Sudden Response

  to get a bite to eat.

  Now she was hungry, cranky and in no mood for another minute of listening to another "Whacker" story. She just wanted to go to her hotel room, shower, change and go out for the night. Of course with her luck she'd run into him wherever she went.

  When he called her name she pretended that she didn't hear him and jumped into her car. Thank god she'd come straight here otherwise she would have had to walk the quarter mile back to the hotel room and he'd catch up with her. She really hoped he wasn't staying at the same hotel that she was.

  Two minutes later she was groaning when she spotted his beat up green pickup truck pulling into the hotel parking lot right behind her. Would this day never end? she wondered. She shut down the engine, grabbed her bag and made a mad dash for the hotel lobby, hoping it would be a quick check-in so that she could escape to her room. Then again the way her luck was going he'd probably end up being her neighbor. She sent up a silent prayer that that wasn't the case as she opened the hotel lobby door and nearly tripped over her own feet.

  Nathan and Eric were sitting in dainty chairs that looked really uncomfortable as they were forced to watch some daytime talk show. She ran her eyes quickly over their faces and noted a few bruises and cuts and wondered about that, but just as quickly pushed her curiosity aside.

  "Hey, Joe! Wait up," Alex called, drawing Nathan and Eric's attention.

  Nathan looked relieved to see her and Eric looked pissed as his eyes shifted from her to the guy trying to get her attention. She was just about to ask them why they were there when Nathan walked over and put his arm around her and gave her a gentle tug in the direction of the hotel clerk.

  "Let's check in, shall we?" Nathan asked cheerfully. When she tried to look back at Eric he gave her another gentle tug in the direction of the hotel clerk.

  "What's going on?" she asked as she pulled out her license and the credit card she used to hold the room.

  "Nothing much," Nathan said, shrugging. "We thought we'd come up and see how the fish were biting."

  "Okay," she said slowly, sneaking a peek to find Eric leaning against the wall near the elevators as he glared at something behind her. Frowning, she looked back to find Alex standing behind her and looking eager to continue where they left off.

  Silently groaning, she signed her slip, bit her lip when Nathan asked for two key passes to her room and once again wondered when this nightmare would end. She didn't think Eric would bring Nathan up here if he wanted to be with her, which meant he brought Nathan up here for moral support.....for her.

  That kind of pissed her off since she'd already figured things out for herself. She didn't need him coming up here and wrecking her already boring weekend with this drama. He didn't want her? That was fine with her. He could tell her and then go on his merry way and she'd work him out of her system starting tonight.

  "Let me carry that for you, Joe," Alex said smoothly as he picked up her bag and gestured towards the elevator. He either didn't notice that Nathan was standing next to her or was cocky enough to have already dismissed Nathan, probably the latter.

  "No need. I've got it," Eric said coldly as he grabbed the bag away from Alex.

  "Who the hell are you?" Alex demanded, crossing his large arms over his chest as he tried to glare up at Eric.

  "Her boyfriend, asshole, so move along," Eric said, shocking the hell out of her.

  Alex turned accusing eyes on her. "You didn't say anything about a boyfriend."

  She opened her mouth to inform the man that he'd never asked. Hell, he never let her get a word in edgewise. Not that she would have claimed Eric was her boyfriend when he'd made it more than obvious that there would never be anything more between them. But before she could say anything Nathan smoothly stepped in.

  "She doesn't talk about him because she's ashamed of him."

  Joe couldn't help but nod in agreement. "It's true. I am."

  Eric snorted at that as he gave her hand a gentle tug towards the elevator. She couldn't help but feel a little awkward when Nathan and a pouting Alex joined them and Eric still didn't let her hand go. She dared a glance at Nathan to see how he was taking all of this only to catch the man grinning hugely.

  She didn't know what was going on, but right then she didn't care. As soon as she got into her room she was taking a hot soothing bath and then she was going out. Whatever brought Eric and Nathan up here could damn well wait until tomorrow, she decided as the elevator doors slid open and Alex practically stomped off.

  Biting back a few choice words, she pulled her hand away from Eric, grabbed her bag and followed the signs to her room, hoping the guys got the hint and left her alone. So when they followed her into her room she couldn't exactly say she was really all that surprised.

  "Get out," she said, not bothering to look at them as she tossed her bag on one of the double beds and began to dig out the things she'd need for a bath.

  "No can do," Nathan said, walking past her to drop down on the other bed.

  She turned her glare on Eric who was glaring right back at her like she'd somehow pissed him off. She wasn't the one who gave him the brush off after the most incredible night of her life. No, that was all him. Did he really think that she'd be happy to have him come all the way up here to give her the bad news? Was she receiving special treatment because of their friendship? Knowing him, probably.

  "You didn't have to come up here to do this. I got the hint this morning," she stressed, hoping he'd get the hint and get out of here. She really didn't want to talk about this in front of Nathan if she could help it.

  "Yeah, I saw," he said tightly. "Who was the asshole?"

  When she could only frown he added, "The asshole sniffing around you downstairs."

  "Just a whacker from class," she said, sighing. "Now that you know that, both of you can get the hell out of my room."

  Eric stubbornly shook his head. "Sorry, like Nathan said we can't do that."

  "And why's that?" she asked, grabbing her things and headed for the bathroom, hoping they would be gone by the time she was done.

  "Because there are no other hotel rooms available. Looks like we're sharing."

  ********

  "You know, you were right," Nathan mused as he lounged back on the bed. "You really suck at this."

  Eric flipped him off before following Joe into the bathroom. When she tried slamming the door in his face he shoved it open enough so that he could step inside. Then he shut and locked the door behind him.

  "Get out," Joe said, sounding pissed when she sure as hell didn't have the right to.

  The entire ride up here he'd been a nervous wreck, but an excited nervous wreck. He couldn't wait to see her and tell her that he wanted to give this a shot and of course Nathan tagged along to watch the whole thing. Nosey bastard, but he was glad that the man came along. At least having him around would give him an ally, something he sorely needed at the moment.

  "No, you and I need to talk," he said, expecting her to yell at him or throw something at him like most of his ex-girlfriends would have done, but instead she gestured for him to get on with it.

  "I got the message loud and clear this morning, Eric. There really was no need for you to come all the way up here," she said, turning her back on him to start a bath.

  "I'm sorry about that," Eric said, at a loss for words to make up for hurting her.

  "It's fine," she said, shrugging it off the same way she began to shrug out of her clothes.

  It was a bit distracting and he wished she wouldn't do it, but he kept his mouth shut about it. The last thing he needed was to really piss her off. He needed to fix this and quickly.

  "I love you, Joe," he told her, wishing like hell that he knew what to say to convince her to give him a chance.

  She sighed as she settled into the bubble filled bathtub. "I know," she said softly. "I love you too, Eric, which is why I'm not going to push you into anything that you don't want. I'd rather be your friend than lose you," she said, s
ounding miserable.

  "And I'd rather have you, Joe. I'm in love with you and I want to be with you, Joe," he said, praying that she gave him a chance. He'd already fucked up so badly and didn't know what he'd do if she told him to fuck off.

  He went to the tub and got on his knees and barely resisted the urge to take her in his arms. "I know I don't have the best track record for dating, but you have to know that I would never treat you that way."

  "How can you be so sure?" she murmured, drawing her knees up and hugging them to her chest.

  "Because they weren't you, Joe. I didn't want them the way that I want you and I sure as hell didn't love them. I love you, Joe, and I want to be with you," he said, unable to resist the urge to skim his fingers over her delicate jaw.

  When she didn't say anything for a minute he shifted nervously, racking his brain for a way to get out of his hole he'd dug himself into. Just when he decided to go ask Nathan since the man knew what the hell he was doing when it came to dating, Joe let out a long drawn out sigh.

  "I'm willing to give this a chance, but you should probably know that if you treat me like crap then I'll have no choice but to kick your ass."

  He nodded solemnly even as his lips tipped up into a smile. "That's a fair warning."

  "I thought so," she agreed even as she reached for him. Not that she had to since he was already moving to pull her into his arms. He leaned in to kiss her when the banging on the door started.

  "I'm hungry!" Nathan bitched.

  "So? Go get something and leave us the hell alone!" Eric snapped, moving in to kiss Joe's sweet lips.

  "You promised to buy me a steak dinner if I came up here with you," Nathan pointed out.

  "I lied!"

  He ignored the gasp of shocked outrage and closed the distance between them and nearly groaned at the taste of her.

  "You lying bastard!"

  "You know you're buying me a steak dinner, don't you?" Joe whispered against his lips.

  He couldn't help but chuckle against her lips. "I knew you were a little gold digger."

  Chapter 24

  "I want to go home and go to bed," Joe said, knowing she was whining, but couldn't help it. After an eight hour class and a two hour drive she wanted nothing more than to go home and go to bed.

  Okay, so maybe that wasn't the only reason she was tired. Since Eric gave her the shock of a lifetime on Friday they'd been inseparable once again. That is when she wasn't stuck in class. They went for walks, talked, went out to eat, went dancing, and cuddled and whispered most of the night while Nathan snored a few feet away. They hadn't had a chance to make love since they decided to give this relationship a chance and she fully planned on rectifying that just as soon as she found a way to get out of this and get some sleep.

  "Can't," Eric said, reaching back and grabbing her hand when she tried to make her escape. "Mom called a family dinner."

  "But I'm not hungry. I'm tired. Can't she call a family nap instead?" she asked, sounding hopeful.

  Eric simply chuckled as he threw his arm around her and herded her towards the door. She waited for Nathan to open the front door before she tried to pull away again, but Eric simply tightened his hold around her and pulled her into the house.

  She loved Alice, she really did, but she was so damn tired. She hadn't slept much during their twenty-four hour shift on Wednesday and got even less sleep during the next night when they came together and even less during the weekend. It was a struggle just to stay awake at the moment. All she wanted to do was sleep.

  "This is too perfect," Nathan said, chuckling softly as he stepped into the kitchen in front of them.

  Biting back a yawn, Joe followed him into the kitchen wondering what was so amusing when she saw it, or rather her. Sitting at the table chatting with Alice was a twenty-something bleach blond woman wearing an eye catching blouse that sadly didn't have much cleavage to fill it out and a calculating expression that landed on Eric.

  Why hadn't she realized this was why Alice called a family dinner? Because she'd been too exhausted to think straight. Well, it looked like Alice was making another attempt to fix Eric up and she suddenly found herself very much awake and ready to be entertained. Was it wrong to start a relationship by screwing him over?

  She didn't think so.

  Just because they were free to be with each other and didn't have to hold anything back shouldn't mean that they couldn't have a little fun and judging by the look the woman was sending Eric she was going to have a lot of fun.

  "Amber, this is my son Nathan and my Joe," she said, gesturing towards her and she didn't miss the look of dismissal the woman gave her before it shifted right back to Eric, "and my son Eric that I was telling you about."

  Joe didn't even bother hiding her grin as she ducked out from beneath Eric's arm and avoided his mad grab. "It's nice to meet you, Amber," she said sweetly as she sent Eric an evil little grin and eyebrow wiggle.

  "Very nice to meet you, Amber," Nathan seconded, sending her a wink.

  This really was going to be so much fun, she decided as she took a seat next to Alice and gave the older woman a kiss on the cheek. She wasn't too surprised when Eric tried to yank Nathan out of the way so that he could sit next to her, but Nathan was fast. He had his butt in the seat next to hers and his arm draped over the back of her chair in seconds.

  Eric glared at Nathan as he reluctantly sat down in the only other chair available, the one right next to Amber. As soon as Eric sat down she shifted her chair closer to him.

  "What's for dinner, mom?" Nathan asked.

  "I thought we'd order in. What are you in the mood for?" she asked brightly as she watched Amber and Eric with a pleased little smile.

  "I could go for Chinese," Joe said, deciding that now that she got her second wind she was hungry.

  "Pizza," Nathan said, giving a strand of her hair a playful tug.

  She noticed that Amber squished her face up in disgust. Alice must have noticed it as well. "What would you like, Amber? Chinese or pizza?"

  "Neither actually. There's too many carbs and fat. But I know a great tofu place," she added with a smile that clearly stated that she always got her way and this time would be no different.

  As much as she'd love to screw over the guys, she was not a tofu kind of girl. The one time she tried tofu she ended up slapping a hand over her mouth as she made a run for the bathroom. The matching grimaces on the guys' faces told her exactly what they thought on the matter. Even Alice had a hard time biting back a grimace.

  "What about the Chinese buffet on Harrison Street? That has a tofu and sushi bar," Eric said, already getting to his feet. Nathan sighed with obvious relief as he got to his.

  "That sounds great," Alice said, latching onto the choice that would save them all from eating things that scared them.

  The only one that didn't get up was Amber. She crossed her arms over her chest, looking putout as she explained, "But it's not organic."

  "Hmmm," Alice said, looking thoughtful and making Eric look nervous and for good reason. The woman was up to something and they all knew it. The only question at the moment was how hard was this going to make Nathan and her laugh.

  "Why don't you take Amber to the restaurant that she feels more comfortable with and Nathan, Joe, and I will grab something to eat and meet you at the movies," Alice suggested.

  "Movie?" she said at the same time as Nathan and Eric.

  "Since when are we seeing a movie?" Eric demanded, shifting away from Amber as she sent a smug smile his way. Seriously, where did Alice find these women? Even though it entertained her, it was a bit creepy.

  "I think it would be a nice chance to spend some time together," Alice said in that motherly tone that none of them dared argue. It didn't matter that they all saw each other at least twice a week, Alice wanted to go the movies then they were going to the movies.

  "That sounds like fun," she said brightly, sending Eric another evil little smile that was met with a scowl.


  "Fine, but Nathan should bring Amber since he loves tofu," Eric explained as he reached out and grabbed Nathan by the arm and yanked him out of his way. In seconds he was by her side with his arm around her. The glare Amber sent her way was a little concerning, but she shrugged it off mostly because the woman was providing her with free entertainment.

  "No, I don't. I love Chinese," Nathan grumbled.

  "Don't be silly, Eric. You take Amber out and we'll meet at Emerald Cinemas at nine," Alice said, grabbing her purse off the kitchen counter and heading towards the living room door as if