Cry Me a River

by Devyn Dawson

  Garrett owns a security business and Caide hired his company to be security at my store and Caide’s during the hours we are closed. I didn’t see that contract, but I’m sure Caide’s wishing he’d stayed home Saturday night.

  ____________________________________________

  We walked the guys to the door together, as though we’ve been doing it for years. My reasoning was to see what cars everyone is in. That way if one of my neighbors calls about a mysterious car in my driveway I’d be able to ease their mind. It isn’t as though they noticed anything out of the ordinary the day Lance left a note in my house.

  “River, I’m going to take a swim, would you like to join me?” Caide asks with that grin on his face, the one I’ve come to secretly adore. I bet that damn grin has got him into plenty of girl’s panties.

  Swimming with a tattooed torso, muscle-bound chef is not a hard decision to make. “Yeah, I would. I’ll meet you in the back.”

  I stand in front of the mirror and double check that my butt cheeks are covered. We started carrying these boy-short bikinis last summer and they sell out almost immediately every time I get them in the store. I picked black shorts and a top with a blue floral print. I tie the top behind my neck and make sure everything is secure.

  The thought of swimming with Caide sends me into a giddy girl bouncing up and down while clapping my hands together…quietly.

  Deep breath, compose yourself…now go knock his socks off….or his swim trunks!

  I haven’t let my desires for him cloud my mind until today. Being with Ryan all afternoon and his commentary about how Caide and I were going to rule Emerald Isle before we’re thirty sent my imagination on fire. I don’t want to rule the town, but I won’t mind being ruled by Caide just once….or twice if he’s good.

  ____________________________________________

  The colored pool lights are fading into one color and out another. Caide is underwater as I step out onto the deck. He’s swimming the length of the pool and back, totally oblivious to his fan club of one. He finally surfaces directly under the diving board. Both of his hands reach up over his head and suspend himself with his hands. I see the strength of his shoulders and the definition of his biceps as he holds on.

  “Hey, River, don’t you look delicious in that extraordinarily hot bikini. Did you come out here to seduce me?”

  Agh! Oh shit, I should have brought a one piece. He thinks I’m a harpy. The sound of him chuckling in the water catches my attention.

  “I’m teasing you, River….not about being hot in the bikini, because grown men don’t make jokes like that. Are you coming in?”

  “Uh-huh,” I reply as I walk along the edge of the pool until I get to the diving board. Caide has moved over to the side of the pool and watches me intently. I step onto the board and say a silent prayer I don’t break my neck or that my top doesn’t fall off. I take the steps to the edge of the board and bounce to feel the give…. The final moment I decide to dive instead of flip, just because I wanted to look sexy and not like a frat boy. My 34 C cups could have caused a wardrobe malfunction during a flip without a problem.

  I love the sound of the water as I break the surface into the salt water pool. The smooth warmth of the saltwater takes me by surprise, I’d expected it to be a regular pool. I do two laps and surface next to Caide still along the edge.

  “Impressive dive, were you on the swim team?”

  I nod my head yes as I tilt it to each side to drain my ears. “Yeah, swimming was my escape from my mom. She was always too drunk to be in the pool, so it was my safe haven.”

  His hand reaches out and pulls me closer to him. I didn’t notice the little alcove with a ledge to sit on. I looked around and discover there aren’t any ladders either. Now, I don’t have to worry about the swimsuit wedgies as I get out of the pool.

  “Come here, closer.” He pulls me until he has me on his lap. The water is crystal clear and lightly splashing as we fumble around to get comfortable.

  The closeness of his body is making me keenly aware of every touch. We don’t talk, just face each other, our eyes locked. As his hands glide along the length of my spine, I wonder if he can feel the goose bumps he’s giving me.

  I can’t stop swaying into him, my chin tilts up and his tilts down, and our mouths locked us together. He’s maneuvered me until my legs are wrapped around his waist, and his arms are locked behind my back. How he managed to stand on the little ledge, with me wrapped around him like a spider monkey is beyond me. He stands and holds me to him until we reach the lawn furniture. Caide gently places me on a long chaise lounge that looks like it belongs inside of the house. We kiss and roll from his back to my back, our body’s never losing contact…as though it was what kept us alive…our human touch.

  “River?”

  “Caide?”

  “I really want to fuck you,” he says and instantly lit a fire between my legs.

  “Aaaand?”

  “And, I can’t.” Caide abruptly stands up, breaking our life line. “I want to, but I’m not going to, not tonight, River.”

  The heat between my legs is sizzling out with his words. “You don’t have to worry about my virtue or anything, I’ve had sex.”

  “God, I want to, River, more than anything….but you’re not the kind of girl to be a fuck buddy…and I don’t know if I’m ready to be anything else. I can’t do that to you.”

  I stare at him as though he just grew horns and a tail. “Who says I don’t want to be a fuck buddy? I’m not holier than thou; I can be a whore when I want to.”

  “I know this is going to sound like a pussy, but I need time. I just lost someone who I loved, and I’m a little afraid of losing someone else. I’m not saying it won’t happen, but it won’t happen tonight.” He scratches the back of his head as he paces back and forth.

  I’m still on the chaise that five minutes ago I would have sworn was the place I was going to fuck Caide Palmer for the first time. I roll my eyes. “Okay….. I guess. It’s going to be a long day tomorrow, I’m calling it a night.” I walk away with a bruised ego and the reminder I didn’t pack a vibrator.

  Tucking in my pride, I take the walk of shame towards my room. Jed is standing with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face. It would be inappropriate to stick my tongue out at him, so I saunter past him and his judgmental stare. The creaking of the oven door reminds me of the delicious smelling treats Caide made. My stomach growls, but I refuse to succumb to my sweet tooth.

  I start to turn the handle to my room and think better of it; I need to talk to my bodyguard.

  “Jed, we need to set some ground rules. First, it would be easier to deal with you lurking around the corner if you didn’t act so…so…I don’t know…so bodyguard(ish). You look like a cop with your brooding look and your arms crossed. If you haven’t noticed, there really isn’t a bunch of people around to protect me from. I guess you could protect me from myself, but there isn’t anything you can do to stop me from my own self-destruction.” With a ‘humph’ I cross my arms and stare back at him.

  “Yes ma’am. Miss River, I’m not here to judge you or be your friend. Until I get a feel for your comings and goings, I won’t relax. How should I know who comes and goes from this house without observation?”

  “Were you watching Caide and me outside?” I glare at him as though he were the enemy. “Do you get off watching people like some type of voyeur?” Sarcasm drips from every word.

  “I respect your privacy as much as possible. I couldn’t help but notice you two flopping around on the chaise like two horny teenagers. Frankly, I’m surprised you’re going to bed alone. All you need to do is go on about your life as if I’m not around, and we’ll get along. I’m not here to intrude, but if you need me, just say my name.” Jed’s silky smooth voice makes every word sound like ‘come hither’.

  It’s disturbing to think he doesn’t have anyone at home to protect. He doesn’t have a wedding band on, and it’s unfathomable to believe he’s
not some woman’s last thoughts before bed tonight.

  “Fine, I’ll pretend you’re not around, but I doubt my staff will pretend the same. I’m going to bed, it’s almost midnight and Caide has Good Morning America here in a few hours. Just so you know, I’m not mad at you, this isn’t your fault, it’s my poor judgment.”

  “I’m sleeping downstairs, here’s my cell number,” he hands me a card. “Program it into your phone. Oh, there’s a baby monitor in your room so I can hear you. You can turn it off while you’re on the phone or whatever you do before bed, but please turn it back on before you fall asleep. It will keep me from having to sleep in the room with you.”

  I shake my head and mutter “unbelievable” under my breath. “K.” I walk away with my displaced frustration.

  The bed is soft, and Rusty finds her place snuggled up on my left side with her head resting on my tummy. Casanova is draped across the pillow but he allows me a small spot under his belly, he makes the perfect head warmer.

  I put my Kindle on my chest to watch Pretty Little Liars and before I know it, my eyes grow heavy and my brain quits processing the show. Sleep is moments away, and my body is twitching as it settles into the bed for the night.

  A pounding on my door jars me awake.

  “River! Get up!” Caide’s voice on the other side of my door yells.

  I jump up and throw my robe over my naked body. “What’s wrong, is there a fire or something?”

  “Actually, there is. Get up, we have to go to your store…it’s on fire!” Caide’s frantic tone startles me awake.

  “My store’s on fire? When? Now?” My hand trembles as I tuck my hair behind my ear, a habit I’ve done for as long as I can remember. “I’ll throw on some clothes, it will only take me a second.”

  “I’ll meet you in the car; Jed will wait for you in the house and walk you out.”

  “Okay!” I scramble around in my suitcase and find a pair of cut offs and a t-shirt with RELAX written across the front. An 80’s band sang a song called, Relax (don’t do it).

  I grab my purse and meet Jed outside of my bedroom door. He’s creepy….like a raccoon sneaking around. No more than two minutes elapsed since Caide was at my door. I check my phone and its 12:45 am.

  “Are you ready Miss River?” Jed asks. “I’m going to follow you and Caide out to the store. Don’t worry, I can keep up.”

  I have no doubts about his capabilities; I just think he’s creepy.

  Caide is standing outside of his car when we walk out into the summer night. The only sounds are birds chirping. They’re probably gossiping about Caide’s latest conquest.

  “We’ll be there in five minutes flat. Are you okay?” Caide asks and as he holds the car door open for me.

  “What happened?” I want nothing more than to take a puff off my e-cigarette; instead I fidget through my purse looking for chapstick.

  “Garrett’s guys started tonight as well, and they were patrolling when they spotted flames shooting out through the roof.”

  “Did they see anyone? Why would this Lance guy want to sabotage me so bad? Do you think it’s him? I mean, yeah, he roofied me, but is he capable of all of this other stuff? I’m sure my insurance rates will go through the roof after this.” I babble on about Lance and Caide sits quietly, as I come up with ten scenarios of how this could have happened.

  “It could be something less sinister and be a faulty wiring case. Don’t jump to any conclusions until we talk to the firemen and police. You’re lucky no one was in the building and this happened in middle of the night.” Caide’s voice of reason grinds on my nerves.

  We're a block away from the store and we see black smoke billowing into the night sky. The closer we get to the shop, my heart speeds up a little more with every breath I take.

  Caide pulls into the parking lot and a sob escapes my mouth. Nothing I’ve ever done has prepared me for this moment. My store is completely engulfed in flames. There’s no denying the loss of my hard work and the loss of jobs for my employees. It will take months to rebuild the store. It will be a fiasco of jumping through hoops for the insurance adjusters. I’ve dealt with them over hurricane damage last year and that was minor compared to this. The smell of burning electrical wires and fabric float across the parking lot along with embers from the burning building.

  Caide reaches over and takes my hand into his and I’m overwhelmed with emotions. His simple act of kindness has trapped the two of us into a calamity of trouble. One night, with a stranger has rocked my world to the core.

  “It’s okay River, it’s just things….it can be replaced. I’m so glad you weren’t there, this could have been much worse.” He squeezes my hand before letting go to put the car in park.

  A policeman rushes over to us as we climb out of the car.

  “You can’t be here! Get back into your car, this isn’t a circus show!” The officer complains to us.

  “They’re with me John; this is my client’s store that’s burning. Garrett called to tell me about the fire.” Jed comes over and stands next to me.

  “Are you River Jaded Murphy?”

  I nod my head yes, fear and sadness keep me from speaking.

  “Jaded?” Caide whispers to me. I nudge him with my shoulder, acknowledging his teasing. I don’t tell him about how my parents planned on calling me RJ, but it never came to fruition.

  “I’m Officer Ettore, follow me, I want to ask you a few questions…alone.”

  I turn to Jed for reassurance and he says its protocol.

  Officer Ettore and I walk closer to the fire truck, stopping at a police car with its lights flashing. “Before we start, I want you to understand that we don’t have any idea right now if it is arson. I’m asking the questions so if it comes down to being an arson case, we can get it solved quickly. The fire chief and the police department will work with your insurance company to take care of everything. Are you okay out here or would you rather sit in the car?”

  “Whatever’s easier for you.” I attempt to give him a smile, but I know it comes across as a crooked smirk.

  “Have you had any work done to the store in the past week?”

  I shake my head no. He checks a box on his questionnaire.

  “Have you stocked any fertilizer in the store?” Officer Ettore asks.

  Huh? What the hell? “No, why would I have fertilizer?”

  “It’s just a question ma’am. Do you know anyone who would want to burn down your business? It could be a disgruntled employee.”

  “No, my employees are great, and they wouldn’t take it out on my building.” I look around for Caide, hoping he hasn’t gone too far. “What’s going on, do you think its arson?”

  “We don’t know, I know there was a small explosion, so we need to rule out anything sinister. You filed a complaint about a guy named Lance, has he continued to cause you problems? You have Jed with you, are you one of his clients?”

  Ten minutes later and I’m wishing we’d sat inside the officer’s car. The smell of fire is giving me a headache and I think I need some water.

  “If you’re done with me, may I be excused?”

  “Oh sure, I have your number if I need anything else. Here’s my card, if you think of anything, just give me a call.”

  Jed and Caide are in an in-depth conversation about the best tailgating foods for football season. Caide holds out his hand to me and I gladly accept it. They continue to talk and my mind begins to wander. How could someone do this to another person’s livelihood? I’d cry if my head didn’t hurt so badly.

  “Caide, you can go back to the house, I know you have a camera crew showing up in a couple of hours. Jed can give me a ride to the house I’m sure.”

  After some coaxing, Caide agrees to leave, only after I swear I’ll text him with updates. His kindness is unexpected and endearing, the more I get to know him.

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  Chapter Nine

  Beauty of whatever kind,

&
nbsp; In its supreme development,

  Invariably excite the sensitive soul to tears.

  Edgar Allan Poe

  CAIDE

  “I don’t grasp how you dropped the ball, but I dropped a chunk of change on your company and now her business is burning down! We agreed that you’d have someone at her store by six last night….before the contract was signed.” I called Garrett the minute I drove away from the fire.

  “My guys were there all night. I stopped by to talk to them after we did the contract. It seems as though the explosion was caused by a bomb of some sort. They told me there was an explosion and then the fire. What brand of psycho’s are you running from,” Garrett complained.

  “Fuck! I don’t know, but I’m getting tired of this shit. Whoever’s behind this will have hell to pay. I’ll give you a call in the afternoon. I have work to do. Later man,” I don’t give him a chance to say good-bye before I hang up.

  Why the fuck is this guy doing this to River? He’s afraid of people finding out he roofied her, but doesn’t have a problem blowing up her business! Something isn’t adding up, and I’m going to find out the truth.

  Right now, I have to get things ready for the camera crew to arrive. Becky should be here at three thirty; she played Sous-chef and prepped everything that needed chopped, sliced or diced. My mom will usually help out, but she called yesterday to tell me she has bronchitis and can’t come over. Normally, I’d be disappointed about her not coming, but with everything going on, I’m happy she won’t be in danger of Lance the lunatic.

  I flip on my in-the-zone playlist and start with a little Disturbed to bake muffins to.

  Why did I stop myself from having sex with River? When I came up out of the water and saw her standing there, it took every ounce of restraint to keep myself in the water. Her curves were begging to be traced with my fingers and her lips were made for….mmmmm. I wonder if she likes it with the lights on and music blaring.

  River, what has she done to me? There’s something about her that’s so different from other girls. She’s hardened, but sweet. She makes me want to protect her and keep her safe. I wasn’t even like that for Heather. The two of us were like oil and water, but we sizzled with lust. Heather’s and my entire relationship was built on lust and sex. We fucked the first night we met, and when we lived together, we never went a day without sex. Heather wasn’t into sweet slow love making; she wanted it to be rough and wild. I guess I’m a freak of nature, a guy who wants to savor the feeling.