Read Countdown To A Kiss (A New Year's Eve Anthology) Page 25
***
Duncan’s concern about getting along with Mr. Devine and gaining his favor was short-lived. The man seemed genuinely delighted to have a bit more testosterone around the house watching football during date number two. It was the Devine women who threw Duncan a curve ball from the moment he arrived.
It was hard to miss that Mrs. D was all grins and sighs whenever Duncan spoke about anything. And likewise, Grace––no longer the fairy princess but still a knockout in her faded blue jeans–stared at Duncan wide-eyed in wonder for most of the day. Tess…Well, Tess didn’t pay him much mind, though when she did deem to acknowledge his presence, it was always with a great amount of personal satisfaction. As if Annabelle had told her that he did, indeed, kiss as well as Lewis Kampmueller––and that in some way Tess was pleased for her sister.
Annabelle, herself, was simply more.
More sporty––in jeans and a Carolina blue v-neck sweater––her red hair in a high pony-tail with a twist that bounced with so much life he couldn’t help but tug on it.
More playful––as she interacted with him and her family. Her knowledge of football and sports in general, setting her apart from the other females.
More handsy––touching him casually in front of her parents and in more shocking ways when she pulled him into the kitchen to prepare a plethora of snacks.
She was a handful, this Annabelle Devine, stealing kisses and insinuating about Saturday night every chance she got.
The complete package was more to his liking than Duncan could have dreamed. Annabelle was a rose, with more soft and intriguing petals than he could count. He definitely did not want to blow this. But after stopping in at the Bennetts’ before heading back to Raleigh, he began to worry that he already had.
“Aren’t you a little young for needing Viagra?” Vance started in on him by the beer refrigerator out in the garage. “I mean, just because you can’t get it up doesn’t mean you have to ruin things for the rest of us.”
Duncan squinted at the fool in front of him. “What the hell are you talking about, Evans?”
Vance just looked disgusted and took a swig from his bottle.
“He’s just a little pissed at this five date rule,” Brooks offered.
“Oh shit.”
“Oh shit is right,” Vance agreed, popping Duncan’s chest with the lip of his long-neck bottle. “I don’t care if you want to play the gentleman for Ms. Devine or if you’re covering up the fact that you’ve been neutered. Leave the fucking rest of us out of your insanity, Dunc. Some of us are interested in getting laid before the fifth date. Before any date,” Vance spat.
“How the hell did this get out?”
“Oh, bro. It’s out. It’s out and alive and crawling all over the place,” Brooks said. “The women of Henderson are loving this. They’ll probably have a statue erected in your honor. Anyone with a daughter is singing your praises right about now. Of course,” he said, taking a swig of beer, “anybody with a pair of balls would like to cut yours off.”
Duncan squeezed his eyes shut and stood contemplating all the ramifications of his conversation with Annabelle. And the one he focused on was the horror of Annabelle finding out the actual truth. Because for someone who prided himself on valuing truth above all else, he’d gone and bent it twice in one day. And he knew himself and his temper well enough to know that, had Annabelle been the one doing the truth bending, he’d be walking away and not looking back.
He knew he should keep it to himself, but the guilt had started to grow the moment he’d seen the emotion in her eyes. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t keep this in. He had to tell somebody.
“Look,” he said, releasing a huge breath. “I wasn’t trying to be a gentleman. The truth is, I just couldn’t find the damn zipper on her dress.”