I know it's really late, but technically, I made my deadline (finally!), so it's all good.
Hope you enjoy this chapter. I tried to balance the cute moments with the darker parts.
Vote and comment (if you liked it). And I'd like to thank @BixBixAeney for the lovely covers she made for this story!
--VIVKELLER23
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Rain
She hadn't meant to be late. In fact, for awhile, she hadn't meant to show up to the game at all. For some reason, she felt that going to watch Teagan and the boys he coached was overstepping some sort of boundary that she wasn't sure she wanted to cross.
Besides, it wasn't like she needed another reason to think of him. The last thing she wanted was to find another side of him that made her want to know more.
That was dangerous, and she already knew she was in trouble.
As much as she wanted to continue ignoring Teagan and his unmistakable charm, she couldn't deny the very real attraction she was having to fight off. While she was certain Teagan's interest was little more than a side-effect of his serial flirting, to her it would be so easy to confuse it for something else.
Something that might last.
And the irony in that was that she wasn't sure she wanted whatever this was to last.
Hence, her predicament. What should have been another routine Sunday for her had turned out to be the complete opposite. She'd woken up bright and early this Sunday morning, helped Isa make a nutritious breakfast she knew her father would never eat, and then walked down the gravel road to the small chapel her mother had always attended while alive. But through all of this, Rain had battled with whether or not she was going to attend Teagan's soccer match.
It was insane and against everything she'd worked so hard to make herself into to actually like someone as unreliable as Teagan Miller. She was the Ice Queen, her walls built up around herself from brick and cement which was as practical as it was strong. But none of that seemed to matter when she came face to face with what she truly felt around Gray's playboy.
And it was annoying as all H-E-double-hockey-sticks.
Yet, she found herself driving down the scenic roads of Granite Woods until those roads turned into old pavement filled with potholes. Not until she'd crossed over the worn train tracks into the ugly side of the town she lived in, did Rain realize her stubborn mind had made up its decision for her before she'd been able to process it.
And when she finally came to grips with where she was going, and who she was going to see, it was easy to justify not turning back around. She'd already wasted the gas to make the trip, so there was no sense in heading home without at least getting a glimpse of the dark-haired, green-eyed Casanova outside of his prototypical scene.
After all, it was only fair since he'd been a plague stuck to her side since that darned party she hadn't even been invited to.
Somehow, the deep, rational part of who she was had known it would be a mistake to go. Past experience had proven that the intuitive part of her was always right, but, of course, she thought she knew better.
How stupid could she be? While the most traumatic experience of her life had been foreshadowed by that same side of her, Rain still had the nerve to overlook the warnings. As if she could take the pain this time when she knew the last time had nearly destroyed her.
Then again, Teagan Miller was nothing like the monster who'd killed something precious inside her. If anything, he was the complete opposite. Where he had been sauve and cultured, Teagan was unapologetically flirtatious and just a little crass. Where he had been the spitting image of regality, Teagan was down-to-earth, approachable, and real. Where he had been as discreet as a monk with his relationships, Teagan was uncensored and proud of his conquests.
The irony in that was that Teagan's approach should have been enough to make her turn tail and run for the hills. Yet she didn't.
Instead, she chose to step closer. To cross over to his side of Granite Woods and see for herself what his life was really like.
Right now? Right now his life seemed centered around lecturing the little flirt with dimples.
Rain couldn't help the smile that came to her face when she neared the two and overheard their conversation. Something about getting her name right, which was ridiculous since "Ice Queen" wasn't really her name.
She told them as much.
Gavin was proving to be quite the ladies' man. He had all the right lines down to perfection, and the little smirk he gave to flash those dimples was going to do crazy things to the girls.
Rain glanced at Teagan as he alternated between being a referee and a coach to the boys. He was dedicated at least. He appeared completely different with them. There was no pretentious act, no game to play that did not include the boys on the field.
Maybe the stripes did bring out the best in him.
She smiled, remembering the look of shock on his face when she told him she hadn't come to watch the game for Tilden's project. If he hadn't looked so flustered by her obvious flirting, she would have died of humiliation. She wasn't the type of girl who engaged in witty, sarcastic banter. And the few times she did, she immediately wanted to crawl into a deep hole and die.
Not very practical behavior for a girl who built her entire facade on practicality, but what people didn't know wouldn't hurt them.
Just like it wouldn't hurt them to overlook her lacking skills in Kiss N Tell 101. Idle talk- really, it was more like the foreplay of words- wasn't an art you could master when the opposite sex thought you were an icicle frozen to the bone.
Yet with Teagan, things were different. Her automatic, and decidedly awkward attempts at flirtation weren't completely unsuccessful.
Wishful thinking, Rainy.
Well, it wasn't like she cared if her flirting worked on him or not. If he saw more into what she said, that was his problem. That was the thing with boys who grew up thinking the world was an endless playing field of willing girls looking for a roll in the sheets. They thought they could have any girl at their disposal.
And wouldn't you like to be a roll in his sheets?
"I take it soccer isn't your cup of tea?" Teagan's sudden question cut off the mental reply she'd been formulating.
Rain blew at the uneven bangs on her forehead to get the ends out of her eyes. "What gave it away?"
"Look, it doesn't take a genius to read the signs, sugar." He smirked at the roll of her eyes. "Classy girls like you don't necessarily like to get all sweaty and dirty. At least, not while chasing a stupid ball," he told her, his smirk more of a wolfish grin now.
Oh, boy. She didn't know much about how to flirt, but she knew when his words took on an entirely different meaning. Rain wrinkled her nose at him. "You're right, actually."
The grin widened, and his eyes had a gleam in them that wasn't necessarily decent.
"There are much better ways to get dirty and sweaty."
"Yeah, Rainy Day?" Mr. Hot Tee asked with an arched brow. "What are some of your favorite ways?"
Was it bad that her heart was thundering in her chest from just this silly conversation? Definitely. But, it was a fun kind of bad if she had anything to say about it. "Good girls never tell."
"No one will know you're any less of a good girl if you only tell me."
Why the little, filthy minded brute!
Rain couldn't help the answering smile that came to her lips at the sound of his eagerness. "Some girls prefer shooting at rabid dogs who can't keep from sniffing at them." The way his eyes widened at her words made her want to laugh. "Gets them real dirty, if you know what I mean," she added with a wink.
"Well, damn," he breathed, taking a step towards her.
She, on the other hand, was stuck in place. The deep green on the outer part of his eyes overwhelmed the gray bits until it was all she could see.
Her momentary paralysis didn't go unnoticed. He took full advantage and kept advancing a few inches at a time. "And how's your aim, Your Highness?"
She had to swallow before she could find her voice. "I never miss," was her shaky reply.
His gaze lowered to her lips as she spoke. The look on his face should have sent her running without a backwards glance. She'd seen that look from up close once before, and it was imprinted into her mind ever since. But the panic didn't overtake her senses. She couldn't see the mindless need of her tormentor in Teagan's face.
All she saw was...
"Teagan!"
They sprang apart like two culprits caught conspiring against the government. Although, realistically speaking, an almost kiss between the Ice Queen and Gray's Casanova was hardly that big of a deal.
Yeah, right.
Fine, so it might have been a bit significant if he'd actually meant to kiss her. But with a guy like Teagan Miller who could flirt with anything in a skirt, the chances of him going for someone like her were about as much as snow falling in Granite Woods this fall season.
Siri, what's the weather like today?
Hot, Sullivan. Steaming hot.
While Rain had been mentally kicking herself over being the stupidest woman on the face of the planet, Teagan's friend had moved in like a bee to honey. The girl looked to be a few years younger than Rain, and that wasn't allowing for much points to Teagan's character if she was one of his flings. She didn't look old enough to be considered an adult.
But no one had told the slip of a girl that.
She ran right up to Teagan's side, grasping onto his arm like sticky tree sap. She wore denim cutoffs that hardly covered half of her toned thighs and a cherry red tank top that was tied into a knot just below her breasts.
Oops. Weather forecaster has overheated. Please try agai-
Shut up, Siri.
"Hey, Tee, how come you didn't come by today?" the girl with the too little clothes asked with a practiced pout on her full, lip glossed mouth. "We could have walked over together."
Unbelievable. If Teagan had girls like this panting after him, why even bother wasting his time following her around for? From the looks out of the girl's heavily lashed eyes and perfectly made up face, walking wasn't the only thing she'd be willing to do with him.
Maybe you should try a little panting yourself.
Rain wanted nothing more than to disappear. And it shouldn't be too hard. Mr. Hot Tee was all too focused on Miss Pouty Lips to even remember he'd been looking at Rain just a few minutes ago!
The girl had rich brown hair that fell in flawless waves down to her full hips. To top it all off, her perfect tan was the shade people spent money trying to artificially achieve. By comparison, Rain probably looked like a feminine boy.
"I had some things to take care of at home," Teagan told her with an easy curve of his lips. Then as if he heard her mental scoff, his green-gray eyes flashed to her. "Linda, there's someone I'd like you to meet."
Ah, the irony. That Rain, the older woman, the adult in the scene, was the one being introduced to Teagan's teenaged plaything. She was sure she'd find the comedy in the situation later. If she didn't murder the sneaky dog first, of course.
Linda turned her striking blue eyes to Rain. Those young eyes assessed her from head to toe before she extended a ring-filled hand to her. "Nice to meet you. I'm Linda."
Years of rigid manners had been engraved into the very fibers of who she was. Therefore, Rain couldn't refuse the young girl's hand like she wanted to. "Rain," she responded with a brisk shake.
Linda smiled. "Cute. Are you Tee's girl of the week or are you just here for the game?"
Teagan had the decency to look offended.
Rain offered a smile of her own. "Neither, actually. I'm here for pure research material. Mainly my focus is on what Teagan would look like in the classic black and white jumpsuit associated with prison." She wrinkled her nose as she glanced at his attire. "Although the colors of this uniform are yellow and black."
The look of shocked amusement on Casanova's face made her want to scream. She couldn't wound him. Probably because he didn't have a heart. Any man with a heart and half a soul would make sure not to use women like fun pastimes.
But the fool didn't have a soul, either. "Miss Rain here prefers more target based sports, isn't that right?"
"Among other things," she admitted, lifting her chin slightly. She ignored Linda's darting gaze as it went from her face to Teagan's and back again. "I also really like the solar system, blackholes, and the great unknown."
The girl laughed at that. "Oh, me, too! I personally love Saturn because of the rings."
Of course, you do, sweetie. "You know what planet you would absolutely be perfect for?" Rain didn't know how exactly she'd gotten to this point, but she had the distinct impression this wasn't the first time she'd contemplated shipping someone out to an uninhabitable planet. "Jupiter."
For some reason, her mention of the planet brought that same spark she'd glimpsed earlier into Teagan's eyes.
But before she had time to analyze the reason behind it, Teagan's attention was once again directed to the field of boys. Somehow, she'd managed to forget there was an actual game going on.
"Hey, Coach," Gavin called from his place on the grassy floor. "How about you stop flirting with my girl and actually start to do your job?"
Linda giggled at the boy's frowning face. "How many times have I told you I'm not interested, Gav?"
Gavin, Teagan's cocky duplicate, smirked. "I wasn't talking about you, honey."
Which meant he was talking about the only other female in Teagan's immediate proximity.
The shrill sound from Teagan's whistle made Rain wince. "What are you doing laying on the ground?"
"I don't know. Guess I was trying to see if it looked like you were flirting from a different angle." The boy had an answer for everything!
The rest of the boys had stopped playing to listen to the two guys bicker.
"Who knocked you down?" Teagan demanded.
Gavin shrugged. "I think it was Rain's smile."
Oh, God. She was trying not to laugh at the boy's daring, but she was losing the battle quickly. It took a quick mind with originality to get into a verbal fight with someone like Teagan. And it was darned entertaining.
But it seemed the other boys didn't feel as confident in their ability to take on the Coach/ Referee. And the crowd was getting tired of sitting out in the heat to watch a soccer game that wasn't taking place.
After some brisk words, Teagan was able to get the game resumed. Turned out Gavin had been pushed by one of the other team's players. So when the game started up again Gavin made a goal from a clear shot given to him because of the foul. But when the boy turned to blow Rain a kiss, Teagan brought out the big guns. He pulled a red card on his star player.
While soccer wasn't Rain's favorite sport by any means, she thought she could get used to the way Teagan and his team of boys played the game.
xXx
It was eight o'clock at night when Rain finally made it back home from the soccer game. She would have been home over an hour ago, but Teagan had taken the boys from both teams out for pizza at the local Pizza Pit, and he'd refused to let her head home before she'd eaten two slices.
So it was dark when she walked up the gravel driveway to the front porch of the Sullivan-Lincoln Estate. The entire ride home, Rain had been tense, not because she hadn't enjoyed herself, but because her enjoyment had caused her to completely lose track of time. The last time she'd driven out in the dark, Rain had made up her mind she would never do so again.
And she'd kept her word until tonight.
The radio hadn't offered much reassurance. The songs were all the same at this time of night. People who were just barely going out were probably working the night shift or heading out for a night on the town. So the songs were selected to put you in that sort of mood.
Rain preferred the silence to endless lyrics about drinking in the club.
But once she stepped into the grand house her father had established, the silence that met her was deafening. On the kitchen counter was a brief note signed by her father. He wouldn't be home tonight. Isa had left some of today's dinner in the fridge if she got hungry. Nothing out of the ordinary.
Out of habit, Rain walked down the main hallway with its picture framed filled walls and into her father's office. She always checked his voicemails and forwarded any urgent messages in case it was something he needed to handle in a timely manner.
Tonight, it turned out, she could have gone without listening to them.
He only had one message. And depending on who was listening, the urgency of the message could vary drastically. For Randolf Sullivan, the message would have been nothing more than a cordial reminder of an upcoming lunch date. Nothing crazy, right?
Wrong. Because to Rain, the message was the raspy, demonic voice of the man who'd turned her life upside down.
"Hey, Sullivan," he said. "Just wanted to remind you that my plane will be landing tomorrow morning. I've missed our conversations, old man. Lunch still works for me, so call me back when you get this."
She'd known her father had no intention of throwing the man out of his business dealings just because of that night, but she hadn't expected this. The voicemail made it sound like the monster had only been on a brief trip rather than on self-exile until the damage he'd created could be repaired. What kind of father remained friends with his daughter's attacker?
No father at all.
"Oh, and, Randy, I'd love to see little Rain." The beep signaling the end of the message was like a shot in the quiet room.
Rain was shaking like a leaf as she stood there in the empty room, knowing no one could hear the internal screams in her mind that cried for mercy. She'd thought the world was big enough for her to go through life without having to see him ever again.
Her cell vibrated on the arm of her father's leather arm chair. With a deep breath, Rain turned towards the device and read the message on the screen.
Mr. Hot Tee: I don't think Gavin was exaggerating when he said your smile made him fall. Just thought you should know. Sweet dreams, My Ice Queen.
The message brought a smile to her face as she was reminded of the boys and the fun she'd had earlier.
Teagan, you sly little fox. He'd managed to sneak his number into her phone without her noticing. Tonight, she couldn't work up the strength to be angry. All she felt was gratitude that the last thing she'd heard was his voice as she read his text.
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