One Lucky Deal (7 page)

He shrugged. “I don’t know. Nobody usually can keep my interest long enough. Why don’t you?”

Candace sighed. She couldn’t very well tell him he was the reason she didn’t date. He was why she wasn’t interested in investing energy in a real relationship. Some dumb boy at camp had broken her heart. “I don’t know. I guess no one can keep up … or measure up … or be what I want them to be. It’s a lot of work for little reward.”

“Maybe you’re not doing it right.”

Candace passed the thermos off and lay back down. “Yeah, I’m starting to understand that, but then again, maybe you haven’t been doing it right, either.”

“True. Maybe I haven’t wanted to.”

“
That’s
probably more like it.” Candace laughed. “Obviously, you could excel if you chose to.”

“Don’t let word get out.”

“Right! You’d be beating them off with a stick.”

“Ah, but all I’m doing already is beating them with my stick,” Tad joked.

“And it was all going so well until that.” But Candace couldn’t help but let out a little laugh.

*

Candace grew quiet for awhile. Tad lay down beside her and looked up at the sky. He was pretty proud that he’d thought this up. Prouder still that she’d enjoyed it as much as she had. Now, with the scent of her hair in his nose, all these foreign thoughts running through his head, even the sounds of the woods and the brilliance of the sky couldn’t settle his soul.

They lay out there under those northern lights until Candace’s breathing had steadied, and Tad’s insides were shifting all around with every inch he moved, with every breath he took, with every brush against her shoulder.

“Candace.” Tad sat up and nudged her sleeping body. “Candace.” He shook her gently. When her eyelids lifted and her gaze caught on him, he said, “Let’s go home.”

“Okay.” She rubbed the sleep from her eyes. “Just one more minute?”

Tad sat beside her for a little while longer until her tired head was too heavy for her to hold up and she leaned it against his shoulder. “Come on.” He nudged her again and then helped her out of the truck bed. Grabbing up the blankets and the now empty thermos, he stuffed them all back behind the seat. He slammed the gate closed and headed back out of the woods.

* * * *

“So Lucky’s tonight.” Reed pointed a finger at Tad several days later in the office of their shop. “For the next installment of your challenge.”

“Yeah, okay.” Tad sighed.

“What challenge?” Gail, Tad’s sister, asked. She was their secretary and basically kept the shop a well-oiled working machine.

“Oh, Tad’s trying to prove he can be in a real relationship—him and Candace are attempting to demonstrate it by doing couple-like things.” Reed laughed as he left the office when one of the other guys called his name from the garage.

“Do you think that’s such a good idea?” Gail asked. Gail was his sister, but she’d raised him. So in some ways they were closer than brother and sister, and in some ways they were less connected too.

“I don’t see why not. It’s just a dumb thing we’re doing. It’s not a big deal.” He rubbed his hand over his face and checked his watch. It was the longest day ever. His nights were horrible since they had started this whole thing.

He’d been awake all night long, just tossing, tossing, and tossing. He was going crazy and he wasn’t sure why. He was trying to blame it on the lack of sex, but then why wasn’t Candace going out of her mind as well? Maybe she just had a higher dry spell tolerance.

“Well, it just sounds like maybe someone could get hurt doing something like that.” Gail shrugged and sorted through some more paperwork.

“Like who? Candace? I doubt it. She knows what this is, and besides, she’s just as disinterested in me as I am in her … probably more so, to tell you the truth.”

That was the truth. He was nearly certain she wasn’t looking at him and thinking about his naked body. She’d even seen his naked body recently and nothing had really changed between them. But Jesus, get her fully clothed and sopping wet one time and see if he could get that image out of his mind. He’d been trying with little success all week.

“I was talking about you,” Gail said softly. “You have a past with this girl, you live with her, and she’s your friend. I just would hate for you to slip up and fall for her. It would ruin everything you already have going with her. It would kill me to see you lose another important person in your life.”

Gail was not usually so perceptive, but even with these lustful thoughts Tad wasn’t stupid enough to fall for his best friend. No way. It was just the lack of sex. It was going to be the death of him.

“I’m a big boy, Gail. I can handle this. Trust me.”

He could tell she still didn’t like it, but she eventually sighed and said, “Okay.”

* * * *

Candace walked into Lucky’s that night. She’d been texted the info three times. Once by Ronnie, once by Reagan, and once by Tad. She had planned on showing up on her way home from work anyway, but with that many texts she didn’t even go home and get cleaned up first. But really? What the hell for? She wasn’t looking to pick anyone up.

She was going home with Tad. It was a sure thing. God, she hadn’t even shaved her legs in days and it was kind of nice. She was really enjoying not having to worry so much about looking perfect and being perfect. She’d skipped the salad lunches twice already this week and hadn’t felt better in her whole life. She still ran religiously, but she was looking in mirrors less, and when she did catch her reflection, she liked what she was seeing more.

Her friends flagged her over from across the room. She stopped by the bar and ordered herself some whiskey and then slid into the booth next to Tad. “What’s going on?”

“The next installment.” Tad nodded at Reed.

“Okay, your next mission…” Reed grinned and looked at Reagan, who was mouthing the words along with him. “Should you choose to accept it is…” He paused while Joe made an obnoxious show of creating a drum roll on the table top. “Sharing.”

“Sharing?” Candace cocked an eyebrow.

“We already do that … with everything.” Tad laughed. “Including a bathroom. Trust me, there’s nothing I don’t already know.”

“We mean, tell each other things you don’t tell us.” Reagan nodded at them.

“We do,” Tad said.

“You do?” Ronnie lifted a brow.

“Of course we do.” Candace looked at them like they were crazy.

“Wait, you tell him things you don’t tell me?” Reagan looked offended, but Candace could only laugh and shake her head.

“Yeah.”

“Like what?” Reagan straightened her back.

“Usually I’m complaining about you guys,” Candace joked.

“All right, well, still this is your challenge. So just go home, get drunk—play Truth or Dare,” Reed offered.

“Done.” Tad slapped the table good-naturedly.

* * * *

Candace was pretty sloshed already. They’d stopped to get a special bottle of tequila and were now at home doing shots. “Okay. Let’s start out slow here. Go easy on me, Dundee. I haven’t played since I was a teenager.”

“And I have?” Tad laughed. “Yeah, I play this at the weekly slumber parties I go to,” Tad said facetiously.

“All right, smart-ass.” Candace smiled. They were seated at their picnic table in their backyard. Sara and Zeke were running around playing a dog version of tag. Sasha was snapping at fireflies, trying to catch them in her mouth. Charlie was trying to climb into Candace’s lap, and Rudy was snoozing peacefully beneath the table. “Truth me.”

“Chicken,” Tad teased.

“Aw, come on.” Candace poured them each another shot.

“All right.” Tad thought for a moment. “Favorite color?”

Candace shook her head. “You already know that. And I’m sure that Reed and Reagan didn’t mean for us to just reiterate the stuff we already know about each other. Dig a little deeper … darker … naughtier.” Candace smirked. “But it’s orange. Go again.”

Tad rolled his eyes, took the shot, and thought about what else he could ask her. “All right, who of our friends could you have had sex with but didn’t?”

“Well, Joe seemed pretty interested the second before he spotted Ronnie … and then it was all over for me after that.”

“Truth.”

“All right, same question, chicken.”

“Well, I tried to get Reagan’s number once—”

“What?” Candace laughed. She looked shocked. Apparently, Reagan had never told her this before, either.

“It was before I knew she was your sister and the girl that Reed had been mooning over for weeks. She’s cute.” Tad shrugged, thinking that was going to help his defense.

“Yeah, well, she’s got good genetics.” Candace grinned. “All right, let’s spice this up. Give me a dare, Dundee.”

“A dare, huh?” Tad looked around, trying to find something to spark an idea. Tad watched the early morning newspapers being delivered and he smirked. “I dare you to steal Mr. Evercut’s newspaper.”

“No!” Candace squealed. “The man is scary and freakishly compulsive about his newspapers. I heard the paperboy missed once and it landed in the dirt of his flower garden and Mr. Evercut shot him.”

“Urban myth. It never happened. Do the dare or face the consequence.”

“Give me the consequence because I’m not messing with Mr. Evercut’s newspaper.”

Tad poured her another shot. “Do another shot and then a cartwheel immediately following.”

“Fine.” Candace took the shot. She ran onto the lawn and did a masterful cartwheel. But the cartwheel must have jostled her insides because she got instantly woozy. She looked like she might throw up for a second. “Okay, no more of that. Just truth me from here on out.” She held her stomach and sank back down onto the bench seat.

“Oh, come on, you big baby.” Tad gave her a playful push.

“Okay, hotshot. Let me dare you.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned forward.

“Bring it on.” He grinned. Candace stood and disappeared into the house. Charlie followed in tow. Tad was smiling after her and it wasn’t until she’d been gone awhile that he realized he was sporting a ridiculous grin while staring off toward the back door, waiting for Candace to reappear.

She finally did, carrying the ice-cube bin. Tad’s smile disappeared. He was horrified with where this was going. “I dare you…” Candace rattled the box of ice cubes. “To dump this entire thing down your boxers.”

“What? That’ll kill me.” Tad stood.

“And that cartwheel near did me in.” Candace was drunk. Her smile was loose, her cheeks were pink, and her eyes were glassy. It was that laugh she had that reached out and grabbed him. Candace had a strange way of making everyone around her as happy as she was—or maybe it just worked like that on Tad.

Tad groaned and unbuttoned his pants. “Let’s get this over with.”

Candace paused. “Seriously?”

Tad grabbed the bucket from her hands and poured the ice cubes straight down his underwear, and he danced. He shouted. He winced. “Holy shit!” He kicked until the ice cubes were flung out into the yard somewhere. He let out a sigh of relief and grabbed the front of his crotch.

“Here.” Candace’s face was pulled somewhere between a smile and a wince as she handed him a warm rice heating bag.

“Oh my God.” Tad took it from her and stuffed it down his pants. “I don’t know how, but I both hate you and love you at the same time.”

Candace laughed. “I get that a lot. I really didn’t think you’d do it.”

“I did it.” Tad eased himself back down onto the seat. “But you’re right, let’s forget the dares.”

“We’re not teenagers anymore, are we?” Candace sighed and sat down beside him.

“I’ve been telling you that for months now.”

Candace took a deep breath. “If we’re really going to do this, why don’t we just hit the grand slam?”

Tad held his breath and stared down at her lips as she formed the words. He’d never noticed how smooth they were, or that they were such a soft pink.

“Why, at camp, did you lead me on like that? Why act like you like me for an entire summer and then right at the very end humiliate me in front of everyone? If it was over, why not just say so, to me, privately? Why stoop to their level and use that lame fat joke?”

Tad sucked in a deep breath. He hadn’t expected that question, but maybe he should have. “I think it’s actually your turn to answer a question.”

“Seriously? Fine, ask me a question.”

“Who was your first kiss?” Tad asked, still thinking about her lips and blaming his thoughts on the alcohol and the lack of sexual stimulant. He couldn’t believe he was recovering from the ice cubes so quickly.

“Tommy McPherson. Now, Tad, why?”

“You’re not going to like the answer,” Tad warned her and took a swig right from the bottle.

“Try me.” She wasn’t angry, and that surprised him even if it had taken place nearly ten years ago.

Tad ran a frustrated hand through his hair, disheveling it. “I don’t know. I know that sucks but that’s the only answer I have. I was young. I was dumb. I was too young for you. And yes, I know. I’m older than you.” He laughed wryly.

“It wasn’t the weight?” Candace asked, deadpan.

“No. It had nothing to do with your body, but everything else about you scared the hell out of me.”

“I did?” Rudy had gotten up and scratched at the door. So Candace rounded up their shot glasses and the bottle while Tad whistled for the other dogs. Candace pushed the door open for all of them.

“Yeah, you did. I think about it all the time, actually, since you came back into my life.” All the dogs had gone inside and found somewhere to lie down, a toy to chew on, or headed to their large water dish to drink out of.

*

“You do?” Candace asked, finding the two of them sandwiched in the doorway. Half in, half out. She looked up and searched his face. Everything was soft from the alcohol. She felt both warm everywhere and numb.

“Yeah.” Tad leaned back against the doorjamb. The door was still wide open as they filled the space between the house and the deck. Tad reached out and took the bottle and the shot glasses from her. He sat them on the table just inside the door. “And If I could go back and give myself a pep talk, I’d tell the seventeen-year-old me to be better—especially to you.”