by Lynn Rider
“I’ll enjoy every ounce.” He hands me a bottle of water.
“Somehow this doesn’t carry the same appeal.” I tap my bottle of water to his beer.
“Not much longer, Amber. You know to call me when the time comes, right? If Emma’s not here, I got you,” he says sincerely, sliding into the chair at the end of the couch.
“Thanks, Reeder. I don’t know what I would do without you two.” I smile fondly at him.
“You’re stronger than you think, Amber. I admire that strength. You’ll be fine.”
Drew comes through the door, preventing me from responding. My mouth immediately begins to water at the sight of him in athletic shorts and nothing else. My eyes take their time scanning the tan, sweat-glistened skin of his defined chest and abs. When I hear the gentle clearing of his throat I center my eyes on his. His crooked smirk tells me I wasn’t subtle in my perusal and I turn my head bashfully, trying to find something to look at other than his beautiful body.
The door opens again and Emma walks in. “Jesus, Drew! Put some clothes on. You’re probably killing poor Amber. Bad enough she has a wet dream every night. She doesn’t need you parading around here half-naked, tempting her while she’s awake,” she says before turning in my direction with a smile.
A heat covers my face that she would share my secret, but when I look over and see Drew’s pale, stoic face, I laugh. He doesn’t reply before going into the bathroom and starting the shower.
Reeder pulls Emma into his lap with a playful chuckle. “You do that on purpose to him, don’t you?”
“Who me?” She flutters her eyes at him with a giggle. Reeder pulls her closer and plants a kiss on her lips. “So we’re going shopping soon, right?” Emma asks me.
“Yeah, I guess I need to start sometime. I have to buy nursery furniture, clothes, diapers… all of it.” I sigh.
“I’ll help. I love to shop!”
“Isn’t that the truth.” Reeder laughs as Emma swats his chest playfully.
“So is that shit true?” Drew asks as he sits on the couch and pulls my swollen feet into his lap.
I look at him nervously until he hits the right spot in the arch of my foot and I relax into his touch, enjoying the deep massage. “Well?” He raises an eyebrow in my direction. I can feel the blush creep up again under the scrutiny of his eyes. “Don’t be shy. I’m curious,” he says soothingly.
“Yes,” I answer meekly.
“Fuuck. That’s amazing. No wonder pregnant women have that glow.” He laughs. I look over at Emma and Reeder and give her a wink. She smiles knowingly. When Drew hits that spot in the arch of my foot again I moan and throw my head back. His hands instantly freeze and his head snaps in my direction. Emma and I both break into a fit of laughter and Reeder shakes his head with a wide smile.
“You two suck! You know that?” He pushes my feet from his lap.
“Don’t be mad, Drew. Pregnant women, especially single pregnant women, have to get it sometime. Look at me. I look like I’ve swallowed a basketball, my feet are swollen, my nostrils are flaring, and I have a perpetual state of exhaustion planted on my face. So hey, if I can get off in a dream once or twice a night I’ll take it,” I finish with a laugh.
Emma and Reeder laugh as they both stand. “I’m going to start the grill,” Reeder says.
“You’re beautiful, Amber. Don’t ever think you’re not,” Drew says low enough so that only I can hear it. I know he means it. Tears fill my eyes before he pulls me into his arms. “Shh, everything is going to be fine.” I wipe my tears quickly and pull away.
“I’m still not sleeping with you,” I joke through my tears.
“I don’t think I can compare with your dreams anyway. I’d only embarrass myself.” He chuckles.
Amber…
‘We’re running a few minutes late. Have Emma put our name on the list for a table’
“Drew says they’re running late and to get a table,” I tell Emma.
“Great! I hate doing man’s work,” she teases as she parks her car.
Emma leads the way through the crowded pool hall to the counter. An older woman with grey hair and a wrinkled face greets us with a tired expression. “What can I do you for?” Evidence of years of smoking can be heard in her rough voice.
“We need to reserve a table,” Emma says while pulling out her credit card.
“I don’t have any available. You’re second up though.”
“Okay.” Emma smiles and slides her card across the counter.
“Name.”
“Reeder Merritt,” Emma answers and the old woman looks up from the computer screen, but doesn’t comment.
“Cell phone number,” she barks out.
I vaguely register Emma giving her own cell number rather than Reeder’s as my eyes scan the mass of people. There must be fifty pool tables and not an empty one in the entire place. The bar is packed, with people lined up on every stool and in some places five or six people thick around the bar.
“I need a drink after dealing with Miss Personality,” Emma says sarcastically as she steps away from the counter.
“Is this place always like this on a Thursday?”
“Yeah. Don’t mention that in front of Reeder. He comments every time we come here how he would like to open one. He says it’s a goldmine.”
“He may be right, Em,” I say while my mind runs an unofficial head count.
“Ugh, not you too!”
I laugh as she snakes her way toward the bar. She smiles and taps on the backs of several men to slither her body closer to the bar. I notice how their eyes all appreciatively scan her backside as she shimmies through.
“Water?” she questions over her shoulder.
“Yeah,” I call out, standing back from the crowd. A couple of minutes later she breaks through the group with three bottles of beer and one lonely bottle of water tucked under her arm.
“This is pathetic,” I say, pulling the water from her grasp.
“Not too much longer,” she says brightly as we move through the clusters of people toward the grouping of high top tables.
“You must have been reading my mind tonight,” A blond says with a grin as he steps to the table’s side. Both Emma and I look at him questionably. “I left my house hoping a beautiful brunette was going to buy me a drink tonight,” he says with a cheesy attempt at a sexy grin. Emma and I look at one another and begin laughing. He claps his chest with his hand, feigning offense with a smile.
“So it’s not working?” he ask, his grin more sincere this time.
“Not at all. Beat it, asshole.”
I hear Reeder’s deep voice as he approaches the man, practically pressing his body against him. The guy looks at Reeder nervously, but when Drew steps up he looks downright frightened.
“No problem, man. Can you blame me? They’re both beautiful, even the pregnant one.” Within the time span of a blink, Drew’s in his face with a snarl and a quick shove. The guy recovers and continues stepping back with his hands up in surrender. Reeder and Drew stand fists clenched, shoulders broad watching as the guy moves on and disappears to the other side of the pool hall.
Emma and I share a glance and then burst out laughing again. Reeder kisses Emma sweetly on her temple before she wraps her arm around his waist and draws his body closer.
“Thanks, but totally unnecessary,” I say to Drew.
“Unnecessary?” he asks with cocky grin.
“Yeah, we pretty much had it taken care of.”
“Dicks like that don’t respond to ‘pretty much.’ Reeder and I took care of it,” he says confidently as he swipes the unopened beer from the table and twists the cap. “How long before the table is ready?” he calls out, taking Emma’s attention from Reeder.
“Who knows? Miss Personality up there wasn’t much help,” she says dryly.
“Who’s working?”
“I don’t know, Reeder. I don’t get everyone’s name like you do.” She rolls her eyes playfully.
“You know, Drew, in every relationship there’s a cranky one and an easygoing one.” He casually holds his pointer finger over each of their heads indicating Emma as the cranky one.
“I believe that,” Drew deadpans, winking at Emma.
I try to put that theory to the test, inserting every couple I know, and I’m confident he’s right until I try to insert me and Drew and instantly berate myself for thinking like that. I’m almost seven months pregnant; he wouldn’t want me.
“What are you thinking about so hard over here?” Drew asks as he bumps my shoulder.
“Nothing,” I lie, too embarrassed to be honest. Hell, I haven’t even told Emma about how he’s taking a supporting role in my wet dreams, alternating with Austin. I feel like I’m having sex with two men. Some mornings I wake after not having one and I feel dejected.
“Tables ready,” Reeder calls out as he walks back to the table. I was so lost in the thought of cranky versus non-cranky and wet dreams that I hadn’t noticed he had stepped away.
I glance at Emma in time to see another one of her signature eye rolls. “You better hope your eyes don’t get stuck doing that,” I whisper as we make our way to our pool table.
“If he didn’t have to make friends with every damn person when we went somewhere, I would have done it two times less today.”
“Probably three times because they were late and inevitably that was caused by his gift of gab somewhere today,” I reason.
“Yes!” She laughs.
“How’s peanut today?” Drew asks affectionately as he presses his large hand against my belly.
“She’s go—” I start, but his ringing phone stops me. He pulls it from his pocket with an apologetic grin and surprises me by silencing it before pushing it back into his pocket without even a glance at the screen. “You can answer that,” I reassure him.
“If I was talking to anyone else I would,” he says dismissively. “So she’s good. How are you feeling?” he continues, ignoring all talk of the missed phone call.
I’m not sure what passes over me, but its weight bears down on me and tears burn my eyes. I blink hard as I swallow the tightness in my throat. Drew pulls me in and kisses the top of my head. I laugh with a cry against his chest.
“I promise to ignore you with every phone call going forward. Okay?” he jokes as he pulls away and cradles my face between his hands. With his thumb he swipes my tears from my cheek and lowers his body to align our eyes. His blue eyes are as playful as the grin he’s casting in my direction.
“Want me to have Reeder call me so I can start ignoring you now?” His crooked smile brings out his deep dimple next to his mouth.
His mouth… Oh god, it’s perfect. My eyes land on his lips before settling back on his eyes. He’s watching me watch him. I run my tongue over my bottom lip nervously before dropping my head. What the hell am I doing? His lips press firmly against the top of my head before he lets go and steps back. I attempt to appear unaffected, but the knowing look Emma is directing in our direction tells me she saw everything I felt.
“We gonna do this or you two gonna stand around cuddling with one another all night?” Reeder calls out as he walks up with four cue sticks. I inwardly groan that he saw it too.
Emma’s attempt to rap along with the song on the radio has me laughing as I pull into Lucille’s twenty-four hour diner. I laugh harder when I realize she’s at least two verses behind. She groans when I turn the car off, silencing the music.
“Aww, Amber. That was my jam,” she whines bringing me to laughter again.
“The music industry would be in trouble if that was your jam, Emma.” I laugh.
“Well, well. We meet again, ladies. It must be fate.”
I turn to see the blond guy from earlier at the hall and his entourage of friends. I scan the parking lot; no one is out here other than us. Where are Drew and Reeder?
“I think it may be,” Emma says sarcastically.
“That’s better,” The blonde says as he slithers through the parked cars. I grab for Emma’s arm and try leading her on the other side of a car while getting closer to the diner.
“I don’t think you picked up on my sarcasm, pal,” she calls out over her shoulder as I continue to prod her along. “I was implying that it would be fate that you get your ass kicked tonight.”
“Em,” I whisper angrily.
“I don’t see your boys here now. I don’t bite, baby, unless you ask me to,” he says, stepping closer.
I scan his friends and they look uncomfortable about where this is going. “Look, we don’t want any trouble. We’re both involved and not interested,” I say sternly.
I see his eyes dart down before lifting with a menacing grin. “I don’t see a ring on either of your fingers. That’s kind of sad for you. Pretty girl like you knocked up with no man,” he says creepily as he steps forward.
“Brad, enough, man. You’re drunk,” one of his friends says.
“Yeah, Brad, you’re high and you won’t even remember this tomorrow,” another says. He steps closer, grasping my arm tightly.
“No, this is a night he won’t soon forget,” I hear Drew’s deep voice say as he blurs past me like a flash and is on the guy. Reeder comes around the other side of the car, punching one of the friends who tries to help Brad. One guy turns and runs while the others take a hit before scurrying off. My eyes land back on Drew and I’m mortified by the beating he’s giving this guy. He’s pinned him against a car, and I can hear the man’s body grunt and gasp with every blow.
“Drew, enough,” Reeder says sternly and he drops him. Brad’s wilted and beaten body falls to the ground in a disorganized heap of limbs, Drew standing over him, breathing steadily as if he hasn’t just been in a fight. My gaze slides to the ground where the bloodied man rolls over, lifting his hand to his forehead.
“Motherfucker!” Drew rears his leg back, ready to kick him, but drops it again when Reeder’s hand goes over his large shoulder.
Drew’s large body turns in my direction, but my gaze drops to the ground again. I’m not sure how to process the rage I witnessed. I’m one part flattered and equal part terrified at how easily he did that.
“We have to get out of here!” Reeder calls out. They hurriedly walk us back to Emma’s car before running off to Drew’s rental. My phone rings as Emma and I pull out on the main road.
Drew’s name flashes across the screen. “Are you okay to drive?” he asks when I answer.
I look to Emma. “Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t get my pancakes though,” I say, trying to lighten the heaviness of what I had just witnessed.
“I’ll make you pancakes.” I hear the smile in his voice.
“Okay,” I say quietly.
“I’ll see you at home,” he says with relief before disconnecting.
“You okay?” Emma asks quietly.
“Yeah, he’ll be okay, right? I mean he was moving before we left…”
“That guy was a prick. And although I don’t think his friends would have let him do anything, he gave me the vibe he would have if given the chance. Total creeper,” she adds with an eye roll.
“You just did it again!” I point to her eyes.
“I know, the damn things are twitchy today. It’s Reeder’s fault. If he hadn’t been late on both occasions tonight that guy wouldn’t have talked to us.”
“Yeah and what’s with you goading the guy? Must be fate,” I say, mimicking her voice.
“I saw Reeder and Drew pull up but park on the other side. I knew they’d come kick some ass. You know Drew was a professional fighter, right?”
My head snaps from the road and in her direction. “Guess you can figure out why that didn’t work out so well, huh?” She giggled.
“He never told me,” I say quietly.
“He trains a couple now in LA. That’s what made him move.”
“He told me a woman made him move.”
Her gaze turns my direction. “He told you that? That sneaky shit! We thought t
hat was why he’d left, but he’d never admit to it,” she says with a laugh before getting out of the car.
“You want pancakes?” I ask Emma as we climb the stairs.
“No, I’m too tired and it’s way too late to be eating that.”
Drew is standing outside my apartment with a hesitant smile. I can see the shame that was so clear in his voice earlier.
“Reeder’s in bed,” Drew tells Emma.
“Goodnight, Am. Goodnight, slugger,” she says, opening her apartment door and stepping into the darkness.
“Are we okay?” Drew asks, turning his attention to me.
“Yeah, I’m just not a fan of violence, Drew. My dad used to hit my mom and I was a victim of it as well. Ever since, I just don’t like to be around it.” I open my door, holding it open for him. He stands still against the wall, considering my statement. “Come on. You promised me pancakes. I’m holding you to it,” I say with a weak smile.
He follows me in, closing and locking the door behind him. “Amber, you know I’d never hit you right? I attacked him because he was threatening two people I care about. I would never attack someone randomly, and under no circumstances would I ever put a hand on a woman.” His eyes plead for me to believe him as he steps closer.
I look up to his blue eyes. “I think I know that, Drew, but I’m not always the best judge of character. I always feel safe when I’m with you, but you scared me,” I whisper.
“Oh, Amber, you don’t have to ever be scared of me.” He cradles my face within his hands. I begin to lean into him when he startles and pulls his hand back like I’d burned him. “I need to take a shower.” He looks down at his clothes and hand with alarm. His black shirt shows no indication of the fight he’s just been in, but both his jeans and hand have dried blood on them. “Give me five minutes? “
I nod, wondering what the hell I’m doing as he bolts from my apartment.
I take a quick shower, putting on yoga pants and a tank top before going through my cupboard for pancake ingredients. A soft rap on my door and the subtle opening lifts my attention from the pancake mix and I take in his muscular frame donning basketball shorts and a white V-neck tee.