MADversary

by Jamison, Jade C.

  She passed a cleaning cart in the hallway. Housekeeping was already making beds and vacuuming floors, and two doors she passed were wide open. When she got to Tyler’s room, number 324, she knocked on the door and waited.

  Too much time had passed with no answer, so she knocked again. This wasn’t good. Either he was ignoring her or he’d already left. So, after waiting a little longer, she walked back down the hallway toward the elevator. She’d check with the front desk, but she was afraid she’d already missed him.

  Still, Megan wouldn’t let herself give up hope. Not yet. When she got to the desk, she asked if Tyler Green had checked out. The clerk told her that information was confidential. “Look. I was just outside his room. I just need to know if I can come back later to see him or if I’m too late.”

  “I can call his room.” The clerk started to pick up the phone, then changed his mind when he said, “Oh, no, I guess I’m mistaken. He did check out. Quite some time ago, in fact.”

  Megan’s heart sunk. It made sense. Tyler had probably checked out before the breakfast. And when she’d refused to talk to him, he’d just left. She felt her chest heave with a sigh and she muttered, “Thanks.”

  As she walked back around the hotel to the ballroom, she tried to convince herself that it wasn’t any worse than what she’d been feeling before, when she’d thought Tyler had cheated on her. But this feeling was worse…much worse, because she’d done it to herself.

  Chapter Twenty-six

  AFTER ALL WAS said and done and there were gushing and hugs and goodbyes, Mike, Lisa, and Megan stood in the parking lot talking. Megan was mostly quiet, but she noticed that Mike and Lisa were a little friendlier than they’d been earlier in the day. Well, she thought, at least her drama had given them reason to talk with each other. And Lisa didn’t seem to mind the fact that Mike was getting a little too close.

  Megan hadn’t been paying much attention to their conversation, was instead internally berating herself, but Mike repeated himself, looking squarely at Megan. “Really, don’t you think that’s weird?”

  Megan blinked twice. “I’m sorry. What? I was off in my own little world.”

  Mike shook his head. “That’s cool. I was just saying I thought it was weird that Tamara would go to such lengths to convince you that Tyler was the dad of her kid, that he’d slept around on you such a long time ago.”

  Lisa shrugged. “Yeah, it’s weird, but Rhonda…Harper—I don’t remember what her married name is now—she said she’d heard Tamara had been in and out of mental institutions. I guess she’s got a lot of psychological problems.”

  Megan sighed. “Well, now I feel bad for her. It’s hard to be angry at someone when you know it’s not their fault.”

  “You’re a saint, Meg.”

  “Oh, no, I’m not. I said some pretty mean things to Tyler.”

  “Well, he knew Tamara better than you did. He should’ve said something.”

  Megan smiled. “He didn’t necessarily know she was a mental case.”

  Lisa started giggling. She continued tittering and Mike and Megan exchanged glances. Finally, Megan said, “What the hell, Leese? What’s so funny?”

  “Oh, it’s bad.” She laughed again, then pressed her fingers against her lips. “I was just thinking Tyler should have known from the get-go, because she’s turned out to be your Madversary.” Megan felt her brows furrow and she scrunched up her lips. She didn’t know what Lisa was hinting at. “You know…madversary? Mad adversary? Isn’t that Tyler’s area of expertise?” Megan smiled and shook her head, feeling a little better even though Lisa’s joke was horrible. “I guess it loses something when you have to explain it.”

  * * *

  Megan laid out the paper cups and set out two pitchers of iced tea. She knew most of her group preferred coffee, but she just couldn’t bring herself to serve coffee in July. It was too hot. Iced tea was a smooth summer drink that would help cool them off. Of course, the library basement was already cooler than the rest of the building as it was, but the day had been unbearable. It had rained all day Wednesday and so Thursday had been hot and humid. She’d make coffee in September.

  She arranged twelve chairs in a circle, hoping everyone would show up. Her book club attendance was less reliable in the summer, because of vacations and other warm-weather obligations. She hoped she’d have good attendance tonight, though, because they were going to finish up their discussion of one of her favorite books—Paradise by Toni Morrison. She hadn’t read it in years until now, and they’d been discussing it the last two weeks. But the real discussions came when they finished the whole book and could talk about it in its entirety. They already had their next book planned as well—one of them had suggested The Hunger Games, so Megan had already picked up copies and was going to distribute them tonight, whether or not they were done discussing Paradise. It was never too early to start reading the next selection.

  Ten minutes later, her early birds started checking in, pouring tea in paper cups and talking about their week. Megan sat down and listened to the friendly chitchat but felt eager to begin discussing the book. They always started on time. Sometimes people were late, and that was okay, but most of the time, everyone was excited to share ideas about the most recent book. When it was time to start, six people in addition to Megan were scattered about the room. Some had Post-it notes stuck here and there in their books, but others relied on the old-fashioned dog-ear. Still others brought spiral notebooks with notes, and others had nothing other than their book supplemented by their memory. But Megan knew they’d all share fascinating insights. She smiled, glad to be in her favorite place. After a whirlwind weekend followed by a week of feeling sorry for herself, Megan was ready to be herself again, and the book club always brought out the best in her.

  She looked down at the piece of paper held down onto a plastic clipboard. “Do you guys love this book as much as I do?”

  The group responded with smiles and nods. The middle-aged woman named Carrie said, “Boy, this one was a tough read, but I loved it. I didn’t know what to think at first. I’ve never read any Toni Morrison, and I felt kind of confused at first, but then I got into it. I absolutely loved it.”

  Megan smiled. “It’s one of my favorites, Carrie. Well, why don’t we just dig in?” She looked at the first question she’d jotted on the paper. “Okay…well, it’s pretty obvious that the town of Ruby is dying because it’s stuck in the past, and Reverend Misner symbolizes new ideas…the present and perhaps the future. What are some symbols throughout the book that represent tradition and, conversely, what represents the new?”

  Megan heard footsteps behind her, so she knew someone was joining their meeting. There was always at least one, and most of the time it was the youngest member of their group, a girl who had two young children. They knew she liked to have her kids fed and happy before abandoning them with dad, but they loved her contributions. They were relaxed anyway, so they never minded latecomers. But the footfalls that echoed in the library basement didn’t sound feminine.

  No one she was facing showed any recognition or said a word, though, so she turned in her seat. She felt a fair amount of shock when she saw Tyler Green standing in the doorway of her book club meeting. She felt even more surprise when she saw in his hands a copy of Paradise and he said, “Well, I think it’s pretty obvious that the Oven symbolizes the old and the traditional in Ruby. Look at everything that happens with the Oven…” Megan felt her heart swell as Tyler took a seat, finished his thought, and then introduced himself to the group. He’d actually read the book. He had no idea how sexy that was. And she had so many questions for him, but they’d have to wait until they finished all the questions for the book club.

  * * *

  The last person left two hours later, and Megan and Tyler were alone. Megan picked up the two pitchers of tea and asked Tyler to gather up the clean cups and follow her. They walked down the hall to a tiny closet she called her office. Really, though, it was just a closet, full
of odds and ends and things she used for her book club meetings. The old metal coffee pot took up half a shelf next to a container of creamer and styrofoam cups. She opened the door and asked him to place the paper cups next to the other ones, and she opened the door next to it, another tiny room with a toilet and sink, and she rinsed out the pitchers. Tyler stood outside the door. “What else can I do to help?”

  “Nothing,” she said, “except maybe you could answer a few questions for me.”

  He grinned, his brown eyes sparkling. “Go for it.”

  “For starters, what the hell are you doing here?” Her tone was not unfriendly, and he took it as intended.

  “I thought your book club was for book lovers.”

  “Yeah, but you don’t live in Winchester anymore. The public library is for the citizens of Winchester County, you know.”

  He shrugged, the twinkle in his eyes still glimmering. “I’m working on that.”

  She felt her breath catch but chose to ignore it. She was feeling confused. “Have you been here in town all week?” She started walking back down the hall to the meeting room.

  “No. I was visiting my parents and sister in Denver.”

  She nodded. She started stacking chairs when she got back to the room, and Tyler helped without being asked. Megan wanted to smile but forced herself to look as neutral as possible. “So how did you know about…” she waved her hands in a smooth, sweeping motion, palms up “…this?”

  “I called. You told me last week about your book club. You said you met every Thursday. So I called on Monday, and the guy I talked to said you guys were reading Paradise. He told me to be here at seven and be prepared to discuss the book. So I bought a copy and read it.” He finished stacking the last chair and walked over to her. “Once the family goes to bed, I don’t have much to do by myself.” He looked down at her lips and smiled. “So I did a lot of reading. Someone once told me it’s pretty therapeutic.”

  Megan looked down at the concrete floor. She’d always felt like this room needed more…better lighting, a nice carpet, a new paint job, but since it had become her space, she’d grown to love it as it was. And so she looked to the gray floor, feeling comfort, hoping to gather her thoughts. She allowed her eyes to move upward, even though the air escaped her lungs. “Hey…I wanted to apologize about…well, about what happened.”

  Tyler wasn’t smiling anymore, but there was no anger in his eyes. “You found out the truth, right?”

  Megan nodded. “Yeah…that Tamara was making all that up. She was just so…convincing and that paper looked so real.”

  “It was real, Meg. She just whited out Brad Prescott’s name and typed mine over it. She’d done that years ago, and she’d almost convinced me I was the poor kid’s dad. But, yeah, that’s what Tamara does. She makes shit up because she finds it more exciting than real life, I guess. You remember the whole rumor she spread that I raped her, right?”

  Megan nodded as her eyes dropped again. She was looking at his chest, covered up by a dark blue t-shirt covered in red Japanese writing. She had to force herself to say it. The worst part was over. She couldn’t hurt worse now than she already had, so she just had to forge ahead. “So…what now?” She looked up in his eyes and tried to bury the hope welling in her chest.

  He grinned. “Well, it’s okay if I come to your book club every week, right?”

  She smiled, that feeling of shock from earlier hitting her again. “So you plan to fly to Colorado once a week just so you can discuss a new book? Or would you rather do it through something like Skype?” She winked. “You know, that might get a little annoying, having to talk to you through the computer. I don’t know if some of my older book club readers would like that.”

  He shrugged. “I dunno. I was kinda thinkin’ I’d just drive down the road a ways.”

  Now she felt stupid, but what he was saying was tickling the back of her brain. “What do you mean?”

  “Let’s face it, Meg. I’m at a point in my career where I don’t have to live in any particular place. When the guys and I want to put a new CD together, we get together. And then we tour. But it doesn’t matter where I live.” She was afraid to believe what he was saying, but she locked her eyes on his anyway. “I lost you once, Meg, because I thought my career was too important. I don’t want to let you go again.” She blinked twice, still not sure what to think. “Besides, I’d forgotten how much I love this place.” He licked his lips and peered into her eyes. “Are you not cool with this? Fuck… Um, hey, I’m—”

  Oh, no. Her statue-like response had made him think she didn’t care. Instead of saying a word, she grabbed his t-shirt in her fists and pulled him toward her. When their lips met, she knew he understood. And the kiss assured her that everything between them really was okay, but unlike ten years ago or even five days ago, there was something more, something that felt permanent. When the kiss ended, Megan said, “I’m very cool with that.”

  Tyler grinned again. “Just one problem, though.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I haven’t started house hunting yet, so I’m looking for a place to stay. The Sedgwick was kinda nice, but…”

  “My couch is really comfortable. Lisa slept on it last weekend, in fact.”

  He smirked. “You’d do that for me?”

  “Yeah.” She grabbed his hand and started leading him toward the exit. She shut off the light to the meeting room and paused in the hallway. “There’s just one problem.”

  His lips were still turned upward in a grin. “What’s that?”

  “Well, I’d be in the living room not letting you sleep, I’m afraid, and I don’t think the couch is that comfortable for two people. I guess you’ll just have to share my bed. It’s a little bigger.”

  Tyler screwed up his mouth in mock surprise. “Are you trying to take advantage of me?”

  “No, I’d never do that.” She snuggled up to him and looked in his eyes. “I want to give you that connection you’ve been looking for.”

  His eyes lit up and he kissed her again. “I like the sound of that. I just might have to write a song about it.”

  “I look forward to hearing it.” Megan giggled, pulling Tyler by his hand again, and they walked out of the library basement, ready to begin the biggest chapter of their lives, and this time it was going to be together.

  COMING LATE SUMMER 2011

  Then Kiss Me

  Casey Williams has left a loveless marriage and is trying to rebuild her life. She discovers that, even though you can never go home again, you can find lust again, and she finds a love interest in Scott, her coworker. She also discovers that he’s a drummer for a heavy metal band and falls hard for him…just in time to discover that, between his questionable friends and psychotic maybe-ex-girlfriend, he might not be the right guy for her. But her heart beats like a drum for him, and she finds herself willing to play with fire to get closer.

  Enjoy the following excerpt from Then Kiss Me:

  Scott was showing me different buttons on the stereo. Boys and their toys. My eyes wandered to the rows of CDs below and next to it and started looking at all of them. He had a lot of CDs of bands I liked and some I only knew by name, but I spotted Lamb of God’s Wrath, a personal favorite, and pulled it out of its place on the shelf with my index finger.

  I handed him the case. “Oh, so you like these guys?” I nodded. “Yeah, there’s definitely hope for you, Casey Williams.” I giggled.

  He put the CD in the stereo and turned it up—not too loud, but loud enough to drown out the noise below. The delayed guitar riff to “The Passing” started playing, sounding crisp and clear from those gigantic speakers. Scott leaned over and pressed the forward button so it skipped ahead to the next track, “In Your Words,” a heavier song that would better show off the capabilities of the stereo. I could feel the demanding music in my abdomen, in my heart. It was a visceral feeling that grabbed me deep inside and incited the beast within. “Sounds fantastic,” I said, closing my eyes to concen
trate on the music.

  I felt his hands slide around my waist from behind, and my abdomen, my thighs, my neck tensed in response. Oh, shit…I eased out a deep breath. He whispered in my ear, “You like it?”

  A shiver charged up my spine as my nipples hardened. I swallowed and forced my voice to stay calm. “Yeah. Great stereo.” My voice was coming from my throat—hoarse and gravelly. I got my composure and turned around, his arms still wrapped around my waist. He backed up a little to give me room, but we were close. God…the heat coming off him. I tried not to shudder. I was feeling playful, though, and I asked, “Are you coming on to me?”

  He smiled back but kept his distance. “Maybe.” Then, “Why?”

  “Because if you aren’t, I’m going to turn back around and listen to this CD. But if you are, I’m going to kiss you.” Holy shit. Had I actually said that? My heart started beating more rapidly.

  He stood there for a second, the smile on his face fading into something else. I saw his pupils grow darker as I sucked in a deep breath. “Then kiss me,” he said.

  You might also enjoy these books by Jade C. Jamison:

  Tangled Web: A Steamy Heavy Metal Novella

  Stating His Case

  Fabric of Night

  Got the Life (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  Dead (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  No Place to Hide (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  Right Now (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  One More Time (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  Lost (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  Innocent Bystander (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  Worst Mother

  Then Kiss Me

  Everything But (Tangled Web)

  COMING FALL 2012:

  Old House

  Blind (A Nicki Sosebee Novel)

  Also by Jade C. Jamison