by A D Seeley
“Nope. I don’t have guests. Instead I have an office, a gym, and an acoustically sound music room.”
“Oh.” She’d have to remember to ask him later about what instrument he played. “So what happened last night?”
“What’s the last thing you remember?”
She took another bite of the bread, thinking as she chewed. After swallowing it, she said, “I remember lunch with you. Then Professor Sampson met you. You said you were my boyfriend…. I remember going home after class and talking to Crystal. Then my cell phone wasn’t in my purse. I realized it was at school. I got in my car and…and then everything’s blank.”
“Hmm. That’s odd that you would forget,” he said with a frown. “Well, from what you told me last night, you were driving to school when your car broke down. You started walking to a gas station to use their phone when you realized that two guys were following you and you got really scared. You made it to a station and called me, telling me that these guys were waiting for you outside. I came and picked you up because you were freaking out. To calm you down, I gave you a glass of wine. You ended up drinking the whole bottle and passed out.”
If two guys had been following her, probably to rape her, she could see why she had freaked out.
“I drank a whole bottle?” she asked, too dazed to take another bite of the bread that was touching her lips. She wasn’t as shocked about drinking a whole bottle herself, but more for the fact that she could’ve been raped last night if not for Inac.
“Yeah. Like I said, you were really scared.”
She felt herself getting faint. For some reason, she was getting worked up all over again.
Inac moved and pulled her into his bare arms the moment her tears started falling. She didn’t even know why she was crying.
“Hara, it’s okay. You’re safe now,” he said, rubbing her sides despite his tight embrace. “You should know that I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“I know. I’m sorry,” she blubbered into his warm shoulder. “I don’t even know why I’m crying.”
“You were almost raped and just found out about it since you don’t remember. That’s plenty to get upset over. If it makes you feel any better, your car’s fixed and back at your house, and I got your phone.”
“Thanks,” she said, pulling away and doing her best to give him a weak smile as he wiped at her tears with his thumb. “Thanks for everything. You’re always so considerate.”
“That’s just because I care about you,” he whispered.
“Really?” she asked, looking up into his sincere eyes.
“Of course! You’re amazing. You’re so different from anybody I’ve ever met. You’re the most understanding person I’ve ever met as well. None of my wives would ever drop subjects I didn’t want to talk about. But you do. I appreciate that immensely.”
“Wives?” she questioned, wondering if she’d heard him right. The word froze the rest of her tears—a waterfall turning to ice—keeping them from falling.
“What?”
“You said wives. You said that none of your wives would drop subjects.”
He got that “oh no” look and pulled away. Like he hadn’t meant to say that and was backpedaling in his mind, looking for a way out of what he’d said.
“That’s the other thing,” he said, not looking at her. “I catch myself accidentally telling you things about myself. You know more than I think any of my wives did.”
“How many times have you been married?”
He walked over to the forgotten omelet, picked up the pan, and spooned the food into the trash since it was completely burned. He didn’t say anything as he grabbed another pan and began a new one. She wondered if this was one of those subjects she should drop. She just had to know if maybe he rushed into things and then got sick of them. She needed to know if she was going to get hurt.
They both stayed silent until after he had two omelets on black square ceramic plates accompanied by hash browns, bacon, and glasses of orange juice.
“Hara,” Inac said after they’d both sat down on the black kitchen chairs and their plates were on the steel rectangular table. “I don’t want you thinking that I jump into things. I’m not going to tell you how many times I’ve been married, but I will tell you that they were all marriages of convenience. I have never been in love, and I want to do things right the next time around. Also, I want you to know that things between us are different. I really do care about you. I want to make you happy. I never felt that with any of my wives.”
Saying “any” instead of “either” meant that he had to have had at least three past wives. He’d been married at least three times in about ten years. She was definitely going to get hurt….
Needing clarification, she asked, “When you say marriages of convenience, what do you mean?”
“Mostly that their families had money or I’d impregnated them. Don’t worry. You don’t have anything like that. My first wife was because she was basically the only woman around. That, and my parents sort of forced me into it. My father said that it was what God commanded,” he said, one lip curled in obvious disdain.
“That’s horrible! How could he say that?!”
Inac shrugged, a complete opposite of her emotional outburst. “He was right. It just wasn’t right for me. I made it work as long as I could. I even stayed with her after I was disowned. But, after a while, I just couldn’t do something that made me unhappy.”
Trying not to scoff at what she thought was a ridiculous notion because he obviously believed it, she asked, “Why would God command you to do something that would make you miserable?”
“Because it was the only choice. You see, I grew up so far from civilization that I didn’t have any friends. I just had my family and their families. We didn’t even have anything that we didn’t make or grow ourselves.”
“You don’t act like that. You act like a city boy who’s always had everything he could want.”
He smiled, letting her know that he didn’t take that as an offense. “What can I say? I’ve lived in the city for a while. The city is where I can be myself. I never was a good country boy. If there was any kind of trouble, it was because I started it.”
“Now that I believe,” she said, giving him a sly smile. She could tell by the way he told his story that she was the first to ever hear it. Maybe he really did feel differently about her than he had with any other woman.
“And look at me,” he said with a chuckle. “I can’t believe that I just told you all of that. I told you that you’re different.”
She felt warm. Maybe he was falling in love with her in the same way that she was falling in love with him. Maybe one day they’d get married and he would tell her everything he was hiding behind his black eyes. At least, they were black, weren’t they? Looking at them now, they appeared a deep gray instead. It must be the lighting. Maybe all the metal was reflecting in them, making them appear lighter.
Inac was so vulnerable, seeming embarrassed by what he had just told her, so she stood up and walked around to sit sideways in his lap.
He gladly welcomed her, putting one hand around her waist and the other on her bare thigh. The T-shirt was shorter than she’d realized. She could feel the cloth of his pants on the skin her underwear wasn’t covering. She really should borrow some boxers or something….
Even though she knew she shouldn’t in her undressed state, she leaned down to kiss him. It wasn’t only because she wanted to; it was also because of something Crystal had once said. She had told Hara that, when her boyfriend did something good, she would reward him with a kiss. Then he would remember the reward and do other things for rewards. She likened it to giving a puppy a treat for going potty outside. Hara wanted to “retrain” Inac so that he would open up more.
“Mmm. What was that for?” he asked with a large grin once she pulled away.
“I’m just proud of you for opening up and being so honest with me. Plus, you really helped me out last night and I
wanted you to know how much I appreciate it.”
The hand on her thigh moved up to her face. After tucking a lock of her hair behind her ear, he moved it to her cheek, lightly caressing it with the back of his fingers.
“What am I going to do with you, Hara?”
“What do you mean?” she asked, trying to ignore the heat that was spreading through her body from his touch.
“I just mean that I’m going to be in trouble with you. I’ve never felt the way I feel about you. I think I’m falling for you.”
“You just think?” she asked with a smile.
Inac threw his head back and let a hearty laugh roll. Once it had simmered to a light chuckle, he said, “Okay. I’ll admit that I already have fallen hard. So just what do we do about that?”
“I don’t know,” she said with her own smile. He was teasing her now. “What do you think we should do about that?”
“Well, I know what we should do right now,” he said, letting his eyes smolder her nerves with their intensity. She knew what he wanted, and she wanted it too.
She didn’t make him wait before she lowered her mouth upon his, relishing his masculine taste as his lips burned the very same nerves his gaze had ignited, not letting them recuperate. This time, just as her body was instinctually moving to straddle him, she pulled back instead.
“And that’s where we better stop,” she said through ragged breaths. If they didn’t, neither one of them was wearing much to get in the way, so who knew what would happen.
“Okay,” he said, his voice deep and husky, before giving her another small kiss.
After he pulled away, she leaned against him, resting her cheek on his broad chest as he cradled her in his arms, his chin on the crown of her head as he lightly tickled her back.
They were relaxing like that—her falling into him—when a buzz sounded, making a half-asleep Hara jump in surprise.
“What’s that?” she asked, her voice full of sleep.
“The door,” he said, his voice still husky.
“Do you have to get it?”
“Nope.”
It buzzed again.
“On second thought,” she said, getting up against his wishes—he was trying to pull her back into his arms. “If you do, then we can go lie down in your bed and take a nap.”
His eyes lit up for a moment before he stood. “Okay. I’m going to hold you to that,” he said over his shoulder as he walked down the only other hall she thought the apartment had toward a metal elevator door she could barely see. He didn’t go to the door, though. Instead, there was a small black electrical box with a TV screen, and a speaker. She couldn’t really tell from here, but it didn’t look like there were any buttons.
“Yeah?” he said, pushing on the screen.
“I’m sorry to bother you, Mr. Adamson, but I have a Tracker Thomas down here to see you. May I send him up?”
Inac’s face flushed red for a moment but, if he was angry, he seemed to get over it quickly before turning to look at her.
“Is that okay with you? He obviously isn’t here to see me.”
She looked down at her lack of dress. She really didn’t want Tracker to see her like this but, if she said no, then he would think worse.
“Do you have anything I can put on?”
He nodded. “I washed your clothes. They’re in the master bath next to a new toothbrush for you.”
Leave it to considerate Inac to take care of her. She loved him so much.
Before she could say something stupid—like just how much she was falling in love with him—Inac turned back to the speaker and pushed the button on the screen again. “Yeah. Send him on up. Thanks Ollie.”
“Eek!” she shrieked, running across the cold cement floor back to the bedroom. Through there, she ran into a bathroom that matched the kitchen. On the slate countertop sat her clothes, perfectly folded. She didn’t want to get all the way dressed, though, so she just threw on her short navy tulip skirt. When she walked back to the elevator, it was opening.
Tracker walked in, appearing as though he believed that he was in enemy territory. When he saw Hara, his gaze was wary; like he wasn’t sure how she’d receive him.
“Hey Track!” she said with a large smile. “What are you doing here?”
She didn’t miss the look of surprise he shot Inac—Inac just smiled and nodded in response. They were having a conversation she didn’t understand, but she was glad that they seemed to be becoming friends.
Still looking at Inac, he said to her, “Crystal called and told me what happened and gave me Inac’s address.”
Her eyes opening wide, she looked at Inac. “You called Crystal?”
Turning away from Track, Inac nodded. “Last night after you crashed. I didn’t want her worrying when you didn’t come home. I didn’t tell her everything, though. Basically, just that you were upset and had fallen asleep at my house after crying.”
She was glad that he hadn’t told Crystal about her drinking a whole bottle of wine. If he had, she was sure she’d never hear the end of it.
“So why did you come?” she asked Tracker. “Just to make sure that I was all right?”
He turned to her and said, “That, and you missed Chem Lab.”
“Oh my gosh! It’s Friday!!! Why didn’t anybody tell me?!”
“Sorry,” Inac said, a direct opposite of her freak-out. “I didn’t even think about how you might not remember.”
“I better go,” she said.
“Stay,” Inac said, his eyes warm and pleading. “You’re in no condition for class. Stay and rest. I’ll have one of my men go and get notes for all your classes.” He then pulled her into his arms. The effect was soothing, as well as convincing.
“Okay,” she whispered against his bare chest. “So what are we gonna do today then?”
“I thought you wanted us to take a nap together?” he said as he began lightly rubbing her back. For some reason, it made her wish that they were married. That way, they could do this every morning.
“Mmm. I would love to take a nap together,” she mumbled. Inac’s caress was taking her back to that warm world she went to when they were physical with each other. The one that made her heart pound like it was beginning to do now. He smelled so good….
“What about school? You can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to get notes,” Tracker said, invading her thoughts and bringing her back to reality. “Besides, finals are coming up soon.” He seemed to be pleading with her.
Pretending like she hadn’t just been about to succumb to Inac, she said in a voice that she felt was deeper than usual and would, therefore, give away her thoughts, “Inac can get anything. He’ll probably get notes straight from my professors.”
“But….”
“Track, drop it. It’s what I want to do.”
“Speaking of finals,” Inac said in a voice as thick with desire as hers must be, “if you need any help, just let me know. I’ve taken a lot of classes and could be of some help. Especially in your Ancient Civs class. I know a lot about history.”
“I bet you do,” Tracker grumbled.
Inac smiled brilliantly at him and, after clearing his throat, said, “Tracker, I would like to apologize.”
Track had never looked as surprised as he did now. “What for?” he asked.
“I have been a most ungracious host. Would you care to sit down? Perhaps have an omelet and a cup of coffee?”
“Um….” Now he was even more surprised.
“Do,” she said, with a smile. “They’re really good.”
Without waiting for an answer, Inac went to the stove and started making an omelet.
“What would you like in it?” he asked. “Peppers? Cheese? Ham? Sausage? Bacon? Mushrooms? Olives?” His list went on and on until Tracker’s omelet was larger than hers and Inac’s combined.
Tracker sat at the table and began eating. She could tell he liked it. As he ate, Hara noticed for the first time that Tracker was dressed differently. Usu
ally he wore baggy T-shirts with denim tents that doubled as pants, but today he was dressed a little nicer. Today he was wearing a collared navy polo shirt with jeans that were still baggy, but they hadn’t been falling off when he’d been standing up. Yesterday he’d looked like a kid in his too big clothes. Today, he almost looked like a man….
Inac did all the dishes while she sat and visited with Track, not bringing up his sudden change in style because she didn’t want to embarrass him by letting him know just how poorly he used to dress. She’d tried to help her boyfriend clean up after breakfast, but Inac wouldn’t let her because she was “a guest.”
“So I was thinking,” he said as he joined them at the table with a cup of coffee for himself, as well as fresh cups for the both of them. “To celebrate you passing all your finals, we should go camping.”
“But…” Track said as he looked meaningfully at Inac.
“You’re invited as well, Tracker. Same with Crystal and her boyfriend.”
“That would be fun!” Hara cooed. “I’ve never been camping before. Where do you have in mind?”
“Maybe Tahoe. Maybe Southern Utah. Depends on what we want to do.”
“I know it isn’t close, but could we maybe go to Yellowstone? I’ve always wanted to go there,” she said.
Inac’s smile was broad as he said, “Sure. Yellowstone it is.”
“Did you hear that, Track?” she said as she turned to him and gripped one of his forearms with both her hands, almost quivering with excitement. “We’re going to Yellowstone!”
“Yippee,” he answered with sarcasm as he vertically twirled a finger in the air.
Slightly deflated, she asked, “Aren’t you excited? You’ve always wanted to go, too?”
“Not as a fifth wheel….”
Now she understood where his attitude was coming from. She and Crystal would both be pairing up with their boyfriends and he felt left out.
“We can’t go without you, Tracker,” Inac said, completely serious.
“Yeah,” she added, grateful to Inac for being so kind as to make Tracker feel important. “If I promise you that Inac and I won’t act all boyfriend-and-girlfriend-like, would you come?”