Holy fuck! Um, no. This is not happening. On any other day, I may have been turned on by a woman jamming my hand into her wet pussy, but this isn’t one of those times. I yank my hand away and stand, Nipple Pincher dangling from my body. I take hold of her forearms and loosen her grip. As she slides down my front, I’m sickened to think she’s left snail trails all the way down my clothes.
“Sorry, but this is just one big misunderstanding. I’m sure you’re a very nice woman who deserves to be taken in a public place, but I’m just not the guy to do it.”
I leave her with a scowl on her face like I just slapped her. I would feel bad for her if she wasn’t crazy enough to try to have sex in front of a bunch of kids. What the hell is wrong with her?
And what the hell is wrong with me?
I shake my head the whole way back to my car, replaying everything that went down. But mostly, I’m in a hurry to find a restroom.
So I can wash my hand.
And maybe take a shower.
I feel dirty.
When I arrive at home, I head straight to my room trying to avoid my dad.
My plan doesn’t work. He must have heard me and follows me into my space, tossing himself onto my bed with a big humph.
“Bad day?” he asks.
I don’t answer. Instead, I concentrate on scrubbing my hands with soap and scalding water.
“I can tell by the sneer on your face, son. What do you say you come out with me tonight? I could use a wingman.” I catch a glimpse of his wicked smile in the mirror.
“No thanks.” I grab a pair of workout shorts and an old tee, before shuffling back into my bathroom.
“Come on. I’m not taking no for an answer. You haven’t gone out on a Saturday night the whole time I’ve been staying with you. You’re acting like an old man, Chase. You’re young and good looking, you should be out there banging the babes.”
No, he didn’t just say that. “I said no thanks, Dad. Now, would you mind? I want to take a shower.”
He rolls his eyes. “I said I’m not taking no for an answer.” He pushes himself off my bed, leaving the comforter crumpled and hanging off the side. “Not, no thanks, either. Be ready by eight. You’re going.”
He leaves before I can protest.
Shit!
The man is set in his ways. There’s no getting out of it, unless I’m ready for World War III, which I’m not. It’ll be a lot easier to just go with him. It can’t possibly be worse than my date. At least I hope not.
We arrive at a new local country and western restaurant and bar. I don’t know how my dad finds these places, but the view isn’t bad at all. When we snag two empty seats at the bar as a few people leave, women dressed in short shorts and cropped tanks take our drink order.
My dad gets a Coors Light, which makes me think of Shelly. I chuckle inside as I take a swig from my Shocktop. I think she’d approve of my choice. It’s not completely transparent. And plus, it’s served in a mason jar. I bet she’d get a kick of out that.
“Hey, boys.” Two women join us. One presses her boobs into the side of my arm. Her friend is the talker. “Want to dance?”
“Sure, doll. I can’t refuse someone as beautiful as you.” My dad winks at her, takes her hand, and they disappear into the throngs of people on the dance floor.
Boobs doesn’t say anything. She just smiles up at me as she settles into my dad’s chair. I don’t have anything to say either. I’d much rather sit here all night and watch the servers saunter back and forth in their cute little shorts.
“You’re not a dancer like your brother?” she asks.
It takes me a minute to understand about whom she’s talking about. I laugh for a few breaths. “He’s my dad,” I tell her, with a slight chuckle. “And no, I don’t dance.”
She frowns and then pulls her glass up to her mouth, drawing in her straw and taking one hell of a sip.
I continue checking out the scenery. And that’s when I spot her.
It’s Tiffany.
And she sure the hell isn’t wearing her grandma suit.
I watch her with her group of friends. She throws her head back with laughter—her neck exposed looking all sorts of sexy. She waves her hands in the air as she speaks animatedly about something. The genuine smile on her face makes me want to walk over there and find out what is making her so happy. She never looks this at ease at work, and I wish she did.
“She’s pretty,” boob girl says, putting some distance between us. Thankfully.
I smile like an idiot. “She’s beautiful,” I say before I can stop myself.
“She’s one lucky lady. If a man looked at me that way, I’d melt.” She hops off her barstool and pats me on the shoulder. “Go get her.”
My throat tightens at her words. I can’t “go get her,” but I wish I could.
I can say hello though. Right?
Against my better judgment, I take my mason jar and start weaving through the crowd toward Tiffany.
I’m only a few feet away when she sees me. She mouths an oh shit, her face goes blank and she drops her head, shifting to the side to stand behind her friend. She’s trying to hide from me?
Oh no you don’t.
“Tiffany?” I don’t know why it comes out as a question. I know it’s her.
She loses her shield as her friend steps away. Damn, she’s beautiful in brown cowboy boots and a sexy-as-hell white sundress. Only about six inches of her tan legs show between her boots and the hem of her dress, but it’s hot. It leaves my mind in the gutter imagining the rest of her gorgeous legs.
“Mr. Marino.” She glances up at me with a weak smile, her long hair sweeping across her face. Damn, she looks amazing with her hair down.
“Come on, now. Call me Chase, please. It’s after hours.” I hold up my beer to prove my point.
Her friends giggle. “Okay. Chase, these are my friends.” She introduces each of them to me, and I try to remember their names. I know that would be important to her and, for some reason, I want to please her.
“Nice to meet you, ladies.” I shake each of their hands, trying to make eye contact with them but failing miserably. I can hardly take my eyes off of Tiffany.
“Well, well, what do we have here?”
Son of a bitch.
“Hey, Dad.” The words come out through gritted teeth. “Tiffany, I’ll see you on Monday.” My smile fades as I turn away from her to catch my dad before he makes himself the center of attention with my student teacher and all of her friends.
I toss my arm over my dad’s shoulder and usher him away from the group of girls.
“What was that all about?” he asks, puffing out his chest to me.
I sigh. “That was my student teacher. I was just saying hello. I don’t need you to go making an ass out of both of us.”
“Do you have a claim on her or something?” he asks, challenging me.
“No, I don’t. I work with her.”
“Hasn’t stopped you before.”
If he wasn’t my dad, I’d hit him. “Look, I’m just trying to keep it professional.”
“She’s hot.” Fuck!
“Whatever. Let’s go.” I didn’t want to come in the first place. Now, I really want to get my dad as far away from Tiffany as possible.
“You go, son. I think I’ll stay awhile longer.” He glances over his shoulder at Tiffany and her friends. She looks this way with a quick smirk. I give her an apologetic smile. I’ll have to explain to her why I left in such a hurry. I’d hate to think that I may have hurt her feelings, leaving the way I did.
When I look back at my dad, his gaze is still focused on Tiffany and now, I really do want to punch him. “No, I’ll stay.” There’s no way in hell I’m leaving him with her.
“Suit yourself. I’m going to go dance with my little honey I found earlier.” I roll my eyes as he walks away. What did I ever do to deserve this guy? Why couldn’t I have a normal dad?
A seat opens up at the bar and I take it. I need a r
efill. This is going to be one long-ass night.
I try to get back to observing the servers’ uniforms, but my gaze keeps shifting toward Tiffany. Every once and in awhile our eyes meet and she smiles. Each time, her smile gets wider and wider, her skin more and more pink. She can’t be getting drunk, can she? I can’t imagine my Tiffany letting her hair down long enough to get intoxicated.
My Tiffany?
What the hell is wrong with me?
I need to get the hell out of here before I do something stupid. I search the crowd of hillbilly dancers for my dad.
“Are you going to hold up the bar all night?”
The sound of her voice has me whipping around and almost falling off the stool.
She laughs a little, holding her hand to her mouth. “Why come if you’re going to nurse the same beer for hours and never even dance? You’re getting looks from all the available women here, and you haven’t even taken the bait. What gives, Mr. Marino?”
I raise a brow. “Chase,” I correct her. “And we’re not having this conversation. Gotta keep it professional.”
“Then I guess I should continue calling you Mr. Marino.” Her words come out in a bit of a slur. She is drunk. I have to choke down a laugh. If I didn’t see it with my own eyes, I would never have believed it.
“Maybe you should, Ms. Gutierrez,” I tease her. She doesn’t say anything right away, so I try to break the ice. “You know what? You never told me why you wanted to be a teacher? Why did you join the ranks of the overworked and underpaid?”
She laughs. “Well, let me tell you a story. It’s not as good as yours, but I like it.”
“Go for it. I’m all ears.”
She smiles widely and my heart skips a beat. “When I was in school, everything bored me. It seemed like everything was just one long day of reading textbooks and taking notes. My teachers rarely did anything to inspire any real learning. That’s why I was so upset when you told me I sucked, and I was boring.”
I reach out my hand to touch hers but then think better of it. “I did not say you sucked. I said you were a little dry. There’s a difference.”
“Yeah, well that reminded me of my old boring teachers and why I wanted to get into this field in the first place.” She takes a swig of her drink. “I had one history teacher who would run all over the room, writing stuff on different white boards, talking rapidly with his hands, and highlighting and circling important things like a crazy man. He woke me up. Made me listen and got me interested.”
“So you wanted to be like him?”
“Exactly. With all my credential classes and all the tedious work they give you, I think I lost sight of what really matters.” She nudges me in the arm. “But you helped me find my way back. Thank you.”
She warms my insides with words. “You’re welcome.”
Tiffany holds up her hand to the bartender. “Shot, please.” She raises two fingers. “Two.”
“What?” I ask.
“Take a shot with me.” She pushes her cocktail aside and waits for the shots to arrive.
I know I shouldn’t but it’s just one drink.
I toss back the tequila and wince as it burns all the way down my throat and into my stomach.
She slams her shot glass on the bar and shouts, “My friends think you’re cute.”
When I don’t say anything, she takes a sip from her girlie concoction. “They can’t believe I get to spend everyday with you.”
What do I say to that? I’m trying to be good here and she’s not making it easy.
“They’ve been filling me with drinks so I’ll have the liquid courage to ask you out or something,” she rattles on, in between constant sipping, the straw still tucked into her mouth.
“That’s not a good idea.”
The happy, smiley Tiffany deflates and she looks away from me. “Forget I said anything.”
She slides down the stool and turns to walk away, but I stop her. I catch her arm and turn her toward me. “Tiffany, look at me, please.” I tuck my finger under her chin and tilt her face upward so I can see her eyes. “I’m flattered. I really am. The old Chase would have had you home and in my bed already. But, I just can’t be that person anymore. You deserve better than that.”
Her lip quivers and my heart breaks. Damn it. This isn’t how I wanted it to be with us. Things were great until my fucking dad brought me here. Fuck!
A strand of soft, wavy brown hair falls into her eyes and I brush it out of her face with my fingertips. I can’t help but cup her cheek in my hand while saying, “I’m sorry, Tiff. I really am.”
And then she goes and melts my heart with the press of her full lips to the inside of my palm. “They’re wrong about you, you know? You’re not a bad guy. You just haven’t been given the chance to be good. Until now.”
My heart just about pounds out of my chest as she walks away. Before I can process what just happened, my dad takes this time to slap me in the back and tell me he’s leaving with one of his dolls.
On my way out, I notice Tiffany sitting at the other end of the bar.
Alone.
CHAPTER SIX - Shelly
“Did you hear that?” I hit the mute button on the TV, startling my husband. We’re both still for a second.
“Yeah,” he says, flipping the covers off of him. “It’s the door.”
“It’s almost midnight,” I tell him. “I’m going to kick Mel’s ass. She’s the only one dumb enough to come knocking at this hour.”
Matty shakes his head as I follow him to the door. He looks into the peephole, pulls his head back, and then looks again. “It’s Chase.”
“What?” I push him out of the way and unlock the door myself. “What the hell are you doing here?” I ask before the door is completely open. I’m surprised to see him standing there with his student teacher cradled in his arms. “What the hell is going on?”
“Will you just open the door all the way, and let us in and I’ll tell you?”
Matt pushes me out of the way this time, clearing the way for my dumbass ex and Tiffany. “Bring her over here.” Chase follows him into the living room and plops the girl down on our chaise lounge. “What’s going on?” Matty asks him.
“Thanks, man.” Chase grabs a throw blanket from the back of the lounge and covers Tiffany with it. He turns to us and begins talking. “I’m sorry to just show up on your doorstep like this, but I had no idea what else to do. Can she stay here tonight?”
“What happened to her?” Matty asks him. Leave it to my sweet husband to show concern instead of just telling the dipshit to take a hike.
“She got wasted and her friends left her at a bar. I was there and I told her I’d take her home. I guess her parents are staying at her place while their house is being painted and she didn’t want them to see her in this condition. We tried calling her friends, but they wouldn’t answer.”
“What the hell kind of friends does she have?” I question, raising my voice.
Chase shakes his head. “Apparently, they thought it would be fun to get her drunk enough to come on to me, so they won’t answer, because they’re hoping something will happen between us.”
“Won’t it?” I roll my eyes. It’s not really a question. Like Chase could keep it in his pants.
“I’m here, aren’t I?” he says, his nose flaring a little. He has no room to be pissy after showing up asking me for a favor.
“Fair enough,” I say. Something is weird about him. A squeal comes from down the hall. I look at Matty and he’s on it. He kisses the top of my head and disappears to take care of Noah. “Why did you bring her here?”
“It’s not like I had a lot of options. I can’t go to Dean’s. Mel and Ty are definitely out of the question. You and Matt are the only rational people I know. I knew you’d understand that Tiffany just needs a place to stay for the evening. I knew you wouldn’t take out what you think of me on her. I can come and get her in the morning and take her wherever she needs to go.”
I wave
him off. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll sleep out here with her, so when she wakes up she knows where she is. Or in case she throws up.” I scrunch my nose at the thought. “Why didn’t you just take her to your house?”
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I just can’t,” he says again.
I roll my eyes at him. “What? Already got another girl there? The one from your date?” I smirk, wagging my brows at him. I expected to get a text this afternoon but we never heard from him. “She was a hot one, huh.”
“If you weren’t helping me out right now, I’d probably tell you off. That girl was foul. I had to go home and shower after meeting her.” He shudders just talking about her.
“The gratification I get from hearing this probably makes me evil, but I’m okay with that.” I tell him, and he counters with a sneer. “So, another woman then?”
“No. I haven’t seen anyone in almost a year.”
I know I’m pissing him off, but I just can’t help pushing. “Then why not take her back to your place?”
“Because my dad is there, Shel!”
Oh. Oh shit. “Why?” I reach my hand out to comfort him, but think better of it. He doesn’t deserve it, but I wouldn’t wish his dad on my worst enemy. And I guess that would be Chase.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to raise my voice. It’s just…well, you know how it is.” He shuts his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “He’s staying with me for awhile.”
I can see his frustration and I’m almost sympathetic. “How long has he been there?”
“About a month.” He scrubs his hands over his face.
“When was the last time you saw him before now?” His dad hasn’t always been there for Chase, and when he has, he’s been a total dick. And that’s probably an understatement.
“It’s been a little over a year.”
“And before that?” I ask.
“The same.”
“And now he’s back and he’s been here for a month?” I question and he nods. “How long is he staying?”
“Not long, I hope. If he doesn’t move soon, I just might.” He steps toward Tiffany and places his hand on her leg for a split second. “I’ve gotta go. Please call me in the morning. Thank Matt for me. Shel, thank you so much for doing this. I know I don’t deserve your help, but I truly appreciate it.”
Playing Chase (Against The Wall) Page 4