Pivotal Moments (In Time #1) (23 page)

“Okay, so on that note…” Teagan muttered. I glanced behind me and froze at his expression. Gone was the amused expression, replaced by one of controlled anger. He stood and stepped over the bench, moving between me and Brody. I peered around my boyfriend and watched with interest. Brody was eyeing the man warily.

“Look…Brody, right?”

Brody nodded.

“Okay, Brody, I really hope we’re not going to have a problem here,” Teagan said, the warning clear in his tone. He took a step closer to the football player, and I hid a smile at Brody’s hesitation. I leaned a bit to the side, comparing the two of them.

Teagan stood several inches taller, and whereas they both had the same toned athletic physique, Teagan was fuller, stronger, more than likely because of his age and experience. Teagan looked like a man, but Brody still had that youthful teen-look to him. Anyone with eyes could see there was no comparison.

Brody, however, didn’t seem to have gotten the memo.

“Whatever, dude,” he said, waving Teagan off. “I’ve known her a lot longer than you have.”

Teagan shook his head. “Catch a clue, man. She’s taken.”

“Hey, I’m just trying to be a friend here.” Brody tried to look wounded and failed miserably. I snorted; I’d dissected flat worms with better bullshit abilities.

“Well, a friend would take a hint and leave her alone.” Teagan took another step forward. “It takes someone who isn’t a friend to ask a girl out when she’s sitting right next to her boyfriend.”

Brody smirked. “You and I both know it’ll be over in a week. Why delay the inevitable?”

Teagan suddenly relaxed. Chuckling, he said, “You hate that you missed your chance, huh?”

Brody’s face turned red, and he clenched his fists. Zver was tensed, crouching low to the ground, hackles raised. This needed to end, now. Things were about to get really ugly, really fast. I reached out and touched the back of Teagan’s hand. He turned slightly and glanced down at me.

“Yeah, honey?”

I stood and moved over to him, burrowing up under his arm. I smiled at the way he wrapped it around me, then I brought my attention back to Brody and cleared my throat. “Look, let’s make this simple, all right? Brody, I don’t want to hang out with you. No movies, no lunch, no bonfires. I’m not interested.”

He scowled at me for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s all good. When he dumps you, you know where to find me.” With that, he turned and sauntered off.

Teagan and I watched him, his hand moving down my arm. He looked down at me with a rueful expression. “You have a very interesting high school, Aislinn.”

I snorted. “You have no idea.”

I nodded at Zver, who was still watching us. “Can I call him over now?”

“Yeah. The command word is komne. But you have to say his name first,” he instructed. “He might not obey,” Teagan added. “He won’t listen to Connor.”

I faced the dog and took a breath. “Zver.” The large dog focused on me, his ears pricked, and a thrill of accomplishment ran through me. “Zver, komne,” I said firmly.

The dog stood and trotted over to me, licking my hand before settling heavily on his haunches. Teagan shook his head, surprise evident in his expression. “Well, holy shit.”

I slipped my arms around his waist and rested my head against his chest. Teagan wrapped me up, pulling me close to him. A yawn rose up from my chest, and hard as I tried, I couldn’t hold it back.

Teagan gave a rumbling laugh. “Am I boring you?” he teased.

“No,” I said, laughing. “I’m just tired, is all. I didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“Well, let’s go take a nap. I seem to remember a comfortable hammock in your backyard.” His hands skimmed up my back until they reached my hair, and he twined his fingers in the strands, tugging until my head tilted for him. He looked at me with shadowy eyes, intensity radiating from him, and a heat simmered through my body.

He inhaled deeply and swallowed hard, stepping away from me. “Let’s go.”

We got everything loaded back into the truck and Zver settled. The truck was quiet, and I hated it. The silence was letting me think, and that was making me anxious. I fidgeted as my jumbled thoughts struggled to straighten themselves out. But no matter which one I tried to nail down, they all ended up mixed back together.

“What are you thinking about so hard over there?” Teagan glanced at me, taking my hand in his. “That’s a pretty serious frown there.”

I blew out a breath. “I don’t know. Nothing? Everything? It’s just…I don’t have a clue what I’m trying to say,” I mumbled. I looked out the window, and we were on my street. I frowned. “How are we already here?”

Teagan looked at me and chuckled. “I told you, you were thinking pretty hard, sweetheart.”

He pulled into the driveway, got out, and let the dog out. I sat there and stared out the windshield, not really seeing anything. I finally gave up and opened the passenger door just as Teagan walked up beside me. He searched my face quietly, and then took my hand, pulling me out of the truck. Tugging me along behind him, he guided us straight through the house and into the backyard.

We went over to the hammock, and Teagan sat down and settled into it. Once he was situated, he held his arms out to me. I kicked off my shoes and made to lay down next to him, but he had other ideas.

Stopping me before I could settle, he proceeded to maneuver me around until he had me how he wanted me. The final product had me blushing bright red; I was lying fully on top of him with one leg resting between his. He held me close, with one hand on the back of my thigh and the other working the hair band out of my ponytail. He gave a grunt of satisfaction when it came free, and tossed it aside. Then he ran his fingers through my hair.

I pressed my face in his chest, feeling out of sorts and on edge. Teagan finished playing with my hair and wrapped his hand up in it, twisting the strands around his fingers. We were quiet for a few minutes before I finally relaxed, but my thoughts started to intrude again.

I lifted my head up to look at Teagan. He had his eyes closed, but he cracked one open to meet my gaze. His lips twisted into a sideways smile, and it was then that I understood what was wrong with me. I had fallen for this man. I had fallen hard.

I was terrified.

Chapter 19

“When was the last time you talked to Penny?”

I paused. Teagan straightened up from feeding Zver and eyed me questioningly.

I continued loading the dishwasher. “Not since we got back from Gainesville a couple of weeks ago. Why?”

He moved to the island and rested his elbows on the counter, clasping his hands together. “She’s your best friend, Aislinn. I’m sure you miss her. You should work through this with her.”

I frowned. “Why? What does it matter?”

He stood up, sighed, and scratched his chin. “Aislinn, us being close is a good thing. We’ll be strong.” He paused and scrubbed a hand over his face. “But you need more than just me.”

“I don’t understand.”

“You can’t always talk to me, baby.” He grinned. “What if I piss you off? You’ll need someone to bitch to.”

He didn’t want me too dependent. I grinned. “You know, most guys would love having their girlfriend at their beck and call.”

He snorted. “I’m not most guys.”

“I’m starting to see that,” I said drily. “You’re perfect.”

He laughed. “Trust me, babe. I’m far from perfect. There’ll be things that’ll piss you off or upset you.”

I shut the dishwasher and started it, then turned to faced him. “Name two things you think will bother me.”

“I don’t replace the toilet paper roll when it’s done.” He grinned. “And I don’t put my clothes away after I wash them. I leave them in the dryer until I need them.”

I burst into laughter. “Oh, my God,” I gasped. “That will drive me crazy.”

He nodded. “See?”

“Okay, okay, I get it.” I held my hands up.

Mom walked into the kitchen. “You get what?” She set her bag on one of the island stools and then walked to the refrigerator.

“Teagan wants me to make up with Penny,” I said.

Mom looked over her shoulder to raise an eyebrow. “Why is that?”

“He’s not perfect. I’ll need someone to complain to when he’s annoying me.”

Mom nodded, pulling a plate from the refrigerator. “He’s right.” She frowned. “What happened between you and Penny, anyway?”

I started picking at my nails and muttered, “Nothing she wasn’t right about.”

“What does that mean?” Mom took the plate to the microwave. After putting it in, she turned with a frown. “Who cooked, anyway?”

That was too close a call. Hiding my relief, I pointed to Teagan. “Do you even have to ask?”

“Good point.” Mom grinned at him. “Thanks.”

Teagan shrugged. “No problem. Aislinn wasn’t too eager for pizza again.”

Mom pulled the plate out of the microwave and sat down at the island. She took a bite, chewed, swallowed, and then turned to Teagan. “This is good.” She ate silently for a moment, then said, “So what did you two do today?”

“We went to Mona’s for breakfast,” Teagan responded. He met my gaze for a brief moment, then added, “It’s a nice little place—Aislinn said you used to take her and Connor there?”

Mom nodded, wearing a thoughtful expression. “Yes.” She turned to me. “And after that?”

“We went to the park, played with Zver, and talked.” I glanced at Teagan, and he met my gaze. I wasn’t about to mention Brody; that would raise too many questions, and Teagan probably wouldn’t appreciate the reminder of a rival.

Finally, Mom finished eating and took her plate to the sink. I cleared my throat. “So, Mom…I was wondering…would you go shopping with me?” I bit my lip.

Mom’s eyes bugged out in shock. I never asked to go shopping. “Yes, of course! What are we shopping for?”

I glanced at Teagan and blushed. “A prom dress.”

Mom whipped around to face Teagan. “I’m impressed.”

He shrugged. “I think she should go. You only get one senior prom.”

“That’s wonderful,” Mom exclaimed. “We’ll go on Saturday.” We were quiet for a long moment, and then Mom exhaled and stretched. “All right, you two. It’s been a long day, I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.” And she left the kitchen.

I smiled and turned to Teagan. “What do you want to do now?”

“Zver needs a walk,” he said. “Why don’t we take him out around the neighborhood?”

I agreed, and we headed out. The evening air was cool as we walked down the sidewalk, holding hands. We took our time, letting Zver stop every few minutes to sniff something. Teagan and I were quiet, lost in our own thoughts.

After a while, we came to a playground. I grinned and tugged Teagan over to the swing sets. He shook his head, but ordered Zver to sit and motioned for me to get on the swing with an indulgent smile. Once I settled, he pulled back on the chains and let them go, setting the swing in motion. I knew I had a wide grin.

He pushed me for several minutes, and the rhythmic movement cleared my head. It was time to talk. I took a deep breath and dragged a foot through the gravel. Once I was stopped, I twisted around to face him. He gave me a lazy smile. ”You ready to talk, baby?”

I nodded. “Yeah…but it’ll sound stupid.” I traced a design in the dirt with my shoe. Teagan stepped closer and put a hand on my shoulders. I inhaled deeply and pulled on my big girl panties, facing it head on. “I’m completely vulnerable,” I whispered. “In three weeks, I’ve gotten to the point that if things end, I’ll be devastated.”

His grip on my shoulders tightened, but he kept silent. I rested my cheek on the back of his hand. Tears formed in my eyes and I sniffed. “I don’t think it’s supposed to happen like this.”

“Aislinn.” He walked around to the front of me and squatted down, resting his hands on my knees. “Is that what was bothering you earlier?” He slid his hands from my knees up to grip my hips. “Is that what you were thinking about so hard?”

I bit my lip and nodded.

“Aislinn, honey.” My heart stuttered when he whispered my name. He wore a soft expression as he shifted to his knees and rested his forehead on mine. “Three weeks, three months, three years…it doesn’t really matter, baby,” he murmured, resting a hand on my cheek.

I inhaled sharply. “What do you mean?”

“Things happen when they should. We just hang on for the ride.” He paused, then gave a small smile. “When something is right, everything falls into place.”

I froze.

He nodded, moving his hand to run the back of his fingers along my jaw. “Yes, beautiful. After just a few weeks, you could totally wreck me.”

I forgot how to breathe. The night insects and Zver’s heavy breathing were the only sounds to be heard. I tried to speak, but no words would come out. Finally, I choked out, “What?”

Teagan gave a soft laugh. “You heard me.” Before I could protest, he kissed me. Not only could Teagan’s kisses distract me from pursuing a particular topic, they could distract from everything period.

Finally, he stood and held out a hand to me. “Come on,” he said, waggling his fingers to me. “Let’s get back.”

I took his hand, and he pulled me up into his arms, wrapping them tight around me. I snuggled into his chest and smiled. Everything felt right. A gentle tug on my hair made me meet his gaze.

“I’ll make you a deal,” he whispered.

“What’s that?”

“You don’t wreck me, and I won’t devastate you. Sound good?”

I smiled, tightening my arms around him. “Sounds like a great deal.”