Above Average

Mae

Parking was at a premium on the crowded street and the yahoo sitting in his limo and staring at nothing didn’t belong. I was forced to do a shitty parallel parking job because of the giant car in the way. Now, the man was staring at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was crazy. It probably wasn’t the best idea to go around pounding on the car windows of strangers. Not in this day and age.

“Well?” I asked when he continued to stare at me instead of answering my very legitimate question.

He made a move to open the door. I took a step back, ready to kick the door shut if I felt threatened. Hell, I would kick him if I felt threatened. He was still staring at me. He stood, his full height towering over me.

I frowned at him. “You do speak English, right?”

“Mae?” he said.

I took a full step back. Now I was on guard. “Who are you?” I snapped.

“Mae,” he said again. “Mae Kendell.”

He was going to serve me papers. My parents had somehow managed to retain a high-powered attorney and he thought he could show up at my work and intimidate me. The guy had another thing coming. Although his outfit was rather relaxed for an attorney. I reasoned he could be the muscle for the attorney. I would not be intimidated. I was going to fight for Hayden.

“What do you want?” I snapped. “I will call the police if I feel the least bit threatened or harassed.”

The man smiled and my heart did a funny little pitter-patter. It couldn’t be. There was no way. My eyes roamed over the very large man in front of me.

“Mae, it’s me, Tyson. Tyson Helms.”

“Tyson?” I breathed his name. He was so different, so manly. He wasn’t the young guy I knew. He wasn’t Patrick’s best friend that used to tease me incessantly.

He stepped forward, his big arms going around me as he hugged me close. I didn’t know how to react and went with instinct and hugged him back. It was a little weird to be hugging him. If someone would have told me this morning when I woke up that I would be hugging Tyson Helms that day, I would have laughed in their face.

He released me and took a step back, looking me up and down. I was suddenly very glad I had worn one of the new skirts I had bought during our shopping spree with Hayden.

“You’ve grown up!” he exclaimed.

I laughed. “That happens. You’ve changed a lot too.” I didn’t give him the specific details of those changes. He was a man. I couldn’t get my head around the idea. I was staring at the bicep with ink. The sleeve of his shirt hid the artwork. I was intrigued.

“Is your dad running this place now?” he asked.

“No. Patrick. And me, kind of.” I was nervous. I was acting like the teen girl with a crush on her big brother’s best friend.

“Is he here?” he asked.

“No.”

“Oh,” he said, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He looked just as uncomfortable as I was.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

He blinked. “I came to see Patrick.”

“Oh,” I said, unable to hide the disappointment I had no right to feel.

He didn’t move. He was staring at me just as hard as I was staring at him. There was an awkwardness that was undeniable. We were both adults and the past was long gone. There was no reason for us to be weird around each other. “Would you like to grab some coffee?” I blurted out.

The same sexy smile that I remembered from our younger years spread over his face. I stared into the blue eyes that were so light, they were almost translucent. The bushy black brows and the long black eyelashes served to highlight his perfect eyes. His black hair was cut short with a little flip in the front, giving him a boyish look.

“I would love to,” he answered after a long pause.

“Great.”

“We can take my car,” he offered.

I looked at the luxury ride and figured I might as well. “Thanks. There is a place not far from here.”

He gestured for me to get in. I climbed in, scooting to the other side. He got in and told the driver to find the nearest coffee shop. “You look good,” he commented.

I felt the blush spreading over my cheeks. “Thanks. You too.” I turned and looked out the window, feeling like a complete idiot.

The car pulled to a stop a few minutes later. I suddenly felt completely ridiculous. “I feel like we are a little over-the-top,” I said with a laugh. “Do you always take a limo to grab coffee?”

He grinned. “Yes.”

The driver opened the door for me, which made me feel even more ridiculous. I climbed out of the car and thanked him before practically running around to the front. I had to work in the neighborhood. I didn’t want to be one of those obnoxious people that backed up traffic because my limo was double-parked.

Tyson opened the door to the coffee shop for me. “After you.”

“Thank you.”

I got in line with Tyson beside me. We both ordered lattes, which he insisted he pay for. I found a small table for us near the back of the shop. I looked at him over the cup, taking in the chiseled jaw and the broad shoulders. I couldn’t believe how much he had changed over the last fifteen years.

“Do you live in Philly?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes. Mostly. I travel a lot, but I have a house here. You?”

I raised an eyebrow. It was kind of a silly question, considering he’d just picked me up at my work. “Yes. Chestnut Hill. I have a small apartment.”

“I assume Patrick lives here as well.”

I nodded. “He does. What have you been up to? Last I heard, you were going off to college at Penn State.”

He smiled. “I’ve been working. A lot.”

“What did you go to school for? I remember you were undecided back then.”

That sexy smile was going to be my undoing. “I decided to double major.”

I laughed. “Of course, you did. You were always a go-getter, making us average people look bad.”

“You are not average,” he quickly said.