Hidden Barriers (19 page)

Pushing Lucy’s long blonde curls away from her face as she stands in front of me, I answer, “You know I love you, Juicy Lucy. And, how many times have I outed you about your sexcapades on Derby Date Night? Just ‘cuz I don’t kiss and tell doesn’t mean I’m mad at you for saying something.”

A sweet smile breaks across her face as she goes to grab her roller skates from her bag. Looking back at me, she says, “Well, you look gorgeous. If your face doesn’t bring in the hot guys to our events this year, then I can just assume I’ll be hitting on the chicks this season.”

“Lucy!” I wail at the thought. “You wouldn’t. Would you? Have you?” Curiosity is getting the better of me as I scan the derby practice center making sure the rest of the girls are out of earshot. Too many of the girls in derby bat for the other team, Kim being one of them. We don’t judge, but Lucy has always been a fan of the male specimen. After this morning, I can’t say I blame her.

“A lady doesn’t kiss and tell, Sam,” Lucy professes with a straight, unknowing face. She winks as she finishes tying up the laces on her skates. “C’mon, Sweet Cheeks. It’s time for you to shine.” I guess that means she’s tested those waters at some point. Shaking my head, I stand from the chair I’ve been in for a half hour. My skates already fastened and ready to go, I roll over to the team and prepare for the onslaught of questions I’m sure will come sooner or later about the new guy in my life.

Practice is going well. Well, it is going well for the others. I thought once I recovered from the shoulder injury that wearing the support strap would allow me to fully participate just as I used to. Little did I know, derby practice, spin class, kickboxing, and sex all in one day, do not make for a happy vagina. Who knew?!

I’ve been sitting out for the last half hour of practice watching as everyone works on the new plays for the season. I watch and learn while chewing away on my mouth guard and spinning my helmet on the floor. Dee whistles away as the C-Naughties practice against the Mass-holes, and Lucy fills in as jammer while my vagina gets a rest.

Getting antsy sitting on the bench, I roll over to Dee to observe the bout better. The whistle dangles from her lips before she blows it for the end of the jam after Lucy pushes past Dirty Gerty, the jammer for the Mass-holes, to win the session for the C-Naughties. Everyone is cheering at the end of the track, but Dee eyes me and rolls over.

“Did you really finally find that someone special?” she questions as she starts removing her gear. Watching her toss everything into her bag, I contemplate my answer. Was Josh that
someone special
?

“I guess I did,” I say, curious as to how deep my feelings are for him. I suppose I’m getting in deeper by the minute. First, I become a crying mess, and he sticks around. Then, I tell him the truth about my past, and he’s still with me. And then, he admits that he hasn’t dated anyone since high school until me.

Yeah, I’m in deep. I just hope he doesn’t break my heart too badly.

Sunday rolls around in no time. I promised Sam I’d help her at Vines, so I’m walking down the street toward downtown. She wants to move around the furniture to help create more space for her increasing number of customers. Once she decided to have open mic night and add a variety of beers to the drink menu, her clientele nearly doubled.

It’s still early, so the bar isn’t open to the public yet. When I’m out front, I knock on the glass door to get Sam’s attention inside. Her smile broadens as she nears me, and my body reacts to the anticipation of touching her again. I’ve had to work the past couple of days, so I haven’t seen her since the other morning. Talking on the phone is nothing compared to seeing her smile and hearing her laugh inches from me.

Sam unlocks the door and pulls it open. I walk in before she turns and locks it behind me. She moves past me, swaying her hips toward the back of the room without giving me any attention. What the fuck? Her fingers snapping break me from my wandering thoughts of thinking the past few days with her were all a dream when she orders, “Okay, hop to it, Page. I don’t have all day while you stand over there dilly dallying and watching my ass.” Her face doesn’t hide her playful humor behind her demands.

I cross the room quickly until I’m next to her. “Face it, sugar. You just want to look at my perfect ass bending over for the next hour.” I remove my coat and toss it onto the bar top, rolling up my sleeves to my elbows while eyeing Sam as she watches me ready myself for some manual labor. “All right, let’s do this,” I say as I grab my phone and turn on the music. Before I hit
Play
, I catch her out of the corner of my eye watching me. I tilt my head in her direction, giving her a devilish smile. “See something you want?” I tease as I turn to her, wrapping my arm around her waist to pull her close.

“I’m not sure. You’re wearing way too many clothes at the moment for me to make a decision like that,” Sam says as she runs her hands up my chest and around my neck. I already want to toss her ass onto the bar and fuck her naked body against the cold granite top.

I lean down with my mouth hovering over her ear. “You know you want me with or without clothes on. Face it. You want me bad, don’t you?” Her body shivers at the slight touch of my lips to her skin. “Tell me, Sam. What do you want me to do for you today?” She moves away, just enough to put a slight distance between us.

Tapping her finger over her straight lips, she replies, “Hmmm, well, I could really use a pair of strong hands to help tackle a nagging issue I’ve had the past couple of days.”

“Is that so? I’m pretty sure you’ve come to the right person. My hands are known to alleviate all kinds of issues these days,” I respond, chuckling as I lean down to place a gentle kiss on her lips before telling her, “I’ve missed you.”

“It’s been three days. You did not miss me,” she answers in disbelief.

“I did. Why else would I agree to come here to help you move furniture? I’ve missed seeing the face that goes with that sweet mouth of yours,” I say, trying to convince her she’s worth every minute of my spare time. My smile clearly comforts her as she moves to start stacking the smaller side tables.

I press the
Play
button on my phone, and “Do I Wanna Know” by the
Arctic Monkeys pumps through the bar as I turn to help Sam with the monotonous task of furniture moving. After moving my entire apartment two months ago, this is the last thing I want to do on my day off. But, for her I’ll do just about anything.

Now, early afternoon, I sit at the bar enjoying a beer while my phone continues to blow up. Courtney has repeatedly called and texted me the last few hours wondering why I am not at my parents’ house for dinner. Evidently, no amount of
I don’t want to see her
is going to get her to stop nagging me. I’ll get there eventually.

I did my part and went over to see Jeremy and Emily the other day before I went to work. The two of them seem to be back on the right track, and if it’s even possible, more in love with each other. It was maddening to sit there and watch those two not go at least five minutes without displaying some form of affectionate touch or tender kiss. It won’t be too much longer before he finally proposes to her. Lord knows he screwed that up months ago when he bought the ring and pussied out, but he’s more focused now than before. He knows what he wants for his future, and he’s never letting it go. Finally, he’s listening to my advice. Maybe I should try that someday.

Cara and Sam continue their conversation behind the bar as I dodge the latest phone call from Courtney. Acoustic music fills the air as I laugh along with the girls. The front door bell jingles as I bring my beer to my lips.

“Joshua Page! You have some explaining to do!” I hear the voice shout as I catch the movement from the corner of my eye.

Shit.

I turn suddenly, and I see her slam her purse onto the bar next to me. “Hey, Court. How’s it going? Ummm, how did you find me?”

“Well, let’s see. Since you’ve refused to answer your phone, I was forced to drive to your townhouse. You know, the one that’s like ten minutes from our parents’ house? Your roommate was extremely helpful in providing your whereabouts after I threatened to chastise him. Which, by the way, why did he think I should be a redhead?”

Fuck! I glance over at Sam, who stares at Courtney with narrowed eyes, as confusion
scrolls across her face. They are going to have to meet, and once Courtney knows this is
the Samantha,
it’s over. She will have no problem taking over in her matchmaking efforts and pull her in for good.

Sam moves over in my direction, stopping on the other side of the bar from me as she leans on her elbows. My mind suddenly envisions all the wrong ways this could go as she extends her hand toward Courtney. “Hey, I’m Sam, and you might be?”

Courtney’s eyes glow at the moment she realizes who Sam is. “Wait. You’re Sam?
The
Sam
?” Sam’s face nods slowly, still unsure who this strange girl is sitting here in her bar. Courtney jumps up on the bar stool next to me as she reaches out for Sam’s hand. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry. I’m Courtney, Josh’s little sister.”

Sam looks at me for verification. “It’s true. Unfortunate, but true.”

And, here we go.

The two of them continue for what seems like forever, talking about anything and everything. Courtney tries her best to get Sam to agree to come over to my parents’ house for dinner this afternoon with the entire Page family. I have to axe that idea almost instantly. There is no way Sam is ready for that. Baby steps are clearly the way to approach this situation. Courtney being here now is just enough of the Page interrogation she can handle.

My cell phone sits on the bar between Sam and me and suddenly comes to life. Sam glances down at the screen and stops mid-sentence with Courtney. Her face blanches, and her eyes immediately sadden. Then, she looks at me through saddened eyes that quickly fill with scorn. What the fuck just happened? I look down at my phone, reading what caused her sudden change in mood.

I’m waiting for you if you still want what you had the other night.

If the words don’t make this situation bad enough, I’m pretty sure the close-up picture of Tarryn lying on her bed cupping her naked breasts might have done it.