by T Gephart
There was still a chance. It was Saturday, the chances of getting a last-minute babysitter was slim. And because both Judith and Will worked all through the week, they liked to spend as much time with Louis and Bridget as they could. They were good parents, and they weren’t about to dump their two adorable cherubs to go on a magic mystery tour for me.
“Tia.” Judith’s voice filled my ear. “What’s wrong, you never call on a Saturday.”
“Nothing’s wrong.” My cheeks hurt from trying to maintain the smile. “I just wanted to see how my amazing big sister was.”
“Will, Tia’s in jail,” Judith yelled somewhere in the distance. “Where are you?” Her attention directed back to me. “Remember, don’t say anything, you’re likely to incriminate yourself.”
“I’m not in jail.” The crazed laugh didn’t help my cause. “I just wanted to ask you something. Now, no pressure, I know it’s short notice.” Or at least I prayed it was.
Eric pulled the phone from my hand and unprecedented panic took every ounce of air from my lungs. I couldn’t breathe, the organs housed in my chest responsible for inflating absolutely paralyzed.
“Hi, Judith, it’s Eric. We met briefly last week.”
Make it stop. Make it stop.
Expelliarmus. Expelliarmus Goddamn it!
“Yes that’s right. Larsson.” He winked at me as he confirmed who he was. “I was hoping you and your husband, Will, might be able to join us tonight. I have a special surprise planned for Tia and I’d love to have you share it with her.”
“Don’t guilt her.” I tugged at his arm, desperate to get the phone back. “It’s my surprise after all.”
“Yes, tonight around nine.” He ignored me. “I know it’s short notice, you think you can get a sitter?”
“That sounds great. I’ll get your number from Tia and text you the details.”
It was a car crash. I could see it spinning out of control about to hit head on with an eighteen-wheeler, and I was powerless to stop it.
“Here you go.” He handed me back my cell, pleased with himself beyond measure as we went to sit on the couch.
“Judith?” The phone back at my ear.
“Sounds like we’re in for a fun evening.” She laughed, thoroughly enjoying the situation. “I can’t wait to see where this ends up.”
“You know if something comes up and you can’t make it.” I concentrated all my mental power into trying to send subliminal messages. “We’d understand. I know how busy you both are. It would be okay. Honestly.”
“And miss this? Are you kidding me?” Another laugh. “Probably would have been easier if you were in jail, huh?”
“Yeah, no shit.”
“See you tonight.” She gave me a gleeful goodbye.
“Uh-hm. Can’t wait.”
As my cell phone lowered, two glacier-blue eyes staring at me met mine. A smirk across his lips.
“You seem worried, is there a reason you don’t want your sister there?”
“Other than the curse I already told you about? No, of course not.”
“Good.” He rubbed his hands together evil villain style as he rose off the couch. “I have some things I need to organize for the rest of your surprise. You think you can keep yourself out of trouble until tonight?”
“Oh, I don’t know. There’s a gas station I’ve been meaning to hold up, now that my afternoon’s free, I could do that.”
The idea of being incarcerated only mildly less appealing than the hell I was probably going to endure until I found out.
“Try and be good.” He strode over to where I was sitting and gave me a lingering kiss. “I’ll be here at eight to pick you up. You can ask your friend Lila if she wants to come, the more the merrier.”
“And where will I tell her we’ll be going?” I mean, it was worth a shot, right?
“Nice try.” Another kiss. “Write down your sister’s number.”
There was no point giving him a fake number, if he’d found mine, he’d be able to find hers. And it was probably prolonging whatever suffering I already had coming to me.
“Here.” I handed him the Post-it I’d scribbled Judith’s cell number on. “I’m so excited.” I waved my imaginary pom-poms in the air.
“You’re such a bad liar.” He smiled tucking the Post-it into his pocket. “I’ll see you soon.” He gave me another lingering kiss before heading back out the door.
In blurred panic, my fingers speed dialed Lila as I paced around my living room.
“Lila,” I barked into the phone the minute she’d picked up. We had no time for pleasantries or hellos.
“Tia, what’s wrong?”
“Epic level shit is what’s wrong.” My feet continued to burn a hole in the floor. “Eric is planning something and I don’t know what it is, but he’s invited Judith and Will. It sounds bad. Oh my God, it’s going to be bad. You need to be there with me.”
The room started to spin as my vision slowly blackened at the edges.
“You’re hyperventilating, you need to calm down before you pass out.” Her steady voice attempted to talk me off the ledge.
“If I pass out, that’s a good excuse for not going out, right?” I sucked in more air. “Maybe I should go to an emergency room.”
“Tia, let’s try starting at the beginning.” Her voice was so soothing, so in control—why couldn’t I be more like her?
The details came out in a rush, telling her all about the cryptic surprise and phone conversation with my sister. I couldn’t even guess what it could be.
“You don’t think he’s going to propose, do you?” Lila asked, spit balling ideas.
“Please, we’ve know each other for five minutes. I’m the crazy one in this relationship.”
It hadn’t even entered into my mind, there was no way he would ask me to marry him. Hell, we hadn’t even done the I love you thing yet. He wasn’t that guy. He’d never been engaged before even though he’d had long-term relationships. Who even knew if he wanted to get married? Not like we’d talked about important stuff like marriage or kids.
Crap. I was going to pass out.
“I’m worried this is the end,” I heard myself saying, my heart hurting more than just a little at the prospect. “I’m not ready for this to be over.”
“Don’t be silly, Tia.” Lila gave a soft chuckle. “He obviously cares about you, whatever happens tonight isn’t going to be some crazy catalyst. He probably wants to spoil you. Meet your friends and family, I’m sure it’s not bad.”
She could be right. She had to be right.
“It won’t end,” I said to myself more than to Lila. “Not when I’m starting to fall in love with him.”
“Tia, you’re falling in love with him?” I could hear the sympathy in her voice. I didn’t fall in love easy, but when I did, I fell hard. “You need to tell him the truth.”
“I will. I promise.”
I just needed to find the right time.
I’D TAKEN A XANAX.
It was the only way I was going to get through the night without having a panic attack or drinking myself into a stupor. And with the edge knocked off, I was able to get myself ready for my mystery date.
I had no idea what to wear.
Eric had messaged earlier in the day saying to dress comfortable. Comfortable? Was he taking me on a hike? What did comfortable even mean? I was comfortable in a pair of panties and an old sleep shirt, but I wasn’t going to be rocking that in public. I needed specifics.
So rather than trying to get further information from him—he was a locked vault, I was getting nothing—I called Judith and begged her to tell me what I should wear. She didn’t give me shit initially but eventually I appealed to her need to be appropriately dressed for the right occasion, so she finally caved and told me to wear jeans, a nice top and heels. That, I could work with.
It was seven thirty when there was a knock at my door, my mascara wand still in my hand as I unlocked the twenty billion locks.
“Hey, you loo
k great.” Lila pulled me in for a hug, nodding approvingly at my tight black halter neck top and skinny jeans. “Any clues?”
“Nope, nothing. Eric should be here soon though, so I guess we’ll find out,” I responded calmly. Xanax was a wonderful thing.
Lila got comfortable on the couch while I continued to get ready.
Eric arrived right at eight, entering the apartment followed closely by Ryan.
“Hi, Ryan.” Lila gave him a bright smile.
She might have been the more sensible one of the two of us but she wasn’t blind. Ryan was looking particularly good tonight, and I was positive it had something to do with knowing Lila was going to be with us.
“What, no hug?” He circled his arms around Lila not asking permission before giving her a squeeze. “Did you miss me?”
“I’ve been busy.” She wiggled out of his hug not looking all that annoyed.
“Hey you.” Eric bypassed the Lila/Ryan sideshow as he pulled me in close. “I’ve wanted to do this all day.” His lips moved to my neck as he lifted me off the floor.
“We could stay here,” I suggested. “Make out on the couch.”
“Sounds good to me.” Ryan winked at Lila.
“Nope, too late.” Eric breathed in my ear. “We have plans. Besides we wouldn’t want to stand up your sister and brother-in-law, would we?”
“Right, should we be going then?” Better to get it over with.
“I just know you are going to love it.” Eric lowered me back to the floor, his eyes so full of excitement I was starting to feel bad. He’d obviously gone to a lot of trouble; the least I could do was act appreciative.
“I can’t wait.” I gave his hand a squeeze as I grabbed my purse. “I know it is going to be awesome.”
Eric circled his arm around my waist, walking to the front door. I took my time, making sure every one of the locks were engaged and then rechecked before the four of us piled into the elevator and went down to the street level.
The black SUV with the super tinted windows Ryan had been driving was parked on the street. Mental note. Ask Eric if they had a fleet of them in different cities or if they rented them from the secret service.
Eric held open the door as I climbed into the back, following me in, and shut the door, leaving Lila sitting up front in the passenger seat. She didn’t seem to mind and Ryan seemed happy he wasn’t sitting solo like he usually was when Eric and I were in the car.
“You’re going to need to put this on.” Eric handed me a silk, black blindfold as the ignition started.
In different circumstances the appearance of a silk blindfold would have been exciting. Hell, I would have welcomed it. Silk ropes, a ball gag—sure, I was game. But getting into a car and being told to cover your eyes didn’t usually lead to good things. I’d seen the movies; I knew how this turned out.
The wearer—me in this case—was either dumped in an abandoned alley or taken to the leader of a crime family or drug cartel. Neither of those scenarios were ideal considering I was wearing four-inch heels and running away usually followed.
“You’re not serious.” I laughed nervously, looking at the soft fabric eye mask dangling between my fingers.
“Very serious.” Eric’s head tilted to the blindfold. “You don’t want to ruin the surprise, do you?” Cue the sexy eyes I couldn’t say no to.
Oh, he was good. At some point he’d worked out my weakness, one of those looks from him and I’d agree to just about anything. Who am I kidding, I’d agree to anything even without the look.
“No, but I have no idea where we are going.” I was stalling, trying to delay the inevitable. “And I promise I’ll act surprised when we get there. I’ll even close my eyes.”
“You’ll peek.” His brow rose, daring me to deny it.
“She will,” Lila called from the front. “She’s predictable like that.”
“You’re supposed to be on my side.” An annoyed glare was fired across to where she was sitting. “Why doesn’t she have to wear a mask?”
“Because it’s your surprise.” Eric took the blindfold from my fingers and took my chin into his hands. “Look at me, Tia. I promise I won’t let anything bad happen to you. Do you trust me?”
With my life—the thought kept to myself.
“Yes, I trust you.” I nodded as he slid the mask over my eyes, my world plunging into darkness.
With one of my senses deprived, everything else heightened. Eric’s fingers along my arm, the hum of the engine, each bump in the road. It was all amplified, the skin on my arms pimpling as I traveled into the unknown.
It wasn’t a long drive, shorter than I’d anticipated, when the car came to a stop and I felt Ryan maneuver into a parking spot.
“Oh.” I heard Lila gasp from the front seat.
The gasp on its own did not mean good things, coupled with the oh, and it spelled a world of trouble.
“Can I take it off?” My hands lifted to my eyes, anxious to see where I was as my pulse hammered out of control.
“No, not yet.” Eric pulled my hands away and laid them in my lap. “I’m going to come around and open the door and help you out.”
Awesome, so at least I wouldn’t fall on my face as I got out of the car.
The door beside me opened, a gentle breeze hitting my bare arms as I let Eric take my hands and ease me out of my seat. His fingers wrapped around my waist steadying me on my feet as he walked slowly behind me, guiding me like a marionette in the direction he wanted me to go.
“So are you going to tell me anything?” My head turned from side to side trying to decipher noises. The faint sound of music mixed with the bustle of traffic.
A bar.
It had to be a bar.
“You’ll find out soon enough,” he whispered, his hot breath against my ear.
Translation: He wasn’t telling me shit.
“There are two steps, New York.” His hands shifted to my hips, tapping to indicate when I’d come to one. “Go slow, this would really suck if you broke a leg or something.”
Ryan and Lila both erupted into laughter.
“It’s not funny, assholes,” I hissed in my imposed blindness, my arms Frankenstein-ing in front of me.
“Ignore them.” Eric continued to guide me up one step and then the other, my feet stepping onto something soft and squishy. Carpet. Or a welcome mat. Definitely no longer pavement.
“Mr. Larsson, a pleasure.” A voice I didn’t recognize greeted us. “And this must be Ms. Monroe.”
“Um, yes.” I held out my hand in the vague direction of the voice. “Hi.”
A hand clasped against mine and shook it before responding. “We’re ready for you.”
What. The. Fuck.
My head literally swam with possibilities—none of which I’d want my sister, brother-in-law and best friend present to see.
“Let’s go through the back door.”
Lord, not words I wanted to hear considering my number one guess of our location was some kind of sex club.
“You guys can go inside through the front door, I’ll get Tia where she needs to be.” Eric’s voice turned to the side, his directions to Ryan and Lila.
“Tia.” I felt Lila squeeze my arm. “You’re going to be okay, just don’t freak out.”
“Well, I wasn’t until you told me not to.” My breathing started to quicken.
“She’ll be fine. I will be with her the whole time.” Eric squeezed the other arm.
We stepped through what I assumed was another doorway—it could have been the gates of hell at this point—the breeze that had been hitting my bare skin stopping instantly. Wherever we were, we were inside something.
Bar.
Club.
Hades.
The music was louder here and not necessarily current—which ruled out club—it was more eye-of-the-tiger inspiration type stuff that would be played at a rally of some kind. There were voices too; laughing, talking competing with whatever get-pumped tune was playing.
>
Eric continued to guide me, subtly turning my body in the direction he wanted me to travel until I heard the echo of my heels on a hardwood floor. We were no longer on the carpet.
And that’s when I heard the unmistakable hush, the music being dimmed and the heat of overhead lights.
Oh. God.
This wasn’t hell.
This was worse.
I was on a fucking stage.
“Okay, you can look now,” Eric whispered into my ear, my fingers lifting the blindfold from my eyes.
The spotlights seared my retinas, whatever sight I’d gained giving me a fuck you as white dots covered my vision. Not that I needed to see, the applause that had started confirming any doubt.
“You were saying how you’d lost your love for acting, and I remember you said you were thinking of doing some theatre. So here we are.” His arm gestured to the room in front of us. People sitting around tables looked at me.
And there, front and center was Judith and Will, fucking smiling their asses off. Lila—who was sitting next to them—at least had the decency to try and hide her grin.
“Oh, Eric.” The shock I was experiencing did not have to be manufactured. “You shouldn’t have.” As in seriously, you should not have done this.
And this wasn’t just any stage either, Eric had taken me to the Brooklyn Barn—a place comedians, poets, musicians and actors came to test out material and find their chops on open mic nights. I’d been one time when I was in college when the dude I was dating was convinced he could do stand up. The interior hadn’t changed and neither had my desire to ever come back. Yet there I was, on the fucking stage.
“I’m right here with you, New York.” He gave me a hug, beaming with such pride it hurt to look. “It’s going to be amazing.”
If I’d ever had a reason to turn to religion, this would have been it. I’d never uttered so many silent prayers to so many deities in my life. Jesus, regular God, the Viking gods, and all the saints. I was covering all my bases, hoping someone up there would take pity on me.
“Thanks everyone.” He waved the crowd into a hush. “This is Tia, and I know she’s as excited as I am to be here.”
Excited? I felt like I was dying, my heart was beating so fast I was positive it was probably going to explode.
