Morning After (A Reynolds Security Novel)

by Hale, Melissa

  He wasn't surprised to find Erica not in the shop when he went at his usual time. She was clearly going to avoid him. Zoe was cool to him but not outright hostile. Still she didn't offer any clues as to where he might find Erica. So he went back to the office and continued to scan tape. He finally found what he was looking for from a parking lot camera across the street. The camera was meant to deter car thieves so it wasn't very high quality. The dim light made it appear black and white and grainy but the back of the apartment building was visible. He scanned on fast forward until he found what he was looking for. A black figure scaling the brick wall as if it were a rock face. He was momentarily stunned the wall was perfectly vertical yet the figure scaled it like it was nothing. He watched as the figure reached the window. A blade flashed silver as he cut along the edge of the screen. Had they checked the screen? He knew he hadn't, he doubted the police had. He would make sure that was remedied. As he watched the screen he saw the figure get startled. There was no audio but he assumed that was when the alarm had gone off. Instead of climbing down the figure went up and climbed onto the roof and disappeared into the shadows. After that he could see the police officer arrive and move around the building. He never saw the black figure again.

  Erica knew who it was when she heard the knock. She wished she could just not answer. But her traitorous heart wanted to see him. Zoe heard the knock but she made no move to the door. Erica sighed and went to answer the door. After checking the peephole she opened it just wide enough for her body.

  "I brought you ‘I'm sorry’ cider." He held up the bottle. A small smile forced its way to the surface. "If that doesn't work I also have some ‘I'm sorry’ truffles." He held up a bag of gourmet chocolates and her smile grew a little wider. She reached out and took the bag and he grinned. Taking advantage of the opportunity he stepped closer to her.

  "I never for one second thought you made anything up." He said softly. "Can I come in? I have something you need to see."

  "That depends."

  "On?"

  "On whether these are any good." She opened the bag and pulled out a lumpy brown chocolate. When the creamy flavor hit her tongue she rolled her eyes and groaned. "You can come in." She said around the candy. She walked back to the sofa and plopped down next to Zoe offering her a truffle. Ethan noticed an empty bottle of wine on the coffee table and picked it up.

  "Yes, we have a very nice wine buzz." Erica said nibbling the edge of a truffle. "Be thankful. I might not have answered the door otherwise. Plus it is giving me the courage to sleep in my room." Ethan frowned. He didn't like the sound of that.

  "These are way better than the flowers." Zoe said around a mouth full of chocolate.

  "What flowers?"

  "The roses." Zoe was doing all the talking and Erica wasn't meeting his gaze.

  "Where are they now?"

  "I had the delivery guy toss them in the dumpster. No offense." Ethan focused on Erica, he lifted her chin and she finally looked in his eyes.

  "I would never send you roses," he said very quietly. He saw what looked like relief then confusion in her eyes. He stepped away and called someone to go retrieve those flowers, he wanted to know who sent them and why.

  "You said you had something to show me," she said when he returned. He looked at her for a long moment.

  "Maybe you don't need to see it." She looked into his eyes for a moment and drew a deep breath.

  "Yes I do, I need to see it. I need to know everything." He relented showing her the video on his phone. She and Zoe huddled together watching on the small screen. Both gasped when the dark figure crawled up the wall.

  "He looks like a spider." Zoe said and shivered.

  "Can you think of anyone we know that can move like that?" Zoe shook her head and Erica agreed, "Neither can I." While the two women watched the video again he slipped into Erica’s room. There was a stick in the window now. He moved it and opened the window. He pushed on the screen and it swung free. The sides and bottom had been cut but not the top so it lay back against the fame as if it was still intact. He closed the window and replaced the stick.

  “Why don’t you guys come home with me for the night? I have plenty of room.” He said when he reentered the living room.

  “You should go.” Zoe whispered and nudged Erica.

  “No, I’m not leaving you here and besides. I am not going to let this creep drive me out of my home.” Zoe looked at Ethan and then back at Erica.

  “Okay well I am going to bed then.” She patted Erica’s hand gently before she left. Ethan sat down in the spot she had vacated.

  “Thanks for bringing the video. Thanks for even finding the video.” She smiled at him. “I am fine. I will set the alarm. It certainly proved itself last night.”

  “Remember when I said I wasn’t going to let you pull back just because you were freaked out?” he said softly. She blew out her breath on a sigh.

  “Ethan, I know you’re an in charge guy but I don’t need you to save me. I really can take care of myself.”

  “I know. But I don’t want you do be afraid or unhappy if there is anything I can do about it.”

  “That’s very sweet. You’re very sweet.”

  “It’s not sweet. It’s very selfish.”

  “How so?” She frowned. He leaned forward and kissed her softly.

  “Because you make me happy. Seeing you happy makes me feel… like I have never felt before.” Erica looked at him very wide-eyed. The wine had already made her feel pleasantly warm, now her heart was pounding and she felt almost giddy. He made her feel like she had never felt before too. Still in the back of her mind was a little nagging doubt. A fear that she was going to get her heart broken.

  “Tell me what I can do. I won’t take charge. You just tell me what you need.” He held his breath hoping she wouldn’t tell him to go. He watched the indecision playing in her face and she bit lightly on her lower lip.

  “Will you stay? Here, I mean. But not to, I mean I don’t want to… to lead you on.” He placed his finger over her lip to stop her stammering.

  “I would love to. No strings, no insinuations, just sleep.” The relief in her face was obvious and he thought she must have known some real jerks.

  He stood and pulled her to her feet. He led her into the bedroom. She crawled up on the bed on the far side from the window. He took off just the essentials, his belt, his shoes, emptied his pockets. He turned out the light and climbed onto the bed beside her. He could see her still wide eyed in the dim light. He knew she needed to close the gap so he waited.

  “Your move, sweetheart.” She smiled and moved closer snuggling against him up under his chin. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. She felt empowered in the darkness. She wrapped her arms around him and inhaled deeply.

  “You smell good.” She whispered.

  “Thank you. So do you. Like strawberries."

  "It's my shampoo." She was quiet for a moment and he felt her take a deep breath.

  "You probably think I am a terrible tease. I kiss you like... like I do, but then tell you I am not ready to go any farther."

  "I do not think you are a tease. I told you we can go as slow as you want. I don't mind."

  "My last boyfriend said that, but then I caught him in bed with his neighbor."

  "The Marco guy?"

  "Yeah."

  "He's a dumbass."

  "Well that's true." She laughed. "You have to use a condom." She blurted, "If we, when we... I'm not on birth control." He pulled back enough that he could see her face.

  "Erica, relax. When you're ready. When we're ready, together. Then we'll take that step and I promise I will make sure you're protected."

  "Thank you." She said softly and kissed his lips. She cuddled up against his chest again and he squeezed her gently. After a few quiet moments his curiosity got the better of him.

  "You have a pretty strict screening process."

  "I guess."

  "What happened with the ones tha
t actually made it through?" He was gently stroking his hand up and down her back.

  "Well," she sighed, "I guess no one has made it through."

  "No one?" She felt his hand still on her back.

  "There have been two. I guess you could say they are the reason for the screening." He began stroking her back again but didn't say anything. "I was a virgin when I went to college. It wasn't for any grand reason; it wasn't a religious thing or anything. There was just never anyone I wanted to... with. But my first year in the dorms it seemed like I was the only one who hadn't. So I decided to see what the fuss was all about. Stupid reason, I know." She sighed. "Anyway there was this guy in one of my classes. He was cute and I kinda liked him. He invited me to this party and I thought it would be as good a time as any. The whole place smelled like stale beer. It was painful but thankfully it was over pretty quick. It was more embarrassing than anything else. I couldn't even look at that guy afterwards let alone talk to him." she laughed. "So I decided it was overrated." She laughed again.

  "You said there were two, so someone remedied the first bad experience right?"

  "No, not really. It was still while I was in college. I started dating someone, and it was like it was expected. I've heard like third date or something. Anyway we'd been out more than that, he wanted to, so we did. It was better than the first time but not much. It wasn't as painful and there was no beer that time. But it was still over pretty quick."

  "What about after you got used to each other?"

  "There was no getting used to each other. It was awkward and uncomfortable and we broke up after that. Don't get me wrong I've learned a lot since then. I know what was missing, I just came to the conclusion that I should wait until it felt right; until I really wanted to."

  "That sounds like a good idea."

  "Well truthfully I haven't wanted to."

  "Okay."

  "I am not saying I won't, but I am not saying I will, and boy this is really embarrassing."

  "Hey," He pulled back to see her again, "Don't be embarrassed. I want to know; truthfully I want to know everything about you. I am not here because I am looking to get laid. I told you we have something special and I am willing to wait until we are in the same place. I think we should be in the same place when we take that step."

  "Well it would be kind of hard to do if we weren't in the same place. Though I guess the video chat would come in handy." she giggled and he laughed.

  "I thought you were tired."

  "I thought I was too. Okay it's your turn."

  "My turn for what?"

  "I told you a really personal embarrassing story. Now it is your turn."

  "Funny I don't remember hearing that rule beforehand."

  "It was implied."

  "Oh I see." He laughed and she giggled and squirmed closer to him.

  "So you want to hear how I lost my virginity?"

  "Not unless you want tell me that story."

  "Not really. Talk about embarrassing. I shoulda stuck with third base. I was better at that."

  "What do you do on third base?"

  "You don't know the bases?"

  "No."

  "Oh honey, don't worry I'll teach you all about the bases."

  "I'll bet." She giggled again. "Don't change the subject, you owe me a story."

  "What would you most like to know?"

  "Tell me about your family. How long has it been since you saw your sister?"

  "Um four or five years I guess."

  "Wow, long time."

  "Yeah," He sighed. "She came to see me just after I was discharged. She wanted to borrow money. I didn't have the money but I wouldn't have given it to her anyway. She was pretty strung out. I offered her a place to stay and get clean and sober. She stayed for a day or two then she took what she could carry and took off. I haven't heard from her since."

  "I'm sorry. What about your parents?" He drew a deep breath.

  "I haven't seen or spoken to them since I shipped out."

  "Did you have a falling out?"

  "Not exactly... My mother died when I was only three. It was just me and my dad for a while. He swore he was never going to marry again and he didn't for a long time. He dated a lot, and then my step mother got pregnant. He married her and she moved in. I was eight and I didn't really appreciate the new person trying to take over. She and I didn't get along. The older I got the worse she and I fought. I loved the baby and she took advantage of that. I babysat while she went out bar hoping. She and my dad fought all the time and he started drinking heavily. It went on that way through my teenage years. They were awful to each other. Neither of them was faithful. I overheard her admit to a friend that she'd gotten pregnant on purpose because she knew dad wouldn't have married her otherwise. That was kind of the last straw for me. I said some things I probably shouldn't have. Called her some things I probably shouldn't have. The last thing I told them was if they cared about Ariel at all they would divorce and spare her from having to witness the two of them. They didn't. It's funny there is a 60% divorce rate and these two people that never should have married in the first place are determined to stay together." She could feel the tension radiating from him. He shook his head in disgust as he spoke.

  "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

  "I know; you didn't. I've evolved past it."

  "So your sister's name is Ariel?" She changed the subject.

  "Yep."

  "That is still my favorite movie."

  "The Little Mermaid?"

  "Yeah, I love it, all Disney movies really but especially that one."

  "It was Ariel's favorite too. She drove me crazy with it. Wore out two VHS tapes. I can sing those songs in my sleep."

  "Really? Sing it for me."

  "Ha, no way!"

  "Ah come on please."

  He sighed again but then he began to sing softly. "There you see her, sitting there across the way..." He sang the whole verse and the hair on her arms stood up. She stared at him wide eyed when he stopped singing.

  "Wow." She whispered. "That was amazing. I have goose bumps."

  "You have to promise never to tell anyone I did that." He laughed.

  "I promise not to tell anyone. As long as you promise to do it for me again."

  "Anytime you want sweetheart." He whispered. She closed the gap kissing him softly. “This is first base.” He whispered into her mouth and she laughed.

  Chapter 11

  Erica woke just before her alarm went off. Ethan was spooned against her back his arm was wrapped around her waist and he was softly snoring. She turned off the alarm so it wouldn't go off and wake him. She tried to ease away from him but as soon as she moved his arm he woke.

  "Shh, go back to sleep. It's early." She whispered and kissed him. He lightly cupped her cheek holding her close while he returned the kiss.

  "I should get up, I need to go home and change."

  "I'm sorry; I shouldn't have made you stay."

  "I wanted to. Have lunch with me today?"

  "I'd like to but lunch is always really busy in the shop. I usually can't get away."

  "Dinner then?"

  "Like a real date?"

  "No."

  "No?"

  "Not tonight. Tonight you can be comfortable. No makeup or heels. Tomorrow I have a work thing at the Camden in the city. I'd like you to be my date. Like a real date." He smiled up at her and she thought she would agree to just about anything.

  “What am I going to wear?” Erica lamented in between customers and Zoe laughed at her.

  “I can’t remember the last time you worried about what you were going to wear. But since you are worried about it we should take advantage and go shopping.” Zoe grinned and Erica realized with a pang of guilt that it was the first time she had seen Zoe truly smile since her father passed away She jumped on the opportunity.

  “We definitely should. Do you think we should go into the city?”

  “Why not? It’ll be fun.” />
  Erica texted Ethan to reschedule.“Can I have a rain check for tonight?”

  It only took a moment for his reply. “Sure, what’s up?”

  “Going shopping in the city with Zoe.”

  His next reply took longer and in her mind she could see him writing and erasing all the reasons she shouldn’t be outside his personal protection comfort zone. When the reply finally came in it made her smile. “Be careful.” Her in-charge man was trying hard to curb himself and she appreciated it.

  Her man, she had never thought of anyone as hers before. She really shouldn’t be thinking of Ethan that way given the short time they had known each other but she couldn’t help it. He made it hard not to when he kept telling her what they had was special. He made her feel like this was long term and despite the fact that her five year plan always had her thinking long term, this was the first time she had ever been really excited about long term.

  “Oh my God Zoe, look at those boots. You have to try them on.” Erica drug her friend toward the entrance of her favorite shoe store and Zoe pulled back.

  “I shouldn’t. I don’t need them.”

  “Since when does need have anything to do with shoes?” Erica laughed. Zoe was a total shoe hound. It was really her one true vice. They browsed through the displays ooing and ahing and looking for shoes to match the dress that Erica had bought. Finally Erica found some to try on and told the sales woman to bring her the boots in Zoe’s size.

  “Don’t you like them? They are so cute!” Erica said watching Zoe model the shoes.

  “They are cute.” Zoe said but she didn’t have the enthusiasm she once did.

  “Come on Zoe that's what credit cards are for.” Erica laughed but Zoe sighed and sank down in the chair. The sales woman seemed to take the hint and wandered off. Erica watched her for a minute and realized it had been a long time since she had seen her buy shoes, or really anything, for herself. They shared the expenses of the apartment and she was never late but Erica knew something was up.