My Last - Riley & Chelle

by Melanie Shawn

  Okay, she thought, that's it. I'm clearly a fifth wheel here, and I don't need to be where I'm not wanted. It's not doing me any good, and it'll interfere with Riley's ability to have fun with his friends. This isn't good for anybody.

  She was just about to make up an excuse about why she suddenly needed to head home, and tell him that he should stay and catch up with his friend, when the front door of the townhouse flung open. She was momentarily paralyzed by what she saw. It was like David Beckham and Johnny Depp had a love child. The man standing before her was beautiful.

  “Sloan, man good to see you!” The man (whom she assumed was Tommy) pulled Riley into a hug. “It’s been too long, bro.”

  Riley nodded as he slapped the man on the back, “Yeah, it has, Baxter.”

  The man turned to her and Chelle was once again blown away by his sheer physical perfection. Not in a ‘How you doin?’ kind of way. She definitely didn’t feel any butterflies or zings. She had just never seen anyone who was that perfect in real life.

  “Hey,” he greeted her, “I’m Tommy. And you must be the emergency.” A mischievous smile spread across his face.

  She furrowed her brow and tilted her head in confusion. She glanced at Riley and he put his hand on her lower back, “Tommy Baxter, this is Rachelle Thomas. Chelle, this ugly bastard is Tommy.”

  “Nice to meet you.” Chelle smiled and shook Tommy’s hand. She was trying not to concentrate on how good, how right, it felt for Riley to be touching her again.

  Bingo! That is what had felt so off before, she thought. It wasn’t just his mood or his change in demeanor. It was the fact that he had made absolutely sure not to touch her. Stepping to the side as she passed him in the hall, opening the door and then backing completely out of the way before she stepped through it. He had even placed the bottle of wine and small present for Tommy and Mindy's baby Serena, which they had picked up on their way back from the cruise, between the two of them in the cab.

  Now, just this small connection of his hand resting on her lower back filled her with an 'all is right in the world' sensation. Everything was how it should be.

  Crap! She had it bad.

  “Nice to meet you too.” Tommy smiled and a look passed between him and Riley that felt significant, although she couldn’t quite put her finger on why that was.

  “Come on in. The baby just woke up so Mindy is upstairs with her.”

  “Congratulations, man! I am so happy for you guys.” Riley seemed a little bit more like himself as they walked through the entrance of the gorgeous Victorian-style townhome.

  She looked around and felt like she had walked through the front door and right into the pages of Better Homes and Garden magazine. It was breathtaking.

  “Wow, your home is so beautiful,” she said, hearing the awe in her own voice.

  “Yeah, my wife loves all things HGTV. She did a lot of redecorating while we were waiting for Serena to arrive. I think she called it nesting.”

  “Well, she did a great job. This looks like a house that could be featured on one of those shows,” Chelle said, still taking in every detail.

  “Thanks.” Chelle looked up and saw a stunning dark-haired woman carrying a little bundle of love down the wooden stairway. Chelle could not believe that the woman before her had recently had a baby. With her exotic, dark beauty and tall, willowy frame, she looked more like a runway model than the mother of a newborn.

  The woman smiled as she reached the bottom step. Her face was open and friendly. “I was going stir-crazy waiting for this little princess to show up and I may have gone a little overboard.”

  “No, not at all. It’s incredible.”

  “Hey, Gorgeous.” Riley pulled her and the baby into a hug.

  “Watch it, Sloan,” Tommy joked, “Don’t get all handsy with my wife.”

  Mindy laughed. Riley turned to Chelle, “Chelle, this is Mindy...Mindy, Chelle.”

  They said their hellos and Tommy stepped up and kissed his wife on the forehead, “And this little angel is Serena.”

  Chelle moved forward and looked down at the baby, “Oh, she’s so beautiful. She’s perfect.”

  And she was. Chelle didn’t think in all of her years at the hospital she had ever seen such a beautiful baby.

  “Thank God she takes after you, Mindy.” Riley teased.

  They laughed. “Do you want to hold her?” Mindy asked, and as she spoke she was already in the process of placing baby Serena into Riley’s arms.

  Oh boy! Was there anything sexier than a big, strong, tough man holding a tiny little baby? Nope, Chelle decided as she attempted not to blatantly drool, there sure as hell wasn’t.

  Riley looked so at ease holding the baby. Chelle had seen a lot of new fathers that looked supremely uncomfortable and awkward when they held their babies, but Riley looked like an old pro.

  She felt an ache in her chest. Hoo boy. She knew that she was beginning to want things that she had no business wanting.

  “She likes you.” Mindy smiled, “You’re good with her.”

  Tommy stepped behind his wife and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Yeah, man. When are you gonna get one of these?”

  Riley looked at them, smiling a little. Chelle thought that the smile seemed a little wistful. “A wife or a kid?”

  “Both.” Tommy smiled back, and there was nothing wistful about his grin. It radiated nothing but pure joy.

  “I don’t think it’s in the cards, man.” Riley again turned his attention to the tiny bundle in his arms.

  “Which one, the wife or the kids?” Tommy shot back.

  “Both.” Riley stared down at Serena, who began wiggling in his arms.

  “That’s what I thought, too.” Tommy kissed the top of his wife’s head. “Now I don’t know what the hell I was even doing before this.”

  Mindy shook her head and laughed, “I do. You were getting drunk with your buddies and being a man-whore.”

  Chelle watched the interaction between the two of them and a twinge of sadness began to form in her chest. She wanted that - the easy camaraderie that accompanied the sparks that flew off of them every time their eyes met.

  She had never experienced that before, never fit with someone that way. She had seen that kind of a relationship, sure - with Jason and Katie. But she had thought it must be a fluke. A once in a lifetime kind of connection.

  She had only been around Tommy and Mindy for a few minutes, but she already recognized that they had the same kind of love that Jason and Katie had. When Tommy looked at his wife it was like the rest of the world didn’t exist. She wanted a man to look at her that way. Like all he needed was her.

  “Alright, you boys head out back. That Saté is not going to barbeque itself. I’m gonna go check on the peanut sauce.” She began to take baby Serena out of Riley’s arms.

  “Can I hold her?” Chelle asked. She loved babies so much. Which was the main reason she had chosen to work as a nurse in labor and delivery.

  Mindy smiled widely, “Of course.”

  “She’s qualified,” Riley said as he handed the small infant to Chelle, “she’s a nurse in the baby place in the hospital.” If Chelle was not mistaken, she heard a note of pride in his voice. Hmm. That observation warmed her from within more than it probably ought to.

  “Labor and delivery,” Chelle smiled as she clarified, and the group chuckled.

  As Chelle took the precious bundle from Riley’s arms and their skin connected for a moment, something passed between them. It felt more like a shot of pure electricity than anything Chelle had ever experienced. She was momentarily stunned by it, paralyzed.

  But then she felt Miss Serena squirming in her arms and was brought out of the trance-like state that shock had momentarily put her into.

  She looked down at the newborn and, like clockwork, tears began to form in her eyes. For some reason, every time she held a new baby for the first time, she got choked up. Everyone on the nursing floor she worked on teased her
about it. It had, in fact, become a running joke in Labor and Delivery. They called her 'Waterworks.'

  She didn’t mind. She wasn’t embarrassed about it. New life was a miracle. Secretly, she kind of looked down on the others for not getting choked up, although she would never tell them that. I mean, come on...if you could look down into the face of a squirming little bundle of brand-new tiny human and not feel overwhelmed by the awesomeness inherent in that...well, Chelle couldn't wrap her mind around that level of jadedness.

  Not to mention, they were just damn cute.

  “You okay?” Riley asked. He rubbed the small of her back.

  She nodded and shook her head, “I always get all misty-eyed whenever I hold a new baby for the first time.”

  “You must keep a lot of Kleenex on hand at work then,” Tommy teased.

  Chelle smiled, “I should have stock in the company.”

  She looked back down at Serena. Her sweet face, her perfect lips, her long eyelashes.

  Riley moved closer to her, leaning close to her ear, “I’ll be out back if you need me.”

  He placed a soft kiss on her temple and Chelle felt her knees go weak.

  Phew! Sensory overload!

  Holding Serena, having Riley rub her back and whisper in her ear (and true it wasn’t ‘sweet-nothings’, but still!)...and then the cherry-on-top – him kissing her sweetly before heading out back.

  How much more perfect could that moment be? A little voice in the back of her head reminded her that it wasn’t real. Her perfect moment was not reality. Riley wasn’t hers. She wasn’t his. Okay, so maybe not the perfect moment...

  Chapter Fourteen

  “Do you want a glass of wine, soda, water?” Mindy offered as she was bustling around the kitchen.

  “Water would be great, thanks.” She had probably ingested more alcohol in the past week than she had in the entire twenty-eight years previous. It might not be a bad idea to give it a rest for the evening.

  Chelle sat at the beautiful oak kitchen table with baby Serena in her arms.

  “So, Tommy said that you and Riley grew up together.”

  “Yeah, well, kind of. He and my older brother Eddie are really good friends.”

  “So, do you live out here now? Riley grew up close to Chicago, right?” Mindy asked as she stirred scrambled eggs and chopped up pieces of chicken into rice, which she called Nasi Goreng.

  “Yes, he did. We grew up in a little town called Harper’s Crossing. And I actually still live in Harper's Crossing, I just came out here for, um, a vacation.”

  “Oh that’s fun. How long are you staying?”

  “I’m not sure. Maybe another week or so.”

  “So, Riley and you...is that new? Or have you guys been doing the long distance thing?”

  Mindy was putting out a strong protective vibe and, although all these questions were making Chelle a little uncomfortable, she could sense that they weren’t being asked out of any sort of gossipy or nosy intention. No, it was obvious that Mindy wanted to safeguard Riley's happiness. She was trying to make sure that Chelle was on the up and up.

  Chelle could appreciate that. She would want to do the same. Although her protective instinct may have some ulterior motives attached to them (and, in fact, would probably be more in the realm of 'territorial' than 'protective') since she had feelings for Riley. But, she wanted the best for him all the same.

  “Oh, Riley and I aren’t a couple. The poor guy just got dragged into the soap opera that is my life. He’s just looking out for me.”

  Mindy gave her an odd look, “So, you guys aren’t together?”

  Chelle figured instead of beating around the bush and trying to tell half the story she might as well just come out with it. It was easier than trying to explain without really explaining. Plus, it would put Mindy’s mind at ease.

  “No, we aren't. So, here's the story. A few weeks ago my best friend Katie married Riley’s brother Jason. On the morning of the wedding, my fiancé told me that he had been sleeping with his eighteen year old secretary, that she was pregnant, and they were getting married.

  “Holy crap!”

  “Indeed,” Chelle agreed, and then pressed on, “Katie, who is the sweetest best friend in the whole world, ended up finding out the news at the reception. She offered me her apartment here in the city. She just moved back to Harper’s Crossing and still had a couple more months on her lease. She knew this would give me time to get my head together, and also time for Katie – who is a lawyer, by the way, I forgot to mention that – to convince my ex-fiancé that it wasn't actually legal to decide that I had five days to vacate my condo, at which point his new girlfriend was changing the locks. Which was another little gem that he dropped on me at the wedding. At the reception, as a matter of fact.”

  “He sounds like a delight,” Mindy said ironically, shaking her head.

  “Oh, yeah. A real winner. Anyway, I got out here and started wallowing. All the alone time, you know? I wasn't answering my phone, so Jason and Katie got worried and asked Riley to stop by and check on me. That’s all, the whole sordid tale. There’s nothing going on between us.”

  Mindy had turned away from the stove and now gave Chelle her undivided attention. “Wow, I’m so sorry. That is crazy, I don’t even know what to say.”

  Chelle smiled and looked back down at baby Serena who had fallen asleep, “No, it’s fine. It actually feels good to say the whole thing out loud, get a little perspective on it. I wasn't fishing for sympathy, honest! I only told you because I didn’t want you to get the wrong idea about Riley and me.”

  She nodded and turned back to the stove, “So how long is Riley planning on staying?”

  Good question, Chelle thought to herself, I would love to know the answer to that myself! “I don’t know,” Chelle responded, her voice a study in intentional casual inflection, “He hasn’t really said.”

  Mindy looked out the window towards her husband and Riley, “I know it’s none of my business, and I probably shouldn’t say anything...” she hesitated, and Chelle didn't know if she planned to go on.

  “Oh, now you have to tell me,” Chelle encouraged, “Some of the best conversations in history have started with that opening line. I mean...probably some of the worst, as well, but let's not think about that part right now...”

  The two women laughed, and Mindy looked more at ease. Chelle's joke had done the trick.

  “Look, I don’t know you that well, but I like you,” Mindy confided, “And if my intuition is correct, you care about Riley. A lot.”

  “I do,” Chelle nodded, keeping her voice neutral, not sure if she was going to like what Mindy had to say but certain that she needed to hear it.

  Mindy put the burners on low and moved away from the stove to sit directly across from Chelle. “I’ve known Riley for almost a decade now. I’ve seen him with other women. A couple I think he genuinely cared about.”

  Why did those words feel like a punch to Chelle’s solar plexus?

  Of course he had cared about women. He had said himself that he had been in a couple of serious relationships. It had nothing to do with her. She breathed out slowly, doing her level best not to let her internal turmoil show up on her face.

  Mindy continued, “But I’ve never – NEVER – seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you. I’ve never seen him be affectionate with anyone, even his more serious girlfriends. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when he kissed you right before he headed outside.”

  “Me too, to be honest,” Chelle confided.

  Mindy smiled, “Sometimes people don’t see what’s right in front of them. They are just too close to the situation. I know you’ve known him a lot longer than I have, and it’s not my place to say, but…”

  “But what?” Chelle was on pins and needles.

  “I just think…”

  The sliding glass door slid open, “Alright ladies, chicken Saté, fresh off the grill.” Tommy held a plate stacked with chopped up chicken on kabob s
ticks. It smelled and looked delicious.

  Mindy stood and reached for Serena, “Great! Let me put this little princess down and we can eat.”

  As she took the baby from Chelle’s arms she winked at her conspiratorially and Chelle felt like she might have just made a very good, new friend.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Riley loved watching Chelle. He was blown away by how people responded to her, and how she seemed to blend seamlessly into any new situation. His friends obviously loved her, and she seemed to be having a good time, as well.

  After dinner, they all decided to go into the game room to play some cards, and Chelle was currently killing them at gin rummy. She looked so relaxed, like she didn’t have a care in the world, and Riley thought that he could sit here, watching her laughing and having fun, for the rest of his life and never tire of it.

  They heard the baby cry and Mindy stood, “That’s my cue.”

  “Yeah, that's probably our cue, too. It’s getting late, we ought to get going.” Riley stood and gave Mindy a hug.

  “Do you mind if I go say goodbye to the baby?” Chelle asked.

  “Of course.” Mindy threaded her arm through Chelle’s as the women headed up the stairs. As he watched her leave, he realized how perfectly she fit into his world. In fact, he realized that maybe it wasn't even so much that Chelle fit into his world, but more that his world had always had a Chelle-sized hole in it, just waiting for her to come along and take her rightful place.

  He knew this was a dangerous train of thought, but damn. The evidence was difficult to ignore. None of his family or friends from home had ever met his military family. Not even Eddie. He tended to keep those worlds separate. But Chelle just wove right in. No fuss, no muss. She was perfectly matched.

  Tommy remained seated and took a long swig of his beer. “So, you still planning on heading down to New Orleans?”

  Riley sat back down, “Yeah.” He picked up his Bud and took a drink.

  “Really?” Tommy didn’t look convinced. In fact, he seemed a little 'smirky' for Riley's liking.