New Beginnings

Excerpt

Regina pulled into her drive way just as the blonde woman sped down the street. Shaking her head she grabbed her bag out of the back and headed inside. Regina sighed deeply feeling as if a huge weight sat atop her shoulders, today had been another day from hell and she wondered how much more she would be able to take of the spoiled ass rich kids that attended the school where she taught. Hell growing up her parents had more money than all of their parents put together and neither she nor Reg ever acted the way that the kids that she taught dance did and it really pissed her off that they were allowed to be such obnoxious and selfish people.

She remembered growing up and no matter what she or her brother wanted, they had to work for it and she realized that that was the difference. The kids that she taught never had to work for anything and thus thought they were entitled to any and everything their hearts desired.

Making sure to lock the car door she turned and headed towards her house. As she reached her front porch she heard her name being called. Turning, she spotted Joe climbing out of his car. She didn’t have the patients to be nice not after the long day she’d had with her dance class. She knew that it was time for her to make a decision she’d put it off long enough.

“Hey Joe what are you doing here?”

“Hi baby, I came to see if you’d like to have dinner tonight.” He leaned in to kiss her, but Regina was able to dodge it and his lips grazed her cheek.

“Sorry Joe, but I’ve had a very long day and I’m just going to go inside shower and crash.”

“Why don’t I come in and prepare dinner for you while you soak in the tub and once I get everything simmering I’ll come up and join you?” He suggested leaning closer.

Regina placed a hand on his chest gently pushing him away, “Joe I told you that you are wasting my time and yours. Nothing is going to happen between us again. It didn’t work before and it isn’t going to work now.”

“Regina I know I fucked up, but everyone deserves forgiveness and a second chance,” he implored.

“Joe I’ve forgiven you, but I can’t forget therefore us being a couple isn’t going to happen.” He was about to grab her arm when a voice behind him halted the action.

“Hey Reggie, did you forget about dinner?” Ethan called out having noticed the by play and when he’d seen the strained look on her face knew that something was wrong. “Everything is just about ready, but I think you have enough time to shower and change in to something else and come on over,” he stood there waiting for the tall lanky brother to back away from her and leave.

“I’m sorry I did forget, let me get showered and I’ll be right over,” she called back, Joe stared at her for a moment before he turned and stalked over to his car glaring over at Ethan wondering who in the hell he was.

Regina let out a deep sigh of relief as she watched Joe drive off, “thanks for coming to my rescue.”

“No problem, now go on in shower and come on over you’ve got ten minutes.”

She stared after him not believing that he actually expected her to come over and share dinner with him and the girls, but since he continued to walk away, she supposed he did.

She showered and changed and made her way over to Ethan’s place at exactly ten minutes. He opened the door before she could ring the doorbell quickly ushering her in. The girls squealed in delight upon seeing her and finding out that she would be having dinner with them.

“Oh man something smells wonderful,” Regina said as her nose was assaulted by a wonderful smell.

“Uncle Ethan is a wonderful cook,” Margaret informed her as she and her sisters led Regina where she could wash up.

Dinner was wonderful and she was totally unprepared for how right it felt to share dinner with this man and his nieces. They talked and ate together as if they did the same thing every night.

“All right girls go on and wash your hands you have an hour to play more video games.” The girls placed their plates in the sink before giving their uncle and Regina a kiss. She watched as they dashed out of the kitchen running across the hall to the family room to use up their hour.

“Its good that you give them a time limit on the videos I see to many kids that their parents allow them to play without supervision or putting a time limit on them.”

Ethan stood and poured them each a mug of coffee before retaking his seat, “so who was the guy bothering you when you got home?”

Regina sighed leaning back in her chair, “Joe’s a guy I dated a while back apparently he thought it was real cool to date a famous model and a member of the Coleman clan. At first it was all good we had a good time together and he was a perfect gentleman,” she paused to take a sip of coffee. “You remember me saying that your family would be the first to stab you in the back?” Ethan nodded. “Well I have a cousin the same cousin that felt that it was my duty to get her into the modeling field without her having to go through the motions that everyone else has to. Well apparently to get back at me she showed up at my apartment while I was away on a shoot. She knew I was due back so she made it a point to go there and make a play for him. Him being the weak minded prick that he is he took her up on her offer and when I made it home I found them in my bed going at it like rabbits.

I wasn’t hurt by Joe’s betrayal, because I didn’t care about him he was just someone I enjoyed spending time with and the occasional screw,” she said softly so that the girls wouldn’t hear her. “What hurt was that my cousin had no regard or respect for the fact that we were related by blood, but she didn’t she just wanted to get even. You should have seen the smile on her face when she spotted me in the doorway. Joe was so in to it that he didn’t stop until he came and then she says to him, “oh look who made it home,” Joe jumped off of her pushing her away from him. I couldn’t help but laugh once I got my laughter under control I threw both of them out.

For a while he stayed away I guess to give me time to calm down and get over it. He started coming around a few months later and I was cordial and talked to him, but when he tried to take it further I’d stop him. One night he lost his temper and almost destroyed my car busting out all the windows. After then I’d never allowed him to get me any where alone because I can’t trust him and I could tell tonight that he was just barely holding it in check.”

Ethan gripped the mug tightly in his hand the thought of that bastard putting his hands on her made his insides twist painfully, “well we will just have to keep our eye out for him and if he ever shows up you make sure to call me.”

“That’s sweet Ethan, but you don’t’ have to do that.”

“Sweet has nothing to do with it and you just remember to call me okay.”

She could tell that he was determined by the cold look in his eyes and the steel in his voice and it made her glad that she wasn’t on his bad side, so she gave in and promised to call him.

“Now tell me what else is bothering you. I could see it when you got out of your car that you’d had a rough day.”

Regina laughed, “Damn you are too observant. After my class today I realized that I need to make a decision about continuing the classes.”

“So I take it that giving this class isn’t enjoyable for you. I could tell the other night how much you enjoy dancing and being a teacher I’m sure that you would be awesome teaching dance.”

It surprised her that he read her so well with the short time that they’d known each other,

“I guess I have a problem teaching people past a certain age. The girls in this class are diva’s that feel that they know more than I do and it feels more like a chore to show up and deal with the different attitudes. Today I came so close to telling the director that I was done, but I know I can’t do it that way because it wouldn’t’ be right.”

****

He heard the pain in her voice and knew that she was feeling trapped without thinking he stood walked to her and pulled her up out of her chair and quickly led the way out back to the deck and as he held her she let the tears flow.

“I’m sorry for wetting up your shirt,” she whispered. “I don’t know what came over me.”

“Shush, it’s okay you don’t have to apologize,” he held her tightly in his arms enjoying the way it felt to hold her. How her body felt right against his. “You know what I think?” Regina shook her head against his shoulder. “I think that you should give the director two weeks’ notice take some time for yourself and then think about offering dance classes for kids from the ages of what four and up to ten,” he suggested shrugging. “Or you could even offer it at the community center where I volunteer I’m sure the kids there would be more appreciative of your gift.”

Regina leaned back to look him in the face, “I hadn’t thought about that. Hell I don’t know why I even agreed to deal with teens or young adults,” she confessed with a smile and her spirits lifted she leaned up and gave him a kiss on the mouth. Feeling a great weight lifted off of her shoulders she gave him another kiss. This time he kissed her back and the kiss was more than either of them was prepared for. The sound of giggling brought them apart they both looked around and saw three faces pressed against the door smiling.

“I’m going to head on home and write out my resignation and um…well could you give me the name of a contact person for the center.”

“I’ll do even better, I’ll take you by there and introduce you to the director and the two of you can sit down and talk while I work. We can go on Saturday after Maddie and Chester pick the girls up.” She thanked him again and quickly left, he hid his smile as she practically ran away, but he’d seen the desire in her eyes and knew that it matched his. Ethan admitted that he hadn’t felt what he was feeling before in his life, not even when he was with Karen and he’d planned on marrying her, before he came to his senses and discarded the notion. He had a feeling that the part that was missing from his life had just ran away, but he’d let her go for now.