by Tamie Dearen
“I’m sorry. Did I wake you up?”
“No, we’ve both got to be back at work at two thirty today. It’s already one o’clock.”
“Wow! They don’t give you much time to sleep.”
“No. But we get used to it. Sometimes our schedule’s more normal. Occasionally, we get a whole day off, or even two.” He grinned at her. “You look much better in those scrubs than Josh does.”
“You’re right about that,” said Josh as he entered the kitchen, playfully ruffling her wet hair.
“I’m taking a shower,” said Brad, disappearing into the bathroom.
Emily found a bowl and cereal, and Josh helped himself to a bowl as well. They ate in companionable silence for a while. Josh spoke around bites. “Did you sleep okay?”
“Much better than at the hospital. Thanks for the couch. And the scrubs. And the shower. And the cereal.”
He smiled and nodded.
She added, “And also, thanks for not telling anyone where I was. I don’t think I could’ve handled seeing him.”
“And now? Can you handle it?”
“I’ll have to. We work at the same place. I’ll talk to him with other people around, but I don’t want to talk to him alone. He’ll just manipulate me with my emotions, and I’ll end up forgiving him and giving him another chance.” She shook her head, lecturing herself. “I let myself fall in love, knowing he would eventually want to be with a different girl. But I told myself I’d never give him a second chance if he was with someone else. Anyway, I feel sure he wasn’t going to date me much longer. He was probably planning to break up last night, anyway. Seeing us together just gave him an excuse.”
“You know, a player really can change. I don’t ever want to be with another girl besides Charlie.”
She put her hand on his arm. “I know. I’m not talking about you.”
She jumped at a loud rapping on the door. “Who’s that?”
Josh peered through the peephole, and then turned back to her, grimacing. “It’s Spencer.”
Spencer fidgeted while he waited for someone to answer the door. It had finally occurred to him Brad must have seen Emily or at least talked to her if he got a copy of the picture. He might know where she’d actually gone.
After a long pause, he was about to knock again when the door opened. Josh stood in the doorway, wearing shorts and no shirt. “What do you want?” he asked, his body blocking the entrance. His body language told Spencer he wouldn’t be invited inside.
“I’m... I’m looking for Emily. I just wanted to talk to Brad for a minute. I thought he might know where she is.”
“Why do you want to know? Haven’t you hurt her enough already? By the way, you look terrible. Did you sleep in those clothes last night?”
“Look, Josh,” he snapped. “It’s none of your business, but that picture was a set-up. I love Emily, and I’d never be with another girl—especially not Becca.”
“Really? A set-up? How’s that? It sure looked like you had your arms around her and your lips locked.”
“I was at a dance class. Okay? A stupid ballroom dance class, because I wanted to surprise Emily. And I didn’t even know Becca was going to be there.”
“So, let me get this straight. You were trying to learn to dance for Emily while she was trying to learn to play racquetball for you? And you got mad at her and walked out. And then she got mad, and she’ll never forgive you?”
A small voice behind him said, “Okay, let him inside.”
Josh moved out of the way and made a grandiose gesture for him to enter. He walked through the door, frantically searching for the source of the voice. Then his eyes focused on her. She was sitting alone on a stool, clad in oversized scrubs, with her hair splayed around her face in loose flowing curls, emphasizing her huge eyes—her huge angry eyes.
Emily observed from her perch on the barstool as Spencer entered the room, blinking his eyes as they adjusted from the bright sunlight. The moment his eyes met hers, he started her direction.
“No. Don’t come any closer. You can sit over there on the couch.”
His face revealed his hurt, but he obediently moved over to sit on the edge of the couch. From this position, she looked down on him. It felt powerful, and she liked it. She was strong. He’d hurt her, and he’d lied to her. But he’d never do it again.
“Can we talk alone?” he begged her, glancing at Josh.
“No. We can’t.”
Josh grinned and picked up his cereal bowl and spooned a mouthful, munching with noisy abandon.
“Look Emily. I wasn’t with Becca. I didn’t kiss her. I really was taking ballroom dance lessons, so I could dance with you at Sam and Tanner’s wedding.”
Josh laughed out loud, and Spencer shot him a furious look.
“I can prove it. There are pictures of the class on Facebook by now. You can see, it really was a dance class.”
“Spencer,” she said, blinking tears back. “Even if it wasn’t true this time, it’ll be true another time. I’ll always be waiting for it to happen. I thought I could settle for a year or however long you’d give me, but it just hurts too badly. I can’t go through that again.”
He blinked a few times, his mouth hanging open. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about. I mean, when we talked about getting married, didn’t you know I meant—”
“Getting married? We never talked about getting married.”
“Of course we did. How could you forget? We were sitting on the glider on the porch—”
“We didn’t talk about getting married—we talked about breaking up. You said you only wanted to date for a year.”
“Yes, because I wanted to get married as soon as possible.”
“You didn’t say that!”
“Yes, I did!”
“Spencer,” Josh interrupted with obvious amusement. “When you’re arguing with a woman about what was said, she will always be correct. Women have little digital recorders in their minds. They remember every minute detail. She will remember the exact words, the inflection of your voice, and what you were wearing at the time.”
“Can he leave us alone now?” asked Spencer, clenching his teeth.
“No.”
Josh’s mouth stretched in a broad smile as he poured another bowl of cereal.
“The point is,” Spencer squeezed out the words, “I do want to marry you. I love you and I think I told you that.”
Emily frowned and shook her head.
He sighed. “Okay, well I meant to tell you. But I thought I was showing you. That’s why I was taking dance lessons.”
“Even if you think you love me, Spencer, I think you might be fooling yourself. You could get tired of me at any time. You’re used to excitement and variety.”
He groaned. “I can’t believe I’m doing this.” Just then, Brad came out of the shower and proceeded to pour a bowl of cereal and sit down to observe.
“Please, Emily. Can’t we talk alone for just a minute?”
“She doesn’t want to be manipulated by her emotions,” explained Josh with a grin. “So you’ll just have to talk with an audience.”
“This is great,” said Brad between mouthfuls. “What did I miss?”
“Let’s see,” said Josh. “He was taking ballroom dance lessons when someone snapped the picture with Becca. And he thought he’d asked her to marry him, but he’d really asked her to break up in a year. And he didn’t tell her he loved her when he thought he did. But he took dance lessons instead.”
Brad laughed so hard he almost spit out his cereal, and Emily struggled to suppress a grin. Now was not the time to forget her anger. She had to be firm and make a clean break.
She added, “And I’ve just explained it’s not just about the picture. Even if it turns out to be faked, it only shows how vulnerable I am. I don’t want to be in a relationship with someone where I’m constantly waiting for him to move on to the next girl. Or go back to the last one.”
Spencer covered his
eyes and muttered crossly. “There is no other girl. There never will be another girl. There never was another girl.”
“Of course there were others,” said Emily. “I’m not that naïve, you know. I know what you were like before we started dating.”
“There were no others.” His voice was flat, like a computer was talking.
“What are you saying?” she asked.
Brad chuckled. “You were the first, Emily. He’s saying you were the first one.”
She blushed painfully to her roots. “We didn’t ever... I mean... We haven’t ever done that.”
Josh grinned. “Then neither has he.”
Spencer moaned and buried his face in his hands.
Emily was flabbergasted. “I don’t believe it. You’re lying. You’re just saying that to make me believe—”
Brad’s laughter cut her off. “Oh no, Emily. There’s no way he’s saying that in front of us unless it’s the truth. He’s really and truly a virgin. Pretty remarkable these days.”
Josh bit back his smile. “Seriously, Spencer. I know you may not believe this, but I’d give anything right now if I could take back my past and say something like that to Charlie.” Then he chuckled. “But not in front of two other guys.”
Emily sat in stunned silence, contemplating this new information while Josh and Brad put their bowls in the sink, moving toward their rooms.
Before he disappeared, Josh turned back with a wink. “Emily. I think you’ve humiliated him enough now. He loves you, and you can trust him.”
Then his face lost its joking façade. “Just one thing, though. I need you to remember what this feels like. Both of you. Because this is how I feel right now about Charlie. All the time. Every day. So, I’d appreciate it if you’d put in a good word now and then.” He spun and slipped through his bedroom door.
*****
Spencer debated his options, deciding he didn’t have any. If she still didn’t believe him, still didn’t trust him, what could he do? He could find the pictures on Facebook and try to prove he wasn’t with Becca. But Emily claimed it wouldn’t make a difference, anyway. Telling her the truth about his experience level was his final shot. If she turned him down now, he didn’t have anything else to offer.
But at least they were finally alone, without an audience—for a few minutes, anyway. He’d simply have to declare his love to her, and face refusal if it came. It would be easier not having Josh and Brad witness his rejection.
He moved to kneel in front of her while she sat motionless, regarding him with wary eyes.
“Emily...” He reached out for her hand, but a loud knock interrupted his words.
“I wonder who that could be.” She leaped to the door, squinting through the peephole. “It’s Grace and Olivia.”
He attempted to hide his annoyance as she jerked the door open. His sisters exclaimed when they spotted their friend.
“Emily!” Grace wrapped her in a bear hug. “I’m so glad you’re okay. We were all worried. I didn’t even know you were here. I just came over to talk to Brad before he left for work.”
“Why did you run off like that?” asked Olivia. “Spencer must have done something worse than he said.”
Grace spied Spencer on the floor and stomped over to stand before him with hands planted on her hips. “And there he is on his knees. I hope he’s begging for forgiveness. What did you do?”
He moaned, bending over to bang his head on the floor in total frustration. “I didn’t do anything. It was a set-up!”
Brad walked out from his bedroom. “Hey, Grace. You need to see the picture Emily got. I have to say it’s pretty convincing.”
Spencer glared at him, but Brad laughed. “Why are you on the floor? Are you groveling?”
He was climbing to his feet when Josh came out of the back, carrying his laptop. He handed it to Spencer and smiled, clapping him on the back.
“Here you go, buddy. Prove your innocence.”
“Grace, will you lock up when you go? We’ve got to head for work. I’ll call you after if it’s not too late.” Brad gave her a quick hug and a kiss.
“Grace and Olivia could go with you. Emily and I will be glad to lock up the place,” suggested Spencer, as he searched madly for the dance studio’s Facebook page.
“That’s okay,” said Grace. “We’ll just stay a while. I want to see this picture Brad’s talking about.”
As Brad and Josh left the apartment, Emily pulled out her phone, displaying the picture for Grace and Olivia, who both gasped audibly.
“Spencer!” said Grace. “When did this happen? You told me you hadn’t dated anyone before Emily.”
“Becca framed me. Look! Look at these pictures. It was a dance class.”
“You were in a dance class?” asked Olivia, looking more astonished than she had at the image of Becca’s passionate kiss.
Grace took the computer, and the three girls studied the pictures.
“Oh yeah. There he is dancing with an older lady. Here he’s with another pretty girl. I’m not sure this proves anything except you were dancing with other girls.”
“Look at this one, where I’m dancing with Becca. Can’t you tell I don’t want to be with her?”
“Well he does look pretty disgusted in this one, where she’s kind of hanging on his leg.” Olivia chuckled.
A giggle escaped from behind Emily’s fingers. “And this one, right after the kissing picture.”
“Oh yeah,” Grace agreed with a grin. “His face is a little nauseated. That’s really not a good look for you brother.”
“And what were you doing in a dance class?” asked Olivia. “And why wasn’t Emily with you?”
Spencer tried futilely to keep the exasperation from his voice. “I wanted to surprise Emily because she loves to dance. I knew she wanted to dance at Sam and Tanner’s wedding.”
“I guess it was kind of sweet,” admitted Emily.
“When did you have time to take dance lessons?” demanded Grace. “I thought you were working to buy her a ring.”
“You knew about that?” said Emily. “Why didn’t he tell me he wanted to get married?”
“Spencer!” Grace scolded. “You were supposed to talk to her.”
“It was only a misunderstanding… But we could talk right now if you two would leave us alone.”
“You bought the ring?” asked Grace with excitement.
“Not yet. But I did ask her parents for permission. And Charlie was going to help me pick out a setting.”
“So you pretty much talked to everybody but me.” Emily’s eyes flashed with resentment.
“I told you... I thought that’s what we were talking about—”
“Well did you at least tell her you loved her? Did she know you hadn’t dated anyone else?” Grace turned to Emily. “You know, he had all of us fooled on that one. When we found out he’d never even kissed a girl before—”
“He’d never kissed a girl before? He didn’t tell me that. He just said he’d never been with a girl.”
Grace frowned at Spencer. “Am I right brother? Tell the truth.”
“Why not? Total humiliation seems to be the order of the day.”
He turned to face Emily with his face burning. “Here it is. I’d never kissed a single girl before I kissed you. None at all. I was always waiting for a special girl to come along, and it just took twenty-five years for that to happen. So there you go. I’m a nerd. I’m totally inexperienced. I’m a fake. Oh, and by the way, in case I didn’t make it clear before, I’m totally head-over-heels in love with you.”
He squeezed his eyes shut and waited for the sound of her laughter. After a few seconds of silence he cracked one eye open to see what she was doing. She was standing stock still, staring at him, her huge almond-shaped blue eyes brimming with tears.
“I’m sorry—I always say the wrong thing. Please, don’t cry. I’ll leave you alone. I promise. I won’t bother you anymore.”
He fought the urge to pull her into
his arms and comfort her. How had he made such a mess of things? He clenched his eyes, reaching up to pull his hair in frustration. He flinched as he felt her surge against him, wrapping her arms around his waist and wetting his shirt with her tears.
He let his arms fall around her and rubbed her back, squeezing her against him and nuzzling her damp curls. He was totally confused. Did she like him or did she despise him? Was she angry or had she forgiven him? Did she believe him? Why would she cry and then hug him? This must be some type of farewell hug. She was crying because they were breaking up. He closed his eyes and willed it to last as long as possible.
“Too bad you don’t have that ring, Spencer,” sniffed Grace. He opened his eyes in confusion to find Grace and Olivia both crying and hugging each other. Girls were so weird. Why were they all crying?
He was thinking it was a good thing he hadn’t already bought the ring or destroyed her grandmother’s ring. He guessed he could give it back to her since he wasn’t going to use the diamonds. He refused to let himself think about another guy making it into an engagement ring for her. He pulled one hand down to reach into his pocket and pull out the ring box.
“Here,” he said, holding out the box. “I guess I won’t be needing this.”
Emily pulled away and gazed at the ring box balanced on his fingers. She picked it up with trembling hands and opened it.
“Oh!” she cried. “It’s my Grandmother’s ring! I’ve always loved this ring!”
She pulled the ring out of the box and slipped it on her left hand. It fit perfectly. Then she started crying afresh, throwing herself back into Spencer’s arms. This time Spencer kept his eyes open, patting her back and watching in bewilderment as his sisters went on another crying-hugging spree.
Grace furrowed her eyebrows. “Kiss her, Spencer—she accepted.”
“Accepted what?”
“You’re engaged, you idiot.” Grace laughed. “Congratulations!”
Chapter Nineteen
Emily thought it was a perfect day. Oh, the wedding hadn’t been perfect. Her new shoes made a blister on her toe while they were taking pictures, so she’d discarded them to make her way down the aisle barefooted. The flower girl, one of Spencer’s cousins, had run all the way to the altar without throwing any petals, while the ring bearer had refused to take a single step down the aisle. Throughout the ceremony, Josh had been smiling and waggling his eyebrows at Charlie who vacillated between spearing him with her glares and refusing to make eye contact at all. Her sister had been furious with Spencer for choosing Josh as his best man, resulting in their pairing during the wedding ceremony. But over the last four and a half months, Spencer and Josh had become amazingly good friends. Spencer somehow credited Josh with helping him get engaged by providing the computer to prove his innocence, although secretly, Emily knew she would have believed him anyway.
