I searched for another wipe.
“I guess I should switch my engine off.”
When Terry left I smiled at Elise as I gently dabbed at her cut. “You never told me you took karate.”
“Taekwondo,” she corrected.
I chuckled. “Taekwondo.”
She blinked. “I was scared though. I never wanted to have to use it.” A few more tears trickled out.
“I know, Elise. But thank goodness you did know how to defend yourself.”
She nodded then kind of zoned out again. I concentrated to make sure the area was clean. She put a hand on the side of my face, startling me. I looked into her eyes.
“You came to help me.”
“Yeah.” I stroked her hair. “A lot of help I was.”
“You came to help me,” she said again, distinctly. She leaned forward and kissed me, swollen lip and all.
Terry’s voice made us jump. “Should you do that, Reynolds? The girl’s been through a very traumatic experience.”
I hopped around, my legs getting cramped. “She kissed me, asshole.”
“Oh,” he responded thoughtfully. “I guess that’s different.”
I swiveled to stare at him, squinting one eye. Before I could say anything, Elise interrupted.
“Thank you, Terry. For the first aid kit.”
He shrugged a shoulder. “Sure. It’s the least I can do. I woulda done more if I’d been here, unlike this dickweed.”
I was cleaning up the supplies and shutting the box. I swung around, hitting Terry in the shin with it.
“Ouch.”
I stood slowly, sticking my chest out to emphasize how much bigger I was than him. “Sorry about that.”
Elise stood beside me.
“Do you want me to drive you home? Terry can let Mr. Haggerty know.”
Terry nodded.
“You know, if my mom sees this, she’ll freak.”
I pinched my lips together. “Why don’t you come in to the pool area? I’m sure Mr. Haggerty will let you hang out in the first aid station. We can put some ice on that lip and, when I get off I can take you to the store to get some makeup to hide any bruising.”
“Okay.” She looked down. “But what about my arm?”
“How observant is your mom?”
“It depends.”
“I’ve got a lightweight white jacket inside you could use to try and hide it?”
Her face brightened. “That would work.”
I scanned the parking lot. “Did you lock your car?”
“Umm…I don’t know. I doubt it.” She started to walk to her car, searching through her bag.
“Hey. Why don’t you give me the keys and I’ll lock it for you?”
She scrunched her eyebrows. “That’s okay. I can get it.”
“Do me a favor. Let me help you today?” I put my arm over her shoulder and drew her aside because I could tell Terry was listening in on our conversation. “Look. I do feel like crap for not defending you earlier. If you’d let me help you a little, my guilt may lessen.”
“It was your yelling that distracted them enough for me to get free.”
“Yeah, I know, but…”
“You bandaged me.”
“You know, it’s not a sign of weakness to let someone help you every once in a while.”
She seemed to consider it and drew the keys out and handed them to me.
“Thanks. I’ll be back in a second.” I trotted off to her car and locked it. On the return trip, I grabbed the discarded chains. I smiled.
My girlfriend’s a badass.
Elise
I stretched out on the first aid couch, which was slightly more comfortable than lying on a towel on the pool deck. The cushions could be used as plates in a baseball game. But I was grateful Mr. Haggerty helped us out. Although, to be truthful, I believe he was worried I might sue him somehow for my injuries.
After what happened to Zoe—when she came to my defense and those girls beat her up—I had taken Taekwondo classes, but I’d hoped to never have to use the skills I learned. As I lay replaying the whole fight scene from earlier, I was grateful for those skills. I’d been taking martial arts for so long, my defense had come to me instinctively. My brain checked out pretty much the second that Tanya girl called my name.
I was glad Hunter was there. If he hadn’t been, those girls wouldn’t have taken off so quickly. Someone knocked on the door, and I hurriedly sat. “Come in.”
Hunter came in with a tray of food. “I thought you might be hungry. Do you think you can eat…you know, with your mouth banged up?” He came closer to examine it.
“It doesn’t hurt that much.”
He studied it from several angles. “Yeah. With some work, your mom won’t even be able to tell. How’s the arm?”
I unrolled the gauze. “It’s not even bleeding anymore.” I eased the pad away.
“Yeah. That looks good.” He held my hands. “You’ll still need the jacket though. At least for a couple of days.”
“Yeah. I’ll leave this on today so the jacket doesn’t rub against it and irritate it.”
He turned to the food. “Good idea. So I got you a Diet Pepsi.”
“Thank God.”
“And potato chips and a hot dog, with ketchup.”
I frowned at him. “You better be kidding.”
“Or what?” He came closer, smiling. “You’re gonna kick my ass?”
“Probably.” I put my arms around his neck and played with his hair in back. He leaned in and we kissed. He was careful not to put too much pressure on my mouth.
The door opened behind him and we jumped apart. Haggerty stood with one hand on the door knob, one on the frame. “Miss Neaman. How are you doing? Better, I hope?”
“Yes, much. Thank you, Mr. Haggerty.”
He furrowed his brow. “And you’re sure you don’t have a number for your parents in Bulgaria?”
I subtly peeked at Hunter. He kept his gaze averted, pretending to be concentrating on opening my hot dog. “Umm…no. But they’re supposed to call me tonight.”
“And you’ll tell them that—”
“The pool wasn’t even open yet, and you were very helpful and let me stay in the First Aid Station.”
He exhaled. “Good. Good. Well, you let me know if you need anything. Do you want an ice cream after that?” He gestured to the hot dog Hunter was handing me.
“Uhh…oh, no. Thank you, Mr. Haggerty, but this is plenty.”
He nodded, and started to leave, then stuck his head in again. “You know, you are a very pleasant young lady, Miss Neaman.”
“Oh. Well. Thank you.”
“Mr. Reynolds. Take as much time as you need. Mr. Kennedy has volunteered to help out a little extra today. Well then.” And he was gone.
“Bulgaria?”
Hunter busted out. “It was the only thing I could come up with on the fly.”
“Hmm.” I opened my mouth to eat my hotdog and winced.
“Still hurts, huh?”
“Just when I open my mouth wide. I’m sure it’ll be okay.”
“Do you want me to get you a hamburger?”
I was unsettled by all the attention. “No. This is fine. It’s probably good for it to, you know, move it around and stuff.”
Hunter grunted and studied me.
I took a bite of the hot dog and worked to keep my face neutral, swallowing the pain with the food. “See. No big deal.”
He was sitting on a stool, but rose with a frown. “If you say so.” He placed his hands on my thighs and began to glide them along my skin, awakening a need. He glanced out the window to the pool area. “I should go relieve Terry. He hasn’t gotten a lunch break yet.” He moved to the door.
“Did you eat anything?”
He opened it and slipped through. “Not yet. I’ll grab something on my next break and come eat with you.” He opened the door wider and took a step back into the room. “I’m sorry you’re stuck in here. You’re proba
bly bored to death.”
“Oh, no. I’m good.” I showed him my phone. “I’ve got my phone and I can play Wordstacks. Or, you know, ogle life guards.”
“I’ll let Terry know.” He laughed and closed the door quickly to avoid getting hit by a hot dog wrapper.
By two, my charge had run out on my phone. By two-thirty I’d explored the office enough to have read the first aid manual, scanned the life guard schedule, and considered making a long distance call to Zoe in Denver, or at least Scott. I could see Hunter walking around on the deck. He didn’t have a chair at the moment and was working what they called the “roamer” position. The roamer’s job was mostly to be present to deter any sort of shenanigans outside of the pool. He sometimes still had to carry a rescue tube with him and always was supposed to have his whistle at the ready, but it was a less stressful position, usually. I grabbed his jacket and left.
I walked past him and went to stand by the edge of the pool, dipping my toe in with my hands clasped behind my back. In less than a minute his deck patrol seemed to lead him straight to my location. We didn’t look at each other.
“Do you think Mr. Haggerty knows we’re talking to each other?”
“I think,” he said, rotating to face away from the pool, “you could do anything you wanted to today, and he wouldn’t mind.”
I laughed, but when I turned to look at him, I spotted her. The girl in the yellow swimsuit. But the suit today was white, although a similar design. My heart crashed when she walked by and Hunter smirked and watched her as she passed.
“Unbelievable.”
He jumped when I sought to storm past him and caught my arm. The hurt one.
“Ouch.”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” His gaze flickered over my face. “What’s wrong?”
I shook free. “What’s wrong?” I hugged myself, trying to keep it together. “Maybe you could at least not eyeball her when I’m standing right beside you.” I tried to march off, but he got in my way.
“What are you talking about? Who?”
“Oh, come on.”
He raised his palms. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
I took a step closer to him. “I don’t know why you are bothering to lie to me. I saw you, all right?” I worked to get around him again.
“No. Wait.” He kept one hand in front of him to keep track of me and scanned the pool area. “What the hell? I don’t even see any females except that two-year-old, and I sure the hell wasn’t checking her out.”
I wanted to scream. I spun on my heel and swept my arm in her direction. “Her, Hunter, Her.”
He followed my gaze to the woman in white. “Her?” He laughed.
I was pissed. Again I stepped closer so only he could hear me. “This is over,” I hissed, jutting my chin out. “I’m sorry. But I don’t play second fiddle to anyone.” I struggled to get past him but he wouldn’t budge.
He was still laughing. “She’s— she’s my sister, Elise.”
“That’s just lame. You should come up with something original.”
“Hunter.” We both turned. It was the woman in question.
He snapped at her. “What?”
She put a hand on her hip. “Did you take all the sunscreen?”
He growled, tromped to the nearest lifeguard stand, and chucked a tube of sunscreen at her. He came back to me.
“Gee. Who pissed on your whistle?” she called after him.
He blinked slowly, his jaw tight. Putting his hands on my shoulders, he bent so he was on the same level as me. “See? My sister.”
“Hunter?”
He closed his eyes. A muscle twitched in his cheek.
“Mom said you didn’t finish your chores so you have to come straight home after work.”
He slowly spun on his heel. “Gee, thanks, Jordan. Thanks for letting the whole damn pool know about the status of my chores. I appreciate that.”
“Jordan?” I’d met his mother a couple of times, but his sister, Jordan, had never been home when I went to his house.
“Who’s that?” she called out. “Is she that Elise girl you keep talking about?”
She walked to us, extending her hand, running her gaze over me as if she was appraising me. “Hi. I’m Jordan.” She leaned into him and out of the corner of her mouth said, “She’s way too cute for you, brother. You need to set the bar lower.” She smiled at me. “Nice meeting you.”
She pirouetted and walked off, but spun around before she’d gotten far. “Oh, and Hunter? The cat box needs to be emptied, too.”
“That cat isn’t my—”
She waved a hand above her head, already out of hearing range.
“Ugh. She drives me crazy.” He turned his full attention to me. “Are you satisfied now, Elise?”
“But—but, I saw you two together. You were tying her swimsuit and—”
“I’m sure it was because she was wearing it too low and was letting everyone see…her merchandise.”
“You whispered in her ear.”
“I probably told her if it happened again, I would tell Mom. And then threatened to strangle her with her swimsuit. Which—” he glanced in her direction “—clearly I should have done.” He raised his voice at the end as if she could hear him, but she was busily applying sun screen, not paying him any notice.
I was so relieved I giggled.
“What? What’s so funny?”
“I just—” I lost it. The whole thing struck me as hilarious. “Sh-she,” I sputtered. “Your sister?”
“Is that funny for some reason?” He was smiling. “I don’t get it. Did you hit your head in that fight?”
“N-n-no.” I was losing it.
He chuckled. “Are we— Are we good?”
I nodded. “I’m sorry.”
He stroked my cheek. “Elise, if you ever have any questions about me, ask me. I would never cheat on you. One, because it’s a wuss move. If I were attracted to another girl enough to want to start a relationship with her, I’d have the decency to break up with you first. But, two, it ain’t gonna happen, because I think I’m in love with you.”
Tingles ran through me from tip to toe. So much so I had to rock back on my heels to dispel the energy from my feet. I smiled so wide, my lip hurt again, but I didn’t care. “Hunter, can I kiss you?”
“No public displays of affection. You know that.” He straightened and scanned the vicinity.
“You told me Mr. Haggerty would let me get away with anything.”
He smiled. “True.” He stepped closer, took me in his arms, and kissed me. And not simply a peck, a long, lingering kiss. “Hell, if we’re doing this, let’s do it right.” He whipped me around, and I shrieked. He held me in a dip position and kissed me again. I laced my fingers in his hair. People cheered, and our laughter broke the kiss. He took a few bows. “Now get out of here before I really do lose my job.”
“Okay.” I walked backwards. “I’m going to my dad’s. I’ll text you.”
“All right.” He pointed at me. “We’re talking more later.”
“Okay.” I turned to walk the right way. I made a fool out of myself, buuut, I was a happy little fool.
He said he was falling in love with me.
Chapter 16
Kyle
I rang the doorbell and shifted my weight from one foot to another as I waited for him to answer. On the way over I decided I couldn’t pulverize Bill. I’d never be able to look Elise in the eye after demolishing her dad. But he sure the hell would hear it from me. So in my mind, I kept repeating, Do not beat the shit out of him. Do not beat the shit out of him. Do not beat the shit out of him. And I threw in an I’m not prone to violence for good measure.
The door opened and my fury rose. I tasted metal and my nose automatically wrinkled like I smelled something nasty. This was my body’s reaction to Bill. My head’s reaction was much worse, and if I went with my heart, the guy wouldn’t be here. He ruined our wedding—scratch that, he attempted to ruin our w
edding, has been a constant bitch in Sam’s ear, blackmailed Dana, and set me up, thus hurting Sam. I took a breath in through my nose. Do not beat the shit out of him. Do not beat the shit out of him. Do not beat the shit out of him.
Bill glared at me smugly, leaning with his hand above him on the door frame, and his hip cocked. The pose was somewhat feminine. Simply seeing him made me grind my teeth and squeeze my hands into fists. For the life of me, I’d never understand what Sam saw in this punk. I know she was desperate to get away from a dysfunctional home life, but this desperate? The greasy smirk on his face made me want to punch him. Do not beat the shit out of him. Do not beat the shit out of him. Do not beat the shit out of him….
“Well, well, well. What have we here? What the hell are you doing here, referee boy?”
I’m going to beat the shit out of him.
I took a step forward and Elise showed up behind him. “Elise, what are you doing here?”
“Kyle,” she squealed. She ducked around Bill and came out on the stoop.
“She’s my daughter, you idiot.”
I turned my head slowly. “I know she’s your daughter.”
I’m so going to beat the shit out of him.
Elise looked from her father to me and back.
“Are you going to beat the shit out of my dad?”
I stared at Bill for a moment. “I don’t think so.”
“Oh.” It almost sounded like she was disappointed. “What are you doing here then?”
“I wish I knew.” I took her hand and flipped her arm over. It was bandaged from elbow to shoulder. “What happened?”
“It’s, umm, just a scratch. We didn’t have any bandages long enough, so I wrapped it with this gauze.”
“Oh. I see.” A tense silence followed. “Elise honey, would it be okay if your dad and I had a little talk by ourselves?”
“Sure,” she said uneasily. She snagged me around my waist, and I hugged her awkwardly. She stood on her tiptoes and spoke in my ear. “If you change your mind and decide to beat the shit out of him, let me know. I want to watch.”
I was so surprised I didn’t say anything. She pulled away and winked at me. To add to that list of reasons to annihilate him was the way he treated Elise. I smiled at her and gave her a kiss on the head before releasing her. She dipped under Bill’s arm—because the asshole wouldn’t get out of her way—and pantomimed giving him a few jabs behind his back before leaving.
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