by S. Nelson
“Both of my parents are still alive. They’re actually still married, if you can believe it.” A faint smile spread across her face.
“That’s sweet.”
Squirming in her chair, she turned the questions on me, “So, what about you, Sara? Does your family live close by?” she asked, bringing her drink to her lips. Her study of me was quite intent, more so than usual.
Maybe I was reading too much into her behavior, Alek’s insistence about her background check playing over and over in my head.
Before I could answer, my phone vibrated on top of the table. Taking a quick peek, I saw it was Alek. “Sorry, one sec, Megan.” Turning my head to the side, I answered. “Hello. Hey, babe. Yeah, we’re having a great time,” I said, glancing back at Megan as I spoke. A pissed-off look washed over her face as she realized who I was talking to.
When she saw my questioning look, her scowl quickly switched to a strained smile. I turned my body to the right as I answered him, doing my best not to witness any more of Megan’s facial expressions. “Yeah, I have. One. Don’t start,” I huffed. “Fine. Okay, I’ll call you when we’re done. Love you, too.” I turned to face her again as I disconnected the call. “Sorry. Alek was just checking in.”
“You mean checking up, don’t you?” she argued. “Why do you let him get away with that type of behavior?” Draining the rest of my drink, she held my stare and waited for an answer.
“He’s not doing anything but looking out for me. I’ve been through a lot and he’s concerned.” I didn’t particularly care for her tone when she was prying into my business.
“Oh?” she probed. “What happened to you, Sara? Do tell.” There was an air of cockiness surrounding her. Or was I reading her wrong? We were having a great time until she started with her interrogation.
“I’m not comfortable talking about it, so let’s change the subject. Okay?” Once she realized I wasn’t going to divulge something so personal, her demeanor changed a little.
“Sure. Sorry, I don’t mean to be so pushy. I think I’ve had a bit too much to drink.” She genuinely smiled that time.
After another half-hour of chatting about clothes and movies, we decided to call it a night. I texted Alek the name of the restaurant, but told Megan if she was ready to go, I would be fine waiting by myself until he got there.
“Actually, Megan, if you want, we can drop you off at home. I don’t really think you should be driving.”
“Oh, please, this is nothing, girl. I’m completely fine.” When I quirked my brow, she said, “Really. I’m fine. I wouldn’t drive if I didn’t think I could.” Knowing she had two glasses of wine was concerning but not overly so. She was a grown woman and I couldn’t force her to do anything. Besides, if she was in the same car with Alek, something bad might happen. Her dislike for him continued to baffle me.
“Okay, but only if you’re sure.”
“I’m positive. I’m actually going to stay for a bit longer anyway. There is a handsome man at the bar who has been checking me out all night.” She subtly pointed toward the guy she was referring to. He was quite the looker. I didn’t blame her. “He looks like Mr. Right Now.” She laughed. Gathering her things, she winked at me as she wrangled herself out of our booth.
As we said our goodbyes, Alek called to tell me he was waiting outside. “Okay, well, I had fun, Megan. We’ll have to do this again sometime soon.”
“You bet we will,” she agreed before pulling me in for a quick hug.
Touching her arm, I pleaded, “Please, be careful.”
“I will. Don’t worry about me. I control my life and everything in it, Sara. Remember that.” Before I could dissect her words, she smiled and made her way toward the man who’d caught her attention.
Heading outside, my thoughts were suddenly bombarded with images of my man. I was already excited and I hadn’t even laid eyes on him yet.
When he saw me coming, he immediately opened the passenger door for me. Always the gentleman.
“I’ve missed you, babe,” he groaned before gathering me in his arms for a heart-stopping kiss. His hands lowered to grip my ass, pressing me firmly against his body.
“I missed you, too, but if you don’t stop it, all these people are going to watch a show.” Giving him a quick kiss, I backed up because what I had planned for him should only be done in private.
“Okay, okay. Let’s get you home then.”
~32~
Alek
It’d been a couple of weeks since Sara and I had officially rekindled our relationship and I couldn’t be happier. We were even better than before because we didn’t take anything for granted. Mainly because we both knew what it was like to lose the other.
Running from meeting to meeting did nothing to calm the incessant need I had to check on something. Or should I say someone? I tried to ask Sara nicely for Megan’s information but she refused to give it to me, trying to play the ‘It’s insulting you don’t trust I’ll do my homework’ bit. Yeah, I wasn’t buying it. I vowed the day she took me back I would never let anyone or anything harm her again.
I couldn’t pinpoint what it was about Megan that bothered me. Yes, I found it odd she disliked me so much, especially since I didn’t even know her, but it was more than that. There was an uneasiness, trying to tell me there might be trouble ahead.
Call it paranoia.
Call it my innate need to protect my woman.
So, Sara could be upset with me, but I was going to get my hands on that information somehow. And if it wasn’t going to be from her, then I was going to approach someone who was as concerned about her safety as I was.
Matt.
I arrived at Full Bloom when I knew Sara was going to be out running some errands. She made sure to keep in touch with me, especially when she wasn’t at the shop. Controlling her wasn’t my objective. Not at all. I made sure to answer my phone each time she called me, in case she needed me, for whatever might come up.
Walking inside the shop was kind of weird at first, knowing I wasn’t there to see Sara. There were only two other customers inside, both of whom were men. I didn’t even dwell on the fact my woman was sometimes surrounded by other guys, most of whom came in because they fucked up with their own women. Pushing my crazy thoughts aside, I approached the one person I was curious about.
Megan.
She didn’t see me at first because her eyes were glued to one guy’s ass as he bent over to select an arrangement from the bottom shelf of the cooler.
To look at her, one would think she was attractive. She was taller than Sara with a little heavier build, blonde curls lying above her collarbone. She was plain, but pretty. Nothing compared to Sara, of course, but I was sure she didn’t have an issue garnering a man’s attention.
There was a big smile on her face as she continued to watch the man standing to my left. Only when I cleared my throat did she swing her eyes to me, an instant look of disgust contorting her face.
In turn, I chose not to hide my annoyance with her rudeness. “Megan, is it?” I asked, striding toward the counter. Admittedly, I wasn’t used to women not fawning all over me. Not that I wanted her to act in such a manner, but it was always easier to obtain information when people were tripping over themselves merely because I paid attention to them.
“Sara’s not here,” she sneered, focusing her attention back on the computer and completely ignoring me.
She obviously thinks she’s done talking to me.
“Have I done something to offend you?” I asked in the most sincere tone I could muster, making a real effort to find out what her problem with me was. My instinct was to be rude and condescending, but I knew it wouldn’t work to my advantage.
“Nothing to me,” she scoffed. She finally lifted her gaze from the screen and glared at me. She literally glared at me. “I don’t like you, and you’ll reap what you sow.”
What the fuck does that mean?
Her unnerving statement solidified she was certainly a little u
nstable. She may have been able to hide it well from Sara, but she’d shown me her true colors.
Not wanting to entertain her any longer, I walked toward the back of the shop.
“Hey, you can’t go back there!” she yelled, rushing to catch up with me. She was close on my heels as I rounded the corner to the prep room. “I said you can’t come back here.” I whipped around so quickly she had to take a step back.
“I can come and go as I please. Just ask your boss.” Thankfully, Matt was coming out of the restroom, saving me from telling her to go to hell. He looked quickly between the two of us, clearly confused why we were shouting at each other.
Matt and I hadn’t always gotten along. Actually, that was an understatement. We almost came to blows a couple of times, mostly because I overreacted to certain situations. My feelings for Sara were so new and confusing, they twisted me up inside.
Matt still looked confused as he started to speak. “Sara’s not here right now, but she’ll be back soon. I can tell her you stopped by, though.” He glanced down at the sheet in his hand, figuring our conversation was done.
“Actually, I came to see you.” I didn’t even have to look behind me to know Megan was still shooting daggers at me. “I was going to head over to Verdana later tonight and wanted to know if you could meet me there? I thought we could grab a beer and chat.”
Yes, my request was out of left field, and it wasn’t lost on Matt.
“Uhhhhh,” he stammered. “Yeah…I suppose.” His brow furrowed as he asked me, “What time?”
“Meet me there at seven. Do you know where it is?”
“Yes.”
No other words were necessary.
The plan was set.
~~~~
I was sitting at the bar drinking a beer when Matt walked up behind me. He was nothing if not punctual. Even though I was going to pump him for information, essentially asking him to go behind Sara’s back, I was going to make a real attempt to try and get to know him.
After ordering a draft, Matt took a seat next to me, still trying to figure out why I’d asked him to join me. Sara was shocked as hell when I told her, so I could only imagine what was running through Matt’s head.
I wasn’t one to beat around the bush, so I got right to it. “Matt, I’m sure you’re wondering why I asked you to meet me tonight.”
“I was wondering…yes,” he replied, taking another drink as he waited for my reason.
“Well, as you know, I’ll go to extremes to make sure Sara is safe, even when they’re things she objects to. We clash heads a lot because of it.” I laughed, picturing the many times Sara and I bickered over my antics and her stubbornness.
Matt smirked, because he knew I spoke the truth. He’d been privy to a few of those disagreements.
“What do you need from me?” He sure got right to the point. I liked it. Placing his drink back on the bar, he swiveled around until he was fully facing me. As I attempted to answer his question, his mouth fell open and he rushed to ask, “She’s not in any more danger is she?” His voice took on a panicked tremor, and I knew right then how much Sara meant to him. He’d become so worried about his friend, it physically shook him.
“I’m not sure yet.” Shaking my head, I tried to clarify. “What I mean is I don’t know anything about this new employee of hers. This Megan Smith.” I tried to hold back my contempt but it spewed forth, out of my control. “I’d like to do a thorough background check, but of course, Sara refuses to give me her information.” Taking another tug off my bottle, I grasped his shoulder. “This is where you come in.”
It took him a second to figure out what I was asking him. “Wait, you want me to go behind her back and give you Megan’s information?” He blew out a breath and grabbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know, man. I don’t want her to think she can’t trust me. What if she finds out?”
“If she finds out, I’ll deal with it. I’ll make it so you’re not to blame at all.”
We sat in silence for what seemed like forever. Begging wasn’t my style and he knew it. My hope was that he would see the importance of doing the check and agree without any further argument.
“I don’t think you’re going to find anything more than Sara did. Megan seems harmless to me.” He downed the rest of his beer and motioned to the bartender for another. Our conversation was going better than I thought it would. Matt was a pretty good guy after all. “The only issue I had with Megan,” he continued, “was convincing her I wasn’t interested.” He laughed as he took a big swig of his beer.
A couple of minutes passed as we sat in a somewhat-awkward silence. I was giving him time to think on it while I enjoyed the new foreign beer we were trying out. “So…what do you say, Matt? Will you help me?
Thankfully, he didn’t make me wait long for an answer. “Yeah, okay. I’ll text it to you tomorrow.” After exchanging information, I sat back and breathed a sigh of relief.
Leaning over, I bumped his shoulder with mine and asked, “So, Megan was really barking up the wrong tree, wasn’t she?” My laughter caused Matt to relax even more.
“Yeah, she was.” Then all of a sudden, his brow furrowed in confusion. “Wait. What?”
“You’re not interested in Megan, correct?” Shit! I didn’t mean to call him out. Obviously, he wasn’t ready to make it known he wasn’t attracted to women.
“No, I’m not,” he answered flatly.
“Well then, she’s barking up the wrong tree, right?” I asked him again, hopefully that time a little less obvious.
“Yeah, you’re right.” He gulped down the last of his drink and stood up. “Well, I have to be going. I’ll send you her info tomorrow.”
“Great. Thanks, Matt,” I said, shaking his hand.
My fears were soon going to be laid to rest.
~33~
Sara
A week had gone by. Work was busy, as usual, thank God. Alek and I had been spending all of our free time together. Life was good. But it became even better…when Alek proposed.
That we live together.
For good.
It was a no-brainer.
I said yes right away.
I’d been staying at his house almost every night, so the move made sense.
We were it for each other.
At first, I was hesitant to broach the subject with Alexa, even though I was sure she knew it was coming. I still felt bad leaving her all alone in the apartment. As soon as I found enough courage to talk to her about it, she shut me down, telling me it was about time.
Figuring it was as good a time as any, she informed me she and Braden were having the same exact conversation, with one minor difference. She wasn’t quite sure if she wanted to take the leap yet. Braden was pushing for it, but my dear friend was afraid of losing herself in the relationship. She wanted to still keep her independence, something Braden was trying to be understanding about.
I was lost in thought when a voice startled me.
“Sara? Did you hear me? Did you want to go?”
I turned around to see Megan hovering over my right shoulder, watching me put together an order for a delivery.
“Huh?” I asked, continuing to arrange the gardenias until they were perfect. “Sorry, Megan. What did you ask me?”
She sighed, almost as if she was annoyed. But her tone when she spoke again was anything but. “I asked if you wanted to go to Throttle tonight. There’s a new band playing I’m dying to check out.” Rocking back and forth on her heels, she asked, “So, what do you say? Are you in?”
My first thought was that Alek might end up showing up at the club, being the owner and everything, and what kind of tension it would cause between the two of them. But the bigger Megan’s smile became, the less I worried about it.
“Sure. Sounds like fun. Why don’t we invite Alexa and Matt to go with us? They love Throttle, and I’m sure they would be up for some new musical talent.”
Again, she looked annoyed, but as soon as she smiled, I thought
I’d misread her.
“Great. You can let them know we’ll be meeting up at eight-thirty. The band doesn’t go on until ten, but I thought we could relax and hang out before they start.” Our conversation ended when she took off to help the customer who had walked in.
~~~~
The night had been going well. Everyone was laughing and telling stories, mainly about some asinine customers who had come into the shop. Thankfully, there weren’t too many of them to regale.
“Then, as he was asking me to fill out the card for him—for his wife, mind you—he asked if I was free later that night.” Megan grimaced as she told us her story.
“What an ass,” Alexa bemused. “Guys are creeps.”
“Hey,” Matt fussed. “Not all of us are creeps. Some of us are good guys, you know.” Even though Matt was smiling, he looked as if something was bothering him. Matter of fact, he’d been wearing the same look on his face for a while now. Trying to convince him to open up and talk about it was like pulling teeth. Worse even. He’d shut down if I pressed too much. I assumed he would talk when he was ready.
“Some of you are all right,” Megan chirped, smiling wide in Matt’s direction. I’d seen her curiosity at the way the three of us interacted together.
Matt was like our brother, warning off unwanted attention. There were obviously no romantic intentions flitting around our group. Well…with the exception of Megan, I supposed. The way she watched my friend was a little sad, only because she seemed to really like him. The one thing he did open up to me about was when he had to shoot down her advances toward him, an awkward situation for sure because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings. But she was always touching him and asking if he wanted to grab drinks after work. He let her down easy, though, stating he only viewed her as a friend and nothing more.