Confrontation Ch. 07

In his head, he had come up with different scenarios on how the night would end for them. The first ended with her accepting his proposal, the second ended with a promise to consider it and the third- the one he dreaded the most- ended with a glass of wine being thrown at his face and her telling him to go fuck himself.

He braced himself, feeling the first signs of his mini-seizure coming on. He hadn't been this nervous with Rhea, perhaps another sign that it was Rebecca he really wanted- it was Rebecca he had always wanted.

He was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice the two figures that approached him, nor did he notice when they stopped at his table.

"Mr. Doyle." The voice of a waiter broke into his thoughts.

"Ye..." The word got stuck in his throat as he raised his head to behold the most beautiful thing he had ever seen, going by the instant hard-on he got at the sight, his dick agreed. He had never seen Rebecca look so....stunning, it was apparent she was bent on showing him just what he had been missing all these years. Her hair was a mass of loose curls swept to one side, her grey eyes popped with the smoky eye-liner, her naturally long lashes were displayed with some mascara, she wasn't heavily made-up, her lips were in a light shade of pink, her chocolate skin seemed to glow against the peach colored dress she had on, it was a bandage dress and boy did it hug her sinful curves, it's sleeve just barely passed her shoulder blades and it's heart-shaped neck put just a peek of her cleavage on display. The dress reached mid-thigh after which came what seemed like an endless display of long, toned legs. She had a pair of silver sandals with pencil-thin heels that made her legs appear even longer than they already were.

He gulped uneasily, he was definitely done for.

His eyes re-traced the route they had taken, returning to her face where a small smile hinted that she had noticed his appraisal, he hoped she saw his approval too.

"Mr. Doyle?"

His attention returned to the waiter whose expression was one of worry, "Yes?" He caught himself, realising the reason for the waiter's expression, "Yes, yes she's my date." He replied.

The waiter smiled, not because he wanted to, but that was part of his job- or maybe he was just glad he'd soon be away from this weirdo, "Well then, have a wonderful night." He said, with a curt nod at Rebecca, he walked away, leaving them both.

Jared took a few more minutes to ogle Rebecca while she stood there, his roving eyes unable to register her growing discomfort until she spoke, "Are you gonna offer me a seat or are we going to have this date with me standing?"

Catching himself for the second time in 5 minutes, he smiled his apology quickly getting off his seat, he pulled out a chair for her and she slid into it with the grace of royalty, "I'm sorry, it's just...you're gorgeous." He said once he finally regained his voice.

She blushed at his compliment, "Thank you, I think you look gorgeous too." She replied. Truly he did, he was dressed in a black, well-tailored suit that fit his 6ft.2" frame like it was designed solely for him, a pristine white shirt lay beneath the suit, coupled with a slim black tie, he looked like he had just stepped out of a photo-shoot for a magazine cover and was easily the best-looking man in this restaurant- not that he ever noticed such things.

Jared smiled, "Thanks." There was a moment of silence between them where they both studied each other, the flash of desire in both of their eyes was unmistakable, neither was the sexual tension. Left to Jared, they could've skipped dinner and just gone some place nice and private where they could both discover just how far they could take their desires, but as much as the thought of fucking her into oblivion appealed to him, he had to go through this the right way, to make himself worthy of her affection rather than manipulate her attraction to him, he knew he had a measure of her affection, but still, he wanted more, he wanted a commitment, and he would get it before the night ended.

"So, would you like to order?" He asked, breaking the tension.

Rebecca smiled, "Aren't we supposed to wait for an assigned waiter?"

He returned her smile with a sheepish one, of course." He wondered if she could tell how nervous he was, maybe she could, Rebecca had always been able to read him. Well, he hoped by the end of the night she'd be able to read his sincerity

*****

"So we get to the house and the place is a glorified dump. I mean, once we cornered into the street I swear I had a 'what the fuck' moment. This house looked like it had been vandalised in 1993 and hadn't been occupied since. It just stood there in the middle of overgrown grass, like those creepy houses they use in horror movies. I was in shock." Rebecca said as she re-counted the story of a certain house that had been up for sale which she had handled.

Jared had a smile plastered on his face, he had been smiling since they had gotten their meal because she had been telling him of her many experiences as a realtor. She was an extremely animated person naturally so her gestures and facial expressions had really added flavor to the stories, she made him smile. He was starting to remember just what had ade hi fall for her all those years ago, "So what did you do?"

"What did I do? First thing I did was to call up my boss and tell him the house in question was no 'Victorian' house, the only thing that place could've been good for was an exorcism movie or something. Then, I took pictures of the outside of the place, cuz Lord knows I wasn't gonna go 3 feet close to that place even less get inside, I e-mailed it to hi and got an instant reply. Guess what he said."

"What did he say?" Jared asked as he took a sip of his wine, his eyes never leaving her pretty face as he watched the amused expression she sported. An image of what that pretty face looked like when she was aroused flashed in his mind making him adjust himself in his pants, he had lost count of how many times he had adjusted himself in the past hour. Even the raspberry smell of her perfume was wrecking havoc on his senses.

She gave him a reprimanding look, "I asked you to guess."

He laughed at her expression, "Okay, um...he asked you to go in?" It was a lame guess, he had never been good at guessing games. She knew that.

She shook her head, "He told me to get the hell off that property before the house swallowed me."

They shared a short laugh which died down eventually until there was that awkward silence again. They had gone an hour without any awkwardness so Jared knew it was time to get serious- so did she.

"So, what happened to your lady love?" Rebecca began, seeing this as good a time as any to bring up the main subject of the nice.

Jared coughed, it wasn't an uncomfortable one because he had been expecting this the entire time so he thought he was ready enough for it, "It didn't work out." He replied honestly, he had a feeling she could probably detect a lie if he spoke it too.

She raised her brows in surprise, "Why didn't it work out?" She asked as she sipped from her glass of wine.

He stared straight at her and spoke in all sincerity, "Because of you."

She paused in her movement and then shot him a look of amusement, "How so?" She asked, her soulful grey eyes never leaving his electric blue like she was challenging him to give her a good story.

Jared smiled inwardly, of course she wouldn't leave it at that, he almost thought he'd get lucky. He reached for her hand and took it, much like how he had taken Rhea's weeks ago, difference being, with Rhea it was much easier to explain his feelings, now he felt like his tongue had left his mouth and that mini-seizure just could escalate.

"I..." He sighed, a nervous smile playing on his lips, damn it he had practiced this shit at home like some twelve year old who wanted to profess his love for a crush and now he couldn't even remember a word of all that bull he had come up with, "I'm infatuated with you, no, I'm obsessed with you, so obsessed when you left Texas, I kept looking for a Rebecca in every girl I came across, I barely kept a stable relationship because I couldn't stay long enough with any girl because they weren't you. And then I met Rhea..." She gave him a questioning look and he quickly supplied an answer, "...she's the woman I was with. When I met Rhea, she reminded me so much of you, she's like a clone of you, physically especially, I saw her and I was immediately smitten, I had asked her to date me few days before you visited me, she didn't give me an immediate answer because, like me, I believe she was in love with someone else. Your return just complicated everything because I started having second thoughts about I and Rhea. The day before I called you up for this date, she told me she couldn't date me, I didn't push it cuz I was hoping she would do that, I didn't want to have to tell her I had taken back my proposal, I...it's you I want."

Rebecca just sat staring at him after his speech, from her expression, he could tell she was digesting everything she had just been told. He wondered how long it would take her to do that. At this point, he was ready to receive a full glass of wine on his face, it didn't matter that her initial reaction would be rage, she would come around eventually, and if she didn't, he would make her come around.

"How sure are you that it's me you really want? That I'm not just your rebound girl?" She asked vital questions that had plagued her since he asked her on a date.

He noted that her voice had dropped an octave, she didn't sound as bright and bubbly as she had minutes ago. He could tell his confession had affected her more than she wanted to give off, he could read her almost as good as she could him, "No, never. I would never do that to you Rebecca, you know that." Just the fact that she had said that upset him. He knew she was only trying to stop herself from dreaming too far, but he thought she should know better than to think herself a second option, he would rather remain single than have her as a rebound girl.

Rebecca smiled, "Jared..." She sighed, her eyes dropped to their entwined fingers. She smiled at the contrast in their skin tones remembering the first time they had held hands like this. It was on their first date, prior to that day they had never come in close contact; he hadn't wanted to touch her fearing she might move out of his reach if he attempted it, and she hadn't wanted to touch him because...because she had been scared of what people would say. She hadn't been in Austin that long, she hadn't made a lot of friends- no, she hadn't made any friends until Jared, nobody liked her. The bi-racial new kid. The white kids thought she was too black and the black kids...they just thought she was weird. She noticed the looks they gave her, they were more of curiosity than disapproval, no one ever bothered to appease that curiosity.

She had been wary the first time Jared had spoken to her, he had asked for a pen, she didn't really think he didn't have a pen, he just wanted to talk to her and she had wondered why this blue-eyed hottie wanted to talk to a weirdo like herself. Eventually, she discovered the blue-eyed hottie was an introvert and he had spoken to her because he felt they had something in common.

That day at the carnival, she remembered how nervous she had been to be seen in public with him, after all the hushed words she had heard the girls in their school exchange amongst themselves about them, she wasn't keen on hearing more. He had touched her like he had seen the war going on within her, she turned his gaze to him. He took her hand and gave her a reassuring smile.

"Ignore them, you're here for me." He said.

She had looked down at their hands, her doe eyes widening just a little in awe of the sight, then she raised her eyes to him and smiled her appreciation. She thought that was the day she fell in love with Jared Doyle.

"Becca." His voice brought her back to the present.

She raised her eyes to him, he was smiling at her, that beautiful smile she had fallen for the first time she had seen it and she knew instantly that as much as she wanted to make herself believe so, it would never matter to her whether she was his rebound girl or the main girl, she just wanted to be with him. She also knew he would never make her his rebound girl, they had too much history for that.

"For a minute there, I thought you zoned out on me." He laughed.

"I did," she said quietly, "Remember our first date."

He didn't know where that question had come from, but he answered it, "I could never forget it, I got to kiss you that day, in that House of Horror ride."

A blush crept into her cheeks, she remembered how good his lips had felt against hers, the adrenaline pumping through her mingled with the fear that they could get caught. He had ended the kiss just before they emerged from the darkness that had cloaked them. That had been her first kiss.

She shook her head with a smile, "Not that part Jared. I mean, when we had first gotten to the carnival and you had taken my hand and told me to ignore everyone else."

He nodded, his features turning just a little more serious remembering how pissed he had been that all those people who knew nothing of either them giving them those disapproving looks like they expected them to turn around and return home where their parents would teach them on the right people to mingle with, "Yeah, I do."

She smiled, "I fell in love with you that day, I don't think I've stopped loving you ever since." She replied.

Okay, he hadn't seen that one coming. He didn't doubt her words, hell, he was ecstatic about them. She loved him. She still loved him, this was going better than he imagined, "I fell in love with you the day you read out your essay on 'The struggle for acceptance.'"

She gave him a surprised look, she hadn't even known him then, she had only been in the school a week when they had gotten that assignment and her situation at that time was in line with the topic. He had approached her the day she read that essay now that she thought about it, it was right after their english class that he had asked for that pen.

He smiled at the look on her face, "It's still the most thought-provoking write-up I've ever heard."

She smiled her appreciation, she watched him raise her hand up towards his lips, he placed a light kiss at the back of her hand, she caught her breath at the contact, just the feel of his lips on her skin made her tingle in all the right places, "I've enjoyed myself today, I'll be returning to Boston tomorrow. How do you feel about long distance relationships?" She asked.

Jared smiled at her question, if only she knew how close he was to closing that distance. More importantly, his face was still dry and she hadn't left her seat just yet. He wouldn't let distance separate them for the second time, there could only be one Rebecca for him.

*****

"What could he want?" The question was laced with concern and confusion.

"I don't know." She replied agitatedly.

"Well what do you think he wants?"

"I don't know that, I...he gave no indications, I don't know." She replied, the frustration now slipping into her voice.

There was a little silence between them, if there were any sounds, they remained within their heads.

"Well, we have no choice but to wait till Saturday, right?"

That didn't make her feel any better, it agitated her even more. Wait till Saturday? That would take...forever! She was going to die of anxiety before Saturday. With a deep sigh, she calmed her tumultuous mind, "I...I guess so." She replied as she finally eased into a seat in resignation.

That was three days ago. She hadn't had a good night's rest in three days and her day of reckoning had finally come- or so, Rhea thought it. She had dropped Jonas off at Lynn's house, he had been excited to have a sleep over with Amy, he seemed to be getting attached to the 2 year old girl so much he called her his little sister.

Rhea sat wringing her hands, Mitch had gone to get them something to drink, he was acting very....nice oddly enough, that made her feel a lot more nervous. He wasn't supposed to be so nice, he was supposed to be cold and unapproachable, why the hell was he being nice?!

He came back into the sitting room, a glass of juice in one hand and the other, a bottle of beer, she wondered if he ever drank anything else. He sat next to her, close, she adjusted her sitting position, moving away from him just a little, she didn't need him muddling up her thoughts with his closeness.

Mitch noticed the slight adjustment, at first he was pissed that she was moving away from him, and then thinking deeper about it, he calmed down, he didn't need to jeopardise this important meeting with his tantrums, he would let it pass for now.

"Here." He spoke as he handed her the glass of juice.

Rhea accepted it, "Thanks." She was only able to take a little sip before she dropped it on the side table, her stomach was in disarray and she doubted her nervousness would even let her digest anything.

He took his time, savoring the taste of his beer as she watched and waited for whatever it was he had to say. She didn't get his desire to drink that thing like he hadn't tasted it countless times before, why the hell was he keeping her on edge when he could just spit out his purpose for proposing this meeting?, "So?" She asked once her impatience won the battle in her head.

His eyes drank her in before asking plainly, "So?" He was nervous, she couldn't tell because he was pretty good at hiding those things- apparently she wasn't as good as he was. He almost laughed at her agitated state, if only she knew what he was set to propose, she would realise he was the one who ought to be this frazzled. In his head he was thinking up ways to introduce the subject without rattling her, he didn't think there was an easy way for this.

Rhea glared at him, her nervousness giving way to slight anger, "Why am I here Mitchell?" She asked, her voice giving off just a hint of the storm that was to come if he failed to start talking.

Mitchell coughed and adjusted his seating position, "I...I made a promise to Jonas to get him an awesome birthday present." He began, seeing that as the best way to start up a potentially awkward conversation.

Rhea raised a brow, "What does that have to do with me?" She wanted to be calm seeing that he hadn't hit her with a custody battle directly, but one never knew how Mitchell Montgomery's mind worked, for all she knew he was preparing her for a big blow.

With a deep sigh, Mitchell stood up, perhaps he would feel better if he wasn't sitting so close to her- or watching her lips move, or inhaling the scent of her perfume...or watching the rise and fall of her breasts as she breathed, generally, he would be more focused if he wasn't looking at the object of his desire.

"When Jared said you and him were dating, was he bluffing?" He knew those two sentences had little or nothing to do with each other, but it would be much better if he could confirm that she wasn't in any relationship first.

Rhea scoffed, "Now you want to ask me? Why didn't you just ask Jared?"

Mitch rolled his eyes at her, of course she would give him a little attitude, it was well deserved, but still, not appreciated, "Are you going to answer me or just throw questions back at me?"

She glared at him, "If you had given me a chance to explain myself two weeks ago when you came to rave about how you were going to seek full custody of Jonas, you would have known that I never at any time assented to any relationship with Jared." She replied wondering where this whole conversation was going.

"First off, I never raved, in fact, I don't think I've ever been as calm as I was, secondly, you're not dating Jared?" He felt slightly gullible knowing that Jared had played with his head, and down right shitty as he remembered accusing Rhea of trying to sleep with him to avert his going to court.