Fairytale Lost

by Lori Hendricks

  “We’ve been worried about you. And speaking of worrywarts, Lukas has been here looking for you.”

  “Well, damn. It’s truly raining men! I ran into Grant in the bar downstairs,” Em replied with a dramatic toss of her hands.

  “What did he want?” Isabel asked.

  “What did Lukas want?” Em retorted.

  Isabel moved to the chair across from Em and began eating her fries. “He wanted to tell you he was going back to California. Your turn.”

  “Grant wants to go to dinner tonight,” Em conceded.

  “Are you going to go?”

  “Is Lukas really leaving town?”

  “Yes. He wanted to say goodbye. I think you should go—to dinner, that is.”

  Finishing off the fries, Isabel hopped up and went back to sit at her desk. There was a quick knock on the door before Zavia walked in, carrying food.

  “Hiya, ladies. What’s going on?”

  Isabel jumped up and closed the door. “Lemme catch you up. Lukas is heading back to California, and Grant asked Em to dinner tonight. So, Em, what’re you going to do?”

  Em looked up at her two best friends. How could she tell them that she didn’t want to go out with Grant; she wanted to go after Lukas? She knew full well she couldn’t do that and have them ever leave her alone again. Besides, he was leaving town. She heaved a deep sigh and said, “I’m going to go to dinner with Grant tonight. He says it’s just dinner. What harm can it do?”

  7

  Dinner and Drama

  Emmalyn met Grant later that evening at a fairly swanky seafood restaurant on the riverfront. They ordered wine and an appetizer, making small talk while waiting for their food. Em couldn’t help but notice how good Grant looked in his suit. He embodied all the qualities she’d ever wanted in a man. In fact, he was the most reliable man she knew and always followed through on all his promises. Grant was everything Lukas wasn’t. But still — there was something missing. She couldn’t identify why, but she didn’t love Grant, not the way she loved Lukas.

  Em understood that she needed to get over and past Lukas. He, obviously, was no good for her, but she didn’t know how to get him out of her system. On the cab ride to the restaurant, she had decided to give Grant a chance. He deserved that much from her. She was completely absorbed in her thoughts when she noticed that Grant was talking to her.

  “Hello… anyone home?” Grant asked, cutting in on her thoughts.

  Emmalyn smiled and apologized. “I was lost in thought there for a minute.”

  “Whatcha thinking of, if I may ask?”

  “Of course you can. I was thinking of you. And me. And us—if I’m going to be completely honest.”

  “And what did you conclude?” Grant leaned back in his chair and studied Em, causing her to squirm in her chair.

  “I haven’t concluded yet. But I’m open to discussion and the presentation of additional data.” Emmalyn laughed at herself and took a sip of her wine.

  “Emmalyn, I want to be completely honest with you. I really want to give our relationship another chance. I’ve missed you, and I want to be with you again.”

  “Grant, I…” Luckily for Em the conversation was interrupted by the arrival of their entrees. She had no idea what to say to that candid confession. She was pretty sure that she had little feeling for him beyond friendship. And although she was amenable to resuming dating, she didn’t feel good about leading him on. Her brain wasn’t working fast enough to figure out an answer that didn’t begin and end with the word um.

  As the food was being set down, Emmalyn thought frantically about what needed to happen next. Her panic must have been evident on her face. Grant reached across the table and took her hand in his. “I want you to think about what I’ve said. Don’t decide anything right now. I don’t want you to say yes because I railroaded you into anything. Let’s just enjoy dinner and a nice evening out.” He smiled brightly at her and poured more wine into her glass.

  “Thank you, Grant. You really are the sweetest man I’ve ever met.”

  “And you are the most amazing woman I’ve ever met. Now! Let’s change the subject. Have you been watching much football this season? The Panthers are looking awfully dangerous this year.”

  Emmalyn laughed heartily at that. “You clearly haven’t been paying attention. Watch more SportsCenter.”

  The rest of the meal went by smoothly. Em and Grant were able to eat, drink, and be generally merry. The conversation flowed easily and both seemed to really enjoy the evening. They split a dessert of chocolate cake and ice cream, and finished off the bottle of wine. All was well with the evening. No further mention of relationships was made, and Em was truly enjoying herself for the first time in a long time.

  Em was finishing off her last glass of wine and thinking to herself that she needed to find a way to convince Grant to take things at a slower pace, when she spotted Brian and Lukas being led to a table in the bar area of the restaurant. Em choked on her wine, dropping her glass in her lap. Grant jumped up and tried to help Em mop up the mess she made on her clothes.

  Lukas noticed the commotion across the restaurant and spied Emmalyn and her date. He turned to walk over there but was stopped by Brian.

  “Man, what do you think you’re doing? You can’t go over there. She’s out on a date with another dude.” Brian couldn’t believe he even needed to tell Lukas any of this. The man had lost all of his good senses.

  “I just want to talk to her. No biggie.”

  “Huge biggie! Let her be, man. You’re heading back home tomorrow—back to your fiancée. Nothing good is going to come from you busting in on her date.” Brian simply could not fathom that Lukas was even considering going over there. He shook his head and groaned.

  “I don’t care. I just need to talk to her.”

  Lukas jerked his arm away from Brian and rushed over to the table where Em and Grant were sitting.

  “Emmalyn, we need to talk,” Lukas demanded.

  “I don’t think so. I’m on a date.” Em refused to even make eye contact with Lukas, keeping her eyes on her date.

  “Emmy, listen…,” he implored, desperate to talk to her. Seeing her here with another man stabbed him in the gut. His mind knew the feeling was ridiculous — he was engaged to another woman for God’s sake — but he had to do something, even if that something was making things worse.

  “Do. Not. Do that! I’m on a date,” she all but growled. She slammed her glass down, but still refused to look at Lukas.

  It was clear that Emmalyn was getting upset. Instead of taking the hint and walking away, Lukas sat down at the table. Grant began to interject, but Emmalyn cut him off.

  “Grant, you don’t have to say anything.” She finally turned to look at the man that had been plaguing her mind for some weeks now. The look was not friendly. “Lukas, I have absolutely nothing to say to you. You need to get up and leave this table immediately, or I will get the restaurant to put you out.”

  He looked as though he was going to argue when Brian stepped in to pull him away.

  “Lukas. We need to go. Security is heading this way.”

  “Fine. Emmalyn, you’ll have to talk to me at some point. You can call me anytime.” Lukas shot one final look at Grant, then at Emmalyn, then walked away from the table and out of the restaurant.

  “I’m so sorry about that Grant. There are a thousand restaurants in this city. Why is he always in the one I’m at? I don’t get it.”

  “Who is he?” Grant asked, instantly understanding exactly why Em had been so reluctant to commit to him.

  “An ex-boyfriend. We broke up a long while ago, and he left town. I’d heard he was going back to wherever it was he came from but not soon enough to not jack up my evening, apparently.”

  “Hmmmm. And was he the reason you choked on your wine?”

  Em looked guilty and smiled, her cheeks going red from an intense blush. “Can I plead the fifth? I was surprised to see him here. Like I said, I was under the
impression that he’d left town. I’m really sorry.”

  “It’s okay. That actually answers a couple of questions I had.” Emmalyn opened her mouth to argue, but Grant stopped her. “You don’t have to explain anything. It really is okay. Would you like me to take you home?”

  “No, thanks. I think I need some time to work through everything that has happened this evening.”

  “Do you need me to stay with you?” he asked, equal parts hopeful and concerned.

  She smiled as she reached out to cup his face.“You really are the sweetest man. But no, I’ll be okay. I took a cab to get here, and I have the guy’s number to pick me up when I am ready. I’ll be fine. I swear. How about I call you tomorrow, and we can go to dinner again, my treat?”

  He took her hand and kissed her fingertips. “If you’re absolutely sure. And I’d love to go to dinner again.” Grant leaned down and kissed Emmalyn softly on the lips. “Despite the madness, I had fun tonight. I’ll talk to you later.” He kissed her again on the forehead and walked out of the restaurant.

  *

  Emmalyn watched Grant walk outside before heading over to the bar. She sat on a stool away from the other patrons, ordered a glass of chardonnay, and began to think. Her evening with Grant was going wonderfully until Lukas showed up. She’d almost convinced herself that renewing a relationship with Grant would be a good thing. But seeing Lukas made her stomach flip and her heart race in a way that Grant never had. So what to do now? Lukas was supposed to be heading back to California. What the hell was he still doing here? Em’s mind raced. Grant was here and available, and he wanted to be with her. After three glasses of wine, Emmalyn was more confused than ever. She finally gave up trying to find answers in a wine bottle and decided to go home.

  She walked out of the restaurant, looking for her phone to call the cabbie to take her back to her house. The cool air felt good on her face. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath of the night-time air. She didn’t realize she was being watched until she heard Lukas’s voice.

  “Jeez, Emmalyn. I was about ready to go in after you.”

  Startled, Em jumped and dropped her phone. She turned to Lukas, angry and embarrassed. “Oh, good grief, Lukas. I thought you were going away. What in the hell are you still doing here?”

  Lukas walked over to her and picked up her phone from where it lay on the sidewalk. For several seconds, he said nothing, causing Em to fidget. “Emmalyn, I’m going back to California tomorrow. Can we please talk?”

  “About what, exactly,” she sighed warily. She recognized this for the bad idea it was.

  “About us.”

  “There is no us. There hasn’t been an ‘us’ for a while now. And for the record, interrupting my date is not the least bit endearing.”

  “I’m very sorry about that, but I’ve been trying to get you to talk to me for weeks now. Please. Just ten minutes. I’ll drive you home, say what I need to say, and be out of your life.”

  She rolled her eyes and gave up trying to run away. “Fine. Let’s roll. My buzz is wearing off.”

  8

  Hitting Replay

  The ride started off in silence. Emmalyn was immediately aware that taking a ride from Lukas would not end well, but short of jumping out of the moving vehicle, she was stuck. She’d finally decided to get to the bottom of this “talk” when he turned to her and asked her if she still loved him.

  “What? What kind of question is that?” she insisted. The wine and his insane question were on the verge of giving Em a splitting headache.

  “I need to know. Emmalyn, please. Do you still love me?”

  Emmalyn gave Lukas a loud and inelegant snort. “I am not having this conversation with you.”

  “Emmy, listen…” He wanted to explain everything to her, but before he could get his thoughts in order, she cut him off.

  “No! I am not talking about this with you. It took me a long time to get on with my life after we broke up. I’m not going down that road with you. Period.”

  Lukas knew from the look on her face that pushing the issue wouldn’t help anything. He left her to her own thoughts as he continued driving toward her house. She even seem annoyed at having to give him directions — as if he should know where she lived now! He couldn’t help but wonder why she would have a hard time moving on when she was the one who broke things off with him. After his chat with Isabel, Lukas thought he understood a bit better how Em’s mind worked. Perhaps he could have approached the conversation differently, but she used to appreciate his straight forward questions.

  They arrived at Em’s house before either of them could find something else to say. He was impressed by her new home and even more so by the woman she’d become in the years they’d been apart. They sat in the driveway in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Finally, tired of the tension and needing something—not quite sure what—Em turned and looked at Lukas.

  “Just come in the house.” She quickly got out of the car before she could change her mind about what she was about to do.

  Lukas followed Em into the house, clearly confused. He trailed her from room to room as she turned on lights and fed the pretty gray cat that swirled around her legs. He watched the ease with which she stooped and swept up the cat in a bit of a snuggle. His thoughts turned sour as he found himself in the ridiculous position of being insanely jealous of a house cat.

  She stopped in the kitchen and pulled a bottle of water out of the refrigerator. She offered him one and shrugged her shoulders when he declined. Emmalyn took a long sip of water before turning to Lukas. He couldn’t read the look on her face and was taken completely by surprise by what she said.

  “I want to have sex with you. Tonight.” She took another drink of water and waited for him to process what she’d said to him.

  Lukas couldn’t tell if she was serious or not, so he said nothing. She gave him a small smile and said, “I’m serious. We both know you and I are done. But I want tonight, no talking, no thinking. Tomorrow you go back to California and I go back to Grant.”

  “Emmalyn, that’s crazy.” He shook his head and turned to leave the house.

  “Is there someone else?” she asked quietly, suddenly very unsure of herself.

  Lukas paused at the kitchen door. He knew he should tell her the truth, tell her about his life with Sunny. But she was offering what his body and, if he were completely honest with himself, his heart had been yearning for ever since he’d seen her his first night back in town. Hating himself for what he was doing, yet unable to stop himself, he turned back to her fully before simply saying, “No.”

  “Then what’s so crazy? I’m not asking for anything we haven’t done before, unless you’ve learned something new in the time we’ve been apart,” she added saucily.

  That got the expected smile from Lukas. He reached out and stroked her cheek and chin. “Are you sure you want to do this? I don’t want to make things any worse between us than they already are. And I don’t want to make any more waves between you and your little boyfriend.”

  “I’m a big girl, and I can make my own decisions, thanks very much.”

  Emmalyn leaned forward and kissed Lukas softly yet thoroughly on the lips. She slowly slid her hands up his face and wrapped her arms around his neck. Lukas responded to the kiss by wrapping his arms around Em’s waist and pulling her close. He deepened the kiss, slowly sliding his tongue into her mouth. The kiss brought back every warm feeling and happy memory that Emmalyn worked so hard to suppress over the last five years. She pulled back from him but remained in Lukas’s arms.

  “Second thoughts?” he asked, his voice gruff from the strain of fighting the urge to toss her onto the nearest surface and pour himself into her.

  Lukas had a half smile on his face and seemed prepared for Em to tell him to go.

  “Nope. Let’s go to the bedroom.”

  Em took Lukas’s hand and led him up the stairs to the third level of her house. The master bedroom sat at the end of a lo
ng hallway. Once there, she turned on a single lamp, throwing deep shadows across the ornate, cherry oak furniture. As if in her dreams, Em and Lukas stood next to the bed unsure how to start. Finally, Emmalyn reached over and began unbuttoning Lukas’s shirt. He swatted her hands away and pulled her close once again, claiming her lips in a kiss that left her nearly breathless. He pulled her blouse out of her skirt and over her head, tossing it on the floor. He felt her breasts through the fabric of her bra, the tight buds of her nipples poking through, hinting at her arousal. Pushing the straps off her shoulders, he trailed kisses where the straps left light marks, his mouth so warm against her skin. Reaching behind her with one hand to unhook her bra, he pulled her over to the bed, sitting on the edge.

  Positioning Em between his legs, his dark and wild eyes devoured her as he played with her breasts before pulling one nipple then the other into his mouth—he remembered how much she liked that. When she couldn’t stand it anymore, she pulled away from him and took a step back, removing her skirt and panties in a single yank. His mouth watered as she sauntered back to him, pushed him back on the bed, climbed on top of him, kissed him hard. He scooted back on the bed, taking her with him before flipping her over on her back.

  He reached down and removed his own pants and underwear before quickly filling her. He felt like an ass for not at least checking to see if she was wet, but her moans of pleasure and sounds of reassurance quickly buried those thoughts.

  She met him stroke for stroke, his member hitting that special spot that only he had ever been able to find. As the tension built in her gut, she grabbed on to his butt for dear life, like she was afraid the buck on top of her would get away. It wasn’t long before the sweet, taut pressure built to release, and she came, crying out his name in satisfaction. He let himself go soon thereafter, wholly unable to withstand the pressure any longer. In the pleasure of it all, he collapsed on top of her. They fell asleep that way—her legs wrapped around his waist, her arms around his neck, and her hair wrapped around his hand.

  9

  One Bitter Pill

  The night was long and pleasurable. Lukas finally peeled himself away from his sweet Emmy and out of her bed around dawn. She didn’t stir. He kissed her nose and left before any regrets or harsh words could pass between them.