Everyone cracked up, it was a crowd-pleaser. Katie looked out at the group, light-heartily announcing, “He deserved it.”
There were several more shots from their teen years. Showing them at various places - science camp, parades, and car washes. They were all fun, but more than that, it was photographic evidence of their connection even then.
The last photo looked to be from prom, Jason and Katie were slow dancing. Katie had laid her head on Jason’s shoulder and Jason was looking down at her with so much love, so much longing in his eyes…it was beautiful.
The crowd erupted in oohs and awws, and Riley turned to Chelle and noticed she was tearing up. He wanted so badly to reach out to her, to pull her to him, to keep her there forever.
Instead, he just asked lamely, “You okay?”
She nodded, but he knew she wasn’t. She had dark circles under her eyes, which told him that she hadn’t been getting much sleep. Riley knew the feeling. After spending only two (well, two and
half
) nights with Chelle beside him, sleeping without her pressed against him seemed impossible.
He had only gotten a couple hours of sleep each night since they got back from San Francisco and it had nothing to do with his brother’s uncomfortable couch. He had slept in ditches, in Humvees – hell, even standing up. He could sleep anywhere. Nope, his sleepless nights were due to the fact that he felt as if a part of himself was missing. And now, that part was standing next to him, crying.
Chelle couldn’t stop the tears that were falling down her face. Watching the slide show brought a lot of emotions to the surface that she had been trying her darndest to completely ignore. It also didn’t help that the source of most of those pesky emotions was standing right beside her, looking dangerously sexy in a black v-neck t-shirt and jeans.
I really should have just stayed home, she thought to herself. I did
not
need this today.
After the picture of Jason and Katie dancing at prom, the slideshow transitioned seamlessly into the wedding pictures. They were beautiful.
She looked over at her diamond friend and saw that Katie was crying, happy tears streaming down her face. Turning her attention back to the screen, Chelle watched as pictures of the ceremony flashed in front of her. Honestly, Chelle had been so out of it on Katie's wedding day that it seemed in many ways like she was seeing it all for the first time. She hadn’t really been mentally present there at all, she'd been so laser-focused on just keeping it together until her responsibilities were over and she was able to escape.
Next were pics of the reception. Aunt Wendy had included a lot of candid photos of all the guests and wedding party enjoying themselves. Chelle saw a few pictures of she and Alex dancing, and then some of her and Alex talking to guests. Then, several of her and Alex eating.
Man, he really had not left her side for one minute! The thought occurred to her that maybe she should buy him something as a token of gratitude – just a small gift to show how much it meant to her that he had looked out for her that day.
There were shots of the cake cutting – again, with Alex by Chelle’s side, protecting her. He really was a good friend.
The last slide showed Jason and Katie getting into their limo, Katie waving out the window as they pulled away, Jason pulling his bride inside.
Everyone clapped and cheered when the slideshow concluded. Katie gave Aunt Wendy a big hug, thanking her profusely.
Above all the chatter about what an amazing video it was, and how cute Jason and Katie were together, Chelle heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. Well, one raised voice, at any rate, and she recognized it. It belonged to Riley.
Without even giving it a second thought, she raced down the hall and pushed through the swinging door that led to the Spanish style kitchen.
--- ~ ---
Chelle found Riley and Alex in the far corner having a heated conversation. Actually, Alex seemed to be calm, cool and collected. Riley on the other hand looked like he was about to spit nails.
“Is everything okay?” Chelle asked, her question alerting them both to her presence.
Simultaneously both of their heads snapped up, looking toward her.
Alex’s mouth immediately broke out in a wide mischievous grin, while Riley’s jaw tensed. It seemed her arrival caused him to look even more upset than he already had been.
“Everything’s fine,” Riley said in clipped tones, his jaw so tight she could see a vein in his neck.
Alex chuckled as he pushed past Riley and walked over to Chelle, casually putting his arm around her waist. Chelle’s brow furrowed as she gave him a sideways glance.
What was he up to?
“You see,” Alex began, his explanation aimed at Chelle.
“Alex,” Riley warned.
Uh-oh. She had heard that tone before. Riley obviously did not want her to know what they had been discussing.
That just made her want to know even more.
“My big brother here,” Alex continued, totally ignoring Riley, “thought that I spent a little too much time with you at Jason and Katie’s wedding.”
Chelle wasn’t following, “What?”
“I know, I don’t get it. A guy tries to help a friend out and what does he get? Thanked? Nope. He gets threatened.” Alex was still smiling from ear to ear, obviously enjoying this little exchange.
Chelle’s head was spinning. She turned back to Riley, whose stance could only described as ‘battle ready’.
“You threatened him?” she asked in disbelief.
Riley didn’t answer her. He merely stood stock still, glaring fiercely at his brother.
“Well, in all fairness, Riley wasn’t the only one,” Alex said in mock-regretful tones, shaking his head, “First there was Eddie, then Jason. Riley’s actually a little late to the what-the-hell-do-you-think-you’re-doing-with-Chelle party.”
Alex pulled her a little closer, against him, then whispered (LOUDLY) in her ear, “I just don’t get it,
Chellie Bellie. Why does everyone want to keep us apart?”
Chelle started cracking up. Alex could always made her laugh.
Riley, however, did not find Alex’s playfulness quite as amusing. He started stalking towards his brother, growling “You’re not funny. Get your hands off of her.”
Wow. This was the first time that Chelle could see what people meant when they said he was dangerous. The look in Riley’s eye and his body language could not be described as anything else. An aura of coiled rage radiated from him, and he reminded her of a lion poised to pounce on his prey.
Alex, who was definitely more of a lover than a fighter when it came to social interactions, immediately threw his hands up in mock surrender and took a few steps back towards the kitchen door.
“On that note, I think I’ll leave you two crazy kids alone. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He winked at her as he quickly made his exit.
Chelle turned back to Riley, who had stopped mid charge and was standing several feet away from her, anger rolling off of him in waves.
She wasn’t exactly sure why he was so upset. He couldn't seriously think that there was something was going on between her and Alex. No, she didn't think that was it.
So, if that
wasn’t
it, then what could it be?
She took a few steps toward him, closing the space between them. She reached out to touch his arm and instinctively wrapped her hand around it. His biceps bunched beneath her fingers, causing a ripple of delicious tingling to flow through her like a river.
Oh, my. She was definitely going to need to add 'biceps' to the long and ever-growing list of things that she was going to miss about Riley.
He didn’t look down at her, just stared straight ahead at the space that Alex had just occupied.
“Riley?”
For a few moments he didn’t move, didn’t even acknowledge that she had spoken.
Chelle just waited, her hand still resting on his arm, unable to pull it away.
Finally he looked down at her and although she had expected to see anger in his eyes what she saw instead was pain. Pain and confusion.
Not knowing what else to do she wrapped her arms around him. His arms immediately encircled her and he held her tightly. She felt him breathing rapidly.
“What’s wrong, Riley?” She asked, compassion and emotion welling up as she continued to hold him. She felt the intensity of their connection, palpable between them as they stood, encircled in one another's arms.
He didn’t answer.
She knew she should probably just be silent and hold him for as long as he would let her, but she needed to know he was
okay. “Are you upset about Alex?”
“No,” he answered, holding her even tighter.
She pulled back her head slightly so she could look into his eyes, “What is it, then? What’s wrong?”
His eyes flared with heat as he leaned down closer to her, resting his forehead against hers. Their labored breathing was the only sound in the quiet kitchen.
She knew it was probably wrong of her to be so turned on when he was obviously so upset. But with the way he was looking at her, so primal, so intense – well, she really couldn’t help herself. Not to mention, she had been craving his touch for days now, so standing in his arms, his body pressed tightly against hers…well, how could she not be affected? She was only human.
“What the hell?” An angry voice interrupted their intimate moment.
Oh great…Eddie.
Before she had a chance to turn toward the source of that outraged exclamation, she felt herself being bodily spun around. The next thing she knew, she was standing behind Riley, his arm holding her protectively in place.
She peeked around Riley’s sheltering hold and saw her brother at the other end of the kitchen. His face was red and he looked like his head was going to explode. She thought that, like in cartoons, she could almost see the steam rising from his ears.
Chelle wasn’t really sure why Riley had pulled her behind him. Her brother would never hurt her. If anybody needed protecting, it was Riley!
Eddie’s stood, steaming, hands flexing open and shut. She was no body language expert, but...yeah. She didn’t think that was a good sign.
“I’ll kill you,” Eddie said, low and intense, as he stepped toward her human shield.
“Eddie, stop it!” Chelle heard herself say, sounding much more authoritative than she had ever been in the past.
She pulled away from Riley’s hold and stepped in front of him.
“Nothing is going on,” she explained.
Again...why poke the bear?
Eddie didn’t even glance her way, he merely continued staring at Riley.
“Is that true?” He asked Riley, “Is nothing going on?”
Chelle couldn’t see Riley’s face because she was standing directly in front of him, but she felt his body tense up. Oh no!
“It’s none of your business.” Riley’s tone was eerily calm.
Anger flared in Eddie’s eyes.
“That’s what I thought,” Eddie said as he fisted up his hand and took another step toward Riley.
Chelle reached out and pushed Eddie’s chest as hard as she could.
“Stop it, just stop!” she pleaded.
“What’s all this commotion?” Grandpa J asked sternly as he walked in through the swinging doors. Chelle thought it was entirely possible that she had never been so happy to see anyone in her whole life!
The energy in the room immediately changed the second the Colonel walked in. The men both relaxed their tense postures and took a step back from each other.
Neither said anything.
Chelle was so relieved that he had come in when he did, and broken up a confrontation that could have gotten ugly…well, she could just kiss him!
“Everything’s fine Grandpa J. Just a misunderstanding.” Her voice sounded stronger than she felt.
Grandpa J looked at both Eddie and Riley, clearly aware that something had just transpired. She didn’t know what was being communicated between the three silent men, but she was sure that a message was being sent.
After a few silent moments, Grandpa J nodded at her brother and Riley and then turned to her. He smiled and said, “Now pretty lady, why don’t you come on out and enjoy the party with me?”
Chelle was still breathing hard, from adrenaline this time, not arousal. She looked at both Riley and Eddie and figured - screw it, if they wanted to be idiots... so be it. She was done babysitting.
She smiled up at Grandpa J as he offered her is arm, “I would love to.”
As they walked out to re-join the party, Chelle decided that, as it happened, she had had all the ‘party’ she could handle for the day. So, after thanking Grandpa J for rescuing her, she found Katie and let her know that she had worked all night and was heading home to get some rest.
Katie looked disappointed and a little worried, but the two of them made plans to meet for lunch the next day and Chelle promised that there was nothing wrong that a good night's sleep couldn't fix.
As Chelle walked out toward her car, she thought to herself...hmm...how lovely it would be if only that were true!