Distraction

by McPherson, Angela

  She closed the small gap between us. Her small hand stroked my face, and I knew.

  "Tristan, I'm happy and you just ended your engagement. You need to be alone. Figure out what it is you really want. It isn't fair, but you have to give me the chance to see if Eric is who I want, the same way I have all this time with you."

  A solitary tear trickled down the side of her face. Softly, she kissed my cheek and walked out my bedroom door.

  Elle

  By the time Tristan drove me home later that night, I only wanted to sleep. Wishful thinking. I tossed and turned, desperate to erase his words, his kiss…his touch out of my mind. But I had to know if Eric and I could work.

  I only hoped Tristan would take what I'd said to heart. The next morning, my eyes were red and puffy, along with my nose. Alyssa, surprisingly, waited patiently until I confessed. To my utter disbelief, she remained understanding. She said I needed to be sure walking away from Tristan was the right move, but she couldn't have been happier I chose to give Eric a real shot.

  I wondered how Alyssa, of all people, could sound so sure when I was a wreck inside?

  The next time Eric and I kissed, my mind drifted. His lips, once sweet and soft, now dulled compared to the gentle, scorching sensation of Tristan's slow, deliberate kiss. I planned to block the memory out, or at least try to.

  A week had somehow drifted by, but my lips still carried a phantom tingle, as if Tristan’s kiss were yesterday.

  In an attempt to busy myself, I'd called my mom. She said she'd talked to my sister, and told me she sounded better. I asked if she'd talked to Dad, but she evaded my question. She didn't like to hear his name, which made my sister furious. Our dad tried to call once the divorce finalized, but Mom hung up before we got to talk with him. He gave up for a while and during that time, Heather ran away.

  I wanted to believe my mom, but she had a terrible habit of keeping important information from me. I guessed tuning the situation out was her way of ignoring reality. Even though I tried not to worry, I did. I loved my sister, but I also knew I couldn't save her.

  After a bit, I pulled my thoughts away from my messed-up family and read a book.

  “Elle, are you ready?" I heard Alyssa yelling from the living room and frowned, wondering what she'd meant.

  Crap, the “dollars for date’s" thing. It was how Eric's frat raised philanthropy money. Alyssa and I were scheduled to help get their show together. Of course, we'd also be bidding for dates, and now Tristan had included himself. We hadn't talked since that night. The night we shared the most wonderful…okay so I sucked at forgetting.

  "Yeah, give me just a sec," I hollered back. With no time left, I fixed my hair in a messy ponytail, glossed my lips, and we both hurried out the door.

  "So, you ready to see him?" Alyssa smiled, though I refused to meet her inquiring blue eyes and looked out the side window.

  "No, I'm not sure what I'm going to say. I mean, I haven't seen Tristan since…since…" I clenched my fists, frustrated with my inability to forget. "I haven't seen Tristan since that night, okay?" I turned to her then, greeted by a sinister grin splitting her face. "What?"

  "I was talking about Eric, not Tristan." Alyssa turned her attention back to the road. "You're the one thinking of Tristan. And since you brought him up." She cut her eyes toward me for a brief second. "Any idea how that's going?"

  My opinion of Alyssa and our long friendship, well, I was seriously rethinking the whole thing at that moment.

  "I don't want to talk about it," I said, deflated.

  "Oh, this is going to be so much fun," she said, pulling behind Ginger's sports car. As soon as Alyssa and I stepped out of her car, Ginger hurried over to us.

  "Since Tristan isn't with that freshman anymore, any advice for when I bid on him? My dad's cut my usual cash flow, so I don't have as much to spend as I would like."

  I really hated her.

  "Nope," I said, and walked past her. Alyssa followed on my heels, laughing.

  This was going to be a rotten day. I could feel it. Alyssa and I walked in, with Ginger not far behind. The new pledges were in charge once the auction started, but some of us agreed to help them out until then.

  "You've gotta give her a little credit. At least she waited until he was free. Besides, it'll help the cause, ya know."

  I gawked at Alyssa, but she shrugged me off and headed to the stage. With a sigh, I went to help my so-called best friend.

  "Hey, beautiful." Eric found me setting up lights.

  "Hey, yourself. So, you ready for the show?" I worked to keep my eyes from roaming, searching for him.

  "I am as long as you're the highest bidder." Eric pulled me to him, and then kissed me. When my eyes closed, for a second I was kissing Eric and not the repeated vision of Tristan, until I heard Ginger in the background talking to him.

  "You okay?" Eric pulled away from my rigid body.

  "Yeah. I just hope I have enough money to keep all those girls away from such a great catch like you." It was a lousy lie, but Eric didn't seem to notice, which made me feel like an ass.

  "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." He finished with a wink and a quick peck on my lips.

  A slow rush of heat rose to my cheeks. A second later, Alyssa waved me over and I left Eric to finish getting ready for the auction. My stomach felt jittery. Just before Brandi took the stage, I grabbed her arm.

  "You okay, Elle?" She looked at me like I'd lost my mind. Thanks to Tristan, I had.

  "Yeah, I just have a favor to ask."

  "Uh, sure. Ask away."

  "When I shout out my bid, could you….um, make sure I–"

  Brandi held her hand up. "No worries," she winked, "I got ya covered."

  With a sigh, I walked to the back to stand with Alyssa.

  Doing a fabulous job, each guy was given a sultry welcome by Brandi. Only, the song choice, LMFAO's, “I'm Sexy and I Know it," did not help my situation. Because hot damn, they–one in particular–screamed…perfection.

  On stage, each guy stood with a number and the auction took off. Girls in the audience quickly spouted their bids. Quietly I repeated Eric's number over and over in my head, so when I heard the magic number, I shouted, "Three hundred."

  "Sold," Brandi said, slamming her hammer down. I smiled, and my shoulders relaxed knowing I didn't have anything to worry about anymore. Alyssa cleared her throat.

  "Um, Elle, you do realize who you won a date with?"

  I stared at Alyssa like she'd lost her mind. Of course I knew who I won a date with.

  "Duh, I wrote Eric's number down."

  She cocked her head to the side. "Look again, sweetheart."

  I glanced down at my number, and then jerked my head up and stared at the stage in shock. Eric stood next to Tristan. They had switched numbers. Holy shit. The world tilted and my head felt dizzy.

  “Breathe, Elle." Alyssa's words seemed far away.

  For the first time I couldn’t understand her, the words sounded like a jumbled mess.

  Alyssa grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "Breath. You're scaring me."

  I coughed then took deep breaths until the dizziness stopped. Alyssa stayed close while I recovered from my panic attack. I looked up at the stage.

  They stood side by side, which inexplicably made it that much harder to ignore Tristan's tanned, muscular chest. Had I somehow subconsciously written Tristan's number down over Eric's? I didn't know what to do, and when I saw Eric's wounded expression as he walked toward me I felt ill again.

  I turned to Alyssa and begged. "Alyssa, please. You've gotta help me out here. I swear, I didn't mean to bid on Tristan. It was an honest mistake." My eyes pleaded with her, and then being the best, best friend a girl could ask for, she lied.

  "Oh, Eric, I'm such an idiot. Elle gave me her card and I wrote the wrong number down by mistake. I asked her to grab me a drink and her last words were ‘don't screw this up.'"

  Okay, she was good, really good. I guessed all those year
s of drama class really paid off, because Eric's expression transformed from wounded to forgiving in seconds.

  "At least I won't worry about him trying to steal you away from me."

  I laughed; a little hysteria mixed with guilt, but I couldn't have been more thankful he hadn't figured me out. "So, who got you?" I realized with all the worry of Eric finding out, I hadn't noticed who bid on him.

  "Me," Ginger announced, in a semi-sweet yet irritated tone.

  "Uh, well..." I didn't know what to say.

  "No worries, Elle. I don't like baseball players." Ginger turned to go, and then followed with, "Much."

  "She's a piece of work," Tristan said, still shirtless. My cheeks burned. Swallowing hard, I trained my eyes from looking any farther than below his neck.

  "Be good to my girl," Eric said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder.

  "Always," Tristan said, and our eyes locked. I couldn't look away and the slightest hint of a smile touched the corners of his sexy lips. It wasn't until Alyssa cleared her throat that we both tore our eyes away.

  "So, date night is tonight. We better get going. I've got tons of preparations before I pick Bret up. I need to look my best, or worst, if you know what I mean." Alyssa winked.

  I turned to Eric. "I'm sorry you have to go out with Ginger."

  "Don't worry, beautiful. It'll be the worst date she's ever been on." And then he kissed me. In front of Tristan.

  "I'll pick you up around nine o'clock, Spud."

  I pulled away from Eric. "I'm supposed to pick you up. Remember?"

  "I think it's best if I do the picking up. I don't want you to break down on the side of the road." He grinned.

  "Fine, but why so late?" I frowned.

  "You'll see." He shrugged his shoulder then left without explaining.

  Chapter 22

  Tristan

  Elle bidding on me had to be a sign or some shit. We were meant to be together, but she refused to see things my way. Didn't surprise me. I needed to prove to her how much she meant to me…how far I'd go to demonstrate my feelings. So, my plan had better be worth the emotional sucker punch I no doubt would endure. If it blew up in my face, it'd kill me, but I’d deal. I'd gone this long without her being mine.

  As soon as Elle took off, I waved Green down. Before I lost my resolve, I jogged over. "Hey, Green. Wait up."

  "Something wrong?" He looked at me with suspicion.

  Yeah, you're with the girl I love.

  "So, I know Elle didn't mean to bid on me, and I have a plan." He looked at me quizzically. I pressed on. "I was thinking." I paused to swallow my stupid-ass nerves. "My dad owns some buildings downtown, and I thought I could set the place up. Lights, candles, and shit, with dinner."

  Green's face grew dark. Admittedly, I enjoyed watching him squirm but continued with my details. "I figured I could pick Elle up, drive her there, and you could take my place." My stomach turned hollow after I laid out my plans.

  Green's face perked up. "Really? You'd do that...for me?"

  "Yeah, no big deal. This is all for Elle, right?"

  "What about Ginger? Have you talked to her yet?"

  "Nah, but I think she'd trade you for me." I smiled, knowing she'd be putty in my hands.

  “All right, what do I need to do?"

  "Dress nice and meet me at this address around eight." I handed him the address on a piece of paper. "I'll head over to pick Elle up after I let you in."

  "I gotta say," he started, and crossed his arms over his chest, "I didn't think you'd be so accommodating."

  I laughed. "Nice is my middle name. Hey, I've gotta catch Ginger before she leaves, but I'll see ya at eight."

  "See ya," he said, and walked away.

  I was turning into one of those pathetic lovesick idiots. Before I had time to reconsider, I ran out the door to find Ginger. I caught her just as she was sliding into her car and gave a yell.

  "You know, I was going to bid on you, but your friend had more money than me." Ginger pouted.

  "I've gotta proposition for you." I hated the half-grin on her face. "I know Elle didn't mean to bid on me, and so I thought Eric and I could switch."

  "I'm listening," she said, tilting her head.

  "I'm picking Elle up at nine and plan to drive her to a building my dad owns. I thought we could go on a date, but change it for tomorrow?"

  I could tell I was losing her, so I sucked air and went for it. "Yeah, I thought if we waited until tomorrow night, we'd have more time to be together." I gave her my usual panty-dropping smile and followed it up with a wink. Her lashes fluttered and she giggled. Yep, putty.

  "Fine, but you better have something good planned for us."

  "Just wait and see," I said, pulling shit out of my ass. It was all for Elle, right?

  * * *

  I stepped back and looked at the white lilies in the vase. They were Elle's favorite. The candles and clear lights I'd hung around the room looked pretty good. She would love everything. Just as I pictured her beautiful face under the glow, Green started talking–about Elle. Fuck.

  "I know you're close to Elle, and obviously you know her better than I do." He waved his hand at the white lilies I had him pick up. "But I want you to know how much she means to me."

  I wanted to throat punch him.

  "I mean, I guess what I'm trying to say is, thanks. I really want to make her happy."

  I worked hard not to knock him the fuck out. I thought about Elle, and how much she meant to me, and I couldn't do it–hit him, I mean.

  "Yeah. So looks like everything is set. I better get going."

  "I'll see you in a bit."

  * * *

  On the way to Elle's place, my mood jumped from pissed to hopeful. With all the fucked up shit in my head, I wondered if schizophrenia ran in the family. I convinced myself this was all some sort of punishment for not going after what I wanted a long time ago. My situation fucking blew. Thinking about the drunken bliss from kissing her, or the feel of her in my arms, tamed my anxious mood.

  Right before nine, I parked in Elle's driveway, killed the engine, but didn't get out. I needed an extra minute before I drove her to be with someone else. I noticed the blinds were open, and then Elle walked into view.

  She hadn't seen me, so I continued to sit and watch her. She had on a plain shirt and a pair of jeans. No makeup, but she didn't need it. She was beautiful without that shit.

  Elle paced back and forth across the room. In a show of nervous energy, she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth. I glanced at my watch. Nine o'clock. Time to get the show on the road.

  Elle

  By the time nine o'clock rolled around, my entire body felt tight. I didn't know if I wanted Tristan to show or not. What would we talk about? Surely we couldn't talk about the kiss? Right?

  My thoughts turned from crazy, to excited, and then back to crazy in less than a minute. Then the doorbell rang, and ready or not, I walked to my front door to go on a date with Tristan.

  "Hey," I said, not fully looking at him when I opened the door.

  "You need to change," he said, sounding serious.

  I looked down at my clothes and then back up, fully drinking him in. He wore a dark suit with a deep, purple satin tie. I remembered the tie well. I helped him pick it out for our high school graduation. The color made it hard not to get lost in his already amazing brown eyes. How was it possible he looked even better tonight than he did back then?

  His shoulders were broader from working out. His cheekbones more pronounced from age and his hair had grown longer, which made his eyes look like warm, liquid honey. To sum him up, he looked mouth-watering. As in, all I wanted to do was...never mind.

  "Where are you taking me?" I remained still, afraid if I moved I'd only lean closer to breathe him in or to press my lips against... Shit, Elle, get yourself together! "I don't think I have anything nice to match you," I settled.

  Tristan laughed, deep and breathy, sending goose bumps along my arms.

&
nbsp; "I bet I could find something for you." He pushed past me. I followed him to my room where he went straight to my closet.

  "I'm perfectly capable of picking out my own clothes." He ignored me so I sat on my bed waiting to see what he came up with. I was actually kind of curious.

  "Here, wear this." He walked out holding the hunter green formal I wore to my senior prom. I remembered the way Tristan’s eyes lit up when I walked into the building with Alyssa. That didn't help, and my pulse began to race.

  "I'm not sure if that still fits." I lied, but I was grasping at straws.

  "Only one way to find out," he said, holding the dress out to me.

  "Fine." I intended to jerk the dress away. My intentions obviously didn't agree. In the process, my fingers brushed over his hand, and I froze. "Um, I'll change now. Thanks." My cheeks flamed.

  He leaned forward, entirely too close for me to think clearly. “I’ll wait for you in the living room," he said with a seductive edge in his voice.

  When he closed the door behind him, I sank to my bed. I didn't know what to do, or how to act. This awkwardness was new ground for us, but without further debate, I took off my comfy, safe clothes and traded them for the silk dress.

  I stepped into a pair of silver heels, though refused to look in the mirror. I didn't need the added stress of seeing what I looked like, but when I walked into the living room, I realized I didn't need the mirror. Tristan's awestruck expression showed it all, though he quickly recovered.

  "Not bad, Spud." He attempted to not act bothered, but I could hear a slight drop in his voice, which overruled his poor efforts of concealing his thoughts.

  "Thanks. So, are you ready to head out?" I chewed on my bottom lip to suppress my grin.

  He cleared his throat. "Yep."

  * * *

  Aside from the radio, we drove in silence. The edginess just about killed me, and the neighborhood we were in didn't help much.

  "Where are we going?" I asked, noticing we were surrounded by business buildings. No restaurants around.