Unexpected Romance (6 page)

"It
was good." Mandy folded her elbows on her knees and leaned on
them. "I remember when Kip first kissed me. I thought I might
die, because nothing in my life was ever going to be better. Turns
out there is." Mandy grinned.

Tony
felt her face turn hot. "What do I do?"

"What
do you want to do?"

"If
I knew that I wouldn't ask you."

"Most
girls when faced with a cute boy who likes them, grab him and have
fun."

"What
if he turns out to be a jerk?"

Out
of the corner of her eye, she saw the guys returning. She turned and
stared at Chris, listening intently to whatever Kip was saying.

Mandy
followed her gaze. "Then you cut ties, retreat and lick your
wounds for a while."

Tony
dragged her gaze back to her conversational partner. "Too risky.
Too much chance for pain."

"What
about the chance for joy and bliss?"

Tony
drew a breath and blew it out.

"It's
not like you start with everything on the line. First you go on a
date, get to know the guy. Trust your instincts on if he's a jerk.
Usually, it's very apparent."

Tony
looked at Chris again. He must have sensed her gaze, because he
turned and met her eyes. He smiled widely and waggled his fingers.
Her heart skipped a beat and her breath caught in her throat. She
smiled back, pressing a hand over her heart.

Nicole
walked between them, holding Paige and disrupting the moment. She
glanced at Mandy, then Nicole. Mandy looked like she was holding back
laughter.

"What
are we talking about?" Nicole said.

Before
Mandy could reply, Chris approached them. He tapped her foot with
his. "We need a fourth for pool. You any good?"

Tony
shrugged. "I can hold my own."

"You
can be my partner," he said.

Tonya
looked at Mandy and Nic. Mandy widened her eyes. "Go. Have fun
when the opportunity presents itself."

Chris
held his hand out to her. She glanced at Mandy who nodded. She
reached out and let him pull her to standing.

"One
game," Nicole called after them. "We still have to have
cake."

When
they got into Corey's man cave, Corey and Kip weren't around. She
whirled on Chris. "Was this a ploy to get me alone?"

"For
that I wait in my room in my boxers."

She
shoved his shoulder.

"I
have no idea where they went." He pulled a cue off the wall.
"Let's play, if they come back we'll start over."

She
grabbed a cue. "You wanna break?"

"No,
you go ahead."

She
moved the cue ball of center and bent to aim. "It feels like
it's been ages since I played down here. Corey and I used to play all
the time."

She
let the cue smash against the triangle of balls. They scattered
across the table, the three fell into the corner pocket. She smiled.

"Whenever
you feel up for a game, you need only ask," he said.

She
moved around the table and lined up again. "Five in the side,"
she said, as she slide her cue between her fingers.

"What
did Mandy mean by 'have fun when the opportunity presents itself'?"
he asked, as the five rolled forward. It dropped in.

"She
was arguing in your favor. I'll take the four off the bank and back
here."

"If
you make that I'll know I'm getting sharked here."

She
missed. She smiled at him wryly. "Your turn."

"She
was arguing in my favor? Were you arguing against me?" He
circled the table like a vulture.

"I
was."t

"What
or who, made you so distrustful? Twelve in the far corner." He
pointed.

She
rolled her eyes. "No one."

He
made his shot and started looking for his next one. "No one
important. So what happened?"

"He
mistook me for my mother. She wasn't the most discriminate of women
and it was a small town."

"She
was an adult."

"Yes,
well, I'm not my mother. He thought supper out would be a guarantee,
I guess. I refused to let him touch me. He attempted to force the
issue, but I grabbed him where it hurt. He took me home."

"Asshole,"
Chris muttered, stopping to lean his cue against the table.

"He
told everyone I put out. And I spent the rest of my high school days
being harassed. I was a good girl ‘til then, I started hanging
out with the wrong crowd." She curled her lip into a sneer. "At
least my teachers would say that."

"What
would you say?" he asked, stepping close to her. Too close but
she barely noticed.

"We
took care of each other. I got into trouble a lot protecting myself
or my friends or other vulnerable people. No good deed goes
unpunished, I supposed. I learned, in those couple years, that if you
are beautiful and charming, and rich, the rules don't apply to you."

"That's
not true," he said. He touched her cheek. "Not everyone who
is attractive, charming and has money is bad."

"I
suppose you mean yourself."

He
shook his head. "I meant your brother."

She
closed her eyes, taking a breath. Her eyes flew open when she felt
his breath on her face. He was in her personal space, almost
touching. "What about you?"

"I'm
not bad, but I'm not good either, Tony. Especially the things I've
been thinking about you."

Squealing
kids outside the door, made them step back. Lucy Turner and Paige
stood at the door. "Cake, we're going to have cake," Lucy
sang.

"We'll
be there in a minute," Tony said, her eyes glued on Chris.

"We
can talk about this later," he said. "When things are
quieter." He reached for her, then dropped his hand and stepped
back. He waited and followed her to the kitchen.

Corey
smiled as he recalled the looks on everyone's faces when he put the
baby cake on the table. There was silence as everyone stopped to read
it. He and Nicole simply stared at each other smiling.

Every
day he was amazed that he'd found someone to put up with him. His joy
grew infinitely when his daughter was born. He didn't know how Nicole
had talked him into this one.

The
bed shifted when she sat on the edge, breaking his thoughts. He
looked at her and smiled wider.

"What
are you smiling at?" She slid across the sheets to lay beside
him.

"Thinking
about when we pulled the cake out. Everyones surprise then
congratulations."

He
stroked a hand over her belly. There was nothing to see that could be
attributed to baby yet, but he could hardly stand the wait to see her
grow.

"Not
yet, love," she said. "It was hilarious watching everyone's
reaction. I guess we start letting everyone else know next."

"Yes.
We can do that. Mom will insist on flying out three times."

"She's
due for a visit in a couple months anyway. I know she misses your
sister."

"Speaking
of my sister. Did you notice her and Chris, sneaking glances at each
other?"

"I
suppose a little."

Corey
practically growled. The sound caused Nicole to laugh.

"They
are both young, Corey. She hasn't been out at all since she moved
here. Isn't that odd? No friends of her own, no dating. She works and
comes home. I was wondering if something was wrong with her. I'm glad
to see her taking an interest in someone her own age."

"She
can take an interest in anyone she wants, but not this guy. I know
this guy."

"How
do you know? Is he your locker-room buddy? You aren't even in the
locker room."

"No,
I know his reputation."

"He's
young. And may I remind you of your own reputation not so long ago."

"More
than five years ago."

"Well,
you spent more than ten years cultivating your reputation, dear."
Her voice was hard.

He
went on the defensive. "You know why I was like I was.

"This
is so not about you. This is about your sister. What if Chris could
be the one? Like you and me? What if she's the one to make him settle
down?"

"This
is my sister. I don't want her to get hurt."

"That's
what relationships are about, sweetie. It's risky. She might get
hurt. Soon it will Tanner getting hurt, then Jessa and someday,
Paige, and this baby will be out there living life. It's scary and
really hard to watch them go through it."

"I
can't even think about Jessa or Paige out there with at the mercy of
guys like me."

Nicole
shook her head. "My dad felt the same way you do. If he could
have prevented me the pain of Rick, I'm sure he would have. But, even
through the pain, I got my kids. And then I found you." She
kissed him again.

"Well,
Chris needs to watch himself. If he breaks her heart, I might break
his nose."

"You
will do no such thing. They’re both adults."

He
grinned. "You're hot when you're bossy." He placed his
thigh over hers and pinned her.

She
feigned to struggle against his restraint, while he kissed and
caressed her body. Too much fight and he'd let her go.

Five
years, one child, and one on the way and his lust for her burned
hotter than ever.

He
stroked her inner thigh and found her wet. He closed his eyes with a
groan. And he didn't think about his sister for a long, long time.

Chris
went through the motions of his nightly routine. Shower, brush teeth,
remove his clothing. This time he pulled on a pair of sweatpants. He
opted to leave his chest bare.

Though
his body performed the motions, his mind thought of Tonya. Tony. He
preferred the feminine version of her name.

He
sat on his bed, staring at his book in his hand, not seeing it at
all. He wondered if she would return to finish their earlier
discussion.

She'd
confessed some deep stuff. Things that made him upset. He wished he
could chase those assholes down and make them pay. They were probably
still living in their parents basement. The classmates who harassed
her and the teachers who ignored it, who even gave her trouble for
it, all of them deserved to be punished.

And
in the back of his mind he felt guilty. He'd gotten out of messes in
his high schooldays, simply because he was a really good hockey
player. He probably even got better grades than he deserved because
of it. He'd taken full advantage of it, pulling it out when he was in
trouble,

He'd
never done anything bad, like harass or assault girls. He did use it
to get them to date him and, after most dates, have sex. He'd never
committed any crimes against another person. He’d engaged in
underage drinking, drug use, and occasional speeding incident.

He
looked at his clock. Five minutes had gone by.

He
heard the bathroom door open, followed by Tonya's door. He rubbed his
palms on his sweatpants. He was nervous. There was a huge potential
for rejection and a date with his own hand tonight.

He
saw his reflection in the mirror. Shirtless. He should he pull
something on. Most girls he'd been with complimented his chest and
arms. He'd use his muscles to his advantage off the ice tonight.

He
stepped outside his room and held his breath. He worried that Corey
was sitting upstairs listening for him sneaking to her room or
something; waiting to beat the snot out of him or at least stick his
nose in. Either way it would be enough to kill the mood altogether.

Sex
was an optimistic goal. The minimum he would accept was her agreement
to a date, the most was sex. But he didn't know if he could even do
that tonight. She admitted to being a virgin. He hadn't slept with a
virgin since ninth grade. Being someone’s first was a
responsibility. He had to make it a good experience, so she'd want
sex in the future. With him, with others.

Reassured
that Corey wasn't upstairs listening, he crept down the hallway. He
knocked on her door.

"Who
is it?" she asked.

"Chris,"
he hissed.

She
opened the door, just enough to fit her face. "Need to borrow a
cup of sugar, neighbor?" She smiled at him.

"I
wanted to finish our discussion."

"I
thought we had things wrapped up," she said.

He
pushed at the door, finding she was holding it with her foot. "Come
on, let me in."

She
pressed her weight against the door. "Go to bed, Chris."

"You
told me your deep dark secrets. I should tell you mine."

"I
have doubts you have deep, dark secrets at all," she said, hands
on her hips.

He
pushed on the door again. Success! She'd moved her foot when she took
the disapproving stance. He entered her room, closing the door behind
him.