Love 'Em or Leave 'Em

by Angie Stanton

  "Mom just worries about you staying single forever. She says you've been afraid of women ever since Crystal"

  "Oh please, don't start that again," Luke said, rolling his eyes.

  Early in his career, a beautiful woman had sucker punched him. He'd thought she was perfect. Instead she had turned out to be a conniving opportunist waiting to cash in on his sudden fame and fortune. He'd been ready to do the picket-fence thing, complete with a houseful of kids. Luckily, he'd figured her out in time. He'd lost fifteen thousand dollars on the ring and a whole lot of pride. Since then, trust and commitment needed to be earned.

  "Tell Mom I'm fine and the only attachment issues I have are to ESPN and golf. And the last thing I am is lonely. Where there's one, there's seven, and the way they dress is enough to make a man go blind."

  "You jerk."

  "Sucks to be me-what can I say?"

  "Anyone catching your attention?"

  "There are a few interesting ones, but it's too early. Tell you what, you'll be the first to know. Hey, I've got to run. The car is here and I'm taking two beauties to the Padres game."

  "Yeah, well, the space shuttle is here to fly me to the moon."

  "Catch you later."

  Howmanybimbosdoesit take to sack a quarterback?

  Luke was outnumbered and soon to be outmanned if he didn't watch his step. Jenny, the snuggler, was planted firmly at his hip. Wherever Luke went, Jenny followed, with puppy-dog eyes and clingy anus he couldn't seem to get away from. Several others surrounded the two of them, each of those women also vying for Luke's attention.

  Ashley was seated with Rachel and Liz, watching the nuances of the game unfold from their lounge chairs a safe distance away, across the pool.

  "Here comes trouble" Rachel pointed to the pool entrance.

  Sure enough, Tami sauntered right into the thick of the harem.

  "That woman has weapons and isn't afraid to use them," Ashley said.

  Dressed in her skimpy black bathing suit and sheer cover-up, Tami prowled over to Luke in her spikeheeled sandals. They looked better suited for a fashion show than a pool party. Standing before him, she slowly slid her cover-up off her shoulders and tossed it directly at him.

  "Want to take a dip?" she said in a low throaty voice. "I'm hot."

  One corner of Luke's mouth tilted up. Without looking, he pushed the cover-up into Jenny's hands, his eyes remaining solely on Tami. He pulled off his T-shirt, stepped forward, and flung it over the girls' heads. It landed on an empty chair. He took Tami by the waist and led her to the deep end of the pool. After giving each other an I-know-what-you're-thinking grin, they dove into the clear, cool water of the pool.

  So that's how the pros do it.

  "Did you see that?" Liz asked sitting upright in her chair. "She is the reason women get no respect"

  "Wow," Rachel exclaimed. "I never thought anyone could get him away from Jenny."

  "I've never seen women act the way they do around him," added Ashley. "They're like a herd of lovesick cows."

  "Thanks," said Rachel. "You think I'm a cow!"

  Rachel's crush on Luke was getting more serious by the minute.

  "No, not you. You weren't over there sniffing around him like the others. Just look at them. They look like they just lost their best friend. I think Gwen might actually cry"

  Gwen was the fourth roommate in their tiny room, and she truly was mooning over Luke. Her pale blond hair reached down to her waist, and large cornflower blue eyes dominated her face. She looked like one of those paintings where the little girl's big eyes took up half her face, and always wore a pleading look. She desperately wanted Luke's attention, but so far hadn't gotten more than a cursory wave or casual smile in passing. Gwen just wasn't aggressive enough to play the game. Now she stood at the side of the circle of women as they all watched Tami and Luke frolic together in the water. Gwen seemed so disappointed, but obviously didn't have the nerve to jump in with them.

  "How am I supposed to compete with that?" Rachel complained as Tami dove below the water, her shapely bottom popping out of the water as she went down. "She is the reason he never notices me!"

  "You!" Ashley piped in. "At least you're cute, spunky, and tan. I feel like the ugly stepsister of the group"

  "Oh please," Liz said. "You're beautiful in your own way."

  "Ouch! That's hitting below the belt"Ashley cringed. "It's like the nice-personality thing" I know I'm not drop-dead gorgeous, but I'm certainly not plain enough to have to rely only on my personality.

  "No," Rachel interrupted. "She means you're more like the girl next door. Right, Liz?"

  "Exactly. You have natural beauty. Most of these girls are artificially beautiful. Their hair is processed, their skin has been bronzed, and they have implants. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if most of them vomit to stay thin."

  "Eww, please tell me you don't mean that," Ashley replied. "That is so wrong."

  Horrified, she looked over at Rachel and Liz. "You don't make yourself vomit, do you?"

  "Are you insane? I've earned this great bod," Rachel said. "All it takes is staying on the move. Being a poor starving traveler doesn't hurt either."

  Liz agreed. "Yup, I can thank my parents for my great bone structure and naturally high metabolism." Ashley took in Liz's long svelte body. She was about five feet ten and as lean as they came. On the bright side, kids in school had probably called her "bean pole"

  "Well, I am not going to leave my fate to a bunch of overprocessed airheads," Rachel said, standing up and stepping to the side of the pool. "I make my own rules and I will not be overlooked" She tossed her sunglasses onto her chair and dove into the pool with Luke and Tami.

  Not to be outdone, others jumped into the pool too. Even book-smart Liz wasn't going to be left out.

  "Come on, Ashley. Join the party," Liz urged as she jumped in.

  Ashley sat on the sidelines and smiled at their antics. Everyone was having a great time. She couldn't help but laugh. Luke was having a ball as well. No longer cornered by any one person, he was part of a splashingand-dunking party.

  Ashley saw the opportunity to get away and be alone for a while, as the camera crews surrounded the pool. She really needed a break from the insanity, so she grabbed her towel and quickly snuck away for some solitary time.

  The party went on for a couple of hours. Music continued to pump loudly from the sound system. Several tables laden with an amazing array of party food and partially finished beverages with tiny umbrellas sat forgotten. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a great party. But Luke felt claustrophobic surrounded by all the eager young beauties and he needed a break.

  "Excuse me, darlin'. I'll be back in a minute." Luke peeled Jenny, the attractive cling-on, off his arm and excused himself to go inside to use the bathroom. Once inside and away from the noise and activity, he felt relieved. The girls' competitiveness astounded him. It was nice to be wanted, but this was ridiculous. It was worse than fan day at Lambeau Field. Well, almost. At least Security kept the people in line there. Here, he'd been thrown to the wolves.

  Luke wandered through the house toward the back doors and looked out over the pristine beach. He watched the waves roll into shore, and a sense of peace washed over him. He glanced back to the pool where all the contestants and the camera crews waited for his return. If he was lucky he might get five uninterrupted minutes before they noticed he was gone. There were just too many girls to keep straight. They were all beautiful and physically a ten. What more could a guy want? Except maybe a little breathing room instead of constantly being rubbed against, and given coy looks and a lot of fake laughter. This bachelor stint had sounded a lot easier than it was turning out to be.

  He took one quick look to make sure the coast was clear and then snuck out the doors onto the back deck, and quickly took off down the beach. The sun glistened on the water and a gentle breeze brought the refreshing scent of sea air. He saw a lone beach umbrella farther down the beach. It was the per
fect place to hide. He needed a few minutes of solitude to watch the ocean and gear up for the next few hours of social time.

  As he walked up to the umbrella that looked empty from a distance, he noticed a lounge chair occupied by a pretty blond engrossed in a paperback novel. She looked quite content in her little paradise with a towel and a soda and the sun shining down on her. A light ocean breeze gently blew her hair around her face.

  Not to be deterred from his goal to hide behind the umbrella, Luke approached and noticed that she looked familiar. "Hey, aren't you the girl who threw herself at my feet the other night?"

  Startled, Ashley knocked the soda into her lap. She tried to look calm as cold liquid ran between her legs and soaked her bottom.

  She'd been discovered.

  "It was more of a launch," she replied, trying to look casual and not like the deserter she was. "By the way, you wore really nice shoes that night. I meant to mention it before." She smiled up at him.

  Luke crossed his muscular arms over his chest. "Shouldn't you be over at the pool with the rest of the masses, trying to delve into all my inner secrets and position yourself for the next round?"

  Ashley noted the hint of sarcasm in his voice, but was distracted by the incredible man before her. Luke stood to the side, forcing her to look up at him, but also blocking the bright sun from her eyes. He was over six feet of bare bronzed skin and toned in all the right places. His swim trunks hung low on his hips.

  "Uh, oops, you caught me! I cannot tell a lie." She swallowed, distracted by the hunk of man before her. "I figured there was so much estrogen by the pool that no one would mind one less man-eating woman." She repositioned herself on the chair and tried to look relaxed as she attempted to mop up the cold soda in which she sat. "Plus, I figured none of the girls would turn me in," she added with a bit of sarcasm. "They'd be happy to have more time with the man of the hour."

  Luke raised his eyebrows at her cynical comment. Ashley couldn't seem to shut herself up. "So, look at this as a gift, allowing you more time to get acquainted with them. One less person you have to get to know." She hoped he would take the hint and move on.

  "Really?" he said. His eyes seemed skeptical. "Seems to me you just wanted to get out here to work on your tan in private." His gaze moved leisurely over her body, from the tip of her nose down to her pale white legs. "Which, by the way, could use a lot of work. Do those legs ever see the light of day?"

  Ashley was relieved she'd worn her beach wrap, and repositioned it around her waist to cover more skin. It was obvious that her legs hadn't seen sun in a very long time. She lived in the Midwest, with only a couple of months of summer. The rest of the year felt like a transition to and from winter.

  "Hey, I like the pasty white look" She covered as much skin as possible. "You're lucky I'm not too sensitive or you might have really hurt my feelings."

  "I am so sorry!" he replied in exaggerated contrition, not looking like he meant it. "Hey, do you mind if I sit down? I'd like to keep a low profile for at least a few minutes."

  "Oh, so you're the one hiding!" she accused playfully. "That bad already?"

  "No, it's not too bad," Luke answered, sounding weary. "It's just a little intense back there. I feel like the last beer at a frat party." He sat down on the end of the chair facing Ashley, a spark of interest in his eye. "Speaking of hiding, if I didn't know how bad your skin needed some sun, I'd say you were hiding as well. What's up? I thought you came here to win yourself a guy, to marry the bachelor."

  "Yes, it appears that way, doesn't it? I mean the win-the-guy part." She tried to figure a way to quickly defuse the situation and get him off her trail. There was no telling when she'd be alone with him again. This might be her best opportunity to steer him away from her.

  "I know I look pretty desperate," she said, smiling at herself. "Actually the truth is ... No offense . . " Ashley glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "But you're not exactly my type"

  "Is that so?" He laughed, obviously amused by her comment. "I'm crushed. In fact, I may have to return to the hungry pack of wolves back there just to build up my ego."

  "Great" She fiddled with the fringe of her coverup. "I was really enjoying the solitude away from all those cameras. And if you stay much longer they'll probably track you down. Then I'd be caught too, so please go build up your poor deflated ego," she teased. He was a lot of fun to talk to, particularly without the horde of women always on his trail.

  "Okay, but before I go, I want to know what your type is. I mean, if it's not me then don't you think it's only fair to tell me what is?" Luke challenged with a smirk on his face. "After all those personality tests you took, we should be a potential perfect match. In fact, every girl here should be a potential perfect match"

  "That's a funny thing, isn't it?" Ashley spoke softly, leaning forward. "I always cheat on tests. I guess this time it backfired on me. I got the wrong guy." She sat back again and spoke confidently. "So I thought I'd just turn this into a little vacation instead. Plus, it leaves you one less to choose from. So you see, I have just done you an incredible favor by giving you one less pursuer to hunt you down." She smiled brightly.

  Luke leaned back on one arm and placed his leg next to Ashley's on the lounge chair. "Fine. You're using me for a vacation. But, tell me, what is your type?" He lowered his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose so that his intense blue eyes peered over the top, straight at her. "Satisfy me"

  Ashley stared back and took a deep breath. She tried to remain unaffected after receiving his piercing gaze. "Well, let's see. I really like a serious professional," Ashley said.

  "I'm a professional."

  Ashley gave him a swift glare. "Not that kind of professional. Someone highly educated, not afraid to use his brain instead of his brawn"

  "Did you know I have a degree in mechanical engineering from Duke?" he teased with a smirk.

  She tried to ignore his long masculine leg resting against hers and continued, "He shouldn't be too muscular."

  Luke looked down at his buff physique and raised his muscular arm to flex his bicep. He gave her another of his devilish grins. "I'm a wimp compared to a linebacker."

  "I don't like a show-off," she returned, trying to act natural. "He must be intellectual, and proud of it. In fact, I'd like someone a little on the nerdy side. I find it really endearing."

  With that Luke took off his sunglasses, then put them back on upside down, and in an odd nasal voice recited, "E equals M-C squared"

  Laughing at how goofy he looked and sounded, Ashley whacked him on the arm with her paperback, which he grabbed from her. "Seriously, there is something very attractive about a nerdy guy who isn't walking around with all kinds of macho body confidence"

  Luke gave her a cockeyed look. "Yeah, sure there is."

  "Oh, and rich ... He's got to be absolutely loaded," she added.

  "Can't argue with that one." He grinned.

  Trying to ignore him, she said, "I can't be tying myself down to some poor schmuck who isn't willing to drop the big bucks on me. You may have money, but it's small potatoes compared to what I want"

  "I can see you have expensive tastes," he pointed out as he waved her dime-store novel in the air before tossing it back into her lap.

  She attempted to ignore his accurate observation, and changed the subject. "I'm afraid it never would have worked out between the two of us"

  He gave her a challenging look, as if to say, "So you think so, do you?"

  "So sorry. I'm sure you'll find happiness somewhere along the way, but I'm just looking for someone a bit more ... accomplished in life."

  "I see," Luke replied. "Sounds as though I have a lot of work to do before I could begin to appeal to such a classy girl as you" He glanced down at the trashy novel lying on her soda-soaked lap. "So please, correct me if I'm wrong here, but basically you are taking up a spot the woman of my dreams might have filled. You are depriving some sweet young thing from having the opportunity of getting to know me
"

  "Yes, I suppose you're right, but think of it this way: I'm one less person to put pressure on you and look at you with innocent little puppy-dog eyes saying, `Pick me, pick me,'" she mocked, doing her best whiny puppy imitation.

  "Actually," Luke said in a soft, sexy voice as he leaned back onto one elbow, "I get more bedroom eyes from the women than I do puppy-dog looks. I guess they are appealing to my more masculine instincts."

  "Ah, right," she replied, swallowing down her arousal at his low voice. "You do have quite a reputation as a ladies' man"

  Ashley noticed the camera crew jogging down the beach toward them. "Oh great," she said. "They found me, I mean you! You have got to leave-now." She popped up from the soda-drenched chair and retied the wet beach wrap around her hips.

  "I'm out of here" She turned to Luke once more. "Thanks for dropping by, Luke. I wish you the best in your quest to find that special someone"

  Ashley grabbed her towel and book and quickly moved down the beach before the camera crews could catch up and corner her. Luke watched her hips sway as she escaped with her soggy beach wrap slapping against her milk-white thighs. He had come out to the beach for a breath of fresh air and been rewarded with much more. He'd met a stubborn woman declaring herself off the show.

  Luke found Ashley refreshing. This show had become so intense, with each woman trying to tell him her life story and learn his in only a few hours. But here was Ashley, telling him to his face that he wasn't her type. He wasn't sure if it had ever happened before. This whole thing had just taken a new turn. Unknowingly, she'd started a whole new ball game. He had a surprise for her: Game on!

  Luke wondered what her angle was. Everyone had one. Perhaps hers was to play coy and hard-to-get. Either way, she was a lot easier to talk to than most of the eligible women back by the pool. However, he found he was a bit annoyed at her not caring enough about him or the chance to get to know him.