Size Matters

by Stephanie Haefner

  Mia nodded. “Easy to do sometimes. But if you’re happy with Eli and you think he’s the guy, then I’m happy for you.”

  “I think he is.”

  “Then go get him.”

  Bryn hugged Mia and grabbed her stuff. She went home, showered, changed into one of her favorite dresses, and spritzed on a summery body spray. She headed over to Eli’s place. It was almost four thirty. He should be there any minute.

  But the minutes ticked away. It was almost five, so she called him. He didn’t answer, either, but at least the call didn’t go directly to voice mail. She decided against leaving a message and waited a little longer. And called Troy. Again. Call number four for the afternoon went straight to voice mail. Why were these men not answering their damn phones?

  Bryn was running out of time. And as far as she knew, assuming he was not dead, Troy would be at the Bouncy House soon for their family date.

  She pulled out of Eli’s driveway and drove home. Her text alert sounded on her phone as she pulled up. It was Eli.

  Sorry. Was in the middle of something and couldn’t answer before. I’m working a double tonight. Guy’s wife went into labor early, so he needed someone to cover his shift and I volunteered. Will call when I can.

  She couldn’t help but feel bummed, not being able to see him, and she really wanted to. The downside of dating the good guy who did nice things for people. Well, wasn’t that just one of the reasons she loved him? Oh, God! Do I love him? I think I do.

  She didn’t have time to think about it any further. The kids came barreling out of Lindsey’s house.

  “Is it time to go to Bouncy Housy yet?”

  They knew they were going, just not the tiny detail about Troy going, too. “Yep. Let’s go.”

  “You look pretty,” Lindsey said, skipping over from her yard.

  “Thanks.”

  “Kids have been talking about this all day, but you look a little fancy for a bouncy place.”

  Good thing her teen neighbor was so observant. Skirts and bounce houses did not mix. Lindsey helped Bryn by ushering the kids into the van while she trotted inside to change. Once in shorts and a tee, she bounded down the stairs and noticed her answering machine blinked with a new message.

  “Hey, Bryn. It’s Troy. My phone died and with it your cell phone number. I found your home number in the phone book. Can I meet you at the bounce place at six thirty instead? If not, you have no way of telling me.” A laugh. “I guess I’ll see you there.”

  Bryn pressed the delete button and turned, startled when she found Jaxson right behind her. “Why is he coming?”

  “What are you doing in here?”

  “I had to pee. I can’t believe you’re gonna ruin our fun night.”

  The plan had been to cancel with Troy before they went to Bouncy Housy and the kids would never know he was supposed to tag along, but obviously it was too late for that. She wasn’t sure what to say. The original reason no longer applied. This whole night was going to be very, very awkward, and there was no way to avoid it now.

  “I invited him so we could all spend some time together.”

  He started to protest. “But Mom—”

  “I don’t think he’s going to stay. I need to talk to him and then he’ll leave, okay?”

  “Fine. But I’m not gonna talk to him.”

  He stomped out the door and she followed. Everyone waved to their favorite babysitter as Bryn backed out of the driveway. And then the chatter started, all three kids at once.

  “How long till we get there?”

  “Can we have pizza?”

  “I don’t want pizza.”

  “Can we bounce first and eat later?”

  “I wanna play video games first.”

  “I’m gonna climb the monster mountain faster than you.”

  The cacophony in her backseat helped her shake off the looming doom of seeing Troy. Soon this would all be over and she could start a happily ever after with Eli. The kids would be ecstatic. And she was ecstatic, too. A few hours ago, none of this was even a thought. Now she was staring down a bright future, something she never believed she’d ever have again.

  CHAPTER

  Twenty-eight

  WITHIN TWO minutes, the kids had taken off and were trying out all the different bounce houses inside the huge indoor arena as if they’d never been there before. Bryn sat at a table and tried to compose herself. Troy would be there soon.

  “There you are,” she heard from behind. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

  She turned and there he was, looking extremely sexy in just jeans and a tee. But there were no tingles this time. She had no desire to jump his bones. “Hi.”

  He sat at the table with her. “This place is nuts. Makes me want to get a vasectomy.”

  Bryn forced a smile. How had she thought even for a moment that this guy could be a good fit for her? That’s what happened when she let her vagina make the decisions. No more of that. “So, um, we need to talk.”

  “What about?” He looked so clueless with his casual reply.

  She should just spit it out. He probably wouldn’t even care. He might even be relieved. No more dealing with bratty kids.

  “I think we need to—”

  “Mom. We’re starving!” The kids barreled toward her. “Can we order the pizza now?”

  “No. I want a hamburger.”

  “I want a cupcake.”

  This time, with her nerves a bit on edge, she couldn’t handle the barrage of demands. “I will get each of you a kids meal. Cammie, you need to pick something. No cupcakes until after you eat some real food.” She stood and grabbed her purse, turning to Troy. “I’ll be right back.”

  “I’m pretty hungry, too.” He pulled out a twenty and handed it to her. “Wanna order us a pizza?”

  “Uh. Sure.” What was she supposed to say? But now she’d be stuck with him for longer than planned.

  Bryn ordered food and returned to the table, but Troy was gone. She roamed the floor, checking each bounce house. She finally found him sitting in the middle of the princess castle, Cammie and a bunch of other girls bouncing in a circle around him singing a Disney song. She made them stop so he could crawl out.

  “That was brutal,” he said, his hair a bit disheveled. “Little girls are fuckin’ crazy.”

  If he was trying to get into her pants, calling her kid “fuckin’ crazy” was not the way to do it. She managed to smile at him. “The pizza will be ready in twenty minutes.”

  “You didn’t get pepperoni on it, did you?”

  “Yeah,” she said. “Is that a problem?”

  “It makes the pizza so greasy.”

  Was this seriously how she was spending her evening? Damn that woman for going into labor. She could be in Eli’s arms right now. “I can change the order.” She turned to leave.

  “No. It’s fine.” He caught her arm and pulled her into him. “I’m just frazzled. I’ll be fine. And hopefully later, we’ll both be fantastic. I can come back to your place, right?”

  She needed to break it off, but as she looked around her, she knew doing it at Bouncy Housy just wasn’t right. She should probably do it somewhere private. “Yeah. I’ll get the kids in bed and then we can talk.”

  “Talk?” He leaned toward her ear, voice low and husky. “You like dirty talk, don’t you?”

  A few weeks ago, Bryn would have been on board. A sexy guy with even sexier words. But not anymore. And definitely not at a kids’ play place.

  She pulled away and gathered some napkins and plastic silverware and headed back to the table. Troy followed, and as they sat he reached for her hand again.

  “Your skin is so soft. Can’t wait to feel how soft the rest of your body is.”

  Thank God their number was called, stalling any further conversation about her b
ody or the feel of it.

  “I’ll get it,” he said, jumping up.

  Bryn rounded up the kids, and by the time Troy came back, a tray in each hand, they were ready to eat. Bryn handed each kid their food as Troy dug into the pizza, blotting it with a napkin. By the time Bryn sat and grabbed her own slice, Troy was already half finished with his.

  All they had to do was get through dinner and let the kids play a little longer. Then they could leave and Bryn could break up with Troy. And hopefully when Eli got off work, he could come over. The thought brought an uncontrollable smile to her lips. Until a “Fuck!” interrupted her daydream.

  “Oops. Sorry,” Jax said, his voice a calm monotone, looking about as unsorry as a kid who’d deliberately spilled his soda could. Bryn gave him the you’re-so-in-trouble look. He shrugged, then looked back at Troy, a smile coming to his face as he watched him.

  Standing in the middle of the dining area, tables of scowling parents and laughing kids watched Troy blot the orange soda from his white tee and the entire crotch area of his jeans. It took everything in her not to laugh, too.

  His eyes met hers as he threw the clump of disintegrating napkins onto the table. “I have to leave. I’ll call you later.”

  He didn’t give her a chance to protest. He walked toward the exit, every kid he passed pointing and laughing. If there was anything good to come of this experience for Troy, it was a crash course in what it was like to be a dad. And it appeared as if he’d been scarred for life.

  The downside for Bryn, the incident had delayed the dumping.

  BRYN GOT the kids home and in bed, which wasn’t too hard to do, for once. Bouncing for a couple of hours had really tuckered them out. She sat down, the house quiet, longing for Eli. She wondered what he was doing right now. He hadn’t called back yet. She hoped everything was okay. She tried not to think about how dangerous his job was.

  A glance at the clock, only ten thirty. Eli didn’t get off until midnight. The next hour and a half were going to drag.

  Her cell phone rang. Eli! Bryn grabbed it, her heart sinking when she saw it was Troy. Might as well get this over with.

  “Hi,” she answered.

  “Hey! What’s going on?”

  “Uh, nothing. What’s up with you?”

  He sounded . . . different. Much jollier than he had the last time she’d seen him.

  “Just having some drinks. Thinking about you. And what I want to do to you.”

  “Yeah. About that . . . I think we should—”

  “Fuck all night long?”

  “No. What I’m trying to say is—”

  “Sorry. Make love all night long. Whatever you wanna call it, I’m in.”

  Say it. “Troy, we need to just be friends.”

  Nothing. Then a weird muffled noise.

  Bryn looked at her phone. The call was still connected. “Hello? Are you there?”

  “What’d you say? I can’t hear you. My phone’s getting shitty service in the bar. Lemme finish this drink and I’ll come over. I can’t wait to see that fucking fine body.”

  “Wait!” The background noise of the bar disappeared. “Hello?” She pulled her phone from her ear, the call now disconnected. She called him back, and it rang and rang, no answer.

  Bryn tried calling back a few times and still nothing. The last time, the phone went right to voice mail. Great. Was he seriously coming over? He sounded pretty drunk. Maybe he’d just go home and sleep it off.

  When an hour passed and Troy hadn’t come, she assumed she was off the hook. She headed to the bathroom and fixed her makeup, let her hair down from her ponytail, and fluffed it. Eli was getting off work in half an hour, and if she had any say in it, he’d be coming straight to her house.

  She wanted to call him, but didn’t want to bother him or get him in trouble. But a text wouldn’t hurt, right? She sent a quick message.

  Missing you. Hope you can come over after your shift is done.

  She hit send and headed to her bedroom for something to wear. She didn’t want to put on lingerie, just something simple and casual. An outfit that didn’t look like she was trying real hard. She grabbed her favorite pair of yoga pants, the black ones that hugged her curves and made her ass look nice. The dark purple trapeze tee was perfect on top. A few squirts of body spray and she was ready.

  The doorbell rang, and then a knock. Bryn checked her phone. Only ten to twelve. It couldn’t be Eli already. Unless he got out of work early. She walked to the door, giddy and wanting to run. But when she opened the door, there wasn’t a hot police officer standing there. Instead, a disheveled drunk man stumbled over her threshold.

  “Troy. What are you doing here?”

  “I told you I was comin’ over.” He leaned toward her, the putrid odor of alcohol radiating from his pores, and tried to kiss her.

  She stepped back some more. “I think you need to go home.”

  “The cab already left.”

  At least he’d been smart enough not to drink and drive. “Then I’ll call you a new one.”

  “No. Come here.” He took her hand and walked toward the couch, swaying slightly. He plopped down, yanking her with him, his hands immediately on her breasts, his lips heading toward hers.

  Not happening. “I’m gonna get you some water and call a cab.” She tried to get up.

  “No. Stay here.” He pulled her back, and that time he did manage to get his lips on hers.

  Bryn pushed him away and he laughed, eyes half closed. “I like it rough. You can push me around and fuck me hard.”

  She stood. “You stay here. I’m going to the kitchen.”

  “Bring me back a scotch, would ya?”

  Of course this kind of thing would happen to her, on the night she was planning to officially start something with Eli. Bryn reached into the fridge for a bottle of water and searched for her phone.

  She finally located it and headed back to the living room, but when she got there, Troy was passed out cold with some serious snoring.

  Come on! This was the last thing she needed right now. She nudged his arm with her knee. “Troy. Wake up.” He snored louder. There was no way she was getting him into a cab now. Looked like she was stuck with a very unwanted houseguest for the night.

  Dingdong!

  Uh-oh. This was bad. It had to be Eli. It’s not like she had many late-night visitors. Her heartbeat thundered in her chest, from both fear and excitement. He couldn’t see Troy. He’d flip right the hell out. Eli wasn’t very fond of him, to say the least, and if he found him asleep on her couch it would end very badly.

  ELI WAITED as patiently as he could at Bryn’s door. He hadn’t even gone home first. He needed to see her. Work had been hell, with him wondering where he stood with her. But when he got that text, he knew. She missed him. She wanted him to come over. The simple words had meant so much.

  Finally, he saw her silhouette through the frosted glass sidelight next to her door. She was coming toward him and his heartbeat sped.

  As she opened the door, her lips bowed into the most luminous smile he’d ever seen, rays of light surrounding her. “Hi.”

  “Hi.”

  They stood there like goofy tweens, smiling like idiots, their gazes locked on one another. Don’t just stand there. Do something. He reached for her hand. “I missed you, too.”

  That made her smile even bigger. She stepped out onto the porch, only inches from him. “How was your day?” she asked.

  “Long. But my buddy’s baby was born at around nine this evening. Healthy baby girl.”

  “He’s a lucky guy to have such a good friend like you.”

  “I’m the lucky guy right about now.” Those gorgeous green eyes stared up at him, delicious lips begging to be kissed. She let go of his hand and put both to his chest. Even through the Kevlar he could feel the heat. And when she moved t
hem up his chest and around his neck, fingertips rubbing at the tiny hairs at the base of his skull, he about lost it. “I want to kiss you so bad right now.”

  “Then do it.”

  Hands to her waist, trying very hard to stop them from wandering to places they shouldn’t go too fast, he dipped his head, capturing her lips with his. Her tongue slid into his mouth first, dancing with his, soft and sensual. A little playful. A light giggle vibrated her throat as she nibbled his bottom lip.

  This right here. He wanted to do it forever. But not on her front porch. He wanted to go inside, to her bedroom, make up for the disasters that had happened there before. Take their time and make love without his vest on. He wanted to feel her velvety skin on his chest, caress her body head to toe, show her he wasn’t afraid anymore. That he was ready to be everything she needed, inside and out of the bedroom.

  “Can I come in?” he asked, feeling silly for asking. He already knew the answer.

  She pulled back a little, the smile flipping around. “Not tonight. I’m sorry.”

  “Oh. But you asked me to come over.”

  “I know. And I so want you to. Please know that.” She stood on tiptoes and kissed him. “But it’s just . . . not a good time.”

  “Okay.” He was getting a weird vibe from her, but ignored it. He wanted to press for answers, but maybe he shouldn’t. He didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize what they had finally started. “Tomorrow? I don’t have to work.”

  The frown again. “I have so much to do tomorrow. I don’t know if I’ll even make it home before midnight. It’s the day before the fashion show.”

  “Oh yeah. You gotta be excited for that, huh?”

  “Sorta. I’m kinda terrified. Beside worrying about it being a success and not a colossal waste of money, I’m modeling, too, so that’s extra pressure.”

  “You’re modeling in the show? Like, lingerie?”