by Liza Brown
Max stepped into the office and sat down across from me. “Mitch, can you do me a huge favor and sit behind Uncle Elsu?” he asked.
“Uncle Elsu?”
“That’s the name he and his brother came up with. Not me.”
“You still don’t like him, do you?” I asked.
He watched Mitchell sit down and then closed the door. “I have a feeling that you wouldn’t be having all this trouble if it weren’t for him.”
“Yes, because Elsu and Bart and Jeremy are best friends,” I said.
“Independence fire department confirmed that Elsu’s house was lightning.”
“You told me that.”
“I know, but now they’re certain.”
“But Casper was standing there.”
“That’s all he was doing. Standing there.”
“So, does Elsu know this?” I asked.
“No, not yet. Millard will probably tell him.”
“Ok, now what?”
“Because we have no witnesses for your truck, the police are dropping the search.”
“No one saw it being done? I find that really hard to believe, Max!”
“Well, it was in a parking garage where all the people who owned the cars were at the basketball game,” he said as he crossed his ankle across his knee and picked at something on his shoe.
“Carl.”
“He was with the team. We have him on video talking to you at one point quite angrily. What was that about?”
“He hates me.”
“Why does he hate you?”
“I’m bad for business. I’m not important enough to be dating their star player.”
“Is that what he said?”
“Basically, yes.”
“Does Elsu know?”
“Yep, I told him. He’s none too happy with Carl, either.”
“So we’re back to square one then,” said Max.
“If not any of them. Then who the hell?” I asked.
He shrugged.
“Tell me Bart did the elevator, Max,” I begged.
“If he did, there’s no evidence of it.”
“No, no. It has to be him! Who else would do all this shit?” I started feeling physically ill.
“You don’t think it odd that everything has happened since you and Elsu started seeing each other?” he asked.
“He didn’t do it!” I said.
“No, but does he have enemies?” he asked. I knew he knew the answer.
“Every celebrity has enemies. There’s Saraya. But…” I tried to put the timeline together in my head.
“No, she has an alibi. What about former teammates. He made some enemies in Arizona by leaving.”
“I don’t know anything about that.”
“How do you not know anything about that? It was in the news.”
“Believe it or not, Max I am not a follower of basketball politics.”
“But you need to be.”
“No, I don’t! I’m dating Elsu the man. Not Elsu the basketball player.”
“Mae, you can say that all you want, but those two people are the same man. If you’re going to be a player’s girlfriend you need to smarten up about the game.”
“You and Carl are on the same side!”
“No, we’re not. You just need to not risk embarrassing yourself or Elsu for that matter.”
I sat back and glared at my brother.
“What about Casper? You said he tried something on you at the dinner last week?”
“He didn’t do the truck, he was with the team most of the time! Plus, I’m sure someone would have seen him at the apartment. He’s too big to sneak around. He doesn’t seem smart enough for this. Besides, it was done before he made himself an enemy.”
“Before?”
“We ran into someone at lunch. Someone hired a P.I. to follow me.” I went to grab the business card and remembered Millard had it.
“You’re older, maybe you remember more than me. Do you know anything about Uncle Larry’s family?” I asked.
His face paled. I often forgot that he was abused, too. Maybe I was as selfish as my mom claimed. I decided to not continue asking what he knew.
I picked up my phone and texted Millard.
CAN YOU PLEASE COME TO MY OFFICE?
“This guy claimed to be Uncle Larry’s nephew. He said he was a P.I. hired to follow me. He wants to avenge his grandmother’s death by mending the family’s fences his actions broke. He decided to turn on whoever hired him when he learned about the elevator. He said it was rigged on Tuesday! I wasn’t officially dating Elsu on Tuesday.”
“Ok, but that picture of you and Elsu hugging at Meldrum’s came out on Tuesday afternoon.” Why did he have to have an answer for everything?
“Damn, you’re right. But would you try to kill someone based on that picture? That’s just stupid.” I sighed as I sat back. “I preferred thinking it was Bart,” I said. Not knowing who was following me was a hundred times worse than knowing.
“I understand completely,” he said.
Millard appeared in the lobby and stopped to speak with Elsu before he came to the office.
“You wanted to see me?” he asked.
“Come in,” I said as I pointed to the other chair.
“I just got a message from the Independence fire department. I was telling Mr. Benjamin about the confirmation on the lightning,” he said.
“Yeah, I was just telling Mae about that,” said Max.
“What did you need, Miss Mae?” he asked.
Max raised an eyebrow at the formality but didn’t comment. “Apparently Bart and Jeremy didn’t do all this shit,” interrupted Max. Millard sat back in his chair and looked at Max in disbelief. “Everyone has an alibi or they just don’t have enough proof,” said Max to Millard.
I kept looking to the customer area and Elsu would occasionally glance at me and wink and smile. He, Bonnie, and Steve finally finished with the last rush of customers and Elsu came into the office.
“What’s with the secret meeting?” he asked as he came to my side of the desk.
There was a knock at the door and Steve had Mitchell’s hand in his. “I’m taking the kid to see the new rides.”
“What new rides?” asked Max.
“It’s a long story, Max. Just know that the showroom has turned into a garage for 7 of the players’ classic cars.”
“They all have classic cars?” asked Max.
“They do now, they bought them from me. Just forget about that.” I waved Steve and Mitchell out of the office.
“Stand up a sec,” said Elsu to me. I did so curiously but watched him sit down in my seat and guide me to his lap. “That’s hard work!” he exhaled.
“What is?”
“Dealing with customers all day. How does Bonnie do it?”
“We’ve never had a rush like that, Elsu. Like I said, I’m blaming you.”
“So,” said Max as he sat forward, looking at Elsu. “We’ve got a problem.”
“Yeah, we gotta catch whoever’s doing this.”
“No, he’s not our problem right now,” said Max as I saw the anger in his body move to his face. “You are.”
“Max!” I yelled.
“None of this shit was happening before you showed up!” my brother yelled at Elsu.
“So now I’ve destroyed her truck and rigged the elevator?” asked Elsu.
“No, but you have the rest of the week to figure out who did!” said Max.
“Or what?” Elsu sat forward, nearly knocking me off his lap.
“Or I will forbid you from seeing my sister anymore!”
“Shut up, Max! You don’t have a say in who I see!” I yelled.
“If he cares about you like he claims he’ll consider this. He’s the reason you’re being put in danger. If he were to stop seeing you, I bet this would stop!”
Elsu didn’t come back with the quick reply I was expecting. He seemed to be frozen and looked at me. I prayed he wasn’t listeni
ng to this dribble.
“Maybe he’s right,” said Elsu as he sat back.
My heart fell to my feet. “No! No! I am not listening to this! Stop whatever’s happening here right now! I’m not going to stop seeing him!” I said as I looked at Max, tears filling my eyes.
“Mae, if my seeing you is going to put you in harm’s way, maybe…maybe we should stop seeing each other for now.”
“Is that what you want?” The tears started running down my face.
“No! Not even for a second, Mae! But I’d never forgive myself if someone hurt you because of me!”
“This is hurting me, Elsu! You are hurting me right now! For someone who claims they don’t want to hurt me, you’re doing a really sucky job!” I stood up and stepped away from him. “You’d rather not risk hurting me by hurting me more than I’ve been hurt in years? Tell me how this is helping because I don’t get it!”
“Mae, you’re overreacting,” said Max as he stood and stepped toward me trying to grip my arm.
“Shut up! I hate you right now, Max! I am not overreacting! Why does everyone want to ruin the best thing that’s happened to me in a really long time?” I pointed to Elsu to indicate who I was talking about. “I hate you so much I’m sick, big brother! Millard, can you please take me home?”
“Yes ma’am,” he said as he stood and pulled his keys from his pocket.
“You can sleep in your own bed tonight!” I yelled at Elsu as I stormed out of the office and went straight out the door to the Escalade.
CHAPTER 8
On the way home, Millard tried repeatedly to talk to me, but I never replied. I wasn’t even certain of what he was saying. Something about safety and Elsu being head over heels for me and some other shit I didn’t want to hear.
Once we were back to the apartment I sprinted up the three flights of stairs and ran straight to my bedroom. I laid on my bed in the fetal position and cried myself to sleep.
I knew it was nearly three when I left work. When I opened my eyes, the clock said it was ten in the evening. My eyes were crusty with tears and my stomach and sides hurt from the sobbing I had done before I fell asleep. I laid still and stared at the clock, mentally counting to sixty to see if I could time the seconds in my head to the seconds in the clock hoping I could fall back to sleep. 10:02…10:03…this was pathetic.
My brain fell to Elsu and the look on his face when he told me he didn’t want to break up. But for some reason all I could hear was him saying the complete opposite. If he didn’t want to break up why would he agree with Max? Why did Max have to be such an overprotective asshole? My own brother didn’t even want me to be happy. The one sibling I had who I’d always counted on seemed hell bent on ruining everything. No one in my family ever wanted me to be happy. I deserved enjoyment in my life just as much as everyone else did! Right?
My mind went back to Elsu. This time to his handsome face. Those glowing eyes, high cheekbones, that silky-black hair that I wanted to spend more time running my fingers through. I mentally moved down his face and to those shoulders. Goddammit those shoulders. Those strong arms. Those amazing hugs that just sucked me into his body. Then, of course, my minds’ eye went to the previous night when I pleasured him for the first time. Was it really his first? I remembered pulling his pants down, watching his manhood stand at attention for me. I had done the same to Bart two times, but out of pressure and to avoid an argument that would have probably led to a beating. This time was the complete opposite. I wanted to give Elsu pleasure. I didn’t want anything in return. His enjoyment was enough for me. I remembered how he tasted. How he felt. How he reacted to my ministrations.
I was totally turned on. There was no denying it. I reached into the bottom drawer of my nightstand and pulled out my trusty little vibrator. I removed my jeans and gently placed the tip of the toy between my legs, turned the power on low, and let my mind wander back to Elsu’s magnificent body. Those caramel eyes, those strong, broad shoulders, those lips, oh how I loved those lips on mine. Those strong arms, those eyes, those cheekbones, that silky hair, that hard monster between his legs. The lowest setting on the vibrator was usually just a warm up for me, but I was so turned on, I came quickly and I came hard. Every muscle in my body tensed and I laid back panting.
“Mae!” I heard from the chair in the dark corner of my room. I jumped up to see Elsu sitting with his shaft in his hand. He was in the middle of shooting onto his bared stomach. His head was thrown back as he finished his last few pumps.
“What the hell?” I yelled.
Elsu shot up, tucking himself back into his sweat pants in haste. “I’m so sorry Mae. You started…doing that…and I…I couldn’t help it! I was too turned on and I didn’t want to disturb you…I just couldn’t stop myself.”
“I told you that you weren’t sleeping with me tonight!” I yelled again.
“You’re going to wake Magdalena,” he said as he tried to calm me down. “You said I wasn’t sleeping in your bed. You didn’t say anything about the chair in your bedroom.”
“You’re a creep!” I half yelled, half whispered.
“Yeah, this is rather creepy, isn’t it?”
“Rather!” I agreed as I quickly put my jeans back on. “Why are you here?”
“I wanted to talk to you. But you looked so peaceful when I came in I couldn’t bear to wake you. I don’t want to break up. I swear it, Mae. Please, believe me. We’ll figure out a way to get through this without losing each other. I can’t lose you!”
“You keep telling me you don’t want to hurt me, but what you said back there was about the most hurtful thing I’ve ever heard! I cried myself to sleep, Elsu. I haven’t done that in a long time. And it was because of the last person I dated!”
He stepped closer to me. His seed glistening on his bare stomach. Is it weird I wanted to run my fingers through it? Instead, I handed him a few tissues.
He wiped himself off and tossed it in the trash. “I’m sorry Mae, I really am. This went horribly wrong. I’m not a creeper. Ok, I am. But only for you. Ok, that doesn’t make me sound any better but I couldn’t get to sleep upstairs and I knew I couldn’t go out of town until I talked to you. Seeing the look on your face when you thought I wanted to break up was the most heart wrenching thing I’ve ever seen, Mae. I never want to be responsible for putting that look on your face again!”
“So you really don’t want to break up?” I sniffed.
“Hell no, Mae. I’m kind of pissed at your brother for putting that thought in my head. He doesn’t like me any more now than he did before.” He stepped toward me and I stepped back.
“This is so messed up, Elsu! What about the attacks? Who’s doing them if not Bart and Jeremy?” I asked.
“I sat and talked to Max while Millard took you home. We tried to figure it out, but neither one of us could. I can’t picture anyone doing anything like this to you because of me. I have a few people who don’t like me, but none of them are this malicious. I don’t even think I’d say I have any true enemies.”
“What about fans from Arizona? Max said you pissed people off when you left.”
“Well, maybe. But I can’t imagine anyone being this awful over that!”
“Saraya?” I asked.
“She wouldn’t,” he said.
“She wouldn’t, but would someone she hired?”
He shrugged his shoulders and turned his back to me and walked away while thinking. His back. Holy cow. His back! I hadn’t seen it up close yet. I hadn’t closed my curtains when I came in and the street light was shining right onto his beautiful back. There were lines for every muscle across his shoulders and the way his sides tapered to beneath those loose fitting sweatpants set me over the edge. Any thought of being angry at him flew straight out the window. At that moment there was only one thing I wanted.
“Don’t move,” I said as I walked up to him, placed my hands on his shoulder blades, and ran my hands down toward his waistband. I wrapped my arms around to his abs and presse
d myself into him. I laid my head against his spine and felt the warmth of his body against me.
“Ok?” he seemed confused as he grabbed my hands from the front and squeezed them gently.
“Is there any part of your body that isn’t going to turn me on?” I asked as I gave up and started kissing him.
“Mmm, I hope not,” he said. I could hear him smiling. “My back turns you on?”
I mumbled something incoherent and kept kissing him.
“Mae, you really should stop.”
“You don’t like me kissing your back?” I asked as I reluctantly stopped.
“Completely the opposite. I can’t promise I can control myself if you don’t stop. I’m already back at full attention up here,” he said as he looked down to his waist.
“I want to wait, Elsu, I really do. But every time I see you I get more and more turned on. It’s an urge like I’ve never had before. I’m to the point that if you said ‘now’ I’d probably drag you to the bed. Even though I know I don’t want it like that.”
He turned in my arms and looked down at me. “I know, Mae. That’s why I needed you to stop. We’re really pushing it right now. Especially with sleeping together. Maybe we should stop doing that. Keep the temptation at bay?”
I looked at the bed and remembered how nice it was just having him sleeping beside me the past two nights. “We’ve done well so far, but I suppose you’re right. It’s probably getting too risky.”
“Besides, I had to convince Max that we haven’t done anything when you ran out telling me we weren’t sleeping together this afternoon! That was fun.”
“He’s really ticking me off,” I said as I laid my head against his warm, hard chest.
“You know he only wants what’s best for you, right?”
“He declared himself my guardian back during the trial, since my mom was too busy to be bothered.”
“I thought she said she was there when you came up in the ambulance.”
I rolled my eyes. “She tells me that all the time. I don’t remember much. They checked me out at a hospital down in Columbus but my mom insisted they bring me home. The doctors were angry that I was driven home and not flown. Anyway, I don’t recall her when we got here. I remember Colette and Arnold and my dad. Max gets mad when I actually ask for help. He drives me nuts!”
