You Can't Go Home Again (17 page)

She glanced over her shoulder, seeing the flirtatious smile
of years gone by. She couldn’t help but smile back as she slowly turned to face
him. Vividly recalling their one and only shower together, the physical
reaction he hadn’t been able to hide, she was sorely tempted to invite him in
with her. But she would rather enjoy this teasing laughter than remind him that
he hated her.

So, with a wicked grin, she leaned back, rinsing her hair,
letting the water sluice over her shoulders while he watched. She knew her
nipples were taut, pouting. She could feel his eyes on them.

* * * * *

“Definitely better,” he growled out. When she reached back,
shutting off the water, he groaned. She moved toward him, brushing against him
as she stepped out. He watched her breasts rub against his chest, leaving a
damp trail where she’d touched, wringing another groan from his lips.

Knowing he either had to leave, or make love to her on the
bathroom counter, he turned and fled the room, moving as fast as he could. He
thought he heard her mumble “Chicken” just before he shut the door. He laughed
in spite of his aching groin, thinking back again, remembering the past.

They had been out at the lake, and had come home sticky and
covered in sand. They’d been meeting Jenn and Bri in less than thirty minutes,
and they’d both needed a shower. He had teased her, daring her to shower with
him, calling her a chicken. It had been a ploy to see her naked, and she’d
known it, but had played along anyway. They had washed each other, teasing,
touching, arousing. Until she had put her hand just above his shaft. When her
fingers had brushed his erection, he had grabbed her hand, stopping her before
she could wrap her fingers around him. He’d known he would embarrass himself in
mere seconds, letting on just how strongly she affected him. Instead, he’d
gotten out of the shower first, as she had called out, “Now who’s the chicken?”

He laughed again. He’d been so pissed off since she’d gotten
here. Remembering only the bad stuff, remembering that she’d left him. He had
blocked out so much. He’d forgotten the laughter, the fun. He’d forgotten her
spirit, her energy. Basically, he’d forgotten all the things he’d loved about
her in the first place. He wondered, if he set the anger aside, could they
maybe have that again? Could they be friends? And more, could he control his
desire and deal with the dreams?

He didn’t know the answer, but it might be worth finding
out.

A few minutes later, she was dry and clean.  She’d borrowed
his comb, tugging the tangles out of her hair, then used some toothpaste and a
finger to do some damage control on her mouth. She’d tugged her hair back,
planning to ask Jace for a hat, when she’d noticed the red mark on her neck.

Damn him! He’d nipped her last night, during his “dream.” If
he saw it, he’d know just how real that dream had been. She didn’t have any
makeup with her, so she couldn’t cover it up. She decided to leave her hair
down, and hope he didn’t see it. He hadn’t noticed it so far. Of course, she’d
been naked, so he’d probably been looking elsewhere. He was a guy after all.
And whether he liked her or not, he still seemed to want her physically.

Maybe she could just ride home naked? Then he wouldn’t
notice the bruise on her neck. She laughed out loud at the thought, and decided
she’d just hope for the best.

She put on her bra, wadded up her dress and panties, then
slipped on Nicole’s jeans and T-shirt. She felt a small surge of guilt again.
Maybe she could find out why Nicole broke up with Jace while he was in such a good
mood. She had no idea how long it would last, or when she might get the chance
to ask again. And, since she was wearing her clothes, it seemed like a good
time to bring the topic up.

As she buttoned the jeans, she realized that she was a
little bigger than Nicole. Not a lot, not a whole size, but just enough that
the jeans were a little snug across the butt. They also seemed a whole lot
lower in the waist than she normally wore. Which made the T-shirt seem short.
Nicole was bustier, but more petite, so the shirt was a little tight too.

Dani yanked and tugged for a while, finally deciding that
she was as covered as she was going to get, and it didn’t really matter anyway.
She’d just flashed Jace the whole package. She wandered back out to the
kitchen, feeling moderately gratified by the look on his face.

“Mmm, I’m a little bigger than Nicole, I think.”

Jace cleared his throat, trying to find his voice. “No, it,
uh, it looks good.” She wandered over, grabbing a second cup of coffee. She
wasn’t sure how to start the conversation, so she just dove right in.

“Jace, what happened with you and Nicole? Jenn told me you
guys broke up. Was it…was it because I kissed you?”

* * * * *

He’d actually been the one to kiss her, but he could tell
she was trying not to start any fights. He thought about lying to her, then
decided on the truth.

“No, not really. She doesn’t know about that.” He saw her
shoulders sag with relief. She didn’t want to be responsible for the breakup.
Well, too bad. “She found out that I’d lied to her, about the scars, and then
she started wondering what else I’d lied about. After we talked awhile, I
realized that I lied to her about damn near everything. Or, at least I didn’t
tell her much. She realized it too.”

“Why not? Why did you hide things?”

Jace gave a half shrug, leaning back and crossing his arms
over his chest. “I’m not sure, really. She just seemed too fragile, I guess. My
time in the Marines, the scars… Well, it wasn’t easy. I just didn’t think she
could handle it.”

Having seen, and felt, that, Dani could see why he wouldn’t
want to talk about it. It definitely wasn’t for the faint of heart. “But, what
about the rest of it? Why did you keep other things from her?”

Because she wasn’t you was on the tip of his tongue. He bit
it back, going with a glib response instead. “Apparently, I have commitment
issues. Just ask Bri.”

* * * * *

Dani nodded, realizing the discussion was over. He’d always
used sarcasm to deflect. “I see. I’ll have to tell Jenn she was right.”

“What?”

“Bri thought you guys were made for each other. Jenn didn’t
see it, thought you were too phony around her. She thought that was why you
didn’t do a little strip dance at the pool on the Fourth.”

“Hmmm. Jenn’s a lot more observant than I give her credit
for.”

“Tell me about it,” Dani mumbled under her breath.

Now that they could focus on her, Jace grinned. “What’d she
call you out on?”

Dani looked him straight in the eye, debating whether or not
to bring it up. She really didn’t want to fight, and right now, somehow, they
were getting along. After a brief pause, she decided now was not the time.
“Nothing specific, just everything. Over the years. You know.”

“Don’t lie to me, Dani—it doesn’t work.”

She smiled, sort of soft and sad. “I know. But I don’t want
to fight.”

“She knows we made love.” He stated it as fact, not
question.

“No, but she knows there’s something. I told her about
senior year, about spending so much time together. She thought we were dating,
thought you were in love with me or something. She was hurt that we didn’t tell
her. I explained that she was wrong, that it wasn’t like that, that we were
just friends. I don’t think she believed me.”

Dani had been looking at the wall, afraid to meet his eyes
while she said all that. Afraid he might see the truth in her face. When she
looked up again, Jace was standing directly in front of her, mere inches from
touching.

“She wasn’t wrong.”

The words had come out deep and quiet, more whispered growl
than actual speech. Dani felt her heart stop. After a minute, it thundered back
to life, beating like she was running a marathon. “What?” she choked out.

She saw him thinking, saw the quick wince after he’d said
that. She didn’t really expect him to repeat the words, but she expected his
next question even less.

“Dani, why’d you leave?”

She knew what he was actually asking, but didn’t know how to
answer him. To buy some time, she pretended to misunderstand. “I had a job, in
L.A.”

“No, why’d you leave? That morning? Why’d you leave without
saying goodbye?”

“Jace… I don’t know what to say. What you want to hear. You
wouldn’t believe me if I told you the truth.”

He looked at her, his green eyes piercing, dragging the
truth out of her. She pushed away, walking toward the sofa and sitting before
she began speaking. Jace followed her and sat down next to her, at a slight
angle, watching her.

She breathed deeply, trying to figure out what to say, where
to start. Trying to find a way for it to make sense. One more deep breath.
Okay. “The other night, when Jenn screamed at you?”

* * * * *

Jace nodded. It had been a once-in-a-lifetime experience,
not one he was likely to forget. “She said you saved her life.”

Dani nodded then shrugged a little. “I think she was being a
bit extreme. It was more like I saved her from a whole lot of broken bones.”

When she didn’t continue right away, Jace was hard pressed
not to shake her and make her get to the point. He had no idea what this had to
do with them.

“Right after she moved, when we were around twelve, there
was a tree house in her new backyard. It was only a few years old, had to be
since the house was only a few years old. The tree house should have stood for
twenty years. Instead, within a few months it crashed, falling to the ground
one afternoon over summer. I got her out of it before it fell.”

He was still confused. “So, you had good timing. I don’t get
what this has to do with us, Dani. Why’d you leave?”

She could hear the frustration in his voice already. She
could only imagine the anger, the disbelief that was coming when she told him
the rest.

“It wasn’t luck, Jason. I saw it happen. Before she even
climbed up, I saw the tree house fall down. I saw Jenn fall out of it. She was
lying on the ground, still, her leg and shoulder bending the wrong way.”

Nothing…he said nothing. After several long minutes, during
which Dani held her breath, he finally blinked.

“So, you see things…before they happen? You’re telling me
you’re psychic?”

She nodded, unable to speak past the lump in her throat.

He nodded back, clearly thinking she was lying. “So, let’s
say I buy this… What does that have to do with five years ago? Why’d you run?”

“Never mind. You obviously don’t believe me, so what does it
matter?” She stood up, heading for the door. She didn’t know why she was angry,
it was no less than she’d expected. But, damn it, it hurt.

He stood, grabbing her arm and spinning her around to face
him. “Tell me why you left.” His anger was rising. She thought she could walk
away again?

“Because I saw you, the next morning! You were sitting
there, head in your hands, scrubbing at your face the way you do when you’re
pissed!” She ripped her arm out of his hands, pulling away. The startled look
on his face made her feel a little bit better. A small, sad smile crossed her
lips when she delivered the rest. “You were thinking that was the worst mistake
you’d ever made.”

* * * * *

When she saw him pale, she knew she’d been right. She smiled
again, even as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Why would I want to stick around
for that, Jace? I was just sparing you the trouble of explaining yourself.
Now…don’t bother taking me home. I’ll call a cab.”

She pulled her cell out of her pocket and started dialing
before she was even out the door.

By the time Dani got home, most of the anger had subsided.
She hadn’t really expected him to believe her. No one ever did right away.
Except Jenn, but she’d been a kid and had seen it firsthand. Adults…well, they
were a little more skeptical.

She thought back to the first vision she ever remembered
having. She’d been six years old. It had been something small: her mom was
going to back down the driveway and hit the trashcan. Dani had yelled at her to
stop the car, then jumped out and moved the can. Even her mom had thought she
was making up stories. Had explained that she’d simply remembered seeing the
trashcan there earlier in the day.

It had taken a few months before they’d started to believe
her. Little things, like bringing her mom ointment before she burned her hand,
or telling her mom not to burn the cookies before she’d even made cookie dough.
After enough little things, her parents had believed her. And cautioned her not
to tell anyone else.

She’d always held to that. The only people who knew were
Jenn and Nina. And now, of course, Jace.

She glanced at the clock, realizing it was time to get
ready. Tonight was Jenn’s bachelorette party! They were going to a martini bar,
with a live band. And the waiters were all scantily clad men! It was supposed
to be fun. So Dani got dressed, putting on an appropriately skimpy red dress.
She put on some makeup, a dab of perfume, and her happy face.

All the way to Jenn’s, one comment kept replaying in her
head. “She wasn’t wrong.” A thought she hadn’t even known was there finally
surfaced, making itself known. Was it possible that she had made her own vision
come true?

As she pulled into Jenn’s drive, she saw a few other cars
already out front. She cleared her head, plastered on the smile she would wear
the rest of the night, and headed into the house.

* * * * *

Jace turned into the parking lot, running a few minutes
later than he’d wanted to. He’d needed the ride to clear his head. When he’d
watched Dani walk out that morning, he’d snapped out of his shock, jumping
headlong back into anger. It had taken several hours, and a ride long enough to
make his ass go numb, to get his head wrapped around this.