Secret Rooms and Stolen Kisses: A Romance Page 7

  It was just a kiss on the cheek, but Trey's body was alive with anticipation. Her skin was like velvet, soft and warm. He loved that she stood there and let his mouth touch her skin, even if it was only for a few seconds. She moved. She touched his arm, and it seemed like she was going to turn and kiss him on the mouth… but just then, there was unexpected noise.

  Tara jumped back instantly, and it was a good thing she did, because the door to the back apartment opened, and Charlotte and Mickey showed up in the doorway of it. Tara and Trey barely had any warning at all. The sound of the door handle was all that happened before the other couple showed up in the common area.

  "Oh, hey, y'all," Tara said, stepping back. "And, thanks Mister Harper, I just had that one question for you," she said, continuing a nonexistent conversation with Trey. "Thank you for answering it. I'll try that with the thermostat next time. Night everyone," she added, waving at Charlotte and Mickey and then at Trey.

  She took off, making her way back to her own apartment so fast that Trey didn't know what hit him.

  They had been just about to kiss.

  He wanted to kiss her so badly.

  How in the world was the opportunity over? It seemed impossible that it was over.

  Mickey said something to Trey, and Trey answered, but he was totally preoccupied with his encounter with Tara—his time with her. He had just spent the whole evening with the person who was quickly becoming the woman of his dreams. His chest actually ached when he thought about how close they had been to kissing when they were interrupted just now.

  He wanted to rush back over to her apartment.

  But he didn't.

  He ate his sandwich and went to sleep thinking about her. The following day was Monday, and for Trey, it would be a busy one. He got up at 6am and visited the hardware store where he got supplies to clean that closet.

  He had some cleanup to do from the day before, and he barely got things done before his meeting with Todd Benson. They talked about pulling out the cabinets and refinishing the trim and the floors.

  Todd asked about the offices and closets, but Trey told him he was getting to that area later, and that was a good enough explanation. Trey ate lunch with Todd after they took some measurements. They talked about the pink building, and one other investment property, and then at 1pm, Trey went to Bank Street Boxing for a workout.

  He wasn't doing it just to try to run into Tara. He would love to run into her, but this visit was scheduled before they had gotten close. Trey set up a tour and trial lesson two weeks ago, and it was happening today.

  He was told it would be with a man named Dizzy, but it was none other than Easy Billy Castro who came around the corner after Trey checked in. Trey stood up to shake Billy's hand when he saw him coming that way.

  "Billy Castro," he said, introducing himself with a firm handshake.

  "Trey Harper. I'm Billy, too. William, technically. William the third. That's where Trey comes from."

  "Should I call you Trey?" Billy asked.

  Trey was nervous around him. He told himself that it was because Billy was a famous boxer, but the truth was it was that he was Tara's dad. Trey felt like Billy could see right through him, like he knew he was in love with his daughter the instant they shook hands.

  "Trey's great," he said. "Yes sir, you can call me… I'm Trey. That's all I've ever gone by."

  "I'm Billy."

  "I know your daughter," Trey said.

  "I know."

  "You do? Did she say something about me?" Trey realized he wasn't being casual enough and he added. "I'm afraid landlords have to be the bad guy sometimes."

  "I don't know what you mean by that. My daughter didn't seem to think you are a bad guy."

  "Oh no, I'm, I just didn't know, you know because I, she might have told you I was raising the rent."

  This conversation happened as they walked across the gym, but it faded out as they came to the side of the ring. For the next hour, Billy gave Trey the rundown on the sport and the gym. He told him it's a good sport to practice to stay physically fit and learn how to defend yourself even if you don't plan on doing it professionally.

  They toured the gym, and then Billy went to the wall where extra gloves and pads were stored. Billy suited Trey up with boxing gloves, and he, himself, strapped on thick pads—the ones used to catch a boxer's punches.

  Billy put Trey through a fast-paced workout where he made him do alternating reps of conditioning drills and boxing. He would call out combinations so fast that Trey couldn't keep up. Trey knew a little about boxing, but he was overwhelmed by all the new information and the speed at which it was being thrown at him.

  Trey was in the middle of doing a basic jab, cross, hook combination when Tara walked through the door.

  She took his breath away.

  She was wearing those dang shorts and a loose-fitting shirt that hung off of one shoulder.

  "Jab, jab, cross, hook to the body," Billy said, but it sounded like unintelligible babbling in the background of the Tara show. And…

  Slap.

  That thick pad came out faster than lightning and tagged Trey on the side of the head, getting his attention off of Tara.

  "Jab, jab, cross, hook to the body," Billy repeated.

  Trey performed the sequence of punches, several times in a row, resetting between each set. He tried to do his best, punching smoothly and cleanly in case Tara looked his way. He thought about almost kissing her, and he delivered the next combination with more power than before.

  "Relax," Billy said.

  "I'm sorry," Trey said.

  He glanced at Tara again, and she was looking at him. She smiled and waved, and Trey smiled back at her since he was not about to wave in front of her dad and with a big boxing glove.

  "Pay attention," Billy said.

  "Cross, hook, cross, and then drop and do two hooks to the body. We're gonna do it five times, reset each time, go."

  Trey did the combination Billy called for, slowly at first, making sure he got the order correct. By the end, he knew he was doing it right. He felt strong, like it went well. He could not stop himself from glancing Tara's way as the round finished. He sought her approval, and he hoped she had been watching that.

  "What are you looking at?" Billy said.

  "Y-your daughter, sir," Trey hated to admit it, but he knew there was no point in lying since it was obvious.

  "Why are you looking at my daughter?" Billy asked, as if it was a serious question and he was genuinely wondering.

  Trey spoke hesitantly when he said, "B-because she's amazing."

  Billy Castro lunged forward and threw a stiff jab, straight into Trey Harper's jaw. He used the edge of the pad, and it extended a little farther than he anticipated. He hit Trey with a jab that would have, quite frankly, knocked some men out. Billy intended it as a warning tag for saying such a thing, but he hit the guy hard. Billy could tell by the way Trey's head snapped back.

  Billy was at close range, and he was a world champion. Trey had no idea what happened. He saw stars and heard ringing, and then Billy's face came into focus.

  "I meant to tap you, but you moved," Billy said. "You probably got your bell rang a little bit."

  "Yeah," Trey said.

  He felt a surge of adrenaline, and he desperately wanted to hit Billy back. He stopped himself. Not only because the guy was a world champion fighter, but mostly because he was Tara's dad.

  "Your lip's bleeding a little," Billy said. "I went up to have you slip a punch, but you moved a little."

  That was a lie, and both of them knew it.

  Trey had been tagged in the mouth.

  He licked his teeth, tasting blood.

  "It's not that bad," Billy said. "It's just a little blood on your bottom lip, cracked ya a little bit. It's not dripping or anything. Busted lips happen. I'd probably stay on the mat with that one, but you can stop if you want to. You can go tend to it. We can be done if you want."

  "I'm okay," Trey said sh
aking his head a little.

  And for the next thirty minutes, Billy took Trey through a grueling workout.

  After it was all said and done, Billy said Trey should come back and get a membership, but in this moment, Trey wasn't so sure. He was nauseated when they finished and his lip was swollen from the inside and tasted like blood. Plus, he was a little mad. He knew Billy had tagged him for talking about Tara. He couldn't say that he blamed the man for being protective of her, but in this moment, Trey didn't feel like going to the office to sign membership papers

  He went to the side to put his gloves away and get his things. He was dripping with sweat, and he felt like he'd rather go home and take a shower before he ran into Tara.

  But that wasn't meant to happen. She was at the front of the gym, cleaning the guest coffee pot when he walked out. He was frustrated, and he wanted to take her and kiss her stubbornly right there in front of everyone.

  "Hey," she said as he approached.

  Tara's expression grew concerned the second she saw his face.

  "What happened?"

  "Oh, it was nothing. It was just an accident."

  "With my dad?"

  "Yeah, but it was my fault," he said.

  "I forgot you would be here when I came in," she said. "Did you have fun?"

  "I did," he said.

  "How did your meeting go?" she asked.

  "With your dad?" he asked.

  "No. I can see how that went. I was talking about with Todd."

  "Oh, fine. He's going to get the cabinets out and refinish the floors. I'm going to schedule other stuff around him."

  Chapter 10

  Tara

  Trey seemed a little off when I saw him at the gym. He was dripping with sweat and his lip was cut. I figured my dad put him through a hard workout. He left right away, and I knew I wouldn't see him until later tonight, if I saw him at all.

  We had fun with each other yesterday, but we hadn't made plans to see each other again. It bothered me that Trey left the gym so quickly after his workout. I went to my dad and asked him, point blank.

  "Did you take it hard on him? Did you say something to him?"

  "Who? What are you talking about?"

  "Trey. Did you say something to him?"

  "Of course I said something to him. He was here for a long time. I said lots of things to him."

  "Did you bust his lip on purpose?"

  "I wouldn't say it was on purpose. I didn't set out to make him bleed, so, no. But I did hit him."

  "Dad!"

  "I just popped him a little bit. It was instinct. My hand just went out, and I didn't realize how long that pad was. He took it fine."

  "You're not doing me any favors if you chase him off, Dad. I have a lot depending on whether that guy likes me or not."

  "What's that mean?" Dad asked, scowling.

  "It means that right now the only promise I have that I'll be able to live in my apartment for another year is a handshake. Plus, I'm trying to get him to give me a deal on the downstairs."

  "You don't need to do him favors to get deals on your rent," Dad said.

  "I know," I said. "I'm not saying I do him favors, I'm just asking you not to punch him in the face anymore."

  "He's at a boxing gym," Dad said, laughing. "And it was mostly an accident. I misjudged the pads, and he moved a little. He got his bell rung, though. I could see him blinking at me. But he recovered well. Afterwards, I put him through that workout Dizzy used to have me do."

  I made a long groaning noise of disapproval at my dad, and hoped Trey wasn't mad at me for what happened.

  Mondays were a long day for me.

  I had to work at the gym during the afternoon, and then I taught two ballet classes on Monday evenings. I went by the apartment on my break, but I didn't see Trey.

  I didn't get home until eight o'clock that evening. Trey's vehicle was out front, but I didn't see any action in the apartment when I walked by.

  I was hungry, and the first thing I wanted to do was eat. I had made chicken salad earlier in the day, and I used it to fix a sandwich for myself and one for Trey. I ate mine quickly before freshening up. And then I went to take Trey the one I made for him.

  I knocked on his door, but no one came. I stood in the hall for a few seconds, waiting, but he didn't seem to be there. I had the feeling he was in the secret room. I went to the place on the wall where I thought the room might be situated on the other side. I knocked on that strategic spot, and I listened, but I didn't hear Trey respond.

  I decided to try to go downstairs in case he had left the door to the jewelry store open. His sandwich was on a paper plate that was covered with a napkin, and I carried it with me. It was dark out. I ran into someone on the sidewalk, but I just acted normal and said hello to them. There were no lights on in the store, but I didn't think that meant much. I went to a different window, but I still couldn't see the hallway with the secret closet. I felt like he was in there, though. I actually considered going onto the roof so that I could try to find the location of the former skylight and knock on it.

  I didn't want to push myself on him, though. Having tentative plans to give him a chicken sandwich didn't seem like enough of a reason to go onto the roof and track him down.

  I decided it was best to head home. I was halfway up the steps that led to my apartment when I heard the door open behind me.

  "Tara," he said my name and I turned.

  "Did you just try to come next door?" he asked, motioning behind him.

  I nodded.

  "I thought I heard you knock from upstairs a minute ago," he added. "That's why I came down.

  "I did knock from upstairs," I said. "From the hallway. I wanted to see if you were hungry."

  I was about five steps up on the staircase that led to our apartments, and I leaned down, handing him the plate when I saw him coming toward me like he was interested.

  "I'm starving," he said, taking it from me.

  He peeled back the napkin, and when he saw what it was, he used the napkin to pick up a half a sandwich. He took a bite that was so big, it would only take four of them to finish the whole sandwich. He was standing on the second and third steps and I was a step or two above him, and we just stood there, leaning against the wall and the rail while he ate.

  "Thank you," he said, between bites. "I ate before I went to that tour of your dad's gym earlier, and I've been doing nothing but bustin' my hump since then. I'm starving."

  "I see that you're hump-busting," I said. "You have dust in your hair." I reached out and brushed it off of him, being careful not to get it on his sandwich. "What have you been doing?"

  "I got it all cleaned out, the passageway and the closet and everything. I wiped it and scrubbed and then oiled that wood. I’m not done, but I got to a lot of it. It's crazy how dusty it was. I also got the lights working upstairs, and I oiled the lever. The back wall opens faster now."

  He took another bite of food, staring into space like he was contemplating something.

  "I'm going to build shelves in that closet, but I'll do them facing the other way so that the trap door still works. I feel like I could make the door trigger with a book on a shelf like we were talking about."

  "Oh, man, that would be magical," I said.

  "It is already. It's even more amazing up there now that I have light. I can't wait until the skylight is working again. I called a contractor friend in Nashville, and he's sending a few guys to get started on it this week. I'm going to let them do the whole thing. They're good guys, and I trust them. And they live in Nashville, so they don't really care about a building in Texas with a secret passage."

  "That sounds like a great idea," I said.

  Trey only had a couple of bites left, and he finished it up and folded the plate.

  "I'll take it upstairs to the trash," I said, reaching out for it.

  He didn't hand it to me, and I looked at him inquisitively.

  "I thought you were coming with me," he said. "I tho
ught you'd want to see what all I did up there."

  "I do," I said instantly. "I didn't know if you were going back over there, or if I was… " I trailed off, when he took off in the direction of the jewelry store, motioning for me to follow him. We walked out of the apartment, down the sidewalk, and into the vacant corner store. He went directly toward the back, left-hand side of the store and into the closet. I got in with him, smiling at how much cleaner everything looked.

  "You did a lot of work in here," I said.

  But I didn't have long to check it out because he closed the door. I was looking at him from only a foot or so away when it went dark in the closet.

  He reached up and pulled the lever. He leaned into me, putting his hand on my arm to steady me and give himself a little leverage. He left his hand on my arm for a few seconds, and my heart was beating so hard I thought he could maybe feel it pounding just from touching my arm.

  He let me go as the door opened.

  This happened far too quickly.

  "It works a lot better now," he said, smiling at me and letting go. "See how fast it opens?"

  "I know! How?" I asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

  "I pulled back some more of the wall and oiled the mechanism."

  "Oh, wow, it's a lot lighter in here today," I said when the back wall opened, revealing the stairway. The stairway and the wood paneling were both more visible today, and it was beautiful.

  Trey was no longer touching my arm, and I was able to concentrate on other things. "Oh, Trey, this is so gorgeous." I breathed in as I came to stand at the base of the stairs. "Did you clean these walls?"

  Everything looked shiny. The walls were made of beautiful slats of wood running floor-to-ceiling, and I touched them as I began to walk up the spiral staircase.

  "I wiped them and then put this protective wood conditioner on them. Your uncle sold it to me."

  I knew he had cleaned. It smelled good—the light scent of pine and citrus. He climbed the stairs, and I followed him. "I cannot believe you did all this in one day," I said, marveling at how different it was.