Love in the Dark

by 12 Book Boxed Set (epub)

  “I have to go and find Piper.”

  “Oh.” He looked taken aback and slightly annoyed. “Oracle, can’t you find her?”

  “She left.”

  “Oh, well then, she left.” He shrugged and looked at Alexa. “Catch up with her tomorrow.”

  “No, I have to make sure she got home okay.” Alexa shook her head. “She’s my best friend. We’re not from LA.”

  “She’ll be fine. She’s a big girl.” Jackson used the same words that had come out of my mouth, and I wondered if they’d sounded as condescending when I’d said them. I frowned as he continued trying to persuade her to stay. Is this what we’d come to?

  “Jackson, dude. If she wants to go, let her go.”

  “Let us at least give you a ride?” Jackson asked.

  It surprised me that he’d be willing to leave the club to help her until I realized that his offer was really one that would benefit him. Because after we gave her a ride, I was sure he’d be offering to take her back to his place, or in this case, my place, seeing as he was staying with me.

  “Oh, are you sure?” Alexa positively jumped at the idea and I could see Jackson flashing her a smile as he winked at me. He had another one in the bag.

  “Am I sure? I’ve never been surer.” He sounded so confident when he spoke that I couldn’t stop myself from smiling. “Hey, Oracle, you mind driving us?”

  “No, it’s fine,” I said with a grunt. I was ready to leave the club and get home. I had some scripts that I wanted to read and I had a call with my mother in the morning that I knew would drain me. “Let’s go.”

  I didn’t want to admit to myself that I was also curious about Piper and that I wanted to see her again. I also wondered if it was smart to let Alexa go with Jackson. He was my best friend and he was a good guy, but he wasn’t the sort of guy that could give any woman what she really wanted. All he did was break hearts, but I figured Alexa couldn’t be expecting a ring or anything. She wasn’t that naïve, surely?

  “Thank you so much.” Alexa clutched my arm and gave me a grateful look. I was surprised by the sincere smile on her face. “This means a lot to me. I’m having fun with you guys, but you know …” Her voice trailed off and she looked embarrassed. I knew what she was thinking. She wanted to be a good friend, but she also wanted to hook up with Jackson. I couldn’t fault her for that. The allure of being with an A-list star wasn’t lost on many people.

  “No worries. Has she responded to your text messages?”

  “No, she hasn’t.” She shook her head. “I have a feeling she’s mad at me.”

  “Maybe she’s just mad at the world.”

  “What do you mean?” Alexa blinked at me, her face a mix of surprise and agreement.

  “Nothing. She just seems like a hard woman to get to know.”

  “Did she shoot you down?” Jackson laughed then. “Is that what this is all about?”

  “She didn’t shoot me down,” I denied, somewhat angry and defensive.

  “Don’t worry. It’s not personal to you.” Alexa gave me a small smile. “Piper doesn’t really date, and when she does, it's with intellectual guys. She’s not one to go for good looks and Hollywood charm.”

  “I see.” While her words should have made me feel better, they made me feel more annoyed. As if I was upset that Piper hadn’t wanted to hook up. She wasn’t even my normal type. “Let’s go and see if we can find your nerdy friend then,” I said and with that, I was strolling ahead of them out of the club. I was over the night. Over the drinks. Over the loud music. Over the women staring and fawning at me. I was over all of it. I just wanted to leave and make sure that a certain raven-haired beauty was tucked safely in bed so that I could let her know that I had absolutely no interest in ever actually sharing it with her.

  4

  Piper

  “Hey, are you mad at me?”

  “Piper, answer me. I’m worried.”

  “I only went to get a drink I was coming back.”

  “Piper!”

  “Piper!!!!!!!!”

  “Fine, I’m coming back to the Airbnb. Sorry.”

  I stared at the burst of text messages that Alexa had sent me in the last thirty minutes and smiled. I hadn’t responded, not because I was upset with her, but because I hadn’t seen them. I’d been stuck in the back of an Uber pool with a very chatty driver and two other passengers. And we’d been engaged in a conversation about the joys of international travel. Each one of us had to come up with our top vacation destination and we’d debated back and forth on the pluses and minuses of Australia (my top destination), Dollywood (a slightly older lady from the South), and Dubai (the uber driver). The conversation had taken my mind off of my night at the club and it wasn’t until I’d gotten out of the Uber that I’d seen Alexa’s messages.

  “Hey, it’s okay. I’m just going to order a pizza and then watch some Netflix. Stay out with Jackson Camden and take lots of photos of his naked body. :)”

  “Piper, you’re alive! Very funny. I’ll be back soon.”

  “Ok.”

  I wasn’t sure if that meant she was on her way back now or if she meant after she hooked up with Jackson, but I didn’t care. I was just happy that Alexa had reached out to me. She’d always been a good friend and her texting me meant she was still thinking of our friendship even though she was with a huge rock star. I walked into the lobby of the Airbnb and waited for the elevator.

  As I waited, images of Oracle flashed through my mind. He really was a handsome man, even handsomer than he looked on film, and he looked gorgeous on film. I wondered what it would have been like standing here with him, waiting eagerly to go up to my room. Would we have been here kissing? Would his hands have been all over me? Would he have lifted up my skirt as we made our way into the elevator? Would we have had sex in there? My skin felt hot as I pictured my legs wrapped around his waist as he pumped into me, filling me with his hotness.

  I shook my head to stop myself from fantasizing about Oracle. Yes, it would have been a once in a lifetime sexual adventure and very much unlike me, but maybe it would have been hot, inspiring, and self-awakening. I needed a change in my life to give me some inspiration for my new book, a literary romance with some historical elements. So far, I only had ten thousand words in the book, and they seemed dry and boring.

  As the elevator doors opened, I made my way inside with a small smile. Just as the doors were about to close, a handsome man with a dog that he’d obviously just been walking came in.

  Oracle and I definitely wouldn’t have been having sex in the elevator, then.

  “Good evening,” the guy said with a brief nod.

  I could see he was holding his dog’s leash tightly. The big gray dog, I think it was a Weimaraner, looked up at me with large blue eyes and wagged its tail. I smiled at them both and took my place on the other side of the elevator.

  “Good evening,” I said with a smile back and pressed the floor number. I could hear the dog breathing heavily and I glanced over at him, his gaze still on me.

  “Don’t mind Fiona, she loves to meet new people.” The man grinned as he held her close. “Unfortunately, she doesn’t realize that she’s too big to jump up on everyone she meets.”

  “Aww, she’s beautiful,” I said, glad I hadn’t said that Fiona looked like a big boy. “And I wouldn’t mind if she jumped up on me. I love dogs.”

  “Do you have one?”

  “No, I wish,” I said wistfully. My current lifestyle wasn’t conducive to having a dog. Alexa and I rented a pretty small apartment in Lake Merritt, an area in Oakland, and we just didn’t have space for a dog. I promised myself when I made more money and could afford a house with a yard that I would get one.

  “Maybe one day, then. This is me.” He nodded as the elevator stopped and he walked off on the fifth floor. “Sweet dreams.”

  “You too,” I said, and I smiled to myself as the doors closed. It felt nice to have a handsome man smiling and talking with me. It helped to keep m
y mind off of what could have been with Oracle. The whole evening had been quite fun, even though I hadn’t done much. Just the small amount of attention had felt good and that led me to believe that I wasn’t spending enough time out of the house. Maybe I was becoming too much of a bore.

  I sighed as the elevator stopped and I made my way out of the car, down the corridor, and into the apartment Alexa and I were renting for the weekend. I slipped my heels off as soon as I walked into the apartment and headed toward the living room, switching on the TV for some background noise as I moved through to the bedroom to take my dress off. I unhooked my bra, grabbed a long black Passenger T-shirt and a pair of beach shorts and headed back to the living room to settle on the couch. I relaxed back into the cushions and felt the tension melting away as I looked out the window.

  The sky was dark but street lights illuminated the pavement in the distance, and I wondered what was going on in all the apartments in the area. It was amazing to me to think that inside each apartment was a unique person or persons, each one living their different lives. There were so many people in the world with so many dreams, thoughts, and ideas, and yet most of us were limited to only thinking about our own needs and those of our immediate family.

  As I sat there, I had an idea for my novel and I wanted to start jotting down some notes but then my stomach started growling. I needed to eat. I was about to call Alexa to see if she wanted me to order her something as well when the door opened.

  “Hey, are you hungry?” I called out from the couch as I heard Alexa’s footsteps coming into the apartment. “I was thinking of ordering a pizza.”

  “I wouldn’t say no.” A deep, familiar voice resonated throughout the room, and I shot up off of the couch.

  “You!” I gasped as I stared at Oracle Lion, his face beaming as he took in my appearance: my already messy hair, my short shorts, and the tight T-shirt that had ridden up and was showing off my belly—and the fact that I had no bra on.

  “Yes, it’s me.” He gave me a little wave. I was about to make a snarky comment when Alexa came running into the room followed by Jackson, who stopped next to Oracle.

  “Hey, I was worried about you.” She gave me a quick hug and took a step back. I could tell from her breath that she’d been drinking quite a bit and her face was flushed and happy. “I told the boys that we needed to come back and make sure you were okay.”

  “The boys?” I said the words slowly, glancing at her and then at them. The two men stood too tall in the room, they almost seemed to reach the ceiling, and I wondered at their presence here in our cheap little rental. How had Alexa convinced them to come back with her? Surely they had other things to do. They were A-listers, after all.

  “Jackson and Oracle.” Alexa laughed as she waved back at the two men behind her casually. “You just left the club without a word, we were worried.”

  “I didn’t leave without a word,” I said defensively. “You essentially left me to go off with him.” I nodded toward Jackson, my face red. “What was I meant to do? Just stand around and wait to see if you were going to hook up with him or not?” My face reddened as I could see both Jackson and Oracle grinning at my words. This was not a conversation I wanted to be having in front of them.

  “I told you I was going to get a drink, but oh well,” Alexa said with a small laugh. “We’re all here now, at least we can hear each other talk.”

  “I was hoping to take you to a private spot.” Jackson stepped forward and placed his hand on her waist. He whispered something into her ear and I had to look away when she started pushing her ass back into him. I knew that Alexa was a little drunk, and she was much more open than I was, but I sure didn’t want to see her making out with Jackson or doing anything else.

  “Oh, but I don’t know that I can leave Piper again.” Alexa giggled and looked at me and it was all I could do to stop myself from rolling my eyes.

  “I mean, I guess I can just sit here and watch TV and eat pizza alone,” I said sarcastically, knowing I was acting like a bit of a spoiled child now.

  The smile left Alexa’s face and I could tell that she felt bad, which made me feel bad. “I don’t want you to be here alone,” she said with a small sigh as she took a step away from Jackson.

  “I mean, I …” I was about to tell her to go out and that I’d be fine when Oracle spoke up and interrupted me.

  “Don’t worry about it. I’ll stay here with Piper. Make sure she has some company so you don’t feel bad. And I’ll even share your pizza, so it doesn’t go to waste.” Oracle acted like he was doing me some big favor and I was about to protest when he gave me a look. “Unless, of course, Piper says no.”

  The way he said the words put me in a position where I really couldn’t say no. I knew that I could pretend to want to go to bed. I mean it was late, after all. What could he say to that? “No, you can’t go to bed”? I hesitated to tell him that I just wanted him to go home. Not just because I wasn’t ready to go to bed, but also because I was curious to see what would happen if he stayed.

  I must have hesitated too long because he spoke up again before I could reply. “You will let me eat, won’t you?”

  “Don’t think I can say no,” I said, my voice stilted as he laughed, a deep low chuckle. I mean, how the hell could I get out of my living room and go to bed after that? Especially because I had a feeling that he had made a double entendre when he’d referred to eating. “But all you’ll be eating is pizza,” I said with a small smile that made him burst out laughing even harder. “What’s so funny?” I gave him my most innocent expression and tried to ignore the racing of my heart as I stared at his body. I could see his muscles through his shirt and while I could lie to him, I couldn’t lie to myself. He was hotter than hell, and I would be one very lucky girl if I got to spend a night with him.

  “I didn’t expect to hear those words coming out of your mouth,” he said with a wry smile. “You seem a bit uptight.”

  “Who, Piper?” Alexa burst out laughing as she observed the banter back and forth between us. “She’s the least uptight person you’ll ever meet. Did she tell you what she does for a living?”

  “No, she didn’t.” He looked at me curiously. “But I’m hoping she will.” He looked me up and down and his eyes seemed to be looking right through me. “All sorts of things are going through my mind now.”

  “I bet they are.” I did a little shimmy and moved my hands up in the air. Let him think I was some sort of stripper or something. I knew his mind was most probably in the gutter.

  “Maybe I was wrong about you,” he said with a small smile. “And maybe you’re wrong about me as well. Maybe neither one of us really knows the other.”

  “Seeing as we just met a couple of hours ago, I would say that never a truer word was spoken.”

  “Touché.”

  His eyes met mine and we just stared at each other for a few seconds. It was a weird feeling looking into the eyes that were so familiar and yet strange to me. I’d watched this man in many movies, fallen in love with his movie persona, and scoffed at his exploits in the tabloids. He was right, of course: I did have preconceived notions about him and didn’t know him outside his Hollywood persona. And why had he chosen to stay and eat pizza with me? Surely, he had better things to do than chill with a stranger and eat pizza?

  “So we’re off then.” Jackson grabbed Alexa’s hand and led her to the door. “See you later, guys.”

  “Uh, bye.”

  He led her out of the apartment and I stood there, feeling uneasy. I was letting my best friend leave with a man she barely knew and I was now here with a man I barely knew. What was going on here?

  The door slammed as they walked out, and I suddenly became aware that Oracle was laughing, a low, deep chuckle that reverberated through the room. I looked up at him and knew I could take this one of two ways. My brain was screaming at me to tell him to get out and leave me alone, but I had to admit that other parts of me were interested in finding out why he had volunt
eered to stay.

  “So what do you want on your pizza?” I asked him as I headed back to the couch and grabbed my phone. My ears were buzzing and my body felt hot, but I ignored all the warning bells in my head as he walked over and took a seat next to me on the couch.

  “How do you feel about anchovies?” he whispered into my ear and I swallowed hard, immediately knowing that I’d made a bad decision. A very bad decision.

  5

  Oracle

  * * *

  Piper’s skin felt warm to the touch as my tongue lightly grazed the top of her ear. She seemed to jump a mile as I blew into her ear, and I chuckled slightly as she turned to me.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” she asked, clearly annoyed. I pulled back immediately and put my hands up.

  “Sorry, maybe our wires got crossed.”

  “Our wires got crossed?” She raised an eyebrow at me and folded her arms. “I don’t think our wires got crossed.”

  “True, neither one of us has wires on us, do we?” I joked. “Maybe our signals got entangled.”

  “Our signals didn’t get entangled.” She blinked at me, trying to keep up.

  “True, we’re not microwaves, maybe our…” I started on my next line but groaned when she sighed audibly.

  “Are you always like this?” She shook her head and sank back into the couch. “And what do you want on your pizza? I’m not getting anchovies.”

  “You’re really bossy, aren’t you? Do you know who I am, woman?”

  “Oh my God, are you serious right now?” She rolled her eyes. “I get it. You’re a movie star. Wow, you must be so proud of being the star of the Babymaker movies. They’re such classic works of art. I like to think of them as the American Pie for the current generation.” Her voice was light and all I could do was to start laughing at her words. “What’s so funny?” Her eyes narrowed as she gazed at me.