by Blue Saffire
“I-I’m sorry,” Rita whispered.
“Oh Sweetheart, please don’t apologize to me,” Marcus groaned. “I shouldn’t have let that happen.”
“I’m so stupid,” Rita sobbed.
“No Sweetheart,” Marcus moved closer to the bed and kneeled beside it. “I’m the stupid one.”
Rita shook her head fiercely. “You didn’t know I had a stupid crush on you,” Rita murmured. “You would never want a girl like me.”
Marcus had to fight not to growl. She had no idea how smart and beautiful she was. His emotions had his thoughts all over the place. Before he could think about what he was promising his words flew out of his mouth.
“Rita, Sweetheart, it’s just too soon,” he said brushing her hair from her face. “If I was younger or you were older I would kiss you until you had to beg me to stop. But I’m not saying I don’t want you. I’m saying it’s too soon.”
Rita turned to him with wide eyes searching his face. She was stunned by what she thought she was hearing. “You mean…”
“Yeah, Sweetheart, I mean when the time is right I want to hold you in my arms,” Marcus closed his eyes tight trying to figure out what he was doing.
When he opened his eyes Rita was beaming at him. He groaned internally. Why in the world did he just promise a sixteen year old he would wait for her? What is wrong with me? He thought to himself as Rita lunged at him and threw her arms around his neck.
In that moment he knew why he said it. Somehow his love for her went beyond big brother love. He wanted to be the one to protect her, care for her and love her always. He couldn’t see any other man ever taking that role from him, even if it meant waiting another five years before they did anything about it.
Marcus thought his heart was heavy going up the ladder. It was a lead weight on his way back down. He may have known why he made her that promise but it didn’t mean that he agreed with his choice. He felt like he was betraying everyone and taking advantage of all their trust.
He sat in bed all night thinking about what happened between them. He wondered had he done something to make her decide to kiss him. Had she seen the way he sometimes looked at her full lips wondering the impossible? Did she notice how his face lit up when she laughed? He chided himself for showing emotions he should have had under control. He knew somehow this was on him.
He could still feel her soft lips against his. He couldn’t get her green eyes out of his head. He will be twenty eight when she turns twenty one. He could go to her father and brother then without feeling like a slime ball and tell them he wanted to date her.
Five years was not that long. He just hoped she would be able to understand until then. He would never do anything to hurt her like bring someone home to his parents’. Rita was in his family’s home as much as her own. He would never dream of throwing another woman in her face. The weight of his promise to her consumed him to the point he wasn’t sure if he should go see her the next day.
~B~
Marcus pulled up to his family’s home and started to pull onto the back road. There he could hide his car between the Briggs and Mairettie estates. Thomas may have known he was going to see Rita but he still didn’t want anyone else to find out. He just felt awkward about it now after yesterday.
He didn’t get far before he saw Marie and to his surprise, Rita. Rita was in a t-shirt and jeans looking like a happy teenager again. It made Marcus smile to see her looking like herself. The protector and provider in him wanted that for her.
“Marcus!” Marie chimed. “We were just going to call you. You want to take us to the movies?”
“If my girls want to go to the movies we’ll go to the movies,” Marcus crooned stepping out of the car to walk around and open the door for them.
“Yay!” Marie squealed. She was happy to have her best friend back and it had been so long since Marcus had hung out with them.
Rita looked up at Marcus shyly as he opened the door and folded the front seat in his Audi coupe. Marcus gave her a small smile and wink, her face lit up as she climbed in.
“Scoot over, I want to sit in back with you,” Marie chirped and climbed in the car.
Marcus rolled his eyes at the two squealing teenagers. He shook his head as he closed the door. This was what he needed, a reminder of the girl, not the woman she would someday be. He had no doubt he would wait but right now things could go back to normal.
Chapter 4
One of the things Marcus loved about Rita was that she did understand they couldn’t be together. She lived her teenage life like nothing ever happened that day in her room. At first he found that he was spending all his spare time with Rita and Marie, once Rita started to live her life again the way her mother would have wanted.
Then things started to change after graduation. He was entering the real world and his father was not going to put up with him slacking just because he owned the firm. Work hours were getting longer and the time he had for Marie and Rita started to dwindle.
Before Marcus knew it a whole year had passed and Marie and Rita were all grown up going to the prom. Mom wanted everyone at the house to see the girls off with their dates. Marcus couldn’t help feeling a little uncomfortable with that.
Sure, he wanted Rita to experience life the way he had, but the thought of some snot nose kid pawing all over her made him want to gag. It had taken him longer than necessary to leave work and to head to the house. He was fighting with his feelings and the dread in his stomach.
Rita’s eighteenth birthday had been last week. He missed the party her dad threw her because he had to fly out of town on business for an important case. He planned to make it up to her with a gift and this weekend he had set aside some time to spend with just her and Marie.
Marcus smiled at the gift box in his hand as he stepped out of his car. The girls’ limo was already there. He was hoping he wasn’t too late. He figured the less he had to see the better, but missing it altogether would have made him a selfish prick.
Stepping into the house he was hit with a punch in the gut as he saw Rita with a tall lanky kid draped over her shoulders. Rita was breathtaking in an emerald green dress that draped off her shoulders and gave the illusion of baring the valley between her breasts down to her belly button as little stones glittered against her skin.
The dress hugged her creating the perfect hour glass shape. Her long locks had been straightened and pulled away from her face falling into long flowing waves down her back. The makeup on her face was flawless making her large eyes sparkle and shimmer.
Those eyes, they would be the death of him. Marcus swallowed hard. When did she get all those curves? It dawned on him how much he was missing now that he was working so much. Her hips were rounder, her breasts were fuller and she had gotten taller.
He cursed in his thoughts as he clenched the box in his hand. Every possessive bone in his body made him want to grab hold of her and say she wasn’t going anywhere with this kid. Marcus knew it was more than the fact that she was his that was putting him on edge. He didn’t like this kid or the way he was looking at her.
When her eyes met his and lit up, everything in the room stopped and he felt himself soften a little. His own smile split his face and he had to remember to dial it down a little. His eyes quickly scanned the room to see if anyone was watching him.
At first he thought he caught Sam turning away from him but he wasn’t sure. Jasper was standing next to Sam with his own scowl as he stared down at his shoes. Bobby, Nate, Thomas and his Dad were all scowling at the punk dates his sister and Rita were about to leave with, that made him remember his sister. He turned back to the group to find Marie in her own racy looking red dress.
Marcus groaned internally and tightened his fists. At least her date didn’t look as smug and dickish as Rita’s did. What was my girl thinking? Marcus thought to himself as his eyes went back to Rita. She blushed when he raised a questioning brow at her and pointedly looked at her date. She just gave a small shrug and bit
her glossy bottom lip.
Marcus wasn’t going to pretend he had been a saint since two years ago when he promised her she would be his, but it had been a while with his busy schedule. Between her biting her lip that way and that dress he was struggling not to get a hard on like a silly school boy. He could just imagine the thoughts in her date’s head. He swore he could read them from where he stood.
“Oh Marcus dear, you’re here,” Minnie chimed. “Girls take a picture with your brother and we will let you go.”
Marcus winced at his mother referring to Rita as his sister. Some part of him agreed that was how he should see her, but there was a large part of him that knew that ship had sailed. For some reason the gift in his hand suddenly felt too personal to give to her now.
Slipping the gift into his side pocket he moved over to the girls and wrapped an arm around each of them. Rita reached for his fingers and slipped hers through his. Her hands were so soft and small against his.
“Shall we,” Rita tilted her head at Marie who beamed and nodded her head. Marcus looked between them curiously.
“Look at the camera Marcus,” Minnie chirped.
As he looked forward both girls leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Marcus noted that Rita’s was not as short or chaste as Marie’s but nothing anyone else would note. As Marcus looked around the room at the laughing men he noticed they too had lipstick staining their cheeks.
Rita squeezed his fingers gently before she released them. Her eyes were sparkling with mischief as she looked up at him. Marcus pulled Marie in for a quick hug before catching Rita by her wrist and tugging her in for a hug as well.
“You look gorgeous,” Marcus whispered in her ear before releasing her.
“Thank you,” Rita said shyly before rushing off to her date and the rest of their little group.
Marcus knew it was going to bother him to see her leave but this was gut wrenching to say the least. Something didn’t feel right. He couldn’t put his finger on it but something more than Rita having a date was nagging at him.
“Their growing up,” Sam slapped him on his back nodding to Marie and Rita as they slipped out the door and into the waiting Limo. Marcus tried to shake off his thoughts. “I hope I have boys if I ever get married.”
“What and miss all this,” Bobby said as he came to Marcus’s other side.
“I think I need a beer. I hate that kid Rita chose to go with,” Nate grunted.
“Dude, I thought it was just me. Did you check him out,” Marcus grumbled.
“Yeah, he’s a punk but there wasn’t enough for me to get dad to tell her pick someone else. Besides she waited till the last minute to accept or something,” Nate sighed.
Jasper snorted. “Yeah, I thought I was going as her date until last week.”
“Seriously,” Bobby raised a brow. “I would have thought boys would be climbing all over each other to ask her.”
“A few asked but no one she wanted to go with. She wasn’t going to go until Marie insisted and that’s when she asked me to take her,” Jasper shrugged.
“Is that why you look like someone stole your best friend?” Sam chuckled. “You’re still her favorite cousin you know.”
“Nah, I just have something else on my mind,” Jasper sighed and looked out at the disappearing limo.
“But why him…if she turned everyone else down and was going to take you… why the change,” Marcus asked.
Jasper shrugged again. “She used to like him or something, but he was dating someone else. I don’t know. I don’t like him either. We got into it a few times when I was in school with them,” Jasper frowned.
Jasper was only two years older than Rita and Marie. They had all gone to the same high school for a little while. Jasper and Rita were really close because they were trained for the family business together and traveled together whenever their fathers sent them out in the field to test their skills.
“I think a beer sounds good right now,” Bobby sighed and placed a hand on Nate’s shoulder.
“Marcus my boy, before you take off with the boys I want to talk to you about a case I want you to work on with Paige and myself. Come to the study with me for a few,” James called out while standing next to his wife with a hand on her waist.
Bobby turned toward his dad all ears now, stopping in his tracks. “You mind if I listen in Dad,” Bobby asked trying to remain cool.
“Sure, sure, that Paige is smart as a whip. I think she and Marcus can grow together on this one,” James nodded then kissed his wife and turned for his study.
“Um, Nate I’ll catch up in a sec,” Bobby murmured.
Nate gave him a sly grin and shrugged as he turned and walked away with Jasper and Sam. Nate already knew the moment Paige’s name was mentioned Bobby was going to take a detour. It had been that way since the young attorney joined the firm.
Nate had yet to meet her in person, but from her profile and the things Bobby told him about her, she seemed to be an amazing woman and was turning out to be an awesome attorney. Nate thought she was gorgeous when he first read her profile and saw her picture. However, as soon as Bobby told him he was interested in her he dropped the idea of finding a reason to make his presence known at the office.
~B~
Two hours later, Bobby and Marcus found Jasper, Sam and Nate lounging around the pool house, with beers in hand. Sam and Jasper were playing a lazy game of pool, while Nate was scowling at his watch and his beer. Bobby flopped down next to Nate and nudged his shoulder.
“What’s with the face,” Bobby asked.
“I can’t believe my father let her out with that kid. I have a feeling in my bones that tells me she should have stuck to taking Jas,” Nate grumbled.
Marcus sat and frowned. His father had insisted on conferencing Paige in on their little meeting and things ran longer than he thought once she and Bobby started throwing around ideas. He was having a hard time focusing on anything other than the way Rita looked tonight and that kid she went to prom with.
He tried to tell himself he was being ridiculous and she had a right to go to her prom with a boy her age. It’s just there was this feeling in his gut he just couldn’t shake. He really did think he would have handled this better if she had picked a better date.
It wasn’t just the hungry look in the little shit’s eyes when he stared down at her cleavage. It was the smug cold look in his eyes that bothered Marcus. Marcus remembered guys like him when he was in high school.
Hell he knew a few of them now, guys that thought they were God’s gift to women and every woman should readily drop their panties for them. The kind of guy that didn’t think no applied to them. Just the thought made him sick.
“What would it hurt to just go swing by and make sure the girls are alright,” Marcus found himself saying before he could think better.
Both the girls would be furious with them if they spotted them at their senior prom. However, he knew it was outdoors from what Marie had told him so they would be able to peek in on them from a good distance if they were careful. Nate gave him a knowing grin and nod.
“I didn’t want to be the one to suggest it, but since you have let’s go,” Nate crooned.
“Rita is going to flip if she finds out,” Jasper groaned but the smile on his face said he was more than happy to tag along.
“I don’t plan on telling her,” Sam chuckled.
“None of us will,” Bobby said as they all made their way out to the cars.
Something in Marcus’s instincts made him get in his car as Bobby and Sam climbed into Nate’s SUV. Jasper followed Marcus and he figured it was because he was the closest to his age and probably the least likely to push him around. They all treated Jasper like a little brother.
“You know, I think Rita decided to go with Kerry to piss off some guy she’s in love with,” Jasper mused.
Marcus’s hands tightened on the steering wheel as he narrowed his eyes at the road. “Oh really, what makes you say that?” Marcus said as ca
lmly as he could. “Did she say that?”
“No not straight out. She’s just been talking about this guy she thinks the world revolves around for longer than I can remember. One day I just got sick of hearing about him. When I asked her why he wasn’t taking her to the prom if he was so great she got all weird,” Jasper shrugged.
“She said he didn’t know she wanted him to take her and that even if he did, he couldn’t. I asked what that was supposed to mean but she never said.”
“So she never said that she was in love with this guy,” Marcus felt like he was back in high school. His heart was pounding as he tried to pull the right words from Jasper without suspicion.
“Oh she’s in love with him alright. She gets this look in her eyes whenever she talks about him. When she told me that she was going to go with Kerry to the prom, she said lover boy was going to be pissed but maybe that would get him to see how much she cares about him and misses him,” Jasper sighed.
“I don’t know who the guy is she won’t tell me, but right now I want to kick his ass for making her do something so stupid,” Jasper bit out.
“That makes two of us,” Marcus hissed. He was so angry with himself. He knew he had been focused on work lately and not giving Marie or Rita nearly as much attention as he used to. To be honest he missed them both.
A part of him wished that Rita would have just come to him and told him how she felt, but she hadn’t. She hadn’t mentioned what happened that day two years ago to him not once and she never said a word to him about them being together someday. It was one of the things that he respected. She never pushed him for more.
She was handling it all like an adult. At least he thought she was until now. He realized how wrong he had been. It had been two years and they hadn’t talked at all about their future. She probably thought he changed his mind or never meant what he had said in the first place.
“Maybe he’ll be there tonight and I can finally tell him what a jerk he is for stringing her along. Rita is so awesome. I’m going to miss her,” Jasper murmured as he stared down into his hands.
