by Joanna Blake
"Me? No. You on the other hand."
"Tell me about it."
"So... Chandler huh?"
Shari was leaning forward, eager to catch my answer.
"I cannot believe you two knew that gorgeous hunk of man meat! How did you not grab him way back in high school?"
I glanced at Katey.
"It's complicated... and he's really not the settling down sort."
"And you are."
"Yes. I am."
"Still though, he seemed to be pretty into you girl. Nothing against Max but..."
Katey interrupted thankfully. The last thing I wanted to do was answer that. But what she said took me by surprise.
"Chan's always had a thing for Caro. She just never noticed."
"No, he has not."
"Caro. He has."
I stared at my friend. She pushed my drink towards me.
"Drink. You'll go to bed early and tomorrow it will be like this hangover never happened."
I dutifully took a sip. I winced at the strong taste.
"What is this?"
"A Bloody Maria!"
"Excuse me?"
"Tomato juice and tequila. Delish right?"
Shari went into the kitchen to get brunch going and I looked at Katey.
"You aren't serious are you? About Chan?"
She shrugged.
"Everyone loved Chan. But he always had his eye on you. I thought you knew that."
I shook my head slowly. I really hadn't.
"You had your eye on him too, didn't you?"
"He's hard to ignore. But he's not..."
"Good enough?"
There was a trace of bitterness in Katey's voice.
"No. Not exactly. Just... too wild. Besides, he never took anything seriously in his life."
"I guess."
"Don't tell me you liked him too Katey."
"I think having a crush on Chandler Jacobs was a right of passage."
I laughed. She was right. It had been.
It was making my head spin to think that maybe it had been more than just a bet for him.
Or that I'd been so obviously fascinated.
Maybe I'd been wrong to run away...
"Who's ready for waffles?"
I groaned and held up my drink.
"Not yet. Please, have mercy."
For once, I was actually glad for a stiff drink in my hand.
Chapter Six
Chandler
I rubbed my hands over my face, wiping away the ten minutes of sleep I'd gotten. I was sitting on a bench after my morning jog, watching the sun come up. I needed a plan. I'd spent most of the night coming up with one.
I'd even watched the sun come up.
In the blink of an eye, everything had changed.
I had changed.
Because of her.
I sipped the coffee I'd gotten from a street vendor and went through the facts:
1.Caro was in trouble
2.She didn't know it
3.I wanted her for myself
4.She had no idea how bad
There were a few major problems with this list. For one thing, she was getting married. For another, she had taken a chastity pledge at our church with almost every other girl in town. Most of them had broken their's right quick.
A couple of them with me.
But not Caro.
So not only did I have to convince her not to get married, I also had to convince her to break her vow.
This was not going to be easy.
But it was worth it.
She was worth it.
As soon as the clock rolled over to 8 am I called Joss. He'd been the security at The Show when I first started. He had the looks to dance, but not the inclination. He had his own security firm now but we were still tight.
Even though he made fun of me for wearing a G-string.
"Candy Man."
"Hey Joss."
"You need another ride Butt Floss?"
I laughed, despite my current situation. I had to. Joss was a man of few words. Most people had no idea how funny he could be. With his stone face, cold gray eyes and huge stature, most people were afraid to even talk to him, let alone crack jokes.
I was the only idiot who dared.
I took a deep breath.
"There's this girl."
"There always is."
"This is different."
I heard him pause.
"Tell me."
That was it. Joss was in. He would help me figure this mess out. I knew everything would be alright.
Half an hour later, I was less sure.
Joss was shaking his head as he shoveled a massive omelet into his mouth. We were at our favorite diner in Miami Beach. He had listened to my brief breakdown of the situation with raised eyebrows.
Now he looked concerned. Hell, he looked worried. Which was not a good sign, considering he'd been in the Marines.
Nobody was tougher than Joss.
"This is not a good idea Chan."
I leaned back, staring at my friend.
"I don't have a choice."
"You always have a choice."
"Not this time."
He put his fork down and stared at me.
"You have no clue what you are getting yourself into here. This guy is dangerous. He's not just your average scumbag out for a profit. He likes hurting people."
I shrugged.
"I can't let him hurt Caro."
"Who is this girl exactly?"
I smiled for the first time.
"She's from my home town. We grew up together."
"So is she crazy, like you?"
I shook my head.
"No Joss. She's perfect."
"Nobody is perfect."
"She is. She's beautiful, smart, kind. She used to bring her Gran over to visit mine. She used to feed stray animals. And she brought dinner to a lot of the old folks who ere alone. Each and every Sunday."
"A paragon."
I grimaced.
"Yeah. Unfortunately, she was a little too good for me."
"Sounds like the last person on Earth for you Chan."
"Yeah. It doesn't matter though. I can't let her get hurt."
"Do you have a plan?"
"I need to show her that he's the wrong guy for her."
"And you're the right one?"
I nodded.
"That's going to be tricky."
"All I need to do is tell her what kind of shit he's been up to. If she doesn't believe me, I have to provoke him."
"That sounds dangerous."
"It's a good thing I have you to back me up then."
He shook his head slowly. But I could tell he was already making a plan.
I grinned at my friend and ate my home fries.
"I have an idea of where to start."
Carolina
"That's all for today."
I felt a little sad as the kids filed out of my class room.
Just two more days of class. Four more days of freedom.
Four more days until I gave myself to him.
Max.
Handsome. Kind. Smart. Successful.
So why was I thinking about someone else?
I shouldn't be. It was wrong. And I knew it.
But I was.
On my life, I was.
I cleaned the classroom, feeling listless. Then I packed up and headed outside. All the excitement leading up to my wedding was gone. I'd been trying to deny it all weekend but there it was.
I was no longer thrilled to be a bride.
If anything, I wanted more time. Time to figure out what was wrong with me. I wanted to postpone the wedding.
Indefinitely.
I walked into the parking lot and stopped short.
Chan was waiting outside. Right next to my car. Standing guard.
Almost like he'd been afraid I'd try to sneak past him.
He was wearing his tight jeans and sunglasses. The black t-shirt he wore hugg
ed his shoulders and his trim waist. He looked like a movie star.
I couldn't lie. My heart leapt at the sight of him.
Slowly I walked toward him. His face lit up at the sight of me. I had a sudden crazy thought.
He really does care for me.
Then he spoiled it by letting his eyes wander up and down my body. His grin got wider and more predatory. He looked like he wanted one thing, and one thing only.
Me. In his bed. For today anyway. By tomorrow I was sure there would be someone else.
There he was. The Chandler we all knew and loved.
I stopped a few feet from where he stood, grinning at me like a horny goat.
No. A shark. He looked like a shark.
"How did you find me Chan?"
He grinned, leaning against my car.
"I have my resources."
"What do you want?"
"Dinner."
I sighed.
"No, I can't."
"Why? Seeing Prince Charming tonight?"
I bit my lip. I didn't want to lie to him. It was against my faith and my nature.
"No. I have stuff to do. Wedding stuff."
"Let me guess... seat cards?"
I stared at him, about to laugh. How did he know?
"Yes. And centerpieces."
"Perfect. I'll help you."
"You'll... what?"
He wiggled his fingers at me.
"I have excellent penmanship."
I couldn't help it. I started giggling. It was like the sun came out. I felt alive and almost as if... everything was going to be okay.
Chan made me feel that way.
"If I let you help, will you behave yourself?"
He nodded seriously, contradicting his words.
"Probably not."
I laughed again. He was too much. So funny and naughty and sexy. I knew why women threw themselves at him and it wasn't just his looks.
"Chan..."
He raised his hands in surrender.
"I won't do anything you don't want me to do."
I eyed him suspiciously. I had a feeling there was some sort of loophole in that statement. I shrugged. I didn't want to fight.
Besides, I couldn't resist the urge to bask in his glow a little while longer.
While I still could.
"Alright. But I'm holding you to that."
He smiled at me innocently, opening the door for me. I was about to call him a gentleman when he crawled in and over to the passenger seat.
"Just in case."
I got in, shaking my head at his antics.
He was never boring, that was for sure.
"In case what Chan?"
He leaned over me, grabbing my seatbelt and pulling it over me. He was staring into my eyes as he clicked it into place.
"In case you changed your mind and made a run for it."
My jaw opened as I watched him lean back and put his arms behind his head.
"You won't get away from me that easily, Princess."
Chapter Seven
Chandler
I opened two beers and handed one to Caro. She made that face I'd seen so many times before. Disapproving.
But oh so cute.
She shook her head and I set the beer down. I knew she didn't drink. But I figured she was going to need it.
Besides, anything that made her even marginally more pliable was good. Not that I was going to take advantage of her. I would be a perfect gentleman.
Fuck, who was I kidding?
I would love to take advantage of her.
She took off her prim little jacket and pulled out a box full of neatly arranged supplies.
"Here's the list. You fold the cards and I will write the names. Then we can check them off."
"I think I can handle that. What else?"
"I wanted to make my own centerpiece's, Max says it's silly and we can pay but..."
"That's not your style."
She smiled at me, sending a shot of lust right to my groin. Talking about centerpieces for her wedding to another man should be the least sexy thing in the world. But it wasn't.
She had no idea what she was doing to me. Just by being there.
Just by smiling at me.
"Exactly!"
We settled into a routine. I folded the place cards and sipped my beer. Then I drank hers. She painstakingly wrote each name. I was careful not to interrupt her when the pen was on the heavy parchment.
Eventually I had folded all the cards and moved onto assembling the centerpieces. Well, not assembling exactly. There were fake fruits and flowers, all covered in some sort of glitter. I decided it was a good idea to juggle them.
Caro was laughing at me while she scolded me. Eventually I stopped and got down to business making centerpieces for a wedding I was praying would never happen. She showed me how to make the base with a pre-made basket and a piece of thick green foam. Then she started adding the glitter fruit and dried flowers. We went back to working in silence.
She was blissfully unaware that I was about to rock her world.
And not in the good way.
Not yet, anyway.
I wasn't sure how to ease into this. I knew she might kick me out once I opened this door and started telling her the truth about her fiancé. And I just wanted to be there with her, a while longer.
Breaking her heart could wait.
Even though I wanted her for myself, I dreaded doing it.
I got up for another beer and noticed the time. I got some cheese and crackers out of the fridge and brought them over to her. She smiled gratefully.
"Sorry, I should have offered to feed you."
I shrugged.
"I'm used to looking after myself."
She looked at me then, regret in her beautiful eyes. She knew, like everyone else in town, that my mother had been MIA most of my childhood. The nights anyway. She had eventually run off with a trucker who'd picked her up at a bar on his way through town. I never knew my father. In the end, my grandmother had raised me. She was the opposite of my mother, a real religious zealot.
She wasn't cruel exactly. But she wasn't kind. And we didn't see eye to eye on, well, anything.
It hadn't been easy but I'd managed to escape the old woman most of the time. That meant walking the fine line between being under her thumb and having the neighbors call the police because I was running wild.
I'd learned early how to get by. It wasn't the idyllic childhood some people had had. But I didn't want her to look at me like that.
I didn't like the pity in her eyes.
Fuck it. Now or never.
"Still upholding that chastity vow?"
She bristled adorably. Even enraged, there was something cuddly about her. Maybe I was insane. Probably.
At any rate, she was fired up.
"That's none of your business, Chan."
"You are my business."
She threw me another angry glance. This time though, there was something else in the look. Almost as if she knew I was right.
Knew it in her bones.
"Chan, stop being silly."
"Tell me this Caro. A man like that. All those nights he leaves you to go to bed alone. What do you think he does?"
She looked at me. I could see the fear in her eyes. Then she tossed her head and her gorgeous blond hair went tumbling everywhere.
"Whatever men do, to... um... relieve themselves."
I laughed.
"Relieve themselves?"
"You know."
I leaned back, letting my thighs spread. I looked at her.
"Whack off? Churn one out? Shake hands with Mr. Pink?"
She laughed and threw one of the fake apples at me. Her cheeks were pink.
God, I loved making this woman blush.
There it was. That fucking word again.
Love.
"Stop it Chan!"
I stood up and grabbed her, lifting her out of her chair. I pulled her against me. She was too shocked
to move at first, but I knew I had less than a minute before she slapped me.
Again.
"No, I will not stop. I know where he goes. He goes to the clubs. The strip clubs. He has women. He's known for being rough. For hurting them."
Her mouth opened as she stared at me aghast. She shoved me away and headed for the door. I tried not to stare at her sweet little ass while she did.
Resistance was futile. I stared. Why the hell not?
"That's a horrible thing to say. I think... I think you should leave."
"Princess... you know I'm telling the truth."
"No, I don't!"
I followed her toward the corner, boxing her in. She turned to face me, her eyes bright with tears. I reached out and brushed her hair away.
"Why would I lie?"
She laughed bitterly.
"To get what you want!"
I smiled at her and stepped closer until our bodies were nearly touching. It took every fiber of my being not to pull her into my arms.
"Yes, I want you. But I wouldn't lie to you Princess. Ever."
Now she did laugh.
"We both know that's not true."
"What part?"
She stared at me, anger all over her face.
"That you wouldn't lie. That you didn't already lie to me once to get what you wanted. That you really want anything other than to stroke your own ego!"
She tried to brush past me but I put my arms out, holding her in place.
"I have never lied to you and I never will. I might be the scum of the Earth to someone like you, but I'm not a liar!"
Her eyes opened even wider. I thought I was getting through to her. Fuck it, I didn't really care anymore.
I just wanted her in my arms.
Now.
With a groan I pulled her against me. She didn't fight me, like I was afraid she might. No, she melted.
Right. Into. Me.
Hmmffff...
The way she felt in my arms... tasted... her lips were so soft and plump, her breasts heavenly as they mashed against my chest. I'd never held anything so precious in my arms before.
Except for the brief moments I'd held her before.
This was not going to be brief.
Not if I had anything to say about it.
Carolina
I was warm, floating, as if I was in the ocean. The water held me up, supporting me.