“In truth, I should never have said what I did to
him. My words came from fear and more than a little bravado. I
lashed out and owe him a heartfelt talk and sincere apology for
being unnecessarily cruel. It would have been better to let him
walk away without saying a word. I'll call him later today and ask
him to come over for coffee sometime this weekend. It’s time he and
I resolved a few things, best done face-to-face, without
witnesses.”
Ken and David came in from the deck, sliding the
glass door closed behind them.
“I have to tell you, Teresa, I am worried you two
might kill each other.”
“I'll have Red referee, he'll love it.” I gave Janey
another quick hug and stepped back. Ken, ever the opportunist, came
up behind Janey and I could hear him smacking kisses on her. “Hey
Baby, wanna fool around?”
“Letch,” Janey returned, fondly. “Let's drive Teresa
home and drop David off at his hotel.”
“So, are you planning to let your brother move into
the spare room, or are you going to make him stay at the hotel? You
know you want to spend more time with him before he finds his own
place.”
“It was his idea to stay there. He's actually been in
town for a couple of days now and has been staying at the
Doubletree. He said he was here the morning I dropped you off,
while I was running errands. He was resting in the spare room and
heard you talking to Cat about me bringing Ken home. He decided to
take your advice and get out of the way so he could sleep.”
If I were the fainting type, I would have plopped
into an indelicate swoon at that point. I swear I could feel all
the blood leave my face, and I was betting my skin turned cold to
the touch. Yep, I could have happily let the ground swallow me up
at that moment.
I was able to contribute my sudden paleness and
clammy skin to being freaked out because there had been someone in
a room and I hadn't known it. It wasn’t necessary to explain the
confessions I made to Cat, my supposed audience of one.
Crap! I'd tried hard to never give Bas the ammunition
he might use to shoot me down. In one unguarded moment, I had laid
it all bare such that the one person who could hurt me the most
heard every word. I couldn't have felt more raw or exposed if I'd
stood naked, scars etched like angry graffiti into my flesh.
Hesitantly, I began to itemize my confession in what I thought was
an empty room. Oh my god! Mortified did not even begin to describe
the emotion.
Calling Bas to apologize was going to be the hardest
thing I had ever attempted to do. I couldn't be angry; it wasn’t
his fault. At no point would it have been okay for him to pop out
of the bedroom and say, “Hey stop, you're not alone!” I'm sure he
felt he was doing the nice thing by staying silent. It was only by
chance I even found out, since I'd asked about the hotel
accommodations.
I wanted to believe Bas was honorable enough to keep
my blathering to himself... if for no other reason than to
sideswipe me with the info at a later date when I was unprepared.
Asshole! After showing him the cutting edge of my tongue this
morning, I pessimistically expected no mercy.
Ken decided to stay at Janey's and clean up while she
dropped us off at our respective places of residence. He would pop
over to my house in a few hours to finish up the laundry he hadn't
done the day before, because I wanted the afternoon to myself.
David's hotel was closest, so we stopped there first.
He stepped out of the backseat on the driver's side and reached
through the driver window to give Janey and awkward one-arm hug. He
surprised me by coming around, opening the passenger door, and
asking me if I could step out for a moment.
Feeling a little bemused, and admittedly, still in
shock from the looping replay of what Bastian overheard, I stood up
and found my personal space being Invaded (yes, with a capital I).
Before I could register his intent, David had me pinned against the
back door, bracketed my face gently in his big hands, and tilted my
head up toward his warm and waiting mouth.
I was stunned by the gentleness, and underlying
hunger, as his lips parted mine and his tongue swept me away.
Ohhhhhh. Myyyyyy. The man had serious kissing skills. I also judged
him at a glorious 6'4” or taller, since I found myself rising up on
my toes for a better fit of my mouth against his. My hands clenched
at hips set several inches higher than my own.
He pulled away from my lips and let his breath fan my
face. My nose detected coffee and maple syrup. He brought his mouth
back to mine again; another kiss which caused my knees to buckle. I
was caught against his front, and it was a very nice front: hard,
solid, and with some intriguing contours. His chuckle was a
combination of triumph, pleasure, and need. The need was sexy.
“Dinner.” Soft kiss. “Tonight.” Softer kiss. “Pick
you up at five o’clock?” His mouth stopped tantalizingly close,
barely resting on my lips. The warm draft of his breath lightly
tickled my nose.
I'm pretty sure I whimpered. Geez, where had my brain
disappeared to? It had been here a moment ago.
I felt his lips quirk up in a smile. “The last part
was a question. You're supposed to give me an answer.” He enticed
me with a voluptuous kiss. “A really good answer would be, 'Yes,
David.'”
“Okay,” I responded, with a sigh against his awesome
mouth. Brain still too mushy to articulate the polite response he’d
been seeking.
David helped me back into the passenger seat. He
pressed a quick kiss on my nose, and told me he'd see me at
five.
Janey put the car in drive and inched away from the
curb. I turned to her and asked, “Did you get the number of the
big-assed truck that just hit me?”
“Oh, Girlfriend,” she sighed, “you've got your hands
full with that one.”
Soon after Janey pulled into traffic my brain
reengaged. Thankfully it wasn't gone; it had only short-circuited.
Silly brain.
“Side trip,” I told her. “We need to stop at the Evil
Empire,” a reference to my favorite big-box store. “I need a few
personal items and I don't want to send your lecherous boyfriend
out to get them.”
It was a beautifully warm day, mild for summer. I
wandered out to the back yard for a game of fetch with Red. It
didn't take us long to figure out I threw like a girl. Well, duh!
For some strange reason, I've always seemed to throw harder sidearm
than overhand; I was soon sending Red on some serious runs off into
the bushes.
Strength doesn't always equate to accuracy,
especially when the thrower is sight impaired. When he complained,
I gave Red a choice: he could either have a more challenging game,
or I could go easy on him and start making sissy tosses again. He
manned up and was soon racing off after another wild throw. It will
be our little secret my aim is much better than I let on. (Insert
devilish chuckle.)
After one particularly vigorous heave, I tugged my
cell phone out of my breast pocket and sat on the porch steps.
Janey had been considerate enough to program Bas and David's cell
numbers into my phone—speed dials 24 and 25 respectively. I took a
deep breath and made the dreaded call to Bastian, assuming he would
ignore my call and let it go to voice mail. If I were him, I
wouldn't want to be talking to me right now.
“Yeah.” he said abruptly, giving no indication he
knew it was me.
“It’s Teresa. I called to apologize,” I sighed, and
reminded myself to be the grown up. “I was out of line, and
unnecessarily rude. I'm sorry, Bas. We need to come to some type of
an accord. Janey is important to both of us and I'd like to think
we could try to be civil around her. I’m hoping you’ll agree to
come over for coffee this weekend, so we can talk.”
The silence on his end of the line was total. I
couldn't even make out any background noise, such as a TV or radio,
to indicate if he'd made it back to his room yet. “An accord, huh?
You're the only woman I know who not only understands that word,
but can use it properly in a sentence.”
Don't say it! The effort to comment about his type of
women was powerful and biting. If you can't say something
nice...
Hopefully correctly interpreting my quiet battle, he
tried again, “I'm actually a couple of houses away. I was on my way
over to apologize to you.” Totally did not expect that.
I closed my eyes, cringing inside that I'd have to
face Bastian so soon. Geez, it wasn't even noon yet. I hoped to
work my courage up over the course of a couple days.
A ball dropped lightly on my foot before Red leaned
his face up to mine and licked my chin,
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” I answered him, realizing too late the phone
was still next to my cheek, so I was answering Bas, also. In a
stronger voice I repeated, “Yeah. I'll put coffee on and see you in
a few minutes.” I disconnected the call.
While I prepared the coffee, I told Red about what
happened in the car earlier. He was all growly and protective,
which I found amusing and completely adorable. It was also
reassuring how much we had bonded in a matter of days.
“Don't
minimize my concern, Teresa,”
he chided me.
“This man
threatened you. He could be dangerous.”
“We've had our differences over the years, Red, but
he has never tried to hurt me. Remember when you told me if the cat
runs, you have the impulse to chase it? I was acting like a scared
cat. I think Bas couldn't help himself either. It doesn't make his
behavior right, but I’m very confident he won’t hurt me.”
The knock on the door was firm. Three sharp raps,
then silence. “Be nice,” I told Red, with a frown before opening
the front door. As I stepped back from the doorway, I greeted,
“Come on in, Sebastian.”
“You let just anyone in? How’d you know it was me?”
Charming, he was back to being Bas the Ass and I hadn't even closed
the door behind him yet. An oversight I remedied with a little more
force than was necessary.
“I recognized your knock; besides who else would it
be? You were minutes away, I was expecting you, and if you were not
you, I'd have my dog scare you away.” Red growled obligingly.
“Bastian, meet Red. Red, this is Bas, Janey's brother.”
Red stood attentively at my side. I thanked him for
the support with an affectionate scratch on the top of his head
with one hand, while indicating hooks by the door with the other
and suggesting Bas hang up his jacket, if he was wearing one. While
I listened to the rustle of fabric, I warned, “Be careful what you
say under your breath. Red's got great hearing and I don't want him
picking up new swear words.”
Bas chuckled, “You don't want me teaching your dog to
swear?”
“Red talks to me. Since you're family, in a matter of
speaking, I'm surprised Janey hasn't mentioned it to you yet.”
“Oh, Janey said you talked to your dog, she forgot to
mention he talks back.”
“Trust me, he talks back at every opportunity,” I
assured with a smile. “Coffee?” I wandered toward the kitchen and
Red fell into step beside me guiding my steps with his body. “Do
you still take yours black?”
“Black is fine, thanks.” His voice was getting closer
as he spoke. I poured coffee into two mugs using a combination of
long practice, and a fingertip curled over the edge to let me know
if I got too close to the rim. I held myself still as he reached
across me before turning at the waist to place the pot on the
heating element. “I've got them both,” he told me. “Table or
sofa?”
“Errrr, sofa is good.” I decided.
My dog tittered at me,
“He totally sniffed your
hair.”
“Did not!” I protested, sounding like a two-year
old.
“Didn't what?” Bas asked. His voice was projected
forward, so I knew he hadn't turned around or stopped on his way
into the living room. Red's fur against my leg was comforting, so I
gave in to impulse and ran my hand over his coat, scratching with a
little more force behind the ear.
“Red's being a trouble-maker,” I glared at the dog.
Total waste of time, as the hand I still had on his head was body
language not matching my words. It was becoming increasingly clear
Red was correct in his confusion about words and posture not
matching. Taking my hand away, I threatened, “We are going to have
words.”
Yep, I'm sure he just gave me a mental raspberry.
“And will the conversation involve withholding treats and doggie
bags?”
“Mmm, no. But, we could have a discussion about
neutering. You were mighty curious the other night.” I retorted
from my position of superiority.
Red stopped dead in his tracks.
“Now that's simply
mean. You can't threaten a trip to the vet every time I'm winning
an argument.”
His tone became cute.
“I am soooo looking at
you with adoring eyes. Your heart would be melting right now if you
could see me.”
“Don't try to get on my good side, you sweet talker.
You're stirring up trouble and you know it. Besides, you aren't
winning anything because there is no argument. Do you know why?
Because, I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.”
Oooh, I gave myself mental points for quoting my favorite coffee
mug. Who knew I'd be able to use it in a real quarrel?