May the Best Man Win

by BJ Bentley

  Snapping to attention, I shifted my gaze a foot to the left and saw...oh, no. No, no, no. My night just took an even more awkward turn, because the person calling my name was Tierney Buchanan, and the ass I’d been leering at belonged to none other than her father. Shit.

  Damon turned around at some point when Tierney called my name and caught my stare. It wasn’t exactly difficult to follow my line of sight; I wasn’t being particularly subtle about it. The knowing grin on his face was unbearable. I wanted to wipe it right off his obnoxiously handsome face.

  “Hello, Sophie,” he drawled.

  “Damon,” I muttered, barely acknowledging him. I tore my gaze away and suddenly became incredibly fascinated by all things Rick.

  “Aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend?” He smirked.

  God, I hated that smirk. It made me want to punch him. And kiss him. But, mainly punch him. “No.”

  He tsked. “No manners, doll. That’s just rude.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever,” I muttered. “This is Rick. Rick, this is Damon.”

  “Ah, yes, Rick. The boyfriend,” Damon said pointedly and didn’t even bother to try hiding his smile at Rick’s look of surprise.

  The overbearing ass had just called me out on my lie. Was I going to let that stand?

  I wove my arm around Rick’s and doubled down. “Yep. My boyfriend. It’s kind of new, but I think we’ve got something really good here. Right, Rick?”

  “Uh...yeah? Sure?” Rick’s eyes were darting between Damon and me, and I felt a pang of remorse for dragging him into my battle with Damon. Despite his poor dating choices, he was a genuinely nice guy. He didn’t deserve to be fucked with, and after tonight, I was going to have to apologize for using him.

  “Hi, Mr. Fellows,” Tierney called softly from Damon’s side.

  I cursed myself for carrying on the way I was in front of a student. I was supposed to be a role model, and here I was using one man and lying to the face of another. Plus, I liked Tierney, and I wanted her to like me. I really wasn’t doing myself any favors.

  “Hey, Tierney,” Rick replied, smiling down at her.

  “Can you watch her for a second?” Damon said, pulling his vibrating phone out of his pocket.

  “Sure.”

  “I’m sorry, baby girl. I have to take this, but I’ll be quick, okay?” He smiled apologetically at his daughter while smoothing down her hair that seemed to be having a static electricity problem.

  Tierney’s signature shrug made an appearance. “‘Kay, Daddy.”

  We stepped out of line as it started to move since I couldn’t leave Tierney unattended. I glanced over at Damon to see that whoever he was talking to had made him angry. He kept his voice low but his expression and body language said he was pissed off.

  “So, what movie are you guys going to see?” I asked, bringing my attention back to my present company.

  She rattled off the name of the new animated film that was popular with all the kids, but I wasn’t paying much attention because I suddenly had to pee. While we’d been standing in line, I had guzzled most of my soda without even thinking about it, and now I found myself shifting my weight from side to side in an effort to avoid wetting myself. Not being able to stand it anymore, I turned to Rick.

  “Can you watch Tierney for, like, two seconds? I really have to pee.”

  “Oh, uh, sure.”

  “Great. Be right back.”

  I dashed across the lobby, lifting a finger at Damon in the universal sign for ‘give me a minute.’ My dash turned into a shuffle as I tried to move quickly with my thighs pressed together. I did my business, washing my hands and checking my hair for reasons I did not want to examine at that moment, and made my way back across the lobby to the theater entrance. The line was all but gone now, and only Damon and Tierney were there to greet me.

  Frowning, I looked around. “Where’s Rick?”

  Damon quirked an eyebrow. “He left.”

  My frown deepened. “What do you mean, he left?”

  “Ahh, well...as soon as I finished my phone call, he said he had to go. Maybe he had some sort of emergency?” To his credit, he looked embarrassed for me when I would have expected him to gloat.

  Emergency? I was only gone for two seconds. “Oh. Okay. Maybe I should text him and make sure he’s okay.”

  “You could do that. Or you could come watch a movie with us.”

  I looked between him and Tierney. “Well…”

  “Please?” Tierney pleaded.

  Ugh, I was such a sucker! “Alright, kiddo. Because you asked so nicely.”

  We passed our tickets to the attendant, and instead of heading for the theater where the action movie was playing, I ducked into the animated movie with Damon and Tierney. I shot off a quick text to Rick just to make sure there wasn’t some crisis I needed to be aware of, though I had a feeling there was another reason he’d bailed on me.

  Tierney chose a cluster of seats toward the back of the theater and once again finagled it so that I was sitting in between her and Damon. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she did it on purpose.

  The movie was even worse than I’d anticipated. Not the movie itself, although I couldn’t really comment on that since I didn’t see most of it. No, I meant sitting so close to Damon in a dark theater was far worse.

  Worse than it had been at dinner two nights before.

  Worse than I could have been prepared for.

  In addition to the covert leg touches, I had his arm around me and his fingers playing with my hair, but the worst was his thoughtfulness. He’d asked me if I wanted anything else from the concession stand, which was laughable considering all the junk I’d forced Rick to buy me. He wanted to know if I was comfortable and if I could see the screen okay (there was a relatively tall man seated two rows in front of me.)

  But the piece de resistance? The way he was with Tierney. He was observant without being paranoid, protective without being overbearing, and accommodating without being indulgent. I was thoroughly impressed. Which meant I was totally fucked.

  “What’s wrong, doll?” he whispered in my ear.

  I shook my head rather than answer.

  “You’re frowning.”

  I turned my head and met his eyes in the dark. “I’m fine.”

  He took me in, eyes roving over my face, and I felt like he saw more than I wanted him to. But, instead of pushing, he dropped the subject with a curt nod.

  After the movie, Damon offered to drive me home, but Tierney had a different idea.

  “Dad, can we get frozen yogurt?”

  “Frozen yogurt? You just ate your weight in Reese’s Pieces.”

  “Don’t exaggerate, Dad.”

  Damon looked at me to be the tie breaker. “Whoa. Do not put me in the middle here.” I raised my hands in a defensive gesture.

  “Come on, doll face. Everybody gets a say.”

  I sighed. “Well, all three of us have already consumed far more sugar than is healthy,” I began, but changed my mind the moment Tierney’s face fell. “So, what’s a little more?”

  Tierney’s face brightened again, and I knew my impending diabetes would be worth it.

  Chapter 12

  Sophie

  The frozen yogurt place was located in a shopping plaza not far from the mall, but it meant we had to drive there. Walking out into the parking lot, I looked around for Damon’s Ferrari, but when he hit the unlock button on his key fob, it was a black Escalade that lit up.

  “I know what you’re thinking, but I don’t drive the Ferrari when I have Tierney. Draws too much attention.”

  His words reminded me of our conversation about why she still had her mother’s last name. I nodded in understanding. The more attention he drew to himself, the more attention he drew to Tierney, and he was trying to protect her. Not that the Escalade was a downgrade, but at least it wasn’t cherry red.

  The line inside the shop was surprisingly short for a Friday night, when it was us
ually jam packed with teenagers and young adults who weren’t quite old enough to get into the bars. The three of us grabbed our paper bowls and gathered around the yogurt dispensers. Tierney went for the pistachio, while Damon went for the triple chocolate. My hand was on the lever for the vanilla bean when Damon stopped me.

  “You’ll never convince me that you love vanilla.” He shook his head, giving me that sexy smirk that I loved hated.

  “There’s nothing wrong with vanilla,” I insisted. “It makes a good base for all the toppings I’m going to smother it with.”

  “Oh, well, in that case, vanilla it is.” He let go of my wrist, and I filled my bowl.

  Moving on to the toppings, I loaded up on cheesecake bites, Reese’s Pieces, peanut butter cups, and M&Ms.

  I squealed when Damon nipped at my ear lobe.

  “I knew it,” he chuckled.

  “Knew what?” I snapped, annoyed that his nip to my ear sent a flood of moisture to my panties.

  Instead of answering my question, he winked.

  Annoying.

  We sat around a small, round table by the window and ate. Tierney finished first and asked to go to the bathroom.

  “Do you want me to go with you?” I asked, thinking she wouldn’t want her father following her.

  “No, it’s okay. I’ll be right back.”

  I looked at Damon for confirmation. The door to the restroom was at the back of the shop and within our line of sight, but Tierney was still a seven year old girl, and if she were mine, which, in a way, she was, I wouldn’t want her going anywhere alone. But Damon only nodded.

  “Go ahead, but come right back.”

  “Okay.” She skipped off toward the ladies’ room.

  I pushed my half-eaten frozen dairy away with a groan. “I ate way too much.” I patted my belly, wishing I could unbutton my jeans.

  “Sophie?”

  I looked up at Damon’s soft call.

  “What were you doing with him?”

  “Him? You mean Rick?”

  He nodded.

  “I told you; I’m seeing him.”

  “And I told you, I don’t believe you.”

  “Damon,” I sighed. “Can we not do this again. You know we can’t ever…”

  “I know that’s what you think. I’m still not in agreement.” He slid across the semi-circular bench, so he was in my space tucked a lock of hair behind my ear. “I’m not sure why you’re fighting this so hard, but I’m not going anywhere. And I don’t give a fuck about Rick or Phil or any other guy you want to try to put between us. Because all I see is you. I just want you to see me too.”

  “Who are you right now? Because this is not the Damon Hatch that I know. The Damon Hatch that I know is obnoxiously arrogant. Used to getting his way. He isn’t sweet. He doesn’t make heart felt declarations. I don’t know what to do with this.” I couldn’t help the honesty pouring out of me, and frankly, I was too frustrated to care. Damon was cocky and selfish, not thoughtful and considerate. He was throwing all my preconceived notions for a loop.

  “You met the Damon Hatch that I wanted you to see.” He twitched one shoulder in a pseudo-shrug. “That Damon is a douche, but it’s who he has to be. He has his reasons.”

  “And now? Who’s this Damon?”

  “This Damon is the one who is getting to know Sophie and likes very much what he’s learning.”

  I mulled over his words. My first instinct was to call bullshit, but the more I looked into his eyes, the more I became convinced of his sincerity. If I was honest, he wasn’t the asshole I thought he was when we first met, and as much as it pained me to admit, even if it was just to myself, that night we shared at April’s wedding was a disaster because I ensured that it was. Damon wasn’t totally innocent, but he only reacted to the crap I threw his way. I couldn’t really blame him for calling me a robot, as much as that had stung. I brought it upon myself.

  So, yeah, I used to think Damon was arrogant, but lately I’d been seeing a different side of him. Seeing him interact with Tierney and knowing what a great kid he was raising forced me to re-evaluate my perception. There was still no way I was going to get involved with him, but I guess I liked him a little more than I did when we first met.

  “Tell you what. We can be friends,” I declared.

  His lips twitched. “Friends? You’re serious?”

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Oh, doll. We’re not destined to be friends,” he drawled. “I may not be the asshole you thought I was, but I’m still a man who gets what he wants. You will get the full Damon Hatch experience.”

  “Stop talking about yourself in the third person, creep.”

  He laughed, and I was so taken in by the beauty of him with his head thrown back and pure amusement filtering from his lips, that I wasn’t prepared when his arm snaked out, catching me behind the neck and pulled me in for a fast, hard kiss.

  When he pulled back, his scruff-covered face was flaunting a broad grin.

  “What was that for?”

  “I love your mouth.”

  I squirmed in my seat, his words evoking imagery in my mind that he would be all too pleased with himself to discover I was envisioning. “Well, I think you should stop.”

  “That flush in your cheeks begs to differ. And what did I tell you about lying to me?”

  I wrinkled my nose. “Whatever,” I muttered. “Anyway, you shouldn’t kiss me. I have a boyfriend.”

  Damon shot me a skeptical look. “You’re not actually seeing that guy,” he scoffed.

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Rick’s a nice guy.” Or, at least, I imagined he was. He certainly wasn’t the most chivalrous or romantic, but I could work with what was there. And he certainly didn’t have the potential to use me up and leave me with a broken heart and shattered soul. No, it took a certain type of man to wield that kind of power, and Rick was not it. Damon, on the other hand….

  Tierney reappeared before Damon could refute my claim of Rick’s worthiness.

  Together, the three of us dumped our trash and climbed back into Damon’s SUV. The ride to my house was made in comfortable silence. Maybe it should have been weird considering that I was Tierney’s teacher and I was spending time with her and Damon outside of school, but none of us were treating our short time together as anything out of the ordinary.

  Pulling up in front of my house, Damon asked Tierney to wait in the car while he walked me to my door.

  “See ya on Monday, kiddo,” I said over my shoulder as I unfastened my seatbelt.

  “Bye, Miss James.”

  Damon led me to the door with a hand at the small of my back.

  “I’ll pick you up tomorrow at six. Does Cece’s sound good?”

  “What are you talking about?” Did we make plans for tomorrow? Where was I during this conversation?

  “Tomorrow,” he repeated. “Six o’clock. Dinner at Cece’s.”

  “I’m not going out with you. We’ve been over this. Repeatedly.” I spoke slowly and made sure to enunciate clearly. Maybe then he’d get it.

  The arrogant jerk smirked in response. “See you tomorrow, doll.”

  I scowled and opened my mouth to protest one more time, but he had already turned and started walking back to the car. Shaking my head, I let myself into my house and locked up behind me.

  Lying in bed later, I tried not to think about what a good time we’d had at the movies or the bantering afterward. The frozen yogurt was definitely a highlight. But it didn’t matter how much I enjoyed myself, there was no way I’d be going out with him on an actual date. No way, no how.

  Chapter 13

  Sophie

  Pink flannel pajamas. Plush socks with a bunny print. A pint of Chunky Monkey. And a documentary on serial killers. That was how I was spending my Saturday night.

  I shoveled a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth, glancing at the clock and noting the time. The clock read quarter to six, and my stomach turned with anxiety as I wondered whether or not Damon would res
pect my wishes or show up regardless. That mystery was solved exactly fifteen minutes later.

  I would have ignored the doorbell if it wasn’t for the fact that my curtains weren’t fully closed, and he could clearly see me lounging on the couch from his vantage point on the porch. Groaning in irritation, I rolled off the couch and yanked open the front door.

  “Were you seriously not listening when I said I wasn’t going out with you?” I snapped.

  He looked me up and down and grinned. “You’re adorable. But you can’t wear that to Cece’s.”

  I debated arguing with him or simply slamming the door in his face, but he moved faster than I could make a decision. Gently pushing me back with his hand at my stomach, he invited himself inside, kicking the door shut behind him. He glanced quickly around the room before tipping his head in the direction of my coffee table.

  “You should put that ice cream away before it melts.”

  I had no intention of letting it melt because I planned on eating the whole thing as soon as I could get him out of my house. Unfortunately, he took advantage of my momentary distraction and was halfway up the stairs before I realized he was no longer standing in front of me.

  “Hey! Where do you think you’re going?!” I scurried up the stairs behind him. “You can’t just invite yourself into my house and barge into my bedroom!” I yelled just as he passed through the door to my room.

  I came up behind him as he was sorting through the clothes in my closet, seemingly assessing my dresses one by one and dismissing them until he found one he deemed appropriate. “Wear this one.”

  He held up red, retro style wiggle dress with a sweetheart neckline and thin shoulder straps. I’d almost forgotten I even owned that dress. I’d only worn it once and that was to a rockabilly themed anniversary party for my Aunt June and Uncle Seymour. It was sexy and flirty and spoke to my soul, but I’d never again had an occasion to wear it.