by Roxie Odell
“Do you?” Thomas asked cryptically, stopping Ben in his tracks.
“Watch out for this one,” Ben said to Cheri as he turned around. “He’s all kinds of trouble.”
In a flash, Thomas was off the stool.
Ben threw his hands up in mock surrender, but that same stupid grin was still plastered on his face. “I’m going, man,” he promised easily. “Enjoy your evening.”
The tavern had stilled, everyone staring at Thomas to see what his next move would be. Rather than pummeling Ben like he obviously wanted to, he sat back down next to Cheri, keeping his head down as if in prayer, trying to collect himself. “I apologize… for that,” said Thomas, still unable to look at her.
Cheri stared at him, emotions of every kind turning within her. She found it quite worrisome and disturbing that the man was so rude to them, to Thomas in particular. She wondered if that was going to be the norm for them. After all, she didn’t know a whole lot about the man she’d become so very intimate with. The only thing she did know was that she liked him, that she liked him a whole lot. Cheri decided not to push him for an explanation about Ben, even though she desperately wanted one. All things considered, nothing bad had happened, so she was willing to let it go in the hopes that they could talk about it later. What she didn’t realize was that she wasn’t going to have to wait too long.
Thomas took another sip of coffee and clarified, “The guy’s a human weasel.”
That describes him perfectly, thought Cheri, recalling the icky grin that never left Ben’s face.
Thomas continued, “I caught him double-crossing a client, and I ratted him out. In retaliation, good ol’ Ben did his best to dig some dirt up on me, and he found out about my jail time, thanks to the damn internet. Like I said before, all you gotta do is Google it, and even that dumb fucker figured that out, then totally humiliated me.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
“Hey, it’s no one fault but mine that I did what I did,” said Thomas. “I took the law into my own hands by writing those checks, like some kind of idiot modern-day Robin Hood or Zorro. I could’ve gone without the pay, but a lot of my crew lives check to check, and they’ve got kids.”
Cheri put her hand on his big, broad shoulder. “It’s okay,” she said, even if she wasn’t sure about that.
“I paid the money back out of my own pocket…or at least out of my trust. That pissed my dad off, but I felt I had to. I didn’t want the other guys to suffer any legal penalties for my actions. Anyway, my old man wasn’t too happy about what I did and so, in answer to your question, I’m not a rich kid. I mean, I can collect on that trust when I’m 40 now. It was supposed to be when I finished school, but hey, I can’t and don’t complain. The money’s nothin’ to sneeze at, but I’m not sure if I even want it. I’m not even sure what I’m gonna do with it.”
“What did the clients say when you exposed him?”
“Oh, they were appreciative, backed me 100 percent. He tried to ruin my reputation as a builder, but they stood up for me,” he said. “His name is shit, but I’m solid and he’s not.”
“Do you want to go back to the hotel?”
“Hell no,” he said. “I’m not done eating, drinking, and making merry here, and I’m not gonna let that beta-male shoo me off. The food here’s way too good for that, and I want to feed you,” he said with a grin that was far more attractive than Ben’s.
“In that case, let’s get a table, Mr. Trouble,” Cheri whispered.
Chapter 15
After a few days off with Thomas Graham, Cheri was a completely changed woman. She was eager to greet the world as a complete person because of him and if she thought their little road trip was restorative, it was nothing compared to the work that had been done on her house while she was away.
“Damn, that was fast,” said Cheri as she and Thomas admired the improvements. She had no idea the balcony was in such disrepair, but the rebuild was gorgeous, a real night-and-day difference. She stared at it, touched by the hard work that had been done for her, and every time she lapsed into a daydream about Thomas she found herself also touching that little silver bell that hung around her neck.
Cheri and Thomas had shared so much already, and she was certain she was falling head-over-heels in love with him. Nevertheless, she could not allow him to give her all that beautiful work for free. “I’ve got no words,” she said, looking around again. “You have to tell me what I owe you.”
“Thank you works,” he said with a wink.
“Thank you.”
He walked her over to the powder room on the living room level. It had a narrow, very small window in it. He raised and lowered the sash.
“Oh my gosh! I had no idea that even opened,” she exclaimed, astounded.
“Well, it’s supposed to,” he explained. “You either have a fan or a window. This was glued shut with about a century’s worth of old paint. It’s good as new now.”
“You have to let me pay you for all this,” she insisted again.
“But we’re not done yet,” he said. He then walked her over to the living room fireplace that had been entirely refinished. “This doesn’t just have to be decorative,” he said. “I can get ‘er going. It’d be nice to sit here with a fire going while it snows. Then, when you’re ready, we can run a sander over these floors and bring out the character of the wood.”
“Thomas…” she managed, but that was all she could say before emotion welled in her eyes. Her whole body hummed with it. Cheri was overwhelmed.
He winked again, then leaned in and kissed her cheek.
“You have to let me pay you.” She sounded like a broken record, but it was the right song to sing.
He gazed into her eyes with such sensuality that she actually swayed. She had never felt such sexual attraction for a person before, and it nearly knocked her off her feet. “You’ll pay me, all right,” he said, his voice oozing with promise. “You can count on that.”
“Looking forward to it,” she muttered, still lost in his heated stare.
He walked her back out to the entryway of her home to say goodbye. “I’ve had a wonderful week with you. I’ve got some things to take care of, and I’m sure you do as well, so let’s take this week to settle back into our lives. Check out all the stuff my guys did. It’s pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. Maybe this weekend, we can try out that balcony,” he proposed mischievously.
She giggled. “I don’t know,” she played. “We’ll see.”
He swatted her behind gently. “I got your we’ll see.” He then lifted Cheri’s chin and arched down until their mouths pressed together.
She never tired of the softness of his lips or the taste of his tongue. She craved connection with him, in mind, body, and spirit.
“Call you toward the end of the week,” he whispered. “I look forward to spending more time with you.”
When she closed the door, Cheri was practically floating on air. She took a quick inventory of her life, and everything seemed to be going her way. One week, she was lost in the cruel grip of anxiety because of a chance encounter with a bad guy in the metro, and the next, she was twirling in the throes of perfect passion, all because of a good guy in the metro.
Even work seemed to improve. By midweek, it was confirmed that the firm had scored a major trial victory, and that earned them a lot of good press. To celebrate, the managing partner offered to take the whole team out for steak.
Since Cheri and Thomas had agreed to coast back into normalcy until the weekend, she decided to go stag to dinner, even though they could bring a guest. She was so sated from their luscious time together that it wasn’t even a big deal. In the past, she probably would have turned down the invitation altogether, but now it was nice to have something to do after she was used to Thomas filling her spare time so wonderfully.
Cheri and some of the professional assistants decided to spruce up after work, since they were heading to dinner from there. They raided a corner drugstore and
splurged on a bunch of toiletries. Cheri had a thing for cocoa butter products so she purchased some of the fancier ones, and they took turns using the office shower.
Cheri shampooed her hair and finished it with cocoa butter lotion. She slathered some all over herself before rinsing herself off. She shut off the water and exfoliated with a thick, clean towel, then eyeballed her mani-pedi to see if she needed a touchup. She ran her hands up her shins to check her morning shave and was glad to find herself still silky and smooth. Wrapped in the towel, she padded to a dressing stall to put her work clothes back on.
As she primped in the full-length mirror, one of her co-workers stopped to admire her pendant. “That’s sweet,” she remarked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you wear it.”
Cheri staggered, rushed with adoration. “Yeah, it’s new.”
“From a guy?”
“Yeah,” Cheri said, and that was all it took for a gaggle of women to flock around her to check it out.
“Is it from the guy?” someone asked.
“It is for now,” replied Cheri quickly.
“Wait. It’s not the guy who rescued you in the subway, is it?”
Cheri beamed and felt like a silly, puppy-love-struck high school girl. “Yes,” she answered proudly. “That’s where I was last week. We went away together.”
A collective chorus of “Aw,” and, “Wow,” echoed in the ladies’ room, and she had never felt so chummy with her co-workers. Even snooty Marlene seemed impressed.
“The receptionist saw him when he came in to drop off some paperwork. She said he’s hot,” someone said.
“Can’t you tell it’s the guy for always and not just for now?” asked another. “And what’s this stud’s name?”
“Thomas,” answered Cheri. She felt silly blushing as she said his name, but she couldn’t shake it. All she had to do was think about Thomas and some of the things they did together, and she turned scarlet.
“Thomas? Oh, my gosh,” Marlene felt the need to chime in.
“What?” Cheri said, looking at her curiously.
“It’s just… Well, everybody’s got a Thomas. Blake, don’t you have a guy named that?”
Blake was a gorgeous woman, one the attorneys openly remarked about and practically drooled over. Cheri didn’t know her very well because they didn’t work directly together too often, but it was no secret that men went weak-kneed over her and found her attractive.
“I did,” replied Blake.
Marlene frowned. “You did? So, that’s history now? I thought you said the sex was over the top.”
“Yeah,” Blake replied with a sensual look on her face, “the best, but we were just friends with bennies. We both agreed that if either of us stepped into anything serious, we’d part ways. We had a major goodbye hurrah last night.”
“So it’s over?” Marlene pried.
“Yeah, off to new adventures,” said Blake, her eyes glazed over with passion as she recalled her last night with her lover. “What a send-off, though. Ladies, I gotta tell you, next to make-up sex, the best-ever sex is goodbye sex.”
“Hmm. What’s your Thomas’s last name?” Marlene asked Cheri.
“Graham,” answer Cheri fearfully, carefully watching Blake’s face for any sign of a reaction. She was sure it couldn’t be dismissed as mere coincidence.
“Oh shit. I-I didn’t know,” said Blake, as apologetically as she could.
“I didn’t either.” Cheri suddenly didn’t feel the fun in going out. Like a balloon that untied, it whizzed out of her.
“Wow,” Marlene said, shaking her head. “Just…wow.”
Suddenly, Cheri was the center of an even more captive audience. She was still standing in front of the mirror, and she couldn’t avoid looking at herself, doing the math just like everyone else was and coming up with the same horrible answer. My Thomas was Blake’s Thomas, till last night, she thought with a shudder. Dammit, how could I have been so stupid?
“I’m really, really sorry,” Blake said, interrupting her bitter thoughts.
“I know. Me, too,” Cheri said. “Do me a favor, though.”
“Sure.”
“If you talk to him again, don’t tell him I know.”
“I won’t,” Blake rasped. “I’m so sorry, kid. Really.”
Chapter 16
Even though Blake opted to skip the company steak dinner, Cheri found the strength and courage to go along and put on a happy face. She didn’t message or call Thomas to tell him that she had met one of his hookups. Instead, she just spent the planned time apart, trying to party away the pain, doing her best to remain numb until she could hit the bar and let go.
She gathered up her hottest dresses and arranged them in order of heat. She organized her costumes, then lined up the nightclubs. She planned to very daringly go to the sketchiest part of town, dressed in as little as possible. Somehow, putting herself at risk was her way of getting back at him. She hit the bars after work and showed up trashed the next day, not drunk but definitely not well-rested. She couldn’t eat and she couldn’t concentrate. One week and she felt like she’d partied for a year. It was rough.
She even considered having the balcony torn down, because every time she looked out the French doors it reminded her of him. Ultimately, she decided to hire a handyman to remove the double-doors and frame a wall across the opening, so she would never have to lay eyes on it again. She even tacked a towel over the bathroom window. He’d helped her open up in a lot of ways, and that stupid window was one of them, so it was a reminder, too.
Once she felt she had sufficiently exorcised Thomas Graham from her life, she yanked her bell necklace off and chucked it into the living room. She had no idea where it landed, and didn’t even bother to look for it.
She was pretty sure Blake didn’t keep her word about not telling Thomas, because he began blowing up her phone with messages. She ignored them and the calls stopped rather suddenly in the middle of the week. She then grew paranoid that he was just going to show up at her house, and the last thing she wanted to do was see him.
By Friday night the handyman finished, and she was grateful his work was quick, albeit much sloppier and haphazard than that of Thomas’s crew. She didn’t care what it looked like, though, as long as that horrible reminder, that un-christened balcony, was boarded up.
The week of poisoning herself with alcohol in portions she wasn’t accustomed to and all the tense, nightmarish sleep deprivation left her hoping she’d be able to pass out and sleep off the weekend. Her face was swollen and puffy, and there were bags under her eyes the size of Samsonite. She looked as if she’d been in a heavyweight boxing match, but that wasn’t half as bad as how she felt.
To make matters worse, her work had fallen sorely behind; it was hard to be efficient and focused when she was so tired she could hardly fathom the steps involved in making a morning cup of coffee. Her boss had stuck a “See me” Post-It note on her computer monitor, which was never a good sign, and after he expressed his concerns to her about her poor work performance and declining punctuality, she promised she’d go straight home and get some rest after work. The office grapevine buzzed with the fact that Cheri’s famous cowboy was everybody’s ride, and she could hardly stomach it, but she liked her job and didn’t want to lose it. “I’ll be a new woman when I come back Monday,” she promised her boss. “I’m over all this now.”
Cheri shuffled into her entryway, not even bothering to look around. She kicked off her heels and pulled the pins from her hair, then ran her fingers through it and gave it a shake. She lifted her skirt, peeled off her stockings, and dug her toes into the carpet. She was just about to flip the switch in her living room, but the lights seemed to magically illuminate on their own. She let out an audible gasp when she saw him, Thomas Graham, sitting right there in the middle of her couch, just staring at her.
“Damn it, Thomas!” she spat, furious that he’d just seen her undress in the most awkward way. Her face flamed with embarrassment, and
she turned away. “What are you doing here? Can’t I even have privacy in my own home?”
“Beautiful,” he said anyway.
She turned to glare at him. “What the hell are you doing here?”
“You must’ve dropped this,” he said, dangling her necklace like a pendulum from one of his fingers.
“Get out…and take that with you!”
“It hasn’t been that long, but I forgot how really, truly beautiful you are,” he said, completely calm.
“You son-of-a-bitch!” Cheri shook her head, irritated by his flattery. It was torture to hear him praise her, even though she’d craved those words not too long ago. She picked up her shoes and threw them at him but, lucky for him, she was a lousy shot. “Go!” she repeated.
“Nice work on the balcony, by the way,” he snapped.
“Yeah, I like it a whole lot better.”
“I’m not leaving until you hear me out.” He crossed his arms over his chest, clearly having no intention of leaving.
“For a guy who didn’t even want to tell me his name…” She stopped. “What were the words? Oh, yeah… You act like I owe you, when in fact, I don’t,” she recited, doing her best to glare at him with all the fierceness she could muster.
“I’m sorry for that,” he said quietly.
“You’re sorry? You oughtta be damn more than sorry, Thomas.” She gasped with emotional pain. “The humiliation of that hurt like hell. Why on Earth didn’t I just cut you off then? I should have, and then you wouldn’t be here to piss me off now!”
“Cheri—” he started, with pleading in his voice.
“Don’t ‘Cheri’ me. Why don’t you go fuck Blake?” she hissed. “Apparently, she gets your boundaries way better than I do, because I’m not interested.”
“Oh, but you are interested,” he said. “You wouldn’t be in this much pain if you weren’t.”
“I don’t need to hear your story. I just walked into this house finally feeling free, and then I have to see you. I’m not about to listen to another word of your bullshit. I haven’t had a drink in nearly twenty-four hours, and I’d really like to keep it that way. I thought I was finally going to get some sleep. Please get out of my house so I can.”
