Rogue Acts

by Ainsley Booth

  “No,” she informed the kitten from her spot on the couch. “You’re adorable and you’re cute, but I’m not coming to get that. Either you bring that one to me or I take one from the pack. And we only have two of those left.”

  The kitten mewed pitifully and stared at her with his bright eyes.

  “Nope. Two choices,” she said. “I’m comfortable and not moving.”

  “And I love you more than life itself, little boy,” he found himself interjecting as he sat down next to Deb, putting his arm around her shoulder. “But you’re on your own here.”

  She leaned into him, and he rubbed her back as the kitten delivered a hair tie. “Well,” she said. “Wonders never cease.”

  “Miracles and marvels,” he replied. “He likes you. He barely does that for me.”

  She laughed. “I think your kitten is flirting with me.”

  At another time, he would have used other words; maybe he’d have kissed her. But tonight, he brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers. “I think he realizes you need distracting.”

  “Thank you,” she answered as she threw the hair tie again.

  As Toby ran off in pursuit, he smiled at them both. “Not a problem. “ He paused. “You’ll be okay?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be fine. This couch is comfortable. And don’t you dare give up your bed.” Then she put her arms around him. “Thank you, by the way. I…”

  He smiled back at her, let her lean in to him as his heart grew inside. “Yeah. I’m here. Just through the door.”

  He squeezed her once more, kissed her cheek and let go. “Goodnight,” he said.

  “Goodnight.”

  As he headed towards the bedroom, he hoped she’d be okay and wondered what else he could do to make sure.

  6

  One Week Later

  Deb was very well aware that Sam’s couch was the most comfortable thing on the planet. She had been cat sitting, taking advantage of the couch, while Sam took a quick trip to New York and then Boston to fulfill a promise he’d made.

  It had been an interesting few days, but the separation was supposed to end in a matter of minutes, and she’d see him again. She missed him. Now, she was on that amazing couch, reading Melanie Gould’s latest historical romance with Toby curled up on her stomach.

  At the sound of the key in the lock, she put her kindle down, stretched to give Toby the heads up that she was moving, and held him as she heard the click of the door. She kissed his soft head as she heard the hinges.

  She held her breath as Sam walked in, pushing his rolling suitcase, a lopsided grin on his face. The handsome familiarity of his features had an exhausted cast to them, dark circles under his eyes and a slight redness inside them.

  As she walked to meet Sam, Toby headed towards the suitcase, attacking it like an unforeseen foe.

  “Hii,” she said. “You look exhausted.”

  “I am. It was a crazy few days.” Then he smirked. “If I never see another can of baked beans in my life, I will be a VERY happy person.”

  She grinned. “You’re such a good sport though.”

  He shrugged, and she wanted to kiss him right then and there. So she took his hand and did exactly that. He tasted like mint, a breath mint or a piece of gum he’d chewed in the car ride from the airport.

  His hands dropped to her shoulders, settling in; hers fell to the zipper of his jacket, opening it, letting him shrug out of it. He broke the kiss to finish taking off his coat, but she could see the hunger in his eyes.

  “Welcome home?”

  She nodded. “Welcome home.”

  His hands caressed her pajama-clad hips, his touch burning through the fabric. She focused on the buttons of his shirt; it needed to come off. Immediately.

  Then his pants, but she’d settle for licking down his chest …

  Then he kissed her, and lifted her off the floor. She kissed him, cupping his cheek with one hand and holding the back of his neck with the other, pushing him closer to her.

  “All that work in the gym needs to be good for something,” he murmured.

  “All for my benefit,” she informed him as he laid her down on the bed. This moment had been coming for so long, that she didn’t even wait; did not want foreplay no matter how much she’d hurt. She wanted him now, here…

  Without the kitten who’d decided to join them.

  Sam laughed, kissed her, and picked up Toby. He headed for the bathroom and closed the bedroom door behind him.

  Sam was thankful for Toby’s desire to join them in the bedroom because it allowed him to get a condom from the box in the bathroom. As he headed down the hall, the kitten in his arms, he wondered what Deb was up to. Was she undressing? Would she be naked when he returned?

  He forced his brain out of the gutter, knowing that thinking about her would make him harder. But when he finally walked out of the bathroom, after grabbing Toby twice from under the couch in the living room, and closed the door behind him, he let his mind wander back to her.

  Imagination was nothing when confronted with the reality of seeing Deb naked, touching herself, on his bed. He shucked his clothes…immediately. Then practically crawled across his mattress towards her, kissing her body as he did. Then he pressed his lips against hers as she brought herself to climax.

  He was hard. He was ready.

  “I’m ready. I want you.”

  “I want you, too,” he said.

  “Now?”

  He grinned. “As you wish,” he said as he moved closer to her, kissed her as he guided her down. He broke the kiss as he entered her, slowly and easily as she expanded around him.

  “Mmmm.”

  He moved his hips, slowly at first, then faster, judging his speed with the sound of her moans.

  “Faster,” she implored. “Faster.”

  He went faster, his hands caressing her cheeks, her neck and then her shoulders, until finally release. Explosion. Relief…

  He lay down next to her, held her. “Welcome home,” she said.

  It did, in that moment, feel like he’d come home.

  Deb did not want to get out of bed. It was warm, as was Sam. Toby, freed from the bathroom sometime in the middle of the night, had found a spot in between them and made the bed even more comfortable.

  But in the darkness, she knew she could no longer stay. School awaited. Life awaited.

  Sam’s hand moved down her shoulder, pulling her close. She kissed his arm and stretched.

  “Gotta go,” she mumbled.

  Sam groaned, but she got up, reaching for the shirt she’d thrown on the floor.

  “You’re…you’re so special,” he said.

  She laughed. “I’m not sure why you’re telling me this now. But I’ll take it.” She threw on the shirt, and headed into the bathroom, picking up the bag she’d left just outside before closing the door behind her.

  She heard the scratches against the door, and decided she didn’t want the feline guest sharing the bathroom. “Go back to bed, Toby. You do not want to be in here. It’ll get hot.”

  “Come on,” she heard Sam say on the other side of the door. “Let’s go cause trouble…”

  Then she heard his slippers swishing against the wooden floor in the bedroom, followed by the scratching of claws and the noises of a kitten being distracted. She took off her shirt, reached into her bag and began the task of removing her clothes and her toiletries, placing them on the top of the toilet seat she’d covered with the towel he’d left her. Being here, with him, was starting to feel like home in a world where she felt like she was losing her place. She just didn’t want it to end.

  The apartment was cold, and Sam found that his pajama pants and slippers definitely did not provide enough protection against it. But seeing the expression on Deb’s face as she came into the kitchen to discover the breakfast of coffee, toast and an omelet waiting for her on the table would make his sacrifice worthwhile.

  He was in love.

  He thought about it a bit m
ore as he began to dice up the vegetables and listened to the coffee as it began to brew, smelled the toast heating up in the toaster. Yep. This borrowed apartment felt like home, and he was, in fact, in love.

  But in the back of his mind, the doubt weasels had returned. They told him that this was an interlude that wouldn’t survive him telling Deb that he’d been her anonymous donor, nor would it withstand the oncoming barrage of his schedule.

  Piteous mewing broke into his thoughts, and he lifted Toby into his arms before bending down. The oil he’d be cooking with was too dangerous for the mischievous kitten to be around. “Ok. Into the crate with you,” he said as he lifted Toby into his crate.

  But he continued to cook, thinking of Deb, upstairs in the shower, getting ready. She and that adorable kitten would be worth whatever sacrifices he had to make.

  Deb entered the kitchen, staring at her watch, the nervous expression on her face changing to surprise mixed with disappointment as she saw the display on the table.

  “You don’t have time?” Sam asked, even though he looked like he anticipated the answer.

  “I can’t sit.”

  He didn’t seem too disappointed. But there was understanding and what seemed like a plan in his eyes. “You finish getting ready,” he said, sounding like he’d made a decision, “I’ll make it to go, ok?”

  She nodded, slightly dubious as she headed towards the living room to gather her school things. She stared at her watch and gasped, realizing how late she was, as she pulled her stuff together, and ran out of the bathroom.

  When she got back to the kitchen table, she found herself in complete awe and astonishment. Sam stood in front of the table, and she’d never adored him as much as she did at that very moment. He had made her breakfast to go, turning that gorgeous omelet into an egg sandwich, and he’d put coffee in a thermos, probably exactly the way she liked it.

  “Wow,” she managed, staring at him, at the smile on his face, the brightness of his eyes and the way he looked in the morning light in front of the table. “You…that’s gorgeous. Thank you. For…”

  Then she put her bag down and pulled him close. He tasted of toothpaste, of coffee, of mornings, and possibilities.

  His eyes were bright, wide when she broke the kiss. “Gotta go,” she said, rubbing his upper lip with her thumb. “See you later?”

  He nodded. “Yes. I’ve got a few things I want to talk to you about later.”

  “Good things?”

  He nodded. “Yes. Good things that have been happening.”

  “See you later then.” She kissed him on the cheek, and headed out, excited about the possibilities of what could be.

  7

  Deb had practically bounced her way out of Sam’s apartment. The sun was rising and she had a breakfast he’d prepared, the scent of him better than any perfume she’d ever worn.

  Even the sandwich tasted like him, which seemed completely corny, she decided as she shoved the food in her mouth. She was glad he hadn’t put ketchup on it, otherwise she’d have covered her coat in the sticky red glop.

  But there she was, her hands cold as she thought about the day’s lesson plans. What she would teach, and how she would get her assistant teachers to organize the bright-eyed youngsters. She stopped at a corner, throwing the plastic bag into the appropriate bin, and then practically skipped the rest of the way down the block, thermos of coffee secure in her hand.

  Then it was as if time had stopped completely. She could barely step forward; hell, she could barely breathe.

  A scene from nightmares she never knew she’d had unfolded in front of her. The beautiful visions she’d had suddenly broke, the dust and tears left behind as she stared at the door of the temple.

  The symbol drawn on the door was familiar, seared in her memory, all angry lines and corners. Symbols had power only if you give it to them, people said. But this one had power. Nazis had given it power. History had given it power; a history too soon forgotten in a world where community centers were attacked, when new ways of blaming Jews for everything awful in the world arose daily.

  Her tears fell like a waterfall, never ending, barely stopping as she mechanically reached into her pocket to reach for her keys. Her wrists shook; the door opened and the building’s main custodian stared up into her expression and must have seen…something. He ushered her to the office, and activated the emergency protocol.

  It felt like a minute or an hour as she sat there, waiting to go through everything. Talking to parents, talking to the police. She didn’t know if she was coming or going. As she spoke to the parents, the police, the Rabbi, and the president of the congregation, all she knew was that she wanted to go home.

  Sam had been nervous since the news hit Twitter.

  Swastika drawn on District Temple. Glass window shattered.

  When the news reports were released, when the temple’s Rabbi had talked about tolerance, he’d lost his mind. He’d paced his apartment in the predawn hours and called the studio.

  “Is there anything I can do today?” he asked Marcus when he picked up the phone. “Anything?”

  “Come right over. We’ll find you something to do.”

  And so he did. A few hours later, he was finished folding flyers and actively avoiding going back into the booth to record the message to the donors. He was convinced that the second he stepped into the booth, Deb would call or email or something.

  “Any news?”

  Lisa shook her head. “Nothing.”

  He could barely breathe. He wanted to go out and find her, but he hadn’t been to the temple. She hadn’t taken him there.

  “Go into the booth. Record,” Liz said, pointing to the open door. “Focus. We’ll let you know, okay?”

  He nodded, swallowed. “Okay,” he said. Then he took a breath and walked into the booth, closing the door behind him.

  The first thing Deborah did when she got out of the final interview was to call her sister.

  “Debbie, oh my god I’m so glad you’re ok. Are you okay?”

  She sniffed, the warmth and fear were at the surface of her sister’s voice. “I’m…not,” she said honestly. “I’m…physically okay. I’m still…”

  “I’m so glad to hear your voice. I love you so much.”

  “I love you too, Lisa. I love you. Are you okay?”

  “We…Liz, Marcus, Sam and I...we were all worried…we’re all here…”

  “Sam’s with you?”

  There was a long pause, but for once, Deb didn’t care that she’d admitted to her sister that she’d been thinking about Sam.

  “Yes,” Lisa said eventually, “He’s been climbing the walls, worried just like the rest of us.” There was a long pause and Deb wasn’t sure what Lisa was going to say next. “Do you want to talk to him?”

  She sniffed back tears, reached a hand up to her eyes. “Yes,” she said. “Yes.”

  The there was a scratchy silence on the other end, and whispered voices as Lisa handed the phone off.

  “Sam,” she said. “I…”

  “Whatever you need. Whatever you want, I…”

  “I want you,” she said. “You and Toby. Can I come to your place?”

  “Of course you can,” he said. “You absolutely can. Give me ten minutes and I’ll meet you there.”

  And those words were the best she’d ever heard, from anybody. Ever.

  When he finally opened the door to his apartment for Deb, Sam’s heart had just started to slow down. He wanted to hold her, physically shield her from the outside world. “Whatever you want,” he said. “Anything. I swear. I’ll…”

  “This,” she said, kissing him before pulling back. “This is enough. You are enough.”

  He kissed her back, full of honesty, of love, and everything he had inside of him.

  He took her hand, lead her to the sofa, put his arms around her. “It means so much that you’re here right now. So much.”

  She laid her head on his shoulder and he pulled her in close. �
�I want to let you in,” she said. “You’ve never come to my apartment; I’ve never taken you to the school. You should come to my place to watch an Empires game. You and Toby.”

  He nodded, and his breath came faster. “I need to tell you something first.”

  She nodded. “Okay?”

  “So…I’m…I’ve been your benefactor. I’m the one who’s been donating, filling all of your requests. I’ve been donating all of the money for your special projects. ”

  She looked up at him, wide eyed. “It’s you? E…C?”

  “Ezra’s my middle name, Cohen is my mother’s maiden name.” He felt the heat rising in his cheeks. “I didn’t know how to tell you, and I didn’t want you to think…”

  She kissed him, cupped his cheeks with her fingers. “I get it. I totally get that. Though it’d be weird if you came to DC because of me. Why did you?”

  “The story’s a bit lame, I’ll admit, but basically I was on my couch, on a Friday night, Toby was on my chest. I opened my email to find the BlueChorus entry when they talked about ‘Rogue Acts’. I had nothing to do so I watched from beginning to end.”

  The frustration and anger that he’d felt when he’d finished that movie still burned him. “I had to do something to help ‘Rogue Acts’ because people needed to see it. People across the country and even around the world; they needed to know their fellow citizens were fighting the policies that President Crosby was pushing and the world he was creating in so many different ways. I had to meet with your sister and the rest of the team.”

  “I also knew that they couldn’t just randomly fly to New York because I said so. However, I could randomly fly to DC and I had an apartment I could borrow, so I took the opportunity and initiated the meeting.”

  She nodded, and it looked as if she was digesting the information. “Did it occur to you then that I might be the director’s sister?”