The Space In Between

Chapter Twenty-Eight

THE MOMENT I stepped onto the dance floor, I forgot everything Ladasha had taught me the night prior. I tried my best not to gawk, but Andrea looked so stunning that I couldn’t help it. Her blue eyes really pierced me with her latest hairdo. My eyes traveled down her body, studying every inch of her being. She had a loose cream sweater hanging over her black dress. The dress hugged her in every place I have embraced before. It was a perfect fit. She appeared taller today—she was wearing heels. Nothing too high, but she was almost my height, so I noticed.
“Ouch!” I broke from my trance as I turned towards my cousin and apologized for stepping on her toes. My mind was clearly somewhere else.
“It’s fine. Perhaps we should call it a night, everyone. I have waters and some snacks in the back room if anyone wants to grab some before we head out.” Michelle skipped over to the stereo system and turned off the music.
“You weren’t half bad for a beginner.” I turned to be greeted by a cheerful girl who was nudging me in the side. Rachel was quite a sight to look at. Her long brown locks of hair had been curled prior to her arrival, and they bounced against her shoulders.
I smirked. “I was terrible.”
She stepped closer to me and leaned against the bar attached to the wall full of mirrors. She informed me that the ‘bar’ was actually called a barre and she had taken ballet since the age of three. I guess she wanted me to be aware of how flexible she was. Hell, I really didn’t care. I glanced through the mirror and saw Andrea in the back corner. She was sipping on a water bottle and staring at me and Rachel. If I didn’t know any better…
She looked jealous. Holy shit, she was jealous. The flaring of her nostrils and the narrowing of her eyes were all the conformation I needed. I couldn’t help but feel a little excited by that fact. That meant that somewhere, deep down inside, she had some type of feelings for me. Before I could express that there was nothing to be jealous about, Rachel placed her hand against my chest and said something. I’m not sure what it was, but it was enough to make Andrea roll her eyes and walk away
“I’m sorry, what?” I asked Rachel, who was extra friendly.
“I said we were all planning on going out for a few beers tonight. You should join us.” Her sexy grin almost pulled me in, but my mind was imagining how this must have looked to Andrea. My eyes took a trip around the room—where did she go?
“Yeah. Yeah, that could be fun…” There she was. She was putting on her coat, ready to make her departure. I took the hand Rachel still had placed upon my chest and removed it. I didn’t want to offend or embarrass the poor girl, so I gave her my largest smile. “I’m so sorry. If you can excuse me again.” That was the second time I had excused myself from Rachel’s presence to go chase after Andrea, but hell, I had priorities. Well, I had one priority. And her name was Andrea. I grabbed my jacket, tossed it on, and headed out of the building.
“You have a way of disappearing,” I somewhat shouted to her as she was walking down the street. Andrea turned and stared at me. The snow had started up again and was falling against my eyelashes, forcing me to blink nonstop.
“Coop, aren’t you sick of chasing me?”
“Never.”
She ran her hands through her short hair and wiggled her nose as she met me halfway. The streetlights had turned on; each one dressed with wreaths and white Christmas lights. Down the way, I could see a large tree in the center of the park dressed up with a large star placed on the top.
I could tell they took their holidays seriously in this town, and I would be lying if I said it wasn’t a nice treat. I couldn’t remember the last time I had a Christmas tree—or a holiday at that. Iris and I were always working, making money instead of making memories.
“Where are you heading?” I wondered out loud. She couldn’t have been on her way back to my cousin’s place. That was way too far to walk. Especially in this weather.
“I told my mom I would stop by for dinner.”
“You two doing all right?”
She delivered a short smile and ran her hand over her eyebrow. “Better than yesterday. Did you know Eric and Michelle are engaged?”
I nodded. I’d congratulated them yesterday. “Yeah, I saw the ring right away.”
She grumbled to herself and cussed out loud. “How did I miss that?”
“To be fair, you were getting your ass chewed out by your mother.”
“True fact.” She shifted her body and removed her eyes from me. “It looked like Rachel and you were getting along great.”
“Jealous, are we?” I joked. She looked to me and raised an eyebrow.
“Rachel McLean has slept with every guy on the high school football team at least four times around. And I’m sure she did the same when she went to college. So if that’s what you’re into, go for it.”
Her cheeks were turning red, and I doubted it was due to the chill. “Do you have her number?” I laughed as I saw her mouth drop open from shock, and she punched me in the arm. Not a light little tap. No, she f*cking slugged me.
“Cooper Michael, I swear if you—” she started to scold me and I gracefully changed the subject.
“Let me give you a ride,” I offered. I had the rental car from the airport and didn’t feel comfortable with her walking alone at night. Sure, this place wasn’t New York City, but who knew what kind of small town creeps there were around?
“It’s right down the way.”
“Andie, come on. Don’t let our friendship suffer like this,” I whimpered. She giggled and nodded as she joined me on the walk to the car. “You really look amazing,” I kept telling her.
Rolling her eyes, she bit her lip. “I’m not going to sleep with you again, so you can stop trying so hard.”
“I’m not looking for sex.”
She paused from walking and faced me. Her petite body was being sprinkled with snowflakes. I took her hand in mine and spun her around in the winter wonderland. It was a gorgeous night and I was pretty damn lucky to be spending this moment with her. After I spun her around, I took her in my arms and dipped her before pulling her in close to me. So close our lips were almost touching. I could see her breath as she tried to control her nerves. She didn’t dare look away, and we held onto the connection for as long as we could. And she spoke softly. “If you’re not looking for sex, what are you looking for?”
I ran my finger across her cheek and let go of her, allowing her to move back if she wished, but she remained close to me. I leaned in closer and whispered into her ear. “You.”
I stepped away from her and continued on to the car. For a moment, I wasn’t sure she was going to follow me. The sounds of her high heels were not heard, but I had to trust my gut. I had to trust Andrea that she would join me in my offer to drive her to her parents.
It took her awhile—her steps were so soft I hardly heard her approaching—but when I opened the passenger’s door and turned around, she was patiently waiting to enter the vehicle.





“DO YOU WANT some more stuffing?” Betty asked as she picked up my plate that had been cleared after round two and headed to the kitchen. I watched Andrea pick around at her food—she was still on her first plate. I could see Betty wanting to say something, but she kept it to herself. A big improvement from the previous night, but I assume she didn’t want her daughter to storm off again. You live and you learn.
I patted my stomach and sat back in my chair. Even if I wanted more stuffing, there was no way it would be able to fit in my gut. Mrs. Evans knew how to cook. I hadn’t had such a wonderful tasting Thanksgiving meal since my mom…
“No, thank you. I am stuffed with stuffing.”
Betty reentered the dining room with a huff and puff holding a chocolate cake. No, not just a chocolate cake. A triple layer, chocolate chip, dark fudge chocolate cake.
I couldn’t be positive, but I was pretty damn sure I drooled.
“Are you sure, honey? There’s cake! I made it this afternoon.”
I rubbed my hand across my face, narrowed my eyes, and poked my bottom lip out, making it look as if I were really thinking of not having the delicious dessert. Hell, I didn’t even have to taste the cake to know it was outstanding. There was no way I wasn’t going to have any of it. But I smirked and nodded. “You know what, Betty? I think I’ll have a small slice.”
She smiled, quite pleased with my reply, and went to get plates. I looked over to the stunning girl sitting across from me and winked at her. Her rosy cheeks which followed my wink made my night.
I looked over to Andrea’s dad, who was reading a car manual. During dinner he told me how he had planned to learn how to fix cars. Andrea informed me that he was Mr. Fix-It. Walter only grinned and informed me that he was Mr. Try-It-Break-It-Throw-It-And-Then-Sometimes-Fix-It.
She loved her dad.
He loved her just as much.
Nothing wrong with a good father figure.
As Betty reentered with the plates and sliced us each a piece I began to devour the hell out of dessert.
I smiled as I watched Andrea ever so nonchalantly rub her finger against her plate pick up the remains of cake crumbs, and eat them. Betty’s eyes sparkled with excitement when she saw this, and she watched as Andrea reached for another piece. In that moment, Andrea made her mama really happy. After they finished, Andrea helped her mom clean off the table and they left us two men to ourselves.
“Walter, your wife really has a way with cooking. This was probably the best meal I’ve had in a long time,” I praised.
Walter sat back in his chair and removed his glasses, placing them on the table. “I lucked out. A perfect wife.” Walter wiggled his nose towards Betty, who was smiling towards him from the kitchen.
“How long have you two been married now?”
“Thirty-six years.” He grinned. He was proud to call her his. And she was equally proud to call him hers. I couldn’t imagine. Iris and I were only married for four years and damaged to the core.
“What are your secrets?”
He thought for a moment. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and narrowed his eyes. His voice lowered to a whisper and I waited for the wisdom. “Whiskey.”
I laughed out loud as he smirked and continued. “But really. The secret is to listen to what she doesn’t say, see what she doesn’t do, and hold her when she doesn’t cry.”
Solid advice.
“And, each night, two shots of whiskey.” I chuckled again at his joke. But I was quick to notice his stern look and I knew the shots of whiskey truly were the key to his successful marriage. If I were to ever get married again, I would need to discover my own secrets to success that didn’t involve drinking.
I saw Betty head back into the room and Andrea walk off down the hallway with her cell phone glued to her ear. Walter raised a brow, nonverbally asking where his daughter was going.
“She’s on her phone, talking to her friend Ladasha.” Her lips frowned when she said Dasha’s name and Walter shook his head.
“Betty, don’t start.”
“What is it?” I asked. I couldn’t stop wondering what it was they were exactly saying without saying. That must be exactly what Walter had been talking about for a successful relationship—listen to what she’s not saying. But I wasn’t trained that well. I needed it to be spelled out for me.
“I don’t feel comfortable with Anders being out in New York with this friend we’ve never actually met until yesterday. And she seems like a nice girl but…” Betty paused and placed her hands in her lap. “I’m not racist.”
“Of course not,” I said.
“And Ladasha seems like a fine girl. But it appears like she has a dark past.”
“Don’t we all?”
“Yes. It’s true. But some people don’t come out of it. And I want Andrea to be able to come out of the dark past and have a future. And I wish I could feel as if Ladasha was a good influence.”
I lowered my brows and rested the tip of my thumb between my teeth. “With all due respect, Mrs. Evans, I had the opportunity to sit down and speak with Ladasha. And her path was carved into shape before she had a chance to inhale her first breath. The odds were stacked against her, but she keeps smiling. She doesn’t live in self-pity and she doesn’t blame the world. She strives to be her best. She keeps pushing to be better, and if I had to choose a best friend for my daughter, if I had one, there would be no doubt in my mind that I would choose Ladasha.”
She rubbed her bottom lip and bit it. I saw where Andrea picked up a few of her traits. “I’ve embarrassed myself,” she said. She had, it was bullshit the way she judged Ladasha. But, I told her she shouldn’t feel that way. Her cheeks became red and she picked up a glass of water to sip. “It’s just, I worry, that’s all.”
“I would, too. About a lot of things. But if I could go ahead and ease some of your worries right now…Ladasha is not something you should worry about.” I grinned and watched her sigh with relief.
“Okay.”
“Okay.” I stood up to step away for a moment. “Now, if you would excuse me please. I must use your bathroom.”
Or, well, go find Andrea.
Same difference.