Pivotal Moments (In Time #1) (30 page)

I whipped my head around to look at him and saw nothing but sincerity in his eyes. God, was it any wonder I was head over heels for him? I gave him a shy smile and leaned into his hand, loving the warm feeling I always got from him.

We spent the next fifteen minutes or so talking and saying hi to the classmates of mine who would stop by. I flip-flopped between aggravation and pride at the looks the girls gave Teagan. Several times, I had to grind my teeth together as they all but threw themselves at him. But he was incredible and never once removed his arm from me or engaged them in any way that could have encouraged them. In short, he let it be known he was mine.

It came time to watch the ballots and we both stood at the table while everyone stopped by to cast their votes. Over and over, it was mentioned that Tracey was upset about not doing it, but to be honest, I really didn’t care. There was a reason the committee didn’t want her doing it. It wasn’t up to me to question it.

It was almost time for the voting to close, and Teagan had gone to get me a drink when someone stopped in front of the table and just stood there. I reached for a ballot and pencil then looked up and sighed. It was going to happen eventually. I had just hoped I wouldn’t be alone when it did. I resigned myself to the conversation.

“Hello, Brody,” I said politely.

“Ash,” he replied, looking around. “I heard you were here with someone. Where is he?” He made a production of waving his hands around and swiveling his head as he was searching for someone.

“He went to get me something to drink.” I waved the paper at him. “You gonna vote? It closes soon.”

He smirked then made a point to look me up and down. I glared at him, and his smirk became more pronounced. I wondered where Teagan had gotten to.

“I have to say, Ash…you’re looking very good tonight.”

“Uh, thank you?” Where was Teagan? There was something about Brody that was making me extremely nervous. He was acting strange. I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but it was there.

“So, we should go upstairs in a little bit. What do you think?”

My jaw dropped at his suggestion. “What the…? Excuse me?” I didn’t know if I was offended or pissed. I decided it was a combination of both. “Where the hell do you get off?”

“Please. Don’t act so offended,” he scoffed. “Denny told me all about how you hooked up with Jace a couple of weeks ago. I figure you’re fair game now.”

“You need to fucking apologize and then get the hell away from her,” I heard snarled from behind me. I breathed a sigh of relief. Turning around I saw Teagan standing very still, looking deceptively casual. I knew him, though. I could sense the tightly controlled anger within him, and upon closer inspection I saw his fists were clenched in his pockets.

Brody snorted. “I don’t think so. If she can hook up with Danvers, then she can do it with the rest of us now too.”

“I did not hook up with him!” I shrieked. “What the hell are you talking about? Teagan, I have not hooked up with anyone!” I told him, panicked.

Teagan looked at me and smiled before it changed to an angry glare as he switched back to Brody. Once again, he must not have had any sense of self-preservation, because he just shrugged at the angry man staring him down. He laughed and held his hands out.

“Dude! Chill out. She was the one fucking Jace!”

Before I could say anything, Teagan was around the table and had Brody by the throat. The commotion caught the attention of the people nearby and soon we had a crowd around us. I stood there watching the scene play out. I knew better than to interfere. Teagan was in defend mode. Nothing I said or did would make a difference at that point.

“Jesus! What the hell?” One of Brody’s football buddies pushed his way through the crowd and stopped next to me. He looked at the two guys and then at me. “What the hell is going on?”

“Holden’s about to get his ass beat,” someone deadpanned behind me. At that, I could hear a few laughs from the crowd, which was steadily growing in size. “It’s all right, though. Douche has had it coming for a while now,” the same voice muttered.

I turned my attention back to Teagan and Brody. I frowned when I saw Brody was starting to turn a rather unattractive tomato-red in the face. Taking a couple of steps forward, I got Teagan’s attention and motioned for him to let go. He shook his head no and then turned away from me. With narrowed eyes, I allowed various ways to make him pay for that move begin to form. He was in so much trouble.

“Seeing that I have your attention now, it’s time to explain how this works,” Teagan said in a cold, calm voice. “Are you listening? Because I’m only telling you this once.” Brody gave a jerky nod in response.

“Good. Now, first off, last time I checked, having lunch with a friend in public wasn’t hooking up. Aislinn doesn’t do that sort of crap.” Teagan looked back at me and I shivered at the heat I saw in his eyes. “That’s what pisses you off, Holden. She’s the one you want, and she’s the one you can’t have.” He returned his attention back to Brody. “So now, your plan is to try and make her look like shit, right? Since you can’t get her, make it so no one else wants her? Don’t fucking lie!”

I felt dizzy when Brody nodded again. What the hell had I done to him to make him do that? I had no clue what was going on anymore…

“This is how this is going work. Starting now, you will not talk to her, look at her, anything. If I find out you’ve screwed with her in any way, I will beat your ass into the ground. I’ve said it clear so there are no misunderstandings.” With that, he let Brody go and shoved him back.

Teagan turned around and took a step toward me but stopped when Brody spoke.

“I wouldn’t waste my time anyway! She’s nothing but a cock teasing bitch who’s probably a lousy fuck. The fat bitch is all yours, asshole,” he shouted.

I felt the blood drain from my face when Teagan suddenly pivoted on one heel and faced Brody again. Before anyone could react, he’d pulled his arm back and laid Brody out with a punch to the jaw that had the younger guy sliding across the floor on his back. The silence that descended over the room was deafening. I could only stare in shock as Teagan stalked over to where he lay on the floor and loomed over him.

“Talk shit about her again and I will fuck you up,” he snarled out a warning. Teagan stood back as several of Brody’s friends rushed by him and helped him up. Teagan walked back over to me and stopped when he stood right in front of me.

I shook myself out of the shocked stupor I had been in and looked up at the man who just defended me. “I don’t think he’s going to talk shit anymore,” I observed.

“Oh, yeah? Why’s that?”

“Uh, because you just laid him out like a bitch?” I said with a shrug. At that, several people laughed and the tension dispersed in the hall. His friends carried Brody out to the jeers and jokes of the student body. This was not going to be a good memory for him, but an awesome one for me.

After that, the night returned to normal and Teagan made sure I had a good time. The prom king and queen were announced and we were treated to Tracey throwing a fit at not winning. She left in a huff and wasn’t missed.

I found out Teagan could dance his ass off and he kept me on the dance floor most of the night. By the time he pulled me in his arms for one last dance of the night, he’d taken off his tie, loosened his top two shirt buttons, and his tux jacket was draped over the back of a chair. He looked incredibly sexy with his scruffy jaw, tousled hair, and casual formal wear. I was thrilled he was mine. As I moved in time with him on the floor, I started to think about what it would be like to move in time with him in other ways. I blushed bright red.

“What’s going through that head of yours?” he asked me as he led me through a turn.

There was no way I was going to ever fess up to this one. I clamped my mouth shut and buried my face into his chest. I felt him laugh.

“Okay, I’ll let you keep your secrets, baby,” he said. “But I bet I know what it is.”

“Don’t care,” I muttered, not lifting my head. He laughed again and ran a hand from my waist up my back to my neck where he gripped lightly. He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my shoulder.

“Not tonight, Aislinn. But it’s going to happen soon,” he said with a voice rough with dark promise. I could only gulp in response. “I’m not going to let the first time be a prom night cliché.”

Oh. My. God.

“Let’s go, sweetheart,” he said as he took my hand. I followed him as he led me to where we’d left our stuff. We grabbed everything and left, stopping every so often on the way out to say goodnight to various people. Everything felt surreal to me at the moment.

As soon as he got me in the vehicle, exhaustion hit me like a twenty ton truck. I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew, I felt a soft touch stroke down across my cheek. I opened my eyes and saw we were parked in front of the house. I sat up and stretched and glanced over at Teagan with a smile. “You were right.”

“What was I right about?”

“That I should go tonight. Despite the douche nozzle, I had a great time.”

He smiled. “I’m glad, honey. I’m sorry about what happened.”

“Don’t be,” I said as I laid a hand against his jaw. “It meant so much to me that you did that for me.”

He looked at me, our eyes meeting and locking. “Aislinn, I will always defend you and protect you.” His voice was deep with honesty. He raised a hand to wrap around behind my neck and pulled me to meet him as he leaned toward me. Just before our lips met, he murmured, “You’re my heart, baby. I love you.” He then proceeded to kiss the ever loving shit out of me.

We broke apart, panting, and I was clutching his hair tightly. I ran a hand down to his chest and could feel his heart pounding a wild beat. I smiled at the knowledge that I affected him just as much. He released a deep breath and leaned his head back.

“We need to go inside, sweetheart,” he said.

“What? Why?” I didn’t want to.

“Because this is going to get out of my control soon. You look gorgeous. You smell amazing and taste…fuck! Just…yeah, we need to go inside,” he growled.

I might have pouted. Admit it, you would have too. Anyone in their right mind would just then! But I also knew he was doing what he felt was right. More than likely he was right too, I was having trouble seeing through the storm of hormones. So, I nodded my agreement and we went inside. He took me to my room, gave me a long kiss goodnight, and then went to his room. I got ready for bed, and as I lay there, I replayed the evening over in my head. I fell asleep with aching feet and a smile on my face.

Epilogue

Teagan

I heard a deep sigh and looked over to see Aislinn deep in thought as she looked out the passenger window. Her elbow was braced on the arm rest and her chin was held in her palm. The watery sunlight from the overcast day gave the semblance of a soft glow, which made my heart start to pick up its pace in my chest. I sometimes still couldn’t believe how I had managed to get her to agree to go out with me, but I was grateful for it. She was as beautiful inside as she was out, and she was mine. I had decided it was best not to question the good luck and just go with it.

Despite our slightly rocky start, the past several weeks had gone by without any issues. The incident at her prom had barely caused a blip on their radar. I’d been able to spend more time with her now that my classes were over for the semester. I suspected that played a big part in helping her adjust to the knowledge that I wasn’t going anywhere. The way she’d look at me, panicked but trying to play it off, when we got things patched up had torn me apart. That whole situation had been fucked up. Connor and I were more than likely going to have problems over that for a while, given what he’d almost cost me.

My brother, Blake, was doing better, and it looked like they were going to release him soon. He and I were working through our shit, and I was learning some details about him that left me asking more than a few questions about our mother. As I was the only family he had near him, I attended his family therapy meetings every week since he was only about an hour from me. They were enlightening, those meetings.

Aislinn had shocked the shit out of me when she’d asked if we could go see Blake on her birthday weekend. I’d been trying to think of something special to do with her as I unloaded the truck.

“Teagan?” Aislinn asked from behind me. I had just brought my stuff into the guest room at her house when I heard her. I turned to her with a raised brow.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Um…” Her voice seemed unsure as she looked at me with her brows drawn together and a worried frown. I looked down and saw she was wringing her hands together. I was about to ask her what was wrong when she continued.

“So, you know how you asked me what I wanted to do this weekend for my birthday?” She gave me a nervous smile.

I nodded slowly. “Yeah, why?”

“Well, I…” She trailed off and swallowed hard before taking a deep breath and squaring her shoulders. “I know it’s short notice and a lot of driving, but I wanted to know if maybe we could go see Blake?”

I was surprised, to say the least. She asked about him all the time and had expressed a desire to meet him more than once. I shook my head and looked at her, trying to figure her out. “You want to see my brother for your birthday?”

She nodded. “I’d really like to meet him. And I’m sorry you drove all the way here when he’s so close to you now, but I just thought of it.”

I was confused. “Are you asking me this for your birthday?”

She nodded again. I could only chuckle and shake my head. “Okay, baby. If that’s what you really want to do for your birthday, then that’s where I’ll take you,” I told her with a smile. Most girls would want an expensive dinner or night on the town. My girl wanted to meet my brother who was stuck in a hospital getting mental help. She was one in a million.

Early the next morning, we loaded up and headed to Tampa where Blake had been transferred to. The Marines were in the process of giving him a medical discharge and had moved him from Jacksonville down to the James Haley Veteran’s hospital. Now we were driving along the interstate and had just passed by my exit for Gainesville. I know she felt bad that I was doing so much driving, but I honestly didn’t mind. I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard her sigh again. I reached a hand over and stroked her hair, enjoying the feel of it before I dropped it and laced my fingers with hers.

“What’re you thinking about so hard?” I asked her.

She didn’t answer, keeping silent for a long stretch before finally shrugging. I frowned. Aislinn had gotten better with talking to me about what was bothering her. She didn’t shut me out anymore. This behavior worried me; it wasn’t a step in the right direction for us. “Aislinn, what’s going on?”

She dropped her hand and turned to look out the front window. After a moment she shook her head. “Nothing. It’s nothing.”

I pulled a face at that. Obviously, it was something. “You wouldn’t be like this if there wasn’t something on your mind, babe,” I observed.

“I’m fine.”

I think every man born could appreciate how much restraint I showed by not letting out a snort and rolling my eyes at her answer. “It doesn’t look like it. What’s going on? You always talk to me.”

She sighed and ran a hand through those curls that I loved so much before finally looking at me. She chewed on her bottom lip before letting it go and taking a deep breath. “I don’t want to talk about it, because I’m afraid it’ll change how you see me, how you look at me,” she confessed. She looked down at our hands and played with my fingers.

I glanced at her in shock. “What? What the hell are you talking about?” I was torn between concern and anger.

“I’m going through something now…and…I dunno,” she shrugged, “if I talk about it, it could change things. I don’t want that.”

“Change things?” I glared at her. “I swear, one day I’m going to put you over my knee and spank you!” I growled. “What the hell is going on, Aislinn?”

“God! This is exactly why I didn’t want to talk to you about this!”

“Yeah, well, you’re going to.”

“No, I’m not.”

I narrowed my eyes at her as I glanced at her briefly before I looked back to the road. My hand tightened on the steering wheel. The thought that she was trying to break up with me crossed my mind, but I dismissed it. That was not an option, so it didn’t matter. I still needed to get to the bottom of it all, though. And getting into an argument would lead me nowhere with her. She was hardheaded and stubborn. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes for a moment, and then let it out.

“Aislinn,” I said in a calm voice, “we made an agreement not to do this. Remember that?”

While I had been working to keep my temper in check, my girl had gone into full-on pout mode. Her arms were crossed, legs were too, lips pursed, and she had a foot tapping. If I hadn’t been 100 percent positive she’d have stabbed me right then, I’d have told her she was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. As it was, I had to fight to keep the amusement from showing.

“Sweetheart?”

“Fine!” she burst out. “It’s my birthday! My eighteenth birthday! You know, the day I become an adult?” She waved her hands around and I could hear the tears in her voice. “I was a kid yesterday, Teagan. Today, I’m not! And I have no idea what that means. I have no clue what I should do or say now! Shouldn’t I have some sort of plan, have my act together somehow?” At that she broke down and started crying.

I slowed down, put on the blinker, and pulled over onto the shoulder. Once stopped, I put the truck in park then reached over, unbuckled her seat belt, and pulled her over to me. I maneuvered us until I had her on my lap, cuddled to my chest with my arms wrapped around her. She sobbed into my shirt and each one made my chest ache. Fuck! I loved this girl!

“Aislinn,” I whispered as I rubbed her back. She quieted down enough that I knew she could hear me. “You need to know that most people don’t have it figured out.” I brought my hand up to the nape of her neck and kneaded it. “Shit, baby! I’m going to be twenty-three next month, a senior in college and have no clue what the hell I’m doing. So don’t think I’m going to look at you differently for having normal, very real fears. Okay?” I placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look at me. Her eyes were still wet with tears, but calmer now. “It’s not going to make my feelings change,” I told her.

She gave me a brilliant watery smile and threw her arms around me. We kissed until I had to worry about a state trooper possibly showing up unexpectedly. She shot me a displeased look when I made her move back to her seat. She looked so much like a disgruntled kitten that I had to laugh.

We made it to the hospital and the visit went off well. Blake surprised me; he’d always been a charmer with the chicks. With Aislinn, he was quiet and reserved. They did seem to get along, however, and made plans for when he got out for all of us to get together. Yes, I had reached the point my woman made my plans for me. I was completely all right with it.

After we left there, I took her out to dinner and gave her the gift I had brought for her. The look on her face when she opened the box that held her present had been beyond priceless and quite satisfying. When she held up the two concert tickets with the backstage passes and looked at me like I was a king, that’s exactly what I felt like. I had scored tickets for her to go and see her favorite band with front row seats and meet them after.

Because I am that awesome.

She settled down again after that but had another mini panic attack the afternoon before we left for her graduation. Her brother had helped that one along, I’m sure. Although neither would ever fess up, the little shits.

I was sitting in the family room flipping through the TV channels when Aislinn’s mom came running in, looking flustered. I sat up in concern. “Are you okay, Ms. Munroe?”

“No!” she exclaimed. “My daughter is up there refusing to come down for her graduation!” She flung a hand toward the stairs. “Can you go talk some sense into her? We have to leave in,” she glanced at her watch, “five minutes!”

I smiled and stood up. “Yeah, no problem.” I turned and tossed the remote onto the couch. “Anything I should know before I head up?”

“I don’t know,” she complained as she threw her hands up. “She was fine! Penny called, I left to get something from the hall closet, Connor walked in, I heard yelling, and then Aislinn has a meltdown.” She looked at me and pointed. “Fix this, Teagan. My daughter is not missing her graduation!”

Deciding that arguing that it wasn’t my fault wouldn’t get me anywhere, I quickly headed upstairs only to pass Connor on the way. I shot him a glare as he slid by and continued on up and came to a stop outside of Aislinn’s room. I allowed myself a moment to just take her in.

Aislinn Munroe made my heart pound every time I saw her. She was, without a doubt, the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. Even when she was in the middle of an ‘Aislinn Fit’ she was stunning. At the moment, she was pacing back and forth in her room as she muttered about assholes, pricks, and best friends. I couldn’t be sure if I fell into any of those, but figured I’d have to find out.

“Sweetheart? What’s going on?”

She whirled around in surprise before she narrowed her eyes at me. Okay. So, maybe I was part of that trio? Which one of them did she place me in was the question.

“Nothing! I’m fine!” she snarled before she stomped over to her dresser and took off her mortarboard. “Peachy, in fact.” I raised an eyebrow at the sarcasm that couldn’t be missed in that statement.

I stared at the black graduation cap with its burgundy tassel as it sailed across the room to land on her bed before I turned to her. She paced once again, her black graduation robe flapping wildly around her. The burgundy and gold sashes indicating she graduated with honors tangled up in the robe with each spin. I smirked. “Yeah, you look fine.”

She spun, shot me a dirty look, and then stomped over to the bed. She turned back to me then pointed to the door. I looked at her in confusion. She gave a frustrated sigh and then said, “Uh, you can go?”

I know I looked at her like she had lost her mind. “No.”

“No?”

“Correct. Let’s go,” I said while I jerked a thumb to indicate us leaving.

“Maybe you didn’t hear me,” she said with her hands on her hips, “so I’ll repeat it. I’m not going.”

I scrubbed my face with my hands with a sigh before I looked at her. “Okay, nope. This is not gonna happen,” I informed her and strode over, bent and picked her up over my shoulder and stood up. I grabbed the mortarboard, her bag, and walked out and down the stairs. I ignored her threats and screeching as I passed Meagan and Connor as they both stood in the front hall with mouths gaping open. When I made it to the door, I turned and looked at them. “Coming? We need her there in fifteen minutes,” I said then took my wildcat out to the car.

She might have been pissed at me, but that evening as she walked across the stage, she outshone everyone else around. I knew at some point I would be made to pay for what I did. I looked at it as a means to an end, however. More than likely, we’d have a repeat of it at some point too. She was going to keep me on my toes, no doubt about it.

After all the pictures were taken, I walked up behind Aislinn and wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her back to my chest. I felt a bit of relief when she immediately relaxed back into me. I nuzzled into the crook of her neck and kissed it. I felt her shiver and I let a smug smile spread across my face. But then the moment re-established itself.

“I’m proud of you, sweetheart,” I told her. She shrugged and I felt myself get annoyed. “Don’t do that. You busted your ass! You deserved that shit up there!”