Fight or Fall

by Anne Leigh

  He went on to share stories about his trip and how his parents were getting along. When we were younger, his mom almost divorced his dad because they were always apart. Times like these, chatting like old times, after being apart for so long and when Emmett talked about his mom, made me miss my mom, her old self, her vibrancy. His mom and my mom used to go out a lot. The Powers were not only neighbors, they were also friends.

  “Is your mom enjoying France?” he questioned while perusing the wine list.

  Only a handful of people know about my mom’s condition. My father was, after all, was the king of keeping secrets.

  “Yes, she is. Thank you for asking.” I’d only uttered the lie so many times that the reply comes out automatically. Throughout the years, my father had evaded questions about my mother’s disappearance from the limelight by saying that after the accident, she has decided to stay at our house in France and tour the world. A short statement to the press was given to all major news outlets and after that, no questions were asked about my mother. Not even to me. It was scary how much influence and power money could buy.

  A server approached our table to ask us if we’d like to order wine. I shook my head in response.

  “As the lady wishes.” Emmett glanced at our server. “Thank you, but not tonight.”

  “Excuse me.” Taking my phone out of my black Fendi purse, I scrolled through the messages. “I’m waiting on a call.”

  8:35 PM. Milo: What time u coming over? I could’ve stopped by tonight instead of u driving here.

  8:47 PM. Milo: R u hungry? U wanna order Japanese?

  8:49 PM. Daria: Just talked to Milo. He’s looking for u. Told him u were catching up with old friends.

  9:05 PM. Milo: Where r u? Did I miss the memo today?

  9:12 PM. Milo: U okay? Where r u?

  Oh my goodness. I totally forgot to let him know I was going to be out tonight. Of course, I couldn’t tell him I was going on a planned date with Emmett. Hell would break loose and disintegrate everyone in sight if he had any clue about who I was out with tonight.

  Milo was a possessive guy. Extremely possessive at times. Ever since we’d been together, the few times we went out, guys would look at me and all he had to do was lift an eyebrow or give them a glaring stare and they’d wisely turned their heads away. It didn’t escape my notice that he always asked me to bring an extra jacket or a light wrap to cover my cleavage when other people were in the vicinity. I know he wouldn’t want to change me. After all, I dressed the way I dressed before we became involved but for his peace of mind, I covered my assets so I wouldn’t be the subject of many-a-stares. He’d once commented, “Just the sight of your lips make men go crazy, so can you at least reserve all the good stuff just for me?”

  I gave him a “you kidding?” look and he’d just shrugged his shoulders. What he didn’t say with words were bolstered by him keeping me close to his side at all times, planting his big hands on top of my legs when I wore short shorts, minis, and skimpy dresses, and basically shooting daggers with his eyes at any guy within our vicinity. I could only imagine what he’s thinking right now. If he could, he’d probably scour all of Vegas to look for me.

  It was the cowardly way out, but I had no choice.

  I texted him quickly.

  Me: Babe, having dinner with old friends. Will get to ur house as soon as I can. Miss you.

  A second barely passed before my phone vibrated.

  Milo: Where u at?

  Crap. He’d probably ambush us if I told him exactly where I was. That and Emmett will end up in a hospital stretcher.

  “Is everything okay, Ava?” Emmett asked, his voice concerned.

  “Umm…yes.” I took my eyes off of the screen of my phone. “I just have to text Daria something.”

  He nodded as he took another bite into the seafood tempura. He must really like it, he’d eaten almost all of it. Or he must be really hungry.

  I got back to texting Milo.

  Me: At Stacey’s house

  Milo: Stacey?

  Me: Yup from high school

  Milo: The blonde chick?

  Me: Yeah

  Milo: The annoying blonde chick

  Me: Lol

  Milo: Yeah she was always following my ass around

  Me: I follow ur butt around

  Milo: Lol

  Me: U have a fine butt

  Milo: Come home. Soon.

  Home? Warmth spread through my insides. A month ago, I started to leave clothes at his place. He’d brought me toothbrushes and even given me my own set of towels. I just had to accept the fact that Milo was a clean freak. A sexy clean freak. Even his sister scoffed at Milo’s neatness and sometimes obsessive habits of maintaining cleanliness.

  Me: I’ll be there. Wait up for me.

  Milo: Yep

  It was true. He waited up for me. It didn’t matter how late I came over, he had a light on for me in his living room. He didn’t go to sleep until he was confident I was safe in my place or I was back at the hotel in whichever country I’m in. Most of the time I’d find him playing video games or working on his computer.

  I went back to finishing dinner with Emmett. I had ordered the chef’s seafood special, and Emmett had the gigantic lobster sushi roll. I passed on dessert because it was getting really late. I was comfortable with Emmett. He’s one of those guys who a girl could only be so lucky to be friends with. He wasn’t pompous though he carried that innate self-assuredness. He had strong opinions about the state of politics but somehow he didn’t come off as condescending. At the end of the night I might have wished that I was the tiniest bit attracted to him. Might. Deep inside of me, I knew it would never happen. During the dinner, Emmett queried, “Are you going out with me because of our parents?”

  I had wanted badly, so badly to tell him “yes” but I couldn’t. As long as my father had me cornered at a dead end, I couldn’t tell Emmett the truth. I couldn’t even tell Milo. I guess I should consider myself lucky that Emmett, even if I wasn’t attracted to him, was a good guy, a gentle soul. My father could’ve picked worse.

  At the end of the night, as we waited outside the building for the valet to retrieve our cars, I pressed a kiss on Emmett’s cheek and thanked him for a wonderful evening. I sensed that he wanted more, he was asking for a nightcap, but my deception had limits. As long as Milo and I were together, I wasn’t going to let any other man, no matter how much my father dictated my world, become intimate with me. I couldn’t stomach it. I was doing this for my mother, but I’ve reserved a very small piece, a slice of dignity for myself.

  “When am I gonna see you again?” Emmett questioned, opening the car door for me.

  “Can I call you on that? I have to check my schedule.” Keeping my car door open, I pressed on the quarter sized on button, pressed my right foot on the brake, and the lights inside and outside my car turned on.

  “Alright,” he agreed, stepping away from my car. “Lemme know you’re home safe.”

  “I will.” Waving my right hand, I followed it up with. “I had a nice time tonight, Emmett.”

  His dimpled smile was bright against the outside lighting, his eyes hopeful, maybe that whatever we had could be something more than a friendship.

  Oh Emmett, you’re a sweet guy, but see, my heart beats for a man who could crush you into a bloody pulp if he ever finds out what I’m doing tonight.

  I added for good measure, hoping my meaning would sink in to his thoughts about me, about us, “I really like hanging out with you as a friend.”

  His grin faltered and he stepped closer, leaning against my car window. “Give us a chance, Ava.”

  His left hand reached for my left arm idling on the steering wheel. Before I could say anything, he muttered, “Our parents seem to think we’d make a great pair. Your dad has even spoken to my dad about having dinner at our place the next time he’s free.”

  At the mere mention of my father, the words that were about to come out of my mouth remained stuck inside.<
br />
  “It will be nice to go out with you again.” I forced a smile, hiding the gnawing uncertainty, the growing uneasiness as to what might happen to Milo and me if I continued this charade with Emmett. I’d just have to do my best so that my father, Emmett, and Milo will never find out about each other.

  The buzzing of my phone disrupted on what could be the longest goodbye ever. “I had a wonderful time, Emmett. Thanks again for dinner. Goodnight.”

  He shook his head in the affirmative and stepped back. A middle aged guy in the dark blue uniform approached him. “Sir, your car’s waiting.”

  Emmett nodded and motioned with his right hand. “Call me.”

  I gave him one last look and mouthed, “Thanks.”

  Pressing the button to raise the windows of my car, I grabbed my phone from my purse and synced it with the Bluetooth function of my car.

  Milo’s text came in at 10:52, just as Emmett and I were leaving Sushi Noru.

  Milo: Drive safe.

  I texted him quickly that I was on my way before I set foot on the gas.

  A thumbs up emoticon came up in my screen.

  As soon as I hit the streets I called Daria, and she answered on the fourth ring.

  “You’re welcome,” her voice came on the speakers of my car. “He called twice, asking where you where, chica. I’m at the gym so I couldn’t get to his first call. Anyways, I let him know you were meeting up with your old acquaintances today.”

  “Thank you.” I switched gears, the sound of the electric engine revving up quietly hummed in the background. “Did he sound upset?”

  “He’s worried, not upset.” The low tones of the crime shows she liked to watch on TV buzzed on the other end of the line. “Ava, you can’t be hiding this from him. It’s all going to end up badly if you don’t let him know why you’re having dinners with Emmett. That man of yours is a possessive son of a gun. If you want Emmett’s pretty face to remain intact, you better tell him before he finds out from someone else.”

  “I know.” I really don’t. “I just want time with him, Daria. I love being with him. He makes me happy. I’m not sure if it’s going to be the same once I put Emmett back in the picture.”

  She sighed softly. “Milo’s been accepting of your father’s ban on him not dating you. He’s been supportive of you. Does he insist on telling your father about you guys? Ava, he’s a smart guy. I think you just have to let him in on what’s going on and make him understand. Your father has this hold on you. Do you want him to ruin what you have with a man who obviously cares for you?”

  Milo hasn’t been pushy about telling my father or even insinuate anywhere near my father’s vicinity that he and I were together. He’s been understanding and supportive. When we went out, we went to places that my father had no business ties with, which were very few and far between in Vegas. In public, after his fights, Milo stayed away from me so no one would catch on that we were involved.

  As far as Milo knew, Emmett was of no-consequence, that he was just my friend, that Emmett and I went out and nothing happened. And nothing will. Now that Milo and I were together, even though it’s not official in my father’s eyes – a fact which I really don’t know when will we ever be official – Milo won’t take it too kindly if he learned of me seeing Emmett behind his back.

  “Ava, you know I’m always at your side.” Her voice was comforting, honest. “I’m lucky to work for you, omeone who inspires me to do good things. Whatever you set your mind to, you can achieve it. I’ve seen it Ava. You graduated nursing even when your father made it almost impossible for you to graduate from college with your media commitments and even harder when you worked as a nurse.”

  My father didn’t believe in the importance of a college education. He was a college drop-out, and if it wasn’t for my mother’s influence I probably would not have any college aspirations at all. She engrained in me the value of education. Maybe it was because her dreams of going to college were cut off when she became a model at such a young age, got married, and had me. She got lost in the lifestyle but tried to do right by me. I picked nursing because my best friend picked nursing. Those years in college were the most difficult times in my life – my mom getting into an accident, my father becoming a demanding tyrant, and the pressure of proving to myself that I could do it was enormous. Nursing school was tough but not because of the study load; for me, it was because of the many times I had to make up hours because I still had to fulfill my responsibilities to my father’s business’s even when I was in school. There were a few times that I almost got suspended for multiple absences and excuses. But I trudged on and worked my butt off to make up those hours. I was able to do it because of Brynn. She was my rock. She saved all her notes and helped me study for exams, even when I had to spend a few days in another country. We called it our long distance study group. My advantage was that I could process information quickly. Up to this day, she still doesn’t know the truth of my mother’s condition. Like everyone else, all she knew is that my mom has stepped away from the limelight and is now living in our seaside chateau in Normandy. It was the second secret I hid from her. I did it to protect her. The less she knew about my mother, the less she knew about my father.

  “I’ll tell him, Daria,” I replied. Milo’s place was coming into view. I could see the dim lights on in his living room. “Thank you for covering up for me.”

  “Be good to each other, Ava. Trust him enough to make the right decision for himself. He can’t do that if you won’t let him in.” Her advice rang through my ear. “Goodnight.”

  Pressing the end button on my phone, I breathed in, gathering all the energy I had so I could tell him the truth. Daria was right. I have to let him in. Give him the benefit to make up his mind, just like I’ve told him how my father wouldn’t want me seeing him, for reasons I could only attribute to him wanting me to date his senator friend’s son, Milo would know what to do.

  Parking behind his car, I walked up the steps and opened the side door. He’d usually leave it open for me so I could just let myself in.

  I walked inside the house, leaving my shoes in the shoe rack I’d helped Milo choose a month ago at Home Inc. I caught a glimpse of the kitchen, the former guest room he’d turned as an extension of the gym, and the small nook area filled a display case of his swimming trophies and medals. Milo has taken care of his parents’ five bedroom, two level house. Brynn considered Arizona home now since Kieran was now training there full-time.

  I found him laying on his back, a small couch pillow wedged between his right arm and his neck. His legs dangling over the arm of the couch because of his height. The dim lighting that the lamp from the small side table revealing the boyishness of his face, making him look relaxed, younger than his twenty six years, the phone clutched in his left hand, obviously waiting on me. His dark gray sweatpants were riding low on his hips, giving me an entirely unabashed view of his raw masculinity; the abs, the chest, the shoulders – sculpted by decades of keeping his body in top athletic form. He’s a light sleeper, so he must’ve been really tired to not have stirred by now. My unobstructed view of him in his most restful state, enabling me to just take him in.

  He’s so strong. Not just physically, but emotionally and mentally as well. I had friends in school who turned into drugs, women, and reckless behavior when things went awry in their lives. Not Milo. Tragedy after tragedy, he’s survived them all. With his legs firmly planted and his spirit never bowing. When he did what he did to Kieran, I never once believed that he did it to spite Brynn. I’d always hung on to the image of him, that young boy who held my hand tightly when he found out his sister was cancer-free, that man who punched a guy for calling me a slut behind my back in school, and that athlete who never gave up even when the media labeled him as second best.

  I made my steps lighter as I walked closer to him, seeing his eyes opening up, changing from dull green to a more vivid, deeper jade. Slowly removing his right hand from underneath the small pillow, his mouth turn
ing up slightly. “Did you have fun tonight?”

  Bending down so I could kiss the top of his dark head, I said, “I did.” He smelled of ocean water, musk, and him all in one.

  He tugged on my dark green ankle fit pants, indicating that he wanted them off. I stood up straighter and stepped away from him. “Let’s go to bed.”

  Now sitting up, he grabbed my legs and pulled me closer to him, his hands drifting inside my cream long-sleeved lace blouse, his fingertips wanting in my lace bra. “Miss me?”

  I lowered my hands to his shoulders, kneading, massaging, loosening up the hard, tight muscles. “Of course.”

  “How much?” He had deftly unclasped my bra and was now teasing my nipples with the pads of his rough fingertips, his mouth trailing a path around my navel.

  “Take me to the bedroom and I’ll show you how much.”