contact entirely too much, and he absolutely refused to give his mind permission to wander down the primal path illuminated by her desire to step out of her comfort zone and experience new things.

  His mind, however, didn’t need permission to carry on. As innocent and naive as she appeared, he couldn’t help but wonder how experienced she was in love, specifically sex. He’d guess her to be at the beginner to intermediate level, and damn if he didn’t like the idea of being the one to take her to expert.

  Trouble with a capital T.

  With a sharp shake of the head, he cleared out the thoughts and got back to the campfire, which had started him on this path in the first place. The guys wanted to go to a club tonight to hear a band Alex liked. Aside from that, they didn’t have any plans other than their traditional Saturday night trip to the Sunset Strip… assuming they survived Tyler’s dumbass plan to SCUBA dive Saturday morning.

  “You’re snarling again.”

  Wrenching his gaze away from the window and a raindrop making a lazy trail down the glass, he snapped his attention back to Callie. “Again?”

  She lowered her lids and nodded. “You do that a lot around me.”

  He’d never thought about it, but he imagined he did. He considered broaching the subject of their previous work history, so they could get it out there and clear the air, but things were going so well he didn’t see a need to dredge up the past, at least not right now.

  “I was thinking about my friend Tyler’s suicide mission.”

  “What?” Her shrill voice caused customers at nearby tables to glance at them as she surged forward in the booth, ready to bolt for the door.

  He smiled and waved a hand in the air to diffuse her panic and also let the other now-alarmed patrons know all was well. “I don’t mean literally, but…” It sure felt that sometimes. Wade sighed and shook his head, then slumped even lower in his seat. “He’s a bit of a daredevil. An outdoor adventure enthusiast,” he explained, using Tyler’s sugarcoated title for what most people called adrenaline junkies. “He has the general location of a previously undiscovered ship and wants to go diving for it. The weather forecast isn’t conducive any day this week, but he called me this morning to let me know he’s setting things up for Saturday morning.”

  “Is that who you were talking to while sitting in your truck?”

  “Yeah.” He nodded as he replayed the frustrating conversation in his mind. “He’s always been wild and more than a little crazy, but since his wife Laney left him, he’s out of control. Personally, I think he’s gotten too reckless and is on a self-destruction course. But he doesn’t see it that way, and it really pisses me off that he’s willing to take unnecessary risks.”

  This time she was the one reaching for his hand. “It sounds like you care a lot about him. He’s lucky to have you as a friend.”

  “We’ve had each other’s backs since middle school and have
been through some crazy stuff together. But there’s nothing I, or anyone else, can do to help him through this painful situation with Laney.”

  Just like Tyler had been forced to stand on the sidelines, helplessly watching Wade battle the demons that chased him after his breakup with Miranda. He knew from experience he couldn’t take away Tyler’s pain or beat back the monsters for him, but that didn’t keep him from wishing like hell there was something he could do. “I feel like I’m somehow letting him down. Like there’s something I should be doing, but I’m not.”

  Well, hell. When did he become a jibber-jabber, sharing his personal crap with a stranger?

  The thing was Callie didn’t seem like a stranger anymore. He was also having a hard time remembering she was the same person who’d treated him like shit the first time they worked together, and the more time they spent together, the more intrigued he became with this Callie. He was curious about her painted furniture pieces, and he wanted to share parts of his world with her. And he really wanted to spend some time fulfilling fantasies that involved expanding her boundaries and introducing her to lots of new things.

  Okay, case closed. While out tonight, he needed to find someone to take the edge off his libido and get these crazy thoughts under control.

  But even as the thought crossed his mind, a large piece of his soul balked at the plan. He’d gotten into these troubled waters because the nameless-faceless-mindless-fucking lifestyle wasn’t doing anything for him anymore, and he’d recently taken on the role of a celibate. Truth was that lifestyle hadn’t ever done much, except keep his mind and body occupied so he didn’t spend too much time dwelling on the past.

  Recently, his soul had started sending out distress signals, demanding he find a new plan. Something that involved less sloppy sex and more emotional, personal connections. The whole prospect scared the hell out of him, and he’d been fighting the idea for months. And as he looked at Callie and imagined sloppy sex with an emotional, personal connection, panic flooded his system.

  Any involvement would only lead to heartache—hers, not his because he refused to get that involved—and Kevin would fillet him alive if he screwed Callie over. Surprisingly enough, though, it wasn’t the dread of disappointing Kevin that strengthened his resolve to get himself under control and keep things platonic. It was his concern for Callie and this newfound whacked-out image of her as a rare gem that needed protection from his tarnished reputation and less-than-stellar past.

  A friendship with Callie was fine. A friends-with-benefits friendship was not.

  Chapter Four

  Callie zipped her silver-and-black ankle boots, then stood and examined her reflection in the antique floor mirror. Another tug on the hem of her skirt didn’t garner more inches, so with a resigned sigh, she twisted at the waist and looked over her shoulder, making sure her butt was mostly covered. Jen and Tiffany constantly harassed her to dress less conservatively, so as a concession to their nagging, she got a shorter skirt to wear to the club. As a concession to her angst, she got thick, black tights to wear underneath.

  “Are you ready?” Tiffany called impatiently.

  Ready or not… “Just about.” Even though the rain had stopped, her silk blouse wouldn’t provide any protection against the cold, so she grabbed her wool coat from the back of the chair, picked up her black-and-white polka-dot Kate Spade handbag from the dresser, and gave another futile tug on her skirt.

  “Tell me again. Why am I doing this?” she asked Tiffany as she slipped on her coat and walked down the short hallway leading from her bedroom to the living room.

  “Because you haven’t been out with us all week, and you’re going to turn into a crazy cat lady if you keep sitting at home by yourself.”

  Callie flipped her hair out from under her collar and turned to stare at Tiffany. “Do you really think I’m going to turn into a crazy cat lady? Especially since I don’t have a cat. Or are you being a parrot and repeating something Jen said?”

  Pink crawled up Tiffany’s neck to her cheeks and she cut her eyes to the side. She cleared her throat, preparing to speak, but before she answered, the door burst open and Jen stepped inside. “What’s taking so long? If we don’t hurry, we won’t get a decent seat.”

  Callie rolled her eyes. “Oh, c’mon. We all know you already called Mario and had him reserve your favorite table.”

  “Okay, you got me.” Jen’s smile was smug and unapologetic. “But if we get there early enough, we’ll get backstage before the bands go on.”

  The Blue Lagoon, a favorite Myrtle Beach hangout, had gained popularity with the locals by booking up-and-coming local bands, as well as regional bands gaining widespread acclaim. Jen’s father was one of the original investors, so since inception—which was before Jen, Tiffany, or Callie reached the legal drinking age—they’d been able to sneak backstage to meet the bands, then park their prissy little butts at the front table and pretend to be college students. Jen thrived on the attention and the chance to be a groupie. Tiffany and Callie just tagged along, pretty much like they’d done all their lives.

  How it came about, Callie didn’t know, but Jen had always been the leader of their trio. She decided what they did, who they did it with, and how long they’d stay. For years, Callie had been content to follow along—wasn’t that a constant theme in her life—but that wasn’t working for her anymore. She didn’t want to continue traipsing after Jen like a well-trained puppy, and her growing disobedience was becoming a source of conflict between them.

  An unbidden image of Wade flashed through her mind. One day of working together didn’t make her an expert on the man, but she’d bet every penny she had he didn’t ever blindly follow anyone. He might do things he didn’t want to, but there was a difference in not wanting to do something and choosing to do it anyway, and doing something because he was afraid to stand up for himself and say no.

  She envied anyone strong and sure enough about themselves to live life on their terms, without consulting parents or friends or anyone else for that matter. She wasn’t there yet, but she was getting closer and she liked the progress.

  As they made their way down the steps to the sidewalk and the waiting car, she was forced to admit hanging out with Jen had some perks, Raul, the family driver, topping the list. Whenever they went out, he picked them up at home, dropped them off at the door of the club, then remained on call until they were ready to leave. They’d never been tempted to drive drunk, had never gotten in the car with someone who was drinking, and had never waited for a cab.

  Fifteen minutes after Raul helped them into the back of the car, they were bypassing the line and walking in the front door of The Blue Lagoon like Hollywood celebrities. A large crowd comprised mostly of twenty and thirty-year-old working professionals had already gathered, and Callie sighed at the thought of spending the night crammed into a club with a thousand other people. She’d much rather be at home in comfortable clothes, working on her current project, daydreaming about Wade.

  She checked the clock on her phone. She could probably survive the next three hours. And then she’d be back home, crawling into bed, having real dreams about the man she couldn’t stop thinking about.

  *

  “Aw, shit in the fire and fuck me running.”

  Even though Callie hadn’t told Wade which clubs she frequented, he should’ve known this one would top her list. The swanky club was too upscale for his personal tastes, but Alex saw an ad for the band that was playing, so the guys decided tonight was the perfect night to dress up and hit the town. Since they all lived in the boonies, they didn’t get many opportunities like this, so Wade rummaged through his closet, found a decent button-down and a nice pair of jeans, cleaned up his cowboy boots, and attempted to put a little shine on himself as well.

  Running into Callie wasn’t part of the plan, and it certainly didn’t help his efforts to get her off his mind. It also didn’t make him feel any better about finding a nice, willing body to crawl into to help him scra
tch his mad itch.

  Following his line of sight, Tyler looked at the VIP section in the center of the club, then coughed and sputtered around his drink. “Shit. Is that Miranda?”

  Wade sighed, then drained half his beer. Prior to today, he would’ve said Callie might as well be Miranda. They had the same chestnut hair, same deep-brown eyes, same petite frame, and he thought they had the same attitude of entitlement. But after spending the day working with Callie, he barely saw the resemblance anymore. “No, it’s not Miranda. Her name is Callie, and I work with her. She comes in after I’m finished with a project and pretties shit up.”

  From the corner of his eye, he saw Tyler studying him. “And.”

  “And what?” The fact he refused to meet Tyler’s gaze head-on should’ve been a clear indicator there was something going on where Callie was concerned, but he was too damned stubborn to address the possibility, even privately to himself.

  “You’ve got the hots for her.”

  “What?” He glanced at Tyler, then looked away. “No. I barely know her.” He took a deep breath and forced himself to relax his defensive stance before continuing. “I normally do everything within my power to ignore her, but”—he shrugged—“after working with her today, I think I might’ve been wrong about her. She’s actually pretty nice.”

  “Nice,” Tyler repeated before cocking his head to the side and watching, along with Wade, as a preppy-looking dude sat down in the empty seat next to her.

  Wade strong-armed back the inclination to get his back up as Callie’s lips curved into a smile. Propping an elbow on the bar and leaning into it like he didn’t have a care in the world, he reminded himself this was a good thing. She would find a nice guy, he’d find a stranger, and they’d all go home happy.

  But the longer he watched, the more irritated he became. Especially when her smile faltered and her eyes grew wary. She either didn’t know the guy or didn’t like him, because when he leaned in to speak, she stiffened and shifted away.