Chapter 10
***TAYLOR***
“Come on, folks, I’m looking for a brave man or woman to come to my rescue,” Ryan called, walking back and forth in front of Taylor.
“Look at this man, he’s been sitting there for over half an hour and no one has been able to dunk him.
It’s an embarrassment to this fine institution, the tragedy of the century, a scandal we’ll never recover from.
Don’t let this happen. All it takes is five dollars and you can be the hero; you can save the day for your fellow students and the world. ”
“Do you really think that will work?” he called. “Besides, no one has been able to dunk me so far. I don’t think it can be done.”
“Did you hear that, people?” Ryan called. “He’s insulting every single one of you. Don’t let him get away with it.”
“They’re all chicken,” he called. “Look at them, too scared to even try, they’re running away like a bunch of babies.”
Their banter was beginning to attract attention, and Taylor had a feeling it wasn’t going to be long before he was wet and shivering, but he reminded himself that it was for a good cause.
Keeping the insults going wasn’t hard, especially with Ryan egging him on and it wasn’t long before a line began to form, a five-dollar bill in everyone’s hand.
A crowd had gathered by the time Ryan collected money from the first person in line, one of the football players, and he braced himself for a dunking.
The minutes ticked by so slowly that a half an hour felt a lifetime, but he only took the plunge into the big tank of water three times, much to the frustration of a lot of people in the crowd.
He was just about to climb out of the tank when the crowd parted and Emily came strolling up, Valerie, Kim, and Peggy right behind her.
She picked up one of the baseballs and looked over at him with an evil smile on her face, then pulled a five out of her pocket and handed it over to Ryan.
“Did I tell you that I played baseball in high school?” Emily called. “I went to college on a scholarship. This should be fun.”
It was clear from the look in Emily’s eyes that she was serious and he braced himself for another dip in the tank, but before she could throw the ball, a voice cut through the crowd.
“Well, would you look at what we have here,” a man said, shoving people out of his way to get to the front.
“The Sigmas doing their part just like the good little boys they are.”
A murmur went through the crowd, and people started slowly backing away, sensing a confrontation was coming and not wanting to get involved. “Let me have a try at this,” the man said, shoving Emily out of the way. “This is men’s business, sweetheart. Step away like a good girl.”
“Hey, you can’t do that,” Emily exclaimed, a bit shocked. “It was my turn.”
The man turned and looked over at her, then let his eyes roam over her body as a gleam of attraction appeared in his eyes.
Taylor felt the creature inside him slowly coming to life as warning bells went off in his head.
A look of distaste appeared on Emily’s face, but she held her ground, scowling at the man until he gave her another gentle push.
“I told you to wait over there,” the man said, a warning tone in his voice, which Taylor didn’t like. “Get over there and wait for me. You and I aren’t finished. I enjoy feisty women, and it’s fun to break them.”
“I don’t know who the hell you are, but you can’t talk to me that way,” Emily erupted, stepping back over to the man. “I paid my money; I want my turn.”
“The lady is right,” Ryan said, then looked over his shoulder at Taylor, who was already scrambling out of the tank, his protective instincts overwhelming him. “But I’m afraid that our time is up, so no one is going to get a turn. You should all just move along now.”
“I should have known, you’re nothing but a bunch of losers and cowards,” the man jeered. “I don’t know why everyone is making such a big deal about you. There’s nothing scary here, just a bunch of babies pretending to be tough guys.”
By then Taylor had reached Ryan’s side. He gently took Emily’s arm and pulled her behind him, ignoring her look of annoyance.
She opened her mouth, but he silenced her with a look, then turned back to the man, beginning to understand who he was, but willing to let things evolve on their own so he could study him.
“Maybe you should just move along,” Ryan repeated. “We’re just trying to have a little fun here, but it’s break time.”
The man studied them for a second. “I’ll go, but I’ll be taking the little lady with me,” he said. “She and I have unfinished business.”
“I’m not going anywhere with you, you creep,” Emily said from behind him. “And I dare you to try and make me.”
Just then a security guard walked up. “Is there a problem here, boys?” he asked.
“We’re all here to have a good time. I’d hate to see that spoiled by anything.
Sebastian, why don’t you and your boys move along now?
Don’t you have your own booth? I’m sure your fraternity brothers would appreciate some help. ”
Sebastian looked like he wanted to argue, but he looked around and realized that he was outnumbered. “Yes, sir,” he finally said. “We’ll be going now.”
When he was gone, Taylor turned to look at Ryan. “I guess we’ve just met the new leader of the Kappas, charming guy,” he said, then turned to Emily. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, pushing him out of the way. “And I’m perfectly capable of defending myself.”
“Not with a guy like that. You have no idea what he’s capable of,” he said, shaking his head. “Don’t make a big deal out of this. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.”
***Emily***
Emily looked up at Taylor and saw only concern on his face.
She realized that she was taking her anger out on the wrong person.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t take it out on you, but guys like that make me furious,” she said.
“I wish you hadn’t stopped me, I would have enjoyed showing him what this little lady is capable of.
He would have thought twice about treating another woman that way. ”
An amused look spread across Taylor’s face. “I’m sure you would have, and I would have enjoyed watching,” he said. “But this is a family event, so this was probably a better outcome.”
“I guess you're right,” she said, her anger fading away. “What’s with that guy anyway? Who is he?”
“Well, we haven’t been formally introduced, but I think he’s the new leader of the Kappas,” Taylor said, guiding her away from the booth. “They’re our…rivals, I guess you could say. There’s a lot of bad blood between us. You just got caught in the crossfire.”
“That seemed like a lot more than a rivalry between fraternities,” she said, studying him. “He was out for blood, Taylor, I could see it in his eyes.”
Taylor was silent for a second. “I know that was scary, but I promise we’ve got it under control, you don’t need to worry,” he said, then looked around. “Come on, let’s get out of here, I’ve had enough of this for one day.”
She let him lead her out of the park after saying a quick goodbye to Valerie. “Where are we going?” she asked, then realized he was still wearing his swimming trunks. “Don’t you want to get dressed?”
Taylor looked down at himself then started laughing, “That might be a good idea,” he said, then sighed. “I don’t have the energy to fight the crowds to go back for my clothes. I’ll just run home and get dressed there.”
“I can give you a ride,” she said, sensing a way into the fraternity house. “My car is just around the corner.”
“You don’t have to do that,” he said, then looked down at his feet. “Well, maybe it would be a good idea, I forgot my shoes, too.”
It was only a five-minute drive from downtown to the campus, and before she knew it, they were pulling up in front of a big brick house not far from the stadium.
“This is a beautiful house,” she said, pulling to a stop in front.
“I always wanted to live in a place like this; it seemed so romantic to me when I was a kid. I don’t suppose you have a ghost.”
Taylor laughed, “Sorry, no ghosts,” he said. “Do you want to come in for a tour?”
“Sure, that would be great,” she said, turning off the car. “As long as you don’t have something else you’re supposed to be doing.”
“I’m free for the rest of the day,” he said, grinning at her. “I probably should be studying, but I’m giving myself the weekend off.”
“One day is all I can afford to take off, but it’s been fun so far, well, except…” she trailed off. “Never mind, we’re not talking about that right now.”
“That’s not the first or last I’m going to see of Sebastian.
Someday I’m going to get away from all this.
I’m going to make enough money to be above all the games and battles,” he said with a sigh and then shook his head.
“Ignore me. I need to go put some clothes on, and then I need something cold to drink. After that, I’ll give you that tour. ”
He led her inside, through a big entryway, past a living room, dining room, and what looked like a study into the kitchen.
“There are cold drinks in the refrigerator, or the coffee pot is right over there if you prefer,” he said, pointing things out to her.
“Make yourself at home, I won’t be gone long. ”
She sank into a chair when he left the room, enjoying the quiet, then let her eyes roam, unable to miss the signs of Hattie’s touch everywhere.
As the minutes slowly ticked by, she was more and more tempted to start poking around.
There were still a lot of unanswered questions and after today, she had a few more.
Something Sebastian said was bothering her and she couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but she felt sure that it would eventually come to her.
Only a few seconds later, Taylor appeared in the open doorway and she was glad that she’d stayed put.
Getting caught snooping around the house could have ruined all the progress she’d made.
“You didn’t get anything to drink,” he said, noticing the empty table in front of her.
“How about some iced tea? Hattie always keeps a big pitcher in the fridge.”
“I thought I’d wait for you,” she said, her body warming as she watched him walk across the kitchen to the fridge, suddenly very aware that they were alone. “Iced tea sounds good.”
“Great,” he said, smiling at her. “Tea for two it is.”
His smile did that funny thing to her again, and not only did her stomach flutter with excitement, but desire made her body begin to tingle as a wave of warmth spread through her.
Shocked and annoyed by her reaction, she got to her feet and began to walk around the kitchen, pretending to be exploring, hoping Taylor hadn’t noticed anything.
She stopped at a shelf of cookbooks, pulled one down and began turning the pages, taking deep breaths until she felt her equilibrium beginning to return.
“Here you go,” Taylor said from behind her, forcing her to turn to face him. “Nice and cold and just a little sweet. I hope that’s okay.”
“That’s perfect,” she said, taking the glass, then a long sip. “I was thirstier than I thought.”
“Are you ready for that tour?” Taylor asked, after he’d drained half his glass of tea. “You can say no if you want to.”
“I’d love a tour,” she said, taking another long drink from her glass, surprised at how thirsty she suddenly was, then setting it down on the table. “I’m ready when you are.”
They meandered through the dining room, the living room, and then the den before ending up in the study room at the back of the house.
“I think this is my favorite room,” she said, looking at the floor-to-ceiling bookcases and then over at the huge desk by a big bay window.
“It’s so welcoming, and all those books, I could spend an entire afternoon just looking at the titles. ”
“It’s quite a collection. I don’t know who owns this house, but it’s clear they appreciate literature,” Taylor said. “I’m sure it wouldn’t be a problem if you wanted to borrow a few.”
“Oh, that’s okay,” she said, shaking her head. “I would be afraid of damaging one, and I can get anything I want at the library, but it was sweet of you to offer.”
A funny look appeared on Taylor’s face. She could have sworn she saw desire blossom in his eyes, but before she could be sure, his cell phone began to ring.
He dug it out of his pocket and looked at the screen, “It’s…
work…I should probably answer it,” he said, stumbling over his words.
“Will you be okay on your own for a few minutes again?”
“I’ll be fine,” she said, excitement surging through her. “I’ll just browse the books while you're gone; take your time.”
As soon as Taylor stepped out of the room, she rushed over to the desk, then hesitated for a count of ten before sitting down behind it in the big office chair.
She paused for just a second, listening to the sound of Taylor’s rumbling voice down the hallway, then carefully slid open one of the drawers and began carefully searching through the contents.
Alert to the sound of his footsteps, she moved from drawer to drawer, disappointed to find nothing helpful.
Then, in the last drawer, she hit pay dirt, and her attention shifted away from Taylor.