Sharks

by AnnChristine

  "Do you even realize you make me feel as if you are stalking me?" Lilly shivered inside, rubbing her arms as if it would bring warmth where there was only ice. Perhaps telling him the truth wasn't such a good idea. But they'd managed well over the last few years while working in the same corporation. The building was huge and most days she didn't see him. For all things social, Amanda had proven to be a great buffer.

  But Amanda wasn't in Paris.

  "Ah, Lilly, you do me an injustice," he told her as he stepped closer, their arms brushing. "I just want to be friends. I'm not the bad guy you think I am."

  She shuddered, holding her breath for a fraction of time. "There is no unfairness here." She stepped away. "I call it how I feel and we will never--ever--be friends." Her pounded beneath her ribs.

  "We could be the best of friends."

  "You've got to be joking," Lilly said, walking towards the elevator to take her down to the street and away from the one man on this earth she despised.

  Bentley grabbed her shoulder, turning her. "Stop. Give me a chance," he said, his voice begging--a pleading tone to it. "Please..."

  She shrugged his hand off. "That's the trouble, Bentley. You don't know the meaning of the word. You don't understand the word stop and you have no idea how to be a friend." Anger flashed through her so intensely she started quivering again.

  "I've changed."

  She backed away, shaking her head in total disbelief.

  The elevator door closed in front of her, leaving Bentley behind. She knew this was only a reprieve, and she would have to deal with him most likely sooner than later. But she couldn't figure it out because he seemed different today. Nicer…

  Lilly rubbed her neck, closing her eyes and remembering that night so long ago when Bentley could not take no for answer. I am not going to feel a bit remorseful or sorry for him and the way I talk to him.

  Sickness swept through her. No, and I'm not going to let that memory ruin this gorgeous September day.

  Lilly closed her eyes for a moment then stepping through the open elevator door, she stiffened her shoulders and walked toward the river. The spring day had been pleasant until Bentley had appeared. Despite her need to keep memories at bay, the happiness seemed to drain from her.

  Focusing on the feel of sunshine on her face, she walked.

  "C'mon, Lilly, give a guy a chance."

  Her neck and jaw muscles tightened and twisted uncomfortably. The roar of a car nearby made her jump.

  "Go away," she told Bentley. "Just go away."

  "Let's have lunch," he said.

  "I'd rather swim with piranhas." Lilly's voice sounded bitter and cold to her ears. Good, maybe he will get my message.

  "I'll take that as a compliment."

  Her laugh was harsh and unpleasant. "Only you, Bentley. Only you, a vile nasty person, would interpret those words as an accolade."

  Lilly, have a heart. I'm not a bad person. I did one thing wrong, many years ago. Good grief, how long do you intend to hold that grudge? I just reacted too slowly. I was trying to…"

  "As long as I am alive."

  "That long, huh. That is a very long time."

  "Until hell freezes over and, and, pigs fly."

  "I get the picture, but I'm not going to give up on us," he said. "I wasn't going to force you."

  "There is no us!"

  ~ * ~

  Frustrated and desperate, Bentley watched Lilly walk away. "What does a guy have to do?" he muttered, raking his hands through his hair and trying to come up with a solution to his problem. He really cared for Lilly, wanted to see if he could be in a relationship with her. But she wasn't having any of it. She formed her opinion of him a long time ago and she wasn't going to change her mind.

  A man standing near him looked his way and shook his head as if he understood the feelings washing through him. "Whatever it takes," the man said with a sardonic grin.

  Well that is what I did. Now I have to rectify my mistakes. All I wanted to do was apologize to her--make amends--move on. I'm a nice guy who made a horrific mistake that night so long ago. I didn't mean to scare her and I did mean to stop, but I was caught up in the moment. I thought she was in the same place. But she wasn't, you fool.

  She won't even let me get close enough to say I'm sorry. And the things he said to her. He didn't mean half of them. He was just trying to lighten the mood. Instead he'd put his proverbial foot in his mouth. He should have blurted out the apology. But Amanda had told him, straight up, "She will never believe an apology. Lilly is scared to death of you. And you only have yourself to blame for her fear. A girl shouldn't be afraid of a man."

  I know how to stop and I know what the word means. Please, Lilly, I beg of you. Let me prove it to you.

  "Hey, pal, it didn't work out?" Bentley's best friend slapped him on the shoulder. "There are soooo… many cute French chicks out there. You don't have to pine your life away trying to make something work that doesn't have a chance. You know she is in love with that other guy, the artist fellow. Live it up. This is, after all, the most romantic city in the world."

  "He's a jerk. If she is in love with him, where is he? But I think she also fancies herself in love with some guy named Rob."

  Chaz shrugged his shoulders. "Wining and dining possible trophy wives. He doesn't seem to want Lilly except as a friend."

  "Rob and that jerk, Jacob, take her for granted. If she would just let me explain, I would show her how she should be treated. She is beautiful and she deserves to come first in a man's life." Bentley kicked at a crack in the sidewalk, knowing he should be kicking himself.

  Bentley meant those words. His fists tightened as he fought to think of some way he could get her alone long enough to show her how much she meant to him. Of course he'd been trying to do just that since the night that forever changed his life. Yes, changed it in the worst possible way.

  Damn it anyway, he wanted to hit the tree he was standing beside. He wanted to scream out how much he loved her. But it wasn't going to happen. The walk to the hotel would take about a half hour. Maybe he could come up with something by the time he reached it. But he'd already exhausted all his ideas. She was having nothing of him. He couldn't even corner her in the elevator.

  The heel of his hand landed on his forehead. You idiot. Of course you don't want to corner her anywhere. That's stalking. That is what she accuses you of doing to her. If you don't wise up, you'll never get another chance.

  Wind whistled around him and suddenly the day grew overcast. A mist swirled around the trees and old brick of Paris.

  He had best proceed with caution--plot out each move. Bentley strode unseeing past the monuments and historical sites that were Paris. Beginning the trek to the subway below, he had a sudden urge to take the first train out and see where he would end up.

  Uncaring at the moment, he did just that. Sitting on a bench, he closed his eyes and absorbed the sounds. He tried to interpret the language the French people around him spoke. The little language he'd taken in school had left him ill prepared for this trip.

  Ah, but he knew Lilly spoke fluent French. She could read and write it an amazing level for a second language.

  Two teenagers raced the length of the train, tripping over his feet. His eyes opened. "Watch it," he yelled.

  "Old man," they shouted back in their language then laughed and continued the game, twisting and turning through the patrons. Too bad the train wasn't packed so they stood nose to nose. Then there would be no room for such mischief.

  The train ground to a slow stop. "Just my luck," he murmured. I'd hoped to end up at Versailles, instead I'm at my hotel's stop.

  "C'est la vie."

  A few minutes later he walked in the front door of his hotel. Lilly sat in a large overstuffed chair reading. His heart sped and his breath came in shallow short puffs almost as if he'd been running. Just as it did every time he saw her, his body heated and hardened.

  Should he or shouldn't he.

  Damn, if he e
ver wanted to make up to her and apologize, he would have to make use of every opportunity.

  "Coward," a little voice inside his head spoke.

  "Fool," another voice countered.

  Geez, I can't make up my own mind. I'm a weak-kneed coward and a fool.

  No, you have been shot down so many times you know you must proceed with caution.

  Ok, so what should I expect?

  All she can do is tell you no, which she has already done a thousand times, or get up and walk away.

  So why is there sweat running down my forehead?

  Bentley inhaled a long slow breath and decided to make the best of the situation.

  Then he was blindsided.

  ~ * ~

  Lilly's happiness radiated from the inside out. She rose and raced through the lobby as if she wore wings on her feet. Passing Bentley, she noticed his smile then the shocked expression. She didn't stop.

  "Rob," she called out, wrapping her arms around the man's neck and giving him a giant hug followed by a romantic kiss on his lips. She leaned away from him, studying the man she'd fallen in love with a few months back.

  He didn't look in love with her. He was slowly trying to disentangle her arms from around his neck. She suddenly felt mortified.

  "Lilly, we have to talk," Rob said as he backed away and stared at her with a grim expression on his handsome and a little bit boyish face. There is nothing boyish about Bentley's face. Good God, where did that thought come from?

  A petite blond girl stepped up to Rob and placed her hand in his. The predatory look on her face read, he is mine don't touch.

  All right then, I won't touch. Lilly felt heat pool to her cheeks. Placing her frozen hands on the sides of her face, she shuddered, understanding how foolish she must look to the world. Confusion swept through her and escalated to a shaking body.

  "Bentley, I want you to meet someone." Oh my god, had she just summoned Bentley to her side? This chick is crazy.

  "W-what?" he seemed to stutter, cocking his head to one side in seeming puzzlement, then smiling.

  Brazen this out girlfriend. You have to got to cover your tracks and that ridiculous kiss. "Rob, this is my good friend Bentley. Bentley, Rob." You have got to make it look as if you want to rock it with him.

  Rob grinned from ear to ear. "And this is my fiancée, Tanya."

  A trophy wife, so why did she feel so unnerved. She had always known she didn't fit that particular stereotype nor had she ever wanted that adjective applied to her. But it still hurt. Why was she always attracted to players? Was that what all men wanted, someone to show off? Someone to hang on their arm and their every word as if they spouted magic prose?

  "Nice to meet you."

  "Like wise." Bentley nonchalantly draped his arm around her in what seemed at the moment to be a protective gesture. She hadn't thought he had one protective instinct in his entire body.

  She shuddered and her stomach clenched. This was unbelievable, but she'd done it. She was stranded in limbo and she would have a whole lot of unraveling to do before this day was finished. She didn't like Bentley, but she never wanted to purposely hurt him. Fool, a man with no heart can't feel pain. But Bentley--maybe he did have a heart. After all, he didn't have to go along with this ploy. He could denounce her as a fraud and walk away.

  "Would you join us for dinner?" Bentley asked, his voice smooth as well as holding a tone that could only be defined as smug.

  What? No.

  "Of course," Rob said, pulling his fiancée Tanya closer. "We would love to get to know you better. Any recommendations?" Rob planted a quick kiss on Tanya's forehead before smiling down on her.

  Bentley and Rob strode ahead, talking and gesturing. Lilly walked beside the woman who Rob had fallen in love with. Tanya was chatting on and on and all of it went through one ear and out the other. Every once in a while Lilly would nod and say, "Hmm or ok or that's nice."

  Eternity could not be this long. The men finally stopped at a little outdoor café. The girls ordered wine and the men beer. Lilly sipped slowly and made small talk, but most of the time she went over in her head what she would tell Bentley and prayed the evening would end sooner than later. She had never thought she would find herself apologizing to this man. She had no taste for the Dover cod she ordered and pushed the food around on her plate.

  Oh, Bentley, by the way I'm a user just like you.

  ~ * ~

  It had taken Jacob a lot of soul searching to finally garner the courage to confront Lilly with his engagement. There had been times he thought that maybe he could have a relationship with his best friend. But he knew better. He loved Sara. But he couldn't give Lilly the news over the phone. He had to see her, talk to her and receive her approval.

  Lilly would always hold a place in his heart but as a friend not a life-mate.

  Where better to be than Paris in the spring? The artist in him personified to the forefront.

  Humming a little tune, Jacob bought a ticket to Paris. Putting everything in its proper place would take a huge load off his shoulders.

  ~ * ~

  Lilly's phone buzzed. "Hello?"

  "In the city, where are you? Would like to talk."

  Lilly's heart fluttered. She swallowed down the lump in her throat. Jacob, has he come to rescue me? Will he save me from the jaws of this lion I've single handedly created. I could not have done anything more stupid concerning Bentley.

  "Rob rose and pulled out Tanya's chair for her. "We have to go. We haven't even checked in to our hotel yet. You two lovebirds have a goodtime." And before Lilly could protest, all she could see were their backs moving down the street. Her heart dying a slow death, she watched them walk away. She wondered if she would ever find true love.

  "What's wrong?" Bentley's concerned tone stopped her from the thoughts of getting up and fleeing the scene.

  Bentley put his hand on hers and to Lilly's surprise a shimmering wave of sexual heat swept through her. "N-nothing," she stammered like a virgin high school girl. But Lilly couldn't help wondering about the strange sensations. She pulled her hand back but realized she wanted the warmth of his touch. Perhaps she only thought she needed it. This had been such a surprising evening. Could anything get any worse? Bad things came in threes. She held her breath, anticipating what was yet to come and wondering if she could withstand it. Whatever it was.

  "I couldn't help but see the tension in your face. I can help if you want," he said, some hesitancy in his voice. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but his engagement came as a big surprise to you."

  He sounded sincere, but he'd always sounded that way when he spoke to her. Well, except when he was trying to hard to be funny. "Jacob is here--in Paris--he wants to talk. I don't know what about and Rob--Rob's engaged. I thought…" On the verge of tears she closed her eyes for a moment.

  "Damn!"

  "I have to see him," she said, feeling Bentley's jealousy to the tips of her toes and liking it. She swiped the moisture from her eyes and stiffening her back breathed in deeply.

  What on earth am I thinking? Why does his jealousy appeal to me?

  I despise Bentley, always have, always will. Can never forgive him.

  Liar, the little devil on her shoulder told her. You didn't hate him when you accepted that first date. Or do you forget so easily? Never is a very long time. Remember, never say never.