by Marie Scully
It was that day that I sold my soul and we made a deal. I was twelve. James wouldn’t know what I’d done until it was too late to go back on my word. Chris’s reputation had never fully healed since the article came out and he wanted his perfect world back. I would come out with the story that he had honestly never known about us and that since my mother’s death we had grown close, all one big happy family. A few days a year I would come to his home where he would show the world how perfect we really were. In exchange he would pay all my brother’s rehab bills. It only cost me a little of myself each time. A price I would have paid forever.
❖
The creaking sound of the barn door opening alerts me that I have company. I don’t announce my presence. Hopefully, they’ll get what they need and leave me with my thoughts. But Flame gives me away when he whinnies, and the sound of boots moving across the floor echoes on the stable walls till they stop in front of Flame’s stall.
“How was the date?” Ben asks.
I keep my back towards him and respond, “It wasn’t a date.”
“If it wasn’t a date, what was it?”
I decide to plead the Fifth and not answer. Ben opens the stall, moves around Flame, and sits down next to me.
“How was your night?” I ask him as he stretches his legs out.
“It was good. Megan came over to have family dinner.” His eyes look straight ahead as if not wanting to give more information than that.
“You two getting back together?” I ask.
“I don’t know. I really messed up.” His feet kicks some of the hay around.
“What did you do?” I can’t help but ask.
“That, my friend, is a story for another time. The better story is what are you doing all by yourself in the stable?”
“I’m not by myself. I have Flame and all the other horses to keep me company.”
“Because they’re such good conversationalists,” he points out with a laugh but then goes quiet. He knows what I mean. I’ve seen him out in the barn asking their opinion on a few occasions.
“You have no idea.” Flame gives me a look as if to say “you keep talking and all I want to do is eat in peace.”
“You want to talk about it? I can kick Liam’s ass if need be.”
“No ass kicking needed. We had a nice night. He took me to dinner and dancing. I made a bad bet and lost at darts. That sums up the evening.”
“Well if that’s it then you should get up and help me get started with the day and stop sitting here wallowing in self-pity.” Ben jumps to his feet, wiping himself free of hay and leads me out of the stall.
Chapter Seventeen
Danny
Over the past week I was somehow able to avoid Liam. I swear the universe takes joy in placing me in his path, but I’m sure he’ll soon forget all about me and move on. The sooner the better—he keeps popping into my thoughts as I try to read.
“Pizza. Come on, Ben. Please. I won’t ask for anything else this week. Please.” I look up from my book as Jimmy comes bouncing up and down after his brother into the kitchen.
“Oh my God. You’re driving me nuts. Fine. We can go get pizza,” Ben says, throwing his hand up in defeat.
“Yes.” Jimmy fist-pumps the air excitedly.
“Put on your shoes and let’s go,” Ben says, and Jimmy runs from the room in search of them.
“I guess someone’s in the mood for pizza,” I observe, still holding the book between my fingers.
Ben shakes his head. “It has nothing to do with pizza. He got a text from a friend telling him that his crush is there with some friends. He came barreling into my room like the hounds of hell were after him, begging to go.”
“Young love.”
“You interested?” he asks, looking at me with pleading eyes.
“Well, Jimmy’s a little young for me and you’re not my type.”
Rolling his eyes, he replies, “Smart-ass. Pizza. You want to join in pizza?”
“Pizza or leftover salad? Pizza wins.” Placing the book on the table, I stand and slide on my own shoes.
“Ben, I have my shoes.” Jimmy’s voice carries from the entranceway.
Ben groans. Patting him on the shoulder, I say in mock sympathy, “It’s going to be okay, big guy.”
“When was the last time you were around a bunch of thirteen-year-olds?”
The comeback dies on my lips.
“That’s what I thought. Just you wait,” Ben says, picking up the keys from the counter. Jimmy is halfway out the front door when he sees us and yells, “Shotgun,” taking off to the car.
❖
For a Friday night, it’s quiet at the pizzeria, and we’re seated quickly. Jimmy keeps looking around the place every few seconds for his crush, not wanting us to know.
Ben slips the menu on the table with a bang, causing Jimmy and me to jump. “Guys, game time. Onion rings, mushrooms, or cheesy garlic bread as the appetizer?”
“That’s an eas—” My voice dies as my ears pick up a familiar voice.
“Firstly, that’s not what happened…” The voice from the one person I’ve successfully avoided all week rushes to my ears.
Great. Just great.
I’ve dodged him all week, every time he came to visit Ben, and now here he is with a large group of people and a tall, beautiful blonde wearing a tight pink dress, hanging on his arm like he’s a life vest and she’s drowning. Just great.
“Hey, Liam,” Ben yells across the room. I kick him under the table. “Ouch!” He glares.
“Oops. I was moving my leg.”
He glares more. Jimmy looks between us, confused.
I hear Liam say to the hostess, “Please add three more to our table.”
Not happening. How am I going to get out of this? Headaches, nervous breakdown, fleeing?
The closer they come, the more intense my possible excuses become. Black plague, the flu. Liam and his “friend” stop at our table while the rest of the group continues to follow the hostess to theirs.
“You guys want to join us, if you haven’t already ordered? We added more chairs,” he says, looking at me with a challenge.
I feel my face flush with anger. Why I’m angry, I’m not sure, considering I was the one doing the avoiding all week. But as Miss Kentucky looks at him like all she wants to do is climb him, I feel instantly and irrationally furious. I stand up quickly, causing my chair to hit the one behind me with a scraping sound. I swing my bag onto my shoulder.
And Jimmy looks between us as if watching a ping-pong match.
“Yes, that should be fun.” As much fun as getting my nails pulled off. “Boys, let’s go.” My smile is forced to the point of pain. Maneuvering around the happy couple, I move towards the rest of the group. I don’t check to see if Ben and Jimmy are following. I hear Jimmy say, “I see my friends. I’m going to see if they have room and I can join. See you later.”
I guess it’s just Ben and me enjoying this lovely meal. The hostess has put their group of thirteen, now fifteen, in the back room, pushing four tables together to accommodate. Most of the chairs have been claimed. My options are few.
“Ben, come over here. Janice, move over one, I haven’t seen him in forever,” a guy with sandy blond hair wearing a baseball shirt and jeans says. This makes me almost yell NO. I look at Ben and plead with my mind, trying to silently convey my lack of positive feelings on that seat choice.
“Mitch, it’s been forever. How’s baseball and the last year of school going?” Ben begins to make a move towards the other end of the table, and I know he didn’t receive my message. That leaves the only seat accessible next to Miss Kentucky and Liam, surrounded by no one I know. I guess I made my bed by agreeing to join them and now I have to sleep in it. Each step I take, I feel as if I’m walking to the gallows. As Liam pulls the seat out for her and her hand lingers longer on his arm than necessary, he looks up. I stare at them, and his mouth twitches to curve into a smile. I have the urge to beat them both with the c
hair.
They’re saved from the chair beating for the moment as the waitress comes by to get drink and appetizer orders. Ben gets his wish as several orders of each available appetizer are ordered for the table. Conversations start to circle all around. I try to focus on different ones, looking for a way in, but it seems like everyone is talking about things I know nothing about or have never done. Horse states, travel, calories between white and wholewheat bread.
Instead of saying something potentially stupid, I sit and watch, taking sips of my water here and there, trying to look busy while doing nothing. I see Liam look at me several times, each time more concerned than the last.
I feel the person to the right of me touch my shoulder, signaling that they want my attention. I twist in my chair to see who it is as the man says, “Hi. I don’t believe we’ve met. I’m Mark, and this lovely lady is my wife, Heather.”
Heather breaks away from her own conversation to flash me a large grin.
“You’ll have to forgive us—we just had a baby, and this is our first night out in a while. We both feel like the walking dead.”
“If it makes you feel any better, you don’t look like it.”
“Only a little,” Mark says, still holding the grin.
“I’m Danny. I work with Ben,” I say. I catch Mark looking at Liam quickly before he thinks I’ll notice. Has Liam told him about me? How I freaked out and have been avoiding him? Mark probably thinks I’m nuts too.
“Did you have a boy or girl?” I ask, trying to break the ice. Someone’s kid is usually a safe topic.
Heather removes her phone and opens to her photo app, quickly scrolling to a picture. “Her name is Kelly.”
I take the outstretched phone and start swiping. “Ahh, she’s very cute. I love this one with the bear.” I zoom in on the picture.
“She loves that bear. It was hard to leave her tonight, but she’s with Mark’s mom, and we needed to be around other people for a minute.”
I give the phone back to her. I find that I like Mark and Heather, and after talking to them for a few minutes, it’s as if the flood gates open and more people start speaking to me. I’m able to find something in common with most of them.
The conversations come to a halt as the appetizers arrive. Everyone is trying to organize the best places to set the food, and I reach for the onion rings. I have them halfway to my plate when I hear Miss Kentucky shriek, “I said no croutons or cheese. At least the dressing is on the side.” She throws the salad back to the waitress, causing some lettuce and cheese to fall on the table.
The waitress stands there with a look of shock and half the table’s jaws drop at the scene. Liam looks ready to die of embarrassment. “Katie, you can just pick it out,” he says, trying to defuse the situation.
There is, however, no defusing Miss Kentucky, a.k.a. Katie as she looks at Liam, appalled at his suggestion. She’s about ready to breathe fire as she says, “Liam, it’s covered in cheese. I’m not going to eat this trying to dodge cheese.” She looks back to the waitress and the salad, pushing the bowl closer to the waitress as if she’s afraid the cheese is going to attack her at any moment.
The waitress snaps from her daze and grabs the bowl. “Sorry about that. I’ll get you another.” She practically runs from the room. All eyes are still locked on Katie. With the issue resolved, she fixes her napkin on her lap before glancing up and noticing that all eyes are on her. “What?” she asks with attitude. Everyone quickly glances back at their food. Some mumble, “Nothing.”
My gaze meets Liam’s. He’s not happy about what just transpired. She tries to get his attention, but his eyes are still on mine. My body gets warm all over and everyone else disappears from the room except us. He’s giving me fantasies with just his stare. I can see it play out in my head.
He would get up and take my hand, leading me quickly from the prying eyes. “Where are we going?” I would ask. But he wouldn’t respond, instead quickening his steps, and we would go out the back door. There would be no one around as he pushed me up against the outside wall, the fresh air doing nothing to help my heated flesh.
My hands would move to his shoulders, feeling the muscles under his shirt. He would drop closer, his eyes searching mine.
“What do you want?” My voice in the fantasy comes out strong, demanding to know his answer. Putting the ball in his court again.
“I want you,” he would say, his lips hot against mine. Our mouths doing a dance as old as time. He would bite my lip, not softly, and I would moan, wanting more. I would tug him closer.
I feel another’s eyes on me and am thrust back to reality.
Katie looks up to see what’s grabbed Liam’s attention, and once she notices that it’s me, she glares draggers. I break eye contact first and look at my onion rings. Not hungry. At least not for food.
❖
Thankfully the rest of the dinner goes smoothly, with no more outbursts and, more importantly, no more fantasies about Liam. After paying our bill, Ben has the bright idea to go to the bar down the street since Jimmy asked to stay at a friend’s house.
Mark and Heather needed to go home, and a few others had other plans for the evening, leaving Mitch, Janice, Ben, Liam, and me. Unlike the pizza joint, this place is in full Friday swing. The Parrot Trap is the complete opposite of the bar I went to with Liam. It’s half the size, for one thing, with a small bar stocked only with the basics. A three-man band is playing in the corner. Rock and roll for the win.
“Can we boogie now?” Ben asks with a grin.
“No,” our voices ring out together.
“Killjoys,” he replies as he Macarenas his way to the middle of the room.
“I guess we should go join him to make him look less insane,” Mitch points out, making his way to join Ben. Janice follows as well till all three of them are doing the Macarena, and air rushes past me as Liam heads to the bar. I watch the three of them for another minute, then follow Liam, needing a drink myself. As I reach the bar, I realize that beer is already sitting out. I take a drink of liquid courage before saying, “You remembered.”
“Of course—I always remember what a lady drinks. Is there a reason you’ve been avoiding me this past week?”
My eyes bulge out; I wasn’t expecting him to be that direct. “I haven’t been avoiding you.” Lie.
“Really? Then why on Tuesday did I see you duck back into the stable like a thief as I was getting out of the car?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“I did not duck in like a thief.” Lie. “I heard something fall and went back in to check it out. I didn’t even realize it was you who pulled up.”
“You didn’t recognize an Audi that you’d ridden in a few days earlier?”
My temper flares. Why does he care? It’s not like the date meant that much to him since he already had another girl lined up for tonight.
“Firstly, I wasn’t avoiding you. Secondly, even if I was, it didn’t affect your ability to get a date tonight, did it?” I cringe at my tone.
Instead of getting pissed, he does something even more frustrating. He smiles a knowing smile.
“Why are you smiling?” I ask hotly.
“You’re jealous,” he says knowingly.
“You have some nerve. I’m not jealous, just stating a fact,” I say, holding my glass tighter.
“Mmhmm,” he says, turning and walking away. The nerve.
“Hey,” I yell at his back. I move as quickly as the sticky floor allows, following his retreating form. He turns a corner, and I lose sight of him as a group of underage-looking kids walk in front of me. I mentally groan.
It feels like forever till they all pass and I can go back to the hunt.
I walk in the same direction he went, down a narrow hallway. I step deeper into the hall when strong arms reach out of nowhere, pulling me back into a dimly lit room.
“Son of a—” I twist around to see Liam. “Liam, what the hell?” I glance around the room. “A janitor’s closet? Really? Are w
e in a poorly written high-school-romance flick?”
“Would you have preferred a bathroom?” he asks, leaning confidently back against some boxes as if he spent all his time in the janitor’s closet.
“I would prefer neither,” I reply hotly.
“Where were we?” he asks, crossing his arms over his chest.
The urge to smack him keeps growing. “I was just leaving,” I say, taking a step towards the door.
“Oh, I remember now. We were talking about your jealousy.”
I could just ignore him but the arrogance in his tone has me stopping in my tracks. With one foot off the ground, I fly back around. “If you think I’m jealous of Miss Kentucky, you’re nuts!”
“Miss Kentucky?” he asks, his face full of confusion. “Then I stand corrected. You’re not jealous.”
For some reason, that wasn’t the answer I wanted. I don’t know what I wanted him to say, but it wasn’t that. “You are frustrating.”
“Some people call me charming.” His eyes twinkle with mischief and something else. Something I can’t place.
“Yeah,” I say, taking another step closer so we’re almost touching.
“Yeah,” he says with the same tone as before.
Something comes over me, causing me to lose all sense of control as I move forward, grabbing the middle of his shirt. Balling it in my hand, I pull him towards me and bring his lips almost to mine. Then I stop, losing some of my confidence. What am I doing?
“Do you have me where you want me?” he asks, not trying to break free from my hold. I say nothing as I pull him to my lips. The kiss isn’t soft, but demanding and fast. I take what I want, and he returns it equally. Just as before, everything around me melts away, leaving only emotions running wild. The kiss ignites a fire within me, and I lose myself in his touch. Craving more, my lips continue to move without thought.
We’re so engrossed in our kiss that we don’t hear the door open.
“Mmhmm.” The sound had us pulling apart quickly to find the bartender standing in the doorway. Not as surprised to see us as I would’ve thought. Maybe this was an occupational hazard. He looks between us before moving to grab the mop. “Really?” he asks as he points to the open door.
