Page 27 of Playing for Keeps
Del stepped out of the car before she could reply. He jogged over to the door of the bar, unlocked it and slipped inside. He didn’t look back, nor did he think too hard on why he’d been so bothered by her words. Did she think he was ashamed to be seen with her? Was he? And what exactly were they doing now?
This had gone past the one time they’d promised each other. Hell, he’d spent the night at her apartment, sleeping beside her in that small ass bed, holding her warm body close to his. Del had never spent the night with a woman before. Some had tried to set up those circumstances, but no matter the time or even if he’d had a drink or two, he always got up and went to his own bed. And he never invited anyone to share that bed with him. Sleeping was a solitary function for him, or at least it had been.
He’d told Rylan she wasn’t like other women. Last night had proven that point. It would be good if he could reconcile with why that mattered so much to him. But it was almost ten a.m. and they were opening in an hour. Staff would be pouring in within the next half hour. He had inventory lists to go over and expense charts to review and approve. He didn’t have time to stand around thinking about Rylan. But if Del were perfectly honest with himself he would admit that he would probably think of nothing else but her today.
It was becoming a habit; one he wasn’t that uncomfortable with.
9
“Hold it right there, missy!”
Rylan spun around in the parking lot, ten seconds away from lifting her arms and assuming the position as she heard the order given in a loud tone. If it weren’t for the click-clack of heels on the sidewalk she would’ve believed she was being arrested, for what she had no idea. But she saw Camy walking confidently toward her, wearing black leather boots zipped up her calf.
“Good morning to you too,” Rylan said and met Camy halfway, stuffing her hands into her coat pockets because she’d left her gloves at home.
That was most likely due to the fact that there’d been a man in her apartment this morning while she’d been getting ready for work.
“Oh no, we’re skipping right past the pleasantries and getting down to the nitty gritty,” Camy insisted with a shake of her head.
As of three weeks ago, Camy’s hair was a honey bronze color with blonde streaks similar to the ones Rylan had in her jet-black hair. Camy’s hair was styled in fluffy curls that rested on her shoulders. Today she wore black pants, the boots, and a black leather coat belted at the waist. She looked like a model with her carefully made up face and manicured nails, while Rylan burrowed into her thick coat and kept her mouth closed to keep her teeth from chattering.
“Yes, we can do this inside,” Camy said, reading Rylan’s mind.
She laced her arm through Rylan’s and quick-walked them to the door of the body shop. Rylan entered first, with Camy hot on her heels.
“Mornin, Dad,” Rylan yelled into the garage, but lead Camy in the other direction toward the offices.
“Mornin, Mr. Will,” Camy yelled after her and closed the door to Rylan’s office seconds after they entered.
Rylan was taking off her coat when Camy continued.
“Okay, tell me why you were dropping Del off at the bar this morning,” she said before leaning her butt on the side of Rylan’s desk.
Rylan had been hanging her coat on the back of the door as Camy spoke. She was grateful to not be facing her friend at the moment that question rolled out. Her motions came slower as she pulled the gray and white polka dot scarf she’d had tied around her neck and tucked under her coat, off and hung it up too.
“Stalling,” Camy continued. “That means I was right to follow you here to ask questions instead of just texting you.”
When Rylan turned to face Camy it was with a slight frown on her face. “You were at the bar? Why didn’t you toot your horn, wave, say good morning? Something. You followed me all the way to work, which is on the opposite side of town from the school where you should be heading to teach your noon class.”
Camy had always wanted to be a singer, but her mother’s illness had kept her from leaving town right after high school with the talent scout that had heard Camy sing in the school talent show. After her mother’s death, Camy decided that her place was in Providence, living in their family home and taking care of her brothers. For the past three years she’d taught a music class at the high school.
Camy shook her head, gold hoop earrings shaking with the motion.
“Don’t even try it, missy. I want answers. Because while I know Del’s truck is in your shop, I also know that he rented another SUV yesterday afternoon. I also know that from the direction you were driving, you had to be coming from Del’s house and not your apartment. So, I’m asking you why.”
Rylan walked around her desk. She pulled out the chair and sat down, hoping her fingers would remain steady while moving across the keyboard as she booted up her computer. She wanted to check her emails to see if Lamborghini Guy had responded to her latest round of messages.
“The rental broke down. He called to have it towed back to that shady company down on 5thStreet. They rent anything to tourists, but I told Del he shouldn’t pay for any repairs, or the rental and towing costs,” she said as she worked to bring her computer to life.
Camy had moved from the desk, taking a seat in the brown guest chair that was a part of the same set in the waiting room.
“So instead of calling Lance or me, Del called you? Why? Because you’re his favorite pseudo-sister?”
Del and Lance had called her that a lot when she was growing up because she was at their house more than she was at her own. She obviously liked being at their house more and the title they’d given her had seemed less annoying and more endearing than she supposed it should have. Until this morning. Now, hearing it made her stomach churn because the things she and Del had done last night and this morning were definitely not something siblings should do.
“Yeah,” she said simply, without looking up.
Lying to her best friend wasn’t something Rylan did on a regular basis. If there were anyone in this world who deserved her honesty, trust and devotion, it was Camy. They’d shared everything from their fears to their hopes and dreams, tears and laughter and everything in between. So yeah, lying to her wasn’t going to work. All Rylan could hope to do was brush her off. But that wasn’t so easy with a woman like Camy.
