Superstar

by J Santiago

  Amber didn’t even need to take a deep breath to tell Molly. “I came to Atlanta with Tank. I dropped him off at his house. That’s his car outside.”

  “Oh,” Molly said.

  “Oh?”

  “Oh.”

  “That’s all you’ve got?”

  Molly sat back. Then, she sat forward. “I’m not really sure what to say. What do you mean, you came here with Tank? Isn’t Tank here?”

  “He’s been in Alabama, at State, for the last four weeks. Training.”

  “Training?”

  “Training.”

  “Okay, if anyone were listening to this conversation, they would think we were crazy,” Molly observed.

  That made Amber laugh and relax.

  “So, why don’t you tell me what the hell is going on?”

  “Tank showed up at State couple of weeks ago.” Amber got the opening statement out, but she wasn’t really sure where to go from there. She searched for some explanation that would make sense, but she wasn’t sure she could explain Tank’s motivations because she didn’t understand them herself.

  “Are you sleeping with him?” Molly asked, tact apparently not required.

  Heat crept up Amber’s neck.

  Molly sighed. “No direct answer needed.” She looked away. “What about Madison?”

  “Fuck,” Amber whispered. “Why is everyone so frickin’ worried about her?”

  Molly’s gaze returned to Amber. “Don’t be stupid. I’m not worried about Madison. I am absolutely concerned about you.”

  “You don’t need to be concerned about me. I’m fine. Tank is in town now. I know he won’t be much longer. When he leaves, he leaves. No harm, no foul.” When she said the words, she believed them.

  Molly studied her, skepticism clearly etched in the lines of her face and the wary gaze she cast. “Do you really believe that?”

  Amber thought about Molly’s question. She hadn’t been introspective about her actions with Tank. She knew what this was between them—nothing more than she’d let it be. It was easy to follow her impulses with him. She wasn’t going to let herself love him again. He’d broken her trust long ago, and the breach, an irreparable mistake, couldn’t be forgotten. She was smarter this time. But she couldn’t deny the frayed tether still inexplicably binding them together. She wanted to ride this wave with him right now, but she knew she would be able to get off when the time came.

  “Yes,” she finally answered.

  Molly cocked her head to the side, her tell when she was going to deliver her verdict. In another incarnation, Amber clearly saw Molly as an impartial judge, doling out wisdom with the bang of a gavel.

  “Did you think that at the wedding?” Molly asked, throwing Amber off-kilter.

  Amber stuttered to come up with a response. The wedding. She’d had no thoughts at the wedding. She’d been driven by primal need. “It’s different. I was raw then, and it was the first time we’d seen each other in a long time. I was drunk. There are a hundred ways this is different.”

  Molly lifted her brow and leveled Amber with a look that called bullshit. Amber had a brief thought that the As would struggle to get anything over on either one of their parents.

  “Look,” Molly began, “you’re asking me to believe that you can be rational about your feelings for this man. But I saw you in the aftermath of him tearing through your life like a tornado. All the debris left in his wake wasn’t pretty. For that matter, I don’t blame him or you. It’s the combination of the two of you. And I understand, Amber. Because it’s the way I am about Franco. I couldn’t be casual about being involved with him either. The difference is that I’m honest with myself about what I feel and how completely stupid he can make me. I’m not going to try and talk you out of whatever it is you think you’re doing. I’m just saying, you need to be real about it.”

  “I am being real about this,” Amber stated indignantly.

  She was mad for no specific reason. Molly’s assessment of Tank and her was no great surprise.

  Molly shrugged. “Great. Then, it shouldn’t bother you when I tell you that I agree with Franco.”

  Amber’s brow furrowed. “About what?”

  “I thought Madison was perfect for Tank.”

  Tank’s meeting with Hawk finished early. He had time to kill, so he found himself at the pool, drowning his restlessness with slicing strokes through the water. Impatiently, he waited for the time to pass. He and Amber had gotten up really early, and he’d expected to be tired, but he was oddly wired, some nervous energy coursing through him. He hadn’t heard from Amber since she dropped him off at his town house earlier. He knew she’d soak up the time with her family, but thoughts of her had plagued him all day, and her radio silence made him impatient and edgy.

  Their tangled web of relationships could be a hindrance and a help. Today, he figured it was an obstacle. All the people who’d lived through the destruction of his relationship with Amber were going to see them together. They would have an opinion, and he knew they weren’t favorable.

  What went through Franco’s head when Amber told him she came to Atlanta with Tank?

  He thought maybe Tilly was pulling for them, but he couldn’t be sure. Tank’s choices those years ago had driven a wedge between him and Tilly, too.

  Tank heaved himself out of the pool, uncertainty dripping off him like the chlorinated water. He stood and yanked open his bag. Grabbing his phone, he texted Amber. It was getting late, and they needed to get ready to head to Tilly’s. He waited for the little bubbles to appear. At the lack of a response, he stuffed the phone in his bag and threw his sweats on top of his long Speedo tights. He left the pool and moved through the rec center, on his way to his car. His sudden anger had him pulling open the door and throwing his body into the seat. He would have loved to be on an open straightaway, so he could gun the engine and let the speed burn off the tension still coiled in his muscles.

  It was a short drive to his home, and as he pulled into the garage, he breathed a sigh of relief. The Range Rover sat in the bay next to where he parked. He sat back in the driver’s seat and tried to will the stress to leave his body. She was there. He was finally able to name the fear that had been bothering him all day. He was afraid she was going to find a way to get away from him when he needed time to try to convince her to take a chance on him again.

  He exited the car, pulling his bag from the back. The wet tights clung to his legs, and his damp sweatpants hung heavily from his hips. His T-shirt was stained with darks spots where the water clung to his skin before seeping into the fabric. He shook his head at his ridiculously hasty departure from the pool. He could have at least dried off, but he’d let an unnatural panic rule his actions.

  Opening the entryway door, he left his stuff in the mudroom before entering the kitchen. He glanced around, looking for telltale signs of Amber. The keys to the Range Rover sat haphazardly on the counter, the tag from the rental agency sticking straight up in the air. Amber’s purse and cell phone littered the space, and the trickle of relief now gushed in earnest. He placed his hands on the counter and hung his head.

  “Fuck,” he whispered.

  “You okay?” he heard Amber say before he looked up and met her stare.

  She stood at the bottom of the stairs, clothed in one of his T-shirts. Her hair was wet, and her face was scrubbed free of makeup. She held on to the railing that curved elegantly up the staircase.

  “Yeah, I’m good,” he said, recovering.

  Her eyes perused him. “Swimming?”

  He nodded, not really trusting himself to speak. He wanted to ask her if they were okay, if she’d changed her mind. Since he’d picked her up early this morning, uncertainty had been there between them. He wanted to dispel the doubt and insecurity.

  “Yeah. Burning off some energy.”

  A mischievous glint made her eyes sparkle as she let them roam over him again. Her blatant examination made his blood pulse.

  “I could have helped
with that,” she quipped.

  Her hand dropped from the railing, and she took a predatory step in his direction. He watched her stalk toward him, and his body responded the way it always did when he was around her. Something in the way she looked at him felt off, but he couldn’t convince his body to deny what she obviously wanted.

  When she reached him, she wrapped a hand around the nape of his neck and pulled his head down. She kissed him lightly on the corner of his mouth while her other hand landed on his tightly restrained erection. After one caress, both of her hands moved to the waistband of his sweats. She pushed them down, her fingertips pointed to his toes. As his pants dropped, her hands roamed back up his thighs, over the swimming suit now adhered to his body.

  “These look”—she swiped his length, squeezing—“hot and…really uncomfortable.”

  Her assessment made them both laugh.

  Amber slid her hands around his hips and under the waistband. As she worked her hands down over his ass, there was an audible sucking sound as the spandex released its grip. They snickered. One hand ventured around to the front and gently pulled the band over his distended length. Then, she pushed him back against the counter. She followed the Speedo down to the floor and sank to her knees in front of him.

  His eyes closed involuntarily as she kissed his leaking tip. His hands gripped the counter as she swallowed him down. He was lost in the warm, wet depths of her mouth. She’d never sucked him off before. It was an errant thought in his mind that was rapidly becoming blank, like her mouth was an eraser wiping away all the crazy, disheartening thoughts he’d worriedly written earlier in the day.

  He had things he wanted to discuss with her, but, like dust, they scattered. He had nothing but what she was doing to him, how good she was making him feel. His hips began to cant without any knowledge of him asking them to move. He was lost, drowning.

  He opened his eyes, wanting to have this visual memory for easy retrieval. His eyes found hers as they stared up at him, almost like she’d willed him to look at her. Their gazes locked as they both remembered the only other blow job between them, the one Amber walked in on, the one responsible for the end of their relationship. They both flinched, blinking. He wanted to beg her to replace that memory with this one. He wanted to tell her how much he loved her. His mouth opened, but the only sound was a groan of completion as he came.

  Tank showered and got ready while Amber dried her hair and dressed. They’d barely spoken since Tank helped her off her knees in the kitchen. Instead of easing him, their encounter at the counter in his kitchen had put him even further on edge.

  He left his room and headed upstairs to the loft. Turning on the TV, he focused his attention on SportsCenter. He pulled up Uber on his phone and put in a request. He was going to need more than one drink tonight. He wanted to talk to Amber, but as the minutes dragged on and the time to leave drew near, he figured she was avoiding it.

  “Hey,” she said, her voice pulling him from his thoughts.

  He turned toward where she stood, waiting for him. She looked like the girl he had fallen in love with and some person he’d never met before, all at the same time. Gone was that crazy platinum-blonde hair, replaced by her dark-as-night black tresses. It still hit her shoulders, but her bangs were longer now. Her eyes were lined with black, emphasizing the slightly almond shape she inherited from her father. She sported jeans, but she wore a flowery purple shirt that was ultra feminine with its sheer overlay. She had on purple flats, and her jewelry perfectly accessorized her outfit. It was Amber but not. Like version 2.0 or something.

  “You look great,” he said, standing from the couch and making his way to her. He leaned down, and his lips met hers in a whisper of a kiss. “You ready?”

  She took an audible breath. “I think so.” She was uneasy, and for the first time, she wasn’t trying to hide it from him.

  He stepped closer to her and reached down with both of his hands, lacing them together with hers. Tank let his head rest on the top of hers. “Why are you nervous?” he asked.

  He didn’t think she’d answer because information exchange didn’t seem to be in their wheelhouse today. But she surprised him.

  “The thought of being with you around anyone feels weird.”

  He knew she wasn’t trying to be insensitive, but her words cut just the same.

  Needing to lighten the mood, he clutched his chest. “You’re killing me, Smalls,” he cried dramatically.

  “The Sandlot,” she said, “I love that movie.”

  His ploy worked. Amber relaxed as she graced him with her first genuine smile of the day. She held out her hand to him and he took it.

  “You’re silly,” she said as she turned to the stairs. But he tugged her toward the elevator.

  The car was waiting outside. Tank locked the door and handed Amber his keys. She dropped them in her purse, like they’d been there before. He opened the door and waited for her to slide in across the seat. Then, he followed her in, swallowing the space in between them. He reached over and grabbed Amber’s hand. The tension between them eased as they settled into the ten-minute drive to where Tilly lived in Virginia-Highland.

  “You excited to see Keira?” Tank asked.

  He kept her hand in his, rubbing his thumb across hers, the ebb and flow further lessening the strain between them. It wasn’t until she raised her head to meet his eyes that he realized she’d been intently studying their hands.

  “I am. But, to be honest, I’m not all that excited about getting sucked into wedding plans. She probably should have chosen a better maid of honor. Planning meals for over one hundred people on the road? I’m your girl. Oohing and aahing over satin dresses? Not so much.”

  Tank chuckled. “You know, she probably already knows that about you.”

  Amber smirked. “I know.”

  “Plus, Madison loves that shit. She’ll take care of all the stuff you hate.”

  Amber’s whole body tensed beside him, and her hand, still clasped in his, curled into an impenetrable fist, breaking their connection. Without any purchase, Tank pulled his hand away.

  “I didn’t know Madison was in the wedding.”

  “I got that,” Tank answered ruefully.

  Amber turned toward him. “Are they really that close?”

  “Yeah, they’re pretty close,” Tank responded. “Didn’t you know they were friends?” He should have feigned conversational interest rather than shocked disbelief, but the words were out of his mouth before he could even think about it.

  Rather than the indignant response he expected, Amber just sighed and looked away from him.

  “Apparently not,” she answered softly.

  Tank studied her as he lamented his colossal misstep. She wasn’t ready for him. He hadn’t done enough to build up what was between them. He’d let one night of great sex convince him that he’d won her over. But, from the moment this trip had started earlier in the day, he’d been second-guessing himself and his decision to bring her to Atlanta. He needed to move slower. Just because he knew she was it for him didn’t mean she was ready to admit and accept that he was it for her.

  When the car pulled up in front of Tilly’s brick bungalow, Amber threw the door open and scrambled out. Her back was to him when he alighted from the car, and he stepped up behind her, sliding his hands around her waist, pulling her back against him. He breathed her in, and the sheer fulfillment he experienced with Amber in his arms overwhelmed him. His grip tightened on her, his fingers exerting the magnitude of his want. Amber melted against him and dropped her head onto his chest. She tipped her head back and pressed a light kiss on his jaw.

  “Come on,” he murmured. He nudged her forward, allowing his hands to fall away.

  They maneuvered up the walkway and climbed the three steps onto the porch. Amber knocked on the door.

  “Keira’s pictures of the house didn’t really do it justice,” she commented while they waited.

  “Tilly said the guy he bought the
house from did a really good job on the renovation.”

  “He did. But I can see he left some of the original stuff.” She waved at the front door, stepping to the side to do her best Vanna White impression. “This door is definitely original.”

  Tank shrugged. “I have no idea. I bought a brand-new house for a reason.”

  Amber held her hands up. “I get it. No HGTV for you.”

  Tank would have responded, but the door opened.

  Tilly’s massive frame filled the space, and he smiled wide when he saw Tank. “What’s up, man?” he asked as his hand shot out, pulling Tank in for a hug.

  Tank returned the hug and then stepped back, reaching a hand out for Amber.

  “I’ve brought a surprise for Keira,” Tank explained as he tugged her in front of him.

  “Sunshine!” Tilly exclaimed. He reached down and lifted her into a hug.

  The warmth of his welcome allowed Tank a modicum of relief. In the few seconds he watched Tilly hugging Amber, Tank realized how incredibly stressed he had been about bringing her here and the reception they would receive from Tilly and Keira. He reveled in the release. He looked up, wanting to communicate that to Tilly.

  But Tilly’s gaze reflected anything but welcome. It was more warning. A warning Tank didn’t get a chance to digest.

  “You didn’t let me know you were really coming.” Tilly explained.

  “Yeah, sorry about that. I thought it’d be fun to surprise Keira after all.”

  Tilly shook his head. “Will be,” he confirmed. Then he rubbed his chin, his eyes shifting away. “But there’s a…surprise for you too.”

  The foyer opened to a dining room on the right and a living room on the left. Tilly directed Amber through the dining room but stayed Tank with a hand on his arm.

  Tank narrowed his eyes, understanding dawning. “Madison’s here?” he murmured.

  Before Amber could get clear, before Tilly could answer, Madison waltzed through the living room, directly into Tank’s arms.