Complicated Relationships (The Southern Devotion Series Book 3) Read online

  This pregnancy was for her child with Derrick, her new husband. “When do you find out what you’re having?”

  She grinned, “In another month. I can’t wait, but I think Katelyn is more excited than anyone. Now enough about me, who were you looking for?”

  It was apparent I didn’t do enough to avoid the topic. “A girl I met in here a few weeks ago. We’ve tried to go out a couple of times, and I had to cancel both times. I think she’s given up on me.”

  Mary Jane frowned, “I can tell you’re disappointed. Why did you cancel?”

  “I had to fill in for Marcus when he had food poisoning the first time. The second time Macy was sick.” I couldn’t tell her about Angel, or I’d be breaking my promise.

  “You could’ve called me to take care of Macy.”

  With one eyebrow raised I said, “You’re pregnant, MJ. I wouldn’t take a chance of you getting sick too.”

  “Got it. So tell me all about her,” she urged leaning into the bar for support.

  “I will but right now I have to work, my bosses are real hard asses.” I gave her a wink because my bosses consist of her husband and brother-in-law, and they were two of the nicest guys you’d ever know.

  “OK. But you owe me a scoop. See you later. Love you, T.”

  “Me too, MJ.” It’s not unusual for us to say the I love you’s, but I stopped saying the actual words when my feelings grew stronger for her. Now I respond ‘me too’ or ‘ditto’ like Patrick Swayze in Ghost.

  As soon as MJ walked away I spotted Lanie on the dance floor with a guy. My stomach clenched with jealousy. I had to remind myself that she can see anyone she likes whether I like it or not. Her eyes met mine, and she smiled before turning and motioning to the guy that she was thirsty. He stayed on the dance floor, moving on to the next girl he found.

  “Hey Tristan, can I get a bottle of beer?”

  Grabbing her favorite cold beer out of the cooler, I popped the top and handed it to her. “Can we try that date thing one more time?”

  She sighed after swallowing her first sip. “Maybe we should give up on that idea.”

  “You’re not interested anymore?”

  “It’s not that. It doesn’t seem to work in our favor.”

  “One second, let me take these orders and I’ll be back.”

  I filled a few orders and then strolled back to Lanie when I'm stopped mid-way by Bailey, the gymnast. “Hey sexy!” she yelled across the bar at me as she leaned down to place her full cleavage on the bar top.

  “What’s up, Bailey?”

  “I was wondering if I could show you more of my moves again at your place? The other night you only saw a third of them.”

  Lanie’s head whipped around, and her mouth fell open just before the tears filled her eyes. She threw a ten dollar bill on the bar and mumbled, “Keep the change, asshole.”

  Yelling after her was pointless. “Bailey, it was fun, but I’m interested in someone else right now.” Marcus stood behind me; I grabbed the neck of his shirt and pulled him around. “Watch the bar, I’ll be back. Keep Bailey entertained. She’s a gymnast.” Marcus’ ears perked up at that, and the flirting began. At the door, I pulled the bouncer aside, “Bobby, did you see that pretty auburn haired girl come out here?” Bobby pointed over to the parking lot where I saw Lanie walking to her car.

  A male figure stepped out from behind the car next to her, grabbed her purse and began to struggle with her. He shoved her to the ground and took off running. She seemed to be fine but shaken up. “Bobby, get her inside!” Adrenaline kicked in, and I took off after the thief. Lanie screamed my name from behind me.

  It was a teenager who weighed probably one hundred pounds soaking wet. He ran fast, but I caught up with him thanks to my long legs. We had struggled before he pulled a knife on me. I had him cornered, and he fought back slicing open my palm. “Shit!" I cried out. Lunging one more time, I pinned him against the wall and grabbed the purse from him before he slipped out of my grip running back down the alley. Back in the parking lot, Bobby comforted a worried Lanie. She ran towards me once I was close again.

  “You’re bleeding!” She grabbed for my hand, and I yelped in pain. “Sorry,” she gasped letting go again. “Need me to call 911?”

  I shook my head, “No. I’m going to head out for the night though and get this checked out. Here’s your purse.” With my non-injured hand, I returned her wristlet to her.

  “I don’t care about the purse, Tristan.”

  “Well, that sucks then since I put myself in danger to retrieve it.”

  “That’s not what I mean. You could’ve died! I’m driving you to the hospital. Bobby can you tell his boss?”

  Bobby nodded, “Sure thing, ma’am.”

  The ride to the hospital flowed with awkward silence. It drove me nuts that she was angry with me. “When Bailey said the other night, that wasn’t literal.” Lanie stared ahead without blinking. “We had a one-night stand weeks ago. It was the first night I met you.” Her hands clench the wheel tighter. “Damn, that doesn’t sound good. What I meant is, it was before you and I ever even talked about going out.”

  “You have nothing to explain to me, Tristan.” Putting the car into park, she hid her purse under the front seat and helped me out by opening my door. "I have no delusional fantasies of a fairy tale relationship. It's not as though I thought you'd see me and swear off all other women."

  "What if I want to be that guy?"

  Lanie rolled her eyes and gave a loud sigh as she held the entrance door for me. "Cut the cheesy lines, T. Let's stay in reality." She acted angry and aloof when I knew that she was hurt and putting up her defensive walls. I'd prove to her that I'm not like those other jerks no matter how long it took.

  The lady at the registration desk kindly informed us the wait time was an hour before handing me a clipboard with several sheets of paper and a pen. “You can go home. I’ll call someone to pick me up," I told her.

  Lanie looked appalled at the mere suggestion of leaving. “You risked your life to save my purse; the least I can do is wait to make sure there's no permanent damage to your hand." The paperwork took me a few minutes to fill out. They wanted to know everything about my medical history along with the paperwork for the privacy of health information. I felt like I needed treatment for carpal tunnel once I finished. It was lucky the guy sliced open my right hand and that I'm left handed. Lanie offered to turn the paperwork in for me along with my insurance card, but I felt as though I'd asked too much of her already.

  When I sat back down the silent treatment continued for a moment. I knew I didn’t owe her an explanation for sleeping with Bailey, but I wanted her to know that I didn’t lie to her or stand her up so I could have sex with someone else. “I told her I’m interested in someone else. Before I came after you, I introduced her to my friend Marcus.”

  Lanie ignored me still, picking up a fashion magazine as she flipped through the pages. Gently I took it from her. “Give me a chance, Lanie. I’ll prove that I’m not like the others. I promise.”

  The anger in her expression softened as I hit the nail on the head as to what was wrong. She had been hurt too many times before, so much that she began to lose trust in all men. It’s now my goal to change that for her.

  “You can’t promise me that yet, Tristan. Let’s start over.” She turned away and grabbed the magazine again. After a moment, she looked up in surprise and said, “Oh no, How'd you hurt your hand?” For a brief second, I thought she was schizophrenic until she said, “I’m Lanie, you are?”

  “Tristan. I helped a damsel in distress, and this is what happened.”

  She hissed slightly, “The knight and shining armor gig isn’t all it’s cracked up to be is it? I’m sure she was grateful.”

  Tristan grinned, “I hope so. I’d do it again if I had to.”

  Her tone grew very serious as she said, “Thank you, Tristan. From the bottom of my heart.”

  The nurse stepped into the waiting room at tha
t moment and called my name, “Tristan Jacobs?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Lanie stayed in the waiting room while I took a long hallway to a white room. I propped myself up on the plush table with a lovely paper sheet draped across it. The nurse asked me a barrage of questions that seemed to not pertain to anything as far as my hand, but I knew it was routine to get a medical history first. “Let’s take a look at that hand.” She unwrapped the bar towel I used to staunch the blood. “This will sting a bit,” she said before using alcohol soaked gauze to clean the blood away. I hissed in pain and ground my teeth trying to maintain my manhood when I’d like to curl up into a ball and cry with a teddy bear like a small child. I may be a wuss on the inside, but no one will ever see me show it. “How did you do this?” she asked, covering the wound with a clean piece of gauze.

  “Chased a mugger, got the purse back but not before he tried to stab me.”

  “Well, you’re lucky that it looks pretty superficial. I’m not even sure stitches are necessary. Hang tight, the doctor will be in momentarily and will let you know for sure.” The final diagnosis said that the wound was superficial. He used glue to seal it instead of stitches, and then bandaged it with gauze, gave me a tetanus shot, and sent me on my way. Lanie sat in the waiting room reading a magazine peacefully waiting for my return.

  For a brief second, I stood and took in her appearance. She’s easily one of the most beautiful women I’ve seen in a long time. She had a cute habit of twirling her hair around her finger as she read. Her nose crinkled in disgust as she must have read something weird; it made me chuckle which got her attention.

  She closed the magazine and said, “Hey, is everything alright?”

  “Yep, superficial cut, no stitches needed. Some hero I am.”

  She reached for my hand, brought it to her mouth and kissed it gently. “You’re still my hero. What about now for a date? Any last minute cancelation reasons?” she asked with a wink.

  “Nope. I texted my boss; they’ve covered me for the night. Where can we get dinner this late?” Things were looking up for sure now. We chose one of the popular late night eating spots in Nashville, Waffle House. There’s one every few miles and they’re open 24/7; it’s the drunk twenty-something survival restaurant. My text alert went off as soon as we sat down. Lanie looked apprehensive that I was about to bail again.

  “It’s my sister, Macy. My roommate apparently went to see her and let her know about my hand but that I’m fine. I’m staying, don’t worry.”

  Her shoulders deflated as the worry eased off. Once the conversation got going, we lost all track of time. We weren’t aware that we talked the night away until she gasped and said, “The sun’s coming up.”

  Running up to the counter, I handed the woman more than enough money and told her to keep the change. I grabbed Lanie’s hand and led her outside. “Where are we going?” she asked as I pulled her across the street. There was a small hilltop that we ran up. We sat on the grass and watched the sunrise paint the sky in front of us.

  Being smooth, I stretched before dropping an arm around her shoulders. “Nice move,” she quipped. The later it got, the sadder I became for the night to come to an end. Walking back to her car, I knew I needed to make my move. She paused with the door open, then turned around. “Do I need to take you to your car at the club?”

  “No,” was all I said before I placed my hands on either side of her face, leaned in, and captured her lips with mine. She closed her eyes and released a soft whimper as I deepened the kiss. Her hands moved around my waist, sliding up my back. If she’d been any other girl, I’d try to have her come back to my bed. This one was special though, and I wanted everything to be exceptional for her. I wouldn’t ruin this again.

  She pulled away from me. “I'm not a prude, but I don’t want to be a one-night stand anymore, Tristan,” she said softly, sadly.

  Caressing her face with my palm, I tenderly said, “I don’t want that either. As much as I want you right now, I want to take things slow.” The happiness returned to her face; I was beginning to gain her trust.

  Chapter Ten

  Making Plans

  The spontaneous date with Lanie went so well that we began talking for a few hours every night. During the day, we’d send text messages back and forth with little quips about our day. Our second date would be on Saturday, it had been a long time since I'd had a weekend night off.

  I scheduled time with MJ and Macy for the day. Mary Jane arranged our afternoon activities with Macy while I was at work the night before. We began our day at our favorite local diner to chow down on greasy burgers and salty fries. Junk food is a weakness and a very rare tradition between the three of us. We began the junk food challenge when MJ and I worked in Disney. We'd eat healthy at every meal and then agreed that once a month we'd pig out on whatever sinful treat we wanted. Somehow it never failed that we decided upon burgers and fries.

  “Derrick and I are going up to Fall Creek Falls this weekend, and we wanted you and Macy to come along,” Mary Jane stated as soon as we sit down.

  Macy’s excitement shown brightly, “Yes, please Tristan can we go?”

  “Well, I have a date this weekend being that I’m off for a change.”

  Mary Jane doesn’t hesitate to say, “Bring her along! We’d love to meet her.”

  “I’m not sure we’re serious enough for an overnight trip. We’ve had barely one date and a kiss.”

  Mary Jane placed her hand on top of mine, “You two have been talking for a while though, right? Ask her, you never know what she’ll say. And if it makes her feel better she can share a room with Macy and Katelyn, and you can sleep on the pull-out sofa.”

  Macy sat with her hands together in a praying fashion, and her bottom lip jutted out in a pout. Once MJ noticed the pose, she mimicked it. "Fine, I'll ask her." They both cheered with victorious excitement.

  Next evening I decided to take Lanie out, so we had two official dates before a weekend trip idea was brought up. Lanie insisted it was fine for me to pick her up for this date; that was a good sign that the trust was building.

  Tonight we’d decided on dinner theater. There’s a great theater on the outskirts of town that is inside a barn. The tickets are a little pricey, but you get an all you can eat buffet dinner in the cost, so it comes out as a pretty cheap date, in the long run.

  Once shown to our table, I held the chair for Lanie before taking a seat across from her. Small talk between us flowed easier than I’d ever experienced with anyone else. We rarely had awkward silences it seemed. During the course of the meal, I brought up Fall Creek Falls. “Oh, wow. Um, yeah I’d love to.”

  “You would?” I exclaimed, sounding more surprised than I intended to.

  She read me wrong at that point because she said, “Were you hoping I’d say no?”

  “No. Of course not. I didn’t know if we were serious enough for an overnight.”

  Lanie shrugged and said, “Who decides when we can do stuff in a relationship?” As soon as she said relationship she began to back pedal, “Um, I mean a friendship relationship. Err…dating. I…”

  I covered her hand with mine, “I know what you mean, and it doesn’t scare me for you to call it a relationship." She breathed a sigh of relief before taking a bite of her salad. "Your friends, are they a new couple as well?"

  "Um, no. They're newlyweds. Macy would also go with us because they have a young daughter who will be there. My friend said it would be fine for you to share a room with the girls, and I could take a pull out couch. It can be a strictly platonic weekend. I'll be a perfect gentleman."

  Lanie seemed at ease with the whole idea. When I first considered the conversation in my mind, I thought it would be a lot more awkward and that she'd find an excuse not to go.

  The following weekend we made plans to meet up at the Nature Center at Fall Creek Falls. Macy spent the night with Mary Jane and Derrick because she wanted to ride up with Katelyn. There’s a huge age difference in the
two of them, but they get along like best friends. Lanie and I headed up a little earlier so we could stop and pick up supplies along the way.

  When we arrived at the Nature Center, I texted Mary Jane, and she said they’d be there in just a few minutes. Lanie had never been to Fall Creek Falls Park before, so I started to show her around a little. We walked first to the overlook for Cane Creek Falls. She stood against the banister, and I leaned up against her back “Waterfalls are very romantic,” she said with an audible sigh.

  “They are,” I agreed as I bent to plant a tender kiss on her exposed neck. She turned in my arms, placed her palm against the back of my neck and pulled my face down to hers to kiss me.

  Wrapping my arms around her I lost myself momentarily until I heard the words, “Get a room man, this is a family park.”

  Lanie turned back toward the falls embarrassed though I recognized the voice. “Hey man, it’s about time you guys got here.”

  Derrick and Mary Jane were standing on the steps looking down at us when I noticed their mouths dropped open. I turned to introduce Lanie and noticed she wore the same expression.

  “Lanie,” Mary Jane stated.

  Confused, I asked, “You know each other?”

  Katelyn jumped down the stairs and hugged Lanie tightly, “Hi Ms. Harris.”

  Lanie returned the hug and commented awkwardly, “Hey Katie, I hope you’re enjoying your summer.”

  And then everything started to click into place. Mary Jane must have sensed that I needed some private time when she made her next suggestion. “Katelyn why don’t we go on down to the Cascades so you and Macy can swim. Lanie and Tristan will meet us in a few minutes.”

  As soon as they were out of sight I could face Lanie. “Katelyn is the student whose father you went out with?”

  She nodded and then asked, “Which means the best friend you’re in love with is Mary Jane?”

  “Was Mary Jane…past tense.”