Perfect Match (7 page)

As she parked her car in the driveway of her
childhood home, she knew that she should expect anything tonight.
Nothing was out of the realm of possibility when it came to her
Pop; he was unpredictable; sort of like the weather was that day.
She thought of how beautiful the weather was, even for October. She
loved fall and today was turning out to be a picture perfect day.
Hopefully, the rain and cold would hold off for the rest of the
day. She reached the porch and heard voices coming from the back.
The party had already begun. She smiled and let herself in the
house.

Jackson arrived with his Dad and Mom,
purposely not bringing his own car. He secretly hoped that he could
find a way to get Noelle to drive him home. He was disappointed
that she wasn’t there yet. He was surprised to see Noelle’s sister,
who he hasn’t seen in years. She was there with her new husband
Paul, who Jackson instantly liked. He could tell that he was in awe
of Larry and Howie. As soon as the older men figured out what an
audience they were going to have with Paul, the stories were never
going to stop. He grabbed himself a beer and sat down at the table.
He wondered how soon before Noelle would get there. He pushed that
thought out of his mind and told himself to take in this beautiful
day. The weather changed so quickly in Pittsburgh, and October
could be beautiful and sunny one day and cold and rainy the
next.

Larry and Howie started laughing about
something that only they understood. He always admired the
friendship those guys had. “No more beers for the two of you. You
guys are up to no good already,” his mother, Marlena, said as she
brought out some chips and dip. She kissed Howie on the cheek and
sat down beside Jennifer. Jackson noticed the way his father
watched his mother and was proud to see how much they still loved
each other. He was glad to see that that kind of love existed. He
wouldn’t accept anything less than that for himself either. That
was one of the reasons why he knew things would never work out with
Kayla.

“Hey!” Noelle called as she opened up the
sliding glass door to the patio. “You started the party without
me.”

Jackson couldn’t take his eyes off of her.
She was so beautiful. She had on a simple pair of denim capri’s and
a black t-shirt with low-top slip-on canvas sneakers. She was very
causal and she made it look sexy as hell. She wore her long hair up
into a high ponytail with strands of hair falling on her neck. He
smiled and for him the party had just begun.

“There you are, Lady,” Larry said giving her
a kiss on the cheek, “Didn’t I tell you that she was going to be
late?”

Noelle rolled her eyes and greeted Howie and
Marlena. Jackson could tell that she was purposely not looking at
him. He chuckled and wouldn’t let her off the hook so easily. He
watched her as she said hi to Jennifer and Paul. She still did not
look at him. She helped herself to a beer that was in the cooler
beside Jackson and he whispered, “What’s up, Scout?”

She finally looked at him. He winked at her
and she smiled. He smiled back, pleased with himself for being able
to rattle her.

He didn’t have time to tease her anymore
because Jennifer announced she needed Noelle’s help in the kitchen
and took off. Jackson looked over at Paul and he laughed,
“Sisters.”

“She has big news that I am sure she is
sharing with Noelle right now,” Paul explained.

Jackson raised an eyebrow, “Big news?”

“Noelle’s going to be an aunt.”

“Congratulations!” As if on cue, they heard a
few muffled squeals coming from inside. “And now she knows.”

“Apparently.”

Jackson looked at towards the pool in the
yard and smiled. He remembered all of those times as kids that he
would come over to swim. He loved those times and it felt so good
to be back. It really felt as if he belonged here.

Jennifer and Paul made their announcement
before they ate dinner, and Noelle couldn’t be happier for her
sister! Paul was not like any guy that Jennifer dated before.
Jennifer usually dated the extremely pretty boy model type guy. The
type that was almost better looking than her sister. The kind of
guy that had cared more about how he dressed more than any guy
should. So, when Jennifer brought Paul home, a guy that was a high
school music teacher who wore faded Levis and worn t-shirts, she
knew her sister was going to marry him. He was great and good for
Jennifer. He showed her how to not take life so seriously. They had
a small wedding a few months back and now had a baby on the way.
Noelle couldn’t be any more thrilled.

“Well, I have something to say,” Larry
started after the announcement, “Wow! I am going to be a
grandfather. I am so happy for you. You both are going to be great
parents. I wish your mother could have been here. She’d be so
happy.”

“She would have,” Marlena agreed.

“Oh and Jennifer you made me so happy by not
breaking my rule…”

“No wrestlers!” Jennifer and Noelle said at
the same time.

Paul looked confused so Noelle filled him in,
“Pop has this rule for his girls that we are not to date a
wrestler.”

“Yeah, he threatened all of us that if we got
near Noelle when she got the job at BRAWL, that he’d break our
legs,” Jackson added.

“It‘s not just Pop‘s rule,” Noelle added, “I
wouldn’t date a wrestler, even if Pop didn‘t have that rule.”

“Really? Why?” Paul asked.

“Not to be trusted,” Noelle said. She avoided
having to explain further because her Pop let out a huge groan.

“Oh, no!” He said.

“What’s the matter?”

“I’m not used to having so many people over,
I forgot dessert. I ordered a cake and forgot to pick it up. Hey,
Lady. Can you run down to Cass’s Bakery and pick it up?”

“Really?”

“I had them order it special. Jackson will go
with you, right?”

“Yeah, sure.” Jackson smiled as he stood
up.

“You special ordered a cake?” Noelle asked
him in somewhat disbelief.

“I had to make sure the women had a dessert,
not just steaks. Now hurry.” Larry practically pushed them out the
door. That was completely out of character for him.

“Come on, Noelle. He wants to make sure
everyone is happy.”

“I know he just confuses me at times. Do you
want me to drive?”

“You have to. I didn’t drive. Let’s stop by
the store next to Cass’s. We are going to pick up some stuff to
make our own margaritas. I know how much you love those.” He
playfully put his arm around her. Noelle smiled in spite of herself
and tried to make herself believe that he wasn’t as irresistible as
he thinks he is. She could resist him. She would if it killed
her.

Jackson didn’t start much conversation during
the drive to the bakery. Even when they walked a few stores down to
get the margarita mix, he didn’t say much. He had things that he
wanted to say, but he had to think of the best way to bring them
up. He liked her, and he knew damn well it wasn’t just on a friend
level. They were so close to being more than friends and it all
came crashing down. She was tough because she lived her life
following all sorts of rules, her father’s and her own. He couldn’t
figure that out, especially when Jackson didn’t live that way. He
wasn’t surprised that when they got back to the car, she let on
that she sensed something was up. “You okay?”

“I’m good. Just thinking.”

“About?”

“Well, that is great news about Jennifer.
Paul seems like a great guy.”

“He is great. Great for her, too. Are you
depressed that she is off the market?” Noelle teased as she started
the car.

“Ah, no. I was actually wondering why you
have so many rules for yourself and why are you so against
wrestlers? Noelle, it’s just a job.”

“I don’t think I want to talk about
that.”

“Why not? We are friends, Noelle. We did
agree to that.”

Noelle was silent for a moment, and Jackson
thought that she was going to not talk at all. She sighed and said,
“Okay. I dated a guy who I thought was the one, but he wasn’t. He
said all the right things and did all the right things. He got me
to believe that he loved me, but he didn’t. He wanted more than
what I was willing to give him.”

“What happened?”

“He got mean when I didn’t do what he wanted.
He cheated multiple times. He was always checking out other women
when he was with me. I wasn’t enough for him,” Noelle said
sadly.

He was quiet for a few minutes before he
said, “Not all guys cheat.”

“Hah! You are one to talk Jackson Smith!”

“Noelle, I’ve never cheated on anyone that
I’ve ever dated. That is not the type of man I am.”

“Well, even still, you are a wrestler.”

He was surprised by how disgusted she seemed
by that fact and of the icy tone in her voice. “Yeah and that rule
you have still confuses the hell out of me. What do have against
being with one? Your father was one and he and your mother were
pretty happy from what I can remember. Your father’s “rule” may be
more of a joke, I don’t know, but you back off completely like I am
so kind of criminal.”

He saw her tense up. He knew he wanted her to
say more, he just wasn‘t sure why. “Jackson, my parents were happy,
but my mother worried all the time. A wrestler’s wife lives a life
of constant worry.”

“So does a fireman’s wife.”

“Not to mention all of the partying that goes
on.”

“Not all guys party. You can see that for
yourself now.”

She paused again and said, “Too many
temptations for the guys out on the road.”

Jackson was starting to get irritated with
her answers because he wasn’t sure if she was trying to convince
him or herself. “You talk like you know from experience. Besides,
Noelle, my parents have been married for over thirty years and my
dad has never once been unfaithful to my mother. So your rule for
yourself is something that is just keeping you away from someone
who may be interested in you. Look, I get that you’ve been hurt.
I’ve been hurt too, but you shouldn’t judge all future
relationships because of your past ones.” Jackson said just as she
got back to Larry’s. He noticed that she gripped the steering wheel
tighter and appeared to be doing everything in her power not to
look at him. He was done with the conversation. He shrugged and
said, “Just sayin’.”

Jackson made some margaritas that were way
too strong, but Noelle got the feeling that was his intention. They
sat around the patio talking and laughing as the sun went down.
Noelle tried to watch Jackson when she hoped no one noticed. She
liked being around him. She liked how he made her feel. She wished
that she could get over her fears about getting involved with him.
She couldn’t tell him the real reasons she didn’t date wrestlers.
She never talked about that with anyone. That was a dark time in
her life, and she didn’t want to bring those memories up again.
Only Jennifer knew and she wasn’t going to bring it up. She just
hoped that Jackson didn’t ask any more questions. How would he feel
if he knew the real reason why she won’t date a wrestler, and that
it was because she had broken her Pop’s “rule” and it backfired in
her face? Also, how would he feel if he was part of her past trust
issues? She really wanted to trust Jackson, but couldn’t. Not with
the picture Kayla paints of him, and not with the way he broke her
heart when they were kids. Her mother only left her with one piece
of advice, and she held on to that for all that it was worth. The
words her mother wrote were imbedded in her, “Never trust a man
that will look at another woman while in your presence.” He went
ahead and did it, hurting her in the process. He may not understand
why she has never gotten over it, especially if she didn’t
completely understand it herself. Jackson looked over at her and
smiled. She smiled back and told herself to stop thinking so much.
She didn’t need to figure anything out tonight. She just wanted to
enjoy the company and the margaritas.

Larry and Howie talked about their “glory
days” to the point where everyone but Paul started groaning. “We
heard this all before, Pop!” Jennifer said trying to stop them.

“Paul hasn’t,” Larry said, “He’s enjoying our
stories.”

“I love them.”

“Yeah, well you are married into the family
now. You have the rest of your life to hear all about the
adventures of Ruckus Reid and Hungry Howie,” Jennifer teased.

“Well, there will hopefully be new stories to
tell about Jackson’s career. Bullet is going to be the next big
thing,” Howie gushed.

“Dad, I’m just going to take it one day at a
time. Don’t jinx it.”

“You are one hell of a wrestler, son,” Larry
said, “Don’t sell yourself short. Tony sees it, and that is why you
are getting this push.”

“You know this whole night is one of the most
enjoyable nights I’ve had in a long time,” Paul started, “I’ve been
thinking about what we talked about earlier and I’m curious. What
about Jackson?”

“What about Jackson?” Larry asked.

“What if Noelle and Jackson wanted to
date?”

Noelle felt her face get hot and Jackson
almost choked on his drink.

Larry didn’t say anything for a moment. He
just looked back and forth at the two of them. He chuckled, “They
are like brother and sister.” Just like that, the subject
ended.

Noelle decided to sleep at her Pop’s that
night since she had too much to drink. Jackson rode with his
parents so he didn’t have to worry about driving either. She hoped
that she wouldn’t be feeling the effects of her drinks tomorrow.
She couldn’t sleep because she kept thinking about Jackson and how
much she liked him that summer as teenagers.

Now here they were more than a decade later,
and if she was honest with herself, she’d see that nothing has
changed. He still had her heartbeat going fast and her imagination
giving her all kinds of thoughts about kissing him. She looked at
her phone, wondering if he was also still awake. Opening her text
messages, she saw one with a little blue flag next to it. She had
saved that text he had sent her of what he wanted to do on their
first date. She knew it would have been incredible. She loved live
music, and loved Thai food even more. The thing that had her all
hot and bothered was what he said about his lips doing sexy things
to her lips. Such a corny way of putting it, but because it was
from Jackson, it made her all warm inside. And God help her, she
found herself wanting him to do all of those sexy things to
her.