A Perfect Ten

  “Sander, get up,” Caroline ordered, sounding very annoyed. “I can’t believe you actually thought I had any of that money left. I mean, hello, look around you. Do you think this house was free? Do you think my three brothers are cheap to take care of? It’s been a year. That money is long gone.”

  “Not that she would’ve given any of it to you anyway,” I felt the need to add.

  “Shit,” Sander hissed just as the back door reopened and Noel stepped outside.

  I was so happy to see him I damn near giggled.

  “Hey, honey!” I called brightly. “You’re home early. And here I didn’t even get to put a bow on the gift I have for you.”

  Scotini glanced from Noel to me and then sent Caroline a scandalized glance. “Oh my God. Your brother’s gay?”

  Really? I turned to her too, and with the same tone, I said, “Oh my God. Is he fucking stupid?”

  She just sighed, looking a little ashamed, as if embarrassed she’d ever had anything to do with such a brainless douche.

  “Ten?” Noel strode over, scowling hard. “What the hell are you doing? Aspen called at work, saying you were beating the shit out of some stranger in our backyard. So, I come home to find this. Who is this guy?”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “Well, why don’t I introduce you, buddy. This here is Sander Scotini.”

  Noel pulled back in shock and stared at Scotini before a small smile lit his face. “Is he really?”

  I nodded. “And Sandy,” I said, picking the little shit up off the ground, by his hair. “Meet Caroline’s overprotective, homicidal big brother, Noel Gamble.”

  The back door opened again. “Noel?” Aspen called, looking worried while Noel cracked his knuckles and stepped menacingly toward Scotini. “Is everything okay? Should I call the police?”

  “Who’s she?” Scotini asked.

  “That’s my wife,” Noel intoned. “Don’t fucking look at her.” Then he called over his shoulder, “No, baby. We got this.”

  Scotini glanced at me. “If he’s Noel, then who’re you?”

  “I’m Ten.”

  He blinked, honestly clueless. “Ten what?”

  “Ten seconds away from putting your parents out of their misery for having an idiot for a son. Jesus. Catch up, already.”

  “Wait, did he piss his pants?” Noel asked, suddenly taking a cautious step back.

  I lifted my hands, proud of myself. “Of course he pissed his pants. I’m a badass motherfucker. I got this intimidation shit down.”

  Noel shook his head, seemingly disappointed. “Well, hell. I can’t hit him now.”

  “Can I hit him?” I asked.

  “Ooh.” Brandt eagerly jumped forward. “I want to hit him, too.”

  Noel sighed and set his hands on his hips as he gazed at the pathetic-ness that was Sander Scotini. “What the fuck is he even doing here?”

  “Mommy and Daddy finally got tired of his shit, I guess, and cut off his play money, so he came crawling to Caroline to beg for some of her hush-hush-go-away payment.”

  “Oh, hell to the no,” Noel murmured. “You are not getting one cent from her, you little fucktard. And if you want to live to see your next breath, you will leave here now and never come back. In fact, if you ever try to contact Caroline again, you’re dead. Got it?”

  When Scotini didn’t respond within two seconds except to glance beseechingly at Caroline, Noel growled. “Damn it, you looked at her. Brandt, go inside and get my gun.”

  “Shit!” Scotini yelped, holding up his hands and backing away. “Oh, fuck. Don’t shoot. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I’ll go. I’ll never come back again. I’ll never talk to her again. I swear to God.”

  “Then go,” Noel roared.

  Scotini turned tail and half sprinted, half hobbled from the yard.

  After he was gone, Brandt glanced up at Noel. “I didn’t know you had a gun.”

  Gam shrugged. “I don’t.”

  We all had to chuckle about that. When I couldn’t help it any longer, I let my attention slide to Caroline. She seemed to be okay after what had just happened, but I still hated the fact that I couldn’t physically go to her.

  As if feeling my gaze on her, she blew out a breath and looked up.

  “How much of that money do you really have left?” I asked, needing a reason to talk to her.

  Her scheming grin was downright gorgeous. “Oh...about fifteen grand.”

  My mouth fell open. “Holy shit.” Then I smiled and shook my head. “Sweet.” I held out my hand for a congratulatory fist bump. I wanted to grab her, yank her close and kiss the fuck out of her when she pressed her knuckles to mine. But yeah...Gamble was right there.

  “Why don’t you two go inside,” he ordered Brandt and Caroline, motioning them toward the door as if he were herding cattle. “I gotta get back to work. I left Quinn at the bar alone.”

  Caroline sent me one last glance but finally nodded and followed her brother into the house.

  I watched her go as a sinking feeling struck that Gamble was going to start talking the moment the door shut, leaving the two of us alone out here. Scared he’d seen something in the way I’d looked at her or could tell how I felt about her from the way I’d treated Scotini, I sucked in a bolstering breath and faced him, ready for a punch in the gut, or face, or—God I hoped not—the junk.

  Instead, he stuck out his hand. “Man...” After his own serious sigh, he added, “Thank you.”

  “Thank you?” I echoed stupidly.

  “Yeah. Thanks for being here for my family when I couldn’t be. You’re a real friend.”

  I stared at his hand, feeling so shitty and fake I could scarcely draw in a breath. When I didn’t shake with him within five seconds, he furrowed his brow. “What?”

  I shook my head. “Nothing.” After grabbing his hand and pumping, I pulled away. “But I didn’t do anything,” I finally added.

  “Yeah, you did. You kept him from coming into our house. You kept him away from Caroline. You kept him here until I could show up.”

  With a shrug, I glanced away. Yeah, I’d done all that. But I hadn’t done it for him. I hadn’t even thought of him.

  It struck me like a wrecking ball through the chest that I no longer valued my relationship with him more than I valued my relationship with Caroline. He wasn’t more important than she was to me. If I lost my friendship with Gamble after this, I could survive it. If I lost her, it would destroy me.

  Him finding out was no longer the biggest thing I was afraid of. So I opened my mouth, on the very brink of saying, I’m in love with your sister, when he blew out a breath.

  “You know what pissed me off the most about what he did to her?”

  I shook my head. “What’s that?”

  “That he kept her such a fucking secret. Her first boyfriend, and she probably wasn’t even allowed to talk to him in public, or fuck, even hold his hand.”

  My mind flittered to the moment I’d first taken her hand before introducing her to my parents. She’d been so unsettled by it; I knew he had to be right. Guilt crept over me. She still couldn’t hold her man’s hand in public, could she?

  “She’s probably never even been on a real date. Done anything the proper way it’s supposed to be done.”

  I closed my eyes. No, I’d never taken her on a date.

  Fuck.

  Noel clapped me on the shoulder, making me jump out of my fucking skin. My eyes flew open.

  “What’re you doing here, anyway?” he asked, eyeing me strangely.

  “I, uh...” My mind raced. I suddenly couldn’t remember why I was here. All I could see was Caroline’s face every night that I’d picked her up at the curb a block from her house. She always looked happy to see me, but there had to be a part of her that remained disappointed, rejected. Did she think I thought of her as some kind of dirty secret?

  “Ten?” Gamble waved his hand in front of my face.

  I blinked. “Sorry. I was...I was playing catch with Colton. He
wanted me to come over.”

  “Oh.” Gamble’s shoulders slumped, then his eyebrows lowered. “I didn’t know he was into that. He’s never asked me to play catch with him before.”

  “That’s because you still scare the shit out of him.” I shrugged. “Me, he thinks of as some kind of fun older brother.”

  “But I am his older brother.”

  With a sigh, I patted his shoulder. “Except you got a shit deal and had to be his parent too. He hasn’t had a great history with parents, so...naturally he’s going to be wary of you for a while.”

  When Gam’s face filled with pain, I bumped his shoulder again, a little harder this time. “Don’t sweat it, man. He’s already starting to come around. I was telling him about a few of your amazing football highlights earlier while we were tossing the ball around, and he seemed pretty impressed.”

  Gam’s lips tipped up, and hope entered his gaze. “Really?”

  I snorted. “Fuck, who wouldn’t be? Just give him a little more time. All right? He’ll warm up to you.”

  He nodded but had to add, “He took to Aspen almost immediately.”

  “Probably because she’s a hell of a lot prettier than you are.”

  This time, his mouth gave in to a full smile. “True.”

  With a slug to the shoulder, I waved him away. “Now, get back to work, asshole. Your family is safe and sound inside. You have nothing to worry about.” Except maybe an asshole best friend who’s completely defiling your little sister behind your back.

  Fuck, I was worse than Sander Scotini, wasn’t I?

  With a nod, he murmured, “Thanks, man.” Then he turned and trotted off.

  I watched him go, feeling like shit all over again. Okay, so I feared losing Caroline more than I feared losing him, but damn...I’d prefer not to lose either of them before this was said and done. Gamble was my best friend. And Caroline was my heart and soul.

  But I didn’t see how I could keep them both.

  Oren didn’t contact me after Sander’s visit. I expected a text, a call, something that night.

  I’m sure there was plenty he wanted to say, like, “What the hell did you ever see in that douche?” Or, “Please, fuck, tell me I’m better in the sack, or hung lower, than him.”

  Anything! But, nope, he went radio silent.

  I wasn’t sure what that meant. I wanted to talk to him, was dying to tell him that watching him toy with Sander had been sexy. He’d reminded me of a great lounging lion, or panther, one of those huge jungle cats, the type that didn’t just beat the shit out of its prey, but played with it first, picking it apart limb by limb. I have no idea why I thought that was hot, but I did.

  So now, I wanted to know if he was so disgusted by my past choice of boyfriends that he was done with me now, or what. Why wasn’t he freaking talking to me? To go from multiple texts a day to nothing scared the shit out of me.

  When he finally texted me fifteen hours after kicking Sander out of my backyard, I was a little too scared to read his message. What if it said something like, We need to talk? I didn’t want to have one of those talks. I wasn’t done with him yet.

  But I pulled on my big-girl panties—or at least my college-girl panties—and cracked open one eye to read it that way. When it said, Let’s go out today, the other eye popped open.

  “Huh?” Instead of texting back, I dialed his number. “What the heck are you talking about?” I demanded as soon as he answered.

  “What do you mean, what am I talking about? It wasn’t a complex question. Do you want to go out or not?”

  “What do you mean by go out?”

  “Out,” he repeated, sounding stumped. “Like...out. Outside. Out in public. Just...out.”

  “But...what...we can’t go out.”

  “Why not?”

  “B-because!” I sputtered. “What if someone saw us and told Noel? Heck, what if Noel saw us?”

  “I swear, Noel is the only person left on earth who doesn’t know about us by now, and I’m beginning to wonder why he doesn’t.”

  My mouth fell open. Had he just said what I thought he’d said? “What’re you saying? Do you want to tell him?”

  “Well, eventually, yeah.”

  “B-b-but do you want to tell him now?”

  He sighed before answering. Then he said, “Let’s just say I’m ready to tell him whenever you are.”

  Oh my God. My stomach churned with sudden nerves. I pictured Noel jacking Oren in the face and not stopping until my boyfriend landed in the hospital. Fear clutched my throat, and my palms went from hot sweat to cold panic. “So you’re ready to tell him?”

  “No,” he said steadily. “I’m only ready whenever you are.”

  I shook my head. “That’s not an answer.”

  “Well, tough shit, because it’s the only answer I’m giving you.”

  “Well, fuck you. I don’t like being put into the position where I’m the one making this decision.”

  “Well, I don’t like this conversation, period. I didn’t call you to fight. I just want to spend the fucking day with you because I didn’t get to see you all fucking night. I’m irritable and jealous as hell after meeting that fucktard you used to date, worrying myself crazy that you’re second-guessing your relationship with me after seeing him again, and I just want to spend the goddamn day with you. Okay?”

  He had diarrhea of the mouth or something. The words just started vomiting out of him until he had my head spinning.

  I finally lifted my hand and said, “Wait. Why would you even once think I’d second-guess our relationship after seeing him?”

  “I don’t know,” he muttered. “He was your first love, or whatever. You chicks get all sentimental and shit when it comes to your first loves, don’t you?”

  Why, yes. Yes, we did.

  “But Sander was not my first love. He was just some...stupid boy who smiled at a young, vulnerable, lonely girl starved for a little attention. He was a user and left me used. The only thing I feel for that douche is supreme satisfaction that you kicked him in the junk for me.”

  “Really?”

  I smiled and rolled my eyes. It completely boggled my mind that cocky, confident Oren Tenning was acting so uncertain. But then I remembered this was the first time he’d dared to open himself up to anyone and attempt a relationship since his sister’s death, since that one stupid whore who’d first had him had shattered his ego. Thinking of it that way, yeah, it made sense he’d have a few doubts.

  “Yes, really,” I murmured. “And yes, I’d love to spend the day out with you.” If Noel discovered us, I guess that was just a chance I was willing to take to show Oren I most definitely wasn’t having any second thoughts about him. Because he was my first love.

  “Cool,” he murmured as if trying to piece together his doubts and return to being confident Oren. “I have just the place to take you. There’s this park about an hour from here, near my hometown. It’s really nice and should be far enough away that your brother won’t learn about it. It’s by a river and there’s a carnival and little food kiosks, and—”

  “You mean Rainly Park?”

  “Oh, you’ve heard of it?” Disappointment filled his voice.

  “Yeah, sure. Noel’s taken us there a few times for family outings.”

  “That fucker,” he exploded. “I’m the one who took him there first. How dare he take you there before I could?”

  I grinned. “If it makes you feel better, I bet I’ll have a much better time there with you than I ever did with him.”

  “You’re damn right you will.”

  I laughed and he finally chuckled along with me.

  “Pick you up in an hour at our spot?” he asked.

  Pleasure bloomed in my chest. “Sounds great. I’ll see you then.”

  “Yes, you will. Lick you later, baby.”

  He took me to get corn dogs first, because he was starving, and while he snarfed down three to my respectable one (okay, fine, I stole half of his last corn dog
), we meandered around the craft booths, watching a few artists freestyle paint before I came across a vintage video stand.

  After flipping through a pile of old DVD and VHS cassettes, I found a readapted version of Disney’s Child of Glass and nearly wet myself. “Oh my God, I’ve been looking everywhere for this movie.”

  Checking out the cover, Oren snickered. “Wow. With the glasses that kid is rocking, I can see why it had your panties all wet.”

  I smacked his arm. “Hush. It’s a seventies movie. Everyone had tacky fashion sense back then.”

  “Yeah, I can tell. Honestly, if I ever wear a shirt like that, please shoot me and put me out of my misery.”

  “It was the storyline that hooked me, not what they wore.”

  “What was it about?” Oren took the DVD out of my hand and flipped it over to check out the back.

  I frowned. “You know, I can’t remember.”

  “Sounds titillating,” he intoned.

  I scowled and nudged his arm again, just to make myself feel better. “I was really young the last time I saw it. It was some kind of Saturday afternoon movie special on TV. I only got to see it once, but I remember just adoring it. I loved the name of the ghost. Inez Dumaine.” With a sigh, I grinned. “I built this dream in my head that I’d name a little girl Inez Dumaine if I ever had children.”

  Remembering I never would have children, my smile faded. Oren looked up from reading the back cover, and I could tell from his expression that he knew exactly what I was thinking.

  So I cleared my throat and kept talking. “Anyway, I loved her accent too. I loved the way she said the main boy’s name who was helping her. And I wanted to watch it again the next day, so Noel took me to our nearby movie rental place to get it, but they didn’t have it. We looked everywhere. I finally wrote a letter to Walt Disney and asked if I could buy a copy from them.” With a scowl, I added, “That bastard never wrote back.”

  “I’m going to kick his ass,” Oren promised, sounding dead serious.

  I cracked up and grasped his arm. “It doesn’t matter anymore. We have the movie now.”

  “Well, let’s buy this som’bitch and watch it tonight when we get home.”