Derailed (15 page)

“Thanks.” I buckled my seatbelt, careful to keep my focus on the scenery out the window rather than on him.

I watched the passing houses as we arrived in his neighborhood. He lived in one of the newer, townhouse-style units they’d put in along the waterfront.

He parked out front. “This is me.”

“Cool.” I hopped down.

He came around my side just as I reached the ground. “I could have helped you with that.”

“I managed just fine.”

“You shouldn’t ever just manage. Do you have problems letting someone take care of you?”

“No, I just don’t need help getting out of a car.”

He laughed deep in his chest. “Even a big one?”

“I’m not that short.”

“No, but your dress is…”

I shook my head. My dress was no shorter than what anyone else would be wearing.

He went around back, opening the hatch to pull out a case of beer. I noticed several other cases underneath, as well as bottles of various liquors.

“Wow, think you got enough?” I grabbed a case myself, waiting for him to lead the way in. I was pleased when I saw the look of consternation cross his face when he noticed what I was carrying. Luckily, he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. He did shake his head before climbing up a set of stairs and unlocking the front door, shifting the weight of the beer against his chest so he could turn the key.

I followed him inside, glad to relieve my arms of the beer when we reached his kitchen counter. He lived in a loft, something I never expected to see in Clayton Falls. “Nice place.”

“You like?” He watched my reaction carefully.

I took in the high ceilings, exposed brick and piping, and the huge windows overlooking the water. My first thought was how could he afford all of it on his salary? Real estate was cheap in town, but not at all cheap on the water. I decided to keep that particular thought to myself. Maybe he’d made the money playing baseball.

“It’s nice. Very modern.” I also edited out the part about never wanting to live in a loft. I’d given Adam the unedited version. He’d wanted a loft apartment while I craved the character and coziness of an older home—we used to joke we’d end up in a 1980s cookie-cutter suburban place just to find a happy medium.

“All right. I’m going to get some more from the car. Here are some bins, and there are bags of ice in the freezer. Want to start on that?”

“Sure, not a problem.” I was glad to have an assignment to pull my thoughts away from Adam.

By the time we finished setting up the drinks and snacks, it was almost time for everyone to arrive. I tried to discretely slide the cards onto the counter.

“Is that the truth or dare game?” Gavin asked.

“Yes. The only time I’ve seen them used was with all girls, so it will be interesting to see how it works tonight if we decide we need them.”

“I’m sure they’ll be entertaining.” He had changed out of his uniform into a polo shirt and khakis and came to stand right in front of me.

“So, people are coming at nine, right?”

“Uh huh.”

It was hard to think with his face looming so close to mine. He leaned over, placing a hand on either side of where I stood pressed against the counter.

“Thanks for helping me set up.”

“Not a problem. It’s my job too.”

“Yeah, very true. I think we make a good team. Maybe this won’t be the only party we co-host.”

I forced a smile, ready for him to move back.

“Look, I really like you, Molly. You’re—”

“Gavin—”

He placed a finger on my lips. “Shh. Just let me finish.”

I nodded.

“You’re exactly the kind of woman I’ve been hoping to meet. You’re smart, beautiful, and a lot of fun. I really think we should make a go of this.”

“What happened to waiting for me to finish my rebound?” I swallowed hard. Gavin had such a bad habit of dropping things on me at the beginning of an evening.

“I’m not as patient as I thought. Why should I wait for you to mess around when I can offer you so much more? You deserve more. You aren’t the kind of woman who should ever settle for being someone’s late night hook-up.” He watched me warily, like he wanted to say the words, but he was afraid of taking it too far.

“Not to burst your bubble, but I’m not settling as someone’s ‘late night hookup.’ I’m the one setting the terms, not Ben.”

“Either way, it’s beneath you.”

“Ouch.” I didn’t try to hide how much his words bothered me.

“You know I’m right.” His eyes challenged me to disagree.

“What if I don’t want more? I’ve had more, and it didn’t turn out so great.”

“Yeah, you got burned. I’m sorry, but it’s better you broke up before the wedding, right? At least it wasn’t a divorce. You can’t let it keep you from trying to find a real and meaningful relationship again—especially one that could be so good.”

I was so focused on his words about the break up with Adam—on it being better than a divorce—if he only knew the truth—that I didn’t prepare myself for what was so obviously coming.

Gavin’s lips hit mine for a moment before I could respond by turning my head. “Stop, I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to happen.” I pushed my hands firmly into his chest.

He stepped back slightly, giving a frustrated sigh. “It can’t happen if you don’t give it a chance. Don’t I get at least one kiss—one real kiss to convince you?”

“No. Come on.” Even the split seconds his lips were on mine made me feel like something was wrong. There was only one set of lips I wanted.

He backed away, hands out in front of him in defense. “A guy has to try, right?”

“I guess.” I saw a space and moved, willing the doorbell to ring, announcing guests.

I turned when I felt his hand on my shoulder. “Hey, I didn’t mean to upset you. I’ll be good, okay?”

I forced a smile. “Okay.” I was so happy Ben was coming.

After a few awkward seconds, the doorbell finally rang, and the first guests flowed in. I smiled politely at a couple of guys who’d graduated with Tom and my sister, but was pulled away by Katie and a guy I recognized from the class above mine.

“Hey, can you believe Kelly is getting married so soon?” Katie gushed, holding on to the arm of her date. Her red manicured fingernails stood out against his black t-shirt. She had quite a grip on him.

“I’m not too surprised, actually.”

“Well, I guess you almost got married too.”

“Yup.” I closed my eyes, wanting the conversation to end. There were only so many times I could handle discussing it. “Can you excuse me?”

I walked away, glad the loft was beginning to fill. I busied myself rearranging chip bowls until Gavin joined me into the kitchen. I hightailed out of there, grabbing a bottle of beer on my way out.

Moving through the open living area, I made small talk with a few other old friends before spotting who I was looking for.

Ben was deep in conversation with Aaron, the bassist from the Grizzlies. As I headed over, Ben looked up. A slow smile spread across his face when he noticed me. Aaron turned around, evidently noticing the change in his expression.

Aaron pulled me into a hug before I could reach Ben. “If it isn’t Miss Disappearing Act herself.”

“Hey. I just needed some air.”

“I bet. But it’s good to see you.”

“Same to you.” I always got along with Aaron in high school. He’d been one year behind us, but part of the same crowd.

I moved out of Aaron’s embrace and found my comfort spot at Ben’s side. His arm went around me automatically, pulling me to his side and giving me a quick kiss before he realized what he was doing. He had just kissed me in the middle of a party when we weren’t even officially back together.

“Did I just break the rules?” he asked playfully. We’d never set out rules about kissing in public, but we’d steered clear of it so far.

“Probably, but I’m just as much to blame.” I straightened my dress even though it didn’t need it.

“We do seem to run on auto-pilot, don’t we?”

“It seems like it, but I think we figured that out already.”

He laughed. “Yeah, we have.”

“And here I was wondering how long it would take for you two to reconnect.” Ronny walked over with a cute brunette at his side. It took me a minute to realize who she was.

“Daniela?” I had a hard time believing this was Tom’s younger sister. She always had the longest white blond hair, and it was now short, spiky, and brown.

“Yeah, it’s me.” She twirled around, showing off her funky, yet really cute dress.

“Wow, you look… great.”

“Thanks, you too. Does my brother know about
that
by the way?” She nodded in Ben’s direction.

“I’m sure Kelly’s told him we’ve been hanging out again.”

“Hanging out again?” she laughed. “I just saw you guys kiss, but whatever. When I talked to Tom the other day, he, uh, thought you were interested in someone else.”

I had no doubt who she meant.

Ben jumped in. “I’m more than enough to keep Molly busy, same as ever.”

“Yeah, I can see that. I just—Oh wait, I think they’re here.”

The couple of honor had arrived.

***

Two hours later, Kelly hugged me tipsily. Ben had gone to find me another bottle of water. I hadn’t even finished the first beer, but I wasn’t feeling great. “Thanks so much for this party. It’s been awesome!”

“You’re welcome, but it’s really Gavin you should be thanking. He did almost all the work. I was just along for the ride.”

“Speaking of Gavin, he’s sloshed. I’ve never seen him drunk before. Do you have anything to do with that?”

“I don’t know, maybe?” I had a sinking feeling he’d taken my rejection worse than I’d thought.

“Well, aren’t you a heartbreaker.” She rolled her eyes.

“It just happens naturally.” I tried to play it off as if I didn’t care.

She laughed, but I couldn’t shake the guilt gnawing at me. I hated hurting people even if I had no choice.

“What happens naturally?” Ben returned with the water.

“Molly’s ability to make grown men fall to their knees,” she said theatrically.

Ben moved closer to my side. “Well then, there are going to be a lot of disappointed men out there, because even if she doesn’t realize it yet, there’s no way I’m letting her go again.”

“Aww.” Tears welled up in Kelly’s eyes.

“Whoa, that’s making you cry?” I looked at her skeptically.

She wiped her eyes. “It’s just so sweet.”

“Okay, stop it. You’re the one getting married. Speaking of which, he’s right there.” I pointed to where Tom stood. He waved in acknowledgement. “I’m sure he’ll say something sweet to you.”

“I can never hear enough sweet things, I’m happy, and it’s good to see you happy because you’re my best friend,” she said drunkenly. 

I tried not to laugh. “Thank you. You’re my best friend too.”

“I know!”

Tom came over to claim his emotional and inebriated fiancé. “I think some people are about to play Never Have I Ever if you guys are interested.”

“I think we’ll pass,” I answered for both Ben and me. My throat was really starting to hurt, and I was hoping to make an exit sooner than later.

“No way! You have to play at least a few rounds!” Kelly literally jumped up and down.

If it hadn’t been her bachelorette party, I might have said no, but I couldn’t ruin her fun.

“Maybe for a little while.”

We stopped by the kitchen so I could grab a beer and followed Kelly and Tom over to where a small circle had formed. It looked like the game had already started.

“Never have I ever kissed on the first date,” Katie said.

All right, so things were still tame enough. I took a tiny sip of my beer. Ben took a sip from his own.

“Never have I ever dated the same person twice.” Daniela looked right at us. Ben and I glanced at each other, not sure whether we were supposed to drink or not. After a moment’s hesitation he took a big swig of his beer. I gave him a small smile and did the same. I was kidding myself if I didn’t at least consider us dating.

It was Ben’s turn. “Never have I ever slept with a teacher.”

Tom laughed before taking a drink. “You didn’t say whether it had to be my own teacher.”

Kelly kissed him. I was glad to see her having so much fun.

“Never have I ever given someone a fake phone number,” I said, trying to come up with a safe one.

“You’ve never done that?” Kelly asked after taking a drink.

“Nope. I just tell the guy I’m not interested.”

“You’re too nice.”

“My turn,” Gavin said loudly, even though he was across the circle and it definitely wasn’t his turn. “Never have I ever taken advantage of a girl because I was too much of a loser to know she deserved better.”

The circle got quiet, and Gavin glared in our direction. I knew the glare wasn’t meant for me.

I felt Ben tense beside me, but he stayed calm. “Anyone have a better question?”

I smiled at him, appreciating that he didn’t ruin the party by making a scene.

“There is nothing wrong with that question. Go ahead and take a drink.” Gavin seethed, as if itching for a fight.

Aaron jumped in before Ben could respond. “Never have I ever taken someone’s virginity.”

At least half the circle took a drink, including me. I laughed. It had been Ben’s first time too.

“Never have I ever had sex at over thirty thousand feet.” Ronny grinned. “I’m hoping to rectify that though.”

Tom took a drink.

“What? We never… who was it with?” Kelly turned to Tom, suddenly on a warpath.

“Okay, I think we’ve had enough of this game.” I ran into the kitchen and came back with the pack of cards. “Is anyone up to playing truth or dare?”

Everyone agreed.

“Who wants to go first?” I pulled a card from the deck.

“I will,” Ronny offered.

“Truth or dare?”

“Dare.” He grinned.

“Dance the Macarena in your underwear.”

“I’ll do it if someone can show me the dance.”

Daniela demonstrated and Ronny stripped down. Kelly and Tom were all over each other, so I figured it was as good a time as any to slip out.

I tugged on Ben’s arm.

He turned to me. “You doing okay?”