Tear Down These Walls (16 page)

Carefully checking out all the paintings, Teagan whispers, “They are
beautiful.”

“I will make sure to tell her that,” Trent assures her. The pride in his
voice is apparent.

Teagan turns around and looks at pictures on the wall. There is a young
girl in a lot of them. She has black hair and brown eyes, and she looks a lot
like Trent. Teagan furrows her eyebrows. “Who is the little girl?”

“Oh,” Trent stammers, breaking eye contact with Teagan.  “My niece.”

“She looks like you,” Teagan notes, “A lot like you.”

“My younger brother resembles me quite a bit,” Trent murmurs.

Smiling, Teagan says, “She looks very sweet.”

“Kya is,” Trent laughs. “She can be a little hellion, too.”

“Can’t all kids?” Teagan jokes back. “I bet you are a great uncle. You
probably spoil her rotten huh?”

With a shrug, Trent replies, “I try to not spoil her, but she has this
look she gives me, and I melt.”

“I wish I had a look that would make guys melt,” Teagan grins naughtily.

Raising his eyebrow, Trent says, “Baby, you don’t need a look to make
guys melt.  Your beauty does that.”

“Awwww,” Teagan draws out. “Thank you.” She leans against the wall under
a picture of Kya, attempting to strike a pose, but failing miserably thanks to
the tequila.

Trent tries to conceal his laughter, “Well, it’s true.” Teagan’s head
starts to get foggy, and she laughs. “What’s so funny?” Trent asks her,
smiling.

She grins and says, “I’m feeling the tequila.”

“Well, come on, let me show you the rest of the house,” Trent offers.
Teagan continues to laugh as she runs over to him, turns him around, and jumps
on his back. He huffs. “Geez.”

“I’m not that heavy,” Teagan laughs.

“No, you’re not heavy at all. You just took me by surprise. Do I really
need to piggy back you through the house?”

“Yes,” Teagan whispers into his ear. She kisses him on the neck and then
rests her head on his shoulder.

He looks at her. “I thought you didn’t let guys touch you when you are
drunk.”

“I know you won’t try to get into my pants, so you’re the exception.”

“Oh thanks,” Trent chuckles. “All right, let’s go.” He carries her farther
down the hallway.

When they enter the kitchen, Teagan gasps, “Oh my gosh, I need to cook in
here!” All the appliances are new, shiny, and top of the line. “The things I
could create.”

“I like the sound of that,” Trent says cheerfully. “If you are as good of
a cook as you claim to be.”

“My mom taught me,” Teagan boasts. “I make masterpieces.”

“Awesome,” Trent quips. He turns and walks down into another hallway.
They come to a door, and he sets Teagan down. “This is where you are going to
be staying.” Opening a door, Trent waves Teagan inside.

It is a fairly large bedroom. The furniture is oak, but the room is
washed in soft colors and creams. “I expected more masculine furnishings.”

“I didn’t decorate in here,” Trent tells her. “My room is all dark colors
and meant for a guy.”

She nods and walks into the room slowly. “Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, stop asking,” Trent snaps playfully. “I wouldn’t offer if I didn’t
want you here.”

“Okay,” Teagan sighs. She turns and squints her eyes. “I feel like I am
forgetting something.”

“Like what?” Trent asks, leaning against the door frame.

“I think I was supposed to be doing something,” Teagan quips. Suddenly it
dawns on her. “VICTORIA!”

Trent furrows his eyebrows. “What about Victoria?”

“I was supposed to meet her at the bar! She is going to be freaking out!”
Teagan exclaims.

“Call her and explain what’s going on,” Trent replies.

“My phone is dead!”

He rolls his eyes. “I have one of those; come on.” Trent leads her back
into the kitchen and takes a phone off the wall. “Here.”

Teagan takes it and looks at it. “The buttons are blurry,” she laughs.
She dials a number and prays that Victoria answers.

It rings, and then a voice says, “Hello!?”

“Victoria, something horrible happened,” Teagan starts. “I won’t be
coming.”

“No crap!” Victoria yells. “Isaac and I went to your place to see if you
were okay.  What in the hell happened!?”

“Someone broke in and trashed my entire apartment,” Teagan
whimpers.  “Everything is ruined.”

“We saw. Where are you right now?”

Turning around, Teagan whispers, “I am at Trent’s. I’m staying here
tonight.”

“Really? Like in his bed?” Victoria’s smile can be heard over the phone.

“No,” Teagan hisses quietly, “In a spare bedroom.”

“Hold on.” She hears Victoria murmur in the background. “She is at
Trent’s.  Someone trashed her place.”

“Whom are you talking to?” Teagan giggles, as she feels more effect of
the tequila.

“Isaac,” Victoria answers. “Are you feeling all right? You sound funny.”

Teagan giggles even more. “I just downed a whole bunch of tequila. I
wanted to forget what was happening for tonight.”

“I say you jump into his bed and have Trent make you forget everything,”
Victoria laughs. “What, Isaac? She can if she wants to!”

“Shut up, Victoria,” Teagan snaps. “Just get off of it. I am not going to
have sex with Trent.” Trent’s eyebrows rise. Teagan grins and winks. He covers
his eyes and shakes his head. “Anyway, I’m all right. I am staying here
tonight,
in a separate bed.
I will call you tomorrow.”

“Be careful how much more you drink,” Victoria whispers. “You may lose
your scruples. Oh wait, drink more then.”

“You shut your mouth,” Teagan giggles. “I am going to go now.”

“Call me when you are sober in the morning!” Victoria demands.

With a nod, Teagan replies, “Yes ma’am!”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Teagan hangs up the phone and hands it to Trent. “Thank you.”

“No problem. How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good,” Teagan laughs, as she grins broadly. “What do you want to
do?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know.”

“Is there more to the house?”

“Not much, but yeah,” Trent says. “Come on.” She follows him down the
hallway.  “This is the guest bathroom.” He opens the door to reveal a
large bathroom. It looks like a spa; everything is clean and polished to the
hilt. Teagan thinks she may be able to see herself in the spigot if she looks
hard enough.

“That’s an impressive guest bathroom,” Teagan states, raising her
eyebrows. “How many rooms are upstairs?”

“Four, a bathroom and the master suite,” Trent answers. He turns and they
continue to the back of the house.

“What’s this door?” Teagan asks, as they walk passed.

“Nothing exciting, just the laundry room,” Trent replies. “This you may
like.” When they come to the double glass doors, he turns on a light. 

The backyard lights up. Teagan can’t see the end of the yard from where
she stands; it seems to go on forever. It has a veranda, fully stocked with a
large grill and patio set. There is a gazebo surrounded by a garden, but what
catches her eye is a Jacuzzi off to the right. She turns to him. “Is that thing
on?”

“It’s kept warm all the time,” Trent replies. “That’s why the cover is
on.”

“Sweet!” Teagan cheers. She opens the glass door and steps outside.

“What are you doing?” Trent asks, coming out behind her. She ignores the
caution in his voice.

“Getting into the hot tub,” Teagan laughs, as she strips off her shirt.

“TEAGAN! DEAR LORD!”

She turns around and grins. “What? I have a bra and panties on.”

“I thought you were bashful around guys!” Trent exclaims.

“You’re different,” she throws over her now-bare shoulder. “Plus, I am
getting more and more drunk as time ticks by. Go inside then.”

“Teagan, seriously,” Trent starts. “Put your clothes back on.”

She smirks and shakes her head. “No. Are you going to help me take the
cover off?”

“I’m not getting in there with you,” Trent declares seriously.

“Not asking you to,” Teagan retorts with a playful attitude. “I want to
go in there.”  She kicks off one shoe and then the other. Bending over she
takes her socks off.

“Teagan,” Trent says.

“Kellen Trent Grayson,” Teagan mocks back. “Be serious.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “If you strip naked, I am leaving you out
here by yourself.” Trent walks over and starts to undo the top of the Jacuzzi.

Teagan watches him and catches herself checking him out. Unbuttoning her
pants, she strips them off. Teagan mutters a prayer of thanks that she wore
cute underwear. “What am I doing?” she whispers to herself.

“Did you say something?” Trent asks, as he slides the cover off.

“Nope,” Teagan retorts. When Trent turns around, he falters and stares at
her.  “What?”

He looks up at the sky. “I haven’t seen a girl this unclothed in a long
time and especially not someone so damn sexy.”

Rolling her eyes, Teagan says, “We aren’t even going there. So, RELAX!”

Trent rubs his face and turns to the Jacuzzi controls. He starts the
jets. “It should be hot in a few minutes.”

“Awesome,” Teagan says, skipping over to him. She bends over and puts her
hand in the hot tub. “This is going to be great.”

“How drunk are you right now?” Trent looks at her.

“Pretty damn gone,” Teagan laughs and then sighs.

“I hope you don’t regret doing this in the morning.”

She turns to him. “As long as you don’t touch me, we will be fine.”

Trent puts his hands up. “The most I will do is carry you to bed if you
can’t get there yourself.”

“Thank you. It’s nice to not give a crap for a little while.”

“Well, I am happy that you aren’t giving a crap with me and not some
other guy,” Trent murmurs.

“I trust you,” Teagan states, staring at the swirling water. “That should
scare me.”  She shivers as the cold air rushes past her.

“Get in the water,” Trent instructs. “It’s too cold to be standing out
here in your underwear.”

Teagan grins and then climbs into the hot tub. She groans, “This is so
nice.”

“That’s why I own it,” Trent quips, leaning on the edge.

Teagan waves her hands through the ripples. “Are you coming in?”

“No,” Trent replies.

“Why?” Teagan asks, turning around.

“Because you’re a hot, practically naked woman, sitting in a hot tub. I
may be respectful, but I’m still a guy.”

She laughs. “Am I tempting the strong willed and controlled Trent
Grayson?”

“Definitely,” Trent replies, “But we have an agreement that we are going
to stay friends.”

“I want another drink,” Teagan declares, going up on her knees so that
they are face to face.

Trent shakes his head. “You don’t need any more liquor.”

“I want to forget everything,” Teagan retorts quietly. “I can still
remember.”

He stays there, staring into her eyes. Teagan’s mouth goes dry and
everything in her wants to lean into him and feel the press of his lips on
hers. She shakes her head, sits down, and turns around. “Do you really want
another drink?” He asks.

“No,” she squeaks. “I’m good.” Her head gets foggier, making Teagan slide
farther into the water.

“Be careful, I don’t want you to drown,” Trent states, putting his hand
on the top of her head.

“What?  No mouth to mouth?” Teagan pretends to pout, looking up at
him.

Trent looks down at her and shakes his head in amusement. “No.”

“So, how much is this going against your rules about fraternizing?”
Teagan asks with a huge grin.

“Oh, we are way passed any of that,” Trent laughs. “We bypassed that a
while ago.”

“Good,” Teagan giggles, splashing the water with her hands. “I want us to
be friends.”

“I think we are,” Trent replies.

Teagan nods. She is silent for a minute and then slurs, “I am feeling
more….and….more….drunk.”

“You are starting to slur your words. Maybe you shouldn’t be in the hot
tub.”

She yawns. “It’s okay. I would be better and safer if you were in here
with me.”

“No.”

“It was worth a try,” Teagan giggles, looking up at him. Trent shakes his
head.  Teagan sighs happily. Her vision suddenly starts to double, and she
grimaces. “Okay, maybe I am a little too drunk to be in here.”

“Will you be okay if I go get you a towel?” Trent asks.

She slowly nods, not wanting the world to start spinning beyond her
control. “Yeah.”

“Okay, don’t drown.” Trent turns and walks back to the house. Teagan
watches him go and laughs to herself. When he returns, he extends his hand.
“Come on out of there.”  When she stands up, Trent looks away and groans.

“What?” Teagan asks.

“Mmmm, let’s just wrap a towel around you,” Trent says, quickly throwing
the towel on her.

She wraps it around herself. “There, covered.”

“Okay, let’s get you inside and dressed.” Trent walks over and grabs her
clothes and shoes. Teagan skips after him. When they get in the house, Trent
looks at her. “You need to get that wet stuff off.”

“Want to help take it off?” Teagan teases. He gives her a look, and
Teagan scoffs, “Like I would really let you. PULEEZE! Good looking and
charismatic, yes you are, but you still aren’t getting anywhere near my nether
regions.”

Trent bursts out laughing. “Your nether regions?”

“Yes, my girly bits,” Teagan giggles.

“Oh my god, you are awesome,” Trent laughs some more, as his eyes tear
up. “We need to get you - and your girly bits - dressed.”

“I can do that thank you very much,” Teagan snaps playfully, as she grabs
her clothes from him. She saunters over to the bathroom. Turning she gives him
a seductive look and then walks in, slamming the door behind her. She drops her
clothes on the floor and laughs until she cries. Stripping off her bra and
panties, Teagan towel dries off. Putting her jeans back on while being damp and
drunk proves to be a challenge, but she finally dresses herself completely. She
throws her bra and panties over the top of the shower and heads back out into
the house.