Third Wheel (Elton Hall Chronicles Book 3)

by Sarah Fischer

  “Remember to wear your sexy panties on Friday.” He raised his eyebrows and smiled at me.

  I grabbed his shirt before he could walk away, and leaned in. “I don’t wear panties,” I whispered. Then I turned and entered the room before he had a chance to respond.

  As I sat down, I felt my phone vibrate.

  Shane: Down girl, don’t make me take you to the bathroom and force you to prove that.

  Christie: I do what I want.

  Shane: I no, its wat I like bout u.

  I went home from class that night in a better mood, but that was quickly crushed as I came in the front door. Mom was sitting in the living room reading a book. I tried to greet her, but nothing. No response. When I tried to talk to her again, she got up and left the room. I sent her a text message, but she didn’t respond.

  I went to go and find my dad.

  “Listen, she just needs time to get over the shock.”

  “But she can’t keep taking it out on me.”

  “I know. But you have to understand, you made this big decision without her. You didn’t confide in her, and she was embarrassed in front of her friends. She feels like you made her look like a bad mother. Did you know two of the women from the bridal shop are on the board of one of the charities your mother runs? Now she feels like they won’t take her seriously.”

  “What was I supposed to do?”

  “You were supposed to come talk to us.”

  “And what would you have said? Would you have just said it was cold feet?”

  “Christie,” Dad started, and then stopped to rub his face. He looked up at me seconds later and I couldn’t help but notice the lines around his eyes. He looked tired. Mom probably wasn’t letting him get much sleep. “Yes, and I still think it’s cold feet. That man is the best man you’ll ever find. He isn’t just some bum on the street. He loves you fiercely and he wants to take care of you. What more could a father ask for?”

  “How about what I want? I’m your daughter.”

  “You are. And for several months, you said this was what you wanted. Now all of a sudden you change your mind?”

  “Yes, because I wasn’t happy.”

  “Well, you’re not happy now either.” With that, he got up and walked out of his office, leaving me standing across from his desk. He was wrong. I was happy. Maybe if I could explain that to them, they’d see that it never would have worked with Rob.

  I didn’t want to tell them about Shane just yet. Frankly, I wasn’t even sure what to tell them. But there was one person I could tell. She was probably still pissed at me, but it was probably time for me to talk to Mindy.

  “If you’re going to yell at me, then I’m hanging up,” she said instead of saying hello.

  “No, I owe you a big apology and an explanation. Over the summer, I was struggling with the idea of getting married so young.”

  “But why? We’ve been talking about getting married young, having babies, raising them together, and then looking like beautiful MILFS forever.” We made this plan when we were sixteen, and at the time, there was nothing more that I wanted. It was the life we both knew.

  “I know, but then when I was facing the prospect, it scared me. I tried to talk to Rob about it, but he didn’t want to hear it, so we took a break. While I was on the break, I met this guy named Shane. He makes me feel alive in a way that I never felt with Rob. So, I realized that if someone else made me feel this way, then I couldn’t be with Rob. It wasn’t fair to him.”

  “So you’re just jumping into this relationship with this new guy, like, a week after ending things with Rob?”

  “No, things with Rob and I have been done for a while now. I just didn’t want to face it.”

  “Are you in love with this new guy?” she asked me in an accusatory tone.

  “Mindy, it isn’t about Shane. It’s about me. I want to finish school and experience life. With Shane, I get the chance to do that. If next week we never see each other again, my feelings for Rob aren’t going to change. I want different things now. There’s this internship that…”

  “But how do you know? You and Rob were together for four years. That time and those feelings don’t just go away,” she insisted.

  “What I wanted changed. I’m trying to tell you that those feelings, as strong as they were, just don’t mean what they used to. I’ve grown, but he isn’t growing with me. ”

  “Okay. I just don’t want you to regret anything.”

  “I won’t. That’s why I did this.”

  ***

  I spent Thursday morning in class, but for the afternoon, I had a plan. Unfortunately, I would be back to do Zumba with Annabelle tonight. She had reluctantly agreed and we were both filled with a mix of excitement and fear. But first, I had to deal with my mother.

  I headed straight home after class and I walked into the kitchen, where my mother was cleaning the stove, and grabbed her phone off the charging doc.

  “I am taking your phone hostage. Follow me to the car now or I will take it with me to my outing.” I turned around and walked to the car, hoping she was behind me. Her heel clicks confirmed she was there, but she wasn’t talking just yet. I had to remind myself that small victories would help me win the battle.

  We drove in silence. I turned on our favorite Broadway musical soundtrack after a few minutes. I couldn’t stand the quiet, and I hoped it would help loosen her up. After the second song played, I could hear her humming along. I didn’t want to just bust out in song, but I didn’t want not to acknowledge it. I started humming too, and together, we slowly started singing a little louder. I looked straight ahead for fear if I looked over at her, it would break the magic. Ten minutes later, we pulled into the parking lot and I handed her a bag.

  “You may want to change into this. It would be a shame to ruin those designer pants.” I handed it to her and grabbed my own bag that I had stored in the back. “There is a bathroom inside, so you don’t have to strip in the car.”

  She looked at the bag and then at me. Her lips were pressed together in a thin line. The same line when she wanted to argue with my dad but chose against it. I held my breath, waiting to see if she’d decide to fight me, or just do what I ask.

  “Where is inside?” she finally asked. There was some attitude in her voice, but I thought her eyes looked a little curious.

  “I thought you might like to take a painting class with me. I was looking into getting a hobby and I thought that you’d like to come.”

  She rubbed her hands together and her fingers kind of waved. It was like she was itching to get ahold of a brush.

  “Well, I could use the chance to brush up on my skills.” She climbed out of the car and almost ran to the front door.

  Laughing, I followed her inside.

  It was my first professional painting class, so I spent a lot of the class trying to pay attention to what the instructor was saying. However, my mom turned into the teaching assistant. She was giving out pointers and suggesting techniques left and right. I had never see her in this element and it was overwhelming and heartwarming at the same time.

  We walked out of the class an hour later and my mom pulled me into a big hug.

  “Oh darlin’, I needed that. It’s been so long since I worked my creative muscles in a way that was completely selfish. I wasn’t planning for the house or some party. It was just raw painting and I loved it.”

  “Mom, this is how I feel now. There is this big internship at school and I’m in the running. It’s for a calendar year, starting in January. I’m not ready to settle down just yet, and I hope you can respect that. I think this is my new dream.”

  “Listen, I just want what’s best for you, and I really thought you wanted this. I still think he is what’s best for you. But I want you to be happy. I think Rob will wait for you if you want him to.”

  “I tried to bring up waiting and he shut it down. Besides, I’m not sure if he’s what I want anymore. I just feel like I’m going through the motions with him
.”

  “Okay, but promise me you will think about it? Not just for the night, or the week. But really give it some thought. I’d hate to think you threw away your chance at love because you were being hasty.”

  “I will,” I promised and we headed back to the house. I wanted to say I had thought about it. I was sure of the decision I’d made, but I didn’t want to fight. I’d do what she asked and think about it some more. It probably wouldn’t change my decision, but maybe it would change her reaction to it.

  I also thought about telling her more about Shane, but I didn’t want to say anything just yet. I don’t think she would like our night of pleasure very much. Her strict Catholic values would probably cause even more problems for us.

  Tomorrow would be interesting. It could mean a lot more than just a good time, it could be some of the best sex ever that leads to feelings and completely ruin everything, or it could be just a physical thing. The point was, I was thrilled that the options were out there—but a little less thrilled that I had to go back to school for Zumba with Annabelle.

  “Are you sure we have to do this?” she asked as we stood in the back of the school’s gymnasium.

  “Yes. We’re trying to do something new. I can’t dance to save my life, but I am a boss at aerobics. Maybe the two will be similar and I can learn some moves before I make an ass out of myself at Homecoming.”

  “Ugh. Fine. But don’t judge me too harshly. This is probably going to be a disaster.”

  “But it will be a fun disaster.”

  Chapter 9

  I woke up early on Friday and hopped in the shower. I needed to shave…everything. There was a lot to prepare for when you had sex for the first time with a guy. Movies these days confuse girls about that. You can’t just happen upon a guy and bang him within hours of meeting him. If someone is able to do that, then they spend an awful lot of time on personal upkeep and I commend them. Me, on the other hand, I needed to take the time to get ready. Maybe it was because I was self-conscious, or maybe I just didn’t want to be remembered as the girl who had prickly legs. Shane was definitely the kind of guy to bring that up over and over again.

  Then, I did my make-up and then put the powder, eye shadow, eyeliner, and blush in my bag so I could reapply all of it. Last minute, I tossed in my favorite red lipstick. I liked to think of it as good luck, but it also would be funny to leave a mark on his cheek.

  Classes dragged on and I felt like they would never end. But then again, I hadn’t heard from Shane yet. I didn’t actually know when he was expecting me, if he was expecting me, if he was picking me up, or anything else. It was making me a little anxious. Part of me wondered if he was backing out. I’d been looking forward to this night for almost a week now. If he backed out, I’d be unbelievably frustrated in more ways than one. Plus, I actually liked spending time with him. But I wouldn’t beg. If he didn’t get in touch with me, then I’d go home and maybe have my mom teach me a thing or two about painting. We could have our own little class. It’d be nice. Not exactly the Friday night I was looking forward to, but at least I’d be working on something from my list.

  At six, when my last class ended, Shane hadn’t texted me, and I wasn’t about to text him first. So, instead of heading to a sex cave, I went to my car. As I got closer though, I noticed that there was a single red rose sitting on the hood of my car. Attached to the stem was a note.

  No, you didn’t get off easy. I’m still coming for you. Meet me at the mall asap. Park across from the burger place.

  Confused, I opened my door and sitting in the passenger seat was the rest of the bouquet. There was a note attached to them too.

  I’m not that cheap. I did buy you the whole thing- S

  I laughed and turned the car on to head to the mall. I felt jitters flow through my whole body. It seemed like I was on uppers or something. I tried to keep my breathing calm before I passed out and caused a giant accident. It would completely wreck everything if I ended up spending the night in the hospital and his father had to check on me. But before I realized it, I was speeding down the road, letting the adrenaline get the best of me.

  When I pulled into a spot next to Shane’s bright blue Subaru, I looked around. He was nowhere to be found. I got out and stood by the car for a second, waiting for him to appear. He didn’t, so I walked inside the burger restaurant.

  Shane was sitting at a booth with a wrapped present on top of a table.

  “What’s this?” I asked, taking in his button down shirt and dark jeans. He looked nice, but it wasn’t his normal uniform. I kinda liked the leather jacket.

  “Well, the thing about women is that you don’t actually get them in the bedroom. They enjoy sex better when you’ve gone all out for them. So, that’s my plan.”

  “But we’re at a fast food burger restaurant. This isn’t exactly all out,” I said, looking around to see if a waiter was going to start serenading me.

  “Oh, I planned accordingly. We need protein to have a long night, and your favorite food is french fries. It’s the best of both worlds,” he added, grinning at me. “So, what’s your order?”

  “Um, fries, a second order of fries. And a junior cheeseburger with all the fixings.”

  “Got it.” He got up and walked away, but then rushed back. “Don’t open the box.”

  “Wait, what? You’re just going to leave me staring at this box and I can’t open it. That’s rude.” I reached out and stroked the ribbon.

  “No, you can’t open it,” he insisted and walked away to the cash register.

  I shook my head and checked that he was really gone. When his back was turned, I lifted the box off the present. There was a card sitting there, so I quickly grabbed it and pulled it out.

  Christie, put the lid back on the box and don’t open it until you’re told- S

  I stared at the card open mouthed, and couldn’t decide whether I was annoyed, shocked, or amused. Shane called my name and I turned to look at him. He gave me a little wave and smiled like the smug little asshole he was. I gave him the finger and put the card back in the box, crossing my arms over my chest to pout a little.

  “I told you not to open the box,” Shane chastised me as he sat down across from me with the food.

  “Obviously you knew I was going to open it. You’re playing games,” I insisted, grabbing a handful of fries.

  “I did, but you’ll like what’s inside. It’ll be worth the wait.” He unwrapped a burger and dug in.

  ***

  “Are you sure you’re done with the fries?” I asked him as I inhaled the last couple.

  “Well, it’s too late now if I wasn’t. Remind me to buy you even more fries next time.”

  “It’s like a sickness. I will continue to eat fries until they’re all gone.”

  “Well, now that we’ve discussed one of your sicknesses, let’s talk about this box.” He walked to take the tray to the trash and then placed the present on the table. “Okay, you can open it now.”

  I ripped the box off the present and dug into the tissue paper. After taking everything out of the box, there was nothing but the card telling me not to open it.

  “What gives? There’s nothing in here.” I looked up at him in time to see him laughing hysterically.

  “Oh, that’s right. I haven’t bought anything for you yet.”

  “So what’s supposed to be in the box?”

  “Follow me.” He grabbed my hand and the present as he slid out of the booth.

  Shane dragged me through the mall, walking fast, until he stopped in front of the lingerie store.

  “Seriously? I’m not trying on lingerie for you,” I informed him, not impressed. “Is that your sickness?”

  “Don’t worry, I like the surprise of taking a woman’s clothes off and seeing the sexy things underneath. You said you don’t wear panties, so why deprive myself of that kind of joy? Nah, I’d rather buy you a set that I liked. Then, the next time you saw them in your drawer, you’d think of banging me.”
/>   “That sounds a little controlling.”

  “Don’t be jealous that you didn’t think of it first. Now,” he looked me in the eyes, “let’s shop.”

  I followed him in and watched Shane flipping through the racks. He would look at a set and then look at me. At first, I felt a little objectified. Then I shoved that part aside and decided to enjoy it. If he was going to buy me a new panty and bra set, then I was going to make sure it was expensive and that I’d wear it again…with or without Shane.

  “Okay, I’m not actually picking you out a set,” he told me after we walked through the whole store. “I set you up an appointment with one of the consultants so that you ladies could pick out something you liked and I can still be impressed.” He handed his credit card to the woman who walked up to us. “Make sure she buys something sexy and the most expensive thing in the store. This girl deserves the best.”

  Shane waltzed out and I turned to look at the consultant. “So, your boyfriend seems nice.”

  “Oh, he’s not…well, yes, thanks.” I thought about correcting her, but then I decided not to bother with it. I’d just enjoy the moment.

  “Well, my name is Charlene, and I’ll help you find something for you to feel pretty and attract him.” She took me to a dressing room and did a quick measurement. Apparently, I was wearing the wrong size, but I kind of thought she said that because she wanted me to buy more bras from her.

  I sat in the fitting room and just started laughing. This was definitely a lot different than the wedding dress fitting I was dealing with last weekend. No anxiety threatened to paralyze me and I was actually excited to wear what the consultant brought in. Plus, I’d be wearing it for a completely different reason and a completely different guy.

  She returned and handed me some of the prettiest bras I’d ever seen. The first was a midnight blue with little diamonds on it. When I tried that on, I felt a little bit like Stripper Barbie. I actually took a picture of it and sent it to Annabelle. This was a little less bra and a little more performance outfit.