by Like, Macyn
By three o’clock I was pretty much doing Camden’s work for him, while he sat back and watched. I caught Greta looking at me a couple of times with a scowl on her face. I knew she was just worried that I’d fall victim to Camden’s so-called infamous player charms, but her fears were ridiculous. After going out with him last night and spending the whole day with him today, I could say that was definitely not the vibe I got from him.
At around 4:55, when I was shutting down the computer and straightening the desk, Camden turned to me and said, “So do you have plans for after work?”
“No,” I said absentmindedly, putting the pen I’d been using back in his pencil holder. I never had plans for after work.
“We should go out again,” he said. “I had fun last night.”
My eyes widened slightly. He was asking me out again? So soon?
“Okay,” I said, feeling caught off guard. “What did you have in mind?”
“Well, I’ve been craving some Italian,” he said.
“Italian’s good.” I smiled. “Just let me run to the restroom first.”
I walked into the restroom with a goofy smile on my face. I’d had fun last night, too. True, I’d caught myself wondering about Kieran more than once, but that was clearly a lost cause. I felt a little pang in my chest when I thought of the woman’s voice I’d heard through the bedroom wall when I arrived home last night. I didn’t know why. Kieran and I were friends, nothing more. No reason to be upset.
When I stepped out of the stall, Greta was standing in front of one of the mirror’s reapplying her lip gloss.
“How was your day? Are you picking it up quickly?” she asked, studying her reflection.
“It was good. I think I’m learning pretty fast. I’ve missed you, though,” I told her.
“I’ve missed you, too. I had to talk to Teena all day. Now I know a whole bunch of stuff about that loan officer, Brian, that I really didn’t want to know.”
I gasped. “Brian in loans? No way! I didn’t think he was her type.”
“Why not? Her type is everyone.”
“I guess.” I paused, wondering whether or not I should bring it up, but then decided it wasn’t a big deal. “So, Camden finally asked me out.”
“Camden asked you out?” she asked, surprise coloring her voice.
“Yeah. I know you don’t like him, but he’s really nice. You should give him a chance.”
“I never said I didn’t like him. I just don’t think you should date him. You work together. Dating colleagues is almost never a good idea.”
“It’s just a date. It’s not like we’re serious.”
“Do you want to be? I mean, eventually?” she asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
She sighed. “Fine. Just be careful with him. He’s…” She tapped her lip with her index finger as she searched for the right word, “Shady, okay?”
I laughed. “Okay. I will keep my eyes peeled for all forms of shadiness,” I said as I exited the bathroom. When I reached the front double doors, Camden was there waiting for me.
“Have you been here before?” he asked as we entered the small Italian restaurant a few miles from the bank.
“No. I don’t really go out that much.”
“Really?” He raised his brows.
“Nope.” I shook my head as he pulled my chair out for me. Great. I shouldn’t have said that. That probably made him think I was some sort of hermit. Of course, if he did think that, I guessed he wouldn’t really be that far off.
“So you’re friends with Greta, right?” he asked as a waiter set a basket of breadsticks in front of us.
“Yeah, sure. We don’t really hang out outside of work, though.”
“Oh. So you haven’t met her fiancé?”
“No, why?”
“I met him once. Seemed like kind of a douche to me. Just wondered how you felt about him.”
“I don’t know. Greta seems to like him. They spend every waking minute together.”
He bit his bottom lip and nodded. Then he picked up his menu. “I’m starving. How about you?”
“Yes. What’s good here?”
“Everything, but I recommend the seafood fettuccine Alfredo.”
I smiled. I loved anything doused in Alfredo sauce. “That sounds good. I think I’ll have that.”
The rest of the date went fine. There were a few awkward silences, but I thought that was pretty standard for a first, er, second date. We mostly just talked about work, the people that we worked with, etc. Being out with Camden wasn’t the exciting, butterfly-inducing, soul-connecting, fantastic time that I’d been imagining all these months, but it was still nice to be out with someone. And he was awfully cute.
An hour later he pulled into the empty bank parking lot and stopped in the space right beside my car.
“I had a good time tonight, Marissa,” he said, a slow, relaxed smile spreading across his face.
“Me too.” Or, I would have, if I could’ve kept my thoughts about Kieran under control.
We sat there silently for a moment before I said, “Well…goodnight. Thanks for dinner.”
“Goodnight,” he said quietly.
Then he leaned in. Panic flared in my stomach. Oh, no.
Wait, what was wrong with me? Get it together, Marissa! Last week I’d wanted this. I closed my eyes and waited. A moment later his lips met mine. He threaded a hand in my hair and moved his lips softly against mine. After a minute he pulled back, smiling at me. I forced a smile back as I exited his car.
And that’s it.
Nothing. I felt nothing. I had been expecting fireworks, electricity, something. I’d crushed on this guy for months. Yet, all I’d felt was nothing.
I drove into my apartment’s parking lot and noted that Kieran’s car was there. I wanted to go see him, but I knew I couldn’t. What if he still had his guest?
When I came to the top of the staircase there was a girl leaning against the railing in front of Kieran’s apartment. It must’ve been her, the girl I’d been hearing last night. She sniffling, dabbing a tissue under her eyes. I wondered why she was out there instead of inside. Had Kieran broke it off?
I realized I was staring at her at the same time she noticed my presence.
“Sorry,” she said softly. “I needed some air.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to intrude, I was just heading to my apartment.”
I turned to walk towards my door when I heard her say, “You’re Marissa, right?”
I glanced over my shoulder. “Yes,” I replied, my brow furrowed. Why would she know that? Had Kieran told her about me? Why?
“I’m Kiera, his sister.”
His sister. Of course. Now that she’d said it I felt stupid for not realizing it the second I laid eyes on her. She had the same pale, creamy skin, the same almost black hair, same sky blue eyes. The same full lips. There was no denying she was his twin.
She looked me up and down and a small smile touched her lips. “My brother really likes you,” she said. “Don’t tell him I said that.”
I couldn’t help the smile tugging at the corners of my mouth. “He does?”
She laughed a little. “He does. Hey, do you want come in for a second? Kieran won’t mind.”
It was late, but after what she’d just said, the opportunity to see Kieran made my heart speed up a little bit. “Yeah, okay.”
Chapter 12
Kieran
I stepped out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped loosely around my waist. I turned to go in the bedroom when I heard Kiera call my name. I twisted around to face her and jumped, grabbing a handful of towel in my fist as it slipped.
Kiera was smiling at me. “I invited Marissa over. Is that okay?” she asked nonchalantly with a spark in her eyes that told me she knew exactly what she was doing.
My eyes went wide as my mind registered that, yes, Marissa was sitting on the couch with my sister, and yes, I was still standing outside my bedroom door, wearing n
othing but a towel.
“I’m gonna—uh—” I nodded my head towards the bedroom door, unable to get the whole sentence out. Marissa was staring at me. Her lips were still turned up in a small smile, but I could see the concern in her eyes. She was taking it all in. The faded tattoo on my chest. The long scar running down my left arm. I opened the bedroom door as carefully as I could manage and slipped in, mindful of my sleeping nephew. Once I was in, I walked over to the dresser and braced myself against it, taking deep breaths. I lifted my eyes to the mirror and took a hard look.
I didn’t hide the scar because it was ugly. I didn’t care about that. I hid it because of what they represented. A part of me that I wasn’t ready for Marissa, or anyone, to see.
I shook my head and quietly got dressed in a pair of old jeans and a soft thermal long-sleeved shirt. I couldn’t hide out in here all night. It would make it that much worse, if I acted embarrassed. The truth was, I was horribly embarrassed, but Marissa didn’t need to know that. I stepped out into the living room. She was facing my sister and laughing and she was beautiful. I knew before I took another step that if I was ever going to show myself to anyone again it would be her. But not now. Not tonight. I tugged at the sleeve on my left arm just to assure myself it was there.
I smiled like nothing was wrong and sat down next to Marissa. “So, you’ve met my sister,” I said.
“Yes. She was just apologizing for detaining you during yesterday. I told her it was no big deal.”
It was a big deal to me. I had wanted to spend time with her. But I couldn’t bail on my twin. She needed me, and she’d certainly been there for me when I needed her.
“Can I get you something?” I asked her. “We haven’t eaten yet. We were waiting for the little guy to go down.”
“No, I just ate. I thought I heard a baby last night. He’s yours?” she asked my sister.
“Yes. His name is Skylar. You’ll have to meet him when he’s awake.”
“I’d like that.”
“Speaking of Sky, I’m going to go check on him.” Kiera stood up. Surely it was my imagination, but I thought I saw her wink at Marissa before she left the room.
My stomach churned. She’d said something, hadn’t she? Would she? Yes. She didn’t even know Marissa, but it would be like her. I knew her heart was in the right place, but I’d told her before that I didn’t need her help. I’d work out my issues in my own time. At the moment, I wasn’t even sure I wanted them worked out. I was sure I didn’t want to drag Marissa into it. Yes, I wanted her, so bad. It was hard not to reach across the small distance between us and brush my hand down her smooth arm. But she deserved better than me, better than what I had to give. It was good that Kiera had called me when she did, and interrupted our date, because I’d started to forget.
“Sorry,” I said after I realized I was staring at her. “I should’ve explained myself better before I ditched you yesterday. I was in a hurry. She’d just called me and I was really angry with my brother-in-law, and really worried about her, and my nephew.”
“You didn’t ditch me. Kiera already explained. I understand.”
“I still feel bad about it, though.”
She reached over and touched my shoulder, a smile lighting her eyes. A spark shot down all the way down my arm to my fingers. “Don’t. It wasn’t your fault.”
She let her arm fall, brushing the length of my arm as it fell, sending a chill down my spine. Words escaped me, so I jumped off the couch and went to the kitchen. If she touched me like that again, I didn’t think I’d be able to convince myself that I didn’t need to touch her back.
“Are you sure you don’t want something? I was about to fry some hamburgers,” I said, looking over my shoulder.
“Yes, I’m stuffed.” Marissa glanced at the stove and then looked back at me, skeptically. “You can cook?” she asked.
“Not really. Just simple stuff. Hamburgers, eggs, grilled cheese.”
She laughed. “Sounds good to me.”
Kiera walked back in.
“How is he?” I asked, pulling the skillet out of the cabinet beside the stove.
“He’s fine. Not a peep.” She slid past me and grabbed the ground beef, cheese, and a tomato out of the refrigerator.
Marissa got up and walked over to us. “You guys are busy. I think I’m going to go. I need to let my dog out. She’s probably wondering where I am.”
“Are you sure? We’ve got plenty. Kieran makes a mean cheeseburger,” Kiera said, nudging my shoulder with hers.
Marissa chuckled. “I’m sure. Thanks for having me in, though. It was nice to meet you, Kiera.”
“You too, Riss,” Kiera said.
I shot Kiera a questioning look.
“What?” she asked. “That’s cute, right?” She looked to Marissa.
Marissa smiled and nodded. “That’s what my stepsister calls me.”
“See, there you go,” Kiera said, turning back to her vegetable.
As soon as she was out the door I turned on Kiera. “You said something to her, didn’t you?”
“Did she tell you that?” she asked, not looking up from the tomato she was slicing.
“No, but—”
“Then I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Come on, Kiera,” I said, trying to keep the exasperation out of my voice.
“Do you want your tomato sliced thick or thin?”
I opened my mouth to protest, but stopped. “Thick,” I said. I heaved a sigh and greased the skillet.
Chapter 13
Marissa
I shut the door behind me and bent down to greet Tulip, George, and Oatmeal. I attached Tulip’s lease to her faded pink collar and walked her outside. She clomped down the steps behind me and bounced over to her favorite patch of grass, right in front of my downstairs neighbor’s porch.
A big smile spread across my face and butterflies stirred in my stomach. Kieran liked me. I felt like I was in junior high all over again.
Tulip and I walked back up the stairs to join the cats. I poured myself a glass of tea once I was inside and settled down on the couch, flipping the TV on as my herd of animals surrounded me. There was no way I was going to be able to relax, though.
I thought back to my date with Camden. It was nice. Pleasant. He was what I thought I wanted. But being around Kieran was exhilarating. I didn’t feel that for Camden. I knew that now, especially after the kiss. I imagined kissing Kieran. A warm feeling expanded in my chest. Somehow, I knew it would be amazing.
When Kieran had first stepped out of the bathroom and seen me on his couch, and he’d looked like he’d been shot, I was afraid that he didn’t want me there. But after he entered the bedroom, his sister explained that he just didn’t like people to see the scar, which I already knew. I could understand why. His left arm was marked with a long, wide, deep mark running down the entire length of it that was actually quite startling at first sight. Kiera said he thought they would repulse other people. But nothing about Kieran was ugly to me. When I saw him step out into the light of the hallway, the only words going through my mind were breathtaking. Devastating. Beautiful.
How could I have not noticed before? I mean, I’d always thought he was attractive, but ever since the storm, every time I saw him, he made my heart speed up. Seeing him like that tonight took my breath away.
I remembered the faded black and red swirling letters on his chest that spelled out the name “Becca.” Jealousy had surged through me and I wanted to ask Kiera who she was, but it wasn’t any of my business. Kieran said he’d been younger when he’d gotten his tattoos. I figured she was just some old forgotten ex-girlfriend.
I changed into my favorite Victoria’s Secret Pink plaid pajama pants and a huge prom t-shirt from high school that Shayla had left when she’d visited me a couple months ago. I helped Tulip up on the bed and crawled under the sheets, a huge smile still on my face as I clicked the lamp off.
The next day at work they had me working with Ko
ri, which was a huge relief. I was feeling really awkward about the Camden situation. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to go out with him again. It wasn’t so much about him, he was fine. But he wasn’t Kieran. The way I felt when I was near Kieran…
Camden didn’t even come close.
Around noon, Greta walked up to Kori’s desk. “Is it okay for her to go on lunch now?” she asked Kori, who had just gotten back from her break.
“Sure,” Kori replied.
I grabbed my purse out from under the desk and followed Greta out the front doors. I was a little surprised she wanted to go with me. I’d gotten the impression that she was a little upset with me for going out with Camden. I didn’t know what she had against him, but she didn’t have anything to worry about. I wasn’t interested in him after all.
“How’d your date go?” she asked as we walked down the street toward our usual spot.
“Eh.” I shrugged.
“Eh?” She raised an eyebrow.
“It was okay.”
“But…?” she prodded.
“I don’t know. Don’t get me wrong. I like Camden. I think we’d be better just being friends, though. Or maybe just friendly coworkers.”
“You don’t want to go out with him again?”
“I’m not saying I wouldn’t. I just don’t think it’s going anywhere.”
We walked in silence a few feet before she said, “It’s because of your neighbor guy, right?”
I bit my lip to control my smile.
A huge grin broke out over her face. “I knew it.”
“You knew what?” I asked, raising one brow.
“That you were into him. You can see it in your eyes.”
Yes, well, I never had been very good at hiding my emotions.
“Okay, yes. It’s because of him. He just—I don’t know—he makes me feel excited, like I’m more alive when I’m around him.”
“Oh, yeah. You’ve got it bad,” she said with a satisfied smile.
We ordered Greek salads and drinks and sat down at a table by the big front window, looking out over the street and chatted about work as we ate. Greta told me about Teena’s latest escapades with Brian the loan officer, and we took turns gasping and making grossed-out faces. All the while one thought kept running through my head, making my insides buzz.