by Nadia Aidan
He crossed the distance to his bed and flopped down on it to lie on his back. As much as he wanted to see Lena, he was still furious with her from earlier that day. Everything had seemed so perfect until she'd ruined it by reminding him that the fantasy he'd created was just that, a fantasy. Anger began to simmer in his veins at his own stupidity. He'd allowed himself to forget about the bet entirely, but that had been a mistake. Lena obviously hadn't, and as soon as he revealed his terms she fully expected to return to being just platonic friends. For Lena, this had just been a few weeks of fun, nothing more.
* * * *
Lena bustled around the table to put the finishing touches on the dinner by lighting two long red candles. She was nervous. She ran her hands down her fitted black dress that stopped just above the knees and plunged at the chest to reveal an abundance of cleavage. She glanced at her strappy black high heels in the corner. She would trade them for her slippers at the sound of Dylan's key in the door.
She glanced at the clock. The leg of lamb would be done roasting in five minutes leaving just enough time for her to prepare drinks and the salad before Dylan got home.
She hoped everything went as planned. She'd called Dylan earlier to tell him that she couldn't meet him tonight because she had to work late. She had then called Chad begging him to send Dylan home around 5pm.
"What am I supposed to tell him to get him to go straight home at five?” He asked helplessly.
"I don't know. Tell him that some important file is probably at the house. I don't know, Chad. Just come up with something,” she'd argued before disconnecting the phone call.
She'd gone through hoops just to pull off the perfect surprise, from parking her car in the garage behind back so he wouldn't know she was home, to coming home super early despite her busy schedule to prepare an elaborate dinner, not to mention the new dress she'd picked up from Belk's that morning. Everything had been planned beautifully and she didn't want anything to go wrong.
Tonight was the night Dylan planned to reveal his terms for the bet, but she'd already decided that tonight she would reveal her own terms. All day she'd struggled with the possibility that her revelation could ruin their friendship, but she came to the conclusion that she couldn't go back to being just Dylan's friend. Maybe she could have buried her feelings and lived out the rest of her existence longing for him, too afraid to say anything, but not anymore, not after what they'd shared. She didn't want to lose Dylan's friendship, but she couldn't lie to herself or him any longer. If he didn't feel the tiniest bit of something for her then she would have to accept that, but she couldn't imagine living with herself if she continued to keep her feelings bottled up inside.
The chime of the doorbell startled her out of her silent musings. Her eyes darted between the clock and the front door, her expression puzzled. It was two minutes to five, but why would Dylan be ringing the bell. As if on cue the chime sounded again. Maybe he lost his key.
She flipped flopped in her slippers across the plush carpet to the door and swung it open with a wide smile on her face.
"Did you lose your key?"
Her voice trailed off at the sight of her visitor. Before she could slam the door in his face he pushed his way past her inside.
Not bothering to close the door, because he would be leaving soon, she spun around to face her unwanted guest.
"I can't talk to you right now, Jason. As you can see I'm busy."
His gaze swept over the lavishly decorated table laden with food, then took in the low lighting and finally settled on the stereo that carried the sounds of Luther Vandross in the background. He would have to be a moron not to know what she was busy with.
"Ahh, you're expecting company.” He wheeled around to face her. “I won't interrupt. I just stopped by because you weren't at the office and your message said you would give me your answer today."
"Yes, over the phone, Jason,” she snapped angrily. “Not in person and certainly not at my home."
He lifted his hands as if to say how was I supposed to know that? “My apologies. When you weren't at work I figured you wanted me to meet you here.” The leer on his face made her skin crawl. “Maybe to rekindle that fire we once shared."
She opened her mouth to tell him exactly where he could shove his fire and his proposal but before she could speak the timer on her oven buzzed.
"Let yourself out, Jason. I will call you later with my answer.” She spun around, effectively dismissing him and stomped back toward the kitchen. Hopefully, he would take heed and actually leave because the last thing she needed was for Dylan to walk in with Jason still hanging around.
* * * *
Dylan pulled his SUV into the driveway of Lena's home and cut the engine. He was on the verge of strangling Chad with his insane request. He was sure he'd given Chad the profile sheet for each of the players for the Sports Authority event in a week, but Chad swore he didn't have it, forcing him to go home and get it when he couldn't find it anywhere in his office. Out of all of the things that Chad could lose, he'd lost the one thing that Dylan didn't keep copies of at his office, leaving him no choice but to make a quick trip back to the house.
As soon as he hopped out of his car the first thing he noticed was that the front door was wide open and that there was a black Mercedes in the other parking spot of the driveway. He instantly went on alert. Lena wasn't home, which was a good thing if they had an intruder. He could at least put any fear of her well being aside, knowing that she was safe. He pulled his cell out of his pocket and flipped it open in the event that he had to call 911 which was on speed dial. As he approached the door with caution, his footsteps were hushed as he made his way slowly up the steps to the front door. When he stepped inside he froze, his eyes full of shock. He'd expected to find the place trashed or possibly a burglar, but certainly not Jason Wells.
"What are you doing here? And how the hell did you get inside?"
"Ah, Dylan. Good to see you. Are you visiting?"
"I live here,” he said tightly.
He saw Jason's eyes widen and he knew Lena's ex hadn't been expecting to hear that.
"You always did have a thing for her. You know your friendship with my wife ruined our marriage."
Dylan cut his eyes at the man, unable to believe Jason didn't realise he was the only person to blame for the failure of his marriage. “No, your cheating ruined your marriage."
Jason chuckled and he wanted to grab the man by the throat and shake him. What the hell was he doing in Lena's home?
"If you believe that, then you're dumber than I thought."
Dylan bristled at the jab but he refused to sink to Jason's level.
"I know you may find this hard to believe but I loved Lena when I asked her to marry me, but when she called out your name while we were making love one day, she kind of lost her appeal,” he said dryly.
Dylan stared at Jason with probing eyes. The man lied almost as much as he cheated. He'd be a fool to believe a word Jason said out of his mouth.
"Again, I'm going to ask you what the hell you are doing here and how you got in here before I call the police."
"I'm here to see Lena, who let me in. She's in the kitchen if you don't believe me.” He said and tipped his head in the direction behind him at the doubtful look on Dylan's face.
It was at that moment that he noticed his surroundings. He glanced at the romantic table setting for two, the soft music, candlelight.
He clenched his hands into angry fists as a crushing weight seemed to squeeze the air out of his chest. It all made sense now. She cancelled their plans tonight to spend the evening with Jason, never expecting he'd come home early. She'd been playing him all along. Even the phone calls made sense. Jason had wheedled his way back into her life and she had let him, because she wanted him there.
He was an idiot. Just like old times, and just like old Lena. Their bet had been just been a wild fling of fun and experimentation to her. She'd given him the rules, that they return to a platonic f
riendship after it was done because she had no intention of being more than that with him since she obviously still wanted her ex back.
He backed out of the room and stalked to his car without a word. He got in behind the wheel and slammed the door, tearing out of there like the devil was at his heels.
* * * *
"Jason, what are you still doing here? Didn't I tell you to leave?” Her eyes flashed with annoyance. Why couldn't he just disappear?
He shrugged helplessly. “I was trying to but then your boyfriend came in and nearly knocked me over—"
She gave him a quizzical look. “My boyfriend?
He pointed his thumb over his shoulder. “You know. Your best friend who you pretend is just a friend when we all know he is more than that to you. Dylan."
She shot him a hard look at the note of sarcasm in his voice. “What did you say to Dylan?” Jason wasn't a jealous guy, but he did enjoy playing games with people. She had a bad feeling about this.
"To be honest, nothing. I know what you're thinking but I simply told him that I was here to see you and that you let me in. He seemed to jump to his own conclusions. That's what happens when you date dumb jocks. They lack the ability to reason,” he said smugly.
She'd had enough of him. “Get out, Jason. Now,” she snapped when he didn't move.
He bowed slightly. “All right, Lena. Goodnight, for now. I will await your call.” He said and then slipped out of her house, closing the door behind him.
"Yeah, whatever.” He already knew her answer, but she would call him with it because that's what she'd promised to do. If he were smart, he would marry one of his women. Half of something was better than nothing. Jason was no fool, she knew that would be his next step since she wasn't inclined to remarry him, even if it was temporary and in name only. At the same time she knew she would probably lose her home in the process, but she'd accepted that nothing on earth was worth the humiliation of walking down the aisle with Jason Wells again.
She reached inside her apron and pulled out her cell. If Jason and Dylan exchanged words then she needed to do damage control quickly.
She punched in his number and waited for him to pick up. At the sound of his voicemail message instantly coming on she twisted her lips into a frown and stared at her phone as if it were a foreign object. Dylan never turned off his phone—unless he'd pushed the ignore button to send her call straight to voicemail. She hung up and tried again. On the fourth try she went ahead and left a message.
"Hi it's me. Call me when you get this. I need to talk to you. Bye."
By eight she'd left two more messages similar to her first one. But by midnight she accepted that Dylan wasn't coming home and that she was going to go to jail if she saw Jason before she could straighten things out with Dylan. She blew out the candles that had burned down to stumps and curled up on the couch to go to sleep trying to keep the sadness that threatened to overwhelm her at bay.
* * * *
Dylan tossed the empty beer bottle toward the trash can and grimaced when it bounced to the floor instead, flinging several tiny droplets across the cream carpet. Thank God it was just beer. Chad would kill him if he messed up his floor. The man was a maniac about his house. He was just lucky Chad had to go out of town on business for a couple of days, that way he could clean up the mess before his buddy returned.
He sat up from the couch and reached for another bottle, popped the cap and took a long swig. He leaned back against the soft cushion and propped his feet up, just staring up at the ceiling. He twisted the bottle between his fingers and took another deep gulp. He was on his way to being drunk, but even after a whole pack of Heineken beer he still wasn't quite there yet, but he was certainly going to try.
The sound of his phone ringing caught his attention and he pulled his cell from his pocket to glance at the screen. Lena—again. He pressed ignore. Why the hell was she still calling? That questioned burned in his mind almost as vividly as the question of where the hell was Jason? The time on his phone indicated that it was midnight, much too early for a romantic dinner to be over, unless Jason was even more of a loser than he'd imagined.
At the thought of Jason with her, a wave of anger rushed through his veins as his gut clenched and fury ate away inside him. No matter how hard he tried not to, he kept seeing Jason standing there with smug satisfaction in the middle of the room, directly in front of the beautifully decorated dinner table for two. It hadn't taken him long to figure out he wasn't to be the second at that table. He balled his hands into tight fists, but relaxed his grip when he felt the bottle start to give way under the weight of his rage. Lena was free to date and sleep with whomever she chose, but the thought that she would jump into bed with another man so soon after being with him was too excruciating to even consider, even more so given who it was. Out of all of the men in Atlanta, why did it have to be Jason? He deserved her less than any other man on the face of the planet and yet she took him back as if she'd forgotten all about the humiliation of his infidelities.
He drained the last of his beer and tossed it aside, this time not caring if it made it to the waste basket. He ran a frustrated hand through his short hair and closed his eyes. He wasn't lucky enough to be drunk, but hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to get to sleep. Although, he knew he was fooling himself, because every time he closed his eyes he could see in vivid detail, the image of a naked Lena entangled in that snake's arms, writhing and moaning beneath him, making him wish that he had stopped at the store and picked up something far stronger than beer.
* * * *
At the sound of the key jangling in the lock her eyelids fluttered open and she sat up ramrod straight on the couch, wincing slightly in the process. The couch was certainly not the best place to grab a good night's sleep.
She would have been lying if she said the first sight of Dylan walking through the front door brought her a flood of joy and relief, but that was a lie. She was spitting mad. Despite her busy schedule, she'd called in at work, stubbornly refusing to move from her spot on the couch until he returned home—she flipped her wrist over—at ten-o'clock. Her anger boiled to the surface. She didn't let the sight of his haggard face, rumpled clothes and five o'clock shadow weaken her either. He'd stayed out all night, ignoring her calls and then had the nerve to drag his sorry behind in at ten in the morning. Forget spitting mad, she was furious.
"I've been calling you all night,” she said in a brusque tone.
He slammed the door behind him and walked toward the stairs, not so much as bothering to acknowledge her presence. Jumping to her feet, she crossed the room and stepped in front of him before he could take another step.
"Did you hear me?"
His face hardened as he stared back at her with expressionless eyes. “I heard you, Lena.” He shrugged his shoulders. “What do you want me to say?"
Her eyes rounded. “What do I want you to say? Anything, Dylan,” she snapped. “For starters, how about where you were all night and why you didn't answer your phone?” She knew she sounded like a jealous girlfriend but she didn't care, she deserved some answers.
"I stayed at Chad's because I needed some time alone. That's all,” he said wearily. That wasn't all. She knew he was lying through his teeth.
"What the hell did Jason say to you to make you leave out of here and not return any of my calls? Of all people, you should know not to listen to him."
At her words, cold fury hardened his green eyes and she drew back from the onslaught of anger she saw burning brightly in his gaze. “Jason didn't have to say anything. I have two eyes, Lena.” He waved his hand angrily toward the table that she hadn't bothered to clear off. “The phone calls, the dinner, cancelling our plans. It was obvious to me, Lena, and it's fine. The bet was all about fun and you're free to be with whoever you choose. No big deal."
Her head spun at his words. “You knew about the phone calls Jason was making to me? Why didn't you say anything?” She wondered how much Jason had revealed to him and more importa
ntly how he'd revealed it. Trust Jason to make it seem like there was more to it than there actually was.
"It wasn't my place. If Jason wants to call his ex-wife then it's none of my business."
She blew out a tired sigh. “I don't know how Jason made it seem to you, but I refused to marry him again. After I kicked him out last night, I called and told him that this house wasn't worth the cost of marrying him again."
Dylan furrowed his brow, his expression puzzled. “What are you talking about?"
"His grandfather's will. The calls. I thought Jason told you everything yesterday and that's why you left.” At the questioning look still on his face she gave him the quick and dirty version of why Jason had been at the house.
When she was done he just shook his head and said, “Jason didn't tell me anything, certainly not all that. I left yesterday because you cancelled our plans last night to make a romantic dinner for Jason and—"
Every muscle in her body tensed as a heavy weight settled in her stomach. “What? That's crazy. The dinner was for you, Dylan. I had Chad send you home early on purpose. It was supposed to be a surprise."
She could see the wheels turning in his head as comprehension began to dawn on him. “Jason called the house one day, and then when I saw him here...” His voice trailed off and he flashed her a sheepish look. “I might have jumped to the conclusion that you two were getting back together."
"You talked to him? When did Jason call the house?"
"A few days ago.” He ducked his head slightly, his expression guilty. “He didn't leave a message and I kind of deleted his number from your caller id."
Her nostrils flared in anger as she started to piece everything together. “I can't believe you,” she railed at him. “What kind of woman do you think I am to believe that I would take back my trifling ex just hours after we'd been together? In your eyes, I must look like a stupid bimbo.” She laughed bitterly. “I can't believe I went to all this trouble planning the perfect night,” she shouted, gesturing wildly at the table over his shoulder.