by Maria Xystra
I stifle a giggle and Sam continues. “And we both know that’s not true!”
Her phone rings and by her expression I know it’s Eric.
In the few minutes before we arrive at the lake house, she must have ignored five or six calls and received as many texts.
As I park, Cole’s name appears on my phone screen and Sam jumps out, slamming the door.
“Where the fuck-” I answer the call, but he cuts me.
“Hey, I can’t explain right now, but I extend our bet,” he says in a hushed voice.
“I- what?”
“I’ll send our location to the car and you drive to it,” he commands in a no-nonsense, no-response way.
“OK…are you alright?” I ask him, but he hangs right after ‘OK’.
Shit.
I jump out of the car to get Sam, but she refuses to come along and shuts herself in the bedroom instructing me to “Just go.”
The map to their location is not hard to follow. The road though, is pretty rough; only a car like Cole’s could access it.
When the car lights reach an iron gate, I halt and wait.
After a few minutes in the car I start fidgeting and decide to turn the engine off and try to get a closer look.
The driveway inside the property leads to a grand estate up the hill. A seemingly abandoned mansion, practically in the middle of nowhere, isolated from the town, right in the middle of an enormous pine forest. Creepy, much?
The distant thudding of footsteps lets me know that a small army is coming towards the gate. I step back as the usual suspects come into view. Cole, Eric, Toy, Dennis, Zach and Ethan run to the gate.
Cole and Eric quickly take their positions at the bottom of the high, metal doors and the others step on their joined arms to climb over the gate. The whole incident goes down like a rehearsed routine.
Ethan lives up to his ‘shadow’ nickname as he swiftly lands on the other side of the gate. Toy follows, and then Dennis and Zach, in a slightly clumsier manner. Cole helps Eric and then climbs the doors, too – no help needed.
They all greet me and get into the car.
I walk to meet Cole halfway, away from earshot.
“First of all,” I start, “are you OK?”
He looks at me surprised and nods. My hand lands on his face with a beautiful slapping sound. He raises his eyebrows and warps his lower jaw.
“That was uncalled for,” he says.
“That was SO called for! And as your girlfriend I have every right!” I shot at him glancing back to make sure the rest of the gang weren’t listening. I could of course sense their eyes piercing my back.
“Oh! OK, then. Let’s kiss and make up,” he comes closer.
“Yeah, we’re not doing that!” I retort and turn to walk to the car.
He grabs my elbow and swifts me around, landing his lips on mine. Caught by surprise – and full-on desire – I eagerly respond to his kiss. And it was as real as it gets. At that moment, I realize just how worried I was about him, and how glad I am that he’s safe and sound. He picks up my altered stance with no trace of defense and deepens the kiss. My palm finds the side of his neck and I draw my fingers in his hair in a silent ‘don’t stop’ way. His tongue gently tangles with mine as I feel my insides pulsating in my chest. His hand travels around my waist and his grip tightens adding to the intensity of the moment. As our bodies clash together, my need for him settles to my core and a low, sexy growl escapes him. Hearing it, I know that I won’t be able to control myself any longer, not any more than he can control himself.
I pull at his t-shirt to bring his attention into focus and draw away from him. He lets go of me and takes a moment to close his eyes, in an effort to bring himself together.
“And as your boyfriend, I had every right,” he murmurs in a husky voice. Knowing that the kiss affected him just as much as it did me, gives me goose bumps. I try to stop my smiling by biting my lower lip, but his dimple-on smile disarms me and my face splits into a guilty grin.
He takes a sharp breath and letting it go, he pivots me and leads me to the car. I sit with Eric at the front and the rest squeeze in the back seat.
We keep quiet for a while as I take in the situation. I notice they are all wearing dark t-shirts and the rest of their clothing leads me to the assumption that whatever it was they were up to, they didn’t want to be seen. And they came prepared for it. I wonder whether Eric and Cole knew about this excursion beforehand. Before the funfair perhaps? Or even before the weekend started? Was it a coincidence that we came to this town? Or was it all arranged and part of a plan? Lots and lots of unanswered questions swirl in my head and I know I can’t keep quiet for long. Sam said Eric had disappeared in the past, so perhaps this is another one of their mysterious outings? And what exactly is it that they came here for? To this abandoned mansion? In a secluded – or rather hidden – part of the town?
“So…,” I start and everybody in the car tenses. “If I ask, do I even get an answer?” They all shift in their place.
“You already know the answer to that,” Cole says not taking his eyes off the road.
“Right.” I cross my arms and put my feet on the dashboard out of spite.
“Your feet,” Cole says in the same blunt tone.
“Oh, thanks for noticing I’ve been working out,” I joke, well aware he wasn’t talking about my physique. I catch Toy’s look in the rearview mirror as he tries not to laugh.
“Your. Feet.” He repeats.
“Yes, you already said that. I said thanks. Am I supposed to complement you back or something?” I act annoyed as I get more comfortable in my position.
Cole gives me a sideways glance full of reprimand.
Eric elbows me and points at my feet wearing a mask of fear on his face.
“Oh, by the way, do you mind if I keep my feet on the dashboard?” I ask casually.
Everyone says ‘Yes!’ at the same time. Except Cole. Who tries not to smile.
“If you want to keep your feet, get them off the dashboard,” he threatens me.
“Fine, Grumpy!” I lower my feet and sulk in my half of the seat.
“So….,” I start again, and Eric shakes his head while Cole casts a look heavenwards. “Why am I the only one talking here?”
“Been wondering the exact same thing,” Cole replies a little too fast for my tastes.
As I open my mouth to answer, I notice a cut on his sleeve.
“Oh my God,” I state as I emphatically place my fingers on my forehead. No answer. I repeat the gesture and my words. “Oh my God…”
“What?” Cole says through clenched teeth.
“You tore your t-shirt?? The t-shirt I gave you? As a gift?” I overdramatize. I know he considers not giving me an answer, but I keep my gaze on him.
“It was an accident,” he condescends after a deep breath.
“Was it? Hm?” I narrow my eyes at him, keeping my attitude ironic.
As soon as we arrive at the lake house and park the car, the rest of the guys jump out in seconds, not wanting to stay for the show. Well, that includes me as well and when Eric opens his door, I shove him out and whisper ‘go, go, go, go!’
I stumble on my way out of the car, but Eric catches me on time before I hit the ground face first. I straighten my clothes and thank him.
Cole spares me no glance and makes his way inside.
With a sigh, I nod towards the house. “You need to fix this,” I state.
“I know, is she OK?” Eric nods in understanding.
“Let’s just say…if you were in a cauldron, she would light the fire.” He nods, and I continue. “If you were at the edge of a cliff, she would push you. If you got run over by a car, she would be the one driving it. If you-”
“OK, OK, I get it!”
“Go fix this, Ricky!”
He chuckles and turns to the house. Barely a step away, he returns to me.
“How do I fix it, Lex?” he asks me sincerely and clings to my words.
>
“I don’t know…you’ll figure it out… She loves you, there’s no doubt in that. And she’ll forgive you… it’s just…you need to explain some stuff to her. Reassure her that she’s part of your life.”
“There are some things I can’t really explain, you know…”
“I know, everybody has secrets. Just, when it comes to lying, choose not to.”
Eric sighs and runs his fingers through his hair.
“Don’t let this – whatever it is you’re doing – compromise your relationship,” I carry on. “You’re apparently in a very difficult position but since you’ve chosen to be with her, don’t keep her in the dark for too long. You two are attached, and sooner or later you will see that keeping things from her doesn’t always mean you’re keeping her safe.”
Eric simply nods in agreement and starts making his way inside the house.
Walking through the living room, I catch sight of Toy and Dennis lounging on the couch, while Ethan and Zach make sandwiches in the kitchen. They seem to be familiar with their whereabouts and that confirms my suspicion that they’ve all been here before.
Reaching the bedroom, I hear Cole talking – on the phone of course. I take advantage of the fact that he’s on the balcony, and even though I can see he is ready for the shower – his pile of clean clothes laid out on the bed –, I make a run for it.
“Tipsy!” he shouts.
“Too slow!” I retort.
While showering, every single thing I’ve been pushing aside floods my mind as if an invisible portal has been opened. The issue that lingers most is the Digit case. I really need to talk to Cole about it. And where does Alex fit into all of this? Was I really that naïve about him? Maybe I should skip that part when I tell ‘The Boss’.
The moment I walk out of the bathroom and spot him wandering in the room, I blurt it out.
“I gotta tell you about Digit.”
“Hm?” he turns to look at me, and I instantly feel conscious of my dress-code – a towel.
“Digit. He’s…,” spit it out, Lex, I force myself. “Well, I looked into that ‘Over the rainbow’ organization you’ve been making donations to, and as it turns out, it’s a ghost company. The money amounts to $30,000.” Cole remains silent. “And he is the one who took the money.” Still silent. “Cole?” He looks at me with a blank expression. “Are you paying attention to what I’m saying?”
“Hardly,” he responds and gives me a crooked smile. “It’s hard to pay attention to what you’re saying given what you’re wearing. Or rather what you’re not wearing.”
“Focus!” I shout at him.
“I am trying!” he shouts back.
“God!” I exclaim exasperated as I grab his folded t-shirt from the edge of the bed and put it on. I remove the towel and make sure the black tee goes all the way down to my thighs. “Better?”
He shakes his head. I grab my panties and my shorts and put them on. “How about now?”
“Women usually undress in front of me, not the other way around,” he comments with a grin.
I take a deep breath and let my answer that ‘I’m not like most women’ pass.
“Should I take it from the top?” I ask him. He starts to say something and I’m guessing it’s like ‘yeah, start from the t-shirt and work your way down’ but I cut him instantly. “The conversation!”
His grin widens and then he gets serious. “So, you did get to that. What I wanna know, is what he does with the money.”
Taken aback from his words I stutter.
“W-Wait! You knew?”
“I had my suspicions that something was cooking. How did you figure out that he’s the one taking the money?”
“I’m good at what I do,” I simply say as I avoid getting into details on how I got the information.
“Of course you are. Do you know who he’s working for?”
I sure know who he’s working with, but I shy away from it. It has now gotten personal with Alex. Did he get close to me as part of their plan? He did ask a lot of questions about Cole. I will keep this to myself for now and see how far he’s willing to go with it.
“Not yet,” I reply.
“I…you should stay away from him. I’ll deal with it.”
“But I can help!” I start getting frustrated.
“I know you can help, but I don’t want you to.”
“But I was the one-”
“No. You’re not getting any further involved in this. And that’s the end of it.” He walks away and shuts himself in the bathroom leaving me hanging.
It takes me a couple of minutes to make the decision, but I eventually did. I step on the balcony and dial Alex.
“Lexy?” Alex’s voice comes through the phone.
I check the time and realize it’s nearly midnight. “I’m sorry, is this a bad time?”
“No, not at all, I was gonna call you anyway.”
“Oh, good.”
“What’s up?”
“Um…nothing much… I was just wondering if you’re still out of town…” I choose my phrasing very carefully.
“Oh, yeah... It seems that I might be away for a few more days. Still caught up on business out of town, I’m afraid.”
Suspicions of lying: confirmed. Key-word: ‘still’.
“Right…” I can feel my tone becoming cold and it’s difficult for me to play along now.
“Did you have anything in mind?” he asks me.
“Oh, no. Not really. It’s just this gala we have on Sunday and I was just wondering if you would be in town to come with me,” I give him my well-thought out excuse for calling.
“Oh, umm, sorry, Lex. I would love to escort you but... I won’t make it. Business is taking longer than I expected.”
“That’s fine, no worries. We’ll talk when you get back.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Bye, Alex.”
We hung up and I return to the bedroom to find an angry looking Cole waiting for me. In his towel. Now I get why he couldn’t focus earlier when I was talking to him.
“Don’t try anything stupid with that. Again,” I point at his piece of clothing.
“No. Now it’s your turn.”
I can’t help but smile at his comment. I consider leaving the room to give him his privacy to get dressed but my feet seem to be refusing me and I’m rooted to the spot, caught up in a haze as he starts putting on his boxers and a pair of sweatpants.
“Can I have my t-shirt back?” he draws my attention.
“I’m sure you have dozens of black t-shirts, you don’t need this one.”
“I want that one.”
“Well, I’m wearing this right now…”
“I can always take it off you…” he takes a step closer to me.
Nailed to the spot, I try to breathe and make a coherent thought at the same time.
“You wouldn’t,” I take a step back and hit the edge of the bed.
“Am I sensing a bet coming up?” he teases.
“The only thing you’ll be sensing is my hand on your face,” I warn him.
“That might not be a bad thing, considering what it led to earlier.”
I vaguely recall the slap I gave him and what that led to. The kiss.
“That was…that was an act!” I hurry to say while he’s closing the distance between us. Heat starts gathering under my skin.
“Was it? It didn’t feel like an act. It felt more like a French.”
I clumsily climb on the bed to move away from him, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before I give in and surrender to his disarming charms.
“Will you stop doing this?” I stand on the bed with my hands on my hips.
“I’m not doing anything!” he says with a manner indicating that he knows how much he affects me.
“Oh, but you are!”
“So, stop running away from it!”
“Haven’t we been over this?” I try to reason with him.
“Well, it’s time to go under it!” h
e grabs the hem of my t-shirt and pulls me close to him.
“This is crazy!” I try to convince him – and mostly myself –, but I do nothing to break our closeness. He locks my gaze and his eyes travel to my lips.
“You’re driving me crazy!” he pulls my calves and drops me on the bed, climbing on top of me. Not giving me any time to think, he leans and lands his lips on mine.
Frenzied, I push my fingers in his hair and pull him even closer. He pushes my knees open and lowers himself. His need for me is as strong as mine and it’s obvious by the bulk in his pants. He deepens the kiss and rubs his hardness against my pelvis. The friction of our bodies builds up this uncontrollable desire to become one. Our breathing is ragged, and my pulse tunes in with his.
My hands trail along his naked back and I can’t fight the yearning to feel his manhood. His own hands travel on my skin and under my t-shirt. I slide my hands under his pants and get a handful of his buttocks. He lets go of a sexy grunt as he pulls his face back and gives me a full-dimple, satisfied grin. I feel my lips drawing back in a smile and he lowers his head to lick and leave a trail of kisses on my neck. I let my hands travel to his front and the moment I feel his hot flesh beneath my touch, he tenses and groans. He reaches my ribs with his fingers and, in really slow moves, he traces the outer curve of my breasts. I wrap my hand around his hard cock and move it up and down his length. He brushes the hardened peaks of my breasts with his thumbs and surprises me with a passionate grip, causing me to let go of a moan.
He chuckles at my reaction and the mere sound of it echoes through my body. I can feel my blood pumping vigorously through my veins and I know it won’t take long before I lose all control and give in to my inner instincts. My craving for him is way more than I can handle and I forcefully bite my lower lip in an effort to suppress my lust. He places his fingers on my face and taking my lower lip in his thumb he releases it from under my teeth. He traces it with his tongue and seals it in a kiss.
“Cole…,” I murmur in his mouth. “Answer it or turn it off!” I manage to say referring to his phone that won’t stop ringing.