On His Turf (20 page)

A thrill of pleasure at his words shoots down my spine and I start to feel a tingle between my legs and an ache low down in my belly. He groans as his thumb traces little circles along my shoulder. “If I close my eyes I can actually picture how wet you must be and all I want to do is drag you upstairs.” He nips at my lobe and I’m about to tell him to do just that when I see a familiar face across the crowd.

“Is that Marco?” I say, squinting at his team mate.

“What the hell is he doing here?” Shane snarls.

“Do you know who he’s with?” I ask, referring to the tall, willowy blond who’s by his side. She has her arm around Marco’s bicep but she’s staring directly at Shane.

“Shit. I can’t believe she’s here with him,” Shane mutters and I watch with unease as the woman and Marco skirt around the pool and head in our direction.

“Shane!” The blond exhales his name like it’s a prayer before leaning forward to place a lingering kiss on his cheek. He noticeably stiffens as he turns his face away from her. In heels she is almost as tall as him and as much as much as I hate to admit it she’s gorgeous. It’s obvious that there’s a history between them from the daggers she’s shooting my way. She surveys me from top to bottom and I take the opportunity to do the same. Her long hair is perfectly highlighted and layered and she’s wearing pearls and an actual tennis skirt like some ridiculous Stepford wife.

“You and Marco already know each other of course. But I’m afraid I don’t know your friend?” She smiles thinly at me and Shane clears his throat.

“This is my girlfriend, Carmelina,” he states and both she and Marco look surprised by the admission.

“I thought you didn’t do girlfriends,” the woman says with what sounds like forced levity.

“Well, now I do.” He loops his arm around my shoulders before speaking again. “What are you doing here Allison?”

“Your mom invited us.”

“I mean in town,” he presses, not backing down.

“Oh, I needed a break from California so I decided to spend the summer here in Austin since I’m thinking about moving back,” she explains and I notice how his jaw tightens. “As for Marco, well I came by the field today to see you but you’d already left so I asked this handsome man if he wouldn’t mind escorting me.”

“I didn’t mind,” Marco grins.

“Clearly,” Shane says, giving him a cold stare.

“I need a drink,” Marco adds, tilting his head at me. “Care to join me so we can let these two catch up?”

“She’s fine right where she is,” Shane bites out but Marco just shrugs and steps around me on his way to the bar.

“Don’t come over to the house uninvited, Allison, and never come to the field again looking for me. Got it?” His hand tightens on my shoulder and the severity of his tone has me desperate to know what exactly transpired between these two.

“You’ll have to excuse him, Carmen,” Allison laughs lightly. “We have a lot of history. We were sweethearts in high school when he was captain of the soccer team and I was a cheerleader. We practically lived at each other’s houses and our parents were sure that we were going to get married. But then I went on to Stanford to pursue my law degree and we lost touch.” She shakes her head sadly and I feel my stomach start to bottom out. High-school sweethearts? Even standing side by side the two of them look like a perfectly clichéd match.

“You forgot the part where you slept with my best-friend,” he adds dryly.

“Oh Shane, you’re always focusing on the negative. I thought we got past that?” she whines at him but his eyes stay trained on me.

“Obviously I have,” he looks at me then bends down to kiss the tip of my nose and out of the corner of my eye I notice how her lips purse.

“I was hoping we could catch up now that I’m back and we could try to be friends?”

“We will never be friends. Go back to your date, Allison.”

Before she can respond he turns his back to her and leads me away. He stops on the other side of the pool and sits on one of the loungers, then pulls me into his lap.

“I can’t believe she’s here,” he grumbles, resting his chin on my shoulder.

“So Allison was your first love?” I ask though I think I already know the answer and he grunts.

“We were just kids, babe. I don’t even know if you can call it love. I didn’t know what kind of person she was until it was too late.”

“Shane!” Brenda waves to him from the covered patio and beckons him over. “Your dad needs some help with the barbecue!”

He sighs and lifts me up so he can get off the chair. “I’ll be right back, beautiful.”

“I’ll be right here,” I say, tilting my head up to catch his lips once more. He kisses me softly before making his way over to his mom.

I stay on the lounger and watch the crowd with interest. Everyone seems to be having a good time enjoying the smorgasbord of appetizers, upbeat music and beautiful sunshine. The only ones who look bored are Shane’s brothers which is probably why Caleb takes the opportunity to push a fully-clothed Colby into the pool.

“Dick!” Colby shouts, shaking out his wet hair.

“Language!” Brenda yells as she comes around the side of the pool. She takes a seat beside me, setting a platter of roasted vegetables down on her knees.

“But mom…” Colby starts but she gives him a searing look and he quiets right down.

“Go get changed. I swear between you boys and your father…” she trails off.

“They’re cute aren’t they?” I hear Allison’s voice and I shield my eyes to look up at her. “I remember when they were just little babies.”

Her words are innocent enough but from the way she speaks it is clearly a thinly veiled warning that’s coming through loud and clear - ‘I know this family and you don’t so back off’. She takes the spot on the opposite lounger and shifts her hips until she’s facing me.

“How long have you and Shane known each other?” she asks before taking a sip from her glass of white wine. I glance down at the beer in my hand and sigh inwardly, wishing I had opted for something a little classier.

“About a month now.”

“Where did you meet?”

“At a game,” I say and she gives me a knowing smile.

“So you’re one of those.”

“I have no idea what you mean.”

“Sure you don’t, Carmen,” she says my name wrong for the second time and this time I correct her.

“It’s Carmelina actually.”

“Oh, is that like Mexican or something?” she asks too-sweetly and the way she says ‘Mexican’ like it’s some dirty little secret has me itching to slap the smile right off of her alabaster-skinned face.

“It is. My father is from Mexico.”

“That’s Shane for you,” she nods like this makes complete sense.

“And what exactly do you mean by that?” I say, swallowing down the beer I’m holding in my mouth.

“He’s always had this thing about ‘slumming it’. I remember in high school he befriended this weird Goth girl named Annie who moved to Austin from out of state. She had the half-shaved head, lip piercings, black nail polish…I’m telling you the whole nine yards. Anyway, I let it alone because I figured he just wanted to fuck her and try out something different. He’s always had eclectic tastes but I can forgive him that. I’m waiting for him to get it all out of his system so we can finally settle down.”

When she’s finished she stands up, her mission to warn me off obviously now complete. “I know you probably think it’s serious between you two but I’m doing a favor by telling you this. Shane is Shane and it’s going to take an exceptional woman to change that,” she explains and from the way she’s speaking it’s clear that she thinks that exceptional woman is her.

“Is everything alright, dear?” Brenda re-appears holding a dinner plate piled high with steak, potatoes and veggies.

“It’s fine,” Allison answers and she gives her a strange look.

“I was talking to Carmelina,” she says stiffly.

“Everything’s fine,” I parrot and Brenda doesn’t look convinced but she doesn’t press the issue. “Fine then, dear. The food is ready and I didn’t want you to miss out.”

“That’s very kind, thank you, Brenda,” I say at the same time I hear Allison snort.

“It would probably be kinder to your ass if she let you miss out,” she says under her breath and Shane’s mom must hear because her head whips around. I jump to my feet and place my hand on Brenda’s arm before she can respond.

“I’ll go and get a plate,” I mutter, avoiding Brenda’s eyes as I make my way around the pool to the buffet. Shane joins me and we find two empty lawn chairs to sit in and we balance our plates on our laps to eat. The rest of the crowd is scattered all over the lawn and Mr. Mitchell’s blues music is blasting from the outdoor speakers.

“You’re quiet,” Shane says as I swallow down a thick piece of steak.

“Am I?”

“You okay?” he asks, looking concerned so I try to give him a reassuring smile. I don’t want to ruin such a beautiful day for him but still have what Allison said on my mind and I think I need some air.

“I’ll be right back.” I stand and place my plate on my chair before moving toward the house.

“Where are you going?” he yells after me.

“To the ladies. Too much beer I think,” I say, forcing a smile at him over my shoulder before disappearing into the house. I grab my purse from where I left it in the foyer and exit out the front door. The valet gives me a sympathetic look as I make my way down the front stairs and it’s like even he knows that I’m out of place here. I head around the side of the house and as I’m walking I decide to check out the private beach. Once there I kick off my cork sandals and dig my toes into the soft white sand before sitting down on my bum. The sky is a cloudless blue and the sun is sparkling off the sea green water in a way that almost looks magical. It still blows my mind that Shane grew up in a place like this. I shake off the thought and rummage through my bag for my phone to call Matty.

“Hello?”

“Matty,” I say, closing my eyes at the familiar sound of his voice.

“This is he. And who might you be?”

“Come on, Matty.”

“The nickname is familiar however the voice is not. Though it sounds vaguely like a best friend I used to have before she got sucked into the vortex known only as a new hetero-relationship,” he adds sarcastically.

“I know I haven’t been around much lately and I’m sorry.”

“Hmm…I’m still not sure if I know you yet.”

“You’ve made your point, Matthew. Can you talk to me know? I need you,” I beg.

The other end is silent for a moment before he starts to laugh. “Of course honey I was just teasing. If you’re happy, I’m happy. Now talk to uncle Matty.”

“Ugh, don’t call yourself that - it’s creepy,” I moan.

“Noted. What’s going on?”

“I’m at Shane’s parent’s house.”

“Again? I thought you were there at the beginning of the week? This is old news by now.”

“They were having a family barbecue and they invited me.”

“And now you’ve run off and locked yourself in a room to call your gay bestie,” he says knowingly and I snort.

“No, I’m down at the beach.”

“They have a beach?” he squeals and I shush him.

“Stay focused. They are having this big barbecue and who shows up but his ex-girlfriend,” I exhale.

“So what? We all have exes.”

“Not the high-school sweetheart almost got engaged to until she broke his heart kind of exes.”

“What’s she like?”

“She’s wearing pearls and one of those white tennis skirts with the pleats.”

“Stepford-tastic,” he says and I bite back my smile at having had the same thought. Sometimes Matty and I are almost like one person.

“I know right? Anyway, she pulled me aside and basically told me that Shane has a pattern of picking different types of women. You know: freaks, geeks and women of the ‘ethnic’ variety and that I shouldn’t read too much into what’s happening between us because she and Shane are meant to be together.”

“Wow…she sounds like a conniving bitch,” Matty coughs into the phone. “You don’t actually believe her, do you?”

“I don’t know what to believe anymore,” I sigh.

“Why don’t you try believing the man who’s been inside you and not some vindictive white-bread little tart you met like five minutes ago?” he says seriously.

“And that’s why you are the smart one. Why does it seem so awful in my head and then when you lay it out like that it all makes sense?”

“It’s the queer in me. It makes me very wise.”

“I need some of that wise-ness I think,” I mumble into the phone and he tsks.

“No what you need is a good plowing from that God-like man of yours to get your head back on straight. Now get off your ass, go back to the house and pull some of that bitch’s hair out. Then take him upstairs and let him fuck all of that insecurity right out of you.”

“That’s so romantic, Matty,” I say, dryly and he laughs through a yawn.

“That’s also the queer in me and you’re welcome, honey. I’ll talk to you later tonight.” He hangs up without saying goodbye and as I’m dropping my phone back into my bag I hear footsteps approaching.

“There you are! I’ve been looking all over for you,” Shane says as I stand and dust the sand off of my dress.

“I’m sorry. I needed to make a call.”

“S’okay. There’s something I want to show you. Come with me.”

He takes my hand and helps me back into my shoes. We walk side by side along the beach before making our way up over the lawn. At the far edge of the property he stops and looks up and I follow his eyes only to see a big wooden structure built into the side of an old oak tree.

“You see? I had a treehouse too,” he grins, placing his hands on the bottom rung of the ladder.

“From the looks of it I’d say your treehouse has cable,” I joke and he looks a little sheepish. “It has cable!” I yell as I whack his arm.

“My brothers and I spent a lot of time out here so dad ran a line in from the house,” he shrugs before adding, “climb on up.”

I follow him up the sturdy wooden ladder and he opens a latch in the floor and hauls himself through, then pulls me up after him. The treehouse itself looks more like a bachelor pad with a worn loveseat, a small TV on a stand and a shelf filled with books, magazines and games. There’s even one of those beer fridges against the back wall and two shade-less table lamps resting on the ground.