Everything But (30 page)

Short and sweet…but enough to keep her awake most of the night.

Chapter Thirty

ERIN WAS PROUD
of herself in spite of her fatigue.  She hadn’t broken down and called Riley, so she’d be able to look Jackie in the eyes this morning and tell her the truth.  Her observant friend would know she’d tossed and turned all night (no amount of Visine could clear up the road maps the tiny capillaries in her eyes had created), but she would also be able to sense that Erin had done as she’d promised.

But she did plan to call Riley today.  Yes, Jackie had been right.  She had more clarity, even with feeling tired.  She’d be less likely to just cave if Riley’s explanation was lame, but she did plan to talk to him.  She might call him at lunch, depending on how she was feeling, or—if she
really
wanted to make him sweat—she might call him after work.

So she walked out of her apartment into the cool spring morning.  It was partly cloudy, the sun alternately peeking and
hiding,
and Erin figured it might rain later in
the day.  She was looking over horizon as she walked down the stairs, so it wasn’t until she was almost to ground level that she spied Riley’s car in the parking area at the end of the courtyard. 
Holy shit
.
  Had he been here all night?

No…that wasn’t possible.  Why would he leave, only to sit out in his car all night?  It made no sense.  Or was he acting like a stalker?  After the man problems she’d had over the last few years, the last thing she needed was an obsessive type.

She didn’t pause in her stride but she slowed, giving her brain a chance to process everything.  Riley didn’t jump out of his car when she neared, and as she got even closer, she saw that his head was leaning back against the seat
, tilted to one side
…and he was asleep.  When she got to his car, she stopped.  Should she wake him up or just leave?

Erin really didn’t feel any creepy stalker vibes from Riley, so her curiosity got the best of her.  His window was down a crack, but she rapped on it with her knuckles.  That was all it took.  He startled and his eyes popped open, wide as school doors on the first day of summer.
  He blinked a few times and muttered, “Shit.”  He stretched his neck, looked at Erin, and rolled down the window.  “What time is it?”

“A few minutes after seven.
  How long have you been here?”

A sheepish look passed over Riley’s face.  “You don’t
wanna
know.”

Oh, no
, she wasn’t about to accept a non-answer
.  After last night, she wasn’
t
going to
let him off the hook.  “I asked.”

“Did you get my message?”

“Are you avoiding my question?”

“No.”

“Yeah, I got your message.”

“I came by here right after
I called you
.  But…after being such a dick, I didn’t want to come knocking on your door.  I just thought if you decided you wanted to talk, I was nearby.
  I could be in your apartment in just a few seconds.
”

“So you fell asleep waiting?”

“Looks like it.”  He forced a smile. 
“Do you have a minute?”

“I have a few, but not many.  Make it quick.” 
Ooooh
.
  She really liked the pair of
cojones
she was sporting.

“Does that mean I’m forgiven?”

She couldn’t help the tiny smile that was turning the corners of her mouth up. 
“Maybe.”

Riley cocked his head toward the passenger side of the car.  “Get in.”

Erin walked around to the other side while Riley leaned over to
open
the door.  As she pulled the door the rest of the way open
from the outside
and Riley sat
back
up, he pulled a piece of paper off the seat
,
wadding
it up.  She was still feeling a little ballsy and asked, “What’s that?”  The real answer was
none of her damned business
, but she didn’t care.

“Oh, it’s
nothin
’.”  But he was acting damned suspicious and it piqued her curiosity.

Erin cocked an eyebrow.  “What is it?”

He let out a long breath.  “You really don’t
wanna
know.”

She felt her brows pushing together.  “I hadn’t cared, but now I’m dying to know.  You are actually
squirming
, Riley Schultz.” 
Big bad rock star
.

He sighed and frowned but flipped his wrist over, offering her the crumpled up piece of paper.  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Erin pulled the paper apart, noticing right away that she got something red all over her right palm. 
Lipstick maybe?
  But then she read the note and her blood started to boil.
  Yes, it was definitely lipstick.
 
What made her angriest were the two middle sentences: 
“Are you ready for a girl who will REALLY show you a good time?  You don’t want some stuffy English teacher, do you?”  And the girl’s phone number was
scribbled on the note
too.  Erin couldn’t quite decide what she thought of it.  Part of her wanted to laugh at this girl’s attempt to grab Riley’s attention, but part of her wondered when he’d gotten the note and if he’d taken her up on the offer.  Without thinking further, she asked, “Is
this
why you left in such a hurry last night?”
  She had to know.  Did he bail on her last night so he could get himself some fresh slutty pussy?

If he said
yes
, they were done
, no more questions asked
.

She saw shock register in his eyes. 
“Oh,
hell
, no.
  This stupid thing was under my windshield wiper when I left.  I just threw it on
the seat and forgot about it.  And I’m s
orry…that was pretty insensitive just leaving it there.”  He took a deep breath.  “That
note?  That
’s actually not that unusual, Erin…not in my line of business.”

She couldn’t help herself.  She was locked and loaded.  “And how often do you take them up on their offers?”

Riley shook his head
and looked reluctant to speak but did anyway
.  “When I was first starting out?  I never turned ‘
em
down.
 
Nowadays?
  I rarely bite.”

“Rarely?”

“Well,
never
would be a lie, and I’m not going to lie to you. 
But this girl?
 
No way.”

“Just
something about
this
girl?”

“
No
, Erin.  Don’t you get it?”

She paused.  His reaction was a little more vehement than she’d expected.  She’d pushed a button…or two.  “Get what?”

He took a deep breath and touched her cheek.  “I don’t know how the fuck it happened, but I’m feeling something for you I shouldn’t.”

Stalkerishness
?
  She was going to tread lightly
, because she didn’t know what answer to expect
.  “What would that be?”

“Something I haven’t felt in a long time.”  He still wasn’t alleviating her concerns, so she just sat and stared at him, waiting for him to find the words.  “I care about you, Erin. 
A lot.”

What the hell was her heart doing?  It was fluttering in her chest, doing some weird dance she hadn’t felt since she’d been a teenager.  Because the truth was, when she really let herself think about it, she cared about him a lot too.  But hadn’t they just talked…yesterday morning
(had it only been a day?)
…about not letting this get out of hand?
  She was so emotional
now,
her power of recall was failing her.  She swallowed the saliva flooding her mouth and tried to force her tongue and jaw to work in conjunction.  “I care about you too, Riley.”

She took a deep breath and looked down at her hands, because his eyes were too intense.  “But…I wonder how real our feelings can be.”

“What do you mean?”  His hand was moving her hair behind her shoulder and resting on her neck.

Erin made herself look at him again.  “We barely know each other.
  And you’re leaving in just a few days.  And…”

Riley had been nodding, indicating he agreed with everything she said.  “
Yeah,
and…?”

She had to say it.  “And last night…you were so…
cold
.  You reminded me of my ex.”  She shook her head.  “I can’t have that.”

He looked pained. 
“Won’t happen again.”
  He clenched his jaw.  “I thought you didn’t care so I was trying to…”

“What made you think I didn’t care?”

He drew in a deep breath through his nose and shrugged.  “I must have just misunderstood you.”

“Hey…I really have to go, but do you want to come by tonight?”

He smiled and just that look
let
Erin
know things were all right
.
  “What time?”

“Whenever.
  I’ll be home after five.”  She held the note out.  “Do you want this back?”

He chuckled.  “Why don’t you keep it?”

Good answer
, she thought,
as she
opened the car door.  She crumpled it, though, and slid it into the small
waste
bag hanging from the car lighter.  It was definitely trash.

Chapter Thirty-one

GOD
…
RILEY HAD
slept
for shit
last night.  He felt like he’d been run over by a semi.  But it was
his own
damned fault.  After he’d seen all the lights go off in Erin’s apartment, he knew she
probably
wasn’t going to
call, but there was no way he was going home.  He sat there for hours, considering taking the chance and ringing her doorbell anyway, but then he’d talk himself back out of it, not wanting to wake her.  He knew she had to teach the next day, and he didn’t want to disturb her.

A
t some point, he’d drifted off.  He awoke once, feeling groggy, so
he rolled
down the window a little
, hoping the cool breeze would wake him up enough so he could drive home…or even to a motel.  But instead he fell into a deep sleep.  The next thing he knew, Erin was rapping on his door.

But after she left to go to school, he realized he hadn’t slept well at all.  He got out of the car and stretched.  His muscles felt tight and achy, and his neck had a kink in it.  He knew what he needed.  No, he didn’t need to smoke a joint and he really didn’t need a drink.  What he needed was a good workout—that would help him get rid of the aggression and anger that was threatening to take hold again, just like it had gripped him as a teen.

So, before little Miss Josie from A-3 decided to make an appearance, Riley got in his Mustang with an agenda:  get some breakfast, find a gym and sign up
and pay
for however short a time they’d let him get away with, work out until he
was exhausted, then grab a shower and a nap.  He’d maybe go to his parents’ house, but he’d see how he felt after the workout.

* * *

After working out, Riley’s head was clear.  It was time to have it all out with his folks.  He was an adult, damn it, and he should be able to speak his mind.  He wasn’t intimidated by his father anymore, but as he dug deeper, he knew part of him
did fear the possibility of
never speaking to his family again.

Now, though, he knew that if that’s what it came to, so be it.  Last night’s argument (inquisition was more like it) was nothing new.  Riley was an adult now and wasn’t going to take it anymore.  Either his father respected him as a man, no matter how much the son part of Riley disappointed him, or they were done.

He left the gym
after
shower
ing
.
  He’d bought a pair of shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt to work out in, so he was able to change back in the clothes he’d been wearing, but he wanted a fresh set of clothes.  Home it was.
  Well, no longer
home
but mom and dad’s house.
His dad would likely be at work, but mom might be there.  It didn’t matter.

When he got there, he knew his mother was there somewhere, because her car was still in the driveway, but his dad’s car was gone, just as he’d suspected.  He walked in the front door, ready to hear it from her, asking where he’d been last night, what he’d been doing, how angry his dad was
now
…but she was nowhere.  He debated just going up to his old room and packing his shit, then going to a hotel, but he’d
vowed not to be a
chickenshit
.  So he went to the kitchen, expecting to find her there.  She wasn’t there, but he did see her out in the backyard through the kitchen window.  There was still hot coffee in the coffeepot and he almost grabbed a mug out of the cabinet and decided against it.  That would be a bad move.