by Erika Rose
Stefan stood watching his father at a loss for words. His father had never been that honest with him. “I’m sorry dad, it won’t happen again. Thanks for taking a chance in there.”
A rare smile split his father’s face in two. “You’re my son, sometimes our wacked-out ideas work.”
His father slapped him on the back before pressing the button for the elevator. They stood waiting in silence, but for the first time in a very long time the silence was easy; not filled with tension and disappointment. Stefan couldn’t help but wonder: had he made his father proud by being right?
CHAPTER 5
Tuesday afternoon Sasha walked the few blocks home. She could have taken a taxi but it was such a lovely spring afternoon that she enjoyed the walk. It had been a long day, the only day of the week her classes ran back to back for most of the day. She walked along West Broadway towards Broome Street when her backpack fell from her back, crashing into the asphalt.
“Bugger!” She said bending down and gathering all the spilled contents. She looked up to find a man with a baseball cap low over his face nearly walk over her. He said something under his breath and kept walking.
After making sure she had put everything back, Sasha surveyed the straps. She had known for weeks the one strap was wearing thin, but with her luck the other one had just torn. The strap hanging on by a few threads was still in place. Not wanting to chance it Sasha picked it up and carried it in front of her chest.
She stepped into her favorite coffee shop and ordered her regular tall skinny macchiato. As she waited for the barista to make her coffee she noticed the man with the ball cap outside looking right at her. A strange uneasiness overcame her. Her father had once told her to always be on guard; it wasn’t unheard of for Senators daughters to be kidnapped for ransom. It wasn’t the ransom that worried him; it was what they would do to her until he paid them.
Fear clutched her throat when the barista called out her order. Sasha quickly grabbed the cup and rushed outside. She walked a few blocks south and then every second block north until she reached Broome Street hoping to lose Mr. Ball Cap. Before heading into the building, she glanced down the street to see if Mr. Ball Cap had followed her. Sure enough, she saw him coming her way a couple of yards out.
Sasha gripped her backpack tighter to her chest and all but ran into the building. She took the stairs two at a time, too afraid of being caught in an elevator with Mr. Ball Cap. Her fingers fumbled with the keys as she tried to unlock the apartment door; finally, she managed to slip the key into the lock and twist. Within a second she was inside and locked the door behind her.
Her breath was coming in short nervous gasps as she pulled out her phone to call her father. She let the bag drop to the floor and searched for her father’s number. Just as she was about to hit the call button, she realized what the consequences of that call would be. A full-time body guard and moving back home…
Sasha slipped down against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chest. She couldn’t, not after having tasted freedom. She couldn’t go back to living with her parents and having someone with her at all times. Privacy had become something Sasha valued and needed. She chewed her bottom lip thinking of a solution.
A taser!
That’s it! She nodded, impressed with herself. A taser shot 50 000 volts of electricity if you used it right. She would get a taser and keep it in her pocket; she wouldn’t be calling her father after all. This time she was taking care of herself.
Kris came in with Sasha still sitting on the floor. “Sasha, what’s wrong?” Kris asked concerned.
A smile tugged at the corners of Sasha’s mouth. “Absolutely nothing,” she said as she stood up. “Although I might need to borrow a backpack from you tomorrow.”
The following afternoon Sasha kept an eye out for Mr. Ball Cap as she left campus, and surely enough she spotted him as she walked through Washington Square Park. Following instinct, she joined a group of students walking down West Broadway until she reached the coffee shop. She ordered her regular and grabbed a seat. She didn’t have a plan of action but knew she was safer in the coffee shop than outside with Mr. Ball Cap on her heels. Opening her laptop, she started working on an assignment and lost track of time amidst the noise and scent of freshly ground coffee when a familiar voice whispered in her ear.
“Miss me?”
Sasha couldn’t help the smile that crossed her face. “Maybe.” She said just as softly.
Stefan walked around the table and sat down. “So, why did you ditch me?” He asked with his charming smile, those light green eyes looking into her soul.
Sasha didn’t want to tell him about the internet stalking that her and Kris had done and instead decided on another truth. “I’m too busy to be dating at the moment.”
“Well that’s a crap excuse.” Stefan laughed.
Sasha felt the blush creep into her cheeks as the same bolt of attraction from Friday night shot through her. He was so attractive… She literally had to stop herself from drooling.
“No, it’s not. I’m pre-law at NYU and that takes up most of my time.”
“And what do you do with the rest of your time?” Stefan asked leaning with his forearms on the table.
The scent of woodlands, spice and something unapologetically sexual drifted over her. This was a man who could make her lose her head.
“I study.” She laughed.
“All work and no play makes for a bad lay.” Stefan eyes shot wide as he held up a hand. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you, it’s something my one friend says.”
Sasha laughed at both the quote and the delivery. “It’s okay.”
“So, can I join you for coffee?” Stefan asked glancing at the barista before looking at her for her answer.
“Sure.” Sasha answered saving her document and shutting down her laptop.
“Great.”
Sasha watched as Stefan called out an order to the barista who frowned at him but nodded anyway. This wasn’t the sit down and order coffee type of coffee shop; more the get in the queue or don’t get coffee kind. A few minutes later the barista set the coffee down in front of Stefan with a grunt and held out his hand for money. Stefan slapped a twenty into his palm which had the barista smiling from ear to ear.
“So, you’re a big tipper?” Sasha said easily.
“Yes, why? Is that a bad thing?” Stefan asked sipping on his coffee.
“Well, do you know what my friends say about big tippers?” Sasha raised her brows before continuing. “A big tipper is either trying to prove something or is trying to make up for lacking in a … certain department.”
It was Stefan’s turn to burst out laughing. Sasha watched his perfect straight teeth and wondered what it would be like to kiss him. She would bet money that he was a good kisser.
“Nice one. Although I don’t think it applies to me, just call me generous.”
“Right, that’s what all big tippers say coincidentally.” They shared a smile and their eyes met. For a moment, the coffee shop didn’t exist and it was just the two of them. Sasha broke the intimate glance first.
“So what are you doing here? You’ve obviously never been to this coffee shop before.” Sasha said, gesturing towards the now very happy barista.
“My private investigator told me you liked coming here after class.” Stefan said arrogantly as he leaned back in his chair.
“Your what?” Sasha asked furiously.
“The guy I hired to follow you.” Stefan shrugged.
Sasha thought about running from Mr. Ball Cap yesterday and again this afternoon. The bad night she spent rolling around in her bed after nightmares of being kidnapped kept waking her up. Mr. Ball Cap was Stefan’s private investigator, was her guess.
“Does your investigator wear a ball cap?” She asked with narrowed eyes.
“Billy? Yes, always. Why?”
“You can tell Billy I noticed him yesterday and again today; that
’s why I’ve been sitting in this damn coffee shop for nearly two hours. I noticed him following me today and I was too afraid to step outside. I thought he was a serial killer or a kidnapper for Christ’s sake!”
Stefan’s eyes widened. “Shit, I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just, I didn’t know how to find you.”
“You could’ve called.” Sasha bit back as she packed everything back into the backpack she had borrowed from Kris.
“Sasha, don’t go. I’m sorry I didn’t think it would frighten you and since you blew me off via the text I didn’t want to chance phoning you and being blown off again. I had to see you.”
“Well now you did and believe me, you won’t again, so you can call Billy the ball cap off!”
Sasha picked up her backpack and shrugged it on before all but running out of the coffee shop, leaving Stefan alone with his conscience.
Sasha slapped her feet against the asphalt in a hurry to get home. How is it possible that she completely missed his stalker-streak? Chastening herself she kept her head down and hurried along. She paid no attention to the beggar holding out his hat or the street musician strumming out a popular song on his guitar. Fury bubbled through her; apparently other pedestrians noticed as for the first time in a long while no one bumped into her as she marched towards Broome Street.
She had almost put Friday night out of her mind and now Stefan showed up just to remind her how much she liked him before he revealed his stalker ways. What a douchebag! Why was it that the perfect ones were always taken, gay or had some kind of freak flag? Why was it that she always attracted the freak-flags? Up until Friday night she had luckily never been attracted to any of them but with Stefan, the attraction had been imminent. She could still feel his hot breath on her neck as he whispered in his husky voice.
Chills ran down her spine at the thought. He was really something. A private detective. Deep down she felt mildly flattered in a perverted way. He really was adamant about seeing her again, but the fact that she had spent the last twenty-four hours contemplating on how to escape when she was kidnapped made her even madder.
Sasha hadn’t had a good mad on in a long time. It felt justified, and it felt good. She wasn’t going to let him get into her head again.
Her leg muscles burned from the exertion but she wasn’t going to stop until she had locked the door firmly behind Stefan, figuratively and physically.
CHAPTER 6
Stefan watched confusedly as Sasha stormed out of the coffee shop. What the hell just happened? He thought being honest was a good quality, but it obviously was not in all situations. He really wanted to see her again, especially since he couldn’t stop thinking about her since Friday, a feeling as foreign to him as applying himself to his work.
Shaking his head he drank the last bit of coffee before he pushed away from the table. Billy the ball cap as Sasha had succinctly called him, wasn’t getting any more jobs from Stefan, especially if he freaked people out rather than remained invisible.
Why was Sasha so concerned about being kidnapped? The idea confused him almost as much as her reaction to his private investigator. He had only asked Billy the ball cap to follow her, not to find out more information about Sasha. Maybe he should’ve asked for that instead.
Stefan made a split-second decision to follow Sasha. If he didn’t remedy this now, he would never see her again.
His long legs ate up the side walk as he headed in the direction Sasha went. A few yards ahead he could see her tiny frame rushing ahead. Her long hair fluttered in the spring breeze as she moved ahead. The skinny jeans she wore hugged her butt perfectly and the pinstripe top she wore accentuated her waist. She was a few inches taller with the girly high heels she wore; she looked like a sexy little minx as her legs zigzagged frantically to get away from him.
Stefan increased his pace, keeping his eye on her the whole time. She turned a corner onto what he was sure to be Broome Street and Stefan increased his pace to a jog. He caught up with her just as she was about to head into an apartment building.
He took a deep breath and touched her shoulder.
She flung around fist clenched ready to swing, fury shining in her beautiful brown eyes.
“Whoah!” Stefan said stepping back holding up his hands.
“You again? Didn’t you get the bloody message? I’m not interested in psychopathic stalkers!” Sasha spit at him before she turned around again and headed for the apartment doors.
“Sasha, please…” Stefan didn’t know if it was his words or the desperate tone of his voice, but she turned around and glared at him.
“I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have put Billy the ball cap on your tail.” Stefan couldn’t help but smile at saying the words out loud. Billy the ball cap actually suited his private detective.
“I should’ve called again. I just didn’t want to chance you blowing me off. I couldn’t stop thinking about you and needed to see you again.”
Sasha watched him without saying a word.
“I’ll make a deal with you.” Stefan raised his eyebrows. “If you haven’t thought of me at all since Friday, please go head step into that building and I’ll promise you’ll never hear from me again. But if you did, at least once… Please don’t go. Let me take you to dinner and make up for the mess I’ve made of things. One dinner? If you decide after dinner that I am the stalker psychopath you pegged me to be, you can go home with a clear conscience.”
Something flickered in her eyes as she watched him.
Stefan pushed ahead. “What if Friday night was more than just hormonal? What if I’m actually a nice guy that just screwed up? Big time?”
A smile twitched at the corners of her mouth. “BIG TIME!” She said holding her hands as far apart as possible.
“Major screw up. Noted and trying to remedy it.”
“One dinner?” Sasha asked with narrowed eyes.
“One dinner, and you can pick the place.” Stefan said moving closer.
“If I’m not back in five minutes, that means I’ve decided you are a psychopathic stalker and I want nothing to do with you. Wait here.” She pointed to the spot he was standing and rushed into the apartment building.
It took every ounce of Stefan’s will not to follow her inside. She disappeared into an elevator and Stefan glanced at his watch.
What he should actually do is just walk the other way. She seemed like a lot of work and Stefan had never had to work for a date before. But something made him stay in place. Maybe it was the fire in her eyes, or the way her hips had felt in his hands. Either way he wasn’t sure, but found himself standing in the same spot five minutes later.
The elevator opened and Sasha stepped out. She had changed from her pinstripe top to something sexy and black for the evening. The heels she had click-clacked with down the street were replaced with comfortable black leather flats.
“One dinner,” she said as she joined him on the sidewalk.
Stefan smiled as he took her hand; one dinner was all he needed.
The restaurant was dimly lit with a small candle lantern in the center of their table. The menu boasted a variety of gourmet dinner options.
“Wine?” Stefan asked as the waiter approached their table.
Sasha glanced at the menu before looking up to meet his eyes. In the five minutes she had gone up to her apartment, she had done something to her eyes as well. They appeared sexy and smoky and Stefan was having trouble taking his eyes of them.
“I’d like the white wine and the Chicken Paillard with Pancetta and Sage.” Sasha said confidently.
Stefan smiled approvingly; normally his dates knew nothing about wine and left the choice to him. This was a woman that knew what she wanted and didn’t think twice about ordering food in an upscale restaurant. Intriguing, Stefan thought.
“We’ll have a bottle of your 2015 Chardonnay from Napa Valley and we’ll both have the chicken.” Stefan said before handing the menus back to the waiter.
&nb
sp; “Certainly, sir.” The waiter answered before leaving them alone.
“Well this is awkward.” Sasha said before she laughed quietly.
“I’m sure the fact that I had Billy the ball cap follow you has nothing to do with that.”
“Ha-ha.” Sasha said dryly.
“Once again I’m sorry; I didn’t think he would freak you out. Anyway, if it makes you feel any better I didn’t ask him to get any information on you.”
“Really, I think you should stop while you’re ahead, otherwise I might just leave before dinner is served.”
“Right. Swift change of subject. So, did you grow up in New York?”
“Yes.” Sasha answered swiftly.
“Why didn’t you answer my text?” Stefan bolted out the next question.
Sasha looked him straight in the eye before answering, “I learned about your reputation.”
“My reputation?” Stefan asked confused.
“Yes, apparently you’re quite the player.”
Stefan shrugged. “I’m single; I’m young and as far as I know that isn’t a crime.”
“Let’s just say your reputation could harm mine.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Stefan asked feeling offended.
“My father is JB Morris.” Sasha said before taking a sip of the wine the waiter had just poured.
The name rang a bell but Stefan couldn’t immediately place it. “Wait, your father is JB Morris as in New York Senator JB Morris.”
Sasha nodded and kept his gaze, Stefan knew his reaction was being assessed.
“Right, now the kidnapping fear makes sense. Shit, now I’m really sorry about Billy the ball cap.” Sasha smiled at him. “I promise not to tarnish your reputation with mine.” Stefan flashed a charming smile and could only hope he could keep his promise.
