by T. M. Cromer
“See? Healthy can taste good.”
All he got for his efforts was an eye roll and a snort, which promptly caused her to choke as a piece of lettuce went down the wrong way. Tears streamed down her red face and she struggled to draw in a regular breath without coughing.
“You are a hot mess. But damn me if you aren’t the most adorable one I’ve ever seen.”
Zack left Erica to get a cool, damp washcloth for her. When he returned, she stood rooting through the refrigerator.
She let out a triumphant cry when she found the leftover pizza she’d been referring to earlier.
“Babe, what are you doing?”
“Your health food tried to kill me. It’s time to return to the food that has my back,” she explained, not looking him in the eye.
“No,” he stated firmly.
A cross look flitted across her features. “You can’t tell me no!”
“I believe I just did.”
“Let me phrase this a different way. Who are you to tell me no? I’m a grown adult. I’ll eat whatever I want.”
“Erica, you are a carb junkie, and I’m your personal trainer, as well as your friend. You came to me for help. If you don’t think that gives me license to be on your ass about making healthier choices, you can think again. Now put down the pizza and nobody gets hurt.”
Uh oh! He recognized the look. She was going to make a run for it.
“Don’t do it,” he warned.
The squinting of her eyes tickled his funny bone. He tamped down his laughter.
“You won’t make it out of the kitchen with that box.”
The moment to strike was when she looked at the cardboard container in her hand in contemplation. Darting around the counter, he reached for her just as she realized his intent. The squeal she let out pierced his ears, enough so he paused to cover them. It allowed her to get the jump on him. He had to admit, when she wanted to, the girl could move. However, he was faster.
Zack caught up to her in the breakfast nook area as she was reaching for the French doors to go outside. Snatching the pizza box from her with one hand and grabbing her with the other, he unintentionally got a handful of boob. They both froze in stunned amazement.
“Oh!” she squeaked.
“Oh, crap. I’m sorry!” he said at the same time.
Calculation flashed in her eyes. The little minx planned on taking advantage. He knew it as surely as he knew his own name.
Erica shifted to press fully against him, chest to chest. She tiptoed her fingers across his pecs. The thrill of having her body flush against his own had his brain turning to mush.
“If you give me the pizza back, I’ll give you a look to go along with the feel you copped,” she purred.
His cock twitched in response, but he refused to give in to her demands. That didn’t mean he couldn’t play with her a bit.
“Really,” he murmured, moving his hand from the small of her back to her ass, pulling her closer. “And what would you do if I warmed it up for you? I think looking without touching is cruel.”
“I think something could be arranged.”
“You must really want it… that pizza,” he taunted softly, suggestively.
The soft chuckle she let escape made him go hard. It seemed Erica was a pro at the flirting game. Who knew? She had been such a shy thing when he’d known her.
“I’ll go take care of it,” he offered along with a pat on her butt.
She couldn’t contain her grin of triumph. Little did she know he had no intention of heating up her food. As she leaned across the breakfast bar, unbuttoning the top two buttons of her shirt, Zack had a moment’s pause. Maybe it was worth making her happy. With firm resolve, he shook off the lust and stepped to the other side of the island. Before she could register his intent, he’d opened the box and dumped the contents into the trash then slammed the lid.
“No!” she yelled, charging to where he now lounged against the counter. “You did not just do throw away my food.”
“Yeah, I did. The first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem,” he said, half serious.
The twisting of his nipple had him crying out in pain. He’d forgotten she was as mean as a rattler when she didn’t get her own way.
“You’re a crazy bitch, you know that?”
The comment had him ducking the hand reaching for his balls.
“Knock it off, Erica. You’re going to get hurt,” he warned, hands cupping his privates.
“You won’t hurt me. You’d rather torture me and deny me food.”
Dammit, she was right. He wouldn’t harm her, that wasn’t his thing. “I wouldn’t want to, but I’ll darn well defend myself if you go for the family jewels again,” he retorted.
All at once, they both saw the humor in the situation, and doubled up with laughter.
“Your face!” she crowed.
“You should have seen yours! I don’t think I’ve seen anyone so enraged—like ever. Well, minus this morning and your coffee tantrum.”
“Yeah, well, let this be a lesson to you.”
“I don’t give in to terrorists. You want to play hardball, missy, we can play hardball.”
“Pfft! Whatever. Can we order a pizza now?”
He stared at her incredulously. “What part of ‘no’ didn’t you understand?”
“Well, you don’t need to be rude about it.” She grabbed what remained of the grilled chicken salad and sailed out the door.
The next week passed without any major incidents from their stalker. Zack wondered if whoever had been tormenting them had moved on. Or perhaps he or she was waiting for them to lower their guard before striking again. Either way, Zack was enjoying having Erica stay with him.
While her hours were the polar opposite of his, the in-between times when they shared a meal or watched a program on the television were fun. She had a way of viewing life that, while quirky, was refreshing and different. Maybe it was the artistic side of her, or maybe life shaped her that way, but he absolutely loved it.
With a lot of complaining, she agreed to all of his health improving rules. The exception was her morning coffee. The first one still had to have cream and three sugars, but any cups consumed afterward were reduced to one sugar. That wasn’t to say she still didn’t try to barter small sexual favors when she wanted something. Being on the receiving end of her creative come-ons always had him laughing. He wondered if she did it as a joke, but in reality, he almost caved time and time again. What would she do if he said yes? The thought teased him and kept him awake at night.
Yet, some of their more intimate moments came when they were serious; a glance over dinner, a brush against one another while preparing a meal together, or hand holding during a scary movie. Each day their necking became a little more heated, pushing the limits a little farther. He could hardly wait to go all the way. She’d had him tied up in knots like a horny teenager. If things had been different all those years ago and she’d taken his interest for what it was, maybe it would have played out this same exact way. He’d like to think so.
They were setting the table when he asked her why she wrote at night as opposed to normal daytime work.
“I find I’m more business-minded during the day and creative in the evenings. From roughly noon to three, I take care of marketing, emails, and the administrative side of my job. I start working plot lines and character development from about three until dinner. Then about nine, I sit down to write the meat of the story.” She paused in her chore to form the words to try to get him to understand. “There is a freedom and sense of timelessness when the world sleeps. It feels like I can tap into the creative energy circling the universe.”
“That makes perfect sense. When I run in the morning, before the world wakes up, there is a freedom in that, too.”
“I want to understand, but my mind shut itself off on the word run,” she joked.
“You’re impossible. Now come help me in the kitchen. You can put the salad together w
hile I finish up the rest of the meal.” Zack dropped an arm across her shoulders and led her from the room. “By the way, my son’s grandfather will be popping in for dinner tonight. He’s been checking on a few things down at the police department for me. If everything is okay, Jacob will be returning with his grandmother tomorrow.”
“Oh.”
The tone of her voice alerted him something about his statement bothered her. He pulled back slightly to look at her.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just didn’t realize all this was coming to an end so soon. Somehow I had forgotten I needed to look for a place to stay.”
“Why would you need to look for a place to stay? Aren’t you comfortable here?” Zack asked, alarmed at the thought of her leaving.
* * *
There was a quality in the tone of Zack’s voice which grabbed Erica’s attention. Whereas initially she’d thought he was trying to give her the hint to leave, it became more apparent with his words it wasn’t his intention at all. Relief exploded in her chest.
“I’m perfectly happy here, Zack. But I worry I’m cramping your lifestyle,” she explained.
“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have a lifestyle to cramp. Single dad, remember?” he laughed.
And just like that, Erica felt adrift again. Was he only using her because he was bored? Old insecurities took hold. The feeling of not being good enough, like in school with the cool kids, flooded back.
“Maybe I should move in with Shonda.”
Erica and Shonda had been friends as long as she could remember. From the time they were little kids living next door to each other, they’d been inseparable.
“She should be back from vacation by now. It’s odd I haven’t heard from her though,” she said.
“You want to move out?”
“I think it’s time, don’t you?” Please ask me to stay, her mind screamed.
“Sure, if that’s what you want.”
“Fine.” His casual dismissal hurt. She’d been convinced they were developing a relationship. Apparently not. The need to be alone to lick her wounds overwhelmed her. “Um, ya know, I’m not really hungry. Why don’t I leave you to talk to Jacob’s grandfather alone?”
Without waiting for his reply, she put down the knife she held and went to her room. God, she’d been so freaking stupid. The crushing weight in her chest attested to the fact she’d once again set herself up for a fall. Her luck with men sucked. The only bonus was they hadn’t had sex. Erica wasn’t sure she could have recovered from doing the deed with Zack. If she’d already fallen this far, this fast, then making love with him would only add to her heartache.
Chapter Seven
Hunting for a rental in a small town was an exercise in futility. Most people owned their own homes, and there were only a few duplexes which boasted long-term lease options. However, they already had those leases in place. Erica knew she’d have to expand her search, but she hated the idea of living elsewhere. Stonebrooke had been her hometown for her entire life. She was comfortable here. It didn’t hurt she knew most of the cashiers at the grocery store, and they all overlooked her bagging quirks.
And where the hell was Shonda? It was as if her friend had disappeared off the face of the earth. Erica had left countless voicemails for her bestie, along with blowing up her phone with text messages. Zack’s son would be home today, and she didn’t want to be a third wheel for their reunion. She supposed faking a date would be an appropriate excuse to get out of the house. With no leads on a residence, she headed back to Zack’s place.
“Honey, I’m home!” she called out to McFatty.
What she hadn’t expected was for Zack to be sitting in the living room with his son, game controllers in their hands.
“Oh. Crap. I… um…” Erica trailed off.
Awkward.
The mischievous gleam in Zack’s eyes had a blush tinging her cheeks.
“Sorry. You must be Jacob. Hi, I’m Erica,” she babbled. Having had no experience with children, she was clueless as to what to say.
“Hey,” Jacob muttered. He refused to meet her eyes and continued playing his video game.
Great, he was one of those kids who probably thought all adults were dumb as a box of rocks.
“Okay then. I’ll just leave you guys to it. Have fun.”
“Erica, wait.”
Zack’s deep voice commanded her attention. She paused in her retreat.
“Why don’t you join us?”
“I’m not sure how to play. I’d only slow you down,” she hedged.
“We can teach you. How ‘bout it, Jacob?” He directed the last question at his son and received a shrug in answer.
A dark frown settled between Zack’s brows as he continued to stare at Jacob. What he was trying to accomplish with his glare was beyond her, but she could tell him the boy was oblivious to anything but the TV screen and the action going on there.
The best thing was to drop the excuse bomb and get the heck out of Dodge. “I appreciate the offer, but I have plans. Maybe another time.”
The glare was now directed at her.
“Plans? What kind of plans?”
“A date, if you must know.”
“A date? You are going on a date?” The fury in his tone had her taking a step back. Even Jacob pressed the pause button to watch as the drama unfolded.
“Yeah, uh… it was set up weeks ago. Before my house caught fire,” she fibbed, unable to look him in the eye.
When she finally did look up due to the heavy silence, the coldness on his face made her heart clench.
“I see,” he said, ice dripping from those two small words.
Erica bit her lip, torn between wanting to confess the truth and letting him believe she truly had scheduled a date. If she didn’t know any better, she would have sworn she’d hurt him with her comment.
“Don’t let us keep you.”
Unable to look at him a moment longer, she sliced a glance to Jacob. Their gazes locked. He stared at her as if he knew she were lying. With a shrug, he turned back to the television. She’d been dismissed in his eyes. Oddly enough, that bothered her, too. What the hell was wrong with her? Had she expected the kid was going to welcome a total stranger with open arms?
“Well, goodnight. Have fun with your video game,” she said. Lame, lame, lame. She couldn’t get out of there fast enough.
Since she wasn’t very hungry now, Erica decided to take her time to get ready for her fake date. A nice long bubble bath was the ticket. Maybe it would help ease some of her tension from making up such a whopper of a story. She’d never been good coming up with lies. Funny, since she was a writer.
She’d just relaxed into the water when a knock came on the outer bedroom door. Shit! Had she locked it? What if the kid decided to barge in?
“Erica?” Zack’s low voice drifted to her.
“I’m in the bathroom, Zack,” she called, hoping he would get the hint and leave.
No such luck. Instead he came to rest just inside the doorway. His eyes raked over her suds-covered form. Even knowing he couldn’t see below the surface of the bubbles, she still experienced a chill.
“What part of ‘I’m in the bathroom’ made you think it was an invitation?” she snarked.
Amusement flashed in his frosty blues before he tamped it down.
“Where are you going and who are you going with?” he asked.
“What?”
“I asked—”
“I know what you asked, Zack. What I’m curious about is why you think it’s any of your damn business?”
“Seriously? You have a damn stalker, Erica, or did you forget about that?”
“How can I? I’m homeless because of some maniac’s obsession with you,” she retorted.
“Regardless, I think you should cancel your date.”
He’d practically spat the last word, making Erica believe maybe he was more bothered by the thought of her being out with another guy rather than by
some phantom attacker.
“Are you jealous?”
“No!” he hotly denied. “Why the hell would I be jealous?”
“You totally are! You’re jealous!” she crowed, elated at the idea of him caring.
“I am not jealous!” he stormed. “Whatever. Do what you want. You intend to anyway.”
As he spun on his heel to leave, Erica called his name.
“Zack!”
While he didn’t leave, he also didn’t turn around.
“I don’t have a date,” she said softly.
Whirling back around, he pinned her with an intense stare. After a moment of studying her, relief flashed across his face. “Oh, thank God!”
Two strides had him at her side and hauling her up from the water. With little regard for his clothing getting soaked, he pulled her flush against his hard body. Just before his lips dove to claim hers, he growled, “Don’t ever put me through that again.”
She reveled in his kiss. Erica didn’t want to think about where he’d learned that particular skill, but he excelled at it. The way his lips worked hers, his tongue explored her mouth, his hands gripped her—one around the waist and the other cupping the back of her head—all served to turn her on as nothing ever had.
“Hey, Dad,” came from her room.
“Jesus, Mary, and Joseph,” Erica swore, jerking out of Zack’s embrace. Unfortunately, she’d still been standing in the tub and slipped, landing flat on her ass, sending a tidal wave of water and bubbles over the porcelain edge to drench Zack from crotch down to his feet.
She sat mortified by the whole incident, terrified his son would enter and see her bodacious tatas floating like buoys on the ocean. Her hands came up to cover her chest as she ducked completely under the water, head and all.
“Get out, Jacob,” Zack bellowed, loud enough she heard him from below the surface. “You know better than to walk into an adult’s room without knocking.”
* * *
Once he’d redirected his overly-curious boy, Zack reached down to assist Erica into a sitting position. She looked like a drowned rat. Unable to contain his laughter, he plopped down on the edge of the tub and let loose.
