Even the Score

by Beth Ehemann

  “No thanks,” I fired back, turning away to avoid eye contact before I had another breakdown. “Would you just drive me home, please?”

  A loud sigh filled the space between us. “Of course,” he muttered faintly. He sounded hurt, and though I felt bad, I needed to keep my distance.

  Before I lost my nerve, I spun around and headed back into the parking garage with him following along closely behind me. What happened wasn’t Andy’s fault in the slightest, but I was pissed off at the world, and I couldn’t help it. I didn’t want him anywhere near me, but I didn’t want to be alone, either. We walked in total silence, except for the click of my heels echoing off the cinder block walls of the garage all the way back to Andy’s car. He scooted around me and pulled the door open before I could even attempt it.

  “Thank you,” I said quietly as I slipped inside.

  Other than me giving him directions to my house, we didn’t speak a word to each other the whole way home. When he pulled over and parked in front of my brownstone, I gathered my purse up off the floor of his car. “Thanks for staying with me and giving me a ride. Sorry the night turned out so shitty.” As I sat back in my seat, he turned the engine off and unbuckled his seat belt. “Wait. What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Coming inside,” he said sternly as he opened his door.

  My heart started racing. “What? No. Why?” I rambled in a panic, not wanting to talk any more. I just wanted to go to bed.

  “I’m not staying, don’t worry,” he said in an abrupt, annoyed tone. “I just want to make sure that everything is fine in there, and then I’ll go and you can lock up behind me.”

  I slung my purse over my shoulder, peering at him over the top of the car. “Andy, that’s really sweet of you, but I promise I’m fine. I have a dog to watch the house and a mean right hook if the bogeyman is hiding in my shower.”

  He rolled his eyes as he strode past me and up the front steps.

  “Or not,” I mumbled to myself as I fished around my purse for my house keys. Andy took a step back as I climbed the stairs and walked past him, holding my breath so that his intoxicating cologne wouldn’t overpower me again.

  My door creaked open and Roxy came sprinting toward the door, the tags on her collar jingling as she ran.

  I flipped the light on and turned to Andy, who was staring down at her as she tried to jump up his leg. He bent down and picked up my four-pound Yorkshire terrier in one hand, sliding his gaze over to me with a raised eyebrow. “This is your killer guard dog?” He held her up in the air as she squirmed to lick his face. “I’m doubting she could take out a chipmunk who tried to break in.”

  “Funny,” I said drily as I walked toward the back of the house. I dropped my purse on the kitchen counter and turned back to face him. “Everything is fine here. I appreciate you checking on me.”

  He set Roxy down and shook his head. “I’m gonna have a quick look around.”

  “Andy . . . seriously.” I crossed my arms over my chest and cocked my hip to the side. “I highly doubt that asshole is hiding somewhere in my house.”

  “And what if he is?” he shot back. “Does your tiny terror know how to call 911? Because she sure as shit isn’t scaring anyone away. I’m just gonna walk through real quick, and I’ll be gone. Stop being so damn stubborn for once.”

  There was no way I was going to get him out of the house without letting him do his macho thing, so I conceded the loss. “Fine.” I threw my hands up in the air. “Knock yourself out. I’m having a beer.” As I opened the fridge, I heard his footsteps climb the stairs. I would never, ever admit it out loud, but it was kind of nice having him fall all over me and make a big deal out of keeping me safe. Definitely not something I was used to. After a few minutes of listening to the floorboards creak as he went room to room, he bounded back down the stairs and into the kitchen.

  “Take out any knife-wielding psychos?” I chuckled to myself as I lifted my beer to my lips and took a sip.

  “No, but you need to clean under your bed. Do you even own a vacuum?” he teased back with a cocky grin.

  I tried to talk back before I’d swallowed my beer and started coughing hard, covering my mouth with my hand so I didn’t spit beer everywhere. He grabbed a towel from the oven handle and set it down in front of me while I finished my coughing fit and wiped my chin. I’d opened my mouth to tell him where I was going to shove my vacuum when there was a soft knock on the front door.

  I froze, staring wide-eyed at Andy. “That’s not him, is it?”

  “Probably not.” He tilted his head to the side. “Most stalkers don’t knock on the door before they’re going to kill you, but I’m going to answer it just in case. If I scream, send Roxy to save me.” He winked at me and turned toward the doorway. I hopped off my stool and took a step into the hallway, trying to see past him to the front door.

  Andy pulled the door open and peeked around the side. “Hi,” he said in a friendly tone. “Can I help you?”

  “Oh, hi. I wasn’t expecting you to answer,” a friendly, familiar voice said. “Is Danicka here?”

  “Is that June?” I called out, immediately recognizing the voice as I walked up front. My sweet, smiling neighbor was standing on the porch, thoroughly confused. “Come on in, June!” I waved her inside.

  Andy stepped back and held the door for her. “Thank you, young man.” She grinned up at him as she passed by.

  “June, this is Andy, my . . . boss,” I stammered, unsure how to introduce him. He was my boss, but he was also kinda my friend, and if my car hadn’t been trashed, we would probably still be rolling around naked in his bed. Was there a label for that person?

  “Hi, Andy.” June held her tiny hand out to greet him. “I’m June, Danicka’s neighbor.”

  Andy flashed his charming, panty-dropping smile and gently shook her hand. “Nice to meet you, June.”

  “June is more than my neighbor.” I pursed my lips and shook my head at her modest response. “She helps me with Roxy, she waters my flowers, and she keeps me sane. Hell, sometimes she even cooks me dinner.”

  June giggled shyly, waving her hand at me. “Oh, stop it.” She looked up at Andy. “Danicka’s like a daughter to me. I just love her to pieces. Which is why when I heard all the commotion in here but didn’t see her car, I wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

  “Oh, June,” I sighed. “You won’t see my car for a while. Some jerk trashed it while we were all out after work.”

  Her jaw dropped as she covered her mouth with her pale, wrinkly hand. “That’s horrible. And on your birthday, too. Oh, Danicka. I’m so sorry.” She walked over and put her arms around me, squeezing me in such a loving way that I had to fight the urge to lay my head on her shoulder and just sob.

  “Thanks.” I hugged her back and released her quickly before I did just that. “Andy brought me home and insisted that he come in and take a look around.”

  “And everything is good?” she asked, looking from me to Andy.

  “Perfect.” He nodded. “Closets and shower are empty, and under the best is clear . . . mostly.” His eyes drifted over toward me in a playful gaze.

  I let my eyes linger on his long enough to let him know he was annoying me again, then turned back to June. “Anyway, him clomping up and down the stairs is probably what you heard.”

  “Ah.” She nodded, turning back to Andy. “Paper-thin walls. I heard you on the stairs.”

  “Oh! I’m sorry,” he apologized. A smirk appeared on his lips, and his eyes slid to me even though he was still talking to her. “I’ll have to remember that.”

  “No worries. Just wanted to make sure everything was okay.” She sighed. “Okay, well, it’s late and I have to be up early for yoga, so I’m gonna head home. If you need anything, Dani, you know where to find me.”

  She pulled me in for one more hug and whispered in my ear when she got close, “He’s a cutie. Don’t let him leave. I’ll take my hearing aide out tonight, just in case.”

 
I couldn’t help but laugh as I shook my head. “Oh, June! What am I gonna do with you?”

  She said good-bye to Andy and pulled the door closed behind her.

  “Yoga? She’s the funniest old lady I’ve ever met.” He pointed his thumb toward the door after it closed.

  “Don’t let her fool you.” I rolled my eyes. “She doesn’t know she’s an old lady. She thinks she’s a hipster.” I walked back toward the kitchen, waving for Andy to follow me as I kept talking. “I bought this house a few years ago, and I met her on the first day. We talked a little bit but didn’t get close until I got Roxy. She insisted that I let her help me with the crazy little dog.” Without even asking if he wanted one, I grabbed a beer from the fridge and slid it across the island to him.

  He caught it and twisted it open. “Thanks. And what do you mean help you?”

  I shrugged. “We were talking once, and I told her what I did for a living and that sometimes my hours can get crazy, so she offered to walk Roxy a couple times a day for me and feed her at night if I needed. I really didn’t need the help, but she didn’t have anything better to do, so I felt bad. It’s come in handy, though, on nights like this where I don’t come home right away. I just text her, and she takes care of her for me.” Leaning to the side so I could see past the island, I glanced at Roxy, who was sound asleep on the air vent again. “As you can see, she’s very high maintenance.” I smiled for the first time since we pulled into the parking garage.

  “Wait. You texted her?” he asked incredulously. “Most people that age can barely work a remote control, let alone a cell phone.”

  “Oh no, not June. She’s a total tech nerd. The day a new iPhone, iPad, iWhatever comes out, she’s in line with all the other techies at the Apple Store.”

  Andy let out a hearty laugh, tossing his head back just a bit as I watched his Adam’s apple bob up and down. “No shit?”

  “No shit,” I repeated, letting out a small giggle, too. “Sometimes when I’m at work, she’ll text me a selfie of her and Roxy at the park or sharing a treat on a bench. She even has an Instagram page.”

  He stared at me wide-eyed but didn’t say anything.

  “I’m not kidding. She has like five thousand followers, too. It’s hilarious.” We both laughed again and took sips of our beers, sitting at my kitchen island like I imagined normal couples did on a Friday night.

  But . . . we weren’t a couple. Not even close to being a couple. We had almost made a mistake a couple of hours before, but the whole car fiasco forced us to sober up and come to our senses. Especially me. I couldn’t have sex with Andy. That would just muddy the waters, and I needed them to remain very, very clear. The minute we went up those stairs together, things would change forever. Word would get out, and shortly after, rumors would start that I only got a job at Shaw Management because I slept with my boss. If I’d learned anything in my life, it was that I couldn’t count on anyone but myself, and I needed to keep it that way. Losing my reputation for a night of sex with Andy just wasn’t worth the risk, as amazing as I imagined it would be.

  “Listen, this is fun and all, but I’m really tired.” I stood up and cleared my throat. “I have to be up early to call the insurance company and deal with that mess, so I think I’m gonna head to bed. No offense.”

  His shoulders slumped slightly as he licked his lips and stared down at the beer he’d barely had a chance to drink. “Okay.”

  I walked up front, hoping he’d get the hint and follow me.

  “You have my number if you need anything,” he said, pausing by the door.

  “Yep.”

  “I’ll call you tomor—”

  “I’ll just see you Monday morning, okay?” I interrupted. Being close to Andy like this wasn’t good for either of us, even if he couldn’t see that right now.

  “Got it. Happy birthday, Dani,” he said sweetly as he pushed his lips together and nodded, looking completely defeated.

  I closed the door behind him without another word, making sure to secure both dead bolts before I turned around and leaned my back against it, sighing loudly. “Yeah, happy birthday to me.”

  CHAPTER 21

  Andy

  “What the fuck? Are you kidding?” Brody exclaimed Sunday morning when I finally called to tell him about everything that went down with Danicka. He’d called a couple of times on Saturday, but I wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone, so I let it go to voice mail.

  “I wish I was. Her car was trashed.” I sat down on the couch and propped my feet up on the coffee table. “All four tires slashed, back window was broken, and they wrote ‘Happy birthday, bitch’ down the side. It was awful.”

  “Holy shit,” he said incredulously. “I can’t believe it.”

  “Neither could we. I went from thinking we were so into each other we were gonna end up doing it right there in the car to calling 911, all in the span of about twenty seconds.”

  “Wow. Talk about whiplash. How’s she doing now?”

  I sighed. “I have no idea, haven’t talked to her.”

  “What?” he shouted into my ear.

  “I texted her a couple times yesterday, but she never responded. She was really weird after the police left, totally closed off, so I’m not sure what the hell is going on.” My jaw clenched as I ran my hand through my hair. “I haven’t dated in a long time, is this what it is now? All this ‘I want you, no I don’t, yes I do’ shit?”

  Brody let out a hard laugh. “Um . . . you saw how hard I worked to get Kacie to give me a shot, right? It comes with the vagina, dude, and they know it. If they have one, they get to make the rules. Period.”

  “It was so much simpler ten years ago.”

  “Yeah, but look what you ended up with,” he jabbed.

  “Touché, my friend. Touché.”

  Brody had dad duties to tend to, so we ended our call, and I did something I hadn’t done in a long time. I put my feet up on the couch and took a nap.

  A few hours later I woke up disoriented, not sure whether it was morning or night. I grabbed my cell phone from the coffee table to look at the time and realized Blaire, or her driver more likely, would be dropping the kids off in just a little bit. A knock at the front door echoed through the house, and I realized that was probably what woke me. I jumped up and ran toward the door, excited for the kids to be home early for once. As I got closer to the door, Dani’s face came into focus.

  “Hey,” I said as I pulled the door open, surprised to see her.

  She let go of the curl she’d been spinning around her finger and pulled her brows in tight. “Are you okay?”

  “Um . . . yeah? Why?”

  “I knocked three times.”

  I stretched my arms up high in the air. “Oh, I’m fine. I dozed off.”

  “Oh.” Her face relaxed. “Are your kids here?”

  “Nope. They’re at their mom’s for a few more hours. Come on in.” I took a step back and motioned for her to come inside.

  She had on jean shorts and a Minnesota Vikings T-shirt, with her hair casually tossed in a ponytail, but she looked just as hot as she had Friday night when she was all dressed up to go out. Her hands were in her pockets, and she stared at the ground as she stepped through the door.

  I stretched my neck just a bit to the right, trying to see my driveway. “Is that a minivan?”

  “Yeah.” She rolled her eyes. “That was the only loaner they had available on such short notice. And I’m not happy about it, so don’t even start.”

  “Trust me, nothing about that whole situation is funny.”

  “That’s actually why I came by,” she said softly, chewing on the corner of her lip nervously. “I mean, not to talk about the car situation, but the us situation.”

  My head jerked back as my eyebrows shot up. “We’re a situation?”

  “Well, you know . . . I mean with what happened Friday night and stuff.”

  I had the feeling that a weird conversation was about to be had. “You know what? I’m
hungry. Are you hungry?”

  Her big eyes blinked at me as she rubbed her chin. “Huh?”

  “Hungry. Food. You want some?” I turned around and headed toward the kitchen. “Follow me if you do.”

  “Um . . . okay.” Her tone was slow and confused, but she followed me to the kitchen anyway. She sat down at the island and watched me shuffle things around in the fridge. “What I was saying. I feel like I owe you some sort of an explanation for the other night.”

  “Do you like salsa?” I asked her, peeking my head around the fridge door.

  “What?”

  “Salsa, the food, not the dancing, do you like it? Gloria made some homemade salsa and guac the other night, and it was amazing.” I took the bowls of salsa and guacamole out and set them on the island in front of her.

  “Andy.”

  “I’m still listening. Go ahead,” I answered as I walked to the pantry to grab a bag of tortilla chips.

  “I know, but it’s hard to talk to you when you’re fluttering around like that.”

  With the bag of chips in my hand, I closed the pantry door and gave her a smile. “Sorry. Want a beer? Water? Anything?”

  She groaned and dropped her head into the crook of her arm.

  “I’ll take that as a no.” I laughed and snatched two bottles of water from the fridge anyway, setting one down in front of her. “There’s a water, just in case. Okay, I’m ready. Go.”

  She lifted her head, propping her chin up on her fist as she watched me shovel a bite into my mouth. “I saw you call yesterday, and honestly, I just wasn’t in the mood to talk. Then today I was going to text, then I was going to call, and finally, I decided it was best just to come here and talk to you face-to-face.”

  “I’m glad you did,” I mumbled behind my hand with a mouthful of food as I pointed down to the bowl in between us. “You really need to try this guac.”

  “Andy, please listen to me. I’m trying to apologize.”

  I stilled and stared at her. “For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”