Tear Down These Walls (20 page)

“Just dress sexy. I have to show you off.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Am I your date?”

Frowning, Teagan says, “I guess not.”

“But you want to show me off?” Trent laughs.

“Come on, you are my
really
hot friend,” Teagan whines playfully.
“And it’s my birthday!”

“Fine, I promise the girls will drool.”

“Thank you!” Teagan exclaims, throwing her hands up.

“But, if I am going to be dressed to impress and am sort of your date,
you’d better be, too,” Trent demands.

Teagan smirks, “You will drool.”

“I don’t know,” Trent exhales. “I saw you in only my dress shirt, plus there
was that whole hot tub incident. It’s going to be hard to top that.”

Quickly covering her face, Teagan mumbles, “Can we please forget that
happened?”

“It’s fine,” Trent replies, pulling down her hands. “You’re gorgeous, and
nothing happened. There’s no need to be ashamed.”

“Well, I
was
a bit tipsy,” Teagan starts. “So, I do have some
excuse.”

“I’m happy that you felt comfortable enough to do that around me,” Trent
says gently. “I like to watch out for you.”

“See, that’s why you have to come tomorrow. It’s my birthday. I will
probably be consuming many shots, lots of mischief.  I may need your
help.”

Chuckling, Trent says, “Well, I will carry you home if need be.”

“I will give you my house keys at the beginning of the night,” Teagan
states. “So, I don’t lose them. I always drop things out of my purse.”

“I am not carrying your purse. I have my limits,” Trent strongly
declares.

“All I need it for is my cell phone and money,” Teagan snorts. “My dress
doesn’t have pockets.”

“You don’t need money. I will buy your drinks for the evening,” Trent
says. “And I will hold onto your cell phone, so that you one, don’t lose it and
two, don’t break it.”

Teagan grins and claps her hands. “Thank you!”

“All right, but I still won’t help you if you puke,” Trent scoffs as he
puts his hands out. “That’s my limit.”

“No worries,” Teagan replies. “This is going to be awesome!”

“Well, I should get going so you can get to bed on time. You want to be
energized for you birthday.”

“I do,” Teagan sighs. “Thank you for everything.”

Trent shrugs. “Happy to help.”

“This is more than helping,” Teagan says. “I will repay you somehow.” She
steps up to him and wraps her arms around his waist. She lays her head on his
chest and whispers, “Thank you so much.”

“You’re welcome,” he murmurs back, hugging her back, resting his chin on
her head.

Teagan lifts her head up and looks into his eyes. Going on her tiptoes,
she gently kisses him on cheek. When she pulls away, Trent turns his head
towards her. Their lips and noses graze each other. They both stop dead and
stare at each other. Teagan can feel his breath hot on her lips, and it makes
everything in her tighten in anticipation. Then it hits her; she’s not ready,
and they’re just friends. She lowers herself down and steps away from him.
“Thank you again.”

Exhaling, Trent runs his fingers through his hair. “Umm, I should get
going.”

“Yeah.”

“All right then,” he turns on his heel with a jerk and walks to the
door. 

She follows him and fidgets with her fingers. “I will call you tomorrow
when I know what’s going on.”

“Sounds good,” Trent mumbles, not meeting her eyes. Finally, he looks up.
Teagan’s breath gets caught in her throat because for a split second there is
heat in Trent’s eyes again. Teagan can’t even speak under the stare. Finally,
Trent says, “Lock the doors behind me, and if
anything
happens and it
freaks you out, call me. It doesn’t matter what time it is.”

“Okay,” Teagan replies softly.

“I want you safe.”

“I think I am now,” Teagan states. “All thanks to you.”

“I will see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, good night,” Teagan whispers.

Trent nods, “Night.” He turns and walks away. As Teagan watches him, a
yearning starts to build inside of her to call him back. Shaking her head, she
quickly squelches the thought and shuts the door with a click of the lock.

“Are you sure that he is coming to get you?” Victoria asks.

Teagan looks down at her phone, “Yeah, in fifteen minutes, so I need to
finish getting ready.”

“Our reservations are at seven. Don’t be late!” Victoria exclaims.

“I won’t. Gotta go.”

“Bye.”

“Bye.” Teagan presses end on her screen and goes back to doing her make
up. She takes out the black liquid eyeliner and carefully applies it. When she
is finished, she looks in the mirror. A smile spreads across her face. Her eyes
are dark, making her eye color pop.  Her lips are blood red, looking great
against her skin, and her hair is in soft curls framing her face. “Perfect.”

Turning, Teagan goes into her room to put her shoes on. She slides on
each high heel and then takes the ribbon and wraps it up around her leg. She
stands up and looks into the floor length mirror. Her dress is black, low cut,
and hugs her curves perfectly. It is short, only coming down to the middle of
her thighs.

Suddenly, there is a knock at the door. Teagan takes a deep breath in and
then walks out into the living room. She hesitates for a second and then opens
the door. When she sees Trent her jaw drops. He is standing there in a tight
black t-shirt that shows off every muscle.  His long legs are in pin
striped dress pants, and every inch of him makes Teagan’s chest clench. Trent
stares at her intensely. She whispers, “Hey.”

“Happy birthday,” he starts. “You look…..absolutely….stunning.”

Teagan looks down and says, “Thanks.”

“Are you ready?” Trent asks, still not peeling his eyes from her.

“Yeah, I just have to grab my cell phone and lipstick.”

“And where are you putting your lipstick tonight?” Trent inquires with
humor in his tone.

She pauses, “Oh yeah, I wasn’t going to take a purse.” Teagan frowns. “I
guess I will have to leave it.”

“Oh geez, give it to me,” Trent groans. “I will put it in my pocket.”

“Are you sure?” Teagan asks. “You are already carrying my cell phone.”

“A lipstick is small enough,” Trent replies. “Just nothing else.”

She leaps over and kisses him on the cheek. When she pulls away, she
giggles, “Oops.” Teagan quickly rubs the lipstick off of his face. “That’s not
your color.”

Trent laughs and rubs his cheek where her fingers just were. “No, I don’t
think it is.”

“Let me grab everything, and I will be all set. You can come in.”

“All right.” He steps in and looks around. “I think your apartment turned
out nicely.”

“It’s spectacular,” Teagan spins around, still unable to believe how it
looks. “I would give you another kiss, but I don’t want to be overly
affectionate. Don’t want to give the wrong impression.”

“That’s good,” Trent mumbles.

Teagan walks over and grabs her stuff off the counter. She brings it over
to Trent and hands it to him. “Thank you for this….for holding on to my stuff
and for coming out.”

“You’re welcome,” Trent replies. “It has been a long time since I have
been out.”

“Really? Don’t you have friends you go out with?” Teagan asks.

“My life is not conducive to social pleasures,” Trent sighs.

“Does work take up that much of your time?”

He is quiet for a moment and then says, “I have family responsibilities
that take a lot of time. I’m also getting past that point of going out to bars,
especially since this is such a college town.”

“Do you not want to come out tonight?” Teagan blurts. “You don’t have
to.”

“Oh no!” Trent exclaims. “That is not what I meant.”

“Good.” Teagan smiles. “I want us to go out and be normal friends.”

“That sounds good to me, too,” Trent states. “We should get going if we
are going to be there on time. I like to be punctual.”

“That’s funny because so do I,” Teagan laughs. “I hate being late.”

Smiling, Trent notes, “Well, that is something we have in common.”

“Just that?” Teagan says. “I think there are probably more things.”

“We will have to wait and see.” Trent looks toward the door, and they
walk out.

Teagan turns around to lock it. “Is there a spare set to these locks?”

“Yes.”

She turns around. “And where are they?”

“I have them at the office,” Trent replies.

Trying really hard not to smile, Teagan says, “Two things, what if I
don’t want you to have the spare set, and should I be worried that you can get
into my place whenever you want?”

“You can ask for them whenever you want if you don’t want me to have
them, and I would never enter your house unannounced unless it was an
emergency.”

“Well, I am going to let you keep them because Victoria lost my last
set.”

“Sounds good. They are in my desk in my office, and I keep it locked.
Well come on beautiful, let’s go.” Trent extends his hand towards her. Teagan
looks at it for a second and then takes it. Without any hesitation, Trent locks
their fingers together and leads her down the steps.

When they get outside, Teagan stops dead in her tracks. “What’s that
for?”

Trent turns and looks at the limo. “It’s your birthday, and if we are
drinking, I don’t want anyone to drive.”

“That’s fantastic!” Teagan yells. “Victoria is going to flip!”

“We’ll take it wherever you want after dinner,” Trent states. “But we
really should get going.”

“Thank you,” Teagan giggles. “I want to give you a kiss on the cheek, but
I’ll try and hold myself back.”

He chuckles, “Okay.” She thinks he says something else under his breath,
but she doesn’t question him. There is no need to make this night awkward.

When they get into the limo, Teagan tries to pull her skirt down as much
as possible.  Trent looks at her out of the corner of his eye and she
blushes. “I bought this dress specifically for tonight. I didn’t realize how
much it rides up when I sit down.”

“It’s okay,” Trent says. “I will tell you if it gets too high.” He
pauses. “On second thought, maybe I won’t.”

“Ha, ha.” Teagan sarcastically pushes him on the shoulder. Trent grins at
her, and she rolls her eyes.

It doesn’t take them long to get to the restaurant. Trent gets out first
and then helps Teagan. When they get inside, they find everyone waiting in the
entryway.

“Happy Birthday!” Victoria yells. She comes bounding over in her
hip-hugging jeans and flimsy white tank top and hugs Teagan tightly. “I am so
excited!”

Laughing, Teagan says, “Me too.” She lets go and introduces everyone.
“Trent, this is Michael and Isaac. You’ve already met Emily, so guys, this is
Trent.”

Michael sticks out his hand and Trent shakes it. “It’s great to meet you.”

Isaac stands there eyeing up Trent. “Hey,” Isaac finally says, sticking
his hand out.

Out of the corner of her eye, Teagan sees Trent smirk. “Hi.” He shakes
Isaac’s hand.  When Trent steps back, he puts his hand around Teagan’s
waist. “Is the table ready?”

“Yeah, we were just waiting for you,” Emily says, looking down at Trent’s
hand.  “Let’s go eat.” She turns and walks to the hostess stand.

The table is round, so Teagan steps up to one seat. Trent grabs it and
pulls it out for her. “Thank you.” Teagan smiles and bats her eyelashes.

“My pleasure,” Trent murmurs back. She sits down, and he takes the chair
next to her.

Victoria cuts in front of Isaac, who was about to sit down next to
Teagan. She smiles at him. “I get the chair by the birthday girl, best friend
rules.” He nods and takes another seat. Victoria turns to Teagan, and Teagan
mouths “thank you.”

Teagan’s phone whistles. She looks at Trent, but then sees her cell phone
already sitting on the table in front of her. She picks it up and opens the text.
It’s from Trent, so she furrows her eyebrows and looks at him. Trent gestures
to her phone. Teagan looks down and reads it.
This Isaac is the one that
likes you?

Yes,
she texts back.

But you don’t like him back?
Teagan looks at Trent and shakes her head.
He nods his head and types something on his phone.
Have you told him?

He has never said anything, but makes it really obvious. It would be
rude to tell him that for no reason.

Want my help?

Raising an eyebrow, Teagan texts,
How?

Just leave it up to me.

She shrugs her shoulders and texts,
Okay, just don’t be an ass.

I would never.
After Teagan reads the text, she feels Trent
squeeze her knee. She smirks at him and rolls her eyes.

The waitress comes up next to them and asks, “How is everyone this evening?”

“Wonderful!” Victoria cheers. “It’s Teagan’s birthday!”

Teagan glares at her friend and whispers, “Thanks.”

“Can I start you off with drinks?”

“Of course,” Victoria chimes. “I want a margarita.”

The waitress looks at Isaac, “What would you like?”

“Samuel Adams,” Isaac replies.

“The same for me,” Mike adds.

Emily smiles, “I would like a diet coke. I am the designated driver.”

Trent interrupts, “We don’t need one. I have arranged
for transportation for us all.”

“You did?” Emily replies, a smile spreads across her
face. “Well then, I would like a gin and tonic.”

The waitress looks at Trent. He smirks and says, “I
would like jack and coke.” He turns to Teagan. “What do you want, my dear?”

Teagan pauses to think about it. “Long Island Iced Tea, please,” she
finally responds.

“I will get those in right away,” the waitress states, as she turns to
walk away.

“Way to start off the night,” Trent laughs.

“You may have to carry me to bed again,” Teagan giggles back.

“Again?” Victoria interjects slyly. “What a strong guy; that’s sexy.”

Shaking her head, Teagan says, “It’s not even like that. He carried me to
the spare bedroom, and nothing happened.”

“It’s none of our business if it had,” Michael says, eyeing Victoria. He
looks back at Teagan and Trent. “So, are you guys dating?”

“No,” Teagan hears herself say rather quickly.  “Friends.”

Isaac smiles.  “Well, it’s nice that you could come out, Trent.”

“Well, I’m her date tonight,” Trent asserts. “Couldn’t have this
beautiful woman go out by herself.”

“We are with her,” Isaac interjects, his face a little hard.

Teagan’s heart jumps as Trent traces his fingers gently down her neck.
“It’s not the same.”

“So, should we get appetizers?” Emily asks.

“Totally,” Mike answers. “I want mozzarella sticks.”

“Bruschetta for me,” Teagan declares. “It’s wonderful here.”

“I can go for that,” Trent adds. “What about calamari?”

“What is that?” Teagan asks, squinching up her nose.

Trent gives her mischievous smile. “It’s squid.”

“That is disgusting,” Teagan gags.

He smirks, “Don’t knock it until you try it.”

“Uh no,” Teagan retorts, putting her hands out. “Gross.”

Trent laughs. “I don’t want to make the birthday girl grossed out, so no
calamari.”

“Thanks,” Teagan whispers.

“Let’s do birthday gifts!” Victoria exclaims. She grabs her purse and
takes out a small, wrapped box. “This is from Emily and me.”

Teagan takes the box and shakes it. There is a rattle from inside. “I
wonder what it is.”

“Any guesses?” Victoria giggles.

“No,” Teagan counters.

“Open it!” Emily cheers. “I think we did well this year.”

Excitedly, Teagan rips off the wrapping paper. It is a small jewelry box.
When she opens it up, there is a charm bracelet inside. At first glance, Teagan
can see a small margarita glass charm, a book, and what appears to be a pool
ball dangling delicately among a handful of other charms. “Oh my gosh,” Teagan
gasps. “It’s beautiful!”

“Each charm has something to do with things we have done,” Victoria
declares. “We thought about it for a while.”

“It’s perfect!” Teagan exclaims. “Thank you so much!”

“Here, let me help put it on,” Trent says, taking the bracelet out of the
box. Teagan extends her wrist out, and he clasps it on. “It’s very pretty.”

“I know!” Teagan shakes her wrist, and the sound of the charms tinkling
against each other fills the air. She looks at Emily.  “I love it.”

Emily smiles, “I’m glad.”

“My gift next,” Michael pipes up. He throws her an envelope.

She rips it open and gasps. “A massage, oh my gosh, how perfect!”

“I figured you have had enough stress lately. You probably need it.”

“You have no idea,” Teagan replies. “This is wonderful.”

“Awesome,” Michael says happily.

Everyone looks at Isaac. He smiles, “I plan to take you out to dinner,
wherever you want.”

There is an awkward silence. Teagan doesn’t know what to say. Victoria
quickly yells, “You need to take her Dave and Buster’s! Better yet, we can all
go!”

“Oh,” Isaac interjects. “I meant by ourselves.”

“No, the Dave and Buster’s thing sounds great,” Trent states smoothly,
staring at Isaac. “Right babe?”

Teagan nods, “Yeah, it will be fun. They actually have decent food
there.”

“Dave and Buster’s it is!” Victoria exclaims. Isaac frowns and looks
down.

Smiling, Teagan looks around the table at her friends, “Thank you all for
your gifts.”

“What?” Trent retorts. “I can’t give you mine?”

“You have done enough for me; don’t be ridiculous. You replaced
everything that was damaged in my apartment. That’s a lot of money. Plus, you
gave me a computer. Plus, you supplied transportation tonight.”

“PLUS, I am buying dinner and drinks for the evening,” Trent laughs. “But
that’s not your present.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small box.
“This is for you.”

Teagan furrows her eyebrows and looks at him. “I can’t take a present.”

“Open it. I bet you change your mind.”