Mr. Wonderful Lies (17 page)

It was dark and quiet inside the gym. Light from the front windows cast odd patterns of morning sun and shadow on the silent equipment. Despite my long-standing friendship with Jared, I’d never seen the place so silent. It was strangely peaceful.

“Is it always like this in the mornings?” I asked, feeling the urge to whisper as though I were in church.

One of his dimples made an appearance, his eyes mischievous in his handsome face. “If you like the quiet you’ll have to keep getting up early.”

“An extra hour of sleep or time alone with you.” I pretended to think it over. “Hmm, I’ll have to get back to you on that one.”

He placed both hands over his heart in mock hurt. “You wound me with your indifference.”

His words were said in fun, but the possible meanings weren’t lost on me. The smile slid from my face and I turned away and wandered toward the natatorium. The bulbous ceiling lights were dark, but the pool lamps were on. The blue glow gave the room a dreamlike iridescence that appealed to my battered soul.

“Megan?”

“Is that how you’ve seen me? Indifferent?”

He closed the distance between us, reaching out and taking my hand in his. “Not indifferent, just stubborn.”

I frowned, slanting a sideways look at him. “That almost sounds worse.”

He shifted, moving behind me and sliding his arms around my body. I hadn’t realized how cool the interior of the gym was until I was nestled against his warmth. It felt right to be there, to be with him. But when I considered a real future for the two of us, there seemed to be a list of overwhelming odds stacked against us. Sure, baggage was a part of who we were, but how could we get past it? It couldn’t be that simple.

“Where do we go from here?” I murmured, still staring down at the mirror smooth water. “After everything, after Ollie, I don’t even know if I can do this again. I don’t want to lose you. I’ve never wanted to lose you. That’s why…”

Gentle fingers brushed against my lips and I stopped talking to suck in a deep breath as the bottom dropped out of my stomach.

“Go get your suit on and meet me down there in five minutes.” He nodded toward the pool below.

I watched him turn toward the men’s locker room. “But the gym is supposed to be open soon,” I protested. “Don’t you have responsibilities?”

He shrugged a shoulder. “This is more important right now.”

* * *

He was already in the water when I descended the steps into the humid natatorium. He hadn’t turned on any of the overhead lights, choosing to swim in the dim blue glow of the pool lamps.

I battled a sudden case of shyness at the sight of his athletic body cutting through the smooth water. I reminded myself a thousand times over that this was just Jared, no matter what he looked like. It didn’t help. But I kept repeating it anyway.

My flip-flops kicked aside, I nibbled my lower lip and dropped my towel to the floor. There was no two-piece bathing suit in my wardrobe. I’d worn regulation team suits in team colors growing up. Other than choosing a few more adventurous patterns to downplay the more ample aspects of my figure, I still did. Until that moment I’d never thought twice about it. But right then it might’ve been nice to do a little striptease number with my towel to reveal a sexy two piece bikini that would’ve had his full attention.

Except that I did have his full attention.

Gripping the edge of the pool, he reared back, giving me a spectacular view of his rippling abdominals coated in droplets of water. My mouth went totally dry and I fought the desire to grab my towel and run.

“You’ve got five seconds to be in this pool before I get out and throw you in.”

His overbearing order somehow shattered my uneasiness. I propped one hand on my hip and glared down at him. “Don’t get pushy with me, Walker. I know where you live.”

He growled, bobbing in the water as though he intended to jump out and make good on his threat.

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“Oh I would.”

Graceful as an Olympic swimmer, he emerged in a tidal wave of cool water. I yelped as he wrapped his arm around my body. We weren’t even in the water and yet I felt strangely buoyant and light as a feather.

“Take a breath,” he warned.

I inhaled deeply and held as he leapt for the pool.

We hit the water with a colossal splash. The surface above closed, and we were lost together in the tranquil underwater world. He loosened his hold and I pushed away, propelling my body toward the other end of the pool with broad, powerful strokes.

There was something utterly sensuous about being there with Jared. It was as though he gave off some unexplainable male vibe that was amplified a thousand times by the cool kiss of the water.

Gripping the smooth, round rails of the pool ladder, I watched him float languidly in my direction. Broad shoulders flexed, sending his muscular arms through the water. Strands of his water-darkened hair curled across his forehead, only to be swept back as he fully submerged, closing the distance between us in seconds before surfacing.

His head tilted back, slinging water from his face. He was quite close now, enough that I could see the faint trail of dark gold hair near his navel that thickened at his waistband before disappearing beneath his blue Speedo. I tried not to focus on that form-fitting piece of clothing. I wasn’t ready for that just yet. The gryphon’s tail caught my eye as Jared treaded water before me, the image rippling as his legs moved.

My hand reached slowly through the water, my fingers brushing the creature’s tufted tail. “I’ve always loved this.”

I was afraid he’d make some remark about my stupid list, but he didn’t. Instead, his eyes slid shut briefly and his breath turned ragged. Strong arms snaked out and grabbed the ladder on either side of my body, effectively trapping me.

Was that reaction because of me? Because of my touch?

“Again,” he said hoarsely.

Curious, I brushed my fingers over his hipbone again. Braver this time, I traced the silky expanse of skin along his waistband. His muscles went rigid with tension. Emboldened by his reactions I ran my hand upward, skating over the grooves of his stomach and chest until I reached the barbell piercing his nipple. His blue eyes opened just as I picked gently at the piercing with my fingertips. Our gazes locked and held only seconds before his mouth descended on mine.

The kiss was consuming, electric, like gravity and science and nature and more. Our tongues met, dueling silently as we both fought for control. My hands left the ladder and settled around his neck, trusting him to keep us afloat as I stretched my body full length against his and reveled in the perfection of his kiss, in knowing that I was meant to be with this man.

He broke away first, breathing heavily as he gently pressed his forehead to mine. “We should stop.”

I tried to slow my breathing, aware that my heart was beating fast enough to create ripples in the water around us. “Why?”

“If I don’t stop now I won’t be able to, and I want this to be right. I want to go slow.”

I pulled back, mystified. “Why?”

A wry grin pulled at the corner of his mouth. “Because this is too important to take chances.” He used one hand to sweep the room. “We haven’t gotten this far by rushing things. And believe me, Megan. I’m an expert on rushing things.”

I laughed. I was beginning to understand what it was he was driving at with this speech.

“There are so many things I want to do with you, Megan.”

I couldn’t help the smile that broke over my face as I considered continuing where we’d left off with that kiss. Jared read my thoughts, probably because they were plastered across my face.

“I promise I’ve got plenty of those kinds of desires too. But this isn’t the time. You need time to heal and I’m not going anywhere.”

It sounded perfect, too perfect. Clearing my throat, I gave voice to my deepest fear, knowing that I could trust him to be honest. “What if you get tired of me, of waiting for me?”

He let go of one side of the ladder, cupping my face with one hand while holding us steady with the other. “I love you, Megan. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”

“Then I guess there’s only one more thing to do.” I sighed dramatically.

He lifted an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“Get Anna’s I-told-you-so speech over and done with.”

His deep-throated chuckled turned into a belly laugh that echoed around the empty natatorium. I laughed along, loving the sound of our voices blending together. I figured it was a lot like our lives, better as a pair. I was beginning to understand how deep a real long-term relationship could be as long as it involved the right people. And I couldn’t wait to keep figuring it out.

January 17th - One Year Later…

“There’s the birthday girl!”

I let the door of Cheeky’s Bar and Grill close heavily behind me as my face flamed red hot at Robbie’s enthusiastic welcome. A group of rowdy college students fanned out around the flat screen began heckling me. Their joyous birthday salutations quickly turned ugly, though, when the Detroit Red Wings scored on the Blues.

I shook my head, aiming for our usual table on the other side of the bar.

Robbie met me there with a cold bottle of Bud Light. “Where are your partners in crime?”

I scrambled up onto a bar stool and set my coat and handbag on the extra chair. “No doubt planning some horrific birthday surprise. I was told to come here and wait.”

“At least you know it doesn’t involve an embarrassing proposal of marriage,” Robbie commented slyly.

“There is that.”

I glanced down at the diamond winking brightly on my left hand. No, there wouldn’t be a proposal of marriage. Jared had already taken care of that on New Year’s Eve.

“Oh, I almost forgot,” I gave Robbie a stern look. “Anna is bringing a date with her tonight.”

“That so?”

“It is so, and I want you to promise to be nice. I think she really likes this one.”

“Is that so,” Robbie mused, scratching his chin.

I didn’t have to be psychic to see the wheels turning in his head. Damn Anna and her stupid pheromones. It would serve her right if Robbie professed his undying devotion right there in front of Anna’s latest Mr. Right Now.

The front door of Cheeky’s opened again and I turned, expecting to see another wad of ridiculous balloons or some other nonsense walk through the entrance. Anna had come up with some seriously strange ideas over the years, but the duo that walked through the door wasn’t Anna’s creation and wasn’t meant for me.

Still a bear of a man at over six feet with a slightly more pronounced balding spot on the top of his head, Ollie eased into Cheeky’s with a woman on his arm. To be specific, a woman that was not Carissa. She looked to be in her late twenties. Pretty in a girl-next-door kind of way, she was chattering happily, and he was hanging on her every word.

Beside me, Robbie snorted. Surprised, I turned to look at him. His stubble covered jaw was tense, a look of disgust turning his normally lighthearted expression sour.

“Do you know them?” I asked.

“Not
them
, but
he’s
in here at least once a month with a different girl every time.”

“Is that right?”

It was at that precise moment that I knew beyond all doubt that I was done working through my baggage. It was still there, I could feel the anger recoiling inside me but there was a big difference between lugging it around constantly and unpacking that baggage and putting it all away. I’d put mine away. I didn’t need it anymore. I had Jared.

As if he’d heard my thoughts, Jared pushed open the front door and held it open for Anna.

“Seriously, Anna,” he was saying. “They have support groups and twelve step programs for people with your kind of Type-A issues. Would you seek help, please?”

“I’m not the one with the problem, Jared. If people would just do what they said they’d do, I wouldn’t
have
any problems!”

Robbie chuckled. “She’s a charmer.”

Feeling just a little bit wicked, I slanted Robbie a sly look beneath my eyelids. “You know, I think you should ask Anna out.”

“You just said she was seeing someone new.”

“You know Anna. It’ll take a certain kind of guy to make her settle down.”

His snort was much louder this time. “You’re not lying, Megan. That woman would make a priest forget his vows.”

I laughed, he was so right. But that didn’t mean I couldn’t look forward to the moment when it was finally my turn to say I told you so.

“Speaking of forgetting,” Robbie muttered, disappearing back behind the bar.

I frowned, but quickly shrugged off his odd behavior as Jared approached. My heart leapt as he walked right up to the bar stool and slid his arms around me. I smiled up at him and inhaled deeply just to get that zing.

“Happy birthday, Megan,” he murmured before leaning down to press a long, lingering kiss to my lips.

“God, would the two of you get a room?” Anna griped. “Sometimes I really hate being right.”

Jared broke off kissing me, giving me a conspiratorial grin. “It’s called getting what you deserve.”

“Speaking of,” Anna said with mock sweetness. “Robbie?”

“Free cake!” Robbie bellowed from behind the bar.

My eyes popped open in horror as he produced a four-tiered birthday cake of mythic proportions covered in pink raspberry marzipan and emblazoned with purple writing. I could smell the sugar from where I was sitting. If Robbie’s words hadn’t been enough to attract the starving college students watching the hockey game, the scent was.

Just as they began to descend upon the tempting tower of sweet cake, Robbie pulled it from their reach. “Ah, ah, ah, you gotta sing to Megan first.”

They looked at each other and shrugged. Every inch of my skin flamed bright red as I watched them suck all of the air from the room into their lungs. Jared and Anna could hardly breathe, let alone sing as they laughed the entire way through the students’ fraternity version of Happy Birthday.

I’d already forgotten about Ollie and his date sitting in the opposite corner of the bar. I probably never would have remembered them at all except that Ollie caught Jared’s eye when he looked wildly around the bar as twenty or more college students belted out my name.

“Son of a bitch,” Jared said beneath his breath.

There was no malice in his words, just shock. It wouldn’t have been like him to go into a rage or act like a lunatic simply because a piece of the past drifted back through our lives. It was one of the things I loved about him the most.

He cupped the side of my face and looked deep into my eyes. “Are you all right?”

The love shining in his blue eyes was enough to make me light-headed. In all of my most fantastic daydreams, I’d never anticipated how much the right man would change my life in so many ways. But it had and I was thankful every day.

“I’m always all right when I’m with you.”

A shot of emotion crossed his handsome features. “I love you, Megan.”

“I love you, too.”

“What are you two whispering about?” Anna demanded, looking around. “Where the hell is Avery? I told him to meet me here at seven. Doesn’t anyone use a watch anymore?”

Jared and I exchanged glances. Anna had never seen Ollie. The way I figured it, there was no need for that to change.

“So.” Robbie appeared once more, having left the college students to devour my birthday cake. “Where’s this date I’ve heard so much about, Anna?”

It happened while Anna was starting a verbal sparring match with Robbie, and Jared was trying unsuccessfully to referee. The skin at the back of my neck prickled and I turned in time to catch Ollie staring right at me.

A lot of things can pass through a look. Jared tells me with one look that he loves me. But that wasn’t anything close to what I was telling Ollie. I had wondered once, what I would say if I ever got another chance to speak my mind. But in the end I was glad there were no words. I think he got my point anyway.

In those few seconds he knew I was immeasurably happy with Jared, that I pitied him for his ignorant choices and that I was thankful our lives had brushed. That last bit might have been surprising. But the truth was that Ollie’s betrayal had been the push I’d needed to take that final step toward Jared. Without the lies, I never would’ve realized my Mr. Wonderful was right there all along.

~End~