“Okay, sure. I have my own laptop in the bedroom. I don’t really foresee needing to use yours for anything anyways. Are you going to be long? Do you want to get some dinner?”
“I think I might just order in,” Angela told him. “I’m not really in the mood to get dressed up and go out.”
“Okay, what do you want? I’ll order it.”
“Um...pizza?”
“A girl after my own heart. You do what you need to do and I’ll order it.”
“Thank you, Thomas.”
“No problem, babe.”
Babe? Did he just call me babe? Should I be concerned about that? Angela watched him go into the bedroom to get his phone with her brow furrowed. By the time he came back out, she was reading an email from Steve and she’d forgotten all about the “babe.”
The email subject line read: Please read, so important. She knew she should just delete it...or better yet, send it to spam so from now on, they’d all go there. But her heart still ached for him and she couldn’t bring herself to delete it without reading it. She reminded herself as she began that curiosity did indeed, kill the cat.
“Angela...I saw the look in your eyes today when you told me that you didn’t want to see me again. I saw the finality there. I saw that you were serious. What I also saw was hurt and confusion. This thing between us has happened like a whirlwind and I know that I am mostly to blame for that. I’ve never in my life met anyone that had me that quickly. The second I laid eyes on you in that club, my heart linked to yours and it doesn’t know how to let go. Had I taken more time to get to know you first and discover what you’d been through...I would have taken things slower. It’s my fault that we rushed into something immediately after I broke up with Kimberly. But please believe me when I tell you: I have been with a lot of women that I don’t deny. But I’ve never been with more than one woman at a time. If there was a relationship between she and I...there was no one else involved, and that’s the truth. The moment I met you, I went to see Kimberly...that very night. I told her that I couldn’t see her any longer. I was honest with her while trying to spare her feelings. As the weeks went on I saw how hurt she was and I felt bad. I agreed to meet her for a drink here and there, but each time I told her that we were over. Ana was the one that told me I would have to just cut her off completely or she was never going to get it. I wish I would have listened. I confronted her about the photos and the message. She tells me they were meant for someone else. I don’t believe her. I believe they were meant for you. She thinks if you’re out of the way, she has a chance. Let me tell you this, she has no chance. Kim was never going to be forever. I’m not in love with her nor have I ever been. I don’t see myself with her in the future. But you, Angela...when I look at you, I see the future. I see family, home, love and peace. I feel it. I can’t walk away from you knowing that this was all a misunderstanding set about by a malicious ex-lover. I want Kimberly to be my last ex-lover Angela, because I never want to be with anyone else but you. Please believe me. I’m not really one to beg, but I’m begging you. I haven’t felt this lost and empty since my father died. He was my rock and I didn’t think I’d be able to go on without him. The only things that have kept me going is being busy with the business that he loved with all his heart and my sister who always has my back, but all of that is still just existing. Then I found you...and I thought my future was finally going to be all I’ve ever wanted it to be. I want a family someday. I want kids to teach all of the things my dad taught me. I can’t imagine any of that without you. I’m on my knees baby. I need you. Steve.”
Angela wiped a tear from the corner of her eye just as Thomas came back in the room. “Hey, are you okay? What is it?” As he crossed the room to her, she clicked off Steve’s email. Thomas came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Facebook made you cry?” he asked, looking over her shoulder.
She nodded. Lying was easier than arguing with him about Steve. “It was one of those silly videos that people pass around. Hormones, I think.” She clicked Facebook off the screen and said, “When’s that pizza going to be here? I’m starving.”
The doorbell rang just then and she actually felt a sense of relief when Thomas took his hands off of her shoulders. Joanne’s silly warnings were starting to get to her. This is Thomas. She had to remind herself that all he has ever wanted to do was help her.
Chapter 3
Angela left to go out with Joanne. Thomas waited for a few minutes to make sure she wasn’t going to come back for anything and then he got up and locked the front door. She’s so trusting. She leaves her computer signed on half the time and the other half all he has to do is enter her password...of course it was Blake. He just had to figure out that it was “Blake my love.” It took him about fifteen minutes last week and since then he had access to every apartment she’d been looking at. He’d called the bubble-headed real estate agent from Lakewood the day he’d gone home “sick.” He told her he was only going to be in town one day and then he had to fly “home” to Atlanta. She was more than willing to set up the showing when he hinted to her that his daddy just might own part of the L.A. Dodgers and he would need a place to stay when he flew in and out of town on business. He didn’t want anything fancy, just in a nice neighborhood.
He’d shown up with a big smile and a pretty damned good fake southern accent. While she was rattling on about the crappy apartment’s “amenities” he’d turned the water heater up to high and snapped off the knob. He’d seen it on myth busters. He knew they only had about half an hour to get out so he acted like he was in a hurry to get to LAX and catch a plane. It all went according to plan and he’d got to spend the evening with Angela.
He logged into her email and while he waited for it to load, Thomas thought about how he had watched football and feigned nonchalance as she went out the door. She had no idea how hard that was for him. He wanted to grab her and tell her she didn’t need to go out. Everything she needed was right here...but she needed to figure that out herself. That way, she would appreciate it that much more. One day she would realize that he was the only man she needed to look at her the way that he knew every man in the club would all be looking at her tonight.
Her email came up and as he scrolled through he found a few about apartments. She’d made two appointments for the coming up Monday. He printed those out with the address and phone numbers of the agents. He was about to click off when Steve’s name caught his eye. Why is that mother-fucker emailing her? He opened it up, getting a little angry to see that she’d read it. She should have just deleted it. He read through the words and as he thought back he recalled finding her here with a tear in her eye the night they had pizza. She’d lied to him...something about a video on Facebook. That fucker was begging her to come back to him. Talking about her having his babies...Over my dead body, Thomas thought. He liked picturing her pregnant. Glowing, with her belly swollen out in front and her hips growing wider. But the baby that was in her belly in those daydreams was his. That rich son of a bitch will not get another chance to try and impregnate her. He has got to go.
Thomas logged off and a photo of Angela and Joanne popped up on the screen. She was wearing a pair of jean shorts in the picture and it looked like it was taken on the Fourth of July. It pissed him off to think of her spending it with Steve...but it didn’t stop him from enjoying the hell out of looking at her in that skimpy little red, white and blue tank top and cut off shorts. She has a smoking hot body and a face like an angel...and that hair. He loves the way her dark hair shines in the light and the way it smells when he gets close to her. He loves the way her eyes change color with her mood. They’re a much lighter brown...almost gold when she’s laughing and in a good mood. When she gets angry or upset they get darker. He couldn’t wait to find out what color they were when he made love to her. Just thinking about it made his cock hard. He shut off the computer and made his way down the hall to her room. Letting himself in he went straight to the hamper and took out the pink, fril
ly underwear she’d taken off right before her bath.
He went into the bathroom that was still dewy from her soaking in the tub. The soft fragrance of jasmine wafted up and filled his senses with her scent. The idea of her in the tub, naked and vulnerable only an hour earlier caused him to shiver. He brought the panties to his face and inhaled as he thought about running his hands across her warm, wet skin. He had to reach down with one hand and set his cock free. He wrapped his hand around it, continuing to hold the panties to his face. With his eyes closed he imagined bathing her, kneading her sensitive flesh. He stroked himself harder as he thought about washing that long, sexy hair. He wanted to tangle it up in his fingers and tug her head back, exposing her neck to his lips so that he could finally taste her skin....
Thomas felt his cock grow in his hand and his body began to tense all over. He put the panties in the hand that was wrapped around his cock and began to stroke frantically. One of these days...soon, she would know that the one she needed was right here in front of her all the time. He cried out her name as he came all over the silk and lace that had been touching her body only hours ago. One of these days baby...you’ll see how good we can be together.
******
“You’re lagging Ang,” Joanne said, “I’m two drinks up on you at least.”
Angela sat at the high top table. She and Joanna had just gotten off the dance floor. She watched the couples and even the singles dancing...but the joy that usually brought her wasn’t there. It had been three days since she’d gotten the email from Steve. She hadn’t responded to it and she hadn’t talked to Kim. She did run into Kim a few times in the office, and Kim had acted as if everything between them was okay. Maybe she had meant to send that message to someone else. Surely if she was semi-stalking Steve, she wouldn’t be so nice to Angela...would she?”
“I’m sorry, I’m just not in the most fun-loving sort of mood tonight,” she told her friend.
“Have another Cosmo. That’ll help,” Joanne said with a giggle. “Oh...looky there, a cowboy. Will you excuse me? I think I want to fuck him and the horse he rode in on.” Angela cracked up and as Joanne walked away she said,
“No more alcohol for you!” Joanne ignored her and headed for the tall, handsome cowboy sitting alone in a booth on the other side of the bar.
“Hey there, can I buy you a drink?” Angela looked up. A nice looking guy with dark hair and blue eyes and dressed in a pair of black slacks and a dark blue silk shirt with the sleeves rolled up was standing next to her table. She smiled.
“I’m good, but thanks.”
“Okay, how about some company?”
“I’m here with my friend...”
“I saw her. Cute blonde, hitting hard on the grumpy cowboy in the corner.”
Angela giggled. “Yeah, that’s her. I’m not here looking for anything tonight.”
“That’s okay. I’m alright with just being in the presence of a Goddess.”
She laughed again. “Nice line. Have a seat, but don’t waste any more of your good ones on me. It’s not going to work.”
He laughed and sat down. “It was worth a shot, right? I’m Dan.”
“Hi Dan. I’m Angela.”
“See there, you are an angel! I was right.”
Angela rolled her eyes. “If only I had a dollar for every time I heard that one.”
“Yeah, that one was kind of lame,” he said. “So, can I ask you a question?”
“Sure, I may or may not answer it.”
“Fair enough. Why is a gorgeous woman like you, who is not looking for anything, sitting here all alone?”
“It’s complicated,” she told him.
“You want to talk about it?” She suddenly realized that she did...but not to this cute little stranger. She looked over towards Joanne who seemed to have the “grumpy” cowboy coming out of his funk. He was smiling.
“I appreciate the offer,” she said, “But I think there’s something I have to do. It was nice to meet you, Dan.” She stood up and he said, “Wait! Can I get your number...maybe for another time?”
She smiled. “No, but it was worth a shot.”
Chapter 4
Thomas opened the door and immediately started to slam it shut. “Wait! I just want to see her for five minutes, that’s all.”
Thomas pulled the door back open. Steve looked like shit. He almost wished that Angela was here to see him looking like a bum. He was unshaven and his eyes were bloodshot. He had on a t-shirt that said, “Los Angeles Dodgers” and a pair of faded blue jeans. Thomas guessed he didn’t have any big Saturday night plans.
“She’s not here, but even if she were, she wouldn’t want to talk to you. Give it up and get a life, loser...and shave, maybe.”
“Do you know where she is?”
“Do you think I would tell you if I did? She’s way too good for you, asshole. She finally figured that out.”
“I’m not seeing Kim.”
“I don’t give a shit if you are or not. Whether Kim sent that text by mistake or not doesn’t matter. She did Angela a favor, getting her away from you.”
“Why are you so intent on keeping her miserable?”
“What the fuck are you talking about? I’ve done everything for her since her husband died...everything. She doesn’t need you. She has me...for everything she needs.”
“You’re in love with her, aren’t you?”
Thomas leaned in close to Steve’s face and said, “How I feel is none of your fucking business. All you need to know is that she is my best friend and I will do whatever it takes to protect her from scumbags like you...got it?” His tone was low and vicious and his eyes focused on Steve’s face, filled with a passionate hate. “You don’t want to get on my bad side,” he spat.
Steve didn’t flinch. He waited for Thomas to finish and then he said, “You’re not going to get away with keeping her a prisoner here. Even if she still refuses to see me, she’s looking for a place...to get away from you.”
Thomas laughed. It was a creepy, almost frightening laugh and totally inappropriate for the moment. He slammed the door in Steve’s face, and Steve could still hear him laughing when he got to the elevator.
*****
Angela left Joanne only after having the cowboy promise her that he wasn’t a serial killer, show her his I.D. so if anything happened to her friend she could report him to the police and lastly taking a photo of him and Joanne together on her phone. The cowboy complied because it seemed he was smitten with her pretty friend, but he acted like he thought she was a little bit crazy. After telling Joanne she loved her and to stop drinking now because she’d had enough, she left the club. She sent a text to Steve while she waited for a taxi that said, “Starbucks in Nob Hill? I’m ready to talk.”
She was getting into the back of a cab that pulled up when she got one back. It said, “Absolutely! Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We’re just talking, okay?”
“Okay. Thank you.” She smiled at the second thank you.
When Angela got to Starbucks, Steve was already waiting for her at a table outside. She almost didn’t recognize him and when she did, it made her heart hurt. He was wearing an old t-shirt and jeans and looked like he hadn’t combed his hair or shaved in a couple of days. His eyes were bright red like he hadn’t slept either. He stood up as soon as he saw her. “Jesus, you’re so beautiful.” She felt her face color and before she could say anything he said, “I’m sorry. I know I look like shit.”
She laughed. “I was thinking slightly pathetic...I’m not sure you could look like shit if you tried. You’re too hot.”
He pulled a chair out for her. “Good to know you still think I’m hot,” he said.
“Your actions didn’t change your looks. Will you order me a Grande Vanilla Latte?”
“Absolutely,” he said. She watched him go inside. She’d purposely sent him away because the desire to touch him was so strong she wasn’t sure she’d be able to fight it for long. When he go
t back with two coffees, he sat hers down and took his seat on the other side of the table. That was good...out of her reach.
They stared at each other for a long while before Angela finally said, “I got your email. That was a very sweet letter...but...”
“I know,” he said, “It’s the actions that matter, not the words. I promise you baby, I haven’t had anything to do with Kim.”
She nodded. “I would love to believe you. It’s hard for me to describe the feeling I had when I saw those pictures and that text on your phone.”
“You don’t have to describe them. When it all happened, I put myself in your place. Just imagining it caused me physical pain. I know it’s soon Angela and I know that you’ve been through a lot...but I am falling head over heels for you. I haven’t been able to function this last week, knowing how upset you are. I would never do that to you...never!” The look in his eyes was so intense and so sincere. Angela wanted to take him into her arms and hold him and tell him everything was going to be okay. But, there was still that part of her that couldn’t bear the thought of being hurt...again.
“Like I said, I want to believe you...and I’m leaning towards it, obviously, or I wouldn’t be here.” He smiled and shook his head again as he looked at her.
“You’re so damned gorgeous. I don’t know where you were tonight, but anyone who laid eyes on you was a lucky son of a bitch.”
Angela laughed. “I went out with Joanne. Some guy hit on me and asked me why I was alone. It made me think about how badly I don’t want to be alone lately...how badly I want to be with you.”
His eyes lit up and he reached for her hand. She pulled it back and said, “But...I still need a little time. I need to take baby steps. I can’t just jump back into this. It happened too fast. I need to take a step back and decide if I really trust this before we go any further.”
Deceived - The Complete Series Page 11