Caution

by Tara Mills

A radiant smile broke across Piper’s face and she shook her head. “I can finally say with absolute confidence that I’m really and truly free of him. It just took me longer than I thought it would to realize it.” Her smile deepened. “Come on, I think we need to celebrate.”

  • • •

  The girls popped back into the liquor store then caravanned to Joy’s house where they polished off two pitchers of margaritas over the course of a few hours. Not a good idea on an empty stomach.

  Already past the point of no return Joy stumbled to the refrigerator and yanked open the door. She stared stupidly as it crashed into the counter and sent the bottles in their tracks rattling together. Piper giggled and tripped up behind her. She caught hold of the door and pulled it back, studying the fresh dent in the metal without comment.

  “Here.” Joy handed a package of celery back to her.

  “That’s it?” Piper frowned. “You work in a grocery store for god’s sake. Can’t you shop once in a while?”

  “Bite me.” Joy rummaged some more and stood up. “Ah ha. We have a jar of olives, too.” She slapped her hand against the freezer to steady herself.

  “Olives and margaritas?”

  “Why not. It’s not like we’re going to be able to taste anything anyway,” Joy said with a pronounced slur.

  “If that’s all there is, the celery’s mine.”

  Piper hugged it to her chest possessively and tripped over to the table. Dropping gracelessly onto a chair she pulled back the plastic sleeve and tore off a few stalks. Now, frowning at the rest she realized she could afford to share her bounty. Piper ripped a few more stalks free and set them on the table for Joy. The rest she tossed into the center of the table then picked up one of the stringy stalks with a scowl.

  Turning to Joy hopefully she said, “Tell me you have peanut butter.”

  “It’s salt-free.”

  “Salt-free? What is wrong with you?”

  “Not me, Dom.”

  “What’s wrong with him?”

  “There’s not enough time to go into it.”

  “My life’s looking better and better.”

  Joy sat down and eyed the celery in front of her. After chewing unenthusiastically for a minute she sighed. “Maybe we should just order pizza and be done with it.” She set her stalk down and reached for the olives. Fishing a couple out of the jar with her fingers she popped one into her mouth hoping to neutralize the taste of celery but shuddered in disgust instead.

  “Ugh. I was wrong. I can taste it. Don’t even go there. Olives clash with margaritas — big time.”

  “So we’re ordering pizza?”

  “Damn straight.” Joy grabbed her phone.

  While they waited for the delivery Joy decided it was time to pry.

  “I really liked Chad. What’s happening there?”

  Piper turned her head too fast and it felt like she was turning a boat on the water. She enjoyed the swimmy sensation for a second before answering. “I really like him, too.” Then she giggled.

  “Is that all?”

  Piper gave her a naughty smile. “I jumped him in your laundry room Saturday.”

  “You did not!”

  “What if I did, would you be mad at me?”

  “No. At least you left my bed alone.”

  Piper’s eyes widened. “You know something? We’ve never even done it in a bed.”

  “Seriously? Why not?”

  “No idea.” Piper drummed on the table with two celery stalks until the longer one broke.

  Joy stared off, deep in thought.

  Piper grinned at her. “Don’t strain the brain over there.”

  Joy’s eyes refocused. “I think I know.”

  “About the bed? You couldn’t.”

  “Just hear me out.”

  “Like you’re going to make any sense now.” Piper snorted. “You’re wasted.”

  “And you’re not? Give me some credit. So here’s my thought. Maybe, just maybe a bed represents a relationship to you. Don’t shake your head at me. Listen. You have to admit, you’ve been pretty resistant to that thought.”

  “So now you’re a therapist?”

  Joy continued over Piper’s interruption. “Just like Mick.”

  “What?” Piper exploded at the comparison.

  “You said he was nice but emotionally detached.”

  Piper held up her hand. “I’ve heard enough.”

  “He wasn’t a relationship kind of person.”

  “You’re pissing me off.”

  “Didn’t want people to expect things from him or rely on him.”

  “He acted like a spoiled child. He wasn’t capable of going any deeper than sex.” Piper glared at her.

  “Sound like anyone you know?”

  “You bitch.”

  “You said yourself that he wasn’t exactly interested in growing up which forced you to be the adult. No wonder you resented it. You couldn’t act the same way. Now you’re alone and you have everything just the way you want it and you only have to think of yourself. It must make you very happy.”

  “You’ve completely misconstrued the situation.”

  “Have I? I’m not the one who said I’m reverting.” She tried to take Piper’s hand but she pulled it away. “Piper, I love you but sometimes you can be a charming, selfish woman.”

  “How can you say that?”

  “Are you using Chad for sex?”

  “No, I care about him. We’re friends.”

  “But you keep sleeping with him.”

  “I can’t help it.”

  “Liar.”

  Piper threw her celery at Joy, missing her. She was suddenly really uncomfortable about the parking she and Chad did after the party. It added weight to what Joy was saying and she didn’t like it. There was no way Joy was going to hear about that now, too.

  The doorbell rang.

  “Since you seem to think that everyone just wants to use you anyway you might as well pay for the pizza. Add me to the list,” said Joy irritably.

  Piper stomped drunkenly across the carpet and pulled money out of her purse. When she came back with the pizza box she intended to throw it down on the table but she was so unsteady she missed. Joy managed to catch it before it plunged off the edge of the table. She slid it safely into the middle.

  “Here.” She shoved a plate at Piper and they served themselves.

  Emotions were high as they chewed, their tempers festering at first then collapsing before they finished their first slices. As if on cue they both started crying at the same time and dropped their crusts, leaning in to hug each other.

  “I’m sorry,” Joy said, swiping at her tears.

  “No, I’m sorry. Do you really think I’m acting like Mick?” Piper blubbered.

  “I only have your description of him to go on, but yeah.” Joy nodded apologetically.

  “But I’m not emotionally closed off.” Piper blew her nose into her napkin.

  Joy giggled. “Right now, I can see that.”

  Piper laughed and they hugged again.

  “I think we’re done with these,” Joy said, picking up their glasses and carrying them to the sink. She dumped them both down the drain. “We’re switching to water.”

  • • •

  They fell asleep in front of the television, a romantic comedy playing on without an audience. Piper’s telephone vibrated softly in her purse, sending yet another call into voicemail.

  Chapter 25

  After Chad sped off in his car Sunday afternoon, he drove around brooding silently, and sometimes not so silently, for over an hour until he trusted himself enough to call Piper. Of course when she didn’t pick up he was back to the beginning again. The message he left her was
brief. It had to be. For the rest of the night he waited expectantly for a call back. Once he even made sure his phone was on and had power just in case that was the reason it wasn’t ringing. When his last two attempts to reach her sent him directly into her voicemail he gave up in frustration.

  Chad was glum when he put the kids to bed. He picked up a book and took it to his room, hoping like hell it would distract him from the reality of his crumbling romantic aspirations but the words flowed together before his eyes, indecipherable.

  Friends. Piper said she just wanted to be friends, but he was confused. How many friends fucked like animals and then went back to being casual with each other? Was he the only one with actual feelings involved here? He didn’t think so.

  No, he decided more firmly. There was definite, unmistakable tension between them and no matter how much Piper protested that she didn’t want to be involved, they were. Why the hell didn’t she realize it? But then he thought, maybe his emotions were clouding his judgment. It wasn’t entirely impossible to imagine that he’d projected what he wanted to see onto her.

  He’d never felt so confused in his life.

  The worst thoughts hit him shortly after midnight. That’s when he started to wonder how many other friends she had. He hated how his mind strayed in that direction but he was becoming unhappily aware that he probably wasn’t the only one. He saw enough yesterday to draw some pretty uncomfortable conclusions.

  Did he have any right to feel jealous or possessive? Damn it, no, but he didn’t screw around casually either and as a single parent, he owed it to his kids to be cautious about sexual and emotional entanglements because whatever he did could potentially impact them, too. If he wasn’t Piper’s exclusive stud he had a right, an obligation even, to know.

  By twelve-thirty he arrived at the moment of truth for whatever this was between them. He decided to lay everything out once and for all and find out whether there was any reason to keep trying or if it was time to cut Piper out of his life entirely. He knew in his own heart that for him, it was all or nothing. He wouldn’t hover on the periphery of her life hoping that she might throw him the occasional bone with the possibility of more to come in the indistinct future. No, he was certain about one thing at least, he couldn’t go on loving a woman who refused to love him back. His future hinged on what Piper said when she returned his call tomorrow and if she had any compassion at all, she’d make it early.

  • • •

  Piper woke up Monday morning with the most painful headache imaginable. It hurt just to open her eyes and brought on an alarming nausea. She staggered into Joy’s guest bathroom and vomited, crying silently the entire time because retching made the pounding even more excruciating.

  Joy must have gone up to bed sometime during the night. Since it was their day off, Piper didn’t want to wake her just to tell her she was going home. She penned a quick note and slipped out, driving home to sleep off the effects of the alcohol and do something about her headache.

  • • •

  Chad got good news early Monday. With all the barrels recovered, they were almost ready for the last of the excavation to proceed but there were still soil samples at the lab and while not all the results were in yet, what he’d learned so far was promising. They didn’t have to worry that they were sitting on a super-fund site anymore. In the meantime, everything else was on track. The trenches for the foundation were completed and the steel rebar was bent and shaped to strengthen the concrete.

  Chad signed papers on the top of his car and handed them off.

  “I’ll be at my office if you need to reach me,” he told the man.

  He was haggard when he got into his car and even though he knew it was pointless, Chad tried Piper’s phone for the second time that morning. It sent him straight to voicemail. He was beyond rage when he snapped his phone shut and swore.

  Why did he even give a shit? Duh, the why was obvious. All he could do now was make sure he gave her a chance to explain before he made his final decision.

  • • •

  As the hours wore on and Piper still refused to call, Chad grew more resigned, then calloused, finally accepting her terms of their relationship for the first time. He was at the all-or-nothing point and it looked like the decision had already been made for him. He was just pathetically slow to realize he’d just gotten the kiss-off.

  The last irrefutable nail in his relationship coffin came when Piper didn’t show up for his game that night. Chad didn’t know why he still watched for her, why he still hoped to see her but as far as Chad’s team was concerned his distraction made him completely useless. After the game, he broke precedent and went out with a few of his teammates to drown their sorrows. Defeat was hard enough but after a trouncing like that everyone felt like wallowing. Chad was among friends.

  • • •

  Piper tried calling Chad on Tuesday but she couldn’t get through. She didn’t know why he wasn’t picking up but finally, after a long wait, she was able to leave him a message.

  “Hi Chad it’s Piper. I’m really sorry I didn’t get back to you sooner but I hung out with Joy on Sunday and ended up crashing at her place then yesterday I felt so lousy I could hardly get out of bed. Call me.”

  • • •

  Chad waited until he got home to listen to her message. It wasn’t something he relished doing. By the time he deleted it and closed his phone he was livid. The lying bitch! He saw who she left with on Sunday and that wasn’t Joy. Then, then to have the nerve to tell him she spent the next day in bed was unbelievably low. Of course the slut stayed in bed. That guy probably didn’t have kids to storm in and bust them at any moment. And as far as being sick went, well, she looked pretty damned healthy on Sunday.

  He tried hard to remember her reasons, in detail, for not wanting to get involved with anyone. Resentment had been a big part of it. She said straight out that she resented Mick for making her take responsibility for both of them. She only wanted to be responsible for herself now.

  Chad slapped himself in the forehead. He was so stupid. She’d been warning him. She told him she wasn’t interested in dating or becoming a part of his family package and still he pushed, hoping that their chemistry would overrule her stubbornness. That hope had blown right up in his face. How does it feel now, slick?

  “Missy!” Chad bellowed. “Come on, we have to get going!”

  She clomped down the steps, her little sandals slapping the bottoms of her feet. He noticed her painted toenails and wondered who gave her the polish.

  “Do you have your present?” he snapped.

  She nodded, pulling back uneasily.

  He didn’t notice. “Fine. Get in the car.”

  • • •

  Piper’s phone rang and she answered it right away. “Chad?”

  “No, it’s Joy.”

  “Oh, hi.”

  “How’re you feeling?”

  “Better. You?”

  “I thought I was going to die yesterday.”

  Piper laughed. “Me too.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Nothing apparently.”

  “You want to hang out? Dom is stuck working late.”

  “No booze.”

  “Deal.”

  • • •

  Following Missy into the party room, Chad recoiled at the noise. He wasn’t up to handling a bunch of squirrelly little girls. Then he saw Angela Markland heading over with that predatory smile of hers locked on him and he knew the little girls were the least of his worries.

  Angela put an extra little bounce in her step so her ample breasts jiggled for him. The woman had cleavage to spare and she was eager to share.

  “Chad,” she said reaching for his arm when he didn’t lean down for a peck on the cheek. “Thanks for coming early, you’re a doll. Apparently n
o one watches the time anymore. I didn’t expect so many girls to get dropped off already. I’m not even set up yet.”

  She tucked Chad’s arm through hers and led him inside, sidestepping running children as they walked Missy’s present over to the gift table.

  “What is it you want me to do?” he asked.

  She gave him a slow feline smile.

  “Let’s just start with games for now. We’ll be playing musical chairs over there, clothespins in a jar, and I have a pin the tail on the donkey game that needs to be set up on that peg board. Take your pick.”

  “How many kids are coming to this?”

  “I expect twenty girls.”

  He tried not to shudder. “Fine. Why don’t I start with the donkey poster?”

  “Not too high.”

  No shit. “Are there any tacks?”

  “Over there.” She pointed to a table along the wall with several brown paper bags standing on it.

  Chad didn’t even want to think about how many times he felt her hungry eyes following him as he worked. Once while he was moving tables out of the way to make room for musical chairs he nearly jumped out of his skin at the look on her face. He honestly thought she was going to pounce. He was stressed enough as it is, he really didn’t need this right now.

  Angela was the Sex and the City mom: divorced, active, and on the prowl. For two years she’d eyed him like a Popsicle but he was friends with her ex-husband and he knew too many things about her to consider it. One faithless woman screwing with his life was enough.

  Angela finished decorating the birthday girl’s chair like a throne then showed Chad where she wanted the plates and napkins set up. While he did that she called everyone together and started them on pin the tail on the donkey in the corner.

  Assuming that his work was finally done, Chad sat down and zoned out, trying to clear his mind of every painful thought but his eyes shot open when the girls let out a piercing racket.

  He wanted to flee when he heard Angela say, “Go see the prize papa.”

  He looked at her with a question, his hands in the air.

  “Give her a gift,” she said, pointing.

  “What?” He sat up.