The end wall of the gym appeared ahead. One side down, three to go…Head high, she kept walking.
THE LAST TIME he’d seen McMasters, the guy had been leaning over him with a sneer on his face as he told Dylan in no uncertain terms that he was finished at Grovedale. He’d painted a picture of Dylan’s abysmal grades, poor attendance record and patchy disciplinary record, explaining that Dylan was never going to be wearing a graduation gown on the school lawn so why was he hanging around when he was missing out on all the overtime he could be racking up on the deep fryer at the nearest Golden Arches? Between them, McMasters and the school’s guidance counselor had effectively kicked Dylan out of school.
For years Dylan had wanted to meet McMasters again, stare him down and let him know in no uncertain terms that he’d written off the wrong kid. Like Sadie, McMasters had long been an integral member of the anticheering squad inside him that kept him focused and driven. He’d been proving them all wrong for years, and he intended to keep doing so.
The thought of Sadie made him hesitate for a moment. He’d been wrong about her—they’d been wrong about each other—but McMasters was a bona fide prick. He’d lorded it over Dylan in every class, belittling him at every opportunity. Even when he’d busted his balls trying to make the grade, McMasters marked him down, and Dylan intended to rub the guy’s face in his misjudgment.
The older man turned toward Dylan when he was only a few paces away, and for a second his grizzled face froze with shock.
Dylan felt a surge of satisfaction—McMasters should be worried, because Dylan made his living working with words, and he was about to take him apart piece by piece.
Then McMasters did the unthinkable—he lunged forward, both arms extended, and pulled Dylan into an enthusiastic bear hug.
“Jesus H. Christ—Dylan Anderson!” McMasters said, thumping him on the back with gusto. “I can’t believe it. You’re the last person I expected to see here. Surely you’ve got better things to do than slum it with us plebs?”
Dylan blinked and resisted the urge to shake his head to check nothing was loose. What the hell…?
McMasters was beaming fit to burst, his thin cheeks rosy with color.
“You know, I have not missed a single episode of The Boardroom. Taped ’em all, then my daughter bought me the boxed set for my birthday. Best show on TV. Just fantastic,” McMasters said. “You know that episode where the guy tries to kill himself by jumping out of his office window, but the safety glass won’t break? Watched it three times in a row the night it aired. Brilliant!”
Dylan stared at his former nemesis for a long beat. The righteous words on the tip of his tongue hovered, angry and accusing. Then the absurdity of the situation struck him and he began to laugh. All these years he’d whipped himself on with the thought of McMaster’s disapproval. His most vengeful dreams had involved showing this man that he was wrong, that Dylan was worth something—and here McMasters was, his biggest fan.
And the big joke was that it didn’t matter. His belly ached and his breath ran short as he laughed and laughed. He didn’t care that McMasters thought he did good work. The earth hadn’t shifted, he hadn’t suddenly become a different person because he had this man’s approval. He didn’t feel more confident, or more of a success. He felt…nothing.
“What’s so funny?” McMasters asked, a bewildered expression on his face.
Dylan sucked in air and swiped at the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes.
“Life. Life is what’s so goddamned funny,” he finally managed to say.
An echo of an earlier conversation came to him as he sobered.
You’ve got it all. But none of that’s enough for you, is it? Because you still hear their voices in your head telling you you’re no good.
He flinched as the words belatedly hit home like a hand grenade.
Because Sadie was right. He’d just proved she was right by marching across the gym to McMasters, desperate to offer up his life’s achievements and get an elephant stamp and a gold star from his former teacher.
He thought about the way he’d taken the job at Ocean Boulevard to get in Sadie’s face and slap her down. More of the same. Next he’d be digging his father up and making him watch reruns of The Boardroom. Whatever it took to show the world that Dylan Anderson was worth something.
God, he was a fool. Sadie had been right about that, too. He thought about the endless hours of work he put in, the weekends slaving over screenplays, the early starts and late nights, the lunches and schmoozy parties and phone calls. What an empty, stupid life he’d built for himself. Sure, he’d inadvertently scored some goodies along the way—a nice house, a great bike, the respect of his peers. But he’d pushed love away—he’d pushed Sadie away—because he’d wanted this aging man in front of him to respect him.
If it didn’t make him feel sick through to his backbone, it would almost be funny.
He’d lost Sadie. The best thing to ever happen to him, the most loving, amazing woman in the world, and he’d told her he didn’t have time for her. As if taking calls from his agent and kissing some network executive’s ass was more important than making love to her and laughing with her and building a life with her.
His head shot up. Sadie was here, right now. Within reach. And even though he didn’t deserve a second chance, he sure as hell was going to ask for one.
McMasters was flapping his gums about something, but Dylan tuned him out as he climbed up onto the bleachers and scanned the gym. In that dress she should stand out like a beacon, but he couldn’t see her anywhere. Swearing under his breath, he turned and scanned the other half of the gym—in time to catch sight of Sadie as she exited through the double doors.
“Damn it,” he cursed, lunging forward urgently.
The gym had filled since he’d arrived, and he found himself dodging impatiently past people, busting up groups, blowing off greetings from former classmates. There was only one goal in his mind—to get to Sadie.
Finally he was at the doors and his footsteps sounded loudly on the hallway of the corridor as he broke into a run.
SADIE WRAPPED her arms around herself as she made her way to her car. She’d done it. She’d been shaking like a leaf, but she’d done it. One whole lap of the gym, disdainful smile in place, just as she’d planned with Claudia and Grace. And now she could go home.
She hadn’t found a miracle cure for her broken heart in her defiant circuit of the gym. She’d said it to Dylan herself—it was impossible to rewrite the past. Her former classmates would always remember her as the girl who’d stuffed her dress with tissue at the senior prom. Sure, she’d given them a new image of herself to impose over the old one, but it wouldn’t ever erase the other.
Arriving at her car, she beeped it unlocked. She was reaching for the door handle when Dylan called out.
“Sadie. Wait!”
She glanced over her shoulder to see him running toward her, but she reached for the door anyway. She hadn’t expected to see him here, but they had nothing to say to each other.
She got it halfway open before Dylan lunged forward to push it shut again.
“Don’t go,” he said, his voice low and intense.
She sighed heavily. “Didn’t you get enough nostalgia inside?” she said.
“I’m an idiot. I stuffed up. You were right about everything,” he said.
She stared at him. Despite everything, just being near him sent her body into a hyperaware frenzy. Her pulse kicked up, and her breath got stuck somewhere in her throat. It made her feel vulnerable and exposed and stupid, and she tried to pull herself together.
“Good for you, but I have to go now,” she said.
“I was going to have a go at McMasters, but it turns out he’s The Boardroom’s biggest fan,” Dylan said, talking a mile a minute. “The guy loves me almost as much as he hated me all those years ago. Pretty much the definition of irony, don’t you think?”
“That must be very fulfilling for you,” s
he said dully. “I bet it really made your day.”
Again she reached for her door handle.
“Damn it, Sadie,” he said, and the next thing she knew she was in his arms and he was kissing her with a fierce intensity that brought tears to her eyes. His fingers plowed into her hair and he pressed his body against hers, backing her into her car. His tongue invaded her mouth, caressing hers, tracing her lips, and she thought she would die because it was exactly what she craved but she knew she couldn’t have it.
She was powerless to stop her misery from welling up, and Dylan pulled abruptly away from her when he felt her tears on his hands.
“Don’t cry, Sadie, please. I’ll make it up to you,” he said, cupping her face gently and wiping at her tears with his thumbs. “Let me make it up to you.”
“Leave me alone,” she said brokenly. “Do you know how hard it is loving you, seeing you every day but not being able to touch you or laugh with you? Do you have any idea how hard that is for me?”
“I have a fair idea,” he said drily. Brushing away more of her tears, he looked deeply into her eyes. “Sadie, even though I’m making a complete hash of it, for the past five minutes I’ve been trying to tell you that I love you. I can’t believe that I thought getting some stupid show up with the network or finishing a screenplay or any of it was more important than having you in my life, and it pretty much ranks as the stupidest thing I have ever done, but I finally get that none of it counts for anything if I don’t have you to come home to,” he said.
She stared at him for a long moment. “Why?”
“Why do I love you? Are you kidding? You’re the most incredible woman I’ve ever met. You’re smart, sassy, funny. Sexy as hell. Kind, loving. Brave. Walking in there like that tonight—man, I wanted to stomp and yell for you. You want more?” he asked.
A slow hum started in her belly as his words warmed her. Despite everything, she felt a smile tug at the corners of her mouth.
“I meant, why now? Why is it okay to love me now?”
He smoothed a hand around to the nape of her neck, and she let him keep it there.
“I’ve spent so long running away from being the dumb kid, I guess I didn’t know when to stop,” he said. “The question is, can I undo the dumbest mistake of my life?”
Looking into his eyes, she trembled to see the vulnerability and uncertainty and humbleness and gentleness in him. And the love. Love for her, shining unashamedly.
“I should mark you down for handing this assignment in so late,” she said slowly, thoughtfully.
A warmth was expanding in her chest, a lightness after all the darkness.
“That only seems fair. You know that other students like Sadie Post got their work in nearly a month ago?” she said, running her finger along his jaw and down his neck to his chest.
A smile teased at the corner of his mouth, and she felt the tension ease from his shoulders.
“We can’t all be like Sadie Post, ma’am. She’s the best there is,” he said, stepping closer to her and nudging her against the side of her car.
Still not quite believing that he was hers, that they were standing here, back where it all began, holding each other and looking into each other’s hearts, Sadie smiled.
“I bet if you really applied yourself, you could catch up,” she said, pulling him close. “I bet you could catch up really quickly.”
She kissed him, her arms snaking around his shoulders to hold him as close as she could get him. She’d forgotten the feel of him under her hands, the firmness of his muscles, the heat of his skin on hers.
“You feel so good,” she murmured into his mouth.
“Not half as good as you,” he said, hands sliding down to grasp her butt and haul her more tightly against his hips.
They kissed and murmured and hugged and caressed until they were both panting and weak-kneed and desperate. Breaking a kiss, Dylan pressed his forehead against hers and held her tight.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he whispered.
“No,” she whispered back. “I fell in love with you when I was seventeen, and I don’t think I ever stopped.”
“That means I’ve got about fourteen years of catching up to do,” he said. “I like a challenge.”
She gave a whoop of delighted shock as he bent and picked her up in his arms.
“Where are we going?” she asked as he started off across the parking lot.
“There has to be a private spot around here somewhere,” he muttered. “It’s a high school, for Pete’s sake. Kids have to fool around someplace.”
She laughed, happiness bubbling up inside her. He looked down at her, a smile curving his beautiful mouth.
“I love you, Sadie,” he said softly.
“I love you, too.”
He ducked his head to kiss her, then started walking with renewed purpose.
“You think Claudia and Grace will forgive me in time for our wedding?” he asked as he pushed open the door to the main school building with his foot.
“Wedding? What wedding?” she asked, alarmed.
“Our wedding. How does a European honeymoon sound?”
“Dylan, I love you, but I don’t think I can do the whole wedding thing again,” she said uncertainly.
He was breathing heavily now, and she started to giggle as he paused to check the door to a classroom. It opened, and he wiggled his eyebrows at her saucily as he walked inside.
“Tell you what,” he said as he placed her smack-bang in the middle of the teacher’s desk. “Why don’t you think on the whole wedding thing while I take your panties off?”
She let out a shocked yelp as he slid a hand under her dress and under her panty elastic.
“What if someone comes?”
“Oh, someone will definitely come,” he said with a grin.
“Dylan!” she cried as he pulled her panties off and spread her legs wide.
“Yes, Mrs. Anderson?” he said as he knelt between her thighs. Before she could object, he’d closed his mouth over her quivering flesh.
“Oh,” she groaned. Reaching for the edge of the desk, she held on for dear life as his skillful tongue teased her. It had been so long, and she was so turned on, and he loved her. Quickly she began to climb. But just as she was about to lose herself, Dylan lifted his head.
“So, this wedding thing,” he said.
She groaned. He laughed. “Say the magic word.”
“Please?”
“The other magic word.”
As if to remind her what she was missing out on, he flicked his tongue across her again and she shivered.
“Does it have to be a church wedding?” she panted.
“No. We can go to Vegas, as long as you’re mine,” he said, his breath hot against her thighs.
Again he laved her with his tongue, and she shuddered.
“Yes,” she sighed. “Yes. Vegas, church, wherever.”
“Excellent choice,” he said.
And then he took her in his mouth again.
Afterward, she pressed her head against his chest and took comfort from the slow, steady beat of his heart. Finally, after all these years, he was hers, and she was his. She smiled into the darkness.
“This is the best reunion ever,” she said.
“Amen to that.”
ISBN:978-1-5525-4955-1
TAKE ON ME
Copyright © 2007 by Small Cow Productions PTY Ltd.
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