Be My Hero

by Linda Kage

  "Listen up, little girl," I called above the music. "I'm dancing with your mama right now, but as soon as you're born, you can have your turn. Got it, Miss Skylar? I have the perfect song saved for you and everything."

  Another little bulge jabbed out of Eva's stomach in answer. I sucked in an amazed breath and pressed my hand to it. Skylar either high-fived me or kicked me. Still charmed out of my mind and sitting on my knees, I looked up at Tinker Bell to share my awe with her.

  "That is just so . . . " I couldn't even fathom a word good enough to describe how much I loved connecting with her baby.

  She shook her head, seemingly dazed. "How do you know her name?"

  "Umm . . . " Shit. Hopefully, she wouldn't be too pissed at Lowe for blabbing. I climbed back to my feet. "Mason let the cat out of the bag earlier tonight." I hooked my thumb over my shoulder, totally incriminating him as I pointed him out.

  "Mason told you?" The idea seemed foreign to her, but she smiled slightly and glanced over at him only to startle. "Oh! Reese is here. I should go." She began to step around me, only to pause and bite her bottom lip. "Thanks," she said, awkwardly. Her hand flailed a moment before adding, "for the dance, and you know . . . everything else you helped me with tonight. I really . . . I appreciate it."

  A moment of indecision crossed her face before she lunged at me and gave me a quick hug, lasting only long enough for my nostrils to collect her lilac smell, and for Skylar to kick me one last time.

  She didn't look as if she wanted to leave as she pulled away. I sure as hell didn't want her to go. It felt as if Madam LeFrey was ripping me out of my visions all over again. But Ten was already motioning to me from across the room that he needed help serving. Plus it was getting late, and Eva needed to get out of this place.

  "See you around, Tinker Bell," I told her a little more solemnly than I meant to.

  With a nod, she moved past me and made her way to Reese.

  Though I returned to work and took an order from another table full of ladies, I kept my attention on her as she and her cousin bid a farewell to Lowe and left. A strange, crazy depression filled me after she was gone. She had her life and I had mine, and the two didn't seem to be headed in the same direction at all. But it would've been nice if I'd had a reason, one stupid insignificant reason, to see her again. Just one more time.

  I wondered if I could get Lowe to tell me when she had the baby. Maybe I'd go visit her and . . . shit, having any more contact with her after this would probably just be needlessly torturing myself. I should stay away.

  But after the bar closed and I was helping Lowe clean up, he found a way to suck me back in.

  "Thanks for helping me keep an eye on Eva tonight. Reese would've killed me if anything bad had happened to her."

  I nodded as if it were no big deal, even though my heart slipped in an extra thump when he mentioned her name. "It's cool. I would've kept an eye on any pregnant woman who wandered in."

  Mason moved closer to me as he wiped down the bar with a cloth. "Well, thanks all the same. Hey, uh, Gamble, or Ten, or someone mentioned you work at a garage during the day, like an auto repair shop?"

  "Yep." I stacked the last of the clean glasses under the counter before glancing at him. "Murphy's Repair down on Bullview Road. Why?"

  "Really? That's great. I mean, Reese bought this . . . we'll call it a car for now. It's a real piece of work. I don't trust it to last a month."

  "Sure, I'll take a look at it," I said before he could even get around to asking. I knew I probably sounded too eager. But for a chance to visit Lowe's place, where Eva was currently staying, I was all for it.

  He lifted his eyebrows in surprise, but then a gleam entered his gray eyes as he smiled knowingly. "So, you don't mind coming over some time?"

  I shook my head. "Not at all. My next night off is Saturday."

  Lowe nodded. "I'm off Saturday, too."

  I slid my hands into my pockets and rested my back against the bar, trying to play it cool. "Sounds like I'll be swinging by then."

  "Sounds like it."

  And that's when Ten chose to appear and slap the top of the bar. "Hey, if you two ladies are done flirting with each other over there, I'd like to clock out sometime tonight and get the fuck home so I can mourn over a bowl of ice cream because no one wanted to buy my luscious body tonight."

  "I'm ready to go whenever you guys are," Mason said, glancing over the bar as if to double-check his work. "Just finished cleaning my section."

  "Me too." It was late and I should've been beat, but I knew I wasn't going to sleep a wink tonight. Or tomorrow night.

  In two more days, I'd get to see her again.

  These were going to be the longest two days of my life.

  "Hey, where's Hamilton?" Mason jerked me from my anxious daydreams with his question until I too was looking around for the fourth member of our crew.

  Ten hitched his chin toward the exit. "He drove Cora home since her ride left her a few hours back."

  "He did?" Lifting my eyebrows, I turned toward Mason. We shared a similar look, and I knew he was thinking the same thing I was thinking.

  Ten, of course, had to verbalize all our thoughts. "Yep, our baby boy's turning into a man tonight." He sniffed, wiped at a mock tear, and set his fist over his chest. "It's just so heart-wrenching. I'm gonna need a whole gallon of ice cream, I think."

  "Damn, put your ovaries away, son." I laughed and shook my head. "Maybe nothing's going to—"

  "Oh, yes, it is," Ten cut me off, sending me a telling glance. "He just drove home Cora the Whora. That boy is totally getting his cherry popped, if he hasn't already."

  "Wait. Cora, the . . . what?" Mason asked incredulously. "Cora the Whore-uh? Do you know her?"

  "Hell, yeah." Ten grinned at us, nodding knowingly. "She's one of the football groupies, and my God, does that chick like to get freaky."

  My hope for Quinn to finally enter the world of the sexually active wavered. I pointed at Ten. "So, you've . . . ?"

  He lifted his eyebrows. "Fucked her?" he finished the question for me. "Hello. Did you miss the part where I said she was a football groupie? I'm a football player. Of course I've tapped that. Hell, Hamilton might be the only guy on the team she hasn't dug her claws into yet. And maybe Gamble. But she's fairly new to the groupie scene and Gam hasn't partaken from those girls in a couple months. So . . . maybe not Gamble either. But yeah, pretty much the rest of us have. Why?"

  Mason and I shared another knowing glance. Finally, Lowe said, "Yeah . . . I wouldn't go telling Quinn that part if I were you."

  Ten blinked, utterly clueless. "Why not?"

  "Well. Quinn doesn't seem like the type who . . . "

  When Mason couldn't seem to come up with a tactful way to put it, I blurted, "The kid waited until he was twenty-one to lose his virginity, you idiot. I'd say the fact he's already shared a woman with . . . well, you, isn't something he needs to find out about."

  "Wow, now wait a sec. What's wrong with me?" Ten pointed to himself, clearly insulted. "I'm fucking flawless."

  I snickered and lifted my hands. "No offence, but I certainly wouldn't want to stick my dick in anything you've already had yours in."

  "Amen," Mason seconded.

  "Hey." Ten scowled at us. "That's just . . . oh, I get it. I'd get a pussy too stretched out for the likes of your tiny little—"

  "Okay, let's just go home before you say anything you'll end up regretting." I patted Ten on the shoulder before shoving him toward the door. "I'm not getting into a dick size discussion with you." Wouldn't want the poor kid to end up feeling deficient.

  Mason followed along, chuckling and shaking his head. After we locked up and parted ways, I started for my car, humming "Baby Love" under my breath as I pulled my keys from my pocket and twirled them around my finger. My mind was already far away from Ten and his dick. I couldn't get a pair of amazing blue eyes out of my head.

  I knew Eva Mercer was completely forbidden to me, but it didn't stop m
e from looking forward to seeing her again, more than I could remember looking forward to anything in my life.

  Just two more days.

  Chapter 11

  PICK

  When Saturday arrived, I was antsy as hell. I relieved Tristy in the morning by taking Fighter out to the nearest park, where I sat him on my lap as we swung on the swings. I even took him on the slippery slide once or twice but got some funny looks from a couple moms for that one. I didn't care, though. Julian grinned the entire time, which was all the consent I needed.

  The rest of the afternoon dragged. I got a little cleaning done around the apartment, mainly the kitchen and bathroom, but I couldn't calm down.

  Lowe and I hadn't agreed on a specific time, so I didn't want to show up too early, but by five o'clock, I couldn't wait any longer. After changing into something that would look nice, yet wouldn't kill me if I got it grease-stained, I carried Fighter into the living room and settled him into his swing, since Tris was busy on her laptop.

  "I shouldn't be out too late," I told her as I scooped up my keys.

  Her face zipped up as horror lit her eyes. "You're going out?"

  Jigging my keys in my hands, I opened the door, letting her know that hell yes, I was going out. And nothing she said would stop me. "I'm helping a friend with a car."

  "But . . . " She glanced helplessly at Fighter who was happily gnawing on a toy I'd given him. I'd already fed him, bathed him, and changed his diaper; he'd be fine for a while.

  When Tristy looked back to me as if I was abandoning her to a tribe of cannibals that were about to burn her at the stake with a nice hickory-flavored barbecue sauce, I shifted my weight uneasily from one foot to the other. I would not let her do this to me. I would not let her make me feel guilty for leaving the house for a few hours. Mason was relying on me to help him with his girlfriend's car.

  Shit, that was a lie. I wasn't doing this for Mason. I had to see Eva again, a selfish truth that made my guilt skyrocket.

  I ran my hand over my hair, sighing. "It'll only be for a few hours. Damn, Tris. This is the first time I'm actually leaving the apartment since the kid was born."

  "What the fuck ever. You leave every damn day."

  "For work," I bit out. "I have to work. This apartment isn't going to pay for itself. And we need food, and utilities, and car insurance."

  "Just cut it out already," she snapped with a glare. "Do I look like an idiot? I know you're going to meet a girl and get laid."

  I clenched my jaw, hoping she didn't see anything in my eyes. Spreading my arms open, I asked, "Does it look like I'm going to meet a girl? In this?" I shook my head, confused. "Why would it matter to you anyway?"

  She sniffed and lifted her chin. "It wouldn't. Not at all. I had sex just last weekend."

  My eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Really?" I couldn't picture her in that way—at all, especially since she'd given birth. She'd never been a great beauty, but she'd really let herself go downhill these past few months. And with the past we shared—no. She felt too sisterly to me to even imagine that part of her life.

  When she merely stared at me with a challenging sneer, I shrugged. "Well, good for you. I'll see you later." As I tried to step from the apartment, she cried out my name.

  "Damn it, if you're just going to a friend's house to work on a car, can't you at least take him with you?"

  I glanced at Fighter. Drool covered his chin and slimed the toy he was steadily gumming. A smile lit my face. I'd love to take Julian, get him out of this place for a while, and maybe let Eva meet him all the while relieving Tristy for a couple hours. But I really did plan on working on Reese's car.

  "I can't take him to a grease-filled garage. I'm probably going to be under a car most of the night. That's not exactly a safe place for a baby."

  Tristy sniffed and turned away, dismissing me. I was tempted to invite her along so she wouldn't feel left out. But the last thing I wanted to do was let her and Eva mingle. Resigned, I repeated, "I'll see you later."

  After blowing a kiss toward the baby, I was free and jogging down the stairs toward the front exit of the building. When my phone rang as soon as I started my engine, I groaned. Someone sure wanted to delay me from seeing my Tinker Bell, didn't they? When I saw it was Ten, I answered with a growl, "What?"

  "Man, we need your help. Big time."

  Fuck. "No," I said instantly. "I'm not working your shift for you tonight."

  "Then swing by my place and check on Gamble, will you? Hamilton and I are worried shitless about him. This thing he's going through with his girl really has him messed up, and both Hamilton and I have to bartend tonight, otherwise we'd stay with him."

  I didn't answer immediately. My conscience warred with itself. I wanted to see Tinker Bell so bad my pulse wouldn't slow down. But the very fact that Ten had called me with his concern said a lot. Worried about Gamble, I cursed under my breath.

  "Just how bad off is he? Like . . . homicidal? Suicidal? Or just ready to kill you?"

  "Hardy, har, har." Ten sniffed. "I'd say he's definitely something, though. He wouldn't think twice about participating in an extreme act of crazy right now."

  "Shit," I ground my teeth in frustration.

  "Hey, if you're that busy, I can call Lowe and ask him."

  "No," I muttered. "It was Lowe's place I was headed to."

  "Really? So you're all close and shit with Lowe but you never hang out with me after hours? Dude, how insulting."

  "He wanted me to look at his girlfriend's engine."

  Immature Ten snickered. "I would've checked out his woman's engine, no problem."

  "Her car engine, you moron."

  "Well, whatever," he muttered back. "Take Gam with you. That way both you and Lowe can keep an eye on him."

  I couldn't think up a reason why that would be a bad idea, so I agreed and using Ten's half-assed instructions of how to get there, I started toward his and Gamble's place.

  Gam answered his door, looking like complete shit. I could understand why Ten and Hamilton were so worried about him. He was never this out of sorts.

  It was surprisingly easy to talk him into coming along with me, which was a plus, but the whole detour set me back almost an hour from seeing Eva.

  I tapped my fingers impatiently on the steering wheel of my Barracuda as we neared Mason's place. But the closer we got, the further away she felt.

  Needing a distraction, I glanced over at Gamble who was staring blankly out his side of the car with his elbow resting on the window frame and his forehead buried in his palm.

  "So what's up with you and Professor Girlfriend?" I asked. "I'm guessing you guys split since we've all had to rearrange our schedules for you and now I'm stuck on suicide watch."

  Noel glanced over at me and scowled. "You're not on—look, I'm not going to do anything to myself. I'm fine. But yes, we're . . . " He had to pause as his face drained of color. "Over. It's been a week, but I'm past it."

  Yeah, right. He was past it, my ass. "Then why are Larry and Curly still worried about you?"

  "Because they're pussies?" He lifted his hands and shrugged. "How the hell should I know?"

  I rolled my eyes. It was harder to get information out of him than it was to draw blood from a stone. "Well, what happened?"

  He began to tap his fingers against his knee, much as I'd been tapping mine against the steering wheel. Must be some kind of chick-induced habit. When he turned to stare out the passenger side window again, I groaned. He was not helping me with my own distraction in the least.

  "Might as well tell me," I said. "I'm going to bug the piss out of you until you do."

  He let out a belly sigh and glared over at me. "Some anonymous person sent a picture of us together to my coach, and she got axed."

  "Well, fuck," I breathed quietly. "Why didn't you get into trouble, too?" When his face paled even more, I swallowed. "Or did you?"

  Bleakness filled his eyes. "The picture only revealed her face. Mine was cropped off."<
br />
  I frowned, instantly confused. "Wait. Then how did they even know it was a student she was banging? If they couldn't see you, she could've been fucking anyone."

  Noel pushed up the sleeve of his shirt to show me a tattoo I didn't even realize he had. "Back in October, about a dozen of us got these the night before our big national championship game. It was the only clear thing you could see of me in the shot."

  I glanced at the tat, read it carefully, and snorted out a laugh. "National champs? Didn't you guys lose that game?"

  "And didn't I say we got them the night before?" he growled, shoving his sleeve back down to cover the mark.

  I stopped razzing him since he seemed so miserable. But I still wasn't happy about what I'd just learned. "So, the girl got stuck with all the heat, and you just . . . let her take the fall . . . by herself?"

  "No." He slammed a frustrated fist against my dashboard. On any other day, I would've called the prick out for that. No one treated my ride with such disrespect, but he was having a bad day, so I let it slide this time.

  "I did not just let her take the fall," he said. "By the time I'd found out what had happened, she was already gone. Ten and Hamilton managed to talk me out of confessing to Coach. But that's what I should've done. Damn it. Instead, I went to Aspen's boss and tried to talk him into bringing her back. Big fucking mistake. Let me tell you. Coach would've just kicked my ass off the team and pulled my scholarship."

  A bad feeling dropped into my stomach. "But not this prick?"

  Gamble shook his head, looking a lot more homicidal than suicidal. "Nope, not this prick. When he learned I was the guy in the picture, not only did he refuse to reinstate her, but he refused to reprimand me. He's a big football fan, you see. So I threatened to leave school and drop out of the team if he didn't bring her back, to which he in turn threatened to go public if I even acted like I was going to leave. So now she's gone, and I'm stuck here in order to save her reputation and make sure she doesn't lose all chances of getting a job anywhere else in the country. But in the meantime, yeah, I look like a complete bastard for letting her take all the heat for our relationship."