His One and Only

by Theodora Taylor

  “Josie,” Beau suddenly yelled out from the kitchen. “What’s taking you so long?”

  Colin looked over her shoulder toward the kitchen door. “That him?” he asked. Then before she could answer. “I think I’m going to go reintroduce myself.”

  But she shook her head frantically and stopped him from coming inside the house with two hands on his chest. “No, Colin. Not like this. I’m so happy to see you again, but I have to get back to work, so I need you to go now. Please.”

  He shook his head. “But this conversation ain’t over.”

  She was now full on straining to keep Colin from moving forward. Man, he was a lot stronger than the skinny kid she’d grown up with. “I’ll meet you later on, I promise. But now isn’t the time or the place.”

  Colin immediately stepped back as if he’d merely been waiting for her to promise to come see him. “Fine. I’ll see you tonight. But if I don’t hear from you by eight, don’t think I’m not coming back here. I worked too hard to find you.” He took her hand in his and kissed the back of her fingers. “And we have a lot to talk about.”

  “Josie!” Beau called again, before she could answer.

  She took her hand back from Colin. “See you tonight,” she said, before closing the door in his face.

  She would never say she was glad Beau was blind, but she was happy she didn’t have to try to hide how nonplussed she was by Colin’s sudden reappearance, because she didn’t think she would have been able to if she tried.

  It had transitioned from dusk to night while she’d been going back and forth with Colin at the door, but Beau was now standing by the kitchen table, his ever-present sunglasses covering his eyes.

  “What took you so long?” he asked.

  And she stood there, trying to decide how much to tell him.

  CHAPTER 19

  SHE SHOULDN’T HAVE TOLD HIM ANYTHING, she thought to herself less than an hour later. She had tried to play off Colin’s coming by the house as a fun coincidence, keeping her voice light when she told him he was in town and decided to look her up.

  But Beau had crooked his head to the side and asked, “Is he in town for a concert?”

  “I’m not sure,” she answered, though she suspected he wasn’t. “I would think that would be the most likely case.”

  “Yeah, you were always a little naïve where Fairgood was concerned,” he said.

  “The main point is he asked me to catch up over dinner later on. He’s staying at the Birmingham Grand.”

  Beau went still. “He asked you to meet him at his hotel?”

  “Not in his room or anything. In the bar. We’re just grabbing something to eat.”

  Beau gave her a humorless smile. “That sounds fine to me.”

  “Really?” she said, trying to keep the surprise out of her voice. It wasn’t like Beau to acquiesce this easily.

  “Sure,” he answered. “I’m looking forward to catching up with Fairgood. In fact, we can go now if you want to. Just give me a few minutes to get changed.”

  Josie’s face fell, but she hadn’t been able to come up with a response that would get her out of the house and keep him from coming with her. And that was how she ended up at a table for three in the Birmingham Grand’s main bar and restaurant with Beau, waiting for one of the biggest country stars in America to meet them.

  To Colin’s credit, he played it cool when he’d come downstairs to find Beau playing third wheel. He only paused for a second before dropping into the half-circle booth beside her.

  “Hey, Josie,” he said. “See you decided to bring a guest along with you.” His eyes then landed on Beau. “Sorry to hear about your accident, man. Saw the replay on SportsCenter. That take down was brutal. And losing your sight on top of that. I don't even know how you're managing right now."

  Something ticked in Beau's jaw but he kept his voice calm and casual when he responded, "I'm managing just fine, thanks."

  Colin lazily signaled a waiter for three beers. "ESPN must have called it wrong then,” he said. “They had a doctor on there saying your career was over and your eyesight wasn't ever coming back."

  Another dangerous pause before Beau said, "Wouldn't be the first time they got something wrong."

  And Josie threw Colin a look that clearly conveyed, Stop it. Stop it now!

  But Colin either didn't see her censorious look or was determined to get into it with Beau, because he said. "I mean, yeah they've gotten a few things wrong. Like when they called the Suns to go beyond the playoffs last year, but I ain't never seen them say a player's career was finished when it wasn't."

  Before Beau could answer, Josie jumped in. "Well, Mr. Prescott's doing better than expected under the circumstances. Can we change the subject now?"

  But Colin lifted his eyebrows at her. "Mr. Prescott, is it?"

  Beau frowned in her direction. "I told you to call me by my first name," he said to Josie.

  Colin leaned forward then, with more viciousness than she remembered his eyes containing. "Thing is, she shouldn't be calling you anything. I don't know how you convinced her to come back to Alabama and play nursemaid for you, but I can clearly see you're taking advantage of her."

  "He's not," Josie said. "I came back to Alabama on my own to live in my grandma’s old trailer because I didn't have anywhere else to stay. And I got lucky, because I needed a job and Beau's mama needed somebody to help Beau out."

  Colin's eyes stayed on Beau. "So you got your mama to do your dirty work?"

  "No," Josie said. "He had no idea she hired me. In fact he was mad when he found out she did."

  "Really, Jo-Jo? Because Beau don't seem all that broken up about it,” Colin said.

  "That's because Jo-Jo and I came to a mutually satisfactory understanding."

  "A mutually satisfactory understanding," Colin repeated, his eyes narrowing.

  "Yep." Beau drew the word out, letting all sorts of innuendo creep into it.

  Colin cut his eyes at Josie. "What kind of understanding?"

  "As much as I love talking about my job during my non-working hours, I'd really like to change the subject now," she said.

  "Alright,” Beau said. “Let’s talk about Fairgood. What made you come down from Nashville? I assume you’re in town for one of your little concerts.”

  Her eyes flew to Colin to see if he was offended. But he stayed cool and collected, at least on the outside.

  “Nah, this visit is all about pleasure, Prescott. But next month I’ve got one of my sold-out concerts scheduled at Suns Stadium in Los Angeles. Hey, ain’t that where you used to play?”

  Josie’s mouth fell open and she was about to chastise Colin for going there, but Beau just smirked and said, “Someone big is letting you open up for them? Good for you, Fairgood.” Then before Colin could correct him, he slid out of the booth and stood up. “Josie, I need to take care of some business in the men’s room. Do you mind taking me?”

  Josie was so stunned he actually asked her for help that it took her a second to respond. “Oh, of course. No problem,” she said.

  She took his arm and led him just around the corner to the bar’s single-person bathroom. “Do you want me to go in with you?” she asked. “Show you where the toilet is?”

  Beau palmed the wall carefully, as if to make to sure there was one there. “No, we can stay out here.”

  “What do mean ‘we’?”

  Her back hit the wall and the next thing she knew, Beau was kissing her with a ferocity that both excited and scared her.

  “Beau, we can’t,” she said, looking sideways. They were mostly hidden behind the brick wall separating the bathrooms from the main dining and bar area. But if anyone walked around the corner… “Not here.”

  She tried to wriggle away, but he caught her hands and pinned them to the wall on either side of her. “The deal was any time, any place I wanted you,” he reminded her, his voice husky in her ear. “And I want you. Right now. Right here.”

  She was about to remind
him it was her night off, when he pressed his pelvis into the triangle between her legs. It felt so good, she almost forgot where she was for a minute, especially when he let go of one of her hands and slipped two of his fingers into the waist band of her leggings and massaged her clit.

  “Beau…” she half-protested, half-moaned.

  “Ssshh, darlin’,” he said. “I’m going to make you come so hard. Just let it happen.”

  He moved his fingers further down and suddenly they were invading her tunnel and filling her in a way that was both delicious and terrifying because of where they were.

  She tried to do the right thing. “Beau we can’t. We shouldn’t,” she said.

  But this only made him press his large body into hers, effectively pinning her against the wall. “Just let it happen,” he said again.

  He pressed the ball of his hand into her womanhood and her clit vibrated with pleasure, causing her formerly protesting body to go limp. She let her head fall against his shoulder, helpless against his sensual attack.

  “Beau,” she moaned, a little too loudly.

  “Yes, that’s it, darlin’.” He let go of her hands and bent down to kiss her. “Let that bastard know you belong to me,” he said between kisses.

  It took a few moments for his words to sink through her sensual fog, but when they did, she went stiff. “Wait, this is about Colin?”

  Instead of answering, he leaned forward and tried to capture her mouth again, but she twisted her face away. “Stop,” she said, tugging on the hand inside her pants. “Just stop!”

  BEAU HAD FUCKED UP. He knew that without a doubt as soon as she asked if this was about Fairgood.

  But he pressed on, caressing her warm mound in his hand. She had been right on the edge. Maybe he could get her back there. “It’s okay,” he whispered.

  “No, it’s not okay. I said no. Stop!”

  He stopped, raising both hands and taking a step back. “Okay, I’m stopping,” he said.

  Her hands hit his chest then, shoving him a few steps backwards. “Seriously? Seriously!?” she asked. “You were just using me to get back at Colin? Again???”

  Beau shook his head. “No, it wasn’t about revenge.”

  “Then what was it about?” Although he couldn’t see her, he felt pretty sure she was glaring at him with her hands crossed firmly in front of her chest.

  “Respect,” he answered. “That skinny fucker thinks he can come in here and take whatever belongs to me. Just like in high school.”

  “I don’t belong to you,” she was almost yelling now. “We’re not in high school anymore, and you can’t just fuck me in public to prove a point.”

  “Why not?” he asked, frustration and anger coursing through his blood. “The deal was for any time, any place—oh wait, I forgot, it’s your night off. My bad.”

  It was below the belt. He knew it was below the belt, but he couldn’t keep himself from saying it. It was better than the truth: that he was afraid. Afraid Colin Fairgood, the country music star who still had his sight and fame, was here for one reason and one reason only: to steal Josie away from him. And he had been pathetically attempting to mark her as his in the most ancient of ways.

  Josie’s voice was soft and fierce when she answered him. “Beau, I’ve put up with a lot from you, mostly because I thought if I tried hard enough I could help you to change, that the good in you would win out over the bad. But I can’t put up with you anymore. You’ve have got to apologize.”

  And even though he couldn’t see, he felt his eyes reflexively narrow. “What?”

  “You heard me. Apologize for what you just said, for talking to me like that. Right now.”

  “Josie…”

  “And don’t you tell me Prescotts don’t apologize again. You don’t get to talk like that to me. Not anymore. Apologize right now.”

  “The deal was—”

  “I know what the deal was, and I’m telling you it’s off if you don’t apologize like a decent human being.”

  “Apologize for what?” he yelled at her. “For using you the way you agreed to be used. Then pointing out that was the agreement?”

  Her voice had a thread of iron going through it when she said, “Humiliating me was not part of the agreement.”

  “That’s bullshit. Humiliating you was the cornerstone of the agreement, and suddenly you’re choosing now to get upset. Not when you made the agreement in the first place. Not last night when I showed up in your room. Now you decide to grow a backbone? Hmm, I wonder what changed.” He pretended to think about it. “Oh, yeah, I know. Another rich guy came along. One who still has his eyesight.”

  “No, Beau. This isn’t about Colin. It’s about you. You treating me like crap, just so you can feel better about yourself.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  For the first time since the argument had started, it sounded like she was hesitating, but she eventually answered. “It means you’re pissed off that you can’t see anymore, that you probably won’t ever be able to see again, and you’re taking it out on me when really, you should be working on accepting that you’re football career is over and learning to live without your sight.”

  Her voice was soft as she said this. It reminded him of how Loretta used to talk him down from temper tantrums. When he was a child.

  “Have you already asked Fairgood to pay you for sleeping with him, or are you just assuming he’s going to offer?” he asked, fury vibrating through his entire body.

  He actually heard her sharp intake of breath after he said that. But after a long silence she said, “I remember when we were teenagers, back when we were still friends, before all the bullshit. You said your number one fear was turning into your father. Well, I’m sorry to say, that’s exactly who I see when I look at you right now, somebody who cares more about getting his way than all the folks he’s stepping on to get it. He never knew anything about the help, and you know what, even after what we went through this afternoon, neither do you.”

  He knew more about her than she thought. He knew he loved her more than any other woman on the face of the earth. He knew she was stronger than she thought. But most of all, he knew, “If I had my sight, you’d pick me.” It felt like he was choking on the words as they fell out of his mouth.

  “No, I wouldn’t,” she yelled back. “Because I was right about you in high school. You’re still a rich asshole and you still don’t deserve me. I quit, Mr. Prescott,” she said. “I quit this job and I quit you.”

  “What’s going on here?” someone said to the right of them.

  Beau bared his teeth. “Walk away, Fairgood.”

  “Is he bothering you, Josie?” Colin asked, ignoring him. “Because if he is—”

  That was a mistake. Beau made a quick calculation, before treating Colin to an uppercut. He’d been aiming for his jaw, but was just as satisfied, when his fist landed in the singer’s solar plexus. And even more so when Colin let out a thick, “Oooomphh!” and Beau felt him hunch over, setting himself up for one of Beau’s knees straight to the face.

  “Colin!” Josie screamed behind Beau. He heard her quick steps as she pushed past him, to tend to Colin, who was probably laid out on the floor. Proving once and for all where her loyalty lied.

  “Now you can quit,” he said.

  CHAPTER 20

  “I CAN’T BELIEVE HE DID THIS TO YOU,” Josie said, dabbing at the blood still issuing from Colin’s nose with the hotel suite’s tissue. They were now in his room at the top of the luxury hotel, tending to his wounds in an over-the-top room tricked out with an actual baby grand, heavy brocaded curtains, and beautiful white couches, which Josie was trying hard to keep free of Colin’s blood.

  “Yeah, for a blind man you claimed wasn’t serious about rehabilitation, he managed to pack an impressive punch. And a knee.”

  Josie studied his nose from a couple of different angles and plugged up his nostrils with two wads of tissue. “Can you breathe okay?”

  �
�No,” he answered. “But that’s probably because you stuffed my nose with Kleenex.” His voice was muffled, but at least he wasn’t wheezing and she couldn’t here any telltale whistling sounds coming from his nostrils, which she knew, from working at the shelter, were signs you should watch out for.

  “I don’t think it’s broken,” she told him. “But you probably want to get it checked out just in case. It’s hard to tell just by looking at it. And I’d hate for it to affect your singing voice.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t worry about my voice, Jo-Jo. I’m what they call a personality singer. I can play the fiddle and write like nobody’s business, but my range ain’t all that great. Just about anybody could sing my songs better than I do. That’s why they’re so big on the karaoke circuit.”

  She chuckled. “I like your voice. You might not have range, but your singing has character. I can hear you in every song.”

  His blue eyes twinkled. “You been listenin’ to my albums, Jo-Jo?”

  “Of course,” she said.

  “If I’m remembering right, you never were much of a country fan.”

  “I’m not,” she admitted. “But I made an exception for you because you were my friend.”

  His eyes searched her face. “We’re not friends anymore?”

  “No, we are,” she quickly assured him. “I’m just really sorry Beau punched you. And then kneed you. I mean, your face, it’s so pretty now.”

  Colin waved his hands in the air. “But my fiddling hands remain intact,” he proclaimed. He flexed his biceps. “And this time it was more like Colossus versus the Green Arrow. So progress.”

  Josie laughed. “You’re mixing up universes. DC and Marvel wouldn’t be happy.”

  Colin shrugged. “Hey I got sucker punched and sucker kneed tonight. Cut this nerd some slack!”

  Josie tilted her head to the side. “So all those hit records and this Captain America body and you still consider yourself a nerd?” she teased.

  Colin’s smile dimmed. “Josie, I know what this looks like, the big career, the sold out stadiums.”