A Reckless Night

by Van,P. G.

  “I—I’ve been hurt pretty bad in the past, and I can’t stop bracing myself for the unknown,” she said placing her palms on his cheeks.

  “What is the question that’s burning in your head?”

  “Why did you stalk me, why did you come for me?”

  He chuckled, brushing his lips against hers and said, ”Because you wanted me to.”

  “I am not asking again Kris,” she managed to say as jolts of electricity swept through her body with just the slightest brush of his lips on hers.

  “When I met you for the first time, I knew you weren’t like any other woman I had met, and I still want to kick myself for not tying you to the bed that night,” he grumbled nipping on her ear.

  “I want that someday…”

  “Want what?”

  “I want you to tie me to the bed,” she whispered looking into his eyes.

  “You don’t have to ask darlin,” he mocked.

  “You’ve never been tied up? What kind of a douchebag were you married to?”

  “Yeah, and I can’t believe I let him…,” her voice trailed off as she appeared visibly withdrawn.

  “We don’t need to talk about it,” he said planting a kiss on her forehead.

  “I want to…I need you to know everything.”

  “I am listening.”

  “Where do I start?”

  “Where did you meet your ex?”

  “Meet? I had an arranged marriage. I talked to him over the phone and a few hours of video chatting, and we got married.”

  “How old were you?”

  “Twenty-one.”

  “Geez, what were you thinking getting married at twenty-one?”

  She shrugged and said, “He was my dad’s business partner’s son. He was good looking, he seemed nice, and I wanted to get away from my mom and dad.” She let out a deep sigh.

  “Why would you want to get away from them?”

  “My darling sister fell in love and decided to elope with my darling brother-in-law and that just made my life hell. I had people watching me all the time,” she snarled.

  “Wait…your spying sister eloped?”

  “Yup, and because she eloped, my mom and dad made me feel guilty about even thinking about dating someone.”

  “So you got married to a stranger when you were barely an adult?”

  “Well, it was kind of cute. I fell for the charm of an arranged marriage where you would have surprises as you know the person more and more but…”

  “Okay, that’s enough. I can’t take that tone of yours. It hurts me somewhere deep down when I hear you talk like that,” he grumbled.

  “I can’t stop myself when I am with you. The things I told you that night…shit…I’ve never told Meena or my friends about that stuff and the swearing…it’s only when I’m with you.”

  He laughed tightening his arms around her and said, “Why is it so hard to be yourself?”

  “You don’t understand. I was called a slut for wanting more intimacy, I was called a tramp for working late with other men, and I was finally declared a whore because I apparently slept around with men, and I don’t know who the father of my child is,” she blasted out, angry tears running down her cheeks as she covered her face with her palms.

  “Babe, please don’t,” he said at a loss of words seeing her in tears. He was angry, but he was in deeper pain to see her wrapped in pent-up sadness.

  “You are the most beautiful, fearless, and caring woman I’ve ever met. Don’t ever let anyone tell you otherwise,” he said lifting her chin to make her look at him. “Myra is very lucky to have you.”

  “I told you I had baggage. You still want to hang out with me?”

  “Absolutely!!” he said smiling at her.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked planting a kiss on his chin.

  “I was, and I will be shortly,” he chuckled.

  “I am hungry. I was such a mess all day thinking about tonight, I didn’t eat anything,” she confessed softly.

  “Were you worried?”

  “I still am, I mean I don’t know what this means.”

  “What do you mean? We are adults that are interested in each other,” he said standing up to pull on his shorts.

  “We are also coworkers, it’s plain weird.”

  “It doesn’t have to be and stop thinking about it. Stay put, and I will go downstairs and bring you something to eat.”

  “You will?” she asked in disbelief.

  He shook his head. “Who is this fucking asshole that is making me look so good right now?”

  She laughed enjoying his annoyance and lay in bed trying really hard not to list out the million things Kris was better at than her ex. She shook her head refusing to let her ex and Kris be part of the same thought.

  Kris showed up a few minutes later with a bowl of Jambalaya and a fizzy drink.

  “Did you make that?” she asked looking at him in utter shock.

  “Yes.”

  “That’s my favorite thing to eat any day,” she squeaked.

  “I know that’s why I made it.”

  “Wait, we didn’t talk about my obsession with Jambalaya that night,” she observed.

  “We did not,” he said smiling.

  “Did you literally stalk me?” She was horrified.

  “I wasn’t kidding,” he laughed setting the food and her drink on the end table and leaned over to kiss her lips that were parted in surprise.

  “Kris…start talking,” she demanded.

  “I was at your favorite restaurant a couple of times when you came by to pick up your double order of Jambalaya making me wonder if you were with someone,” he confessed.

  “Oh my gawd, please tell me you are not some kind of obsessed psychopath.”

  “Just obsessed.”

  “Didn’t you have better things to do in life than stalk a single mom just because she slept with you and left you all alone in your bed?”

  “I was stalking the woman that made me feel alive and because she wanted me to, you have no idea how much fun it was to stalk,” he chuckled.

  “Crazy, spoiled startup nerds!!” she mocked.

  “It’s hot when you call me names,” he teased pulling her against his bare chest.

  “I don’t get this,” he said looking at her and added, “We just had nerve-pounding sex, and how is it that you are still fully dressed?”

  She looked down at the sweater and the silky mini skirt that barely covered her thighs. “You would have ripped them to pieces if they were in your way, just like you tore up my pajama this morning.”

  “Why did you take my sweater?”

  “For obvious reasons,” she said putting her arms around his neck nuzzling it.

  “Why didn’t you get in touch with me if you were so miserable?” he asked softly. “You knew I wanted you, I thought I made it very clear.”

  “You did, but I wasn’t ready to believe it, and I convinced myself that you had left on that secret mission.”

  “Fuck Sam, that asshole left even after his ex begged him to stay back, and it was a tormenting two weeks before he returned my freaking forty-seven calls,” he growled.

  “Did he tell you about me?”

  “He knew nothing, not even your name. The only thing he was told was that you had a bad divorce and you had a child from that marriage,” he said shaking his head and added, “and he was being a total wus about asking his coworker your details. He didn’t want to confess he never made it to his date.”

  “How did you find me?”

  “One clue and Myra found me, and I found you,” he said winking at her.

  “What? Wait…what?” she asked looking at the deliciously wicked smile on his face.

  Chapter Eleven

  The light streamed through the drapes as Varsha came back from her hazy state, feeling the sweet ache in her muscles deep inside. She turned to her side reaching out for the man that put her to bed in his arms as she gasped for air, only to be greeted by an empty bed.


  She smiled as the memories from the previous night brought gentle warmth to her body. She rolled out of bed and pulled on a robe.

  She put her ear to Myra’s door and didn’t hear anything. Thankful her daughter was still asleep, she headed downstairs looking for Kris. As she descended the stairs, she heard Myra and ran up to her daughter’s room to an empty crib.

  She ran down the stairs half panicking when she realized the voices were coming from the lower level of the house. She was welcomed by a quiet family room and a second later, she heard Myra giggle from a distance and realized that she was outside in the yard. She opened the sliding door and peeked outside to find Kris and Myra looking at something closely on the fence.

  “Why are you two up at the crack of dawn?” she asked walking towards Kris, and he turned to look at her with a smile on his face. Their eyes met, and she saw his smile freeze as he caught his breath. His reaction resonated the tingling in her spine as she wondered what caused that reaction in them every time their eyes met.

  “Good morning to you, too, sunshine,” he said holding her baby securely in his hands. He wrapped one arm around her and brushed his lips against hers.

  She looked up at him smiling and caught Myra’s surprised expression.

  “She’s never seen me like this with any man. I am sure she is wondering what is going on,” Varsha said looking at him and added, looking at Myra, “When did you wake up, baby, and how come you didn’t wake up mommy?”

  “Because she wanted to hang out with me,” he chuckled as Varsha went up on her toes to plant a kiss on his cheek. “I miss your beard.”

  “Working on growing…,” his voice was lost when Myra leaned forward to plant a kiss on his cheek almost as a follow up to what her mom did a few moments ago.

  “Did you see that?” he asked in disbelief.

  “What?” Varsha asked squinting her eyes.

  “Kiss me again and look at what Myra does.”

  “What?”

  “Please, do it while she is watching.” Kris smiled.

  Varsha took her lips to his cheek looking at the glorious eyes of her baby that followed her movement. As soon as she planted the kiss, Myra leaned forward to plant a kiss on his other cheek.

  “Copy cat,” Varsha teased as Kris laughed planting a kiss on her baby’s cheek.

  “You kiss me now,” she asked looking at Kris and added as he brought his lips to hers, “on my cheek.”

  He chuckled against her cheek letting his tongue swirl on her sleep-soft skin setting it ablaze.

  Myra giggled leaning forward to plant a kiss on her mom’s cheek.

  “You guys are silly,” she said hugging them and added, “Are you guys hungry?”

  “Myra had her milk, and I had coffee. If you teach me how to, I can make you some Chai.”

  “What time is it?” she asked reaching into her pocket for her phone.

  “Why does it matter? You wake up when you want to wake up and eat when you are hungry. Right Myra?”

  “I wish it were that easy,” she whined.

  “What’s stopping you from doing that on the weekends?”

  “I don’t know, I’m always staring at the invisible list of things I need to do everyday.”

  “You could benefit from me being around in more than one way you know,” he teased nipping her outer ear.

  She took his hand in hers and said, “I have no doubt, let’s go in. I am going to make you breakfast.”

  “Best offer I’ve had all morning and only you can top that,” he said pulling her to him while holding Myra securely in his arm.

  She chuckled enjoying the attention and asked innocently, “Are you like this with everyone?”

  “What do you mean?” he asked stepping indoors.

  “I mean…”

  “Hold that thought,” he said taking Myra into the family room and setting her down on the carpet next to her toys.

  He came back into the kitchen, his eyes piercing into hers. She stood with her back to the counter as he framed her face with his palms to bring her lips to his. Her eyes dimmed, senses hazed as her knees turned boneless in response to the warmth and passion in his kiss. She placed her palms over his hands looking up at his dark eyes and said, “I’ve never felt so alive in my life.”

  “You were one hot riot last night,” he teased running his tongue along her jawline.

  “I am hungry now.” His breath set her skin on fire. She gasped when she felt his cool fingers grasp her breast.

  “I thought you were going to make me Chai,” she mumbled as his tongue made its way to the back of her ear.

  He growled and pulled back. “I will deal with you once I give my non-coffee drinking girlfriend her Chai.”

  She laughed settling down into one of the bar stools at the center island as he looked around her kitchen for the stuff he needed to fix her morning drink.

  “What were you asking me about just before I put Myra down in the family room?” Kris asked bringing her a steaming mug.

  “I—I don’t know how to say it…the things you say, I wonder if you are that way with everyone, and if I am reading too much into some of the things you say.”

  “I say what I want to say, and I mean every word of it.”

  “So, are you saying I am your girlfriend?”

  “Aren’t you?” His eyebrow cocked high.

  “I don’t know…I,” the words dove back into her throat when she saw the look on his face.

  He moved a step closer to her and said, “I came for you because I knew we kindled something that night. It wasn’t just the intimacy, it was something else and the way we connected.”

  She looked at him processing everything he said in silence.

  “Don’t tell me that night didn’t mean anything to you!!” his voice blared cutting through her thoughts.

  “When did you decide…when did you decide to look for me?” she asked softly.

  “As soon as I landed in New York, but I spent a miserable week denying the fact that I wanted to go back for you. I finally packed up my stuff, looked for an apartment in San Francisco, and was back in a week.”

  “What? That’s silly!!”

  “I blame you for that,” he mocked.

  “One blind date, and you decided to come looking for me?”

  “Like I said, I mean every word I say, and I do what feels right,” he said smiling at her.

  “What about work? Did you quit your job?”

  “Well, we had just made a deal with a major corporation so I was technically unemployed,” he chuckled.

  “Unemployed, crazy silly startup mogul,” she laughed standing up to put her arms around him.

  “Crazy about you baby,” he mumbled against her cheek.

  “How did you find me when you didn’t know anything about me; for heaven’s sake I even gave you a fake name,” she pulled away slightly to look at him.

  “I told you, Myra found me, and I found you,” he laughed.

  “Kris, you need to tell me how and right now,” she said taking him by his hand and leading him into the family room where Myra was playing.

  “Myra, who is this?” she asked pointing at Kris.

  “Kissss,” she said spewing over her toys.

  “That’s right!!”

  “She has been saying that word for the past couple of months, and I never realized she was saying your name,” she observed.

  “That’s correct, I met Myra three weeks after you and I met,” he said in a calm tone.

  She gasped surprised and uneasy at the same time. “How did you know she was my daughter?”

  “I didn’t,” he said smiling.

  “I don’t understand.”

  “Calm down, Varsha.”

  “Kris…keep talking.” She was getting impatient and the anticipation was building up.

  “I knew almost everything about who you are as a person, but you did an amazing job of keeping your identity secure even when we ended up talking about almost every
thing under the moon.”

  “Just so you know, that was on purpose.”

  “I know, but the two things that gave me a clue of your whereabouts was the fact that you said you worked in San Francisco and lived almost fifty miles south, limiting the number of cities.” His voice was steady, and she saw the determination in his eyes as he continued to talk about how he found her.

  “One other clue was that you go to the library almost twice a week for your dose of automobile history and engineering,” he said picking up Myra into his arms.

  “So? That is a pretty common thing for anyone to do.”

  “Here is my statistic, a woman in her late twenties, borrows automobile-related books and a half dozen visits to a library in a month?”

  “So what did you do?”

  “Hacked into the library system,” he declared.

  “What?”

  “With the permission of the library just so I am clear,” he said laughing.

  “What do you mean with their permission?”

  “Well, I build security software for a living so I told them they should let me check their security and that I would make it secure if it wasn’t already.”

  “You bribed and hacked your way to me?”

  “Nope, Myra literally took me to you,” he said planting a kiss on her baby’s cheek, “Right, Myra?”

  “Keep talking.”

  “Two weeks and three libraries later, I was in your local library when this peanut here attacked me for my headphones,” he laughed.

  “And?” she prompted impatiently.

  “Myra and I became friends, and I enjoyed playing with her so much, I forgot why I was in the library. Myra is the reason I started working on my children’s books again,” he said looking at the baby bopping on his legs.

  Varsha shook her head in disbelief. “You did what?”

  “I used to write back when I was in school but got lost in the world of computer science. When I met her and started talking to her, I started narrating my stories to her and she would just refuse to leave with your nanny.”

  “Oh my gawd, so my nanny and Myra knew you even before I knew you were my neighbor?” her voice was barely audible.

  “Yes, and I need you to keep breathing,” he said sternly.

  “How did you know Myra is my baby?”