Taking Chances

by Flowers, Loni

  She set his drink down and pulled a straw out of her apron, laying it on the table. Trying to be civilized, she said, “Your order will be just another minute or two.”

  “So when are you going to have dinner with me?” he asked.

  “I’m not. I’ve already told you I’m not interested.”

  “Oh c’mon, one date with me is all I ask… You don’t know what you’re missing.”

  “I have a boyfriend, Gavin.”

  He grinned, “You’re not married. What’s one date? You’ll probably like me better anyway.”

  Clair stared into his eyes. She wanted to make sure Gavin got the message she was about to send. “That’s exactly the point. I don’t need to know what I’m missing. It’s called commitment, Gavin. Maybe if you tried it, you’d be able to find a girl who was actually interested in you.”

  “What? You don’t think I can compete with Alex?” he sneered.

  She rolled her eyes. “The point is I want to be with Alex, not you. Can’t you just accept that?”

  “What does he have that I don’t?” He stood up and did a little turn beside her. “I mean, not to sound conceited or anything, but look at me!”

  Wow. I can’t believe this, she thought, exhaling heavily. Clair looked around to see who else was watching this nonsense, but Gavin was the only customer except for one diner who had his nose in a book.

  “Are you being serious right now? You might actually have girls interested in you if you didn’t act like such a conceited ass.”

  “Oh, I have plenty of girls interested in me. Just not the one I want.” He took a step closer, the smile falling from his face. “Now, let’s be real. You can’t be all that happy with Alex. You’re always here working and I never see him with you. Maybe he’s just not that interested, at least not like I am.”

  He was standing inches away from her. Too close. Clair wanted to back away, but she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. She bored her eyes into him, “I’ve only been interested in one person since I stepped foot in this town, and you aren’t him. How often Alex comes to see me is none of your business. And neither is what we do on our dates. I’m not sure how much clearer I need to be.”

  Gavin held his hands up, “Okay, okay. I’m just trying to help you out. You’ll see Alex for what he really is soon enough and then you’ll come to me. After that, I can finally show you what a real man is.”

  Clair cut her eyes at him. The more he talked, the more furious she got. “And just what do you think I’ll see in Alex?”

  “Well, let’s just say Alex is lazy. He gets lazy and quits. Just like the last few jobs he’s had.”

  “Lazy? Alex is not lazy.” Clair huffed and narrowed her eyes at him. “He works all the time and he’s very good at what he does. He has important job responsibilities on which his boss depends heavily. What are your responsibilities? Shall we add stalking to your list? You clearly have no idea what you’re talking about. You’re just jealous of him and what he’s been able to achieve on his own.”

  Gavin laughed out loud, “Jealous? Of Alex? Yeah, right. Alex is a suck-up and he’s good at it too; always sucking the boss’ dick to get ahead. I mean, look at what he does now. He sits on his ass all day in that office and orders people around. I bet he thinks he’s real special.”

  “That’s enough! I will not stand here and let you talk shit about my boyfriend.” Clair tried to keep the level of her voice under control as she leaned in to him, so close she could feel his breath on her face. “He is an amazing person and would do anything for anyone if they needed his help, which proves to me that you obviously don’t know him.” Her voice trembled the more enraged she became. The anger in her brought tears to her eyes and she bit the inside of her cheek, forcing them back. The last thing she wanted to do was cry in front of him. “I think you should just leave. And the next time you come in here, you can order your fucking food from someone else.”

  Gavin smiled broadly at Clair as he slid his hand up the back of her arm and across her bare shoulder. The strap of her tank top didn’t provide enough of a barrier between his hand and her skin and his touch made her sick. “Seeing you get all riled up is a real turn on.” He looked over Clair’s head and smiled, “Well damn, look who just showed up.”

  Clair turned her head to see Alex looking in the window at them, his hands balled into tight fists. She opened her mouth to speak to him through the window, but he turned and walked away. Gavin gave her shoulder a squeeze and winked at her. Clair pushed him hard in the chest making him stumble backwards.

  “Don’t you ever touch me again,” she seethed before running to the door to stop Alex.

  She flung the door open and the humid air hit her. Like a vacuum sucking the breath from her, she choked for precious oxygen. Looking in the direction he was walking, she shouted, “ALEX! WAIT!” But he kept walking. She caught up to him, grabbing his upper arm, but he jerked it away, his hands still tightly balled into round fists. Clair stopped and watched him stomp away. “Please. Just talk to me,” she pleaded, her voice quivering. She didn’t understand what was going on, why he was here and what she did to make him so mad. All she knew was that she missed him terribly since he’d been gone and couldn’t let him just walk away from her.

  Alex spun around, and marched up to her. His face was inches from hers when he said, “I should have known this would be a mistake. But what’s worse is to be replaced by the person I hate most.” His eyes flicked towards the diner.

  “What are you talking about?” Clair asked, confused.

  Alex snickered, but he looked furious, “What do you think I’m talking about? I saw the way you two were talking, and the way he was touching you. Do I look fucking stupid to you?” He paused and stared at her, his disappointment clear as he waited for her to answer.

  “But it wasn’t like that, Alex.”

  He closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, they were glassy. The muscles in his cheeks flexed as if he were trying to hold himself together. “If I hadn’t walked up, what would have happened next? What would you have let him do?”

  He turned back around and started to walk toward his car. But before Clair could answer him, he yelled in a rough voice over his shoulder, “I’m done!”

  “What? No, wait,” Clair cried as she followed behind him.

  He snatched the door open and held his hand up to Clair as if he’d had enough. “I don’t want to hear about it! Save your explanation for someone who gives a damn.” With that, he got in the car and slammed the door shut, the tires squealing on the pavement as he drove off.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Clair

  Clair’s eyes stung with tears when he drove away, leaving her on the sidewalk alone. She stood there in shock, wondering what the hell just happened. What did I do? He said he was done but Clair wasn’t. Alex obviously had the wrong impression of what was going on between her and Gavin and Clair was determined to make Alex understand the truth.

  She ran back to the diner to see if Theresa would cover the rest of her shift. When she walked through the door, Gavin was waiting for her.

  “Well, looks like you’re free now. How about that date?” he asked, trying to block her path.

  Ignoring his comment, she pushed by him and saw Theresa at the counter. Clair asked her to cover the remainder of her shift. Seeing the state of frenzy she was in, Theresa readily agreed to help her.

  Clair hurried through the door and noticed Gavin leaning against one side of it, his arms crossed over his chest and a big grin on his face.

  “Call me,” she heard him say on his way out the door.

  Clair pulled her car to the side of the street and parked directly behind Alex’s Jeep. She breathed a heavy sigh of relief when she saw he hadn’t left to go back to Pittsburgh, if he was going back. After running up the stairs, Clair stood outside his apartment door. Bent over with her hands on her knees, she tried to catch her breath. The heat mixed with the exertion of going up all of the s
tairs made her feel like she would throw up. But she pushed it all to the back of her mind. Now wasn’t the time to worry about how bad she felt. She had to get to the bottom of what was going on and wasn’t about to stand outside and wait for an invitation. She let herself in and saw Alex sitting on the couch.

  He looked up, “You should leave,” he said simply, “I don’t feel like arguing about this.”

  “No. Not until you tell me what is going on. You don’t get to talk to me that way and then just leave. Especially when I haven’t a clue as to what I did wrong.”

  Alex jumped up from the couch and came at her. “Didn’t I tell you not to go near him? You didn’t listen to what I said earlier about him! Gavin always gets what he wants. Why did you even bother talking to me every night if you were talking to him too? Why waste my time?”

  “Gavin didn’t get what he wants. He didn’t get me!” Clair yelled back.

  “Well it sure looked different to me from the window,” he sneered. “Tell me then, why was he so damn happy? Why did you let him stand that close to you and touch you the way he did?” He ran his hands through his hair, anger and frustration showing in the creases of his forehead. He paced the floor in front for her. “No. You know what? I don’t want to hear it. Like I said, you should just go. I need to get back to Pittsburgh anyway.”

  “No!” Clair yelled, slamming her hand down on the counter. Alex’s eyes went wide from her reaction. Her voice broke as she tried to speak. “Why… why don’t you trust me? Don’t you think I’ve been hurt enough to know what it feels like?” Her eyes welled up with tears. She knew how painful it was to find out you couldn’t trust someone and she didn’t want to be labeled as such. “I don’t like Gavin, but it doesn’t mean I can’t talk to him. I have a job to do, no matter how much I despise him. I’m not leaving until you at least hear what I have to say.”

  “Fine, just say it then,” Alex said, crossing his arms over his chest.

  “He came in the diner today, just like he’s done every day since you’ve been gone. For the hundredth time, he tried to convince me to go on a date with him, insisting that he was better than you in every way. He said some really ugly things about you that I know aren’t true, but I defended you on everything. I didn’t let him get away with talking about you like that.”

  Alex stood motionless, leaning against the counter and Clair couldn’t tell whether he believed her or not. “I was so mad at the things he was saying.” She stepped closer and placed her hand on his arm. “I told him you were the most amazing man I’d ever known and you’d do anything for anyone… for me.” Tears fell from her eyes as she spoke, her emotions taking hold of her, but she didn’t care if he saw her cry again. “It was fun for him, talking about you the way he was. When he saw you at the window, he smiled at me and that’s when you saw him run his nasty hand up my arm.” She sniffed, “I told him to leave me alone and never touch me again. I hate him, Alex. I hope I never have to see him again.”

  The silence was devastating. She felt like she’d lost him and he still didn’t believe her. It was her own fault for not making her intentions clearer to Gavin. Tears streamed down her face and she forced back the sob she felt forming in her throat.

  “Say something… anything!” She demanded. “Tell me what you’re thinking. You don’t believe me, do you?” She backed away from him. “I’ve never lied to you, not once, Alex,” she said softly. “I love you too much to treat you that way.” Clair turned to walk away but he reached out and grabbed her hand. She didn’t resist when he pulled her to him and cupped her face in his hands, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

  “I’m sorry. I should have never spoken to you like I did. I have no reason not to trust you and I let my own insecurities cloud my judgment. Can you forgive me?”

  He slid his hand to the side of her neck, his fingers gliding over her shoulder and down her arm as if he were washing away the filth from Gavin’s touch earlier. Clair closed her eyes to the warmth that ran across her skin. It had only been a week since she’d seen him, but his simple touch made her feel like she’d been months without him. Clair opened her eyes, forcing herself out of the trance he was putting her in.

  “Why are you here anyway? I thought you weren’t coming back until next week? Did something happen?”

  “No, everything’s fine. Well, almost everything.” He paused as he watched his own finger draw little circles on the top of her hand. “You know, it’s torture being there. Not being able to see you, or touch and kiss you whenever I want,” he brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed the tips of her fingers. “I was going crazy. Stu let me come back for the weekend, but I have to go back tomorrow night.”

  Clair’s eyes widened. “Tomorrow night? You came all this way, drove six whole hours just to spend one night with me?”

  “Clair, can you not see how much I care for you? I would fly across the country if it meant I could spend one night with you.”

  She looked down at the space between them, “You told me you cared before, but I always seemed to find a reason to doubt myself.”

  Alex pushed her chin up. “You are the most amazing woman I have ever met. I feel like we’ve known each other forever. I didn’t expect this to happen and I told myself not to get involved for fear that I’d get hurt all over again. But then I realized life is about taking chances, no matter where it leads. You’ll never know how wonderful your life can change if you don’t live it.” He brushed the backs of his fingers across her cheek and continued, “I thought I was in love once, and maybe I was, to some extent, I don’t know. All I know now is I’ve fallen in love with you, Clair. What I felt then is nothing compared to how I feel when I’m with you.”

  Clair was speechless. Alex’s soft blue eyes were staring back at her, grounding her to the floor and she could see the love etched on his face. No one had ever spoken such beautiful words to her. Fresh tears fell from her eyes. His eyes roamed over her face, as if trying to gauge her reaction. He stroked her neck, losing his fingers in her hair. Her hands found his hips and she leaned in, covering her lips over his mouth. His hand tightened around the strands of her hair, using them to tilt her head slightly. He kissed her deeply, his tongue pulsing in and out of her mouth, hardly giving her a chance to catch her breath. Clair slipped her hands under his shirt, feeling the warm skin beneath it as she ran her hands up the length of his chest.

  His groan was smothered by another kiss, and suddenly, he picked her up and spun her around, sitting her on the countertop behind him. It provided just the right height for Clair to wrap her legs around his waist, his hardness pressing against her. She tightened her hold around him so she could feel it rub against her even more.

  Alex pulled her top over her head and tossed it to the floor. Turning her head to the side, he kissed her neck, pulling at her skin with his lips. Clair moaned, feeling a burning sensation throughout her body. She twisted the collar of his shirt before sliding her hands down his sides and lifting his shirt up over his head. His skin felt soft and hot under her palms and she leaned forward, planting kisses down his neck, letting her tongue flick against his skin. His hands found her breasts and he held each in his hands as he gently squeezed them. Pushing them up, he ran his tongue across the swells and Clair felt like she needed to have every piece of her clothing off immediately. She wanted his body to take their place. She wanted to wear him over her skin, to feel his body against her, to feel him inside her.

  As if sensing her need, Alex picked her up, her legs still wrapped around him, and carried her to his bedroom. Laying Clair down on the bed, he crouched over her, and lightly kissed her collarbone, working his way up her neck. He grabbed her jaw between his fingers and turned her head, angling her neck to meet his needs. The lightness of his kiss on her skin sent goose bumps over her body as if his lips were made of ice. They created a fire within her that caused her whole body to melt beneath him.

  Alex reached her ear and whispered, “How is it we’ve been away from each
other only a week, yet it feels so much longer?”

  Clair reached her hands down between their bodies and unbuttoned his pants. Her hands moved inside the edge of his boxers and down each side of his hips, her fingers clawing at the skin beneath. Alex lowered his body onto hers, his breathing becoming heavier as he pressed himself against her. “It feels like that because you want me. You do want me, don’t you?” she teased in a soft voice.

  His face was serious, a look of love and desire in his eyes. “I think you can feel just how much I do,” he said, rubbing his hardness against her.

  Clair pushed her hips up as she pressed down on his back with her hands. “I don’t know,” she said, breathing harder, “I’m not totally convinced yet.”

  Alex sat up and ran his finger underneath the waistband of her jeans. He skimmed across her stomach, sending a chill up her spine. “I can fix that,” he said, unbuttoning her pants and pulling the zipper down slowly.

  He tugged her pants down around her hips and off her legs, throwing them to the floor along with her panties. Clair unclasped her bra and tossed it. She lay naked on his bed, propped up on her elbows and Alex leaned back, exploring her body with his eyes. Normally, this would have made her uncomfortable, but she let him look, shamelessly. It was evident he wanted her; the ridged tension in his body and the hunger in his eyes told her that much. Clair let one of her legs fall to the side, opening them, sending Alex an invitation that she was ready. He pushed his pants to the floor and walked over to his nightstand. Fumbling in the drawer, he found a condom and put it on.

  Leaning over her, he kept his weight on his knees, straddling her waist with one leg, and the other between hers. He weaved his fingers through her hair, gripping the strands between his fingers. He kissed her mouth, pulling at her bottom lip with his teeth, begging her to open and grant his tongue access to dance with hers. He held her tightly in his embrace, his arm wrapped around her back as he slipped the tip of his tongue into her mouth, teasing her. When he pulled away, Clair opened her mouth to catch her breath, as Alex managed to slip his tongue between her lips, plunging deep inside her.