Moth to a Flame

by K. Webster

  One morning, when Ron didn’t show up on the job site, I began to worry. By noon, with no answers to my calls, I was going batshit crazy. Ron was reliable to a fault. I was sick thinking about where Ron was and why he or Linda weren’t answering. When I pulled up to the house, I got an ominous feeling. Everything seemed so serene. The birds were chirping and the sun was shining. Both cars were parked in the driveway. After letting myself in when my repeated knocks had gone unanswered, I bolted up the stairs, calling their names. My heart skipped a beat once I came into their room and realized they had only slept in. But much to my horror, they weren’t sleeping. They both had peacefully passed away in the middle of the night. Later, I learned that it had been from carbon monoxide poisoning. It was damn ironic considering Ron had always insisted that we install the detectors in all of the new homes, never thinking to put one in his own.

  After that, I was done. Even when a lawyer called to tell me that I had inherited Ron and Linda’s legacy, I was still madder than hell that they were gone. Every fucking person I’d cared about had died or abandoned me. It was a shitty, lonely life. I figured that whiskey would help to wash away my melancholy thoughts. At least it had worked for Madison and me long ago. A few months after their deaths and many drunken, lonely nights, I decided late one night that I would make amends with my dad since he was all I had left.

  Driving drunk was the worst possible decision I could have made that fateful night. I was coasting down the highway, no other cars in sight, drowning in my sorrows, when a faint whisper of a memory said, “Find what makes you happy, Cale. I love you.” I don’t remember the accident—or anything, really, after Madison’s never-forgotten words. They told me that I was in a coma for twelve days and had nearly died. The other car’s driver lived, which saved me from a whole lot of trouble, both legal and mental.

  When I was released from the hospital, I made a vow to myself. I was going to do what made me happy. So, in honor of the people I had loved and lost, I decided to dig in and start living my life for me.

  Three years later, after I had built up Ron’s business—which was now mine—I was ready for a change of scenery. After some research, I found that a small town nearby was growing at a steady pace and could use some housing development. I was Jonestown bound and never looked back.

  THE LONG DRIVE into town was extremely uncomfortable. Sam was such a quiet person and it unnerved me. Every so often, he’d look over and smile, which would extinguish my anxiety.

  I am such a social imbecile.

  This ‘friends dinner’ was way out of my depth and I was having trouble knowing what to say or do to ease my nerves.

  When we arrived at the restaurant, Sam ran over to my side of the car and opened the door with a grin like a true gentleman. I kind of wish he’d just treat me like a friend, not a date, but I wasn’t going to hurt his feelings again—although I really hoped he wasn’t getting the wrong idea.

  The Italian restaurant was one of the newer ones in town, and it boasted an authentic menu. They advertised an extensive wine list, and I was eager for a glass to help soothe the unease that was just below the surface, waiting to rear its ugly head at any moment. The lobby was very swanky and the garlicky smells were to die for. As the hostess led us to a private table in the corner, I glanced around the room, noticing that there were few patrons this evening. For some reason, it gave me an eerie feeling. I really had to get out more.

  Once seated, the server brought us some bread and filled our wine glasses with the house wine. After we were alone again, Sam finally decided to speak. “Lia, thank you for agreeing to have dinner with me. I already feel like I know so much about you”—he paused—“but I can’t wait to learn more,” he rushed quickly.

  “Uh, me too,” I replied, not really sure what else to say.

  Yep. Social imbecile.

  “I know you said we’d just have dinner as friends, but I can’t help but feel a connection between us. It’s like we’ve known each other for so long. You’re so beautiful that, sometimes, I have a hard time looking at your perfect face.”

  Um, okay. Maybe I’m not the only social imbecile at this table.

  Things were just about as weird as they could be at the moment.

  Before I could form a response, Sam grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. I tried not to jerk my hand away, but my responses to this sort of thing were second nature at this point in my life. As I quickly yanked my hand back, suppressing a frown, I realized that I’d upset him.

  Again.

  Damn, I really needed to quit doing that. His expression was almost unreadable, but I could sense that he was angry with me.

  I decided to let it all out at once. “Sam, I’m sorry. I told you I don’t date. This is all new to me. I thought we were coming here as friends, so you can imagine my surprise with the way you are behaving. You brought me roses, you opened all the doors for me, and now, you’re kissing my hand. I really don’t want to give you the wrong idea, but I am in no way interested in forming any kind of relationship other than friendship. I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”

  I thought this might bring clarity to our dinner, but instead, he angrily slammed his fist on the table, causing the glasses to slosh their contents and me to nearly jump out of my skin. He took a deep breath before pinning me with his glare. The muscles in his neck were tightening and untightening as he clenched his jaw together.

  “Lia, I have waited three long years for this night. I expect you to respect me enough to not insult me as you’ve just done. Now, we’re going to enjoy this dinner and that’s the end of that,” he replied coolly as he proceeded to butter his bread as if he hadn’t just attempted to scare the crap out of me.

  What in the world is wrong with this guy?

  I grabbed my wine glass with a trembling hand and emptied its contents in one swift gulp, fighting the tears that were forming in my eyes.

  “Excuse me. I need to go to the ladies’ room,” I whispered, not making eye contact with Sam. He nodded as I stood, but before I could get past him, he grabbed my hand again, this time rather roughly so I couldn’t pull it away.

  “Lia, don’t be long. I don’t want to have to come after you,” he spoke calmly as I shivered. Then he released me and went back to buttering his bread.

  With that, I slung my purse over my shoulder and tried to appear composed as I made my way to the restrooms.

  Once I was in the safety of the ladies’ room, I ran into the first stall, locking the door behind me. I sat down on the lid of the toilet and tried not to cry, but tears angrily forced themselves out.

  What the hell kind of person am I having dinner with?

  In an effort to comfort myself, I pulled out Cale’s card. Just seeing his name typed across the front brought a smile to my lips. I wanted to call him—I really did—but I needed to deal with the situation I was in first and foremost.

  How am I going to get through this dinner with Sam without setting him off any further?

  Feeling defeated, I left my temporary sanctuary in the stall. When I reached the sink to wash my hands, I couldn’t help but look at my reflection. I didn’t like my reflection. Weakness was all I saw in the girl who peered back at me. It was time to lift my chin and finish what I had allowed to start.

  This is why I don’t date.

  After leaving the ladies’ room, I was turning the corner when I crashed right into my favorite rock-hard chest. His smells assaulted me as I sniffed him like a freaking dog. His arms instinctively engulfed me like they’d done every other time we’d met like this. He must have felt how much I needed him because he gently tugged at the back of my hair, tilting my head upwards, and brushed a kiss to my forehead. The tranquility of our embrace left me momentarily forgetting about the terrible evening I had been having until this moment.

  Cale is such a calming force.

  Even though I had my own plans for my life, fate had other ideas because she kept slamming me into Cale as if to knock a little sense into
me.

  I pulled back and looked into his comforting, blue eyes. “Cale,” I breathed.

  “Lia,” he whispered back and bent over, pressing a soft kiss to my lips.

  The sweet kisses weren’t enough and I needed more from him. I opened my mouth so he could slip his tongue in. As he teased my tongue with his, I noticed that he still tasted minty and manly like earlier.

  Yummy.

  My perfect moment was shattered by an angry voice behind Cale.

  “What the hell, Lia?” Sam barked.

  I jumped with a squeak from being caught.

  Obviously not liking Sam’s tone, Cale spun around in one swift movement while pulling me behind him.

  “Who the fuck are you?” Cale demanded as he glared at Sam, hands fisted at his sides.

  I squeezed Cale’s arm, unsure what to do but needing to touch him. All I could do was cower behind him and watch the drama unfold.

  Definitely a social imbecile.

  “I’m her date. Who the fuck are you?” Sam retorted nastily, taking a step towards us.

  Cale immediately tensed at his words, not his proximity.

  Shit.

  Cale knew that I didn’t date. This wasn’t exactly how I planned for this evening to go.

  “Bullshit. Lia doesn’t date and she certainly wouldn’t waste her time with a loser like you, so back the fuck off,” Cale practically growled, his jaw clenching and unclenching.

  Unsure what to do but definitely not wanting this to escalate, I spoke up. “Cale, I am having dinner with Sam. We’re friends. I was just about to tell you,” I uttered weakly.

  Cale turned around and looked at me, clearly trying to figure out how I could turn him down every single time yet do exactly what I’d said I wouldn’t do with another man.

  His hand reached up and touched my face. A question.

  With tears welling up, I frowned. An answer.

  “I see,” is all he said to me with a pained expression in his eyes before spinning on his heels and stalking out of the hallway and back into the restaurant.

  My heart actually hurt to see him walk away.

  Surprising me, Sam grabbed my hand and pulled me back towards our table. “Our dinner has been served. We better get back before it turns cold,” he stated simply, as if the events that had just unfolded hadn’t happened.

  Without knowing what else to say, I nodded and followed him back to the table.

  Meet Lia, social imbecile extraordinaire.

  I AM GOING to kill that motherfucker.

  That douche was not about to stake a claim on Lia when I could read loud and clear that she was not into him. The way he’d burst into that hallway acting like she belonged to him pissed me off so badly that my appetite was completely gone. My desire to punch him in the fucking face was so strong that I had to leave immediately. I stalked out to my truck to clear my head.

  Why would Lia even entertain the idea of going to dinner with that guy?

  She and I definitely had a connection that was getting stronger every time I saw her, yet she was dining with that dickwad. I needed to talk to her about this guy because there was no way I could share her. Not after the intense moments we’d already shared.

  No fucking way.

  A few minutes later, I started my truck and headed home. I was only a few miles away when I heard my phone chime with an incoming text. At the red light, I quickly read it.

  Unknown: Cale, it’s me, Lia. I am so sorry about what went down in the restaurant.

  I told Sam I wasn’t feeling well and asked if he could take me home. He went to go get the bill and some boxes. His whole demeanor is unnerving. Will you meet me at my house to make sure I get home safely? XO

  What in the hell?

  I was tempted to turn the car around and take Lia away from Sam right there in the restaurant. He was scaring her for some reason and it made me want to beat the shit out of that fucker. Instead, I continued on to her cabin like she’d asked. Once I arrived at her place, I parked my car in the street and turned off the ignition. I replied back and wondered if she would read the text there with him or not.

  Me: Got it, babe. I’m parked in the street. That motherfucker looks at you wrong again, I’ll kill him. If you’re not here in ten minutes, I’ll find you. C

  Minutes later, I saw a pair of headlights rounding the corner. In this secluded area, it could only be Sam and Lia. Trying not to seem like a caveman, I waited in the car for him to drop her off and leave.

  When they sat in the idle car for a few minutes in the driveway, I tried not to lose my shit. I drummed my hands on the steering wheel, trying to calm the fury that was rolling off my back in waves. If she doesn’t get out in the next two minutes, I am going to pull her out of that car myself.

  Before I could finish that thought, the passenger’s door flung open and Lia flew out of the car towards her front door. I jumped out of my car and ran after her, making sure Sam wasn’t anywhere nearby. By the time I reached her, she was unsuccessfully trying to unlock her many locks and sobbing uncontrollably.

  As if she sensed me behind her, she dropped her keys and flew into my arms, letting me pull her tight. “Shhhh, I’ve got you,” I cooed as I stroked her hair.

  I looked over my shoulder towards Sam’s car, hoping to intimidate him with my glare. We silently faced off, challenging each other with hard looks. The glow of the interior lights was giving him an ominous appearance. With no further incident, he backed the car out of the driveway and slowly drove down the street.

  “Come on, babe. Let’s get you inside.”

  She nodded and picked her keys up from the porch floor to finish unlocking her door. Once inside, I led her to the sofa and pulled her into my lap. Her body was no longer trembling like it had been moments earlier, and I felt her start to relax.

  “I feel safe with you.” Her voice was a mere whisper into my chest. “There are so many messed-up things about me, Cale, but with you, I feel like I can let them go.”

  I shifted a little, causing her to sit up and look at me with those red-rimmed, green gems. “Lia, I don’t know what it is about you, but I can’t stop thinking about you. I want to protect you, to kiss you, to hold you. You can’t tell me you don’t feel the same way. Be the brave girl I know you are and give us a chance.”

  “Cale, I want to try with you, but I can’t promise it will be easy. I have demons that rear their ugly heads. Are you willing to be with someone with such a foul past that consumes most of her days?” she questioned, frowning at the thought of her demons.

  “Babe, there is nothing ugly about you. You maced me. Do you really think it could get any worse than that?” I chuckled with one eyebrow cocked, trying to lighten her mood.

  She lifted her chin and teased me. “Sheesh, Cale. Are you ever going to ask me out?”

  A smile tugged at my lips. Without another word, I crashed my lips onto hers and kissed the hell out of her until we both had to come up for air. “I’m taking you on a date.” It was a statement so she didn’t have an option to say no.

  “I thought you’d never ask,” she smiled and pecked my lips once more.

  I FORCED MYSELF to pull away from Cale’s tasty lips after a few minutes to look into his twinkling eyes, which were staring right back at me.

  “Are you hungry?” I asked, knowing that he must be considering we both missed dinner.

  “I’m hungry for something all right,” he growled as his eyes moved lazily to my lips then licked his own.

  My body throbbed at his insinuation, and the crimson flood that ran up my cheeks was impossible to stop once it started. Cale caused my body to feel in ways I couldn’t ever remember feeling before, especially since the incident three years ago. His hands, which were on my hips, began sliding up and down, causing a shiver to course through my body.

  “Cale,” I began, but he stopped my words with a soft kiss as his hands trailed their way along my thighs.

  His thumbs began rubbing circles on the inside of m
y thighs, forcing a quiet moan to escape my lips. If he kept touching me like this, we weren’t ever going to leave this couch and I couldn’t be held responsible for what I might end up doing to his body.

  I finally found the willpower to pull myself off of him and quickly stood up. “Cale, we need food and it might be a good idea for us to cool off before things go too far.” I wasn’t altogether convinced that I didn’t want just that.

  “Babe, one day, I will take things far. So far. And when I bring you to the brink, you will beg me to take you all the way. Now, where’s my sandwich, woman?” he teased.

  I gave him a little kick to his shin as I rolled my eyes and went into the kitchen to see what I could scrounge up. He mock-limped behind me and slapped my ass once he got near. Every time he touched me, my body shuddered with need. I needed to stop reading so many damned romance novels.

  As I started making our sandwiches, he spoke. “Lia, in all seriousness, I think we need to talk. Why in the world would you go out with a douche like that? Did he hurt you? What did he say to you in the car? Do I need to kill him?” he rushed out quickly.

  I sighed, setting the butter knife down, “He’s my deliveryguy and brings my, uh, packages to me each week. We’ve done this routine for years now. Yesterday, he asked me to dinner as friends. I agreed because my social life hasn’t been what it should lately and I thought I could use a new friend. When he brought me roses and told me how beautiful I was, I got the feeling that he wanted more than just friendship. At the restaurant, he was even weirder and acting really possessive. I should have never gone out with him in the first place.”

  “And what happened in the car?” he asked.

  I shuddered at the thought of Sam’s words earlier. “He actually had the nerve to try to kiss me, knowing I only wanted to be friends with him. When I pushed him away, he grabbed my arm roughly and said, ‘You will eventually learn to love me.’ Cale, he scared me.”