Rett

  The girl who I now only remembered as the perfume girl spotted us across the room and walked over. Finley crinkled her nose.

  I leaned over. Her white-blonde hair smelled like honey. “You’re doing it,” I said quietly.

  “What?”

  “Crinkling your nose.” Perfume girl reached us just as I finished.

  Finley looked up at me from beneath her long bangs. “That was an automatic physical response because extreme fragrance conditions were descending upon us.” She smiled at the girl. “Hey, Tricia.” And now her name came back to me.

  Tricia leaned forward and they air-kissed. Finley took a discrete swipe at the cloud of perfume left behind, and Tricia immediately turned her focus to me. “Barrett, I’m just heading out to the hot tub. Why don’t you walk me out there?” She spoke to me as if Finley was no longer standing there.

  I lifted my beer. “Still working on this. Why don’t you go ahead. Not sure if I’m in the hot tub mood.”

  Finley placed her hand on my arm, and I stared down at her slim fingers on my skin. I’d had Tricia’s hand caress my thigh with her nipples brushing the side of my arm and her friend, the biter, between my legs with a hungry mouth, but Finley’s hand on my arm was the first thing to turn me on all night. “You should go out there, Rett. If you’re lucky, Tricia’s friend will join you.” She blinked her long lashes at me. “She bites.” Tricia’s bony shoulders went rigid with Finley’s comment.

  “Not really in the mood to be bitten either.”

  Tricia tried another tactic. “So, Finley, it’s so great that you came down from your bedroom tonight. I know how you prefer to socialize with animals over people.” She looked around dramatically. “Where is your little fat friend, Piggy something or other. I’ve forgotten his name.”

  “Some Pig is upstairs, sleeping. Frankly your perfume makes him sick, so he decided not to come down.”

  Tricia’s face reddened, but she wasn’t done yet. “Well, we’re all just glad that you pulled through your little overdose trauma.” This time it was Finley who went rigid, and Tricia seemed to sense that she’d lobbed a zinger over the bow. Pleased with herself she walked away.

  Finley stood quietly next to me.

  Finding the right words to restart the conversation was easy. “The only reason I had for coming here tonight was because I knew there was a chance that I would see you. And that dress is fucking amazing. And even if all I get from the night is a chance to see you walk into a room in that dress, then the ride out here in my brother’s beat up, rusty truck was worth it.” I took a breath. “Did I mention the dress?”

  She tucked her hair behind her ear giving me a clear view of her dimple. “You mentioned it. And no, the birds and mice did not make it for me.” She smiled up at me.

  “That smile,” my voice was low and drowned out by the music and voices around us, but it felt as if we were standing alone, “that smile is worth moving heaven and hell for.”

  “How the heck do you make corny work so well?”

  My phone buzzed. It was a text from Cole.

  “Hey dude where the hell are u?”

  “Is that my brother?” Finley asked.

  “Yeah.” And the complications began again. For a few moments I’d been alone with Finley, but her brothers were always there to pull a curtain on things.

  “Go find Cole.” She placed her hand on me again, and I wanted her to touch me all night long. “I can see the torment of this in your face, and I don’t want to do this to you. I confess, I came down tonight with only one motive— I wanted to see you. But you came here as Cole’s guest.” Her soft hand drifted down my arm, and she trailed her fingertips over the back of my hand. Then she lifted her finger and pointed it at me. “But don’t you dare get into that hot tub with bitchy Tricia or her carnivorous friend,” she glanced around the room, “and that tall blonde over there is off limits too. And that red head, you met her at the pool earlier this week, she sucks so stay away from—”

  I took hold of her hand. It felt frail and tender in my grip. “I’m not going to end up with anyone tonight. Cole will be pissed as hell but he’ll survive.”

  She stared up at me with big blue eyes seemingly trying to gauge whether or not I was telling the truth. “Go find my brother. After that charming exchange with Tricia, I was reminded why I avoid coming down to Cole’s parties. I’ll be down in the theater, all alone, in my fucking amazing dress, and with a very silky pair of panties beneath.”

  “You have a theater?”

  She lifted her brow. “Really? That’s what you got out of that?”

  “The silky panty remark is up here in my mental catalogue, but a theater? Holy shit.”

  “Elevator is down that hall on the right.” Before I could speak she hopped up on her tiptoes and pressed her finger against my mouth. “Yes, there is an elevator.” She removed her finger and landed back on her feet. “Theater is on the bottom level just in case you get bored of Cole.” She glanced back at me as she floated away taking her honey scent, amazing fucking dress and presumably just as fucking amazing panties with her.

  CHAPTER 7

  Finley

  I’d switched movies a hundred times before settling on “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”. My dad always insisted that I was a blonde version of Audrey Hepburn, and that comparison had always thrilled me. But something told me that if I had been as unforgettable as Hepburn then I wouldn’t have been sitting completely alone in our vast and slightly scary theater. Somehow during the day I didn’t mind sitting in the cavernous room alone, and a lot of times Some Pig or the dogs sat with me. But there were too many shadows and sounds at night. Even the dimly lit wall sconces provided little comfort.

  I’d come to the conclusion that my room and bed would be more inviting than sitting in the theater alone and got up to turn off the projector when my phone buzzed in my hand. I glanced at it.

  “Completely lost. Must have taken a wrong turn.”

  My heart skipped ahead of its usual pace and I took a deep breath to slow it.

  I closed my eyes. “Relax, Finley,” I reminded myself.

  “What do you see?” I wrote back.

  “A room full of naked statues.”

  “That’s the storage room. You turned left off of the elevator. Go back and turn right. Big double doors.”

  I sat in the first row and then hopped up and moved to the second row. I looked around and hurried back to the first row. Four times I hopped up peering over the seat to direct him to the front row and then decided it wasn’t exciting enough. Without a second thought, I slid off my panties, hooked them on my finger and marveled at how badly I wanted to flirt with this guy.

  The big door on the theater opened and shut. I raised my hand up high and twirled my panties above the back of the seat. Heavy footsteps plodded down the aisle, and I had a momentary flash of panic that the person coming wasn’t Barrett.

  But then he stopped in the row behind me and peered down over the seats. “Huh, don’t think I’ve ever been to a theater where the ushers swing panties around to guide you to your seat.”

  I lost my concentration, and my panties flew off my finger and hooked on the wall sconce. “Oh!” I sat up and stared at my panties that were now hanging from the expensive light fixture that had been imported from Italy. They added a shade of turquoise to the pale light arcing up from the sconce.

  “I’ve really got to work on this seduction thing.” I walked over to the sconce and jumped for my underwear but didn’t come even close to them.

  Barrett walked over and unhooked them. A blush heated my face as he twirled them once on his own finger. “Nice,” he said, and handed them back to me.

  I motioned for him to turn around while I slid them back on.

  He turned around reluctantly. “Seems like if I rescued them off the wall light then I should at least be given the reward of seeing them go back up those creamy thighs.”

  My face heated again. “Jeez, I’ve never blushed this much
in my entire life. How do you manage it?”

  He turned back around and gazed down at me. “It’s a gift,” he said, his voice suddenly low and hoarse. “Your brother was occupied in the hot tub. I figured it was my chance to escape.” He reached for my hand. “Finley, if I don’t kiss you soon, I’m going to lose my goddamned mind thinking about it.” He pulled me toward him and the differences in our heights became awkwardly apparent. His hands went around my waist and he lifted me up to the step where the projector sat.

  The pale golden light made him look even more unreal. I wrapped my arms around his neck. He pulled me against him and lowered his mouth to mine, but our lips never touched. The theater doors flew open and loud voices, including Cole’s, echoed off the theater walls.

  I jumped off the step, grabbed Barrett’s hand and dragged him toward the utility closet. It was dark and cold inside and it smelled like ammonia.

  “Should I flick on a light?” Barrett asked.

  “No, the light will show through the cracks on the door.”

  He looked exceptionally big in the small, crowded closet. “Not how I pictured our first kiss.”

  “Me neither. I think there’s a broom handle poking my back.” I moved to get the broom out of my back and to hear what was happening in the theater. Cole tended to turn the surround sound speakers on full blast, and, fortunately for me and my stowaway, my brother followed his usual tradition. “It’s one of my dad’s triple x movies,” I whispered, although it was completely unnecessary.

  “How do you know?”

  “Lots of grunting and moaning. Very little dialogue.” I looked back at him. My eyes had adjusted to the darkness. His head was tilted to the side to avoid the light fixture hanging from the ceiling. “I think we can make a run for it. Cole will be too busy to notice us.”

  “Beats standing in here all night.”

  “Keep your head low and hold tight to my hand. There’s an exit door on the other side of the room.” I took hold of his hand, and he hunched over. I laughed. “I guess you keeping low is like me on tiptoes. Stoop lower if you can. Here we go.”

  We slipped out of the room, and I closed the door quietly behind us. We dashed up the side aisle and around the back of the seats. Barrett was temporarily stopped by the action on the screen, and I yanked on his hand to keep him moving toward the exit. We slid out the door and into the cool night air.

  A half moon and the lights bordering the front drive illuminated the sea of parked cars. The jacarandas lining the driveway glowed purple. “This is my favorite time of year. The jacarandas are in full bloom, and pretty soon our driveway will be covered with purple snow. My mom picked these trees for the driveway. It’s one of the few things she left behind.” I paused and thought about what I’d just said. “Aside from me, I mean.”

  Barrett’s hand felt strong and calloused as he reached down and took hold of mine. “My truck, or I should say my brother’s truck, is parked down the drive beneath the trees. It was struggling to get up the long, steep driveway and then when it saw the all the Mercedes and Jaguars, it gave a loud sigh and died on the side of the road. I’m hoping it will start, otherwise I might be riding the bus home.”

  The old Ford truck looked as if it had been pulled off of the ocean floor after years of submersion. It was rusty and dented and looked as if it had seen more than one windshield fogging make-out session.

  Barrett smiled down at me. “She’s not a beauty, but she beats the old motorcycle I’ve been riding.”

  “It’s exactly what I expected.”

  “Not completely sure how to take that comment.” The tailgate creaked as he lowered it for us to sit on.

  “It’s perfect. If we’d walked out to an expensive, pristine sports car I would’ve been totally disappointed. This truck fits you.”

  “Again, searching for the compliment there.” His large hands wrapped around my waist, and he lifted me up onto the edge of the tailgate. “But it is a cool, old truck. My brother, Jimmy, or Clutch as most people call him, restores old cars and trucks. Makes really good money at it too.” He paused. “Well, good money for our world.”

  I laughed. “We are from the same planet, you realize.” I gazed up at his symmetrically chiseled face. “Although, I must admit, when I look at you, it’s almost easy to believe that you came from some other part of the galaxy where the inhabitants are all impossibly perfect.”

  He leaned his head back and laughed. The sound of it was deep, sexy and appealing. “Trust me, I couldn’t be further from perfection, as my brother and friends would quickly tell you.”

  Several purple petals fluttered down from the canopy above and landed on my lap. I picked them up and flicked them into the air. They floated to the ground to join the other leaf casualties. “My brothers enjoy pointing out my imperfections as well.”

  He combed his fingers through his long hair. He smelled of soap and water and nothing more, no heavy aftershave or designer cologne, just the raw scent of real man. “Imperfections? Like what? That your tiny nose is just a little too small for your big round eyes. Or that your smiled is just lopsided enough to make it imperfectly awesome. Or the unearthly way you move across the floor where it seems as if your feet never actually touch it.” His thick fingers reached up to my chin and he pushed my face toward his. “Or this annoying habit you have of always looking so damn kissable that it’s all I can think about when you’re around.” Once again his mouth was so close to mine I could feel his warm breath on my lips. Then he stopped. I released a disappointed breath. “This isn’t the right place yet. I’ll find the right spot and soon. So be ready.”

  “You’re fairly confident about your kissing abilities then?”

  He nodded. “I’m not confident about a lot of things, but kissing is high on my skills list. Or so I’ve been told.”

  I suddenly could no longer sit next to him and not touch him. I wrapped my hands around his arm. It was hard and muscular, like an arm that I could tuck myself beneath when I was feeling down and all the dark feelings would evaporate. This was the kind of guy that I could daydream about all day, the kind of guy who I would miss the instant he walked out the door, the kind of guy who every girl dreamed about catching. This was the kind of guy who, with one wrong move, could shatter me to pieces. And, suddenly, I needed him to know everything. I needed him to know while there was still time for him to make a run for it. I needed him to know before he became so tethered to my heart, it would be utter devastation to lose him.

  I released my hold on his arm, clutched the edge of the tailgate and stared down as my cowboy boots swung back and forth. “That little overdose trauma bitchy Tricia took glee in mentioning— it’s probably not what you think. It’s worse.”

  “You really don’t have to tell me.”

  “Yes, Rett, I do.” My fingers trembled slightly as I reached up and tucked a long strand of hair behind his ear. “I really like you and—” his gaze nearly made me lose my nerve. I looked straight ahead at the shadows and silhouettes created by the long line of lush trees. “I took a bunch of my dad’s pills because at the time I’d been brought really low by stuff that was happening in my life.”

  “You tried to kill yourself?” There was enough emotion in his tone to prod me on.

  “No, yeah,” I’d gone over it in my head again and again, and I couldn’t conjure the moment when I had actually decided that I wanted to die. “Maybe,” I said so quietly the sound of it was nearly absorbed by the thick canopy of blossoms. “I’m not completely sure if I truly wanted to die or just sleep through my twenties. At the time, it had been more than a year since I’d left the house. My dad hired Eden to stay with me during the summer so that my brothers had more freedom. That’s how she came into my life. I was suffering from panic attacks among other things. I’d created this suffocating, invisible boundary around the house. I was certain that if I went past it, something terrible would happen. Not to me,” a sad laugh fell from my lips, “I wasn’t really worried about myself.
I was more worried that if I tempted fate something would happen to one of my brothers or my dad. When I was little I came home with a flu, and my sister, Chloe, got sick and never recovered. I’d brought the sickness home, and she eventually died from it. It seemed safer to just stay at home. My problems were taking a toll on my brothers too. My dad is rarely at home, so my brothers feel extra responsible for me.” I looked at him. “As you’ve already noticed.”

  “Yep, definitely noticed that.”

  I hopped off the truck and he followed. We headed to the stretch of lawn that branched out from the long driveway and dipped in an easy slope down to the streets below. It was a clear enough night to see for miles, and the view from our front yard was spectacular. The city lights glittered brightly and stretched on before ending abruptly at the Pacific Ocean. “So, there you have it, my little grocery list of crazy. I just thought it would be better to scare you off early on before it’s too late.”

  He stopped and turned to me, looking every bit the Greek god with his long flowing hair, broad shoulders and strong jaw. “I hate to tell you this—” He paused to look for the right words, and my heart sank as I waited for him to let me know that I was just too weird for him. He looked around and then turned back to me. “But this still isn’t the right place for that kiss.”

  My eyes widened and I smiled. “You really are one track minded.”

  “And now you know my biggest fault. Strike that. I have a lot of other faults too.” He stepped closer to me and his fingers lightly brushed my skin as he pushed my bangs out of my eyes. “I managed to get expelled from high school a few months before graduation. My friends and I got caught with weed. Their parents got them out of it and they graduated. My dad told me I deserved it and shipped me off to work for his ex-military buddy on a crab fishing boat off the coast of Alaska. It was the hardest fucking work in the world. The shifts were dangerous and the hours were so long that one day would flow into the next without even ten minutes of rest. I started taking pills just to stay awake and then I needed them just to be able to crawl out of my bunk for another shift.” His throat moved as he swallowed. “I lost the job and returned here to California completely strung out. I was a fucking mess, but my brother took me in because my parents would never have let me come back.” He reached up and touched the side of my face with rough fingertips. The feel of it sent a sweet shiver down my spine. “So, Cinderella, here’s your chance to run.”