Distraction (32 page)

"Outside, now!" I couldn't figure out what his
problem was, but he
'
d gone too far. This dress was my favorite, expensive, and
now ruined.

The cool air hit my face as soon as the doors opened to
outside. I walked farther away, and then spun around to face Tristan.

"What is your problem?" My fists were balled so
tightly the ends of my fingernails pierced my skin.

Tristan
'
s face turned red as his eyes darkened.

"That guy is wrong for you. I figured you wouldn
'
t be stupid
enough to fall for his bullshit. Apparently not." We both stood in the
parking lot glaring at one another.

"Who I date is none of your damned business." I
didn
'
t care if anyone heard me shouting back at him.

"That guy just wants to get in your pants, and you
'
re going along
with it." Tristan
'
s body shook with every word he spoke, his voice becoming
slow and even–a sure sign he was good and pissed.

"Who I sleep with is so not your concern. And maybe I
know what he wants and don
'
t care. Did you think of that, Tristan?" I didn
'
t mean what I'd
said, but he gave up the right to be concerned when he continually chose to be
with other women.

"
I'
m heading out. I
'
ll call you tomorrow." Eric's calm voice startled me.

If he was leaving, so was I. No way in hell would I be
staying with Tristan. “I’m coming with you."

Eric walked over and pulled me to his chest, whispering in my
ear, "He
'
s your best friend and he
'
s
hurting. Yeah, he
’
s acting like a class-A jerk, but don
'
t let him get to
you. You work this out."

Eric moved back, but kept his hands on my shoulders. "We
can do this again, but not until you settle whatever this is between you two."
I knew what he meant and wanted to correct him, but he kissed my forehead and
then turned around, heading to his car, leaving me alone.

"That was the first honest, decent thing outta baseball
boy
'
s mouth."

I spun on my heels and shoved Tristan as hard as I could.
"Right now, I hate you. Do you understand that? I. Hate. You." I
stormed away, grabbing the door handle to his car, but finding it locked.

Tristan didn
'
t say a word. He simply unlocked the door and moved around to
unlock his, slamming it once inside. I paused, taking a few calming breaths
before climbing in.

We drove in complete silence. No matter how much I hated
fighting with him, I refused to apologize. I wasn’t the one being a jerk. The
way he yelled at me crossed the line.

I didn
'
t notice where Tristan had taken us until he pulled into his
driveway. Tristan shut off the engine, and jumped out, slamming the door.

I stopped him. "What the hell are you doing? Take me
home."

He didn
'
t answer. Instead, he walked into his house.

"Tristan!" Oh, the nerve of him. Kellie did herself
favor by leaving him.

Shit. Regret for even thinking that cinched my heart. But the
regret didn’t push away the anger. If he wanted a fight, I’d give him one.
Shoving out of the car, I raced to the front door, ready and willing to start
throwing shit. This time, I’d find something a lot heavier than Kellie’s
panties to shove in his face.

I followed the lights down the hall to his room. Pushing the
door open, I didn
'
t find him. Then I heard water sputter behind the bathroom
door.

Fine, I
'
d wait him out. I looked down at my ripped sleeve,
remembering fury in Tristan
'
s eyes when he tried to stop me from walking away. Ass. He
owed me some clothes.

I opened a dresser drawer, pulling out a folded T-shirt and a
pair of boxers cluttered with tiny Tasmanian devils.

I'd bought them for him some years back after he scored the
winning touchdown against our rival high school team. I told him he resembled
the cartoon character when he ran for the fifty-yard touchdown.

I'd just finished slipping the shirt over my head when a
cloud of steam poured from the bathroom door, carrying the familiar cool scent
of Tristan
'
s aftershave. When the steam settled, Tristan walked out wearing
only a white towel around his waist. Holy shit.

His tanned skin and sculpted abdomen glistened with water
droplets. My eyes slowly moved up. His nearly black hair was a tousled mess
from the shower. When my eyes finally traveled to his face, my own face burned.
A crooked smile cornered on his lips.

"Why didn
'
t you get dressed before you came out of the bathroom?"
I resisted the need to turn around or look at his perfect chest again.

"Last time I checked this was my room. If you don
'
t like what you see,"
he spread his muscular arms open wide, "you can turn around or leave."

His hand moved to the white towel around his waist and all
the feelings I
'
d suppressed, all the times I almost told him how I felt,
boiled to the top. Like a volcano, I erupted.

"You have no right to say that to me, Tristan Wade
Daniels. All these years I
'
ve watched you date, hell, I was going to be part of your
stupid wedding, which I might add, didn
'
t work out for you." My remark
hit low, but I was too pissed to care.

"I
'
ve been there for you. Helped you without any questions
asked, and for what?" My anger continued to build and the words released
out in a rush.

"Do you think it
'
s been fun or easy for me to watch
girls throw themselves at you while you took every bit they had to offer? I
'
m the person who
walked you to the school nurse after you threw up your lunch in the second
grade.

"I
'
m the one who let you crawl into my window in the middle of
the night when your dad made you feel like crap. I
'
m the one who
has loved you because of who you are, and not because of your ability to score
touchdowns or the social status of your last name."

By the time tears made their way to the surface, it was too
late to hold them in. Through my water-filled eyes, the blank expression on
Tristan
'
s face shattered the rest of me.

I pivoted and ran for the door, seconds away from falling apart
completely. When I reached the door, a strong hand shut it in front of me. My
breathing turned into hard, fast pants. I felt like every piece of my heart had
been destroyed.

Tristan
'
s fist slammed into the door in front of me. I jumped,
pressing myself against his bare chest. I froze and so did he, heavy silence
standing between us.

In the strained stillness, I tried to shift away, but his
fisted hand against the door moved to my shoulder, holding me in place. His
raspy breath tickled my ear, sending an electric current racing through my
system. His other hand found my shoulder and he slowly circled me toward him.

His warm, honey eyes searched mine and then his hands moved
from my shoulders, cupping the sides of my tear-streaked face.

Chapter
21

Tristan

Surprised didn
’
t even begin to describe what raced through my head when Elle
said the three words I craved to hear. I love you
. Words tipped the end of my tongue
but I couldn't speak. When she ran, I panicked. If she left, I’d probably lose
her forever. Instinct took over, and I chased her. To lose her now… Hell, no.

Frantically, I searched her face until I reached her wounded
eyes, and my insides knotted with uncertainty. I claimed her lips with mine,
fitting perfectly together. Her mouth opened, and the salty taste of her tears
forced reality into the room. As much as I wanted the kiss to linger, I had to
make her understand how much I wanted her, and only her. Reluctantly, I backed
away.

"I
'
ve loved you since we were kids. I wanted it to be me instead
of that dick, Mark James, on your first date. I
'
ve wanted you so
fucking bad, but I never told you how I felt because the thought of losing you,
even as a friend, terrified me."

Her green, shock-filled eyes pooled with tears again. I did
the only thing I thought would make her believe me. My hand wrapped around the
back of her head, fingers weaving through her hair. I inched her closer until I
felt her soft lips against mine.

The kiss started in a slow exploration. The moment my tongue
met hers, her breath caught and her body shivered. My heart raced like a
jackhammer when her fingers spread through my wet hair and the kiss deepened.

Damn she felt good, and tasted even better. Her lips were
soft, but eager for more. Her hair felt like smooth silk beneath my hand. I
wrapped my other arm around her waist and pulled her tighter against me, only
it wasn't enough. I wanted more.

I thought this was it,
the
moment, until her body
tensed. I carefully moved away, but not wanting to separate completely, I
rested my forehead against hers. The only sound in my room came from us as we
gasped for breath.

"
Elle,
" I whispered, and then pulled back to
loo
k into her eyes.
I knew she wanted this. The way her body pressed against mine, her kiss was
just as hungry. She couldn't deny this. But she lowered my hands from her face
and backed away anyhow.

"What
'
s wrong?"

Her bottom lip trembled. "Tristan, why now? Why is it
when I
'
m finally with someone–someone I like–do you tell me how you
feel?"

For the first time in my life, I felt literal pain in my
chest. I stepped forward, but she held her hand up
to stop me.

"No, please. I can
'
t."

She can
'
t? What? "I love you. I always have.  Maybe it took
seeing you with someone else, and me in the middle of a fucked up engagement to
tell you how I felt. But isn
'
t it better to know than go on wondering like I have?" I
clarified, "like we both have?"

Elle released a shaky sigh. "But that
'
s just the
thing. You waited until I was happy to tell me. I’ve loved you for as long as I
can remember, but I won’t be second to someone else. And there has always been
someone else. All I’ve ever wanted was for you to see me." She pressed her
hand against her chest, directly over her heart, crushing mine in the process.

I closed the distance, but didn
't touch her
, even though
everything in me wanted to kiss her again, remind her what she felt, too.
Still, I didn
't touch her.

"I may have shitty timing, but I can’t take not being
with you anymore. Doesn
'
t that mean anything to you?"

She closed the small gap between us. Her small hand stroked
my face, and I knew.

"Tristan, I
'
m happy and you just ended your engagement. You need to be
alone. Figure out what it is you really want. It isn
'
t fair, but you
have to give me the chance to see if Eric is who I want, the same way I have
all this time with you."

A solitary tear trickled down the side of her face. Softly,
she kissed my cheek and walked out my bedroom door.

Elle

By the time Tristan drove me home later that night, I only
wanted
to slee
p. Wishful thinking. I tossed and turned, desperate to erase
his words, his kiss…his touch out of my mind. But I had to know if Eric and I
could work.

I only hoped Tristan would take what I'd said to heart. The
next morning, my eyes were red and puffy, along with my nose. Alyssa,
surprisingly, waited patiently until I confessed. To my utter disbelief, she
remained understanding. She said I needed to be sure walking away from Tristan
was the right move, but she couldn't have been happier I chose to give Eric a
real shot.

I wondered how Alyssa, of all people, could sound so sure
when I was a wreck inside?