Friends and Lovers (2 page)

Lauren trembled violently at the sight. Misinterpreting the cause, Sherry suggested they go warm up in the hot tub. However, minutes later the waterlogged Nerf sailed out of nowhere and hit Lauren square in the face. The tiled walls amplified her piercing scream and brought Wes running.

Clearly stunned to see blood streaming from her nose, he ran for a towel and pressed it on her as she sank onto a chair.

“Jesus, are you okay?” he asked, crouching beside her.

“Are you guys out of your fricking minds?” Sherry shrieked at him.

“It was an accident.” Wes turned back to Lauren with concern. “Let me see.”

Even though she wanted to run and hide, she pulled the towel away. Talk about lousy timing. It was mortifying that this was how he finally noticed her.

“Nope, still going.” Wes pushed the towel back in her face. “Put your head back. Way back, and squeeze your nose.”

Hot tears glittered in the corners of Lauren’s eyes as she followed his advice. When the first slid slowly down her cheek, Wes stood with a frown. Without a word, he spun around and stalked to the far end of the pool.

There was a heated exchange of words between Wes and one of the guys standing waist deep in the water. They both turned to look at her then the kid slapped his hand across the top of the water before making his way to the ladder. Wes was waiting when he climbed out, and he led the resentful kid back with him. They stopped in front of Lauren. The scowling boy didn’t speak until Wes gave him a sharp look.

“I’m sorry. I threw the ball. It was an accident,” he said tightly.

“I realize that. I’ll be fine.” Lauren wasn’t comfortable with all the attention they were drawing. “I’m just glad it didn’t hit any of the little kids.”

The guy looked at Wes impatiently, and when he nodded, the kid strode off to rejoin their friends.

Wes bent down, eye level with Lauren, and she felt the intoxicating pull of his gaze. It took his next question to snap her out of her trance.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked.

She blushed. “I will be. It’s just a bloody nose. Accidents happen.”

Wes chuckled and slowly shook his head. “You’re all right, Lauren.”

Then he wandered off, leaving her staring after him in shock. Wes knew her name? He
knew
her, and he was the coolest thing on legs! Not only that, but he actually made his friend come over and apologize. That’s when Lauren knew Wes’s heart was in the right place. Maybe he just needed time to grow into it.

Wes graduated that June and left for college, but it was too late for Lauren. His visits home were few and brief but Lauren always tried to see him, even if only a glimpse. When she was lucky enough to talk to him he was always unfailingly nice. He’d tease her about her nose, and tell her he was glad it was still where it belonged. It was her
in
and she didn’t regret the embarrassment anymore.

Lauren brought her eyes back into focus and whispered at the window. “My God, Wes is back.”

Chapter 2

As incredible as it seemed, Chuck didn’t mention what he’d witnessed at the shelter until they got back to the station.

“So, you met up with an old girlfriend then?” Chuck said, signing his name with a flourish.

“Hmm?” Wes glanced up and frowned across the desk at his partner.

“Today.”

“What about today?”

“You can be downright exasperating sometimes.” Chuck gave Wes a significant stare. “You, that woman…you know.” He rolled his hand. “You two have a thing?”

“Never.” Wes went back to his typing.

Chuck snorted. “Right.”

Wes’s hands paused over the keyboard and he looked his partner in the eye. “Never,” he repeated.

Chuck shook his head. “Man, that’s hard to believe what with all the electricity pinging off the walls between the two of you. I was afraid I was going to get zapped myself. Damn near raised the hair on my arms for Christ’s sake. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

Wes tried to remain impassive, but it was tough to suppress the smile inside of him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You never had her?
Never
?”

“For the third and final time, I’ve never even touched Lauren McKay, let alone kissed her. She was my sister’s best friend. Nothing more, end of story.”

Of course it wasn’t, but he didn’t want to go into it with Chuck just now. Wes was perfectly content quietly basking in the memory of the chemical surge he’d felt at seeing Lauren again. Still, Chuck wasn’t an idiot. He definitely picked up on the attraction. Wes had managed to derail his partner for the time being, but he knew the subject was far from closed.

* * * *

Lauren sighed in defeat. Wes wore his maturity well, damn him. How was she supposed to get over him now, when he looked even more fantastic? Gone was the boy and in his place stood a man, taller perhaps, his masculine body still lean but more substantial, muscular in a way he never was before. His youthful frame now carried the promise of what it once only hinted at. Lauren was lost all over again, this time with a woman’s experience, a woman’s knowledge, a woman’s appreciation, and it made her familiar response to Wes even more powerful.

Her body felt alive again, her circulatory system a veritable superhighway firing her champagne-like blood to every extremity. She couldn’t sit still and she couldn’t walk it off because there was work to do. Unfortunately, she was incapable of concentrating on anything
but
Wes. Long ago he’d aroused her body and stirred her girlish emotions, but after seeing him today she simply wasn’t equipped to handle the system overload. Without even trying he’d turned her into a basket case all over again. She couldn’t rein her reaction in. She couldn’t even scream or run away and hide from her turbulent emotions. What she needed was a good cleansing cry, then maybe she could find her way back to calm.

Jackie poked her head in the door, her long black curls swinging. “Are you still here? I thought you’d be gone two hours ago.”

Lauren looked at the clock and rubbed her eyes. “I guess I lost track of time.”

Jackie plopped into the chair across the desk and drooped back, letting her hands hang limp over the arms of the chair. “So what’s wrong? You’ve been off all day.”

Lauren glanced evasively out the window and Jackie burst out, “No way. That was
him
?”

“Him who?”

“Him who…” She snorted. “Give me a break.
Him
! The guy you’ve been carrying a silent suffering torch for all these years.”

Lauren clunked her forehead onto her desk and covered the back of her head with her arms. “Yes,” she groaned.

“So that’s it. I can see how he got you all twisted up years ago. He’s smoking hot. What are you gonna do about him?”

Lauren looked up, supporting her face on her hands. “Who says I have to
do
anything?”

“Well, aren’t you a little chicken shit?”

Lauren scowled. “Just what do you expect me to do, march up to him and say, ‘oh, by the way, did you know you’ve had a starring role in my fantasy life for fifteen years’? He’d call in the padded truck, or maybe take out a restraining order against me.”

“Only if you start following him around with binoculars.” Jackie laughed. “Honey, honestly, Hot Shot looked pretty jazzed to see you. Trust me on this one. He was checking you out so hard he should’ve strained something.”

“Wes has never looked at me like that. Ever.”

“You’re blind or in denial, or…I don’t know what.”

Lauren chanced a hopeful peek at Jackie. “You think?”

“I’ve got eyes, and so does he from what I could see, and they were fixed on you—big time. Although, it probably would have been better if you weren’t standing there looking like you’d just swallowed your gum or something.”

“Cut me some slack. I wasn’t prepared. I never expected to see Wes again, so I was in shock, not to mention the timing totally sucked. We had a family to welcome.”

Jackie leaned forward, her plump half smile and endearing dimple making an appearance. “So has he changed much?”

Lauren moaned. “Oh God, he’s even better. This is so unfair! As if the Wes in my head weren’t enough to contend with, now I have to try and cope with the new and improved version?”

“You should call him up and invite him out for a drink or something.”

“Oh sure, let’s just see what I blurt out after I’ve had a glass of wine—and that’s the best scenario. The one that really scares the hell out of me is where I launch myself at the guy and give him his own personal lap dance.”

Jackie burst out laughing and slapped the arm of her chair. “You? Miss prim and proper? Girl, I’d pay good money to see that!” She was laughing so hard she had to dab her eyes to save her makeup. “Honey, I’m just glad to hear you
have
a fantasy life. It helps somehow.”

“Very amusing.”

“Well, you are kind of dull.”

Lauren hit her with wounded eyes, and Jackie held up a pacifying hand.

“In a nice way, but you know what I mean.”

* * * *

Wes leaned back against Sherry’s counter. His sister closed the oven door and ground her fist into her spine.

“Are you staying for dinner?” she asked.

He took a contemplative sniff and nodded. “I can’t turn down lasagna.” His eyes lingered on her protruding belly and he shook his head. “I still can’t get over it. My little sister is going to be a mom.”

She laughed. “There’s been a development. Check this out.” She pulled up her shirt and flashed her belly button. “My inny is now an outy. Pretty funky, huh?”

He stared, fascinated. “Does it hurt?”

She laughed. “Not yet, but who knows if that’ll change?”

“Can I?” he asked, his hands reaching toward her, his fingers spread wide.

“Sure.”

He grabbed her belly like it was a basketball and the baby shifted. Wes looked up with an excited grin. “Did you see that? It’s so cool.” He took his hands away so Sherry could drop her shirt. “One question,
how
do you sleep?”

“My back hurts most of the time now, so not as good as I’d like.”

“From what I hear it’s only going to get worse.”

“Don’t remind me. I’m going to be a walking zombie for a few years. I don’t know how I’m going to manage when I go back to work after maternity leave.”

“You’ll handle it fine. Better than I would.”

Sherry smirked. “Your turn will come. You’re already interested, so I don’t see you holding off on breeding.”

His entire body shuddered. “Take it back.”

“Don’t be such a baby. You know I’m right.”

“Enough,” he warned. “What can I do to help?”

“Aw, you’re so sweet, but Ken’s got everything under control. He’s been awesome now that the shock of impending fatherhood has worn off.”

Wes bit his lip, trying hard not to laugh. “I meant, what can I do to help with dinner?”

“Oh. Why don’t you get the garlic bread ready to go into the oven and I’ll go use the bathroom for the five-hundredth time today?”

She waddled out and Wes went on a scavenger hunt. He looked up when he heard the garage door opening. Papa Bear was home.

* * * *

Wes grabbed a hunk of garlic bread out of the basket and said casually, “I saw Lauren today.”

As expected, Sherry’s head shot up. “You did?”

“Yep. Did you know she’s the director of the Gloria Fields Crisis Center?”

“No. I knew she was thinking about getting more involved with battered women after Sarah’s death but that was about the time she closed herself off from me too. I couldn’t keep her from drifting away. How is she?”

“She looks good.”
Beautiful.
“I gave her your number and told her you’re expecting. Hopefully she’ll call.”

“I really miss her.”

Sherry’s husband Ken reached over and gave her hand a squeeze. “You’re not going to cry, are you?”

She laughed and cried at the same time. “It’ll pass in a minute. Don’t mind me.”

Ken looked at Wes and smiled. “Hormones.”

* * * *

It was after seven by the time Lauren walked into her quiet apartment and locked the door behind her. Stepping out of her shoes as she walked she went into her little galley kitchen and dropped her keys on the counter. She gave the mail in her hand only a cursory glance before dropping that as well.

In one step she was at the refrigerator. She grabbed a bottle of water and wandered back to her bedroom. Her favorite lounging pajamas were lying across the unmade bed where she’d left them. She snatched them up and took them into the bathroom with her, kicking the door closed behind her as she reached for the shower curtain.

Thirty minutes later, Lauren pulled the Lean Cuisine out of the microwave and sighed. She wasn’t hungry but since she skipped lunch and only ate a banana for breakfast she had to eat something. Picking up her mug of hot tea, she shuffled into the living room and dropped to her knees in front of the coffee table so she could watch the recording.

She never enjoyed seeing herself on television but this was important. Reviewing interviews and spots helped her hone her message and get the word out. Fundraising and public relations took up most of her time these days, and though it was important, she felt pulled away from those she’d been driven to help in the first place. As director and passionate advocate for battered women and children she naturally had less time to interact with them herself now.

She hit the play button and watched the public access interview, scrutinizing her answers. She wished the host had asked better questions or at least allowed her to take the interview in a different direction. Her PowerPoint presentations were always more effective but with a limited reach. She hoped this interview would bring in more funds by reaching a broader audience but she had her doubts.

When it was finished Lauren shut off the television and took her dishes back to the kitchen. Standing at the counter, she ate a yogurt and thought about Sarah. Two years older than her, Sarah was the quintessential first born. She was a high achiever, beautiful, athletic, popular, and vivacious. Lauren hero-worshipped her big sister. Sarah was one of those rare people who could connect with anyone, no matter what age or social sphere. She was kindness itself.