Misty Reigenborn Romance Boxed Set (209 page)

Cameron gave him a look that could kill.  "There's no need to bring up shit that happened like eight years ago."

"There's no need to bring up shit that happened last summer either."

Cameron grinned.  "I'm sure Jess would like to hear the story Daylin.  She looks like she could use a good laugh.  Don't you want to hear about what Daylin got caught doing with our high school English teacher in the park Jess?"

Now it was Daylin that gave Cameron a look that could kill.

Cameron went on “She was pretty fine in high school.  But she's had a couple of kids since then, really put on some weight.  What were you thinking?"

"I was thinking that my cousin has a really big mouth that he should know when to keep closed." Daylin gave him a tight smile.

Cameron laughed.  "I learned from the best man.  You remember when we were sixteen and my little sister found those rubbers that I didn't know you'd shoved into my backpack?"

Daylin sighed.  "Yes Cameron.  You remember when we were twelve and you almost got caught with my brother's nudie mag until you decided it was a good idea to shove it at me when my mom happened to open the door?"

Cameron snorted.  "I remember, but it wasn't Russ's magazine.  It was mine.  I traded Jason Anderson for it at school.  Three weeks allowance, two packs of baseball cards and a chewed piece of Mary Latrell's gum."

"Cameron." Lucy reached to snag a fry off of his plate.  "That's disgusting."

Cameron said "Who ever said twelve year old boys weren't disgusting was obviously lying."

Daylin chuckled, turning to Jess, who was trying not to listen.  "So has my wonderful cousin scared you away from me?"

She looked up at him, thinking that she'd been scared away as soon as he started picturing her naked.  And again when he'd first sat down across from her and his eyes kept drifting back to her chest, and again because he was a red blooded American male.  In her life males tended to end up hurting her one way or another.  But she said nothing of what she was thinking, and instead let out a big yawn.

"I think you'd better get your girl to bed Daylin," Cameron said.

"I'm not his girl," Jess said.

"You could be." Daylin gave her a wide grin.

She sighed.  "I don't think so."

"Why not?"

"Daylin I don't think the girl's interested in being your flavor of the week," Lucy said.

"Did anyone ever tell you that your fiancé’s a bitch Cameron?"  Daylin said.

"All the time," Cameron said.

"Hey," Lucy said.  "The fiancé is sitting right here and has ears."

"Sorry babe.  But you know it's true."

"Yeah, okay, but just because I'm a bitch doesn't mean that Daylin's not a player."

"I've mended my ways Lucy." Daylin gave Jess an innocent look.

"What, in the like two seconds since you met Jess?"  Lucy said.

Daylin looked at his watch.  "It's been more like an hour Luce.  But your intoxicated brain probably can't quite grasp the concept of time."

Lucy gave Daylin a look and started to reach across the table.

Cameron put a hand in her way.  "Enough.  I love you both and need both of you to live through the night.  Jess, where are you staying?"

"I don't know.  Is there a motel close by?"  She yawned again. 

"Which do you prefer?"  Lucy said.  "Mice or cockroaches?"

"You're kidding right?"  Jess said.

"I'm afraid not."

"Where's the nearest decent motel?"  Jess said.  It was almost a plea.  She didn't know how much further she could drive safely.

"It's about thirty miles to the nearest decent place to stay on the interstate."

"Shit," Jess said. 

"You can stay at my place," Daylin said.  Lucy gave him a dirty look.  “It'll save you $50 or so, and I won't have to worry about you falling asleep behind the wheel and killing yourself.  You look really beat Jess."

She felt really beat.  She hadn't slept well the night before.

Still, she couldn't stand the thought of staying at Daylin's house. 

"I'll behave, I promise," he said.  "I'll sleep on the couch.  Scout's honor."

Cameron chuckled.  "You quit scouts when you were like nine man."

Jess could imagine Daylin pretend sleepwalking naked into his bedroom claiming that he forgot she was there.  "Is there a convenience store nearby?"  Though she dreaded the idea of having to stay at a motel out of town when Welton was where her destination anyway.

"C'mon Jess.  I'm trying to be a gentleman.  Give a guy a break."

Glenda returned then, saving her from having to answer for a minute.  "Can I get you guys anything else?"

"Just the check," Cameron said.  "Give ours to Daylin too."

"Hey," Daylin said.  "I'm doing lunch tomorrow."

"We're trying to save money for our trip."

Daylin sighed.  "Fine, bring me the check."

Glenda laughed.  "You owe me a big tip too, for putting up with you all night."

"Yes Glenda," Daylin said.

Glenda walked away.  Daylin turned back to Jess.  "So, what do you say Jess?  My place is five minutes away.  It's clean and I've got a nice comfortable bed."

"Since when is your place clean Daylin?"  Lucy said.

"I guess since you called yours clean Luce.  Though I'd hardly call empty pizza boxes, overflowing ashtrays and panties under the kitchen table clean."

Cameron blushed.  "Shut up Daylin."

"I didn't put them there.  Though I think panties under the kitchen table are a notch up from walking in on you trying on Lucy's bra."

Now he was really bright red.  "You weren’t supposed to mention that again Daylin."

Daylin gave him a sly smile.  "And you said you'd shut the hell up about Mrs. Nelson.  So I think we're even."

"Yeah, okay," Cameron said. 

Glenda returned with the check.  Daylin handed her a credit card.  "I'll meet you outside," he said.  "Don't you dare leave Jess."

She turned away from him, following Cameron and Lucy to the door.

Cameron held the door for her and then put an arm around Lucy's waist, pulling her with him to a blue sedan.

She stood watching them for a minute, undecided.  Finally she pulled out a cigarette, and lit it leaning against her car, feeling the weariness sweep over her again.

Her eyes closed at the sudden sound of Lucy's loud retching.  She almost jumped when Daylin's voice suddenly appeared right behind her.  "Hey," he said.

"Hey." She dropped her cigarette and put it out beneath her foot.

"Sorry you had to hear that.  I hate to be an asshole to Lucy, but Cameron is so blinded by his infatuation with her that he can't see that she needs help."

Feeling uncomfortable, Jess nodded.  She could see that Daylin cared about Lucy almost as much as he cared about Cameron.  She wondered what had gone on between the two of them before she and Cameron were an item.

"I wouldn't have taken you for a smoker.  You smell so fresh and clean."

"Um, thanks I guess." She hid a smile.  "For telling me that I don't stink."

"I didn't mean it like that Jess.  Will you please come to my house?  I swear I won't do anything you don't want me to."  He grinned.

Ugh, she thought.  "I don't think so Daylin."

"I'm sorry Jess.  My mouth gets in the way a lot.  I promise that I will be a perfect gentleman.  I'll even cook you breakfast, or lunch whatever.  You can sleep as long as you want."

"Um, I.  .  ." Then she yawned again.

"Really Jess.  You're tired.  Please, for safety's sake come with me."

She knew he was right, but she really hated to admit it.  "Okay."

He grinned like he'd won the lottery, and she almost took it back.  "I'll be right back.  You wait right here."

She shook her head at herself, watching him join Cameron and Lucy.  He had an incredible butt.  She didn't feel anything but a little stab of guilt when she looked at it. 

He had what seemed like a heated conversation with Cameron because once they were done, Cameron squealed out of the parking lot.  She caught a glimpse of Lucy with her head against the passenger side window, eyes closed. 

She lit another cigarette as Daylin came her way.  "It's only a few blocks away.  We'll have you there and tucked into my bed in no time."

"Yeah.”  Never mind that he obviously wanted to be tucked into his bed with her. 

He walked towards the sports car that she'd seen when she'd first pulled in, turning around when he was halfway there and grinning at her.  Could he tell that she was looking at his butt again she wondered?  Or was he thinking about how he was going to talk her into sleeping with him?

She questioned her actions again as she unlocked the car and got behind the wheel.  What the hell was she getting herself into she wondered?  She knew what he wanted her to get into.  But what was she thinking following a stranger, no matter how attractive, back to his house?

She took a deep drag off of her cigarette as she started the car.  She heard the engine of Daylin's car start.  Very manly she thought.  She rolled her eyes and followed him out of the parking lot.

Chapter 2

They pulled up to a small, white, one story house a few minutes later.  The front yard was small and neat.  She parked behind him in the driveway and took her time getting out of the car. 

He was already standing by her car.  She grudgingly accepted his hand to help her out, but pulled away as soon as she was on her feet.

He grinned at her like he had felt what she had when their hands had touched so briefly. 

"Let me get the door, then I'll come back for your bag," he said.

She went around to the trunk and pulled out her duffel bag, wondering if she could get away with taking her dad's old leather bomber jacket in with her and not looking too weird in front of Daylin.  Sometimes when she couldn't sleep, she'd put her head on her dad's old jacket and be able to fall asleep right away.  It had long since stopped smelling like him, but it still comforted her.

She put her hand on the old jacket briefly and decided to leave it there.  She shouldn't have much trouble falling asleep with the way she felt right now.  She pulled out her bag and shut the trunk, almost jumping when she realized Daylin was standing next to her again.

She looked away from the questioning look in his eyes, and practically shoved the bag at him, pushing the button to lock the car.

He was silent as she followed him into the house.  The living room was cramped but neat, filled with electronic equipment.  There was a huge TV, a stereo system, a desktop computer on a desk in the corner, and a closed laptop on the coffee table.

He opened the door to a small bedroom.  She caught a glimpse of him tossing clothes into a hamper and smiled.  While he put her bag away and got his pajamas and stuff to make up his bed on the couch, she glanced at the pictures on the walls.

They were numerous and started from when he was very young.  Most had Cameron in them.  The ones from what looked like high school had Lucy in them later on.  The last few showed Daylin with a pretty girl with light brown hair.  What looked like a prom picture showed Lucy and
Cameron gazing at each other in adoration.  The girl with Daylin was the only one who was looking at the camera.  He was staring at her like she was the only girl on the planet.  The graduation picture was a different story.  It showed Lucy grinning brazenly, Cameron with a more subdued smile and Daylin looking like his whole world had crumbled.  Where was the girl and what had happened to make Daylin so sad Jess wondered?

When she was studying the picture he snuck up on her again.  His voice was right in her ear when he said "She was beautiful wasn't she?"

"Yeah," Jess said softly.  "She was."

It wasn't that she was someone who could walk into a room and have every male within 20 feet turn like Lucy.  Like Jess herself, something she dreaded to think about.  She was pretty enough, but there was something different about her.  Something that you could see even in the pictures.  She was happy.  She shone with a light that was different and much more important than just physical beauty.  Her beauty was the kind of beauty that lasted when the wrinkles came and body parts that were once toned started sagging. 

"Her name was Amanda," Daylin said softly.  There was pain in his voice, but something more as well.  Jess wanted to turn and look at his face, to catch a glimpse of something she'd never come anywhere close to feeling, but he put his arms lightly around her waist.  She had a feeling he didn't want her to see what he was feeling. 

She was exhausted, but wanted to hear his story, wanted to hear the sound of his voice.  Against her better judgment, she let herself lean lightly into him.  His hands tightened around her waist.  She closed her eyes as he continued, trying not to think about the way his hard body felt pressed against hers.

"When she transferred here Junior Year I wanted her so bad I could taste it.  But I never thought I would be good enough for her.  That a girl like her could ever want anything to do with a guy like me.  I was a football player chasing tail, grades just good enough to stay on the team.  I'd never met anyone like her.  I'd had plenty of girls, Lucy included, though that's something Cameron hasn't heard about and never needs to.  She was different.  Amanda was like this bright light that everyone could see just by looking at her.  She was so good it was almost funny.  You'd have thought she had these really great parents.  A PTA cooking baking mom and a hard working dad who never missed the school plays, a family who went to church every Sunday.  But it was nothing like that.  She was good in spite of them.  In spite of her alcoholic mother who yelled at her and her half brothers and sisters and her third stepdad who beat the shit out of her mom and spent half the day passed out on the couch when he was supposed to be out looking for a job.  She truly saw the good in people.  She said hello to everyone, always had a kind word.  When she asked someone how their day was it wasn't because she was being polite.  It was because she really cared.  She made everyone around her want to be a better person just by being around.  She tutored kids for free, helped people get jobs who really needed it.  There was this guy, he'd been on the streets or sleeping on people's couches for like fifteen years because he had a drug problem.  She helped him turn his life around.  You'd remind her of something really special she did for someone and she'd think of something even better she could do.  She was like an angel.  It took me six weeks to get up the courage to ask her out.  I thought she'd laugh at me.  And she did laugh at me, but it was because she could see how nervous I was.  In the year and a half that I knew her I went from wanting to be a professional football player and bed every hot woman I could find to wanting to change the world.  She taught me that there could be so much more to life than what we're taught to want.  I was still going to play ball, but instead of spending the money on stupid shit like a big house and fancy cars sitting in the garage, she was going to use the money to make people's lives better.  And she could have done it too.  That girl, all hundred pounds of her, could have changed the whole fucking world." 

His arms tightened briefly around Jess's waist again, but then he let her go.  He kissed the side of her neck and then took her hand, leading her to the couch.

"Sorry," he said.  "I hope I'm not boring you."

"No.”  He wasn't boring her.  He had such passion in his voice that she had to hear more.  He sighed, putting his head in his hands.  "Daylin.  What happened to Amanda?"

He looked at her, his eyes so intense that she had to look away.  "I lost her.  I lost the only woman that I ever loved to some drunk fuck who never should have been on the road.  I should have been with her too.  I would have been with her if Cameron's piece of shit car hadn't broken down.  A week and a half before graduation she was gone.  We were going to get married.  I'd given her an engagement ring.  She had it hidden in her sock drawer at home.  But that's not even the worst part of it.  I had to hear from some bottom feeding gossip that I not only lost my future wife, but our child too."

His voice cracked when he said the last word.  She wanted to comfort him, wanted to bridge the gap between them on the couch, but she couldn't do it. 

"I'll never know why she didn't tell me.  Maybe she didn't know.  Or maybe she was waiting for the right time to tell me.  I went crazy after that, was drunk at her funeral, drunk at graduation, and drunk and high all summer until I went to school.  My parents threatened to disown me.  Never mind that I never did anything as bad as my older brother who's been in and out of jail.  Or that my sister's bisexual and has a live in lover that the kids think is nothing more than their nanny.  I was the bad one because I got my girlfriend pregnant.  It didn't matter that I was going to marry her, that I knew I wanted to marry her as soon as she said yes to our first date.  It only mattered that she was knocked up and that I was drunk all the time.  Her piece of shit stepdad bought the booze for me.  I went to college, the college that we were supposed to go to together.  For a while I thought I could do it by myself in her memory, give her something to be proud of me for.  But I blew my knee out in my first college game and that was the end of that idea.  I started drinking again, skipping class, almost got kicked out of school.  I came home for Christmas, got into a huge argument with my parents.  My dad told me that if I didn't start straightening up, he didn't want me to be his son anymore.  I was pissed at first, walked out and went back to school even though it was only the day after Christmas.  But I looked at myself and it dawned on me how messed up I was letting shit get.  So I started going back to class, got my grades up.  But that wasn't good enough for Dad.  By the time I came home from school it had been eight months since I'd said more than hello to a girl.  Now I was gay.  I was pissed as hell again but I said screw it and got myself a girlfriend.  It lasted all of two weeks.  I couldn't look at a girl and not compare her to Amanda.  And there was no way in hell anyone was going to live up to her.  So I gave up and started screwing around, any woman that would have me.  That lasted for about a year.  Things didn't go well.  I had a half dozen pregnancy scares, some STD scares, and gave up.  I was celibate for another six months and then I dated again.  It's pretty much been like that ever since.  I'm never with a woman too long, never get too close.  I'm sorry if I come on too strong Jess.  It’s habit.  Old habits die hard."

She didn't know what to say.  She started to reach for a cigarette from her purse but stopped.  He saw her and seeming to read her mind again, said "Go ahead and smoke.  Lucy does it all the time.  Not that she ever bothered to ask."

She nodded.  He watched her light her cigarette and said "Why did you start smoking?"

"It's a long story.”  And not something that she wanted to explain Jess thought.

"Humor me.”

She started to shake her head but sighed, and since he'd spilled his guts to her said "It reminds me of my Dad."

"Is he dead?”

"No.  Um well, at least I don't think so.  I haven't seen him in twenty-one years."

"I see.  How come he and your mom got divorced?"

"I don't know.  Well, they didn't get divorced right away I don't think.  They obviously got divorced at some point because she married my stepdad, but I don't really know when they actually got divorced.  He just sort of walked away."  Now this was really something she didn't want to discuss she thought. 

"And he never visited you?"

"Uh, no."  She was really uncomfortable now, even more uncomfortable than when she'd been listening to him bicker with Cameron and Lucy at the diner.

"That sucks."

"Yeah, it really does."

She put her cigarette out in the ashtray he'd pushed across the table to her and said "I think I'd like to go to bed now."

"Okay."

He looked disappointed, but simply watched her get up off of the couch and head towards the bedroom.

When she’d reached the doorway he said "You might want to leave the door open a bit.  It gets stuffy in there at night."

She nodded and then went in to use the restroom.  When she was back in the bedroom, she cursed herself for forgetting to take her pajamas with her when she'd been in the bathroom and was headed back in that direction when she paused.  Daylin was undressing in the living room.  Her breath caught as he pulled his t-shirt over his head.  His body looked even better without clothes.  She felt herself blushing as he stripped off his jeans, wondering if he was going to take off his boxer briefs as well, but he slipped his drawstring pajama bottoms on over top of them.  She didn't know whether she was relieved or disappointed. 

She turned back towards the bathroom, but stopped.  Would he try to peek at her and catch a glimpse of her undressing like she'd done with him Jess wondered?  She stayed where she was and took her clothes off slowly, heart beating fast.  But his head didn't turn even slightly.  Again she didn't know whether she was relieved or disappointed. 

She tossed and turned for over an hour, wondering if it was all the caffeine that was keeping her from sleeping or the thought of Daylin's half naked body on the couch.  Finally she sighed and sat up, wishing that she hadn't left her purse with her cigarettes in the living room.

"Can't sleep huh?"

Either Daylin had super sensitive ears, or he'd been listening to her toss and turn Jess thought.

She swallowed hard and went out to the living room.

He was grinning.  "Are you an insomniac or is it just tonight?"

"A little of both, I guess," she said, feeling uncomfortable.

He threw the blankets over the back of the couch and gestured for her to sit down.

She reached for a cigarette.  He said "You smoke too much."

"I do it when I'm nervous." She turned away from him.

"And what's making you nervous Jess?”  His voice was silky smooth, like he knew exactly what was making her nervous.

She tried to play it cool.  "I don't know Daylin.  It couldn't possibly be that I'm in a strange man's house."

He made a face.  "You don't have to be nervous Jess.  I'd never hurt you."

Yeah right, she thought.  Like her father had never hurt her, like her stepfather had never hurt her.

"You don't know me Daylin."

"We could change that.”

"No.”

"Jess, give me a chance.  What happened baby, that you won't let anyone care?"