Hiding in the Spotlight

by Karen Booth

  “You’re so good to me.” Alex moved her hand to his knee and time seemed to stand still. She pulled back a bit, but her hand stayed in place.

  Is this the moment? Can I kiss her? A light flickered on in the hallway. “I think one of the boys is up,” he mumbled into her ear.

  Tyler wandered into the room in pajama pants and a SpongeBob T-shirt, squinting and disoriented.

  “Bad dream, Ty?” Alex asked.

  He didn’t answer. He swayed, his eyes glazed.

  She rushed over, dropping to her knees and grasping his hands. “You okay, honey?”

  “I feel kinda funny.”

  Tyler’s mouth erupted with an epic gush. Like something out of a bad horror movie, it washed on to Alex’s neck, into her hair, and down the front of her, sloshing across the terracotta living room tile.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Alex sat stunned. Tyler coughed and sputtered, his round, innocent eyes holding surprise after what his body had just done. He caught his breath and slumped against Alex, who was kneeling and covered head-to-toe in a sloppy pea-green mess.

  David launched himself off the couch. “Nobody move.” He tore off down the hall and returned in a flash with a stack of neatly folded, white towels.

  Alex clutched Tyler to her chest. “White? Those are going to get ruined.”

  “Not worried about towels right now.” He snapped one open and outstretched his arms. “Come on, buddy. Let’s get you cleaned up.” He wrapped it around Tyler and scooped him into his arms while he craned his neck, probably to avoid the smell. “I’ll take care of him. I’d get in the shower if I were you.”

  “Okay.”

  Alex stood slowly and took a big step onto a clean patch of tile, not wanting to land in the mess in her bare feet. She stalked through the kitchen and into the laundry with her arms held away from her body, like a slime-covered scarecrow, grimacing at the distinctive odor. She tossed her top in the front-loader, leaving the door open for the rest of the coming laundry. One of David’s sweatshirts lay in a basket on top of the dryer. Hopefully he won’t mind if I wear this.

  Although she was still a wreck, cleaning the living room floor seemed like the more pressing task. Mop in hand, she tiptoed back and took care of the drop zone.

  David hadn’t returned from taking care of Tyler, so she ambled back to her room for a shower. She balled up her clothes and stepped into the spray, cringing as she worked the water through her hair and felt a few chunks.

  Alex replayed the sequence of events, amazed by David’s reaction. He didn’t hesitate to jump in and take care of Tyler. I would have had to shout orders at Glenn. Go get a towel. Help me.

  David truly cared for them—all three of them—in a way that went beyond helping out with a place to live. She couldn’t believe all he’d taken on in the last few weeks, the changes and disruption she and the boys had brought to his life. He accepted it all, no questions asked. No complaints.

  He’d taken Page under his wing, first as guitar mentor, before bravely tackling the adolescent sex talk. He wasn’t afraid to connect with Page on a deeper level. If anything, he seemed to want it. He quizzed Tyler on his multiplication facts and got up early to make breakfast with him, exactly as a dad would do.

  And that was just everything he did for the boys. Whenever I question myself, he’s there for me. When I worry, he tells me everything is going to be okay. It’s the only time I believe it’s possible.

  Much of it was unfamiliar territory. Glenn had been a good husband off and on, but there’d never been any question he was the center of their life together. Now that she had distance, things were oddly coming into focus, everything she’d done without to play the role of Glenn’s wife. She liked having someone care about how she was feeling, take her needs and wants into consideration. She liked that the someone happened to be David.

  Alex skipped a bra and slipped into a loose-fitting tank and Capri yoga pants, twisting her wet hair on top of her head in a knot. She made her way back to Tyler’s room. Peeking through the cracked door, she saw David in the soft light of the bedside lamp, kneeling next to Tyler’s bed and rubbing his back. Tyler was wearing clean pajamas and Alex noticed the pile of laundry and towels near the door.

  David turned, holding a finger to his lips. Alex crept ahead and perched on the bed next to David. He smoothed Tyler’s messy hair. The look in his eyes was unmistakable. He loves the boys as if they were his own.

  She wished the tears hadn’t started, but they came—the bittersweet evidence of what she wished had been and what she hoped might be. It sounded crazy, but she couldn’t keep her mind, her heart, from going there. She could no longer dismiss her feelings for David as a latent schoolgirl crush. She needed him, she wanted him, and yet, she could safely say her desire went beyond the physical. It was more than her undeniable attraction to him. It was starting to feel like nothing would be right without him. She couldn’t fathom what the pain would be like if he didn’t feel the same.

  He glanced at her and smiled, rubbing a tear from her jaw line with his thumb. “He’s fine,” he whispered. “He said he felt a lot better after he threw up. He went right back to sleep.” Rising to his feet, David held out his hand for her. “Come on.”

  Alex kissed Tyler’s temple and turned off his lamp while David held her hand. On their way out the door, he bent over and scooped up the laundry. She missed his touch the instant it was no longer there.

  In the laundry room, David loaded the last of the towels and Tyler’s pajamas into the washing machine.

  Alex poured in the detergent. “We need to wash this stuff on super hot.”

  “Is there a nuclear setting? Just kill everything?”

  “I wish.” She closed the washer door. “Uh oh, looks like he got you.” She fingered his chest right below the spot and found herself impulsively reaching for the hem of his T-shirt. Her heart stopped for a moment when she realized what she was doing and how close she was standing to him. “You should, uh, probably put that in with this load.” She rubbed her temple, hoping to make it less obvious how much she was staring at him.

  He grimaced at the splotch. “Glad you caught that. I would have worn this for the next few days before I noticed anything.” He pulled an arm inside his shirt and pushed it over his head.

  The view of him with his arms held high sucked Alex’s breath out of her, straight from the bottom of her belly. She had to bite her lower lip to keep herself from exclaiming her approval. She stole a glimpse of the mole below his belly button and was quickly drawn to the sight of how low his jeans were slung around his hips.

  “Guess I should find a shirt.”

  “I suppose.” Alex swallowed, trying to figure out some plausible reason she could dissuade him from getting a shirt. She came up with nothing, so she focused on delaying goodnight. “I’m pretty amped up from all of this. Do you want some tea?”

  “Sure. I’ll be right back.”

  Alex put water to boil on the stove and got out two mugs, herbal tea, and the sugar bowl. She leaned against the counter, waiting for the whistle of the teakettle. Her heart felt heavy in a way it never had before. David is my friend. He’s Glenn’s friend. It would be too weird if something happened between us. It would be playing with fire. Someone would get hurt.

  He surprised her with a hand on her shoulder. “Water’s ready.” He pointed to the hissing kettle. “I decided I should just put on my pajamas.”

  Alex looked him up and down as she poured the steaming water. He’d put on a plain white men’s undershirt and she could see the patch of dark hair in the very center of his chest through the thin fabric. His gray cotton pajama pants slumped a bit onto the floor. She’d never found anyone’s feet in the slightest bit interesting, but David’s were captivating. Long and bony, and even with him at 6’4”, they were big for his body.

  They took their mugs to the kitchen table. Alex tucked a leg under her butt and stirred the sugar into her cup.

  “Thanks for toni
ght,” she said.

  “What? The movie?”

  “Well, yeah, that, but I was talking about Tyler. I’m sure that wasn’t fun for you. It’s pretty gross.”

  “I’ve cleaned up after every member of the band. Tyler’s way more loveable than any of those guys.”

  Alex beamed. “That’s sweet, but still, that sort of goes beyond the call of duty. I hope the living room will smell okay by morning.”

  “It smells fine.”

  Alex stirred her tea. It was wonderful to sit there with David, but the enormity of her feelings began to weigh on her. Now that she’d admitted these things to herself, their influence had become omnipresent. “You know, I really appreciate everything you’ve done for us. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Her voice croaked.

  David reached for her hand and tucked his fingers under hers. “I want you to stop thanking me. I want you guys here, for as long as you want to stay.”

  It was too much. Her head was swimming. Something deep inside her told her to climb into his lap, dig her hands into his thick mop of hair and kiss him. She shuddered at the thought of what it would be like if he pushed her away and reminded her they were just good friends.

  She had to act. She bolted out of her chair and pecked him on the cheek. That instant was heaven—his skin felt so right against hers. “I should go to bed.” She stepped away before she could do something stupid. “Goodnight.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Three days had passed since Tyler had been sick and David could still feel Alex’s lips on his cheek. He rinsed the last of the shaving cream from his face, thinking of ways he might convince her to do it again. Perhaps if he got her to start on his cheek, she would keep going until she found his ear, his jaw, his lips. That’d be a good start.

  Thoughts of that night had filled his head since it had happened. He loved that she hadn’t worn a bra when she changed after her shower, but he paid for it later when she abruptly gave him the kiss and scurried away. Putting himself out of his own misery was getting old. It’d be nice if I didn’t have to constantly jack off.

  He buttoned his white dress shirt and tucked it into his jeans, wanting to look presentable. It was Alex’s volunteer day at the library, and he’d invited himself along. He had more than passing curiosity about Mr. Davis, the octogenarian with the wandering hands. It wasn’t jealousy so much as he wanted to see what made this old coot think it was acceptable to cop a feel.

  In the kitchen, Alex had spread out the contents of her purse on the center island and was busy picking through gum wrappers and receipts, Tyler’s Pokemon cards and a few rocks, throwing things away or setting them aside. She wore a white top with an eye-pleasing scoop neck. He was surprised to see her in heels since she rarely wore them, but he was totally on board with what they did for her rear view, with her hip tilted to the side in a black skirt.

  “What time do we need to leave?” He poured a third cup of coffee, leaning back against the kitchen counter while she remained oblivious to the fact that he was ogling her ass.

  “Forty-five minutes. By eleven.”

  He reluctantly pushed away from the counter. “Got it. I’m going to check email.”

  David traipsed down the hall, the image of Alex in the kitchen still simmering in his mind. He picked up his cell phone, which he’d left in his office to charge overnight. There was a new message from Double Damage’s manager.

  “David, hi, it’s Marty. Listen, give me a call when you get this. I have more good news. People love Last Love in the movie. The download is selling like crazy online. We’re getting big orders from the major chains for our back catalog. It’s going to be another three weeks before the soundtrack comes out and some other offers came in this morning. We need to talk.”

  A half hour later, David hung up his phone, still processing everything Marty had said. It had been years since they’d had so much to talk about.

  Alex poked her head into his office, her lustrous brown hair sweeping into a sexy fringe about her face. “Ready, handsome?”

  He smiled and felt the blood rush to his cheeks, as well as other places. “You know it.”

  ****

  David honked at the car in front of him. The stoplight had been green for several seconds. The blonde in the car looked into the rearview mirror of her white BMW, flipped him off, and sped away.

  “Nice,” Alex said.

  “I know. You’d think that my sister would have better manners than that.”

  She grinned. “You’re an only child.”

  “Oh, right.” David pulled into the far right lane and turned at the corner, driving down a more residential street. “Um, I sort of have some news. I spoke to Marty this morning and this movie thing is turning into an even bigger deal then we thought.”

  “That’s great.” She turned toward him, seeming eager to hear the rest.

  “Well, yes and no.” He cleared his throat. “The good news is that we’re getting radio play like we haven’t had in almost a decade and the back catalog is selling like crazy. I guess we sold thousands of downloads of Last Love in the last two days.” His nervousness caught up with him as his voice wavered.

  “If that’s the good news, what’s the bad news?”

  “We’ve had a few offers for big money gigs. One in San Francisco, a few in Vegas and another in Dallas.”

  “And you’re worried you won’t be able to fit into your super tight jeans?” She giggled. “Seriously, that sounds great, too.” She shook her head and David saw the expression wash across her face. She shut her eyes. “And you don’t have a front man.”

  “Right. And the rest of the band really wants to do the shows. Actually, they need us to do the shows. Nick and Tony don’t have publishing income like Glenn and I because they didn’t write any of the songs. A few shows like this could pay their mortgage for an entire year.”

  Alex gnawed on her thumbnail. “Now what? Nobody even knows where Glenn is. I left him a dozen messages that week after he left. He never called me back.”

  “I’m going to have to call him on his cell this afternoon and see if I can convince him to come out of hiding.”

  Alex huffed. “Yeah, good luck. My lawyer’s private investigator is still trying to track him down.”

  “I have to try. I promised the band. I suggested we find someone to fill in for Glenn, but the guys don’t want to do that. They thought it wouldn’t have any staying power if we don’t have the original line-up.” David pulled into a spot in the library parking lot and turned off the car, snatching the keys up in his hand. He looked in his lap and then at Alex. “They have a point. As much as I’m going to have to keep myself from punching him in the face when I see him, it’s now my job to find Glenn.”

  “This isn’t just finding Glenn. You’re talking about him coming back. For a while.”

  David raked his hand through his hair, noting the way her eyebrows were pinched together. “Yes, I guess I am.”

  Alex shook her head and then looked at her watch. “Shit. It’s after eleven-thirty. We should go.”

  They made their way to the entrance, past the shuttle van for Providence Glen Retirement Community.

  “They come twice a week. It’s a big social activity,” she said as David opened the door for her.

  “And sometimes you read to them?” They walked through a small atrium outside the main library.

  “I mostly help them find the books they’re looking for. Some of the residents are in wheelchairs and can’t get around because the aisles are narrow.” Alex began to whisper once they passed through the automatic doors into the library. “I read to Mr. Davis because he likes it. His wife used to read to him every night because the only thing he liked to watch on TV was baseball.”

  David raised an eyebrow as she led them down the open center aisle to the back of the building. “Sounds like a line to me. I might have to give Mr. Davis a piece of my mind if he can’t keep his hands to himself.”

  Mr. Davis asked
David to call him Floyd. David wouldn’t go so far as to say Floyd was harmless, especially after he’d watched him put his hand on Alex’s knee several times. Floyd joked with David that he’d tried unsuccessfully to convince Alex to call him by his first name, but Alex chimed in that he’d told her his first name was “Hot Stuff”.

  David had hoped to hang out with Alex during her time with Floyd but, instead, was accosted by a group of three women residents: Phyllis, Lucille, and Jen, the Witches of Eastwick as Floyd had dubbed them. They giggled so loudly at David’s comments and jokes that Alex had shushed them at least a dozen times. By the time David and Alex said their goodbyes two hours later and made it back to the car, he vowed to never question why she put time into volunteering on top of her part-time job at the library and everything she had to do for the boys.

  “I have to say, that was really great. No wonder you enjoy it so much.”

  “Really? I wasn’t sure you’d like it.”

  “What’s not to like? I’ll take three women fawning over me any time I can get it.” He chuckled. “Who knew the public library was such a good place to pick up chicks?”

  “If I’d known you were having a hard time finding a date, I would’ve brought you sooner.” Alex shifted in her seat and her skirt hiked up as she tucked one leg under the other.

  I don’t need to find a date. I need to get up the nerve to kiss you. “What made you decide to do this in the first place?”

  “I wanted to volunteer somewhere when Tyler started Kindergarten. You know I’d planned to study Library Science when I went to college.”

  “That never quite happened, did it?”

  “Between the way things happened with Double Damage so fast after high school and then getting pregnant with Page, that got put on the back burner.”

  “I’m glad you get to be at the library then, since it’s so important to you.”

  “I could never give it up. It, um…” Alex pinched the bridge of her nose. “It took on more importance after my dad died last year.”