Tear Down These Walls (9 page)

Victoria scoffs, “He can teach that?”

“Yeah, get this, he’s a body guard. Owns his own
security business. It spans the whole state.”

“Dear lord, tell me more,” Victoria giggles.

“He is 25. Black hair, beautiful dark eyes, tall and
built.”

“So, my dream guy.”

“Hey now, hands off, he keeps it professional,” Teagan
says. “He does not fraternize with students.”

Victoria huffs. “Well, that does neither of us any
good.”

“We need to take these classes. If I learned anything
from last night, it’s this: carry pepper spray, never walk alone at night, and
learn some self-defense moves.”

“Yeah, but you get introduced to this gorgeous guy who
saves your life and you can’t do anything about it, that sucks.”

“Well, I did get his phone numbers,” Teagan states. She
stops at a stop sign and watches two little kids play catch in their yard.

“Like his cell?” Victoria counters

“
Nope
, office, cell and
home
,” Teagan
emphasizes.

“Not fraternizing, my ass!”

“I don’t know. It’s not like that. We had a wonderful
lunch. We click very well. He is just as witty and mouthy as I am. It was nice to
have someone to go toe to toe with.” She catches a glimpse of herself in the
rearview mirror. She’s still smiling.

“So, when are you going to call him?” Victoria inquires.

Teagan shakes her head. “I’m not going to call him. We
will see him on Monday.”

“CCCAALLLLLLLLLLL HIM!” Victoria exclaims.

“NOOOOOOOO! I just left him!  Stalker?”

“Fine, wait until tonight. Say you need to be shown a
few specific moves.”

“Shut up Victoria!” Teagan snaps. “I will say no such
thing.”

“You need to get on with your life! Move past that
douche bag of an ex.”

Giggling, Teagan says, “Justin probably won’t be
bothering me anymore and if he does, Trent is taking care of him.” She taps her
fingers on the warm steering wheel, remembering the phone call between Justin
and Trent.

“Like kicking his ass?”

“I wish, but no.  Trent said he was my personal
security. Threatened to bring the law down on Justin, something about
harassment. It was awesome. It made me laugh hysterically. Could you imagine
Justin’s face? Trent told him to Google him if he didn’t believe who he was.”

“So, his name is Trent huh?” Victoria counters. 
“Sexy.”

Teagan is quiet for a moment, trying to decide if she
should tell Victoria his real name. Finally, she says, “Yeah, it’s his middle
name. He doesn’t go by his first.”

“Who cares, Trent is hot. So, I get to view his
exquisiteness on Monday?”

“Yup, I will pick you up. It’s at 7, so be ready at
6:15,” Teagan instructs.

“What does one wear to a self-defense class? We have to
look cute, if the instructor is that hot.”

“Exercise clothes I suspect,” Teagan answers. “I don’t
know. I didn’t ask.”

“Well, we have to at least be as cute as possible,”
Victoria states.

Rolling her eyes, Teagan says, “Whatever Victoria.”

“Tell me you aren’t going to do your hair and make-up.”

She thinks for a moment and then Teagan sighs, “Okay,
yeah I will. Not a lot of make-up, but I will definitely have to wear a little
bit.”  

“See, you like this guy,” Victoria suggests.

“It’s not like that,” Teagan groans. “Really Victoria,
you don’t need to set me up with guys.”

“You need a man! You need a guy that will show what sex
is really about!”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Teagan snaps. “I don’t need a guy
to show me that.”

There is a pause and then an exasperated exhale.
“Teagan….honey….you can’t go the rest of your life not having sex.”

Teagan looks down and glares at her phone. “I will have
sex when I find the right guy.” Suddenly, the car is very, very warm. And it
has little to do with the sun.

“When are you going to give a guy a real chance?” Victoria
asks with attitude.

“You are supposed to be my best friend!” Teagan growls,
gripping the wheel a little tighter.

“I am! That’s why I push you. Just don’t drive this guy
away if he likes you. You constantly do that. You go on a few dates and then find
an excuse as to why the guy is an idiot.”

“I’m going to hang up the phone!” Teagan exclaims.

Victoria scoffs, “Go ahead! You need to hear the truth!
Isaac likes you. We all know that!”

“I do not like Isaac. It’s
really
not like that.
I have never had any interest in him.” She can’t help the enormous sigh that
escapes her mouth.

“He is a good guy and cute,” Victoria points out.

Shaking her head, Teagan replies, “No, I’m not
interested.”

“What about this Trent guy?” Victoria inquires slowly.
“Would you give him a chance?”

“Ummm, I don’t know,” Teagan answers, shrugging. “I know
it could never happen. He made that clear. So, I am not going to entertain the
thought.”

“Are you attracted to him?”

“Uh yeah, of course, he is a dream, but that doesn’t
mean anything. He doesn’t fraternize with students,” Teagan states. “He covered
that quite a bit.”

“We will see about that,” Victoria replies.

There is a whistle and Teagan looks down at her phone.
There is a text. “Hold on,” Teagan says.  She pulls over in a church
parking lot. “I do not text and drive.”

“I know you don’t,” Victoria says. “Who texted you?”

“I don’t know, hold on.” Teagan opens the text. “I don’t
know whose number it is.”

“What does it say?”

“Ugh, you shouldn’t put your number on your Facebook
page. It literally took one minute to find it.”

“Who would say that!?” Victoria exclaims. “Creepy!”

With a smirk, Teagan reaches into her pocket. She holds
the card up to her phone. “You are about to freak out. It’s Trent.”

“NO FRICKING WAY!” Victoria yells. “What is he doing
texting you?
Huh
!?
Huh
!? He likes you, Teagan.”

“Nooooo,” Teagan scoffs. “Hold on. I’m texting him back:
‘
I knew you were a stalker’.”

“You should just call him!”

Teagan shakes her head. “No!”

“DDDDDOOOOOO IT!”

“I am going to hang up the phone now!” Teagan yells,
throwing her hands in the air.

“Don’t you dare!” Victoria shouts back.

Another whistle sounds and Teagan reads, “If you don’t
want your exes bothering you, you shouldn’t make yourself so easily contactable.
Just saying.” She smirks and then says as she types, “Well, I guess I will have
to change that. Can’t have weird men stalking me.”

“He can stalk you all he wants,” Victoria giggles.
“Maybe stalk his way into your pants.”

“SHUT…UP….VICTORIA!” Teagan hears her snickering on the
other end of the phone. “He said he doesn’t text.”

“Maybe he is making an exception for you,” Victoria
counters.

There is a whistle and Teagan reads, “I need to actually
work. I just wanted you to know you should change that.” She is slightly
disappointed about the reply. She types and reads, “Yes, obviously you don’t
have enough work if you are spending time finding girls’ numbers on the
Internet.”

 “I am going to leave it at that. Have the last
word.”

“Did he respond to that?”

“Absolutely nothing yet,” Teagan replies. Suddenly,
there is another whistle. She reads, “I am worried about your safety. You
shouldn’t have your number on the internet.” Furrowing her eyebrows, Teagan
writes, “Well, thank you very much Batman. I will change that. Now, I need to
drive. Have a good day. By the way, you are a stalker.”

“AGAIN, don’t push this guy away!” Victoria snaps. “He
obviously likes you!”

“No he doesn’t,” Teagan retorts. “It’s not like that. He
is worried about my safety. He even said that!”

“I am rolling my eyes right now. A guy doesn’t worry
about your
safety
that much for no apparent reason! He
likes
you!”

Teagan shakes her head. “It’s not like that.” A whistle
comes through, and she sighs. “I’m not a stalker, just a teacher trying to
teach his student about safety. Have a nice day. I will see you on Monday.”

“Ouch,” Victoria exhales.

“Yup,” Teagan quips. “Told ya!” She mutters as she
texts, “See you Monday.”

“I’m sorry,” Victoria sighs.

“No biggie, just take my word for it. He doesn’t like
me.” She shrugs, but she can’t help but feel a little pang of disappointment.

“You never know. Don’t give up a hundred percent,”
Victoria states.

Teagan looks at her phone and rolls her eyes. “There is
no point in pursuing Trent. He simply saved me, and he is going to teach me
self-defense. I’m keeping it at that.”

“Whatever…..” Victoria groans. “Sssssooooo, do you want
to go out tonight?”

Laughing, Teagan says, “No.  I want to go home,
make some cocoa, put on pajamas and write.  Last night was enough
excitement for a week or so.”

“Okay, I should probably rest too,” Victoria agrees. “I
will call you tomorrow. Maybe we can do coffee.”

“Sounds good, talk to you later.”

“Bye Teagan.”

“Bye Victoria.”

Pulling back out of the lot into traffic, Teagan shakes
her head and sighs.

               
*            
*            
*            
*            
*            

Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Teagan wraps a
band around it.  “There, that should do it,” she states, smiling at
herself.

“You put your hair in a ponytail….really Teagan? I mean,
aren’t you trying to impress the guy?” Victoria scoffs.

Teagan rolls her eyes at her friend. “We are going there
to learn self-defense moves, not get a date.”

“I am going to see this man candy you were talking
about,” Victoria quips. “What reason do you really think I am going?”

“Do you know what happened to me!? Dear lord girl,
hopefully it never happens to you!” Teagan yells back at her friend, her voice
a little louder than she anticipated.

“I own a Taser,” Victoria sighs.

Teagan stops. “Really?  Do you carry it with you
all the time?”

Victoria looks up at the ceiling. “I don’t even know
where it is.”

“Oh, that will do you a lot of good then. Be serious
about this. We need to learn to protect ourselves,” Teagan emphasizes.

“I get it. I get it,” Victoria finally gives in. “We
will go and learn to kick ass. Though, I don’t know why you put on make-up and
a cute outfit if you are only there to learn some moves.”

Teagan smirks. “A girl can look attractive at one of
these things.”

“A girl can look cute to win over the hot instructor,”
Victoria replies. “Don’t think you can pull one over on me.”

“We will see,” Teagan says, looking back in the mirror.

“No matter what, you’re a bombshell,” Victoria declares.
“He would have to be blind not to notice you.”

Taking one last glance of herself, Teagan states, “That
doesn’t matter. We should get going. You know how I feel about being late.”

“Come on girl, let’s go meet your super hero,” Victoria
snickers.

The girls do not have to drive far before they arrive at
the big, white building complex that houses the dojo, a nail salon, and a pet
store. The dojo is large and lit up brightly. Teagan and Victoria stop at the
front door. There is a chill in the air, much like the night of the attack, and
Teagan can’t help but shiver at both the temperature and the memory of what
happened to her. Letting out a deep breath, Teagan says, “Let’s do this.” She
opens the door and they walk in. Looking around, Teagan doesn’t see Trent, but
there is a group of women standing around a mat. “I guess it’s over there.”

“Where is the sexy teacher?” Victoria whispers.

“I don’t know,” Teagan murmurs back. “Let’s go put our
stuff down.” Victoria nods, and they go over to the far side of the mat, where
there aren’t as many girls. Teagan slides off her red, fleece-lined jacket and
sets it on the floor. 

“This is the place isn’t it?” Victoria asks.

“Yeah,” Teagan answers. “Come on, let’s go stand with
everyone else.” She nudges her head, and Victoria follows her over there.

There are two girls around Teagan’s age standing next to
them. The one giggles and says, “Wait until you see this guy.”

“I know, I can’t wait!” The other one snickers back.

Teagan looks at Victoria and rolls her eyes. “Obviously
we are in the right place.”

“Maybe you should text him and make sure,” Victoria
teases. “Let him know you are waiting in anticipation.”

“No,” Teagan laughs. “Shut up. I am not texting him or
calling him!”

“Come on, you know you want tooooooo,” Victoria draws
out.

“She doesn’t need to. He is right behind her,” a deep
voice says.

Spinning around, Teagan gasps. Trent is standing there,
with a half grin. She smiles, “Hey!  I made it!”

“I see that. I am very happy that you came,” Trent
replies, gesturing toward them. He turns to Victoria. “I take it this is your
friend.”

“Oh yes, Trent this is Victoria. Victoria this is Trent
Grayson.”

Victoria looks at Teagan. “Grayson, well isn’t that
weird.” She turns back to Trent. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you Trent
Grayson.” Victoria sticks out her hand, and Trent shakes it.

“The Grayson part, you knew the other Kellen Grayson
also,” Trent suggests.

“The other Kellen Grayson…..” Victoria starts. “Teagan
told you about him?”

“Yeah,” Teagan says. “He is an
old
friend from
Chicago
.”

“Huh?” Victoria retorts.

“Oh, my full name is Kellen Trent Grayson,” Trent
declares. “She had a friend once with the same name.”

Victoria gives Teagan an odd look and then exhales in
awe at Trent, “Yeah, not sure if he was a friend, but there was definitely a
Kellen Grayson.”

“Isn’t that weird?” Teagan emphasizes, glaring a bit at
Victoria while making sure Trent doesn’t notice.