by Arizona Tape
Why couldn’t men be such passionate lovers? I had slept with a fair amount and not one of them came even close. But in all honesty, I think it was more of a reflection towards Lexi than towards the male gender. Just everything that Lexi did, gave me butterflies. A simple kiss, holding hands, my arm around her waist, her laugh, …Damn, I was so whipped.
How the hell did that happen and how was I gonna cope without her.
—
My phone buzzed and I quickly snatched it up, hoping it was from Lexi. It was.
— Are you sick? —
Where did that come from? I quizzically stared at the text message and didn’t know what to respond.
— No, are you? —
I sent back, confused why she would ask me that. Was I sick? No.
— Just wondering. You left your jacket. —
Okay. I left my jacket so I’m sick? Lexi has a weird sense of logic. Was she afraid that I would catch a cold without my jacket?
— I have other coats, I won’t get cold :) —
I placed a hand on my forehead, made a cough and felt my throat. No, I didn’t feel feverish at all.
— I wasn’t snooping, but there fell some things out of your pocket. There was a box filled with little pills. Are you doing drugs? You can tell me if you are... —
I almost dropped my phone in shock. Shit. How was I gonna explain this? Even telling her that I was doing drugs would be less bad than telling her the truth. That’s why she was talking about the jacket. Stupid, stupid, why did I forget it. How didn’t I notice that I was cold when I stepped outside her house? It’s practically winter. I was probably still hot and bothered from our little session this morning.
— Oh. They are for a friend. No, they are not drugs. —
For a friend. Yeah, that sounded like the worst lie ever. Sadly it was the truth. I just didn’t tell her that she was the “friend”.
— If you need help you can always tell me, right? —
I swallowed a lump in my throat. Now I felt sick. Why was she so supportive and sweet?
— That’s sweet, but I’m fine! —
I texted back, hoping that there weren’t other things in my jacket that she could find. I racked my brains, trying to remember what I had been carrying around. The pills, a pen, some mints, my business cards, my earbuds, …Oh god, my business cards. If she found those and googled my company, then hell would break loose. We were online and rather hard to find, but we were findable if you knew where to look.
And even if you found the website on your own, you could only access it by typing in a code. A code that our clients could only receive by getting a business card. My business card. That was currently in Lexi’s house. Great.
I lightly banged my head on the table, trying to knock some sense into myself, but it just gave me a headache, so I stopped.
— Shame, I could always take care of you, play nurse and patient ;) —
Lexi sent in a definite flirty way. Despite the crisis, I still felt giddy and bubbly inside. I took in a long breath and hoped that she wouldn’t find the cards.
— I suddenly feel rather ill ;) —
I texted, going along with the flirting. I mean, I wasn’t one not to reciprocate flirting, especially not coming from my girl.
— Why don’t you come over later tonight? —
Yes! I mean, yeah, sure. The sooner, the better. I needed to get the pills and the business cards out of there. ASAP.
Never understood the need for an abbreviation for “as soon as possible”. I always thought it sounded rather rude, but now I could see its use. Sometimes things needed to get done as fucking soon as possible.
We set a time and as always I counted the hours. This time it wasn’t just because I wanted to see her but because I needed those things out of her house.
I had been sitting in my couch, completely ready to go and I still had to wait at least an hour. I checked my watch for the gazillionth time and finally decided I had waited long enough. I jumped up, grabbed my coat and ran out the door.
I still arrived too early, so I just stood outside her door, deciding if I should just ring the bell or wait another five minutes. I pulled out my phone and searched her number. After a couple of seconds, she answered.
‘Hi, what’s up?’
I swallowed and tried to find my cheeriest voice.
‘Hi, sweetie, I’m gonna be a bit early.’ I joked, hoping that she wouldn’t mind.
‘Oh, okay, how early?’
She didn’t sound too upset about it. To be fair, she sounded rather excited.
‘About, right now.’ I said, while ringing the door bell. I heard her snicker and ten seconds later, some stumbling in the hall. She opened the door, her phone still pressed against her ear and a big grin plastered on her face.
‘You were that eager to see me?’ she smirked, still speaking in the phone. I dramatically hung up and stretched out my arms. With a swift motion, I pushed her into her house and followed her body closely with mine. I pressed her against the wall and nibbled on her jaw.
‘I guess I was.’ I grinned, still placing soft kisses on her jaw. She slipped under my arms and ran back into her house. I got a big Cheshire grin on my face, kicked the door closed behind me and also ran into her house. The chase went on for a couple of minutes until I finally got her pinned down on the floor.
Both panting, I let my fingers creep under her shirt and grabbed her waist. Still trying to catch my breath I dug my fingers in her belly and started tickling her, making her squirm under me. I didn’t keep it up for long. Actually just to the point where I had caught my breath enough to kiss her. I removed my hands from her stomach and pinned her arms down above her head. I placed my lips on her, going for a soft kiss, but she suddenly freed her arms and flipped me over. The sweet kiss I was going for immediately changed into a heated lip-lock. Not that I minded.
After some fun on her floor, we moved to the couch and got ourselves some wine. She slung her legs over mine, as always.
‘Oh, by the way, I placed your stuff on the counter, next to your jacket.’ she casually mentioned, while sipping her wine. I cautiously waited, preparing myself for some questions, but she didn’t ask any. She just grabbed a newspaper and waved it in front of my face.
‘You wanna make the crossword together?’ she proposed, looking around for a pen, I presume. I nodded, stood up and pointed at her kitchen.
‘Yeah, sure, I’m just gonna grab my stuff and put them in my other coat. You know, so I definitely won't forget them.’ I said, trying to calm my nervously pounding heart. She absentmindedly nodded and clicked the pen, drawing a smiley face next to the crossword.
‘Okay, I’ll wait.’ she smiled, already studying the puzzle. I quickly moved towards the kitchen and grabbed my things. The pills were placed neatly back into the box, laying on top of my jacket. Next to it was my business cardholder. I opened it and noticed that some cards were placed upside down. I always put them in the right way, so I knew that Lexi had touched them. Maybe she hadn’t really read them, but I’m pretty sure she had. It was pretty hard not to.
Shit.
If she went onto the website, she would figure out what I did for a living. And since she was smart, she would probably question our relationship. She was gonna ask me about it and I was at a point that I knew I wouldn’t be able to lie to her.
I was gonna lose my job and Lexi. Great.
29. Manuel
Lexi Zellichman
I was awoken by an annoying, repetitive noise. I groaned and turned in my bed, trying to block the sound out. I even pulled the pillow over my head, but the sharp sound my doorbell made, penetrated everything.
Grunting I stood up and stumbled towards the front door. I jerked the door open and quickly shut my eyes, trying to block out the blinding sunlight.
‘What do you want.’ I spit out, not bothering to be polite. Whoever woke me up, could enjoy the wrath of my temper in the morning.
‘Lexi? God, you’ve
grown so much. You are a lady!’ a deep voice excitedly yelled, pulling me in a sudden hug. I squealed and tried to escape the bone crushing arms.
‘You won’t remember me, but I’m Manuel Iciar. I met you when you were about five years old.’ the man said, holding his hand about one meter above the ground. He smiled and I noticed he couldn’t take his eyes off of me. I shuffled to the left, his eyes followed to the left. I moved a bit to the right, and so did his eyes.
‘Again, what do you want?’ I asked, this time in a less threatening tone. Keyword: less. I was still pissed off and hoped he had a good enough reason to wake me at…I glanced at my watch. 5:23 am. Way too early.
‘I came here because of your father. My condolences. He was like a brother to me. We served together.’ the man named Manuel said.
I looked in his eyes and saw sincerity, love and the same grief I felt.
I curtly nodded and stepped aside, silently inviting him into my home. He gratefully smiled and walked inside. I took his coat, guided him into my kitchen and started the coffee machine. For a while, it was the only sound in the kitchen, until he spoke up again.
‘I’m sorry I missed his funeral. I was stuck somewhere and couldn’t make it. That’s why it took me this long to reach you.’
I dismissively waved my hand, pulled open a drawer and grabbed two mugs.
‘Coffee?’ I asked, showing him the mugs. The man nodded his head and we fell back into silence.
I gave him a filled mug and sat down at the opposite side of the table. We silently studied each other. He was a giant man, with huge muscles and broad shoulders. He looked like he could easily kill a wild boar with his bare hands or wrestle a mountain bear and come out victorious. But besides that, he had gentle eyes. I took a closer look and noticed the little tattoo on his clavicle. It was a very small flag, waving in the wind, with underneath a sentence that I knew like the back of my hand.
Loyalty is always returned.
My father used to have that very same tattoo. His was placed over his back and I liked to look at it when I was a child. I used to ask why he had a flag on his back. He explained what the tattoo meant to him. He taught me the meaning of loyalty.
Since this man bore the same tattoo, my father must have been very close to him.
‘Tell me about my dad?’ I asked, the little girl in me wanting to hear about her heroic father. Manuel nodded and started talking about my father, his deep voice strangely soothing.
I don’t know how long we sat there, at my kitchen table, Manuel just telling stories and me listening.
We could have sat there for an eternity if we weren’t human and needed food. Luckily, my stomach decided to remind us and growled like a wild animal.
‘Hehe. Seems like I’m hungry.’ I said, flashing him a cheeky grin. I stood up, stretched and opened the cupboard. ‘You want something to eat?’
He nodded. ‘Just something small is fine.’
I pulled out some bread and other edible goods and placed them on the table. We ate in silence, in a tranquil atmosphere, both thinking about my dad. After I cleaned off the table, Manuel dug something out of his pocket. He stretched out his hand and revealed a simple necklace.
‘This is for you.’ He said, placing the trinket in my hand. I looked at it and immediately recognised it.
‘I know this thing. Wait…I…I have a picture of it in a file. Hold on, err, I think, yeah, I think I have something for you.’ I stammered, remembering the files my father had entrusted me. He told me they were for a man who gave me that necklace. The man was named William E Arcanus. The name didn’t fit but I was sure that it was the same necklace.
‘Bingo.’ I muttered when I found the particular file I had been looking for. If I remembered correctly this was the one with the instructions. I quickly scanned the page, matched the necklace in my hand to the picture of it and read the little note on the side.
William E. Arcanus
Necklace above name.
I took the file and placed the rest of the files back into the safe. Just in case.
‘You know what these mean?’ I asked Manuel when I walked back into the kitchen. I placed the file opened on the table and kept a close eye on Manuel. He went completely pale, all the colour disappearing from his face. He carefully touched the file, as in a way to make sure it was really there and a big, genuine smile appeared.
‘You have no idea how glad I am that you have this file. Your father would have given his life to protect this.’ He emotionally stated, lightly nodding his head.
‘I have more.’ I smiled, glad that the files had found a place to go. His face lit up like a child at Christmas.
‘Just one more question. They were destined for a man named William E. Arcanus, who was supposed to give me this necklace. How come you have it?’ I asked, wanting an explanation before giving him the whole collection.
‘William E. Arcanus doesn’t exist. He does on paper, but he is a fake. It’s an anagram of my name. Your father and I used it to safely transfer information.’ Manuel explained while pulling out a little notebook and making the anagram for me. Satisfied, I nodded and brought the whole collection to the kitchen.
I hesitated for a second, but then gave him the box that held all my father's work.
‘You know that your father was so proud of you, right?’ he muttered, giving me a kind smile. I nodded and swallowed a lump.
‘I know.’
Hearing someone say that was the second best thing to hear. The first was my father saying it, but that was no longer possible. It was the biggest compliment since I wanted nothing more in my life than to do him proud.
‘I don’t want to pry, but are you taken care off? Do you have everything you need?’ Manuel suddenly asked, intensely staring in my eyes.
‘Yes, my father had a trust fund and I have a job that pays very well.’ I smiled, glad that I had been financial independent even before my father passed away.
‘I know. I meant emotionally. Do you have someone? What about your mother?’ he questioned further, making me grin bitterly.
‘My mother? She didn’t only leave my father years ago, she left me too. I haven’t heard from her ever since.’ I spat out. I had sent her the obituary but she never responded. How could a mother not call her child to see how she was doing?
‘On the other hand, I have someone in my life. Cara, well, she is almost too good to be true.’ I said, my tone much softer and warmer.
‘Cara?’ Manuel asked, cocking his head, studying me carefully.
‘Yes, Cara. She is so perfect and sweet. She just makes me so warm. Oh, and she is gorgeous too. With her blond hairs and green eyes and…’ I smiled, my mind wandering off to her.
‘Please tell me her last name isn’t Hemlock.’ Manual said in an almost begging manner.
‘Yeaahh…Actually, it is.’ I said, the suspicion bubbling up again. ‘Why?’
‘Blond hairs, green eyes, charming as hell, a figure to die for?’ he went on describing Cara perfectly.
I cautiously nodded. What the hell was going on?
‘You have a picture of her? I really, really hope it’s not the Cara Hemlock.’ Manual blabbered, looking agitated.
‘Yes, I have one on my phone. Hold on.’ I said, my eyebrows frowned in confusion. I searched through my pictures and found a clear one. I gave Manuel the phone and saw his face fall.
‘Oh, no. It’s her. She has aged a bit, but I’m sure. That’s Cara Hemlock.’ Manuel said, looking defeated.
‘You haven’t shown her any of your father's work, right?’ he suddenly snapped, while quickly grabbing the files and shoving them into the box.
‘No, I haven’t. Who is she? What is the problem?’ I questioned, not liking his reaction.
‘Cara Hemlock. She is one of the best in her company. A company that is set out to pry information from people like you. They do it by seduction. I’m sure she was looking for these files.’ Manuel explained, looking unhappy that he had to be the one to break
that to me.
‘That can’t be true.’ I whispered, but I knew it was true. It explained so much. The lies, the vagueness, why she was so perfect.
‘She really was too good to be true.’ I muttered in defeat, my insides collapsing.
I closed my eyes and felt the darkness take over. Cara had been a fraud, a fake. She was only interested in the files and not into me. Everything she had said and done was just to get what she wanted.
It was all fake?
I silently cursed myself. I never fell for people, why did I have to fall for her. Of all the people in the world I could have fallen for, I fell for Cara.
