by Tigris Eden
“Klaus, I gotta go. Dali’s ready for her bath.”
“Okay, I’ll see you Thursday.”
“Wait, you’re gonna call, right?”
He chuckles over the phone.
“Yeah, gorgeous, I’m calling you. It may be at odd times, though. But what time do you usually get home from work?”
“It really just depends on what cases are on my desk, or if any new ones come across. On a good day, I’m normally home by six.”
“All right, I’ll see what I can do.”
“’Night, Klaus.”
“’Night, Jada.”
Chapter 7
It’s Tuesday. Freaking Tuesday. I haven’t heard one word from Klaus. I’ve been staring at my phone for what seems likes hours, and I refuse to be the stalker. Do not text him. Do not text him. That’s the mantra playing over and over inside my head. Why hasn’t he called? I know he’s working a triple, but a simple text is not hard. Your fingers just fly over the screen, and you press Send. That’s it, it’s not rocket science.
It’s hot out today. It’s the kind of hot mixed with humidity that makes you feel like you’re in a perpetual sauna. But because I don’t want to keep the fur babies inside all day, I decide to make a light salad with some chicken tossed in and eat on the back deck. I also brew up the best batch of sweet tea this side of the Mississippi. I take in my yard and my Dali girl as she lounges on the bottom step of the patio. Poe lounges in the shade, staring longingly at the window, wanting to go inside. Poe is a bit of a snob. But that’s why I adore him so much. He makes sure his thoughts don’t go unanswered.
Thomas mended the fence on the south end of the property, and I can see him coming in for the evening.
“Hey, Thomas,” I call out.
“Hey, Jada.”
He gets closer, and as he moves up the steps, I offer him a seat. Thomas is taller than me, maybe almost six feet, but not quite. He has kind eyes and is easy to talk to. Since he moved to the ranch, I’ve not seen him bring anyone home, and I don’t think he’s seeing anyone. Men usually have a certain aura about them when they’re in a serious relationship. He doesn’t have that at all.
“You want me to fix you a plate?”
“Nah, I’m gonna go have dinner with my cousin.”
My head turns in his direction.
“I didn’t know you had family out this way?”
Come to think of it, there isn’t much I do know about him, except that he came highly recommended by the realtor when I bought the place.
“He’s visiting for a while. Came to scope out the scene, see if it’s somewhere he wants to move to.”
“Well, that’s great. You should invite him over to your place.”
“Yeah, maybe. He’s not much for ranch life, though.”
I laugh.
“Neither am I, but look at me now.” I gesture out at all the land in front of us. I don’t have any animals on the farm yet, but I plan to. Really soon. I just have to get things situated the way I want, and then I plan to open this place up and give ranching a go.
Thomas laughs.
“Yeah, look at you now.”
He stands, tells me goodnight, and then he’s gone. Dali is running around in the yard, and Poe is perched on the rail. He has a serious look in his green eyes, and he’s staring straight at me.
“What now?” I ask my cat.
Poe dips his head and turns in Dali’s direction.
“No one said you had to stay on the porch.”
I swear my cat looks at me as if to say he’s too good to frolic and thinks Dali is wasting her time running around like a crazy person.
“Whatevs, Poe. You sit there. I’m gonna go play catch with Dali. You better hope a hawk doesn’t spot you. I hear cats are on the menu in these parts.”
Poe hisses at me.
See, my animals totally understand what I’m saying.
Before I can even get the ball out from the trunk of toys I have stashed on the deck, my phone rings. I don’t look to see who it is, just answer.
“Hello.”
“Dude!”
It’s Caroline, and she’s screaming in my ear.
“What?” I say back.
“I’m like, not even five minutes from your pad. It’s Wednesday night, I say we get our asses out and do some dancing.”
I groan into the phone. This is my best friend, and I love her, but she seriously needs to take her life down a notch.
“I have work tomorrow.”
“So?”
Typical Caroline.
“So…I have to get up in the morning. Some of us have regular jobs.”
Caroline is smart. She’s a ball buster, and up until last year, she was going to school to get her degree in criminal law. But she dropped out all of sudden. No word, nothing. She won’t even talk about what happened to her while she was away at college. She gets moody, and instead of making her talk about it, I let her get away with bloody murder, which is why I’m going to my room to find something to wear. I’d rather just chill at my house, but she won’t go for it.
“Come on, Jada, be my wingman.”
“Really? You hurting that bad?”
“Nah, not really, just want some guy to feel me up so I can feel good about myself,” she half-jokes. That’s how I know something really bad happened to her while she was away at school.
“You do know if you talk about it, it will get easier.”
“Yeah, well, it will never get easier, and the only way I can cope is on the dance floor, or with a bottle of Crown. Wouldn’t you rather I just dance it off?”
“Yeah, babe, I would.”
She screams into my ear before hanging up.
Not even ten minutes later, she’s walking through my door all done up and ready to catch some bees with her honey. I haven’t mentioned Klaus to her. There just hasn’t been enough time, and that’s when I decide that maybe going out isn’t such a bad idea. It will get your mind off Klaus.
Because he definitely isn’t calling.
Caroline chooses a club I know well. It’s loud, and I can already smell the sweat and alcohol in the air. The DJ is playing Black Eyed Peas, and my friend wastes no time announcing that this is her jam. I take hold of her hand so we don’t get separated. It’s too crowded, and all I can think is that the building is so not up to code. There is only one exit, and there should be at least two additional ways out, and the ventilation inside is horrible. The air is thick, and I swear at any minute, people will start dropping like flies from heat exhaustion.
We start dancing. Caroline throws her entire body into her moves and makes it look like she’s more than available to the men watching. I try and keep to myself. I’m not really feeling tonight. I can’t help but wonder why Klaus hasn’t called. I didn’t do anything wrong. I sure as hell didn’t send out the wrong signal. At least, I don’t think I did. The song switches to Drake’s Hotline Bling, and that’s when I turn around to leave the floor and run right into my ex. Can someone up there please give me a break? It’s like there is a drama cloud overhead, following me around in an eternal episode of Jerry Springer’s worst possible scenario moments.
“I thought that was you.”
Ugh.
Can I just say that the expression, “I threw up a little in my mouth” is a real thing, it’s not just an expression. That shit really happens.
“Jaden.”
“What are you doing here by yourself?” Jaden asks as if he’s truly concerned.
“I’m not alone, and it’s none of your business.”
“Everything you do is my business, Jada. When are you going to realize that?”
“Can we just not do this? I’m exhausted. I don’t want to deal with you right now.”
“Deal with me?” The music is loud, but I can tell he’s getting angry. The vein on his forehead is starting to bulge.
Shit.
I don’t have time for a scene.
“Jaden, you need to turn around and walk t
he other way.”
He grins at me, and it’s not a nice grin either. I don’t know how long we stand there, but the lights get dimmer as Drake’s song ends, and The Weeknd’s Can’t Feel My Face starts going. Caroline takes that moment to realize the situation I’m in when she stops next to me.
“Jaden, what are you doing here?”
“Caroline, I didn’t know they let your type in.”
“Fuck you, Jaden.”
“You’ve already done that, Caroline.” He smirks.
I can’t hear the music anymore. Maybe because I’m in shock.
This is news to me.
I look at Caroline. Her eyes are big, and her bottom lip is quivering. I know Caroline like the back of my hand. I know all her tells.
“Seriously, Caroline?”
“Jada, let me explain.”
I shake my head. I’m too angry, but not because I have residual feelings for Jaden. I have nothing but love for Caroline, and for her to have slept with my ex, well…that is just wrong on all kinds of levels. She might as well have just shoved a big Fuck You sign in my face.
I turn to leave when she grabs my wrist.
“You don’t want to do that, Caroline. Not right now,” I yell over the music.
“You don’t understand, Jada. I was drunk.”
“Right, and let me guess, you didn’t know what you were doing? Am I right?”
“Oh, she knew what she was doing,” Jaden adds.
“Shut up! Shut up!” Caroline yells over the music.
“I’m out of here.”
I push past gyrating bodies, and my face is hot from embarrassment and…wet.
Am I crying?
Shit.
I am.
Stop it, Jada. This isn’t going to be the last time someone hurts you.
This is all too much for me. It sounds lame, right? Well, for me, it isn’t. I can’t help but feel the way I feel. I trusted her. Confided in her all my aches and pains when it came to Jaden. If anyone knows what type of monster he is, it’s her. She witnessed some of his greatest fuck-ups firsthand.
Caroline is supposed to be my go-to gal. My best friend. Why would she hang out with Jaden anyway? I don’t get it. Why keep it from me. She should have come clean. She knew you’d be mad. Well, duh. Of course, I’m mad. I don’t do the ‘you sleep with my boyfriend, and I’ll sleep with yours after you’re done’ game. That’s not cool on so many levels.
When I finally make it outside, I take a deep breath and get myself back together. But the gods of fate and fuck-ups are not done with me. I laugh almost hysterically as I realize I came with Caroline, in her car. I’m not going back in there. No way. I pull my cell from my purse and call for an Uber. I walk off to the side of the building and wait for my ride when I notice a motorcycle. Not just any bike, but a Dyna. It looks just like Klaus’s. Exactly like his, actually. It’s parked at the coffee shop next to the bar, and I can see the occupants inside clearly. Klaus is inside, sitting down at a table and there is a woman sitting across from him.
They are in a serious conversation, and their hands are clasped. Have I mentioned I’m not one for drama? I don’t do drama. I’ve lived it, breathed it, and had Jerry Springer on speed-dial. Plus, I’m the girl that clams up when it comes to personal confrontation. I get all tongue-tied. Sometimes I’m able to get my words out, but when it comes to total devastation—like now—I’m struck dumb. I’m about to turn away, but before I can, I’m blinded by the lights from a large Ford F-350. It gets the attention of the occupants inside the diner because when my vision finally clears, Klaus is staring straight at me.
I’m frozen to the spot.
All I can do is stare back.
It’s obvious he didn’t call me because he was spending his time with the woman across from him. Why does this always happen to me? Like, how is it that I manage to get it wrong, every single time? We’re not in a relationship, I remind myself. All we did is kiss. He’s not married, and maybe he’s done with the whole monogamous thing. So the girl in the shop must be his other side piece. No, that’s not right. I’m the side piece. Bingo.
I don’t cause a scene, and maybe that’s what Klaus expects. Instead, I give him a chin lift, and just like in the movies, before he can even acknowledge me, a car pulls up, and it’s the Uber I called. Perfect timing. I get inside and keep my conversation to a minimum. I just want to get home, take a long bath, and read the new M.L. Olson book.
The moment I get home, I toss my bag on the floor by the door, step out of my shoes, walk to my bathroom, and start my bath. I’m on autopilot. I don’t even remember how I made it out of my clothes and into the tub. The heat from the water calms my nerves, but only for a handful of moments. I start to take big gulps of air into my lungs. I’m not going to freak out. I’m not. I have no ties to any of them. Not a one. Jaden and Caroline can fuck like rabbits until the sun comes up for all I care, and well, Klaus and I aren’t exclusive, we aren’t even a couple, he made it clear he wanted to take things slow. Maybe his idea of slow is a steady girlfriend while he strings me along on the side.
My phone is ringing, but I let it go to voicemail. It’s by the front door anyway. It’s probably Caroline. It isn’t Klaus, that’s for sure. He has to know he can’t call me, not now, not after three days of complete silence, not to mention I saw him with another woman and he knows it. My phone rings again and again. It’s not the work phone, so I’m in the clear. When I finally pull myself out of the tub, I grab my Kindle and make my way over to my reading nook.
I barely swipe the screen on my tablet when there is a loud knock at my door. Dali’s ears perk up, and she’s up, following me as I make my way to the front door.
“Jada, can you open the door please.”
Klaus.
“Why are you here?” I say through the wood.
“You didn’t answer your phone. I got worried.”
I almost laugh.
“Well, I’m fine. You can go now.”
“Jada, open up. I know you saw me.”
“Yeah, I know, you know I saw you.” Wow, people actually say that? I would laugh if this situation were funny.
“So, open up so I can explain.”
Explain? What was there to explain?
“There’s nothing to explain, Klaus. I have no ties to you.”
“Open the door, Jada.” His voice is stern. He even sounds exasperated, like he’s tired of having to explain his actions.
“If I open up and let you explain, will you go away?”
“No.”
“No? Why the hell not?”
“’Cause that’s not what either of us wants.”
“Speak for yourself.”
I hear a thud sound. Like he’s face-planted into my door. I know if I open the door, things are not going to get any better; hell, they may even get worse. Do I really want worse right now?
I fling open the door, and the first thing I notice is Klaus’s sharp intake of breath, the second is that his eyes are blazing blue fire.
I look down and realize I’ve done it again. I’m practically naked. What is it with me and answering the door for him with barely any clothes on?
“I’ll be right back.”
I run to my room and throw on a pair of sweats. When I come back out, he’s in the kitchen, making a pot of tea.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
“Making us some tea.”
“Why?”
“Because you look like you could use some.”
“I don’t recall asking for any.”
“Didn’t say you asked. Now, sit so I can explain.”
I reluctantly slide into the stool at the bar in my kitchen.
Neither of us says anything for a long period of time.
“That wasn’t what it looked like.”
“Says every man who’s been caught red-handed.”
“Jada, you didn’t catch me at anything. You just happened to witness something that looked one way, but was
actually another.”
“How do you figure that?”
Klaus pulls down two cups from my cupboard and rubs Dali on the back of the head. She lets him, too. She’s all about kissing Klaus’s ass. Traitor dog.
“Well, the woman in the diner is a friend.”
“I gathered as much.” I try to put on my game face, but remember, personal confrontation and I go hand in hand about as well as lemon juice and cuts.
“She’s Chops’ old lady.”
Chops’ old lady.
“Okay.”
“She and Chops are thinking of having a baby, and she knows about my situation. So does Chops. They’re just scared. She wanted to know if I thought having a kid was a bad idea.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I told her if she didn’t have a kid, then that in itself would be a bad idea because she and Chops will make terrific parents.”
Now, what do I say?
I sigh loudly. How can I be mad about that? Then I remember, I haven’t heard from him in three days, and I want to be angry all over again. He works at the station. Yeah, he does. But he’s the mechanic.
“Are you going to say anything?” He asks while handing me a steaming cup of tea. He’s chosen my Blueberry Merlot, which happens to be one of my favorites. I take a sip, and my shoulders slouch a bit. I hunch over my cup and take a deep breath before looking up at Klaus.
“What do you want me to say?” I ask, instead of saying what’s really on my mind.
“You can say whatever you want, Jada. Just don’t shut me out.”
“Why? You act like we’re in some kind of relationship, and we’re not. You and I both decided it would make more sense to take things slow.”
He stands taller and rounds the counter to come to stand in front of me. His eyes are searching mine. His dark orbs are intense. He goes from my eyes to my mouth before cursing under his breath. Next thing I feel are his lips coming down on mine and my mind immediately shuts down as my body takes over. It’s like zero to one-hundred in a handful of seconds. I had no clue my body could get that hot, that fast. It’s because I’m sex deprived, I try and rationalize as his tongue sweeps into my mouth and proceeds to own me. My hands go to his waist, and my fingers hook into the loops of his jeans. I tug him between my legs. It’s exactly where he belongs. There is a slight grunt from Klaus, then he’s right back to owning my mouth.
