Page 4 of The Game
Anticipation skittered over Dean’s skin, making the hairs on his forearms rise as he waited outside the restaurant for Alyssa.
Alyssa Martin.
Geez, he couldn’t believe she was back in town. And what were the odds he’d run into her, literally and figuratively, when she hadn’t long been home?
Since they’d parted ways this morning, he’d been preoccupied with thoughts of her, memories of their youth filling his head. Like Kate, Alyssa had been a serious teen, consistently prioritising her studies and extracurricular activities. For her, that meant practising her violin, while he’d been more concerned with partying and chasing the girls he thought might be willing to make out with him.
Man, he’d wished so many times for Alyssa to be like those girls!
He’d always found her fun to tease, but when he’d hit his final year of school, he’d realised he no longer saw her as his little sister’s best friend. She’d outgrown her pigtails and had grown into her curves. From that point on, he’d found her irresistible; that perfect mix between cute and sexy that drove him crazy. How many times had he lain in bed at night, during Kate and Alyssa’s sleepovers, fantasising about her sneaking into his room?
Of course, Alyssa had been far too mature to fall for his tricks back then. He’d teased and goaded her relentlessly—it’d been his go-to, admittedly not very sophisticated, flirting technique. But though he’d hoped to make her smile, had hoped she’d engage, all he usually got in return was a glare and that cute little blush that rose to her cheeks. That expression had turned him on as much as her curves. When she’d glowered at him at the beach this morning…well, she’d nearly floored him without laying a hand on him!
And now they were about to have dinner together. Already, he was determined to see her let loose. If uptight and serious Alyssa had caught his attention when they were teenagers, he had a feeling carefree and fun-loving Alyssa would be a sight to behold. He’d caught a glimpse of that side of her this morning, when she’d teased him about not wanting to skydive. She’d got that glint in her gorgeous green eyes, and that smile—damn if he hadn’t wanted to kiss her then and there. Who knew, if he played his cards right, he might get the chance to live out a few teenage fantasies while she was in town. Only time would tell.
Speaking of which, he glanced now at the time on his phone, anxious for her to show.
Scanning the crowd of people meandering along the beachside dining strip, he knew Alyssa the moment he saw her. She’d rounded the corner of the building down near the yacht club, the skirt of her flowing white dress billowing about her legs in the balmy evening breeze. Her dark glossy hair, styled straight in the sophisticated way he’d expect from a classical musician, caught on the wind and lifted from her shoulders to fly in waves behind her. Though she walked towards him, she gazed instead at the setting sun, and when she was still only halfway along the strip of restaurants, she became so absorbed in the view that she stopped to give it her full attention.
Studying her profile, he was reminded of the haunted look she’d worn this morning, when he’d asked why she was back in town. Until now, he’d forgotten she’d been on the verge of tears, that his question had prompted her to flee.
The memory doused his anticipation. Alyssa might be aiming for carefree and fun-loving, what with the whole jumping-out-of-a-plane idea, but she was harbouring something more, something dark and painful. Maybe she’d been through a messy break-up, or perhaps she’d been fired from her job. Whatever the cause of her reaction to his question, he wasn’t confident he could handle her baggage. Sure, he’d chased after her this morning, but she’d only just walked back into his life—he hadn’t been keen to see her leave so soon, so he’d acted instinctively. But now that he’d given some thought to her situation…
When it came to women, he didn’t do messy. He didn’t do commitment. Much like he had in his teenage years, he kept his relationships brief and superficial, based on mutual attraction. But as soon as things started getting complicated, he split. He’d seen what love and commitment had done to his father, and that was not how he wanted his life to play out. Nope. He would never commit to anyone, had even set up his own business to avoid being answerable to an employer, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to get so hung up on a woman that her transgressions caused him to self-destruct. His mother had kept secrets from her family, from secret boyfriends to a secret drug habit, and when the truth of her sins had been revealed, his father had sought to drown his sorrows with bourbon—and that had been what’d killed him in the end.
No, he’d never let a woman destroy him like that.
As he watched Alyssa now, her face reflecting the orange glow of the setting sun, he wondered whether it’d been a mistake asking her out tonight. He was hoping to have some fun with her—the kind he’d never been given the chance to have as a teenager—except she obviously had issues. Would he regret getting involved?
When she closed her eyes and lifted her face to the sky, he shoved his concerns aside. For now, this was just dinner to welcome an old friend home. There was no harm in seeing how it played out, and if things didn’t go as planned, he’d wish her well and they could go their separate ways.
Satisfied with that decision, he closed the distance between them.
‘Evening.’ He leaned against the railing beside her, and her eyes flew open.
‘Oh … Dean, hi.’ Her face lit up as she smiled.
‘Enjoying the sunset?’
She turned again to where the golden orb dipped below the horizon, its light shimmering on the surface of the water, and nodded. ‘I’d forgotten how beautiful they could be on the west coast. I couldn’t waste the opportunity to watch it.’
The light in her eyes dimmed a little, but he fought the urge to run.
They stood silently as the sun dipped lower until, eventually, it disappeared, and all that remained was a muted rainbow of colours painted across the sky.
When they made their way to the last restaurant on the block, aptly named Sunsets, Alyssa commented on the view. The eateries along this stretch were each open to the water so that not even a pane of glass hindered a diner’s ability to appreciate the coastal landscape, and Sunsets was no different. Dusk had now settled over the bay and Garden Island, and it wouldn’t be long before the only source of light would be the little votive candle flickering between them.
They scoured the menus, and after sharing a laugh when their mouths watered at the meal descriptions, they ordered.
Alyssa smiled at Dean from across the table. ‘Everything sounds delicious. Have you eaten here before?’
‘Yeah, a few times. Their seafood is incredible.’
She nodded, her eyes flicking sideways, then she lowered her voice. ‘Don’t look now, but there’s a woman throwing daggers at you from a table over your right shoulder.’
Dean pulled a face, turning down the corners of his mouth to show he wasn’t worried, but he took a casual sip of his water and glanced over his shoulder anyway. He recognised the woman, who was indeed giving him the stink eye, so he lifted a hand in greeting before turning back to Alyssa.
‘She’s a former client,’ he explained, intentionally leaving out a few key details.
