Dangerous In Love

by Alexa Davis

  “Alright, it’s almost five,” she told me once we claimed into the cab. “We should head over to your parents.”

  I nodded in agreement, buckling myself in and staring out the window. “You bet.”

  She put on some upbeat pop music on the radio, and we sang along as she drove. I felt my spirits lifting at the distraction and was starting to enjoy myself when a song came on that reminded me of Adam. Anytime a love song started playing, my mind immediately went to him. I told my brain to stop, but it kept happening again and again.

  It had been a long time since Meghan had been there, so I gave her directions along the way and guided her through the ritzy suburb. Eventually, she pulled into the drive. Dad was outside shoveling the sidewalk, with Maggie jumping happily through the snow. His face was wrapped in a hefty scarf that covered half of his face and a Laplander hat to keep his head warm. After she cut the engine, Meghan and I stepped outside and waved to him.

  “Hey, girls! Go on inside; your mom’s still putting the finishing touches on dinner. I’ll be inside in a few minutes.”

  “Okay!”

  Maggie trudged through the snow toward me, her pink tongue lopping lazily to the side when I came to scratch her on the forehead. “Hey, there girl! You want to come inside?”

  The white Labrador wagged her tail and looked up at me with big brown eyes, so I laughed and brought her with us as we stepped into the foyer.

  “Mom, we’re here!”

  “In the kitchen!” she called out to us.

  Meghan looked at me and shrugged while we hung our purses in the foyer and went to find her. It smelled like cream of chicken soup and delicious spices sizzling on the stovetop. “Oh, you’re finally here!” she cheered out happily. “I’m so glad you came.”

  I chuckled, accepting the hug she offered and patted her warmly on the back. “Me, too, I just needed a break for a while. I hope you don’t mind if we hang out here for a bit.”

  “Of course not! We love to have you. Meghan, I didn’t see you there! It’s lovely to see you, too.”

  She laughed, giving my mom a hug, as well. “Yeah, thank for having us.”

  “It’s been a long time! I haven’t seen you here since high school.”

  Meghan nodded in agreement. “It’s been busy.”

  “Why don’t you ladies set the table. I’ll go let your father know it’s ready. He’s been working outside all day.”

  “I’m on it,” I agreed, pulling Meghan over to the cupboard. We brought out the plates, cups, and silverware and made the table beautiful just in time for Mom to come back in with my poor, freezing father.

  “It’s good to be back inside!” he cheered. “I hope you girls are settled in okay.”

  I watched them as she lovingly helped him remove his coat and scarf. It stirred feelings about the lasting affection of relationships, and my eyes started welling up.

  We had a great conversation over dinner about how Meghan and I met again working for Frank Howell. My parents seemed over the moon that everything was turning out okay and I was so happy in my career. Thankfully, they didn’t pry or ask any questions about my living situation. I know Mom was uneasy with the idea of me living with a man before we’re married. I could only imagine how she’d react if it came out that Adam and I were actually sleeping together.

  I started thinking about him now, with his messed-up hair and olive tan…his naked body lying next to me in bed. My breathing started to shift, and I clenched my fist beneath the table where they couldn’t see. I wanted his hands all over me again, sliding up my legs and then ripping off my shirt. I would lick every inch of him if he would let me, until we ripped off each other’s clothing and were going at it again like bunnies.

  Wow, I really need to get some help.

  I couldn’t risk going home tonight because I was having enough problems with my self-control, to begin with. The minute I saw him, it would be all over: I’d be panting his name and kissing him for hours. It was not conducive to practical thinking, and I was far too practical to let a man mess up my plans.

  Uh, what plans are those exactly? You’ve got the job, apartment, sex… What exactly are you missing here?

  I told my inner dialogue to shut up and went back to the conversation at the table. Dad smiled at me from across the table with a twinkle in his eye and winked. “We’re glad to have you back, sweetie.”

  “Thanks,” I told him looking around the dining room. “I was actually thinking of spending the night. Is that okay? I just want to spend some time at home with you.”

  My parents looked at each other and shared a glance that I did not understand. “Whatever you need, sweetheart. You know our door is always open.”

  Meghan hung around for a while after we cleaned up from the table. I hugged her goodbye in the doorway and got my things out of her car. Dad was right behind me when I turned around to shut the door with a thoughtful expression on his face.

  “Vanessa, is everything alright?” he asked me honestly.

  My brow line puckered as I stared at him confused. “Sure, why wouldn’t they be?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know; you tell me.”

  “Yeah, Dad. Everything’s great.”

  “Alright,” he conceded. “And you’re liking your new apartment, the new job… ”

  “Yep.”

  “Roommate…” he added significantly.

  My expression fell slightly, and I swallowed hard, hoping that I hadn’t revealed too much.

  “Look, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I just wanted you to know that I listen and I want you to be happy. If you need to spill, I’m here for you.”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  Chapter 23

  Adam

  Friday

  Max swung his club down. The club head made contact with incredible force and sent the ball careening into the range we had reserved. I watched the golf ball fly into the distance and land strategically by one of the distance markers on the artificial grass.

  Golfing was not my favorite sport, but Max had convinced me to take the day off work and go out with him to the driving range. I accepted the challenge because I desperately needed to get away from the office for a while and there were more than a few things that he and I needed to discuss.

  “Good shot,” I complimented.

  He shrugged, stepping back so that I could take a turn. “Nah, I messed up on the follow through.”

  I chuckled, getting another golf ball from the bucket and setting it on the tee before lining up my nine iron. I squared my feet and positioned my shoulders, wiggling a bit until the stance felt comfortable. I pulled in a long breath and let it out through my nose as I swung back and brought the club down hard, hitting the ball exactly on my intended target point on the backside of the ball.

  The white ball went soaring and landed among all the others. It was an impressive shot considering how out of practice I was – not that I was going to admit I was out of practice.

  Max raised an eyebrow and smiled with admiration, “You’ve been practicing.”

  “Meh, just a little bit. I don’t have a whole lot of time now with work and everything.”

  “Tell me about it,” he agreed, setting his ball up on the tee once more and taking another swing.

  I watched his aim admiringly and took a swig from my water bottle. My mouth was dry and made worse by the emotional storm cloud looming overhead. There was an uncomfortable knot in the pit of my stomach, knowing I would have to broach the topic of Brandon sooner or later. I was accustomed to confrontation, but Max and I were friends. We had a history together, and I had to know if he was involved with what was going on.

  “So, I’ve been meaning to talk to you about something,” I started pleasantly. “Do you remember that guy from the Men’s Club Christmas party?”

  “The one who got your panties all in a twist? Yeah, I remember.”

  I swallowed hard, leaning against the golf club. “I need to know what y
ou know about him and if you’re involved with him professionally.”

  Max brushed it off dismissively, trying to downplay the seriousness of my tone, and set up another ball on the tee. His dirty blond hair was more than a little disheveled from the hour we’d already been at the driving range, and beads of sweat had begun dripping down his forehead. “I already told you, man; he’s one of us.”

  “Max!” I insisted louder, poignantly catching his attention. “I’m serious. What do you know about him?”

  “Why are you asking me this?”

  “Because I’m trying to protect you,” I responded honestly. I wished he knew how much I cared about him and wanted to shield him from the legal ramifications I knew would be coming from the DA. “If there is something about him that I should know, you’ve got to tell me. I don’t want to see you get tangled up with this guy and be brought down with him.”

  Max sighed, turning to me and gave me the attention I was seeking. “I’m not involved with anything sketchy,” he assured me quickly. “I don’t even know Brandon that well, to be quite honest, but I know he’s powerful and has some dangerous connections. When he showed up at Men’s Club, I had the same reaction you did. But everyone else just fell in line and accepted him, so I went with it.”

  I relaxed slightly and pressed him further. “So, you’re sure that nothing going on with him will come back to you?”

  “Nah, why would it? I don’t get involved with stuff like that.”

  “Stuff like what, exactly?”

  He shrugged, picking up a bottle of water himself, and took a hefty drink of it. “I don’t know; it’s really hush. No one else talks about it, so I don’t ask any questions. But I can tell you that it seems like some pretty high-level garbage. That’s why I keep my distance, and I suggest you do the same. I don’t want to know anything about it; the less I know, the less I can be held accountable for.”

  “Right. ”

  He sighed looking down at his watch and said, “Our time here is almost up, so why don’t we collect our clubs and head over to the locker room?”

  “Sure.”

  He and I both put our clubs back into the caddy and removed our gloves while carrying it all back through the hall inside. I glanced absentmindedly at the equipment rooms we walked past in the fitness center. Our memberships here were the best investments he or I had ever gotten, and I looked forward to our workouts. At the end of the hall was a pair of water fountains between the lockers room and we went into to put out stuff down. It took us a couple minutes to find our lockers and change.

  “Hey, man, sorry if I’m making you uncomfortable with all this shit. I just don’t want to see you get in trouble.”

  Max nodded, taking off his shirt and said, “I know, but can we talk about something else. It’s really bumming me out. How’s Vanessa doing? I haven’t heard from her in a while.”

  “She’s doing great,” I told him happily. “At least, she seems to be. Things are really going well for her at the new job; she’s even got a friend that works there. I think she’s happy.”

  “That’s good. I knew you’d take care of her,” he responded swiftly. “Obviously you like her, or you wouldn’t have invited her to move in. Are you still getting along?”

  For the first time in my life, I actually blushed and had to look away from him. I swallowed hard and ran my hand through the back of my hair uncomfortably.

  Shit, how am I going to get out of this?

  “Uh, yeah. We seem to be getting along okay.”

  Max stared at me confused as he finished changing. I was still shirtless and pulling on a pair of khakis when he cleared his throat and asked, “Adam, is there something you’re not telling me?”

  I sighed, letting my head fall slightly and slammed the locker closed saying, “We may have hit it off better than I expected…”

  His expression fell instantly. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”

  I could tell by the tone in his voice that he was furious. It was low and dangerous in a way I seldom heard him speak to anyone. Still, I knew the truth would come out eventually, and I didn’t like keeping it from him in the first place.

  I nodded shamefully as I turned to him in apology. “Yeah, a couple times.”

  The next thing I knew his fist was colliding with my face and I went slamming against the lockers. A painful groan escaped as I made contact with the metal doors. My cheek and jaw were throbbing with pain as I started up at him in shock. “Dude!”

  I knew he would be angry, but I didn’t expect him to be that angry.

  “Dammit, Adam! You said you wouldn’t do that shit. You promised!!”

  I felt a sinking feeling, and I knew he’d never look at me the same. In all the years we’d been friends, I had never seen the expression on his face that he was giving me right now: betrayal. I hated knowing that my relationship with Vanessa was hurting him like that, but I was so conflicted. I cared about her and had no intention of being harm to either one of them.

  Even if I broke it off with her and brought our relationship, whatever it was, to a screeching halt, Max would still be angry. I’d let him down.

  His fist came flying at me again and somehow, I managed to avoid it. He was red in the face and furious; I’d never seen him so angry in the decade that I’d know him. “Max, I’m sorry! What was I supposed to do, call you up and say, ‘by the way, Vanessa and I are sleeping with each other now. I hope that’s okay with you, because I very well might be in love with her?’”

  He stopped mid-air when he was about to come down on me again, and his eyes were conflicted. “What did you say?”

  Realizing my mistake, I just shook my head embarrassed. “Nothing.”

  I didn’t know what to say after that. Was I in love with her? I didn’t know for sure, but I enjoyed spending time with her and couldn’t stop smiling anytime she was around. I cared about her deeply and treasured every moment she let me touch her. Her kisses were sweeter than candy, and I could spend all day lost in them…but was it love?

  “Did you say that you’re in love with her?”

  Shit.

  “Yeah, I think I did.”

  “Is that true, or are you bullshitting me right now?”

  I shrugged. “I don’t know; I could be.”

  “Fuck, Adam! That’s my sister we’re talking about. I knew something was going on with you after New Years. I should have seen it coming.”

  “Look, I don’t know what to say. I really like her, and we’ve got a good thing going on between us. I didn’t plan for this to happen, but it did.”

  He slammed his locker door and looked away from me in silent rage while thinking about what I said. “You better not mess with her,” he warned. “If I hear about you sneaking around or breaking her heart, you and I are going to have problems.”

  I almost laughed at him, but the look on his face was murderous, so I just nodded in response. “Understood.”

  Max was not the overly protective type, but I understood where he was coming from. He felt betrayed, like I was taking advantage of his sister while she was down. It wasn’t like that.

  “I know you’re a good guy and wouldn’t do that type of thing, but I’ve been wrong before.”

  I grabbed my shirt of the bench and pulled it over my head with a tired sighed before putting my hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eye before saying, “I told you I’d take care of her and I meant it.”

  “Good. Now let’s get out of here and get some lunch.”

  Chapter 24

  Vanessa

  Monday

  When I got to the office Monday morning, I had a happy flutter of butterflies in my stomach. The snow was beginning to melt on the sidewalk outside, and the sun was beating down on everything. It was about time; I was growing tired of the cold and looking forward to spring. It had always been my favorite season ever since I was little.

  I put the car in park and grabbed my satchel from the backseat, loaded with my camera and some o
f my edited photos to show Frank.

  My hair was pulled off to the side in a low and elegant braid underneath a winter hat. My hands were covered in a pair of knitted driving gloves. I was still a little early for my meeting, so I went inside and found Meghan at the desk out front. “Hey, Vanessa!” she greeted warmly. “I didn’t know you were coming in today.”

  The clean white lobby was decorated exactly the same as it had the last time I was here. I smiled. “Yeah, I have a meeting with Frank. He wants to sign off on the pictures before we send them to the client.”

  “Cool! Well, he’s in a meeting right now, so he won’t be out for a few more minutes.”

  “No problem, I go here a little early anyway.”

  She nodded thoughtfully, with a twinkle in her eyes. “So how are things at home? Did you figure out what to do about Adam?”

  I sighed, collapsing down in one of the seats, and shook my head. “No, it’s still a mystery.”

  “I’m sorry,” she commiserated lightly. “I had a lot of fun this weekend, though! We should do it again sometime.”

  “Definitely.”

  “Try not to over-think things,” she encouraged lightly. “Adam’s a great guy; maybe you should just enjoy it.

  I nodded with a sigh. “I will. Sometimes I have a bad habit of sabotaging my own happiness.”

  There was some commotion down the hall and the office door opened to let out a few men out that were discussing something in hushed voices. I smiled at Frank politely when he saw me in the foyer and felt my palms get sweaty.

  “Don’t worry; you’ll do great!” Meghan told me with a wink.

  As the group of men dispersed, Frank waved me over with a smile, and I walked up to shake his hand. I repositioned the strap across my shoulder and smiled.

  “Vanessa, welcome back! I assume these are the finished edit of the pictures from the restaurant?”

  “Yep! They turned out really nicely. I think Carlo will be pleased.”

  “Well, come on inside my office. Let take a look at them, shall we?”