Page 50 of Playing for Keeps
The guys probably weren’t being mean at all, maybe chastising because they didn’t like Camy or any woman at their bar getting pissy drunk. Rock had several Uber drivers on speed dial so that anyone at the bar, especially women, who weren’t able to drive, could get home safely. Where Camy was concerned, any one of the brothers would’ve gladly taken her home and preached to her about the stupidity of drinking too much the entire time, which was probably why Rylan had received the text.
Why she’d been awake and staring at her ceiling so that she’d grabbed her phone as soon as it buzzed, was nobody’s business.
She got out of her car, closed and locked the door and walked across the almost empty parking lot toward the side entrance of the bar. They were closing in a few minutes, but the door was probably locked so she was prepared to bang on it when it opened for her instead.
“Hey,” Del said a quick smile on his face.
That smile, his eyes, the breadth of his chest and the scent of his cologne were all things she hadn’t seen or smelled in while. It took her mind and her body a moment to adjust to the surprise and the memory. Truth be told, she’d been living with the memories of Del daily as if they were her new uninvited houseguest. “Hey,” she said back to him. “I’m here to pick up Camy.”
“Come on in,” he replied and pushed the door open wider, standing with his back against it so she could step inside.
It had snowed again last night leaving a couple feet on the ground and frigid temperatures in the air, so she wasn’t about to make any foolish statements like, “No, I’ll wait out here.” She did, however, make a concerted effort to not touch him as she stepped into the bar. She also held her breath because her body wasn’t doing so good not reacting to the scent of his cologne, that tugging in her chest she’d started feeling whenever he was near had returned with full force.
That sensation slipped her mind when she noticed the bar was completely empty and dark, but for the candles illuminating one of the tables closest to the wall. Music played lightly, an instrumental version of an R&B song she knew but couldn’t name at the moment. She spun around when she heard the door close. “What’s going on? Where’s Camy?”
“She’s home,” Del said stepping out of the shadows of the doorway into the glow of light afforded by the candles. “She said to tell you she’s really sorry, but it was for a good cause.”
His tone was light, but her heart was beating frantically. “What was for a good cause? Lying to me?”
The moment she said those words, Rylan glanced at the candles again and then back to Del. She was gonna strangle Camy. The moment she left here she was going to her house and banging on the door until either she opened it, or all the neighbors woke up ready to curse her out for the disturbance.
“It’s too late for games,” she said and started back toward the door.
Del reached out, grasping her arm to stop her. “Wait. Please,” he said softly.
She didn’t look over at him, but she didn’t keep walking either. “I’m not somebody you and your sister can toy with. I was in bed asleep thinking I was coming to help a friend.”
“You came to see a friend,” he said. “At least I hope we’re still friends.”
Rylan did turn her head to stare at him then. “Oh come on, Del. Tell me you didn’t call me here in the middle of the night to give me the “let’s be friends” speech.”
He let his hand fall from her arm, probably assured that she wasn’t going to run out at this moment since she’d stopped to talk to him again. “No, Rylan. I wanna be so much more than just friends with you.”
She opened her mouth to say something and he held up a hand to stop her. “But I’m not pressing that issue right now. Tonight, I just wanted to talk to you. To clear the air.”
Inhaling deeply wasn’t meant as any kind of play on his words, she just needed to take a breath, to reinforce the vow she’d made to herself to get on with her life without him.
“Look, I know everything that happened and I know that you were upset that day. If I were in your shoes I would’ve been upset too.” She wouldn’t have gone to his house blaming him for her troubles though. “So, there’s no need for us to discuss it any further.”
“You’re wrong,” he said with a shake of his head. “I owe you so much more than a discussion.”
“You don’t owe me anything. We’re adults, we decided to do a thing for a while and now it’s done.” She did take a step to get away from him at that point because try as she had over the past days, she hadn’t yet mastered convincing herself that what they’d had was over.
“Please don’t go.” He didn’t touch her this time, just stated that simple plea. “You don’t have to talk. But I’m asking you to stay and listen.”
Rylan knew she should keep walking. “You’re asking me to stand here and listen when all I wanted from you that day was for you to stop accusing me and my father of trying to hurt you but you refused to do that.”
“I was an idiot. I was angry and hurt and I know those aren’t excuses. They’re just the truth. And despite what I may or may not have done in my past, Rylan, you know I’ve never lied to you.”
He hadn’t. Not even when one of the guys on the football team had called her flat-chested when she’d come to one of their games. Del had jacked the guy up by the collar of his shirt and made him apologize to her, but after the guy had run off she’d asked him if he’d thought she was flat-chested and Del, with his cute half-smile had replied, “Yeah, you kinda are, but you can run laps around that jerk on the track.”. She’d agreed with him that day and he’d walked her home, cracking jokes and making her laugh all the way. Pain seared through her chest at the memory.
“I was wrong and I’m sorry. I should’ve known better. I should’ve been calmer.”
She spun around again. “You should’ve trusted me.”
He nodded. “You’re right, I should’ve.”
“Why didn’t you? Because I’ve never lied to you either, Del.”
