Fine Line: An Enemies To Lovers Romance

by Rachel M Storm

****

  “Finally, the last one!” Mr. Parkinson says almost an hour later. He sounds winded and I’m sure he’s exhausted from all the heavy lifting we’ve been doing. He’s an old man and isn’t really supposed to be doing any heavy lifting because of his back, but I know better than to tell him not to help. He hates it, says it makes him feel useless as a man.

  “Yeah. Now how about I bring you a beer while you rest?” I ask.

  “Bring yourself one too,” he answers, a smirk forming on his thin lips.

  “Yes sir!” I salute, laughter evident in my voice before turning and heading back into the house.

  “Yes, mom. I promise I won’t forget.” I hear Lori’s irritating voice before I see her.

  “Okay, good. Hurry along then, there’s still a lot to do.” Mrs. P says just as I walk into the kitchen.

  My eyes widen slightly when my eyes land on Lorianne who thankfully doesn't notice me staring wide-eyed because she has her back turned to me. Jesus, can this really be her? She’s changed, she’s become fucking hot! Her hair that used to be a strawberry blonde is now brunette and placed in a high ponytail, she’s wearing tight short jeans that show me curves and legs I’ve never noticed before.

  “Okay, okay. I’m going!” Lori says, thankfully snapping me out of my gawking. She steals something out of a bowl before backing away slowly from her mother.

  She still doesn’t see me so I decide to play off my momentary unwanted admiration by staying rooted in my spot and watch to see what happens.

  “You little-”

  “Love you momma!” Lori says, cutting off her mother’s words before hastily turning to start running.

  “Oh shit!” She curses when she runs right into me so hard that she falls back and lands ass first onto the tiled kitchen floor.

  “Oh look at that, she’s still cluts.” I grin down at her.

  “Oh look at that, he’s still a jackass!” She retorts, glaring at me from the floor. “A jackass made of brick!” She mutters under her breath as she stands back up. I’m pretty sure I wasn’t meant to hear that second part.

  “Oh come on you two,” Her mother groans. “Would it kill you to be cordial, just once?” She asks and I look up just in time to catch her eye roll.

  “Yes!” Lori and I both say in unison.

  “Oh God, nothing has changed.” Mrs. P sighs as she turns to continue with whatever it was she was busy with.

  “Get out of my way, jerk!” Lori says before pushing me out of the way. It was so sudden and unexpected that she easily manages to shove me to the side.

  Cranky bitch! I think to myself when she slams the door shut behind her.

  “We’re done Mrs. P,” I say, trying my best to get the images of Lorianne’s legs out of my brain. The last thing I want is having any sexy images of my enemy since childhood.

  “Oh good. You guys worked fast, I’m impressed.” Mrs. P says without looking back at me.

  “Yeah, I’m just going to grab a couple of beers then I’ll be out of your kitchen.” I say, a smile forming on my lips. If there is one thing Mrs. Parkinson hates, is people lingering in the kitchen while she’s busy. It’s her biggest pet peeve, it’s actually a wonder that she’s not shooed me out yet.

  “Hm, help yourself.” She answers and I can hear the irritation starting to form in her voice so I quickly make my way to the fridge and grab two beers before hastily making my way out.

  “Finally, what took you so long?” Mr. Parkinson’s ask when I return with our beers in hand.

  “There was a little falling situation, nothing major though,” I say, laughing at my little inside joke. Mr. P gives me a quizzical look before shrugging and starting on his beer.

  “So, what time will all this be starting?” I ask as I take a seat next to the old man. I would never say it out loud that he’s an old man though, he hates that too. And honestly speaking, he's not that old he’s about fifty years old but I’m twenty-seven, so to me fifty is ancient!

  “I’m not sure to be honest, probably around six.” He answers.

  “Okay,” I say glancing at my watch. I still have a lot of time to work on servicing the Toyota that was brought in yesterday before needing to get ready for the party.

  “Son,” Mr. Parkinson says after a few minutes of silence.

  “Yeah, Mr. P?” I look at him.

  “You and Lori better behave tonight,” he says, narrowing his eyes at me. “None of that pranking you two love so much,” he continues.

  “Yes sir!” I say as I take the last sip of my beer.

  “Good,” He says, nodding once.

  “Well, I need to get going. I have some work to do before the festivities begin.” I tell him as I stand and get ready to leave.

  “See you later,” he answers.

  Making my way back to the kitchen to tell Mrs. Parkinson that I’m leaving, flashes of Lorianne’s sexy legs wrapped around me invades my brain, causing me to groan in surprise as I get a bit hard. What the hell is wrong with me today? It's like my dick is forgetting that Lorianne Parkinson is my sworn enemy!

  “I’m heading out, Mrs. P. I’ll be back later.” I say and even I can hear the distraction in my voice.

  “See you later honey.” She replies and I turn without another word just as another sexy vision of Lori fleets through my mind.

  Dammit, what the hell? I need to get my shit together and remember that I hate Lori Parkinson!

  Chapter Three

  Lorianne

  That fucking jerk! I can't believe he did that. He just stood there and let me bump into him at full speed. My ass still hurts from that fall! And I’m sure he did it on purpose. I’ll get him back for that little stunt. I’ll make sure that all that smugness he was showing is forgotten. I’ve been thinking of a way to get him back all the way to the store but so far I’ve come up with absolutely nothing! Which frustrates me to no end.

  “Oh my God, Lori?” I hear someone say, pulling me out of my thoughts.

  “Gwen!” I exclaim in excitement when I turn to see one of my close friends from high school standing behind me. I drop the bag of veggies into my cart then rush to give her a hug.

  “When did you get back?” She asks, hugging me back.

  “Last night.” I say, breaking our embrace. “How have you been? I’ve missed you so much.” I tell her. Even though we text and call each other regularly, it's still not the same as actually seeing her. And I’ve not seen her since she moved to live with her father in Cape Town.

  “I’ve been good. And you know I missed the hell out of you too Crazy Lori!” She’s grinning.

  Oh God. Crazy Lori, I’ve not heard that nickname in a long while. She’s the only one who ever called me that because she was always around to help me pull off pranks against Gage.

  “Not that crazy anymore actually,” I laugh. “So when did you get back in town?” I ask.

  “A week ago, I came to visit mom for a while.” She tells me.

  “Well, we’re having a little get together for close family and friends at my place later on, I’d love it if you came.” I tell her.

  “Yes, I’d love to come.” She replies giddily.

  “Great!” I say

  “Oh and oh my God! Do you remember Gage?” The stars I see shining in her eyes are a bit unsettling.

  “How can I forget when he’s like my parent’s third child?” I groan then roll my eyes.

  “Well you should see him now, he’s gotten freaking sexy! I swear I salivated a bit when I saw him the other day. I almost didn't recognize him.” She literally fans herself as she tells me this. “Those chubby cheeks are replaced with the sexiest jaw line I’ve seen yet and oh my fucking God there is no sign of that disgusting belly he used to have. The man is all delicious muscles all the way round!”

  “I saw him this morning, I didn't see any hotness there.” I lie. I had the exact same reaction to Gage as she did but I’m not about to admit that to anyone. Especially seeing that I’m still trying to wipe the filt
hy fantasies I had of him from my brain. Gage was never ugly, just a bit chubby but I do agree with Gwen he’s gotten really hot.

  “Wait, you're still not on good terms with him?” She sounds surprised as she asks this.

  “Good terms?” I snort a laugh. “Well I guess you can say that,” I decide to say instead of using the hate word again. It's starting to feel like that is the only vocabulary I have when it comes to Gage.

  “After all this time? I thought you guys would have gotten over that by now and dated or something,” my eyes widen in both surprise and disgust at her words. It’s the second time I've heard them and I’m finding it seriously hard to comprehend why anyone would ever think that Gage and I would be anything but enemies.

  “You two always acted like you didn't like each other but looked at each other longingly when the other was not looking. Remember when he beat up that guy who was spreading lies about having sex with you in the bathrooms?” She continues, causing me to roll my eyes again. What in the bullshit is she talking about? I’ve never looked at Gage with anything but hate.

  “I’ve never-” I’m cut off by my phone that starts ringing in my bag. “Sorry, give me a sec,” I say before fishing the phone out and answering it without looking at the caller ID.

  “Hello,” I say.

  “Lorianne Parkinson, what is keeping you so long?” My mother asks angrily on the other line. Shit!

  “Sorry mom, I’m on my way!” I tell her.

  “You better be because otherwise I’ll never finish the food on time.” She tells me.

  “Okay, I’m coming.” I repeat before ending the call.

  “Sorry Gwen, I have to go before my mother kills me.” I say after placing my phone back into my bag. “See you later though right?” I add as I give her a quick goodbye hug.

  “Yeah, I’ll be there,” She answers and we part ways as I rush to the till to pay for the mini groceries my mother sent me to get. Luckily I had already gotten everything I needed before I bumped into Gwen.

  It doesn't take me long to make it back home and I pull up in the driveway just as Dad is taking out the trash.

  “Your mother is very unhappy, Pumpkin,” Dad says just as I climb out of the car, causing me to groan with dread. Mom is a force to be reckoned with when she’s not happy and unfortunately I’ll be the one at the end of her fury today. I know I was bound to screw up sometime but I was at least hoping to be home a couple of days before unintentionally pissing her off.

  “Oh no. How bad is it, on a scale of one to ten?” I ask as I busy myself with unpacking the few plastic bags from the trunk.

  “Well, I’d say about a four, so don’t worry I think you might be safe for now,” Dad laughs as he says this. “Come on, let me help you with those,” he continues as he takes a few of the bags from me and we head inside.

  “Oh finally!” Mom exclaims as soon as we step into the kitchen where she’s still busy cooking up a storm. “What took you so long? I thought I told you to be quick.” She says, narrowing her eyes at me.

  “Sorry mom, I momentary got distracted by Gwen,” I explain, hoping that Dad was right about her not being too angry.

  “Your friend from high school?” She asks as she rummages through the plastic bags and immediately gets busy with chopping the veggies.

  “Yeah,” I say looking around the kitchen. Mom has really gone out of her way there is so much food here that it could feed a small village. “Hey mom. Why didn't we just order everything? It would have been so much easier and faster.” I ask.

  “Lorianne honey, there is nothing more welcoming than home cooked meals. It's been a really long time since we had a gathering, so nice fresh home cooked meals are necessary.” She answers without looking at me.

  “Okay then, do you need any help?” I ask.

  “Yes, go and fix the spare room for your aunt and uncle.” She says and I just nod before turning and making my way up stairs.

  Hours have passed, Johnny finally arrived with my other two favorite people. The reunion was wonderful and I was ecstatic to see my aunt and uncle again. We spent most of the afternoon catching up with them and now I’m kinda late for the festivities as I’m now only getting out of the shower and most of the guests have already arrived and having a good time in the backyard.

  “Hey Lori, are you in there?” I hear Gwen say at the other side of my bedroom door before lightly knocking.

  “Yeah, come on in!” I say as I start getting dressed.

  “Well, I see nothing has changed with you over the years,” Gwen laughs when she comes into my room and closes the door behind her.

  “Whatever do you mean?” I laugh. I know exactly what she’s talking about. I’m always late for stuff like this. I don't do it intentionally but it always happens. The only thing I’m ever on time for is work.

  “I mean, you are always fashionably late, girl.” She says as she takes a seat on my bed.

  “Oh yeah, no lies there,” I answer, causing us both to laugh out loud.

  “I just saw your brother and Gage out back,” She says and I give her an ‘I don't really care shrug’. “It's such a pity Gage has a girl,” She continues and for some reason unknown to me, a sharp sting of jealousy runs down my spine.

  What the hell? Jealousy? Why in the hell would I ever be jealous that Gage of all people has a girlfriend? No, it can't have been jealousy I just felt, I must be mistaking disgust with jealousy. I. Can. Not. Be. Jealous!

  “Okay, good for him.” My reply is followed by another shrug.

  “So how about you, is there a Mr. Special in your life?” She asks and I laugh.

  “No, there is no such thing in my life. The last idiot I dated had four other girlfriends while we were together.” I tell her as I start on my make up.

  “No! Five?” She gasps. “How in the hell can you cheat on five different women, where do you even get the time to juggle that many women?” She sounds disgusted as she asks.

  “Well, I guess he’s a professional cheater because he managed it and I had no clue until I caught him at a nightclub on a night I was supposed to be working,” I shrug.

  “You must have been furious!” She says. Sounding outraged, like this actually happened to her.

  “To be honest, for some reason I was relieved to have a reason to dump his ass.” I tell her honestly. I don't know what it is about me but every single relationship I’ve been in has felt forced and a couple of months in I’m always looking for a way out. I can't explain it but that’s how it feels. It's like I get bored with the men I meet.

  “I would have lost my shit and castrated him right there and then,” she says, causing me to laugh. Gwen has always been a bit on the dramatic side.

  “He wasn't worth it.” I say, doing the finishing touches to my hair. “Okay, I’m ready.” I continue, standing up to go join the party down stairs.

  “What’s up with all these toys? Someone is bound to break a leg on all these toy cars on the floor.” Gwen says as we walk through the living room on our way to the backyard.

  “Yeah, my little cousins are also here tonight. I’ll come back in a bit to pick them up.” I reply, carefully stepping over the many toys littered on the floor. She’s right, someone can slip and fall.

  Our backyard is filled with even more people than I thought were coming and all are looking to be having fun. I look around the backyard and spot my parents laughing and having a good time. This is good, I’m happy everything is going smoothly. Mom worked pretty hard on getting everything ready.

  “Come on, lets go get some drinks,” I say to Gwen who giddily agrees.

  “Last time we spoke you mentioned a new job, how’s that going?” I ask Gwen as soon as we reach the table set out with different types of wine.

  “Oh yeah, it’s been really-” Her words turn to white noise when I spot Gage flirting and laughing by the pool with a long legged redhead. Something in me catches fire when he suggestively starts running his fingers down her arm.

  “U
hg, she’s probably not even a real ginger,” the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

  “What? Who?” Gwen asks.

  “The girl Gage is with.” I say in a clipped tone. What is this weird alien feeling that’s rushing through my blood stream right now?

  “Oh yeah, that’s definitely dye,” Gwen agrees. I feel her eyes studying me so I tear my eyes away from the sickening couple to look at her.

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” I ask when I find her staring at me with a grin firmly etched on her face.

  “Oh nothing. I’m just observing, is all.” She says.

  “Observing what exactly?” I’m starting to get a bit annoyed by her cryptic answers. Okay, maybe she’s not the one annoying me. The real reason I’m getting annoyed is because I keep catching glimpses of Gage and the fake ginger being all lovey dovey. Why on earth is that bothering me so much tonight?

  “That you have the green monster riding you hard right now,” her words are followed by a soft laugh.

  “I’m not jealous!” I say as my eyes involuntarily move back to where Gage and Ms. Ginger are laughing and giggling like school children.

  “Aha, you keep telling yourself that,” Gwen says. I want to look back at her but I can't. My eyes are glued on my enemy and his date.

  “Oh hell no!” I can feel my eyes narrowing to tiny slits when Gage leans in to whisper something in the girls ear. Something in me snaps when she starts giggling like a schoolgirl again and I stomp my way over to them. I have got no idea what the hell is happening to me but for some reason I hate seeing him with her.

  “Hey Gage,” I say when I’m finally standing next to them.

  “Yeah what-” I cut him off by pushing him hard into the swimming pool. The red headed woman he was with squeals, causing all eyes to focus on our little trio.

  “That’s for the little stunt you pulled this morning!” I tell him as soon as his head reaches the surface of the water.

  “I’m going to murder you!” Gage says as he starts swimming out of the pool.

  “I’d like to see you try,” I reply, a smirk playing on my lips.