by Kylie Walker
When it was time for the fireworks, Steve spread a blanket underneath one of the palm trees that grew along the beach and they lay down together, looking up at the sky. It was a clear night and the stars were all out. They were close to the other party-goers, but as far as Angela was concerned at that moment, they were the only two people laying underneath the satiny blanket that shined down on them. The band played a few patriotic songs and then a woman Ana introduced as Gretchen went up and sang the Star Spangled Banner. Flags were waved and then the fireworks show began. The fireworks were shot out over the water and each one burst in a brilliant display of color, lighting up the sky and everything underneath it. Angela watched them, but she also delighted in watching Steve’s face. He obviously loved them and she loved seeing the child-like look of wonder in his eyes as he watched them. When the night was over she knew that she was falling hard for this man. The four day weekend had allowed her to get to know him some, and what she knew, she liked. Steve was polite and respectful in spite of how assertive he was sexually and in business. He even treated his sister with respect and that was an important quality in a man, Angela thought. He loved his race cars and when he talked about them, his face lit up almost as much as it did underneath the fireworks. His father had instilled a love of the machines in both of his children and then passed the business on to them to run after his death. They both seemed to revel in it.
Angela’s only concern at the end of the weekend was Thomas. She knew now more than ever that she had to find a place to live, and soon. She had the feeling that Thomas wouldn’t be as happy for her as Ana and Joanne. She wasn’t going to let that dampen her spirits, however. For the first time in too long she felt something akin to joy…and she planned to hold on to it.
***
The next day she was sitting at the desk, preparing paperwork for the photoshoot that was happening on Wednesday. The weekend had renewed not only her spirit, but her energy. She’d been locked in her office all day, on a roll with her plans for both of her original clients as well as her new one. It was about eleven forty-five when there was a knock at her door.
“Yes?” The door opened and a courier was there.
“I have something for Ms. Angela Black,” he said. Angela smiled. Steve sent her flowers…again.
“Come on in,” she told him. He came in carrying a huge vase of her favorite, yellow-ish, orange and red passion fruit lilies. She could smell them already as he approached her desk. She was smiling from ear to ear. “Oh they’re lovely!” she said. There must have been at least three dozen in the giant crystal vase. She signed for them and tipped the courier and after burying her nose in them and breathing in their gentle fragrance, she tore open the card.
It said, “I thought these were beautiful. Not as beautiful as you, however. Nothing is. I’m sorry for everything and I’m sorry I missed you when you got home last night. I still hope we can be best roommates. –T-
The flowers weren’t from Steve, they were from Thomas. She sat there for a few minutes, stunned. Yes, the apology was nice. The flowers are beautiful. They’re her favorite and since Thomas was at her wedding there was no reason to wonder how he knew they were her favorite…but for some reason the fact that he’d sent the same flowers, only a bigger bouquet in a bigger vase than Steve had sent to her, kind of gave her the creeps. Something about it was just off. She had to find an apartment. She stuck her hand down inside of her satchel. She hadn’t used this one over the weekend. It’s her “work” purse mostly. She dug around inside and suddenly realized the newspaper clippings with the apartments in them weren’t there. She dumped the purse out on her desk. They were gone. What the hell? There was suddenly another knock on her door.
“Come in!” She was still looking at the contents of her purse, bewildered when the door opened and closed. She didn’t look up until she heard, “Oh good, they came.” She looked up into Thomas’s green eyes. He was smiling at her. His eyes fell to the pile of things she’d just dumped onto the desk. “Did you lose something?”
Angela felt her hands tremble. Should she ask Thomas if he took the paper from her purse? But why would he do that? Surely he’s not that adamant that she stay another month or two with him that he’d try and sabotage her efforts…is he? Maybe she just misplaced them. “Um…yes, actually. I had some newspaper clippings in here. They’re gone.”
“Hmm, did you look in your desk? Maybe you only thought you put them in there.”
“No, they were here. Did you take them out?”
Thomas chuckled. “Seriously? Why would I do that?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because you don’t want me to move.”
“I wouldn’t go in your purse. Sheesh! Give me some credit. I’ve got you until September anyways, right?”
“Thomas…I told you I was moving as soon as possible.” He rolled his eyes and plopped down in the chair across from her. With a smile he said, “So, how did you like the flowers?”
“They’re lovely, but you shouldn’t have.”
“Of course I should. I owe you an apology. I don’t want us to fight anymore. I want you to be happy.” Angela was suddenly feeling guilty about accusing him of things. He’d always been such a good friend…
“Do you mean that? You really want me to be happy?”
“Of course,” he said, still smiling. “I missed you this weekend. Let’s have dinner tonight, jus the two of us.”
“I can’t, Thomas. I already have plans…” His demeanor changed almost instantly. He sat straight up in the chair and said, “With who?”
Angela winced. Here it comes, she thought…another fight. It had to be done though; he needed to know about her and Steve. “With Steve,” she said. “He and I are dating now.”
Thomas stood up. Angela could almost see him smoldering as he said, “I talked to Kimberly about him. He’s fucking her, Angela! Are you that stupid and naïve?”
“Don’t call me stupid!” she said, angrily. “And before you go around shooting off your mouth, you should get your facts straight. He dated Kimberly but broke up with her weeks ago. She’s having a hard time taking no for an answer…but he’s saying it. Now, that is all that you and I will say to each other about it. It seems to be the root of our “arguments.”
“I just don’t want to see you hurt.” His tone was softer…but it seemed forced.
“I’m a big girl, Thomas. I have to make my own decisions. I don’t believe he will hurt me…but in life, you have to take risks sometimes. I think he’s worth it.”
“Why? Because he’s rich? Is that it? Or is he just a good fuck and you haven’t had one of those in a while?”
“Get out of my office,” she said. She crumpled the card she still had in her hand and said, “Your apologies don’t mean anything any longer. You just turn around and do the same shit again.” She tossed it in the trash. Something dark flashed in his eyes and he turned to go. He was almost to the door when he turned back and said, “I just worry about you.” His eyes were soft again and he sounded like the Thomas she knew so well. She wasn’t buying it though. He wasn’t worried. He was angry…or at least that’s how it appeared to her.
“Don’t,” she said. “I don’t need you to worry about me.”
“Will I see you at home later?”
“I don’t know, Thomas.” He waited for her to say something else and when she didn’t, he left. Angela dropped down into the chair and put her hands on her head. He’d been such a good friend for so long. What the hell was happening?
Chapter 17
After Angela’s dinner date with Steve Tuesday night, she asked him to drop her off at Joanne’s apartment. To her surprise, he pulled the car over and turned to look at her face. “Why?” he asked.
“We’re just going to have a girl’s night…”
“Don’t, please. I thought we promised no secrets.”
Angela felt bad instantly. They’d talked a lot over the weekend and she’d told him straight out t
hat she refused to play games. She didn’t want any secrets between them. She also didn’t want him to worry and that’s why she hadn’t told him her concerns about Thomas. She still wasn’t sure that she wasn’t making too much of it herself.
“I just had a little argument with my roommate, that’s all. I didn’t want you to worry. I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you.”
“What did you argue about?” She didn’t answer him immediately and he raised an eyebrow and said, “Me?”
“He’s not happy that we’re dating. He was really close to Blake. I think it’s just hard for him to accept that I’m moving on.”
“Because of Blake, or because he has his own feelings for you?”
She sighed. “Both, I guess.”
“We need to find you an apartment. You can stay with me…”
“No. I can’t. It is too soon for that and I’m not going to screw up what we have by taking this too quickly. I will find an apartment, Steve. I appreciate that you want to help me…I really do, but there are some things I have to do on my own.”
“I worry about you being there with him if he’s angry about us.”
“I knew you would. That’s why I hesitated to tell you. Thomas and I have been friends for a very long time. He might get angry and sulk…but that’s as far as it will go. I just didn’t want to deal with him tonight so I asked Jo if I could stay with her. I’ll have to see him tomorrow at the photo shoot and I thought it might do us well to have a break before then.”
He looked at her long and hard and then he said, “Are you sure? I mean 100% sure that he won’t do anything stupid?”
“I’m 100% sure he would never hurt me. I’ve found out recently that he can be an ass. But I think he’s just working through his own stuff.”
“I think you’re too nice.”
“Hey, I believed you about Kimberly and that worked out okay…” he raised an eyebrow and she said, “I mean great. It worked out great. Look at us. I have good instincts and Thomas is not the type to hurt anyone…much less a friend, okay?”
“Okay, I’m not sure I trust him, but I trust you.” He put the car back on the road and headed for Glendale where Joanne lived. It was going to take her over an hour to get to work to catch the car to the shoot in the morning, but for a good night’s sleep and peace of mind, it would be worth it. When they reached Joanne’s apartment building, Steve opened her car door and took her hand on the way up to the door. When they got there he put his hand on the side of her face and slipped it underneath her hair. “It’s not too late to come home with me,” he whispered as he brushed his lips against hers. She smiled against his mouth and said, “Think how much better it will be this weekend if we wait for it…” He let his lips linger on the side of her face and then dragged them down to her neck. He kissed her where he knew she loved it and then bringing his sexy mouth back up to her ear he said, “I can’t imagine that it would ever not be perfect.”
She smiled. “Me too, actually. But honestly, I need to slow down…just a little bit. I’m not pushing you away. I just need to feel like this isn’t all too sudden…okay?”
He nodded, but his face showed he was frustrated. Steve wasn’t a man that was used to being told no. “I will see you tomorrow at the shoot.” He brought his lips back to hers and kissed her hard then, slipping his tongue into her mouth and letting it linger, long and slow. When he broke the kiss she was out of breath and flushed in the face. “To remember me by,” he said with a wink and a grin.
“I could never forget you,” she said, breathlessly. He waited until she was safely inside before leaving. Joanne was still up when she walked into the living room. She was painting her toenails and watching Lifetime television.
“Hey, what are you watching?” Angela asked her.
“It’s this movie about a stalker. Speaking of which, have you talked to Thomas tonight?”
Angela laughed. “Thomas is not a stalker. He’s still my, friend…we’re just on a little break. He’s your friend too.”
Joanne shook her head and said, “You’re too nice.”
“Now you sound like Steve. I need to get to bed so I can be at the shoot bright and early. Thanks for letting me stay here.”
“Anytime. I wish I had more than one bedroom and you could move in with me.”
“I couldn’t live with you,” Angela said as she headed down the hall. “I’m too attracted to you. I couldn’t control myself.” She felt the couch pillow hit her in the back of the head. She finished making her way to the bedroom to the sound of her friend’s laughter.
Angela woke up the next morning with a back ache from sleeping on the roll away bed in Joanne’s room. She fixed a pot of coffee while Joanne still slept and thought about how her life had changed so drastically in the past week. She’d gone from thinking she would never be happy again, to looking into the future that she thought she would never have…all because of Steve. It felt like Kismet that he came along at exactly the right time.
She finished her coffee and then took an Uber car to the office. As she was walking into the lobby, she ran into Thomas. He was wearing a dark blue suit with a gray tie and he was clean shaven and bright eyed. He looked good, better than he had the last few times she’d seen him. She prepared herself for him to be angry, but she needn’t have worried. He smiled at her and said, “Are you still my best roommate?”
She smiled back and said, “For now.” Putting his arm around her, he led her to the elevator. As the doors closed he kissed the side of her head and said, “You know how much I care about you, right? I’m stupid sometimes, but I do the things I do and say the things I say because I want to take care of you.”
“I know, but I really don’t need to be taken care of anymore. Not like I did. I think we got a little too dependent on each other there for a while. Things are better now.”
“Because of Steve?”
“No…I mean, yes, of course he’s a part of it. But, they’re better because I finally accepted that Blake would want me to be happy.”
The elevator stopped and they stepped off. “True story,” he said with a smile.
***
Angela, Thomas and Kimberly rode to the Irwindale Speedway together. It was about a forty minute ride in the traffic, but they were in the back of a limousine that Kim had hired, so it was a comfortable ride. Angela couldn’t help but notice how upbeat Kim was. She and Thomas both seemed happier than she’d seen either one of them in a while. She wondered briefly if Kimberly knew about her and Steve, but decided against it since she was being so nice to her.
When they got to the speedway, they were taken to the offices right alongside of the track. There were big windows where the executives could see the race from the comfort of their office. They went inside and found Steve waiting for them. Angela couldn’t help but notice how Kimberly’s already bright face got even brighter. Steve on the other hand, didn’t look happy to see her. Thomas and Steve ignored each other. It was all slightly uncomfortable.
Steve grinned at her and told Kim, “The car is all set up. We’re just waiting on Wade.” Wade is their driver and Steve and Ana were going to pose with him for the pictures this morning.
“Okay, where is your sister?”
“She’ll be here,” Steve said. “We still have half an hour. The photographer is not even here yet.”
“Okay, well, I’d like to see the car so I know what we’re looking at as far as angles and all of that.”
“It’s right out there,” Steve told her. The car was burnt orange and had the number “12” painted on the side. Steve told Angela it was in honor of a football team. It stood for the man who always stood ready in case the team needed him. Wade was a former football player and so that was the number they’d decided on.
“Come out with me,” she said, “I need to see it up close and know what you want us to get photos of.” Steve glanced at Angela. Kim didn’t miss it and she didn’t look happy about it. She shook it off quickly however and sai
d, “Come on, we don’t have all day.”
With a sigh, Steve followed her out. Thomas and Angela stayed behind and Angela began to prepare the releases they would need Wade, Steve and Ana to sign for the photographer. A few minutes passed when they heard the sound of a phone. Angela looked over and saw Steve’s phone on the desk. Thomas was looking at it too.
“You should probably get that,” he said.
“Why? It’s not my phone.”
Thomas shrugged. “Maybe it’s Ana?”
“It’s a text. He can look at it when he gets in.” Angela was surprised when Thomas went ahead and picked it up. She shook her head and watched him read the message. He drew his brows together in the middle and curled his lip. Curious, she said, “What is it?”
“Nothing,” he said with disgust, tossing the phone back on the desk like it had burned him.
“It doesn’t look like nothing, judging by your face.”
“It’s an old message. I guess he just hadn’t checked it yet so it was still making noise.”
“How old?”
“I don’t know Ang. Just let it go, okay?”
“What do you mean, let it go? What am I letting go?” she suddenly needed to see what was on the phone. She reached for it and Thomas snatched it back up. “What the hell is wrong with you? Let me see it.”
“I don’t think you should.” He glanced out at Kimberly and Steve on the track and looked nervously back down at the phone.
“Damn it, Thomas, what the hell is on that phone?”
He looked a little sick as he finally handed it to her. She looked at what Thomas hadn’t wanted her to see. It was a photo. She pressed to enlarge it and a photo of Kim lying naked on a dark red satin comforter popped up. “Fuck! What is this?” She scrolled down. There were three more, all of Kim and all naked in different poses. Now she felt sick. There was a message attached to them from her that said,
