by Leia Shaw
He must’ve been staring too long because when she stopped laughing, she pulled her navy sweater closed around her chest and glared. “What?”
“Nothing.” He shook his head. “You’re just pretty when you smile.”
She blinked and stared for a long moment then cleared her throat. “Uh, thanks. Anyway…” After swiveling the chair to face the computer again, she started punching keys.
Seeing her slightly embarrassed was almost as fun as seeing her laugh. There was nothing sexier than a woman blushing, especially from a compliment.
Hope’s Facebook profile popped up on the screen. He used to get flutters in his chest when he saw that picture – the random beach sunset. It was so cliché he’d have ignored it anywhere else, but now it equated to happiness. Guilt found its way into his head. He’d just told Emerson she was pretty, right as he was about to talk about Hope – the woman he was committed to. That was messed up. He vowed to wipe Em from his mind completely and focus on Hope.
Heidi. Whoever.
He sighed. This was so frustrating. Moving in behind Emerson, he eyed the screen. “Did you find anything else?”
“Yes.”
He wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans. “Okay. I’m ready.”
Emerson looked back at him. “Grab a chair. You should sit.”
“That good, huh?” His heart pounded a nervous beat in his chest. Maybe sitting down was best. He grabbed a stool from the breakfast bar then sat beside Em.
Once he was settled, she brought a few tabs up on the screen. “I got into her email with the Trojan I planted. She had a flight confirmation email I was able to see.”
“Yeah. She booked a flight to California to visit her sister’s new baby.”
“With the flight number, I went to the TSA database and got her birth date.” She clicked a few more keys then studied something on the screen. “July tenth, nineteen ninety two.”
“So that makes her…” He tried to subtract in his head but Em beat him to it.
“Twenty two.”
He nodded. “She would never tell me her exact birthday but she said she’s twenty two so that’s a good sign.” He sounded like an idiot to his own ears. “Did you find out where she lives? Is she with someone?”
“I didn’t see any signs of a boyfriend or husband in her emails or anything.”
His initial excitement died. “Nothing? Not even about me?”
She gave him a regretful look. “No. But she doesn’t use her email much. I don’t see anything about her job. It’s mostly spam and Facebook notifications. Maybe she has another one she uses more.”
It wasn’t unreasonable to have two email addresses. And if she was used to keeping them separate, maybe she didn’t think to tell him. That didn’t seem like such a big deal.
“You said she lives in Pennsylvania so I hacked into the state DOT site. There’s no Heidi Jacobs with that birthday in the state of Pennsylvania. According to her flight information, she flew out of Chicago. Has she mentioned ever living near there? I mean, people travel pretty far to get to big airports because it’s cheaper so she could be anywhere around there. Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana…”
“No. She always said she regretted never leaving home to go out and explore other places like her sister did. She even lives in the same town where she grew up.” Another lie? He’d thought it was adorable that she was a homebody. That she was devoted to her parents and even taught at the grammar school she’d gone to. Was any of that true? It was beginning to look like he didn’t know Hope as well as he’d thought.
“Okay.” Emerson tapped her fingers on the keyboard. “I need you to think. Does she talk about places she’s been, like field trips to museums, or…a favorite store or something?”
They never talked about that sort of thing, now that he thought about it. She didn’t tell him much about her day-to-day life. When she did go out with friends, she didn’t name places. It was always vague. Every piece of information she ever gave him was vague. How had he not noticed that before?
“Oh!” There was one thing. “She talks about going to this buffet place a lot. It’s her grandpa’s favorite. Uhh.” He rubbed his forehead, willing his memory to work. “Bucky’s…Bucky’s BBQ…”
“Bucky’s BBQ Buffet?”
“Yes! That!”
“Oh my god.” She turned back to the computer and slumped in her seat. “You have got to be fucking kidding me.”
“What?”
She chuckled humorlessly. “What are the chances? I know where your girl lives.”
“You do? Where?”
“In the lovely state of O-hi-Oh.” Sitting up straighter, she typed on her keyboard. “And now that we know that, I can find all kinds of things.”
“How do you know she lives in Ohio?”
“Bucky’s BBQ Buffet is a famous Ohio food chain.” After typing the name into the Google browser, she pointed to the screen. A cartoon cow did a dance to a country song. “Barbeque and bluegrass too,” she sang along with the jingle.
He shook his head slowly. “Do you know everything?”
“Far from it. But I know good ol’ Bucky’s ‘cause it’s the favorite place for Ohioans to eat. Including my family.”
“So you grew up…”
“In a god awful podunk town in the middle of Ohio.”
Emerson went on about the small town life as a teenager but his mind drifted to Hope. He had a state. Pennsylvania’s neighbor. He hadn’t expected that. Why lie about a state? It wasn’t as if she’d given him a town he could stalk her to. That she didn’t trust him with the smallest of truths was a painful pill to swallow.
“Are you okay?”
Em’s voice shook him from his daze.
“Huh?” He shrugged. “I’m fine.” But even he knew he didn’t sound fine.
Emerson sighed and her chair squeaked as she turned to face him. “I know it seems bad but… It could be way worse. We know three things that are promising. She’s a girl. She’s the age she told you. And it looks like she’s a teacher. Ohio isn’t that far from Pennsylvania. Maybe she lives on the border and was being cautious about the details.”
Yeah, he could rationalize all day but the fact was she lied. Now he wasn’t sure what to believe about her anymore. How much she liked him – was that a lie too? A pit of anxiety formed in his gut. His hopes and dreams for the future were on shaky ground.
He wasn’t giving up yet – Heidi meant too much to him – but they had a lot of talking to do. But when? When should he confront her? He wanted to see her face when he questioned her. He could learn more by looking her in the eye than by months of texting. He needed to see her in order to know if she was the girl he was falling for or not.
“Can you find where she lives?” he asked Emerson. To hell with privacy. He was driving to Ohio to find his girl.
“I can get you more than that if you’re willing to wait a few days.”
“That’s fine.” What was he going to say to Heidi while he waited? It was hard to act natural when all he wanted to do was demand answers. But it would be worth it in the end if he could hold out just a little longer. He hoped.
Someone banged on the door, making Em jump out of her seat. “Who’s that?”
“Oh.” He moved toward the door, fishing through his wallet for money. “That’s the Chinese food.”
“Chinese food?”
She hadn’t even noticed he’d ordered it? That made him chuckle. One track mind. “I ordered it while you were cussing out Apple products.” He opened the door and paid for the food. Then he placed the bag on the coffee table and pulled out the boxes one at a time.
“I was hungry and your fridge was empty.” A small lie but he wanted her to eat without feeling guilty. “I can’t eat all of this. Help me out.”
She looked over the options hesitantly. “Is that crab rangoon?”
“Yup. You like that?”
She nodded.
“Here.” He handed her the box. “All yours,
baby.”
The pet name had been an impulse and he wanted to kick himself for not being more careful. Encouraging even a close friendship between them seemed like a bad idea. In his experience, girls didn’t like their boyfriends being friends with other girls. The last thing he needed to salvage the relationship with Hope was to appear disloyal. Spying on her would be hard enough to forgive.
“I’ll give you some money before you go,” Em said, oblivious to the slip up.
“Nah. Don’t worry about it. You’ve been helping me out so… I owe you.”
She froze with a forkful of rangoon near her mouth then put it down and gave him a somber look. “This doesn’t count as payment for services. You still owe me real money.”
He laughed. “I know that, silly.”
“Silly?” She arched a brow. “Nobody’s ever called me silly before.”
Nodding, he finished chewing a mouthful of rice. “Yes, I know. You’re very austere. Do you ever take a break to have fun?”
Her nose scrunched in an adorable look of offense. “All the time.”
“Oh yeah? What do you do for fun?”
She placed her fork on the table and twisted her mouth as she thought. “Well, sometimes I take a break from finding prime numbers and mine bitcoin instead.”
He stared at her blankly.
After a drawn out sigh that managed to sound condescending, she explained, “Solving equations to create an online currency market.”
“Wow. Equations. That’s so adventurous of you.” He shook his head slowly, exaggerating an awed expression. “Downright dangerous.”
“Shut up.” With a challenging look, she lifted her chin. “I’m also going on a road trip in two weeks.”
“A road trip? Where to?”
“A hacker convention in Chicago.”
“You’re driving there by yourself?”
She nodded.
For some reason, that bothered him. “That’s kind of far to drive on your own. You couldn’t take Jess with you or something?”
“She works weekends.”
“Do you have a reliable car?”
She laughed. “You sound like my grandmother.”
He scowled then dropped the subject. It wasn’t his problem. Why did he care anyway? She was barely a friend. An acquaintance. His heart was already taken.
Not that he viewed Emerson in that way – a threat to his heart. She hardly seemed to like him. He gave his head a shake. Damn. He was so mixed up.
Maybe if he acknowledged how he felt about her, it would go away. She was cute to look at. There. He’d said it. Now he could move on. Her prickly personality did nothing for him. He wanted his sunny kindergarten teacher. The girl he pictured singing happy songs to small children, a bright smile and warm expression.
Emerson was the opposite of that image. Dark and anti-social. She rarely smiled. Children were probably scared of her. She had a certain charm, but the kind that appealed to other people. Not him.
“How long until you have an address?” he asked, getting back to the point.
She shrugged. “Not long. I’ve hacked the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles plenty of times. But I wanna cross check that information with the district schools and find out exactly where and what she teaches. It should only take me a few days.”
More waiting. More time stalling with Hope about why he was acting so distant. Maybe he’d tell her a relative died. Lying wasn’t natural for him but she’d brought him to this. She’d lied first.
With a sigh, he finished his box of lo mein then started cleaning up the mess. Emerson joined in.
“Thanks for buying,” she said, holding the garbage top open while he deposited the used plasticware inside. “I owe you next time.”
“Next time?”
“When you come back in a few days, I’ll get us pizza.”
They walked back to the living room. “Do you live on take-out or do you actually cook sometimes?”
“Take-out or microwavable food. Cooking is a waste of time. So’s eating but whenever I try to give it up, there’s some nasty side effects.”
“You don’t say.” After packing up the leftover food, he stuck it in her fridge. “For tomorrow,” he said then put up a hand when she started to protest. “Please. I’ll feel better knowing you’re nourished while doing work for me.”
For some reason, he felt a surge of pride in seeing her fed and provided for. Truly, she needed a boyfriend. Not him. But someone who understood her level of focus. Someone who would make sure she ate three meals a day. Who’d make sure she flashed that dimple once in a while. And for a crazy moment, he wished someone would fuck the tension out of her.
What the hell was wrong with him? He needed to get out of there fast. Fresh air would clear his mind. Maybe another night of drinking. He made a bee-line for the door.
“I gotta go,” he said over his shoulder as he turned the handle. “Thanks for everything, Em.” I’m such a bastard. “Email me if you need anything.”
He didn’t even listen for a goodbye before he closed the door behind him. She probably went back to work on some prime number thing without a second thought.
He needed to get his head on straight, to remember his priorities, to remember what was at stake. He needed to talk to Hope.
Chapter 9
When her eyes started to burn and tear up from the glare of the computer screen, Emerson knew it was time for a break. She squeezed them shut and drew in a deep breath. It’d only been six hours. Usually she could go longer than that. It was a miracle she didn’t have a permanent chair-shaped dent in her ass.
Her stomach rumbled and the leftover Chinese food called to her from the fridge. The memory of Levi teasing her about the contents of her refrigerator brought a smile. Though completely unnecessary, it was sweet that he’d cared enough that she’d eaten.
Just as she was about to push away from her desk, her email alert dinged. Her eyes were begging for a break but she couldn’t resist checking it. Secretly, she hoped it was Levi. Between their meetings, he’d sent emails asking about her progress. Any other client doing that would’ve annoyed her but with Levi…it was different. She found herself looking forward to the check-ins. Most of the time, the emails seemed more like an excuse to chat than seeking answers to sincere questions. For someone who claimed to be in a relationship, he sounded pretty lonely.
To her disappointment, the email wasn’t from Levi. It was Jonah. What the hell did her ex want? He’d left for Washington without much more than a goodbye peck on the lips. Curiosity compelled her to open the email.
Em,
Turns out NASA wasn’t for me. I’m back at the University, working as an adjunct and doing some research. I’d love to get together for coffee some time. I think I still remember your order ;)
I miss you. I hope you’re doing okay.
Jonah
She snorted. Hoped she was doing okay? If he really cared, he’d have checked on her before now. Like, maybe some time in the last five months he’d been gone?
Her first impulse was to reply with some excuse not to go, but a picture of Jess and Dani popped into her mind. Their faces pressed close together. The intimacy. It wasn’t just that they loved each other – she’d never loved Jonah – but Jess always had someone to make plans with. Someone to be happy when she accomplished something, to support her when she failed. Someone to cry and laugh with. If Emerson missed anything about being in a relationship, it was that. As it stood, when she made gains in her research, the only person she had to tell was her grandmother. Though proud, she didn’t really get it.
Instead of blowing Jonah off, she decided to give it some thought. Maybe he deserved a second chance. He was a nice guy. The quick move hadn’t seemed like him at the time. Maybe he’d just been excited for the job offer. Or maybe she was just desperate. Probably so, but coffee wouldn’t hurt. She could double-check the connection was truly gone then move on fully.
After closing the email screen, she went to
the fridge and grabbed the leftover sesame chicken. She heated it then sat back at the computer with the container and a fork. Her eyes started to burn again so she traded the computer for one of Jess’s magazines sitting out on the coffee table.
Coquette was spelled out in big pink letters at the top and an obviously photoshopped woman gave a come-hither look on the cover. She’d seen the magazine in the hair studio during the rare times she went in for a trim. Supposedly, Coquette was the number one source for up-to-date information every trendy woman needed to know. And in their opinion, every woman ought to be trendy.
She scanned the featured articles.
Why your Thighs Touching is a Real Health Concern.
She rolled her eyes.
What Your Astrological Sign Means for your Sex Life.
Maybe that’d be interesting, if she had a sex life.
The Twelve Sexiest Animals on the Planet.
“Whaaaa?” Jess actually bought this drivel? She popped a piece of chicken in her mouth and read the title of the last article.
Ten Ways to Make the Most of Your Breasts During Sex.
She snorted. “What if you don’t have any?”
Out of curiosity, she flipped to the corresponding page.
Tip #1: Shove them in his face and shake them as much as possible. Men are hunters so they’re drawn to the movement.
She choked on a piece of chicken and coughed for several minutes. When she recovered, she scanned it again to double-check she’d read it right the first time. Holy mother. Was this a prank? A spoof of society’s ludicrous obsession with sex? After another bite of chicken, she read on.
Tip #2: Attach rhinestones to your breasts to give them extra pizzazz. The more sparkly the better!
Yeah then shake them in his face and give him a seizure. Good advice. Then for a real bonding experience, he could bandage the wounds left from the glue.
