Loving Lindsey (An American Dream Love Story Book 2)

by Josephine Parker

  Lindsey’s color drained from red to white as she nodded, a deep sorrow dragging at the corners of her eyes. She reached silently for the door and did not look back as the door shut with a click behind her. Zach felt his hand reach out to stop her, but no words would come.

  “Wow, Zach. How do you do it?” Sam asked.

  “I—” Zach swallowed. “She’s a hacker. I have to be careful.”

  Sam crossed his arms smugly. “No. I mean, how can you get anything done with that girl in the next room?”

  Zach rubbed his eyes, knowing his brother could see right through him. “It was a mistake.”

  “She sure doesn’t look like a mistake.”

  “Looks can be deceiving,” Zach said, anguish flashing across his face.

  “Okay, bro,” Sam said, throwing up his hands. “I’ll let you wallow in whatever mess you think you’ve made here, but remember, life is short. Have fun,” Sam said, his face suddenly tense. “I’m serious. If you don’t live while you can, you lose. Trust me.”

  “What,” Zach asked, “and stick my hand in the fire? Even though I know I’ll get burned?”

  “Get burned, it’s not so bad.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t stay with anyone long enough to get burned.”

  A heavy silence swung between them. “Wow.” Sam hung his head. “Wow, Zach.”

  Zach squeezed his eyes shut, immediately regretting his words. “Sorry, Sam, I wasn’t thinking, I—”

  “No worries, brother,” Sam said. “That was a long time ago.”

  “I guess…I just—like you said, my head is stuck in a book. It makes me an idiot sometimes.”

  “Understood, little brother. But give yourself a break. I can see your brain is spinning round and round like there’s a gerbil on a wheel in there.”

  “Just like you when you get stuck on a case.”

  “True. But your gerbil is on ‘roids. I don’t even think your gerbil fits inside the wheel anymore. Like I said, live a little. Like, get with that girl out there.”

  Zach studied his brother’s face. How he envied him, all his worries just sliding effortlessly away. “You live enough for both of us, Sam.”

  “Give it a rest sometimes. That’s all I’m saying. And, hey, while I’m giving advice, here’s some more: don’t hack me.”

  “Yeah,” Zach said, nodding. “Sorry about that.”

  Sam looked at his brother evenly. “Tell me, what was so important you almost broke your famous ethical standards?”

  Zach shrugged. “My gut. There have been a lot of suits around and I don’t know why.”

  “So? Schmoozers, right? Who cares?”

  “Maybe. But I’m going to dig some more.”

  “You’re not at war, Zach.”

  “You save the world in your way, I’ll save it in mine.”

  “Understood, little brother,” Sam said, as he walked toward the door. “My advice, follow the money. And hey, you know you can ask me about anything. Just don’t forget about the asking part next time.”

  “Got it,” Zach said. “Thanks.”

  “Catch you later,” Sam said, pulling Zach into an embrace. “And don’t lose out on that girl out there. She looks like a good one.”

  Zach felt a pang as he saw Lindsey sitting in her chair with her back turned. “We’ll see…” he whispered.

  Chapter 13: Lindsey

  The sidewalks of campus were almost empty on Sunday, just the way Lindsey liked it. Her feet crunched across the browning leaves that had dried and dropped along the cobblestone path leading toward the lab, leaving the trees barren enough to reveal a graying sky. A sudden chilly breeze hit her bare neck and she pulled her collar up and frowned. She scurried up the now familiar stone steps toward the lab, suddenly aware that summer had gone too quickly and she had missed it, huddled in the lab trying to impress Zach into trusting her. Instead, he stared at her silently with his sexy, but perpetually skeptical, eyes, watching her every move.

  Today’s agenda scrolled through her mind as she entered the building. She had made progress this week and thought perhaps she could bridge the latest set of code and have it in his inbox by morning. Maybe that would show him her intentions were good. Of course, she thought that last week, and the week before, and instead of healing their rift, she felt a deepening chasm grow between them, separated only by the thin glass of his office window. To Lindsey, it felt like a sea between them, dark and vibrating with electricity.

  The door to the lab opened with an unfamiliar click. Across the room, a projector came to life, sending pink bubbles of light into every corner, a virtual disco ball twirling across the room. A beat began, and suddenly, Donna Summer’s voice filled the room, singing “Ooh, Love to Love You Baby.” Lindsey felt her mouth drop open.

  “I knew you’d be here, darling,” Cedric’s voice called out.

  Lindsey turned to see him at his desk, his legs crossed demurely below a burgundy wrap dress which glowed red beneath the twirling disco lights. “Um…” was all she could manage.

  “Come, come,” Cedric said, turning an open briefcase toward her. Inside the case was a perfect 1960’s traveling martini set, from which Cedric pulled a shaker and bottle. “How dirty do you like it?”

  Lindsey felt a smile pull across her lips. “Pretty dirty,” she answered.

  “Ha!” Cedric laughed, pouring olive brine into the shaker. “I knew it.” Deftly, he dropped in the ice and vodka and shook the concoction before straining the unctuous liquid into a tiny martini glass. He handed it to Lindsey and smiled, the lights bouncing across a subtle highlight of glitter decorating just the edge of his cheekbones. He leaned back and looked Lindsey up and down for dramatic effect. “I know what you’re thinking,” he said. “You wonder how someone as fabulous and busy as me has time for all this,” he said, waving his arm in the air like a spokesmodel. “But I see you, and you could use a party, girl.”

  Lindsey wondered briefly if she should be offended, then decided he was right. She shrugged. “I do enjoy a good party.”

  “I knew you would. Now, sit with me,” he said, rolling a chair up next to his own. “Let’s talk. So…” he began. “Go. What’s your story?”

  Lindsey shook her head as she answered. “Not much to tell,” she said, sitting down. “I’m super boring.”

  “What!” Cedric responded. “No girl, uh-uh. Not with me.”

  Lindsey gripped her hands together and looked at him wide eyed.

  “Look.” Cedric continued. “You, darling, are a prodigy. Close your mouth, where did you think you were? I did some digging, just like I’m sure you did about me.”

  “Okay,” Lindsey admitted. “Maybe a little.”

  “Right. And I’m sure you found that Cedric has a past, dabbled a bit in some not so ethical behavior, in my youth, understand. I was just finding my way. And now I know—on a computer, Cedric is God.”

  “Wow, that’s…bold.”

  “All those delicious little zeros and ones can create universes upon universes, and I am their creator.”

  “I guess.”

  “You guess? You must feel that way too…Viper.”

  Lindsey took a sip of her martini. “Nah, I think I’m just persistent.”

  “You? Come now, give yourself credit. You’re bad-ass, but only you can figure that out for yourself. Like Buddha says, ‘you alone must walk the path, girl.”

  “Buddha, huh?”

  “Oh, yes. I used to be a bit of a delinquent. But, if I hadn’t walked my path, I would never be here. Know what I mean?”

  “I guess.” She frowned. “I mean…scratch that. Please, explain.”

  Cedric almost bounced in his chair as he sat forward. “Well,” he said. “It’s a tragic, but beautiful story. As a young pup, I stole cell phones for quick cash. Then, one day, I realized the data inside the phone was worth way more money. I know, I know, please don’t judge. From there, I figured out how to plant Malware in people’s devices and rob them bli
nd. That’s how Sam found me.”

  “Zach’s brother?”

  “Yes, and instead of sending me up the river for all time, he recommended community service in Zach’s last lab. Now, here I am, reaching my full and glorious potential.”

  “Wow.”

  “Now, see? That was my path.”

  Lindsey took another sip of her martini and felt her head begin to spin. “I get it.”

  “Now, I try to even the scales, do good where I can. Like Professor Wheeler…or Zach, as you call him.”

  Lindsey flushed. “Just, Professor Wheeler seems so formal…”

  “So, what have you learned about hunky Professor Zach?” Cedric asked, leaning back and swirling his drink.

  “Nothing, really. No poking around. No, no. He hates that.” She finished her drink. “Clearly.”

  “Impressive,” Cedric said, grabbing the martini shaker and pouring Lindsey a second glass. “You have self-control. I would have been all up in the web if I liked him.”

  Lindsey almost spit out her latest sip. “What? No…”

  “Don’t look so surprised, honey, I’m a blood hound. I can smell pheromones.” He pulled an olive out of his glass and popped it in his mouth. “I knew you two had already done a little slap and tickle the minute you walked in the door.”

  “Oh, God,” Lindsey said, dropping her head.

  “Your secret’s safe with me, darling, and I doubt anyone else knows. Most of these people can’t see past their monitors. So,” he asked, “what do you want to know?”

  “About Zach?”

  “Sure. I’ll lay out the basics. Raised by military parents, his brother followed that route, but Zach, after a rough youth, not unlike my own, decided education was key. He decided he could make a bigger impact through academics. Harvard, Stanford, MIT.”

  “Wow.”

  “Yes, and he carries the weight of the world on those luscious shoulders. He doesn't have to, but he just can't help himself.”

  “How so?” Lindsey asked.

  “He feels called, girl. He wants to save the world and he wants to do that with code. He thinks he weighed the scales in the wrong direction enough in his youth. Now he works to push them the other way.”

  Lindsey remembered how he reacted to the idea she had hacked him, and how passionate he was when he described the Delta Project that first day. She felt a sliver of light begin to open as she downed her second martini. “And…single?”

  Cedric grinned. “Yes, never married. Although, people try. Everyone takes their shot. Take the dean, for example.”

  “Dean Cruz? I haven’t met her.”

  “Yes, freaky bitch. She’s had so many injectables put in her face, she’s starting to look like a melted candle.”

  “Ooh. That’s harsh.”

  “I guess. But she’s sketchy. I think she’s a swinger.”

  “You hacked her too?”

  Cedric grinned. “Don’t tell.”

  Lindsey made a twisty motion of a lock and key at her lips, then took another sip.

  “I knew we’d be friends,” Cedric said, reaching for his laptop. “Like, take a look at this.”

  A screen popped up with a series of code, followed by a digital conversation.

  “Look here,” Cedric pointed at the text. ‘I need Elysian Fields in four months.’ Weird, right? Who needs Elysian Fields? That must be cipher for something. Every month she gets a new one, like a countdown clock. I need Elysian Fields in six months, then five. And that’s just the beginning.”

  “Crazy. Who sent it?”

  “Some lady named Brenda True. But I knew that couldn’t be a real name, unless the dean is friends with a porn star.”

  “Based on what you’ve said, that might not be a stretch.”

  “Valid, I couldn’t find anyone named Brenda True. I’m stuck, I guess,” Cedric said, spinning in his chair, his laptop open like a carrot on a stick. “Maybe we’ll never know.”

  Lindsey felt her skin flushing. “Send it to me,” she said. “I’ll see what I can find.”

  “Okay, girl. Hack on,” Cedric said as he hit a button. “It’s already in your box. Now, you go. What’s your story? How’d you end up here?”

  Lindsey felt her mind sink back. “Well, I started off fine. Great in fact. Then…then I got scared and ended up tethered to my computer in my mom’s basement for a decade.”

  “Yikes.”

  “Yeah. I guess I was just stuck and time flew by.”

  “Well, good for you! You got unstuck. Coming here must have been a big decision.”

  Lindsey shrugged. “Big decisions are easy when there aren’t any other options.”

  “What’s this?” A voice sounded out, startling them both. Lindsey and Cedric looked up to see James scowling at the lights bouncing across the walls.

  “This?” Cedric said. “This is dirty martinis and disco, James. This is what happens when Cedric makes a friend.”

  James stepped forward with a crooked frown. “Alcohol on campus is against university policy, Cedric.”

  Cedric exhaled loudly. “And this,” he said, pointing at James, “this is James. This is what happens when humans are sexually frustrated.”

  “Fine,” James quipped, “get expelled. Like I care.”

  “Ooh,” Cedric said, “that is so unfair, we were just going to invite you to join us.”

  James hesitated a second before responding. “Ha ha, Cedric. You degenerate.”

  “What’s that? Oh, sorry, these beautiful ears can’t hear jealousy.”

  “I’m not jealous, freak. I do just fine. Great in fact.”

  “Tell us all about it, James.”

  “Screw you,” James said, walking back toward the door. “When I sell my algorithm you’ll be working for me. You all will,” he said, and walked out.

  “What was that all about?” asked Lindsey.

  “Oh, he’s obsessed with the idea that he’s going to sell his silly algorithm and retire by thirty.”

  Lindsey shrugged. “Maybe he will. Who knows, right?”

  “True. Like us, James needs to walk his own path. His own douchey, douchey path.”

  Lindsey thought again about Cedric’s words. Maybe this was her path. Maybe it was a curving, frustrating, wonderful path taking her where she needed to go. Maybe that path would still lead her toward her degree…and toward Zach. She thought about the days and weeks to come and about his smoldering eyes staring out at her from his office window. A sudden laugh burst from her lips.

  “What’s funny?” asked Cedric.

  Lindsey shook her head with a quiet smile as Kate’s words swam through her mind. I’m Lindsey freaking Monahan, she thought. “Nothing. Thanks for the drink. Now, I need to get to work.”

  Chapter 14: Zach

  Zach hunched down behind his steering wheel as the door to his building swung open and Lindsey appeared carrying a bicycle under one arm. She stopped at the sidewalk to wrap a red scarf around her neck and pull her second arm through the strap of her backpack before swinging one long leg over the seat. He watched as she lifted the bike onto the pavement and looked hopefully down the street, a wisp of breath escaping her lips as she glided away in the cold morning air.

  Pastel rays of morning light streamed around her lean body as she rolled gently down the street. Then, as the morning sun shot through two buildings and enveloped her, she stood up in the pedals and accelerated into a turn. Zach sat up in his seat, just in time to see golden light wash across her beautiful face, revealing a perfect curve on her lips. He was suddenly acutely aware that while she was smiling, he was frowning.

  He jammed his key into the ignition and let his engine rumble to life as he wiped dew off of the inside of his windshield with his sleeve. As he pulled out behind her, he realized she must have ditched her car in exchange for the more nimble bicycle. He felt suddenly silly for looking out his apartment window every time an engine sparked to life on the street below. He wondered what else he had missed in the pa
st weeks as the sterile silence between them grew.

  Before Lindsey, he hadn’t noticed any noise from the apartment above his. Now he found himself lying alone in his bed, holding his breath so he could hear the faint sounds of Lindsey walking along the floor above, hoping he would only hear one set of feet, and no intense voices like the ones they had the night they met. Every morning, he held his breath to hear her faint steps pad down the staircase outside his door and leave the apartment, only to rush to the lab and find it empty. But this morning, when he heard the water from her shower trickle through the pipes just after five am, he lurched out of bed and down to his car, determined to find out where she went in the barely light hours before she got to the lab.

  As his car coasted down the street behind her, he blew into his fists to warm them, then slapped shut the laptop propped open beside him on the cold leather seat. Inside were cascades of files Lindsey had been sending him, each one more intricate and perfect than the last. Her code was exquisite, and as he read it, he felt himself falling headlong into the graceful curves of her work, the numbers forming a bridge that closed the divide between all other disparate programs. As he read them, he imagined her slender fingers working out the numbers like a symphony pianist, the vibration of her creativity making his own body quiver. Part of him longed to run to her, to kiss those fingers and talk to her about the work she was creating. The other part of him felt his doubt growing.

  How could anybody be this good? This fast? How was she able to create waves and oceans of perfect code? She was either the best coder he had ever known, or someone else was feeding her the work. Perhaps the files were corrupted, a decoy designed to get into his server. Maybe she would collect it all and sell it. Or...maybe he was just being an idiot. As he pulled around the corner at the end of the street, he caught a glimpse of her a full block ahead. He accelerated, his eyes glued to her back wheel.

  Way to go, stalker, he told himself. Is this weird? If you have to ask yourself, the answer is yes. Turn away. With a firm shake of his head and a wave of regret, he gripped the steering wheel to turn right as Lindsey turned left, but then, she went up onto a nearby sidewalk with a tiny thud and peddled across an open field.