by Ashlee Price
Jenna felt a wave of anxiety as Tanner wrapped up his trip down memory lane and focused his eyes on her. They had made a lot of memories here, but right now it was making her nervous to have the man she’d rolled around with in her dreams standing in the living room. They were in her house alone, and she couldn’t stop undressing him with her eyes.
“Thank you,” she finally blurted out.
“You’re welcome,” he smirked. “I got something for you.”
“Really? I should have gotten something for you and everybody else down at the station. Who knows what would have happened if you guys hadn’t shown up when you did.” Jenna moved over so he could sit next to her.
Tanner handed her a plastic bag. Inside of it was her purse. It reeked of smoke like it had been barbecued. But her stuff was intact. She pulled out her phone, and it powered on just enough to show it was okay—but at 1%. It quickly shut itself back off. “Damn. Thank you so much, Tanner. I can’t believe how much I owe you for today. I guess that dream I had about you this morning was actually a good thing.”
“Wait a minute, a dream? What was it about?” he laughed.
“Nothing I want to talk about sober,” she giggled.
“But you don’t drink.”
“Exactly,” she laughed.
“So what time are you heading over to The Wheel?” he asked her.
“I’m not. Dad’s orders to relax and take the night off. Apparently I’ve been through a lot today.”
“You’ve been through a lot, period. I see you have a smorgasbord already, but how about you let me take you out to dinner?”
“You save my life and now you’re trying to wine me and dine me? What did I do to deserve all of this?”
“You lived! I had no idea who was in that store. We only went through the wall to make sure no one was stuck, and when I saw it was you, my heart nearly stopped. I don’t know what I would have done if—” he stopped himself. “Never mind. We got to you and got you both out.”
“Speaking of which, do you know if Llana is okay? The shop owner. She was out cold by the time you guys got to us.”
“Yeah, she’s alright, I think. I know they were keeping her overnight for observation, but I don’t know much more than that. So do you feel up to going out? Grabbing a bite with me?”
“Sure, as long as I can shower first. I’m the one who smells like a burning building even though you’re the actual firefighter,” she chuckled.
Jenna made her way up the stairs to shower. The burn on her leg wasn’t too bad. It didn’t hurt that much, she told herself. Yet she still made sure to keep it out of the water while she washed herself and got dressed.
Tanner got up from the couch when she made it back into the living room. With a slick smile on his face, he nodded. “I like, but I was kind of hoping you’d come down in that hula skirt and coconut bra combo from earlier.”
“Ha, ha, very funny.” She pushed him playfully toward the door.
Not wanting to end up anywhere fancy, the two agreed to grab a bite to eat at a nearby diner. It wasn’t the best food in town, but it wasn’t the worst either. They sat down to eat, talking about everything from the fire to the fun times they had shared as kids in Doveport. There was so much history between them, mostly from before they started dating.
It had always bothered Jenna that they’d lost touch after she went back to school, but she knew that wasn’t on her. If Tanner hadn’t told her what he had, they would have been much closer. Perhaps that dream she’d had would have even been a reality.
Sitting across the table from him, Jenna couldn’t help but replay the images of his face between her legs and wonder if the real thing lived up to her fantasy.
“So tell me about this dream,” he said to her as if he were reading her mind.
Jenna just knew she was blushing. The goofy smile on Tanner’s face told her she was. He slid around the table into the booth seat with her. “I can tell that it’s something you need a drink for by how red you’re turning. Please just tell me all the other details, then. I’m curious.”
She felt his hand on her thigh. With her short shorts on, he was inches away from making her dream a reality. Her heart began to race as she moved a piece of hair behind her ear. “Well, we were married.”
“Not the most farfetched idea in the world. I’ve heard worse,” he laughed. “Go on.”
Giggling to herself, she practically hid her face as she told him, “And we were on our honeymoon. We were celebrating our union as husband and wife when we got interrupted.”
“Interesting,” he smirked mischievously. “I think I like where this is going.”
“Oh, don’t celebrate just yet. You end up in shackles,” she laughed.
“I’m not into handcuffs and bondage, but I could be for the right person,” he whispered to her, moving his hand further up her thigh.
Jenna tried hard to control her breathing, but the closer his fingers crept to the edge of her shorts, the more anxious she got. Her center was growing moist, and the only thing he’d done was rub her thigh!
“So what happens before I end up in shackles?” he asked her, biting his lower lip. The sight of it made Jenna melt.
She was getting hot just sitting there. “I can’t believe we’re doing this. I shouldn’t have said anything to you about the dream. Let’s talk about something else.”
“I don’t want to,” he said, and this time he moved in closer. He was looking to her, waiting for her to stop him, but Jenna just sat there. “Did I do anything like this in the dream?”
Her heart pounded against her chest as Tanner’s lips were suddenly grazing her neck while his hands grazed the wet spot between her thighs. He wasn’t inside of her shorts, but she wasn’t sure she’d stop him if he went there.
“Yes,” she answered him with her voice trembling. After taking a deep breath, Jenna pulled away from him. “Tanner, you just broke up with your girlfriend less than 24 hours ago. I don’t want to be some rebound summer fling thing.”
“I can respect that,” he said, backing off. “But you know I’d be like this with you even if—”
“Even if what? You and Brandy were still together?” she laughed.
“Yeah, I guess that doesn’t sound too good. I mean, I’m always going to have feelings for you. That’s it. End of story. If you don’t feel anything like that, tell me and I’ll back off.”
“That’s not it. It’s just that I’ve been the rebound girl before, and guess who gets her heart broken? You need at least a two-week window in case you decide to reconcile with Brandy.”
Tanner burst into laughter. “Who made up that rule?!?”
“It’s not funny. I’m sure there’s some sort of scientific study on it. But human nature doesn’t lie. The last time you and Brandy broke up, how long from then until you decided to patch things up and give it another go?”
Her question made him sit back and actually think for a moment. But before he could answer, she asked him, “Okay, now think about the time you broke up before that; same question. Think about all of the times you’ve broken up and gotten back together, how long was the time in the middle?”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “It’s been about two weeks every single time. But I’m done this time. I’ve never had a guy text my phone telling me what my girlfriend was doing with him and then send me photographic proof. I mean, I was definitely a fool before for taking her back, but I’d have to be downright stupid to do that again. I’m done, Jen. I swear.”
“I believe you, but will Brandy?”
“It doesn’t matter if she does or not,” he told her with his face twisted in confusion.
“Yeah, it does,” Jenna said frankly.
“Why?”
“Because she just walked in and is coming this way,” she huffed.
“Crap, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t apologize yet. See what she wants first,” Jenna laughed.
“I can’t believe you’re here, in my fav
orite diner, with somebody else!” Brandy yelled for the entire restaurant to hear.
“You don’t own this place. I can eat wherever I want, with whoever I want,” he told her, not putting too much energy into his response. “Are you following me or something?”
“No, I just want to talk to you. We need to fix this thing between us,” she said, eyeing Jenna nervously. “I don’t care if you’ve slept with her, I forgive you. Now let’s go outside and talk!”
“You might as well,” Jenna told him, sucking her teeth and shaking her head. “You know she won’t leave until you do.”
“Fine, outside,” he told Brandy, pointing to the door.
Jenna wasn’t exactly sure why she was mad that he did what she told him, but she was. A part of her wanted him to tell Brandy to hit the road, but maybe that was unreasonable. Their history was far more recent than the history she had with him. So, with a heavy sigh, Jenna turned around to watch the two argue in the parking lot. The fire between them was obvious. There was nothing Tanner could tell her that would make her believe they were done. She’d have to hear it from the both of them, and even then it would still be a stretch.
Instead of waiting for her order to come out, Jenna got up from the booth, adjusted her shorts and walked toward the door. She wasn’t far from The Wheel, so she decided to take a walk. She had grad schools to think about. As much as she wanted Tanner to literally be the man of her dreams, his reality was wrapped around a tall, leggy blonde who loved to cause drama. That wasn’t her, and she wasn’t going to become that kind of person for anyone.
Leaving Tanner alone was going to be hard, but with so many other things going on in her life it wasn’t going to be that hard. Even better, she had a party to throw at The Wheel. That would be a wonderful distraction for her. Jenna was sure that her feelings of ‘more than lust’ and ‘less than love’ for Tanner would subside as time went by.
Chapter 7
The sound of Jenna’s phone vibrating across the bar top was distracting. It became even more annoying when she glanced down to see it was Tanner calling her again. It had only been a few days since she walked out on him at the diner while he was arguing with Brandy. She’d just figured they’d gotten back together; it had taken him over an hour to call her after she left, and then he cut the conversation short, promising to call her back. However, even though Tanner had kept his word, Jenna wanted nothing to do with him anymore. Everything had seemed wonderful right before Brandy interrupted them—but then, so had her dream.
“So you never did tell me the details about what happened that night at the diner. And why you refuse to answer his calls,” Hannah said, moving next to her. They both stared at his face flashing across the screen.
“That’s because it doesn’t matter.” Jenna fished around a box of decorations and handed her a bunch of leis. The flower necklaces came in every shade under the sun. “Hang these by the door. I want everyone to get one along with their complimentary drink ticket.”
“I still don’t understand how giving away free drinks is going to make us any money!” Paul shouted as he fought with one of the grass skirt tablecloths Jenna had told him to decorate with.
“Well, Dad, it works like this: The first 50 people get a free drink, and everyone else after that gets half off until eleven. From eleven until closing drinks are full price. Most people will order as many drinks as they can before the cutoff time. We shut the bar down by one and have everybody out of here by two. It’s going to work, Daddy. I promise,” Jenna assured him.
The bar was already much brighter than the dreary wooden shell it would go back to after this party was over. There were hula skirts around the tables. Paper lanterns were strung from the corners of the room, meeting in the center right above the bar. Jenna had tiki torches set up at each corner and flowers draped around the counter top. Taking a glance around the place, she was happy with the result.
Paul, on the other hand, thought it was way too frilly for his place. He wanted it to end before it even started. Aggravation came easy as the grass skirt he was still fumbling around with got tangled. He threw it on the floor and stormed off to the back office without saying a word.
“I guess we gotta finish this up on our own,” Hannah laughed.
“Yep, I guess so,” Jenna giggled as she pulled a banner from the box. “Um, I’m going to hang this outside. You finish putting those flowers up. Oh, and put the oil in the torches on the table.”
“Don’t you think it’s a bit dangerous and stupid having fire around a bunch of drunk coeds?” Hannah scrunched up her face.
The entire scene played out in Jenna’s mind and she had to agree. “Yeah, on second thought, I’ll only use one torch. I’ll keep it behind the bar and only light it when the party starts. After that, I’ll put it out. But can you do me a favor?”
“What?” Hannah sighed with her hands on her hips.
“Can you run out and get some of those LED flame looking things? We can put those in the torches instead of the oil. This way we don’t burn the place down.”
“Fine,” Hannah said, grabbing her keys and taking off.
Jenna turned back to the banner, but then the sound of a string of red paper lanterns falling from the corner let her know she still had work to do inside. Grabbing the ladder, she made her way toward the corner with a roll of tape and her staple gun. She was determined not to have to put either of them up again for the rest of the night.
The rickety ladder was covered in paint and had been loaned around town for as long as she could remember. No one even remembered who the ladder belonged to. The next business that needed it would come to the bar and it would get moved around just like that. It was a piece of Doveport charm that Jenna loved. But she didn’t particularly love the way it shook under her feet as she climbed to the top rung.
With her back to the entrance, Jenna heard the door open but couldn’t see who it was. She didn’t really care all that much, either; she was focused on keeping her balance and stapling the decorations in place.
“Why aren’t you answering my calls?” Tanner asked from behind her. The sound of his voice startled Jenna so much that she yelped and fell back off the ladder, right into his arms.
“Damn it, Tanner! What the hell?!? You scared me half to death. I could have fallen and broken my neck or something!” she yelled, hitting him as he put her down onto her feet.
“I’m sorry, but you’ve been ignoring my calls all week. You walked out on me at the diner. Every time I show up at your house, either no one answers the door or your father threatens to shoot me! He knows we’re not dating, right?” he said, running his fingers through his hair—his sandy blond hair that was product-free and flopping around charmingly as he followed Jenna, who was storming off toward the bar. He took a look around at all the tiki torches on the tables. “You’re not going to light those, right? That’s against fire code. You don’t have enough ventilation in here for the oil to burn off, and you don’t have a sprinkler system. As a matter of fact, I only see two extinguishers.”
“Okay! Stop!” Jenna shouted angrily, “What do you want from me?”
“I want us to be friends again. I want us to talk. We were in such a good place and—”
“You mean your hand was in a good place,” she hissed. “I told you that you guys were getting back together. You’re still in that two-week window, and I don’t want any part of that. Granted we’re not in love anymore, Tanner, but I still care about you. And I care about myself even more. I’ve lost enough people in my life, and I don’t want to take you back in just for you to cut me loose again when your girlfriend says she doesn’t like me. Oh, and the other extinguishers are in the kitchen, and there are two mini ones under the bar at each side, per code and our last passing inspection by the Fire Marshal.”
“I can’t talk in here. I feel like your dad is going to come out here any minute with a shotgun to chase me off the premises. Let’s go outside for a second,” he pleaded with her.
Tanner’s eyes danced around the room until he found a compromise. Grabbing her hand, he pulled Jenna toward the back room, closing the door behind them.
“Okay, Tanner, you have me back here. Now what do you want to say?” The annoyance in her voice cut through the air.
“Alright, me and Brandy are over. I don’t care about your two-week rule. I know when I’m done.”
“But you’re going to keep entertaining her antics, and I don’t want any part of that, either! She’s never going to leave you alone, and if she never leaves you alone, then you know what that means? That means she never leaves me alone! I’m too young and too old to deal with that kind of unnecessary stress, especially if all you want us to be is just friends.”
Her reasoning was solid, but Tanner smiled. “So you would put up with it if we were trying to become more than friends?”
“That’s not what I meant.” She narrowed her eyes to him. Tanner stepped closer to her. Jenna backed away. She kept backing away until her back was pressed against the wall.
“So if I kissed you right now, you’d what? Slap me? Or kiss me back?”
She hated how much of an effect he had on her. But as her heart raced, and her lust for him reignited, she teased him, “I guess you’ll have to find out.”
Tanner didn’t hesitate, taking her face into his hands and pulling her into his embrace. His mouth moved over hers as their tongues met and danced with one another. The privacy of the back room let their inhibitions vanish as Jenna found herself grabbing at his shirt and pulling it over his head. Tanner smirked as he took both of her wrists in one of his hands and held them firmly against the wall above her head. His other hand pushed her shirt and bra up, tugging gently, teasing her with his fingertips. Then his mouth replaced his fingers and his soft, supple lips moved from her neck down to her chest. The sweet agony of his teeth grazing her flesh brought shockwaves of pleasure.