Love Burns

by Adrian J. Smith

  “Just training the new nanny.”

  “You do go through them.”

  She glared. “I think Becca will work out well, though—at least until Michael goes to school. He really likes her.”

  “So do you.”

  She glared again.

  “You do. You can’t deny it. You enjoy her company.”

  Changing the subject, Kimberly pointedly asked, “Don’t you have somewhere to be, like a date?”

  He laughed. “There you go again, always avoiding talking about your feelings.”

  Kimberly tensed, but he was not wrong. They’d once been best friends, someone she always shared with. The last two years had taken their toll on their friendship, but she would love to have him be close to her that way again.

  He smiled sweetly. “I thought I would be nice and bring you dinner.”

  She grinned. “Thank you. What is it?”

  “Indian.”

  “Perfect! Really, though, stop this overprotective ‘I’m the man’ macho stuff. It’s so unattractive. And I want Michael to know how to respect women.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. I will stop.”

  “Thank you.” Kimberly bit her lip, feeling that it was far easier than it should have been. They’d had a mutual divorce, for the most part, but his personality was not easy to deal with. Neither was hers, if she were honest. It was a surprise they’d made it the ten years they had been married, but they had turned into wonderful friends. “Now, I’m tired. So I’m going to eat this food in bed in my pajamas and pass out. Like you said, it was a long day.”

  “I’ll come get him Friday after work.”

  Kimberly nodded. “Thanks again for the food.”

  “Anytime, sweets.” He bent down and pecked her loudly on the lips.

  Kimberly growled and scrunched her nose. She hated when he called her that. As soon as he was gone, she made good on what she’d said. Relaxing in bed with the carry-out boxes next to her, she flipped on the television and zoned out.

  Chapter Six

  The knock on the door wasn’t a surprise, and Michael jumped up from his place on the couch, racing for it. He slid to a halt before he smacked it face-first and opened the door, revealing none other than his father. Becca tensed. Her interactions with him had not been good. He put her on edge, and she very much wished Kimberly were home to deal with him.

  He came through the door, shutting it behind him, a sleazy smile on his face. Becca grimaced inwardly. Michael was already vying for his attention, but Bradley stared her down, not quite ignoring his son but not letting him have all his focus.

  Becca glanced down at Michael to distract herself. Bradley bent down and grabbed him by his arms to still his energy and gather his focus. “Do you have everything packed and ready to go?”

  Michael shook his head.

  Bradley turned his chin down and gave him a stern look. “Maybe you should get to it, then, so we can have ice cream before dinner.”

  Michael gasped. “Mama never lets us do that!”

  “Daddy days are fun.”

  Becca rolled her eyes and cringed. If anything, Bradley was only going to make the situation between him and Kimberly worse. Rather than saying anything, she held her tongue and got up from her perch on the couch to clean up their snack mess. She had promised Michael he wouldn’t have to do it that day if he spent thirty minutes practicing writing, and he had done it without complaint. He was well on his way to writing his name.

  She turned toward the sink, turned on the water and rinsed off dishes before loading them in the dishwasher. The hand on her back forced her to jump into the sink’s edge as she spun around. Bradley stood far too close to her for comfort. His smart gray suit and shiny white teeth put her even more on edge. She had assumed he’d gone down to Michael’s room to help him pack. A healthy shot of fear coursed through her veins.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you. So sorry.” He held his hands up and took a step away, straightening his two-toned blue striped tie.

  Becca wasn’t sure what to say, so she bit her lip and stared up at him. He was tall, taller than she would think Kimberly would be interested in. Pushing that thought to the side, she focused on his brown eyes and waited for him to let her know what he wanted.

  He leaned against the counter, his elbow planted on it like he had no care in the world. He was completely comfortable, and that very fact made Becca uncomfortable. She wished she could ask him to leave, but it wasn’t her house, he wasn’t her ex and it was her job she’d be risking.

  “She likes you, you know.” His lips turned up in a slick grin, a dimple popping up on his right cheek.

  Becca’s raised an eyebrow in curiosity. “Who likes me?”

  “Kimmie.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Your point? I surely wouldn’t still haven’t a job if she didn’t. It’s not like she’s afraid to fire someone.”

  His smooth laugh echoed in the kitchen, and Becca now understood why so many people fell at his feet and groveled. Becca wasn’t sure what to make of him, so she went to the dishes to distract herself and try to put herself at ease. After a few more seconds, his hand was on her elbow, and his look was serious, unlike it had been before.

  “I don’t mean as an employee. She likes you enough for that, yes, but she likes you.”

  Again Becca shook her head, not understanding. This time, he glanced toward the hallway Michael had gone down, then at her, before leaning in close. His breath against her ear made her shiver.

  “She likes you, Becca. You are her type to a T. You have to realize that.”

  Becca’s mouth dropped open. Then she closed it tightly and clenched her jaw. She narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m not her type.”

  “You are. Didn’t you know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Kimmie’s bi.”

  “Oh.” Becca licked her lips, not quite sure what to say. She always hated the double standard that those within the community could out someone, but those outside it couldn’t. If someone didn’t want to share their sexuality, then it shouldn’t be shared. Confused by why they were even having this conversation, Becca said nothing.

  “She likes you,” Bradley repeated.

  Sighing, she gave in to her baser urge to tell him off. Her tone was harsh when she spoke. “What is your point? She and I are not in a relationship, nor do I think we will ever be. You shouldn’t be outing her to people you barely know. Her career could be in jeopardy, not to mention mine. How very selfish of you.”

  It was his turn to stand agape. Pride burst in Becca’s chest.

  “This was completely inappropriate. If there’s anything I have learned about you, it’s that you have boundary issues. So, let me set one right here, right now, for you. This is not your house. I do actually live here. You do not. And while I live here, you need to respect me, you need to respect my space and you need to back the fuck up.”

  With her last word, he took a step back and glanced down the hallway one more time. “Oh yeah, you two will be good together. I like your feistiness.”

  Becca heard footsteps in the hallway, so she plastered a smile on her face and turned to bid Michael goodbye for the weekend. Not much else was said as Bradley and Michael left. As soon as Becca was alone in the house, she collapsed onto the couch and pressed her fingers to the corners of her closed eyes. That could have easily been a disaster. Luckily, he had backed down. Now she could only pray there was no fallout with him talking to Kimberly about what had happened.

  * * * *

  Kimberly calmly walked into the dim house. It was late, well after midnight, but since she knew she didn’t have to come home to take care of Michael, she’d actually gone out with some of her staff and bought them all a round at their favorite bar. It felt wonderful to spend some time with them, bonding in ways they hadn’t done in years.

  Setting her keys into the bowl by the door and toeing off her shoes, she sighed. Her hair was a mess, her calf muscles ached from stand
ing so much and her wrist pounded with angry pain. She had definitely overdone it, but it had all been worth it in the end.

  The lamp in the corner of the living room was on, as well as the television. The show playing softly was one of hers. Raising an eyebrow, Kimberly moved closer to the couch, finding Becca nowhere in sight. Turning toward the hallway for her room, she headed down that way, noting the light was on but the door closed.

  Turning around to head back down the hallway, the door opened suddenly. Caught in the act, Kimberly smiled and shrugged. “I didn’t mean to bother you. I saw the light and the TV on.”

  “Yeah, I just needed to grab a different book for studying.”

  Kimberly nodded more to herself than to Becca, and then used her thumb to point over her shoulder. “You’re watching my show.”

  Becca blushed and then shrugged. “I like it. So what?”

  “Nothing. I think it’s cute. It’s nice to know people actually watch it rather than just being told that they do.” Kimberly swallowed. “Do you have a minute? I wanted to talk to you about something.”

  “I wanted to talk to you about something, too.”

  “Oh.” Kimberly’s stomach dropped. She worried Becca would be telling her she was quitting, and she really couldn’t take that. She’d grown fond of her, as had Michael. This was the first time she could really see the whole situation working out. Her fear ratcheted up. “Let’s talk in the living room then.”

  As they made their way slowly to the couch in the dimly lit living room, Kimberly could barely breathe. Her stomach was doing flip flops faster than she could count, and as she sat down, she feared she might faint. Brushing a hand against the side of her face to try and stop the spinning, she thought to herself that she might have had too much to drink earlier.

  “You first,” Kimberly said.

  “Oh. Okay. Well, Bradley came by to pick up Michael, and I may have said something he probably didn’t appreciate. I didn’t want you to find out from him and think I’d gone off my rocker or that I was stepping over the line, which I may have done. I’m not sure, but—”

  “Whoa. Slow down. What happened?”

  “Umm…” Becca looked down at her hands twisting in her lap. Even in the dim light, Kimberly noted this was the least confident she had ever seen her. “I had to set a boundary with him about respecting me because I live here, and that while he may be Michael’s father and I respect him for that, he needed to respect me.”

  “Oh my God, what did he do?”

  “Nothing! I swear.” Becca put her hands up in the air. “I promise you, it wasn’t anything awful. He just got personal, and I told him he’d crossed a line and not to do it again.”

  “This is getting worse by the minute. What did he do, seriously? Cut the crap out of it.”

  Becca rubbed her lips together. Kimberly drew her anger back in, realizing she was only making the situation worse. Leaning forward, Kimberly pressed her fingers into Becca’s knee and gave a slight squeeze of comfort.

  “I’m sorry. You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to. I’m glad you said something to him. I will as well. He should not be treating you poorly, especially in front of Michael.”

  Becca put her hand out, palm up, to make sure Kimberly understood. “Michael wasn’t there. He missed the whole thing.”

  “Oh, good. At least he did that. But if you do ever want to share with me what he said or did, please, feel free. I will talk to him about the rest.” Kimberly left her hand where it was. Warmth seeped from Becca’s bare knee into her fingers and reminded her just how real she was.

  Becca covered Kimberly’s hand and squeezed. “Thank you. He—actually, you know, I’ll tell you, because it pisses me off.”

  “Okay then.” Kimberly gave a small smile. “He’s a good one for pissing women off.”

  Giving a wry chuckle, Becca nodded her agreement. “He outed you.”

  “He what?” Confused, Kimberly frowned.

  “He outed you. He told me you are bisexual, and I really hate when people in the community do that. I’m serious. It’s this stupid double standard. Why is it such a sin for someone straight to share another’s sexuality but it’s not for someone in the community? I didn’t need to know that. I didn’t ask. He just offered up the information like he was looking to gain some points or something. I told him right out that it was inappropriate.”

  Kimberly was speechless. She straightened her back and took in short sharp breaths as Becca continued to ramble.

  “He shouldn’t have done that. I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, bisexual, trans or a fucking clown. You are who you are, and you’re my boss. I love Michael dearly and I don’t want anything to mess that up. He’s so sweet. Really, he is.” Becca put her hand on Kimberly’s knee this time. “He’s one of the sweetest kids I have ever taken care of. He’s so well-behaved and so curious about the world. I don’t want to mess this up. I really need this job.”

  Clearing her throat, Kimberly finally spoke, her voice breaking as the words came out. “You’re not going to lose your job over this.”

  It was as if Becca hadn’t heard her as she continued to ramble on. “I get so mad when people are treated poorly, and frankly, your ex has not made a good impression on me. He’s come in here yelling at me once, sneaking into the house another time. He just does not have any boundaries. And while—”

  “You can stop.” Kimberly’s voice was barely a whisper, but Becca halted her rant.

  “What?”

  “You can stop. I know he’s an asshole. I was married to him for ten years. He cheated on me for ten years. I’m very much aware of who he is and how he acts, but he’s also a very close friend—or at least he used to be before he turned into frat boy number five.”

  “I’m so sorry. I didn’t— I overstepped. I’m sorry. I’ll shut up now.”

  Kimberly gave a wry smile, unsure as to why tears were forming in her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. I’m used to dealing with him, and I will talk to him about respecting some boundaries.”

  “Thank you. And for the record, I don’t care if you’re bisexual.”

  “I assume he told you because he thinks you’re my type,” Kimberly added.

  A nod was Becca’s answer, and it was all Kimberly needed.

  Unsure what to say, Kimberly drew in a deep breath through her nose and attempted to relax. Confusion swam through her, though. Bradley wasn’t wrong. It had been over a decade since Kimberly had been on a date with a woman, not because she hadn’t wanted to but because she’d been marked unavailable because she had fallen in love with someone—and subsequently out of love with him.

  Becca’s soft voice drew her attention to the conversation. “You don’t have to say anything. It’s none of my business.”

  “He made it your business. I’m sorry for that. Unlike Bradley, however, I do hold to boundaries. So you don’t have to worry about anything happening between us.”

  “I wasn’t worried.”

  “Good.” Ready to escape to her bedroom, Kimberly made to push off the couch and retreat, but Becca’s hand on hers stopped her from going any farther.

  “You said you wanted to talk to me about something.”

  “Right. Also not a fun conversation. The other day at the demo, you”—she paused for a brief second—“you were very friendly with Jessica. While I understand attraction, when you are being paid to watch Michael, I need your focus to be on him. He is your priority.”

  Becca nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I wasn’t anticipating that happening. I don’t plan on calling her either, in case you cared to know. I’m pretty sure she was flirting with me to get to you.”

  “Oh.” Kimberly’s eyebrows rose in surprise. “I didn’t need to know, but yes, I suppose that could happen. You’re worth much more than her anyway.”

  “Well, thank you for that compliment. I’ll try to deal with it better next time.”

  “I’m sure there will be a next time.
You’re young and attractive. You certainly don’t need to tell every woman no just because you think it’ll interfere with your work.”

  Becca shook her head. “I won’t. Something about that whole thing just felt off.”

  Kimberly nodded, ready to drop the conversation and fully escape from the humiliation she was feeling. The house was far too empty without Michael there. Sadness seeped into her at his absence, and she wanted to retreat to her bed and work on her cookbook as best she could.

  Rising from the couch, she folded her hands together. “I’ll be off to bed then. Exhausting day.” She rolled her eyes, smiled and didn’t wait for a response as she retreated.

  * * * *

  Becca had spent most of Saturday hiding away in her room, studying. It wasn’t until late afternoon that she sought the sun and caffeine. She had three exams coming up for midterms and desperately needed to get in quality study time. Stretching her muscles, she went out to the kitchen to grab a drink. Seeing Kimberly seated at the counter, she spun around and changed her mind.

  Whatever had happened the night before had been awkward and confusing. She’d spent the rest of the night trying to figure out what had gone wrong and if she’d made the right decision to spill her guts about Bradley. In her room, Becca put on a fresh outfit, rubbed her hands through her hair, shoved her study materials into her bag and made for the front door.

  She ignored Kimberly as she turned toward her and shut the door quickly. Unsure of just about everything, she stumbled into her car and blindly drove toward her best friend’s apartment. She knew they’d be home. They were supposed to get together, but Becca had seen the greater need for studying. Well, Drew could study with her for a distraction.

  It took her about an hour to drive through LA to get to Drew’s, but when she knocked on the door, she was met with a warm smile and comfort. Drew looked confused for a brief second then they invited her in. Plopping down at the kitchen table, Becca unpacked her crap and set it all up to get to studying. Drew ignored her for the better part of an hour before sitting down next to her.