His Long Shot

by Allyson Lindt

  “Sit with me.” His voice was low, mingling with the quiet night instead of disrupting it. He settled with his back to the tree and tugged her down to sit between his legs, resting against his chest, the way they used to when they were younger. He draped his arms over her shoulders, and intertwined his fingers between her breasts. “Your heart is racing. Are you sure you’re all right?”

  She wanted to give him a coy answer. Something like you have that effect on me. Her mind was too much of a cluttered mess to pull out the teasing. Guilt and regret sank into her. Longing. Everything she swore to herself didn’t exist when she left. “I don’t know.”

  He traced his nose along the back of her neck, breath warm and soothing. His lips vibrated against her skin when he spoke. “Me too.”

  His uncertainty—a waver she wasn’t used to hearing from him—mingled with her thoughts and helped calm her. At least she wasn’t alone in this. She leaned more of her weight against him and covered his hands with hers.

  “When we talked in my office a few weeks ago, I told you I wanted to rewrite our ending.” As he spoke, his words rolled through his chest and her back.

  HAD IT REALLY ONLY been a few weeks? Logically, Zach knew that was right. But in some ways it felt like a blink and in others an eternity.

  “I remember,” Rae said. “I don’t think it worked.”

  He rested his forehead against her skull and inhaled her familiar scent. “That’s why we’re here.” He wasn’t sure where the inspiration had come from, but once the idea struck, he couldn’t get it out of his head. “I don’t want to rewrite our ending because I don’t want us to end.”

  The tension seemed to drain from her body, and she sagged against him. “I like the sound of us.”

  He smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “So, rather than closure, I think we need to catch up.”

  She twisted her head enough to see him, brows raised, then settled back against him again. “That’s a lot to cover.”

  “We’ve got time. We’ll start small.” He kissed along her shoulder and up her neck to her ear, to nip at her earlobe. “Tell me what you’ve been up to.”

  She let out a light laugh. “You know what I’ve been up to.”

  This felt so right. Her in his arms. No pretenses between them. “No. I know what you do for a living. I want details about you, not your job.”

  “How far back do you want to go?”

  He gritted his teeth at an abrupt surge of—he wasn’t sure how to describe it—everything. He pushed overwhelming sensation aside. “To the last time we were here. Well, not literally. But since...” Everything fell apart. The words froze in his throat. He swallowed them down. “You know.”

  “I do.” Her voice dropped in volume, and she pulled his arms tighter. “Let’s see. I, uh, had an internship offer in Chicago...”

  As the past flowed between them in words, it stripped way the lingering tension. It didn’t erase everything, but it lessened a sting he hadn’t realized was there.

  Then, as if a switch flipped, she stiffened in his arms, and her words faded into the darkness.

  He nudged her. “What?”

  “That’s when Kelly came back, isn’t it? The money. The promises.”

  Inky anxiety clenched in his muscles until his neck protested at the tightness. “Yup.”

  This time she shifted her entire frame until she faced him. “Is there more to it than that?”

  Of course there was. But he wasn’t sure he could explain it. There were too many mistakes on his part there. Too many assumptions. Decisions that almost destroyed everything. Mistakes. “No.”

  She furrowed her brows, and her smile vanished. “Of course not.”

  “I’m sorry. Not yet.” Suddenly the closeness that had wrapped them up for the last couple of hours felt like a heavy blanket, stealing his air. “We should get home.”

  “Yeah. Drop me off.”

  He bit the inside of his cheek until it ached. That meant separate beds. Which was fair, but it didn’t mean he liked it. “Of course.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Two days later, Zach trailed his fingers through Rae's hair, watching it fall back against his chest when he let go.

  Her breath scurried across his skin when she sighed. Her fingers drew a line down his sternum and back up. “Morning.”

  “Mmm... Ditto.” He moved his hand to her bare back. Neither of them had mentioned the abrupt end to the conversation at the high school the other night, and he was fine with that if it meant peace. This was the third morning this week waking up next to her, and he wondered if the novelty would ever fade. They still hadn't told anyone. Being in the same room together with Scott was tense. They stayed at Zach’s place whenever Chloe was home, so her sister wouldn't ask questions, but Chloe had been at Jordan’s last night. Besides, those were details to be worked out later.

  Something creaked in the background, and Zach tensed. “Are you expecting visitors?”

  Rae shook her head. “Probably the neighbors. They're loud sometimes.”

  “Lorraine.” Chloe's distinct voice carried through the room.

  “Shit,” Rae muttered just as the bedroom door swung open. She propped herself up, holding the blanket in front of her. “Don't you knock?”

  “Oh, my God.” Chloe's eyes grew wide, and she slammed the door shut again. Her call echoed through the apartment. “I did not need to see that.”

  Rae sat up, blanket falling away. “So much for keeping things quiet.”

  Zach traced a line down her back, up her side, and then along the curve of her breast. “Is it that big a deal? You're not ashamed of me, are you?”

  She laughed. “Definitely not and don't tempt me, or I'll re-introduce you to my mother, so she believes I'm finally dating someone respectable.”

  The word echoed in his head. It was assumed, but neither of them had said it yet. “Are we?”

  “Respectable?”

  “Dating.”

  She looked at him, bottom lip caught between her teeth and brow furrowed. “Aren't we?”

  He sat up and kissed her deeply. That hadn't lost its novelty either. “Most definitely.”

  She grinned and hopped out of bed. The sun spiked through sheer curtains and accented her nude silhouette for a moment before she donned a T-shirt and pair of shorts. “I'll go talk to her while you get dressed.”

  As soon as Rae opened the door, Chloe's voice filled the room again. “I wasn't serious when I told you to try and get me a raise by sleeping with my boss.” The door drifted shut again, not entirely muffling the second part of her comment. “Did it work?”

  Zach laughed and plucked his clothes off the chair Rae draped them over last night. Things had been so much easier the last few days. Making offers to people they wanted to pick up from Cord. Making plans. Doing something again. He couldn't remember why he'd ever thought it was a bad idea.

  His phone vibrated on the nightstand, and as he went to answer, he noticed he'd already missed at least one call. “Yeah?”

  “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?” Scott's panic was clear even over the phone.

  Zach smirked. At least Scott still had something to freak out about. “Possibly. What's up?”

  “You haven't listened to my messages?”

  “I was sleeping.” Zach pressed the speaker button and tossed the phone on the bed, talking as he dressed. “What's up?”

  “It's almost ten.”

  Zach buttoned his shirt. “So?”

  Scott's sigh filled the room. “So you haven't been served yet, have you?”

  Served. Zach frowned. The single word obliterated his good mood. “What?”

  “I'll take that as a no. Are you even home?”

  What now? “No.”

  “All better.” Rae burst back into the room.

  Zach rubbed his face, bracing himself for the fallout.

  “Rae?” Scott's question echoed through the room.

  She stared at the phone on
the bed, eyes wide. Her jaw moved up and down, but nothing came out.

  Zach thought fast. She needed to be in on the conversation anyway. “Yeah. We ran into each other. Want to join us?”

  Rae grabbed a brush off her nightstand and yanked it through her hair, then fastened each side into a simple pigtail.

  “You said you were sleeping.” Scott's tone had gone from panicked to flat.

  “I was.” Zach back pedaled. “Until an hour ago. Then I decided I wanted breakfast.”

  “And you just decided you didn't have to answer your phone until now?” Disbelief hung heavy in Scott's question.

  “Technically, I'm between jobs. I'm trying to learn how to relax when I'm not on the clock.”

  Rae stepped in front of him and buttoned his shirt the rest of the way. She leaned in to whisper in his ear, “You scare me. Never lie to me like that.”

  He smiled, ignoring the threat behind the joke, and kissed her silently on the cheek.

  “Yeah, breakfast,” Scott said suddenly. “Tell me where, and I'll bring the summons, since apparently you ran out before you got yours.”

  Zach wracked his brain. It had to be closer to Chloe's place than Scott's, and someplace it could look like they'd been for a while.

  “The bagel place on Ninth and Union,” Rae said.

  Zach ran the address through his head, impressed. Between them but still farther away from Scott.

  “Swell. See you both in fifteen minutes.” The line went dead.

  Zach made sure they were disconnected before he slid his phone into his pocket. It both concerned and impressed him how easily Rae slid into his deception. “Why are we keeping this from him?”

  Rae stepped away. “It's not that I think it's a big deal. I just... It's...” She trailed off, not looking at him.

  “Yeah. I know.” Just because Zach understood and agreed, didn't mean it hurt any less to hear that she felt the same. He followed her into the living room. Chloe was nowhere to be seen, but her bedroom door was closed. He grabbed Rae's keys off the table by the front door and tossed them to her. “Meet you there?”

  She snagged them out of the air. “Yeah.”

  SCOTT DROPPED A SHORT stack of paper on the table, and the breeze ruffled napkins and bagel wrappers. He flopped onto the bench seat next to Rae with a huff.

  She slid him a fresh cup of coffee. “Hazelnut.”

  Scott's smile looked forced. “Thanks.”

  Zach tried to tell himself he was relieved everything was still status quo between Rae and Scott. That their interactions were relaxed and comfortable. Exactly what they needed to be. He wasn't jealous.

  “New place?” Scott asked.

  Zach shrugged. “Got tired of the last one. I decided to try something new.” His desire for small talk was vanishing. He grabbed the paperwork off the table. “Summons?”

  Scott's scowl returned. He took a long drink. “DM has filed a cease and desist pending investigation. Say we're stealing intellectual property.”

  Rae made a sound that was somewhere between a grunt and a groan. “But you're not. You're starting over. That's the point.”

  “No,” Scott said. “The point is to tie us up in court long enough they exhaust our funds and delay our schedule.”

  Zach didn't argue. He knew it was true. Fuck, why hadn't they thought about that? Right, because they were desperate to cling to something other than despair. “Have you talked to Legal?” It was a ridiculous question. That would have been who Scott called when he couldn't get a hold of Zach. “What did he say?”

  “That's what he said.” Scott snatched the summons away and stuffed them into his laptop bag. “That's all he said. You had me on speaker phone in this place?”

  Zach shook his head, shifting to the new topic as quickly as he could. “I was wearing my Bluetooth.”

  “You're trying to learn how to relax, and you had your ear piece with you?”

  “Habit.” Zach didn't like the direction of the questions. They needed to be planning a new strategy, not dissecting a rapidly formed cover story. “What do you mean that's all he said?”

  “Technically it's not all he said.” Scott studied Rae for a minute and then ignored his own drink and took a sip of her coffee. “Second cup already?”

  Zach frowned. What was going on?

  She blinked. “Third. I thought we might be here a while. What else did he say?”

  “That he couldn't tell me anything else, and technically he'd already said too much. How did I hear her talking to you earlier? How did she hear me asking where to meet?” He looked at Zach.

  “Ear piece speaker is too sensitive,” Zach repeated. He was used to Scott changing the subject without pause, but he usually didn’t carry on two conversations at once. “You're leaving out details. Do I need to call him myself?”

  Scott pushed his drink away. “Sure. Use your ear piece, so we can all join in the conversation but no one else can.”

  “It's in the car.” Zach wondered if he was actually going to be able to talk his way out of this one, and why he thought it mattered.

  “Because...?”

  Rae sighed loudly. Before Zach could reply, she said, “Because he didn't want anyone else eavesdropping. Because he's trying to learn how to not be such a workaholic. Which would you prefer?”

  Scott studied her for a minute. He brushed a loose strand of hair off her forehead. “Just the truth.”

  Zach hid his discomfort and braced himself.

  “Fine.” Rae leaned back against the wall, arms crossed. “He did have you on speaker phone. I heard because he was in my bedroom. Where he's been half of the last week. We got here maybe two minutes before you did, and it's my first cup, and I haven't even had a chance to put cream and sweetener in it. Which you were kind enough not to call me on.”

  Scott rubbed his eyes before looking at her again. “So you're fucking him.”

  She cringed and turned away from his glare.

  Scott slammed his fist on the table, making all the cups—and Rae—jump. “You’re smarter than that. Why would you go after him?”

  Zach glared at him. Was that really the opinion Scott held of him? Hypocritical much?

  Rae clenched her jaw. “I’m smart enough to not let you dictate who I do and don't pursue. I’ve got much better taste.”

  “I knew you liked him.” Something unfamiliar flashed in Scott’s eyes.

  Malice. Zach’s gut sank.

  “I didn't think he cared about you.” Scott focused on Rae again. “You're not his type. You'd need to be about six inches taller and ten pounds lighter.”

  Fury raced through Zach, and he was on his feet in a second, yanking Scott up by the T-shirt. “You don’t get to take this out on her because you’re jealous. You know none of that is true.”

  Scott's eyes narrowed, his hands balling into fists. He planted his feet shoulder width apart. “I don't really know much of anything right now. I mean, I thought I was just being paranoid wondering if my best friends were fucking each other behind my back.”

  Rae scrambled to stand and wedged her way between them. Her hand covered Zach’s, and she nudged him back. “What did your attorney say?” Her words filtered through clenched teeth.

  Scott didn’t look at her, still glaring at Zach. “Nothing significant. Just that we’re about to be held up in court indefinitely, wasting away our savings when we could be on an island somewhere instead.”

  Rae planted a hand on each of their chests and shoved them farther apart. Her palms were hot, and a tremor ran through her arm.

  How was Zach going to get her out of the way? “You were the one who didn't want to give up.” He didn't want to be having this argument here, but he wasn't going to walk away. This wasn’t the standard bullshit they’d been through since the takeover. His blood roared with an unfamiliar rage. “You blew a fuse when I even mentioned retirement. Accused me of abandoning a dream. You latched onto her idea the moment she brought it up, and you should have. It’s a fa
ntastic fucking idea.”

  Scott didn't defend himself. “Did I mention our lawyer is bailing on us because his firm is being retained by the company who's suing us? Maybe someone who was doing the paperwork might have caught that?” He glared at Rae.

  “No.” Zach put as much emphasis on the word as he could. He rested a hand on Rae’s arm and gently tugged her out of the way. “Don't take this out on her. She spent a few days with our records. We've had them for years. I could have seen it coming better than her. Or maybe you might have noticed it.”

  “Holy fuck, stop defending her. This is what we pay her for. Or maybe that's just an excuse to keep your piece of tail on payroll?” Scott glared at Rae. “Is that how you got him to go along with this?”

  Zach wasn’t thinking anymore, and he was only vaguely aware of his own fist pulling back. It never got a chance to connect.

  Rae punched Scott in the arm, the smack echoing through the entire shop. “Move.” The threat in her voice was distinct.

  “I didn't mean it.” The corners of Scott's mouth pulled down.

  “Get the fuck out of my way right now.” Steel lined her command. “Or I'll move you and grind your balls into the tile in the process.”

  Scott stepped aside. “I'm sorry.”

  “You're not.” She shouldered past him. “You wouldn't have said it if you didn't mean it. You're acting like a spoiled child. I think you've got more of your father in you than you like to admit.”

  Zach smirked joylessly at the insult. It would hurt more than any fist, though he was still considering throwing a punch.

  Scott's shoulders slumped. “Please?”

  She held up a hand. “Don't. I did all of this for you.”

  “You slept with my best friend for me?”

  She stepped closer to him until they were toe-to-toe then looked up at him. “Tell you what. I have a solution for you. There's enough money in your budget for another employee since you're not renting office space. I hear your CFO is resigning. Maybe look into using it to hire an attorney—and consider yourself lucky said individual isn’t adding to the stack of lawsuits with sexual harassment.”