In Bed with the Devil: A Billionaire Second Chance Romance

by Tia Siren

  “You’re quiet,” Bailey said to me.

  “Am I?” I asked.

  “You’re going to tell me what’s bothering you at some point,” she said. “You might as well tell me what it is now.”

  “Nothing’s bothering me,” I said. “I’m not flustered about anything.”

  Our waiter returned with our drinks. We quickly ordered our entrees—I chose an enchilada plate and she decided on a taco plate—and handed him our menus.

  “I’m ready for those nachos,” she muttered.

  I kept my attention shifting from one mounted television to the next. I tried focusing on some of the games, but I didn’t even care to know who was playing.

  “You seem distracted,” said Bailey.

  “How so?” I asked.

  “Uh, you aren’t looking at me at all, and you’re acting really weird all of a sudden,” she said. “What’s up?”

  “Nothing, Bailey,” I said. “I swear. Trust me, okay?”

  “Tell me what’s going on.”

  I rolled my eyes and bit my tongue, resisting the urge to pop and expel the negativity I was feeling off of my chest.

  “Darren, you know that I will prod and poke until you start filling me in on the dirt. What’s the scoop, detective?”

  “Bailey, there’s really nothing going on. Don’t worry.”

  “You are drastically different now than you’ve been the entire time since I’ve seen you again,” she continued observing. “What’s gotten into you? Did you see something in my apartment that upset you?”

  “No,” I said with intrigue. “What would upset me in your apartment?”

  “I don’t know,” she said. “I’m trying to figure out what’s wrong with you.”

  “Maybe I’ve been thinking about how I’ll have to leave soon,” I informed her. “If I have too good a time with you, it’s going to be that much harder to leave you.”

  “I thought we went over this.”

  “We’ve gone over it all countless times in the many years we’ve known each other,” I said. “I wish I could go through these eight days and pretend like I only have feelings of platonic, everlasting friendship for you, but I don’t.”

  “I never thought you and I would be considered platonic”

  “I don’t know what you’d consider us,” I said trying not to pout. “I stopped trying to figure that out a long time ago.”

  I hated making her aggravated, but I didn’t have the strength to be a bigger man.

  “So,” she went. “Did you go out into the city at all today?”

  “I certainly did,” I said. “It was illuminating.”

  “Did you have fun?”

  “It was an interesting day.”

  “Darren, why don’t you just tell me what happened to you today,” she said.

  “I told you,” I said not able to keep the whine out of my voice. “I’ve been thinking about the future, and it’s making me sad.”

  “Well, I’ve been thinking about the future, and I’m pretty pumped, to be honest,” said Bailey.

  “Really,” I went. “I’m going to go back to Rome, and you’re going to stay in Memphis. I don’t want to be a downer, but I can’t take my mind off it. You’re all I’ve been thinking about since our eyes met again. I won’t speak for you.”

  “You know I’ve been thinking a lot about you, too,” she insisted. “I’ve been thinking about what it would be like to live somewhere else other than Memphis.”

  “Like L.A.?” I asked. “You could do it. You could achieve the dream.”

  “What do you think of Nashville?” she asked me. “I know you’ve never been, but what do you think of a town like that?”

  “Well, like you said, I’ve never been,” I said. “I don’t think much of towns I’ve never been to. I’ve always wanted to go.”

  “Would you rather live in Memphis or Nashville?” she asked.

  “I’d rather not live in either city, to tell you the truth.”

  “What’s so wrong with Memphis?”

  “For starters, there are too many people,” I responded. “Too many people everywhere. And things are way too expensive here. And, a lot of the people don’t seem all that nice.”

  She grimaced, not wanting to add fuel to the fire.

  “I know not everyone in one place is going to be a jerk, but it sure felt like that’s what I was dealing with today,” I said.

  “Is this just because your food didn’t get delivered?” she asked.

  “It’s because wherever I went, I didn’t feel welcome at all. I went to the pyramid and got looks from damn near every asshat carrying a loaded handgun like I was the crazy one. And, it’s too crowded here. I think it moves a little fast.”

  “What’s wrong with going fast?” she asked.

  “Nothing’s wrong with it,” I said. “What’s wrong with putting our feet on the brakes every so often to cool down? All the people in big cities act like where they’re going is far more important than any place you’ve ever been to in your life.”

  “Ha,” she went. “Try seeing L.A.”

  “I don’t want to see L.A.,” I told her. “I’m not the one that wants to become a famous singer. We were talking hypothetically the other day.”

  We both took some nachos from the bowl, not looking at each other.

  “Plus, you know,” I stammered, “I don’t like seeing more buildings than trees. You know how a lot of cities in Georgia have a good number of places to go to and houses and stuff? And lots of trees, parks, and mountains around? Well it’s kind of a concrete jungle over here, wouldn’t you say?”

  She kept dipping nachos in salsa.

  I cleared my throat, ready to continue. “And, your meter readers here are a bunch of dicks.”

  “Meter readers are dicks no matter where they are, Darren,” she said while flipping her long hair back. “Seriously—for real—what the hell is your problem?”

  “You’re just going to keep prodding then, huh?” I said.

  She looked highly insulted. I wanted to retract my statement but knew I was too late. I decided to try and stay strong.

  “I’m sorry, Bailey,” I said. “I can’t live this kind of life. I already know that Memphis and I aren’t a good fit.”

  “That’s fine,” she responded with obvious anger. “You don’t have to live here.”

  “I’m sorry, I’m just—”

  “What the hell is your problem?” she said glaring at me. “I never asked you to move to Memphis. In fact, I was—fuck it, forget it.”

  “What?” I wondered. “What were you going to say?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she said. “You made yourself clear. You wouldn’t even go look at Nashville, much less consider living there.”

  “What? Okay, now I’m confused.”

  “Obviously,” she said and clicked her tongue. “It’s clear that you don’t want to be here. Maybe it’d be best if you leave.”

  “Leave the restaurant or leave Memphis?”

  “Well, you hate Memphis, so I figured why should you stay here any longer than you need to? You’re only here to be around me. You don’t care about where we are.”

  “Exactly!” I said gleefully.

  This was not what she wanted to hear.

  “I thought you wanted to come see where I lived and do things,” she said.

  “We haven’t gotten the chance to go do a lot of things.”

  “Darren, I’m not going to ask you to stay somewhere you want to get away from,” she said. “I’m sorry I asked you to come along.”

  “That’s not—erg.” I groaned in frustration. “I’m not sorry that I came along. I would never have known how I felt about Memphis unless I got to see it and experience it for myself. Don’t say you’re sorry.”

  “It’s a good thing you didn’t come with me six years ago,” said Bailey. “I would’ve sent you into misery.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I want to be with you,” she told
me. “There, I said it. I don’t want you to leave, either. I can’t afford to think about it. Otherwise, I feel broken.”

  “Bailey, all I want is you,” I cried, crouching up out of my seat to try and move toward hers. “I care for you so much. You know how I feel about you. I just don’t want to be here.”

  “Then, maybe it would be best if you just left,” she repeated. “Go on.”

  I chuckled in disbelief. “You really want me to leave?”

  “Yeah, I think I do.”

  I wiped my mouth and pulled out a wad of dollar bills.

  “Don’t worry about paying,” said Bailey.

  I smirked. “That’s not what we agreed to, missy.”

  I threw the money on the table and began to make my exit.

  “If you aren’t running away, you’re chasing me away,” I grumbled quietly.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Nothing,” I dismissed. “I agree that I should go. I’ll be out of your apartment before you get back to it tonight.”

  I waited for her to challenge me or tell me not to leave for good, but she kept her lips sealed. I considered escalating our argument even higher but chose not to bring up and dwell on things of the distant past.

  I gave her a wink as I walked out the door. “See ya.”

  Chapter 28

  Bailey

  I woke up late with a pounding headache. After the unexpected turn my evening had taken with Darren, I had chosen to end the night by getting drunk alone at a bar and forget about my troubles. Somehow, I ended up back safely in my apartment in my bed, without much of a recollection at all.

  My troubles were slowly coming back to me the longer I stayed awake. I looked on the other side of the bed, around my entire bedroom, and finally in the living room. I realized that Darren wasn’t there. He had either stayed wholly true to his word and hopped on a plane to Atlanta, or he’d just gone to a hotel or somewhere to cool down.

  I went on Facebook, and my curiosity got the best of me. I looked on Darren’s page, and I deduced that he checked in at Atlanta about two hours ago. He was gone.

  It was strange to look down at Emilia, knowing that the last person to handle her was Darren. I was tempted to play her for old times’ sake, but I didn’t even want to move her from where Darren had placed her.

  I went out into the kitchen, looking for something to eat. I opened the fridge, and my heart sunk again: I was staring at our stacks of leftovers from Fuego Caliente, and the argument came screaming back at me.

  I wanted to get rid of all the evidence of his having come to Memphis. I would save moving Emilia for last and begin by devouring our leftovers from the restaurant.

  I hadn’t eaten anything when I arrived back at the house, and I all I had to eat before that was nachos and tequila. So, I had a massive void in my stomach that needed to be filled as quickly as possible.

  I finished off our appetizer quesadillas which were good, but not as good as when it was fresh. I tried to eat the rest of my taco plate, but the meal got soppy and had morphed into a slimy mess. All that was left were his enchiladas, which I ate all but one of.

  I went to the bathroom; mostly out of fear that I was going to vomit up some of the food I’d just eaten. While in there, I took the liberty of taking down Darren’s towel and putting away the ‘male soaps.’

  Once I knew it was safe to cross into other thresholds, I kept up my inspection of the apartment. I found a phone charger that wasn’t mine, as well as one of his shirts. I wanted to get rid of them, but for whatever reason, I wrapped the phone charger in the shirt and put it in the closet.

  Then, I returned to my bed, where I lounged and put on the TV just to have noise on to distract me from the hangover and my emotional peril.

  I looked down at Emilia once again and still couldn’t bring myself to move her back in the closet or lean her against a nearby wall. I’d let her collect so much dust over the last few years. But, in just one day, the dust was cleared, and she seemed brand new again. I didn’t want to ruin it.

  Leah was calling me. I considered not answering, but I knew she’d likely call again until I finally picked up.

  “Yo,” I said upon answering her call.

  “What up, vagina?” asked Leah.

  “Uh, please don’t call me that.” I laughed.

  “Roger that, vagina,” she said. “Hey, why don’t we meet up for lunch? I’m buying. We’ll only talk about the record deal for a little bit. I’d honestly rather hear more about what happened between you and Darren? I’m not sure I understood your texts.”

  “He’s not here anymore.”

  “I don’t get it.”

  “We got into an argument during dinner last night,” I explained. “I told him he should leave Tennessee. And I guess he did exactly that. He’s not here, and it looks like he checked in at Atlanta this morning.”

  “Whoa.” She gasped. “Holy fuck.”

  “Yeah, not the way you thought this was going to go, was it?”

  “I don’t know what I thought was going to happen with you two lovebirds,” said Leah. “All I know is he wasn’t supposed to leave that early.”

  “No, and I’m too hung-over to know whether this is my fault or not.” I groaned.

  “Let’s meet for lunch,” she said. “We’ll get a Bloody Mary in you and some food, and you’ll feel better.”

  “I’m stuffed, dude,” I told her. “I ate a bunch of Mexican food just now.”

  “You ate that after drinking a bunch of booze?” She gasped again. “You’re braver than I thought!”

  “Right, so I’m not sure if I’m going to survive,” I said. “But, if I wake up from this food coma I feel coming on. I’ll text you, and we’ll meet up for food or drinks or some shit. What do you say?”

  “I say get some rest, sleeping beauty,” said Leah. “Text me when you wake up.”

  I didn’t text Leah right after I woke up, but once I was conscious enough, I shot her a text about food. We had a quick few exchanges, which lead us to decide on meeting at Vic’s Waffles. Vic’s had a massive selection of gourmet and signature waffles that I loved scarfing down whenever the need arose, usually after hangovers or on dates.

  We sat down quickly and ordered our large platters of breakfast foods the moment our waitress came over. We knew what we wanted before we sat down.

  “Haven’t been here in forever,” Leah said.

  “I’m ready to get my waffle on and my egg on,” I said while playing with my fork and knife.

  “So, are you going to tell me what’s going on, or do I need to ask you ‘What’s wrong?’ Talk to Dr. Leah.”

  I was too hung-over to care what I said.

  “Darren told me what I already knew,” I began. “He doesn’t like Memphis. He for real is much more comfortable in a place like Rome. I never thought he’d still be in that city. When we first knew each other, I thought he was going to be the one to leave. Isn’t that weird? The path I’m on right now—I expected that to be the journey that Darren went on.”

  “Funny how things turn out, huh?” said Leah.

  “You’ve got that right,” I agreed. “I couldn’t even ask him to come to Nashville with me. He chewed my head off before I had a chance to get a word in.”

  “What set him off?”

  “I’m not sure,” I admitted. “The only time that I wasn’t with him recently was when I went and saw you yesterday for a few hours. I feel like something happened in those few hours to poison him against me, and I’m not sure what.”

  “Projection, maybe?” Leah pondered. “That’s what I think it is.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, you’re both idiots,” she stated abruptly.

  “Thanks?”

  “I’ve been telling you this from the beginning: You’re both too damn stubborn,” said a passionate Leah. “He wants you, more than anything else, to want to go back to Rome and have a quaint, fun life in the country near some big cities. You want hi
m, more than anything else, to want to move here to Memphis or over to Nashville with nothing but you waiting for him.”

  “Wow, that’s kind of fucked up,” I said.

  “It’s nothing personal against you,” she said. “It’s that he has a life out there in Georgia just like you have a life out here. You’re both unwilling to do what either of you wants, and you won’t compromise! Or even let yourselves be heard for a compromise.”

  “Leah, it really was like he snapped or something,” I said. “I don’t know what caused it. Earlier yesterday, we were laughing, smiling and saying corny things to each other. A few hours go by where I leave, and he goes driving around Memphis. I wondered if maybe something bad happened to him while he was wandering around.”

  “Why wouldn’t he tell you about something like that?”

  “I don’t know,” I said holding my head. “When I asked him what was wrong, the only thing he really said clearly to me was that he was thinking about how he was going to have to leave soon. I’d had a similar conversation with him like that before. This time, he just seemed angry.”

  “It’s like the five stages of grief,” said Leah matter-of-factly. “When you guys were on the honeymoon part of your reunion, that was the precursor to denial. Once you guys got off that plane, y’all stepped immediately right into denial. You were both going about your businesses, doing whatever. Living it up. Totally ignoring how it isn’t going to work out with you two.”

  I nodded, filling in the blanks only seconds before Leah filled them.

  “Anger comes next,” said Leah. “That’s where he’s at right now; and, I expect either you are, were, or will be angry quite soon.”

  “I’ve been really frustrated and annoyed lately,” I said. “Does that count as anger?”

  “Maybe, I’m not sure.”

  “So, what comes next—bargaining?” I asked her.

  “That’s right. Or, it would have come next if he stayed the whole eight days. It would’ve come in the form of you both bargaining with God so that time would slow down, and the days together could be longer. You’d be wishing that he could stay just another day or another couple of days.”