Possibilities

by Michelle Grotewohl

  She smiled. “Morning.”

  He stared at her for a moment, until she wanted to look away. But the growing heat in his eyes held her immobile.

  He nuzzled her neck. “Speaking of pretty, let’s see if I can coax that lovely ‘O’ face of yours out one more time before breakfast.” Then he dipped beneath the covers.

  A while later, Drake caught his breath and grinned. “Twice more, bringing the grand total between dinner and breakfast to five.” He shot his fists into the air. “Champion! Oh, but wait- Three of those were from sex? Yes, yes, I believe I am a god.”

  Evie giggled. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to kill me with sex.”

  He rolled toward her, instantly concerned. “Oh, baby, are you hurting?” He put a gentle hand on her side.

  Something more than affection rolled through her and settled in her chest. “No, Drake, I was kidding.”

  “You sure?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good.” He rolled onto his back and sighed, then turned back to her. She wondered how he was so active when she could barely find the strength to breathe. “Tell me about your parents.”

  Her eyes popped open. “What?”

  “Tell me about them.”

  “But you know my parents. You’ve met them, partied with them, gotten drunk with them,” she said, speaking of Vicki and Leon’s wedding. She wasn’t sure what he wanted to know.

  He half-rolled his eyes and adjusted so he was facing her more directly. “Yes, I know your dad likes Grey Goose martinis, and your mom likes Fuzzy Navels. I know your mom can do a wicked Cha-Cha Slide- a trait you picked up, by the way- and together they do a mean Tango. But tell me something I don’t know. Tell me about your childhood.”

  She was momentarily stunned speechless. How had he remembered all of that from the handful of times he’d seen her parents? It was… oddly flattering. “Um…” She cast her mind around for something to tell him. “Okay, I got it. Every summer, from when I was thirteen until Vick and I said no more, we went to Cedar Point.”

  “Boring…”

  She laughed, knowing he’d say something like that. “Yeah, but did you know my dad is terrified of heights, and he throws up on any ride that moves?”

  “Really?”

  “Yep. But we went every year. He was convinced that eventually he’d acclimate. He never did.”

  They both laughed.

  “What about your mom?”

  She thought for a second, and then said, “My mom has an addiction.”

  His jaw dropped. “To what?”

  “You sure you wanna know?”

  “I asked.”

  She leaned close, prompting him to do the same. “Cookbooks.”

  “What?!”

  “Yep,” she said with a giggle. “She loves them. All of them. If she doesn’t already love you, that’ll do the trick.”

  Handy, he thought.

  “What about your parents?”

  “Well, dad’s dead.”

  “I know. And since you told me the story about the stars, you don’t have to tell another. What about your mom?”

  He thought for a minute. “Mom is… accident prone.”

  “How so?”

  “Well, she stubs her toe at least once a day, occasionally backs into stuff with her car, has been stung by a jellyfish, and bitten by a snake.”

  “Oh, my god, that’s horrible!” Evie said.

  “Yeah. Luckily she’s not allergic to anything, though. Poison ivy, poison oak can’t touch her, bees and mosquitoes don’t bother.”

  “Good news, then.”

  Suddenly, his stomach growled. “Man, I’m starving. You sure take a lot out of a guy.”

  She smirked. “What time is it, anyway?”

  He lifted his head and looked over her shoulder. “Eleven-thirty.”

  “What?!” She jumped out of bed and ran for her clothes.

  He chuckled. “You got somewhere to be?”

  She paused. “Um… No.” Cheeks flaring, she sat on the end of the bed.

  He sat up, drawing her gaze to the fascinating bunching of his stomach muscles. “Wanna take a shower?”

  The dark tone of his voice made her shiver, but she jumped up. “No! I’m going upstairs to shower and dress, and you can do the same down here. I’ll meet you upstairs for breakfast- Lunch- For food in a little while.” Then she quickly gathered her stuff and ran before she changed her mind.

  Drake watched her go with a happy smile, and then flopped back onto the bed with a huff.

  They made a huge breakfast, with eggs, bacon, and sausage. Both were starving, and decided they needed protein if they were gonna survive each other.

  He finished making the eggs before she’d finished the bacon, and so was waiting to try and swipe a piece when she set it on the plate. She swatted his hand without thought before he could get to it, and then tensed in shock at her own behavior. But he only laughed and brushed a hand down her hair, warming her.

  Once they were seated at the patio table, they dug in, and neither said a word for nearly ten minutes.

  Drake broke the silence first. “You know, if we ever got married, I’d take your last name.”

  Evie choked on her orange juice, drawing Drake’s gaze from the lake to her red face. “Us?” she squeaked, and realized the shock she felt was a happy kind.

  “Hypothetically speaking, of course.”

  She didn’t entirely believe him. “Hmm… Why?”

  He took a bite of bacon. “Well, Drake’s about the coolest name a guy could have. Imagine adding ‘King’ to the end.”

  She considered, nodded. “Imagine if Leon had done that.”

  “Leon King? Wow, that would be sweet. He’d be like the king of kings. I wonder if it’s too late for him to change it…”

  Evie laughed. “I think Vicki likes being a Benton.”

  He made a face that said she was probably right, and looked at her seriously. “What about you?”

  She thought about it, decided she’d rather take his name, than for him to take hers. “I think I’d like being a Benton, too.”

  His eyebrows lifted in mild surprise.

  “Hypothetically speaking, of course,” she said mockingly.

  He narrowed his gaze at her. “Right…”

  Chapter Seven

  The next afternoon, Evie walked downstairs, hunting Drake down. He’d disappeared an hour ago, and she hadn’t seen him since. Of course, she’d seen him all day yesterday, all last night- just remembering made her sigh- and all this morning. It still amazed her that after several days of making love, he seemed just as eager to touch her as the first time, and she felt the same about him.

  In past relationships where sex was involved, it was an ‘every few days’ or a ‘couple times a week’ thing. With Drake, it was so much more than that. And yet, she couldn’t say exactly into what department their relationship fell. They were lovers for sure, possibly friends as well, but if asked, would she call him her ‘boyfriend’? Did it matter, so long as they were enjoying each other?

  With a mental shrug, she walked into Drake’s room, stopping just inside the door. He was sprawled face-down across the bed, fully dressed, feet hanging off one corner, head toward the opposite one, and he was dead asleep. Evie grinned. True, they’d kept each other busy, but he had reason to be exhausted: When he made love, he made love like a dynamo.

  She was tempted to let him sleep, but it was almost dinner and he’d likely slept for an hour already. Walking quietly, she sat on the bed near his head, then put a hand on his shoulder and shook gently. “Drake?”

  “Hm?” He was obviously still out, and answering her automatically.

  “It’s time to wake up now.”

  “I don’t want to,” he mumbled.

  She chuckled softly. “I know, but you should, or you won’t sleep tonight.”

  The hand closest to her moved, crept up her thigh, to hook around it so he could haul himself closer to her
and roll over until his chest was pressed against the side of her leg. “Considering the fact that you’re here, I probably won’t get much sleep, anyway.” He kissed her knee.

  “Well, I have an idea, and if you go along with it, I’ll let you sleep tonight.”

  “How about I go along with it, and you keep me up anyway?”

  “You don’t even know what it is yet.”

  He half-shrugged, lifting his head to lay it on her leg so he could look up at her. “Doesn’t matter. If you want it, it shall be done.”

  Just to mess with him, she said, “If you’re sure…”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Great. I’ll throw away the condoms then.” She stood.

  He choked and craned his neck to look at her. “What?”

  She shrugged. “You said I could have what I wanted, and I want a baby. I’m fertile now, so it’s as good a time as any. Why wait?” She moved once more toward the side table.

  He was off the bed like a shot, grabbing her arm and spinning her to face him. “Wait!”

  One look at his wide eyes and panic-pale face and she burst out laughing.

  He frowned, and took on the expression and stance of someone who knew they’d been had. “You should have seen your face. I so had you.”

  He crossed his arms and lifted a brow. “Actually, what I was going to say when I stopped you was why waste them. Someone else could use them, so we should leave them in the medicine cabinet. Oh, and to ask you if you’re absolutely sure now is the right time for you. Wouldn’t want to get our hopes up, would we?”

  Her grin fell away in an instant, replaced by a slack jaw. It was Drake’s turn to laugh, and he bent slightly to bring them eye level. “I so had you,” he whispered roughly.

  She rolled her eyes and smiled. “Yeah, yeah…”

  “So what did you want?”

  She regarded him doubtfully and lifted a shoulder. “I want you to play poker with me.”

  His eyes lit. “Teach you poker?”

  She already knew poker, had learned in college as a way to make extra cash. Now she just wanted to play, but she didn’t correct him. Some guys- most guys?- liked teaching girls things, like fishing and cards. It wouldn’t hurt her pride any to throw a couple hands if it made him feel good.

  “Texas Hold ‘Em okay? That’s my favorite.”

  She shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Sweet! Poker calls for pizza and beer. You game?”

  “It was my idea.”

  “Right. So let’s head upstairs and we’ll order the pizza, and then I’ll go get beer and pick up the ‘za while I’m out.” He turned and left the room, talking pizza toppings as he went, and Evie had no choice but to follow.

  Less than an hour later, they were sitting at the table with chips and cards in front of them, each a bottle of beer at hand and a plate of pizza at their elbow. Because he felt it wasn’t fair to her, they hadn’t put any real money down, so the chips values meant nothing but a way to keep score.

  He’d already dealt their hands and the flop, and was explaining the basics to her. She kept a look of avid interest on her face, and while she really was listening, it wasn’t to his instructions so much as waiting for clues as to how he played.

  As he moved into the finer points of the game, she looked at her hand, saw she had nothing but five random red cards, and decided it was a good time to start ‘losing’.

  She tossed her cards down. “Five reds!”

  His eyes lifted from the table to her face. “Um, that’s not- Anything, really. That’s nothing.”

  “Oh.” She picked her cards back up. “Oops.”

  He smiled, and went into an explanation of the winning hands and their hierarchy. He made her repeat it until he was sure she had it, and praised her for catching on so quickly. She nearly rolled her eyes, but resisted.

  They’d played several hands face up, and she only messed up once since he was watching her every move and walking her through it. Finally, they really got under way, and he let her play on her own.

  She had fun with it at first, betting big and losing on purpose, then surprising him by taking him for ‘hundreds’ on hands she should have folded. She even made her attempts to ‘bluff’ very obvious. But after the first hour, he got cocky.

  She’d just bet huge, and lost on purpose. His pile was twice the size of hers, so she pouted and tossed her cards down for him to shuffle.

  He gave her a look so patronizing it put her teeth on edge. “Don’t feel bad if you lose, babe. I’ve been playing this game most of my life.”

  Fun time was over, she thought, and got serious. Her face became unreadable, though she saw him trying several times. She played exactly the way she was supposed to, playing the odds and never chasing to the river if the numbers said not to. Within forty minutes, she’d completely cleaned him out.

  After raking in the last of her chips, she sat back with a smug look on her face.

  He stared at her in amazement before glaring at her mildly. “You knew how to play, didn’t you?”

  “I did.”

  “Then why’d you ask me to teach you?”

  “I didn’t. You assumed that’s what I wanted.”

  She could see him thinking back on their conversation, and the light of knowledge came into his gaze. “Oh.” Then he grinned. “Well, it was fun anyway.”

  She smiled, glad he wasn’t angry with her. “Yep.”

  “Well, now that I know you’re a shyster, want to play for money?”

  She laughed. “I have a better idea.”

  His brows lifted curiously.

  “How about we play for clothes?”

  His grin returned. “I like the way you think.”

  A couple hours later, they lay in a tangle on the living room floor, the throw off the couch the only thing separating Drake’s back from the hardwood floor. “Well, I’d say we both won,” he huffed.

  Evie nodded on his chest. “Definitely.”

  “So, just how good are you at poker?”

  She smiled, knowing it had stung his pride just a little when she’d beaten him a second time, though admittedly it had been far closer than the first time and she’d soothed the ache since then. “I know all the odds.”

  “Really?”

  She nodded. “Try me.”

  “Just did,” he said, and she reached down to pinch the side of his ass. He yelped and laughed, then said, “Getting a pair pre-flop.”

  “One in seventeen.”

  “Ace pre-flop.”

  “One in six-point-two-five.”

  “Wow. Two pair on the flop turning into a Full House.”

  She turned her head to rest her chin on his sternum. “One in five-point-eight.”

  “Shit. You’re like a genius.”

  She chuckled. “Something like that. Though it's really just memorization.”

  “I couldn’t do that.” His tone said he thought it was amazing that she could.

  Because she liked that he thought she was special, she didn’t correct him.

  The following morning, Evie woke in her own bed. She reached for Drake- funny how that had become habit so fast- but found the bed empty. Wondering if she’d slept alone, she turned her head. The other side of the bed was as rumpled as her own, but Drake was nowhere in sight.

  Listening, she thought she heard him talking out in the kitchen, but he was being very quiet. Standing, she slipped his shirt on and went to the door. It opened silently, and she stepped out, not being overly quiet but not calling attention to herself, either.

  Drake was leaning his forearms on the counter, facing away from her, his cell phone to his ear as he spoke in soft tones. “Yeah, sorry. She’s sleeping. Yeah.” He chuckled very quietly. “I hope so. Tonight at seven. Sounds great. Me, too. Bye.”

  He hung up and looked toward the sliding doors to the deck, a satisfied smile on his face. She recognized the look in his eye; she’d seen it a few hours ago just before he’d buried himself between her legs.<
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  Pain coursed through her. He’d made a date with another woman for that night, though he was still warm from her bed. Well, they’d never made any promises, had they? Their arrangement was about sex, strictly. At least for him. For her… She couldn’t say for sure anymore, which was worse.

  She sighed, and it was clearly louder than she’d realized, for he jolted and spun to face her.

  “Evie. You startled me. How long have you been standing there?”

  “Not long,” she said, trying to keep herself calm. She had no right to be angry, after all. “But long enough. I know about your plans.” Okay, so maybe she was a little angry…

  He deflated a little. “You do?”

  She nodded and waited for him to explain himself. Surely, despite their lack of promises to each other, he was decent enough to tell her why. Changed, had he?

  “Damn. I wanted it to be a surprise.”

  “Oh, it was.”

  The faintest frown line appeared between his eyes. “Good. Five-star, baby.” He came closer, put his hands on her hips, and pulled her close for a kiss.

  His actions confused her. Shouldn’t he be hurrying to explain what she’d heard, rather than kissing her? And his words… “What did you just do?” she demanded.

  He frowned. “Made dinner reservations for us at Rose’s Steakhouse. What did you think I did?”

  Relief made her a little dizzy, and she laughed faintly. “I wasn’t sure, but this is better than the best I’d hoped for.” She went up on her toes to kiss him warmly, putting all of herself into the gesture. She felt like a fool, and was glad she hadn’t confronted him. Perhaps it really was time to trust him…

  “I have to go get ready,” she said with a bright grin, then turned away from him.

  He grabbed her arm, laughing. “It’s not for like nine hours.”

  She took a breath and held it, considered, then let it go. “I still have to decide what I’m going to wear.”

  When she spun away again, he turned her back once more. “After,” he said, taking her mouth fiercely.