Everything But (10 page)

And
why the fuck
had last night’s incident with Erin made him feel the same way?

For the first time in years, he even considered having a drink.

But instead he chose to shoot hoops, hoping to wear himself out.  A day or two’s perspective would maybe help ease the pain
, but for now he just had to get through one day
.

He was sweating out his pain, ready to jump in the shower before his folks returned home, when he heard his cell phone make the annoying sound it usually d
id when he received a text.  But
that text changed his entire mood.  It was from Erin, asking if it was okay to call.

He didn’t want to seem pathetic, but he
did
want to talk to her…
badly
.  So he sat at the picnic table and closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath of the cool spring air.  Instead of texting her back, he just dialed.  Before that, though, he channeled the most confident version of Riley he could.  He didn’t want her to know the depths his mood had been in.

“Riley?” she answered.

God
, he loved the way her mouth wrapped around his name.  And she didn’t sound upset or angry, so he felt some relief.  “Yeah, I just wanted to let you know
it’s
okay to call.”

He heard her giggle and he couldn’t help but smile.  “Yeah, um…I wanted to talk to you about last night.”

He swallowed an imaginary lump in his throat threatening to make it impossible to speak.  What the hell did she want to say?  He really didn’t want to talk about it…at all.
  But he might not ever have another chance with this girl.  “Okay…what did you need to say?”

He heard her let out a breath of air slowly.  “I…uh…”  She giggled again.  “Let me start over.  I…really like you, Riley, in spite of my better judgment, and I don’t think I did a very good job last night explaining where I was coming from.”

He felt his smile widen and his chest surged with real confidence instead of the fake stuff he was trying to muster. 
He chose his words carefully.  “Yeah…you definitely didn’t do a good job explaining where you were coming from.”  He chewed his lip and said, “I really like you too
…but what do you mean,
in spite of your better judgment
?  I’m not a bad guy.
”

He could tell she was smiling when she talked.  “
Look
…why don’t we start over?
 
Including that comment.
  Maybe you could come over this afternoon and we could just hang for a while.”

Riley still felt the need to be cautious. 
“When?”

“Well, I have to finish grading some papers. 
Maybe in an hour or two?”

That would give him plenty of time to shower and clean up…and come up with an evil plan
, which involved a trip to Colorado Springs
.  “Make it
three
.”

“See you then.”

* * *

Wow.  That hadn’t been as hard as Erin had thought it would be.  How she’d managed to sleep at all last night, she’d never know, but her dreams had been
addled
with visions of Riley.  If she wasn’t begging him to kiss her in one dream, she was hurting him in another.  And she woke up feeling guilty as hell, want
ing
to make amends.

Worse yet, she decided she wanted to see where this would go, good or bad.

Riley couldn’t hurt her worse than she’d been hurt in her last
two
relationship
s
, especially if she was
consciously
protecting her heart.  And, of course, she would.  With a rock star like Riley Schultz, she’d be stupid not to be on guard.  But that didn’t mean she couldn’t have a little fun.  After all, how many women had the chance to say they’d not only had sex with a rock star but had been
courted
by one?  It was an experience she really shouldn’t pass up.
  Besides, if he was as good in bed as he was a kisser, she’d be in for nothing but fun.

And, if she was careful, she wouldn’t
get
hurt at all.  So she had to just go into it planning to have fun and
nothing more
.

She had two hours before Riley would show up, so she took a
long hot
bubble bath.
  Then she smoothed sweet papaya-scented lotion all over her body and touched up her toenail polish.  She realized he’d never seen her with her hair down or in casual clothes, so she wanted to choose what she wore carefully.  She ultimately decided on an ultra-short-sleeved lime green top with a v-neck made of soft cotton, much like a t-shirt, and jean shorts with sandals.  She looked cute while showing a little skin.  And she couldn’t resist pulling her hair back in a ponytail…it lent
itself to a casual look, even though she still wasn’t wearing her hair down.
  And, just in case, she put on a matching set of lacy panties and a bra in hot pink.

She even called Jackie and gave her friend an update on the entire situation, including
telling her
how Erin had sent him home, his tail between his legs, and had felt guilty (and stupid) ever since.  Jackie said, “You realize
what’s
gonna
happen, don’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, honey, by the time I get home, you will have been laid.  Expertly and thoroughly, I hope.”

Erin started giggling.  “Not necessarily.  I invited him over
just
to talk.”

“Uh-huh.  Well, I’d place a bet right now, but I know you can’t afford it.”

So Erin was nervous again by the time Riley arrived.  But
God
…he
was
a
sight to behold
.  And then she realized she’d never seen him in daylight before.  He didn’t look as brooding or dark, not that, with his rock star attitude, those qualities were a bad thing, but seeing him literally in a different light made him all the more intriguing.

And he looked fantastic, even though he was back to his usual look.  His hair was a little
mussy
but in a sexy way, and he was wearing a black
Deftones
t-shirt over
newer
jeans
with sneakers.
 
Goody!
  She could see some of his tattoos again.

“Hi,” she said, pulling the door back and inviting him in.  She saw that he had a board game in one hand and a grocery bag in the other.  “What have you got there?”

“Just…stuff.”  He pulled a six-pack of soda out of the bag.  It was Jones Pure Cane Cream Soda. 
“The
good
stuff.”
  He handed it to her.  “Mind refrigerating that?  We’ll break it out later to celebrate.”

She couldn’t stop the smile that crossed her face.  “Celebrate
what
?”

He flashed
her a
wicked smile back.  “Whatever.”

She chose to let it go and started walking to the kitchen.  “Can I get you something else to drink right now?  I made some iced tea.”

“That sounds great.”  She heard him
arranging
a
Monopoly game in the other room.  That was weird and funny…she hadn’t played Monopoly since she was in high school, but, she supposed, it was innocent fun.

While he did that, she filled two glasses with ice and poured tea in them both.  Then she asked from the kitchen, “Do you like your tea sweetened?”

“I don’t care.  Whatever’s easier on
you.
”

Not
was easier, so she put the pitcher of tea back in the fridge and picked up both glasses, heading to the living room.

Riley was sitting on the couch, the lid of the game and the money, pieces, and cards all scattered all over
the cushions
.  He had the board opened on the coffee table…and two pairs of handcuffs.  They looked real too.  She decided not to say anything about them
yet
and asked, “Do you need any help?”
  She sat in the chair next to the couch.  She was still close, within touching distance, but she couldn’t have fit on the couch with all the crap on it anyway.

“Nah…I think I’ve just about got it.”
  He looked up.  “It’s kind of old, I know.  I borrowed this from my mom and dad.”

“Do you want me to put in some
Deftones
, considering you’re wearing their shirt?”

“Yeah…sounds great.  Do you have
White Pony
?”

“I do.”  She walked over to her CD player
that sat
on a shelf not encumbered of books and her stacks of CDs on the shelf below.  She found the CD and popped it in.  She didn’t kn
ow what to follow it up with, so she grabbed
an old CD
,
Mötley
Crüe
’s
Too Fast for Love
,
and Spawn’s
first album
.
  That’d surprise him later.
  She walked back over to the chair and sat down.  Then s
he picked up one of the
pairs of
handcuffs.  They were heavy…solid metal.  They
were
real.  “So what the hell are these for?  If you go to jail in the game, you
really
go to jail?”

Riley chuckled
as the music started to play
.  “No…the game is going to be a little
getting-to-know-you
and a little fun.  The handcuffs are for a
trust
exercise later in the afternoon.”

Oh,
God
…he had the cute
st but most devilish look on his
face and she knew
now
she would say
yes
to anything he suggested.  She fel
t her blood warm up as
it
surged and pumped
through her body.  “So what
is
this trust exercise?”

He looked her in the eyes and it felt like he could see inside her.  “You’re just
gonna
have to
trust
me on that.”

She twisted up her mouth in mock irritation but she hoped he could see she was smiling
underneath it
.  “So how’s the game work?”

“What token do you want
to play
?”

That was a no brainer.  She’d play the piece she’d always played as a kid. 
“The thimble.”

“Aw…how cute.”

She rolled her eyes. 
“And what about
you
, Mr. Rock Star?
  What piece do
you
want to play?”

“It’s a
toss up
, but I guess I’ll play man’s best friend.”  He set both the thimble and the dog tokens at
Start
.  “Now…here are the rules.  You ready?”  She smiled and nodded and took a sip of her tea.  “Okay…we play it like real Monopoly, only with a few twists.  So…if you land on one of the utilities or a Railroad or Chance or Community Chest, you still have to do that stuff,
but
…you also have to say something about yourself that I didn’t know.”

“And you do that too, right?”

“Right.
  It can be anything. 
You
decide what you want to share.  The only thing is it can’t be something I already know.”

“Easy enough.
  So who goes first?”

“Wait…that’s not all.”  She looked at him and saw the twinkle in his eye.  “Like I said, we’re playing the game for real, so you’ll buy properties as you go around the board,
but
if one of us lands on something that belongs to the other, we have to remove an article of clothing.”

“What?  You mean, like strip Monopoly?”

His smile didn’t fade. 
“Yeah.”
  She pondered it and knew
exactly
where it would go if they played the game.  “You would choose what you removed if you landed on my property.  I can’t decide fo
r you
.”

She smiled.  “Yeah, but you’re wearing more than I am.”

“Am I?”

“You’re wearing socks, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”
  She raised an eyebrow.  “I could count my socks with my shoes.  Would that make it even?”

She thought about it and nodded, then realized that put her
at an advantage
.  She was pretty sure he wasn’t wearing a bra underneath his t-shirt.
  But, she decided, it was his game and she deserved it, because he had nothing to lose taking his shirt off. 
She
did.