by Linda Verji
That was close! Panting, she turned to watch Lex. He was still deep asleep with the covers piled at his waist. Dawn’s light gleamed against his body, showing off the lithe muscles on his chest and arms. Obviously, the man had a good body on him and from what she’d experienced, he knew how to use it well.
Jeez! Why was she wasting time looking at him? Move it, Fredericka.
She tiptoed around the room picking up her clothes. As soon as she had everything, she dashed to the en-suite. Lex’s bathroom was just as spacious and luxurious as the rest of his house. It boasted both a shower stall and a bath. Freddie considered taking a shower but thought better of it. That would only mean spending more time here. The sooner she was out of Lex’s house, the sooner she could forget this one-night stand. Besides, there were showers at the office, and she even had extra clothes there.
As she clipped her bra around her upper torso, she stared at herself in the mirror. It almost seemed like her reflection was mocking her. Good job, Freddie. Break up with one man and jump right into bed with another one. On the same day. You’re really living the good life, aren’t you? She slapped her palm over her face. She’d really done it this time, hadn’t she?
Of course she wanted to erase last night’s error in judgment. But what about Lex? Even if she managed to get out of his house while he was sleeping, he wasn’t the kind who’d just go along with her ‘didn’t happen’ motto. He’d want to talk about it. Could she? Hell no! The thought of sitting down to discuss what they’d done last night sent heat flushing up her body.
There was always the option of pretending that it didn’t happen.
Hmm…. That seemed like a good idea. Vigorously, she pulled her jeans up her legs. She could always claim that she was so drunk that she couldn’t even remember the sex. Who’d kissed who first? No idea. All she remembered was coming to his house. In fact, she could even act like she was surprised that she was naked in his bed then quickly put it down to her stripping her clothes just so she could get more comfortable. If he insisted that they’d slept together, then she’d just say that since she didn’t remember, it didn’t count. Yeah, that seemed like a good plan. Act like it never happened.
Firmly resolved to go with that plan, she picked her shirt from the counter. The moment she put it on, she realized that she didn’t have any buttons. What had happened to her…. Oh, right! Lex had been so wild that he’d torn them just so he could get to her breasts faster. Fresh heat flushed up her face. As if they remembered exactly what had happened when he’d gotten rid of her bra, her breasts swelled and her nipples puckered.
Good God, woman. Get a grip. Freddie gave herself a mental slap. We’re trying to forget all that ever happened.
Okay, how was she going to deal with the shirt? She tied the tails around her waist, but that left an unappetizing trail of skin right above her pants and her bra was still visible. Worse she knew that her jacket would be of no help at all because it had only one button. The only solution was to steal something from Lex’s closet. Since he was still sleeping, it would be easy. She strode to the door and opened it.
Honest to God, she almost had a heart attack when she found Lex standing there with his arm up as if he was about to knock. All the blood in her body stilled, her heart stuttered, and a fist tightened around her lungs squeezing the air out of them.
“Lex!” She gasped as she stared at him in wide-eyed shock. “You’re… you’re awake.”
Somehow during the time she was in the bathroom, he’d put on a tee and sweatpants. His hair was messy and ruffled as if he’d shoved it back with his fingers, while his eyes were still swollen and shadowed with sleep as he took her in. When his eyes lingered on her still open shirt, mortified heat raced through her. She gathered the shirt around her to hide her breasts from his keen gaze.
His eyes came back to meet hers. “I thought you might need this.”
He was holding out a white t-shirt.
“Oh… um… thanks.” Freddie snatched the tee from him. Before he could say another word, she slammed the door in his face.
It’s over. You’re screwed. Whimpering, she leaned back against the door. He was awake. Why was he awake? If he had any decency, he would’ve kept sleeping. Now what was she going to do?
No. No. No. She wasn’t screwed. She had a plan, remember? Deny. Deny. Deny. Last night never happened.
After pulling in several breaths to steady her nerves, she changed into his t-shirt. The fabric had his scent; a little woodsy and all man. Resisting the urge to bury her nose in it and take a deep whiff, she put her shirt on over his tee. Once she was suitably armored for battle, she opened the door again. Lex was waiting for her, but this time he was seated on the bed.
“Thanks.” Freddie forced a bright smile as she pointed to his t-shirt. “It fits me so well. I didn’t know we wear the same size. It fits, right?” She didn’t wait for him to answer the question. She chattered on, “When did you wake up anyway? I could’ve sworn you were asleep when I got out of bed.”
“Just a few minutes after you did,” Lex answered softly. His unwavering gaze was so disconcerting that she couldn’t help shifting on her feet nervously.
“Oh, I see.” Looking everywhere but at him, she said, “Oh look, I’m already late for work.” She looked at her wrist as if to check the time only to realize that she wasn’t even wearing a watch. She laughed nervously. “Ha ha, I don’t even know where my watch is.”
Lex’s eyebrows lifted and his eyes danced. Was he amused by her nervousness?
No, no time to ask him. She needed to get out of here.
“Well, thanks for last….” She quickly corrected herself. “Thanks for everything. I’ll head out now. Bye.”
Smooth, Freddie. Real smooth! The naughty voice in her head laughed.
More embarrassed than she’d ever been, she quickly strode towards the door. She was going to leave; she really was. But for some reason her conscience took over her body. Her legs stopped moving and before she knew it, she’d turned back to face Lex. He was still watching her.
Without conscious thought, she blurted out, “I’m sorry.”
Lex was obviously surprised by her apology. His forehead creased in a frown and confusion lit his eyes. “Sorry about what?”
“About last night.” Wincing, she stared down at her feet. “I swear I didn’t plan to do it. It just happened.”
“Plan to do what?” His voice was calm, calmer than she expected it to be under the circumstances.
“I didn’t plan to take advantage of you.”
His confusion turned to shock. “You took advantage of me?”
Poor guy probably didn’t remember what had happened last night. That was her fault too. She was the one who’d made him drink then kissed him and…
“Please don’t tell Ari,” she pleaded as her eyes met Lex’s. A sudden thought struck her. “Why am I even worried about Ari? This could count as sexual assault, right? I got you drunk then took advantage of you.” Horror widened her eyes. “Are you going to report me to the police?”
Staring at her like she’d gone crazy, Lex blustered, “Wha- what?”
“Oh my God, Lex. I’m sorry.” Now that the full weight of her actions was sinking in, she felt scared. “I’m sorry that I made you sleep with me. I know it was wrong but I just went crazy after that thing with Wesley. I didn’t mean to use you like that.” She paused dramatically. “I’m going to jail, aren’t I?”
Lex’s sudden laughter was as surprising as it was loud. He was practically holding his belly as his chuckles echoed in the room. Freddie, who didn’t see what was funny, just stared at him, hoping that his laughter meant that she wouldn’t get dragged out of here in handcuffs.
“Calm down, Freddie,” Lex said when he could speak. He was still smiling as he added, “No one’s going to jail.”
“Really?” she asked hopefully.
“Really.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Relief swept through her but it c
ame to a halt when suspicion set in. She narrowed her eyes. “Wait, does that mean that you’ll tell Ari instead?”
Lex canted his head to study her for an uncomfortable long time before asking, “You don’t want me to tell him?”
“Of course not. Are you crazy? Do you have a death wish?” She shuddered several times. “Eish! I’m getting goosebumps just thinking about what he’ll do to me if he finds out that we slept together.”
“I think I’m the one more likely to die in this scenario,” Lex returned softly.
“What do you mean?” she asked. When all he did was shrug, she sighed. “It doesn’t matter anyway. One or both of us will surely die, which is why it is even more important for us to keep all this quiet. It was a one-time thing anyway, right?”
Lex didn’t answer. He just watched her.
There was something peculiar in the way he was staring at her. It was almost as if he didn’t agree that this was a one-time thing. But that couldn’t be right. She’d practically forced him to sleep with her.
“It was a one-time thing,” she answered herself. “No good can come from blabbing about it. You won’t tell, right?”
Another long pause then he nodded. “I won’t tell.”
“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Freddie started towards him, her intention to give him a hug. But then she stopped moving. After everything they’d done last night and the way he was watching her right now, a hug seemed… dangerous.
She took several steps back. “Well…. Thanks. I’ll see you around.”
Without waiting for his response, she rushed out of the room.
CHAPTER 7
Two hours later, Freddie was standing around a large conference table flanked by her colleagues along with two Miami P.D detectives. On the table was a large white board with several winding roads drawn on it.
“Name, Carter Green. Age, fifty-three,” Detective Jon Puller listed as he grabbed a toy-car and set it on the white board. Driving the toy-car over the faux-road to demonstrate what had happened, he described, “Around two a.m., yesterday when he was driving in place of his son, Julian Green, who was drank at the time, he veered off the lane-” Puller drove the toy-car off the lane to demonstrate the action. “-drove over the centerline and crashed into a tree across the road. He died on the scene.”
Puller’s partner, Detective Richard Scream, added, “Julian, who was in the passenger seat, only has mild contusions.”
“Do you think he dozed off?” Freddie asked Puller.
“Could be,” Puller answered. “But from what Julian told us it seems like his father was depressed and taking some medication for it. We think that’s the more likely cause. In fact-”
“Are you writing a novel?” Freddie’s boss, Dr. Walker, cut him off.
Puller blinked. “What?”
“Are you writing a novel?” Before Puller could answer the question, Dr. Walker turned to Freddie, “Let’s go do the autopsy.”
Before anyone could say anything more, Dr. Walker walked out of the room, leaving the other people in the room staring at his receding back in confused silence. Freddie was the only one who wasn’t confused. With a chuckle, she started after her boss. Puller immediately followed.
“What does he mean, am I writing a novel?” Puller asked as he matched his strides to hers.
“He means that all your theories are just fiction until we’re done with the autopsy.”
“Oh! That’s what he means?” Puller grumbled. “Can’t he say it in a nicer way? Why does he always have to be so grouchy and rude?”
Freddie only laughed. Frankly, she didn’t mind her boss’s blunt personality. It was much better to have a boss who didn’t bother sugar-coating his words but was competent rather than one who was nice but constantly made mistakes then tried to pawn it off on his juniors. She’d learnt that the hard way.
For the next two hours, Freddie was stuck in the lab with only Dr. Walker for company. Usually, she had her phone with her, but today she’d chosen to leave it in her locker. As soon as she’d picked her purse from Lex’s couch, she’d seen several missed calls and messages. Some calls were from her mom, dad and Ari asking where she was, the others were from Wesley. She called each member of her family to let them know that she’d spent the night at the office. As for Wesley? Please! His messages went straight to the trash.
But it didn’t end there. He kept calling and texting, calling and texting. Her ignoring him only seemed to add fuel to his fire. Finally, she’d blocked his number. Then his agent started calling her too. She had the feeling that if she blocked the agent, he’d just find another number to stalk her with. The only option was to keep her phone somewhere where it couldn’t bother her.
She had to wonder; if Wesley knew what she’d been up to with Lex, would he be harassing her like this? If he knew that his betrayal had led to her having the best sex of her life, what would he say? And it was the best sex.
Imagine that… all these years she’d been right next to a master of sex and she didn’t even know it. With Wesley it had always been all about him. She could count on her fingers the number of times she’d orgasmed when with him. The funny part was that he’d never even noticed that he wasn’t fully satisfying her… and she wasn’t even the faking type. She’d be there lying on the bed giving him frustrated looks and he’d be staring at the ceiling with a satisfied grin. When he turned to her, it was always to tell her, ‘That was amazing’. He’d never once asked her if it was actually amazing.
But with Lex… geez! How many times had she come last night? Twice. Thrice. If they slept together again, could he top himself? He’d been drunk yesterday so she suspected that if he had all his wits about him…
“Dr. Latham,” Dr. Walker dragged her from her wicked thoughts.
“Yes?” She came awake instantly. Her voice muffled by the mask she was wearing, she asked, “Did you need something?”
“Aren’t you writing it down?” Dr. Walker asked as he turned back to the arm he was studying with a flashlight. It was scarred with several bloody lacerations and a large, nasty-looking crack at the elbow.
“Write what down?” Freddie asked, embarrassed that she hadn’t been listening.
Fortunately, Dr. Walker didn’t call her out on it. Still studying the stiff’s arm, he listed, “Lower half of right arm, fractured. Internal skin damage…”
Freddie jotted down everything he said before picking up her camera to take photographic proof. They were just about done with the autopsy when Freddie heard her name through the speaker.
“Freddie.” It was the center’s receptionist, Lanie, and she was standing in the observation room. Only glass separated the observation room from the lab.
“Yeah?” Freddie turned towards her.
“Someone keeps calling and asking for you,” Lanie said.
“Who?”
“He says he’s your boyfriend.”
That could only be one person. But before Freddie could answer, Dr. Walker growled, “Tell him she’s busy.”
“Yes, sir.” Lanie left.
Embarrassed by the interruption, Freddie rushed to explain herself. “He’s not really my boyfriend.”
“Did I ask?” Dr. Walker retorted without even looking up. “Focus on your work.”
Meekly, Freddie went back to helping out her boss. They finished the external examination about one hour later. Since the internal examination was scheduled for the following day, both doctors headed to their gender’s respective restrooms to shower. After showering and changing into civies, Freddie grabbed her purse with the intention of heading home. However, when she got to the reception, she found a crowd of women gargling excitedly while they crowded around Wesley.
What the hell was he doing here?
She knew why he was here. He was here for her. Still, there were so many women around him that she could sneak out without him even noticing her, right? Wrong! As soon as she started tiptoeing towards the main entrance, he saw her.
; “Freddie?” Wesley called out above the heads of his ardent fans.
Ugh! She groaned internally but didn’t turn. Maybe she could pretend she hadn’t heard him.
“Freddie!” he repeated in a louder voice. This time he disentangled himself from his bevy of admirers and started towards her. “Baby, didn’t you see me?”
Baby? Freddie whirled around to glare at him. Was he high?
The women trailing him as he strode towards Freddie didn’t miss the ‘baby’. Curious looks along with some of annoyance and jealousy met her. By the time Wesley stopped in front of her, Freddie was eager to explain that she wasn’t Wesley’s baby. But she didn’t get the chance.
Wesley must’ve heard the rumbles of ‘baby?’ coming from his admirers because he turned to them with a beaming smile. “Yes, baby!” He slung his arm around Freddie’s shoulders. “Didn’t you ladies know I was dating Freddie?”
What. The. Hell.
Freddie’s jaw dropped, and she turned to stare up at Wesley. What the hell happened to protecting her from his rabid fans?
“Dating?” “Girlfriend?” “Freddie?” Disbelief raced through the crowd as all eyes turned to her. The mortification that filled Freddie was indescribable. Where was the ground when you needed it to open up?
“Yes, she’s my girlfriend.” Wesley turned to Freddie with an indulgent smile. Using his fingers, he chucked her under her chin. “Haven’t you told them about us?”
This was beyond ridiculous. Whatever game he was playing, she wasn’t interested in participating. Shoving his arm off her shoulder, she gritted through her teeth. “We need to talk.”
Without even waiting to see if he’d follow her, she marched right out of the building. It took a while for him to get rid of his fans. By the time he emerged, she was standing next to his white Lamborghini, tapping her feet impatiently.
“Did you wait for long?” he asked. The smile was still there. Why was it still there? Had he forgotten how they’d parted the previous day?
