Devious

by Suzannah Daniels

  ***

  I helped my mother retrieve her things from Oakley while Stone worked at the bookstore. It was strange in a good way to spend time with her, and when we arrived back home, we spent the remainder of the day cleaning. Granny’s house had been closed up for several months, and although, Granny and I had checked on it periodically, it needed to be freshened up.

  When my mom had finished feeding Emma, I rocked her on the front porch in the warm, spring air. It didn’t take her long to go to sleep, and I marveled at how tiny she was. I could remember Granny rocking me on this porch in this rocker when I was a toddler. Looking back, rocking with Granny was probably my favorite way to spend time with her when I was young. Granny and this front porch represented home, a place of serenity and warmth and unconditional love.

  Emma stretched, and her lips began making sucking motions. I ran my fingers over her crown, feeling the downy hair that was barely visible. My thoughts drifted to Stone, and I wondered if we were to have a child whether the baby’s hair would be light like mine or dark like his.

  The door creaked as my mother stepped onto the porch. Her hair was pulled into a ponytail, and her khaki shorts and navy tee shirt were smudged with dust.

  “All the furniture’s been dusted,” Mom announced, rubbing her palms together as if she were removing any lingering motes. “And your sheets are in the dryer.” She stepped closer, admiring her newborn daughter. “She likes you.”

  “She’s amazing,” I said in a hushed tone, afraid that if I spoke normally I might startle her. Unable to stop touching her, my fingertips grazed the soft skin on her arms.

  “Yes, she is,” my mom agreed. “Just like her big sister.”

  I grinned, surprised at how much I liked the sound of that. It dawned on me just how much I was going to enjoy my new role.

  ***

  Stone

  “I need you to do me a favor.”

  Dylan looked at me like I’d just grown a third eye.

  “Like that’s gonna happen,” he mumbled before giving his laptop his full attention again.

  I exhaled loudly, gazing at the view from our back patio. Seated in a chaise lounge, Dylan typed on his keyboard, paying me no mind.

  “Come on, Dylan. It’s important.”

  He glared at me. “Important, huh? Is it as important as stealing my girlfriend?”

  “Shit, Dylan. Would you get over it already? That was two years ago, and I didn’t steal her.”

  “No, you just made out with her.”

  “She came to me.”

  “Is that supposed to make me feel better?” he asked, slapping his laptop shut and barreling toward me until he was standing in my personal space. He was a couple of inches shorter than I was, and I tilted my head down, so that I could make eye contact.

  “I was drunk, and if you remember correctly, it was your friends who were shoving the beers in my hand.”

  “And I guess they were pouring them down your throat, too?” he thundered, his hand curling into fists.

  “No.” I forced my gaze away from his. I wished that I could say that once I’d sobered up I’d felt bad about it, but the truth was, at that point in time, I couldn’t have cared less. Girls always seemed to be my downfall. “I’m sorry, Dylan.” It was the first time I’d ever apologized to him about that incident.

  “Now that I have a girlfriend, I guess I can understand how you must’ve felt,” I added.

  “Where is she?” he demanded, his eyebrows framing his blue eyes in angry slashes. “I owe you one.”

  I snatched his shirt in my fist, and I leaned in close to his face. “You lay one hand on her and your ass is mine.”

  He shoved me, and I staggered back a step. Then, he followed up with a blow to my jaw.

  My head snapped back, and I immediately threw a retaliatory punch to his face. Rage washed through my body like rampant flood waters. When he pulled his arm back and prepared to throw another punch, I ducked and tackled him to the stone patio, sending a blow to his ribs.

  He grunted.

  I punched him in the ribs again, and he tried to shove me off of him. I outweighed him, and his efforts did little good.

  He landed another blow to my jaw, and we wrestled for several more minutes until I had him in a headlock, the scuffle dissipating some of my anger.

  “Stay away from Dara,” I warned, releasing him.

  He lay on the ground, panting. Pulling himself into a seated position, he said quietly, “You must love her.”

  I looked at him, surprised by his words.

  “I can’t imagine spending another day without her,” I said, and it was the truth. Resigned that we needed to put the past behind us once and for all, I offered him my hand. He took it, and I pulled him onto his feet. “But I wasn’t kidding about you staying away from her,” I reiterated before I released his hand.

  He laughed as if I’d said something extremely humorous, and I wondered if I was going to need to punch him again.

  “I have no intentions of messing with your girlfriend,” he finally said. “I’ll have no problem finding my own.”

  “Which brings me back to the favor that I need from you,” I said.

  “Even though I’ll accept your apology, I’m not sure I’m into granting you any favors yet.”

  “Mom and Dad are going to be out of town this coming weekend. I want to have the house to myself on Saturday night.”

  “And why is that?”

  “I have something special planned for Dara.”

  He walked over to the railing and looked out over the valley, the wind ruffling his hair. Rings of sweat darkened his gray tee shirt under his arms, a reminder of our physical exertion from a moment ago. I realized that I was hot, too, and the breeze felt good.

  I said nothing as he studied the view below. Finally, he turned and faced me. “I see no reason why I should leave just because you want to be here with your girl.”

  I could feel the anger bubbling up inside of me. Trying to keep a calm head, I decided to make him an offer. “How about I get you a date with a smokin’ hot girl in exchange for you staying away on Saturday night?”

  “I don’t need your help getting a date.”

  “Suit yourself.” I turned and walked toward the back door that led into the house.

  “What does she look like?”

  I grinned and turned to look at Dylan. “She’s sexy, bro. She has dark hair, dark eyes, and a hot body. Trust me, you’ll like her.”

  He scoffed. “I have no reason to trust you, but since I have nothing better to do on Saturday night, I’ll take you up on your offer.”

  “Deal.” I turned and went in the house. Now all I had to do was convince Scarlet Cruze to go out with him, and she freaking hated me.

  I went to my bedroom and called Crimson.

  “Hello.”

  “Crimson, I need you to do me a favor.”

  “What do you need?”

  “I need you to convince Scarlet to go out with my brother.”

  Crimson laughed incredulously. “You know you’re one of Scarlet’s least favorite people, right? What makes you think she’d want to get anywhere near your brother?”

  “He’s a good looking guy, not as handsome as me, of course, but he can turn a chick’s head.”

  “News flash. Scarlet likes braniacs.”

  “Then she’s in luck because my brother is highly intelligent. Now, can you help me out or not?”

  She sighed. “Yes. I’m sure that if nothing else, I can find some way to blackmail her.”

  “Blackmail works. I need you to get her to agree to go out with him on Saturday night. I want to get him out of the house, so that I can have some time with Dara.”

  “Can’t you pay him a few bucks and send him out for pizza?”

  “I thought you said Scarlet needed a date.”

  “She does.”

  “All right, then. Make it happen.” I supposed that in some strange way, I felt like I owed my brother. Even th
ough Scarlet hated me, I knew she was the perfect match for Dylan. And if I could finally win Scarlet over, maybe she’d talk favorably about me to Dara instead of filling her head with all those damn notions that had negative connotations.

  Once I’d gotten off the phone, I jumped in the shower, relieved that my plan was finally coming together.

  Chapter 16

  Stone

  “No parties,” my dad warned as he and Mom stood on the front porch, looking back at me as I curled my fingers around the doorknob, wishing they’d leave already.

  “Did you warn Dylan, too?” I asked, annoyed that it was the third time he said those words to me.

  “It’s not Dylan I’m worried about,” my dad muttered.

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not having a party, Dad.” And if I was, his words of warning wouldn’t stop me, and he knew that.

  “Bye, honey,” Mom said as she waved her hand. She turned to usher my father towards the car.

  “Bye.” As soon as they were out of my line of vision, I closed the door.

  If I was going to pull off the most memorable evening for Dara ever, I had to get busy.

  ***

  “So you know how to get to Scarlet’s house, right?” I asked Dylan. He had to pick her up in fifteen minutes, and I didn’t want anything to go wrong that might send him back here with me.

  “Yes. I’ve got this, Stone.”

  “Then get the hell out of here.” I thumbed toward the front door. “And don’t do anything to piss her off,” I added. I didn’t need any repercussions from Dara if he did something to antagonize Scarlet. That girl didn’t need more ammunition to point her guns at me.

  “What’s gotten into you?” Dylan asked. “I’ve never seen you nervous about anything.”

  “I’m not nervous. I’m just trying to make sure you don’t screw my plans up.”

  He scoffed. “Don’t worry about me. If anybody screws your plan up, it’ll be you.”

  Like I needed a reminder. “Bye, Dylan.” I opened the front door and waited for him to leave.

  He walked out without saying another word, saluting as he passed.

  Relieved that he was finally out of my hair, I began the long preparation for our special night. It took me a while to set everything up the way I wanted. Once I had made sure for the tenth time that the evening had been planned perfectly, I took a quick shower, put on my tux, and headed out the door to pick her up.

  Now all I had to do was enjoy the evening with my girl.

  ***

  Dara

  “I can’t believe you got her to agree to go out with Stone’s brother,” I said to Crimson as she helped me put the finishing touches on my makeup.

  “I know, right? I thought she would freak out about it, but I think that, secretly, she liked the idea. It makes me wonder if Stone was on to something that day when Chance was at your house and he told Scarlet that she was jealous.” Crimson dabbed a brush into a pearly beige eye shadow and blended it around my eye.

  “You think Scarlet is jealous of Stone?” I asked incredulously.

  “I don’t know. Maybe not Stone, in particular. Maybe she’s just jealous that you have a steady boyfriend and she doesn’t. Maybe she’s just lonely. I can’t even remember the last time she went out on a date.”

  “Yeah, maybe you’re right. At any rate, I hope she has a good time tonight with Dylan. Do you and Mike have plans?”

  “We’re gonna go eat at Awesome Sauce and go for a motorcycle ride,” Crimson replied. “Who knows? Maybe we can all go on a triple date one day soon.”

  I grunted. “Yeah, well, before you start making plans, you better see how Scarlet does tonight. She’s liable to come back home ready to string Dylan up, along with Stone.”

  “I guess we’ll know soon enough.” Crimson took a step back, admiring her handiwork. “There you go.”

  I looked in the mirror. Scarlet had fixed my hair before she left for her date, and soft curls hung just below my shoulder. Crimson had done a fabulous job on my makeup. The soft shades of brown that she chose gave me a more natural look, and my eyes were vibrant like…Kawasaki green, at least that’s what Stone would think. I applied a glimmering sheen of pink gloss and rubbed my lips together.

  When I walked into the living room, my mother gasped. Her hands quickly covered her mouth. She sprang from the couch and gently touched the curls framing my face.

  “You look beautiful,” she whispered. “I’m so glad that I get to see you in your prom dress.”

  I gave her a quick hug. “Thanks, Mom.” I was thankful that she was here, but I missed Granny. This house didn’t seem the same without her, and everywhere I looked, a memory flashed in my mind.

  Emma released a high-pitched shriek, bringing me out of my reverie. A pitiful cry ensued, and my mom quickly picked her up.

  “Are you hungry, baby?” my mom cooed, and I wondered if she had soothed me in that same voice when I was a newborn. She offered my sister a pacifier, and Emma took it eagerly, making loud sucking noises.

  A knock sounded at the door.

  “He’s here!” Surprised at the nervous energy buzzing through my veins, I swung the door open and invited him in.

  “You look amazing,” he said softly before taking me by the elbow and kissing me on the cheek. He turned to my mother. “Hi, Ms. Golding. How are you tonight?”

  “I’m here with my two beautiful daughters,” she said. “It doesn’t get any better than this.”

  I smiled at her words, thinking of all the times that I’d wished I could hear my mother say something just like that.

  Stone put his arm around my waist, his fingers splaying possessively across my hip. “If you don’t mind, I’m going to borrow this beautiful daughter for a while.”

  Mom smiled at Stone. “I don’t mind a bit. Y’all have fun.”

  Stone turned his attention to Crimson and gave her a fist bump. “I owe you one.”

  “Yes, you do. It was quite difficult to get her to agree to go out with someone who looks so much like you.” She winked at me.

  “It must’ve been hard for her,” Stone said, a serious expression on his face, “to go out with Dylan when she really wanted to go out with me.”

  Crimson snorted, and I punched him in the side, eliciting a tiny grunt from his lips.

  “Yeah, I’ll tell her you said that,” Crimson spouted, her arms akimbo.

  He laughed. “I thought you liked me, Crimson.”

  She frowned at him. “I’ve got to go. I’ve got a hot date with Mike tonight.”

  “We need to get going, too,” Stone said. “Bye, Ms. Golding.”

  “Bye.”

  He walked over to Emma and gently stroked her fist, his hand appearing gigantic next to hers. “Bye, Emma.” Her eyes opened wide, and she waved a tiny fist at him.

  “See,” he said, turning to me. “Emma loves me.” He focused on her again. “Don’t you, Emma?”

  “She’s a newborn. She doesn’t know any better,” I joked.

  He slapped his hand across his heart like my words had wounded him.

  I smiled at him and blew Emma a kiss. “I’ll see you later, Mom.”

  Stone was the perfect gentleman, opening the car door for me and helping me with my dress as I sat in the passenger seat. Even though I’d seen him in his tux about a month ago, he still took my breath away with his dark hair, combed to perfection, his clear blue eyes the color of the morning glories that grew around the mailbox.

  As he bent down to place a light kiss on my lips, his masculine scent swirled around me. I felt just as giddy around him now as I did the first day that I began working at the bookstore with him almost a year ago.

  “You look really sexy,” he whispered against my lips.

  “I know,” I replied, thinking about a conversation we’d had long ago.

  “Modesty,” he said quietly, standing upright. “I like that in a girl.”

  I smiled, knowing that he was remembering the exact same conversation.<
br />
  We didn’t speak much on the way to his house. My heart nearly beat out of my chest with anticipation. I wasn’t sure what he’d had in mind when he referred to tonight’s date as extra special. I knew he wanted to take our relationship to the next step, but he knew that I wasn’t ready. I had a crippling fear of turning out like my parents, and I never wanted any child to go through some of the things that I’d been through. Granny had been my one bright spot, and while I was glad that my mom was in my life, I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would last. Hopefully, Emma would be enough motivation for her to stay on the right track.

  He parked in the driveway, and I waited as he strode quickly to my side of the car and opened the door. After he offered me his hand, I placed my palm in his, and he assisted me from the car, my lime green dress flowing around my legs. He escorted me down the sidewalk, and when we entered the living room, he seated me on the couch.

  “Close your eyes,” he said silkily, and I obeyed. “Don’t peek.”

  “I won’t,” I promised.

  I heard his footsteps as he crossed the room and opened what I assumed to be the back door. A few minutes later, I heard his footsteps again as he approached me.

  “Keep them closed,” he instructed as his warm hands wrapped around my wrists, and he helped me up. With my hand in his, we crossed the room.

  “Okay. You can open them now,” he whispered in my ear, his breath warm against my skin.

  Slowly, I opened them, the sight before me the most beautiful thing I’d ever experienced. My hands rose to my chest, my breath catching in my lungs.

  “You did this for me?” I whispered, stunned and amazed.

  “I promised you an extra special date, and I intend to keep every promise that I’ve ever made you.”

  The sunset gleamed vibrant hues of orange and pink, like swirls of sherbet. Clear, bright lights twinkled brilliantly on the patio. They wrapped around the railing that overlooked the valley and around decorative, potted trees. He had arranged a makeshift canopy out of strands of lights that crisscrossed overhead.