by K. Bromberg
I set the box down and open it to find an auction paddle that says: Go back to where it all began. Where I learned defiance can be pretty damn sexy.
I shake my head again, feeling like I’m having an out of body experience as I say goodbye to them. I walk as fast I can out to the parking lot, to where Haddie is sitting behind the wheel, eyebrows raised and fingers drumming in anticipation.
I slide into the car to her repeating “Tell me, tell me.” Over and over. I tell her to drive where the date auction charity gala took place and then fill her in on the two clues I’d received at the carnival. She’s bouncing in her seat with enthusiasm while I sit here wide-eyed and shocked at Colton’s sweet surprise.
“Well shit, that bonk on the head at the race in Florida sure as fuck helped him in the romance department.” She laughs. “I think it might become a mandatory thing for the penis-poking gender!”
I laugh with her. “You really didn’t know about this part?” I ask Haddie several times.
“Ry, he told me he had a cool date planned for you and asked if I’d be your chauffeur for part of it. So I’m here, and I so can’t wait to see what else he has in store for you!” she says, reaching over and running her hands over the words of the auction paddle. It’s sitting on my thigh and I can’t stop staring at it.
The stars must be aligned because we avoid Los Angeles traffic and make it to the old theater in record time. “I’ll be waiting right here!” she yells as I climb out of the car with the paddle in my hand and jog to the grand front doors of the old theater to find one of them ajar.
I enter the familiar foyer and look around as I walk toward the door to the right of the stage like I did that night so many months ago. I start humming out of habit to Matchbox Twenty’s Overjoyed playing softly on the speakers overhead. It has to be a complete coincidence because even Colton couldn’t time my arrival this perfectly, but it makes me smile at how perfect it is that my group is playing. I blink back tears as the significance of this moment takes hold—Colton leading me back here after all this time where something I never really wanted to happen, actually started.
And look at us now.
I swallow the burn of tears in my throat as I push through the door and into the lit backstage hallway. And suddenly my tears are replaced with an uncontrollable fit of giggles when I see caution tape over the little alcove where Bailey tried to seduce him. And more hilarious than the caution tape is the little sign that says “Beware, piranhas lurking.”
I’m still laughing as I turn the corner to see the storage closet door propped open and a light on inside. My heeled boots click on the linoleum as I try to figure out who is going to meet me this time. A part of me wants it to be Colton so I can kiss him and hug him and thank him for all of this, but at the same time I don’t think I’m ready for this walk down memory lane to end just yet.
And the giggles return when I see Aiden and my co-counselor Austin sitting in chairs just inside the closet playing Uno. Aiden jumps up with a squeal when he sees me, and Austin and I laugh at his enthusiastic reaction.
“Hi, guys!”
“Rylee,” he shouts out in excitement. “Here! This is for you!”
He fumbles as he hands an envelope and two boxes to me. One very small on top of a larger one. I look at both Aiden and Austin, their anticipatory grins matching mine as I set the boxes on the table and tear open the envelope. Colton’s familiar penmanship greets me: You were the first person to ever look at me and really see into my soul. And it scared the ever-loving shit out of me. Where did this happen? If you need a clue, it’s in the top box. (Open the larger box once you leave the theater.) – C
My heart is pounding and my hands are trembling with excitement. I know the answer. He’s referring to the Penthouse where we had sex for the first time after the Merit Rum party, but nothing prepares me for what is inside the first box.
My breath catches and I instinctively lift a hand to cover my mouth before I reach out and lift the lone earring from it. The earring I couldn’t find that night as I tried to gather my dignity and leave the hotel room. The earring I left, never caring if I saw it again or the man now giving it back to me.
Something about the sight of the earring and the fact that he kept it all this time, kept it when I walked out on him, causes so many emotions to surface I can barely speak as I thank Aiden and Austin before picking up the other box and hurrying back to Haddie and our next destination.
I climb in the car, stunned and bewildered, as I tell Haddie about the significance of the earring. She starts to drive to the hotel as I tear open the larger of the two boxes. And the air punches from my lungs from laughter as I look into a box of all the panties that have been ripped off me. Included in the box is another envelope that takes me a minute to open because I’m laughing so hard at the memories they evoke, and the fact that he actually kept them all.
“Geez, woman! You weren’t kidding when you said the man put a dent in your drawers!” she teases as she nods her head, urging me to open the envelope.
I tear it open and a gift card falls out to La Perla for a ridiculous amount of money. The note wrapped around the gift card is worth ten times more to me though. It says: You better buy a large supply, Ry, because I don’t see my need to have you when, where, and how I want stopping any time soon.
The blatant sensuality of his words causes an ache of desire to coil and spring to life between my thighs that I don’t even bother to ignore.
“Wow!” Haddie drawls, breaking me from my less than pure thoughts as she looks over and reads the card while we’re at a stoplight. “The man is that fucking hot and has a dirty, dominant mouth like that?” She draws in a shaky breath. “Shit, Ry … I’d tell him to handcuff me to the bed and let me be his sex slave for life.” She laughs.
I’m feeling a little blown away that this man is most definitely mine. “Who says I haven’t?” I say with a smirk on my lips and a raise of eyebrows.
“Well hot damn!” she says, slapping my thigh. “That’s my girl talking!”
We laugh together and try to figure out what the next clue at the hotel is going to be until she pulls up into the valet circle. “I’m assuming I’ll be right back,” I tell her as I climb out and jog into the lobby before I suddenly stop. I just can’t go up to the Penthouse and knock on the door.
I head over to the front desk and when I approach, a woman eyes me up and down. “Ms. Thomas, I presume?”
“Yes …” I reply, a little astounded she knows who I am.
“This way please,” she says, leading me to a private elevator on the side of the lobby. She takes out a key card and presses it to the scanner causing the door to open. “There you go,” she says, her stoicism breaking as she grins broadly at me before walking back to her desk.
“Thank you,” I call out to her before stepping in. The familiar décor inside the car causes memories to flood back from our first time, my nerves heighten from the dark promise of the words Colton said to me as we made the same ascent in a different elevator. The car dings when I reach the top floor and I exit, unable to fight my smirk over the desperation-filled, clumsy exit we made that night.
I knock on the Penthouse door and hear a giggle from behind it as the knob starts to turn. Zander opens the door with Avery standing behind them, both have beaming smiles as they look at me. And the carefree giggle that falls from Zander’s mouth warms my overflowing heart even more.
“Hi, guys! Let me guess, you have a clue for me?”
Zander nods his head frantically as he looks over at Avery to see if it’s okay to give me what’s in his hands.
“Hey, Rylee.”
“Hi!”
“Okay, our clue is, what one word first comes to your mind when you see what Zander has?”
I look down as Zander produces a small black box from behind his back and holds it out to me. I look down at it, as perplexed as the look on Avery’s face, until Zander flips it over.
And then I laugh.
> The box contains a fire engine red pocket square for a tuxedo. My senses are suddenly assaulted with every sensation Colton evoked from me in the limo that night, when we were overdressed and underdressed. But that can’t be the answer because that’s two words. “Anticipation!” I almost shout when the word hits me like lightning, images of that more than memorable evening flashing through my mind.
“Bingo!” Avery cries out as Zander hops up and down.
“Good job, Ry!” he says as he holds out another box and envelope to me. I look at him with a furrowed brow that has him giggling again before I take it from him.
“This is for me?” I ask him.
“Uh-huh!” he says, nodding his head.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes! Just open it!” he says with amused exasperation.
I slide my finger across the envelope and smile before I even know what it says because I know Colton’s words are going to touch me.
Ry- I always knew you were different than the others … but this is the night you became my checkered flag. Without a doubt. Here’s to the night I knew the one thing I never wanted, I’d fight like hell to keep. Go where you first became familiar with the object in the box. – C
I cautiously open it and roll my eyes and shake my head when I see a scale model of a red F12 Ferrari. I know exactly where I’m going next because that night is most definitely one I’ll never forget.
I say my goodbyes and vibrate with anticipation as I ride the elevator down to the lobby and hurry past a smirking hostess at the front desk and out to the car. I slide in and tell Haddie about the clue and laugh when she shakes her head as she drives the few blocks to the hotel where the other gala I attended with Colton is.
I direct her to drive to the top floor of the parking garage and instinctively suck in a breath when Sex comes into view. Images and emotions fill me and I don’t even try to stifle the sigh they evoke in me.
“Damn that car is like a fucking visual orgasm,” she says with a hum of appreciation.
“You have no idea,” I drawl then whistle and am left blushing as I slide out and walk the short distance to its isolated spot in the garage. As I get closer I see a figure behind one of the columns beside the car and my heart leaps in my throat. I hope it’s Colton. I’ve had enough of memory lane, and as much as I love this right now, I just want him. Desperately.
I laugh as Beckett steps out, a shit-eating grin spread wide across his handsome face. He looks over my shoulder at Haddie and nods his head subtly at her, his grin softening to a smolder that has my curiosity piqued, but my attention is diverted quickly when Becks talks.
“Well, I’m not sure what you’ve done to my man,” he says, giving me a quick hug, “since his balls seem to have retracted, judging by this overt display, but fuck if I don’t love it!”
“I’m sure you’re giving him tons of shit,” I tell him, and he just angles his head and looks at me for a second, a softness settling over his features.
“It’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him,” he says with a nod.
And before I even think of what I’m saying, the words are out of my mouth. “But why do you think that is?” I ask.
He just laughs that low chuckle of his and holds out a white plastic bag with humor in his eyes. I take the bag from him and look into it. It takes my mind a moment to figure out what I’m looking at. “Because I’m the whole alphabet,” I whisper as I gaze at the plastic preschool letters.
“A to motherfucking Z, Ry,” he says, causing my head to snap up so I catch the wink that he gives me mixed with a lazy, lopsided grin. I just look at him, a stupid smile on my face. “So, I am in charge of getting you to your next destination,” he says.
I immediately look over my shoulder and am surprised to see Haddie’s car gone. I was so caught up with Becks that I didn’t even hear her leave. He motions for me to get in and I oblige. The minute that our seat belts are fastened and the engine roars to life, Becks looks over at me. “Where is the one place you proved to Colton that rookies can drive for the win?”
I laugh immediately, thinking of our intimate exchange about rookies and racing before realizing that Colton’s referring to a more innocent time with the boys. “Go-kart track!” I shout as we head out of the parking garage and onto the side streets.
“Yes, ma’am,” he tells me as we merge onto the freeway and lose the traffic behind us. We talk about this and that, but regardless of how hard I try, I can’t get Becks to tell me what the rest of the clues are or the end game for this evening. He just smirks at me and shakes his head.
In no time, we arrive at the industrial park where Colton took the boys and me go-karting. “I’ll be right here,” Becks says as I hop out and enter through the glass door.
My smile widens as I see Dane and Scooter leaning against the counter. “Rylee!” Scooter yells and runs to hug me.
I squeeze him tight and kiss the top of his head before I arch an eyebrow at Dane. “You knew and didn’t say anything to me!” I tell Dane, eliciting a belly-giggle from my sweet Scooter.
“Some things are worth being secretive about,” he says with a shrug and a smirk before pushing off the counter to hand Scooter a bag.
I shake my head at him with a fake glare that makes him laugh. I don’t say anything further because Scooter is basically bouncing out of his shoes with excitement. “Okay, Scoot … you gonna help me figure this one out?”
“Can I?” he asks.
“Of course!” I tell him as I reach in the bag and lift out a plastic action figure of Spiderman. Tears immediately prick the back of my eyes, despite the soft smile forming on my lips.
“What’s the answer? What does Spidey make you think of?”
And I think for a second because there are two possible answers, but given that Scooter’s way of saying I love you was the catalyst that started all of this, I say, “I Spiderman you!” And I know immediately when his face falls that I got the answer wrong, but I don’t care because I still got to tell him I love him. So then I try my other guess. “Spiderman. Batman. Superman. Ironman.”
“Yay!” he shouts, jumping up and down before hugging me tightly as Dane and I laugh.
Dane looks up and meets my eyes as he holds out an envelope. “I guess things are as perfect as they seem.”
“Imperfectly perfect,” I tell him with a quiet smile as I open up the envelope.
Why the superheroes? Because after that night at the track, I’m not scared anymore. My childhood comfort isn’t needed because I have you, Ry. It’s your name I chant now, not theirs. The clue to your next location: “Welcome to the big leagues, Ace.”
I laugh at the memory of him telling me this, of turning my lame attempt at seduction back around on me, all the while reeling from the other words that he’s written. That he holds me in as high of a regard as he does his beloved superheroes. My heart is so swollen with love that it’s bursting at the seams. When I look up to meet Dane’s eyes through my tear blurred vision, he says nothing but his eyes say it all. He’s the one.
I say my rushed goodbyes and hurry outside to the sexy purr of the F12. I slide into the seat and look over at a grinning Beckett. “Where to next, Ry?”
“The Surf Shack,” I tell him with a shake of my head as we just stare at each other for a beat.
“What?” he asks as he angles his head at me.
I breathe in deeply and stare out the windshield for a moment, taking it all in. “Nothing, I’m just trying to process all this … it’s just overwhelming.”
“Yeah well,” he says, gunning the engine at the stoplight, “it appears Hell sure as fuck has frozen over.” He laughs and I join in, laying my head back on the head rest. I’m thankful that Becks allows me the silence to collect my thoughts and reflect on everything Colton’s told me so far today.
We pull into the parking lot and my mind immediately remembers taking Tanner here and Colton’s near fight with him. Of the overabundance of testosterone and the shocked look on his
face when I left him standing alone outside in rejection. I look over at Becks and the look on his face seems to be saying “Well, go on then.”
I climb out and enter the restaurant to find Rachel standing at the hostess podium. Her grin is huge and she immediately says, “Your table is waiting for you.”
“Thanks, Rachel,” I say as I hurry past her to see what my next surprise is. I assume it’s Kyle since he’s the one boy I haven’t seen yet. I walk out onto the patio and think back on getting to know Colton during our first time here, learning about his past, his family, and how he likes me laid-back.
When I look up through the cloud of memories I see Quinlan and Kyle sitting at the table—our table—with grins as wide as the ocean at their back. “Hi, guys!”
“Hey, Ry,” Quinlan says the same time Kyle greets me. “So … we have another clue for you.”
“Your brother is something else,” I say affectionately.
“Yeah, I think so,” she says with a laugh. “But then again, love will do that to you.” Her eyes well with tears as they meet mine, and I see a softness there, an acceptance, a thank you.
Kyle interrupts our silent exchange by shoving another box toward me. “Open it, open it!” he says. “You have to give the right answer to get the next clue!”
I slide the lid off the box and start laughing when I see a set of sheets, sheets with the alphabet on them. Quin looks at me oddly and says, “I sure hope there’s a good explanation for that one because it seems rather odd to us outsiders.”
“Oh there is definitely a good explanation.” I laugh, impressed that he didn’t forget anything on this scavenger hunt. I look over at Kyle. “Nothing between us but sheets.”
“Woohoo!” he says, jumping up and almost knocking over the table. Quinlan steadies the table and wraps an arm over his shoulders with a laugh. “She got it right!” he tells Quin. She responds with a nod and he hands an envelope over to me.
“Should I open this?” I ask, although my fingers are already itching to rip it apart.
