Friends & Lovers Trilogy (38 page)

She swallowed, trying to remove the nervous
lump from her throat, then carefully opening the present. It was a
plain brown box. She struggled to get the tape off, so Kent grabbed
some scissors and handed them to her. She felt all eyes on her and
wondered if the agony would every end.

She finally got the box opened. She pulled
out tissue paper only to find that whatever was inside was wrapped
in bubble wrap and taped up.

She took the scissors again and began to cut
at the tape. When she got all of the tape cut and unraveled the
bubble wrap, her breath caught in her throat and she carefully
lifted each piece up. There were three figurines, each in a
different stage of dance. She looked at each one reverently,
holding it up and turning it, so she could memorize the beauty of
each piece.

Roni looked up at Rich, and cradling the
figurines to her chest, walked up to him, put her hand behind his
head, and drew his lips to hers. She kissed him deeply, allowing
her tongue a moment to sweep through his mouth. She pulled back and
rested her forehead against his.

“
Thank you.”

It took her a moment before the comments
from their friends began to register.

“
Whoa,” Pete
exclaimed.

“
I guess they already did,”
this came from Colin.

“
What the heck?” Kent’s
voice said softly.

“
Shhh,” Nicole
replied.

Roni pulled away and smiled sheepishly at
her friends, avoiding her brother’s eyes, then she turned back to
Rich.

“
So much for simple,” Rich
whispered with a smile.

Chapter Fifteen

Since there were only a few days until the
opening of the Rec Center and Briana and Colin were returning to
Austin the day after that, everyone decided that they wanted to go
out dancing.

Well, the girls decided… The guys just went
along with it.

Rich slapped some cologne on, made sure
there weren’t any holes in his jeans or t-shirt, and figured he was
ready. He turned off the lights as he walked through the Rec
Center, locking up before turning to get in the car with Kent and
Nicole.

As they pulled out and headed towards
Roni’s, Kent asked the question Rich had been dreading since
Christmas.

“
What’s up with you and my
sister?”

Rich met his friends’ eyes in the rear view
mirror. “We’re just hanging out, nothing too serious, just like
Roni wants.”

“
What do you want?” Kent
asked softly.

“
I like her, man. I have
since you introduced her to us,” Rich admitted.

“
You like a lot of girls,”
Kent said, not giving Rich an inch.

“
I know,” Rich said. “I’m
not going to lie to you and say that I haven’t touched another girl
since I met your sister, but there’s been no one else since I moved
home. And there won’t be, not while I’m with Roni. I really like
her.”

“
Be careful with her,” Kent
replied. “She hasn’t had a lot of good guys in her life. I hope
you’ll change that.”

Rich smiled and said, “Thanks, man, I
will.”

When Roni got into the car, everyone was
silent. She scooted in next to Rich and looked around.

“
Were you guys just talking
about me?”

“
Why would we want to do
that?” Rich asked playfully.

Roni leaned forward, hit her brother on the
shoulder, and glared at him in the rearview mirror.

“
Kent, my sex life is none
of your business.”

Kent turned to glower at Rich, who turned to
look out the window.

Roni was going to get him killed.

When Kent stopped glaring at the side of his
head and pulled out of the parking lot, Rich turned to Roni.

She looked stunning in a black skirt with a
charcoal grey sweater. Rich leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“
Aren’t you going to get
hot, dancing in that sweater?”

She grinned at him and responded, “I have a
tank top underneath, so if it gets hot, I’ll take the sweater off.
And, I can put my hair up.”

His body got hot as he thought of her taking
off her sweater. Suddenly, his jacket was stifling, and he had to
take it off. Roni chuckled and snuggled in to his side.

“
This is going to take some
getting used to,” Kent mumbled from the front. Nicole punched him
lightly in the arm and said, “Get a grip, Kent.”

“
So, is everyone else
meeting us there?” Rich asked, trying to change the
subject.

“
Yeah, Bree, Colin, Kara
and Pete are riding together. Bree texted me a while ago, saying
they are on their way. They’ll probably beat us by a few minutes,”
Nicole said.

Rich sat back and enjoyed the feel of Roni’s
hand in his as he and Kent discussed the latest Cowboy’s game. Roni
intertwined her fingers in his, her thumb stroking him softly. He
shifted uncomfortable in his seat, causing her to giggle, and Kent
to look at them suspiciously in the mirror.

Rich felt relief when they pulled into the
lot of the club. He needed a beer.

When they walked inside, they saw everyone
else in a large booth in the corner of the club by the dance
floor.

It was a Country & Western Bar, so
during the day they served food and played music, at night it
became a twenty-one and over club. It had a mechanical bull,
country lessons in the corner, and a big floor for dancing. Since
it was the only bar of its kind in town, it didn’t only play
country music. On Saturday nights, it would play some Top 40 and
dance music, as well as the country music that kept the regulars
happy.

When they got to the table, there were a few
pitchers already waiting, so Rich poured himself a glass.

“
What do you want to
drink?” He asked Roni, leaning in to be heard over the
music.

“
Can you get me a vodka and
cranberry?” She asked with a smile.

He nodded at her, then asked if anyone else
needed anything, before heading to the bar with Pete.

“
How’s married life
treating you?” Rich asked Pete.

“
It’s awesome, man. I
swear, I was so relieved when she asked me. I’d been trying to
figure out how to ask her for months,” Pete replied with a laugh.
“I still can’t believe it.”

Rich smiled at his friends’ obvious joy and
love for Kara. That is what he wanted. To be in love and married
and ready to start a family. He thought of his parents’ marriage,
and knew that they’d showed him how to make love last.

He knew Roni would freak if she knew his
line of thought, but deep down, he always knew that he wanted what
his parents had. He’d been devastated by Tara, and had gone a
little wild while in college, but at his core, he’d always been a
family man.

They paid for the drinks and took them back
to the girls.

Roni said thanks, took the glass from Rich
and began to drink as she talked with Briana. Rich refilled the
beer he’d downed while at the bar, then sat down next to Colin. He
was happy he’d been able to spend so much time with his friend over
the holiday, and knew he’d be sad to see him go.

The song changed and the girls started to
yell something about needing to dance, that this was their song.
Rich tried to get out of the way as Nicole and Kara climbed over
him to get out of the booth and join Roni and Bree on the dance
floor.

The guys stayed in the booth. Enjoying their
beer and the sight of their girls moving on the floor.

After a few more trips to the bar for vodka
cranberries and pitchers, Rich was feeling pretty good. He had
enough liquid courage to join Roni on the floor. The way she moved
her body to the music was like a beacon, pulling him towards
her.

He was very turned on by watching her dance
for the past couple hours, so when he finally got his hands on her,
his body throbbed in response.

The song changed to a slow love song and
Roni wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing every inch of her
body to his.

Rich felt the hot sweat glistening on Roni’s
skin, which only turned him on more; that combined with her body
rubbing against him, made him feel like he was about to go
insane.

Roni writhed against him to the music and he
tried not to think of their friends possibly watching him slowly
lose control.

Rich captured her mouth with his, his tongue
sweeping in to deepen the kiss. When she moaned against him, his
hand came to the back of her head and his fingers tangled in her
hair, pulling it softly. “You’re driving me crazy,” he said against
her mouth.

Roni grinned at him wickedly, then moved
away, putting her hand in his and pulling him towards the back. She
pulled him down the hallway, past the women’s and men’s rooms,
pausing in front of the Unisex bathroom to try the handle. When it
opened swiftly, she pushed him inside, closing and locking the door
behind them.

“
What are you doing?” Rich
asked.

Roni stalked closer to him, grinning when he
came in contact with the sink. She jumped certain that he’d catch
her as she brought her lips to his. He kissed her back, full force,
turning so her bottom lay against the top of the counter around the
sink.

“
What if someone saw us?”
Rich asked, trying to think through the fog in his head.

“
No one did,” Roni said
breathlessly. “And if they did, who cares. They won’t know
anything.”

As if to keep him from thinking, Roni
reached down under her skirt and pulled off her panties.

“
Shit,” Rich said, before
plunging back into her mouth. He thanked God he had a condom in his
back pocket, ever the Boy Scout, then unbuttoned his
fly.

Roni took the condom from him and opened it.
“I love that you don’t wear underwear,” she said, as she slid the
condom over him.

They stopped talking as he entered her. She
wrapped her legs around him, then braced herself against the
counter with her hands. When she was secure, Rich started driving
into her. All thought of gentleness gone, they both strived for
release, as the sounds of their moans and bodies joining together
filled the small bathroom.

When they were done, Rich leaned down to
help Roni with her panties before cleaning himself up. They both
started laughing when they looked around and it really registered
where they were. Roni splashed water on her face and pulled her
hair up into a pony tail.

“
I’ll go out first and head
to the table. You wait a few minutes, then join me,” Roni said,
kissing him as she opened the door.

Rich followed her out, then turned and went
into the men’s room to try and play it off like he’d been in there
the whole time.

Chapter Sixteen

Roni chuckled to herself as she waited for
Rich to come and pick her up. She couldn’t believe the way she’d
acted the other night. She’d been totally swept away. The way Rich
wanted her made her feel so powerful.

Their quickie in the bathroom was going to
the top of her list of favorite moments.

Their friends had been none the wiser when
she returned to the table. She said there’d been a long line at the
bathroom.

Rich had called her this morning and asked
if she wanted to hang out today. She hadn’t asked what they were
going to do. She wondered if that should worry her. That she didn’t
really care, she just wanted to spend more time with him.

When she heard him on the stairs, her
stomach jumped with excitement. Another clue that maybe he was
starting to mean more to her than just a fling.

She wasn’t going to worry about it though;
she’d just be casual and see what happened.

Roni swung the door open before he could
knock and threw herself in his arms, hugging him tightly.

“
Hello, sunshine,” Rich
said, hugging her back. “You ready?”

“
Yup,” Roni said, reaching
in to grab her purse. She locked up and followed him out to his
car.

It looked like a storm was rolling in.

When they were both strapped in and the car
was moving, Rich said, “I had fun the other night.”

Roni returned his cocky smile with one of
her own.

“
Me, too.”

“
Is everything set for the
Grand Opening tomorrow?” Roni asked.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the look of
excitement that came over his face.

“
Yup. I followed up with
everyone today and everyone is good to go. Jason is putting up some
last minute decorations right now, since I have a couple things to
do, but other than that, we’re all set.” He smiled at her. “You
ready for your first day of classes?”

“
Yes. So ready,” she
replied. “I’m really excited to see everyone in action
tomorrow.”

When the car started to slow she looked up
to see Rich’s parents’ house. She had been there once before for a
party, but it had been a while.

“
We’re going to your
parents’ house?” Roni asked, suddenly nervous, all of her easiness
gone. “Are they home?”

“
Yeah,” Rich replied. He
parked then turned to her and took her hand in his. “It’s no big
deal. Colin called and said he and his dad wanted to meet me here
to talk about something.”

“
You want me to meet your
parents?” Roni asked, trying to understand why he’d brought her
there. She suddenly felt very hot, even though it was cold enough
to warrant a jacket. Her palms were sweating.

“
Sure, why not?” Rich
asked. “Roni, they’re going to love you. Really, it’s not a big
deal. We’ll be in and out. No pressure.”