Everything But (6 page)

He raised his eyebrows, a look of amusement causing a twinkle in his eye. 
“
Mister
?
  Fuck…that’s the second time I
’ve been called that tonight.  What t
he hell?”

Erin turned in the tight space between Riley and her car, but as she
moved back to open the car door
, she backed into Riley.  “Apparently, I and others are trying to show you the respect we expect in return.”  She turned her head slightly to the right to catch his eye.

His left arm wrapped around her waist and held her up against his body.  She could feel his strength and it made her feel instantly weak
.  The coldness she’d felt? 
Gone in a second, replaced by furious desire.
  But she couldn’t let it show.  She refused to play the helpless victim in his cat-and-mouse game.  Still…he was proving to be irresistible.  “Oh, I
respect
you.”  She felt his breath on her neck
and then he said in her ear,
“
I just think maybe we could have a little fun together too.”

She felt her nipples tighten and was relieved he wouldn’t be able to see it.  He couldn’t know the effect he was having on her.  She cleared her throat and prayed she sounded stronger than she felt.  “If your idea of fun is seeing me in a bikini at something like this, I’m afraid you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”  She pulled
away,
relieved he released her, and sat in her car seat.  She took a deep breath.  “
There’s a Hooters in
Colorado
Springs if that’s more your cup of tea.  Otherwise, s
ee you tomorrow.”

He smiled and shook his head.  “It was just a joke, you know.”

She arched her eyebrows and reached for the door handle.  Before pulling it closed, she said, “
I
wasn’t joking.”  She forced herself to start her car and not look back at the mysterious Riley Schultz before driving out of the parking lot.

Chapter
Six

JESUS CHRIST
,
RILEY
breathed, watching
Erin’s
little white car peel out of the parking lot.
  How could he constantly manage to fuck things up?  They’d actually been having a nice conversation and he was pretty sure
Erin
was even
admiring
his body
while he
looked on
, and
wham
!  He just had to make one
in
appropriate joke too many.

And…
fuck
.  He already really liked her.  She seemed smart and sweet, unlike a certain someone who’d ripped his heart to shreds. 

Ah…n
ever again.  And he told himself that now too.  Maybe it was better this way.  Hell, maybe that’s why he
hadn’t been able to
help himself in the first place.  It was self-defense. 
Make her hate him right now so she couldn’t break his heart later.

Sti
ll,
even if he did forego any
kind
of relationship-type scenario, he wanted to have some fun on this date.  He’d
even
wanted to kiss her back there, and she
’d
seemed willing.

He let out a deep breath and shook his head, walking farther through the parking lot.  And there was his first true love…a dark blue Mustang he’d bought in high school and nursed back to health.  He’d left it at home with his parents
when he’d moved to California
, and his dad drove it once in a while to keep it from getting rusty, but
she
was still his baby.  Whenever he came home, he gave her the attention she deserved.  They’d been through a lot together and he’d never get rid of her.

But should he pick Erin up in this car tomorrow night or would she prefer something more conservative?  After her last few remarks, he wasn’t sure what to think.

The only thing he knew is he didn’t want to
fucking
blow it.  He was going to drive to Colorado Springs tomorrow and find something sharp to wear.
  She wanted conservative, he’d be sure she got it.

But c’mon…there was only so far he was willing to go.  She
knew
he was a rock star.  She couldn’t expect him to conform, and if she did, she’d be nothing but disappointed.

Still…he’d like to shock her a little.  And he knew exactly how to pull the rug out from under her.

* * *

Erin wanted nothing more than to call her best friend Jackie
Cole
and ask her opinion on the evening’s events, but Jackie and her husband were on a romantic weekend getaway.  Jackie wanted to get pregnant and they’d decided a mini-vacation
scheduled
around the time she ovulated would be their best bet.  So…
Erin woul
d have to wait and talk to Jackie on Monday, probably long after all was said and done.  She knew Jackie would love to hear the stories just the same, but she’d only be able to give her advice in hindsight.

Jackie had always been the sensible one (thus, the almost clinical approach to having a baby).  Erin wasn’t like that in the least.  She’d never admit it out loud, but she wanted guys to do romantic things, things like reading poetry to her, giving her flowers, or surprising her with special gifts.  She never wanted to ask her future spouse (which was highly in doubt now anyway) to time his lovemaking to create a baby.  She wanted to be consumed by passion and desire and maybe even love.

So this whol
e Riley thing had left her in
shambles.  She’d thought a go
od night’s sleep would cure her,
but
it didn’t even come
close.  It didn’t help that she kept waking up, visions of his face in her head.  And she still couldn’t believe she’d checked him out from head to
toe…while he’d watched! 
Oh-my-fucking-God.
  Jackie would have a
cow
when Erin told her about th
at.

So she’d spent the whole day going through every single one of her dresses and nothing seemed right.  God, she needed Jackie here to give her some perspective and to help her
choose
something. 
Midafternoon
, she finally picked up her phone and sent a desperate text.  Maybe if Jackie and Carl came up for air, Jackie could give her a quick ring. 
Jax
, need your help!  Have sudden date & no clue what to wear. 
Pls
help!

No answer after half an hour, so she decided to work out.  She pulled out one of her exercises DVDs and put more effort into it than usual, hoping to curb her anxiety.  Just as she was doing the cool down, she heard her phone make a beep, letting her know she was receiving a text.  She felt relief…finally, Jackie was responding.

But when she read the message, she knew it wasn’t Jackie.  Her phone didn’t recognize the number. 
Pick u up @ 6:30?  R

All of a sudden, Erin’s hands started shaking again.  Just having him send her a text gave her the jitters. 
Being nervous
meant one thing and one thing only:  the night would end in disaster.

And it was probably for the better.

She texted him back. 
C u then.

Then
, considering it was after four, she needed to start getting ready.  She decided to shower first, considering she was feeling hot and sticky after her workout.  Her phone beeped again and she smiled, wondering what Riley had to say now.  Only it wasn’t Riley; it was Jackie. 
Want me 2 call u?

Yes!

In less than two minutes, Erin’s phone was ringing.  “Jackie.  I’m so sorry to interrupt your love fest.”

“You
kiddin
’, girl?
  I wore the man out.  He’s passed out on the bed, so I decided to come out by the pool.  I’ve been in the water this whole time, but I got out and read your message.  So I leave you alone for just a couple of days and you go and get yourself into some romantic mess.”  Jackie laughed.  “What’s up?
  What’s this sudden date?
”

“Well, you know I had to do that stupid cheerleader auction thing…”

“Yeah, and before I even left, you knew you were going to be auctioned too.”

“Yeah, but…”

“But…?”

“You’ll never believe who’s taking me out on that date.”

“Ron Gill.”

God,
Erin
was
blind.  Well, no more.  She’d figured that one out.  “No…even though he put out the opening bid.”

“I’m surprised that boy didn’t outbid all your other suitors.”

“My other
suitor
bid five-hundred dollars.”

“
What?!
”

“Yeah!”

“Well, obviously, the man doesn’t work for the school.  So, cough it up.  Who’s the big spender?”

Erin let out a long breath.  “Riley Schultz.”

There was silence for a few moments.  “That name’s familiar.  Where do I know him from?”

“Spawn.”

“What?”

“The band Spawn.”

“
What
?
  Are you kidding me?”

“No!”

“Oh, yeah…they’re from Winchester, aren’t they?”

“Yeah.
  So
he’s
the guy they got to play emcee last night.”  She lowered her voice, as though there were people around who might overhear her.  “He’s really hot.”

“I
know
.  I might not be a fan, but I’ve still seen pictures.”

“Oh, you have no idea, girlfriend.  He’s different in person
…more potent.”

“Ah…been hit by the love bug. 
Bad idea.”

“Believe me, I know.  But still.  I can’t figure out what to wear.  I’ve literally gone through everything in my closet, looked it over twice, and nothing catches my eye.”

“Too late to go buy something too.”

“Yeah.”

“Well…
don’t wear anything
slutty.”

“Duh.”

“But not too prim either.  Well, I guess that depends on the message you want to send.  Would you fuck him if it went there?”

“Oh, my God!
  I haven’t even thought that far…but he almost kissed me last night.”  She sighed.  “I think.”

“You got it bad, girl.  What about that pretty silver dress you wore
the first year you were teaching?”

“The one that ends just above the knees?”

“Yeah.”

“Too flashy, don’t you think?”

“No, not if you wear a shawl or jacket with it.”

Erin started walking toward her bedroom and pulled the dress back out of the closet.  “Maybe…”  She held it up to her body so she could see herself in her full-length mirror.  It could work.  “I don’t know.”

“Do it.  Wear that white shawl
with
white
pumps
.  You’ll look stunning.  And pull your hair up.  Hell, see if the salon can do your hair before you go.”

“No time.  Besides, I think I can get that.”

“And call me tomorrow.”

Erin nodded and smiled.  “I promise.”

“In the meantime, I’m
gonna
Google that boy
as soon as I hang up
.  I didn’t remember him
bein
’
that
good-
lookin
’.”

Chapter Seven

RILEY PULLED HIS
Mustang into the apartment building’s parking lot.  He hadn’t been on this side of town since he’d lived here years ago.  One comforting thing about Winchester was that it hadn’t changed much.

He stepped out of the car and ran his hands over the suit jacket. 
Jesus
.  He must have lost his mind.  He was actually wearing a suit and tie, something he hadn’t done in years.  He didn’t even do that for award ceremonies.  This girl had really gotten under his skin.

And why not?
  She wasn’t like Marla.  No, Erin seemed to be a genuinely sweet girl.  Marla was a slutty ambitious whore who didn’t care about anyone but herself.

And why was he even tormenting himself?  Why did he think she’d be interested in someone like him?  He was just kidding himself.
  She was being nice, but come tomorrow, he’d be history.

Still…there was nothing wrong with enjoying himself right here, right now.  He wasn’t going anywhere for a week, and he sure as hell didn’t want to
go to game night at his mom and dad’s church
. 
They’d invited him, but his mother beamed when she found out he’d donated a large sum of money to the school, and she practically fainted when he came home from Colorado Springs with a suit in tow.  So he apologized for not going to church game night. 
He’d rather shove bamboo
slivers
under his fingernails.