Reluctantly Married

by Lieske, Victorine E.

  “Now, Adam.” She put her hands on her hips and scolded him like a child. “No one can misunderstand that.”

  The shade of red on his face deepened. He stared at her, his mouth slightly open. Then he plastered on his fake camera-smile, threw out his arms, and chuckled. “Well, you can’t blame a guy for trying.”

  She figured he’d slip into his male chauvinistic role. Jerk. She folded her arms across her chest and started across the parking lot. He fell into step beside her, and as they neared her car, he slapped her behind, hard.

  Adam tightened his seatbelt as Megan drove like a crazy woman through the streets of Omaha. In fact, ‘crazy woman’ seemed to be the theme of the night. What had gotten into her? It had to be Leon. That was the only thing he could come up with. Leon had said something to make her mad.

  He thought maybe she would confide in him. He hoped, anyway. But obviously she wasn’t going to be reasonable. Hopefully, this would be over soon. She had slapped him. If he kept up his act, she’d tell him off. They’d be done dating.

  Breaking up on-air wasn’t a bad idea. It would force Leon to give up the charade. And it wouldn’t be that hard. She was already pretty mad at him.

  Megan sighed and put her hand on his knee. “Hey, I’m sorry I slapped you. I shouldn’t have taken your comment so seriously. You were only joking around.” She flashed a cheesy smile.

  So much for breaking up. Leon probably would have fired him anyway. Maybe it was better to go out a few more times and then convince Leon to give up the gig.

  “No worries.” He slipped his arm around her shoulder. She bristled but didn’t shrink away.

  As they approached her apartment complex, indecision swirled around in his head. What was he supposed to do? Kiss her goodnight? Brush her off? It was such a crazy night, he had no clue.

  After a few moments, they stood in front of her door, staring at each other. He waited to see what she would do. A smile crept onto her face. “I had fun tonight.”

  “I bet you did,” he said under his breath. Then loud enough for the camera, “I think you’re going to enjoy our next date.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “I mean, a little stretching is good, right?”

  She took a step back from him, and instinct kicked in. He moved closer. “Yes. We should try to move past some of our weaknesses.”

  Another step back, and she hit the door jamb. Nowhere to go now. He put his hand on the wall above her and leaned down. “I’ve got the perfect idea for our next date.”

  The color drained from her face, and she swallowed. “You know, I already planned—”

  He silenced her with a finger on her lips. “Oh, no. It’s my turn.” Lifting her chin, he leaned so close their lips were almost touching. “It’s payback time,” he whispered.

  Without another word, he turned and left her in the hallway.

  Adam thought he was used to quickly changing temperatures, living in Nebraska. He was wrong. The frosty greeting he got from Megan the next morning at the station about froze his buns off. But as soon as the camera started, she was all warm sunshine and flirtation. Of course, as soon as the on-air light went out, he was once again thrown into a sub-zero climate.

  After their show, Megan scampered off the set before he had a chance to say a word. He sighed. A part of him felt bad for last night. The rest of him wanted to get back at her for trying to humiliate him. Twice.

  He spent the remainder of the morning at home on the Internet researching. A few phone calls later, he had the perfect date set up. He dialed Megan’s number. While he waited for her to answer, he took a glass out of the cupboard and filled it with water.

  “Hello?” Her voice was guarded.

  “Hey. I wanted to let you know I’ve got our date for Saturday arranged. I’ll pick you up at ten.”

  A pause. “What are we doing?”

  “Not singing.” He swallowed the tepid tap water. Maybe he should have put some ice in the glass.

  A longer pause. “You’re a jerk.”

  For some reason, that made him smile. She was the one that started it. She could take a little payback. He opened the freezer, but his ice tray was empty. “Wear something athletic,” he said, his tone light.

  The phone beeped in his ear. She’d hung up on him.

  Saturday morning brought gray skies that threatened to dump torrents of rain at any minute. Definitely not a day to put the top down on his car. Adam picked up Dale and headed over to get Megan.

  “What’s going on here?” he asked Dale as they crept into the parking lot, a large group of women parting like the red sea before them. The parking lot was packed with cars, license plates from all over. He noticed Kansas, Missouri, Wisconsin and Iowa.

  “He’s here!” one of them shouted.

  And with that, the sea of women crashed in upon them. He couldn’t even inch forward.

  He rolled his window down. “What the—”

  “It’s Adam!” the one right next to him screamed.

  Another one leaned in. “I’m your biggest fan, Mr. Warner.”

  Fans? Of his? Had he entered some bizarre world where he was recognized on the streets? Dale chuckled in the back. “Wow. Looks like the website’s working.”

  Warning bells sounded in Adam’s head. How had these women known where he was going to be? “What did Leon do?” He tried not to yell but wasn’t very successful.

  “Hey, man. It wasn’t my idea.”

  Adam closed his eyes and took in a deep breath before speaking. “Did Leon post Megan’s address on the Internet?”

  The smile faded from Dale’s face. “Well, when you say it like that, it doesn’t sound very good.”

  “Are you serious? He really did?”

  Dale nodded, and Adam’s mouth fell open. How could he?

  The women finally moved enough to allow him to park. An urge to protect Megan surged in him. He twisted around to face Dale. “Leon’s gone too far this time.”

  Adam stepped out of his car. Several women whipped out camera phones. “Thank you, ladies, for coming here. We are glad you watch our morning show.”

  “I’ve only watched your dating show,” one of them said.

  “Yeah, the dating one is what I watch too.” An older woman nodded. Then a barrage of questions were thrown at him.

  “Where are you taking Megan today?”

  “Are you mad at her for what she did?”

  “Do you love her?”

  He held up his hands and put on his best camera smile. “Ladies, please. I’m late to pick up my date.”

  The sea of women parted. “Go get her, then!” someone shouted.

  He left the surreal scene when Megan buzzed him into her apartment complex, Dale on his heels. When Megan came out, she gave him a particularly nasty glare while the camera wasn’t on her face. Then she smiled. “Hey, sweetie.” She stood on her tip toes and brushed a kiss across his lips.

  The small act sent him reeling. He thought about pulling her close and spending more time getting to know her sweet lips, but he knew she was just playing a part for the camera. Too bad.

  She wore running shoes, a T-shirt, and jeans that hugged her in all the right places. He averted his gaze and clasped her hand. “Ready to forge through the mob?”

  Her head snapped up. “What?”

  “You haven’t noticed your parking lot?”

  She shook her head. “What are they doing there?”

  “I guess they found out we’re taping here this morning. They’re here to catch a glimpse of us.”

  Her eyes widened. “I didn’t realize the show had gotten that popular.”

  He didn’t want to tell her what Leon had done. “Yeah.” Let her think they found them organically.

 
After pushing through the crowd, getting in the car, and making it out of the parking lot, Adam relaxed. “Wow, that was something.”

  Megan sat quiet, staring out the window.

  As they neared Omaha, guilt wormed its way into Adam’s chest. Suddenly, it didn’t seem so imperative to get back at Megan. In fact, he wasn’t sure he wanted to do it at all. Unfortunately, Leon had loved the idea so much, Adam knew he’d be in trouble if he abandoned it.

  He pulled into the Skates N’ More parking lot and stopped the car. Relief flooded Megan’s face, which gave him even more guilt. “We’re going roller skating?”

  Sweat trickled down his neck. “Well…we’re going in the roller-skate building.”

  Her smile stiffened. “What are we doing, Adam?”

  Heat crept up his back. He had to tell her. “Rock climbing.”

  The color left her face, but she plastered on a smile. “Great. Sounds like fun. Let’s go.”

  It crossed his mind that he could say, “Just kidding! We’re going skating!” But he knew Leon would have his head. He exited the car, a cold pile of rocks sitting at the bottom of his stomach.

  7

  Megan put on her bravest smile and slammed Adam’s precious car door. She’d show him. She’d go in there and climb the dumb rock wall so that he’d look like a fool. Her heart hammered in her chest as they crossed the parking lot, the first large raindrops hitting the pavement.

  They scrambled inside where it was dry. Adam paid their way into the rock climbing area. He put his arm around her, and she tossed him a tight smile.

  A couple of employees helped Megan and Adam put on their harnesses and safety lines. She gripped the rope, her knuckles white, and peered up. It looked like a cave wall, except it had colored hand-holds of varying shapes and sizes stuck all over it. Her mouth went dry.

  Adam leaned over. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” he whispered.

  She stared at him. His brows were knit together in concern. Was he giving her a way out, at the last minute? Like she could back out now. She’d look like a fool. She lifted her chin. “I’m good.”

  The employees gave them basic instructions and assured them if they slipped, they’d be caught by the safety line. They’d be at the bottom, belaying the ropes.

  Her fingers trembled as she reached up to the first knot sticking out of the wall. It looked so high. Adam turned to her. “I’ll stay right with you. You can do this.” The low timbre of his voice soothed her, and for some reason she believed his sincerity, which surprised her.

  She lifted her foot, found a decent-sized protrusion, and hoisted herself up. There. That wasn’t so bad. He did the same and stopped, waiting for her.

  The hand holds above her appeared small, and she searched for one that she would be comfortable latching onto. Nothing within her reach was big enough. She had to settle for a narrow yellow hold. She gripped it as best as she could, searched below for a place to put her other foot, found one, and slowly lifted herself up again.

  After a few more repeats of this process, she began to feel okay. This wasn’t so hard. She could do this. All she needed to do was focus. She climbed higher, keeping her chin up, feeling for footholds without looking down. The rock jutted out a bit, but she kept her belly close to the wall and held on.

  Adam kept his pace with her. She was sure he could have made it to the top by now, but he stayed beside her like he’d promised. It almost warmed her heart toward him.

  And then her foot slipped and one hand lost its grip. She fumbled for the rock and grabbed onto it, scraping her knuckles in the process. Looking down to try and find the foothold, she saw how high she was.

  Fear shot through her like a jolt of electricity. The room spun, and her stomach lurched. She clung to the handholds and let out a little squeal. Her limbs shook, and she squeezed her eyes shut, unable to move.

  “Hey, you okay?” Adam asked, his voice hushed.

  She shook her head, her throat too closed to speak. Adam moved quickly, coming close, and soon his strong arm wrapped around her middle. “Don’t worry. You’re all right.”

  “No,” she whispered. “I’m not. I can’t move.” Her breath came out in small gasps, and panic gripped her. She couldn’t climb up. She couldn’t climb down. And letting go terrified her. Logically, she knew she had a safety line, but swinging from the rope at this height scared her more than clinging to the rock wall the rest of her life. A tear slipped down her cheek.

  “Listen. I’ve got you. I won’t let you fall.” His warm breath brushed her cheek. “I never should have brought you here. It was stupid.”

  His voice was so quiet she knew the camera couldn’t possibly pick it up. So why was he playing nice all of a sudden? What was his end game? “You think?”

  “Yeah. I’m sorry.”

  She forced herself to pry her eyelids open and look at him. His ice-blue eyes held concern. He sounded sincere. She wasn’t sure what to make of it. He wasn’t exactly Mr. Truthful. She sighed. “Well, now what?”

  He kissed her forehead, and warmth spread through her traitorous body. “We go down.”

  Her muscles ached from clenching the rocks so tightly. “I don’t think I can let go.”

  “Hey,” one of the instructors shouted. “You guys okay up there?”

  “We’re fine.” Adam stared into her eyes, and lowered his voice. “You want to hang onto me?”

  The tips of her toes were numb, and her muscles trembled. Could she let go and hang onto Adam? She wasn’t sure she could do it. “I don’t know.”

  He came closer, his strong chest pressing against her shoulder. “There’s no rush. We have time.”

  Sure. Stay up here with Dale filming her stuck on the stupid rock wall while ten-year-olds passed her up. Not a good plan. She gritted her teeth. “Okay. I’ll hang onto you.”

  “Good. Whenever you’re ready. I’m not going anywhere.”

  She took a couple of deep breaths, then quickly wrapped her arm around his neck. Tight.

  “Okay,” he choked. “Now your other arm.”

  With every ounce of courage she had, she let go and grabbed hold of him, knocking them both off the wall. She wrapped her legs around his middle and squealed as they swung from the safety lines.

  “We’re ready to come down,” Adam called.

  They were lowered slowly to the floor, Megan’s heart pounding hard in her chest and Adam rubbing her back, telling her softly they were almost there.

  When they hit solid ground, relief flooded through her and she could breathe again. She jumped off him, heat creeping up her neck. “Sorry.”

  He took in a gasp of air. “No problem.” Then he pointed up at the wall. “For someone who’s afraid of heights, you sure did a great job. Look how high you got.”

  Her throat closed as she peered up to where she’d been.

  He put his arm around her and leaned in close. “Proud of you,” he whispered.

  Her heart fell into the pit of her stomach. Why was he being so nice? His kind words hurt more than ever, knowing his plan to humiliate her in order to further his career. She turned away, unable to bear it any longer. “Thanks.”

  Adam beat himself over the head once again as he watched Megan turn away from him, pain evident in her eyes. Why had he brought her here? A fear of heights is very different than a little embarrassment on a karaoke stage. He closed his eyes and couldn’t get the image of Megan’s terrified face out of his head.

  Of all the stupid things he could have done. He laid his hand on her shoulder. “Let’s go do something else.”

  A tight smile formed on her lips. “What else did you have planned? Pottery class?”

  “Nope. Why don’t you choose?”

  She glanced at the door to the rest of the complex. “W
e are at the roller skating rink.”

  He laughed. “That would be good revenge, then. I’ve never skated before, and I’ll probably fall more times than you can count.”

  A devilish grin crossed her face. “I can count really high.”

  The tension between them eased as they entered the darkened room. Colored lights bounced off the walls, and loud pop music vibrated the floor. A snack counter with some bar stools stood against one wall. They paid for their skate rentals and sat down to put them on.

  “You’ve really never done this before?” Her eyebrow arched.

  “Never.”

  “Then this is going to be fun.” The devilish look was back, and he swatted at her playfully.

  “Don’t get any ideas. I’m sure I’ll embarrass myself enough without your help.”

  She turned to Dale. “Be sure to zoom in on him a lot.”

  Dale steadied the camera as he chuckled. “You bet.”

  When their skates were on, Megan hopped up. “Okay. Time to go out there. It’s not too hard, just try to get used to the wheels on your feet.”

  Pushing himself up from the chair, he stood. Megan smiled at him and held out her arm. “Hang on to me.”

  He grabbed hold and began walking across the floor. She was right, it wasn’t bad. The carpet helped keep him upright, and he only wobbled a little.

  A short wall surrounded the skating area, with a swinging door to allow access. It was early enough in the day that the place wasn’t crowded. Megan held it open. He stepped on the hard wood floor … and his foot shot out from under him. He landed on his bum, one leg bent.

  “Careful.” Megan leaned down to help him up. He was surprised she didn’t laugh at him. “The floor is slick.”