“Fucking thing is leaking,” Noah says to Austin, who now just laughs at him. “If you sweat, you might be like Michael Jackson going from black to white.”
I look around, and in a matter of five minutes, the room has gone from half empty to everyone trying to cram into the small space. I’m about to say something to Austin when I get bumped into from behind and turn to see it’s Arya in a girl cop uniform. Except it’s just a black bodysuit, which looks like a one-piece bathing suit with a black belt that holds a toy gun with a silver badge. She is wearing thigh-highs and black platform stilettos. Her brown hair cascades down her back with a black cop hat.
She looks me up and down. “Seems we both are on the same side of the law.” She smiles as she touches the star badge on my chest. I try to step back from her, but it’s so crowded. I fall a little bit more into her, and she wraps her hands around my neck. “So tell me, John, will you cuff me to the bed or do you want me to cuff you to the bed?”
I raise my hands to unwrap her hands from my neck. “Look, Arya,” I tell her, “it will never happen.”
“You know the saying never say never.” She places her hands on my hips. “You just need a night to let go.” She leans in, her lips to my ear. “I want to do very dirty things to you, John.” She licks my ear, and I shudder. She leans back, and I see her eyes go to the door. “Oh, look, Dani is here with her date,” she says, and my heart stops. I turn around to look at the door, and there she is. She looks like she is naked under her jacket. She slips it off and I was right, she is naked, well, she looks naked; she needs to put that jacket back on.
“Holy shit,” someone beside me says, so I look over to see that it’s Noah. “Dude. Go lock that shit down.”
I look back and take in her pink bodysuit. It looks like a corset with pink fur on the boob area. She is wearing dark pink tights and black heels. Bunny ears sit on her head. I look at her and the guy next to her, who I recognize as AJ once he removes his Darth Vader mask. He leans over to tell her something as she smiles at him and nods, then walks down the stairs. I turn to look at Arya. “Maybe Noah wants to handcuff you or try Austin,” I say as I walk toward the kitchen to get something to drink.
My throat’s suddenly dry, so I grab a water bottle and twist open the top, then walk outside because I need fresh air. I inhale a deep breath and then let it out slowly. I look around the backyard and see people all over the place. A bonfire crackles in the middle of the yard, and people sit in groups. I walk to the far end where I see Austin sitting with Cooper. I sit in one of the empty chairs, the tightness of the pants almost blocking my legs from bending. “I fucking hate these things.”
“Me, too,” Cooper says as he drinks his bottle of water. A couple of guys come over and start talking to us. The whole time, my eyes go to the door, knowing she’s just inside there. With a fucking date.
I shake my head as I talk to Cooper. I see Noah coming down the steps, his face leaking brown. “It’s so fucking hot in there. I thought I was going to faint,” he says as he sits down on the grass, takes off his jacket, and then wipes his face with it, leaving streaks of tan on his jacket.
“You paid five hundred dollars for that suit,” I tell him, trying not to laugh.
“I don’t give a fuck,” he says as he looks at me. “Your girl is leaving,” he tells me, and I look at Austin, then at Cooper. “What the fuck are you waiting for? Go get your girl!” Noah yells. I stand in a hunched over position and slowly rise as my pants stretch, then run out of the backyard. I look left and right as I try to weave my way through the people who have come outside. I finally see her walking down the sidewalk, her head down all by herself. I start following her, keeping my distance the whole time.
Chapter 8
Dani
My day went from horrible to even past fucking horrible, I think as I walk down the sidewalk back to my dorm.
The minute I got in my car this morning, I made my way over to the police station. As I walked up the steps, my heart beat so fast I felt like I would faint.
I walked up to the raised counter in the middle of the room, and a balding man on the other side sat there looking down. “Hi.” I started because the man was shuffling papers around the desk. “I’d like to talk to an officer about some letters I have received.”
He looked up at me, the glasses on the edge of his nose slipping but his fingers just pushed them back up. “What kind of letters?” he asked as he just stared at me.
“It started about a week ago,” I told him as I opened my bag and brought out the folded letters. “I would find them on my car in the morning. At first, I didn’t think much of it, but then I got this creepy feeling someone was following me.”
He grabbed the letters, unfolding them, and looked at them one by one. “You found these on your car?” he asked as he put them down, picked up the phone, and called someone. “I have a girl here with a possible stalker.” He placed the phone down and handed me the papers. “Someone will be right out,” he said as he pointed at the chairs in the corner. I walked to them, then took out my phone and texted Melissa.
Me: At the police station. I’ll let you know.
I didn’t have time for her to answer because a man in a police uniform came out. He looked at the guy behind the front counter who pointed at me. “Ma’am, my name is Detective Anderson.” He put his hand out to shake mine.
I took his hand, shaking it, and introduced myself. “Dani Milan.”
“Follow me.” He turned and led me to the side door which led to a big room with desks everywhere. He sat in his chair behind a desk in the corner, and I sat in the chair in front of him. “So explain what’s happening.”
I swallowed and started. “A week ago, I got the first letter. At first, I thought it was cute, but then the letters kept coming. Yesterday morning, I felt like I was being followed while on campus, then I got the last letter.” He took a pad out and started writing down the story. “Is there anyone you can think of who could have done this?” he asked as he looked up at me. “Enemies, ex-boyfriend, new boyfriend?”
“I’m not dating anyone right now. I broke up with my boyfriend last week,” I told him as I wrung my hands.
“You think your ex would do this?”
“No.” I shook my head. “John wouldn’t do this.”
“Anything else besides the letters and feeling like you were being followed?” He looked down and then up again.
“No,” I said as I started thinking how crazy this sounded.
“Is there any way this could be from a secret admirer? Now that you’re single and all?”
I shook my head. “I can’t think of anyone who would do this.”
“Okay, I’ll fill out a report, but I have to be honest with you. We have nothing to go by. But I will give you a case number, so if something happens and you call 911, they can reference it.” He spent the next ten minutes going over all kinds of shit I didn’t even really listen to. I just grabbed the paper, said thank you, and walked out.
The day dragged on, and I felt like nothing was going my way. Getting dressed, I texted Arya four times, and when someone knocked on my door and AJ was there, I didn’t know what to say. “I can’t get in touch with Arya,” I said as he took in my costume, which I had seriously thought about changing since I looked like a hooker. My boobs were squished so tight I felt my chin would bruise if I bounced.
“She just called me and said she got a lift there.” He stood there with his Darth Vader mask under one arm. “Shall we?”
He motioned to the stairs as I grabbed my coat and followed him down the stairs. We made small talk in the car as well as when we walked into the party. The music was so loud at that point, and the room was jam-packed. I kept looking around to see if I knew anyone after I took my coat off, but I didn’t see anyone familiar. I smiled at AJ and then went my own way.
I weaved my way through the crowd, finally coming face-to-face with Arya. “Where were you?” I asked her as she was drinking from a red Sol
o cup. “I thought we were coming together, and AJ would pick us up.”
She shook her head. “Nah, I decided to throw the guy a bone by letting you guys be alone.”
I looked at her as I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why the fuck would you do that? I told you that I didn’t want to date him, so how is it right that you throw him a bone?”
I looked at her face, and at that moment right there, I wanted to punch her right in the throat. Instead, I turned around and headed straight for the door. I grabbed my jacket and walked out.
So, I’m here now on the street, freezing my ass off since it’s almost like I’m naked. I stop at the light before crossing the street when I feel someone walking behind me. My hand goes into my pocket as I fist the pepper spray that I have in there, and when I feel a hand on my arm, I swing around, aiming and spraying the pepper spray.
I yell out at the same time as the person wearing a brown cop uniform with a helmet. He tries to duck out of the way when I hear his voice. “Dani!” I stop spraying and look at the person in the eyes, well, not in the eyes, because he’s too busy moaning and groaning while he tries to rub the liquid from his eyes.
“Oh my god, John, is that you?” I ask, shocked.
He winces in pain as he coughs, and I see the water bottle in his hand.
“Oh my god,” I say as he gets on his knees in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Ahhhhhh!” he yells as I pour the water on his face, but the bottle is only half full. I whip my jacket off as I try to hand it to him, but he leans over, heaving on the sidewalk.
“Oh my god!” I shriek. “This is bad. This is so bad.” I get on my knees in front of him. I see a cab drive by and flag him down with one hand as I crouch down next to him. When the car pulls over, I tell him, “I got a cab. You just need to get up.” I squat in front of him, holding his hand and helping him get to his feet. I walk to the cab sideways while I see John try blinking his eyes again.
“It burns,” he says as he squeezes his eyes closed again.
“Just follow me,” I tell him as I lead him by his hand and get into the car. “Okay, bend down,” I tell him as he stumbles into the car. “Do you think we should go to the ER?” I ask him as he continues trying to open his eyes.
“I think I’m blind,” he says as he tries to open his eyes again. “Take me home,” he says as he winces. “Why the fuck did you have spray with you?” he asks as he tries just one eye this time. “Still burns.”
I look at the driver and give him John’s address. “We should be there soon, and we can rinse your eyes out.”
“You tried to blind me,” he says as he coughs again. We pull up in front of his house, and I take out my credit card and swipe it in the reader to pay for the cab ride.
I get out and hold his hand as I guide him up the stairs into his house. I walk to the kitchen, then turn on the water and guide his hands under the faucet. He bends his head, cupping his hands, and splashes water on his eyes. I leave him, running upstairs to the linen closet where I grab a towel and bring it downstairs. He is still at the sink, opening and closing his eyes.
“I see blurry,” he says as grabs the towel and puts it against his eyes. “Even my lungs burn,” he says as he wets the towel again and puts it back on his eyes. He does that for what seems like forever. At this point, my shoes are off as I watch him wash the pepper spray out of his eyes. He turns to me, one eye covered by the towel and one eye squinting open. “Since when do you carry pepper spray?”
I roll my eyes at him, thinking this really isn’t my fault. “Since yesterday,” I answer him as he takes the towel and switches eyes. “Why were you sneaking up on me?”
He looks at me, glaring through his one eye. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you. I was making sure you were okay. You were walking down a dark road semi-naked. Where the fuck was your date anyway?” His words come out harsh, the last part causing me to snap my head back.
“What the hell are you talking about, date?” I move to him, pushing my finger into his chest. “I’m not the one dating and moving on.”
He swats my hand away from his chest. “I wasn’t the one who showed up with a date now, am I?”
I cross my hands over my chest. “We really need to talk,” I say to him before the door opens, and Noah and Austin walk through the door.
Chapter 9
John
My fucking eyes burn so much. I had no idea that grabbing her arm would unleash the beast. She swung around like a ninja warrior pointing and aiming even before I knew what was going on, and then the burning started. I wet the towel again and bring it back to my eye as the door opens, and Noah and Austin walk in.
“What the fuck?” I hear Dani next to me as she takes in Noah’s jacket that is now a brown color due to his face. “What happened to you?” she asks Noah, and he looks at me with his eyebrows pinched together.
“What the fuck happened to you?” Noah asks me, ignoring Dani’s question as he points at me, holding the wet towel on my eye.
“She sprayed me with pepper spray,” I say as I point at Dani.
She throws her hands up in the air. “I thought he was a stalker.”
Austin and Noah both throw their heads back and laugh. “It isn’t funny. I still can’t see out of my left eye!” I say as I press the towel harder on my eye. “It’s all your fucking fault.” I point at both of them as Austin stands there with his hands in his pockets, rolling his eyes.
“How is you being pepper sprayed our fault?” Austin asks as he points at him and Noah, who’s nodding.
“If it weren’t for you two clowns, I would have just called her,” I say, pointing at Dani as her head goes back and forth between us. “I would have laid my cards on the table.” I get up, wetting the towel again as I blink and am finally able to see. I wet the towel, placing it on my other eye. “But did I listen to my gut? No,” I say, sitting back down. “Instead, I worked on the ‘getting the ex back’ plan.”
“The what?” Dani asks, and I’m about to answer her when Noah pipes in.
“It was a list to make sure you would take him back after you broke his dick.” He points at her, and she looks at me in shock.
I roll my eyes. “She didn’t break my dick.”
“You can’t even say that with a straight face.” Noah points at me. “His dick doesn’t even get hard when he watches porn. You”—he turns and points at Dani now—“you broke his dick with your voodoo vagina.”
“My what?” Dani asks as confusion takes over her face.
“You broke up with him, and now you’re out dating all these other people while this punk sits home waiting for his dick to work,” Noah says and stops when she slaps her hand on the table.
“I’m not the one dating,” she says, pointing back at me. “This asshole is the one playing the field.” I look at her with confusion on my face. “Oh, don’t sit there looking at me like I have two heads. I heard from Arya that you are all over the place now.”
We all shriek, “Arya,” at the same time as she turns her head, glaring at all of us.
“Come again?” she asks as she looks at us and throws her hands up. “Actually, fuck come again. I find this pretty fucking interesting that Arya tells you that I’m dating, yet she tells me that you’re over there putting your banana in fifteen different fruit fucking smoothies.” She gets up, putting her hands on her hips. “Assholes.”
“Enough.” I slam my hand down on the table, blinking my eyes as they both start to finally see more than just shadows. “I’ve had enough of all this shit.” I throw my hands up as the three of them stare at me during my meltdown. “I’ve fucking had it.” I put my hands in my hair. “This whole sneaking around, writing letters, and following is over. Look.” I turn to look at Dani. “I love you with my whole heart and everything that I have.” I shake my head. “But all this crazy James Bond shit is too much for me.” I look around the kitchen now. “Where the fuck are my glasses?” I ask. Dani walks to the counter, picking them up and bringi
ng them to me as I put them on. She stands there in front of me, looking at me.
“Can I just ask what you’re talking about?” Dani asks as I stand here thinking about lying or just shading the truth. Then I look at my girl standing in front of me.
“When you left me, I was down in the dumps, so we made a plan.” I start telling her everything.
“A plan?” she asks as she crosses her arms over her chest but doesn’t move away from me.
“Yes,” Noah interjects, “a kickass plan, I might add. We even made a list.” He points at the list on the fridge. “Look at it.” He points at the fridge, and Dani walks to the fridge and rips it off.
“Write letters?” She looks at me as she asks the question. “OH MY GOD.” She hits her head with her hand. “You.” She points at me with the same hand holding the list. “You were the one leaving the creepy fucking letters on my car.”
“Yes,” I tell her. “And they were not creepy. They were kind and loving as the truth.”
“Are you insane? You didn’t even fucking write them. You stuck letters on the page!” she shrieks.
“They were genius,” Noah says.
Finally, Austin speaks up and tries to get her to see our side. “They were supposed to be loving and show you that he loves you.” He points at me.
She shakes her head. “It scared the shit out of me, and I went to the police,” she tells us as I open my mouth to say something, yet nothing comes out.
“You went to the cops?” Austin asks as Noah has the same shocked look as I do.
I start to panic a bit, my heart starting to beat faster, making me forget that my eyes still burn. “Holy fuck, man, I think my fingerprints were on that shit,” Austin says. “This is all your fucking fault,” Austin says, looking at Noah and pointing his finger. “You and your crazy fucking plans; they never fucking work.”
“The plan was genius. It’s not my fault that he fucked it up,” Noah says, pointing at me. “You fucked it up by creeping her out.”
Tempt The Ex Page 4
