Chapter Four
Kelsi
I’m a vixen. I’m a vixen. I’m a vixen.
The more I repeated the phrase in my head, the more I believed it. The dress fit every curve perfectly, and I had to admit the boob tape had my girls looking absolutely incredible. As I stood in the doorway to the convention center, I relished all the men’s eyes on me. In high school, I had attached myself to Tyler and hadn’t even noticed the other boys at school, but as my eyes scanned the room, I noticed a lot of very handsome men. This was going to be one hell of a night. Maybe this wasn’t going to be that bad of an evening after all.
“Kelsi Sullivan, you have outdone yourself,” I heard Cindy say before I saw her.
Cindy was a perpetually single friend from high school who still lived in Rainbow and had never even tried to settle down. It was baffling that she still found men to date since our town was so small, but she always managed to siphon off a new beau from one of the nearby towns or businesses that had contractors coming through. She was obnoxiously loud and known for telling everyone exactly what she felt without the cover of being polite.
“This old thing?” I laughed as I swayed my hips back and forth in my dark gown.
“If you are going to take all the single men, you better leave me at least one of the cute ones.”
“Let’s get a drink. I’m shaking with all these eyes on me.”
“You look like a cold-blooded vixen to me.” She winked and I couldn’t help but laugh. Maybe I was a better actress than I had thought I was.
“So, who’s here? Give me the lowdown,” I whispered as we grabbed some drinks and started to look around the room.
“Same old crew. I swear they all get fatter and uglier the more I see them. Just once, I’d like to see one of these guys actually age well. Isn’t that how it’s supposed to happen? The men age well and the women just try to keep up? What’s up with our crew of men?”
“I don’t know, they look fine to me,” I said as I let my eyes glance past her and into the crowd.
The truth was, I hardly recognized any of the people at the reunion. Only the ones who lived in town and I saw on a regular basis were easy for me to figure out; everyone else just looked like familiar strangers to me.
“Look at him; is he even from our class?”
“Cindy, that’s Nick. Don’t you remember him from computer class? He always had all the right answers, and the teacher loved him. I bet he’s some sort of computer geek even now.”
“A computer geek with a wedding ring, next!” she demanded as we continued to scan the room. “What about that one?”
“Mike? Oh, no, he’s Tyler’s friend who was the raging ass. You can’t possibly be interested in him.”
“Why not? He’s cute; is he single?”
“Last I heard he was single and playing professional football,” I said as I looked at Mike and tried not to look around to see if Tyler was with him. “From looking at that gut on him, I suspect he’s not playing football any longer.”
“Hey, Mike, come here,” Cindy yelled as she motioned for him to come our way.
“Cindy, no.”
“Oh, come on. I need to talk to him to see if he’s worth my time.”
“Cindy, he’s friends with Tyler. I don’t want to have to…” I stopped talking as I realized Mike, Tyler, and Bryce were all walking our way.
My heart raced as I tried to think of what I should say. How should I act? Of course, I wanted Tyler to notice me, but I wasn’t about to give him the satisfaction of knowing that was what I wanted. He didn’t deserve my attention at all.
“Now you two are some seriously sexy babes,” Mike said in his cheesy voice.
His eyes looked me up and down and then Cindy. It was as if we were pieces of meat to him and nothing more. It was hard for me not to turn away in disgust from the feeling I got when he was near. I didn’t like Mike; he had to know that. He had to understand that after all he had put me through, I wasn’t just going to stand there and talk to him.
“You look amazing,” Tyler said as he came over to me.
He rescued me from having to talk to Mike, but then I needed rescuing from having to talk to him. Tyler looked phenomenal. Better than any picture of him online had been. His light brown hair was long enough to have a slight wave in it, which I had never seen while we were dating. In high school, he always kept his hair short. I liked the new look, a lot. I also really liked how he looked in a suit. The curve of his lapel helped define his jawline, and his broad shoulders carried the suit as if it had been tailored to fit him; which it probably had.
I couldn’t talk to Tyler, though. Everything in me was saying run away as fast as I could. My heart was pounding; I was smiling like I was happy he was talking to me and had told me I looked good. No, I couldn’t lose the upper hand in this interaction. I wasn’t about to turn into that silly teenage girl who swooned at his feet.
“Sorry, I was just about to go talk with Nick. I’ll catch up with you later,” I said abruptly and walked away.
Wow, even I couldn’t believe I had just done that. That had been 100 percent the actress inside of me and not actually me. My hands were shaking as I walked up to Nick and started up a conversation. Any man was going to be easier to talk with than Tyler.
“Hi, Nick, how are you?” I asked as I flashed him a smile.
His eyes flashed with excitement as he looked me up and down and spent a little extra time on my cleavage. He didn’t know who I was, I saw the look in his eyes, and I couldn’t help but giggle a little.
“Oh, hi,” he started to say. “How are you? You look fantastic in that dress.”
“I’m doing well; how about yourself?”
“Very good,” he said as he pressed his left hand into his pocket and seemed to be hiding his wedding ring from me. “Um, you were in one of my classes, right?”
“I’m Kelsi.” I laughed as I shook his hand.
“Kelsi? Kelsi? What? Oh…wow…yeah…you look like a movie star,” he stuttered as his face flushed red.
“She does look amazing,” I heard Tyler say from behind me. “Nick, how are your wife and kids? Did they come back to town with you?” Tyler asked.
“Um…yes. They are good,” he responded with a defeat in his voice.
“Come dance with me,” Tyler demanded of me.
“No, thank you,” I replied. “I’m talking with Nick right now.”
“Nick,” Tyler said as he put his arm around Nick’s back. “You don’t mind if I steal this stunning high school classmate of ours away for a minute, do you?”
Nick didn’t get a chance to answer before Tyler was pulling me toward the dance floor. He had already decided we would be dancing together that evening and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Tyler had always been confident in his ability to get what he wanted, so I danced with him. What could it possibly hurt to dance with the guy?
“We were right in the middle of a conversation,” I protested as Tyler put his hand on my lower back and pulled me into him.
“What were you talking about?” he asked as he looked down at me with his remarkable blue eyes.
“Um, well,” I started as I tried to think of something good to say. “We were talking about computer class; it was a very interesting conversation.”
“I doubt it.”
“Still the same stuck up guy I broke up with,” I snarled at him.
“No, I can just tell when someone is lying to me, and I doubt you two were talking about computer class, that’s all. And since when was I stuck up? I seem to remember you and I having a few marvelous years together.”
“I’m having a good time, and I don’t want to talk about any of that. I’ll dance with you, and then we can both go our separate ways and say we were at least civil to each other at our reunion.”
“Oh, I plan on being totally uncivil to you later tonight,” he whispered in my ear.
The feel of his breath on my neck sent shivers throughout my body. What did he mean by that? It sounded like he intended to have his way with me and that absolutely was not going to happen. It didn’t matter how his breath felt on my neck, the last thing in the world I wanted was to sleep with Tyler.
“Don’t bet on it.” I laughed.
“Oh, I’m betting on it,” he joked. “You know, I’ve been thinking about what it would have been like for us to sleep together. I think it’s only fair that we give it a go and see if that chemistry is still there.”
“It’s only fair?” I asked as my desire melted away and was replaced with anger. “Maybe if you and your buddies had even an ounce of decency, this conversation could be happening. But since none of you do, I think I’m done dancing with you for the night.”
I pulled away from him and was about to walk away before I felt his arm wrap around my waist and pull me back against him. My ass pressed into his groin and I felt his hardness pressing against me. He didn’t say anything at first; instead, he held me there and my body pressed back into him with a desire that I couldn’t control. I wanted to press away from him. I wanted to tell him where he could go with all this talk of having me, but I couldn’t find my words.
Instead, I stayed there for that moment with him. One of his arms around my waist and the other around my chest as he held onto me. His grip loosened, but I didn’t pull away. His lips gently nibbled on my ear, but I didn’t pull away. Then his lips kissed my neck gently and moved up and down in a slow, seductive motion, but I still did not pull away.
His fingers warmed my body and touched me with comfort. I didn’t want him to be so comfortable to me, but he was. I wanted to hate him. I had dreamt about what it would be like to tell him off again, but I hadn’t imagined that the chemistry between us would still be as insanely intense as it had been 15 years ago. I was at a loss without any possible options that came to my mind, so I stayed there and let his gentle touch entice me.
“Don’t go,” he finally whispered softly. “I’ve waited for so long.”
“Everyone is looking at us,” I protested.
“They are looking at you. At every inch of that banging body of yours. The guys are wishing they had the guts to come punch me in the face and take you for themselves. The women are trying to remember why they weren’t your friends while we were in school.”
“I think the women are thinking about what a celebrity you are,” I teased.
“Oh, I’m a celebrity?”
“Yes, didn’t you hear? The debonair Texan who runs his own marketing firm and is the face of an online dating empire.”
“Oh, yeah, that’s me. Call me debonair again,” he joked as he spun me around so I was facing him.
“I think it might go to your head if I keep saying nice things about you.”
“There’s one head that is already really excited to see you,” he said as his hips pressed against me.
I wanted to be offended by his outright lameness, but I wasn’t. Instead, Tyler made me laugh. His smile was sexy, his suit was sexy, even the way he teased me with his throbbing body was sexy, and it all reminded me endlessly of how great our chemistry had been in high school. He joked, I laughed. I joked, he laughed. It was how we spent most of our teenage years, and all that adoration I had for him was only slightly curtailed by how our relationship had ended.
I was angry with him. Really, I still felt the anger and I still remembered the raw emotion of breaking up with Tyler. I still saw Mike and was repulsed by his ability to say nasty things to me, and I still recalled Tyler and his inability to stand up for me. But it had been 15 years. Was I going to hold this grudge forever?
My goal of coming to the dance had been to drive Tyler crazy. I wanted him to want me, and then I planned to refuse him. So, I changed my tactics and decided I was going to enjoy my night with Tyler and everyone else. No more bringing up the painful past. No more worrying about what was said or done so many years before. It didn’t matter. I was going to give myself the closure I so desperately needed. We could end things on civil terms, and both move forward without hurt feelings. I didn’t need to drive him crazy and then refuse him. He didn’t have to hurt as much as I had before I could move on. No, I was over him. It was time to let bygones be bygones and move on even if it was just so I could get him out of my mind.
“So, did you ever marry?” I asked as I pulled away and put some distance between me and his throbbing body.
“No, all work for me.”
“Well, I’ve heard some stories about a lot of other extracurricular activities that you are involved with.” I laughed.
“Like?”
“Every woman in Birmingham,” I joked.
His facial expression didn’t change as he continued to smile at me. He wanted me, the lust his body felt for me was genuine, but I wanted more. His lust wasn’t enough for me. I ached for closure, and a nice conversation about our lives was all I could muster for the moment. How was it possible that this man still had such control over my emotions even 15 years after seeing him?
“After losing my perfect woman, it’s been hard for me to find a suitable replacement.”
“Damn, you’re good. How long have you had lines like that?”
“It’s not a line.” He smiled as I melted.
“How many other girls have you said that same thing to?” I asked quizzically.
“Zero, none, absolutely no other woman has ever heard that line because none could stand up to the vision I had of you.”
“You’re so full of shit. If you had such a vision of me, then why didn’t you ever reach out to me? Why didn’t you try to make up after I broke it off? Why on earth didn’t you ever stand up for me in high school?” I said as I felt tears welling up when the words finally left my mouth.
I’d thought about saying that to him for years. Then I tried to forget about him for years after that. I had done a pretty damn good job of forgetting, until I agreed to come to this reunion. With Tyler right in front of me, I was finding it easier to make excuses to keep talking to him and harder to go along with my plan to be rid of him forever.
“You hated me in high school, and I can’t blame you,” Tyler said as the music beat increased and we started dancing again.
“I hated your friends more than you.”
“I was dense back then; I didn’t know how to treat a woman like you.”
“But you do now?” I laughed.
“I’m all grown up now. There’s a lot of things I know how to do that I didn’t know back then.” His voice lowered, and I felt the seduction in his tone.
After dating for most of our high school years, Tyler and I had never made love. We both went off to college as virgins, and of course we both weren’t so innocent anymore. I suspected Tyler had much more experience than I did. After Kendall and Hannah caught me up on what they knew about Tyler, I could only assume he was getting laid as often as he wanted to.
“I’ve seen Bryce around, but where’s Mike been?” I asked in a bold attempt to totally change the subject.
“Mike lives out in California now.”
“Ah, do the three of you still hang out?”
“Not really. About once or twice a year we get together. Still good friends, though. Bryce and I talk a couple times a month, though. He’s one of my closest friends.”
“That’s sad.”
“Why?”
“Bryce lives out here and he’s one of your closest friends. Don’t you have any friends where you live?”
“Sure, but none of them know what a total stud I was in high school like Bryce does.”
Our conversation volleyed between seduction and mundane, as if neither of us felt comfortable staying in one form for too long. We weren’t the same people as we were 15 years ago, that was 100 percent true, but I still felt a comfort with Tyler that I hadn’t felt with any other man since him.
Even after 15 years apart, the heat pulled us together like we had just lit a match. Our chemistry was undeniable, and my brain couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to bring him home to my bed.
What on earth was I thinking? This was the guy who let his friends tease and torture me with remarks after we had been caught naked. He didn’t stand up for me then, and he didn’t deserve to have me in bed now. The problem was my body. My body lusted for Tyler like it had never lusted before. I’d been single for a good year and I needed to feel the gentle touch of a man on top of me. I wanted to feel him.
The back and forth going on in my mind was utterly distracting me from being able to hold an actual conversation with Tyler. So, in a moment of strength, I pressed myself away from him and decided I needed to socialize with some of the other classmates I had missed over the years.
“It was nice catching up with you. Take care of yourself,” I said as I managed to get away and headed straight over to Cindy.
“You look like you had fun,” she teased.
“Keep me busy; let’s go talk to some other people.”
Cindy quickly brought me over to a group of our classmates who were talking and laughing about our old-school days. One of them was telling a story about homecoming as we all listened and reminisced. I was just relieved to be away from Tyler for a minute and hopefully able to clear my head again.
He was getting to me, though. Just having him there had opened up all kinds of old memories that I had hidden away and not dealt with for years. My body had a ringing sensation that waved through me as it started to calm down from visiting and dancing with Tyler. The feel of his hands on the small of my back still gave me warmth, and I found myself glancing over my shoulder to see where he was at.
Sure enough, as soon as I looked behind me, there was Tyler. Talking with Bryce and a couple of other guys, and he paused long enough to look directly at me. His blue eyes shimmered against the lights above him and I saw the carnal desire he had for me. No, I couldn’t give into him. I couldn’t succumb to the thoughts of him. I was over him. I had moved on, and I didn’t need a fling with an old high school boyfriend to know who I was. I’d spent years coming to terms with the woman I was and seeing Tyler was not going to change that vision for me.
I turned back to the group and did my best at ignoring Tyler, but I felt his eyes on me. I felt the residue of his hands on my back and his lips near my ear. The more I tried to forget, the more I felt him.