Blurred Boundaries

by Lori Crawford

  He pushed his street shoes under the bench where he was sitting and wiggled his toes in the bowling shoes he now wore. Even though he’d known there would be bowling at some point during the trip, he’d left his shoes at home in L.A. After all, exactly how competitive could this little outing get anyway? People were more interested in catching up with each other than knocking over pins anyway.

  Being ignored was not what had his Calvin Klein’s in a twist. Nope. Theodore Craig Mason had that honor all to himself.

  The man was the literal life of the party. He was the king in these parts and was secure in that position. When she was looking, Tam was his queen. And when she wasn’t, well, Teddy Craig was busy looking elsewhere, too. Tam deserved so much better than that. Every time she gave Teddy Craig one of her beautiful smiles that was so undeserved, Evan wilted a little bit inside.

  Back at the cemetery, he’d thought they’d made a giant step forward. Now, only a few hours later, it was as if she’d forgotten all about that intimate moment they’d shared. Of course, he couldn’t exactly say, “Hey, remember how we connected over your parents’ graves?” Not if he didn’t want to be a complete and total dick.

  He was glad when the games got underway. It gave him something else upon which to focus. They split up into teams of four. At first, he was relieved because surely Tam would join him, Peter and Vivian. His hopes were quickly dashed when Tam joined Teddy Craig’s group. That left a spot open for a plump, bubbly blonde named Sharon. Vivian snagged her when it became obvious that Tam had deserted them.

  She greeted him with a hearty handshake when Vivian introduced them. “Let’s kick some ass,” she declared then grabbed her custom made purple bowling ball from the rack. She was up first.

  There were high fives all around when she opened their game with a strike. Tam’s team wasn’t so lucky. Mostly because they had Tam. She opened their game with a gutter ball.

  Her form was atrocious. She walked up to the line, dropped the ball between her legs and tossed with both hands. She was adorable.

  Evan stepped up for his turn. He easily got another strike. His team greeted him with high fives.

  Teddy Craig was up after Tam. He rebounded for them with a strike. By the end of the frame, every last one of them had strikes except for Tam. Evan felt bad for her, but she looked to be taking it all in stride. Teddy Craig, on the other hand, didn’t appear quite as understanding.

  By the seventh frame of their second game, they were again losing by a pretty decent spread. All because of Tam. Evan could count on one hand the number of pins she’d hit to that point and a couple of those had been by accident. In an adjacent lane.

  With a wicked smile, he sauntered up to her where she was waiting for her ball to return. “Should I check to see if they have bumpers?”

  “Smart ass. How come you’re so freaking good?”

  “Don’t hate on my natural bowling ability. The better question is, why are you so bad?”

  He gestured around the lanes where perfect games were the norm, not the exception.

  She shot a furtive glance behind them then leaned close to whisper, “I hate bowling.” Her ball finally came up the ramp. She picked it up. “So I never spent as much time here as everyone else.”

  She took her turn. She managed to keep the ball on the lane this time. Just barely. It grazed a pin and made it wobble, but it didn’t have enough force to knock it down.

  A disappointed “Awww” echoed across several lanes. Evan’s heart was warmed that everyone wanted her to do well. Except for her own team, that was.

  They didn’t even high five her for the effort. So Evan did. As did, Sharon, Vivian and Peter.

  Teddy Craig stood and planted his hands on his hips. “What’s this? It’s not enough that you kill our game, but now you’re consorting with the enemy? Are you a plant?” The man’s tone was teasing, but Evan saw the hard edge in his eyes. He was serious about his bowling and Tam was ruining things.

  She seemed oblivious to the man’s annoyance with her and Evan didn’t feel it was his place to point it out. Even so, he cringed with she answered his question with a teasing, “Maybe.”

  For the first time, Evan wished her flirting radar was much better honed. If it were, she’d understand that Teddy Craig wasn’t just tossing around some friendly banter. He wanted to win and she was stopping him from doing just that.

  It was difficult, but Evan forced himself to sit down and keep his mouth shut. The task was made harder when Teddy Craig pulled Tam aside and tried to physically correct her form. When Teddy Craig’s arms surrounded her, all Evan could do was grit his teeth and try to keep his gaze averted.

  Peter joined him on the bench. “What the hell, man?”

  In the brief time they’d known one another, they’d already developed their own shorthand. Evan needed no clarification as to what he was asking. He shrugged.

  “It’ll pass,” Evan answered with way more confidence than he felt. After all, she’d as much as told him that she was coming home to see if there were sparks between her and Teddy Craig. There weren’t, but Tam didn’t seem to know that. Not yet.

  But he was a patient man and Tam was worth the effort.

  chapter eighteen

  Tam’s eyes popped open. Her heart was beating pretty fast in her chest, but she was lying perfectly still. She sucked in a couple breaths and tried to put a finger on what had her so out of sorts first thing this morning.

  She turned her head to see Evan still sleeping soundly beside her. His beard had filled in even more today. She had to admit, she was digging it.

  She studied the way he was curled up facing her and gently rolled to her side to have a better view. After all the times, she’d now woken up next to him, she never felt so much like kissing him awake than she did right now. What the heck had changed?

  She sighed quietly. She knew exactly what had changed. That little moment they’d shared in the in cemetery had affected her so much more than she’d previously realized.

  And that brought her full circle to what had startled her awake just now. She’d been dreaming. She closed her eyes as the images replayed themselves in her head and brought with them an unsettling sense of déjà vu.

  They’d been back at the hotel in Atlanta. Instead of rushing off to the set, they’d stayed in bed together. She’d finally gotten brave enough to touch him and he looked like he welcomed it. At first. Just before they could kiss, he stopped her and climbed out of bed. He had a surprise for her.

  She was all giddy with anticipation when he opened the door and let Teddy Craig in. He grinned at her like he was doing her the biggest favor on the planet and left her alone with the other man. She was absolutely repulsed when Teddy Craig took over Evan’s spot on the bed and kissed her. With those teeth. Even now that she was wide awake, she was cringing. It was pretty safe to say that Teddy Craig was not the one for her.

  Except, now she felt totally guilty and shallow for rejecting him based on his teeth. She was doing the same thing to him that she was afraid Evan would do to her. It wasn’t fair. The way he hung around her at the bowling alley last night, he just might think there could be something between them. She at least owed him that chance.

  And he would get it. That night at the dance. She looked at Evan. Maybe if she did Teddy Craig that solid, Evan would do the same for her. Tam refused to dwell on the part of her heart that protested her plan with the insanely sound argument that that wasn’t how these things worked.

  Instead, her brain leaped to the car insurance commercial featuring the old woman who thought the actual walls of her house were the same as a social media wall. She kept hearing the friend’s voice in her head, “That’s not how any of this works.” Tam was a total dork, but she loved those commercials. Even thinking about it now made her giggle.

  “What’s funny?” Evan murmured and stretched sleepily beside her.

  “Sorry. Go back to sleep. It’s still really early, yet.”

  “I’m reste
d, though.” He adjusted the pillow under his head and looked at her. “Tell me what’s funny.”

  She shrugged. “Nothing. Just some stupid commercial I like. No idea why it popped into my head,” she lied.

  “Which one?” He persisted. When she finally told him, he laughed, too. “I love the one where the old lady’s playing Candy Crush with a hammer.”

  Tam giggled again. “That one is my runner up.” She tried not to dwell on the absurdity of them lying there talking television commercials. Something was seriously wrong with her. She had a hot guy in an easily compromisable position and she talks insurance and old ladies with him. She needed her head examined.

  “What’s the plan for today?” Evan asked.

  “Vivian and I got talked into helping to decorate the gym this afternoon. I hate to drag you there all those hours ahead of the actual dance. But we won’t be able to come all the way back here before it starts.”

  “It’s no problem. I wanted to use today to finish up the video for Missy. I can find my way up there afterward.”

  Tam raised an eyebrow. She wasn’t about to lose him to the Iowa countryside which is surely what would happen if he tried to make the journey by himself. His sense of direction, or lack thereof, left quite a bit to be desired. The show sent cars for him even when they shot in L.A. because he was notorious for getting lost.

  Evan narrowed his gaze at her. “I see you’ve heard rumors of my navigational prowess.”

  “Maybe.”

  He shook his head and held out his hand. “Give me your phone.”

  She frowned, but grabbed her phone from the night table, unlocked it and handed it to him.

  He downloaded an app on it then typed in his username and password.

  “What are you doing?”

  He opened the companion app on his phone. Two dots appeared side by side. He handed the phone back to her. “There. This will lead me to you wherever you are.”

  She snickered. It took him a moment, but he did, too. “I totally just channeled Prince Charming there, didn’t I?”

  “That or the Stalker Prince. It’s really a toss up.”

  “If it makes you feel better, you can now find me, too. It’s not one-sided.” Tam nodded and checked her phone’s screen. It was totally ridiculous, but she kind of liked seeing their two dots together on the screen.

  He stretched. “I also need to stop for gas again.” She shot him an amused look, but he pressed a finger to her lips. “Yes, I know. I should’ve asked before getting a gas guzzling SUV.”

  She was enjoying that light contact way too much. She pulled his wrist away. “What? Are you afraid of a little I-told-you-so?”

  “Of course not. I’m just trying to spare you the hassle.”

  She gave him a side eye, not buying his magnanimous act for a moment.

  “Thank you for keeping my life so hassle-free.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  She rolled her eyes at the sincerity with which he’d accepted her phony gratitude. She propped her head up on her elbow to look down her nose at him. “What if I like I-told-you-so?”

  He gave his head a solemn shake. “Then you are a bad, bad person.”

  She matched his solemn tone. “I accept that.”

  With nothing more to be said on the matter, they changed the subject. When they exhausted it, they moved on to the next. Before they knew it, several hours had flown by and Vivian was knocking on the door to see if Tam was ready to head out. She wasn’t. But she dragged herself away from him anyway. She’d see him again in a few hours. At the dance.

  ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

  Evan checked his watch and shot another hostile look at the DJ. What was taking the jackass so long? He’d made his request almost an hour ago. He danced Marley around in a small circle so he could see Tam over her shoulder.

  She was still at the table where Teddy Craig held court with a group of his friends. The man stood with his foot on the chair unmindful that his boot was soiling the edge of the orange and black checked table cloth. He leaned on his knee while gesturing wildly to make whatever point. All those around him seemed to hang on every word.

  Except Tam, Evan noted with a bud of hope blossoming in his heart. To the average onlooker, she looked like she was paying attention to Teddy Craig’s inane banter. After being in the trenches together, he knew her well enough to know that she was bored out of her mind. Evan couldn’t keep the satisfied smile off his face.

  It felt like forever had passed since their pillow talk that morning. He hadn’t managed to catch Tam alone since. He’d kept his distance since she’d been around Teddy Craig ever since Evan had arrived at the dance. So technically, instead of being her date, he was now crashing a reunion of people he did not know in a state he’d never visited before. His night was going great!

  He tuned back in to whatever Marley was saying. The woman hadn’t stopped talking since their turn on the dance floor.

  “Jake is so jealous right now. Serves the jerk right. Making us so late like that.”

  Evan stepped back to whirl then dip her while he searched his memory for who Jake was. He caught sight of a large, balding man with a huge belly eyeing them by the refreshment table. His meaty hands twisted one of the gazillion orange balloons that littered the floor. Evan was surprised the thing didn’t pop. Husband. Got it.

  Evan turned on the charm and looked her in the eye. “I don’t know why. He gets to go home with you.”

  Marley blushed to the roots of her store-bought blond hair. That line never failed to work. Except maybe on Tam. He fought the urge to look her direction again as the final notes of the song died away.

  The DJ took the mike and announced, “And now by request.”

  The first chords of Have a Nice Day pounded through the gym. Finally. Evan kissed Marley’s hand and directed her back to Jake. “Excuse me.”

  Speechless at last, Marley nodded and took a few steps toward her husband. Evan didn’t wait to see if she continued or not. His attention was focused on Tam. He lip-synched and pointed at her. Gestured for her to join him on the dance floor that was already filling with her classmates. If he had to go to get her like in the hotel, he would, but his battered ego really needed her to come to him for change.

  Tam glanced at Teddy Craig, who seemed to still be engrossed in whatever he was saying then lip-synched back at Evan. He blew out the breath he hadn’t realized he was holding and grinned at her. Tam danced her way over. Just like in the hotel, they jumped around and sang the song together. Their crazy performance could’ve easily rivaled anything Bon Jovi had ever done on stage. For the first time that evening Evan had her complete attention focused on him and he was going to enjoy it.

  Their antics made them the center of attention. Before long, more of her classmates had joined the little circle they had made and danced along, too. Evan wasn’t about to share Tam’s attention with them. He held an imaginary mic for them both then spun her around so her back was flush against him. He hugged her close so they could both play her air guitar during the solo break. Having her in his arms like that, even under false pretenses as it were, felt just right. Like he was home. That she seemed so calm with other people around them gave him hope. Maybe she was starting to get as comfortable with him as well.

  The solo was over all too soon and they went back to sharing the imaginary mic. Her smile was huge. She was finally having fun and he was the reason.

  Once the song ended, Tam collapsed against his chest laughing. He wrapped his arms around her. Both were breathless from the exertion of the song’s upbeat tempo. Tam slid her arms around his waist totally ignoring the folks still surrounding them.

  “Oh, my God. We totally just made fools of ourselves. In public.”

  The song faded into the pounding beat of Warrant’s Cherry Pie. The group around them cheered. Before they could really get going, there was a screech and suddenly the opening chords of Bon Jovi’s I’ll Be There For You strummed. There were a few confused groans, but
they were a forgiving audience and broke up into couples.

  Evan couldn’t believe his luck. The ballad was such a perfect follow-up. He caught sight of Vivian standing next to the DJ’s table. She had a self-satisfied smile on her face and the DJ looked a little frightened. Okay. Maybe luck wasn’t quite the right word. But he wasn’t going to squander the opportunity.

  “No one is paying us the slightest bit of attention,” Evan assured her even as he spotted Teddy Craig giving them the stink eye. He turned Tam so her back was completely toward the other man and refocused his attention on her.

  “Yeah, but that was our private ‘blow off steam’ song.” She looked at him. “Now it’s less private.”

  He smiled. “So, what you’re saying is that we have a song.”

  “I guess I am.” Tam easily settled into the rhythm he set. The DJ cranked up the fog machine so a cloudy midst swirled around them. “You know, you’re the Belle of the Ball, right?”

  Evan chuckled. “What?”

  “How many dance cards do you have anyway? I bet every single one of them is full.”

  Oh. So she had been paying attention to him that night. “Are you feeling guilty for monopolizing me like this?” Evan teased.

  “You are the most exciting thing that’s happened around here in a while.” She looked around the room. “There are a lot of jealous woman in here right now.”

  “And several jealous men. They’ll all get over it.”

  She grinned. “Too bad you don’t swing that way.”

  He wasn’t going to let her get away with that. He hooked a finger under her chin and forced her to meet his gaze. He wanted her to see how serious he was. “You know what I mean.”

  Their eyes locked and held. Her grin faded and he gave her time to digest his words. Because he was watching her so closely he could see the exact moment she’d managed to rationalize the compliment away. He was so close. Evan sighed on the inside.