Prelude to Love--Richard/Lainey 02

Author note: Some of the same situations occur here and in other parts, but from a different POV, because there's always two sides to a story.

(Chris)

"I met this woman," I say when we're dressing after swimming. Richard shrugs into his shirt, eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Well, she must be something special for that kind of introduction." He grins when I flip him off.

"I'm serious this time. I know I've said it a lot, but this one...I like her."

"What's her name, loverboy? And of course, what does she look like?"

"Her name's Miranda Chombsky. She's amazing--gorgeous. Long, brown hair, huge brown eyes, nice smile. Just--yeah."

Richard purses his lips. "Damn. Where'd you meet her?"

"Here, if you can believe it. Remember when you had a last-minute appointment? I bumped into her and--"

"And the rest is history," Richard finishes sardonically. "Fuck. The only women I meet anymore are fat and old. Or married."

"Like Janelle?" I remind him slyly. His face gets red, and he slams his locker door too hard.

"Why do you bring her up every fucking time I see you?"

His nostrils flare with the force of his anger. Dammit. Why did I have to say that? Janelle has been after him for as long as I can remember and he's always resisted, because getting involved with her would have really complicated his life. One night, about a month after Isobel left, Richard confided that he'd finally agreed to a meeting after work, which turned out to be in her office and included her unzipping his pants.

I admit I didn't react in the best way--I laughed. Just a little bit, but he looked at me like I'd killed his puppy in front of him.

"You think it's the funniest thing in the world, and I've fucking had enough, yeah?"

"All right. I'm sorry. Sincerely."

Richard nods, grabs his stuff, and walks out, still pissed. That's fine. Seeing him angry is a welcome change from the blubbering mess he's been since Isobel crushed his entire being with her lies.

(Richard)

He walks with Chris into the backyard, a small area with a patio. An average-sized man with stringy sun-bleached hair hanging around his chin is at the grill, and when he sees them, a grin spreads across his beach bum face and he waves a spatula. He's wearing a Vanilla Ice T-shirt and board shorts. Right away Richard knows he's a douche.

"Hey, Michael," Chris says, and then introduces Richard. "This is Richard, I think I mentioned I'd be bringing him along when we spoke yesterday."

"Yeah, hey, good to meet you, Richard, and welcome."

"Thanks," he says, digging out his cigarettes. "Not a bad place you have here," he remarks, noting the small yet elegantly landscaped yard.

"Yeah, it was a foreclosure," Michael says, flipping the burgers. "Miranda has a friend who's a realtor and she hooked us up."

Richard glances at Chris, who gives him a tiny nod. "That's cool. What's the friend's name? I might know her, I'm part of the Jackelope group."

"Lainey, uh, Giglio I think. She's Miranda's friend," he says again and shrugs. "You know her? She's pretty hot, not as hot as my Miranda, but fine."

"No, I don't know her. So. You guys married?" Richard asks casually, not missing the way Michael's eyes narrow in annoyance.

"No, we're not. Why is that a concern of yours?"

"Just curious, that's all." He sees Chris fighting a grin and chuckles, which seems to puzzle Mikey. He doesn't seem to be too quick on the uptake.

"Beer in the fridge, Michael?"

"Yeah, Chris. Tell Miranda these burgers are almost done."

Richard watches Chris's lanky figure disappear inside, now very curious as to what this mysterious lady looks like.

"And bring a plate out," Michael hollers. "Damn. Hope she hurries up or these things are gonna be hockey pucks."

"I can get the plate," Richard volunteers, and Michael holds his fist out for a bump. Really?

"Hey, thanks, man."

Richard crosses the patio and opens the slider, steps into the cool kitchen. His expert eye takes in the granite counters, stainless steel appliances and trendy cabinets. The kitchen is empty, and he smiles. That dog.

He opens a few cabinets until he finds a good-sized plate and pulls it out. "Hey, Chris," he says loudly, thumping the cabinet closed. "Where the fuck's that beer?" A flurry of movement precedes his friend walking casually into the kitchen, his cheeks a little red.

"In the fridge, most likely," he says, pointedly ignoring his friend's impish look. He goes over to the French door refrigerator and opens it, hiding his face.

Richard laughs, then she walks in, heels clicking on the Italian tiles, and the laughter dies in his throat. She's a...goddess.

She's of average height, with dark brown hair that falls past her shoulders, deep-set luminous brown eyes he could drown in, pert nose and a lush, pink mouth begging to be kissed. A short, yellow sundress shows tanned shoulders and arms, and she's wearing leather sandals. Realizing he's staring, he drags his eyes back up to her face, but she's not looking at him.

No, those amazing eyes are locked with his best friend's, and Richard mentally shakes his head. This looks like a mess in the making, for sure. It will certainly be entertaining.

***

(Miranda)

Miranda steps into the kitchen, stopping dead when she sees not only Chris, but a man she doesn't know. He has short black hair, a strong jaw, and cerulean blue eyes that make her skin tingle when she meets his inquisitive gaze. Broad shoulders in a tight blue T-shirt, tapered waist, blue jeans--he's so good looking he hurts her eyes.

"Hello," he says, looking her up and down. Over his head she sees Chris at the fridge, pulling out the six pack of beer she'd bought earlier in the day. She meets his eyes and he shrugs.

"Hi."

"You must be Miranda. I'm Richard." He holds out his hand and she has no choice but to take it. His skin is hot against hers, and she immediately withdraws, or tries to, but he tightens his grip, smiling at her obvious discomfort, those blue eyes amused.

"Hey, where's that plate?" Michael hollers from outside, sounding annoyed.

"Oops," Richard says, finally letting her go. "Sounds like we're going to be eating hockey pucks."

"Michael's an excellent chef," Miranda tells him, annoyed. At what, she's not sure. There's something about him, though, that she doesn't like. Brushing past him, she hurries over to the cabinet and takes out a plate, looking back once on her way out. Both men are watching her with identical hungry expressions, and she stumbles a little before regaining her equilibrium and goes outside. Why did she feel as if she's escaped something?

***

(Chris)

We eat outside, at a rectangular glass table with a green umbrella, Richard and I on one side and Michael and Miranda on the other. Michael makes a point of constantly touching her, as if making sure we understand she belongs to him. It's kind of funny, really. I don't know Michael very well, he's someone I've talked to a few times over a beer, that kind of thing. What really brought me into his orbit is Miranda. God, I can barely think when she's around, and all we've done is talked.

Richard didn't want to come along, he didn't know this guy and didn't want to, but then I said Miranda would be there and of course, he immediately agreed.

Richard can barely take his eyes off Miranda, not that I blame him. She, on the other hand, rarely looks in his direction; I understand that, too. My friend can be a little...intense when he finds a woman attractive.

Michael eats with one hand, the other arm draped across the back of Miranda's chair. As the meal continues, he continually touches her arm, her shoulder, even nuzzling her neck, which she bears with a tight smile. She avoids my eyes.

"Damn, Mikey, if I didn't know better, I'd think you're worried one of us is going to steal Miranda away from you." Richard lights a cigarette and blows smoke in his direction, and I can't help grinning. "It's a legit concern," he says with a smirk, his eyes on Miranda. "Or maybe both of us will. That sounds fun, yeah?" Her cheeks color slightly.

"What is up with you, Richard?" Michael demands, slapping both hands on the table. "I'm getting pretty tired of your snarky comments."

"My apologies," Richard replies, his voice oozing sarcasm. "I don't mean to offend your tender sensibilities. I had no idea you were the insecure type."

"This is good salad, Miranda," I say, trying to steer the conversation to a safe subject. Richard gives me a look at my clumsy interruption, then flicks his cigarette away into the yard. It lands under a bush and smolders. Michael frowns.

"Dude. You ever hear of a trash can?"

Richard leans back in his chair, smiles. It's not a pleasant smile.

"I'm not real impressed with you, Mikey. But I am impressed with pretty Miranda. She is amazing, especially for putting up with a dipshit like you." He drains the rest of his beer and stands up. "That being said, I'm leaving, so please try to hold off on the rejoicing until I'm out of earshot. My feelings get hurt easily." With a nod in Miranda's direction, he heads for the car parked out front.

Fuck. We rode together, so I get up too, stuttering an apology. Miranda is incredulous, as if she can't believe what just happened. Neither can I. Michael mutters some choice words, but mostly I ignore him.

I look at Miranda's angry face and I search for something to say, but Michael's looking at me like he found me on the bottom of his shoe.

"I don't what the hell is up with that asshole, but he's not welcome here. Seriously." Michael grabs what's left of the salad and burgers off the table and takes them inside, leaving me and Miranda.

She looks at me, waits for me to say something, anything, to salvage the evening. Being so close to her makes me tongue-tied and I can only smile stupidly at her.

"I guess I better go," I stutter, rubbing the back of my suddenly hot neck.

"I wish you didn't have to," she says, so quietly I almost don't catch it. "Goodbye, Chris." Then she's gone, hurrying into the house, her yellow skirt swishing around her thin legs.

The car stinks of cigarettes when I yank open the door and get in. I don't say anything, just shove in the key and turn it. Then I stop and half-turn in the seat to face my best friend.

"What is wrong with you?"

Richard blows a smoke ring. "Did you fuck her yet?"

"God, Richard. Come on."

"What? She totally made my dick hard. Yours too. I saw the way you were looking at her." He continues in this vein for some time, and I tune him out.

I want Miranda. I just have to figure out to get her away from Michael. He's an idiot, so it shouldn't be too hard.

(Miranda)

"Let's go see a movie," Lainey suggests after they finish lunch in the mall food court.

"Is there anything good playing?"

"Who cares? I need some distraction. So when are you going to introduce me to him?"

"Introduce you to whom?" Miranda is only half-listening. She's just noticed two familiar-looking men near the theater.

"You know, that friend of Michael's, the one who came to the cookout. The one you're always texting."

"Oh, Chris? Sometime I will. Although you might like his friend better. He's..."

"What? A bad boy? I hope so, you know how much I like those."

"Oh, I know. He was asking Michael about you. He's a realtor, too."

"Yeah? What's his name?" Lainey runs her manicured nails through her long, blonde hair. Her blue eyes, enhanced by colored contacts, are the most striking thing about her.

"Richard Pike."

Lainey's eyes widen. "Oh, my god, are you serious?"

"You know him?"

"Everyone knows who he is, Miranda. He's like the hottest thing right now. I've been dying to meet him."

"Here's your chance, then," Miranda answers, pointing at the theater and waving at Chris. He waves back and the two men walk over.

"Hello, ladies." Richard's keen gaze searches Miranda's face for too long before moving over to her friend.

"Hi," Lainey says, preening. "I'm Lainey Giglio." Richard smiles lazily, eyes flickering over her body.

"I'm Chris. We're seeing a flick. Want to come with?" Miranda knows he means both, but it feels like he speaks only to her. A warm feeling begins in her belly.

"Of course!" Lainey flashes Richard a brilliant smile and fumbles in her purse.

"Allow me," he says, and goes to buy their tickets.

Lainey widens her eyes at Miranda. "Ohmygod he's gorgeous," she says, giggling when she notices Chris rolling his eyes. When they join Richard inside the movie theater, Miranda is pleased to see his entire focus is on Lainey. She can breathe a little easier. At least until she and Chris find seats beside each other near the back.

"I hope we're not intruding or anything," she says as they settle into the comfortable seats. The theater is about half-full, conversation at a muted buzz.

"Nope. So how's Michael? I haven't seen him for a while."

"He's okay, I guess." She hesitates, glancing up at him. Dare she ask him if Michael is cheating on her? Lainey leans over then and whispers in her ear: "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Then she turns back to Richard. It makes Miranda smile.

"What are we seeing?" Miranda asks, and Chris laughs.

"A Rob Zombie movie."

"Great," she mutters with a sigh. Beside her Lainey and Richard talk softly, her friend frequently giggling.

"You're not going to leave, are you?" He sounds a little anxious, which is so cute.

"No, I'll stay. I might have to shut my eyes during the scary parts, though."

"Then you won't see any of the movie," he jokes, and they laugh together. It feels good to laugh with him, to have him beside her and not worry about anything, not even Michael's absences and irritability. He keeps her entertained until the movie begins and offers her his arm to clutch during the scary parts.

It feels dangerous, sitting in the dark with this man she doesn't really know. Michael would not approve, and Miranda realizes she doesn't care all that much.

"Richard's going to take me home," Lainey says as they stop in the restroom after the movie ends. "You don't mind me ditching you, do you?"

"Of course not, Lainey. I knew you'd like him." Miranda leaves the stall and washes her hands at the sink, checks her makeup in the mirror.

"Good. Oh, my God, I can't believe this is happening!" She smooths her hair anxiously. "How do I look? Is my makeup okay?" Lainey straightens her top, worried. "I want this to go right. He's kind of a big deal."

"So are you," Miranda assures her, wondering at her friend's nervousness. She must really like him.

"I heard he was sleeping with his boss," Lainey continues. "But I don't know if it's true. Or if I even care. I just--oh, I am so fucking nervous!" She clenches her fists, releases them slowly.

Miranda gives her friend's arm a squeeze. "There's no need to be nervous. You're amazing. Beautiful. You look fabulous. Now go blow his mind."

"Don't worry, I will. I'll call you later." Throwing her shoulders back, Lainey prances out of the restroom and over to Richard and takes his arm. He smiles at her, and then looks at Miranda with that burning gaze. God. Just stop it, please. Miranda averts her eyes, turns to Chris.

"I hope you don't mind giving me a ride, Miranda," Chris says, hands in the pockets of his jeans. She suddenly remembers how it had felt hanging onto his arm, and she doesn't want it to end.

"Of course not. How about getting some ice cream first, though? I've got a craving for a coffee shake."

"Sounds good to me." There's an ice cream shop right outside the theater, and in another moment, they're carrying their shakes to a nearby table.

"I guess you didn't like the movie," Chris says, flashing her a smile. Miranda shrugs sucking at the straw. Cold coffee goodness explodes on her tongue.

"It wasn't that bad. At least I had an arm to hang on to." She giggles when he blushes a bit. "I don't think I've seen a man who blushes as much as you do."

"I hate it. Richard thinks it's hilarious, and he's always doing stuff to see if I blush."

"Poor you."

"Yeah, whatever. So Lainey's a friend?" He stirs his shake with the straw, shifts in the chair. His foot bumps hers, his knees rock the table and they both laugh. "Sorry," he says, blushing again. "Occupational hazard when you're as tall as I am."

"My best friend." Miranda shakes her head. "I hope she knows what she's doing with Richard."

Chris toys with his straw. "What do you mean?"

"I just--I'd hate for her to get hurt, you know? She seems tough, but she's not. She had a bad breakup not long ago."

"Ah, well, Richard's okay, he just comes across kind of--"

"Like an asshole? Because that's the impression I got the other night."

He shrugs. "Eh, he's okay. You just have to get to know him. He hasn't had an easy life."

"Sure," Miranda says doubtfully. "I just want him to be nice to Lainey."

Chris smiles broadly. "She'll have the nicest time of her life with him, believe me. I've yet to meet a woman who wasn't happy after spending time in his bed, for real."

She doesn't return the smile. "Let's talk about something else." Richard's sexual prowess is not what she wants to talk about. Why would he think she would? These two men have a strange relationship.

"Sure, sorry." He straightens in the chair. "So...what do you want to talk about then?"

"Tell me about you. What do you do?"

"Aw, hell, Miranda. I don't want to talk about myself. I'd rather talk about you." His sweet smile nearly makes her melt. Wow. What is this?

"There's nothing exciting about me. I'm just plain old Miranda."

"Plain you most definitely are not," Chris says in a low voice, his brown eyes catching hers. "The other night at the cookout, I couldn't take my eyes off you. You lit the night, the most beautiful angel ever."

Miranda's mouth drops open in surprise, her heart stilling in her chest.

"Oh, shit," he mutters, turning bright red. Crushing his paper cup in his fist, he lurches to his feet and walks over to a trash can. It doesn't look like he's going to come back, so she hurries after him.

He glances at her quickly. "I'm sorry about saying that stuff to you," he mumbles, and she slips her arm through his.

"I'm not. It was wonderfully sweet of you to say it." Her soul, so long without such words, begins to bloom in her chest.

********

"OHMYGOD." Her friend's voice bursts through the cell phone, full of excitement and satisfaction.

"Hi, Lainey." Miranda smiles, leaning back on the couch.

"He's a sex god."

"I guess you had a good time, then."

"The best I've ever had. But I don't think he's going to call me."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because it was just wham-bam-not even a thank you-ma'am, that's why. Don't get me wrong, I've never had so many orgasms in my whole life, but it would've been nice to, you know, snuggle afterward, or even talk."

"You didn't talk?"

"Who wanted to talk? We barely made it in the door before the clothes started coming off."

"He left right after?" Miranda can't help hating Richard for that.

"Yeah, pretty much. Said he had an appointment to show a house."

He was probably lying, the bastard. "Are you okay?"

Lainey sighs. "I guess. I just--I like him. I liked talking to him during the movie, and of course, the sex was incredible. I don't know."

"Well, maybe he'll call you. Or you could text him? You have his number, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah, you're right. Why should I wait around for him? So how was your afternoon?"

"Chris and I got ice cream and talked. It was nice."

"Sounds it. I can hear your smile. You sound happy for once."

"I am. I like him."

"You two would make a great couple."

"What are you talking about? We're just friends, Lainey. Besides, there's Michael."

"Piss on Michael. He's a jerk, and one of these days you'll realize that. But Chris, he's another story. He is so into you."