Not Second Best

by Christa Maurice

  “Better. That boy always had an amazing ear for a tune.”

  “He’s good.” Sandy wasn’t leaving. What did he want? Tessa checked the time on the computer. She hadn’t even been here for two hours and she wanted to go home to eat ice cream in her pajamas all weekend. And it was Monday. If she could just keep everyone off the topic of Brett, it might be okay.

  “Why is this boy your special project all the sudden?”

  “This boy?” Damn.

  “Brett Cherney. I’d have bet you never heard of BroRide before last year when Suzi split up with Logan. Why the sudden interest in him now?”

  “Well, because he was there for Suzi when she needed him.” Tessa shrugged. Damn, that sounded pretty good. “None of us were there when she needed a refuge, and Brett took care of her. I figured it was the least I could do to help him out.”

  Sandy nodded. “Are you sleeping with him?”

  Heat hit her face like a sunlamp, and she suddenly remembered when Sandy was her ninth grade math teacher and the only reliable adult male in her life.

  “I see,” Sandy said. “You take care of yourself. Remember, he’s young and impulsive. Probably doesn’t have the brains God gave a can of peas and thinks the world of himself. But we think the world of you. I won’t tell a soul.”

  “Thanks, Sandy.”

  “Just try to keep it out of the office.” He winked at her and walked out.

  No matter how her clothes felt on her body, they weren’t screwed up. Could he smell something? She sniffed. There was a slightly funky odor coming off her. Could he have smelled her from across the desk? Oh, God! She put her head down on her arms.

  Leaving that reception with Brett Cherney had to be the dumbest thing she’d ever done.

  * * * *

  Brett leaned his chin on his fists and stared across the bar. His drink sat between his elbows, untouched. At the moment, he couldn’t even remember what he’d ordered. Duke and Scott were dividing up the meat, but Brett couldn’t summon the interest to even check out the girls they were talking about.

  He was supposed to be at the hotel with Tessa. Six o’clock had come and gone a long time ago. He should have just picked her up as if nothing had happened. Pretended he didn’t care. They could have been wrapped around each other right now.

  I can’t have Brian so I’ll take you?

  Fah-uck.

  A trio of girls who appeared to be traveling together were trying to catch his attention from the dance floor. He should take them home and do nasty things with them.

  Nah. None of them looked like they had Tessa’s chops in bed. They wouldn’t be bossy. They’d be all about pleasing him and, surprisingly, that shit got old.

  “I’m feeling like a couple of blondes tonight.” Duke grinned.

  “I’m thinking about going Neapolitan,” Scott said, eyeing the trio.

  “Going what?” Duke asked.

  “Neapolitan. You know, one of each flavor.”

  Brett looked at the girls again. A blonde and two brunettes, all three white. Scott didn’t know what the fuck he was talking about.

  “What about you, Brett?” Duke stared at him. “We gotta get the party out of our system before we head to West Virginia.”

  “To record with Jason Callisto.” Scott raised his glass, and Duke toasted with him. “Seriously, bro, Jason doesn’t allow shit to go down at his house. It’s going to be a party-free environment the whole time we’re there.”

  “I know. I’m looking forward to it.” Brett scowled. “I want to get down to fucking work.”

  Scott and Duke exchanged a look across the table. Great, another pep talk coming in for a landing.

  “Dude,” Duke said. “You gotta get over her. She’s married.”

  Brett shot him a dirty look. Idiot. Tessa wasn’t— Oh, Suzi. Suzi was married. Brett stared into his drink. It was brown, which didn’t give him any information on what it was. For a year after Suzi had disappeared from his life and reappeared engaged to Brian Ellis, he’d tried to replace her by taking home every female he could get his hands on. Hell, while she’d been at his house, he’d been bringing home women because she was in the next room and he couldn’t have her.

  This past week he hadn’t even made an effort to replace Tessa. Last weekend, he’d taken her out to the hotel in an attempt to exorcise the memory of Suzi and ended up with an even bigger ghost. Since he’d walked out of Tessa’s office Monday, there hadn’t been another woman. He’d come here every night to check out the scene, spent the time sulking into a drink he didn’t taste, turning down everybody’s party favors and going home alone by way of Tessa’s house. He’d cruise down her street, talking himself into ringing her bell so he could ring her bell, but then would chicken out.

  “We all mourned a little bit when she said ‘I do,’ but it’s not like any of us ever had a real chance.” Scott shrugged. “But why sulk over the toy you can’t have when there are so many other toys you can play with?” He gestured at the bar.

  “Because they’re all toys. I don’t want toys anymore,” Brett snapped. He stood up. “I’m goin’ home.”

  As he crossed to the door, eight girls stopped him to propose carnal acts that would have been really interesting last week. This week? Nada. He took the usual route home, the one that went past Tessa’s house. But this time he pulled into the drive. She had a nice little split-level in the hills, which was entirely dark.

  When he was fourteen, he’d had a huge crush on his dad’s girlfriend, Jennifer, the actress. She would walk around the house in shorts and tank tops, no bra, and brush her fingers through his hair, calling him a cute kid. At night, he’d lie awake getting off listening to their bed creak. She never took him seriously. He was always “Tony’s kid” or “the kid” while he’d dragged around in baggy jeans and huge sweatshirts to hide the boner he’d get every time she walked in the room.

  And seven years later some other woman wasn’t taking him seriously. At least this one he could have.

  A security light blinked on as he climbed the steps to the front door. This was a bad idea. She didn’t want him at her office; she was going to be even more pissed at him on her doorstep. Brett forced himself to the door and rang the bell before he chickened out.

  Then a light inside went on. “Who is it?”

  “Brett.”

  “Brett? Hold on.” The latch clattered as she opened the door, a phone pressed to her ear. “Thanks so much anyway, officer. It’s a false alarm. Good night.” She hit a button on the phone. “You’re a little late.”

  “I was busy.” He sauntered through the door. She had a small landing with stairs that led up one way and down another. The overhead light cast weird honey-colored stripes on the ceiling upstairs and left the downstairs a shadowy cave.

  “I didn’t think you were going to show, so I made other plans for the weekend.”

  “So? You don’t have plans right now.” He peered up to the room at the top of the stairs, but couldn’t see jack. Did she have somebody else here? What if she did have plans right now? But if she’d had plans right now, she wouldn’t have answered the door on the phone to the cops, and some guy would be kicking his ass back to the driveway for interrupting.

  “The plan right now was to sleep.”

  He turned around. Tessa had closed the door and stood holding the neck of her blue satin bathrobe closed. Her eyes were tight and shuttered. Brett reached to brush a lock of hair off her face, but his fingers lingered on her skin. He’d forgotten how soft she felt, how smooth, how very fine. “You can sleep another time.”

  “What if I want to sleep now?”

  He stepped closer to her, crowding her against the wall. “You don’t.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “You’re breathing heavy, and I haven’t even kissed you yet.”

  “I was scared when the doorbell rang at two in the morning.”

  “If you were scared, why
did you open the door?” He forced his knee between her legs.

  Tessa licked her lips. “Jason is producing your album.”

  “Mm-hmm.” He brushed his nose along her jaw. She smelled like flowers, something light and pretty. And like lust. “Thank you.”

  “Well, that means we’re even.” Her breathing was ragged and tight.

  Brett ran his hands down her arms and peeled her fingers off the wall. “Is that what you thought?” He brought his knee higher until she balanced on it and started rocking her gently. “Do you want me to go then?”

  She moaned, laced her fingers through his and clenched them.

  “Say the word, and I’ll leave.” He touched his lips to the fluttering pulse in her throat.

  “Please,” she murmured.

  “Please leave?” He leaned back, pretty sure that wasn’t what she meant, but not willing to guess with her.

  She grabbed his shoulders and planted her lips on his, forced her way into his mouth. Then wrapped her hands around his back and slid them up into his hair. Arms braced on the wall to keep his weight from crushing her, he met her hot, urgent mouth until he couldn’t remember why he’d been pissed off all week.

  “Tell me you came prepared.” She reached into his back pocket, searching.

  “Of course I came prepared. I’m a fucking boy scout.” He pushed open the shoulder of her robe. Underneath she wore a concert t-shirt that had once been black, but had faded to an uneven gray. Pulling at the stretched out neck, he bit the soft skin on her shoulder.

  She laughed. “I can’t get this condom open or on when we’re this close.”

  He let her have half a step, but kept touching her. None of the little girls in the bar measured up. They were all…something. There was a big word for it. Suzi would know. They groveled too much. Tessa never groveled. Every time he was near her, her electric surge jolted him.

  He opened his pants. So what if he was just a stand in? This was a great place to be standing.

  Tessa slid the condom over him and untied the belt of her robe. Brett lifted her off the floor and thrust into her. Three long strokes and she clenched around him, crying out as she wrung his climax from him.

  For a long moment, all Brett could do was lean on her, breathing her scent. She was amazing. Everything he needed and too much for him at the same time. The taste of her skin and feel of her body.

  “Brett, you need to put me down before my legs seize up and you have to carry me upstairs.”

  That wouldn’t be a bad option. A little tricky with his jeans halfway down his thighs though. But he was meat to her, just like the girls at the bar were to him, and she wouldn’t want him inside her house. He shifted away from her so he could put her down. “Not bad for second best, huh?” As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn’t. Second best. She didn’t even have to remind him. He’d do it for her.

  “What?” Tessa blinked. Then she closed her robe and tied it. “Oh. I’m sorry about that. I was just discombobulated from having you in my office.”

  If discombobulated meant bitchy then, yeah, she had been. “I think it was more like I had you.” He dropped the condom in a wastebasket by the door and got himself back into his pants. “Well, I guess we’re done here.”

  “What?”

  “Maybe I’ll see you tomorrow.” He opened the door.

  “Wait, you don’t have to go.”

  “Yeah, I do. You have plans.” He stepped outside. “Thanks for not calling the cops on me.” He pulled the door closed behind him, got into his car, and drove away.

  It hadn’t been the victory he’d wanted. He’d much rather be cuddled up in her bed, convincing her to cancel her plans. What was she doing tomorrow? Maybe she had a date.

  With who? Probably the fucker she’d talked to when she was trying to get to Jerry Eland for him. She’d said she had plans when they were on the phone. Had she called and told him her plans fell through when he hadn’t shown up?

  Dumbass, dumbass, dumbass. By not picking her up when he was supposed to, he’d opened the door for some other guy. Next time he showed up at her door at two in the morning, a guy might answer.

  Chapter 4

  “Will you be having any dessert today?” the waiter asked, as if he expected to be turned down. He started picking up their empty plates.

  “Yes.” Tessa folded her hands in her lap. “Can you bring me the menu?”

  The waiter blinked. “Certainly.”

  “Okay, what is going on?” Candy threw her napkin on the table as the waiter hurried away in search of the dessert menu. “You call me last night in a lather about needing something to do today, and can I have lunch with you? You eat meatloaf and mashed potatoes. You clean your plate. And now you’re having dessert? Either you’re pregnant or you’ve just been dumped, and you’re not saying, so I have to ask in a loud voice or you won’t tell me.”

  Tessa smoothed her napkin in her lap. At seven last night when Brett hadn’t arrived, she’d given up on the idea that he was just late and unpacked her overnight bag. By seven-thirty, she’d been in tears because he’d dumped her and hadn’t even bothered to tell her. Around eight, she’d realized he couldn’t dump her because she was a booty call and didn’t even rate an official dumping. At eight-fifteen, she’d called Candy to ask her to have lunch. If Candy hadn’t been able to make it, she’d have probably broken down and called Frank, which wouldn’t have been fair to him. After she’d gotten off the phone, she’d opened up her email and printed out all the contracts that had been sent to her so she could read them over, but hadn’t. At nine-thirty, she’d run out of paper so had gone online and ordered some. And then because she was online, she’d started shopping. If she’d just confided to Candy on the phone, she could have saved herself a lot of paper and money. “Do you promise not to be horrified?”

  “Honey, I just watched you inhale a full plate of comfort food and ask for dessert. I don’t think I could get more shocked.” Candy leaned her chin on her hand. “Spill.”

  The waiter appeared with the dessert menu. Tessa looked it over. Chocolate cake would have chocolate icing, so that was out. Apple pie a la mode didn’t have chocolate in it, so it was out as well. “I’ll have the brownie sundae with hot fudge and extra whipped cream.” She handed the menu back. “Thank you.”

  “No, thank you,” the waiter said, walking away.

  “This must be good,” Candy said.

  “Do you know who BroRide is?”

  “Who are you talking to?”

  “And their lead singer, Brett Cherney?”

  “Again. Who are you talking to?”

  “I’ve been sleeping with him.”

  Candy sat back, wide-eyed. “Really? Good for you.”

  “No, not good for me.” Tessa folded her hands in her lap. She needed to tell someone and Candy knew more secrets than a priest. “Brett is really young and kinda on that rock star wild thing.”

  “How is young bad? How young?”

  “Twenty-three.”

  “Oooh!” Candy held up her hand for a high five, but Tessa only glared at her. “Okay, you’re going to have to fill me in on why this is a bad thing. I’m missing something.”

  “Brian and Suzi got married last week.”

  “I was there.”

  “Brian had a huge crush on me when he was younger, and now he’s married and I’m a spinster.”

  “You are not a spinster.”

  “Brett has a big thing for Suzi so he was a little upset, too.”

  “Check.”

  “So we took off together and went out to this place he goes to and had sex all weekend.”

  “Yeah, this is still not sounding like a bad thing.”

  The waiter arrived with Tessa’s dessert. The brownie was centered on a nine-inch plate and nearly hidden under the avalanche of ice cream, hot fudge, and whipped cream. To work this off, she’d have to move into the gym. “Brett gets his furniture cleaned weekly
.”

  “Why?”

  Tessa gave her a pointed look.

  “Oh. Ewww.” Candy leaned back in her chair, staring enviously at Tessa’s dessert. “Still, what’s wrong with a little fun? You’re careful and smart. I bet he’s great in bed.”

  “When we bother with one.”

  “I don’t need any more reasons to be jealous of you. I say enjoy him while he lasts.”

  “We were supposed to go away again this weekend, but he stood me up.”

  Candy shrugged. “Then I hope you enjoyed him while he lasted.”

  “He showed up last night at two in the morning.”

  “And you let him in?”

  Tessa shoved a big bite into her mouth so she wouldn’t have to answer that question.

  “Okay, okay, I see the problem. He’s temptation, and you feel bad for giving in after he stood you up, right?”

  She wished! But she couldn’t tell Candy the truth. Falling in love with this boy toy? Unthinkable. Hurt because he walked out after she’d asked him to stay last night? Impossible.

  “It’s not any worse than giving in to the hot fudge brownie sundae. Can I have a bite?”

  Tessa shoved the plate to the middle of the table.

  Candy dug into the other side of the sundae. “I just read an article in some magazine about older women feeling really desperate in relationships and how they do things they wouldn’t normally to keep their man.”

  “Like let him in at two in the morning?”

  “Like let him in at two in the morning and then berate themselves. It’s a no win situation. You either second-guess yourself if he walks or hate yourself for being a doormat. And you—you’ve got a bigger problem than usual. You have a hot young rock star on your doorstep.” Candy carved off another slice of brownie sundae. “You just have to figure out what you can handle. Being alone or being available.”

  “He likes the fact that I’m bossy.”

  “Great. Decision made. Set rules and make him toe the line.” Candy licked her lips. “And expect him to test the limits.”