The Reward

by Jade A. Waters

  She looked hopefully at me, and I held my crossed fingers up. “Good luck with that.” I stepped back. “Okay, I’m off. I still have lots to do and I’m heading to Selby’s for dinner, so I’ve got to hustle.”

  “Aren’t you finishing the move this weekend, too?”

  “Yep. Tomorrow!”

  “Fun, fun, fun.”

  I gestured at the folders. “Not as much as that.”

  “Ha. Right. See you!”

  I headed down the street, watching the traffic fly by and stretching out my arms. It was cooler today, but the sun shone overhead, lighting up the leaves of trees that had gradually started their transformation into the colors of fall. With the mom-and-pop café just around the corner, I had the perfect amount of fresh air and enough distance to send a few quick texts. I whipped one out to Selby first, checking if she wanted me to bring anything because I figured she was frazzled with school having started almost a month before. It would be our first hangout since Dean had come back, too, and considering I’d seen her multiple times a week when I’d lived a mile away, I sure missed her after this long. Dean had encouraged the outing and in turn planned to hang out with his brother, Evan, for post-work drinks in the city, so it worked out.

  After I placed my order in the nearly empty café, I chatted with the cashier and moved over by the pastry counter to send Dean a note.

  I am SO sore, you know.

  His text back didn’t arrive until I had my mocha in hand and was almost halfway down the street, but I read it with a smile.

  LOL. Good. Then I did my job right.

  I balanced my cup to type while I strolled. You’re bad. I love it.

  And I love you. AND the way you looked last night... he typed. You are impossibly sexy all tied up, you know?

  Is that so?

  Yes. In fact...

  I raised an eyebrow, curious over what he was about to say while the bubbles that showed he was typing floated for a bit. When a picture of me naked and chained up against the wall of the guest bedroom popped up, I swiftly tilted the screen of the phone down to my chest in surprise.

  That spread an instant heat into my cheeks.

  Carefully, I looked again. There were people passing by on the street who of course weren’t checking out my phone, but that didn’t stop the surge of embarrassment coloring my skin. It was paired with a major rush, though, and I held my breath as I tilted the screen around to see it properly under the glare of the sun. The fact that he’d taken the shots before he’d left for L.A. had slipped my mind with all that had gone on, but viewing this one... Jesus. Being bound up for him every time we tried it turned me on to an infinite degree—but seeing what I looked like, from his perspective, with my ass reddened as it was? Goddamn. I remembered how wild it had felt to have my arms out like that, but in the photo, attached to the leather cuffs that held me in place with the chain glistening in the light of the room, and the filter he’d applied to turn the photo grittier and grainier, it made the spread of my legs twice as intriguing.

  I dialed him immediately. At the sound of his end of the line clicking on, I breathed, “Wow. That’s what I look like?”

  Dean’s voice came low and sexy against the whoosh of cars flying by on the street. “Yes. Beautiful, aren’t you? You’re incredible. That’s one of my favorites. It’s been viewed many times.”

  I gulped. “By only you, I hope...”

  “Only me. Though, I admit, I can picture what it would be like to tie you up like that in public sometime. I think it’d be hot.”

  I sucked in a breath. We hadn’t played in public in a while. We’d been to one sex club over a year ago, where the aspects of being on display and told what to do had roused unimaginable excitement in me. The evening had ended poorly with our failed threesome when Dean had left me too long by accident with a stranger until I’d been caught up in a swarm of terrifying past memories, but I hadn’t forgotten how much excitement I’d carried leading up to the incident, and how being seen while exposed had driven me. We’d occasionally talked of trying an excursion somewhere else public again like we had at the bar in Half Moon Bay all that time ago, but still hadn’t. Thinking on that night made walking a challenge, since I was distracted with my thoughts and the memory of what I’d seen in the photo he sent. I was steps away from WOFC, so I paused to finish the conversation. “I think I’d enjoy that.”

  “I think you would, too. Maybe we should aim for that after the move is all finished.”

  My pussy clenched. “I’d like that.” For a moment, neither of us said anything. I stood there on the side of the road, clutching my phone to my ear as hard as my mocha in hand, sure the color in my cheeks hadn’t left. Finally, I added, “I hope I’ll get to see more of these scandalous photos you took, Dean.”

  “Perhaps,” he said, considering. “If you’re very, very good.”

  “On my best behavior, sir.”

  Dean grunted. “You are such a good girl. I think it’s probably best you’re seeing Selby tonight. Otherwise, I’d end up adding more soreness to soreness...”

  I snickered. “Will I ever walk right again?”

  “Not if I can help it.”

  “Awesome,” I murmured.

  “Crap. I have a client in the lobby. I’m going to have to run. Will you call me on your way to Selby’s tonight?”

  “Yes, right after I call Ryan.”

  “Oh good! Happy you’re doing that, Maya.”

  I hadn’t exactly been avoiding my brother, but other than the texts we’d sent back and forth over relatively humdrum topics, I hadn’t been ready to talk out the drama. Solid as I felt with Dean, and as comfortable as I’d gotten in the last few days, it seemed like it was time. I loved my brother to pieces and I wanted to clear the air between us.

  I moved toward the WOFC entrance and Dean said, “Let me know how it goes?”

  “Will do. I love you.”

  “You, too, beauty.”

  After we ended the call, I stepped inside the office with a wave at Maddie on my way back to my cubicle. I took my chair and set my phone aside, remembering the many half-joking comments Dean had made about us being a team now that we were living together. With things settling, it really felt like that.

  And with the photographic reminder of how we liked to play?

  Extra fucking hot.

  * * *

  “Maya! Hi!” my brother said through the phone. “I’m glad you called.”

  “Hey. How’re you doing?”

  “I’m fine. The usual. Work. Et cetera. You?”

  “Same,” I said, switching lanes on the freeway. Traffic was light tonight, which meant I’d had plenty of time to grab the loaf of French bread Selby had requested to accompany dinner, and should make it to her place in the next twenty minutes, easy. I’d been trying to figure out what to say to Ryan for the first chunk of my drive, and then I’d given up and dialed. “Working and stuff. Doing all the moving in things. I’ve been meaning to call.”

  “Me, too.” He paused. “Are you enjoying your new house?”

  “Yeah. A lot, actually.” The fact that I’d given him an in to ask and he hadn’t avoided the topic relaxed me a bit before I continued. “We’ve unpacked everything I brought over, organizing and all that. Now it’s one last trip of boxes that we’re grabbing this weekend, and the big final cleanup. Dean’s going to help with that and my walk-through with the landlord tomorrow afternoon.”

  “That’s good. How’s the commute?”

  “Longer, but fewer cars. I don’t mind.”

  “Great.” He was quiet for several seconds. We’d clearly reached the point where avoiding the topic was no longer an option, and I decided to jump in.

  “So, hey. I thought it would be good to talk about what happened before you left town.”


  “It would. I’m sorry I got so mad. I just—”

  “Let me talk, okay? Please?” Ryan grew silent, making it clear that the time we’d taken to have this conversation had helped it to settle on both ends. He’d been a dick, but knowing the root of it, and how he’d so drastically misinterpreted, I could almost understand why he’d gotten so insane. “I appreciate your apology, and I’m sorry you worried. Even though it was over the top,” I said, softening my voice, “I know you were looking out for me, like the great brother you are. But I also need you to understand that Dean and I are good. It’s one hundred percent not what you think.” I considered my phrasing, having resolved that what Dean and I shared was none of Ryan’s business. “I’m not going to explain what was going on when you heard whatever it was you heard, either, because that’s between Dean and me. That’s why he didn’t explain it when you cornered him, and why it was so uncool you went off on him like you did.”

  Ryan didn’t say anything.

  “I’m not going to lie—forget how he feels about it. I wasn’t thrilled about it. Not at the wedding, or at our house. It was too much.”

  “I’m sorry, Maya. I really am.”

  His voice was thick with sincerity, and I exhaled. “Thank you. And look, I promise you...your worries for me, as sweet as they are, are totally unfounded.”

  Static on the line was all I heard for a stretch of time, but once Ryan did speak up, he sounded calm. “Can I at least explain?”

  I knew where he was going, but it was fair to let him voice his side, too. “Yes.”

  “You went through a lot in the past. You know this is all because I don’t want to see you hurt again, right?”

  “I do.”

  “Okay. And...it’s hard far away. You’re my little sis. I don’t see the regular stuff and when things seem weird, I worry.”

  “Except I’m an ad—”

  “Adult. I know. I overstepped. Way overstepped.” He hesitated before he continued. “But okay. If you’re telling me you’re happy, and that there’s nothing to be worried about, that you’re really truly safe...”

  “I am. I so am. I promise.”

  “All right. I trust you,” he said. “I’m sorry I wigged out.”

  “It’s okay. Truce?”

  “Truce.”

  Relief washed over me. “The next time you come visit, let’s try again. I’d love for you to get to know him better, on the right foot.”

  “Then I’d better start scrounging to get back home, huh?”

  The lightness in his voice made me smile like old times when we’d have some stupid sibling fight we worked out. This had been so much bigger, but the closeness I’d had all along with my brother shone through with the chill comment that was very like him to say. With everything that’d happened in the last couple of weeks, it didn’t feel like it needed to be such a big monster of a fight anymore. I said, “You’d better! Do you think you’ll move back after all?”

  “I’m not sure. I do like it here, and also...” he said, pausing long enough that I cocked my head, “I went on a few dates with this amazing woman.”

  “Ohh! This is exciting. Tell me more!”

  Over the rest of my drive to Selby’s, Ryan filled me in on the journalist he’d met on the subway on his trip home from the airport. He’d ended up taking her out to dinner a bunch, and she’d even gone to see him play a gig he’d booked last week with three other indie artists. He sounded as happy as she sounded fantastic, which was great to hear. Before we got off the phone, I almost told him about what had happened with Charlie at the office—but honestly, with us making amends and the uplifted end of the conversation, it didn’t feel necessary. Plus, I hadn’t heard a peep from Charlie since, which I’d figured would be the case. Best to let bygones be bygones as far as I was concerned.

  After Ryan and I got off the phone, I was glad we’d eased the distance. I gave Dean a quick call but he didn’t answer, so I left him a message to let him know I was almost to Selby’s and I’d call him on my way back home that evening. About two minutes later, I parked at the end of Selby and Alex’s driveway, thrilled to get to see my best friend after such a stretch of time.

  She was excited, too. She had the door open to hug me before I even knocked.

  “Yay! You’re here!” Selby pulled back from our hug pink-faced and radiant, and I took a peek at her belly. The cling of her stretchy shirt wasn’t hiding the roundness that’d started to form.

  “Holy fucking crap, you can see it now? It’s been, what, three weeks since I last saw you? That’s nuts!”

  Selby danced in place, and Alex came up behind her with a nod at me before wrapping his arms around her waist. He kissed her neck below the bun she’d pinned her hair into, and the two of them beamed at me.

  “Jesus, Alex. Look what you did to my friend!” I pointed at her belly, and Selby leaned her head back on his shoulder with a laugh.

  Alex said, “Ha, ha! Good to have you over, Maya.”

  “Nice to see you guys.”

  “I have so much to tell you.” Selby grabbed my hand, and the two of them led me through the entryway to the kitchen, where the smell of roasted chicken and lemon had saturated the air. After pouring me a glass of wine, she was off and gabbing about her pregnancy, and for the next few hours, the three of us enjoyed each other’s company like we always had, distance or no distance.

  * * *

  “Hey! Did you and Evan have a good time?” I asked once Dean answered the phone. I’d stuck my earpiece in place to call him as soon as I’d started the car to head home.

  “We didn’t make it out. Did you get my message?”

  I’d seen the missed call and voice mail from him on my way out the door, but I’d figured it’d be faster to call him back. I’d also been super chipper after hanging with Selby and Alex for a good couple of hours after dinner, so the tone of Dean’s voice through the line took my mood down a notch. “I saw it, but I didn’t listen. Are you okay?”

  “My windshield got shattered.”

  “What?” I drew back in my seat. “Where?”

  “At work.”

  “No!”

  “Yeah. I came out to go meet Evan, and the whole thing was smashed up. Glass all over the lot.”

  “Your beautiful car? And in the Sova lot? Are you kidding?” San Francisco had its weak neighborhoods where this sort of thing could happen, but Dean’s office was located in a nice business complex in an even nicer district of the city. The only pitfall I could see was it being dark before he tended to get out to his car this time of year. But a smashed-in windshield?

  “Not kidding,” Dean said, bringing me back with the flattest affect I’d ever heard from him. “I filed a report with the police and got the car towed. I’m driving a rental.”

  “Ah, man. I’m so sorry! That sucks. Is there a security camera in the complex? Did anyone see anything?”

  “Nothing. It was just a random incident, said the police.” Dean sounded defeated. He loved his BMW. I loved his BMW. He’d had it well before he’d met me, but he kept it pristine and scratch-free, so a shattered windshield had to be like a punch to the face. I’d be furious if it happened to my car, even if it was a beat-up old Subaru.

  I scrunched up my nose. “Sweetie, I’m sorry. Where are you now?”

  “Home. I ended up dealing with that for hours and was over it.” He sighed. “At least the day was productive before that.”

  “That’s something.”

  “Yeah. How was Selby’s?”

  “Good. Fine.” I smiled. “We had a wonderful dinner, as per usual. And she’s already looking preggers.”

  Dean snickered. “Awesome.”

  “It’s cute. We’ll have to make a double date of it and go back together. Maybe you can calm Alex. He’s showing signs of being
a nervous dad.”

  “Sounds good.” I picked up by Dean’s distracted comment that he was trying to sound cheerful, but I couldn’t blame him for being annoyed about the car thing.

  “So did you and Evan reschedule?”

  “Not yet. I was in a bad mood.”

  “Aw,” I said. Dean tended to be so easygoing about most things; I was frustrated in his honor. “Well, tell you what...doesn’t Evan have the weekend free? Katie’s with her mom, right?” Evan and his ex-wife had split custody of their daughter, Katie, and though I knew he worked at the sailing school like mad when Katie was with her mom, he also tried to get his hangouts in with his brothers and friends on his free nights. I hadn’t hung out with Evan a ton, save for family dinners and a few sailing trips I’d taken with the Sova brothers, but like Dean’s other brothers, I really liked him.

  Dean gave a grunt in answer to my question.

  “Okay. Since tonight’s a lost cause for you two, why don’t you go out with him tomorrow night? And tonight, maybe I can cheer you up?”

  “Tempting.” He paused. “I’ll take the cheer up, but as far as drinks tomorrow, we’ve got the move out to handle.”

  “So? We’ll be done by three, latest. My landlord’s coming at two-thirty. That leaves plenty of time for us to get home and unload, and then for you to get all sexied up to go out and have some social time.”

  Dean chuckled, and the break in his darker mood brought a smile to my face. “‘Sexied’ up?”

  “Yes! I mean, you’re always sexy, but when you shower and shave and slick back that hair of yours, even to hang with your friends...” I growled. “I have the hottest boyfriend in the world, did I mention?”

  Dean’s chuckle turned severe. “Already working on the cheer up, I see.”

  “I am,” I confirmed, happy I could help. I merged over to the right, the 92 less than four miles ahead. “Is it working?”

  “Definitely.” Both of us were quiet a beat before Dean asked, “If I did go out tomorrow, whatever would you do all by yourself?”