Chance Encounter(41)

Her face flamed, but oddly enough, it wasn’t embarrassment making her hot, but the actual memory of what they’d done. How it had felt. Incredible. She wanted to feel it—him—again.

But since she couldn’t say so, she looked at Brian. “I don’t know about you,” she said quietly. “But I’m glad it’s over. And I wanted to tell you how proud I am.”

He lifted one shoulder, still staring at his biking helmet and gloves.

“You going for a ride?”

“I have work.” He slammed the locker and started to walk away, only to stop before he got to the door. With his back to both her and Chance, he said, “You believed me. You always did.” He turned then, and looked at her from eyes blazing with confusion and pain. “Why?”

That, at least, was simple. “Because I believe in you.”

Brian’s gaze shifted to Chance, then down to his feet, which he shuffled around a bit. “Chance told me the same thing.”

Ally looked at Chance, who held her gaze with an unreadable expression. “Then you know it’s the truth,” she said.

Brian’s smile transformed his tough, hard face into what a fourteen-year-old’s should look like. “Yeah.” He shot a sideways glance at Chance. “You’re not mad anymore because of Monica?”

“I was never mad because of Monica,” Chance said.

“But she’s the daughter of your competitor.”

“You’ll see who you want.”

Brian ran his fingers over the helmet Chance had given him. “I thought maybe you wouldn’t want me around anymore if you found out.”

“You thought wrong.”

“Yeah, well. Cool.”

“Look, uh…” The big, uninhibited, overtly sexual Chance grimaced. “Do we need to have the birds and bees talk?”

“Jeez!”

“Do we?”

Mortified, Brian shook his head. “No.”

“Good. That’s good.” Chance’s smile was all relief. “Let’s ride.”

“I have to pick up trash.”

“You can do that afterwards.”

Looking as if he’d won the lotto, Brian grabbed his gloves.

“Be safe,” Ally called out, waving, but Brian was already gone.

Chance took his gear, shut his locker and moved toward the door, which meant he had to walk directly past her, in an aisle not quite wide enough for him to pass by without touching her.

Refusing to turn her back and make it easy for him, Ally held her ground and looked directly into his eyes as he turned sideways to go by her.

Their thighs brushed. His arm swept across the front of her. Though the touch was barely there, and in no way intentional, her body reacted.

And he could deny it until the end of time, but he wasn’t unaffected either. He looked at her, and at the emotions blaring there she nearly cried.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yes. I’m glad Brian’s safe from trouble—”

“No, I meant about…before.”

“You mean when we made love outside?” New life, new rules, she reminded herself. Hold nothing back. “Against a tree?”

He winced and raked his hands through his hair. “Yes. God, I’ve never felt like such a stupid teenager in my life. Not even when I was a stupid teenager.” Swearing again, he put his hands on her hips and snagged her close. Then he cupped her face, stroking his fingers against her cheek. “Did I hurt you, Ally?”

That wasn’t what she expected. And with him touching her, his voice low and grim with concern, she found herself speechless.

“Did I?” he demanded.

“No.” A small, shy smile escaped. “Quite the opposite, actually.”

Some of his intensity faded and his lips curved slightly. “Yeah?”

She smiled, and thought maybe she’d reached him then, maybe she’d gotten past that protective barrier, but he stepped back, robbing her of his warmth.

“You’re sorry about what happened,” she said bluntly, her voice not quite as strong as her resolve. “I thought it was usually the woman who had regrets. No, wait.” She pressed her fingers to her eyes so that she didn’t have to see that tortured look on his face. “I have no right to press you—”

“Chance?” Brian poked his head back into the locker room, his expression both eager and anxious. “Did you change your mind?”

Chance didn’t take his eyes off Ally. “No, Slick. We’re going. I just need a moment here.”

But Ally didn’t want to hear his regrets, didn’t want to hear why the most amazing experience of her life could never happen again, so she turned away and smiled reassuringly at Brian.

Or she hoped it was a reassuring smile, and not the near-tears she really felt. “He’s coming right now,” she said. “He’s all yours.”



THE RIDE WAS GOOD, and so was Brian. He’d developed an amazing biking skill over the past few weeks, and damn if Chance wasn’t growing fond of the obnoxious, surly, sour fourteen-year-old.

He was growing fond of lots of things lately. Things, and…people. One woman in particular.

He was showered, changed and standing at his office window, staring out at the mountains, seeing only Ally, and that light in her eyes that shone whenever she looked at him.