by Amy Brent
Alice leaned forward and gave me a hard hug, and when she pulled back, she was wiping tears from her eyes, smearing some of her eyeliner.
“Thanks, Faye. I just…I really needed to hear that.”
“Hey, anytime.” On impulse, I gave her another hug, and Alice made a joke about the baby making her too emotional. We were both still laughing when there was a knock at the door.
Before I could get up to answer it, the door opened and Rebecca stepped inside. She gave Alice and me an odd look, but I ignored it.
“Yes, Rebecca?” I prompted after a moment, and she gave herself a shake. I saw the piece of paper in her hand.
“I have a message for you, from Sam.”
I held out my hand for it but Rebecca held the note just out of reach, giving me another oddly intent look.
“I hope you know how lucky you are—to have someone like Sam.” Finally, she gave me the paper before turning on her small pump heels and leaving just as quickly as she’d come in.
I shook my head at her strange behavior but forgot all about it when I opened the note. It was from Sam. There was an address scribbled at the top and a few handwritten lined dashed off underneath. I shook my head as I read the words: Meet me tonight. Wear something nice.
What the hell was that man planning now?
Chapter 25
Faye
I smoothed down the little red dress I was wearing, trying to still my racing nerves in the back of the cab. I looked out of the window as we drove farther from the city and the landscape changed from urban buildings to a narrow, tree-lined street.
After a twenty-minute ride, most of which I spent wondering what the hell Sam had up his sleeve and why I was so nervous about it, the cab pulled to a stop.
I looked around. There was a small wooden sign and set of rickety looking steps that dropped down into the tree line.
“Are you sure this is the right address?” I asked hesitantly, turning to the cab driver, but he just shrugged.
“This is the address you gave me, ma’am,” he said nonchalantly, and I looked out the window again. It was getting darker outside as evening set in even though there was still plenty of light for me to see by. “Do you want me to take you back?” he asked after I hesitated a moment.
I shook my head. “No. No, this is right,” I said, taking a deep breath as I handed the driver a few bills and stepped outside. My nerves spiked as the cab pulled around and drove away, leaving me with no option but to go on and see what the hell Sam was planning.
Come on, Faye. You’re no coward. You can do this. The little voice in the back of my head spurred me on as I threw back my shoulders and started walking down the narrow set of stairs. I paused as I got to the bottom, my eyes opened wide. The thick tree line had hidden the view of the water spread out in front of me.
I was on a small pier, but I didn’t see Sam right away. I looked around, unsure. Was I even in the right place? Had he just stranded me out here?
But then I heard footsteps coming close, and when I turned to look, Sam’s smiling face greeted me.
“Hey! Good, you found it,” he said, coming close to stand beside me. I could see the appreciative light that gleamed in his eyes as he took in my dress.
“Found what exactly?” I asked, looking around the small empty pier.
“It’s a surprise.”
I peered up at him as he rocked back on his heels, looking as proud as a little boy with a candy bar.
“Why? What are you planning, Sam?”
“Do you trust me?”
“Why?”
His expression grew serious. “Close your eyes.”
“Why?” I said again, starting to feel like a broken record, repeating the same word over and over again.
“Please? Just close your eyes. For me?” He pleaded with me, that big puppy dog look in his eyes, and finally I gave in with a sigh and a sinking feeling inside me.
I had to force my eyelids to close, muttering under my breath about how ridiculous all this was, but I could practically feel Sam’s excitement as he took my hand in his and led me gently after him.
He guided me down the rickety pier, and it felt like an eternity before he finally had me stop. I was breathing hard, barely holding on to my nerves, when he told me to open my eyes.
“Go ahead, Faye. Open them.”
I did and looked around in shocked surprise. We were on an old yacht that had definitely seen better days, but it was fairly large and clean despite the chipping paint and scuffed deck.
Then I noticed the other things: the string lights that had been strung across the top like rows of stars overhead, the torches that were flickering around the perimeter of the boat, the palm tree in one corner.
I was so distracted, taking everything in, that I didn’t notice Sam walking close until he was putting a lei around my neck. I looked down at the fake purple flowers and then up at Sam with confusion.
“I couldn’t bring you to Hawaii, so I brought Hawaii to you,” he said with a bashful look.
I glanced around the boat, astounded. “You did all this for me?”
Sam shrugged, not quite looking at me with an embarrassed expression on his face. “I just wanted to do something special for you. You deserve it, Faye.”
I had to blink away the sudden sting of tears and leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. “Thank you.”
He looked startled at first, and then pleased, and then embarrassed again before taking a step back to reveal a table for two set up in the middle of the deck.
“After you, Faye. Dinner is served.”
He pulled out my chair and bit back a grin as he pushed it in again before handing me a napkin. He disappeared for a moment and then came back with two plates in his hand, one of which he set down in front of me.
I looked down at it and my grin faded a bit. “What…uh, what is it?”
I poked at it with my fork.
“It’s Spam,” Sam answered, sitting down across from me with his own plate full of the same dish.
I poked the pink square again. It was. It was Spam and a ring of canned pineapple all served over a bed of white rice.
“I thought Spam was a popular dish in Hawaii,” Sam said, suddenly sounding endearingly unsure. “That’s what the internet said.”
“It is, but…” How could I tell him that I hated Spam? He had obviously tried so hard to get everything just right about tonight and I didn’t want to hurt him. I forced a smile on my lips. “It…looks great.”
“Oh, good. That’s good,” he said, and then looked a little askance at his own plate before we both took a bite at the same time. I had to fight to swallow the little bite I’d taken, and I looked over at Sam to see the same disgust written on his face that was on mine.
Our eyes met, and the next moment we both burst out laughing. He spit it out before looking at me with a grimace, humor still shining in his eyes.
“That stuff is terrible.”
“It’s…not my favorite.” That was a nice way of putting it.
“I’m sorry. I was trying to make this special for you and I messed it all up.” He sat back, looking suddenly dejected. I shook my head.
“No, you didn’t, Sam. This is…this is perfect. No one’s ever done anything like this for me before.” I was in deep water again and sinking fast, but I didn’t care. I pushed away the doubts.
“I never said thank you by the way.”
“For this? Believe me, you don’t have to”
“No, not this. For everything. For what you did for me. I spent so much time thinking about how my own life was affected by the threats and everything, but you… I’ve never known anyone like you before. You really care about people.”
The words fell out in a stream that I couldn’t stop. Besides, it was the truth. I really never had met anyone like Sam before.
He leaned forward, sending me an intent look. “I care about you, Faye,” he said softly. Then he opene
d his mouth as if he were about to say something else but instead got to his feet. “Well, I was planning this for after dinner, but since that’s a wash…”
Sam brought out a cordless stereo and turned it on. Some soft, old song played from the speaker as he walked back toward me and held out his hand. For a moment, I just looked at it warily.
“What are you doing, Sam?”
“You said you like dancing. Besides, we never got our wedding dance.”
I stared at his hand, wondering what to do, but suddenly I knew. It wasn’t even a question anymore. Not really. I slid my palm against his as the music filled the air with the sultry sound. He pulled me to my feet and into his arms.
*
Sam
I was in heaven. That must have been what this was. I must have died and gone to paradise because I didn’t think anything could ever feel better than having Faye sway gently in my arms as the music washed over us.
The stars were just starting to wink to life overhead, and there was a soft breeze off the water that dimmed the evening heat perfectly.
I wanted her so badly that my entire body ached with it, but I also didn’t want to lose a minute of this. I didn’t want to miss a moment of just being with her, of feeling her pressed so sweetly against me. It really was perfect.
There were a million thoughts running through my head at once as we danced in the moonlight. How could I hold on to her? I didn’t want to lose her, but even in my arms as she was, I could already feel Faye slipping away like sand through my fingertips.
I pulled her in even closer as the fear mounted inside me. I couldn’t lose her. The thought alone stabbed through me painfully. The thought of my life without Faye—it made me want to growl. Nothing between us had been easy, but she had brought so much color into my life. She was like a light shining on all of my dark places.
“I used to be a terrible dancer you know,” I said nervously, desperate to derail the direction my thoughts had taken. I didn’t want to have to face losing her again. Not yet.
“Used to be?” Faye said softly, looking up at me with a teasing light in her eyes, and suddenly it was easier to breathe again, easier to relax, a little at least.
“Hey, I think I’m pretty good now. I’ve got a few moves,” I teased back, and without warning, I dipped her. She came back up laughing and threw her arms around my shoulders. I loved the way she clung to me.
“Yeah, okay,” she said, still laughing in glee. “You’re pretty good, I guess.”
“Thank you very much,” I said through a charmed smile. Silence fell between us once more as we slow danced, and I hurried to fill it. “Did you, uh, ever go to prom?”
“I went with Devin Thompson,” she said with a small nostalgic smile on her face. “He was a year older than me and he was on the rugby team. I thought I was very grown up. He was so nervous he spilled punch on my dress, and I called my dad crying. He came to the school and picked me up and took me home. I spent the rest of the night watching reruns on TV.” She shook off the memory and then looked up at me.
“What about you?”
“Me? Oh, I went,” I said, remembering that night from so long ago. It was a lifetime ago. “I went with Lori actually. It’s a long story, but in the end, I was voted best dancer in our grade.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. We were on the dance floor and I slipped on a napkin and went spinning. I’m still not sure how I didn’t fall flat on my face, but apparently everyone else thought I was just really good.”
Faye let out a tinkling laugh at my story. I could have spent the rest of my life listening to the sound of Faye’s laughter.
“Sam…”
I looked down at her and lost myself in the beautiful darkness of her heavy-lidded gaze. She took my breath away, and so did the heat I could see staring back at me. Faye drew in a deep breath, then tilted up her chin.
“Sam, I want you.”
Those weren’t the words I really wanted to hear, but they still had my body instantly responding. I wanted her too. Maybe if I couldn’t say what I wanted to out loud, I at least could show her how I felt with my body, without words.
I cupped her cheek in my hand and kissed her, long and soft and sweet, before pulling back enough to stare down into her eyes.
“I want you too. I want you more than I’ve ever wanted anyone or anything in my life.”
Faye kissed me back, hungrier than I’d ever seen her, as if she were ravenous for me.
“I can’t wait,” she said, breathing out the words against my lips. “I need you now.”
She pulled me down to the deck of the yacht with her, furiously stripping off my clothes. Her hands and fingers were moving so fast, I could hardly keep up with her. It sent a fervor through my mind, but I knew we needed to go slow. I wanted to go slow. I wanted her to feel every single thing I was going to do to her.
I grabbed her hips and flipped her onto her back on the hard wood, pushing up the skirt of her tempting red dress with one hand while I gripped her wrists with the other.
She looked up at me, and she was heart-stoppingly beautiful with a little pout of frustration that I just had to kiss.
“Shh, Faye. Just let me taste you.”
I kissed her lips, trailing across her cheeks and down the curve on her neck, exploring all of her that I could reach, every inch of skin that was bared to my touch. She shivered underneath me and made little moans of pleasure in the back of her throat. It was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.
Suddenly overwhelmed, I pulled back. Everything inside me told me I was making a big fucking mistake, but that didn’t stop me from opening my mouth, and it sure as hell didn’t stop the words from coming out.
“Faye, I need to tell you something. I need you to know how I really feel about you.
Faye…I love you. I think I’ve been in love with you from that very first night. I can’t keep it a secret anymore.”
I said it all in a rush, hoping that would make it less painful, like ripping off a bandage, but it didn’t really help. Neither did the silence coming from Faye as she stared at me with wide eyes. I could see panic fill her dark gaze.
“Say something, Faye,” I begged her. “Anything.”
“I…I…I have to go,” she muttered as she scrambled to her feet and rearranged her dress. “I’m sorry. I…I have to go.”
I reached out to try to stop her but she was already gone, fleeing back down the pier and leaving me all alone.
Chapter 26
Faye
I was still reeling from what had happened with Sam as I paced back and forth along the side of the road at the entrance to the pier. I had called a cab to come pick me up. I was just glad Sam hadn’t followed me.
Yeah, he must have gotten the hint not to. The thought echoed sarcastically through my head, and I couldn’t shake it off. It had been going so well with them. Why did he have to messing everything up, telling me he was in love with me? It was impossible!
We had both agreed going into this whole thing that we would break up at the end of the recording contract and go back to our normal lives. No more pretend marriage, no more pretend relationship, no more threats. Just…normal.
Nothing about this is normal! my panic brain screamed. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!
I tried to wrestle my thoughts back into some semblance of order as I paced and waited. I couldn’t’ go back the apartment with Sam. I couldn’t face him again. I was still haunted by the broken look that had been on his face as I had run away from him.
But I was so overwhelmed I could barely function, let alone stay there and talk to him about it. Hell, I didn’t even know what I would say. Where could I even start?
No, I couldn’t face him again. Not so soon. Tomorrow would be soon enough for that. Dread settled inside me just thinking about it, but I refused to give in to it.
I couldn’t go back to the apartment, but part of me didn’t want to be alon
e. Still waiting for my ride, I dug out my cell phone and dialed Alice’s number, but there was no answer. That was probably a good thing. She had been dealing with so much lately. The last thing she needed was my problems added to her plate.
After a moment’s consideration, I dialed another phone number. The other line rang a few times before a voice answered.
“Hello?”
“Lori? It’s Faye.”
“Faye! Oh my god, I’m so glad you called. I was just thinking about you.”
“You were?” I asked hesitantly before taking a deep breath and going on. “Listen, I know this is kind of last minute and a little bit crazy but…can I crash at your place tonight?”
“Of course!” Lori said right away. “Come on over. I’ll text you my address.”
I hung up after a hurried good-bye just as the cab pulled to a stop in front of me. I got in the car, and twenty minutes later we were braking to a stop in front of a posh two-story brownstone house that probably cost ten times more than my penthouse apartment, but I barely paused to admire the upscale home.
I stomped up to the door and knocked. Less than a minutes later it was opening, and Lori stood there with a sympathetic expression and a bottle of tequila.
“Trouble in paradise?”
“How did you know?” I asked in relief as she stepped back and I followed her inside.
“I guessed,” Lori said with a shrug as she walked toward the living room. “You want a drink?”
“God yes! Make it three.”
The other woman let out a husky chuckle. “You got it. Take a seat on the couch.”
I let myself collapse onto the impossibly soft down-stuffed couch in her living room, really looking around for the first time.
“Holy shit. You’re loaded,” I said in surprise as she came back with two drinks. Mine was fruity and tart as I took a gulp, but I barely tasted it before downing half the thing. When I finally came up for air, Lori was just shrugging, waving away the expensive decor and art as if it were commonplace. For her, it probably was.
