by Brinda Berry
She’s stiff and unresponsive at first. She didn’t expect me to do that and I sure didn’t plan on it. She says something low and muffled by her hands that are still over her face.
“What?” I ask.
“I tried to stay. I tried.”
She begins rocking and puts fingers over her lips in a rubbing motion. I grab her hand with my free one and hold it lightly. “Yeah. I know.”
I realize I’m rocking with her. Leaning to her side, I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Blood smears across my cheeks. Dad’s blood.
Grandpa gives us both a side-glance in the dark truck interior. “You’re supposed to be with us,” he says in a gravelly voice. “Gunner and I need you.”
She lifts her head from her hands and turns to him. “Thank you.”
He nods and returns his attention to the road.
“Do you think Mama will be OK?” she says, her voice barely above a whisper.
Grandpa doesn’t answer and I don’t either.
How can she even be worried about Jodie? Dad and Jodie proved to me way before tonight that they’re losers.
She nods as if we’ve answered her question with our silence. I take my arm back from her shoulder and release the hold on her hand. I don’t move completely away and she leans against me.
Veronica falls asleep within minutes. I wonder how long she’s been awake.
Her head falls against my shoulder, long blonde hair trailing onto my arm. I’ll let it stay until it’s time to wake her at the house.
“This will be your last shitty day. I promise.” I don’t care that Grandpa hears me say it or that I’m not sure what I’m promising.
Grandpa shakes his head. Maybe he’s thinking about what happened at the apartment or about what I’ve said to the girl sleeping by my side.
For the first time since Mom died, I don’t feel absolutely alone.
Chapter Thirteen
100 Dastardly Dates
Current Day
Gunner
It’s the first speed dating night. I suggested Dastardly Bastard’s Bar as a meeting place for all the dates, all one hundred of them.
My friend Dane owns the bar—a college graduation gift from his dear old dad—and he loves the idea of having free publicity thrown at him. The place serves decent food during the day and hosts some bands at night. It’s nice to have the moral support of my buddy, who stands behind the bar.
It’s early morning before Dastardly’s would normally open. Although it’s not the best time for me, since it interferes with my work hours, I’ve agreed to it for this round of dating.
Each woman gets me for five minutes. All of them look good, according to the computer program that Kiley used to match me with a love interest.
You have to love technology.
Forever’s film crew stands around our booth and I force myself not to look at them. The girl across from me is hot. Not Kiley hot, but I have to admit I’d normally look twice.
She wears a tight shirt with a low neckline, giving me a good view of her breasts. A sparkly diamond necklace glitters in her cleavage, an arrow emblem pointing down like a marquee sign advertising the goods.
It’s a little desperate for attention, if you ask me.
“What do you do for a living?” Talisa asks. She flips her blonde hair away from her tits. I hope I’m not staring at her cleavage. It’s not that I’m leering. Only, I can’t quit looking at the arrow necklace.
“Landscaping business.”
She nods. “That’s wonderful. I love flowers. Especially roses. Red and pink are my favorites.”
I have no clue why she thinks it’s important to tell me this. “What about you? What do you do?”
“I design jewelry. I have major distribution nationally and hope to gain international clients soon. I also create custom pieces for the boudoir. If a bride to be wants…”
My gaze flicks up to meet Kiley’s. She stands off to the side with her arms folded and an unhappy look on her face. Is she as bored as I am with this woman? What is Kiley wearing? Her legs go for miles and those red shoes are fuck me heels if I’ve ever seen any. Good God.
The woman could teach a class on seduction, beginning with shoe selection. Director Tony watches from her right and I wish he’d put a damned inch or two between them.
Kiley points at the blonde across from me. I return my attention to her.
Talisa appears to be waiting for my response. “That’s nice,” I say.
She smiles. “Thanks. I’d love to introduce you to them.”
Seeing that I have no idea what she’s been talking about, I can only nod. “Maybe.”
“I have a large family and five cats.”
“I hate cats. Allergic,” I lie.
“Oh. I love my cats. They sleep with me and I couldn’t live without them. They’re like my kids.”
I picture us in bed with five cats snuggled between us. “It was nice meeting you, Talina.” That’s the agreed upon cue to end the round.
“Talisa,” she corrects. “Hope to see you again.”
Talisa stands and I see how tall she looks from my seated position. I wonder if she played basketball in school.
Kiley walks over and escorts the girl away. When she returns, she leans down to my ear and whispers. “Pay attention to your date.”
“Cats,” I reply and lift an eyebrow.
She rolls her eyes and leaves me.
I glance down to take in Kiley’s long legs in those heels. I’d love to feel her wrap those legs around me, preferably still wearing the shoes. “You look nice today.”
Her eyes widen and she blushes. “Stop trying to distract me.”
She straightens and walks across Dastardly’s to escort the next one over. My gaze follows her sexy walk, then moves over to director Tony. He’s watching her also.
Prick.
Behind him, my friend Dane gives me a thumbs-up from the bar. He laughs and says something to a female in front of him. She turns and I recognize Josie, the one who was at Kiley’s house. Josie grins, enjoying whatever Dane has said to her.
The next speed date is again a tall blonde. Did I say this is my type? I can’t remember.
I stand and hold out my hand. She goes in for the hug instead. Her perfume makes my eyes water.
“I’m Gunner Parrish. Thank you for coming.”
“I’m Zander,” she says, her tone a lot lower than I’m used to hearing from a woman.
I’m not able to stop the look I give her. “Zander?”
I lean in a little closer, looking for an Adam’s apple. None. I sit back and try to relax. Maybe I’m paranoid.
“Yes, it’s my daddy’s given name.” She smiles sweetly. “Daddy owns Piccolo Farms and breeds horses.”
That actually piques my interest. “I’ve heard of it. Do you ride?”
“I love riding. What about you?”
I nod. “What are you looking for in a guy?”
“Someone stable. Honesty. I like country music and movies.”
“Who’s your favorite country artist?”
“I have too many to list.”
I guess that’s a fair answer. “Do you have cats?” I ask.
A throat clears from somewhere. I glance over and Kiley glares at me.
“Do you?” I persist.
“No cats. No dogs either. And I don’t want children.”
“Why not?”
“Why would I?”
I think about Kiley’s little dog. Sort of looks like an oversize rat, but it’s cute. “No children?” I ask.
“I think I would make a fantastic mother. But I know kids are demanding, and I’m not sure I can give that. My career takes a lot of time. I’m constantly fine-tuning my craft.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a mime.”
Hell-to-the-no. This has got to be a joke. My gaze whips to Kiley and my mouth splits into a grin before I remember I’m being filmed. I can’t help myself. “Sorry,” I say, hopin
g they can cut that from the video.
She furrows her brow. “You have something against mimes?”
“Not at all. It was nice meeting you.” I can’t even remember her name.
“Is the date over? You’re not calling me back for a date, are you.” Her lips flatten against her teeth in a wooden, yet evil smile.
Very mimish.
I look to Kiley for help. Someone get me out of here. I get to my feet since I’m a gentleman, even if the girl across from me looks like she’s contemplating mime murder. “I don’t think so,” I say as politely as possible.
She slowly raises her hands above the table and extends two middle fingers. Even I can interrupt the meaning of that mime movement.
I raise my eyebrows at her. She gets out of the booth and stomps away, her cowboy boots making a lot of noise in the stunned silence of her departure.
At the bar, Dane and Josie bend over laughing. No noise comes from them, but the entire body shaking tells me how they think it went.
The camera crew look away, but I can still see their smiles.
Kiley approaches from the side and puts a hand on my shoulder. “How about a break?”
“Overdue.” I get out of the booth and stalk outside. I swear I hear laughing as I exit.
“Now, Gunner—”
“No ‘Now, Gunner.’ What in the hell are you thinking?” I’m not actually mad. I’m more baffled that she really thinks a guy like me would be into the women she’s picked for me. Not that I care who she picks, because I’m walking away when this is all over. But is that how I come across to her?
I do have some pride.
“I…um…” She rubs her eyebrows with a bent finger. “None of that came out in the extensive interviews we did. The cat thing? I knew she had cats. A lot of women do. But she never mentioned she slept with them. Even if she did, I might not think anything. I sleep with my dog and—”
“What about our mime friend?”
“She was cute. She loves horses and country music. It’s a match made in heaven. Mime heaven.” Kiley turns away and starts laughing. When she faces me again, there are tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. “Wow. I am so sorry. That was freaking awful.”
“You think this is funny?” I’m smiling with her. “I’m going to make it to the finish line of this show with a bucket of cash.”
“No.” She stops laughing and sniffles. “We have eight more of these to go. The first two weren’t the strongest contenders.”
“I hope not. Otherwise, Forever’s audience is going to think you suck at this.”
Kiley looks away and runs fingers through her bangs. “I know.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “We have to go back in now. I promise to do better.”
“You’re doing fine. At this rate, I’ll be joining a monastery. A monk with a bankroll.”
After one hundred rounds of speed dating over two nights, I am exhausted from all the fake smiling. Being nice. My eyes glazing over while listening to the most boring women in Nashville.
We sit at a table in Dastardly’s, the film crew pulling in for close shots of me talking to Kiley about how it went.
She asks me questions about each woman. I choose ten women to talk about more than the others—all petite blondes. Why? Because I really don’t care which ten make it to the next round. I barely remember their names.
I enjoy Kiley’s expression as I point to the headshots of all the petite blondes—a definitive physical type and very much the opposite of her. Her mouth grows pinched and she even rolls her eyes on the tenth photo I pick up and study closer.
Kiley put me in this position, so a little jealousy serves her right. But now it’s time for me to make my move so she’ll admit she wants me.
Even though I’ve thought of half a dozen ways to get Kiley alone, only one works and only because she thinks it’s related to the show. I’m OK with my plan. I’ve earned this weekend. I have it all planned. Camping with Kiley will be great.
The getting-her-alone adrenaline has me high, like hiking to the top of a mountain peak. I’m so buzzed, it takes me hours to fall asleep.
The next morning, I pull up to the front of Ed’s house and cut the Jeep engine, ready to gather up Kiley and haul her ass to the woods. I’d like to find an area with wilderness where we won’t have a cell signal or chance of seeing anyone but each other.
She stands waiting, dressed in what I assume she thinks are camping clothes—a red and black plaid shirt buttoned too high and jeans. She looks like she could be on a commercial selling pancake syrup. Her dark jeans mold to her curves. She wears hiking boots and a ball cap with her hair in a ponytail pulled through the back.
Even though I’m sure she bought new clothes for this trip, she’s enough to make me want to pull out my phone and take a picture. And that’s something I don’t do. The whole selfie and snapping photos of every minute craze is for the people who need a life.
I drink her in from head to toe and take the snapshot in my mind, filing it away for later. I could get used to her lumberjack-temptress look.
“Ready?” I ask and examine the three bags at her feet. I grab the largest. “What’s in here? Rocks?”
“I didn’t know what to bring. Is it too heavy? Are we supposed to keep the luggage light?”
“There is no ‘luggage’ in camping.” I set the bag down. “I’m carrying the tent and supplies. You don’t need all this stuff. Let me see what you have.”
She purses her lips. “See what?”
“The contents.”
“I don’t want to show you everything.”
Kiley shy? Without a doubt, I can’t make the drive without knowing what she has in the bags. Lingerie? Not likely. A wardrobe change of stylish hiking boots and more lumberjack themed shirts in case she gets sweaty? Probably.
“Open ’em. I brought you a backpack for necessities.” I stroll over to the Jeep and retrieve what will now be her new suitcase—an old Army backpack.
“I…um…” She balances on the balls of her feet while pilfering through the closest unzipped bag. “This.”
I take the stack of clothing. She’s handed me a couple of T-shirts and a pair of shorts. “We’re only going overnight. You can bring one T-shirt if you can’t live without it.”
She studies the stack and removes one cotton tee. “OK.”
A front door of Kiley’s house slams and I look up to see Tony and one of the women from the speed dating round earlier in the week. A guy with a small video camera steps out from behind them, pointing it at me.
No way.
I’ve been ambushed.
I clench my jaw and glare at her.
Kiley finally meets my gaze with a sullen look. “What? You didn’t think I would go camping with you alone, did you?” she asks while still going through her bag.
“I didn’t sign up for this.” I glance over to Addison, one of the ten blondes who made the cut in the speed dating rounds. “No offense, but I only brought enough supplies for two.”
“It’s fine,” Tony says. “We’ve packed our things.” The guy smiles at me calmly as if he pops up uninvited all the time.
I grab Kiley’s hand to still it from pulling more things from the suitcase. “You should’ve told me.”
“We’re skipping the date research and going straight for the fun,” she says. “Plus, this was the only way you’d agree to do it. I have a job to do.”
I bet.
Addison walks the few feet to stand next to me. “I’m looking forward to this. When Kiley called last night, I couldn’t believe she’d chosen me. I really couldn’t sleep after that.”
I smile, all stiff and irritated. Addison’s eyes widen.
Instead of attempting to pretend I’m not pissed, I tap Kiley on the shoulder. She looks up from her crouching position, a clear bag holding a book and electronics in her hand.
“Can we have a minute to discuss this? In private?” I stride away from the group to stand near the garage. The cam
era guy eyes my every move, but he’s smart enough to stay beside Tony.
“I don’t like to be tricked. You agreed to go camping. You never said that this would be part of the show.”
She puts her hands on her hips and her chin comes up. “You said you liked outdoor activities. You picked Addison from the speed dates. You guys clicked. She’s great. She loves camping. Told me she goes all the time. That’s all I needed to know for this decision. You contracted to go on all dates I arrange as long as it doesn’t interfere with your landscaping business. I—”
“Kiley, I don’t—”
“And you probably would come up with an excuse not to go since you would give me no feedback about the women from the speed round, even though—”
I put my hand over her mouth, a pretty little mouth that tightens into a rose bud underneath my fingers. “Shush. OK. I don’t like surprises and not being asked. But I’ll deal with it. But next time, don’t expect me to trust you.”
Fuck.
I drop my hand and glance over at the waiting threesome, all staring at us. “We can’t all go in my Jeep. I only have one tent. Did you think about how this will work?”
Her nostrils flare and she points at an SUV parked on the side of their circle drive. “Tony’s brought everything.”
“I bet,” I mumble.
“That’s why you saw three bags. One is Addison’s.”
“Hmph.” I eye Addison and she waves at me. I nod my head in response.
“She’s funny. You’ll like her,” Kiley says evenly.
“You’re sleeping in my tent.” If I weren’t about to strangle her, I’d enjoy her blush.
“No, I’m not. Definitely not. Are you nuts?”
“Then you expect me to sleep with Addison. ’Cause it’s a two-man tent and I’m not sleeping with your metro-sexual director or the camera guy.”
“The director is Tony,” she corrects. “You don’t have to sleep with anyone.” Her throat works for a second and she looks away. “Unless you want to invite Addison into your tent.”
“Are we ready?” Tony yells across the lawn.