Hey, everyone!!! Here is the next instalment. So sorry it took so long to get back, but life got in the way!

This chapter is dedicated to my two WP Sisters: Solesister71 and 

MyraWards

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Hey LoveFool,

My boyfriend's friends are so gross and perverted. They are nasty and say sick shit all of the time. When my boyfriend is around them he acts like that to. But when he is with me he is super sweet. How do I deal with his sick F#$kboy friends? 

Grossed out girlfriend

Dear Grossed out,

One thing I have learned, is to never come between a guy and his friends--so I wouldn't even try. Yes, they are probably silly and immature, but most teenage boys are. It's just a fact of life. Now if it were me, I'd probably say something to my boyfriend about the way they are acting and maybe seeing about limiting the amount of time that you, personally, have to spend with them. 

But no matter what, you're in a relationship with him, not his friends!

Remember, don't be a fool in love, that's my job,

Lovefool

By the time I made it home from work, there was a red Mustang convertible parked right outside my house. It looked new, but I had no idea how new; considering I was a girl and my knowledge base of cars was zilch. Although, if I had to guess, it was probably this year's model.

I whipped the car onto the driveway. The vehicle hadn't even come to a complete stop when three knocks rapped against the window.

My heart leaped into my throat, and my first inclination was to hit the lock button, or worse and draw attention by sounding the alarm. Instead, I reached for my phone and dialed 9-1-1.

Stay calm, Harriet. Just breathe. 

With it being the middle of November, it was dark already, save for the streetlights at the curb and there was no way of knowing this stranger's identity. Apparently, Mom forgot to turn the porch light on again or was still at work. Probably the latter.

The person tapped the glass again. "Hello, Harry."

Ugh. Him. The phone hadn't even connected, and I hit the red button to end the call.

"What the heck, Tanner." I gaped at him while opening the driver's side door. "What're you doing here?" 

I had lied to Tanner, telling him that I didn't get off until eight. That was supposed to buy me a few moments of peace before having to deal with the likes of him.

"Well." He leaned against the hood of my VW Bug and waited while I grabbed my book bag and purse from the front seat. "I called the library, and talked to a very nice woman by the name of Brenda."

My cheeks flushed. "Um. Did you?" I groaned under my breath. Brenda. One of those nosey, middle-aged hags I worked with that loved nothing than to get in everyone else's business. Come tomorrow at work, I bet she'd have a few things to say on the matter. 

Lucky me.

"Oh, yeah." Tanner forced a faint chuckle. "She told me that you got off work at seven. Not eight. Imagine that."

"Huh." I shrugged and didn't look at him while hurrying toward the back of the house. Dead leaves littered the pathway, contributing to the swooshing and crunching of our footfalls that cut through the crisp autumn silence. Finally, after we reached the door, the motion lights blinded us both. 

Tanner stood there, watching as I fumbled with the keys and dropped them on the ground. Both of us bent down to retrieve them and butted heads.

"Ow!" I cried out and rubbed the point of impact.

He winced while holding a hand to his forehead. "Damn it, Harry, your head is as hard as a rock."

"I'll take that as a compliment," I said sarcastically. My eyes scanned the area surrounding my feet, and the house keys were nowhere in sight. And there wasn't another set hidden in a potted plant or underneath a welcome mat. I'd already taken those, seeing as I had a penchant for losing small items; like spare keys, among other things. 

After setting the book bag and purse down, I got on my hands and knees to check if those darn keys had somehow fallen behind one of Mom's stupid gnomes she had adorning the back porch. There was nothing. Using the flashlight on my phone didn't produce results either. 

"Harry, what are you doing?" Tanner crouched to my level.

"Umm. Looking for my keys," I grumbled. "How else are we going to get in?"

Tanner stood to his full height. "Oh, you mean these." He jangled the metal keys.

I bolted straight up and grasped them from his clutches. "Yes. These." 

"Well, there you go." He flashed me a cocky smile. "See, I saved the day."

Feigning a swoon, I said, "Ahh, are you like a superhero in training or something?"

Tanner rewarded that backhanded comment by grabbing my book bag and purse for me. He kept the heavier of the two and hoisted it over his shoulder before handing me its feminine counterpart. "I guess I'm something special like that."

Boy, was he sure of himself all right.

I forced a giggle and narrowed my eyes. I was on to his bull. "Although." Pausing, I slipped the key into the lock and wrenched open the door with a jerk. Tanner didn't even wait for me to invite him in and his long legs crossed the threshold like he owned the darn place. What a jerk. I clenched my teeth and continued, "You knew what I was looking for, but still you didn't stop me from crawling around and getting my jeans all dirty."

"Consider it payback for lying to me." He winked and deposited the book bag on an empty chair in the kitchen. 

I pushed up my glasses and set my things down as well. "Lying to you?"

"Yes. Lying. You know when you lied to me yesterday about when you got off work?"

I shrugged off my jacket, hanging it on a coat rack beside the walk in pantry. "Maybe I just got out of work early?"

Tanner stepped close, and his immediate nearness had my stomach flipping. I had to get this under control and fast. Having a crush from afar was one thing, but this here, spending time with him, up close and personal, was proving problematic. Big time.

"I know you didn't." His mismatched hypnotic eyes stared me down, and I moved backward until bumping into the stainless steel fridge behind me. He countered by following my not-so-graceful action. Eyebrow cocked, and jaw locked, he said, "Because I asked dear Brenda. And do you know what she told me?"

I gulped. "No." 

He leaned in, pinning me in my place. "That you always get off work at seven. No exceptions."

"Okay and?" A sudden drop of my shoulders was to show my indifference.

He smirked. "You lied to me."

"You're right." I brushed against him while opening the fridge to grab a bottle of water. "Want one?" I asked over my shoulder.

"Sure." He accepted the drink and twisted off the cap. "So, why did you lie?"

I took a swig of the cold liquid. "Why do you care?"

Tanner folded his arms. "Let's just say I don't like people lying to me. Especially when there is no reason for it." He motioned that it was my turn to explain my sin.

"I lied because." I stalled, clenching my eyes shut for a moment. Did I go there? Did I tell him even a smidgen of the truth? 

"Because..." He tilted his head to the side, causing a few strands of his sandy blond hair over his eye. That other devil eye of his, the half mixed blue and brown, stayed locked on me.

"Because honestly, I hoped that it was too late for you to come over." I shook my head. "That you'd just agree for us to work on it separately, and then everything would be fine." Fine as in my life would continue as planned. One where I stayed off everyone's radar and muddled through this last year of high school, avoiding all drama, entanglements, and boys especially. And Tanner qualified as a good two out of the three, if not all.

"Huh?" Tanner responded.

What the heck did that mean? Was he taking it under consideration?

Tanner rounded the table; his gaze peeled to the myriad of rooster knickknacks and pictures that decorated the obnoxiously themed kitchen. He stalled behind an opposite chair and pulled the black hoodie he wore over his head. The thin material of his white t-shirt tugged upwards as well, momentarily, and gave me a sneak peek at a hockey player's chest in the flesh. Ripped pectoral muscles, taut abs. Good God. He must work out non-stop from the looks of it.

He glanced up, and our gazes met. My cheeks burned as Tanner Wilson gave me grin that kept widening as my racing heartbeats pounded. Darn it! He caught me staring at him a little longer than acceptable. Or necessary.

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Part two of this chapter will be posted on Tuesday!!!

We want to thank everyone for being so patient with us over the past month. Hopefully *fingers crossed* all our hard work will come to fruition!