Trust in Me (10 page)

“Thank you.”

It took her a moment before the comments from
their friends began to register.

“Whoa,” Pete exclaimed.

“I guess they already did,” this came from
Colin.

“What the heck?” Kent’s voice said
softly.

“Shhh,” Nicole replied.

Roni pulled away and smiled sheepishly at her
friends, avoiding her brother’s eyes, then she turned back to
Rich.

“So much for simple,” Rich whispered with a
smile.

Chapter Fifteen

Since there were only a few days until the
opening of the Rec Center and Briana and Colin were returning to
Austin the day after that, everyone decided that they wanted to go
out dancing.

Well, the girls decided… The guys just went
along with it.

Rich slapped some cologne on, made sure there
weren’t any holes in his jeans or t-shirt, and figured he was
ready. He turned off the lights as he walked through the Rec
Center, locking up before turning to get in the car with Kent and
Nicole.

As they pulled out and headed towards Roni’s,
Kent asked the question Rich had been dreading since Christmas.

“What’s up with you and my sister?”

Rich met his friends’ eyes in the rear view
mirror. “We’re just hanging out, nothing too serious, just like
Roni wants.”

“What do you want?” Kent asked softly.

“I like her, man. I have since you introduced
her to us,” Rich admitted.

“You like a lot of girls,” Kent said, not
giving Rich an inch.

“I know,” Rich said. “I’m not going to lie to
you and say that I haven’t touched another girl since I met your
sister, but there’s been no one else since I moved home. And there
won’t be, not while I’m with Roni. I really like her.”

“Be careful with her,” Kent replied. “She
hasn’t had a lot of good guys in her life. I hope you’ll change
that.”

Rich smiled and said, “Thanks, man, I
will.”

When Roni got into the car, everyone was
silent. She scooted in next to Rich and looked around.

“Were you guys just talking about me?”

“Why would we want to do that?” Rich asked
playfully.

Roni leaned forward, hit her brother on the
shoulder, and glared at him in the rearview mirror.

“Kent, my sex life is none of your
business.”

Kent turned to glower at Rich, who turned to
look out the window.

Roni was going to get him killed.

When Kent stopped glaring at the side of his
head and pulled out of the parking lot, Rich turned to Roni.

She looked stunning in a black skirt with a
charcoal grey sweater. Rich leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Aren’t you going to get hot, dancing in that
sweater?”

She grinned at him and responded, “I have a
tank top underneath, so if it gets hot, I’ll take the sweater off.
And, I can put my hair up.”

His body got hot as he thought of her taking
off her sweater. Suddenly, his jacket was stifling, and he had to
take it off. Roni chuckled and snuggled in to his side.

“This is going to take some getting used to,”
Kent mumbled from the front. Nicole punched him lightly in the arm
and said, “Get a grip, Kent.”

“So, is everyone else meeting us there?” Rich
asked, trying to change the subject.

“Yeah, Bree, Colin, Kara and Pete are riding
together. Bree texted me a while ago, saying they are on their way.
They’ll probably beat us by a few minutes,” Nicole said.

Rich sat back and enjoyed the feel of Roni’s
hand in his as he and Kent discussed the latest Cowboy’s game. Roni
intertwined her fingers in his, her thumb stroking him softly. He
shifted uncomfortable in his seat, causing her to giggle, and Kent
to look at them suspiciously in the mirror.

Rich felt relief when they pulled into the
lot of the club. He needed a beer.

When they walked inside, they saw everyone
else in a large booth in the corner of the club by the dance
floor.

It was a Country & Western Bar, so during
the day they served food and played music, at night it became a
twenty-one and over club. It had a mechanical bull, country lessons
in the corner, and a big floor for dancing. Since it was the only
bar of its kind in town, it didn’t only play country music. On
Saturday nights, it would play some Top 40 and dance music, as well
as the country music that kept the regulars happy.

When they got to the table, there were a few
pitchers already waiting, so Rich poured himself a glass.

“What do you want to drink?” He asked Roni,
leaning in to be heard over the music.

“Can you get me a vodka and cranberry?” She
asked with a smile.

He nodded at her, then asked if anyone else
needed anything, before heading to the bar with Pete.

“How’s married life treating you?” Rich asked
Pete.

“It’s awesome, man. I swear, I was so
relieved when she asked me. I’d been trying to figure out how to
ask her for months,” Pete replied with a laugh. “I still can’t
believe it.”

Rich smiled at his friends’ obvious joy and
love for Kara. That is what he wanted. To be in love and married
and ready to start a family. He thought of his parents’ marriage,
and knew that they’d showed him how to make love last.

He knew Roni would freak if she knew his line
of thought, but deep down, he always knew that he wanted what his
parents had. He’d been devastated by Tara, and had gone a little
wild while in college, but at his core, he’d always been a family
man.

They paid for the drinks and took them back
to the girls.

Roni said thanks, took the glass from Rich
and began to drink as she talked with Briana. Rich refilled the
beer he’d downed while at the bar, then sat down next to Colin. He
was happy he’d been able to spend so much time with his friend over
the holiday, and knew he’d be sad to see him go.

The song changed and the girls started to
yell something about needing to dance, that this was their song.
Rich tried to get out of the way as Nicole and Kara climbed over
him to get out of the booth and join Roni and Bree on the dance
floor.

The guys stayed in the booth. Enjoying their
beer and the sight of their girls moving on the floor.

After a few more trips to the bar for vodka
cranberries and pitchers, Rich was feeling pretty good. He had
enough liquid courage to join Roni on the floor. The way she moved
her body to the music was like a beacon, pulling him towards
her.

He was very turned on by watching her dance
for the past couple hours, so when he finally got his hands on her,
his body throbbed in response.

The song changed to a slow love song and Roni
wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing every inch of her body
to his.

Rich felt the hot sweat glistening on Roni’s
skin, which only turned him on more; that combined with her body
rubbing against him, made him feel like he was about to go
insane.

Roni writhed against him to the music and he
tried not to think of their friends possibly watching him slowly
lose control.

Rich captured her mouth with his, his tongue
sweeping in to deepen the kiss. When she moaned against him, his
hand came to the back of her head and his fingers tangled in her
hair, pulling it softly. “You’re driving me crazy,” he said against
her mouth.

Roni grinned at him wickedly, then moved
away, putting her hand in his and pulling him towards the back. She
pulled him down the hallway, past the women’s and men’s rooms,
pausing in front of the Unisex bathroom to try the handle. When it
opened swiftly, she pushed him inside, closing and locking the door
behind them.

“What are you doing?” Rich asked.

Roni stalked closer to him, grinning when he
came in contact with the sink. She jumped certain that he’d catch
her as she brought her lips to his. He kissed her back, full force,
turning so her bottom lay against the top of the counter around the
sink.

“What if someone saw us?” Rich asked, trying
to think through the fog in his head.

“No one did,” Roni said breathlessly. “And if
they did, who cares. They won’t know anything.”

As if to keep him from thinking, Roni reached
down under her skirt and pulled off her panties.

“Shit,” Rich said, before plunging back into
her mouth. He thanked God he had a condom in his back pocket, ever
the Boy Scout, then unbuttoned his fly.

Roni took the condom from him and opened it.
“I love that you don’t wear underwear,” she said, as she slid the
condom over him.

They stopped talking as he entered her. She
wrapped her legs around him, then braced herself against the
counter with her hands. When she was secure, Rich started driving
into her. All thought of gentleness gone, they both strived for
release, as the sounds of their moans and bodies joining together
filled the small bathroom.

When they were done, Rich leaned down to help
Roni with her panties before cleaning himself up. They both started
laughing when they looked around and it really registered where
they were. Roni splashed water on her face and pulled her hair up
into a pony tail.

“I’ll go out first and head to the table. You
wait a few minutes, then join me,” Roni said, kissing him as she
opened the door.

Rich followed her out, then turned and went
into the men’s room to try and play it off like he’d been in there
the whole time.

Chapter Sixteen

Roni chuckled to herself as she waited for
Rich to come and pick her up. She couldn’t believe the way she’d
acted the other night. She’d been totally swept away. The way Rich
wanted her made her feel so powerful.

Their quickie in the bathroom was going to
the top of her list of favorite moments.

Their friends had been none the wiser when
she returned to the table. She said there’d been a long line at the
bathroom.

Rich had called her this morning and asked if
she wanted to hang out today. She hadn’t asked what they were going
to do. She wondered if that should worry her. That she didn’t
really care, she just wanted to spend more time with him.

When she heard him on the stairs, her stomach
jumped with excitement. Another clue that maybe he was starting to
mean more to her than just a fling.

She wasn’t going to worry about it though;
she’d just be casual and see what happened.

Roni swung the door open before he could
knock and threw herself in his arms, hugging him tightly.

“Hello, sunshine,” Rich said, hugging her
back. “You ready?”

“Yup,” Roni said, reaching in to grab her
purse. She locked up and followed him out to his car.

It looked like a storm was rolling in.

When they were both strapped in and the car
was moving, Rich said, “I had fun the other night.”

Roni returned his cocky smile with one of her
own.

“Me, too.”

“Is everything set for the Grand Opening
tomorrow?” Roni asked.

She couldn’t help but laugh at the look of
excitement that came over his face.

“Yup. I followed up with everyone today and
everyone is good to go. Jason is putting up some last minute
decorations right now, since I have a couple things to do, but
other than that, we’re all set.” He smiled at her. “You ready for
your first day of classes?”

“Yes. So ready,” she replied. “I’m really
excited to see everyone in action tomorrow.”

When the car started to slow she looked up to
see Rich’s parents’ house. She had been there once before for a
party, but it had been a while.

“We’re going to your parents’ house?” Roni
asked, suddenly nervous, all of her easiness gone. “Are they
home?”

“Yeah,” Rich replied. He parked then turned
to her and took her hand in his. “It’s no big deal. Colin called
and said he and his dad wanted to meet me here to talk about
something.”

“You want me to meet your parents?” Roni
asked, trying to understand why he’d brought her there. She
suddenly felt very hot, even though it was cold enough to warrant a
jacket. Her palms were sweating.

“Sure, why not?” Rich asked. “Roni, they’re
going to love you. Really, it’s not a big deal. We’ll be in and
out. No pressure.”

Roni looked back at the house and thought of
the house she’d grown up in. She could just imagine taking Rich
home to meet
her
parents. There’d be dirty dishes all over
the kitchen, beer bottles scattered throughout the house, and the
stale stench of urine and cigarettes.

“Roni,” Rich prodded, bringing her back to
reality. “If you really don’t want to go in, I can run in and see
what they want, or take you back home, but I promise, it’ll be
fine.

She tried to give him a smile of assurance,
but her stomach was still tied in knots. She looked into his face
and nodded. She could do this… They were just parents.

Rich kept a hand at the small of her back as
he opened the front door, as if afraid she would take off running
at the first opportunity.

The house was spotless. That was the first
thing she noticed when they entered the foyer. That, the smell of
baked goods, and the sound of laughter.

“There’s my boy,” Rich’s mother said as she
rounded the corner and gave him a hug.

“Hi, Mama.”

The older lady turned to Roni, a big grin on
her face, and asked, “And who is this beautiful young lady?”

“This is Roni, Mama.”

Before Roni could say a word, she was
engulfed in Rich’s mom’s arm. She stood there awkwardly, unsure of
what she should do, but was released before she had to make a
decision.

“Roni, I’ve heard a lot about you,” she said,
shaking her wooden spoon at Roni as she spoke. “You go ahead and
call me Martha, darlin’. I have a feeling we are gonna be fast
friends. Come on in and have a cupcake.”

Martha was gone as quickly as she’d appeared,
in a flurry of movement, her apron flapping as she rounded the
corner into what Roni assumed, was the kitchen.