Hart Megan

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MEGAN HART

To my trusted crit partners, you know who you are.

To my family, for your support and love.

To my readers—without you, I'd have no success. Thank

you.

I don't write books without music. My thanks to the artists

and musicians who make it possible for me to sit at my

computer day after day and make worlds and the people

who populate them. Please support their work through

legal sources.

Don McLean, "Empty Chairs"; Joaquin Phoenix and

Reese Witherspoon, "It Ain't Me, Babe"; Joshua Radin,

"Closer"; Justin King, "Same Mistakes"; Lifehouse,

"Whatever It Takes"; Meredith Brooks, "What Would

Happen"; Rufus Wainwright, "Halelujah"; Sarah Bareiles,

"Gravity"; Schuyler Fisk, "Lying to You"; She Wants Revenge, "These Things"; Tim Curry, "S.O.S."

Contents

Title Page

Dedication

Author's Note

Chapter 01

Chapter 02

Chapter 03

Chapter 04

Chapter 05

Chapter 06

Chapter 07

Chapter 08

Chapter 09

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 01

Sometimes, you look back.

He was coming out. I was going in. We moved by each

other, ships passing without fanfare the way hundreds of

strangers pass every day. The moment didn't last longer

than it took to see a bush of dark, messy hair and a flash

of dark eyes. I registered his clothes first, the khaki cargo

pants and a long-sleeved black T-shirt. Then his height and

the breadth of his shoulders. I became aware of him in the

span of a few seconds the way men and women have of

noticing each other, and I swiveled on the pointed toe of

my kitten-heel pumps and folowed him with my gaze until

the door of the Speckled Toad closed behind me.

"Want me to wait?"

"Huh?" I looked at Kira, who'd gone ahead of me. "For what?"

"For you to go back after the dude who just gave you

whiplash." She smirked and gestured, but I couldn't see

him anymore, not even through the glass.

I'd known Kira since tenth grade, when we bonded over

our mutual love for a senior boy named Todd Browning.

We'd had a lot in common back then. Bad hair, miserable

taste in clothes and a fondness for too much black

eyeliner. We'd been friends back then, but I wasn't sure

what to cal her now.

I turned toward the center of the shop. "Shut up. I barely

noticed him."

"If you say so." Kira tended to drift, and now she

wandered toward a shelf of knickknacks that were nothing

like anything I'd ever buy. She lifted one, a stuffed frog

holding a heart in its feet. The heart had MOM

embroidered on it in sparkly letters. "What about this?"

"Nice bling. But no, on so many levels. I do have half a

mind to get her one of these, though." I turned to a shelf of

porcelain clowns.

"Jesus. She'd hate one of those. I dare you to buy it." Kira snorted laughter.

I laughed, too. I was trying to find a birthday present for

my father's wife. The woman wouldn't own her real age

and insisted every birthday be celebrated as her "twenty-

and insisted every birthday be celebrated as her "twenty-

ninth" along with the appropriate coy smirks, but she sure

didn't mind raking in the loot. Nothing I bought would

impress her, and yet I was unrelentingly determined to buy

her something perfect.

"If they weren't so expensive, I might think about it. She

colects that Limoges stuff. Who knows? She might realy

dig a ceramic clown." I touched the umbrela of one

tightrope-balancing monstrosity.

Kira had met Stela a handful of times and neither had

been impressed with the other. "Yeah, right. I'm going to

check out the magazines."

I murmured a reply and kept up my search. Miriam Levy,

the owner of the Speckled Toad, stocks an array of

decora tive items, but that wasn't realy why I was there. I

could have gone anyplace to find Stela a present. Hel,

she'd have loved a gift card to Neiman Marcus, even if

she'd have sniffed at the amount I could afford. I didn't

come to Miriam's shop for the porcelain clowns, or even

because it was a convenient half a block from Riverview

Manor, where I lived.

No. I came to Miriam's shop for the paper.

No. I came to Miriam's shop for the paper.

Parchment, hand-cut greeting cards, notebooks, pads of

exquisite, delicate paper thin as tissue, stationery meant for

fountain pens and thick, sturdy cardboard capable of

enduring any torture. Paper in al colors and sizes, each

individualy perfect and unique, just right for writing love

notes and breakup letters and condolences and poetry,

with not a single box of plain white computer printer paper

to be found. Miriam won't stock anything so plebian.

I have a bit of a stationery fetish. I colect paper, pens,

note cards. Set me loose in an office-supply store and I

can spend more hours and money than most women can

drop on shoes. I love the way good ink smels on

expensive paper. I love the way a heavy, linen note card

feels in my fingers. Most of al, I love the way a blank

sheet of paper looks when it's waiting to be written on.

Anything can happen in those moments before you put pen

to paper.

The best part about the Speckled Toad is that Miriam sels

her paper by the sheet as wel as by the package and the

ream. My colection of papers includes some of creamy

linen with watermarks, some handmade from flower pulp,

some note cards scissored into scherenschnitte scenes. I

some note cards scissored into scherenschnitte scenes. I

have pens of every color and weight, most of them

inexpensive but with something—the ink or the color—that

appealed to me. I've colected my paper and my pens for

years from antique shops, close-out bins, thrift shops.

Discovering the Speckled Toad was like finding my own

personal nirvana.

I always intend to use what I buy for something important.

Worthwhile. Love letters written with a pen that curves

into my palm just so and tied with crimson ribbon, sealed

with scarlet wax. I buy them, I love them, but I hardly ever

write on them. Even anonymous love letters need a

recipient…and I didn't have a lover.

Then again, who writes anymore? Cel phones, instant

messaging and the Internet have made letter writing

obsolete, or nearly so. There's something powerful,

though, about a handwritten note. Something personal and

aching to be profound. Something more than a half-

scribbled grocery list or a scrawled signature on a

premade greeting card. Something I would probably never

write, I thought as I ran my fingers over the silken edge of

a pad of Victorian-embossed writing paper.

"Hey, Paige. How's it going?" Miriam's grandson Ari

"Hey, Paige. How's it going?" Miriam's grandson Ari

shifted the packages in his arms to the floor behind the

counter, then disappeared and popped back up like a

jack-in-the-box.

"Ari, dear. I have another delivery for you." Miriam

appeared from the curtained doorway behind the front

counter and looked over her half-glasses at him. "Right

away. Don't take two hours like you did the last time."

He roled his eyes but took the envelope from her and

kissed her cheek. "Yes, Bubbe."

"Good boy. Now, Paige. What can I do for you today?"

Miriam watched him go with a fond smile before turning to

me. She was impeccably made up as usual, not a hair out

of place or a smudge to her lipstick. Miriam is a true

grande dame, at least seventy, and with a style few women

can pul off at any age.

"I need a gift for my father's wife."

"Ah." Miriam inclined her head delicately to the left. "I'm sure you'l find the perfect gift. But if you need any help, let

me know."

"Thanks." I'd been in often enough for her to know I liked to wander and browse.

After twenty minutes in which I'd caressed and perused

the new shipment of fine writing papers and expensive

pens I couldn't afford no matter how much I desperately

wanted one, Kira found me in the back room.

"Okay, Indiana Jones, what are you looking for? The Lost

Ark?"

"I'l know it when I see it." I gave her a look.

Kira roled her eyes. "Oh, let's just go to the mal. You

know Stela won't care what you give her."

"But I care." I couldn't explain how important it was to…

wel, not impress Stela. I could never impress her. To not

disappoint her. To not prove her right about me. That was

al I wanted to do. To not prove her right.

"You're so stubborn sometimes."

"It's caled determination," I murmured as I looked one last time at the shelf in front of me.

"It's caled stubborn as hel and refusing to admit it. I'l be

outside."

I barely glanced up as she left. I'd known Kira's attention

span wouldn't make her the best companion for this trip,

but I'd put off buying Stela's gift for too long. I hadn't seen

much of Kira since I'd moved away from our hometown to

Harrisburg. Actualy, I hadn't seen much of her even

before that. When she'd caled to see if I wanted to get

together I hadn't been able to think of a reason to say no

that wouldn't make me sound like a total douche. She'd be

content outside smoking a cigarette or two, so I turned my

attention back to the search, determined to find just the

right thing.

Over the years I'd discovered it wasn't necessarily the gift

itself that won Stela's approval, but something even less

tangible than the price. My father gave her everything she

wanted, and what she didn't get from him she bought for

herself, so buying her something she wanted or needed

was impossible. Gretchen and Steve, my dad's kids with

his first wife, Tara, took the lazy route of having their kids

make her something like a finger-painted card. Stela's

own two boys were stil young enough not to care. My half

siblings got off the gift-giving hook with their haphazard

siblings got off the gift-giving hook with their haphazard

efforts when I'd be held to a higher standard.

There is always something to be gained from being held to

the higher standard.

Now I looked, hard, thinking about what would be just

right. Don't get me wrong. She's not a bad person, my

father's wife. She never went out of her way to make me

part of their family the way she had with Gretchen and

Steven, and I surely didn't rank as high in her sight as her

sons Jeremy and Tyler. But my half siblings had al lived

with my dad. I never had.

Then I saw it. The perfect gift. I took the box from the

shelf and opened the top. Inside, nestled on deep blue

tissue paper, lay a package of pale blue note cards. In the

lower right corner of each glittered a stylized S surrounded by a design of subtly sparkling stars. The envelopes had

the same starry design, the paper woven with silver

threads to make it shine. A pen rested inside the box, too.

I took it out. It was too light and the tiny tassel at the end

made it too casual, but this wasn't for me. It was the

perfect pen for salon-manicured fingers writing thank- you

cards in which al the i's were dotted by tiny hearts. It was the perfect pen for Stela.

the perfect pen for Stela.

"Ah, so you found something." Miriam took the box from

me and carefuly peeled away the price sticker from

beneath. "Very nice choice. I'm sure she'l love it."

"I hope so." I thought she would, too, but didn't want to

jinx myself.

"You always know exactly what someone needs, don't

you?" Miriam smiled as she slipped the box into a pretty

bag and added a ribbon, no extra charge.

I laughed. "Oh, I don't know about that."

"You do," she said firmly. "I remember my customers, you know. I pay attention. There are many who come in here

looking for something and don't find it. You always do."

"That doesn't mean it's the right thing," I told her, paying for the cards with a pair of crisp bils fresh out of the

ATM.

Miriam gave me a look over her glasses. "Isn't it?"

I didn't answer. How does anyone know if they know

what they're doing is right? Until it's too late to change

what they're doing is right? Until it's too late to change

things, anyway.

"Sometimes, Paige, we think we know very wel what

someone wants, or needs. But then—" she sighed, holding

out a package of pretty stationery in a box with a clear

plastic lid "—we discover we are wrong. I'd put this aside

for one of my regular customers, but he didn't care for it,

after al."

"Too bad. I'm sure someone else wil." I wasn't surprised a man didn't want the paper. Embossed with gilt-edged

flowers, it seemed a little too feminine for a dude.

Miriam's gaze sharpened. "You, perhaps?"

I waved the flowered paper aside and shoved my hands in

my back pockets as I looked around the shop. "Not realy

my style."

She laughed and set the box aside. She'd painted her nails

scarlet to match her lipstick. I hoped when I was her age

I'd be half as stylish. Hel. I hoped to be half as stylish

tomorrow.

"Now, how about something for yourself? I have some

"Now, how about something for yourself? I have some

new notebooks right here. Suede finish. Gilt-edged pages.

Tied closed with a ribbon," she wheedled, pointing to the

end-cap display. "Come and see."

I groaned good-naturedly. "You're heartless, you know

that? You know al you have to do is show me…oh.

Ohhh."

"Pretty, yes?"

"Yes." I wasn't looking at notebooks, but at a red,

lacquered box with a ribbon-hinged lid. A purple-and-blue

dragonfly design etched the polished wood. "What's this?"

I stroked the smooth lid and opened it. Inside, nestled on

black satin, rested a smal clay dish, a smal container of

red ink and a set of wood-handled brushes.

"Oh, that's a caligraphy set." Miriam came around the

counter to look at it with me. "Chinese. But this one is

special. It comes with paper and a set of pens, not just

brushes and ink."

She showed me by lifting the box's bottom to reveal a

sheaf of paper crisscrossed with a crimson ribbon and a

set of brass-nibbed pens in a red satin bag with a

set of brass-nibbed pens in a red satin bag with a

drawstring.

"It's gorgeous." I took my hands away, though I wanted to

touch the pens, the ink, the paper.

"Just what you need, yes?" Miriam went around the

counter to sit on her stool. "Perfect for you."

I checked the price and closed the box's lid firmly. "Yes.

But not today."

"No?" Miriam tutted. "Why is it you know so wel what

everyone else needs, but not yourself? Such a shame,

Paige. You should buy it."

I could pay my cel phone bil for the price of that box. I

shook my head, then cocked it to look at her. "Why are

you so convinced I know what everyone else needs?

That's a pretty broad statement."

Miriam tore the wrapper off a package of mints and put

one into her mouth. She sucked gently for a moment

before answering. "You've been a good customer. I've

seen you buy gifts, and sometimes things for yourself. I like

to think I know people. What they need and like. Why do

you think I have such atrocities on my shelves? Because

people want them."

I folowed her gaze to the shelf holding more porcelain

clowns. "Just because you want something doesn't mean

you should have it."

"Just because you want something doesn't mean you

should deny yourself the pleasure," Miriam said serenely.

"Buy yourself that box. You deserve it."

"I have nothing to write with it!"

"Letters to a sweetheart," she suggested.

"I don't have a sweetheart." I shook my head again.

"Sorry, Miriam. Can't do it now. Maybe some other time."

She sighed. "Fine, fine. Deny yourself the pleasure of

something pretty. You think that's what you need?"

"I think I need to pay my bils before I can buy luxuries,

that's what I think."

"Ah. Sensible." She inclined her head. "Practical. Not very romantic. That's you."

romantic. That's you."

"You can tel al that from the kind of paper I buy?" I put

my hands on my hips to stare at her. "C'mon."

Miriam shrugged, and it was easy to see how she must

have been as a young woman. Stubborn, graceful,

beautiful. "I can tel it by the paper you don't buy. When you're an old lady, you'l be wise like me, too."

"I hope so." I laughed.

"I hope you'l come back and buy yourself that box. It's

meant for you, Paige."

"I'l definitely think about it. Okay? Is that good enough?"

"If you buy the paper," Miriam told me, "I guarantee you'l find something worth writing in it."

Chapter 02

Shal we begin?

This is your first list.

You wil folow each instruction perfectly. There is no

margin for error. The penalty for failure is dismissal.

Your reward wil be my attention and command.

You wil write a list of ten. Five flaws. Five strengths.

Deliver them promptly to the address below.

The square envelope in my hand bore the faint ridges of

realy expensive paper and no glue on the flap, like the

reply envelope included with an invitation. I turned the

heavy, cream-colored card that had been inside it over

and over in my fingers. It felt like high-grade linen. Also

expensive. I fingered the slightly rough edge along one

side. Custom cut, maybe, from a larger sheet. Not quite

heavy enough to be a note card, but too thick to use in a

computer printer.

I lifted the envelope to my face and sniffed it. A faint,

I lifted the envelope to my face and sniffed it. A faint,

musky perfume clung to the paper, which was smooth but

also porous. I couldn't identify the scent, but it mingled

with the aroma of expensive ink and new paper until my

head wanted to spin.

I touched the black, looping letters. I didn't recognize the

handwriting, and the letter bore no signature. Each word

had been formed carefuly, each letter precisely drawn,

without the careless loops, ticks and whorls that marked

most people's writing. This looked practiced and efficient.

Faceless.

The paper listed a post-office box at one of the local

branch offices, and that was it. Since moving into

Riverview Manor five months ago, I'd received a few

advertising circulars, requests for charitable donations

addressed to two different former tenants and way too

many bils. I hadn't had any personal mail at al. I turned

the card over again, listening to the soft sigh of the paper

on my skin. It didn't have a name or address on the front.

Only a number, scrawled in the same languid hand as the

note. I looked closer, seeing what in my haste I hadn't

noticed before.

114

114

That explained it, then. This note wasn't for me at al. The

ink had smeared a little, turning the one into a passable

version of a four, if you weren't paying close attention.

Someone had stuffed this into my mailbox, 414, by

mistake.

At least it wasn't another baby shower or wedding

invitation from "friends" I hadn't seen in the past few years.

I wasn't a fan of being put on a loot-gathering mailing list

just because once upon a time we'd been in a math class

together.

"What's that?" Kira had come up behind me in a cloud of

cigarette odor and now dug her chin into my shoulder.

I don't know why I didn't want to show her, but I closed

the card and slipped it back into the envelope, then found

the right mailbox and shoved it through the slot. I peeked

into the glass window and saw it resting inside the metal

cave, slim and single and alone.

"Nothing. It wasn't for me."

"C'mon then, whore. Let's get upstairs. We have a

"C'mon then, whore. Let's get upstairs. We have a

threesome with Jose, Jack and Jim." She held up the

clanking paper grocery sack containing the bottles.

Every woman should have a slutty friend. The one who

makes her feel better about herself. Because no matter

how drunk she got the night before, or how many guys she

made out with at that party, or how short her skirt is, that

slutty friend wil always have been…wel…sluttier.

Kira and I had traded that role back and forth over the

years, a fact I would never be proud of but couldn't hide.

"It's not even eight o'clock. Things don't start jumping until

at least eleven."

"Which is why I stopped at the liquor store." She looked

around the lobby and raised both eyebrows. "Wow.

Nice."

I looked, too. I always did, even though I'd memorized

nearly every tile in the floor. "Thanks. C'mon, let's grab the

elevator."

She had to have been as equaly impressed with my

apartment, but she didn't say so. She swept through it,

opening cupboard doors and looking in my medicine

cabinet, and when it came time to eat the subs we'd

bought for dinner she made a show of setting my scarred

kitchen table with real plates instead of paper. But she

didn't tel me it was nice.

It was almost like old times as we giggled over our food

and watched reality TV at the same time. I hadn't forgotten

what a bizarre and hilarious sense of humor Kira had, but

it had been a long time since I laughed so hard my stomach

clenched into knots. I was suddenly glad I'd invited her

over. There's something nice about being with someone

who already knows al your faults and likes you anyway…

or at least doesn't like you any less because of them.

She had a new boyfriend. Tony something-or-other, I

didn't recognize the name. Kira had never mentioned him

in her text messages or occasional e-mails to me, but the

way she dropped it casualy into our conversation now

meant she wanted me to ask about him.

"How long have you been going out?" I leveled a shot of

Cuervo and studied it, not sure I wanted to take it. Once

upon a time I'd been able to toss them back without fear

of the consequences, but I hadn't done much drinking

lately. I pushed it toward her, instead.

Kira drank back the shot with a practiced gulp. "Since just

after you moved. A long time."

I didn't feel as if it had been that long, but anything longer

than three months was a record of sorts with her. "Good

for you."

She wrinkled her nose. "Whatever. He's good in bed and

buys me shit. And he has a fucking awesome car. He's got

a job. He's not a loser."

"Al good things." I had slightly higher standards, or at least now I did, but I smiled at her description of him and

wrapped up the papers from our food.

Kira got up to help me. "Yeah. I guess so. He's a good

guy."

Which said more than anything else she had. I shot her a

look. Times did change, I reminded myself. So did people.

When it came time to get ready to go out, though, the Kira

I knew faked a gag. "Gawd, don't wear that."

I looked down at my low-rise jeans. They were boot cut. I

I looked down at my low-rise jeans. They were boot cut. I

had boots. I even had a cute cap-sleeved T-shirt. The

hours of working out I'd been putting in lately were paying

off. "What's wrong with what I have on?"

Kira swung open my closet door and rummaged around

inside. "Don't you have anything…better?"

High school was a long time ago, I wanted to say, but

looking at her short denim skirt and tight, bely-baring

blouse, I figured my comment would be lost. I shrugged,

instead.

"I know you have hotter clothes than that." Kira

reappeared from my closet with a handful of shirts and

skirts I remembered buying but hadn't worn in a long time.

She tossed the clothes onto my bed, where they spread

out in a month's worth of outfits.

I picked up a silky tank top in a pretty shade of lavender

and a stretchy black skirt. I held them up to myself in front

of my ful-length mirror. Then I put them back on the bed.

"No, thanks," I said. "I'l wear what I've got on. It's comfortable."

Kira shook her head. "Oh, ew. Paige, c'mon."

Kira shook her head. "Oh, ew. Paige, c'mon."

"Ew?" I looked at myself again. The jeans clung to my hips and ass just right, and my T-shirt emphasized how flat my

stomach was becoming. I thought I looked pretty damn

good. "What's ew?"

"It's just, you know…" Kira trailed off and pushed her

way next to me to hog the reflection. "You gotta show off

a little bit."

I looked her over. Even in my stack-heeled boots, I stood

a few inches shorter. She'd grown her natural red hair into

long layers that fel halfway down her back. She never

tanned, so her dark eyeliner looked extrablack and the

fuck-me red lipstick even redder.

I looked in the mirror again, turning my chin to one side,

then the other, to catch my profile. My hair's blond. And

it's natural. My eyes are blue, but dark, almost navy. I

look a lot like my dad, which is one reason, maybe, why

he never bothered denying I was his.

"I think I look fine," I told her, but the faint sound of

longing slithered into my voice.

I spent my clothes budget on simple, brand-name pieces I

picked up off-season or in discount stores. I'd spent the

past few years building my wardrobe. Clothes for work

and casual wear that looked expensive enough to pass as

classy. I paired them with shoes I couldn't always afford. I

wasn't going to be Clarice Starling, giving away my

background with my good bag and my cheap shoes.

I looked again at my reflection and thought of the whisper

of satin on my skin. Going without a bra, how my nipples

would push at the fabric and force a man's eyes straight to

my breasts. Every man's eyes.

I picked up the tank top again and held it up. I smoothed

the fabric over my stomach. Kira gave me an approving

nod and slung an arm around my shoulders and bumped

me with her hip. "C'mon. You know you want to."

I did want to. I wanted to go out and get shit-hammered

drunk and dance and smoke and rub up on half a dozen

boys. I wanted to feel a hot, hard body against mine and

look for lust in a pair of eyes I didn't know.

I wanted not to worry about proving anyone right about

me.

I puled my tank top over my head and after a second's

hesitation, unhooked my bra. The satin tank top slithered

over my head and fel to my hips. My breasts swayed

under the smooth fabric. My nipples tightened at once, and

I shivered.

"Let me get you some makeup," Kira said.

She lugged her huge purse over to me and puled out pots

and tubes and brushes and glitter. I love glitter. I hadn't

worn glitter in forever, either. No place for it here, in my

new life.

"I'l do it." I wouldn't dream of sharing makeup that had

been on her face. No teling what germs could be passed

on that way. I waved her away and went into my

bathroom, where I rummaged beneath my sink.

I puled out my own box of tricks and treats. Lipsticks in

berry shades, eye shadows in rainbow hues. Lots and lots

of half-used black-eyeliner sticks and a few bottles of

liquid eyeliner. I shook one, thinking it must have dried up

after al these years, but when I unscrewed the cap with its

built-in brush, the makeup inside was stil smooth.

I painted a mask. It looked just like me, only brighter.

Bolder. More. Once, I'd worn this face every day. Once,

it had been the only one I had.

My makeup finished, I squeezed into the tight black skirt. I

left my legs bare. I'd be chily on the walk from the parking

garage to the bar, but hot enough inside once I started

dancing. From my closet I puled out a truly fucking

fabulous pair of pumps.

Kira had been bent over her phone, fingers stabbing out

messages, but her eyes widened and she reached for the

shoes. "Oh, wow. Steve Madden!"

"First pair I ever bought." I stroked the smooth black

patent leather. Four-inch heels. Most men couldn't have

told the difference between a Steve Madden shoe and a

Payless pump, but they looked twice when I wore them.

Sometimes more than twice.

I slipped into the shoes and stood, adjusting to the way my

center of balance shifted. My mother had taught me the art

of how to walk in heels this high. I used to raid her closet

as a kid and parade around the house in her shoes.

I smoothed the silky shirt over my bely and hips and

I smoothed the silky shirt over my bely and hips and

turned around to look at myself one last time in the mirror.

"Ready to go?"

"I guess so," Kira said sulenly. "Except now you look awesome and I look like shit."

"You look hot," I promised. What were friends for?

She was convinced, more because she wanted to believe it

than because I'd tried hard. "Okay, let's go get shit-

hammered!"

I saw him again, that dark-haired man. This time, he was

coming in as I was going out. We passed each other not

so much like two ships, as much as one ship passing while

the other crashes into an iceberg. I couldn't be offended

that his gaze slid over and past me, taking in the short skirt

and high heels without a second look. He had his head

down and was talking urgently into his cel phone. He

didn't have attention to spare me. And it wasn't his fault I

was trying so hard to pretend I wasn't looking back at him

that I ran into the edge of the door frame hard enough to

leave a bruise.

"Smooth move, Ex-Lax." Kira smirked. She hadn't even

"Smooth move, Ex-Lax." Kira smirked. She hadn't even

noticed it was the man from earlier that day. "Nice to see

you can hold your tequila."

I shrugged off the sting in my shoulder and didn't reply. His

sleeve had brushed my bare arm as he passed, and the

hairs on it al the way up to the back of my neck had stood

at that brief, simple touch. A slow, tumbling rol of

sensation centered in my bely.

He lived in my building.

Chapter 03

I shouldn't have been so surprised. I saw a lot of

Riverview Manor tenants at Miriam's shop, and in the

Morningstar Mocha, the coffee shop at the end of our

block. I ran into them in the post office and parking garage

and at the grocery store, too. Harrisburg's a smal city.

Even so, I couldn't shake the memory of those dark eyes,

that thick, dark hair. The brush of a shirtsleeve on my bare

skin. Fuck. I was horny, no two ways around it, and no

wonder. It had been ages since I'd had sex with anyone

but myself.

We had our choice of places downtown, but I wanted to

go to the Pharmacy. We took a cab since I wouldn't drive

after drinking, and the walk that was fine on a Sunday

afternoon in sweatpants would be too long to make at

night in heels…and shit-hammered.

The bar was packed, even for a Friday night. We pushed

through the crowd toward the bar, Kira leading. She

stopped abruptly and I ran into her. Someone ran into me.

Someone also grabbed my ass, but when I turned to see

who it was and possibly haul off and smack the shit out of

who it was and possibly haul off and smack the shit out of

them, al I could see was an ocean of possible culprits.

"Hey, Jack," Kira said, and I turned.

Shit. Jack had been the love of Kira's life our senior year, when he transferred in from another school. She'd plotted

and schemed for months to get him to ask her to the prom,

determined to get in his pants. It hadn't worked, so far as I

knew. I only knew that once Kira had keyed one of his

girlfriends' cars.

Kira didn't know Jack and I had fucked each other

senseless for about two months straight a few years ago. I

doubt either of us even cared anymore. But Kira would

have, so I tried to pul her away before things could get

ugly.

Besides, he wasn't alone. The woman with him had a beer

and she tipped it to her mouth, eyeing us with a smile. I

yanked Kira's elbow to pul her away.

"Ow," she said when the crowd closed behind us, cutting

off the view of him. "What did you do that for?"

"Don't cause trouble," I told her. "C'mon. Drinks."

"Don't cause trouble," I told her. "C'mon. Drinks."

"I wasn't going to cause trouble." She frowned and tossed

her hair, not caring she'd whacked some dude across the

face with it. He looked pissed. Not the way I wanted to

start the night.

"There wil be other guys here," I told her.

Kira just sniffed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Oh,

I know that."

The Pharmacy was almost always a total sausage party—

three guys for every girl, easy, and al of them horny and

looking to hook up. Chivalry had nothing to do with them

puling out their walets and plying us with booze. It was al

about getting laid.

"Oh, look," Kira said from beside me. "Talk about

trouble."

She was right. Trouble with a capital T. I stood taler in my sexy shoes and lifted my chin, straightened my shoulders.

"Helo, Austin."

Once upon a time, Austin and I had fucked like tigers. I

was wiling to bet he stil had the scars. I did.

was wiling to bet he stil had the scars. I did.

"Paige." His hair was longer, but he had the same grin, the one that parted thighs like the Red Sea. He didn't look

surprised to see me.

Austin wore a blue-striped shirt and faded jeans that

hugged his ass just right and hung down, ragged, at the

hems. Jeans like that should be outlawed on men like

Austin. His buddy, some guy I didn't know, wore an

almost identical shirt, but with brown stripes. He didn't

look half as good.

Behind me, Kira dug her fingernails into the skin of my

elbow. It stung, and I shook her off. "How are you?"

"Good. I'm good." His eyes shifted to Kira and back to

me. "Haven't seen you in a while."

"Haven't been home," I said, though home to me now was

an apartment on Front Street, not a trailer or a rented

house in Lebanon.

"Yeah. I know. Hey, Kira. I made it."

My insides froze. I glared at her, but Kira gave me her

best dumb look. "What?"

best dumb look. "What?"

She'd told him we'd be here. I knew it. I could see it on

both their faces, their conspiracy, and I wondered how

he'd convinced her to tel him. I thought about walking out,

and the only reason I didn't was because he was looking at

me. Not her.

Kira saw it, too, and she gave me a narrow-eyed glare. I

wouldn't have put it past her to have set this up purely to

see the throw down between me and Austin, but I wasn't

going to do it. I was past those days. She ralied when

Austin's friend gave her a grin. It helped that he was cute.

Not as cute as Austin, but then realy, who was? Who had

ever been?

"What're you drinking?" Austin was already puling out his

walet to pay.

I wasn't going to turn down a free drink, not even from

him. "Margarita."

"I'l take a Slow, Comfortable Screw." Kira made sure to

lean in close so he could hear her. Her lips brushed his ear.

Austin leaned away a little, not enough that Kira would

notice. But I did. He introduced us both to his friend,

Ethan, who managed to tear his gaze away from Kira's tits

long enough to nod toward me without a trace of

recognition. Wel, what had I expected him to do? Say,

"Oh, so this is Paige?"

"So what are you up to now?" Austin asked me as Kira

and Ethan eyed each other.

"I work for Kely Printing." The last time we spoke I'd stil been finishing the degree I'd started when we were

together and taking care of some rich couple's kids. I

didn't ask him what he was doing, not for work and not

here in Harrisburg. I didn't want him to think I cared.

"What about your mom?" Austin moved closer, his arm on

the bar. "She stil working for Hershey? I haven't been to

the shop for a while."

My mom owns a tiny sandwich shop she inherited from

her dad when I was in high school. I'd worked in that shop

almost my entire life, running errands as a kid then

graduating to making subs and running the cash register.

Now I only helped if she had a big order to fil and deliver,

or a party to cater.

"She stil has it. She was working for Hershey but got laid

off."

Austin nodded. "I'm working for McClaron and Sons."

I had no idea who or what McClaron and Sons was, but

the fact he was working for someone other than his dad

surprised me into a reply. "What about your dad?"

Austin shrugged, then grimaced, and only because I'd once

known him so wel it had been like knowing myself did I

catch his hesitation. "It was time I got out of that job."

"But you're doing the same thing, right? Construction?"

Kira popped into the conversation and drew both our

attentions.

"Yeah, and some other stuff," Austin said, but didn't

elaborate.

Interesting. Austin had worked for his dad's business the

way I'd worked for my mom's—summers and after school

since he'd been old enough to carry a hammer. It had

always been the assumption that he'd take over the

business when his dad retired, and become a ful partner

business when his dad retired, and become a ful partner

some time before that. I'd figured he already was.

"What about you?" Kira sipped her drink, eyes on Ethan.

For someone with a boyfriend, she certainly seemed

interested in him, but then Kira was just one of those girls.

You know. The slutty ones.

"I'm a mechanic," he said. "For Hershey."

"Oh, that's a good job!" Kira sidled in between Austin and Ethan.

"It is a good job," Ethan agreed and drank from his cup

while his eyes wandered everywhere on Kira's body but

her face.

It was so easy, realy. They wanted to seduce us. We

wanted to be seduced, for a few hours anyway. I knew

what we looked like to them. Two girls in slinky outfits,

sucking back drink after drink and letting the crowd push

us closer and closer. There's no such thing as social

distance in bars. The music makes conversation impossible

unless you lean across to shout in someone's ear. The

crush of people means you have to fight for your own

smal space, and sharing it doesn't seem so bad after a

smal space, and sharing it doesn't seem so bad after a

drink or four.

When Austin's hand ended up on my ass, I didn't even

blink. It felt good there. Heavy, warm. He had strong

fingers to go along with those biceps. He smeled good.

Drakkar Noir. Despite myself and everything that had

happened with us before, I'd missed him.

Austin said into my ear, "Wanna dance?"

Our bodies had always worked just right together,

whether we were dancing or fucking. I was ready for both.

Leaving Ethan and Kira, he took my hand and puled me

up the stairs to the third floor, where the songs ran into one

another without stopping and al sounded the same. We

found a spot in the middle and started dancing.

The booze had made me soft and melty, but the music

wasn't. I wanted to slow dance. Austin wanted to grind.

We compromised with a little hip action that brought us

groin to groin, but when he tried to flip me around and get

up on me in the back end, I pushed away with a smile.

"You don't answer my messages," Austin said.

It was easy to pretend I didn't hear him with the music so

loud. I smiled and shook my head. He took me by the

arm, up high in the soft part that bruises easily. His fingers

closed al the way around it.

He moved in to brush his lips against my ear. "I've realy

missed you."

I inched away from him, but Austin grabbed my wrist just

as a bazilion watts of supernova bright light lit the entire

dance floor. Austin stil looked good. I must not have

looked like Frankenstein, because he reached to brush my

hair from my forehead. He smiled again as the lights went

down and the beat of the music started its rapid thump-

thumping, the same as my heart.

It was different when he kissed me. I felt different. His

mouth opened and I let him inside me. His tongue stroked

mine as his hand came up to curl in my hair. He didn't pul

it, though my body tensed in anticipation.

Austin nuzzled at my earlobe. "You stil taste the same."

Fortunately, I remembered the reasons I'd broken off our

relationship. Unfortunately, I stil remembered al the

reasons we'd ever hooked up. When Austin ran a fingertip

reasons we'd ever hooked up. When Austin ran a fingertip

down my bare arm along the sensitive inside flesh to press

his fingertip just over the pulse at my wrist, I knew he felt

the way my heart sped up at his touch. Time hadn't

changed that. Maybe it never would.

Maybe that was okay.

"Come home with me," Austin said.

"It's too far." Forty minutes I'd have driven in a heartbeat back in the day, just to get in his pants. It wasn't too far.

Just too long.

"Paige," Austin said with a grin like a shark. "I moved to Lemoyne."

Just across the river. Fifteen minutes, tops, if you drove

realy slow or got stuck in traffic. The world fel out from

under my fuck-me pumps, but Austin was there to catch

me. The crowd moved and danced around us, but we

stayed stil. I looked deep into his blue, blue eyes, made

bluer by the strobe lights.

"What the fuck," I said evenly, "did you do that for?"

"New job," he reminded. "Remember?"

"New job," he reminded. "Remember?"

I tried to recal if he'd said where McClaron and Sons

was, and couldn't. He should've told me, I thought, and

hated myself for being irrationaly angry. I tugged my arm

from his grip. "I have to go check on Kira."

"She's fine. She's with Ethan."

I tried to level him with a glare, but I'd never been able to

level Austin. He'd laid me out cold a thousand times with a

look, but though I'd practiced and perfected my steely-

eyed look of cold disdain, it slid off him like oil. I bit my

lower lip and lifted my chin.

"If he's anything like you, I'd better make sure she's okay."

"Paige." Austin's hand snagged my wrist. Puled me close.

"If she's anything like you, she can handle him."

The night it ended between us, we'd fucked up against the

wal of our shitty, third-floor apartment on Cumberland

Street in Lebanon. The red-blue lights of a cop car outside

on the street had painted the ceiling and wal over our

heads. He'd torn away my panties, tossed them to the

side, used his body to pin mine to the wal while his hands

side, used his body to pin mine to the wal while his hands

held my ass.

I bore the marks of that last encounter on my back for a

few weeks where a nail from a falen picture had gouged

me. I hadn't noticed the pain or the blood while we were

going at it. I never had found my panties.

It had ended but wasn't over. The plain truth is, with a few

drinks in me there was little chance of my resisting Austin.

Not drunk. Not sober, either. Why else had I moved so

far away?

"Hel, no," Kira said when I found her downstairs and

brought up the subject. She shook her head and looked

over my shoulder to where I was sure Austin was

watching. "You told me to never, never, never let you fuck

him again!"

I made myself stare at her, not look back at him. "I know.

But that was before."

"Before what?" Kira's lip curled.

"Before you thought it would be fun to invite him out with

us. I haven't talked to him in months. Since before I moved

here. But now here he is."

here. But now here he is."

"And looking utterly fuckable." Kira didn't lose the sneer, but her gaze flickered back and forth to my face and over

my shoulder. "You know, Paige, I've known him as long

as you have. He moved up here, wanted to know where

the good places to go were. I told him we were coming

here. I didn't know you were going to go home with him. I

thought you were over him."

"I am over him!" I looked over my shoulder and caught his

gaze, then turned away with hot cheeks and fast-beating

heart.

"Whatever."

"I'l give you my key." I looked back at Austin, now bent

in conversation with Ethan.

"Fuck, no. I'l get Tony to come pick me up!" Kira shook

her head and stumbled a little bit.

I reached to steady her and she clutched at my hand. "Wil

he come for you?"

"He wil if I fucking tel him to." Kira straightened, then

"He wil if I fucking tel him to." Kira straightened, then

swiped at her hair.

"I'l wait with you until he comes."

"Don't do me any favors," Kira said, then slung her arm

around my shoulder. "Paige. Don't forget what happened."

As if I ever could. "I'l be fine!"

"Don't let your pussy get you into trouble," she continued, warning me off what she'd falen prey to many times

herself. "He made you cry."

"Yeah." I let Austin's gaze catch mine when it turned

toward me and didn't look away. "Wel, he won't make

me cry anymore."

"He'l always make you cry," Kira said. "But go.

Whatever. He's got a magic cock. I get it."

Remembering the times she'd left me stranded so she

could go home with someone she met in a bar, I didn't feel

nearly as bad as she wanted me to. "I'l wait until Tony

gets here."

I could do that, at least.

I could do that, at least.

Going to Austin's place was one thing, driving with him

another. I wasn't going to get in the car with him after he'd

been drinking, for one, and for another, I wasn't going to

be stuck at his house without knowing for sure I'd be able

to get home.

He grinned when I went over to him, but I fended off his

kiss. "I have to wait for Kira to get picked up. I'l meet you

there."

Austin puled me close and nuzzled my neck exactly how

he knew I liked it best. "Just come with me."

"No." I pushed him slightly away. Drunker, I'd have given

in. More sober, I'm sure I'd have gone home alone. Stuck

in this midway point where I wanted to taste him again and

knowing lust is never as pretty the morning after, I shook

my head. "I'l meet you there. Give me the address."

Maybe things were different, after al.

Austin kissed me again, harder, and this time I let him. He

knew just how to do it, where to put his hands and his

tongue and how to bump me with his groin to make my

breath catch in my throat. My nipples throbbed, poking

breath catch in my throat. My nipples throbbed, poking

the silk of my shirt.

"Don't take too long." He stepped back, steady on his feet and not slurring his words. He reached as I turned and at

the last moment, captured my wrist with his fingers. I let

him tug me closer. "You're not going to bail on me, are

you? Like last time?"

Last time I hadn't had Kira to remind me that I'd vowed

never to go to bed with Austin again. Not that it was

stopping me. Last time I'd caled him just after two in the

morning and told him I wanted to come over, but when I

hung up the phone, good reason had won over the desire

for his hands on me. That had been months ago, before I

moved here.

"Are you stil angry about that?"

"I wasn't mad. Just disappointed. Do it again, I'l be mad."

He grinned and dipped his head to kiss me but stopped

short of my lips, just brushing them. "And disappointed."

His blue eyes bore deep into mine, and for half a minute

nothing else mattered. I felt Kira at my elbow, but I didn't

turn to look at her. I looked right into Austin's eyes when I

turn to look at her. I looked right into Austin's eyes when I

replied. "You won't be."

He let me go with another kiss and a nuzzle that sent

shivers marching along every nerve. I found Kira waiting

for me by the door. Oblivious to the crowd buffeting her,

she held her place instead of stepping aside until I showed

up to pul her by the elbow onto the sidewalk.

"You sure you'l be al right?" The chily night air had done a pretty good job of sobering me up, but I wasn't

reconsidering my rendezvous with Austin. At least not yet.

Kira nodded. "Fine."

She didn't look fine, she looked pissed off. I glanced out

onto the street. Lots of cops. No cabs. I'd only turned

away for a few seconds, but when I turned back to face

her, Kira's expression had turned stormy.

"You asshole!" She took a couple of steps forward, her

heel catching on a crack in the sidewalk, and stumbled.

Jack.

With an inward sigh, I went after her. Jack was with the

same woman from earlier and he did his best to ignore

same woman from earlier and he did his best to ignore

Kira. I saw him give his date a pained glance she

answered with a shrug, and they started walking.

"Hey, Jack! Jackass! Don't you walk away from me!"

"C'mon, Kira, don't." I didn't blame him for ignoring her. I was a little less pleased he was also actively ignoring me,

even though I knew it was realy for the best, al around.

"He's not worth it!"

"Fuck you, Jack!" Kira couldn't let it go, apparently.

Jack grimaced and puled his cap from his back pocket.

He put it on, but didn't look at her. We hadn't gone more

than another few steps down the sidewalk when Kira

launched herself at his back.

Jack stumbled forward as she slammed into him, her legs

and arms flying. She didn't actualy manage to hit him more

than once or twice, but the spectators leaped out of the

way of her drunken tornado performance. She was

shrieking insults, mostly stupid and incoherent ones.

Jack gave me an angry look that pissed me off. It wasn't

like I'd told Kira he and I had hooked up or anything. Her

issues with him were his own problem and had nothing to

issues with him were his own problem and had nothing to

do with me. He pushed her off him firmly and grabbed her

arm at the same time so she wouldn't fal. She kept trying

to hit him and missing.

"Stop it," Jack told her and gave her arm a little shake

before letting her go. When she flew at him again she

managed to knock his cap off. I stepped forward, wishing

I'd gone with Austin and left Kira to her theatrics alone.

This was a scene I realy didn't want to see.

"I hope your Prince Albert fucking rips out and you have

to piss through three holes!" Kira screamed.

"Kira, c'mon." I reached for her.

Kira alowed herself to be led away, stil shouting insults.

By the time we got to the parking garage the crowd had

thinned and we had a better shot at hailing a cab. I rubbed

my bare arms and shivered, but Kira had anger as her

cloak and she danced back and forth on the nubbly

pavement, waving her hands and muttering curses.

"He's not worth it," I repeated. "Jesus, Kira. What's wrong with you?"

"He's a jackass," she said sulenly. Her makeup had

smeared, her hair tangled. She needed to be in bed.

Fuck. I wanted to be in bed, and not alone. Yet here I

was, instead, babysitting her while she had a tantrum about

some guy she'd had a crush on a milion years ago but had

never even dated.

I didn't correct her, even though I didn't agree. "You're

drunk. Cal Tony. Go home."

She sniffed and crossed her arms. "Oh, you don't care!

You're going to screw Austin. What difference does it

make to you if my heart is broken?"

I laughed and knew I'd made a mistake by the way her

brows puled low over her smeared eyes. "Your heart's

not broken. You didn't even go out with him. He doesn't

even have the Prince Albert anymore."

She glared at me. I thought suddenly she was maybe way

less wasted than I'd thought. "Did you fuck Jack?"

"It was ages ago."

"You fucked Jack?" Kira's fist clenched at her sides, then

"You fucked Jack?" Kira's fist clenched at her sides, then opened as her shoulders slumped. "I thought you were my

friend!"

"Kira, it was years ago, and you weren't—"

"That doesn't matter!" she cried, and I knew she was right.

"You knew how I felt about him! I loved him!"

I'd never loved him. At least there was that. "I'm sorry."

Kira whipped her phone from her purse and stabbed the

buttons with her fingernail. She turned her back to me. I

should've counted myself lucky she didn't try to punch me

in the face the way she'd done Jack. As it was, I was cold

and my stomach had begun to churn.

"Your sorry is shit." Kira spoke into the phone next. "It's me. Come pick me up. Yeah, I know what time it is. I'l be

waiting at Tom's Diner on Second Street. Harrisburg, you

'tard."

She hung up and stalked off down the sidewalk without

looking back.

"Kira!" She flipped me the bird without even pausing.

There was no way I was going to run after her, not in my

There was no way I was going to run after her, not in my

four-inch fuck-me pumps. I managed a hobble, though.

"Kira, c'mon. Wait."

"You're supposed to be my friend," she said, and the quiet affront in her tone was worse than an insult or a punch.

"God, Paige. Just because you can doesn't always mean

you should, you know? This isn't high school anymore."

I stopped trying to folow her. "No shit, realy? And caling

out some dude on the street when he's with another girl,

that's not straight out of high school?"

"That's different!"

"How is it different?"

"You knew how I felt about Jack!" Kira shouted.

We'd have attracted more attention if it wasn't Friday night

just after the bars al closed, but as it was we were just

two more drunk sluts fighting over a guy. In high school I'd

have shouted back at her, maybe even done a little hair

puling.

But as we'd already established, we weren't in high school

But as we'd already established, we weren't in high school

anymore.

I trapped my tongue between my teeth to stop myself from

shouting back, but even then my voice came out clipped

and sharp. "I said I was sorry. You weren't with him. You

never even dated him. And you weren't even speaking to

me at the time."

She faltered for a moment, her lashes batting and her

mouth working as though she meant to say something

realy awful but could only come up with "…Yeah, wel.

You shouldn't have."

I didn't point out the number of boys I'd liked that Kira

had fucked, or tried to fuck, or lied about fucking just to

needle me. I said nothing, just stared, and she at last had

the grace to cut her gaze from mine. She shrugged instead

of speaking.

If you're lucky, the friends you make when you're sixteen

stay with you for the rest of your life. If you're smart, you

know when it's time to let them go. I stopped walking. I

watched her walk toward the diner, where drunk and

hungry people would order eggs and stiff the waitress and

steal the silverware. I let her go there, even though she'd

been drinking and she needed a ride home and I couldn't

be sure the person she'd caled would come to get her.

Yeah. Some friend.

Chapter 04

"I'm realy glad you came," Austin said this as soon as he opened the door.

I said nothing.

He closed it behind me as I moved past him and into his

living room. I recognized the chair and the couch. It had

been mine, once. The chair had been his and he'd been

welcome to it, but I'd paid for that couch.

The couch didn't matter.

"You want something to drink?"

I turned to look at him, this boy grown into a man. "No. I

didn't come here to drink."

Austin smiled. "So, what did you come here for?"

I puled him forward by his belt. Two steps. He didn't

stumble, but he did put his hands on my upper arms. I

must have caught him by surprise. I looked up, up into his

face. But when he bent to kiss me, I turned my head.

"Let me guess," he said into my ear. "You didn't come here for kissing?"

"You can kiss me." I took his hand off my arm and put it

between my legs. "Here."

I looked at him, then, and his expression gratified me

immensely. His fingers curled experimentaly against me

and pushed at the soft cloth of my skirt.

Austin blinked, slowly. His smile didn't fade so much as

leak away. "Paige?"

"We both know what I came here for." I curled my fingers

around his wrist and moved his hand down to the hem of

my skirt, then up again to replace his palm against my

panties. "Let's not pretend anything else."

I thought, for one brief, strange second, he was going to

turn me down. The heat of his hand seeped through my

panties, but the flash of ice in his eyes left me cold.

Suddenly I had no trouble remembering why I'd left him.

He didn't let me pul away. "Fine. I'm not pretending."

"Good."

"Good."

"Good," he said. His fingers slipped inside my panties and found me already wet. Again, his gaze flickered. "Fuck,

Paige."

"Yes, please," I said.

He'd always been bigger than me, but in the years since

we'd broken up he'd gone from a bulky footbal player's

build to the harder, leaner muscled frame of a man who

made his living working with tools. He might have quit the

construction job with his dad's company, but whatever he

was doing kept him in tight, hard shape.

At first I thought he might not kiss me. We'd done it

before, fucked without kissing each other on the mouth.

We'd fucked angry, rough. We'd done it tender-soft, too,

and sweet.

So when Austin puled me closer and brushed his lips

across mine, I was already tense and waiting. He kissed

me softly and puled away. He looked into my eyes.

"I was sure you'd bail on me."

I frowned, not wanting to talk, and when I opened my

mouth he took my words away with another kiss and the

restless stroking of his hands. I'm not ashamed to admit I

stretched under his touch, so familiar no matter how long it

had been. We kissed for a long time, al the way up the

stairs and down the hal to his bedroom. I kissed him with

my eyes closed, trusting him to lead me so I wouldn't

stumble. We kissed the way we always had, but it was

different, too. We stopped just inside his bedroom door

and puled apart, both of us breathing fast and hard. I

couldn't remember how long it had been since anyone had

seen me the way he did.

I was made of feathers when he lifted me, but I became

flesh when he laid me down.

It was a new bed, new sheets. The smel of fabric softener

was the same, and my heart seized, going stil before it

lurched to life again. His mouth ate my gasp. He

swalowed my breath.

I'd worn clothes he could ruin without me caring, but

Austin didn't tear or rip anything from me. Kneeling

between my legs, staring at me on his pilow, he only put

his hand on my bely. The muscles jumped.

his hand on my bely. The muscles jumped.

When he smiled I almost couldn't remember what it had

been like not to love him, but I forced myself to. This was

not going to be anything but what I'd intended it to be. I

spread my legs a little as I inched the skirt up over my

thighs.

Austin put his hands to the hem of my shirt and lifted it to

run his fingers over the swel of my breasts. He looked me

over as if he'd never seen me before, like he hadn't once

spent long hours cataloging every inch of my skin.

I liked the way it felt when he looked at me.

When his gaze met mine, we both smiled, which was a

relief. There had been a moment at first when I thought this

might turn awkward. Either sentimental or angry. We'd

fucked a few times after I left him, and it hadn't always

been a good choice.

It probably wasn't a good choice now, but when he ran his

hands up the insides of my thighs, and a finger underneath

the elastic of my panties, I stopped worrying about it. I

arched into his touch, my eyes closing in anticipation. He

slid a finger along my clit, then another down to press

gently at my opening. That's when he stopped.

gently at my opening. That's when he stopped.

I looked at him. "Austin?"

He opened his pretty mouth, but al that came out was a

hiss of air as he pushed inside me. I groaned as he

crooked his finger against my sweet spot. He used his

thumb on my clitoris at the same time, the familiar double

whammy that had always worked for me.

"You like that?"

"Yes," I told him. "I like that."

He hooked his other hand into my silk panties and eased

them down one side at a time as he kept up the in-out

stroking. His eyes left my face to watch the motion of his

hand, and I was glad. I didn't want to watch him watching

me.

He stopped only for a few seconds, long enough to pul his

shirt over his head. I used the time to pul down the side

zip of my skirt, and he helped me off with that, too. My

shirt went next. We moved together, coordinated, until I

lay naked on his bed.

"Take off your pants."

I returned his hard stare. We'd never spoken much during

sex. Now we were practicaly reciting the Declaration of

Independence. I toyed with my nipples, teasing him as he

unbuttoned and unzipped. He wasn't wearing the loose

boxer shorts I'd expected, but tight boy shorts cut high on

his thigh.

"Nice underwear," I told him.

The old Austin smirk came back, and he stripped them off

quickly before getting back on his knees again. His cock

stirred, half-hard but rising, on his thigh. "Thanks."

"Did you put those on just for me?" I got up on my elbows

to look at him.

Austin just raised a brow. "What if I did?"

It wasn't the smart-ass answer I expected, and

consequently, I had no answer.

"Paige." His hand went stroke, stroke, stroke, and I was

hypnotized. "Open your legs."

I did, because I wanted him there. I thought he'd use his

hand, but Austin got on his bely on the bed, instead. He

wriggled up between my legs before I knew it, his breath

hot on my inner thighs and finaly, at last, my cunt.

I cried out when he kissed me there, but stifled it with my

fist. When he licked me, I drew in a breath that tasted of

my own skin. It had been a long time since a man had

gone down on me…since the last time I'd been with him,

as a matter of fact.

His lips worked my rigid clit as he pushed a finger, then

two, then three, inside me. Rough but not harsh. He found

my G-spot and I convulsed around his fingers. Pleasure

took my voice away.

I pushed my hips upward in lieu of command, and he

fucked me with his mouth and hands until I gasped and

trembled. Shaking, I looked down at him, nestled between

my legs. Passion had hazed my vision, but everything

became crystaline when he paused to look up at me.

"Don't come yet." Austin's voice had grown impossibly

deeper over the years. Now it went lower stil. His breath

drifted over my hot, wet flesh and the motion of his lips

tantalized me mercilessly.

He moved up my body and captured my wrists with his

hands as he pushed mine over my head. My fingers curled

around the wooden spindles as I stared him in the eyes. I

wasn't the same girl he hadn't taken to the prom, and I

wasn't the same girl he'd married. I was a different woman

now. But I held the headboard anyway, watching him as

he fumbled in his nightstand for the package of condoms

and slid one on.

When he moved back over me, one hand on his cock to

guide it inside me, I tensed. My eyes closed as he filed

me. When he moved, I moved with him. It was easy to

remember how.

He fucked into me slowly, then faster. He pushed up onto

his hands to drive his cock deeper, and I took the pain of

his thrusts and turned it into pleasure. My hands gripped

the wood. His eyes never left mine, not even when he slid

a hand between us to stroke my clit in time to his thrusts.

"Now," he grunted from between clenched teeth, "you can come."

I hadn't been waiting for his permission, but my body took

I hadn't been waiting for his permission, but my body took

it anyway.

"Say my name." His fingers left me and he pushed his face

into the side of my neck. "Say it, Paige."

I tipped into the swirling oblivion of orgasm, and I gave

him what he wanted with his name, if he could decipher it

from the moan. But I also let go of the headboard. My

nails raked his back as I came again, as hard the second

time as the first. Harder, maybe, because I was bringing

blood and he cried out as he pumped inside me as he

came, too.

Austin shuddered. His arms slid beneath me, clutching me

tight. He burrowed his face harder into my skin. And he

just held me that way for what seemed like a very long

time.

I had to unwrap my legs from around his waist after a few

minutes to ease the cramp in my hips, but I didn't unwind

my arms from around his back. His weight on me was

more comforting than claustrophobic. When he finaly

pushed himself off me, he only roled to the side with one

arm and leg thrown over my body.

Now he would sleep, I thought.

But he didn't. Austin moved to get rid of the rubber in a

nearby garbage can, then slipped right back to where he'd

been. His hand moved lazily up and down my body in

smooth, flat strokes.

"Paige."

"Yes," I said after a second.

"I thought you liked it when I was a little rough." His hand centered over my contented cunt, his fingers dipping into

my wel.

I wasn't squeamish about post-fucking cuddles or anything

leading up to a potential round two, but when Austin

stroked my pussy, I put a hand over his to stop the

motion. "Is that why you did it?"

He didn't look at me. His breath puffed hot on my

shoulder and he kissed me. His lips pressed my skin. His

fingertip settled on my clit and circled lightly. I'd had two

orgasms and my body wasn't ready for another, or so I

thought. As his hand moved, tension stirred inside me.

"Is it?" I drew in a breath but kept my voice even.

"Austin?"

"Wel, shit, Paige. Yeah. Of course." He sounded insulted.

I put my hand over his again, though what he was doing

was starting to work. "Look at me."

He did. I hadn't noticed the shadows under his eyes

before. Faintly blue, they made him look older. Wel, he

was. We both were.

"I thought you liked it rough, that's al."

"Did it look like I wasn't enjoying myself?" I didn't want to defend my orgasms to him. I didn't want to think he'd done

something for my sake that he hadn't wanted to do for his

own.

Pushing him off me, I got out of bed and gathered my

clothes. I dialed the cab company and arranged for a ride

home. Austin watched me without puling up the sheets or

making a move toward his own clothes. When I looked at

him, his expression had gone inscrutable. That was as

familiar as everything else had been, and I figured

whatever glitch in his operating system had made him ask

me those questions had been fixed.

"Why did you come over here?" he asked, loud in the

quiet. "Realy?"

I stepped into my panties and puled them up, then zipped

my skirt, too. "I came over here to do just what we just

did."

"Just to fuck me?"

"Yes, Austin," I told him. "What else did you think I wanted?"

"Nothing." He roled to grab the remote from the

nightstand and I discreetly ogled his ass and the sweet

backs of his thighs—places I'd bite, if I had more time.

"Forget I asked."

"Are you getting pissy with me?" I straightened my shirt

and ran my fingers through my hair to shake it into some

semblance of order. "No, you are not. Are you?

Seriously?"

"No." Austin, his jaw set, kept his gaze on the television.

"No." Austin, his jaw set, kept his gaze on the television.

He punched the buttons of the remote so fast I knew he

couldn't possibly be able to see more than a second or

two of each program before moving on.

"Because I'l tel you what, if you're going to give me an

attitude every time I come over here to fuck you, I'm not

going to bother anymore." I stepped into my shoes. "That

cake is baked."

Now he looked at me. "Huh?"

"That cake," I said carefuly, "is baked. Done. Over.

Finished."

"Iced?" One corner of his lips turned up, but only a little.

He was maybe the only person who'd ever realy "gotten"

me. It was why we fought so hard and fucked so good.

He knew every button to push.

"Yeah. Iced."

He shrugged, looking back at the television, but his mouth

stil quirked. "If you say so."

"Austin." I waited until he looked at me. "Don't make me

"Austin." I waited until he looked at me. "Don't make me regret this, okay? You know what this is."

He shrugged again, the brief glint of a smile fading. His

finger stabbed the remote as he cycled through al bazilion

cable stations. I thought about kissing him before I left. I

even took a few steps toward the bed, but when he turned

to look right at me, I stopped.

"I'l let myself out. No, no, don't bother getting out of bed,"

I said, though he hadn't done so much as shift. "I'l do it."

I was already out the door and into the hal and at the head

of the stairs when he caled after me.

"That's not al it is!"

I stopped, my hand on the newel post of his stairs. There

were half a dozen retorts, but none of them made it past

my tongue. At the bottom, the smooth banister shoved a

splinter into my palm and I muttered a curse as I plucked it

free. That would teach me, I thought as I let myself out of

his house and onto the street, where the cab was already

waiting.

Chapter 05

Daylight teased the sky by the time I made it home. I paid

the cabdriver and ignored the way he ogled my thighs

when I stepped onto the curb. I didn't want to be sorry I'd

gone to bed with Austin even though I'd said I wouldn't.

The sex had been too good, as good as it can be only with

someone who already knows you, but I'd started a new

life, with a new job and a new apartment, in a new city. I

wanted new habits, too, and Austin was definitely not one

of those.

I wanted a man who'd gone to colege. Who had a career,

not a job. One who owned a car and paid bils on time

and wore clothes that matched. A professional man, not

one who smoked and drank and cheated, or one who'd

run up the credit card and skipped out into the night

without leaving a note. Not one who wrecked my car

because he didn't have one of his own.

I wanted a man, not a boy in a man-suit.

You're unfair to me, Austin had accused me more than

once. I'm not like those guys.

Those guys. The men my mother dated. No, he wasn't like

those guys. At least not mostly. But I'd always been

waiting for him to turn into one. Maybe he was right and

I'd been unfair, but he'd done his share of shitty things even

when he knew they'd hurt me. Hel. I'd done the same.

My heels sounded very loud on the marble tile as I passed

the front desk, empty at this hour. I'd occupied the

elevator alone, dressed to kil, more times than I could

count on both hands. Tonight, because I knew I looked

ridden hard and put away wet, a hand shoved its way

through the doors just before they closed, and I had to

share it.

"Thanks," said that man I'd seen before. "I'm too tired for the stairs."

He slouched, eyes half lidded, in the corner opposite and

just behind mine. His shoulders lifted with a sigh that

became a yawn, prompting one from me I hid behind my

hand. He looked at me with a half smile. Conscious of the

fact I was sure my lipstick was smeared and my eyeliner

smudged, I smiled back. We both turned to face the front,

but I felt the weight of his gaze on me, could see him

looking from the corner of my eye. Unlike before, this time

looking from the corner of my eye. Unlike before, this time

he wasn't too distracted to notice me. When I turned my

face, just slightly, he was studiously watching the blinking

white numbers showing the elevator's progress.

I had to bite my lower lip against a smile. He was seriously

eye-fucking me. Who doesn't get off on being noticed?

It took a very long time, it seemed, to reach the first floor.

He moved past me without touching me, but my skin

prickled as though he had. He stepped out of the elevator

and I let out the breath I'd been holding. I'd seen him twice

now. Three times? It must have been the charm, because

unlike al the others, this time he was the one who looked

back.

"I missed you."

I'm already diving into Austin's arms when he says it. A

week was too long to be away from him. His parents had

taken him from me, stolen him to go to visit family for a

funeral. At nineteen, he's plenty old enough to stay by

himself, but they'd insisted he go along to pay his respects.

I think it's more like they don't want us fucking our way

through every room in the house while they're away, but I

can't blame them. They'd have been right. I wouldn't have

can't blame them. They'd have been right. I wouldn't have

felt comfortable going along, even if they had invited me,

but a week is an eternity in the summer when the only thing

I have to look forward to is long hours with Austin's mouth

on mine.

His arms slip around me, hold me tight, and his hands run

down my back to grip my ass. Nobody's watching, and

would I care if they were? I'm just so frigging glad he's

home, it's worth the risk of parental discovery to have him

squeezing me. His cock nudges my bely.

He really did miss me.

"I brought you something."

"What?" I already have my hands out, expecting a snow

globe, a T-shirt. A magnet, maybe. Something he picked

up in the Pennsylvania Turnpike gift shop.

Austin hands me a smal box with a lid. Inside it is a

package of paper, not note cards but stationery. I lift a

page and hold it to the light. It's soft on my fingertips and

has a faint design of flowers pressed into the paper. I give

him a look.

How did he know?

How did he know?

"It reminded me of you." Austin gives an awkward shrug,

as if his admission embarrasses him. "You like that sort of

thing."

I do. Tablets and note cards and pretty papers. I always

have, but this is the first time someone's ever noticed or

given me something as pretty as this. "I love it."

"When's your mom getting home?"

My mom's been working weird shifts at the Hershey plant

since she got pregnant. Because it's summer, her brother

Lane is home from colege and taking over the shop, and

I've been putting in more than my share of hours there,

too. I haven't seen her much. I'm not sure if she's avoiding

me, but I know I'm trying not to hang around her too

much. She's only got another month or so before she

pops, and I can't even begin to imagine what's going to

happen then.

"Late." I snuggle closer, my knee going between his and

my cheek fitting just right into the place over his heart.

Austin pushes me so he can grin down into my face.

Austin pushes me so he can grin down into my face.

"Good."

The apartment isn't big enough to make the chase much of

an effort, but we manage to work up a sweat as I dodge

his grip and duck behind the big wooden rocking chair to

keep out of his grasping hands. Not that I don't want to be

caught. Just that it's fun to make him catch me.

When he does, his mouth slants over mine, his tongue

probing deep inside. He's got me so hot already. Hot for

him. His hand goes straight between my legs, no fooling

around now, and he cups my pussy through my thin cotton

shorts.

The rocking chair, set in motion by our mock struggle,

bumps my ass as we kiss. I grab the back of it to stil it,

then push Austin from my mouth and shuck out of my

shorts. I'm wearing the tiny bikini panties he likes, but

those go, too.

I lift my T-shirt up over my breasts, no bra covering them,

and settle into the chair. I spread my legs. He's watching,

jaw slack and eyes gleaming. He doesn't move.

He's eaten me out before, though I've never asked him to.

It's always just…happened. But it's al I've been thinking

It's always just…happened. But it's al I've been thinking

about for the past week, his mouth and tongue and fingers

fucking me until I come. Every night while he was gone I'd

lie in bed, eyes wide open to the dark, and imagine him

there with me. I'd pretend my fingers were his tongue,

flicking my clit or sliding inside me, but it was never the

same.

My friend Kira says her boyfriend won't go down on her.

Not ever. He's al about the blow jobs but refuses to dine

at the Y. He's a pussy about eating pussy. I'd break up

with a guy who expected me to suck cock but wouldn't

return the favor, but Kira says she's in love. I think she just

doesn't know what love is.

Austin's friends, the guys from the footbal team and the

men he works with at his dad's construction company,

would probably say they don't go down on their

girlfriends, either. I wonder how many are teling the truth?

I wonder if Austin tels them about me, if men talk about

their sex lives in the same detail I do with my friends. I

wonder if he'd admit he makes me come with his face

between my legs, or if he'd deny it.

"Austin." My voice is low and slow, almost not mine. His

gaze jerks up. I put my hands on my inner thighs and open

gaze jerks up. I put my hands on my inner thighs and open

myself wider to his sight. "Use your mouth on me."

He's already on his knees before I finish. I gasp when his

hot, wet mouth finds my skin. When his tongue strokes

over my clit, I grip the arms of the chair and toss back my

head, my back arching. It feels so good it almost hurts.

The chair rocks me into his mouth again and again as he

licks and kisses and sucks. When he puts a finger inside

me, then two, I come hard with a strangled shout.

I look down at him. He's smiling, ful of himself. I touch his

hair and want to tel him how much I love him, but

something about the way he's looking at me makes me

suddenly shy. I want to close my legs, but his head is

resting on my thigh and I can't without pushing him away.

"What?" I sound nervous, because I am. "What are you

looking at?"

"You." Austin kisses my thigh.

I push him onto his back on the floor and straddle his legs

until I can get his belt open and his pants down. His cock

springs free, nice and thick. I take it in my hand and

stroke. He's already got a little pre-come dripping, and I

stroke. He's already got a little pre-come dripping, and I

lean forward to taste him.

"Fuck!" His hips jerk and his hand tangles in my hair.

"Paige, God."

"What?" I want to put him inside me, but we don't

have any condoms handy and there's no way I'll go

bareback.

"Nobody…"

I frown and sit back on my heels, my grip tightening on his

prick. "Nobody what?"

What the hel did he get up to while he was away?

"Nobody does this like you," Austin says.

He thinks he's giving me a compliment, but I let him go and

grab up my shorts. I make sure to grab my panties, too.

Don't want to leave them on the floor for my mom to find.

"Nobody, who?"

"Huh?" He lifts his head to stare, then sits when he sees my expression. "What's the matter?"

I stab the air with my finger. My throat is tight when I

swalow, and I blink away the burn of tears. "Nobody

does what like me? Suck cock? Nobody, who? Who else

is sucking your dick, Austin?"

"Nobody," he says and must realize how it sounds,

because he scrambles to his feet to come after me when I

stalk down the hal to my tiny bedroom at the back of the

apartment. "That's not what I meant, baby."

"Don't you ‘baby' me." I grab my robe from the hook on

the door so I don't have to try to get into my clothes while

we fight.

His hands come down on my shoulders and turn me,

reluctantly, to face him. "I just meant that the other guys,

they tel me their girls don't do the stuff you do."

I guess that answers my question about if they talk about

sex. I don't smile, don't lift a brow, just keep my face

stony. Austin pushes my hair off my shoulders.

"That's al I meant. That nobody…that you're so great."

"Great at sucking cock?" I frown, even though I'm glad to

know he thinks so.

know he thinks so.

"And other things." He teases me back toward the bed

and I let him until we're both lying on top of the quilt my

grandma made me.

Austin strokes down my body and kisses me. When his

hand finds my pussy again, I know I'm wet from earlier.

His fingers slide against me. His breath is hot on my neck

as he pants. His thumb presses my clit and his fingers

move inside, then out. Against my thigh, his cock presses

hot and hard. He moves his mouth to my nipple and sucks

gently, and though I came just a little while ago, desire

gathers in my bely again.

"I missed you," he says again.

"Did you?"

Austin nods against my neck. It seems stupid to be angry

with him now, or to worry about if he cheated on me while

he was gone. I know he did, once or twice, when we were

in high school. Hel. I cheated on him, too, if you want to

count the times he thought we were on and I thought we

were off and vice versa. But not since graduating, not since

we both got ful-time jobs and a ful-time relationship.

we both got ful-time jobs and a ful-time relationship.

He fumbles for the rubbers I keep in the box in my

nightstand and puts one on. I could help him, but I'd rather

watch just now. He rols it on over his cock, his teeth

clamped onto his lower lip in concentration. Then he

moves up my body and centers himself before pushing

inside me.

I groan; I can't help it. I fucking love this, the sex. His

weight. His prick so hard and thick and long inside me,

so long it hurts sometimes when he fucks me, but I like

that, too. He's got muscles in his arms from all the

heavy lifting and I grab one as he thrusts inside me.

I lift my hips to meet him and his bely presses my clit

every time we move together. Orgasm doesn't build, it

tears me down. I'm coming again when he starts to move

harder and faster, and I know Austin's coming, too.

It doesn't always happen that way, that we finish

together, so it's sort of magical and leaves me sleepy

and contented and cuddly, after. He loops an arm

around me when he's thrown away the condom. We lay

on my bed, spooning, and his breath ruffles my hair.

"Paige," Austin says. "I want to ask you something

important."

And then we're on the ocean, in a boat that's going

down.

As the cold, dark sea closed over my head, the sound of

the alarm bels ripped into my ears. I took a deep breath,

even though I was underwater. I kicked, the tight clutch of

the waves around my ankles becoming the tangled grasp

of sheets around my feet as I opened my eyes and

fumbled, without seeing, for the phone.

"What?" At this hour I couldn't be expected to be polite,

could I?

"Paige?"

I blinked, not wanting to look at my bedside clock's

numbers. It was way too fucking early to be up. "Arty.

What's the matter? Where's Mama?"

"Mama's stil sleeping. And Leo's at work," he added,

though I hadn't asked. "I'm hungry."

"Make yourself some cereal." I stifled a yawn and

"Make yourself some cereal." I stifled a yawn and

pondered giving in to a hangover that wouldn't have

bothered me with just a few more hours' sleep.

"There isn't any."

"No Cheerios? No Raisin Bran?"

My little brother, the only other sibling I'd ever actualy

lived with, made a familiar noise of disgust. "I don't like

those kind."

"Then I guess you must not be that hungry." I was hungry,

but didn't feel like getting out of bed at the butt-crack of

dawn to fix toast. "Arty, it's too early to cal me. What did

I tel you about that?"

"Can't you come over and make me some pancakes?" His

little-boy voice sounded very far away. I pictured him in

his Spider-Man pajamas, bare feet swinging because his

legs weren't long enough to reach the floor. "Please?"

Maybe if I kept my eyes closed I'd fal back to sleep. I

snuggled deeper under my soft blankets. "Buddy, I don't

live there anymore. I told you that. I told you I couldn't just

come over whenever you caled."

Silence.

"But I miss you," Arthur said in a tiny voice.

I sighed. "I miss you, too, buddy. How about I come

down and take you to the movies sometime soon?"

"When?" At nearly seven, the kid had been reading since

he was four and could tel time on an analogue clock, a

skil that sometimes stumped me. There wasn't much that

slipped past him. "Today?"

"Not today, no. Maybe later this week."

"When? When?"

I couldn't think straight and just tossed out a day.

"Wednesday?"

"Saturday. Sunday. Monday. Tuesday. Wednesday.

That's a week!"

He sounded so dismayed I hated to laugh. Laughing, in

fact, hurt my head. "Not quite. Five days."

"That's too long!" Arthur's voice pitched high enough to

"That's too long!" Arthur's voice pitched high enough to

dril my tender ears.

"You've got gymnastics on Tuesday, and Monday I've got

an appointment in the evening. Sorry, buddy. You have to

wait until Wednesday. Besides," I said, offering an

incentive against despair, "the new Power Heroes movie

comes out on Wednesday. How about that?"

"Okay." He didn't sound convinced, only resigned. "But I'm hungry now, Paige."

"Cereal. Or have a snack from the drawer."

"Mama says no snacks from the drawer until after

breakfast."

"Aren't there any cereal bars in the drawer?" I bit back

another yawn. If I didn't get back to sleep in the next ten

minutes I was not going to be a happy camper.

"Yesss…" Even Arthur knew where I was going with this,

but he sounded like it might be too good to be true.

"Have one of those. They're cereal, right?"

"Can I tel Mama you said it was okay?"

"Can I tel Mama you said it was okay?"

"Sure." It wouldn't be the first time she'd holer at me for giving the kid permission to do something she'd have

refused. On the other hand, this was the woman who'd

alowed me to go to school in a pair of hand-me-down,

slip-on Candie's shoes in the sixth grade and bought me

my first package of rubbers in the tenth. She was a

different sort of mother to Arthur than she'd been to me.

"Now let me go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay. Bye, Paige."

"Bye."

"I love you," my little brother said before I could hang up.

It wasn't the first time he'd ever said it, but suddenly the

memory of how he'd smeled as a baby washed over me

with enough force to push my eyelids open like snapped-

open blinds. How his hair had been so soft against my lips

when I kissed his little baby head, and how the heavy

weight of him had filed my arms and lap. How I used to

hold him while I watched hour after hour of bad TV, just

because he was so smal and sweet. Just because he loved

me.

me.

"I love you, too, buddy. I'l see you on Wednesday."

He had a seven-year-old's social graces and didn't say

goodbye again, just hung up. I put the phone back in the

cradle of its receiver and my head back in the cradle of my

pilow, but sleep had vanished and there was no getting it

back.

With a groan, I looked at the clock. Almost eight. And I'd

gone to sleep, what, just before six this morning? God. I

was so going to pay that kid back one day, maybe when

he was a teenager and prone to sleeping as late as he

could…yeah. I'd wake him up.

Unfortunately, my revenge was far-flung and I was stil

awake. I stretched and sat up, waiting for the rush and boil

of acid stomach or the pound of a headache, but aside

from a gnawing hunger, I felt al right. At least until I heard

the muted beep from my cel phone, which I'd left

abandoned in my sparkly purse under the pile of my

discarded clothes. I had to dig past my Steve Madden

pumps to reach it.

Five missed cals.

Five? Crap. I thumbed the keypad to check out the

numbers. I had voice mails, too, though without dialing in I

couldn't tel how many. Kira had caled me around 4:00

a.m. but hadn't left a message. That could be good or bad,

depending. One was an old cal from my mother I hadn't

deleted. The other three were from Austin.

Triple crap.

The voice mails were from him, too, half an hour apart.

The first two were brief "when are you going to get here?"

messages. The last one had come in around six-fifteen,

after I'd already gone to bed. It turned the corners of my

mouth down.

"Look, I know I've been an asshole to you in the past."

Then fifteen seconds of awkward silence, punctuated only

by the soft in-out of his breathing. "I'm sorry. I just…I was

a fuckwad, and I'm sorry. Cal me, okay? Please."

A few more seconds of silence and he added, "Please."

Is there anything more simultaneously pathetic and

arousing than a pleading man?

I couldn't bring myself to delete that message. I thought I

might want to listen to it a couple-twenty more times. I

thought I might want to get that statement, "Sorry, I'm a

fuckwad.—Austin Miller" embroidered on a tea towel

and wipe my hands with it.

It was the only time Austin had ever apologized to me for

anything he'd ever done. I wasn't sure it meant anything

now. Not after al this time had passed.

I didn't delete the message, but I didn't cal him back,

either. Instead, I hauled my sorry ass out of bed and

stumbled to the bathroom where I peed for what felt like

an hour and brushed my teeth and puled my hair on top of

my head in a messy ponytail.

I wanted to go back to sleep, but I knew better than to

expect to be able to. I was up for the day now. My

stomach rumbled and I took my last two slices of wheat

bread from the fridge, where I kept it to prevent mold, and

popped them into my toaster oven. I needed to hit the

grocery store in the worst way, though the state of my

finances meant it would be another week of on-sale tuna

and ramen noodles rather than steak and lobster. Ah, wel.

There was nothing new about that. I'd grown up thinking

There was nothing new about that. I'd grown up thinking

Kraft shels and cheese was gourmet fare.

While my toast browned, I sifted through the pile of junk

mail I'd brought in the night before. I tossed aside a few

catalogs addressed to the former tenant. I thought of the

note I'd had yesterday, the beautiful paper and the words

written in that fine hand. What had it said to do? Make a

list of flaws and strengths? I thought of it as I ate my toast

dry because I had no butter or jam.

You wil write a list of ten. Five flaws. Five strengths.

Deliver them promptly…

From the junk drawer next to my fridge I puled a yelow

legal pad and a stub of a pencil with a point rubbed to

softness by the creation of many lists. Chore lists, mostly,

or grocery. I'd never used it to detail my flaws and

strengths.

I tapped the pencil against my lips as I thought.

Proud

Stubborn

Independent

Independent

Smart

Curious

Determined

Conscientious

That was it. As far as lists went, it didn't feel complete, but

I couldn't think of more than that. So much for the ten, I

thought as I put away the pen and paper.

And the real question was, which had I written? Flaws or

strengths? Couldn't they sometimes be both?

I looked again at the tablet on the table. It had made me

think hard about myself, though it hadn't been meant for

me. I hoped the person it was meant for had better luck.

Chapter 06

I finished my shopping just before noon. I had only two

smal bags of groceries, the bare minimum to get me

through until payday. I'd left a few bucks in my walet on

purpose, though, for one reason. I didn't need a large

coffee with extra cream and a gooey cinnamon bun, but I

wanted them.

Located in the building adjoining Riverview Manor, the

Morningstar Mocha teemed with people out for a caffeine

fix. A few joggers, bundled against the cold, filed travel

mugs at the smal stand in the corner holding the sweetener

packets and jugs of milk and bins of creamer containers.

And in the corner, my corner, the seat I took because it

was in the smalest table and I was usualy alone, sat my

elevator eye-fucking buddy, Mr. Mystery.

Was it synchronicity? Or serendipity? His wasn't the only

familiar face there. I spied a few people from my building,

one or two I recognized as Mocha regulars, and of course

I knew the girl behind the counter. Her name was Brandy,

and you couldn't miss her. She chewed gum like cud.

I deliberately tried not to stare at him while I ordered my

I deliberately tried not to stare at him while I ordered my

coffee and bun, but he was stil there by the time they

arrived. Stil there when I'd dumped my mug ful of sugar

and cream. He wore a white, long-sleeved shirt beneath a

black concert T-shirt and worn jeans that suited him

nicely. His hair looked as if he'd run a hand through it a

few times or just roled out of bed. He had a large mug in

front of him, stil steaming, and a plate with the remains of

a bagel slathered with cream cheese and lox. He was

staring out the glass onto the street, empty but for the

occasional weekend-traffic car cruising slowly past. In

front of him sat a pad of legal-size paper, white not yelow,

and in his left hand he held a thick-barreled pen. A worn

leather bag rested at his feet as faithful as a hound.

The lighting inside the Mocha was golden and indirect, but

late-winter bright sunshine shafted through the plate-glass

window and across his face. I wanted to stare and drink in

the fine-featured grace of him. The casual beauty. The

crooked twist of his mouth as he bit down on his lip in

concentration, the furrow of his brow. The way his hand

curled around the pen caressing the paper.

Fortunately for me, he was stil staring out the window,

absently doodling, when two people in matching tracksuits

slammed into me and knocked my coffee and cinnamon

slammed into me and knocked my coffee and cinnamon

bun al over a couple, who looked as if they hadn't yet

gone to bed, sitting at the table in front of me.

The fitness twins were very kind. They bought me new

coffee and pastry and replaced the party-kids' bagels,

soaked through by my spiled drink. They did it al with a

fanfare that smacked a bit of "look at me, what a good

person I am," but they did it. I didn't dare look at the man

by the window until al the fuss and feathers had died

down. When I did, finaly, my fresh mug was burning my

palm and my eyes had blurred from the dip in my blood

sugar. I didn't want to shove the entire bun into my mouth,

but a dainty nibble wasn't going to get the goods down my

throat and into my stomach fast enough.

He glanced over at me as I was licking icing off my mouth.

He smiled. I paused, coffee halfway to my mouth, and

smiled back.

I thought for sure he'd say helo, but maybe without the

alure of my fuck-me pumps al he could manage was the

grin. Maybe he didn't recognize me as the woman from the

elevator. Or more likely, he didn't care.

He got up, papers and pen already tucked away in his

He got up, papers and pen already tucked away in his

bag, garbage cleared from the table. He slung his arms into

a plaid flannel shirt I hadn't noticed hanging on the back of

his chair and eased the strap of his leather bag over one

shoulder. He left the Morningstar Mocha without a

backward glance, which alowed me to stare after him

without fear of being caught.

He'd left a crumpled discard to the window side of his

chair, on the floor. With a quick glance around the now-

empty coffee shop to see if anyone would notice me being

a total snoop, I vacated my seat and took the one he'd just

left. It couldn't have been warm from his ass, or at least I

shouldn't have been able to feel it if it was, but I imagined

heat. I knew I shouldn't pick up the paper, or smooth it

out in front of me. I knew, especialy, that I shouldn't read

it.

But I did, anyway.

I didn't learn the secrets of the universe. I didn't even find

out his name. He'd mostly been scribbling and doodling,

with a few chicken-scratch phrases I could read but didn't

understand here and there on the paper. Looking over it, I

should've felt dirty. I only felt disappointed. But what had I

expected, a hand-written autobiography listing his

expected, a hand-written autobiography listing his

education, career and medical history?

Stil, I smoothed out the creases as I finished my breakfast

and folded the paper in half. Then half again. And again,

until finaly I'd turned a legal-size sheet of paper into a

palmful of secrets. It wasn't any of my business. I had no

right to keep it. It weighed there as heavily as a handful of

lead, and yet I couldn't manage to toss it into the trash.

I did wish, though, that I'd lingered over the coffee.

Riverview Manor doesn't have a doorman, and the front-

desk staff was there to accept packages and take care of

problems, not keep anyone from entering the building. The

building had security cameras in the elevators and on every

floor, but no real means of keeping anyone out who

wanted to be in.

Part of me wasn't surprised when I turned the corner of

the hal to see Austin waiting for me in front of my door.

Another part wanted to turn and run away. I lifted my chin

instead, wishing again I'd at least bothered to wear

makeup, though honestly he'd seen me look way worse.

"What are you doing here?" I bent to put my bags down

so I could pul my key from my purse. When I stood,

so I could pul my key from my purse. When I stood,

Austin's eyes were on my face, not my ass. Now, that

surprised me.

"You didn't answer my cals."

I fit the key into the lock, but didn't turn it right away. "I

meant, what are you doing here? "

"I caled your mom."

I unlocked and opened my door and pushed it, but didn't

go through. I turned to look at him. My irritation must have

been clear on my face, because he held up his hands right

away as though I meant to punch him. "My mother told

you where I lived?"

"Your mom always liked me."

I blew a sigh that fluttered the fringe of my bangs off my

forehead and then pushed through the door. I left it open

behind me, as much of an invitation as I could bear to give.

He folowed and shut the door. Softly, with a click, not a

slam.

I put my bags in the kitchen and kicked off my shoes.

Austin stood stil and watched me without making any

Austin stood stil and watched me without making any

move to sit. He looked around the apartment with interest,

then shoved his hands deep into his pockets and rocked

on his heels while I took my time unpacking and putting

away my groceries.

"Can I sit down?" he asked finaly, when I'd made it clear I wasn't going to offer.

"Do you have to ask?" I kept my back turned as I sifted

through the change from my walet. I found a Wheatie

penny and set it aside to put in my colection, then washed

my hands thoroughly with soap and hot water. Money is

one of the filthiest things a person can touch.

When I turned to look at him, he was stil standing. We

stared at each other across the expanse of my unimmense

living room until I nodded. He sat the way he always had,

legs sprawled, taking up as much space as he could.

I took my time cleaning the kitchen, wiping the counters

and scrubbing the sink with bleach-infused powder. I even

emptied the garbage pail and took the trash out to the

chute at the end of the hal. I expected Austin to be

restless or irritated by the time I came back, but he'd

found a copy of a Robert Heinlein novel inside the pile of

found a copy of a Robert Heinlein novel inside the pile of

books and magazines thrown into the straw basket next to

the couch and was flipping through it.

"It doesn't have any pictures," I said from the doorway.

Austin put the book on the coffee table. "This is nice."

He hadn't risen to the bait, though I'd made a point of

pushing one of his buttons. "The book?"

"The coffee table," he said, stil not rising.

"It was Stela's."

Austin nodded, like that made sense. "Glad I didn't put my

feet up on it."

It took me an actual five seconds before I realized he was

trying to tease me without pissing me off. He was actualy

just…kidding. I knew how to handle him trying to seduce

me or piss me off. I didn't know how to take that.

"I miss you," Austin said.

The words were hard to hear, and I don't mean because

he spoke too low, or mumbled. They were hard for me to

he spoke too low, or mumbled. They were hard for me to

listen to because I didn't know what to say. I didn't want

him to miss me.

I sat across from him, instead. The recliner's springs

sometimes poked through the faded material, though I'd

tossed a fleece throw over it. One did now, and I winced

as I shifted.

"I do," he said, as though my expression had been in

response to his statement and not a coil of wire in my butt.

"Austin." Nothing else would come out.

He shrugged. I hadn't falen in love with him because of his

way with words. Back then it hadn't mattered if he spoke

more with his hands than his mouth. Back then we'd both

been young and dumb.

"You look good, Paige. This place," he gestured, "it's nice."

"Thanks."

His hair used to be bleached almost white by the sun, and

he wore it so short I could see his scalp. When I ran my

fingers through it, my nails scraped skin. Now it fel

fingers through it, my nails scraped skin. Now it fel

forward over his ears and forehead and was the color of

wheat in a field, waiting to be cut. His eyes, moving over

my face, made me think he was waiting to be cut, too.

I almost couldn't do it. I mean, the night before I'd let him

put his tongue down my throat and his hands al over me.

When the warmth of him wafted over me, I wanted to

close my eyes at how familiar it was. How easy it would

have been to take him by the hand and lead him to my

bedroom.

I kept my eyes open, a lesson I'd been taught a long time

ago but had taken me a long time to learn. "I don't miss

you, Austin. Last night was a mistake."

"C'mon, Paige. Don't say that. We were always good

together."

"We haven't been together for a long time," I said, not

quite as evenly as I wanted.

"It's not just the sex." Austin leaned forward, too, his

hands on the knees of his dirty denim jeans. A white spot

had worn through just below his kneecap, not quite a hole,

but on its way to becoming one. "I didn't just mean that. I

but on its way to becoming one. "I didn't just mean that. I

can get laid anytime I want."

"I'm sure you can." I got up, my arms folded across my

chest.

He got up, too. "I didn't mean it that way."

I wasn't going to bend. Not over the chair, not over the

bed, and not over this. "It doesn't matter how you meant it.

I think you should go."

"Same old Paige," he said with a shake of his hair. "Stil hard as nails, huh? Hard as a rock. Can't ever give me a

break."

"You don't need a break from me. Besides, you can just

get laid whenever you want. Look, Austin," I said when it

looked as though he meant to speak. "We can't keep

doing this."

"Why not?"

I studied him deliberately until I couldn't hold in the sigh

any longer and it seeped out of me like air from a nail-

punched tire. "You know why not. Because fucking

doesn't solve every problem. And we had a lot of

doesn't solve every problem. And we had a lot of

problems."

He crossed his arms and looked stormy. I didn't point out

the arguments we'd had about money, about religion,

about monogamy. I didn't remind him of the nights he'd

gone out for a few beers with friends and had come home

smeling of perfume and guilt, or that it didn't matter

whether he had or hadn't fucked anyone else, it was that

he was content to choose a night with his buddies over

staying home with me. I didn't bring up the times I'd said I

was studying for school when I was realy someplace else,

with someone else.

"I just want you to be happy, Austin." I meant it.

He leaned back and frowned more fiercely. "You want me

to be happy so you can feel better about yourself, that's

al. So you don't feel so bad about what happened."

The truth of that stung me like a wasp, smooth-stingered

and able to jab more than once. "I think you should go."

Damn him, he didn't. He moved closer and cupped my

elbows in his palms so I had to uncross my arms to push

him away or let him snuggle up close. I put my hands on

him away or let him snuggle up close. I put my hands on

his chest, but didn't push. His muscles beneath the tight T-

shirt were hard and firm. He leaned, and I didn't pul away.

If he'd kissed me, I'd have been lost, but if he'd ever

thought he knew me, he proved himself wrong again. He

didn't kiss me. He spoke, instead.

"I'm your husband."

I pushed my arms straight. His hands slid from my elbows

along my arms and fel away at my wrists. I stepped back,

my hand against his chest preventing him from folowing

unless he pushed me, too. Austin looked for a second as if

he meant to try it, but didn't.

"I have a folder ful of paperwork that says otherwise," I

told him.

"Okay, so not officialy. But you can't tel me—"

"I can tel you anything I want, so long as it's true," I shot back.

"Can you tel me it's true that you don't miss me, too? Not

even a little?"

"I miss fucking you," I said flatly. "The rest of it? Not so

"I miss fucking you," I said flatly. "The rest of it? Not so much."

Austin grinned and spread his fingers. "It's a start, right? I'l cal you."

"I won't answer."

"I'l cal again."

I pointed at the door, and he went. I waited until it closed

behind him before I gave in to the urge to sigh. What is it

about bad boys that make them so, so good?

I've known him since kindergarten. Austin. In my

elementary-school class photos, more times than not, his

freckled face is beaming from the row behind me. In one,

we stand beside each other, our grins showing the same

missing teeth.

In high school, we had nothing in common. Austin was a

jock. I was a gothpunk girl with multiple piercings and a

tattoo of a dragonfly on my back. We shared colege-level

classes and the same lunch period. I knew who he was

because of his prowess on the footbal field. If he knew me

it was maybe because I was one of the girls every boy

it was maybe because I was one of the girls every boy

knew, or maybe just because we'd been in the same

school since we were five. We didn't say hi when we

passed in the hals, but he was never mean to me the way

some of the boys could be. Austin never caled me names

or made crude invitations.

In the fal of our senior year, Austin went down under a

pile of boys pumped up with testosterone and fury. We

won the homecoming game, but instead of riding in Chrissy

Fisher's dad's 1966 Impala convertible, Austin took a red-

lights-flashing ambulance to the Hershey Medical Center.

He recovered, nothing miraculous about it. His body,

bones broken and skin torn, healed. Nobody ever said

he'd never play footbal again. Austin simply never did.

Nor basketbal, either, and in the spring, not basebal. By

then his chances of going to anything other than community

colege had vanished along with the scholarship offers, but

if he ever cared he wasn't getting a ful ride to Penn State,

he never said so to me.

And by then, he would have. By the time our senior year

ended, Austin told me everything.

We were an odd couple, but nobody shunned us for it. I

We were an odd couple, but nobody shunned us for it. I

didn't hear whispers in the hals. No jealous cheerleaders

tried to pul out my dyed-black hair, and no slick rich

jocks tried to convince him he was better off without me.

We didn't go to the prom, but only because we decided to

stay home and watch soft porn and fuck, instead.

When I told my mom we were going to get married, she

hugged me and wept. Her bely poked between us—she

was pregnant with Arthur, then. If she suspected I wanted

to marry Austin as much so I could move out of the house

as for passion, she didn't say anything.

When we told his parents, his dad said nothing and his

mother's eyes dropped to my waistband. She didn't ask

me if I was pregnant, and she must have been surprised as

the months of our marriage passed and my bely stayed

flat, but no matter how she might have felt about the

prospect of me as a daughter-in-law, the idea of a bastard

grandchild must've been worse.

I wore a thrift-store wedding dress and Austin wore a suit

of his dad's we'd paid the dry cleaner to take in. In

pictures, my thick black eyeliner and my spiked black hair

make me look pale, wan. Tired. Scared, even.

The truth is, I was happy.

We both were, I like to think. At least at first. Austin went

to work for his dad's construction business, and I kept up

work at my mom's shop. My granddad had died and it

was hers, ful-time, and now that she had Arty, she

couldn't spend as much time with it, so I managed the

shop.

We were happy.

And then, we weren't.

Chapter 07

When I was younger, the prospect of Sunday dinner at my

dad's had so excited me or stressed me out I'd vomit.

Never at my father's house—even when I was little I knew

Stela wouldn't approve of a puking kid. I didn't puke

anymore, but I'd never managed to get rid of the knots in

my stomach, either.

I popped an antacid tablet now as I sat in my not-

expensive-enough-to-be-impressive car in their half-circle

driveway of stamped concrete. This was the fourth new

house my father'd had in the past seventeen years of life

with his second family. Before that he'd lived in a stately

Georgian-style half mansion with his first family. He'd

never lived with my mother.

Birth-order studies claim that an age difference of six or

more years between siblings complicates the normal

oldest, middle and youngest personality traits by also

making each child an only. That's why, though I have five

half siblings and an uncle who's more like a brother, I'm an

only child. I've tried identifying with being the middle kid—

but what it comes down to, in the end, is I'm not.

The door opened and Jeremy and Tyler ran out. They

both favor my dad, too. Al of us look more like siblings

than we were raised to be. I was fourteen when Jeremy

was born, sixteen for Tyler. They're more like nephews or

cousins than brothers. I'm not sure what they think of me,

just that they're always glad to see me and aside from the

fact they're spoiled brats who could use a good spanking

now and then, I'm usualy glad to see them, too.

"Hey, Paige." Jeremy at twelve no longer ran to clutch at

my legs. He settled for a half wave with limp fingers.

Tyler, ten, was nearly as tal as me but squeezed me

anyway. "Paige, c'mon, we're going to play Pictionary.

Grandma and Grandpa are here already. So's Nanny and

Poppa."

"And Gretchen and Steve, too, I see." I pointed to the two minivans that belonged to my dad's kids with his first wife.

"Everyone's here," Jeremy said somewhat sourly, and I

gave him a glance. He'd always been a pretty upbeat kid.

Today he scowled, blond eyebrows pinching tight over the

smaler version of our father's nose.

I leaned back into my car to grab the gift, then locked my

car. It was unlikely anything would happen to it parked in

my dad's driveway, but it was habit. "Come. Let's go in."

I slung an arm around Tyler's neck and listened to him

babble on about school, soccer, the new game system

he'd found under the Christmas tree. He had never known

Santa to disappoint him. I'd stopped trying not to be

envious of that, even though I no longer believed in Santa

Claus.

Inside, Jeremy slunk to a chair in the corner and sat with

crossed arms, the scowl stil in place. Tyler abandoned me

to round up pens for the game. That left me to the socialy

torturous task of making nice with Stela's parents, Nanny

and Poppa.

Like their daughter, they weren't bad people. They'd never

gone out of their way to be cruel. I wasn't Cinderela. And

I understood, now, what it must have been like to try to

find a place in their hearts for their new son-in-law's

children, and how awkward it must have felt. A hastily

wrapped Jumbo Book of Puzzles and a prewrapped box

of knit mittens would always fal short in comparison to

exquisitely wrapped packages in shiny foil paper with

exquisitely wrapped packages in shiny foil paper with

matching bows, the contents new clothes or toys. I

understood. Spending Christmas at my dad's had been last

minute, haphazardly planned and rare. At least Nanny and

Poppa had made an effort.

It seemed easier for them now that I was a grown-up,

though it was more difficult for me. As a kid it had never

occurred to me they wouldn't like me. Now I was

convinced they didn't.

"Helo, Paige," George, also known as Poppa, said. "How nice of you to come."

He meant wel, but the unspoken insinuation of surprise

made me bite my tongue against the shout of "Of course I

came! She's my father's wife!"

But, like Stela herself, I could never hope to impress

them. I just wanted not to prove them right. So instead of

shouting, I smiled.

"How are you?" I couldn't cal him George, Mr. Smith

sounded absurd, and I would never cal him Poppa.

I'd been asking out of politeness, but he told me exactly

how he was. For fifteen minutes. And I listened, nodding

how he was. For fifteen minutes. And I listened, nodding

and murmuring in appropriate places, as though I cared. I

didn't know half the people he mentioned, but he acted as

if he thought I should. He never asked me about myself,

which was fine, because then I didn't have to answer.

Finaly, the game of Pictionary got under way. Gretchen's

husband, Peter, begged off, volunteering to take care of

Hunter, their three-year-old son. Steve and his vastly

pregnant wife, Kely, played, though, as did my dad and

Stela, al the grandparents and Tyler. And me. Jeremy had

disappeared. We split into teams, boys against girls.

"I'l sit out," I said when we'd counted up the teams to find the girls' side had an extra player.

"Oh, no, Paige, are you sure?" Stela protested, but not

too hard. She liked things even and square.

"Sure. Not a problem. I'l go check on dinner, if you

want."

Okay, so maybe I'd cast myself in the Cinderela role. Just

a little. But it was a relief to get into the kitchen and set out

platters of vegetables and dip, cheese and crackers.

Decorative breads and soft cheeses with pretty spreaders

Decorative breads and soft cheeses with pretty spreaders

that matched the platter. Stela loved to have parties.

I found the cold-cut platters in the garage fridge and

brought them into the kitchen to put them out on the table,

which was serving as a buffet. I startled Jeremy when I

came back in, and he whirled, can of soda in hand, from

the open fridge.

From the living room, the sound of laughter wafted. I set

the platter of meat on the table. Jeremy and I stared each

other down.

"You're not supposed to be drinking that before dinner," I told him.

"I know." His chin lifted. He hadn't yet cracked the top.

"I'm not going to tel you on you, kiddo." I turned to the

table and took off the platter's plastic lid so I could get rid

of the fake greenery around the edges. I knew how to

make things pretty.

"Don't cal me kiddo," he said.

I expected him to slink away with his stolen prize, but he

didn't. When I turned to look at him, he was stil playing

didn't. When I turned to look at him, he was stil playing

with the can, shifting it from one hand to the other.

"Something up?" I moved past him to the big, mostly

empty pantry, to pul out the fancy plastic plates and

plastic-ware, the matching napkins.

"No." Jeremy shrugged and disappeared up the back

stairs.

After that, the party realy started.

It was easier for me with more people there. Stela's

friends knew who I was, of course, and avoided talking to

me so they didn't have to deal with the awkwardness of

how to address their friend's husband's ilegitimate

daughter. My dad's friends knew me, too, but had fewer

inhibitions for some reason. Maybe because I'd known

them longer, or because they had no conflict of loyalty.

Some of them didn't like Stela much, and maybe that was

part of it, too.

Of my father's other kids, I saw very little. Gretchen, Steve

and I had never been close, even though it wasn't my

mother who'd finaly won our dad away from their mom.

Of course, their spouses weren't sure what to make of me,

Of course, their spouses weren't sure what to make of me,

either, and it was easier for us to be superficialy polite

without trying to get to know each other. Their children

were and would be my nieces and nephews, but I doubted

they'd ever think of me as an aunt.

"Paige DeMarco, how the hel are you?" Denny's one of

my dad's oldest friends. Fishing and drinking buddies,

they'd known each other since high school. He'd known

my mom, too.

"Hey, Denny. Long time no see."

"Yeah, and you a big-city girl now, too. How's it going?"

Denny gave me a one-armed hug.

"It's going great." It wasn't an entire lie. Most of my life was going great.

"Yeah?" He tossed back the dregs of his iced tea. I

guessed he was hankering for a beer, but Stela wasn't

serving booze. Not that I blamed her. Alcohol always

made a different kind of party. "Where you living at? Your

dad said someplace along the river?"

"Riverview Manor."

There was no denying the pride sweling inside me at

Denny's impressed whistle. "Nice digs. And your job?

You're not stil working with your mom, are you?"

"I help out once in a while, if she's got a big job."

Denny grimaced at his empty cup, but didn't move to pour

more. "What's she up to? She stil with the same guy?"

Questions my dad never asked. I was the only part of my

mother my dad needed to know about. He'd never said as

much, but I knew it.

"Leo? Yes."

"And that kid, how old's he now?"

"Arty's seven." I had to laugh for a second. "Wow. Yeah.

He just turned seven."

"You tel her I said hi, okay?"

"Sure."

We chatted for a while after that. The party got louder.

Stela reigned over it like a queen, even if she was claiming

Stela reigned over it like a queen, even if she was claiming

to stil be only twenty-nine. When it came time to open the

gifts, I thought about slipping out, but forced myself to

stay.

Stela sat in the big rocking chair in the living room, her

presents arranged at her feet and her closest girlfriend

beside her getting ready to write down the name of every

gift and its giver. Stela opened gift cards, packages of

bath salts, certificates for spa treatments. Sweaters.

Slippers. A new silk robe someone had brought from a

trip to Japan. She oohed and aahed over each gift

appropriately.

By the time she got to mine, my stomach had begun to eat

itself. The harsh sting of acid rose in my throat, burning.

My heart thudded sickly. I had to turn away to pop

another couple antacids and sip from a glass of ginger ale,

even though I knew the soda would ruin the effects of the

medicine.

It's sily to hold on to the past, but we al do it. I was

almost ten the first year I'd been invited to Stela's birthday

party. The paint had been barely dry in their new house.

Gretchen and Steven were living one week with their

mother and one week with my dad and Stela. I, of course,

mother and one week with my dad and Stela. I, of course,

lived ful-time with my mom and saw my dad on an

occasional weekend or holiday, a practice he'd only

started after leaving his first wife.

I'd picked out Stela's present myself that year, using my

alowance to pay for it. I'd bought her a silky red tank top

with a lacy hem. It was the sort of shirt my mom would've

loved and wore often, and she said nothing when she

helped me fold it and wrap it in some pretty paper that had

come free in the mail to solicit money for a charity.

I'd been so proud of that present. I'd been sure Stela,

who wasn't nearly as pretty as my mom but who tried

hard, anyway, would open it and put it on right away.

Then she'd smile at me, and my dad would smile at me,

and we'd al be happy.

Instead, she'd opened the box and puled out the shirt. Her

gaze had gone immediately to my father's, but men don't

know anything about fashion beyond what they like and

what they don't. She didn't put it on. She fingered the red

satiny fabric and peeked at the label, her eyes going a little

wider at what she saw. Then she put the shirt back in the

box with a thank-you even a nine-year-old could tel was

forced. I never saw her wear it, but I did find it in the

forced. I never saw her wear it, but I did find it in the

garage a few years later, in the box of rags my dad used

for cleaning his cars.

I wasn't nine years old any longer. I wasn't even a teen in

too-thick eyeliner and a too-short skirt. I'd learned how to

dress and how to speak, but part of me would always be

my mother's daughter, at least in Stela's eyes.

"Oh, Paige, what a thoughtful gift." Stela lifted out the box of paper and opened it to pul out the pen. She wiggled it

so the tiny tassel danced. "Very pretty. Thank you."

I let out a long, silent sigh. "You're welcome."

"Where do you find such pretty things?" Stela continued.

She turned to face her audience. "Paige always finds the

prettiest things."

That was it. Bels didn't ring, little birdies didn't fly around

on rainbow glitter wings. She'd said thank-you, and I

thought she meant it. That was al.

I stil managed to slip away before the party was over. My

dad caught me at the door. He insisted on hugging me.

"Thanks for coming." I'm sure he meant it, too.

"Thanks for coming." I'm sure he meant it, too.

I doubt there's anyone who does not have a complicated

relationship with his or her parents, so I'm not saying I'm

special or anything. Considering the circumstances of my

birth, I'm lucky to have any sort of relationship with my

dad. For the most part, at least, it's an honest relationship.

Except of course when honesty is too painful.

"Of course I'd come," I told him. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Of course you would," my dad said. "Wel, I'm glad you did. How's the new place?"

"It's great." With his arm stil around me, I wanted to

squirm away. "It's a very nice place."

"And the new job?"

The job I'd had for almost six months didn't feel so new

anymore. "It's great, too. I like my boss a lot."

"Good. You're up on Union Deposit Road, right?"

"Progress," I told him. "Just off Progress."

"Oh, right. Wel, hey, maybe I should swing by some day

"Oh, right. Wel, hey, maybe I should swing by some day

and take you to lunch at the Cracker Barrel, what do you

say?"

"Sure, Dad." I smiled, not expecting him to ever folow

through. "Just cal me."

He kissed my cheek and hugged me again, making a show

of making me his daughter. It was nice, in that way we

both knew was shalow but served its purpose.

The moment I got in my car and the door to the house

shut, my every muscle relaxed. I blew out another series of

long, slow breaths and lifted my arms to let my pits air out.

I'd be sore tomorrow in places I hadn't realized I'd

clenched. I was already getting a headache. I'd made it

through another big family event without anything going

wrong.

Chapter 08

Some consider the body a temple. As such, it must be

cared for appropriately so it may be used in the manner for

which it was meant.

Beginning tomorrow, you wil eat oatmeal for breakfast.

Sweeten it however you like.

Today, you wil consume three fewer cups of coffee,

replacing them with water.

Today, you wil extend your regular workout by fifteen

minutes.

Today, you will focus a conscious effort on your

cigarette smoking. You may smoke one cigarette only

once every two hours. You will do nothing else while

you smoke it. You will concentrate on my instructions.

You will think of the word discipline each and every

time you light up.

Finaly, you wil record your efforts in your journal and

describe your thoughts and feelings in detail, particularly

your thoughts on what "discipline" means to you.

your thoughts on what "discipline" means to you.

"Do this in memory of me, and go in peace to love and

serve the Lord," I murmured, mocking. "Wow."

The second note had been nestled amongst a scant handful

of bils and charity requests, and it had slipped into my

hand as though it had been written just for me. I hadn't

meant to open it, but something about the smooth, sleek

paper and lack of glue on the flap had been too tempting

to pass up. Hey, it had been delivered to me, hadn't it?

Even though the number on the front stil said 114, not

414, and even though I knew better, I'd read it anyway.

I stil had no clue what the hel it was, or meant. I turned it

over and over in my hands, then read it again. I closed the

card and stared at it, but I couldn't decipher its meaning.

Unless it had none. Maybe it was some sort of crazy new

diet or self-help plan. I'd heard of a new plan that hooked

members up with mentors. Sort of like a 12-step program

for food addicts, it was supposed to help to have a buddy.

It was the only scenario I came up with, but it didn't feel

right.

I lifted the card again, looking closer for clues. I caressed

the paper. It had the same rough edge, like someone had

the paper. It had the same rough edge, like someone had

cut one large sheet of paper into smaler sizes. No

signature, and delivered twice in a row to the wrong

person. Some buddy.

I kept the card safely in my hand. My fingers curved

around it and my thumb caressed the thick paper. I looked

at it again, the single sentence.

Discipline?

I stil didn't get it. I tucked the card back into its envelope,

restraining myself from sniffing the ink. I wasn't the only

person standing at the mailboxes, and I didn't want to

attract that sort of attention. I found the mailbox for 114

and studied it, too. The brass numbers were stylishly

weathered but not worn. There wasn't realy any mistaking

a one for a four or vice versa, even if the number on the

card itself were smudged.

"Excuse me." The woman next to me gave me a smile

meant to look apologetic but only looked annoyed. "I need

to get to my box."

"Oh. Sorry." I folded closed the note and tucked it quickly into the slot for 114, wondering if by some luck it

into the slot for 114, wondering if by some luck it

belonged to her.

She used her key to open a different box, though, and

puled out a thick sheaf of mail. Then she bent and looked

through the hole to the office behind it, but the mail carrier

had already moved down the row to the end. She

straightened as she closed and locked her box, then riffled

through her mail with a disgusted sniff.

"Nothing ever comes when it's supposed to." She didn't

say it to me, but I nodded anyway.

"I wish my bils wouldn't come."

She turned and gave me an up-and-down look as her

mouth twitched into a grimace masquerading as another

smile. Her gaze took in my coat, the same cut and color as

hers but not as nice, my legs, clad in nude hose, and finaly

settled on my shoes. They were the only part of me that

seemed worth her approval, but she raised a brow anyway

and just tossed off a fake little laugh as she stuffed her mail

into her Kate Spade bag and turned on her matching

pumps.

Bitch.

Bitch.

Oh, I knew what discipline meant to me, al right.

Discipline was what kept me from popping her in the back

of the head with the heel of my barely-passing-inspection

shoes. It's what kept my chin high and my mouth fixed in a

pleasant smile instead of turning down at the corners so the

tears would stay burning behind my eyes instead of

slipping out.

Discipline, or maybe it was pride. Or stubbornness.

Whatever it was, I had enough to spare.

I waited until she'd gone before I crossed the lobby and

pushed through the revolving door. Outside, gray and

overcast skies echoed my mood, and the breeze brought

the scent of cigarettes to me. I looked automaticaly,

wondering if I'd see someone pondering discipline.

"Ari," I said, surprised. "Hi."

Miriam's grandson tossed his butt into the sand-filed can

and shrugged his coat higher around his neck. "Hey,

Paige."

"I didn't know you lived here."

He grinned. "I don't. Just dropped off something for my

grandma, you know?"

I didn't know, but I nodded. "Tel her I said helo."

"Stop by the shop and tel her yourself," he suggested with a sweetly dipping smile.

It was nice to be flirted with, albeit without much heat. "I'l

do that. Have a good day."

"You, too."

I looked back as I crossed the aley to the parking garage,

and Ari was stil looking. Maybe there was a little heat,

after al. And what woman didn't like to be appreciated? I

had a much bigger smile on my face than I had before, and

it lasted me al the way to work.

I wasn't even close to being late, but I might as wel have

been because by the time I got to my desk, my boss had

already piled a stack of files on it. It could have been

worse. He could have been standing over my desk with

the empty coffeepot in his hand. He did that, sometimes,

though I knew he was as capable of making coffee as I

am. More, maybe, since he inhaled the high-octane stuff

am. More, maybe, since he inhaled the high-octane stuff

like it was air and I limited myself to a mug once or twice a

day.

Spying the empty Starbucks cup in the trash, I knew he'd

already had his first dose of the day. I was safe a little bit

longer. I could get the files ordered and put away without

him breathing down my neck. I decided to put the coffee

on anyway, though, just in case. There were many days I

could predict my boss's every move, from the midmorning

break when the bagel man came around, to his post-lunch

trip to the bathroom.

Today wasn't one of those days.

"Paige. Listen. I need you to get those files taken care of,

okay?"

I turned from the smal bar sink, where I'd been filing the

coffeepot with water. "Right, Paul. Of course."

Amazing how someone with only a community-colege

education could stil deduce simple things.

"Good." Paul nodded and smoothed his tie between his

thumb and forefinger while he watched me fiddle with the

thumb and forefinger while he watched me fiddle with the

coffeemaker.

I hadn't yet figured out if Paul hovered because he

expected me to screw up, or if he hoped I would. Either

way, it didn't bother me the way it would have some of the

other personal assistants on the floor. Brenda, for

example, liked to brag how her boss, Rhonda, spent most

of her time traveling and she barely had to deal with her.

She also liked to brag that she'd worked for Kely Printing

longer than that Jenny-come-lately Rhonda anyways, and

knew what she was doing, so why should she have to run

everything by someone else when she could get her work

done faster and better without interference?

I never told Brenda I found Paul's constant supervision

more comforting than annoying. After al, if he never

alowed me the autonomy to make decisions, I couldn't

exactly be held accountable for anything that went wrong.

Right? Even when Paul did his share of traveling, he never

left without making me a sheaf of notes and lists…lists.

I thought of the cards I'd found. Two, now. Two

misdelivered notes with explicit, mysterious (to me)

instructions. I could stil feel the sleek paper under my

fingertips. I regretted not taking the time to smel the ink.

fingertips. I regretted not taking the time to smel the ink.

With the coffee set to brewing, I turned to face Paul.

"Anything else?"

"Not right now, thanks." Paul smiled and disappeared

back into his inner sanctum, leaving me with the cheery

burble of the coffeepot and a bunch of files to herd.

This is what I knew about Paul Johnson, my boss. He had

a chubby, pretty wife named Melissa who sometimes

forgot to pick up his dry cleaning on time and two

teenagers too busy with wholesome activities like sports

and youth group to get into trouble. I knew that because

I'd seen their photos and overheard his telephone

conversations. He had an older brother, the unfortunately

named Peter Johnson, with whom he played golf several

times a year but not often enough to be good. I knew that

because he'd asked me to make a reservation for him at

one of the local golf courses and to cal his brother to

confirm the date. The request was slightly out of the realm

of my professional duties, but I'd done it anyway. I also

knew Paul was forty-seven years old, had earned his

MBA from Wharton, attended church on Sundays with his

family and drove a black, but not brand-new, Mercedes

Benz.

Benz.

Those were things I knew.

This is what I thought about Paul Johnson, my boss. He

wasn't a tyrant. Just precise. He held himself to the same

level of perfection he expected from an assistant, and I

appreciated that. He could be funny, though not often, and

usualy unexpectedly. He gave every project his ful

attention and effort because it pained him to do anything

less. I understood and appreciated that, too.

I'd worked for him for almost six months. He'd told me to

cal him Paul, not Mr. Johnson, but we weren't anything

like friends. That was okay with me. I didn't want my boss

to be my chum.

Though sometimes it felt as if al I did was make coffee

and file, my job did actualy have more responsibility. I had

documents to proof and send, invoices to fil out and

appointments to book. I did al this to leave Paul free to do

whatever it was that he did al day long in his lush, swanky

office. If hard pressed, I wouldn't have been able to tel

anyone what, exactly, that was. I didn't hate or love my

job, but it sure as hel beat working at a sub shop or being

an au pair, which was what I'd done while looking for a

an au pair, which was what I'd done while looking for a

job that would use my freshly minted degree in business

administration. If I never slung another plate of hash or

wiped another ass I'd be happy for a good long time.

There was another advantage to having a boss who

needed everything just so. He was wiling to do what it

took to make sure he got what he wanted, whether it was

leaving me a three-page e-mail of the week's work, or

taking five thorough minutes to describe to me exactly

what he wanted me to get him for lunch. Also, if he sent

me out to get him some lunch, he usualy treated me.

Today it was a pastrami sandwich on rye from Mrs. Deli.

Mustard, no mayo. No tomatoes, no onion. Lettuce on the

side. Potato salad and an extralarge iced tea with real

sugar, not what he caled cancer in a packet.

I met Brenda in the hal on my way back. She took one

look at the bulging paper sack from Mrs. Deli and sniffed

hungrily. She held a smal, boxed salad I recognized as

coming from the same guy who sold bagels in the morning.

I'd had one of those salads once, when I'd forgotten my

lunch and had been so desperate for food I'd been wiling

to use my laundry quarters.

"Gawd, Paige," Brenda said. "Lucky. I wish my boss

would send me out for lunch. Heck, I'd like to just get out

of this place for an hour."

Officialy, we got an hour for lunch, but since our building

was located in a business complex on the outskirts of the

city, by the time you drove to anyplace decent for lunch,

you'd barely have enough time to eat and come back.

Rhonda might not hover over Brenda, but she was a

stickler about office hours and break time. Everything has

a trade-off.

"Let me just drop this off with Paul and I'l be right down."

Brenda looked at the box of sadness in her hand. "Yeah,

okay. I've only got about forty minutes left, though."

"I'l hurry."

Paul's door was half-closed when I rapped on the door

frame. At the muffled noise, I pushed it al the way open.

He sat at his desk, staring at his computer monitor. The

screen had dissolved into a rapidly changing pattern of

expanding pipe-work, his screen saver, and I wondered

how long he'd been sitting there.

"Paul?"

"Paige. Come in." He gestured and swiveled in his chair.

Careful not to spil or drip anything, I puled his lunch from

the bag one item at a time. It felt like a ritual, passing lunch

instead of a torch. Paul settled each item onto his blotter.

Sandwich at six, potato salad at nine, plastic fork and

napkin at three. His drink went to noon, and he looked up

at me.

"Thank you, Paige."

It was the first time since I'd started working for him that

he hadn't lifted the bread to make sure the sandwich had

been prepared properly or sipped the tea to make sure I

hadn't mistakenly brought presweetened.

"Do you need me for anything else?"

He shook his head. "No. Go ahead and take your lunch

now. I wil need you back here by one-fifteen, though. I've

got that teleconference thing."

"Sure, no problem." Taking my own sandwich, I headed

down to the lunchroom to meet Brenda.

down to the lunchroom to meet Brenda.

Since no clients saw it, the lunchroom had seen better

days. The vending machines were new, but the tables and

chairs looked as if they'd been salvaged from the garbage

more than once. My chair creaked alarmingly when I sat,

but though I poised, prepared to hit the floor if the rickety

thing colapsed, it held. I unwrapped my food quickly, my

stomach already rumbling.

"This weather, huh?" Brenda stabbed at her limp lettuce. "I wish winter would make up its mind."

"In another three months everyone wil be complaining

about it being too hot."

She looked at me with a blink. "Yeah. I guess so. But I

wish it would get warmer. It's nearly March, for cripe's

sakes. Though we did have that blizzard in '93, right

around Saint Patty's Day. I hope that doesn't happen this

year."

Under other circumstances we'd never have been friends.

Not that I didn't like her, but we didn't have much in

common. Brenda was older than my mom and had twin

girls in colege. She also had a husband she referred to

girls in colege. She also had a husband she referred to

constantly as "my sweetie," and whose name I hadn't even

yet learned. I imagined him as a Fred, though, for

whatever that was worth.

"We've hardly had any snow. I'm sure we'l be fine."

"I don't know how you stand it, honestly." Brenda, finished with her salad, had started casting longing looks at the

other half of my sandwich.

I was pretending not to notice. I might only have been

hungry enough to finish half, but the rest of it would be

dinner tonight. "The lack of snow?"

She laughed then lowered her voice with a conspiratorial

look around the empty lunchroom. "Gawd, no. I meant

Paul. I don't know how you can stand working for him."

"He's not that bad, Brenda. Realy."

She got up to get a snack cake from the machine. "Tel me

that in another month."

"What's going to happen in another month?" I wrapped my

sandwich carefuly in the thick white butcher paper.

Grease had turned it translucent in a pattern of dots and

Grease had turned it translucent in a pattern of dots and

made it unusable, which was too bad. Butcher paper was

great for coloring pictures. Arty loved it.

"Paul hasn't managed to keep an assistant for longer than

six months, tops."

"I've been here for almost six."

"Yeah," Brenda said with the knowing nod of someone

who's been keeping track. "And you can't tel me you

don't notice he's a little…particular."

The days when a good secretary was unfailingly loyal to

her boss had apparently passed. Even so, I didn't leap to

agree with her. "I said, he's not that bad. Besides, it's not

like he screams or anything if things aren't exactly right."

"He'd better not!" Brenda was already indignant on my

behalf. "You're his assistant, not his slave."

I gave a smal snort that tried and failed to be a chuckle.

"Slaves don't get paid."

"Just remember this conversation in another month when

you're groaning to me that he's become impossible. They

al do, eventualy," Brenda said. "He's gone through seven

assistants already since he's been in our department."

"They al quit?"

"No. Some he fired." She raised a brow at me. "They

were the lucky ones, if you ask me."

I checked my watch. Five minutes left before I had to

rouse myself from my postlunch lethargy and head back to

the office. Time for a snack cake, if I wanted to stuff my

face with processed sugar, or a cup of coffee from the

communal pot. I didn't want the calories or the germs. I

did crack the top on my second can of cola, though.

"Why were they lucky?" I asked mildly, not so much

because I cared, but to make conversation.

"The ones who quit had to put up with a lot more garbage,

that's al. I heard the last girl he had went to work at some

grocery store after she left here, that's how desperate she

was to get out."

"That's pretty desperate." I stretched. As I started to get up from the table, pain sliced the back of my thigh.

Brenda startled at my cry. "What? What's wrong?"

I craned my neck to look over my shoulder, my leg stuck

out behind me like I was a balet dancer getting ready to

perform some complicated dance move. My skirt hit just

above the knee and I could make out the ragged line of a

run in my stocking, but nothing else. "Something snagged

me."

"It's the chair," Brenda said. "It's ful of splinters."

I rubbed the spot stil stinging and smarting just behind my

knee. "I can't tel if it's in there or not."

"Shoot. I gotta run. Wil you be okay?" Brenda stuffed her

trash into the plastic box where a few scraps of lettuce stil

clung and tossed it al into the garbage can.

"Sure. Of course." Sort of like a bee sting, the pain had

turned from sharp to a dul throb. I was more upset about

the panty hose I'd have to replace.

In the bathroom I used the ful-length mirror to check out

my injury, but could stil see nothing. I ran my fingers over

my skin around the sore spot but felt nothing poking

through. I didn't have time to keep searching, so I stripped

through. I didn't have time to keep searching, so I stripped

off the ruined panty hose and went back to the office.

"Just in time," Paul said from the doorway between his

office and my smal work space. "I was beginning to think

you weren't going to make it."

I looked at him sharply. "I'm hardly ever late, Paul."

"Oh, I know you're not." He glanced at his watch. "C'mon, it's time."

I pushed Brenda's warnings to the back of my mind. This

was the best job I'd ever had, and while I never assumed it

would be the best I'd ever get, I wasn't in any hurry to lose

it.

My task during the teleconference was to type up the

notes. Paul not only had notoriously bad handwriting but

he was a hunt-and-peck typist. As he got settled into his

chair, I picked up my AlphaSmart Neo, the portable

keyboard/word processor I used rather than a notepad

and pen. Paul might be a slow writer, but he could be a

superfast talker, and typing was the only way I could keep

up.

I couldn't decipher half of what they talked about. Profit

margins, balance sheets, long-range planning. I was

ignorant, and fine with that. I didn't need to understand

what they were saying to take it down. In fact, the less I

knew the better, because my mind could wander while my

fingers kept track.

Not so many years ago I'd have been expected to hover

on the edge of my seat, pen poised over my steno pad

while I took vigorous shorthand. Typing was so much

easier. I'd learned shorthand in school, one of those skils

they stil found necessary to teach even if nobody would

actualy use it. The clacking of my nails, kept to a practical

length, tap-tapping on the keys couldn't replace the

sensual scratch-scratch of a pen sliding across paper, in

my opinion, but typing was much faster, and being able to

download the document directly into my computer for

processing was better than having to retype it al.

The cal ended abruptly, at least to me. I looked over the

last few sentences and saw I'd actualy typed the

goodbyes without paying attention. God bless multitasking.

Paul sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Wel, that's over.

Thank you, Paige."

Thank you, Paige."

Brenda could say what she liked. Paul might be particular,

but he was also very polite. "You're welcome."

I'd been sitting with both feet planted firmly on the floor

with the keyboard on my lap. When I shifted to get up, the

sudden flaring sting of pain from my invisible splinter

surged so fiercely I gasped. The keyboard fel to the thick

carpet with a muffled thump, and I bent to grab it at once,

hoping it hadn't been damaged.

Paul had already rounded the desk. "Paige, are you al

right?"

"Yeah, I just…I caught my leg on something earlier. I think

there's a splinter."

The keyboard hadn't broken, thank God. I put it on the

conference table pushed off to the side of Paul's desk.

Warmth trickled down my calf and I strained to see it.

Blood.

"You're not fine, you're bleeding. Stay right there. Don't

move."

Paul's office had pale beige carpet. I assumed he didn't

Paul's office had pale beige carpet. I assumed he didn't

want me staining it, so I did as he said for the thirty

seconds it took him to grab a handful of tissues from his

desk.

He ought to have handed them to me so I could tend my

own wound. Like compliments and free lunch, taking care

of my boo-boo was probably a no-no. So why didn't I

protest when Paul told me to put my hands on the table?

Or when he knelt on that pretty beige carpet and slid the

soft tissue from just above my anklebone al the way to the

back of my knee?

I said nothing because no sound would come out. I didn't

move because my fingers refused to do more than twitch

on the polished surface of the table. I could see the faint

shadow of my reflection in it, the startled O of my mouth

and the curved arch of my raised eyebrows. But I didn't

move, and I didn't speak.

"There," Paul said in a low voice. Through the tissue the

warmth of his fingers pressed against my suddenly chiled

skin. "I can see it. Stay right there, Paige. Let me find

some tweezers."

I'd placed my hands slightly more than a shoulder width

I'd placed my hands slightly more than a shoulder width

apart and far enough toward the table's center I had to

lean forward just a little. I didn't want to know what I

looked like, my skirt riding up the backs of my bare thighs

and my face flushed.

"It's a big one," Paul said in a moment. "Hold stil."

I pressed my lips down on a squeak trying to escape at the

touch of the cold metal tweezers. Paul's hand curled

around my knee, holding it stil, while he probed and

puled.

I felt the splinter slide free, snagging my flesh, and the

further slow trickle of my blood painting a line down my

leg. I closed my eyes so I wouldn't have to see the blurred

woman in the table, the one with my face looking as I'm

sure lovers had often glimpsed, but I never had.

The soft press of tissue again slid up my leg as Paul wiped

away the blood. I heard the crinkle of paper and his

fingers smoothed something on me. An adhesive bandage.

I could feel it puling the soft hairs I never managed to

shave. Then the stroke of his fingers along the secret place

at the back of my knee, so swift I might have imagined it.

"Al done."

"Al done."

I turned. Paul had already stepped away. In one hand, he

held the tweezers. In the other, the shredded paper

wrapper of the bandage.

I didn't strain or stretch to look at his handiwork. "Thank

you."

Twin spots of bright color bloomed on his cheeks. "No

problem."

Before he could say anything else, I grabbed up the

keyboard and left his office with a nod.

Later, in bed, I would fal asleep thinking of two things.

One was the smooth, expensive card and the beautifuly

written list. I wanted that paper, that pen, whatever it was.

And two, the feeling of Paul's fingers on the back of my

knee.

Chapter 09

My Monday-night gyno appointment went as wel as

could be expected for an event that had my legs in the air

and my ass exposed to the entire world. I weighed less

than I had the last time I'd been to the doctor, which was

good, and I found out I no longer qualified for the same

reduced fees I'd been used to getting based on my income,

but that was fine. I had insurance now.

"Wish I could lose ten pounds," said the nurse-practitioner when she read my chart and looked me over. "But I like to

eat too much."

"Me, too. It just takes…" Discipline was the word that rose to my lips, and I was thinking of that note again.

"Work."

She patted her round hips and bely and sighed. "Yeah,

doesn't everything?"

Of course it did. You didn't get very far in the world

thinking you could get away with anything less. But I didn't

say anything else, just took my shot and paid my bil and

went on my way.

went on my way.

I thought about it, though.

Discipline.

I thought about it on the drive home and up the elevator to

my apartment, where I changed into a pair of black yoga

pants and a formfitting white T-shirt with the words

Frankie Say Relax in block letters across the front. It was

a good conversation starter. On my feet I put a pair of

trainers that had actualy cost more than the Madden

pumps and were the most expensive shoes I'd ever

owned. I'd discovered I could deal with sore feet for

fashion's sake, but not when I was trying to exercise.

Discipline.

Today, you wil extend your regular workout by fifteen

minutes.

I grabbed a cereal bar from my snack drawer and wolfed

down the chewy jam center and crust as I cracked open a

can of diet cola and drank it back in a few gulps, then filed

a water bottle with ice and water from the tap. My shoes

might be designer, but my water was generic.

I took the stairs to add a little extra to my workout,

laughing at myself for obeying a command meant for

someone else. My heels rang on the metal stairs as I took

them two at a time al the way to the basement. I flung

open the metal door, too, and it clanged against the wal.

Riverview Manor has a nice, if outdated, gym, though it

was hardly ever used. Not trendy enough, I guess. There

was someone at the eliptical machine when I came in. He

looked up but didn't speak around his huffing and puffing.

It was him.

Of course. Why shouldn't I have to sweat and strain next

to the man, that handsome man, I kept running into al over

the place? I drank back some water to give myself

fortitude and hopped on the treadmil.

After five minutes my legs were screaming, and I shot him

a glance. His mouth had set into a tight, hard line of

determination. Sweat ringed his armpits and neckline, but

far from being disgusted, the sight of it made me go al

tingly in my pink places. There's something so fucking sexy

about a man who's working hard.

I saw him shoot me a glance, and his machine beeped, but

I saw him shoot me a glance, and his machine beeped, but

he punched the button to go longer. Uh-huh. I got it.

Bound by sweat and bad television programming, we

worked out on neighboring machines and forced each

other to keep going even when we wanted to stop. Wel, I

did anyway. It had become a point of pride to keep

grunting and groaning my way through the treadmil's fifty-

minute program even when I wanted to hop off.

The fact this guy had the body of a god and stopped

briefly to strip off his shirt didn't hurt. Not one bit. Every

time his abs and pecs rippled I thought about how his

sweat would taste if I ran my tongue along the rim of his

ribs and around the concave cup of his bely button. I tried

to be grossed out at myself for thinking such crude

thoughts but couldn't convince my traitorous body that

wanting to ride his thigh was wrong.

I blamed the TV.

This time of night the only shows we could get on the

gym's battered set were reality-TV shows, game shows or

the music channel. The eye candy on the videos was nice,

but it sure did put a girl in an interesting frame of mind.

As much as I might want to grab ahold of Mr. Mystery's

As much as I might want to grab ahold of Mr. Mystery's

ears and ride him like a roler coaster, random, careless

sex was absolutely not part of my plan. Especialy not with

someone from my building. Guys talked. Even now, when

women were supposed to be able to go after what they

wanted with the same passion and lack of emotional

commitment as men, guys stil talked. Peanut-butter legs,

easy to spread. Doorknob, everyone gets a turn. The

good time had by al. I wasn't out to get a renewed

reputation for having round heels.

Instead, I sweated and bit back grunts that would give

away the ache in my thighs as I watched beautiful women

with porn-star tits writhe on red satin sheets to the

oompah-pah-oomp of some badonkadonk-donk hip-hop

song.

Surreptitiously, I watched to see if he had any sort of

reaction to the pseudofucking being played out in three-

minute increments. His profile told me nothing. Staring

straight ahead, I couldn't see if his shorts were bulging.

Sily, I told myself. Who got turned on in the middle of a

workout? Too much blood was being pumped to other

places for him to get a hard-on. Hel, I thought my heart

was going to bust right out of my chest. There was no way

was going to bust right out of my chest. There was no way

I could spare any for my clitoris.

His treadmil beeped to indicate the end of his program.

He slowed, grabbed his towel and wiped his face as he

climbed off. He drank thirstily from his water bottle. When

he bent to touch his toes, I groaned aloud. This guy's ass

was like two cantaloupes in a silk bag.

He looked up with a smal grin, as if he could read my

dirty mind. I hoped he couldn't. No, damn, I hoped he

could.

"You al right?"

"…fine…"

I was, in fact, almost a puddle of overexercised goo. My

machine beeped a minute later, my program over. I wiped

my face and drank water, too, but I didn't try any sort of

bending. I'd have passed out.

He'd moved to the tension machine, but hadn't yet begun.

He gestured to me, instead. "C'mere. Try this."

"Oh, I don't think so." I shook my head even as my feet

folowed the siren cal of muscled thighs and an irresistible

folowed the siren cal of muscled thighs and an irresistible

set of back dimples.

"You can't just do cardio," the guy said. "You need to do strength training, too. Tone up."

I thought about being insulted, but let's face it. When

Adonis is critiquing your body, he probably knows what

he's talking about. "Okay."

"Sit."

I did. He adjusted something in the back and puled down

the rods on either side so I could slip my hands into the

grips. Across from us, the mirrored wal reflected him

standing behind me as he explained how to pul the grips to

move the weights.

With my feet hooked under the padded bench and my

hands holding the grips, I was effectively imprisoned. He

put his hands over mine the first few times to get me used

to the rhythm. It was easy enough, working my arms, since

my legs stil trembled from the stint on the treadmil.

"Good job," my new trainer-cum-boyfriend said.

His tone suggested he might pat me on the head. Instead,

His tone suggested he might pat me on the head. Instead,

he let go of my hands and put his on my sides. His fingers

curved around my ribs just below my breasts. I drew in a

sharp breath and didn't move at first.

"Keep going." In the mirror his eyes met mine. "Feel how the muscles in your abs are working, too?"

I couldn't feel anything but his fingers inching upward. My

nipples stabbed through my sports bra and the thin, damp-

with-sweat cotton of my T-shirt. Between my legs a slow,

steady throb began with every pul and release of the

weights. I couldn't see his body behind me, could only feel

his heat. I could not feel the hard, long length of his

erection pressed against my back, but suddenly it was al I

could think about.

"Harder," my newfound fantasy man murmured almost

directly into my ear as one hand slid down flat over my

bely. "Feel your body work."

Oh, God. My mind insisted he was not hitting on me. My

body, on the other hand, thrummed and vibrated and

practicaly did the hokeypokey. I wanted to throw the left

one in, the right one out and turn it al about.

I bit down on my lower lip, instead. He gave me an

encouraging smile. His scent, body spray and hard effort

cut through the gym's pervasive odor of mildew and

cleaning products. My lust didn't show on my face. The

mirror only reflected a sweaty, grouchy-looking woman

whose hair had started sticking to her cheeks. Big wet

rings spread from my armpits and sides, and I couldn't

believe he wasn't disgusted. Maybe he was. He let go and

stepped back with an approving nod.

"Add that to your routine," he said. "You'l see results in a couple weeks, I promise."

Ohhhhh, God. He realy wasn't hitting on me. He was

totaly just trying to be nice and help me work off the extra

inches nobody ever had on TV. He was the jock with the

heart of gold being kind to the brainiac. Too bad this guy

didn't know that in high school I hadn't been the brain.

"Thanks." I drank more water and wiped my face with my

towel.

He wiped his chest and I forced myself not to watch. "You

don't realy look like you need to lose any weight, but it's

always good to supplement cardio with weight training.

always good to supplement cardio with weight training.

Builds muscle."

I had a vision of myself in a bathing suit made from one

thin strip of fabric, tanned to orange splendor and oiled

like an olive. It wasn't a pretty picture. "Okay, thanks."

Mr. Mystery grinned. He had dimples on his face, too.

"See you."

He stuck his head into a tank top, then his arms, and

puled it down. Then he grabbed his towel and water

bottle and headed out. I waited until he'd gone before I

folowed, not only because I wanted to ogle his ass but

because I needed time to cool down. Literaly.

My calves ached. My butt did, too. Now I could add my

arms to the list after the workout I'd given them.

I wouldn't have thought I could stil be horny after the

thigh-crunching walk up the stairs to the seventh floor, but

by the time I got into the shower, al I could do was think

about his hands on me. Austin's hands, the stranger's

hands…somehow it didn't matter, just that they hadn't

been my own.

I scrubbed quickly, conditioned and moisturized. I even

I scrubbed quickly, conditioned and moisturized. I even

shaved my legs, though it seemed utterly unlikely anyone

was going to be touching them, since I'd turned Austin

down and Mr. Mystery had only felt me up a little bit. By

the time I got out of the shower, my nipples had peaked

into tight, hard nubs that defied me not to tweak them as I

dried myself with a soft towel.

In my bedroom I shed the towel and stood in front of the

bed. The lonely bed. It was king-size, and even though I

never shared it with anyone, I stil slept only on one side.

Some habits are harder to break. I smoothed the quilt,

then puled it down to reveal the crisp, white sheets I'd

paid too much for. It had seemed like a good thing to do

at the time, spend money on fancy sheets for my new

place. I'd regretted it the next time I was hungry, but that's

the way it goes.

The window had nothing but a sheer curtain covering the

glass, but I wasn't too worried about being seen. The

parking garage across the street was the only building high

enough to give anyone access to peep at me, and my

apartment was set a little too far back to make it worth

anyone's while. Stil, the thought someone could be

watching me had me covering my breasts with my hands

watching me had me covering my breasts with my hands

for just a moment.

I cupped them, the weight familiar. I'd gotten tits in fifth

grade but hadn't realy grown into them until I was a junior

in high school. I couldn't realy remember a time when I

didn't curve this way. I could recal being thinner, yes, but

not flat-chested.

Under my palms, my nipples stayed hard, tight peaks. I

wished for a man's mouth on them, but had to settle for

licking my fingers and circling the hot flesh. A whisper, a

sigh, a moan leaked from my throat. I saw the ghost of my

reflection in the glass. Faint and insubstantial, nothing more

to me than a slash of dark where my eyes should be and

the white, curving shape of my body.

"I've been watching you." His dark eyes gleam and his

mouth twists up into a smile I can't resist returning. He

moves closer and I can smel him, warmth and spice,

purely masculine.

He holds out a hand and I take it. His fingers are long and

strong and entwine with mine so tightly I can't pul away.

Not that I want to. I want him to tug me close, up against

his body. I want him to put his other hand on my ass to

press me against his crotch. And I want him to dip his

mouth to stroke along my neck and settle his teeth briefly

at the curve of my shoulder.

He licks me with a quick flick of his tongue and my

nipples get hard and tight. He can see them through

the soft fabric of my blouse. His lips part. He sighs.

I press my body to his and he kisses me. Hard. He backs

me up against a wal and pins both my arms above my

head with only one of his hands. When the other slides up

my thigh, beneath my skirt, and finds me wet and ready, he

smiles again.

Before I know it he's turned me. Pushed me. The bed's

soft and my cheek presses onto the pilow. My ass feels

cool in the breeze made when he flips up my skirt. His

hand cups each cheek, maybe measuring, maybe just

caressing. I don't know. I don't care. I push myself into his

touch.

He blindfolds me. Darkness weighs my eyelids and I close

them beneath the cloth. He ties my hands; excitement

surges in every breath from my throat, past my lips. My

tongue darts out and I taste sweat.

It's not that I can't move if I realy want to. It's that I'm

bound to his whim, that I'd have to fight and struggle

against him if I want to get free. And I can, he hasn't tied

me so tightly I can't.

I just don't want to.

His cock is long and thick. It fils me, al the way. I'm

stretched from the inside.

I don't have to do a thing. He takes control, he sets the

pace, and it's perfect. I don't have to direct him. He just

knows. Every thrust presses something sweet until I cry

out.

I ride the waves of pleasure. I lose myself in it. Up and

over, writhing on his dick as he slaps my ass once, twice.

It doesn't hurt bad enough to keep me from coming al

over his prick and al over my hand.

It wasn't a unique fantasy, as far as fantasies went. What

made it different from others I'd had was the man in it

wasn't an actor or an anonymous quiltwork of features. It

was Mr. Mystery, of course, and though my own hand

had done the work, it had been his face that set me off.

had done the work, it had been his face that set me off.

And with that in my head, I went to sleep.

Chapter 10

The next morning I woke with a craving for oatmeal.

The power of suggestion, I told myself as I mixed water

into the contents of the packet I found shoved way back in

my cupboard, formerly ignored in favor of diet soda and

junk food. That was al. But when the maple-syrupy

goodness hit my tongue, I knew that wasn't al it was.

It had been a simple command. Eat oatmeal for breakfast.

Sweeten it however you like. Straightforward and

uncomplicated.

It had taken away the issue of what to have for breakfast,

a problem I faced every morning as I rushed around trying

to get ready and spent precious minutes staring without

enthusiasm into my refrigerator. I didn't have to think about

what to have, or waste time concerning myself. Eat

oatmeal for breakfast, the list had said, and I did.

I'd eaten oatmeal every day as a kid. Sometimes for

dinner, too. My mom bought it in bulk from an Amish

market. Great huge tubs of big, roled oats. Not the fancy

kind with Benjamin Franklin or whoever he was on the

kind with Benjamin Franklin or whoever he was on the

front. The kind you had to slow cook. Funny how I hadn't

thought about how easy, filing and tasty oatmeal could

realy be until I got that note.

Even though the mail almost always was delivered or in the

process of being delivered before I had to leave for work,

many times I didn't care to brave the crowd flocking

around the mailboxes and just waited to pick it up after

work. Until recently, I'd never had anything exciting to

pick up.

This morning, though, I muscled my way through the

crowd and puled my mail from the box. My heart

pounded as I flipped through the junk and bils. I had a

postcard from my dentist reminding me I was due for an

exam.

And a new note.

Today, you wil be strong and know you are beautiful.

Wow.

I closed the card, returned it to the envelope, and slid it

through the slot of mailbox 114. I didn't stop to hide what

I was doing, not caring if anyone saw me do it, though at

I was doing, not caring if anyone saw me do it, though at

that moment the flock of tenants had flown away and I

was the only one there. I peered through the glass window

at the card in its cradle of other mail and wondered how

such a simple command could have completely stolen

away my breath.

Paul traveled often, so it wasn't unusual for me to go

several days or a week without seeing him. On the days he

was in the office, though, he never failed to come out to

greet me when he heard me arrive, or if I'd managed to get

to my desk ahead of him, he always stopped to say good-

morning. But not today. I heard him muttering into the

phone through his closed door, but he didn't come out. He

had, however, left something for me on the desk.

A list.

It didn't tel me to be strong or know I was beautiful, but I

couldn't stop thinking about that as I read the chores and

tasks he'd left for me. He hadn't given me anything out of

the ordinary. It was only my reaction that was different.

I would never have said we had a close relationship, but it

was always cordial. On the day he'd taken out my splinter,

it might even have gone beyond that to warm. Too warm

it might even have gone beyond that to warm. Too warm

for Paul, apparently, because he barely looked at me when

he came out of his office around eleven, his coat on and his

briefcase gripped so tight in one hand his knuckles were

white. I sat up straighter at my desk.

Strong and beautiful.

"I'l be gone until about four."

He didn't need my permission, of course, so it was stupid

to say, "Okay."

That was al he said. Tension like gum stuck to the bottom

of a sneaker stretched between us. He wouldn't look at

me.

This pissed me off.

I hadn't asked him to treat my wound. I hadn't made him

touch me. And I wasn't going to sic him with a sexual-

harassment suit or anything asinine like that, either.

He nodded, his gaze cutting away from mine. "Bye."

"Goodbye, Paul."

I could see the crimson creeping into his ears even from

my seat at the desk. He didn't acknowledge me after that,

just left. That pissed me off, too.

I hadn't become an executive assistant because I'd

dreamed of it ever since I was a little girl. I became an

executive assistant because nobody seems to have

secretaries anymore. And because it was the cheapest and

fastest business degree I could earn that would qualify me

for a position in the range of salaries that would alow me

to move the hel out of Lebanon and start a new life.

I never intended to stay at this level forever. I'd taken the

job with Kely Printing because of their employee-

education program. I had to work there for a year before I

could start taking night classes toward my MBA, a cost

the company would partialy reimburse if I qualified, and

I'd make sure I did. I wasn't an executive assistant

because I didn't want to be something else. Just too poor.

And until today, I'd never felt bad about what I did, this

one step up on a ladder that had many rungs.

The list he'd left hadn't been written with fine ink on

creamy paper, just scribbled on the back of a paper

already printed on one side in handwriting so fiercely

already printed on one side in handwriting so fiercely

indecipherable that reading it was like cracking code. It

wasn't a long list but even so, it was a list and I looked at it for a long time.

That piece of paper, those numbered sentences, effectively

broke my day into chunks. They provided a purpose, a

path, a pattern. I didn't need Paul to give me that; I was

more than capable of prioritizing my daily duties, and yet,

staring at the instructions gave me a sense of

accomplishment before I'd even completed a single task.

It surprised him, I think, when he came back to the office

just after I should have left. I hadn't dawdled, but the list

had been very long and some of the tasks I hadn't yet been

trained for. I'd figured them out, though, my fingers tap-

tapping on the keyboard as I filed in data spreadsheets

and saved files and sent e-mails. I was shutting down my

computer as he disappeared into his office.

I took my time gathering my sweater and water bottle. In a

moment Paul reappeared in his doorway. Paul had not

loosened his tie or taken off his suit jacket, not at the end

of the day. He looked tired.

"Paige. I wasn't expecting you to stil be here." He slid his

"Paige. I wasn't expecting you to stil be here." He slid his gaze from mine in a manner so blatant I couldn't have

missed it. "I got al the files you sent."

I could've let it pass, pretended something wasn't strange

between us. Maybe I should've, but his attitude rankled.

"Is everything al right? I mean, I did everything you asked

for, right?"

He nodded, but when he spoke, his voice was gruff and he

avoided looking at me. "I've been very pleased with your

performance."

I thought of what Brenda had said, about how the girls

never lasted long. Wel, I needed this job and I'd be

damned if I was forced out of it. I could find another job if

I wanted, but it would be when I wanted. Not when Mr.

Johnson decided to make me miserable enough to quit.

But there was more to it than that. Strength and beauty.

Flaws and strengths. Lists. It was bound wrists and a

blindfold and being told what to do without having to think

for myself.

We stared at each other until he looked away.

"Thank you," Paul said. Then he went into his office and

"Thank you," Paul said. Then he went into his office and

closed the door behind him.

The misdelivered note handwritten in fine ink on gorgeous

paper wasn't anything like the one Paul had given me. So

why, then, had they both become so inexplicably linked?

Kira caught me on my cel phone as I drove home. Our

conversation didn't last long, and while she might not have

felt the strain, I did. We hadn't been best friends for a long

time, but like al my other old habits, Kira was a hard one

to break.

Her cal took my mind off Paul and the lists, but got me

thinking about Austin again. I wasn't sure that was an

improvement. She didn't apologize for inviting him to the

Pharmacy with us, but she didn't bring up Jack's name,

either, so I guessed that was sort of a draw.

I let her talk on and on even though I didn't have much to

say. She didn't notice, or ignored, my lack of replies, until

finaly she hung up before I could remember to tel her I

stil had her purse. Typical. Kira was always careless with

what she had, no matter how much or how little.

At home when I wanted to drive for a while to clear my

At home when I wanted to drive for a while to clear my

head, I could have my pick of backcountry roads, winding

through cornfields and cow pastures and woods. I could

drive for hours, literaly, without crossing a major highway.

I could open the windows and let my hair blow in the wind

with the radio cranked up loud, singing along. I could lose

myself on the ribbon of asphalt and make time stand stil.

Not here. I could've found a rural road if I went out of my

way, but it would've taken more effort to do it than it was

worth. Instead, I suffered stop-and-go traffic through

urban neighborhoods with my windows roled up and my

doors locked. Harrisburg wasn't a big city, but anyone

who didn't think it had crime was a fool.

The song came on the radio just as I puled into the

parking garage. I'd just started listening to the public radio

station out of Phily. The Cure had done a cover of

Hendrix's "Purple Haze" with a lot of funky backbeat and

some sort of weird Star Trek effect. It was an old song

and not one the local stations played.

I was transported.

"You ladies here to see the guys, right?" The guy

behind the counter gives us all a knowing wink as

behind the counter gives us all a knowing wink as

though he's seen our type before. "Bachelorette

party?"

It's not. It's an anti-bachelorette party, a divorce party, I

guess you could cal it. I've just signed the paperwork

dissolving my marriage to Austin. For the first time since I

was seventeen years old, I'm a single woman.

I have good friends. I can be glad of that. Kira couldn't

make it tonight, but I've got Nat, Misty, Vicky and Tori.

Laurie and Anna made it, too. It was my idea to come to

see the boys dancing at the nudie bar, but they al joined

the band and jumped on the wagon as soon as I suggested

it.

The bouncer leads us past a stage with two poles on it

where two bored-looking girls teeter in slutty shoes and

wiggle lethargicaly. There's nobody in the club yet, though

there's seating for a couple hundred horny men. We folow

the bouncer to a back room, al of us giggling like maniacs

and more than a little nervous.

It's not what I expected. I'd seen the Chippendales dance,

but this…this is a smal room painted entirely black with a

smal stage in the center, a single, silver pole rising to the

smal stage in the center, a single, silver pole rising to the

ceiling. A couple smal tables and a couch I don't want to

sit on ring the stage. There's no music. There's nobody.

Until the curtain at the back of the room parts and a young

guy about my age comes out. He's got a sheaf of blond

hair, fuck, like Austin, and the same build. But I lift my chin

and act like I don't care. I don't care. I don't.

He's not alone. He has another guy with him. And

believe me, they are not the Chippendales. The music

starts, the heavy bass thumpa-thumpa of some club

song I don't really know. The boys, dressed in dark

slacks and white shirts, ties, start to dance.

Holy fucking shit.

I glance at Nat, whose eyes are wide. I look at Tori,

who's grinning from ear to ear. Laurie puts her hand

over her face and peeks through her fingers.

They dance.

I've never seen anything like it. I was expecting some sort

of choreographed dance routine, some cheesy costumes.

But not this. This is…I am…

Wow.

The taler, dark-haired guy strips out of his white shirt,

takes off his cap and shakes his hair over one eye. He

grins, fingers going to the white tie and slipping it loose

from its knot. The blond's made his way around the room,

which has filed with curious, giggling and hooting women

and a few silent men. The dark-haired one, though, he

turns on one foot and tosses his tie directly at me.

I know him.

Oh, shit, I know him. It's Jack, that guy Kira was so

fucking crazy for. He's taler now, and his hair's longer,

and oh, shit, shit, he's coming over to me with a look on

his face that says he knows me, too. His fingers tug the

buttons free on his white shirt and he slides it open to show

off a lean chest and bely.

He's got his nipple pierced and tattoos al over his arm. He

tilts his head and gives me a grin that sends a lightning bolt

right to my pussy, and I wish I could pretend it didn't, but

there's no hiding it. He has to see it, the way my mouth

opens and my tongue slides over my lips.

More guys come out of the back and dolar bils are flying

left and right, but al I can see is this one guy. This one

grinding in front of me, taking off his shirt, undoing his belt,

sliding the pants down over his thighs. I want to cover my

face, afraid he's bare assed, but he clearly knows the

benefit of anticipation and puls his pants up again, leaving

the zipper undone to show dark briefs beneath.

He's got a nice body, nothing like Austin's. He's lean and

hard, though, and he smels like sex when he puts a hand

on the back of the couch I didn't want to sit on but did.

His face is close to my ear when he sings along with the

lyrics of the song I'l never be able to forget now. He

makes kissing the sky sound dirty and delicious.

When he nudges a knee between my thighs I open for him.

He rubs his body along mine, but fast, not lingering. Then

he turns. Gives me a sly-ass grin over one shoulder and

toys with the waistband of his pants.

Other women are screaming, "Take it off!," but I can't do

anything except stare. The song ends and slides into

another and I'm sure he's done. He'l take the dolars and

go into the back room.

But he does something else, instead. He gets on his knees,

sliding across the floor on them until he ends up at my feet.

And for that one moment, that instant, everything freezes

for me.

I can't breathe. I can't blink. I stare at him on that dirty

floor and our eyes lock. I've never wanted anything as

much as I want to put my hand in the long silken darkness

of his hair and pul.

And in the next moment he's up again, this time shaking his

ass at the woman waving a five-dolar bil like she might fly

away with it. The moment passed, but not the feeling. Not

the memory.

Later, after the club closed, I fucked Jack in the backseat

of his car while he whispered dirty, filthy things in my ear.

We fucked a lot, but not for long.

He never got on his knees for me again.

The rap on my window startled me so much my hands

flew up and knocked against my key ring. I stabbed at the

radio, switching it off. Heart pounding, I turned to the

window, expecting a gun.

I was shot al the same by the sight of the man's face

beyond the glass. My neighbor, my workout buddy, Mr.

Mystery. He frowned and leaned closer.

"Are you al right?"

I puled my keys from the ignition and grabbed my purse,

then waited until he'd stepped aside before I opened the

door. "Yeah. Fine. I was just…spacing out for a minute."

"Decompressing? Yeah. I do that, too. Sorry I scared

you."

I could breathe again, but every nerve ending stil tingled.

This guy looked nothing like Jack aside from dark hair, but

even that was nothing alike. I swalowed hard and fought

not to smooth my hair, though I had a sudden fear of how

messy it probably looked.

"It's okay. It's probably not smart to sit in the parking

garage."

His smile crinkled the corners of his eyes. "No, probably

not. You never know just who might be watching you."

Funny how that was supposed to sound like a warning but

Funny how that was supposed to sound like a warning but

came off as a temptation. He shifted his bag over his

shoulder and looked me over, seeming as though he might

say something else, but satisfied himself instead with

another smile. With a little wave he backed off and got in a

car across the aisle. It was newer than mine, a dark blue

hybrid, which told me that at least he was environmentaly

responsible as wel as hot.

I waved, too, and watched him drive away. For a second

or two the memory of Jack's face shimmered and merged

with my mystery man's. It made me shiver and I put the

thought from my mind. Jack had been a long time ago, and

a different time. I was a different me back then.

Or so I thought.

Chapter 11

Though I'd checked my mail that morning, I couldn't resist

peeking into my mailbox when I got home. Through the

smal glass window I expected to see nothing, so at first,

that's al I saw. Then the black sliver of shadow on the

mailbox's metal floor caught my gaze and my breath

razored my throat as I sucked it in. I hid my cough behind

my hand. There was something in my mailbox.

A Tenant Association flyer, probably. The T.A. was

notorious for its enthusiasm for memos. But they usualy

came on half slips of cheap computer paper, the message

printed multiple times on one sheet and torn in halves or

thirds. This was not a memo from the T.A.

I puled out the card, stil not addressed to me, and looked

around with sudden suspicion. I have never liked surprises.

Not in parties, not in relationships, not in practical jokes.

I saw other tenants in the lobby and standing by the

elevators. Some with unfamiliar faces moved past me

toward the stairs to the basement. Nobody looked at me.

If anyone was watching to see what I'd do, they were

being very shy about it.

being very shy about it.

And why should anyone be watching? I'd passed the other

notes along to the rightful recipient. Chances were good

the person putting them in the wrong box didn't even know

they'd gone through a different one first. Yet something

about it seemed off. Who would keep making the same

mistake over and over?

Unless it wasn't a mistake?

But I could think of no reason why anyone would be

slipping me sexy little instructions. I looked around again. I

tapped the card against my palm. I looked at the mailbox

for 114. I peeked through its glass window, saw the

magazines and letters inside and held the card to the slot.

I wouldn't read it. I shouldn't read it. I didn't dare read it.

I couldn't help it, I swear. I was thirsty and it was a drink

of cold water; I was hungry and it was a loaf of bread. I

had PMS and it was a bar of chocolate and a bowl of ice

cream with peanuts and fudge sauce on top. It was the

cherry on that sundae.

With a quick glance from side to side, certain no one was

With a quick glance from side to side, certain no one was

watching, I tucked the card into my bag and hightailed it to

the elevator. My phone was ringing when I got to my

apartment. The answering machine had just clicked on

when I grabbed up the portable handset from the end

table. My mom had already started talking.

"Paige. It's Mom. Cal me—"

"Mom. Hi." The note, unopened and unread, burned my

palm.

"Are you screening your cals?" She sounded amused.

I took a couple of deep breaths and stared at the number

on the front of the paper. "I'm not screening my cals. I just

got in."

This perked her ears. "Oh? Were you out?"

"Yes, Mother," I said. "Hence the just-getting-in part."

"Where were you?"

"Not on a date, if that's what you're hoping," I told her, just to poke.

"Too bad for you."

"Too bad for you."

"Yeah, yeah. What's up?" I put the note in the center of the kitchen table where it could watch me and I it. I circled it,

only half my mind on the conversation with my mother, so

distracted by this new note I'd forgotten I needed to be

angry at her.

"Does something have to be up for me to cal my favorite

daughter?"

My mom has always been almost more like an aunt or

older sister than a mom. She was only nineteen when she

had me, about the same age I'd been when she'd had

Arthur. I'm not saying she didn't do her best. I'm just

saying that now, when I'm in my twenties and she's in her

forties, the age difference seems even less than it did when

I was growing up and she was the only mom I knew who

cared as much about the Backstreet Boys as I did.

"No, I guess not. But there usualy is. Usualy you just hit

me up on e-mail."

Since I moved "so far away," anyway, and phoning me

had become a long-distance cal.

"Wel, I don't have to do that anymore." She paused and I

could hear the grin in her voice. "Guess where I'm caling

from."

"Paris."

"No, Paige," my mom said as though I'd been serious. "My car! I'm driving to the mal!"

"You're talking and driving? Mom, you do know that's

ilegal in the city of Lebanon. You'd better hang up. You'l

get a ticket!" Not to mention my mom's driving was

haphazard even when she wasn't distracted by a phone.

"You're missing the point, Paige. The point is, I'm caling

you from my own cel phone!"

"Ah." I should've guessed it was something bright and

shiny that she'd caled to tel me. "Congratulations.

Welcome to the milennium."

She ignored my far-from-subtle sarcasm. "Leo bought it

for me. Isn't he the sweetest?"

As boyfriends went, Leo was one of the better ones.

Being older might have been part of it, though with his big

Being older might have been part of it, though with his big

beer bely and long beard there was no question he was as

rough a biker as any guy my mom had ever dated. He stil

rode his Harley to work and sported a line of faded

tattoos on each arm, but he was melower than some of

the younger guys she'd dated.

"That was nice of him."

"So now I can cal you al the time! And text. I can text

you, too, if I can figure out how."

"Oh, joy." I dug into the junk drawer for a pen and some

paper and paused when I puled out the yelow legal pad.

My scant list of flaws and strengths stared out at me, and I

forgot to speak.

"Paige?"

"What's your number?" I put that list aside and poised to

take down the number.

"I.D.K.," my mom said airily.

"Huh?"

"I.D.K.," she repeated. "Geez, Paige. Don't you know

"I.D.K.," she repeated. "Geez, Paige. Don't you know

what I.D.K. means? It means ‘I don't know.'"

"I know what it means. I just didn't think you did. Besides,

Mom, nobody talks like that out loud. It's just textspeak."

"L.O.L.," my mom said.

"M.O.M.," I said.

We both laughed.

"Also, listen," she said, but didn't say anything else.

"I'm listening."

"Guess who I ran into the other day."

"With your car?"

"You," my mom said, "are a smart-ass."

"I.D.K., who'd you run into?"

She paused. I waited for the sound of crunching glass and

metal, but she must've just been puling into a slot rather

than ramming into a phone pole.

than ramming into a phone pole.

"Austin's mother."

Serendipity. It's not just the name of a mildly entertaining

John Cusack movie. "Oh?" I couldn't manage a different

response.

"She said to say hi."

"Uh-huh." As far as I knew, when her son and I had

broken up, Mrs. Miler had been happy to see me go.

"Don't make that face at me, Paige."

"You don't know what face I'm making."

"I'm your mother, I don't need to see your face to know

you're crunching your nose. You're going to get horrible

crow's-feet that way."

"Around my nose?"

"And guess what she said?"

I waited while she dangled further information in front of

me like cheese in front of a rat.

"She says he's moved up there. Where you are."

Wel, at least I'd forgotten to keep staring at the note with

hungry eyes. "Harrisburg isn't a foreign country, you know.

It's only forty minutes away." I tried not to sound sharp,

but failed.

My mother didn't care. When "going away" in the

vernacular of the area means you're taking a trip to the

store, forty minutes was an eternity. I was gone. Anyway,

I'd already known about Austin.

Harrisburg was my place. Not his. He didn't belong here.

He should've stayed in Lebanon, where his family lived

and had always lived and would always live. He should've

stayed there where every street could remind him of me

and he could weep bitter, salty tears at the loss.

"Lemoyne," she said as though I hadn't spoken. "His mom said he got a new job with some big heating-and-cooling

company. He's not doing construction with his dad

anymore."

"Good for him."

"I'm sure I could get his number for you."

"I have his number." She was silent to that, because as far as she knew, Austin and I hadn't spoken since the day I'd

walked out of our apartment.

"Fine. Be that way. I just thought you might like to know,

that's al. He's got a good job."

"Depends on what you consider good."

This time, her silence was longer. "Wel. When did you

become such a snob?"

I sighed. "I'm not a snob. I'm just…trying to change things

for myself. That's al."

There realy was no better way to put it, and no way not to

say it without offending her. My mother had everything I

never wanted. Most parents want better for their kids, and

I know my mom wasn't different. But there's always that

sting when you realize what you gave someone hasn't been

enough, even though it was your best.

"I just thought maybe you might…"

"What?"

My mom cleared her throat, a sure sign she was getting

ready to pretend she hadn't done something to piss me off

when she knew she had. "I just thought maybe he'd seen

you. That's al. Been in touch."

"Stalked me, you mean?" Angry again, I paced the length

of my living room and then around my kitchen table, and

finaly into my bedroom, where I stopped so I didn't have

to make another round. "How could you tel him where I

lived, Mom? You know I don't want to see him!"

"You know, Paige, once upon a time you'd have been mad

at me for keeping him from you."

"Once upon a time was a long time ago," I said.

"I'm sorry," my mother said stiffly. "He caled and asked if I could tel him where you were living. I didn't think you'd

mind. You said yourself you had his number."

"Mom…" I sighed and pressed my fingers between my

eyes to keep myself from completely losing my temper. "If

I wanted him to know where I lived I'd have sent him a

card."

card."

"I'm sorry, Paige." She sounded sincere, but I knew her

wel enough to know she was sorry I was angry. Not sorry

because she thought she was wrong. "I have to go. I'm at

the mal."

"Okay. Fine."

"You know," she said suddenly, "it wouldn't kil you to come back home every once in a while. Arty misses you.

Me, too."

I didn't suggest they come up to visit me. Even meeting

halfway would've taken her out of her comfort zone. "I'l

be there tomorrow night, remember? Taking him to the

movies? Power Heroes? "

"You could come on Friday, instead. Spend the

weekend."

She might be able to know what my face looked like

without seeing it, but I doubt she knew about the shudder

crawling over me at the thought.

"I can't. Busy."

She didn't push it. "Okay. Fine."

We were so alike, sometimes it was scary. Which, of

course, was one reason why I'd moved away. We hung

up.

I stripped out of my clothes and headed into the bathroom,

wishing the conversation could be washed away as easily

as soapsuds down the drain. Growing up, I'd lived with my

mom in a series of low-income-housing apartments, rented

trailers and dilapidated houses owned by men who often

seemed more interested in the way my mom cooked and

kept house than anything else about her. There had never

been enough of anything, but especialy hot water for

showers.

In the best of them, I'd been able to sneak a late-night

shower when nobody else needed to use the bathroom,

the washing machine wasn't running and nobody was

cleaning dishes. In the worst of them, I'd sought the

shower as a refuge from the shouting and the slamming

doors, shivering under spray that turned frigid long before I

was ready to get out.

I worked hard and sacrificed much to afford the smalest

I worked hard and sacrificed much to afford the smalest

unit and cheapest maintenance package in one of

Harrisburg's hottest new apartment buildings. Unlimited

hot water might be wasteful, and I didn't care. I took

advantage of it every chance I could.

By the time I came out dressed in a pair of stretched-out

fleece pants and a T-shirt that had been threadbare when I

stole it from Austin's drawer, I felt better. I fixed myself a

sandwich and a glass of cold milk, and I set it on the table.

The note was stil there.

It slid into my hands as though it had been made for my

fingers. The same black letters stroked this paper with the

same black ink, and this time, with nobody to see, I

brought it to my nose and breathed in deep.

Fresh, good ink smels like nothing else in the world. I

closed my eyes and breathed again. The paper stil had a

scent, faintly musky like cologne or perfume I didn't

recognize. I sat to study it. Bold, heavy strokes of the pen

carved the number on the front. No envelope, no name, no

postmark to show where or when it had been mailed. Not

even a fingerprint smudge to give me an idea of the size of

the hand that had written it. The elegant handwriting

showed no gender.

showed no gender.

Without an envelope and stamp it couldn't have come

through the mail, which meant someone had pushed it

through the slot. The wrong slot, again. They'd taken the

time to write the number on the front, but hadn't paid

attention to the number on my mailbox. It wasn't a note for

me, and I should not have read it. If I hadn't, everything

would have been different.

If only I'd done the right thing.

Chapter 12

You wil take your finest paper and your best ink.

You wil write down in explicit detail your most erotic

experience. It may be real or it may be fantasy, but you

are to write it without error in your best handwriting,

without blots or misspelings.

You wil return this essay to me by Thursday.

The note listed the same post-office box as before.

I blinked and read the note again as heat rose in my

cheeks. I closed it and put it aside. I shouldn't have read it.

It wasn't for me.

I opened it again, read over the words in that fluid,

beautiful hand that gave away nothing of its origin, and

something twisted inside me. Finest paper and best ink.

Already I could feel my fingers curving around the pen,

could imagine the words unscroling under the tip as I put

my secret thoughts onto paper. I even knew the paper I

would use. Creamy white, unlined, bordered in gold. It

was the perfect sheet to use for writing something so

was the perfect sheet to use for writing something so

intimate and explicit as had been demanded. I had only

two sheets.

I folded the card carefuly and slipped it back into the

envelope, closing it up as tenderly as I might pul the

blankets higher on a lover next to me in bed when I woke

to a chil. I pushed it away from me on the table, and

folded my hands while I stared at it. The mystery of who

was sending these notes, these lists, had been

overshadowed by the more intriguing enigma of why.

I got up from the table and puled a glass of water from the

tap, but even though I drank it back in a few quick gulps,

more the way a practiced drinker wil take whiskey than

water, it didn't cool the heat rising in my throat to my

cheeks. I turned, my back to the counter, and leaned. The

note sat on my table. Not accusing.

Inviting.

In a long, long list of sexual experiences, what would I

consider my most erotic? Not the first time I ever sucked a

guy off, or the first time I came from someone's else's

hand. Not the first time I ever fucked, either. Al of those

had been memorable. I'd had a lot of sex, a lot of it good.

had been memorable. I'd had a lot of sex, a lot of it good.

Quite a bit bad. I had a long list of experiences I could

have written, but what was the one worthy of my finest

paper? My best ink?

I busied myself with cleaning my tidy kitchen but was

unable to put the list from my mind. The first few notes had

been simple, if enigmatic, instructions. Eat oatmeal. Work

out. Be beautiful. It had been something of a game, these

suggestions implanted in my brain and leading me toward

the choices I'd have probably made anyway even without

the suggestions. But this…this was different. What had

seemed harmless before had become slightly more sinister.

Also, a heluva lot sexier.

Late night.

The only light comes, flickering blue, from the TV in the

corner. The sound's turned down low because it's not so

important to hear what's being said as it is to see what's

going on. I've seen this movie before, a few times, in

pieces, but it's the first time I've ever seen it al at once.

He lifts his head from kissing me when it comes on, his

hands stiling on my bely where they'd been wandering

their way up toward my breasts. "Hot," he murmurs. "This their way up toward my breasts. "Hot," he murmurs. "This movie is hot."

I push his face back to mine and take his mouth to keep

his attention on me, not the TV screen. I open my mouth

and legs to him, puling him down on top of me. Puling him

close. My heart's open, too, though I haven't yet told him I

love him. Those are words for prom pictures and class

rings.

We don't have that, him and me. We have the backseat of

his car, we have the space beneath the bleachers after

school. We have the back row of the movie theater. We

have the basement in his parents' house and this couch.

But when I hear the song, the one my mom plays over and

over on those old mix tapes from her youth, I lift my head

from his kisses to see what's going on. I know why she

loved this song. She'd been a fan of Duran Duran in her

youth, complete with fedora hat and bleached-blond

streak in her hair, just like the bass player. John Taylor, the

same guy singing this song. Wel, not singing it. Chanting it,

sort of. I knew she loved this song because he sang it, but

until now, I hadn't known this was the movie it had come

from.

The woman on the screen bites her finger. The slide show

she's watching cycles through to another picture, but the

movie doesn't show what she's looking at. Only her. She

touches herself, her thighs opening, her head faling back in

ecstasy as she makes herself come.

He watches me watch. His hand presses flat on my chest,

over my heart. My breath had caught in my throat and I let

it seep out, slow and silent, not wanting him to know I'd

been holding it.

"Do you do that?"

I tear my gaze from the TV to look at him. "What?"

He jerks his chin toward the set. The movie's moved on to

something else, but I know what he meant. "That. Do

you?"

"Do I touch myself? Do I get myself off?" I hitch higher

against the arm of the battered couch his parents donated

to the basement. A cat had scratched it; a dog had lifted its

leg on it. We'd fucked about a thousand times on its faded

cushions, or maybe only ten.

He sits back. His shirt hangs open at his throat. I'd been

the one to undo the buttons. The waistband of his boxers

peeks from his jeans. Beneath the denim his cock had

throbbed, hard and hot, moments before.

I know him now, though not as wel as I wil eventualy. He

doesn't know me very wel at al and never wil. Yet this is

different, this coyness as he scrubs his hand over the brush

of his hair and grins.

"Wel. Yeah."

"Do you?" I pul down the bottom of my sweater and

cross my arms over my stomach.

He laughs low. I've known him for years, since elementary

school. I've watched him become a man. He sounds like a

man when he laughs, al low and growly deep. Rough-

edged.

"Wel, yeah," he says. "Al guys do."

"But you don't think al girls do, too?"

"I'm not asking what al girls do. Just you," he points out.

He knows how to work me. And, because I want to

believe I'm the only girl in his thoughts, I answer his

question honestly. Later we'l both lie.

"Yeah. I do it."

He clears his throat. "Realy? I mean, you realy—"

"Wank? Masturbate? Pet my pussy?" I guess I'm trying to

shock him. Make him blush. He's not the blushing sort.

"Is that what you cal it?"

"What do you call it?"

We're whispering, though his parents sleep a ful two floors

above us and we haven't bothered to keep our voices

down about anything before. He leans forward and so do

I. He smels faintly of cologne and more like fabric

softener. His mother does his laundry. Mine doesn't.

"Jerking off, I guess."

"I don't cal it anything," I admit. "I just do it."

"How often?"

I laugh, then, and look to the movie for strength. The

couple in the film are fucking in what looks like a clock

tower. Their hands scrabble at each other as they pul off

their clothes.

"Whenever I feel like it!"

He laughs. "How often do you feel like it?"

I don't want to tel him about the nights I've spent with

other boys' hands on me, revving me up without finishing

me off. Or the blank-fronted books I sneak from the

shelves of the family down the street who pay me to watch

their kids while they go bowling. I've learned a lot more

about sex from those books than I've ever learned from a

boy. Until him, anyway.

"Do you feel like it now?" he asks when it becomes clear

I'm not going to answer.

"Do I feel like coming now?"

He's used his hands on me, put his cock inside me, put his

mouth on my mouth and on my body. I've come with him

more than a few times. But not every time.

more than a few times. But not every time.

"Wil you?" he asks. "While I watch?"

I don't know what answer to give. I only know I want to

give him everything he asks for and some things he hasn't. I

nod.

He sits back against the couch's opposite arm. I'm not sure

he'l even be able to see me, painted in shafts of white and

dark from the TV's glow. I'm not sure I want him to see

me do this without a shield of shadows.

I've never done this in front of anyone, and at first I'm not

sure how to start. In the privacy of my bedroom I'd have

the door locked and soft music playing in the dark. I'd be

naked, or wearing only panties and a T-shirt. Now I have

to navigate the barriers of my jeans and sweater,

underpants and bra. So I start by touching my breasts

through the wool, not because I usualy feel my boobs

when I'm masturbating but because I think that's what he

expects me to do, and doing it wil buy me time to find the

nerve to folow through with the rest of it.

The smal noise that eeps out of his throat convinces me I

made the right choice. My hands feel smal on my breasts,

which are fuler in my palms than in his. I can't remember

which are fuler in my palms than in his. I can't remember

the last time I touched them this way, cupping and rubbing,

trying to tweak my nipples to points. The sweater is too

thick for this, so I shift until I can pul it off over my head.

Another smal noise from him, and I bite my lower lip. My

fingers tiptoe over the slopes of my now-naked chest, over

the lace and satin of my best bra. The one I bought from

Victoria's Secret with my babysitting cash. The one I wear

on every date. Beneath its expensive material and breast-

lifting bands of metal, my nipples have gone tight and

aching.

My palms slide on the smooth fabric. When my thumbs

pass over those hard points, I bite harder. Soft flesh dents

under my teeth. It doesn't hurt yet, but if I don't ease up I

wil soon taste blood.

I close my eyes because it's easier to be what I think he

wants me to be when I'm not watching him watch me. And

it gives me darkness, which I'm used to and prefer for this

sort of thing. I feel my skin, softer than the bra that has

been through lots of washings and, despite its cost, wasn't

made to last.

I go away.

I go away.

From this basement, which always smels a little of wet

dog though his dog died years ago. From him, the boy-

man watching me. Even from the TV and the movie in the

corner that started al of this in the first place.

I go away to the place where everything feels good, and I

don't have to think about anything but the whisper of my

fingertips along my sides. Down across my bely, which

wil never be flat enough no matter how many crunches I

do or lunches I skip. The metal button on my jeans isn't

cold or warm, it's the same temperature as my skin. My

fingers miss it in their first walk across, though the belt

loops snag my touch.

I don't open the button at first. I slide my hand down the

front of my jeans. My panties are already damp from the

hour we've been on the couch. Sometimes, though I'd

never dare tel him this, no matter what I'm about to share,

my pussy gets wet even before we start kissing.

Sometimes, when I'm in the shower getting ready to meet

him, I do what I'm doing now with my hands, which is rub

them al over my body and pretend they're his. Sometimes

I spend the entire date—the movie, the dinner, bowling,

whatever it is, waiting for it al to be over so we can get to

whatever it is, waiting for it al to be over so we can get to

this part. The couch, the backseat. His hands and mouth

on mine. His cock inside me.

I gasp aloud when my finger finds the smal bump at the

front of my panties. I don't have room to stroke, so I

satisfy myself with pushing gently. I use my middle finger.

The fuck finger, he cals it. It's the one he uses inside me to

get me ready before he uses his dick, but when he touches

my clit he uses his first finger. Or his thumb, if I'm on top. I

didn't come to his bed or his backseat or his couch as

anything close to a virgin, but I don't want to think about

who taught him how to do that.

I can always get off faster by myself than with someone

else. I'm already close. Another gentle press of my finger

pushes a shudder through me. My toes curl against the

cushions. My hips lift a little.

I don't have room to do this right, so now I unbutton my

jeans. My zipper ratchets apart, tooth by metal tooth. My

jeans open. I hook my thumbs into the sides and push

them down, over my hips and thighs. They get hung up at

my knees, and he reaches forward to grab a handful of

denim and help me.

In my bra and also-best panties I lean back and give

myself over to his scrutiny. I push my hands over my body,

al the curves that scared and annoyed me when they

started forming but I'm grateful for now. Boys like boobs

and ass and even a little bely is okay if you have the rest

of it, too.

He unzips his jeans, too, while he watches. Soon his prick

is settled firmly in his fist and he pumps it slowly as he

watches me caress my body with my hands acting like his.

I have seen him do this before, stroke himself erect, give

himself a few quick pumps now and then. I've never

watched him finish this way. He's always done it in my

mouth, or my hand, or in my body.

"Take off your panties," he whispers in a voice rough-

edged with need.

I can't remember him ever saying that to me before.

They've always just…come off. But now I slide the cotton

and satin down to end up on the floor next to my jeans. I

try not to think about the couch under my bare flesh, or

wish we'd at least put down a blanket.

When he groans, I'm no longer distracted. I can't focus on

When he groans, I'm no longer distracted. I can't focus on

anything but my hand moving between my legs and his

moving on his cock. I'm wet and my fingers slip and slide.

I push two inside myself, echoing the motion he's making.

It's like my fingers are his prick, his fist my pussy. Our

bitten-back moans come at the same time.

My clitoris is hard. Rigid. When I brush it with my

fingertips I want to arch and squirm, thrust my hips. I want

to fil myself deep with something hard. I want to ride his

dick while my clit rubs his hard bely.

I want to come.

My hand moves faster between my legs. My other hand

finds my nipples, which I twist and tug in time to the

thrusting of my fingers. My knees fal open and my head

fals back. The arm of the couch is unyielding, but I push

against it anyway.

The couch dips as he moves closer to me. He's on his

knees, his jeans and boxers tangled on his ankles. He

stops just long enough to pul his shirt over his head, the

sleeves going inside out as it flutters to the floor. Then his

hand is back on his dick and his other is on my hip.

I stop rubbing my clit, thinking he's going to take over.

That he means to cover me with his body and push up

inside me. Every nerve is singing now, and I want that. I

want him to fuck me, but he doesn't.

"Don't stop, Paige," he says. "I want to watch you."

So my hand moves back between my legs and my fingers

stil, going slower even though he's hand-fucking himself

ever faster. I want to draw it out, make it last, build the

pleasure.

My breath is coming in short, harsh pants and my hips are

moving al on their own. I'm so close I could come only by

thinking about it. I take my clit between my thumb and first

finger and squeeze, just gently. Just softly. Just enough.

Everything contracts at once. My pussy, my ass, my clit.

My breath bursts out of me in a cry that's too loud but I

can't hold it back. This time when I bite my lip, I do taste

blood.

My orgasm has taken over. I am steamrolered by it and

left flat. I can't move, though my neck is kiling me from the

awkward angle and something sharp is poking me in the

ass.

ass.

"Ah, God," he cries. "Ah, Paige!"

Hot wetness spatters my chest and belly. It pumps out

of him in three hard spurts. The rest surges over his

hand as it cups the head of his cock and he strokes a

few last times. The scent of him fills me. The couch

beneath me dips again as he leans to put his hand on

the arm behind my head.

Crouching over me, his hand stil on his penis, his face is lit

by the television's moving shadows but I have no trouble

looking straight into his eyes. His jizz is going cold on my

skin and I'm afraid to move in case it drips off me onto the

cushions.

He leans to kiss me with an open mouth, but no tongue.

It's sweet and unexpected. I taste the salt of his sweat on

his upper lip.

He puls his shirt up from the floor and wipes me clean,

which is also unexpected and leaves me uncertain how to

react. He scrubs at the wetness on my bra with his sleeve,

but it's too late. I can wash it, but there wil always be a

stain.

stain.

"You are so beautiful," Austin says when he kisses me

again.

It's the first time he says it and this time, though later I

won't, I believe him.

My fingers had gone stiff from gripping the pen. I hadn't

thought about that night in a long time. Other memories

had crowded it out. Worse memories, actualy, that had

made me forget there'd once been a time when I'd been

young and in love.

"Discipline," I said aloud. I wasn't smoking, but the taste and scent of tobacco smoke filed my senses anyway.

What the hel was going on?

I gave in to the need to let my legs buckle under me then. I

let myself fal onto my couch, where I curled into a bal and

puled the knitted afghan over my head. Through the holes

the stark wals of my apartment glared at me until I closed

my eyes.

I'm no prude. When other kids were watching Aladdin,

my mom was working third shift and leaving me alone in

my mom was working third shift and leaving me alone in

the house from ten-thirty at night until eight in the morning.

She thought I was asleep when she left, and it was true I

was in bed. I never told her how anxious I was when she

left, or how hard it was for me to sleep knowing I was

alone in the house al night. I'd creep downstairs and

console myself with hours of cable television. I saw a lot of

things I probably shouldn't have, but it also taught me a lot.

Even so, these notes. The commands. What had seemed

fairly innocuous at the start couldn't be confused for

anything innocent now.

The lists had been specific. Detailed. And now, explicit.

What sort of woman wanted someone to tel her how to

live her day? What sort of woman needed someone else to

tel her to be beautiful, to be strong? What sort of woman

craved the commands of someone else dictating her life?

I put my hand between my legs, on the damp cotton of my

panties, and felt my clit pulse.

What sort of woman?

I thought I knew.

I thought I knew.

Chapter 13

Here's a funny story made humorous by time, since it

wasn't funny when it happened. I was nineteen when my

mom had Arthur, which means that when she got pregnant,

I was eighteen. A senior in high school and screwing my

brains out with Mr. Popular Jock.

My mom had always been up front about sex and

protecting myself. Too up front, in my opinion, since my

sex life was the second-to-last topic of discussion I ever

wanted to share with her, the last being hers. Austin wasn't

the first boy I'd fooled around with. He wasn't even the

first boy I'd slept with, though the previous few times I'd

had sex had been so unremarkable and meaningless I

mostly forgot it had ever happened. I'd been on the pil for

a couple years already, but I made him use condoms, too.

There's nothing quite like being an ilegitimate child to

make a girl fear pregnancy. There was no way I was going

to end up the way my mother had.

Stil, when a condom broke I wasn't too worried. At least,

not until my period was late. Not even a warning cramp to

announce its pending arrival. I counted the days and when

we'd had sex—easy enough to do because it was pretty

we'd had sex—easy enough to do because it was pretty

much every time we were together, which by that point

was almost every day.

I didn't tel Austin what I suspected. I didn't tel anyone. I

went to the drugstore on the far end of town and bought

the first pregnancy test I could find. I came home and

drank a quart of water before I went to sleep so when I

got up I'd have plenty of pee to use for that first morning

urination. I read the instructions four times. I peed on the

little stick and watched with my guts cramping from fear,

not PMS, for the lines to show up. One or two? Safe or

caught?

One line.

I hadn't been raised a regular churchgoer, but I got on my

knees there in front of the toilet and I sent a prayer of

thanks so fervent I was sure any God who'd listen would

forgive me for my past sins. Then I wrapped the test in a

handful of toilet paper the way I usualy wrapped my

tampons and shoved it to the bottom of the garbage can.

I got home from school to an empty house, my mom at

work as usual. And, as usual, I was already flying through

my homework and my chores so I could spend the rest of

my homework and my chores so I could spend the rest of

the time with Austin until she got home. When I went into

the bathroom to clean it, my heart stopped. Literaly. The

world grayed out in that two seconds before it started to

beat again, and I clutched the sink to keep from faling.

There on the counter was a pregnancy test. The same

brand I'd used that morning. Only this one had two lines in

the little window. A positive result.

This time when I got on my knees it wasn't to pray. I put

my head in my shaking hands and concentrated on

drawing in breath after breath. I could smel the bleachy

cleanser I'd meant to use on the shower wals, which never

wanted to come clean from the soap scum no matter how

hard I scrubbed. I could feel my breath whistling through

my fingers.

I got myself under control and onto my feet to stare again

at the test. Hadn't I left enough time for the results? Had it

turned positive after I'd thrown it away and gone my merry

way to school, secure in my un-knocked-up state?

Had I been pregnant al day and not known it?

Normaly I wouldn't touch the garbage without rubber

Normaly I wouldn't touch the garbage without rubber

gloves, but I dug through the layers of used tissues and Q-

tips without even a gag, though my stomach had risen in

my throat. I found the box I'd wrapped as carefuly as the

test, but before I could tear it open to reread the

instructions to see if it was possible a test could turn

positive later than the three minutes I'd given it. And I

found, stil wrapped tightly and hidden, the test I'd taken

that morning. Which meant, of course, the one on the sink

wasn't mine.

My thanks this time were louder and more fervent than

they'd been that morning, but shorter. Because if it wasn't

mine, that meant it was my mother's. I didn't want to think

about that.

Thinking of this now, I puled up in front of my mom's

house. The one she'd lived in with Leo and Arty for the

past three years, not one of the many in which she'd raised

me. A brick row home sandwiched between two others

and within a stone's throw of the railroad tracks, it wasn't

anything like my dad's house. Yet inside the good smels of

something baking tickled my nose instead of expensive

scented candles, and the hug I got from my mom felt

natural and not forced.

"Arty's upstairs getting ready," she said. "I told him he couldn't wear his Batman costume to the movies, but…

wel."

"I don't care if he wears his Batman costume."

My mom sighed and shook her head. "You're sure?"

Once upon a time I'd have been appaled at the thought,

but distance seemed to have melowed me. Or time,

maybe. I shrugged.

"What's it to me if the kid's happy?"

I couldn't decipher her look, which only lasted a second as

she turned to shout up the stairs. "Arty! Paige is here!"

"Where's Leo?" I'd always liked him, even if he did laugh

too loud at truly stupid television shows and wear offensive

novelty T-shirts.

Again with the look I couldn't interpret. "He's not home."

"Obviously." She didn't return my smile, but before I could ask her if something was wrong, Arty bounded down the

stairs. "Hey."

stairs. "Hey."

"Pow!" Arty leaped in front of me with his hands on his

hips. His brown eyes glinted from behind the mask.

Clearly he'd had no intention of listening to our mom. "I'm

Batman!"

"I see that. Are you ready to go, Batman?"

He launched himself into me, his arms and legs wrapping

around me. "Yay! Yes! Yay for Paige!"

"Good luck with him. Today was somebody's birthday at

school. He's had a lot of sugar."

"Oh, joy. Put a sweatshirt on, shorty. The movie theater

might be chily." I squeezed him back, tight. He smeled

like baby shampoo and candy. I could handle even a

sugar-infused Arty.

My mom tried to press a ten-dolar bil into my hand as

Arty struggled into his jacket, but I refused to take it.

"Mom, no."

"For popcorn."

"I said no." I'd been taler than her since seventh grade, but

"I said no." I'd been taler than her since seventh grade, but looking down at her now it seemed strange to be staring at

the top of her head. She'd starting graying early but had

always kept up the color. Now I saw half an inch of white

here and there along her part.

I noticed lines in the corners of her eyes, too, when she

looked up at me. My mom had never looked old to me, I

guess because she wasn't, but she looked tired. Her

eyeliner had smudged a little as though applied by an

unsteady hand, or as if she'd been rubbing her eyes. She

did that when she had a headache.

"You okay, Mom?"

"Fine, baby." She pressed the folded bil toward me again,

even though I jerked my hand away. "Take this."

"I said no. C'mon. It's my treat."

She frowned. I looked like my dad most every other time,

but now I saw myself in her face. "Paige. You can't tel me

that fancy apartment's not expensive."

"And I have a good job, remember? You don't have to

worry so much. Realy. I'm happy to take Arty to the

movies. I'm fine."

movies. I'm fine."

With a sigh she tucked the bil into the pocket of her jeans.

"As if you'd tel me otherwise?"

She had me there. I merely grinned and shrugged. She

shook her head and bent to help Arty slide his arms into

his sleeves. Considering how much Arty was bouncing up

and down it was no smal feat. I reached a hand to help

her and she stepped back with a strangely defeated sigh.

"Let's go, let's go, let's go, let's go!"

"Chil, little dude. Chil," I admonished with a hard look at my mom. "You sure you're okay?"

"Just tired, baby. Go have fun. I'l see you when you get

back. Not too late," she cautioned for Arty's benefit and

not mine. "School tomorrow."

Arty, stil bouncing, grabbed for my hand. "Let's

goooooooo!"

Like me, my little brother looked like the man who'd

fathered him. Personalitywise, though, he was almost

entirely my mother. Nonstop chatter from the backseat

entirely my mother. Nonstop chatter from the backseat

kept me entertained on the ten-minute drive to the mal.

Growing up, I'd had to go al the way to Palmyra to hit a

multiplex, but now Lebanon had its own stadium-seating

theater fancy enough to rival anything in Harrisburg. The

prices were cheaper, too, a reminder there were some

minor advantages to life in the town where I'd grown up.

Halfway through the movie, my phone vibrated against my

thigh. I flipped it open with a sigh when I saw who it was

from…ignoring the fact that not only did I recognize the

number on sight, but that I had, in a fit of insanity, assigned

it a photo. I shielded the glare of the backlight with one

hand as I read it.

Where you @?

I didn't reply, just flipped the phone closed and slid it back

into my jeans pocket. The movie went on and on. And on.

And on some more. I never knew an hour and a half could

last so long, but since Arty stared slack-jawed in wonder

at the cavorting cartoon figures I figured he, at least, was

enjoying it.

I blame the cartoons. If the movie had held my interest I

would never have puled out my phone again. I'd never

have answered Austin's text. I know better now, but that's

what I told myself at the time.

I'm watching a movie.

Cool. What movie? The answer came within seconds.

I tried not to be excited that he'd been waiting for my

answer.

Something with elves and fairies. My eyes are bleeding.

You're with Arty?

I loved that Austin didn't abbreviate his texts. Yes. What

are you doing?

Thinking about you.

Something briliantly colored and loud happened onscreen,

but I couldn't blame the sudden thunder of my pulse on

that. I glanced at Arty, his mouth ful of popcorn, his entire

attention taken up by what was going on. I looked again at

the phone. My fingers stroked the keys, but I didn't type

anything. I didn't want this to keep going.

Or maybe I did.

Or maybe I did.

What are you thinking about me?

"Paige," Arty whispered. "I have to go to the bathroom!"

"Now? Can't you wait five minutes? The movie's almost

over." I looked at the jumbo-size drink in his cup holder. It

had been the smalest size and stil contained enough soda

to float a boat. "Never mind. C'mon."

Arty squirmed. "No, no, I want to wait."

"Dude, you'l pee yourself."

The woman in front of us gave an annoyed glance over her

shoulder. Since her own three kids had been bouncing out

of their seats and talking over the entire movie, I wasn't

realy sure where she got off with the bitchface, but I

ignored her to focus on my brother.

"No, I want to wait," he insisted, eyes glued to the screen.

With a sigh, I watched him squirm. He was totaly going to

wet himself, but I remembered what it was like to miss the

best parts of a movie because of a teeny bladder. Not that

this movie seemed to have any best parts.

this movie seemed to have any best parts.

My phone vibrated again, earning me another look from

Mrs. Grumpy in front of me when I opened it to see

another text from Austin.

I'm thinking about how good your hair always smels.

Once I'd stuck a bobby pin in an electrical socket. What

can I say? I was young and dumb and it had seemed like a

good idea at the time. Much like this text-message

flirtation. Austin's message shot the same frigid-inferno

tingle up and down my body, and I saved myself from

gasping aloud only by biting my tongue.

I was saved from myself by the movie ending. Thanking

God it wasn't one to have outtakes and jokes scattered

throughout the final credits, I hustled Arty to the bathroom

where he peed forever as he chattered about the movie.

The weight of my phone in my pocket distracted me so

much I forgot to make him wash his hands, a fact I

remembered too late when he grabbed mine on the way to

the parking lot.

"Paige, you're the best sister, ever. I love you!"

"Love you too, squirt." I ruffled his hair and helped him

into his seat belt.

My phone remained silent, and so did I. Arty talked

enough for both of us al the way home. By the time I

puled up in front of my mom's house, he'd relayed the

entire movie to me, including dialogue, and I marveled at

how he could repeat word for word eight minutes' worth

of dialogue but was unable to remember his telephone

number.

"Inside and get ready for bed," I told him on the front

porch. "No fussing."

"Okay." He was off the moment he got in the door, up the

stairs before my mom even made it out of the kitchen.

"He's sufficiently caffeinated now," I told her. "To go along with the sugar."

"Great." My mom's laugh sounded forced.

From my pocket, my phone buzzed.

Her eyebrows lifted when I didn't reach to answer it. "So

I'm not the only one you ignore?"

I'm not the only one you ignore?"

I remembered then I was supposed to be angry with her

about something. "It's Austin."

She didn't even try to hide the pleasure on her face. She

puled a pan of brownies from the oven and settled them

on top of the stove, then slapped the hot pads on the

counter. "I'm not surprised. You were crazy about that

boy for so long—"

" Crazy being the operative word."

She turned to face me. "I said I'm sorry, al right?"

I eyed the brownies, then her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?" She

rummaged in the fridge to pul out a bowl of what looked

like fudge icing.

"Because you bake when you're upset."

She held out the bowl to me. "Taste this. Is it too sweet?"

"I don't want to taste that, Mom."

"Trying to watch your figure?" She ran a finger around the edge and tasted, then grimaced. "Is this too sweet? I think

it's too sweet."

"What's wrong?" I asked more quietly this time, and this

time, she put down the bowl to answer me.

"Leo moved out."

My mom had been with countless men during my lifetime.

Some had been boyfriends. Some had been dates. Only a

few had been live-ins, and out of al of them, Leo had

lasted the longest. I didn't expect to be so surprised he'd

gone.

"Why?"

"I asked him to." My mom waved a hand as she dug in the

drawer for a rubber spreader.

Above us, the floor creaked as Arty ran around. I looked

upward and said, "I'l go."

"Thanks, hon."

Upstairs, I wrangled my brother into the bathroom to

Upstairs, I wrangled my brother into the bathroom to

brush his teeth, then into bed. I tucked him in tight and

gave him half a dozen hugs and just as many kisses. I held

him close. Now he smeled like popcorn and little-boy

sweat, not candy.

"Go to sleep, monster."

He protested, yawning, that he wasn't tired, but his eyes

were already closing as I ducked out the door. I stood in

the hal for a few minutes, my own eyes closed. I'd never

lived in this house, but it smeled the same as al the places

I'd ever lived with my mom. Dust and chocolate brownies

and, fainter, below it al, the subtle odor of never-quite-

good-enough.

Downstairs, my phone vibrated again in my pocket. I

clapped a hand over it to stifle the buzz, which sounded

like a fly in a bottle. My mom had iced the brownies and

wrapped up half the pan in aluminum foil for me to take

along. She didn't mention the phone cal, and I didn't try to

refuse the food.

She hugged me on the way out the front door, her grip

fiercer than usual. "Drive carefuly, sweet girl."

My retort to that had been, "No, Mom, I plan on driving

recklessly," but tonight I kept those words inside. I hugged

her back as hard as she hugged me. She didn't have to be

crying for me to know she was upset about Leo. The

brownies had told me that.

"I'l cal you tomorrow, okay?" I said into her hair, which

smeled as always of Apple Pectin Shampoo.

She nodded. When she stepped away her eyes were

bright but she smiled. "Sure, honey. Good night."

She stood silhouetted in the doorway until I drove away.

By the time I reached the railroad tracks the light on the

front porch had gone out. My car bump-bumped over the

rails, taking me away from the house that hadn't ever been

home.

My phone buzzed again as I puled into the parking lot of

the Manor. I flipped it open to read al three messages. Al

from Austin.

How was the movie?

Say hi to your mom for me.

I had to laugh at that. Oh, that bastard. He knew my mom

had always loved him. More than his had ever cared for

me.

And finaly, Cal me when you get home.

Chapter 14

I didn't cal Austin when I got home. I didn't cal him the

next day, or the day after that, and though I tensed every

time my phone rang, eventualy I stopped worrying. He

didn't cal me, either.

The notes arrived every few days but never on a day when

I might expect one. Only on the days I was convinced I'd

be left without instructions, a list, a command. I read each

and every one, committing them to memory before tucking

them into the slot of 114, a mailbox that had become so

familiar to me it was like stroking a lover.

You've done wel. Treat yourself to your favorite dessert.

That had been a piece of key lime pie so decadent and

rich I'd made sex noises while eating it.

You didn't return your essay in time. Clearly, discipline

means nothing to you. Don't waste my time again.

A fit body deserves appropriate clothes. Purchase yourself

an appropriate new outfit. Don't skimp on it.

A simple suit, navy blue to match my eyes but with a crisp

stripe of summer green at the hem and on the buttons of

the jacket. It was the first outfit I'd ever bought I also had

altered to fit just right. Wearing it, I felt more than

professional, I felt appropriate.

Go to the bookstore. Look at the aisle you don't normaly

browse. Find a book that looks good and buy it. Read it.

Enjoy it.

I'd picked a book on the history of movies, trivia mostly,

but also photos of stars from days past. I'd savored the

glamour and taken to wearing my hair parted and over one

eye like Lana Turner.

For days the notes had arrived in my mailbox, teling me

what to eat, what to wear, what time to go to bed and

what time to rise. I was a rat folowing a piper unseen,

maybe to the cheese nirvana, maybe to a watery grave in a

river. I couldn't tel.

I only knew that I didn't want it to stop.

I want you to be bare for me today, beneath those clothes

you bought. I want you to feel the coarseness of denim,

the roughness of wool, the sleekness of satin lining, on

the roughness of wool, the sleekness of satin lining, on

your bare ass. Every time you move, you're going to think

of me and how I own you.

Voices echoed in the lobby and the elevator dinged, but

nobody came down the hal to catch me, a thief, taking

what I hadn't meant to steal. I pushed the card through the

slot and bent to make sure it had gone al the way through.

It would be gone when I came home, gone and read by

the person for whom it had been meant.

Did she glory in them as much as I?

Did she deserve them, the smal rewards of treating herself

to a hot bath, a piece of gourmet chocolate, for completing

the tasks? Did she force herself to another hour in the gym

as punishment when she failed to folow the list exactly?

Or was it only me who looked forward to each day's

commands?

Paul had left me another list. Along with the standard

"copy the files" and "schedule the appointments" he'd added something interesting. Lunch. He'd underlined it

twice. Like I wouldn't remember to eat?

Order from China King for delivery.

He'd added what I should order and in what amount, and

what time I should place the cal to ensure the food would

arrive by the time he and his client returned. As if I couldn't

figure al that out for myself.

Order enough for yourself, he'd added. At least he was

being generous.

I tried to put the morning's note from my mind, but my

thoughts were focused more on the fact I was bare

beneath my skirt than anything Paul was having me do. His

list was longer this time, more detailed, and while I

enjoyed the new responsibilities and projects he'd left for

me, I hadn't finished by the time the food came. I'd only

just managed to colect it from the front desk downstairs

and set it out on the smal conference table in Paul's office

when he and the woman from marketing showed up.

Vivian Darcy. I'd seen her before, a tal woman with blond

hair she wore in a sleek twist. She wasn't thin but dressed

like she was and managed to carry it off. Her shoes cost

more than my rent.

I had my own lunch, chicken and broccoli, to eat at my

desk. Paul gave me little more than a glance and closed his

door. I heard them laughing behind it. They were in there

for a long time. When the door opened again, I'd finished

eating and set back to work on the filing I hadn't managed

to finish before lunch.

"Paige, bring me the advance proof packet," Paul said

from the doorway. He'd loosened his tie and taken off his

jacket and roled up his sleeves. From behind him I heard

the flush of water running in his private bathroom.

I nodded as he disappeared into his office, but a moment

later my stomach sunk. I hadn't actualy finished copying

the packet. I'd known I needed to do it, it was part of my

regular weekly projects, but it hadn't been on Paul's list. I

also didn't want to admit I'd been distracted.

"Paul?"

They both looked up. She had puled her chair close to

his, their heads bent over what looked like a spreadsheet.

She'd taken off her suit jacket, too, and her breasts

pushed at the front of her silk shirt.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I haven't finished with the copies of that packet. It wil take me about fifteen minutes, but I'l do

that packet. It wil take me about fifteen minutes, but I'l do

it right now."

I'd been made to feel smal before, but I hadn't expected

the look both of them gave me. Different looks, neither

pleasant. Hers was cutting, an arch of brow to indicate

surprise but not too much, as though she'd expected as

much from the likes of me. Hers I could deal with.

Paul, on the other hand, looked blank for the span of some

long seconds. Then he looked disappointed. "We need

that packet now, Paige."

He didn't need to tel me I'd screwed up. I'd have liked it

better if he had. I could have been angry, then, at being

scolded. Instead, al I could feel was the vast wash of guilt

for knowing I hadn't done what I was supposed to do.

"Ten minutes," I promised.

"No need to jump through hoops," Paul said. "Just get it done."

I did it in seven minutes, though it meant cheating and

taking up al three copy machines at the same time. When I

handed the packets, properly colated and stapled, one

handed the packets, properly colated and stapled, one

each to her and him, I didn't expect a reward.

I didn't get one. Not even a smile. Not even a terse thank-

you. Both of them took the papers and bent back to their

work without more than a glance at me, and I slunk out of

Paul's office in disgrace.

My mood only lasted another ten minutes. I worked for a

paycheck, not approval, and I'd never given him a reason

to have any complaint about my work, not even in the first

few weeks when I hadn't known what I was doing.

"Paige, can I see you for a minute?" Paul said when Vivian left, finaly, at a quarter to five.

"Sure. Of course."

He stepped aside to let me into his office and gestured at

the chair that had been returned to the front of his desk. I

sat. Paul sat, too, and looked across the desk at me with

his hands folded together.

"I wanted to make sure you were doing al right."

This wasn't what I'd expected. "I'm fine, thanks."

"The job's not overwhelming you?"

I had a bad feeling about where this was going. "No…."

"Good." Paul looked down at his hands, now clasped

tightly. "Because I'd hate to think you were unable to keep

up with the position, Paige."

One mistake in six months, and he was worried I couldn't

keep up? I wanted to stand up and walk out, flipping Paul

the bird. I might have, had he sounded sarcastic or

condescending. He didn't. He sounded…cautious.

"I'm sorry I forgot the packet, Paul. It won't happen

again." I knew it wouldn't. I might forget a dozen other

tasks, but I wouldn't ever forget to copy the fucking proof

packet again.

He stil didn't look at me. His voice quiet but not soft, he

said, "I hope you won't."

That was it. He nodded at me and I got up, and I went out

to my desk to shut it down for the night. My fingers had

gone cold and stiff and I mistyped the password I needed

to log out three times before I got it right.

You wil masturbate in the shower, but you wil not alow

yourself to come. Your orgasm is a reward for good

behavior, and you haven't earned it. You wil write, on

your best paper and with your best ink, how you

masturbated and how it felt when you stopped, and you

wil return it to me no later than tomorrow afternoon.

Disobedience wil not be tolerated.

You said you wanted discipline.

With shaking fingers and hot cheeks I passed the

mailboxes without looking to see if the note I'd shoved into

114 was stil there. I'd done what it said. Rubbed myself in

the shower that morning until my breath came tight and

close and my entire body tensed until I eased off. It had

been close. I knew my body too wel not to bring myself

off within a few minutes. But I'd stopped myself, because

unlike the intended recipient of the notes, I did know

discipline.

I'd written the letter, too, describing how I'd touched

myself with fingers slick with my saliva and tilted my clit

against the spray of water until my thighs shook and my

breath came hot and hard and fast. How I'd had to turn

breath came hot and hard and fast. How I'd had to turn

the water to cold to keep myself from getting dizzy as I

rubbed and stroked. I'd used the finest paper in my

colection, my favorite pen, and I'd taken such care with

each letter, every stroke, that I was almost late for work.

I didn't give anyone the letter, of course. But I couldn't

bring myself to throw it away. I put it in my nightstand,

instead, tucked into the pages of the book on movie

history.

The ache between my legs flared as I shifted the gears of

my car, and as I walked, and as I turned in my desk chair

to pul files from the drawer.

Paul was not out of the office today, but he hadn't come

out yet this morning. Not even for coffee. Him hiding away

with his door closed was not unusual, but him not at least

caling out to me for a mug was.

Two weeks ago it wouldn't have occurred to me to think

he was stil angry with me for screwing up the files the day

before. Two weeks ago I wouldn't have much cared.

Now, I listened hard for the sound of his voice and stared

at my computer screen without typing anything.

"Paige." Paul stood in his doorway. I'd been so

"Paige." Paul stood in his doorway. I'd been so

preoccupied, I hadn't even heard him. "Can you come in

here, please?"

I nodded, but was clumsy when I stood. I knocked a pile

of folders, so the papers inside slid across my desk in a

messy heap. Paul stopped me when I tried to gather them.

"Now, please."

I nodded again and folowed him into his office. He didn't

tel me to sit, so I didn't. I could tel nothing from the look

on his face, which was carefuly blank. Over his shoulder, I

could see the red numbers of his clock radio, tuned to a

station playing soft jazz. I swalowed hard, my nerves on

fire.

"I think we need to have an understanding."

I said nothing, not trusting my voice.

Paul cleared his throat and folded his hands together on

the desk. He didn't look at me. I couldn't look away.

"I believe I have a reputation for being…difficult. To work

for."

for."

"I don't think so." The pulse beat in my throat, forcing my voice to deepen.

He looked at me then, straight in the eye. His hands on the

desk tightened inside each other as though he wanted to

be holding something else, something precious, but was

afraid he might drop it. I lifted my chin and met his gaze.

Without speaking, he unfolded his hands and pushed a

piece of paper across the desk to me. Neither of us

looked at the paper. We looked at each other.

I didn't look at it when I touched the tips of my fingers to

the paper, nor when I puled it toward me, or when I

clasped it in my hand. I didn't look at it until I sat at my

desk and laid it down in front of me.

The list.

I sat at my desk and looked at the list. It took up the entire

sheet of ruled paper. It was insultingly long and infuriatingly

detailed. He hadn't yeled at me yesterday, he'd done this

instead, and it was infinitely worse than if he'd caled me on

the carpet.

It was also infinitely, inexplicably better.

Not only did the paper have the projects he needed me to

work on today, but it contained detailed instructions on

duties I'd been performing without supervision for months.

He'd left out breaks for me to eat and use the bathroom,

but every other minute of the day had been accounted for.

In high school I'd had a teacher who didn't like girls. I

don't mean he was gay, just that for whatever misogynistic

reason, he'd thought females somehow lesser creatures

than males. Considering the boys in my class, I thought the

man was an idiot, but at sixteen there's not much you can

do about it but get through it. This teacher hadn't been

impressed by good grades earned through hard work, and

I'd had to work very hard for al my good grades. I've

already said I wasn't the brain. Even so, I wasn't a bad

student, and so when I got an A on my first test and this

teacher, this man put in charge of young adults to mold

them into something fit for future society, sneered and

suggested I'd cheated off the boy next to me in order to

have earned that grade, I learned a very important lesson.

No matter how hard you worked, there was always going

to be somebody out there who thought you were a fuckup.

to be somebody out there who thought you were a fuckup.

Part of me pictured myself storming into Paul's office,

tossing the list on his desk and quitting in an outrage, but I

knew there was no way I'd ever do it. I needed my job. I

wanted it. I could put up with a lot more than a stupid list

to keep it.

So instead, I did what I'd done in high school with that

dumbass teacher who thought girls couldn't be better than

boys.

I worked my ass off. It was a game, that day, going down

that list and completing each task on it. And as the day

wore on and I finished item after item, my sense of

accomplishment grew. I'd never realized, actualy, how

much work I accomplished in one day.

I'd never thought to write down everything I did. Looking

at it at the end of the day, this job no longer seemed a

mindless drone. I'd done something. A lot of somethings,

as a matter of fact, and when I took that list into Paul's

office with each item boldly checked off and my neat

annotations in the margins, there was no hiding my triumph.

"Finished," I said and stepped back, waiting to see what

"Finished," I said and stepped back, waiting to see what

he'd say.

But, unlike my teacher who'd have probably dismissed my

efforts with a snide comment, my boss looked over the list,

ticking off each item with the point of his pen.

He looked up at me. I'd never noticed how blue his eyes

were before. Paul held the paper with both hands.

"Thank you, Paige," he said. "This is exemplary work."

"Thank you," I said graciously.

We did have an understanding, after al.

Chapter 15

Through the mailbox window I could see Alice, one of the

women who ran the office. I could also see the thin edge

of a folded note card.

I puled it out with the tips of my fingers and held it by the

edges so as not to muss the paper. Al I had to do was

bend, just a little, and slip it directly into the right box. But

of course, I read it first.

You've failed at every task I've set you. Your reward and

your punishment are in my hands. If you cannot learn

discipline, this wil end.

You have one more chance.

Today, between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m., you wil visit

Sensations. There you wil purchase the item that most

embarrasses you. You wil pay for it with a credit card, so

there wil be no question that the clerk won't know your

name. You wil engage the clerk in pleasant conversation,

so there is no way he or she wil not know your face.

And tonight, you will use that item until you achieve

And tonight, you will use that item until you achieve

orgasm. You will do this knowing it's not for your

pleasure.

It is for mine.

I had to put my hand on the wal and close my eyes after I

slid the card through the slot. The brass, cool under my

palm, did nothing to steal the heat from my cheeks, my

armpits. The inferno between my legs.

I hadn't been the one to fail. I hadn't been late with my

essay on discipline. I hadn't even written one.

This note was not for me!

Yet there was no question in my mind I would do as it

said. I had written the sexual fantasy. I'd read al the notes.

Whoever was meant to find these and folow them, I had

done it, too.

Looking back, I understand how much easier it would

have been, how much better sense it would have made for

me to simply complain at the office about the misdeliveries,

to throw the notes away. To knock on the door of 114

with a note in my hand and say, "Make sure these stop

coming."

coming."

I can't explain why I didn't, except to say, simply, I didn't

want to.

I'd moved away from home to get away from my past and

my life, and the life I didn't want to have there. I'd taken a

new job, found a new apartment, tried to make new

friends. I wanted to become someone new, but the truth is,

I would never be new.

I would always be me.

Somehow, whoever was sending these notes knew that.

I slapped the note closed. I walked around the corner to

the desk. I could see her through the office door and after

a second she came out. "Alice? Did you see who put this

in my mailbox?"

"Nope." She barely glanced at it. "It's not a religious tract, is it? We have a strict policy about that."

"No, it's not a religious tract." I kept the note close to my body so she wouldn't see the number on the front. "I just

wondered if you'd seen who put it in there, that's al."

"No, sorry, hon." Alice flashed me a grin. "What is it, love letter?"

I laughed when heat spread up my throat. "No. Nothing

like that."

"Wouldn't be the first time," she said. "Last year at Valentine's we had a bunch of anonymous notes coming

and going. The T.A. wanted to ban people from putting

notices in the boxes but then they realized if they did that,

they couldn't deliver their newsletter, either."

The Tenant Association could be a little overzealous.

"Maybe I'l get lucky next time."

"I wouldn't doubt it, hon," Alice said. "This place is a hotbed of lust."

She said it without so much as a blink and I had no reply.

Seeing I wasn't going to comment, she gave me a nod and

went into the back to finish sorting the mail. I looked down

at the note.

I couldn't stop myself from opening the note one last time

before I gave it back.

before I gave it back.

I was stil thinking about it as I went outside and faced the

sunshine for a moment. I knew I wasn't alone, but I hadn't

expected an audience. When I opened my eyes, blinking, I

saw Mr. Mystery watching me. He hovered over the

sand-filed tube meant for disposing cigarettes, and when

he saw me looking he stabbed his out with a furtive smile.

"Caught me," he said.

"And without a net," I replied. Clever.

He laughed and looked with unrestrained longing at the

cigarette butts nestled into the sand. "I'm trying to quit."

"Good for you." It was a little surprising for someone as

into fitness as he'd seemed in the gym to be a smoker. But

appearances weren't everything, and I should know that.

"Eric." The hand he held out engulfed mine as we shook.

My name wasn't a prize, but I offered it like one. "Paige."

Eric shifted on battered hiking boots. Today instead of the

long-sleeved T-shirt, he wore a faded black AC/DC shirt

under an open plaid button-down minus a few buttons. His

under an open plaid button-down minus a few buttons. His

hair, long to his colar in the back, ruffled in the wind. A

scruff of beard stood out on his cheeks and over his

throat. Dark stubble. He looked tired and disheveled, but

his hands were clean and his teeth white. The leather bag

slouching by his feet wasn't cheap, nor was the watch

tangled in the dark hair on his wrist. I noticed things like

that.

He yawned, jaw crackingly, and roled his neck on his

shoulders. He looked out at the sunshine, across the street

to the river. He looked around with a grin that stopped me

in my tracks and held a finger to his lips. "Don't tel on me,

huh?"

I laughed. "Your secret is safe with me. But it's a good

thing you're quitting. Smoking is bad for you."

He hung his head before peering up at me through the

fringe of his dark, shaggy hair. "I know. It's terrible. I

started in colege and just could never kick it."

"But you are now, right?" I stared down into the butt

holder.

Eric chuckled. "Yeah. I'm trying, anyway. Hey, nice

officialy meeting you, Paige. Maybe I'l catch you later in

officialy meeting you, Paige. Maybe I'l catch you later in

the gym."

Was that a promise? "Oh, sure. I try to make it in a few

times a week. After work."

He yawned again, adding a loud, drawn-out sigh. "Yeah,

me too, but I'm just coming off a twelve-hour shift. I'm

beat. I might see you, though. We'l work on some reps or

something."

"Okay, sure." I managed to sound casual even as the

thought of another round of Eric helping me work out sent

my heart skipping in my chest.

He looked at the sand, the butts, then puled a pack of

cigarettes from his pocket and held it up. "One left. I

should just toss it, right?"

"You should." But I could tel he wasn't going to.

I watched him tug the cigarette from the pack with his lips,

crumple the package and toss it. He cupped the match he

lit to shield it from the breeze and held it to the end. He

drew on it. He took the cigarette from his mouth and

licked the end, and I watched him with helpless

licked the end, and I watched him with helpless

fascination.

He looked up at me and stopped for a few long seconds

before he smiled. "I know. Realy bad habit. This is my last

one, see? Then I'm done. Kicking it cold turkey."

I wasn't staring to get on his case but because watching his

mouth work had been so damn sexy, and I was already

feeling weak in the knees. "No. I mean, yes, it is. But it's

not my business."

Eric drew in a long, slow breath and let out the smoke.

The wind came and whisked it away and he closed his

eyes briefly before looking at me again. He looked at the

cigarette. "I know it's the best thing for me. I know it is.

You ever have anything you keep doing even though you

know it's bad for you, Paige?"

"Hel, yeah," I said without a second thought. "More than one thing."

We laughed together. His gaze caught mine. Maybe it was

the sunshine reflecting in his eyes or maybe it was my own

reflected heat, but I met it ful on. He was the first to look

away.

"See you," he said.

"I hope so," I told him, and he smiled.

I passed Sensations every day on my way to work. The

building, nondescript and set back a bit from the main

street, had suffered a fire not too long ago, but apparently

the dancing girls and nudie film booths hadn't been

damaged, because the parking lot was half ful and I

watched a stream of men go in and out the door for about

fifteen minutes before I went in, myself.

I'd been inside that memorable night with a boy on his

knees, and a few other times to buy joke gifts for wedding

showers or birthdays. I hadn't been embarrassed then,

giggling with my friends or feigning nonchalance while

comparing the girth of dildos molded from actual porn

stars' cocks. I wouldn't have been embarrassed this time,

except the note had told me I should be.

I'd owned a vibrator I rarely used. I had slinky, kinky

lingerie I never wore. I even had, someplace, a book of

ilustrated sexual positions, the corners of the pages folded

to show which I'd done.

The clerk behind the counter looked up when I came in.

I'd been expecting something different, not a hot, wel-built

guy with model-pretty features.

Now I was embarrassed.

It was akin to looking down between the stirrups at the gy

necologist you were expecting to be fat and balding,

someone's dad, and finding Brad Pitt, instead.

"Hi," he said. "Can I help you find something?"

You wil find the one thing that embarrasses you the most,

and you wil use it until you achieve orgasm.

None of the plastic pricks or fur-lined cuffs embarrassed

me. Hel, the anal beads and butt plugs had me squeezing

my ass cheeks tighter, but they didn't embarrass me.

"Yes," I said. "I'm looking for something special."

He had a nice smile. Fuck. Realy nice eyes, too.

"Something special? For a gift? Birthday party,

bachelorette party, maybe?" He sounded as if he did this

every day. Probably because he did.

every day. Probably because he did.

"No. For me."

His gaze held mine for a second totaly longer than

necessary. "Okay. Wel, maybe I can help you find what

you're looking for."

A beat, a pause, one smal breath in and out. A smile.

"That would be great. Thanks."

The racks of cheap crotchless panties and feather-trimmed

bras were toward the back. Victoria's Secret this was not.

Not even Victoria's un-secret. None of these garments

looked as though they'd stand up under one wearing, not

to mention what would happen to them in the washing

machine. I sorted through them anyway, my fingers toying

with the hangers and making them clatter on the metal

rack.

I held up a flimsy corset printed with a pattern of

misaligned roses. My fingers itched touching the fabric,

and I could only imagine how awful it would feel against

my breasts. I held it up to me, anyway, and turned to the

clerk. "How's this look?"

I expected him to say "good." Or maybe "hot." So when I expected him to say "good." Or maybe "hot." So when he frowned and shook his head, brows furrowed and

mouth twisting, my self-assured position as a fairly

attractive female in a sex shop plummeted to hit my toes.

"Not for you," he said.

I put it back on the rack and crossed my arms. I wished

I'd had the time to change into jeans and a T-shirt after

work instead of being stuck in three-inch heels and a skirt

to my knees. I wanted pockets to shove my hands into

denim to shield me from his assessing gaze. I hadn't

dressed this morning for showing off and now he'd made

me feel like I shouldn't want to.

Flirting is a funny thing. Earlier, talking with Eric, I'd no

doubts I was the hottest bitch around. Right now I wasn't

sure I shouldn't be ringing bels in a church tower.

"Come with me." He quirked a finger.

I almost didn't. The look on his face had left me feeling

shot down. Embarrassed. And when I realized that's what

it was, I nodded and went after him down through the

narrow aisles of sleazy underwear and gigantic plastic

pricks. Surrounded by a sea of tits, ass, pecs and abs, I

pricks. Surrounded by a sea of tits, ass, pecs and abs, I

tried to keep my eyes on the man in front of me, but I

couldn't help comparing the jugs on one box of "Titty

Twister, the Party Game!" with the boobs on a package

containing a vagina molded from an actual porn star's pink

parts.

He glanced over his shoulder as we stopped at the shop's

far end. Through a doorway to his right I glimpsed the

interior of the nudie bar. Even this early, girls wiggled and

writhed on a smal stage. Every few seconds a

disembodied leg, foot clad in skyscraper heels, sprang into

view. There must've been a pole I couldn't see.

"You wanna go check it out?" he asked.

I had been staring, and my cheeks heated, though I

couldn't have said exactly why. "No, thanks."

His smile lit up eyes the color of toffee. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." I cleared my throat and gestured at the shelves he stood in front of. "You had something to show me?"

"Oh. Right. Yeah." He reached to pul a box toward him.

I stepped back, gaping, at the box in his palm. Not

I stepped back, gaping, at the box in his palm. Not

because it had been festooned with pricks and pussies, but

because with its treasure-chest shape and smal, hinged lid,

it was a smaler version of the box I'd spied in Miriam's

shop. It fit neatly in his palm with his fingers open to cradle

it. Butterflies patterned the box's red satin.

"You know what this is?"

"No." I shook my head and closed my mouth.

He blinked, watching me closely. Then he crooked his

finger for me to lean closer, and I did. I held my breath,

waiting as he opened the box. I didn't know what I'd see

inside. When I saw the smal, stoppered bottle, I looked at

him.

"Ancient Chinese secret," he said. "And I'm not talking about laundry detergent."

The bottle had clear plastic sealing it, so it couldn't have

been too ancient. I had to squint to read the print and

couldn't make out the words, but the picture on the front

was a stylized butterfly. That didn't tel me much.

"It's orgasm-enhancement gel. For women. The ladies go

"It's orgasm-enhancement gel. For women. The ladies go

crazy for it," he said, as if he was confessing.

An invisible yardstick slid down the back of my shirt. My

shoulders came up, and so did my breasts, which finaly

got more than a disinterested glance from him. He didn't

look long, but he did look.

"What's it do?" I asked.

He held out the box to me until I took it. "It helps women

who can't come."

"I—" I had nothing to say to that. I tried, but the words

stuck in my throat. My back went impossibly straighter,

my shoulders squaring. I put my hand on my hip as I tried

to hand him back the box.

He wouldn't take it. "You said you wanted something for

yourself. You can't tel me you want a crappy piece of

lingerie."

"I don't need this!" I shoved the box toward him again.

"That's for women who need help!"

Maybe I was primed to be embarrassed. Maybe the idea

had already been put into my head that I would find an

had already been put into my head that I would find an

item, as unbelievable as I could find it, that would

embarrass me to buy. Vibrators that could guide missiles

and ass plugs with horsetails on them hadn't made me

blush, but this smal bottle had turned my cheeks to fire.

I looked into his face. "This is for women who can't have

orgasms, right?"

He shrugged and wouldn't take the box from my hands.

"It's supposed to help."

"Do I…do I look like I need help? With…that?"

I have been checked out and dismissed by women who

knew how to cut me down with no more than a glance, but

I've never been so thoroughly dissected visualy by a guy.

Guys look. They find the parts they like and linger there

and maybe they turn away if there's not much to hold

them, but most often, in my case, they'l look again if for no

other reason than I have al the right parts where they're al

supposed to go.

This guy looked. And looked some more. He took me in

from every inch and then went over them al again. When

he settled, finaly, on my face, he shrugged again. "Sweetie,

he settled, finaly, on my face, he shrugged again. "Sweetie,

fuzzy panties aren't going to get you off. This wil."

The "sweetie" gave it away, but guessing he didn't like girls made me feel only marginaly better about the fact he

thought I looked like a woman who didn't know how to

come. I closed my fingers over the box. I lifted my chin

and blew out a slow breath that did nothing to cool my

cheeks.

"Fine," I said through gritted teeth. "I'l take it."

At the register, he rang me up while he chattered about the

dancers on the other side, and how on Monday nights they

had "boys," if I was interested. He slipped the box into a plain brown bag and swiped my credit card, peering at my

name like he wanted to imprint it on his brain.

I kept my head high, even though my signature skidded on

the paper from the shaking of my hands. I was sure he'd

question it, but that would've only added to my

embarrassment, which was why I was here. Wasn't it?

In the parking lot, I took long, shalow breaths to clear my

head. The brown bag, spotted with sweat from my palms,

got tossed immediately into the backseat. I put my hands

flat on the roof of the car and took another few breaths.

flat on the roof of the car and took another few breaths.

Night had begun to drift over the parking lot while I was

inside. I hadn't thought I'd come out in darkness, but

spring is tricky that way. You think you have another few

minutes in the sun and you end up stubbing your toe

because the twilight hides the rough spots on the

pavement.

I needed a drink in the worst way, my throat so dry now I

could concentrate on it and not my molten face. Sensations

sat back from the road, but it wasn't alone in the strip of

stores. A smal Handi-Mart with a liquor license sold

snacks, beer and wine coolers, probably to the patrons of

Sensations' dance parlor.

I yanked open the door and heard the bel jangle, my

attention focused on the row of refrigerators at the end of

the shop. I stepped aside, though, for the woman pushing

her way out of the door as I went in. Then I stopped as

the door swung in to close in my face, and I pushed it

open to cal after her.

"Miriam?"

She turned and gave me a broad, white-toothed smile.

She turned and gave me a broad, white-toothed smile.

"Helo, dear. So nice to see you."

I knew she had a life outside of her shop, that she lived in

a house. Drove a car. Shopped for wine coolers, too,

apparently, and bought gum and cigarettes. Even so,

seeing her outside what I thought of as her natural

environment stumped me.

"What…hi. Wow, I didn't think I'd run into you."

She smiled again and patted my arm. "Of course not, dear,

why would you?"

I laughed. "I don't know."

"Wil you be in to the store soon?" She tilted her head to

assess me. At her throat she wore a tiger-print scarf

tucked into the lapels of her sleek red coat. Damn, I

wished I had her style. "I have some lovely new things.

And that box is waiting for you."

I thought of the box I'd just purchased and what I was

meant to do with it, and my voice went a little faint when I

answered her. "Maybe I'l make it in this week."

"Good." She nodded and moved off. She walked slowly

"Good." She nodded and moved off. She walked slowly

but without limping or using a cane, belying her age.

I watched her go for a little, then turned and went inside

the store, where I added a six-pack of wine coolers to my

bottle of water. I had a date with my hand and a bottle of

Cum-Ezee.

Chapter 16

Why had I been embarrassed?

Naked and wet from my shower, I stood in front of my

bed and opened the box lid. I puled out the bottle, peeled

off the plastic meant to protect me from God knew what.

A glass bottle, it was heavy, and the stopper made of

rubber reminded me of a nipple when I squeezed it

between my thumb and forefinger.

I squeezed my own nipple with fingers slick from my own

saliva. It stood up under my touch. Already my heart had

begun beating a little faster, not so much from what I was

doing but in anticipation of what I meant to do. I shook the

bottle and held it up. Inside, clear liquid shifted, looking

oily. It reminded me of those toys I made in elementary

school out of plastic soda bottles, oil and colored water.

I'd always liked to add glitter to mine.

This had no glitter, just an oily clear liquid that shone when

held up to the light. I read the ingredients but could find

nothing scary. Hemp oil. Was that even legal? Ginseng.

Ginger. Al natural ingredients, I thought.

My face flamed again. I didn't have a ful-length mirror in

my bedroom, just the mirror on my dresser. From where I

stood, only my torso reflected. I had no head. No legs

below my upper thighs. I was nothing but my sexual parts.

Breasts. Bely. Ass. Cunt.

You will find the one thing that embarrasses you the

most, and you will use it until you achieve orgasm.

Why had I been embarrassed to buy this bottle of liquid

from a man who didn't even like women, and therefore

shouldn't be blamed for not seeing how fucking sexy I

realy am? I shook it again and took the stopper out. It

looked like a medicine dropper, but without the marks to

indicate dosage. I squeezed the rubber nipple again as I

pinched my own.

In the mirror, the woman did the same. I held out my

fingertip, the dropper poised over it. The liquid, stil

shining, made a teardrop before it fel onto my skin. I

rubbed it in with my thumb and waited. The slickness

didn't dissolve and faint warmth filtered through my skin.

Why was I embarrassed to have a stranger think I couldn't

Why was I embarrassed to have a stranger think I couldn't

have an orgasm? I let another drop fal onto my fingertip. I

spread it on my nipples. This time, when I squeezed them,

my fingers skipped and slid over my skin. My nipples,

hard, now, warmed under the oil and my touch.

Lubricated, my finger slid across my clit like silk on satin.

My lips parted. Air eased out. I touched myself again,

finger circling, and waited for the heat. It came a second or

two later, hotter than it had been on my nipples. I bit my

lower lip with a hiss.

It was hard to tel if the oil had aphrodisiac powers or the

effect was in my mind, but in the end, did it matter? I lay

back on my bed, my legs spread, feet planted firmly on the

comforter to make it easier to rock my hips into the

seduction of my hand.

I rubbed my clit in slow, smooth circles, just the way I

liked it best. The oil absorbed into my skin but left it slick

enough I didn't need to add more. I let my fingertips

explore the familiar dips and curves of my body, the soft,

secret places that could bring me such pleasure.

My clit got hotter as I rubbed, and that seemed only

natural, because heat and shame both rode the same bus

to school, so far as I was concerned. Sweat pooled in my

to school, so far as I was concerned. Sweat pooled in my

armpits and salted my upper lip. I licked it away, wishing it

were someone else's tongue on my mouth. Another

person's hand between my legs.

Why had I cared so much what a stranger thought of me?

I groaned and closed my eyes to push away thoughts of

anything but the sensations building in my body. It was

easier to pretend that way, to imagine I wasn't alone in my

brand-new bed with the clean, new sheets that had never

had another body in them. With my eyes closed, the

whisper of my hand moving against my skin tugged my

ears.

Why did I want so much to folow the commands of a

stranger not even meant for me?

The oil slid from my fingertips down my labia and into the

crack of my ass. I used my other hand to folow its path. I

could probably come from this, in a minute or two, but I

stopped, thinking of how it had been such a short time

since last I'd done this. It didn't take a genius to figure out I

was psyching myself out, losing my orgasm to too much

thinking.

Or maybe I realy was embarrassed?

She might not be too smart, but she's pretty enough.

One of Stela's friends had said it, not knowing I could

hear.

I groaned. I didn't want to be thinking about my father's

wife and her friends when I was trying to get off. Yet the

hotter the oil on my clit got, the less interested I became in

finishing what I'd started. I stopped trying.

She might not be too smart, but she's pretty enough. Just

like her mother.

They'd laughed, but not as though they found the subject

realy funny. More like it embarrassed them. As a kid I

hadn't understood why, exactly, just that it had made my

stomach hurt to know Stela thought I wasn't smart, even if

I was my mother's pretty daughter. As an adult, I figured it

out. It embarrassed Stela to admit she'd married a man

who'd been so swayed by some tart, he'd knocked her up

and then had the compassion to make the bastard child a

part of his life. Sort of.

To them, I wasn't Paige. I was some slut's daughter.

Thinking of that, I understood something else, too.

I wasn't embarrassed by the fact a man I didn't know or

like, a gay dude, for that matter, didn't want to jump my

bones. No. What had been most embarrassing was not

that he didn't want to fuck me, but that he'd believed I was

something I wasn't.

I licked my mouth, tasted the salt of my sweat. I listened to

the sound of my breathing stil coming fast. I roled to get

the tiny bottle from under my ribs and tossed it into the

trash can by my bed, and then I tucked my legs up toward

my chest with my extra pilow in my arms, hugging the

lover who wasn't there.

The notes started coming more frequently. Every morning

before I left for work, or sometimes when I came home,

there was another sleek card teling me how to go about

my day. Sometimes the list was short, a sentence or two.

Listen to your favorite radio station today. Sing out loud.

Sometimes the instructions were lengthier. More

demanding.

At eleven-thirty today you will stop what you are doing

and focus on one thing in your life that makes you

happy. For thirty seconds you will do nothing but

appreciate this reason for joy.

I'd spent the entire morning waiting for eleven-thirty to

arrive, half-afraid I'd forget and half-defiant, imagining I'd

refuse when the time came to folow the instructions. I did,

of course, helpless to resist in the same way someone

who's told not to think of the pink elephant can do nothing

else.

If there is someone in your life whom you've hurt, you

must make a true apology.

That one had been easy enough. I hadn't seen Kira in

weeks and arranged to meet her after work for coffee in

Hershey, halfway between Harrisburg and Lebanon. She

wasn't quite ready to forgive me.

"But can you blame me?" I asked over steaming mocha

lattes. "I mean…Kira…it's Jack."

"Jack Rabbit," she said. "Yes. I know."

I raised a brow. "I'm sorry. It wasn't when you were even

I raised a brow. "I'm sorry. It wasn't when you were even

close to being with him."

She sighed, then, and shrugged. "I know. I guess I'm just

pissed you got him and I didn't. But then, so what else is

new?"

That wasn't exactly what I'd expected to hear. "Huh?"

She pretended to be very interested in her new beige

manicure. "Just like every guy I ever liked, right?"

"What are you talking about?"

She leveled a look at me. "Austin?"

"What about him?"

Kira just stared, then looked away.

I had to laugh. I realy did. "You tried to get with Austin?

But you were mad at me for fooling around with Jack?

What a hypocrite!"

Her eyes flashed. "You knew how I felt about Jack! It was

different with Austin."

"How was it different?" I finished my coffee and picked up my purse to go, not because I was furious but because as

I'd said not so long before to the very man we were

discussing, that cake was baked.

"You left him! You didn't love him anymore." Kira

grabbed up her own purse, too, glaring. "Not that it

mattered."

"He turned you down, huh?"

Her expression was enough of a reply.

"That's why you were pissed off, isn't it? Not because I

messed around with Jack, but because you tried to get

together with Austin and he turned you down."

"He turned me down because he stil wanted you," Kira

said.

I didn't have an answer to that.

"And then you went and screwed around with him again

anyway."

"Kira. I didn't know you wanted Austin."

"Kira. I didn't know you wanted Austin."

But she couldn't have him, I thought, suddenly and

surprisingly. Because he was mine.

"Whatever. Does it matter?" She slung her purse over her

shoulder. "We shouldn't let boys come between us

anyway, right?"

I didn't tel her the reason I'd apologized had nothing to do

with our bond of friendship, which had been strained in

times past. Sometimes you stay friends with someone

more out of habit than anything you have in common. If not

for the note, I might not have caled her again at al.

"Right," I agreed.

"So, what's going on with you? You getting back together,

or what?"

"Oh, God, no."

We walked to our cars, parked next to one another in the

lot. I looked past her to the sidewalks overrun with

shoppers attacking the outlets in search of bargains. When

I was younger my mom had taken me to the real outlet

stores, places that sold seconds and out-of-stock items.

stores, places that sold seconds and out-of-stock items.

These stores weren't anything like that.

"Anyway. I think Tony's gonna give me a ring." She said

this with less coyness than I was used to from her. "For my

birthday. I thought maybe he'd get me one for Christmas,

but…"

It seemed suddenly outrageous and unlikely to me that

Kira could get married. "You want to marry him?" I hadn't

even met him.

She gave me a level look. "Yeah. I think I do. I'm not

getting any younger, you know."

It was such a cliché and yet fit her so wel.

"Marriage isn't everything, Kira." I was trying to make her feel better, but she fixed me with another steady look.

"Easy for you to say, sure. Because you gave it up."

"That's not why. That's not what I meant," I added. "I just meant you shouldn't feel like something is missing. That's

al."

"But something is. Hey, maybe you'l be my bridesmaid,"

"But something is. Hey, maybe you'l be my bridesmaid,"

Kira offered.

"Sure. Okay."

We parted with half a hug and brush of cheeks. I

wondered if she'd realy ask me. I wondered if I'd care if

she didn't. I drove home, glad I wasn't her. Glad I wasn't

missing something.

But I was missing something in my life, and those notes,

those lists, gave me something I needed. One waited for

me when I got back. My fingers shook a little as I opened

it. What next? I wondered. What fantasy would I be

asked to live out this time? I already imagined the paper

and pen I'd use to write it, this time. This time I would

write it.

Tomorrow you wil wear a blue shirt.

That was it.

I think I bared my teeth before composing myself quickly.

If someone was watching, I wasn't going to give him the

pleasure of seeing my disappointment.

Tomorrow you wil wear a blue shirt.

"Tomorrow," I muttered as I shoved the card through the

slot of 114, "I'l wear whatever color shirt I damn wel

please."

I refused to think of it al the way up the four flights of

stairs to my apartment, then al the way down again as I hit

the basement for an hour's workout. I refused to think

about the note and its simple, one-sentence instruction as I

sweated and cursed at the television and its bounty of

buxom, slim-hipped beauties on their mission to make al

other women feel inferior. I refused to think of it in the

shower as I lathered my body and deep-conditioned my

hair and shaved my legs.

"Damn it!" I cried to my empty room as I stood in front of my closet.

I had no clean blue shirts.

I put on a soft pair of sleep pants patterned with grinning

monkeys wearing Santa hats and twisted my hair up high,

clipping it out of the way so it would be wavy when it

dried. I turned the TV on, then off. I picked up a book

and put it down.

and put it down.

"Shit."

I lay on my bed, arms crossed behind my head, and stared

at the ceiling. The plaster had been laid in smal, even

swirls. There was a medalion with a metal cap in the

middle in the ceiling's center. The former tenant had taken

the ceiling light and fan when he left, and though

maintenance was supposed to replace the original fixture,

they never had. The metal reflected light from my bedside

lamp and the window outside when the room was dark.

Sometimes when I woke in the night I imagined it was the

moon's bright eye somehow transported into my room.

Watching me.

Was someone else watching me? Playing some sort of

game? I got up on one elbow to look around my room and

at my closet, where rows of shirts hung in every color but

blue.

I got out of bed and riffled through my laundry basket to

see what I could find. Blue wasn't my favorite color. I

preferred white shirts for work, since any stains could be

bleached. I did have a blue shirt, though it wasn't one I

would've worn to work. The neckline dipped a little too

would've worn to work. The neckline dipped a little too

low and the cut was a little too close. I held it up in front of

my reflection and turned this way and that. Paired with a

pair of black dress slacks, it would probably be okay.

With a blazer over it. Sure.

And I needed to do laundry anyway, I told myself as I

tossed socks and panties and towels into the basket to

make a ful load. If I did it now, I wouldn't have to do it

later in the week. And there was nothing on the tube.

Yeah.

There was no getting around it. I was hooked on those

lists. For whatever reason. Even if nobody was watching

me. But if someone was, he'd know I hadn't obeyed.

Tomorrow, I would wear a blue shirt.

But first, I had to wash it.

Chapter 17

Riverview Manor had the highest line of efficiency washers

and dryers, but never enough of them. Just another of the

quirks of this supposedly high-end building, and one about

which the T.A. had sent around many memos. Some of the

units were supposed to have their own washers and

dryers, which explained why the laundry room had been

under-stocked. Whatever. Al I knew was when I walked

in with my laundry basket and found the room empty but

for the scent of fabric softener and the hum of rotating

dryer drums, it was a bonus.

I filed a washer with my clothes and the detergent, then

took my empty basket and my book, one I'd found in an

aisle I rarely browsed, to one of the hard wooden chairs

along the wal. I promptly let out a smal shriek as I

realized I was not alone, after al. The man sitting there had

his head bent, headphones on, so he hadn't heard my

scream but the way I jumped must have caught his

attention, because he looked up.

Eric looked up at me with a smile and slipped his

headphones from his ears. I heard the tinny, faraway chant

of a song I'd have known if I'd been able to pay attention

of a song I'd have known if I'd been able to pay attention

to it, rather than him. His eyes, specificaly, which were a

deep, dark liquid brown.

"Hi," he said. "Sorry, did I scare you?"

"I didn't see you behind the washers." I set down my

basket and put a hand over my rapidly beating heart.

"Yeah, the layout's not so great in here." He looked

around, then shifted the papers off the chair next to him.

"Sorry, though. You want to sit?"

I took the chair two spots away from his and pushed my

basket to the side with my foot. He stil smiled at me, so I

smiled back. "Thanks."

"Fancy meeting you here," he said.

"Here, there. Everywhere." I tapped a finger against my

chin, feigning thoughtfulness. "Are you stalking me?"

To my delight, his cheeks pinked. Just a little. But enough.

"It would seem like that, huh?"

I shook my head and bent to pul a handful of laundry from

I shook my head and bent to pul a handful of laundry from

my basket. "Missed you around the gym lately."

I looked up and caught a flash of something in his gaze.

Guilt, maybe, though why Eric should care if I kept track

of his workouts, I didn't know. He shrugged and ran a

hand over his shaggy hair.

I stuffed a load of whites into the nearest washer as we

spoke. I was conscious of my panties and bras among my

T-shirts and blouses, but I didn't draw attention to them by

blushing, even when I caught him looking.

Eric had a smile as slow and easy as honey dripping from

a spoon. I wanted to lick it the same way. "Did you?

Damn. I'm sorry."

We looked at each other, surrounded by the scent of

fabric softener and moist, hot air.

"Were you…looking for me?" Eric asked. "For any reason in particular, I mean?"

Heat flushed my cheeks, and I answered with laughter and

a duck of my head. Eric laughed, too, after a second. His

voice joined mine like a duet, and when I looked up at

voice joined mine like a duet, and when I looked up at

him, his deep brown eyes were shining with good humor

and undisguised interest.

"Were you?"

"Yes," I admitted. "It's not quite the same without you there."

"Sorry. Work's been insane."

I stuffed my quarters in the slot and dumped half a cup of

detergent, then started the cycle. "What do you do,

exactly?"

Eric leaned back in his chair. "I'm an E.R. doc."

Bing, bing, bing! We have a winner! Hot, funny and a doctor. My mother would be so proud.

"What's that like?"

He looked a little surprised. "Busy. But exciting."

"Saving lives and al that? Lots of pressure," I said,

watching his mouth form the words as he spoke.

"Yeah," Eric said after a second or two of silence. A

"Yeah," Eric said after a second or two of silence. A

shadow passed over his face, but only briefly. "Lots of

pressure. What do you do, Paige?"

I told him without making it sound as if I was at al

ashamed of not being a doctor. If Eric wasn't as impressed

with my career as I with his, his eyes didn't give it away.

Neither did his mouth, which held on to his smile.

The conversation flowed as we washed, dried and folded

our clothes.

"I bet that color looks great on you." He pointed at the

blue shirt I'd puled from the dryer.

I held it up in front of me. "You think so?"

"Yes. It matches your eyes."

I'm hardly ever at a loss for words, but this time I only

managed to swalow, hard, and say, "Thanks."

He scrubbed the back of his neck with a hand and looked

utterly endearing. "Too much?"

"No. I'd be a liar if I said I don't like compliments." To save myself from having to look at him just then, I bent to

save myself from having to look at him just then, I bent to

pul more laundry from the dryer.

"And you're not a liar?"

Over my shoulder, I said, "No. What about you?"

I'd meant it lightheartedly, the way the entire conversation

had been going. So when Eric didn't answer, I straightened

and turned to face him. The look on his face stopped me

from speaking.

"I know where it was." He snapped his fingers. "Where I saw you for the first time. It wasn't the gym."

I drew in a breath. My hands, ful of warm, soft laundry,

tightened. My tongue slid along my lips as I considered

what to say. "No. It was the Mocha."

"No. That's not it. Have we ever met in the Mocha?" He

laughed and covered his eyes with his hands for a second

before looking at me again. "I'm sorry. I meet so many

people, sometimes I forget where I met them. But believe

me, I wish I did remember seeing you there."

"We didn't actualy meet. I just saw you. You were sitting

"We didn't actualy meet. I just saw you. You were sitting

by the window, writing something. Very serious. You

wouldn't have noticed me, anyway. You were busy."

"I should've noticed you, Paige." His smile let me know

exactly what he meant by that.

I laughed again. "But you didn't. Because you meet

soooooo many people. So. If it wasn't the Mocha, or

outside by the smoking station—"

Again, that flash of something furtive and guilty in his gaze.

"And it wasn't the gym," I continued as though I hadn't

seen it. "Where was it?"

His dark eyes gleamed again. "Outside the Speckled

Toad."

My mouth opened, but I had nothing to say.

He snapped his fingers again and crowed, laughing. "Yes!

I'm right, right? That's where it was? I knew you looked

familiar!"

"I love that place." With my laundry in my hands, there

was no chance I was going to leap into his arms, so I kept

was no chance I was going to leap into his arms, so I kept

it there.

"Me, too." Eric's smile softened as he looked over my

face. He seemed to be studying me harder this time. He

nodded after a moment. "Yes. That's definitely it. A few

weeks ago, right? You were going in and—"

"You were going out. Yes." I pretended to just remember

now. "I guess that's why when I saw you in the Mocha I

noticed you. You looked familiar."

It sounded like a much better story, said that way, and

Eric's grin stretched wider. "Uh-huh. Wow. Smal world,

huh?"

"Infinitely."

I wanted to kiss him. I wanted him to kiss me. Instead, I

bent to finish puling the rest of the clothes from the dryer

and into my basket. He was stil staring when I stood, my

basket in my hands.

"What are you doing after you're done with your laundry?"

"I thought I'd read my book…" I glanced at the clock on

the wal, then back at him. "I have to work tomorrow.

the wal, then back at him. "I have to work tomorrow.

Why?"

"I was going to watch a movie. Monty Python and the

Holy Grail. Have you seen it?"

"No." I drew the word out, slow, not wanting to jump to

conclusions.

"Would you like to?"

I pretended to think about it, though inside I was already

screaming out the YESYESYES of Saly's deli orgasm in

When Harry Met Sally. "Are you asking me to watch it

with you?"

"I am." He spread his hands at his sides. "How about it?"

"Sure. Why not? Just let me put this stuff away and I'l

come over."

"Great!" He flashed straight, white teeth and al I could

think about was how they'd feel denting my flesh. "Half an

hour, then? Forty minutes?"

"Sounds good."

"I'm in one-fourteen," Eric said.

I dropped my basket.

Chapter 18

"Are you al right?" Eric had already gone to one knee to gather my scattered clothes while I did nothing but gape.

The world made one slow revolution as everything

changed.

I recovered wel, or at least wel enough to keep him from

checking my pulse and offering me CPR. I watched his

strong, big hands slide along my clothes and put them back

in the basket, and I didn't move. When he stood to hand

me the basket, I took it.

"Fine." I sounded fine. I even managed a smile. I white-

knuckle-clutched the laundry basket and kept my eyes

pinned on his. "Let me just run this home and I'l meet you

at your place, okay?"

We rode the elevator together, not in silence, though

looking back it's impossible for me to remember what we

talked about. I remember his voice, low and rich, and the

sound of his chuckle when I made some smal joke. I

remember the sound of machinery whirring as we lifted

and the way the cool breeze blew against my face when

and the way the cool breeze blew against my face when

the door opened on his floor. I can recal the gleam in his

eyes when he glanced over his shoulder, and the half wave

he gave me as the door closed. But I can't remember what

we said.

In my apartment I set my basket on the bed and puled

open the door on my nightstand. From inside I took the

folded paper on which I'd written my most erotic memory,

and the bottle of Cum-Ezee I'd retrieved from the trash

before I emptied it. Without the notes and their

commands, I wouldn't have either one of them. I looked

around my bedroom, at the new clothes in the closet, at

the books on the shelf. At the new me I'd become because

of those letters.

None of them meant for me.

Al of them for him.

The sound of my laughter stung my ears and I closed my

mouth tight to keep it from escaping again. I looked at the

jumbled mess of laundry in my basket and thought of Eric

on his knees, picking it up. My heart thumped a little faster

and my throat got a little drier.

Al this time I'd imagined the intended recipient of the

letters to be a woman. Not me but like me, at least. To

discover they were meant for a man…I shook my head,

my hair faling forward from the clip. I closed my eyes and

pressed a fist to my lips. They'd been meant for a man.

Did that mean the writer of the notes was…a woman?

God, that was so fucking hot I couldn't stand it.

My cunt bloomed molten heat and the seam of my jeans

pressed suddenly on my clit as I let myself fal back on the

bed. My nipples tightened, begging for a mouth and hands

on them. I took my hand from my mouth and let it roam

my body, though they did little to ease the sudden fire.

Minutes ticked by as I ran through the lists and pictured

Eric performing the tasks I'd found so arousing. What

memory had taken him so long to write he'd returned it

late? What had he bought at the store that had

embarrassed him? I thought of his basket, his laundry, and

the blue shirt there.

I sat, my hair askew and clinging to my forehead in places.

Sweating, I puled off my shirt and jeans and ran the

shower cold enough to make me hiss as I got in and rinsed

off quickly. New panties, new bra, not so fancy as though

off quickly. New panties, new bra, not so fancy as though

it would look as if I was trying too hard should my clothes

happen to come off. A fresh T-shirt, sleek-fitting, soft and

flattering. My favorite jeans, the ones that gave me a round

ass but kept my gut tucked up tight. The gut I didn't realy

have any longer, I had to admit as I checked out my

reflection. Courtesy of those lists, I'd been working out

more diligently than I ever had.

I swiped a brush through my hair and slid clear gloss over

my lips. A dusting of powder finished me off without

making it look as though I'd tried too hard. I grabbed a

couple of packages of microwave popcorn and a big bowl

from my cupboard, slipped my feet into a pair of flip-flops

and tucked my key into my pocket.

My phone buzzed as I debated taking it with me. Now

Austin caled me? After so long silent? I put the phone on

the table, flipped it the bird and locked my door behind

me.

Eric hadn't changed his clothes, but I spied teltale wetness

in his hair that told me he'd at least washed his face.

Minty-fresh breath gave away the fact he'd brushed his

teeth, too, and I hid a grin as he let me in. I hadn't been the

only one assuming there might be more to this than

watching a movie.

I did brace myself as I stepped inside his apartment, but

on first glance I didn't see anything freaky. He gave me a

quick tour. Living room, kitchen. His was a two-bedroom

unit, and he used one for an office complete with shiny

new iMac that had me salivating with envy. He didn't take

me into his bedroom, but I caught a glimpse through the

open door. His window overlooked the parking garage,

same as mine, but he was closer to it.

I'd been half expecting a St. Andrews Cross in the living

room. I think I was a little disappointed. Eric did have a lot

of leather, but in the form of a modern black-and-chrome

sofa and chairs arranged in front of a flat-screen television

hooked up to a bunch of high-end equipment.

"You have a Wi. Sweet."

"Ever played?" Typical male, proud to show off his toys,

Eric grinned and headed for the TV.

"Sure. Not for a while, though."

"Want to try a game of tennis? I know it's not the latest

"Want to try a game of tennis? I know it's not the latest

and greatest, but it's stil fun." He held up the controler.

That's how we ended up playing video games instead of

canoodling on the couch under a blanket, hoping our

hands met in the popcorn bowl. Eric had a wicked

backhand, and yet he let me win. We laughed a lot as we

played, sharing the sort of random conversation that lets

you get to know someone without treading into territory

too intimate for a first date.

If that was what this was. I had my doubts. Brushed teeth

aside, Eric didn't seem to have any intentions about putting

any moves on me, if he ever had. It had been a long time

since I read a guy wrong, but it wasn't impossible. When

at last we colapsed together onto his slippery leather

couch, Eric's smile didn't give me any clues one way or the

other.

I was flummoxed, to say the least, my confidence shaken.

I remembered the trip to Sensations, and how the clerk

had set me back. I didn't get a gay vibe from Eric, and in

any case, if he liked boys, why had he invited me over in

the first place? No. Something was most definitely up and

unfortunately for me it didn't seem to be his cock.

I excused myself to use his bathroom. And yes, I looked in

his medicine cabinet. Anyone who says they've never done

it is a liar or forgot to add the "yet" to the end of that sentence. I found shaving gel, ibuprofen, Tom's Natural

Toothpaste and a jumbo box of condoms. In the cabinet

beneath the sink I found toilet paper, extra towels and a

few scant cleaning supplies. Like the rest of his apartment,

Eric's bathroom was apparently kink free.

I shouldn't have been so surprised. After al, my own place

wasn't decorated in early-medieval dungeon, either. And

there had never been anything in any of the notes or lists to

indicate he was into hard-core bondage or pain play,

unless I'd been so focused on getting my own rocks off I

hadn't read between the lines. Who knew what those

notes had meant to him?

I had to find out.

He'd put the movie in the DVD player and was popping

the corn in by the time I came out. "It's not too late, is it?"

He gestured at the clock. "We kind of got carried away

with the game. Sorry."

He shot me a sincere and slightly abashed grin. I wanted to

He shot me a sincere and slightly abashed grin. I wanted to

pet him. I wanted to sit extraclose and whisper naughty

words into his ear to make him blush. I wanted, I realized

only a bit uneasily, to see him on his knees again.

"No. It's fine. Anyway, I'm in the mood for a movie."

"Great! Thanks for bringing the popcorn." Eric hopped

over the back of the couch in a fluid motion and headed

into the kitchen. "What can I get you to drink? Soda?

Beer?"

"Soda's fine." I watched him pul the bag from the micro

wave and empty it into the bowl and grab two cans of

Coke from the fridge.

"Coke okay?"

I'd never been with a man so solicitous. "Sure. Yes."

"A glass? Ice? I could slice up a lemon for you."

I broke down and laughed. "I could just drink it from the

can."

"If that's what you like." Eric smiled after a minute, cans held high. "Saves me washing the glasses."

held high. "Saves me washing the glasses."

He brought the drinks and popcorn but waited until I sat

before he did, too. I thought of Austin, who'd have been

yeling from his place on the couch, feet up, to bring him a

beer. This was a nice change, no doubt about it, even if it

did leave me feeling more than a little off balance.

"Be right back." Eric hopped up and disappeared into the

bathroom.

I took the chance to look around. He had framed photos

on the end table and on the brick-and-board bookshelves

that looked as if he'd made them himself but that probably

came from Ikea. He was in a lot of the pictures, his arm

slung around the shoulders of his companions. He'd done a

lot of traveling it looked like from the backgrounds of his

colection. I spotted the blue oceans of the Caribbean,

Hawai's lush greenery. In one he wore the whites of a

cruise-ship crewmember and was sitting at the captain's

table. Ship's doc, maybe.

It didn't look as if he had a girlfriend. Or a boyfriend.

None of the people in the pictures were standing close

enough or giving him goo-goo eyes. Eric was a puzzle, no

question. But at least I could be fairly sure he was single.

"Ready?" If my perusal of his pictures annoyed him, he

didn't show it.

I sat on the couch again, popcorn bowl balanced on my

knees. "Sure."

There's nothing potentialy embarrassing about Monty

Python and the Holy Grail. Even the tiny reference to

oral sex isn't realy sexy. I'd seen the film half a dozen

times but never in its entirety and never completely sober.

And yet I had a hard time concentrating. Eric stretched out

long legs next to mine. He had a deep, infectiously sexy

laugh I couldn't help echoing even if the movie itself hadn't

been hilarious.

It didn't last long enough. I'd forgotten the abrupt end.

When he leaned forward to use the remote to click off the

TV, a thin stripe of skin bared between his shirt and jeans,

tempting me to run my fingers over it. I resisted…but only

barely.

He caught me looking when he turned. "One of my

favorites. Sometimes after a long day in the E.R., al I can

think about is coming home and watching something

stupid."

stupid."

"I can imagine so. Sometimes after a long day at work I

can't manage anything other than stupid." I grinned in

sympathy. "And I'm not saving lives."

Eric's handsome face went stil for a minute. "It's not the

saving them that's the problem. It's when I can't. Sorry,

that's a bummer."

"No, it's okay. There must be a lot of pressure." I watched him look away from me.

When he turned back it was with another smile, less

convincing than his others. "Yeah. Wel. I did a couple

rotations on terminal wards. Pediatrics, too. That was

worse, believe me. A lot worse. At least most of what I

see is fixable. A few stitches, a cast, give out a script for

meds. I'd rather face a roomful of broken bones and

bloody noses than a terminal ward again."

"I can't even handle being sick myself, much less take care

of anyone else." I shuddered involuntarily.

Eric dug into the popcorn bowl to scoop out a couple

unpopped kernels, which he crunched. "Funny thing.

unpopped kernels, which he crunched. "Funny thing.

When I was a kid, I was sick al the time. At least it felt

like I was. Constant colds. Probably alergies, now that I

think about it, but at the time, al we knew was that I

always had a runny nose. I was the kid who always

looked like he'd been squashed in the face with something

nasty."

"Nice to see you outgrew it."

His smile quirked higher on one side, charming me. "Yeah.

So anyway, I got older and decided I wanted to become a

doctor, right? And my mom, you'd think she'd be happy to

have her son the doctor, but al she said to me was, ‘But,

Eric, think of the germs!'"

"It's a good thought." I looked at the bowl of popcorn

we'd shared and tried not to wonder if he'd washed his

hands after work.

"But I haven't been sick in years. Nothing more than a mild

cold or two. I think I immunized myself to everything when

I was a kid, so I can't get anything now. In med school

they caled me Iron Man because no matter what we

faced, stomach bugs, coughs, colds, flu…whatever it was,

they usualy got it and I never did."

"Wow. Lucky you."

He swirled those long fingers through the crumbs again,

bringing them out covered with buttery salt. He licked

them one by one as I watched. If I'd thought he was doing

it on purpose to tempt me I'd have been annoyed, but Eric

didn't seem to have any awareness about how he looked.

Or of how my mind went at once to that dirty place.

"Yeah. Pretty amazing." He held out the bowl. "Want

some more?"

I shook my head. "That's interesting, though. Why you

decided to become a doctor. Was it everything you

thought it would be?"

"It's not like I dreamed it would be. No," Eric said flatly.

I waited for more. It seemed there must be more, but no.

His gaze went to the bowl in his lap. He swirled again

through the popcorn and licked the tips of his fingers. He

put the bowl back on the coffee table and looked up at

me.

"It's an incredible amount of responsibility. It's a lot to

"It's an incredible amount of responsibility. It's a lot to

handle, you know?"

I didn't, realy. Not the way he meant. I thought of my own

job and the lists from Paul, and how there realy wasn't

anything I had to be accountable for there. How I had

nothing in my life I needed to take care of. How I never

had. Even when I was married, what had I ever done but

taken care of myself?

"But Monty Python makes it better?"

Eric laughed and ducked his head again for a moment

before looking back at me. "I'm glad you liked it."

"It's a classic. What's not to like?"

Eric shrugged and leaned back against the couch, one arm

stretched out along the back. His fingers could have

touched my shoulder if he'd stretched half an inch more.

Neither of us moved.

"Some of the women I've known…most of them, actualy,

don't get Monty Python. Don't like it." He shook his head.

"So when you said you loved it, I wasn't sure you meant

it."

I studied him. Many things had brought us to this point.

Too many to discount as coincidence or chance. There

was a reason I was here, I believed it in my gut.

"You thought maybe I was lying?" I didn't ease myself

closer to him, but I turned my body in his direction. "Why

would I do that?"

He laughed, self-conscious, and scrubbed the back of his

head with a hand. "I'm not saying you're lying, no. Just that

maybe you were—"

"Lying." I laughed. "To impress you, maybe?"

Eric ducked his head but shot me a glance. "Something

like that. I don't know."

Today you will know you are strong and beautiful.

Advice meant for him, but I'd taken it, too. The difference

was, I knew something of what he'd been doing and living

the past few weeks, and he had no clue about me.

There was such power in that.

"You have an awfuly high opinion of yourself, Eric." My

"You have an awfuly high opinion of yourself, Eric." My

voice came out different. Lower and sultry. It was the

voice of a woman who had never believed she was

anything but strong and beautiful, and I saw how he heard

it.

He sat up straighter. It was subtle, but I noticed. "You're

right. I shouldn't have assumed."

I wasn't sure what I saw in Eric's eyes, only that I wasn't

ready for it. I made it different with a laugh and a pat to his

arm. "It's okay. I'm just teasing you."

"Right." He laughed, too, but I glimpsed something like

disappointment on his face, so brief I couldn't be sure it

had been there.

I made a show of looking at the clock and getting up. "This

was great, but it realy is getting late."

He was up, too, seconds after me. "Right. Yes."

He walked me to the door, al prim-and-proper-like, and

there I stopped and turned to face him. "Thanks for inviting

me."

Now would have been a good time to kiss me, but he

Now would have been a good time to kiss me, but he

didn't do it. I didn't lean to kiss him, either, though I could

have. I wanted to. I didn't believe for one second he'd turn

me down. And I didn't choke, either, dithering at the last

second about what he might think of me or whether he'd

cal me the next day if I gave it up to him tonight.

I didn't kiss him because I had the power to decide which

way this went. Hours before I'd lain on my bed and

touched myself, thinking it might be his hands. I thought of

doing that now, when I went upstairs. How I'd undress

myself and make myself come pretending it was his fingers

and mouth on my tits and clit, my cunt and ass. Or maybe

I'd think of Austin.

Hel, maybe I'd think of Brad Pitt.

I didn't kiss Eric because he was waiting for me to do it. I

saw it in his eyes and the part of his lips, the cock of his

hip as he leaned against the doorway with one hand up

high and the other hooked in his belt loop. He wanted me

to kiss him, but I knew about him what he didn't know

about me.

I knew he wanted to be told what to do.

"Good night, Eric," I said.

And I didn't give him what he wanted.

Chapter 19

There was an actual voice-mail message waiting for me on

my cel when I got home.

"Paige. It's me. I'm bored. Why don't you come over? Cal

me."

The cal had come in only ten minutes ago, and I wasn't

sure if I wanted to laugh or curse at Austin. It was after

10:00 p.m. on a work night.

"Your booty-cal skils need improving," I said before he

could do more than say helo.

"I knew you'd cal."

"You know shit, Austin."

"What were you doing?" He sounded sleepy, and I hoped

I'd woken him.

"I was on a date." It was only half a lie. It hadn't been an official date, but it had been with another man. It would

infuriate him to hear it. He didn't have to know we hadn't

even kissed.

even kissed.

"Couldn't have been a very good date if you're home

already."

He had a point. "How do you know I'm home? Maybe I'm

just only now answering my phone."

"Couldn't be a very good date if you're talking to me."

He had another point, but I wasn't going to concede it.

"Why do you want me to come over? It's late."

"Is it?" He yawned. "I hadn't noticed. Anyway, you're stil awake. And I'm up. Come over."

"I'm not coming over."

"You're not hanging up, either."

I gave him enough silence to make him think otherwise, but

damn him, Austin knew me too wel. He'd discovered

patience, it seemed, whereas I'd lost mine. "If you were

realy that interested, you should've caled me before now."

"I was giving you your space."

Phone clamped to my ear, I was halfway to my bedroom

when his words brought me up short. He sounded sincere,

and it kiled me that without being able to read his face, I

couldn't tel if he was putting me on. "How very Lifetime

Channel of you."

"What are you wearing?"

"How very Playboy Channel," I said, and my breath

hitched.

By the time I reached my bed I was already unbuttoning

my jeans. When I lay back I cradled the phone against my

shoulder to slide the denim over my hips. My panties came

down, too, and I kicked them off. The comforter was

chily under my skin at first, but warmed quickly. I roled,

reaching for my nightstand drawer, and stopped with my

hand on the knob.

"Are you naked? Tel me you're naked."

I found the smal bottle of lube and my bulet vibrator, not

the one that could land aircraft. I sat on the edge of the

bed to pul them from the drawer, and I stared down at the

evidence of what I meant to do in my palm before I

evidence of what I meant to do in my palm before I

answered. "I'm not naked."

"Liar." Austin's low laugh perked my nipples and parted

my legs.

"I have a shirt on."

"I'm hard, Paige. And I'm naked."

I closed my eyes to see him better. "What makes you think

I care?"

This stumped him for a second. In the past I'd been al

about the phone sex. Sometimes we'd fucked more often

on the phone than with our bodies. Before he could

answer, I said, "Are you jerking your cock, Austin?"

"Y-yeah."

"Wel. I want you to stop."

"Aw, Paige—"

"You can't just cal me up and expect me to run right over

and screw you, Austin. And you can't expect me to fuck

you over the phone, either," I said, though I was thinking

about doing just that. "We're not together anymore.

Remember?"

"That never mattered before." He sounded sulen, and I

pictured his frown.

I loved it.

"It matters now." He had to hear my voice dip low and

breathy, and he knew me wel enough to know what that

meant. I just had to wait and see if he'd figure it out.

"Fine. I'm sitting here with my dick ready to go and I'm not

touching it. Is that what you want to hear?"

I lay back again and twisted the end of the vibe to get it

buzzing. Then I brought it to the phone and let him hear it.

I took it away after a second.

"Shit. Is that your vibrator?"

"It is."

"Let me come over, baby. I can make you feel better than

a vibrator."

"I'm hanging up on you now. And then I'm going to use this

"I'm hanging up on you now. And then I'm going to use this

vibrator until I come. But you're not."

"Wel…fuck," he said miserably.

"No." I laughed.

"What the hel am I supposed to do?"

I let the vibe tickle-tickle between my legs, then puled it

away to stroke with a finger, which I preferred over the

mechanical. "You're going to take a cold shower and go to

bed."

"What if I don't? What if just finish myself off right now?"

A low, slow groan seeped from my lips. "You'l do what I

just told you to do, and maybe, just maybe, the next time

you cal me I'l let you come over and eat my pussy until I

scream."

Dead silence greeted this. My eyes, which had been

languorously closed, flew open. Too far?

"Uh…" Austin coughed. "Fucking hel, Paige!"

Apparently not.

Apparently not.

"Good night, Austin," I said sweetly. "I'm going to get back to getting myself off now. Have a nice shower."

"Paige, don't hang up!"

But I did, because I could. Because there was power in

that, too. And then I lay back and looked at the ceiling, my

vibe stil abuzz in my fingers, and thought of Austin. And

Eric. And then some nameless, faceless stranger who

would do everything I wanted him to do without talking it

to death first or ruining it after with words.

My hands became his hands, running over my shirt and

under to cup my breasts through the bra. Then under that

to stroke and tweak my nipples. The vibe buzzed lower as

I adjusted the setting and slid it between my legs, where I

kept it clamped close to me by closing my thighs. I only

wanted a tickle there, not a ful-on buzz.

I'd used this vibe at the command of a note. I'd set it at the

low speed and rubbed it on my clit and down over my lips.

I'd rubbed it on my nipples, too. I'd brought myself close

and eased off, then close again, but obeying the note, I

hadn't made myself come.

hadn't made myself come.

What had Eric done?

Had he spread his legs in the shower, leaning forward with

a hand against the wal while the other pumped his prick

slowly? Did he bend his head beneath the spray, eyes

closed, picturing some nameless, faceless woman on her

knees sucking his cock? Or maybe she had a name. Had a

face. Maybe he had someone who made him crazy the

way Austin made me.

Or maybe he'd lain back on his bed the way I was, his

hips thrusting upward into the cunt made of his curled fist.

Maybe he'd spit into his palm to ease the way, or squirted

a handful of lube. Maybe he stroked his bals at the same

time as he stroked, twisting a little at the head and groaning

at the pleasure.

I groaned, thinking of it, imagining how thick his prick must

be. How his pubic hair would be dark like the hair on his

head. In my head inches didn't matter. Length and girth

were a matter of sensation, of how his cock would fil my

hands and mouth and pussy.

I wanted something to fil me now but had only the bulet

vibe and my fingers. My hips lifted, pressing my cunt into

my hand. I didn't even need the lube, I was so wet. I

sought my G-spot with one hand and stroked it, shivering

as always from the gut-deep tingles that stimulation always

gave me.

Austin had always loved to watch me make myself come.

Sometimes we'd pretend I didn't know he was there as I

sat at my desk or lounged in our apartment's old claw-foot

tub. I could come sometimes more from the way he

watched me than by what my hand was doing. Now I

could only imagine his eyes on me.

I have a very good imagination.

Two men filed my head. One was jerking his cock but not

alowing himself to spil over into sweating, moaning

climax. The other watched me from a shadowy doorway

as I licked my fingertips and swirled them over my hard,

tight clitoris. One was dark, the other golden, and both

wanted me.

I wanted both of them, too, and the realization washed

over me as suddenly as my orgasm. Sweat tasted bitter on

my upper lip when I licked it. My cunt bore down on my

fingers and I came, hard. I opened my eyes as pleasure

fingers and I came, hard. I opened my eyes as pleasure

swarmed over me and swept me away. I shuddered with

it, that pleasure, so familiar and yet so different, every time.

It was al about control, in the end, and I had it.

I didn't see Eric the next morning at the crush for the mail,

but since I'd seen him every other place but the mailboxes

I wasn't surprised. I held back for a lul, though, glad I did

when I saw the familiar shape of a white note card waiting

for me. I held my breath when I puled it out, more aware

than ever of how wrong it was for me to read it.

It didn't stop me. I shoved the other mail into my bag and

slid the card from its envelope, my heart already pounding

in anticipation of what I'd find today and how different it

would seem now that I knew for whom the words were

truly meant.

"No." My mouth fel slack with the sound of disbelief and I stared harder at the card.

I folded it shut as though it might change what I'd read, but

as though they'd been written in flames, the words burned

my fingers through the paper.

No. No, no, no.

This is your last list.

It couldn't be. It shouldn't be. It was not alowed to be!

You've done wel, though I think you understand you need

more work on discipline. Should you desire further

instruction and encouragement, I might consider continuing

your service to me. But only if I see a ful commitment

from you. You know how to get in touch with me.

Don't feel yourself worthy of more of my time. Only I can

decide that.

Wow, and oh, no. I tucked the card back into the

envelope and pressed it to my chest as I stepped aside to

let the snotty woman who'd dismissed me several times

before get to her mailbox. She gave me a curious glance,

but something in my face must have looked formidable

enough that she glanced quickly away.

I turned my back to the row of mailboxes with the note stil

clutched to me. I wanted to cry. Or puke. I wanted to put

the note back and pretend I hadn't read it.

But instead, I did what I hadn't ever done before on

purpose. I shoved it in my bag.

I was keeping it.

Paul wasn't in his office when I got to work, but that was

fine. I didn't have time to worry about him this morning, or

his lists that could never take the place of the one in my

bag. I hadn't taken it out to look at it again, though I could

remember each swirl and whirl of every letter and line.

I made the coffee and set his cup by the pot with the sugar

and powered creamer already in it. In his office I lit the

desk lamp instead of the overheads that gave him a

headache, and I puled up al the files he'd need to work

on. I even set his radio, though not to the station he usualy

chose but one with alternative pop instead of the soft-rock

channel he usualy played.

I did al of this without a list and not because I feared what

would happen if he came in and found none of it done. I

did it, simply, because Paul needed these things in order to

be productive. If my boss was being productive, he would

have less time to hover over me, and simply put, today I

would not have been able to stand hovering.

would not have been able to stand hovering.

I fielded a few phone cals and settled some business by

the time he breezed in with a frown.

"Paige, I need coffee, please."

I pointed to the counter. "It's al ready, Paul."

"Thanks." He said it offhandedly, then looked at the mug

and back at me. "Thank you, Paige."

I nodded but didn't glance up from my files. I had a lot of

work to do today and not enough attention to give him

more than that. Most of my mind was stil caught up in

what I was going to do without the lists. Paul disappeared

into his office and shut the door, and I let out the sigh I'd

been holding.

Anger shook my fingers as I typed. What a fool Eric had

been! He'd asked for discipline and from the start he'd

made a mess of it! Turning in his essay late, not folowing

the lists. Why had he bothered? Why had he wasted his

mistress's time? Because there was no doubt in my mind

any longer the sender of the notes had been a woman al

along.

Men weren't so eloquent. Men weren't so perfectly cold in

dispensing their instructions even as they drew forth an

emotional response. Only women could dig so deep and

pul out so much.

I typed faster, making mistakes and going back to fix them

because I'd be damned if I turned in faulty work and gave

Paul a reason to judge me. From behind his half-closed

door I heard the music swel, but he didn't change the

station. The lights didn't come on, either. I concentrated on

my tasks, but today they gave me no satisfaction.

Fuck!

I sat back in my chair, muttering. Nothing satisfied me, and

I understood why. It wasn't only because the notes were

going to end, it was because I'd solved at least half the

mystery. I knew who the notes were for, if not who was

sending them. And knowing, I couldn't stop thinking about

it.

If I hadn't found out it was Eric, a man. If that hadn't

changed my perception of what it meant to be on the

receiving end of the lists. If. If. If!

"Paige?" Paul caled. "Can I see you in here for a minute?"

He certainly could, though I doubted he'd be as thriled

with quiet, subservient little Paige as he'd been. I pushed

back from my desk and stood tal in my expensive shoes.

The list had told me to buy these shoes. This blouse and

skirt. My armor, what I put on when I wanted the world to

see me as who I wanted to be and not who they might

think I was.

"Yes, Paul."

For the first time in many weeks, I didn't sit to talk to him.

He had to tilt his chair back a little to look up at me. I

noticed the difference, and I thought he did, too, because

when he spoke he sounded a little uncertain.

"Thank you for setting up my office."

"You're welcome."

I thought he would say more, but Paul just turned his

attention back to his computer and dismissed me with his

silence. I had time to think of what it meant when I went

back to my own desk, but I didn't care enough to bother.

When my cel rang just before noon, I almost didn't

answer. I didn't want to talk to Austin, but it was my dad,

an even greater surprise. I flipped open the phone and

pressed it to my ear, though it wasn't my habit to take

personal cals at work.

"Dad. Hi."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I have caler ID, Dad. I have your number programmed

into my phone." Not that I used it much.

He loved gadgets but wasn't particularly tech savvy. "Can't

pul anything over on you, huh? What are you doing for

lunch?"

"I brought a sandwich."

"How about I take you out for lunch? I have to be up your

way today for a meeting. Stela's off shopping or

something. It'l just be you and me."

My dad had taken an early retirement a year before, but

though he'd suggested it a few times, this was the first time

he'd actualy invited me to lunch. We made plans to meet

he'd actualy invited me to lunch. We made plans to meet

at a chain restaurant not too far from my office. I knocked

on Paul's door to tel him I'd be leaving. He'd been

concentrating hard on his work, and I had to knock twice

before he looked up. He was going to get a headache that

way, even without the overhead lights on.

"Paul. I'm going to lunch with my dad. I'd like to take an

extra hour today. I can stay later, if you need me to."

He shook his head. "No, Paige. That's fine. Go enjoy

yourself."

"Want me to bring you back anything?"

"No." He sighed and waved a hand at the monitor. "I need to get this done before I leave for Kansas next week."

"You have my cel number if you need me," I told him.

"Cal if you want me to stop on my way back."

Paul has a very nice smile he doesn't use half as often as he

should. It doesn't make him into a movie star by any

means, but it was easy enough to see why his wife had

agreed to become Mrs. Johnson.

I couldn't remember the last time I'd gone to lunch with my

dad. He usualy managed to remember my birthday, if not

the day at least the month, and major holidays seemed to

trigger his memory, too, but with nothing on the calendar it

was a bit unusual for him to ask me. He greeted me with

the same hug and kiss as he always did, the one that left

me feeling slightly strange though he never seemed to think

so.

We both ordered the same thing, soup and salad. "Stela's

got me on some sort of diet," he explained. "Says we both

need to drop a few pounds. You look like you've slimmed

down a bit."

"I've been working out." Leave it to my dad to compliment

me while making me feel bad at the same time.

"We just got an eliptical trainer and a Bowflex. You can

come over and use it if you want." My dad thickly buttered

a rol already glistening with grease.

"There's a gym in my apartment building, but thanks." I

didn't even take a rol, thinking of the word discipline and

what it meant to me. I didn't point out how little sense it

made for me to drive al the way to my dad's house to

work out.

work out.

"You could stop by anyway some time this week. Check it

out."

In the past I'd have given him an awkward laugh and

shrugged off the invitation knowing that though he meant

the offer, he wouldn't notice if I didn't take him up on it.

Real invitations, the ones I was expected to take, came

from Stela and always had. Now, though, something in the

way he said it sounded different.

"Sure, I guess I could."

"Your brother's been giving us a bit of a rough time," my

dad said.

Interrupted by the waitress bringing our soup, I didn't

answer at first. My dad, as was typical of him, ignored the

server, spiling his guts in front of a stranger when I'd have

preferred the decency of a few minutes' wait. Ah, wel, it

wasn't my secret.

"Jeremy," he added. "He's been acting up in school, getting into trouble at home. Won't listen to a damn thing we tel

him."

him."

I didn't think pointing out giving in to your child's every

whim was bound to catch up to you would be appropriate,

so I made some sympathetic murmurs and wondered why

my dad was sharing.

"He's been realy mouthy to me."

"Kids go through stages, don't they?"

My dad gave me a fond smile. "You never have."

Choices. We al make them, sometimes more than once.

Sometimes it's the choices we make over and over that

define us, but more often it's the ones we don't.

"Kids who feel confident in their parents' affections can

take the risk of acting out," I said calmly. "I gave my mom a heluva hard time growing up."

My dad's not a stupid man, though he is deliberately blind

to certain things. He sighed. "Paige. I know I haven't

always been there for you."

I lifted my spoon to give my hands something to do, but it

clattered against the bowl and I didn't want to risk spiling

clattered against the bowl and I didn't want to risk spiling

the soup, so I put the spoon down. Of al the awkward

moments we'd ever shared, this had to rank right up there

with the top ten. Worse even than the year he'd noticed I'd

started wearing a bra and announced it at one of Stela's

parties.

Knowing he wanted me to say it didn't matter only made it

harder for me to answer. I stared into my soup for a long,

hard minute and felt his gaze weighting me. I wanted to

make it al right for my dad because it would be easier then

to pretend it was al right for me. But in the end I said

nothing, silence more of an answer than words could ever

have been.

"Could you come by?" he said after another half minute

ticked by. "Jeremy has always liked you, Paige. He looks

up to you like a—"

"Sister?" I looked up at him, then, and took pity on the

man who was responsible for one-half of me.

"You are his sister. We've never tried to make you feel like anything less."

He wasn't going to apologize more, I could see that. I was

pretty sure he hadn't realy meant the first one. On the

surface, sure, but not down deep. No where it mattered.

"I can come over. Sure. I'm not certain what you think I

can do with him, though."

My dad's look of relief was genuine, anyway. "Just talk to

him. I asked Steven if he'd come, but he's busy with the

kids. I knew we could count on you."

That, at least, was flattering and believable. "Sure.

Thanks."

"Great." Just like that, things were okay again.

My dad slurped up his soup, then dug into his salad as he

talked the rest of the meal about the trips they were

planning for the summer. Again to the beach house he'd

bought a few years back, and also to the Grand Canyon

for a river-rafting trip. He invited me to come to the beach

house if I could make it, and I said I'd try.

"Good," my dad said like that settled everything that had

ever been strained between us.

In a way it had. I'd been honest with him, in some smal

In a way it had. I'd been honest with him, in some smal

way, which I'd never been before. We said our goodbyes

and this time the hug didn't feel so strained. He patted my

head, then puled me closer for a second hug.

"You look so much like your mom," my dad said, which

was untrue. "How is she, anyway?"

"Fine. Good." He never asked about her, but I wasn't

going to act as if it was a big deal.

"Good." My dad hesitated. "Tel her…I said hi, and I hope she's doing al right."

"Sure, Dad. I wil."

He looked at my car. "You get a new car?"

My car, a silver-gray Volvo, had seen me through three

moves, multiple winters and road trips to the beach and

back. It was the first car I'd ever owned and even though

Austin had cosigned the loan he'd never put a cent toward

it. It had been too much car for me when I bought it. It had

been my debt and my work.

"No. Same car."

"Huh. Looks new."

I looked at it again. Lately al I'd been able to see were the

scratches and dings. "Wel, it's not."

"You had that when you and what's-his-name were

together, didn't you?"

"Austin. Yeah."

"You see him at al?"

I gave him a hard look. The bright sunshine wasn't kind to

him. I saw his years in the lines around his eyes and mouth

and the sag of his jaw and the gray glint in his hair.

"Sometimes. Why?"

"Just that…hel. You were young. I should've told you not

to marry him."

He was stil my dad, despite everything, and I loved him. I

think my hug surprised him as much as I surprised myself.

"Dad, you couldn't have stopped me."

He laughed. "No. I guess not. That's one thing I'l say

He laughed. "No. I guess not. That's one thing I'l say

about you, Paige, you always knew just what you wanted

and how to get it, and you never let anything stand in your

way."

His assessment took me aback. What could I say to that?

"Thanks."

"Give Stela a cal, would you? See when's a good night

for you to come over. She knows the boys' schedules

better than I do. We'l give you dinner."

"You don't always have to feed me."

"I'm your dad," he said and tucked a twenty-dolar bil into the pocket of my jacket before I could even register he'd

done it. "Cal her. I'l see you later, kiddo."

I watched him go and turned back to my car to look at it

with new eyes. Sunshine had made a mirror of the

windows, and in it I saw a woman who never let anything

stand in her way, who knew what she wanted and how to

get it. My father saw me that way and suddenly, I could

see myself that way, too.

Chapter 20

It's amazing how one smal thing can change so much. I

went back to the office humming under my breath. I'd have

danced and scattered glitter if people did that in real life,

but I settled for stopping at Starbucks to grab Paul a late-

afternoon coffee and scone. He'd need one.

Tension creased his brow when I gave it to him, but he

took the cup and bag gratefuly as he pushed back from

his desk. "Thank you, Paige."

Five minutes later, as my fingers flew over the keyboard, I

heard the phone ring. Five minutes after that, I heard a

thud and a curse, folowed by the sound of water running

in his private bathroom and more muttered cursing. I

waited for him to cal me, and when he didn't, I got up and

went into his office without knocking.

Paul stood in the center of the room with a handful of

sodden paper towels. He'd been using them to scrub at the

coffee stain al over his white shirt, but al he'd managed to

do was spread it. Smal bits of paper towel clung to the

fabric, adding to the mess. The harder he scrubbed, the

worse it got.

worse it got.

The first three days I'd worked for Kely Printing, Paul had

been out of the office. He'd hired me, one of three people

who'd sat in on the interview, but I hadn't known until I

showed up that day who was going to be my boss. I'd

assumed the thick sheaf of instructions left for me on my

desk were because he wasn't there to start me off. I knew

better now, of course, but looking back you always see

things you didn't at the time.

The first day I'd come into work to find him actualy in the

office, he'd had this same look on his face. It was because

he'd assumed I hadn't finished everything he'd left for me;

when I showed him al the tasks I'd completed, he'd

calmed down at once, and our routine had quickly become

the way I've described it. So I'd seen the panicked look

before, but not for a while.

"Stop." I didn't have to think about this. I took the paper towels from his hands and threw them in the trash. I went

to the bathroom and puled a handful of dry paper towels

out, then dabbed at the wet spot on his shirt. "What

happened?"

"I spiled my coffee," Paul said unnecessarily.

"I spiled my coffee," Paul said unnecessarily.

"I see that." I also saw there was more to it than that. I blotted the stain and scraped off most of the paper-towel

flecks.

Under my hands, Paul's chest was firm. He radiated heat,

though his face was dry and even a little pale. His hands

shook a little as he held them out away from his sides to

give me room to work. He was getting ready for a ful-on

panic attack.

"This isn't so bad," I soothed.

"I have a meeting to go to in five minutes, and Melissa

forgot my dry cleaning again. So I don't even have an extra

shirt." His voice went a little hoarse. "Damn it, why'd I

have to spil coffee on myself now?"

"You wouldn't be the only person at the meeting who ever

spiled coffee, Paul." I stood back to assess the damage,

then looked him over with a critical eye. "Did you bring a

suit jacket today?"

"Yes. Of course."

"Wear that. Nobody wil notice. It's a little warm, but you'l

"Wear that. Nobody wil notice. It's a little warm, but you'l

feel better." I patted his arm, and the muscles jumped

beneath my fingers.

Paul shook his head slowly. "Paige…"

I let him trail off and didn't offer a response. We looked at

each other. Without the harsh overhead lights, Paul looked

younger. The lines in his forehead visibly smoothed as I

stroked his arm.

It wasn't appropriate. If anyone had seen us, the gesture

could have been misconstrued. At the very least, it might

have started damaging rumors. But nobody saw us, and

Paul gentled under my touch. After working for him for so

many months, I knew what he needed.

It al fel into place. I thought of the day he'd put the

bandage on my leg. How he'd taken such care. And of his

lists, laid out in such detail to let me know exactly what he

needed and wanted. I thought of how he'd owned to being

difficult to work for, when in the end he'd made it so very

simple for me to give him everything he needed I couldn't

remember why I'd ever thought he was hard to work with.

And just then, I think we both understood.

And just then, I think we both understood.

He must have known before what he realy wanted, and

how hard it must have been for him to get it. Yesterday,

too focused on what I thought I'd needed and wanted, I

hadn't been able to see it.

"Put your suit jacket on, Paul. And go to your meeting.

And tomorrow, instead of coffee, you'd better drink water

until you can be less clumsy." I didn't say it lightly. I wasn't teasing.

I was testing.

He closed his eyes briefly and when he opened them, I

saw relief and something else. A little shame. A little

excitement. I felt the sting and swirl of it, too, but I lifted

my chin and tried not to show it.

"Now," I said, "go to your meeting."

He put on his suit jacket and left.

There was nothing overtly sexual about what had

happened. I didn't want to fuck my boss. Until today I

wouldn't have believed he wanted to fuck me, either,

beyond the fact that most men would like to fuck most

beyond the fact that most men would like to fuck most

women. Yet something had passed between us, something

charged and tense and arousing.

Alone in Paul's office I had to bend and put my hands on

his desk, my head down so I could catch my breath. I'd

fainted twice in my life, and this didn't feel like that, the

gray-red haze taking over my vision, the ringing in my ears.

This light-headedness was more like the breathless rush

that comes just before orgasm, when every muscle

clenches. When the body takes over and nothing the mind

can do wil stop the inevitable.

It was synchronicity again, or maybe serendipity. Like

when you've never heard a word before and suddenly you

see it in every book you read, or how you've been craving

ice cream and the ice-cream truck rounds the corner just

before you go inside. Three men, similar but different. I

might not have noticed a few months ago, but now it was

al I could see. The notes had done that. Opened my eyes

to that need. Theirs and mine, too.

Last night, learning about Eric had rocked my world. This

morning, discovering I was about to lose my lists had done

it again. But now, just now, with Paul, I'd learned

something so basic it had been with me al along. Only like

something so basic it had been with me al along. Only like

Dorothy with the Scarecrow, Tin Woodsman and

Cowardly Lion, I simply hadn't seen it. I thought of lists

and notes and what they meant to me. And what I wanted.

And I knew what I had to do.

"Paige." Miriam gave me a broad, crimson-lipped grin. "So nice to see you. What can I do for you today? A gift for

someone?"

"No. Today I came in for myself."

I looked to the shelf where the boxes of ink, pens and

papers had been, but they were gone. Miriam came

around the counter and saw me looking. She tugged gently

on my sleeve.

"In the back. Come with me." She'd set the boxes on an

eye-level shelf, each displayed with its lid open to show off

the papers inside. "Not so many people wil see these

back here, but if they take the time to look, I believe they

wil be unable to resist."

I already knew the one I wanted. Red lacquer with blue

and purple accents. The paper inside bore the watermark

and purple accents. The paper inside bore the watermark

of a dragonfly, and there was enough to last a number of

weeks even if I wrote a letter on it every day. The brush-

and-ink set interested me less. I didn't intend to write in

caligraphy.

"This one." I closed the lid and slid the smal wooden clasp through the loop of ribbon to keep it shut. I turned to

Miriam and stopped at the look on her face. "What?"

"I knew you would find something to write on that paper,

that's al." She was already leaving the room and gestured

over her shoulder for me to folow.

The box was heavier than it looked because of the marble

stamper, also featuring a dragonfly, and the porcelain

container of ink paste inside. Heavier, too, because of

what I meant to do with the contents. The wood slipped

against my fingers as I carried it to the cash register. I

didn't want to let it go long enough for Miriam to ring it up

and put it in a Speckled Toad bag, but I did.

I was sweating a little, my stomach and throat buzzing with

anticipation. Colors seemed a bit too bright and sounds

too loud. I was already thinking of a quiet room and

candlelight, and the scritch-scratch of a pen on the paper.

I already knew what I was going to write.

Miriam rang up my purchase and wrapped the satin box

liberaly in tissue paper, then slid it into a bag. She peered

at me over her half glasses, her mouth pursed, and tapped

the countertop with her crimson nails. "You need

something else."

I was already spending too much. "I don't think so."

Miriam ignored me and turned to the glass-topped display

case next to the counter. She leaned over to look at the

Cross and Mont Blanc pens inside, each snuggled in its

own cradle of velvet. She ran her finger over the glass,

drawing my attention to each of the pens I'd lusted over

since discovering her shop. There was a Starwalker

rolerbal pen in black and one in blue. There was a

Meisterstuck Classique Platinum rolerbal in classic black

with silver accents. She even had one of the special

limited-edition Marlene Dietrich pens I'd seen online that

cost the earth.

"Mont Blanc doesn't cal them pens, you know," she said

in the reverent voice of an archeologist unearthing

something precious. She didn't look at me as she unlocked

the back of the case and ran her fingertips over the velvet.

the back of the case and ran her fingertips over the velvet.

"They're referred to as writing instruments."

Her fingers closed on one, a slim black piece with the

signature six-pointed star in the cap. She drew it out and

laid it flat on her palm the way the jeweler had done with

the diamond ring Austin had bought me. The pen in

Miriam's palm wasn't quite as expensive as that ring, which

I stil had locked away in my jewelry box…but it wasn't

much less, either.

I itched to take it, but shoved my hands in my pockets

instead. "Yes, I know. I've been to their Web site."

Now her gaze, cool and amused, flicked to me. "I'm sure

you have. You look at these pens every time you come in,

Paige."

"They're beautiful pens."

Miriam puled out a smal square of velvet and laid the pen

—the writing instrument—on it. Then she folded her hands

and tilted her head to look at me over her glasses again.

"Let me ask you something, my dear. Would a plastic

surgeon operate on someone's face with a rusty butter

knife?"

knife?"

"I sure hope not." I grimaced.

Miriam smiled indulgently. "Would an artist try to paint a

masterpiece with a box of watercolors from the dolar

store?"

"If that's al the artist had, why not?"

"My point is, my dear, that in order to create real, true

things of beauty, a person needs the right tools." She

waved a hand over the Mont Blanc.

My soul strained toward it. "I'm not an artist."

"No?" Her perfectly plucked brows lifted in unison. "That paper says otherwise. Tel me you intend to use it for a

grocery list, and I'l cal you a liar. What's more, I won't

sel it to you. It would be a sin not to use that paper for

something special."

"I plan to use it for something special." My mouth curved

into a smile on the words.

"Good. But what about the instrument? Don't tel me you

plan to use a half-chewed pencil stub with no eraser."

plan to use a half-chewed pencil stub with no eraser."

I tore my gaze away from the Mont Blanc to look at her.

"I have a nice fountain pen my dad bought for me for my

colege graduation."

I didn't tel her it tended to stain my fingers in addition to

blotting the paper with ink. Miriam sniffed. Her fingernails

ticktocked on the counter, timing the seconds before her

response.

"It's not a Mont Blanc. Or even a Cross. Is it?"

"No. But it's what I have."

Miriam sighed and shook her head. "Paige, Paige, Paige.

Pick up that pen and hold it."

I didn't want to—putting it down would be so much

harder. But when Miriam puled a piece of cream-colored

paper from beneath the counter and slid it toward me, I

did what she'd said. If you've never held a realy good pen,

you don't understand how the weight distributes itself so

evenly in your palm. Or how the fit of it in your fingers

makes writing even the longest documents easy. How the

ink slides from the tip without effort.

I wrote my name.

"Oh…" I breathed and with reluctance, set down the pen.

"It's so nice."

I'd put it down at once so I wouldn't be tempted to run

away with it, but Miriam lifted it and held it toward me.

"Buy it."

"I can't afford it." I hadn't even looked at the tiny, hand-lettered price tag attached to the pen's box stil in the

display case. I didn't have to see the numbers to know I

couldn't buy it.

"Are you sure?" Miriam asked calmly. "You might be

surprised."

"I doubt it, Miriam. I know what those pens cost."

"My dear," she said. "Aren't you worth it?"

Chapter 21

This is what I wrote on that expensive paper with my

exquisite writing instrument.

The time has come to reevaluate our relationship.

You will send me your exact schedule, work and

pleasure, for the next ten days. In addition, you will

write ten things that excite you. You will send them in

an e-mail to me at switch1971@gmail.com no later

than 6:00 p.m. the day you get this letter. You will

include your cell phone number so I can text-message

you my approval. Or not.

Things are going to change for us both.

I'd stepped it up, but unlike my last interlude with Austin, I

didn't wonder if it had been too much. I wondered,

instead, if perhaps it hadn't been enough. There were

several messages in my Inbox when I got home from

work. One of them was from a friend from colege,

another from my mom. And the last was from an e-mail

address I didn't recognize. Eric.

He detailed his schedule as I'd requested. Working

twelve-hour shifts in a three-on, four-off pattern. I hadn't

asked him what hospital he worked at, but he'd included

varying drive times, so I thought he might fil in at several.

His attention to detail pleased me. Clearly he'd done

something like this before…but then, I was guessing he

was more used to this sort of thing than I was. I liked his

list of things that excited him even more.

• 1. Standing in the rain

• 2. Roller coasters

• 3. Knowing I'm being watched while I make myself

come

• 4. Serving a woman on my knees while she ignores

me

• 5. Tacos!

• 6. Lingerie (on a woman, not me wearing it)

• 7. Being told exactly how to please the woman I'm

with so I don't have to guess

• 8. Clean sheets

• 9. Monty Python on DVD

• 10. Lists

Lists excited me, too. I loved that he had a sense of humor

about it and was self-confident enough to show it. I also

appreciated that he'd responded in time—5:55, by the

time on the message. I didn't know if I'd have had it in me

to punish him for failure.

I never wore leather and I'd never cracked a whip. I liked

high heels, but the thought of using them to step on a

person squicked me out big-time. I'd always thought of

men who got off on "serving" women as pussies, though

Eric had impressed me as anything but.

I didn't know how much of a mistress I was going to be,

or how long I could get away with the impersonation. I

could have pretended I'd taken this on for his sake—the

thought of losing those daily lists had sent me into a mind-

spin, after al. But I knew it was realy for me. Those lists

had given me something I hadn't known I needed.

Writing them, I discovered, fulfiled me even more.

Writing them, I discovered, fulfiled me even more.

This is what I left in his mailbox.

Tonight when you get home from work, you will eat

your dinner. Then you'll shower. After that, you'll go to

your bedroom and leave your curtain open.

When you jerk your cock, know that I'l be watching you.

"Cute shoes." The woman whose name I didn't know but

whom I always seemed to bump into at the mailboxes

sounded as if she meant it. "Enzo Angiolini?"

I looked down at the chunk-heeled pumps in classic black,

tied across the top with a tasseled leather strap. I'd picked

them up at the thrift store for three bucks. But yes, they

were brand name and nearly brand-new. "Yes."

"Nice. I have a pair almost like it but in navy. I never wear

them, though. I couldn't ever find anything to go with

them." She gave the rest of my outf it a critical look. "I'd never have thought to put them together with a flared skirt

and tapered top like that."

For months I'd agonized over what to wear to work each

day and she'd looked at me as though I were something

she'd scraped off the bottom of her enviably fashionable

shoes. Today, caught up in thoughts of slipping Eric's note

into the mail and what it would lead to, later, I'd thrown on

the first outfit I'd grabbed. I looked at my shoes and

swirled slightly to flare my skirt around my knees. My

smile had nothing to do with her compliment, and I didn't

thank her for it. Okay, so I can be a bit of a vindictive

bitch. I never pretended otherwise.

I looked her up and down from the chiffon scarf she'd tied

at her throat to her feet in the same pair of Kate Spades

I'd seen several times already. "Realy?"

One word. So many layers of meaning. She blinked

rapidly, and then her mouth quirked into a grudging smile.

We understood each other the way women do and men

never wil.

"They're having a great sale at Neiman Marcus next week.

I'm on their preferred buyers mailing list and got a

postcard about it," she offered.

"Thanks. I'l check it out." I waited until she'd gone before putting my letter in Eric's mailbox.

When I had, I leaned for a moment against the wal, my

breath whistling through parted lips. Beneath the skirt she'd

so admired, I wore lacy, silky lingerie. Sexy things to make

me feel pretty al day, and to remind me of what I intended

to happen later. As if I could forget, I thought with a secret

smile I kept with me al day.

Paul noticed it. The smile, not the panties, which rubbed

me deliciously each time I crossed or uncrossed my legs.

He stood over my desk with a sheaf of files in his hands,

but he waited until I looked up to acknowledge him rather

than simply addressing me the way he had in the past.

Oh, how so much had changed in so short a time!

"You look nice today," he said.

In this era of sexual-harassment suits, in a time where I'm

an executive assistant and not a secretary because of some

misbegotten notion that a title means more than the job

itself, his compliment wasn't realy appropriate. I leaned

back in my chair to give him a nice long look at my legs as

I crossed them high at the knee. And he looked, Paul did,

without pretending he didn't.

"What do you need, Paul?"

He offered the files. "These have to go out today."

I didn't take them. Power thriled through me as he set

them on the desk but didn't go. Was this a dangerous

game? I didn't think it was so risky. I didn't even count it

as flirtation, realy. I had no intention of fucking my boss.

Of becoming my mother.

"Al right."

We stared at each other. Paul cleared his throat and

rocked on his heels a bit. I took the files and set them in a

tidy pile in front of me to show him I would, indeed, get to

them. Not at that instant, and I wasn't jumping through

hoops to do it, but it would happen.

"Paige, there's something else I'd like to talk to you about."

I studied him for a second, trying to gauge what it could be

about, then nodded. "Sure. What about?"

"Can you come into my office in about ten minutes?"

He asked as though he was afraid I'd say no, even though

technicaly we both knew I didn't have a choice.

"Absolutely."

"Thanks." He'd always been polite, but he was nearly

dancing now with some hidden anxiety.

There were many things I knew about my boss, some I'd

known from the start and others I'd learned only over time.

When it al came down to it, though, I liked Paul very

much. Whatever had his garters snapping, it was going to

make it impossible for him to get some work done until it

was resolved.

"Go get yourself a mug of coffee," I told him. "I'l send off these reports and see you in ten minutes."

I hadn't given him permission, and it was nothing he

couldn't have decided for himself, but the relief in his eyes

at my suggestion made me glad I'd made it. I flipped

through the reports while he poured his coffee and made

some notes about what needed to be sent where, then

ducked down the hal to visit the restroom then make

some copies so I could be back in time to meet with him.

He sat in a familiar slouch at his desk when I pushed open

He sat in a familiar slouch at his desk when I pushed open

his door, but he turned his attention immediately to me.

"Paige, hi. Would you sit down, please?"

I did, and watched his gaze flicker over my bared knees as

I crossed my legs. "Is something wrong?"

"No. Nothing's wrong. I just…wanted to talk to you."

I waited. Paul drew in a breath and pushed back in his

chair to run a hand over the top of his head. He'd taken off

his suit jacket, but his tie was as snug to his throat as if it

had grown there. He cleared his throat, and I waited

another ten seconds for him to speak.

"It's about your performance."

I sat up a little straighter. "Yes?"

"It's past time for your first review."

I understood that. Kely Printing, like most companies,

gave annual reviews, but they also had an introductory

probation period for al new employees. They'd told me

about it when they hired me. Six months into the new job,

you could be out on your ass if you didn't live up to

expectations. It was hard to believe I'd been here that

long. It felt more like forever, actualy.

Again, I waited for him to speak. That was the thing with

Paul. He took his time with talk. I thought it was because

each word that came from him had to mean something,

like he had to weigh their worth before he said them.

Unlike writing, you can't scratch out speech. Once it's

said, there's nothing you can do to erase it.

"I just wanted you to know I'l be giving you the highest

ratings, that's al. And recommending you for advanced

training."

My pleased smile sat oddly on my face, which had been

expecting to frown. "Realy? Great. Thanks, Paul."

He seemed a little more at ease once he'd told me, though

his fingers stil toyed nervously with his pen. He roled it

onto the edge of the blotter, then off. It hit the desk with a

sharp click.

"You're welcome. I've been very pleased with your work."

"I've enjoyed working with you."

He nodded a bit and focused his attention on the pen.

"There are some opportunities available in-house. A good

recommendation could…um…lead the way to some of

them."

This was interesting news I wasn't sure how to process.

"Like what?"

"Promotion opportunities."

I read the buletin boards in the hal by the office mail every

day. I saw the internal-job postings along with the memos

on company policy and announcements about the holiday

parties and picnics. Nothing there had caught my eye or

sent me into spasms of excitement. I'd never considered

applying for any of them. I stil intended to get my MBA

when they'd chip in to pay for it.

"Such as?" I leaned forward.

"They're looking for someone to start in a new entry-level

marketing position in Vivian Darcy's department."

"And if I don't want to work for Vivian?"

For a moment, Paul looked pleased before he smoothed

For a moment, Paul looked pleased before he smoothed

his features into studied neutrality. "It's something to think

about. You can't be an assistant forever, Paige."

That was certainly true, and I was touched he cared

enough to think so. "I don't plan to be."

"This could be a good chance for you," he said.

And that was true, too. So why did we both look so sad?

I knew from Eric's schedule that he'd be home around

eight o'clock today. I gave him half an hour for dinner,

another fifteen minutes for a shower. If he was as eager as

I was to folow the instructions I'd left him, it wouldn't be

more than that.

The black trench coat I wore wasn't meant to make me

look like a pervert, though that's what I felt like as I

entered the parking garage. I'd picked it to help

camouflage me in the shadows, but I had toyed with the

idea of going naked beneath it. I ended up putting on black

jogging pants and a black T-shirt instead, not bold enough

to go bare. I might have had I had a note teling me to do

it, I thought with a smile as I climbed the second flight of

stairs.

stairs.

I came out onto a nearly empty level. At this time of night

the spots taken up by daytime commuters would be

vacant. But from this level I had a clear view across the

street and into Eric's first-floor apartment.

The concrete wal hit me chest high, but I could lean on it

to look across the street. At 9:00 p.m., night had already

falen. The orange lights of the parking garage lit the door

to the stairs and hit every other pilar, but none was above

my head and so I had no glare to distract me. The

streetlights, too, were placed far enough apart they didn't

interfere with my voyeurism.

I hadn't brought a pair of binoculars, but realy didn't need

them. The street between the buildings was one-way and

narrow. I could have spit and hit his window. Inside his

apartment, the lights went on.

My ears rang, and I let out the breath I'd been keeping

prisoner in my lungs. He was there. This was realy going

to happen.

Everyone peeks. We do it al the time when we drive past

houses at night with the lights on, in hotel rooms we can

see into from across a courtyard, when we pass a half-

see into from across a courtyard, when we pass a half-

closed office door. I'd never set out to spy in hopes of

catching someone doing something naughty. I couldn't

decide if the tension in my gut and tingling in my fingertips

were from ilicit arousal or self-loathing.

The former, I thought as the curtains in Eric's bedroom

twitched and the light came on in there, too. I was more of

a pervert than I'd ever imagined. Voyeurism had never

melted my butter before, but knowing this would get him

off, that this was a trigger for him, got my nipples hard and

built an ache between my thighs I knew I'd have to

aleviate with my own hand before the night was through.

He stood at the window for a minute or two, looking out

for so long I wondered if he could see me. With the light

inside his room and the dark out here, I didn't think so. I

didn't dare move. Shielded by shadows, I drew in slow,

even breaths and watched him stare out into the night. He

didn't look as if he saw me, or anyone, though his eyes

moved side to side, searching.

Finaly, he turned and took a few steps toward the bed.

He wore only a towel, his hair wet and slicked back.

Water gleamed in silver droplets on the tanned skin of his

back and shoulders. I wasn't quite close enough to see

back and shoulders. I wasn't quite close enough to see

them run in rivulets down his spine and into the crack of his

ass below the towel's edge, but I could imagine it. And

did.

He hesitated, looking over his shoulder with a hand at his

waist. I wondered if he'd ever thought so hard before

about who might see him from outside. Though I kept my

sheers drawn al the time, they wouldn't entirely block a

peeper from getting an eyeful, but I'd never realy believed

anyone was trying to. I was sure I'd think of it every time,

now, and wonder who might be spying on me when I

thought I was alone.

The difference was, Eric knew he wasn't alone. I thought it

would make it more difficult to get naked, knowing, even

though he had said he liked it. That he wanted it. His

shoulders hunched for a moment and then the towel was

gone. Disappeared.

God, from the back he was magnificent. Broad shoulders,

lean waist, smooth skin. His ass was tight and looked firm.

A patch of dark hair furred the smal of his back and

drifted over his buttocks to get thicker at his thighs and

legs. His arms, too, were covered in thick, dark hair. He

half turned so I could see his chest and I grinned in delight.

half turned so I could see his chest and I grinned in delight.

Hair there, too, dark and curling around his nipples, but

not overpowering him. A woman could stil find bare skin

to kiss al over him, center her tongue on those nipples and

flick them with her tongue until he cried out for mercy.

I had to grip the concrete wal to steady myself at my

unwinding thoughts. Austin, blond-haired and fair skinned,

had little hair on his chest and had taken to trimming his

pubic hair. I didn't mind grooming, but I'd gotten used to

seen a man without so much hair. Looking at Eric opened

up something half-embarrassing I could only think of as…

primal.

Eric lay on the bed, his cock in his hand. He stared at the

ceiling as he stroked, already half-hard. In the porn I'd

seen the men had always yanked so hard on their pricks it

looked painful. Eric didn't start off with a two-fisted yank.

He ran a slow hand over his bely and thighs before

gripping his cock, which he stroked just as slowly from

base to crown and down again before repeating the

journey.

I was mesmerized.

The head of Eric's bed was against the wal opposite his

The head of Eric's bed was against the wal opposite his

bedroom door, which placed the bed paralel to the

window. Like the rest of his apartment, his bedding was

simple, even stark. He'd already puled down the black

quilted comforter and blankets and now lay on the plain

white sheet. He hitched himself a little higher to put his

head on the pilow.

Did it make a difference, knowing he was being watched?

I thought it had to. Why else would he take such time to

show off? The bulge and flex of his biceps had me biting

my lower lip. So did the flex of his calves when he bent his

legs to push his hips upward.

I leaned forward too far, risking being seen, when his leg

blocked the view of his gorgeous cock being stroked so

slowly in that big fist, but as if he knew exactly what he

was doing, Eric pushed that leg straight and bent the other,

instead, keeping my view clear. His back arched as his

head tipped back into the pilow. I wanted to see his face,

but though I could make out the dark shadow of eyes and

the slope of his nose, distance blurred his features a bit.

With a hand stil on his erection, Eric reached with the

other beneath his pilow to pul out a bottle. My lube came

with a flip-top cap, but his had a squirt top, and he

with a flip-top cap, but his had a squirt top, and he

sprayed his hands and cock liberaly before tucking it back

under his pilow.

I didn't laugh because this was funny, but because this

secret glimpse into his private sex life was so adorable,

and told me a lot. He jerked off a lot and didn't bring

women home to sleep over very often—people who

shared their beds frequently didn't keep their sex supplies

under the pilow. My earlier assessment had been right.

People and cars passed on the street below, but I didn't let

that distract me from the show across the way. I heard the

squeal of tires and rumble of an occasional engine as wel

as the hum of the parking-garage elevator, but nobody

arrived or left on this level. Tucked against the concrete

pilar with the wal in front of me and the night wind

occasionaly blowing the scent of the river over me, I

immersed myself in what he was doing and wished I were

with him.

I pressed my thighs together against the ache of arousal as

I watched Eric stroking himself. Slow, then faster. I

watched his prick disappear inside his curled fingers,

watched how he added an extra stroke around the head

and how he dipped lower every couple of strokes to give

and how he dipped lower every couple of strokes to give

his bals some attention, too. I watched, and I thought of

how I could get the chance to show him what I'd learned.

I couldn't hear him, but I could see his mouth open and

watch his face contort with pleasure. His fist pumped

faster, slick with lube, and his hips rose and fel to meet

every stroke. If I were on top of him now, he'd be pushing

deep inside me and my clit would be hitting his bely with

every thrust. My cunt clenched as I watched, my clit hard

and begging for more than the press of my panties against

it. But I didn't touch myself. My fingers gripped the

concrete, the pebbly surface biting into my fingertips and

keeping me centered. Reminding me I was not in any place

where I could risk shoving a hand down my pants and

jiling off. I was risking enough standing here and watching.

My body might crave the same sort of release Eric was

giving himself, but my brain wouldn't alow me to act on it.

Later, I promised myself grimly as sweat lined my hairline

and trickled down my spine, tickling like a tongue. Just a

few more minutes and he'd be done, and I'd go home and

finish this.

I licked salt from my upper lip and imagined it as the taste

of him. My cunt clutched again empty, and I squeezed my

of him. My cunt clutched again empty, and I squeezed my

thigh muscles. God, it felt so good I did it again. And

again.

I watched him as he came, jetting his desire al over his

flat, taut bely, and I came, too, without ever having

touched myself. I coughed on the moist river breeze and

scent of exhaust as pleasure ripped through me. My pussy

spasmed, but I held stil and quiet as the door from the

stairs opened and a laughing couple came out and headed

for their car.

I couldn't duck and couldn't hide, so I pretended to be

talking on my cel phone, leaning casualy against the hood

of a car I didn't own. Orgasm stil rippled through me as I

lifted a hand to wave in response to their casual greeting,

and I thanked the gods of kink I hadn't given in to ful-out

wanking in public.

They didn't even look toward the Manor, but I did. Eric

had falen back into his pilows, his chest rising and faling

and a hand flung over his eyes. I'd already put his number

in my phone, and now I entered a rapid text message.

Very nice.

Half a minute later his head turned toward the nightstand,

and he roled to his side to flip open his phone. He read

the message and looked at the window. He got off the bed

and stood at the window for a few seconds, his hand on

the curtain.

I thought he mouthed "thank you," but then he puled the

curtain before I could be sure.

Chapter 22

It had begun.

I'd thought I'd known what it was to crave the discipline of

an anonymous master who understood just what I needed

and how to give it to me. With one short letter, one shorter

text message, I'd become Pink Floyd. Dark side of the

moon. I'd ventured into the unknown.

But was it, realy?

In al my life, what had I craved more than anything?

Control. Of my life, of my emotions. Of whatever situation

I'd found myself in. The need for it was a weight I'd known

a long time without acknowledging. It had been a huge

part of the reason my marriage had ended, and even

admitting it hadn't done much to change me.

Giving up some smal measure of that control had been a

relief. It had lifted the weight for a little while. Made it a

little easier to bear, anyway. Because in the end, what had

I learned but that I didn't want to give it up. I only wanted

to learn how to use it, that desire.

After watching Eric make himself come, I went straight to

my apartment. I sat at my table, desire an unrelenting ache

in my bely. I opened the lid of my satin box and puled out

a sheet of the fine paper. I let it slide through my fingers. I

put it to my face and smeled it, that inexplicably delightful

scent of fresh paper.

Miriam had been right about my need for this paper, how

if I bought it I'd find something important to write on it.

She'd been right, too, about the pen. The writing

instrument, I reminded myself with a smile. I wasn't a

surgeon or even an artist, but that pen was perfect for this.

Its weight shifted just right in my fingers as I put it to the

paper. The ink scroled every stroke without blots or skids

or spots left blank. Now I only had to find the perfect

words to write.

I knew I should do what my high school English teacher

had caled a "sloppy copy." None of the letters that had

passed through me first had contained scratch-outs or

misspelings. They hadn't exactly been poetry, but they had

been neat and clean. My pen hovered over the paper as I

thought of what I needed and wanted to say.

I was working too hard on it, overthinking. The sense of

I was working too hard on it, overthinking. The sense of

responsibility had pushed back even my arousal. I'd

actualy bitten down on my lower lip hard enough to sting

as I thought.

I put down the pen and pushed back in my chair. I got up

and poured myself a glass of orange juice that I sipped as I

leaned against my counter and stared at the paper and pen

on the table.

One thing I knew that Eric's previous unseen mistress had

never seemed to grasp. He had a sense of humor about al

this. It might also satisfy him sexualy, and he might crave

the hand of command as much as I briefly had, but in the

end, he was no leather-masked pussy boy slavering to lick

a woman's boots. He was not a cliché, and I couldn't

make this one. I wouldn't. It was already more than that,

to me, and had been from the first moment I'd taken the

words meant for him as my own.

Juice finished, I paced. The first note had been easy,

written on a whim. The second hadn't been much harder.

Now, though, now…I wanted so much for it to be perfect

I was paralyzing myself. In the end, I thought of his sense

of humor and the list he'd written. I took my pen, and I put

it to the paper.

it to the paper.

Have tacos for dinner.

"Paige!"

I'm not the blushing sort, but heat flooded me when I

turned and saw Eric waving at me from the elevator. I

paused at the Manor's big glass front doors to hold one

open for him, and he folowed me out into the spring-

breezy morning. "Hi, Eric."

"Going for a jog?" He wore black track pants and a tight

black T-shirt that showed off his biceps.

I looked down at my sneakers and workout clothes, then

up at him with a grin. "You'd think so, wouldn't you?"

"I guessed wrong?" He put a hand over his heart and

staggered a step. "Don't tel me you're going to the

Embassy Bal."

"Nope. But I don't jog. I can manage a fast walk, though,

if you're up for it."

"Fast walk it is," he said agreeably.

"I don't want to hold you back." I faked adjusting the tie at my waist to give my hands something to do while I

watched his reaction.

He didn't give me much of one, just a shrug and an easy

smile that lit his dark eyes. "Nah. I used to run a lot, but it's hard on the knees. A fast walk can give you a good

workout too without being so tough on the joints. I see a

lot of injuries from people pushing too hard. I don't want

that to be me."

We crossed Front Street to the sidewalk just beyond. The

Susquehanna River was running high with the last of the

winter's melt and a few days of rain. It sweled, greenish

brown, high up the concrete steps that had been set into

the bank. Halfway across on City Island, I saw the bright

red-and-white stripes of the bathhouse awnings at the

public swimming beach. I'd dip a foot in that water.

Maybe. But there was no way I'd ever swim in it.

"Left or right?" Eric said as he stretched one long leg, then the other.

Left would take us toward downtown and eventualy, the

highway, but we could walk down along the river if we

wanted instead of up here. Right would take us past

residential neighborhoods and the line of mansions that had

once been private homes but now mostly housed offices.

Oh, and the Governor's Mansion, which for some reason

never failed to fascinate me. I guess it was because such

an important building seemed out of place right out there in

the open, where anyone could stand in front of the fence

and look in. I felt the same way about the White House the

one time I'd been to D.C.

"Right." I nodded that way and watched him stretch. I

made an effort at doing the same, but since I never

stretched before any workout, it was half-assed.

Eric eyed me with a grin but made no comment. "Ready?"

"Sure."

There had been a heyday of walking when I was around

eight or nine. We'd been living in a cluster of trailers, too

few to realy be caled a park, with my mother's then

boyfriend, Bob. My mom had been laid off from her job in

the packing department at the Hershey factory, and for the

first time I could ever remember she'd formed a group of

girlfriends who did the sorts of things moms did on

television. Lunches where they dished over their men, and

television. Lunches where they dished over their men, and

trips to the mal where they walked and shopped but

hardly ever bought anything. Though my mom had never

carried an extra pound and wouldn't until after she had

Arty, they'd formed a group to walk around the

neighborhood to help get in shape. It was more an excuse

to get away from us ever-present kids as they gossiped,

but I'd often watched them from the concrete front porch

as they passed by on their rounds and wondered what

made them laugh so loud.

There was no laughing as Eric and I walked. I'd set the

initial pace, but his legs were much longer and we ended

up walking faster than I usualy did. Pride kept me from

asking him to slow, and I didn't have breath left for chatter.

We passed office buildings and finaly, Green Street,

where Harrisburg went from city to neighborhood most

drasticaly. We passed bikes and other joggers, most

heading the opposite direction. I was glad for the pace that

made talk impossible. Eric didn't seem the chatty type,

anyway. Arms swinging, he didn't walk so much as lope

along the sidewalk.

Somehow I didn't care about the sweat ringing my armpits

or dripping down my cheeks. I hadn't bothered with much

or dripping down my cheeks. I hadn't bothered with much

makeup either, and no woman looks her best in

sweatpants. With any other man I'd have been cataloging

my flaws and wishing I'd at least swiped my lips with gloss,

but with Eric it simply didn't matter.

Because I knew he had made himself come at my com

mand, and it didn't matter what I looked like or wore. I

had power over him. He didn't know it, but I did.

It took a lot of the pressure off in a major way. I didn't

have to worry if he liked me or what he was thinking. I

could find out any time I wanted, just by writing him a

note. And if I decided I didn't like him, this never had to

go beyond a walk along the river.

"How far do you want to go?" His question came close on

my thoughts, startling me.

I looked at my watch, calculating the distance we'd gone

and how long it would take to get back. I was going to my

dad's supposedly to watch the boys while he and Stela

went to some charity fund-raiser, though I knew my real

task was to figure out what burr had gotten into Jeremy's

britches. Stil, it was only lunchtime. The sky had stil been

slightly overcast when we left, but now the sun had come

out. The first realy good weather of the spring. I didn't

want to waste it.

"Another half a mile." I swiped the back of my hand across my face. "And I need to stop for a drink, too."

"Fair enough."

We walked on, slowing. The sidewalk ended just ahead as

the bank fel off much harder down to the river. Across the

street were a couple of restaurants.

"Let's stop at Taco Bel," I said suddenly, unable to resist.

Eric gave me a quick glance, but though I sought a smile or

some sign he was thinking about the last note I'd left, I saw

nothing to give it away. He nodded, though, and when

there was a break in the traffic, we headed across to walk

on the other side of the street.

The pause had slowed us both, so by the time we crossed

the parking lot to the restaurant I was cooling down. The

sun, so fiercely bright, had gone behind some clouds again,

and the wind off the river whipped us. It felt good, though,

drying my sweaty face. Eric held the door open for me.

Once again, the gesture from anyone else wouldn't have

Once again, the gesture from anyone else wouldn't have

given me a second thought, but I wondered if he'd done it

to be polite or from some other, secret need.

I was going to drive myself nuts thinking of this stuff, so I

shoved it aside as best I could and concentrated on the

menu board. It had been so long since I'd been to Taco

Bel they'd added a whole list of new items. I'd practicaly

lived off fast food for years because it was cheap, but

nothing up there realy looked appealing even when I

figured in the fact I'd walked al the way here and would

walk back.

"Go ahead," Eric offered.

I ordered a large diet cola and there was a moment of

awkwardness when he insisted on paying and I tried to

stop him but ended up conceding with a laugh. It was nice,

that gesture. I hadn't expected it.

"A soda's not going to break me, Paige." Eric flipped a

twenty at the cashier, who stared at it suspiciously and did

some strange things to it with a marker.

"Thank you, anyway." I took the drink, which I hadn't

realized was going to contain enough soda to fil a

realized was going to contain enough soda to fil a

fishbowl. The sweetness and carbonation hit the back of

my throat in a bubbly, fizzy splash of utter joy.

Folowing me to a table toward the front, Eric laughed at

my sound of delight. "That's the sigh of a true addict."

I lifted the humongous cup. "Is it that obvious?"

He waited for me to sit before he did. Pleasure, not

exactly sexual, purred through me. I could definitely get

used to this. He set his tray on the table and took the seat

across from me. Our knees bumped.

"Only to a former caffeine addict." He unwrapped his taco

and spread out the paper with his fingertips. "You sure you

don't want anything to eat?"

"I'm sure." The greasy meat and cheese might look good

but I knew I'd pay for it later. My stomach couldn't handle

that sort of junk anymore. I had the notes to thank for that.

Eric contemplated the taco. "I love tacos. They're life's

perfect food."

I laughed and sipped my drink. "If you say so."

"You don't like tacos?" he asked, stil not biting into his food.

"Oh, I love Mexican food. Just not from Taco Bel."

"So why did you want to stop here?" He pushed some

stray lettuce into the taco shel.

I was caught, though he couldn't know it. "I like the extra-

huge drinks."

Eric nodded as though what I'd said made sense. I

excused myself to use the restroom. I wasn't eating

anything, but I stil wanted to wash my hands and face

after the walk. My phone vibrated from my pocket and I

puled it out to find an unexpected picture text message.

A taco.

No message, just the photo, but I knew it at once as the

one in front of Eric. I fel back to lean against the stal's

metal wal, my phone clutched to my heart. I wanted to

dance. I wanted to laugh. Then I washed my hands quickly

and patted my face with a wet paper towel. I hesitated

only a minute before typing a reply. Fast food wil rot your

guts. Next time when I give you a reward, I expect you to

guts. Next time when I give you a reward, I expect you to

treat yourself to something worthwhile.

The words felt stilted without my paper and pen and the

luxury of time. Standing in a public bathroom that reeked

of disinfectant, it was hard to conjure up an image of

myself as a wickedly commanding mistress. Yet there was

no denying the thril rippling through me when I hit the send

button.

Eric had finished his taco by the time I got back. If he

thought anything of how long it had taken me, he didn't

mention it. He baled up his wrapper and tossed al the

trash as I picked up my cup.

"We could start back," I said just as his phone erupted in a jangle.

"Excuse me," he said and waited the bare half second for

me to nod my assent. He flipped open the phone and his

eyes scanned the message. He smiled and tucked it back

into his pocket. "Ready?"

"Can we go back a little slower?" I lifted my cup.

"Sure." Eric roled his head on his neck then patted his

stomach with a grin. "If you want."

The darkening sky and sudden chil breeze kept us from

dawdling, but the conversation made the time pass just as

fast as if we'd been running. I forgot for a moment or two,

listening, that I was deceiving him and that I knew his

secrets. Eric had a great sense of humor and was smart.

God, was he smart, but not in the way that made me feel

stupid. He talked about a lot of subjects, always leaving

room for me to comment. And he listened, realy listened

to my answers. By the time we got back to the Manor the

first drops of cold spring rain were spattering, and I was

half in love with him.

"I need to go in," I said at the front door. "Thanks for the soda."

"I'm going to head down the other direction. Get another

mile or so in. It's my day off," Eric explained. "I need

something to work off some of the stress, you know?"

I could help him with that, but I couldn't exactly say so.

"Sure. See you around."

He waved and left me at the door. Upstairs in my

apartment, I stripped out of my clothes and ran the

apartment, I stripped out of my clothes and ran the

shower, where I scrubbed away the sweat and thought

about Eric. I had the unfair advantage, no doubt about it. I

tipped my face into the spray, thinking of his smile and

laugh, and then the stroke of his fist on his cock. I knew

things I had no right to know.

I couldn't decide if I liked him better because I knew, and

I had no way to tel. I'd noticed him before I found out.

Maybe that meant it was fate. Or coincidence. Or stupid,

dumb luck. Maybe if I hadn't put two and two together I'd

have already forgotten about him. Or at least fucked him.

But I hadn't done either of those things, so I did this,

instead.

Your time is no longer your own. Every minute belongs

to me. No matter what else you're doing, I expect your

thoughts to be of how your actions would please or

displease me. To this end, I expect a full accounting of

your evening from 6:00 p.m. until midnight. Hourly,

you will text your whereabouts to me and your

activities of the past hour.

Chapter 23

"You have our numbers, right?" Stela was running late, as usual.

"Yep."

I'd arrived on time with a handful of gossip magazines I'd

picked up to get me through an evening of watching the

Cartoon Network or listening to Tyler's commentary on

his latest video game. My dad had promised me dinner but

that meant a couple of frozen pizzas already heading

toward burned in the oven.

She hopped on one foot to slide the strap of her shoe

higher on her heel while she fumbled with an earring at the

same time. The woman was incredibly coordinated. She

got both ends of her situated and put her foot down, then

looked at me. "Have you lost weight?"

I looked at myself. "I guess so. Some."

Stela did a slow circle around me, staring. "You look

good. That skirt is nice. Ann Taylor?"

Leave it to Stela to look at my ass and see a brand name.

She didn't need to know I bought it at the Salvation Army.

"Yes."

"Nice. I have a great bag that would go with those shoes,

too. Let me go grab it."

"Stela," my dad broke in. "We're going to be late."

Stela fixed him with a look that put him in his place.

"Vince, realy. It's ten minutes away. Let me just run up

and grab the bag for Paige."

My dad folowed her with a fond look as she ran up the

stairs. He always looked at her that way, as though he was

granting her every wish and it made him happy to do it. It

probably did. I sometimes wondered if he'd ever looked at

my mom that way.

"Where are the boys?" I asked him.

He waved a hand toward the den. "In there, somewhere."

"Have a good time," I told him just as Stela reappeared

with a truly monstrous purse.

She handed it to me with a beaming smile. "Here. Won't

they match just perfectly?"

I looked at my pointy-toed boots and then at the bag.

They were both black but that was where any matching I

saw ended. The bag sported several huge gold buckles,

and the straps had been braided with gold lamé. Tassels

dangled. That purse had more bling than Flava Flav's

mouth.

I thanked her anyway, but she held the purse back when I

reached for it. Stela shook her head slowly and eyed me.

She put the bag on the kitchen table.

"No. You know, that's not realy for you, after al. It's not

realy your style, is it, Paige?"

I was too surprised that she thought I had a style to

disagree even for politeness. "No. Not realy."

"Stela. Time." My dad tapped his watch.

She sighed. "Oh, wel. I thought it would look so cute with

those boots, but honestly, Paige, you've got a much…

cleaner…style. Now."

It wasn't the cleanest of compliments, but I smiled anyway.

"You'd better get going."

In a cloud of perfume and the jingle of jewelry, she finaly

alowed him to pul her away. I walked them to the front

door and closed it after them, but it took me until I

reached the kitchen again to realize something. Even a few

months ago, Stela's compliment would have had me

buzzing with resentful gratitude. Now…it wasn't that I

didn't care. It was more that it didn't matter.

My phone buzzed against my thigh and I puled it out with

a smile.

Just showered. Am eating a turkey sandwich. Have a

video to watch. I'm alone on a Saturday night.

He might be expecting an answer, but that wasn't part of

the plan, so I put my phone back in my pocket and turned

my attention to my own dinner.

"Paige!" Tyler bounced into view as I opened the oven and

puled out the pizza, cheese overbrowned. "Guess what!"

I set the pizza on the special marble trivets Stela had

ordered from Italy when they redid their kitchen. "What."

ordered from Italy when they redid their kitchen. "What."

"I got al the way up to level seventeen on Windago

Diamond! C'mon, come and see!" Tyler tugged at my

hand stil covered in the hot mitt.

"Give me a minute, Ty." Together we studied the pizza.

He made a face. "Do we have to eat that?"

"I thought you loved pizza."

He leaned forward. "But it's gross."

"Yeah. Sorry, kiddo, it's what your mom left."

He sighed and leaned on the counter. "Can I have peanut

butter and jely?"

Wow. If the kid was giving up pizza in favor of PB & J

that was pretty bad. "What if I take you guys out? Want to

go to Jungle Java or someplace?"

They had pizza there, overpriced and not much better than

the one Stela had left. At least it wouldn't be burned. And

yeah, it was a little selfish of me. If the boys were running

rampant through the playground or in the arcade I could sit

rampant through the playground or in the arcade I could sit

and read my magazines in as much peace as the constant

noise would alow me.

"Yesss!" Tyler pumped his fist in the air. "Jeremy, c'mon, let's go! Paige is going to take us to Jungle Java!"

One young boy shouldn't have made so much noise, but he

was going to be tal like our dad, and his feet were already

bigger than mine. Tyler thundered into the den with me at

his heels. We found Jeremy sulenly thumbing the controls

of the game hooked up to the big-screen TV in the corner.

He didn't even glance up when Tyler bounded down the

two steps to the sunken room and flew onto the couch to

bounce his brother.

"Get off, retard!" Jeremy shoved Tyler hard enough to rol

him onto the floor.

"Hey!" I shouted before either of them had the chance to

get into it. "Shut up, both of you. Cut it out, or you can

stay here and eat your mom's shitty pizza."

Two pairs of wide eyes looked at me. I knew it was the

language, but it had worked at getting their attention. I

gestured at the TV.

gestured at the TV.

"Turn that off and get your shoes on. Let's go."

"Jungle Java blows," Jeremy muttered as he pushed past

me.

I caught him by the elbow. He stopped, refusing to meet

my eyes. He stood almost as tal as me, but he didn't pul

away.

"They have a whole new arcade section." Normaly his

attitude would have tempted me to tel him to get over

himself. Whatever was bugging Jeremy had spiled beyond

his parents and was slopping onto me, but I thought of

what I'd been like at twelve and gave him a break.

He shrugged and wouldn't give me his face while his

brother rocketed past us blabbing a mile a minute about

what he was going to play and how his friend from school

had spent his tickets on a realy cool neon light for his

room, and…and…and…

"Can it, shorty. Get in the car." I watched them both head out the front door, Tyler stil blabbing and Jeremy

maintaining his unusual silence.

Once we got to Jungle Java, I had to physicaly restrain

Tyler from running across the parking lot. "Dude. Chil.

There are cars here."

He lunged like a racehorse trying to get out of the gate.

"Hurry up, Paige! God!"

"God," I mimicked him, but moved them both inside where I forked over twenty bucks in tokens for each of

them and ordered a large pizza and soft drinks.

"Wow, Paige. You're the best!" Tyler goggled at the

tokens in the special plastic holder that clipped to his belt.

Jeremy took his without comment, but held back until I'd

let his brother loose in the arcade. "Thanks."

Forty bucks wasn't anything for me to sneeze at, but I'd

thought to them it would be chump change. Their gratitude

surprised me. "You're welcome. Go have fun. I'l be right

here."

Jeremy nodded and stalked off toward the arcade. Jungle

Java was reputedly adding a laser-tag section to the rear,

but so far nothing had started. For a little place that had

started off serving coffee and hosting an indoor playground

for toddlers, it had realy grown. I'd taken the boys here a

couple times when they were younger. It was hard to

believe Jeremy would start middle school in the fal. It was

hard to believe a lot of things time had changed.

My phone rang and my heart leaped, but it wasn't the next

text from Eric. I'd set my phone to vibrate for texts, and it

wasn't yet time. I took the cal anyway.

"Austin."

"How'd you know it was me?"

"I have caler ID, dork."

He laughed. "So that means I'm in your address book,

huh?"

I didn't want to admit it.

"Paige? Do you have me in your phone?"

"Yes, but only because you keep caling me al the time."

Around me harried mothers squawked at their kids and I

cupped a hand over the mouthpiece.

"Where are you?"

I sighed. "Jungle Java."

"You got Arty?"

"No. Jeremy and Tyler."

Austin was silent for a few seconds. "Can I come over?"

A screaming child ran by me with his mother in hot pursuit.

The clerk brought the pizza to my table and I craned my

neck to motion for my brothers to come and get their food

before it got cold. Both of them saw me but ignored me.

"Little bastards."

"Huh?"

I'd heard what he said, but pretended I hadn't. "Austin, I

have to go."

"You haven't returned any of my messages." Austin didn't

sound pissed off, but I went immediately on the defensive.

Some tunes just don't change, you know?

"Sorry. I didn't know I was beholden to you."

"Paige, you're not. I'm just saying…I thought maybe we

were past some shit. Christ. Why do you have to beat me

up?"

"You caled me," I pointed out. "What do you want?"

"What do I always want when I cal you?"

"I'm busy," I said flatly.

He didn't take offense at that, either. "I can be there in,

like, ten minutes."

"In ten minutes the pizza wil be al gone and the boys wil

have burned through their tokens."

"Seven minutes."

"Austin…" I sighed and gestured again, standing to make

sure Jeremy and Tyler couldn't ignore me again. "Why?"

"See you."

He hung up before I could say anything else, but then my

He hung up before I could say anything else, but then my

phone gave its tel-tale buzz and I puled it from my pocket

to read the next update.

Halfway through The Life of Brian. Thinking of ice cream.

Again, I didn't reply.

Just the fact he was obeying me had my mind whirling with

al sorts of possibilities. Distracted, I was too busy handing

out soggy pizza and supervising refiling drinks to think

about Austin. It wouldn't be the first time my high school

boyfriend turned ex-husband had promised to meet me

someplace and didn't show. So when I saw a familiar

wheat-gold head moving toward me through the crowd, al

I could do was sit back in my seat with half a slice of pizza

oozing grease al over my fingers.

"Austin!" Jeremy's face lit for a few seconds before he

remembered he was supposed to be furious with the

world. He slumped down and raised a limp hand. "Hey,

man."

"Hey." Austin gave Jeremy the same languid greeting but

slid into the booth next to Tyler. "Shove over, kid. Give

me a slice of that pizza."

Tyler had been in the middle of a long description about

the games he'd already played and the tickets he'd earned.

With fresh ears to bombard, he turned to Austin as though

he'd last seen him yesterday instead of more than three

years ago. I shook my head and laughed as I finished my

slice. Tyler had been just a bit older than Arty when Austin

and I split up, and even while we were together, my dad's

boys hadn't spent much time with us. Yet both of them had

gravitated toward him the same way Arty did. Austin, an

only child, had been a good big brother.

I rarely spent time regretting our divorce, but watching

Austin with the boys guilt flashed over me. There were

other women to replace me, but his relationship with my

younger half siblings had been taken from him, too. His

glance caught me looking, but I didn't look away.

When the boys went back to the arcade, Austin convinced

me to put away my magazines and join him in playing

Skee-Bal. He was better than me, racking up the points

while tickets flooded from the slot. I didn't get as many

points, but I had fun trying. When I tossed my last wooden

bal and managed to get it in the ten-point hole, I turned

with a whoop to find him staring at me.

"What?" I said, self-conscious about pizza-sauce stains on my face.

"What's going on with you?"

My phone buzzed and I took it out. "Nothing," I said as I

flipped it open to read the message.

Done with the movie. Ate ice cream. Considering reading

but not sure what. Thinking of getting into bed. So far,

very dul night. Sorry.

I pushed my phone deep into my pocket and bent to tear

off my tickets. "It's getting late. I need to get the boys

home. Let's go cash these in."

Austin stopped me with a hand on my elbow. "Paige."

Around us the noise level never fel below earsplitting, but

I heard him clearly. I raised an eyebrow and looked at his

hand. He took it away.

"Can we talk?"

I searched the crowd for the boys. "It's late, Austin. I

should have the boys back before my dad and Stela get

should have the boys back before my dad and Stela get

home. I didn't leave a note or anything and they'l be

worried."

"I could come with you."

I'd been half turned from him, but now I gave him my ful

attention. "To my dad's house? Are you nuts?"

For a man who'd been underinvolved in my life, my dad

had been furious with Austin when he'd learned we were

splitting. A lot of that was because of me. I hadn't told my

dad the whole story. Hadn't told anyone, realy, just let

them make their own assumptions. My mom was the only

one who'd seen through my silence and guessed the truth.

Not that I felt judged by it. She'd never mentioned it. I just

knew she knew.

"Your old man stil got it in for me?"

"He's not a fan. Jeremy! Tyler! Let's go!"

Tyler ran toward me with his tickets trailing behind him

from his hand. Jeremy folowed with his fisted tight. Before

they could say a word I tore my string of tickets in half and

handed each a section.

handed each a section.

"Go get your prizes and shake your moneymakers. I have

to get you home before your mom and dad."

"Here. Take these, too." Austin gave them each half of his tickets, too.

They knew a good thing when they had it and ran off

before I could change my mind. I turned to Austin. "You

didn't have to do that."

"What am I going to do with a bunch of junky prizes?" He

shrugged. "They're kids."

"It was nice." I sounded grudging, and he shot me a grin.

"I can be nice." I roled my eyes. "Goodbye, Austin."

"I can't come with?"

"To my dad's house, no." I held up a hand. "And no, not later, either."

His glance fel to my pocket. "You have a boyfriend now,

or what?"

Nothing happened to the noise around us, but silence stil

Nothing happened to the noise around us, but silence stil

fel over me. I opened my mouth to reply. Nothing came

out. I tried to think of what to say, but my mind stayed

blank.

"You can tel me if you do." Austin's eyes didn't make me

believe his words.

"I don't have a boyfriend, Austin. Jesus. Is it any of your

business?"

I'd always been able to turn around his accusations, but he

wasn't having it this time. His blue-eyed gaze pinned me in

place as easily as his hands on my wrists had done more

than once. He shrugged.

"Or is it just another fuck buddy?" He paused, slim golden brows furrowing.

"No," I said coldly. "And watch your mouth. There are kids around."

Austin's gaze traveled up and down my body before

settling on my face. I couldn't tel from his expression what

he thought. I didn't have to guess, though, because he told

me.

me.

"You've changed, Paige. A lot."

"People change."

He leveled me with a steady look. "Yeah. They do."

And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away.

Chapter 24

"Austin!"

Heads turned. He stopped. He waited until I caught up to

him, which was more than I'd expected. Maybe more than

I deserved.

"Why do you care?"

It wasn't the question I meant to ask, but I wasn't realy

sure what I'd meant to ask. I clamped my mouth shut on

other words, softer ones. I bit my tongue until I tasted

blood.

"Why don't you?"

"I care," I said in a low voice, conscious we were

surrounded by a hundred pairs of eyes.

"Paige! Can I go play—"

I cut Tyler off by jamming my hand into my pocket and

puling out a palmful of coins. "Go. You and Jeremy go.

Don't leave this building."

"Wow." Tyler took the coins from my hand and looked

from me to Austin. "Thanks, Paige!"

"You're good to them," Austin said when Tyler had gone.

"That's me. Sister of the year." I led the way out the glass front doors to the concrete outside. I wished for a coat,

though my chil came from deep inside and not even an

Eskimo parka would have helped.

We stared at each other until I looked away.

"What do you want from me?"

There wasn't anything wrong with Austin's question, but it

made my stomach twist and turn. "I don't want anything

from you. That's the point. Isn't it?"

"Jesus, Paige!" The doors opened and a mother holding

two kids by the hand pushed her way through. Austin

stepped aside to let her pass and we waited until she'd

halfway crossed the parking lot before he spoke again.

"Why not? Why the fuck not?"

"I don't know!" Again, not what I thought I meant to say

but once the words came out I had no others.

but once the words came out I had no others.

He stepped closer to me. Taler. Broader. I couldn't

decide if I was intimidated or turned on.

"What wil it take to convince you I'm different?"

"What wil it take to convince you I'm not?"

We weren't shouting, but my throat hurt as much as if I'd

screamed. Austin's face worked. He stepped closer stil.

"What do you want? Do you want me to jump through

hoops? Is that it? Is that what you want?" He studied my

face and must have seen something in it, because al at

once his shoulders slumped. "What kind of man does

that?"

Helplessly, I thought of Eric and the mingled heat of

shame, fury and desire mingled with despair. "Some men

would."

Austin tossed his hands in the air and made a noise that

had a depth of meaning, even without words. This time,

when he walked away, I watched him go and I didn't cal

him back.

him back.

The car ride back to my dad's was quieter, thank God, as

Tyler wound down. We made it home to a message on the

answering machine teling us they'd be home later than

expected. I sent Tyler upstairs to brush his teeth and get

into bed, but I held Jeremy back. It was proof of how

much Tyler was worn out that he barely argued.

"Sit." I pointed at one of the bar stools pushed up against the kitchen island. "Want a soda?"

"I'm not supposed to."

I'd already puled out two from the fridge and pushed one

toward him. "Yeah, yeah, save the innocent act for your

mother."

We both cracked the tops of our cans. From upstairs

came the rush of water and some thudding footsteps, then

some singing. I laughed. Jeremy roled his eyes.

"So," I said after I took a long swig. "What crawled up your ass and died?"

"Nothing."

I understood sulen. "Dad says you've been giving him and

Stela a hard time. And that you even got into trouble at

school. What's up, dude?"

"Did Dad tel you to interrogate me?" Jeremy sneered and

didn't even open his soda.

"Ooh. Mr. Vocabulary."

He scowled and hunched over the island. "Why can't he

just leave me alone?"

"Because he's your dad."

Jeremy had the same color eyes as my dad. As me. Blue

edged with gray. Now they'd gone dark with his anger.

"He's your dad, too!"

Of al the things he could have said, I wasn't expecting

something like that. "Yeah. So?"

He shrugged violently and hunched forward again. I leaned

on the island across from him and waited. Jeremy had

used to be a lot like Tyler, mouth going a mile a minute. I

could wait him out.

"Don't you ever…hate him?"

He'd voiced his question so low I almost missed it, but I

didn't lean closer to hear better. I pushed back, instead,

stunned at the vehemence in his tone. "Hate Dad?"

Jeremy lifted watery eyes to me. "Yeah. Don't you?"

I had absolutely no idea what any of this was about, but I

kept my voice gentle. "Why, Jeremy? Do you?"

He ducked his head again. Twelve was tough. Not a kid

anymore, not a teen. I'd given my mom her first gray hairs

when I was twelve.

"He always tels us family is so important." He spat the last word and I heard the snurfle of snot.

I grabbed a couple tissues from the box on the counter

behind me and passed them over. Jeremy grabbed them

and tucked them against his face, stil bent into the circle of

his arms. I drank some soda while I thought of what to

say.

"Family is important," was al I could come up with.

Jeremy looked at me again, though his tears had to be

embarrassing. "He was married before my mom."

"Yeah. I know. To Gretchen and Steven's mom. But that

was before you were born, guy."

"But not," Jeremy said in a voice laced thick with disgust,

"before you were born."

He'd only just now figured it al out. Wel, I'd known it

younger than twelve and it hadn't made it any easier for me

to know my father had been married to another woman

when he had me. I was three before my dad realy started

making an effort to see me, his first marriage already over.

He was dating Stela by then. I never realy knew him with

anyone else.

"My mom…" Jeremy shuddered and swiped at angry

tears. "She's the reason he got divorced from Gretchen

and Steve's mom. Isn't she?"

"I don't know, Jeremy. I never asked. It's not my business.

And, realy, not yours." I didn't want to come off hard on

him. I understood. But I also knew it wouldn't change

anything for him to be angry over it.

"If family is so important, why did he do that?"

I sighed, at a loss. "I don't know."

Jeremy scrubbed at his face, the tears gone. His bright

eyes were shaped like Stela's though they were my dad's

color, and he looked like her when he frowned that way.

"He cheated on his first wife and had another baby, and

then he did it again!

That's not putting family first. That's not treating them like

they're important!"

Of al my dad's kids I'd thought Gretchen or Steven might

have had the most to bitch about. After al, their lives had

been turned upside down and torn apart by their dad's

infidelity. Mine hadn't been al strawberries and cream, but

it had been al I'd ever known. Jeremy and Tyler had lived

the lives of princes from birth.

"What are you worried about?" I asked him quietly. "That he'l do it again?"

He didn't have to answer with words. I reached across the

island and took my half brother's hand. In my pocket, my

island and took my half brother's hand. In my pocket, my

phone buzzed, but I didn't reach for it.

"Your dad loves you. And he loves your mom. Crazy

like."

Jeremy let me hold his hand but didn't squeeze my fingers

in return. "Did he love your mom, Paige?"

I let go of his hand. "I don't know. That's between them."

"And it doesn't make you mad?"

I shrugged. "It used to, I guess. But what can I do about

it? I'm a grown-up now, kiddo. I have to do my own thing.

At least I know my dad, you know? Some kids never do."

He nodded finaly and wiped at his face again with the

grimy, shredded tissue. "It makes me so mad, though."

"It's okay to be mad. Maybe you should talk to him about

it, though, instead of being bad in school."

Jeremy looked stricken. "He'd tel Mom that I know!"

I didn't point out that it wasn't just our dad who'd done

wrong. Stela had known what she was doing, or at least

I'd always assumed so since she wasn't a woman who

ever did anything by accident. I just patted his hands and

washed my own before I finished my soda.

The sound of the garage door opening had us both on our

feet. Jeremy hopped up the stairs without a word from me,

while I dumped his can in the sink and stashed the can in

the recycling bin. By the time my dad and Stela got in the

house, silence reigned from upstairs and I was flipping

through a back issue of some home-and-garden magazine.

"How did it go?" Stela bustled into the kitchen and stuck

an aluminum swan in the fridge. "You got our message?

The fund-raiser had only the tiniest hors d'oeuvres and we

were starving, and since you were here, wel, we just

decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner out."

"No problem. I took them to Jungle Java."

Stela raised a brow. "That junky place?"

My dad had come in behind her and let out a long, loud

belch. "What junky place?"

Stela roled her eyes. "Paige took the boys to Jungle

Java."

Java."

"Yeah?" He looked at the clock and yawned. "That place is stil around?"

I got the not-so-subtle hint. "Yeah. They're upstairs, but

I'm not sure if they're asleep."

Stela sighed. "Did they bring home a bunch of junk?"

I grinned unapologeticaly. "Absolutely."

She gave me a second glance, then a smal smile. "I'm

going up to say good-night. Are you leaving, Paige?"

"Yeah." I glanced at my dad, who was rooting around in

the fridge for something.

"Vince! We just ate!"

"I need a drink," he said and came out holding a bottle of designer water.

"Fine. Good night, Paige. Thanks for watching the boys."

"No problem."

My dad and I turned to watch her head up the steps. I

My dad and I turned to watch her head up the steps. I

thought he'd ask me about Jeremy since that was the

whole reason I'd come over in the first place, but he didn't.

He drank his water with a sigh and tossed the empty bottle

in the trash. Then he puled out his walet and handed me a

fifty-dolar bil.

"For watching the kids," he said.

The paper, crisp and sharp edged, rubbed my fingers.

"Dad, I don't need this."

"Jungle Java isn't cheap."

"I wanted to take them."

"Take the money, Paige," my dad said amiably enough.

"I'm sure you can use it."

I straightened my shoulders and folded the bil in half, then

shoved it in my pocket. "You don't have to pay me for

watching the boys. I'm doing al right."

My dad laughed. "I'm sure you are. I'm not paying you for

anything, I'm just being your dad, okay?"

"Wel, then. Thanks." Gratitude stuck in my throat but I

forced it out.

My dad had periodicaly tossed me some money over the

years. Never enough. Never when I needed it. It would

have been better if he'd done right by my mom and given

her child support so I could've had the stylish jeans in

middle school or the warmer winter coat. I'd have

appreciated that more than the occasional twenty or even

fifty dolars, or the sudden flurry of birthday gifts three

weeks late and al in the wrong sizes.

"Do you want to go to lunch with me next week?" He

yawned again, and I started toward the front door.

"Sure, Dad. Cal me."

"I wil," he told me at the door and gave me a hug and a

kiss on the cheek. "Drive safe."

It was so fatherly it felt foreign. Driving home, my phone

vibrated against my leg again, but I didn't pul it out until I

got to the parking garage. Two messages waited for me.

In bed. Not tired. What should I cal you?

And the second, Stil not sleeping.

I hadn't forgotten how I'd looked forward to every note.

I'd imagined the sender, my secret commander, crafting

each word with the intent of forcing me one more step

along a path so curved I couldn't see the end. I'd never

thought about how difficult it would be to come up with

detailed lists every time, or how it felt to hold someone so

firmly in my command.

There were limits. There had to be. I'm sure I'd have found

them had the notes kept coming, pushing me harder, or if

they'd ordered me to do something so foreign to me I

couldn't manage it. I didn't think I'd have committed a

crime or done something against my personal code, like

have bareback sex with a stranger, or taken drugs.

I didn't know Eric's limits, or how far I wanted to push

him, but the thought sifted heat al through me. I thought for

another few moments, then got out of my car. It wasn't

terribly late, not for a Saturday, but the parking garage

was quiet. Across the street I could see a few lights on in

apartments, though many windows were dark. Most of the

Manor residents would be out and about until much later.

By the time I got to the front doors, I was already tapping

out a message. Grinning, I tucked my phone, set to silent,

back in my pocket. It was a risk that might not play out the

way I'd planned, but it was a good risk.

If you're not sleeping, you should put your time to good

use. Go to the lobby. Greet the first person you see. If it's

a man, you wil engage him in whatever conversation you

want. But if it's a woman, you wil find a way to serve her.

Not to please her, and not to please yourself. To please

me.

It was a lot of typing, but the fact it took longer meant he

had to wait longer for it. I was already in the lobby, which

was stil empty. Al I had to do was wait.

I caught sight of my face in the mirror above the fireplace

nobody ever lit. Blond hair slicked back in a high ponytail,

blue eyes smudged with gray liner. The sun had brought

out some freckles and my lips stil could've used some

gloss, but overal, it wasn't a bad picture.

I turned my face from side to side, envisioning heavier

makeup and a leather suit replacing my workout clothes. A

whip in my hand. Spike-heeled boots. None of that

appealed to me any more than being on my knees with my

appealed to me any more than being on my knees with my

hands tied had ever turned me on. I swiped a hand over

my hair to take care of the wisps faling over my face. I

didn't look like a dominatrix. Was that what I was?

It was too soon to be insulted Eric hadn't even asked for

my phone number. We'd had two pseudodates but no

indication he had any sort of sexual attraction to me. So

far, al I knew was that he got off on being ordered around

by someone he didn't know, and that I liked him very

much.

And that I could make him like me.

Chapter 25

"Paige. Hey."

I'd tried to time my "entrance" just right, grateful nobody else was coming in or out of the building so they couldn't

see me lurking by the front door trying to catch a glimpse

of the elevators. I'd managed to linger long enough I was

the only person in the lobby just as Eric came out of the

elevator. He looked around and lit up when he saw me.

Relief, maybe. Gratitude.

I wanted it to be desire.

"Eric. Hi." I'm no actress, so I didn't bother pretending I wasn't happy to see him. "What's up?"

"Oh, just…" He didn't quite stammer, but he did trail off

with a shrug and a smile. "I have the night off. Couldn't

sleep."

I looked at the big clock on the wal opposite the fireplace.

"It's only eleven-thirty. It's stil early."

"Yeah. Wel, I have to work early, so I was trying to be

good."

I'd never been afraid to go after what I wanted, and I'd

decided I wanted him. "Were you?"

I watched his throat convulse as he swalowed, and I

drank in the sudden gleam from his gaze. I knew what he'd

been told to do, but now I was watching it happen and my

body reacted. My nipples went tight and I sighed silently at

the friction of my panties against me.

"I was trying," he said.

Flirting is a dance, even when you're standing stil.

"But not succeeding?"

His smal smile caled my attention to his perfectly ful

lower lip. "I guess not."

"Bad boy." I didn't coo or purr the words. I didn't have to.

Eric's dark eyes flashed. "I guess I am."

The difference in how he looked at me was subtle, but I'd

been watching for it. I knew what he was supposed to do

and wondered how he meant to do it. But just then I also

and wondered how he meant to do it. But just then I also

wished I hadn't pushed him toward it. Me.

"Wel, it's late," I said to tease. "I'd better go upstairs. I'm starving."

Eric dogged my steps toward the elevator. "What are you

hungry for?"

I let his question turn me. "Ice-cream sundaes."

"I have ice cream. And hot fudge. And I even have those

disgusting cherries."

I smiled at the good luck. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Eric nodded slowly, his glance going over my

shoulder when the elevator doors opened. "Want to come

up to my place? I'l make you one."

I back-stepped toward the elevator and he folowed as

though I puled him on a string. Or a leash. "Now, why

would I do that?"

"Because ice cream's more fun when eaten in pairs?"

I laughed at his answer. "Al right. Al I have is diet fudge

I laughed at his answer. "Al right. Al I have is diet fudge

bars, anyway. I'd rather have a real sundae."

He folowed me into the elevator and watched me push the

button for his floor. The elevator could hold and had held

ten people at a time. We had plenty of room but he stood

next to and slightly behind me, so I was aware of his body

heat and the soft sound of his breath.

We barely had time to talk on the short ride to his floor

and down the hal to his apartment, and I didn't bother

with smal talk. Eric, to my relief, didn't try to force the

chatter, either. In five minutes he was unlocking his door

and ushering me inside by stepping back to alow me to go

through first.

"Such a gentleman," I said.

He paused after he shut the door. "I try."

Again, we stared at each other. I was used to men who

made the first move. Eric didn't move, so we stayed stil,

both of us looking.

"Ice cream?" I prompted over my urge to taste his mouth.

"In the kitchen."

He puled out a chair for me and settled me in it like a

queen before bustling around to pul out a couple cartons

of ice cream from the freezer. He set them on the counter,

then grabbed a jar of fudge from the cupboard and put it in

the microwave. From another cupboard he puled real ice-

cream-sundae glasses, and from the drawer two long-

handled spoons.

"I had no idea," I said as he turned. I waved at his

preparations, searching for the words that would keep me

on top, but found none.

He grinned. "I like ice cream. What can I get for you?

Chocolate, vanila or mint chip?"

"A scoop of each?" It had been ages since I'd eaten ice

cream. "Extra hot fudge."

"Whatever you want." Eric's simple words felt anything but simple.

He brought two sundaes, heaped high with ice cream and

oozing with hot fudge, to the table. True to what I'd come

to expect from him, he served me first before taking the

to expect from him, he served me first before taking the

chair across from mine. He waited until I'd tasted my ice

cream before he even lifted his spoon.

"Good?" he asked.

I could only make a murmuring happy noise as my taste

buds, so long denied, practicaly sang. When I scooped a

mouthful of hot fudge, my low, throaty moan was louder

than I'd intended. Eric stopped with his spoon halfway to

his mouth.

I swalowed sweetness. "It's good."

He finished his bite, and I watched his lips close over the

spoon. I watched, too, as his tongue came out to lick

away the drops of ice cream that had dripped onto his

hand. Caught up in my lustful fantasy of what he could do

to me with that tongue, I dropped my spoon.

Both of us looked to where it had clattered to the floor. I

didn't move. Eric looked at the spoon on the floor, then up

at me. And then slowly, carefuly, he slid from his chair to

his knees in front of me. The spoon clicked on the tile

when he reached for it, and I saw his hand was shaking,

just barely.

just barely.

He looked up at me. "Let me get that for you."

This was the second time since we'd met he'd been at my

feet. This time he was there because I'd put him there,

though he didn't know it was me. My heart leaped, the

thudding almost painful under my ribs. My breath lodged in

my throat, and though a thousand words swirled around in

my brain, not one of them would come out of my mouth.

When the heat of his hands cuffed my ankles, I drew in

another breath on top of the one I hadn't yet released. I'd

changed into a summer-weight black skirt, the cut loose

and fabric soft on my bare legs. It hung just past my knees,

but sitting had puled the cloth tighter and higher on my

thighs. The pressure of Eric's breath shouldn't have been

strong enough to move the fabric of my skirt, but I felt it

move on my shins as he exhaled.

He didn't look at me as he slid his long fingers slowly up

my calves. They reached the soft skin behind my knees

and I let out another slow sigh. When he reached the hem

of my skirt I thought he'd stop, but Eric, head stil bent, his

eyes on only he knew what, pushed the material up and

over my knees. He leaned forward to press his cheek to

the inside of my knee. I froze. Our breathing sounded very

the inside of my knee. I froze. Our breathing sounded very

loud in the silence.

When I didn't move or protest, Eric gave his head a half

turn. His breath blew hot on my skin. I tensed, my hands

clutching the arms of the chair, but my knees opened for

him and my head tipped back just a little.

He kissed the inside of my knee with parted lips, and the

brief wet press of his tongue teased my flesh. I looked

down at his thick dark hair and wanted to sink my fingers

into it. Instead, I clutched the chair arms tighter as Eric

nuzzled higher onto my thigh.

He would be able to smel my arousal, I knew it, could feel

my panties getting damp. His mouth moved higher as his

hands moved up over my knees and rested there. My next

breath turned to syrup in my lungs and gave me no air.

I could see his eyes, closed, the dark lashes so long they

cast shadows on his cheeks. Each feathery kiss folowed

the next, a micron's distance apart. He would never reach

my pussy at that pace.

The only sounds had been our breathing and the squeak of

the chair as his movements rocked me gently in it. Now I

the chair as his movements rocked me gently in it. Now I

heard the low but unmistakable sound of Eric's groan. I felt

it, too, in a puff of hotter air and the wetness of his kiss

higher stil but not high enough.

I looked down at his hunched shoulders and the big hands

pushing up my skirt. At his dark hair, the fringes tickling

my thighs. At the sweep of his lashes and slope of his

forehead, al I could glimpse of his face.

What the fuck was I doing?

One hand found its way to his hair and I lost my fingers in

it, relishing the springy coarseness for only a moment

before I tightened my grasp and puled his head up. His

eyes opened, blurred with lust. His lips, moist, parted as

he focused on my face.

I could not do this. Not like this. Not because I didn't love

him, or because he wasn't my boyfriend, not even because

we hadn't even had an official date. I'd done more with

men I'd never even seen again. And not because I didn't

want his face between my thighs, making me come on his

tongue, because I wanted it so much desire left me light-

headed.

"No," I said in a grinding voice, because this wasn't fair.

Not to him, and not to me.

Eric pushed away from me at once and I released my grip

on his hair. He didn't get to his feet but rocked back on his

heels, his expression stricken. "I'm sorry. Paige. I don't

know what made me think that was okay. I'm sorry."

With shaking hands, I pushed my skirt to cover my knees.

I swalowed against the lump in my throat and tried to

breathe slow and easy so I wouldn't embarrass myself by

fainting or something stupid. I couldn't meet his eyes.

"Paige, I'm so sorry." Eric's voice broke on my name and

he cleared his throat but didn't say anything else.

Would he have gone to his knees for me had he not been

doing as I'd ordered?

The chair screeched on the tiles as I pushed to my feet.

None of my muscles wanted to cooperate. They wanted

me back in that chair, my legs spread wide with Eric's face

between them. I shook my head at myself, but Eric

misunderstood.

"Please…I'm realy not a jerk." He stood but didn't reach

for me. "I shouldn't have done it. But I was…" I found my

voice. "You were what?"

"I was taken by you." His curiously old-fashioned phrasing sounded just right. "I like you, and I thought…I was

stupid. I'm sorry."

I could have said it was okay, but it wasn't, and not for the

reasons he'd have assumed. "I'm going to go now."

He nodded and went at once through the living room to

the front door, which he didn't open. By the time I got to

him I was able to breathe, though my muscles stil felt

loose. Eric stepped aside, giving me plenty of room. We

didn't look at each other.

"Thank you for the ice cream," I said formaly. Stiffly.

"You're welcome."

He held the door open for me, but I didn't look at him as I

went out.

I left no note, no list the next morning. Courtesy of the

schedule he'd sent me, I knew Eric would be off to work

schedule he'd sent me, I knew Eric would be off to work

before I roused myself from bed, but that was just an

excuse. I was awake and could have run down to make

sure he had something to keep him smiling al day.

I hadn't slept much, just tossed and turned, so when the

phone rang I picked it up on the first ring. "Hmm?"

"Paige?"

"Arthur." I sighed. "What did I tel you about caling me so early?"

"But I'm hungry," he whispered. "And Mama won't wake

up."

I yawned. "You know what you can have. You don't need

to wake her up."

"When are you coming over again?"

I hadn't realy thought about it. "I don't know, buddy.

How's school?"

"My teacher says I shouldn't talk so much in class."

"Your teacher is probably right."

"Your teacher is probably right."

A shuffling squawk came through the phone, then a voice.

"Who is this?"

"Mom. It's me."

"Oh. Paige. Hi, honey." Her relief seemed way out of

proportion to Arty's early morning dialing. "What's

wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong. Arty caled me."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Nothing that I know of. He cals me a lot on Sunday

mornings."

"He does?" She sighed. "I'm sorry. I'l remind him he's not to use the phone without permission. He's been…wel,

he's been caling Leo."

I yawned again, blinking. "So?"

"Leo doesn't live here anymore," my mom said flatly.

"But he was like a dad to Arthur." I got on one elbow to

"But he was like a dad to Arthur." I got on one elbow to

look at the clock. Gad-awful early. Silence told me I'd

said the wrong thing. "I'm sorry, Mom, but it's true."

"Arthur is not Leo's son," she said after another half

minute. "I haven't said Leo couldn't see him, but he can't

go caling whenever he wants to. He's not my boyfriend.

And he's not Arty's dad."

My mom had had a lot of boyfriends. She hadn't bothered

to tel me al the reasons why she'd broken up with each of

them, though I had been subjected to the ranting and

raving on occasion when one had realy pissed her off.

When I got older, she'd shared more, though I'd never

asked her to. Now I waited for some revelation about

Leo, some reason that had turned her against him, but she

didn't give me one.

"Arty! Get out of the snack drawer! Have some cereal!"

She sounded tired and cranky.

I knew how that felt. "I'm going back to sleep, okay?"

"When are you coming down?"

I told her what I'd told Arty, adding, "I've got stuff going

on."

on."

"We'd like to see you. Me and Arty. You could come for

the weekend, Paige. We could make fudge."

"Mom…"

"Don't say no. Just think about it, okay? We miss you. I

miss you."

There wasn't anything to say that wouldn't hurt her feelings,

so I sighed. "Okay. I'l check my calendar."

"I have to go. Arty just spiled the milk."

"You know what they say," I tried to joke. "Don't cry over it."

"I'm not crying," my mother said in a stone-edged voice I

never heard from her.

Then she hung up.

Chapter 26

The flowers came the next day, a bouquet of thirteen red

roses tied with a thick satin ribbon and adorned with

baby's breath. They were delivered early, too, the card in

my mailbox announcing I had a package at the front desk

tucked in amongst the bils the way not too long ago the

notes had appeared. It set my heart to racing the way

those notes always had, but the flowers sunk my guts to

my shoes.

"Someone has a special friend," Alice said when she

handed me the bouquet with a knowing grin. She leaned

closer. "I knew it wouldn't take you long, hon."

I paused with the flowers in my hand, not daring to hold

them too tight unless there were thorns. "For what?"

"To get one," Alice said. "A man."

Being unable to speak is different than not having words. I

hate not knowing what to say. I goggled at her like an idiot

and puled the flowers closer to my chest. The look on my

face set her back a step, her ready smile fading.

"Pretty flowers." It was the woman from the mailboxes

stopping to pick up her own package. "From your

boyfriend?"

"I don't have a boyfriend," I said shortly for her benefit and Alice's. "I don't know who these are from."

If they shared a look it was behind my back, because I

turned away to pul the card from between the stems. It

was a printed card, not handwritten. Three words.

I'm sorry. Eric.

Austin had given me flowers once or twice, sad and

scraggly bouquets picked up from the grocery store. He'd

picked me flowers, too, from his mother's garden and put

them in a beer mug for me to find on our kitchen table

when I got home from school. These were my first roses.

I didn't have time to put them in my apartment before I

headed off to work, so I took them with me. I didn't have

to worry about getting them into water right away because

each stem was capped in a smal plastic tube, but I

arranged them where I could see them from my chair.

One minute I smiled to look at them. The next, I frowned.

One minute I smiled to look at them. The next, I frowned.

Eric shouldn't be apologizing to me, but it was sweet he

had. And he'd done it without prompting.

"Paige, I—" Paul stopped in his doorway. "Pretty flowers."

"Thanks." A mouse click saved my document, and I

looked up at him. He had a paper in his hand. A list, for

which I held out my hand.

He didn't hand it over. Paul held it in both his hands and

rubbed the paper back and forth in his fingers. He looked

again at my flowers.

"Is there something you need, Paul?"

Paul cleared his throat and folded the list in half, then half

again. "Vivian has asked for a meeting with us today to

talk about the possibilities of your promotion. We're

getting lunch ordered in. At eleven."

He said it like I had a choice, as though he weren't my

boss. He folded the paper again and tucked it into the

pocket of his gray suit pants. Today he wore a pale pink

shirt with a maroon tie and looked very puled together.

"I'm not sure I realy want to talk about a promotion with

"I'm not sure I realy want to talk about a promotion with

Vivian."

Paul nodded and gave me a smal smile. "It can't hurt to

listen to what she has to say, Paige."

He was right, so I nodded and turned my attention back to

the computer. Paul waited a couple seconds, then left me.

I stared for a while at my computer but couldn't make

much sense of the words on the screen.

At ten-fifty, Vivian click-clacked into the office on her

expensive high heels. She carried an immense mug, the

sort you buy at the convenience store and use for refils on

fountain drinks. It looked out of place against her high-

profile suit and jewelry, but she clutched it like she'd kil

anyone who tried to take it.

"Paige." She nodded. After a second she remembered to

smile, too.

"Vivian." I didn't get up from my desk, though I did take

my hands from the keyboard. "Paul said you wanted to

meet at eleven. He's in his office. I'l be in when I'm

finished with this last file."

My smile stretched the corners of my mouth, but I didn't

feel it in my eyes. Vivian took a long, gurgling swig from

her mug and went into Paul's office without more than a

swift rap of her knuckles on the door frame to announce

her arrival. My victory was smal but mighty. She couldn't

complain I wasn't being prompt, but I'd made it clear I

wasn't going to be rushed, either.

I'm not a fan of scary movies, especialy the kind where

the girl knows there's something awful in the basement or

attic but goes in anyway, armed with only her ear-piercing

screams and a wooden spoon or something. Facing Paul's

office felt that stupid to me. I knew what they wanted to

talk about, and I knew I didn't want to discuss it.

I liked working for Paul, even if I was "only" an executive assistant. It wasn't, frankly, al I intended to be. Not

forever. But for now. Moving into another position,

working for another person didn't appeal to me even

though I knew it should, but I didn't want to work for

Vivian Darcy. I didn't like her, and I didn't think she liked

me, which made her sudden interest al the more

disturbing.

Despite al that, at 11:00 a.m. exactly I pushed away from

Despite al that, at 11:00 a.m. exactly I pushed away from

my desk and knocked on Paul's door. They were laughing,

their heads bent together, when I knocked, and they both

looked up. Paul put distance between them at once,

pushing back in his roling chair. Vivian didn't move. Her

mug rested with familiarity on the edge of Paul's desk.

I hadn't brought him coffee but he stil sipped from a venti

Starbucks cup, so I figured he was al right. I took the

chair in front of the desk but kept it back far enough that

my knees didn't come close to the wood. I crossed my

legs, watching her, not him, and she gave me a level stare

in return.

"So. Paige." Vivian's smile didn't warm me any more than

it ever had, though I thought she'd put more effort into it.

She tucked a short blond curl behind her ear with French-

tipped fingers and didn't say anything else.

I smiled, too.

Paul cleared his throat after a few seconds and leaned his

elbows on the desk. "Paige, Vivian's been working with

the marketing department to create some entry-level

positions. The idea is to get expansion going on, starting

from the ground up. They're looking to hire in-house,

from the ground up. They're looking to hire in-house,

people they feel wil be an asset to the department."

"And you feel I'd be an asset to your department?" I

watched her face carefuly as she answered.

Her gaze flicked so briefly toward Paul and back to me I

was supposed to miss it. She might not even have known

she looked at him first, that's how fast it was. But I didn't

miss it.

"Oh, yes," Vivian said. "Absolutely. Paul's spoken so winningly of you."

Seriously, what the fuck? Aside from the fact I was pretty

sure she hadn't used it correctly, who ever says

"winningly"? Except, of course, a woman who's trying to

find something flattering to say to a woman she doesn't

realy like.

And then I understood it.

Paul and Vivian were fucking. They were very good about

hiding it, more discreet than a lot of interoffice couples I'd

come across. But there it was, the truth slapped down on

the desk between al of us like a gauntlet. They were

lovers and her dislike for me had nothing to do with

lovers and her dislike for me had nothing to do with

anything as simple as my clothes or education. It was al

about my blond hair and blue eyes and the size of my tits

and ass. She thought I had her on the run.

"I haven't seen the jobs posted on the board," I said

without bursting into sudden laughter.

Vivian looked at her gigantic mug but resisted drinking

from it. "They're not going up for open applications until

after we've interviewed the people we have already

prescreened. We'd realy like you to consider an

interview."

I didn't know much about how human resources works, or

the hoops anyone's required to jump through in the name

of being politicaly correct, but that didn't sound quite right

to me. At any rate, I nodded as though it made perfect

sense. Paul smiled and looked back and forth between us.

I couldn't look at him. Not because I'd figured out Vivian

thought he and I might be having a fling but because I was

convinced they had. And it wasn't any swinging of my

moral compass toward judgment, either, but more about

the fact I didn't want to believe he had such bad taste.

"Can I ask you why you prescreened me? Aside from

Paul's recommendation." I knew my smile for him had to

be a sliver in her skin, but I didn't care. "I don't have any

background in marketing. I have a business-school degree

from Harrisburg Area Community Colege."

"There's a certain amount of on-the-job training we're

expecting to provide."

I'd spent enough time around people who couldn't stand

silence to understand how powerful it can be. I nodded

instead of speaking, even to murmur what could be

construed as consent. Vivian looked at Paul, but he and I

had already established our lack of need for speech to

communicate.

She cleared her throat to draw his attention and then

drank, at last, from her mug. "Paul has spoken so highly of

you, Paige, and your background can only help you. This

is a great opportunity."

"Could you explain why?"

Her lips parted, and she drank again instead of answering

me right away. When she put the mug down on Paul's

desk the sloshing from inside had lessened considerably.

She looked at him again with her brow furrowed. Clearly,

the fact I wasn't jumping up and down for joy to leave

behind my dreary life as a secretary for the bright, shiny

world of junior whatever-thefuck confused her.

"You'd be salaried, not hourly," she said. "And of course, there'd be more responsibility."

I kept my eyes on Paul. "I have plenty of responsibility."

We al laughed, though she didn't sound amused. She

drank again and her mug rattled with the unmistakable

sound of emptiness. She put the cup down with a final-

sounding thud.

"This would be different," she said flatly.

The men I knew were more often insensitive rather than

purposefuly cruel, obtuse rather than inattentive. Paul was

more in tune than most and, smile fading, he turned to her.

I wondered if he'd only just now figured out her real

reasons for wanting me out of his office.

The silence went on long enough to make it officialy

awkward. Then Vivian stood. "Excuse me a minute."

awkward. Then Vivian stood. "Excuse me a minute."

I was surprised she'd lasted as long as she had. My

kidneys would have been floating. Neither of us said

anything as she went into Paul's bathroom and closed the

door firmly behind her.

He turned to stare at me. "Paige."

"Let me just get something straight, Paul. This isn't even an

interview for the new position. I'm interviewing for an

interview for a job I've been preselected for, right?" I leaned forward and caught his gaze with mine.

Paul hesitated, then nodded. "Yes."

Back straight, chin lifted, I sat back in my chair and

recrossed my legs. From the bathroom I heard the sound

of running water. I kept my expression neutral, though I

had no doubt he could tel my mood even through the

steady monotone of my voice.

"Then I deserve to know exactly why I've been selected

and why I should consider it," I told him. "You can't

expect me just to jump up and down for joy because

someone's offering to take me away from al this."

Paul opened his mouth but before he could speak, I

added, "I happen to like the job I have, Paul. Very much."

"I'm glad," he said quietly, and before he could say more, Vivian came out of the bathroom.

I took petty pleasure in seeing that she'd splashed water

on her skirt and silk shirt. She'd run a damp hand through

her haircut, too, to settle it into place, and I could see the

edges of her makeup had run a little bit along her cheeks.

She didn't know I didn't want the man who wasn't even

hers, but the fact she was worried he might want me

settled the power between us, and I was on top. We both

knew it.

"If you could describe the job to me, that might be helpful,"

I told her. "And we could set up a time for an interview."

The conversation had turned upside down and Vivian

didn't like it, but it would have been difficult for her to

react without looking like a bitch, or worse, stupid. We

gave each other a matched pair of fake smiles with Paul

the prize between us. I stood and looked down on them

both.

"I'l get back to work, Paul."

He nodded. I left. Behind me I heard her soft exhale and

the murmur of their discussion, but I couldn't tel if she was

castigating me or if he was defending me. I didn't realy

care, either way.

Vivian Darcy didn't intimidate me anymore.

Chapter 27

My heart skipped al kinds of beats when I saw the note in

my mailbox, but I didn't have to read the signature to

know it wasn't from Eric's original anonymous mistress. I

didn't have to know who she was to know she'd never

have sent a note on anything less than the finest, and this

was a piece of blue-lined, loose-leaf paper, the sort you

can buy three packs for a buck during the back-to-school

sales. I gave it a surreptitious sniff anyway, and caught a

hint of cologne under the scent of cheap ink.

Eric had a doctor's stereotypical scrawl. I hope you like

the flowers. His signature was mostly unrecognizable but

for the E at the front. I folded the note and tucked it into

my bag, then headed up to my apartment where I unfolded

it and laid it on the kitchen table so it could stare at me

while I made my dinner.

I had a few options. I could ignore the note, and the

flowers, which I'd brought home and finaly put in water. I

could send him a text or leave him a note commanding him

to pursue me…or ignore me. As I made my simple meal of

pasta with olive oil and garlic and a tossed salad, I kept

sight of the note and the flowers, and by the time I'd eaten

sight of the note and the flowers, and by the time I'd eaten

and cleared away the dishes, there seemed only one real

choice of action.

I knocked on his door ten minutes later. I'd brushed my

hair and slid gloss along my lips, had changed from my

work clothes into a pair of jeans and a cute T-shirt with a

fitted sweatshirt. I'd brushed my teeth, too, just in case.

When he opened the door I didn't want the first thing he

noticed to be a wave of garlic breath.

"Paige!" He sounded pleased and only a little

apprehensive. "Hi."

"I came to thank you for the flowers," I said without

making a move toward the door.

I hadn't yet decided where I wanted this to go, but I was

sure I knew how I wanted it to happen. I didn't want this

to be forced by an unseen hand. I didn't want to wonder if

I was competing against myself.

"You're welcome. I hope you liked them."

"They were beautiful. Nobody's ever given me roses

before," I said, and Eric looked surprised.

before," I said, and Eric looked surprised.

"You're kidding."

I shook my head. "Nope."

"Wel, that's just not right." He laughed a little and stepped aside, subtly, without making it seem as though he was

inviting me in.

I'd learned the benefits of silence, but I also knew when it

was time to speak. "Can I come in?"

I saw his hesitation, as subtle as the not-invitation had

been, but then he stepped farther aside with a smile.

"Sure."

He brought me a glass of iced tea and we sat on his couch

facing each other from either side. I could've stretched out

my arm and stil not been able to touch him. He'd brought

a glass of tea for himself, but he set it on the coffee table

and didn't drink it while I sipped without quite tasting.

"About the other night," I said. "I just wanted to tel you, Eric…you don't have to apologize."

"No, I was out of line," he began, but I cut him off with a

"No, I was out of line," he began, but I cut him off with a raised hand.

"No. It was fine. I was surprised, that's al." I sipped tea and then put my glass down, too. It settled onto the table

with a clink.

"Paige," Eric said softly. "I was surprised, too."

I believed him, though it meant I was no longer on solid

ground. I studied my hands, clasped loosely in my lap,

before I looked at him. Tension bloomed between us and I

wanted to lean toward it, and him, but I held myself stil so

as not to give myself away.

"Would you let me take you to dinner?" Eric did lean, just a little.

I had hooked up, hung out, made out and had a few

unmemorable one-night stands. I'd been married and

divorced and both purposefuly and unintentionaly

celibate. But, like the roses, being asked out on a date was

a first.

My phone, which I'd shoved into my pocket, buzzed. I

didn't miss the way Eric's eyes lit up or how he reached

automaticaly for the iPhone on the table behind him, or the

automaticaly for the iPhone on the table behind him, or the

faint look of disappointment when he realized it wasn't a

message for him.

I'd have let it go but Eric looked expectant, so I puled it

out and flipped it open.

Where you @?

The sigh came out before I could stop it. I deleted the

message. Eric didn't ask, but I offered, anyway.

"From my ex," I explained. "He likes to keep in touch."

"Do you like him keeping in touch?"

I'd have asked the same question if it had been him getting

the cal, but I'm not sure I'd have been as good at keeping

any hint of jealousy out of my voice.

"I've known him since high school. It's sort of a habit."

"Ah." Eric sat back a little.

When my phone rang a moment later, I ignored it in my

palm and didn't answer it. I looked at him, instead. "I'd

love to go to dinner with you, Eric."

love to go to dinner with you, Eric."

It should have been enough, the promise of that date, but it

wasn't. Along with the other myriad lists commanding he

relate to me just about everything in his life, I left him a pair

of my panties, worn, tucked into an envelope and a note

detailing exactly what he was supposed to do with them.

And I wanted pictures. They were waiting in my in-box

when I got home from work that night. A series of shots

taken in close-up of his prick, his fist, the soft cotton of my

panties clutched tight around the shaft.

I was halfway in love.

I could've found a thousand pictures just like them on any

Internet porn site, true, but al my breath disappeared

when I opened them. He'd done this for me. Because of

me.

Powerful stuff.

Dinner was, if you'l pardon the pun, anticlimactic after

that. He took me to a nice new Mexican restaurant where

we drank margaritas and listened to a very good mariachi

band while we shared first-date stories as though he'd

never been on his knees in front of me.

never been on his knees in front of me.

He kissed me in the elevator when it reached his floor.

One smal, sweet kiss, lips closed. A hand on my waist. A

gentle squeeze. When the door started to close, he

laughed and hopped off through. He watched me as it

shut, until the last thing I saw was his smile through the

crack.

When I got home, my phone rang. It wasn't the expected

text from Eric relating the details of the date, though I had

left him a list of topics I wanted essays on. It was the other

man in my life, the one I couldn't throw away and didn't

want to keep.

"I'm downstairs. I just wanted to tel you, I'm coming up."

"Oh, no, you're not." I cradled the phone against my

shoulder and looked in the mirror. I'd been unbuttoning my

shirt but now I stopped. "I'l meet you at the Mocha in

fifteen minutes."

"No way!"

"Way," I said firmly.

Silence as neither of us gave in. Wel, silence as I waited

Silence as neither of us gave in. Wel, silence as I waited

for him to refuse so I could hang up. Austin sighed, finaly.

"Fine. I'l meet you there."

I didn't change my clothes. I wanted him to see me al

dressed up and wonder why. Yes, it was bitchy. Yes, it

was unnecessary. But I was hardly going to toss on a pair

of grungy sweatpants and a pair of sneakers to greet him.

It didn't matter that Austin had already seen me at my

worst.

You might imagine the audience for caffeine would

diminish after nine at night, but not in the Mocha. People

hunched over their refilable mugs, mainlining high-

powered flavored coffees and clutching at specialty drinks

as they chatted in smal groups and played board games.

Soft music, something indie and folksy that would make

my ears bleed if I paid too much attention to it, drifted out

of the speakers.

I spotted Austin right away. His faded denim stood out

from the rest of the skinny jeans and flat-ironed-hair boys,

and he didn't wear a speck of guyliner. His hair had grown

long enough now to pul back in a ponytail at the nape of

his neck. He was carrying two big cups.

his neck. He was carrying two big cups.

When he saw me, his face lit up, so much the way it used

to that my heart hurt. I swalowed hard against the rush of

memories threatening to topple me right then and there. He

handed me a mug and gestured toward a love seat set

toward the back of the shop.

"Sit?"

He asked, didn't tel, so I nodded. "Sure."

I had time to compare first-date awkwardnesses as he

folowed me. My dinner with Eric had been thick with

tension, but with Austin at my back al I could think of was

how uncomfortable it felt to not know what to say. I sat

and warmed my hands on the cup, which was almost too

hot for comfort.

"You look pretty."

"Thanks."

We both sipped. Austin put his mug on the table and dug

in his pocket for something he held out to me. "Here."

I didn't take it at first. "What is it?"

I didn't take it at first. "What is it?"

He held it out again. "Just something they were giving out

at the bank when I signed up for a new checking account.

Made me think of you."

"Is it money?" I took it, not money but a smal clear plastic bottle.

Hand sanitizer, the bottle imprinted with the bank logo.

Just a smal bottle, only enough for one or two uses. I

clutched it in my palm and didn't know what to say.

"I thought you'd laugh," Austin said when I didn't make a

sound. "Shit, Paige. I'm sorry. I just thought—"

"I know what you thought. Why you thought it." I tucked it into my bag.

"It's just…you know. Your thing."

He did know me. I hadn't believed he did. Maybe I hadn't

wanted to believe.

"Thank you."

More awkward silence.

More awkward silence.

When he finaly spoke, it was in a man's voice and not the

familiar voice of the boy I'd falen in love with. It helped, a

little. Made him more of a stranger than he was, so I could

keep him just far enough away not to leap into his arms.

"Paige," Austin said. "I just wanted to tel you that I'm realy sorry."

I didn't know I was going to touch him until it was too late

to pul back my hand. His hair was soft beneath my

fingers, and I let them drift over it and down to tug the

ponytail he'd never have worn in high school. "Shit

happens."

He laughed and looked down. "Yeah. Wel, with us, a lot

of shit happened, huh?"

I took my hand away and shrugged. "We were young."

"Young, dumb…"

"And ful of come," we finished together, quoting one of

our favorite movies.

It felt good to laugh with him. It had been a realy long time

It felt good to laugh with him. It had been a realy long time

since we'd sat like this. Beside me, his thigh was big and

warm. The love seat dipped from his weight, forcing me to

sit closer whether I wanted to or not. I thought I might

want to.

"I just wanted to tel you that." Austin shifted to face me.

A smart-ass, snotty reply rose to my lips, but didn't come

out. "You don't have to apologize. We've been divorced

for years."

When he reached for my hand, I shouldn't have been

surprised. It was the perfect moment, after al. Soft music,

expensive hot drinks, the scent of cheap body spray

wafting from the gaggle of out-too-late teens in the corner

and the rise and fal of their laughter al wove a John

Hughes–film mood. It was the perfect time to have my ex-

husband kiss my knuckles, look deep into my eyes and

say, with utmost seriousness,

"So, I didn't jerk off the other night. Just like you said."

I yanked my hand from his. "Austin!"

"What?" He looked genuinely confused. "You said not to."

"I know what I said." My heart became a bird, my ribs the

cage it beat against.

He sat back, frowning, and crossed his arms over a chest I

couldn't help noticing was broad and muscled under his T-

shirt. "And?"

I frowned, too. "I thought you were trying to be nice."

"I am being nice! I bought you coffee!"

"You asked me here to get me into bed!" I'd turned heads

with my raised voice. I stood and glared down at him.

"That was the only reason?"

Austin looked guilty. Then he shot me a cunt-seeking

missile of a grin. "That's not the only reason."

I jerked my chin at him and flipped my hair. Yeah, very

high school, but we had a history. "Fuck you."

"I'm hoping."

I didn't want to smile or laugh, so I bit down on my

tongue. Hard. "It's late. I have to work tomorrow. Good

night, Austin."

night, Austin."

I was gone before he could register the fact I meant it.

What Austin didn't know was that it wasn't that I didn't

want to take him to bed and screw the living daylights out

of him. I wanted that very much. But there was a part of

me, smal though it was, that knew this couldn't be good

for either one of us.

We had history, and a past, and al of that meant he knew

how to push my buttons just right. It didn't mean we

should keep pushing those buttons. Like Def Leppard

said, it was time to stop treating each other like an act of

war.

I made it al the way to the sidewalk before he was out

after me. Austin grabbed my elbow and I turned to face

him, my mouth already open to say something cutting. He

stopped it with his tongue. He walked me up against the

bricks, hard on my back. Him hard on my front.

I pushed him away. "I'm not that easy."

He puled me closer and kissed me softer. "You could be.

I know you could be."

"Austin…" His name eased out of me on a sigh. "This isn't a good idea. Can't we just be friends?"

"What? Are you shitting me?" His hands gripped my waist,

but he wasn't pressing me against the wal anymore.

I sagged against him, my head in the place it fit just right on

his chest. "No. I'm not."

His grip tightened on me, then released. I mourned the loss

of his body when he stepped away from me, even though I

knew it was for the best. Fucking like tigers had its place,

no doubt, but I didn't think I could keep surviving the

scars.

Austin smoothed my hair off my forehead and hovered his

mouth over mine without kissing me. "Fine."

"Yes?" I refused to let myself feel miffed. It was what I

wanted, after al. To stop the constant game of catch and

release we'd begun so many years ago.

"If that's what you want. If it's al you want."

I stepped out of his embrace. "I think it's better for both of

us, Austin. If we…you know. Move on."

us, Austin. If we…you know. Move on."

"If that it's what you want," he repeated. "I'l do whatever it takes."

I blinked slowly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

He shrugged and looked around at the night before

looking back at me. "It means I'l do whatever it takes.

Whatever you need. What you want. I'm your guy."

"Austin," I said warningly, but he held up a hand.

"It's stupid not to have you in my life, Paige. We've known

each other too long and too wel to just throw that al

away. I told you that when you left me."

"That was a long time ago."

"It hasn't changed." He shook his head and shot me a

smile. "So. Friends? Fine."

"Whatever it takes?" I said warily. "Uh-huh."

He leaned to kiss me again, and this time I let him. He hit

my cheek with his lips, his kiss chaste and demure. He

didn't even grab my ass.

didn't even grab my ass.

"I'm going home," I said.

"I'l walk you."

I pointed down the block. "You don't have to. I can see

the door to my building from here."

"I'l walk with you anyway."

He did. We didn't speak. He didn't try to kiss me again, or

come upstairs. He didn't shake my hand, either.

"I'l cal you," Austin said, and I had no doubt he would.

Chapter 28

Not everything is meant to last forever, no matter how

much you want it to. I'd married young. Too young. And I

was grateful we'd both figured out our mistake while we

were stil young, before we had kids, before we'd tied

ourselves together for a life and had none left after we fel

apart.

I'd married him for the right reasons. I'd divorced him for

the right reasons, too. Hadn't I?

I'm watching him, and he doesn't know it. I wish he could

feel the burn of my gaze from across the bar, that

somehow my eyes alone could make him turn, but Austin's

too busy paying attention to the game and his friends and

even that brown-haired whore shaking her tits every time

he glances at her. I can't necessarily blame him for looking.

They're like two beach bals shoved into a tiny tank top.

But I don't like to watch him looking.

It's another late night for him when he should be worried

about getting up early in the morning, and another late night

for me studying for tests I know I'l pass but don't know if

passing wil matter in the end. School's been going on a

passing wil matter in the end. School's been going on a

long time, longer than I imagined it would when I decided

to go. Money's tight and even community colege costs a

lot when you have to pay rent and buy food and pay off a

car, too.

I only stopped here because I knew if I went home and he

wasn't waiting for me I'd be furious. We'd fight and then

we'd fuck, and I'm getting tired of that. I'm tired of him

teling me what to do and making me feel like shit for doing

anything else. I'm beginning to think this whole marriage

thing was a bad idea, but after only two years I don't want

to give up. I don't want everyone to laugh behind their

hands and point and whisper. Mostly I don't want to give

him up just so Miss Big Tits and Bad Extensions can get

her claws into him.

At home I shower and toss my clothes into the hamper,

and I'm making myself a sandwich when Austin comes in.

He doesn't act drunk, but when he kisses me I taste beer.

I turn my face to give him my cheek.

"What, you don't want to kiss me? Fine."

I hate it when he sulks.

He steals half my sandwich and tries to tell me about

his day, and all I want to do is go to sleep so I can get

up early and be at the shop to make the next day's

deliveries. We need the money I'll earn. I have another

tuition payment due.

I'm not listening to him, but I'm watching his mouth

move. His lips glisten with oil from the sandwich. His

tongue swipes across them. It's late, I'm tired and

annoyed, but later when he comes to bed I think of the

swipe of his tongue on his mouth and I roll over to

face him.

It's easier to fuck him in the dark, when I can pretend

he's got a different face and so do I. When we can be

different people in a different place. I can forget I'm

supposed to be in love with him and just fuck him like

he's a stranger and I don't have to ever see him again

in the morning.

Austin did cal me, but he seemed to have meant what he

said about agreeing to just be friends. I hadn't forgotten

what it was like to hang on the phone with him for hours, in

the dark, revealing every second of the day just to have a

reason to keep talking. Our current conversations were

reason to keep talking. Our current conversations were

shorter than that, but they reminded me of back then.

Things on the Eric front were more complicated. I'd seen

him a few times since our dinner date. Another dinner, out

to the movies, walks along the river. Things like that.

Conflicting schedules had made it impossible to see him al

the time. Besides, I wasn't "that" girl. The one who took

one date and turned it into a marriage proposal.

We were moving slowly, slowly. Glaciers. And that was

fine with me. I'd seen interest flicker in his eyes, watched

him watching my mouth when I spoke. Felt his fingers

tighten in mine as we walked.

I knew he was waiting for me to make the first move, or to

be told to make one, himself. I wasn't quite ready to do

either. As Paige, I was enjoying the whole taking-it-slow

thing.

As his anonymous mistress, on the other hand, I had

complete control of his life.

Each day I sat at my kitchen table with that Chinese box

open in front of me, my pen stroking that thick, creamy

paper with the touch of a lover. I didn't come from the

writing. Not quite. But each note I wrote put me into a

state of heightened awareness of every piece of me. My

fingers, closing around the pen. My palms, caressing the

paper. The inside of my wrist, my elbow, forearm pressing

the table as I wrote. My thighs, touching beneath my skirt.

I didn't come from writing the notes, but it was almost as

good as if I had.

I told him what to wear. What to pack for lunch. He had,

at last, given up smoking. I ordered him to buy me lingerie,

and I gave him the size but alowed him to choose. I had

him send it to the post-office box I rented from a branch

close to my office. I expected something in black.

Crotchless, maybe, or at least with fishnets. The soft, baby

blue satin and lace pleased me.

I let him stroke himself to orgasm for that gift.

It was time for something more now. I wasn't sure how I

knew this, just that I did the way I knew each day when I

went in to work how to gauge Paul's mood and keep him

focused on work so he didn't hassle me about the job with

Vivian.

What frightens you?

What frightens you?

I tapped the pen against the paper, then my lips.

I want to know what makes your palms sweat but gets

you hard at the same time. What frightens you because

you want it so badly?

It wasn't a question I'd have been able to answer without a

lot of thought, but that was the point. To make him think. I

sealed the note in a matching plain envelope and ran it

down to the mailboxes. Eric was working another twelve-

hour shift and I knew he wouldn't get home until after I'd

gone to bed, but I didn't want to get up early to deliver it,

either.

I went online to pay bils and make some changes to my

Connex account. I hadn't been on it in weeks and had a

page of friend requests to approve and friends' list entries

to scrol through. Nothing terribly interesting, since the

people I knew from home were stil doing what they'd

been doing when I left.

Even so, I got sucked into watching a series of "ghost-

sighting" videos and "true alien abductions," and so I was awake when my phone hummed and a new text message

awake when my phone hummed and a new text message

came through.

I'm afraid of being owned.

Not of being "pwnd" which was something else altogether.

I sat back, the computer forgotten, my heart thundering in

my ears and my mouth tasting something like honey al at

once. It was the sweetness of anticipation. Expectation.

He was afraid of being owned.

So that's exactly what I gave him.

I found it in one of the kiosks in the center of the mal. It

sold hair barrettes of tooled leather, belts, along with

necklaces of cord and beads. And there, hanging

unobtrusively on a rack with a slew of others that didn't

even turn my head, was the bracelet.

Flat black leather about an inch wide, fastened with a

snap. It was the sort worn by teenage emo or skater boys

and could be tooled with any number of phrases or

designs.

"Help you?" The boy in skinny jeans and high-tops leaned

"Help you?" The boy in skinny jeans and high-tops leaned

around the kiosk to catch my eye.

I lifted the bracelet. "I'd like this."

He looked at me through the fringe of his long bangs.

Bangs on boys. There was a fashion statement I was

helplessly squishy over. "Want something on it? A name or

something?"

He flipped open a rack of designs to show me my choices.

I looked through rows of stylized hearts, flowers and fonts.

I touched a simple, elegant alphabet.

"I was thinking…the word slave."

That perked his interest. "For you?"

I laughed. "Oh, no."

"Sweet." He gave the word two sylables.

"You think?" My fingers stroked the stiff leather. It would circle his wrist like a cuff.

I tested it on my own and noted how the edge cut a little

into my skin when I shifted. Not enough to hurt, but I

into my skin when I shifted. Not enough to hurt, but I

knew it was there. I handed it to Emoboy, who took it

over to the machine that stamped the letters. Idly, I flipped

through the rack of designs while he fiddled with buttons

and adjusted the bracelet inside the grips holding it stil.

Then I saw it. "Wait."

He looked up, one finger on the button that would start the

machine. "Huh?"

I gestured for him to come over, and he did, and I pointed

at the picture on the menu. "I want this, instead."

He grinned, then nodded. "No problem."

It took him a minute to adjust the settings and another for

the machine to stamp the leather. When it was done, he

handed it to me with the black leather scarred into the

design I'd chosen. A rose, the stem and thorns made of

barbed wire.

Simple. Elegant. And far more subtle than the word slave,

which didn't feel right, anyway.

"Here you go." He handed me a bag with the bracelet

inside. "Enjoy it."

inside. "Enjoy it."

Enjoy wasn't exactly the word I'd have chosen, but I took

the bag with a smile. Our hands touched, and he grinned.

He knew nothing about me, but he thought he did. And I

discovered I didn't care.

I don't think there's a woman alive who doesn't understand

how the right clothes can entirely change a situation. Under

my simple summer skirt and casual T-shirt I wore the bra

and panties Eric had bought for and sent to his mistress.

The lace and satin clung to my skin and reminded me with

every step how it felt to be desirable.

Of course, none of that showed on the surface. I met him

in the lobby as had become our habit on these semi-dates,

and he greeted me with a smile and a half hug. He wore a

long-sleeved Henley shirt, but when the sleeve rode up I

saw the flat leather strap of his bracelet. The one I'd sent

him. The one that marked him as mine.

"Ready to go?" Eric held the door open for me and we

both went out into the warm spring evening air.

"Starving," I said. "I had my windows open and could

smel the funnel cakes al the way upstairs."

smel the funnel cakes al the way upstairs."

He patted his stomach. "We'l stop there first."

Al along the riverfront, stands had been set up for the first

summer festival. Some sold handmade arts and crafts,

others boasted displays from local companies. Some had

games, the prizes cheap things like water bottles

emblazoned with the names of banks and restaurants. As

summer festivals went, it was one of the less glorious, but

al that realy mattered to me was the food.

Stal after stal of greasy, delicious fair food. Corn dogs,

ice cream, French fries and vinegar to go with them. My

stomach let out a loud, obnoxious rumble as we crossed

Front Street to get to the sidewalk on the other side and

headed to the left to walk about a quarter mile to reach the

rows of booths. Music from one of the local radio stations

blared from a huge boom box set up on a trailer. Morning-

show personalities handed out T-shirts, mugs and key

chains as we passed.

"Do you want something?" Eric asked as I stepped aside

to let a mother pushing a double stroler pass on her quest

for free junk. "T-shirt?"

"No, thanks. I don't listen to that station. And besides, it

"No, thanks. I don't listen to that station. And besides, it

doesn't matter if it's free if I'l never use it."

"Mind if I grab one? You can never have too many T-

shirts."

"Go ahead." I looked at the crowd surrounding the boom

box and estimated how long it would take him to get his

shirt, then down the rows to the line for funnel cakes. "I'l

get in line for the funnel cakes."

We parted and I pushed my way through the crowd. The

prizes might be cheap and the food overpriced, but

nobody seemed to care. Kids carried baloons in ice-

cream-covered fists and couples walked hand in hand. I

got in line behind a couple with matching tattoos on their

wrists, a pair of joined hearts. As I watched them whisper

and giggle, their fingers linked, their eyes for nobody else,

envy roled slowly over in my gut.

Against my skin, lace and satin once again reminded me

how it felt to be wanted. Craved. Obeyed. None of it did

me any good standing here in the setting, early spring sun,

with a ten-dolar bil clutched in my fist and nobody there

to hold my hand.

I looked back through the crowd for Eric but caught only

a glimpse of what might have been the top of his dark,

curly hair. The crowd around the boom box had grown

and the DJ standing on a smal platform with a microphone

in his hand was now announcing some sort of contest. The

line in front of me was moving faster than I'd expected and

I placed my order and walked away with a paper plate of

hot fried dough covered in powdered sugar before the DJ

was even done drawing a winner.

At first look they were just another couple, she in tottery

heels better suited to a pinup-model calendar than a strol

along the river, and him in faded, baggy jeans and a T-shirt

that showed off the muscles in his arms. The reddish

sunlight turned his blond hair auburn, and I blamed that as

the reason that I didn't recognize him at first, but the real

reason was that with another woman on his arm, Austin

had become a stranger.

She, on the other hand, recognized me right away and let

out a squeal that could have cracked a mirror. "Paige!"

Kira. With Austin. My Austin? My teeth clenched,

grinding, in instant reaction, and I couldn't force a smile.

Our eyes met, his and mine, and while I don't know what

Our eyes met, his and mine, and while I don't know what

mine revealed, his showed me he didn't like what he saw.

His expression changed, and I recognized him again.

"Hi." I kept my voice even when I looked at her.

She slid her hand down his bare arm, her fingertips

lingering on the inside of his wrist before diving down to

capture his fingers. Austin didn't pul away, but he didn't

tighten his grip, either. I noticed, and so did she, but Kira

was good at getting what she wanted. She curled her

fingers into his, instead.

"Are you here alone?" Acid didn't drip from her tone. She

sounded genuinely curious.

And who knows, maybe she was. We'd already

established high school was over and our rivalry should

have folowed suit. I'd fucked Jack once upon a time, and

now she was fucking Austin. Tit for tat, literaly. I

should've let it go.

"No. I'm here with a friend." The way I said friend made it clear that's not what I meant.

Oh, I knew the tic of Austin's jaw, the slow narrowing of

his eyes. Kira might be fucking him, but she didn't know

his eyes. Kira might be fucking him, but she didn't know

him. Not the way I did.

She leaned into his arm, and I couldn't get a handle on if

she was being affectionate or cunty, if she was always that

way or if she was trying to work my nerves. I guessed the

latter.

"A boyfriend?" She pushed too hard.

Austin took his hand away to reach for my plate. He

grabbed off a hunk of now-cool funnel cake and ate it.

Powdered sugar coated his lips and he licked each finger

slowly, his gaze never leaving mine.

"Help yourself," I told him. I held the plate out to her.

"Want some?"

Kira wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but there wasn't

realy any way she could've missed Austin's look. She

shook her head. "No. I can't eat that stuff. I'd have to

exercise for a week."

"Paige, you been exercising for a week?" Austin shoved

his hands in his pockets, down deep, and the jeans sunk

lower on his hips to show a strip of tanned bely beneath

lower on his hips to show a strip of tanned bely beneath

his T-shirt.

"No. I'l take my chances." I tore off a piece for myself and bit into the heavy sweetness, then licked sugar from my

fingers, too.

It wasn't nice, what we were doing to her, but it wasn't my

fault she wasn't very good at it. It wasn't my fault he stil

wanted me even after al this time. I looked again for Eric

and spotted him being handed a T-shirt. In a minute he'd

be heading this way. I didn't want to introduce Eric to

Austin.

"Austin and I were going to watch the barge concert. Do

you…do you want to come along?"

I gave her a real look then, my once-upon-a-time best

friend. She didn't try to reach for Austin again, and the

corners of her mouth and eyes drooped. I remembered

how once we'd practiced putting on eyeliner in her

mother's bathroom, and how Kira had been the one to

teach me how to use a tampon when my mother had been

inexplicably too embarrassed. She'd punched a guy in the

nuts for hassling me and lent me her favorite lipstick

without a second thought. She wanted Austin, and I knew

without a second thought. She wanted Austin, and I knew

I should let her have him since I didn't want him anymore.

So, I did.

Chapter 29

"Another time." I spotted Eric closer now, his T-shirt dangling from a front pocket. "I'l catch you guys later."

I left without a backward glance and hurried through the

crowd to get to Eric before he got to me. "Hey."

"Hey." He looked at my half-eaten funnel cake. "Is it good?"

"You can have some." I'd lost my appetite for it.

With a shrug, Eric took a piece and chewed it. "These

always smel better than they taste."

I risked a glance over my shoulder, expecting to see a sea

of strangers. I saw Austin, his face tight, and Kira, staring

up at him. "Yeah. Listen, do you mind if I bug out? I've got

a kiler headache al of a sudden."

Eric's brow furrowed, and he reached to rub the back of

my neck. The gesture, automatic but casual, ought to have

made me feel better, but I wanted to cringe away from his

touch. He gave my neck a gentle squeeze and let go.

"Sure, no problem. I'l walk back with you if you want."

"I don't want to ruin this for you." I didn't look behind us again, just started moving back toward the Manor. I

dumped the funnel cake in the first garbage can I passed.

"Nah. These things are the same as that funnel cake. I'l

walk you back."

I was already walking, but I shot him a glance. "Are you

sure?"

"Paige, realy. Not a problem. Oops, watch it." Eric

reached to steer me away from a puddle of something I

hoped was spiled fruit smoothie and not something

grosser.

His fingers gripped my arm just hard enough to keep me

from stumbling, and my heart thumped harder at the

pressure. Lace and satin pressed my skin beneath my

clothes. He held on a little longer than necessary but let go

sooner than I wanted him to.

In the lobby he checked for mail even though he'd stopped

to peek in the box on the way out. I knew how he felt

when he found nothing but the Tenant Association

when he found nothing but the Tenant Association

newsletter, but he turned to me with a grin anyway.

"Looks like they're planning another barbecue. If it's

anything like last year's the beer wil be warm and the food

cold."

"I wasn't here last year," I reminded as he crumpled up the paper and tossed it in the trash.

"But you'l be here this year, right?" he asked as we both

headed for the elevator. "How's your head, by the way?"

"Oh…I'l be fine. I'm just tired." The lie slipped easily

enough off my tongue, and though Eric gave me a curious

look he didn't press me about it.

When the doors opened on his floor he hesitated before

stepping off, and I wondered if he'd meant to kiss me or

shake my hand. "I'l cal you, okay?"

I nodded and smiled and watched the doors close behind

him before I let the smile slide from my face. My jaw

ached from clenching it. When I got into my apartment I

ran a cold shower and let the icy needles pound my skin

until envy swirled down the drain around my toes.

I blamed the tears on the sting on my scalp as I yanked a

comb through my hair, but when I looked in the mirror I

couldn't avoid my frown. So I turned from the mirror and

puled on a lightweight summer nightgown over my bare,

damp and chily skin.

Jealousy and the funnel cake rested heavy in my stomach,

so I boiled water for tea. The headache I'd made up

became real, though I nipped it quickly with ibuprofen. I

grabbed up the novel I was reading and had just settled on

my sofa when the knock came at the front door.

Expecting Eric, I didn't bother looking through the

peephole. So when I saw Austin framed in the doorway,

al I could do at first was stare. Then I took a step back to

let him in.

His mouth was on mine before either of us said a word.

My book fel to the floor in a flutter of pages, and I kicked

it to the side as Austin stepped me back toward the couch.

I put my hands up between us and pushed him away

before he could get me there.

"What the fuck are you doing here?" I swiped the back of

my hand across my lips, smearing the taste of him.

my hand across my lips, smearing the taste of him.

Austin licked his mouth and swalowed, his gaze flicking

around the room. "Is he here?"

"You're lucky he's not. You can't just come in here and

attack me like that."

Austin scraped a hand over the top of his hair, then

cupped the back of his neck briefly, his head bent. He

closed his eyes, brow furrowed. I stepped back when he

opened them.

"He's not here," I said. "But you should go."

He shook his head.

"Austin," I whispered. "You need to go."

Again, he shook his head. Only an arm's span held us

apart, but it might as wel have been a mile. My nightgown

swirled around my knees as I turned. I was very aware of

the pul of cotton on my skin. The lingerie Eric had sent me

had reminded me of how it felt to be desirable, but under

Austin's eyes I didn't need something outside me to know

how it felt for him to want me.

"Paige. Please." His voice snagged, rough and broke.

"Let's stop pretending—"

"I'm not pretending anything." I crossed my arms but kept

my back toward him.

Slow, roling cramps clutched at my bely. When we were

married, Austin had put me to bed with a heating pad

when my cramps were bad. He'd rubbed my back, too,

and gone at night to get me ice cream, no matter how late.

"He's not your boyfriend. Is he? That guy?"

"Is Kira your girlfriend?" I turned on him then.

"Hel, no."

"Are you fucking her?" I advanced a step to poke his

chest, and Austin retreated a step.

"No!"

I laid my hand flat on his chest over the steady thumping of

his heart. I had to tip my head to look at his face. " Did you fuck her?"

He shook his head, just once. I pinched his nipple only half

as hard as I wanted to. He didn't wince, though his tongue

crept out along his lower lip, leaving it glistening. The bead

of flesh pebbled between my fingers, and I roled the pad

of my thumb over his shirt, so soft with the nipple so tight

and hard beneath.

"Did you fuck her?" I repeated softly.

"I didn't fuck her, Paige. I swear it."

He groaned when I pinched his nipple again. When I slid

my hand under his shirt to find his bare skin Austin didn't

stop me. I hadn't expected him to.

My breath hitched at the feeling of his skin under my palm.

I curved my fingers to let my nails bite into him for a

second, then dropped it to his belt buckle. I tugged it hard

enough to move his hips, then let him go.

I stepped back. "He's not my boyfriend. But that doesn't

mean you can just keep coming over here and expecting

me to let you in my bed."

He puled his shirt off over his head and dropped it to the

floor. I'd traced those ribs with my teeth and lips and

floor. I'd traced those ribs with my teeth and lips and

tongue. I knew the holow of that bely and the taste of his

skin. I knew the heat of him.

He put his hand to his belt and undid the buckle. Then the

button. When he notched the zipper down one tooth at a

time, I bit my lower lip. When he shoved the denim over

his hips and down the thighs I'd spent hours nibbling, my

headache disappeared.

He stepped out of his jeans and pushed his socks off, too,

along with his briefs, and stood naked in front of me.

Austin was proud of his body and had a right to be. He

wasn't fuly hard, and I remembered the times I'd taken

him in my mouth to get him erect.

"Fucking won't change things," I warned him. Austin

shrugged and moved toward me, but I held up a hand to

stop him. "No."

He frowned and made as though to speak, but again I

stopped him. My voice surprised me, husky and low and

utterly, without-a-doubt, in charge.

"Go to my bedroom, Austin."

He took a hesitant step, then another, while I stayed stil.

He watched me bend to lift his jeans, the long denim legs

dangling while I yanked the belt from the loops. Austin's

eyes grew wide when I wrapped the leather around one

palm.

"Paige, what the hel?"

"Go to my bedroom," I repeated and puled the leather

tight between my two fists. "Get on my bed, on your

knees, facing the headboard. Put your hand on it and wait

for me."

I'd known this man for half my life. I'd seen him take hits

on the footbal field and stand up for me in a bar brawl. I'd

seen him cuss out men on the construction site who

weren't puling their weight, and I'd listened to him share

rowdy, dirty jokes with his friends. He'd balked at cooking

and laundry because those were "girls' work" and we'd

had screaming fits about separate checking accounts when

we were married because "women whose husbands took

care of them right didn't need their own money." I knew he

would never let me tel him what to do.

I didn't know him as wel as I thought I did.

I didn't know him as wel as I thought I did.

Chapter 30

Austin, without another word, turned and went to my

bedroom. I heard the creak of the headboard when he

grabbed it and of the mattress as he shifted his weight.

Then, silence but for the sound of my heart beating fast in

my ears and my breath trying to get unstuck from my

throat.

I hadn't wasted money on frily decorative pilows for my

bed, and I'd covered it with the worn quilt my grandma

had made for me when I was born. The headboard of

slatted wood had seen me through childhood and high

school, and I'd taken it from my mom's house to the

apartment I'd lived in after leaving Austin. We'd fucked in

my bed but had never shared it. My hands had gripped the

wood where his now clenched, but his never had.

He turned his head when I came in, then looked back at

the wal. His head bent, shoulders hunching, and I admired

the play of muscles in his back and thighs. His feet dipped

furrows in my bedspread as he pushed down with his toes.

I had to lean in the doorway to keep from going to my

knees at the sight. My fingers gripped the wood as the

knees at the sight. My fingers gripped the wood as the

cool metal of his belt buckle bit into my palm hard enough

to hurt. The sting of it pushed my blood faster through my

veins. The leather dangled, brushing my calf.

When I slapped it lightly against my palm, Austin tensed

but didn't take his hands away. He didn't look at me. The

muscles in his back and ass went tight, then released, and I

drew in a slow, silent breath.

Austin stayed in the place I had told him to stay. This man

could put me up against the wal with one hand. He could

break me, but he wasn't doing what I told him to do

because he wasn't able to say no. He wasn't afraid of me.

He trusted me.

That trust almost broke me more than his hands ever had.

It turned me upside down and inside out; it filed me up so

I couldn't imagine ever having been empty. I stood in the

doorway watching him give himself to me for whatever I

wanted, and the leather slid through my suddenly slick fists

with a sound like a whisper.

My feet moved even though I couldn't feel the floor. When

my knees hit the bed and I got up on it, the mattress

my knees hit the bed and I got up on it, the mattress

shifted. Austin gripped the headboard tighter, his head

turning. I saw the flutter and shadow of the long lashes I'd

always envied on his cheek.

"Paige…"

"Shh." I moved closer to kneel behind him, between his

ankles.

The cotton of my gown brushed his skin and I watched,

fascinated, as gooseflesh broke out on his back. Again he

bent his head. I could see his hands, the knuckles white. I

couldn't see his cock until I moved a bit to the side, and

then I bit my groan into silence so he wouldn't hear and

know how much the sight of him erect aroused me.

I had always been the one urging him to pin my wrists. Pul

my hair. I had taken him down paths he folowed eagerly

but only because I led him there. Now I folded his belt in

half to make a loop of it, and I ran the flat side of it down

his spine and over his ass.

I folowed it with the flat of my hand and reached between

his legs to weigh his bals before I ran my finger along his

perineum, up the crack of his ass and onto his back again.

Austin shivered at the touch, but didn't move. He didn't

Austin shivered at the touch, but didn't move. He didn't

speak.

Looking at the leather against his skin, I drew in a smal sip

of air. My world spun so much I had to clutch his

shoulder. My nails dug into his skin, and Austin made a

smal noise.

I didn't want to hurt him. Not realy. I didn't want to beat

him, or raise welts on his flesh. I wanted to colar and leash

him. I wanted to own him.

I tapped his ass with the strap, not hard enough to cal it a

slap. "Spread your legs wider."

His knees slid on my sheets and the headboard creaked.

Austin leaned forward until his forehead rested against my

pale green–painted wal. Those big shoulders hunched.

Those big hands gripped. The muscles in his ass flexed.

My hand found the familiar length and girth of his prick. I

stroked him gently a few times before withdrawing. I drew

a finger along his bals and ass crack again. I put a hand on

the back of his thigh to feel the tension there. I put a knee

on either side of his calf and pressed myself along his

back.

back.

I couldn't reach his ear, but I kissed the smooth expanse

between his shoulders. I bit him softly where his wings

would be if he were an angel and smiled at the sound he

made. I pushed my cotton-covered crotch against his bare

ass. He made another noise when I gripped the hem and

puled it to my hips so my bare crotch touched his skin.

I always shaved my bikini line, but I hadn't short-trimmed

my pubic hair in a while. Now the fluffy curls brushed him

as I moved my hips from side to side. It must have tickled,

because Austin shivered again.

I shivered, too. With my cheek pressed between his

shoulder blades and my cunt aligned with his ass, I

reached around to stroke him. Without lube my palm

skipped along the silken skin of his prick, up and down.

Austin pushed forward into it anyway.

"Do you like that?"

"What do you think, Paige?" His voice, harsh and low,

sent another shiver through me.

"I want to hear you say it." My heart was trying to leap out of my chest, and al I could manage was a whisper, but he

heard me.

"I like it when you touch me. Yeah."

"Like this?" I twisted my palm over the head of his cock

the way I knew he liked it.

"Yeah, like that…" he groaned.

I dropped the belt. It was a prop and I didn't need it.

Wasn't going to use it. If I couldn't leash and colar him

with my words, then I didn't deserve to have him. It hit the

floor with a thunk of metal. Austin didn't even look at it.

I molded myself to his back and closed my eyes. His skin

smeled like nothing else in the world but Austin. No

cologne or soap could take the place of it. I breathed him

in, and in the darkness behind my eyelids, I lost myself in

remembering the way it had always been.

It was a little different now. He jerked when my now-free

hand slid between his legs to cup his bals, and when my

thumb pressed his anus in gentle counterpoint to each

stroke of his cock. His body tensed and he muttered a

smal exclamation, but it didn't sound like it was of protest,

smal exclamation, but it didn't sound like it was of protest,

and I kept on what I was doing.

Stroke, stroke and press, press in time to the slow, subtle

bump of my cunt against his ass. I imagined filing him the

way he'd filed me so many times. Austin shuddered, his

groan sounding desperate. His cock sweled impossibly in

my fist. The tender, secret muscles of his ass tightened

under the pad of my thumb, and his bals contracted.

Subtle signs of his impending climax I'd never noticed

before.

"Do you want to come?" I asked him, certain of the

answer and surprised by his reply.

"No…not yet. Please." The word slipped out on a sighing

moan and he took a hand away from the headboard to put

over mine and stop my stroking. "I want to f—I want to

make love to you."

I kissed and nibbled his back for a second before I puled

away and spread myself out on the bed. "Use your mouth

on me first."

Austin looked over his shoulder, the side of his mouth I

could see tipped up. "Yes, ma'am."

could see tipped up. "Yes, ma'am."

He was teasing me a little, but I liked the sound of it

anyway. "Less talking, more licking."

Austin turned, stil kneeling, his prick in one fist. He let go

of it to hold his weight as he moved between my legs, but

he didn't dive straight into my pussy the way I expected

him to. He brushed kisses over both my knees, first, then

up my ticklish inner thighs. His nose nuzzled my cunt

before his mouth did, but when his tongue found the tight

bud of my clit, I wasn't quite ready for the shock of

sensation.

My fists clutched the quilt as my back arched. "Oh, God."

Austin murmured against my cunt. His lips and tongue and

teeth formed words I couldn't understand. He teased my

clitoris with smal, sweet licks and opened me with his

fingers to stroke me inside, too.

Everything about it was perfect. I didn't have to tel him

what I wanted or what I liked. He already knew.

In moments my orgasm built, ready to spil, but I didn't beg

him to hold off. I lifted myself against his mouth, urging him

to move faster. The world faded away until nothing

to move faster. The world faded away until nothing

remained but the tension coiling in my bely, the pleasure of

his mouth and hands on me, the soft sigh of his breath as

he whispered my name.

I went over. Slip-slide-fal and up again, desire blocked

out everything else. The world crashed, and Austin was

with me al the way when it did. His mouth eased off while

his hands cradled me until the leap and jerk of my muscles

stiled.

But if I knew Austin, he knew me, too. With less than a

minute for me to come down, he moved up my body to

take my mouth. His fingertips found my clit again and

circled. He took me to the edge within seconds. His cock

nudged me a moment after that.

I'm on the pil but I'm not stupid, not even for Austin. Not

like that, at least. "Condom."

He reached a long arm to yank open my nightstand, even

though I hadn't said that's where I kept them. He puled

out the long string of them—the same ones I'd bought a

year ago when I was thinking about having lots of random

sex with strangers. I never had gotten around to it. I'd only

ever used them with him.

ever used them with him.

It was tricky, him putting on the condom without leaving

my clit, so I helped him out by using my own hand in his

place. He roled on the rubber and moved between my

legs. Breathless, I put a foot on his chest to keep him from

sliding inside me.

"No," I said.

My fingers were wet when I took them away from

between my thighs. That was what he'd done to me. For

me. I held out my hand and he took it to help me off my

back. I pushed him gently until he sat and I gripped his

cock to hold it stil as I slid onto his lap.

Chest to chest, groin to groin and then, mouth to mouth.

My arms went around his neck and held the back of his

head. We kissed, hard but slow. Our tongues fought. He

tried to move, but without my cooperation could only rock

upward a tiny bit. Even when his hands gripped my hips,

my legs wrapped around his waist and I held my body stiff

and stil except for the kiss.

He let out a shuddering sigh. "Paige…"

I rocked my hips and squeezed him with my internal

I rocked my hips and squeezed him with my internal

muscles, but said nothing. I looked into his eyes. Austin

blinked and swalowed.

"Fuck," he said. "Just…"

"I like it when you say please," I told him.

He blinked again. I watched his throat work as he

swalowed. My fingers twisted in the hair at the nape of his

neck. I watched him give in to me.

"Please," Austin said, and I came just from the sound of his acquiescence.

His arms tightened around me as I shook with it. His

mouth found mine again. This time when he started to

move, I gave him what he wanted. I moved with him, not

against him.

His hands slid down beneath my ass to lift me higher on his

cock, and I countered with a downward thrust and a rol

of my hips that twisted me on him. I lost my grip in his hair

and had to settle for clutching at his back. My nails dug

furrows he'd notice later, but just then he only moaned into

my mouth.

my mouth.

I couldn't come again, but it didn't matter. Austin could,

and did with a grunt. His fingers bruised my ass and I

didn't care. Our bodies smacked and slapped, and my bed

shook. I bit his shoulder and he shouted and thrust so

deep inside me it hurt. I didn't care about that, either.

Blinking, tasting sweat, I opened my eyes and looked into

his. I felt the jump and play of muscles in his thighs and

bely and arms. Austin shivered a little, but I didn't think it

was from the cold.

I unwrapped my arms from his neck and tried to do the

same with my legs, but he clutched me close. "Don't go

yet."

The fucking was done. We used to spoon sometimes after

sex, in the bed we'd shared. In the dark. That was when

we talked the most, after the fucking was done.

I didn't want to talk to Austin now. With my body sated,

my mind wanted to block out the feelings he always

brought up in me. I pushed at his chest, and he let me go.

I went to the bathroom before he could say anything else. I

turned on the shower and got in without waiting for it to

turned on the shower and got in without waiting for it to

heat. Austin didn't come into the bathroom until steam had

veiled it. I heard him use the toilet, then run water in the

sink. I heard him fil my glass and set it down a moment

later. I waited for him to open the curtain and come in, but

though I was prepared to tel him to get out, Austin left the

bathroom.

He was dressed and sitting at the smal desk in my corner

by the time I came out, wrapped in a towel. He was too

big for my chair and that desk, another old piece I'd

inherited from my grandma. He was too big for me.

He looked up when I came in, and I saw he wasn't just

sitting there. He held my cel phone in one hand, the screen

flipped open. I hadn't heard it ring.

"What are you doing?"

Austin slowly closed my phone and set it on the desk. He

stood. He was too big for my room, too.

I wished I'd taken the time to pul on my robe. A towel

didn't seem adequate protection against the way he was

looking at me. I grabbed for my nightgown, but it had

tangled in itself when I threw it on the floor, and I couldn't

tangled in itself when I threw it on the floor, and I couldn't

easily slide it over my head.

"You got a message," Austin said. "While you were in the shower."

"Since when are you alowed to listen to my messages?" I

yanked the cotton into place and tugged it over my head.

With it covering my face, I closed my eyes, wishing when I

opened them I'd discover this was al an inconvenient

dream.

"A text message," he said.

I yanked the nightgown down on my shoulders and glared.

"Since when are you alowed to read my messages?"

I stalked to the desk and grabbed up my phone but didn't

look to see who'd caled. I cradled it to my chest, though,

the metal chil through the cotton. Austin didn't move.

"Wel?" I demanded. "What the hel, Austin? Who the hel do you think you are?"

"Apparently, I'm nobody," he said.

I'd braced myself for anger, or accusations. A message

I'd braced myself for anger, or accusations. A message

from Kira or my mom wouldn't have bothered him. It had

to have been from Eric, though I hadn't told him to send

me anything.

"I have to ask you, Paige. Is that what you want?" He

gestured at the phone, but since I didn't know what the

message had been, I couldn't answer.

I refused to look now. "You'd better leave."

Austin shook his head. "Answer me first. I think I deserve

an answer."

"I don't owe you—anything." My voice tore on the last

word and I shut my mouth tight to keep from breaking

totaly.

"Is that what you want?" he asked again, lower now.

To my horror, I saw he wasn't angry. Austin was close to

tears. I'd never seen him cry, not even when the dog he'd

had since toddlerhood had died. I'd watched him bury that

dog without a tear. But now…now, he was almost

weeping.

I had done this to him.

I had done this to him.

I didn't need to beat his ass with a belt to hurt him.

I felt like the worst kind of bitch.

"Is it what you like? Is it what you need?" He looked

helplessly at the headboard, where his hands had left no

marks. I looked, too. We didn't need scratches in the

wood to remember how he'd clutched it.

"I…think…I don't want to talk about this," I gasped out

around tears of my own.

Austin had seen me cry plenty of times. If my tears moved

him, he didn't show it. "Talk about it to me. I want to

know."

He paused, moved forward. Reached for me, though I

backed away.

"Please," he said.

I shook my head and covered my face with my hands, so I

didn't see him getting on his knees in front of me. I only felt

the thud as he hit the floor and the warmth of his hands as

he grabbed my hips. I couldn't look, not even when he

he grabbed my hips. I couldn't look, not even when he

pressed his face to my pussy and whispered my name, his

breath hot through the cotton. I didn't want to feel the wet

of tears against my skin. I wouldn't look, not even when he

inched the fabric of my nightgown into his fists and kissed

my bely, then my thighs.

"Tel me," Austin said. "Is this where you want me?"

A strangled sound launched itself from my throat. I tried to

take a step back, but his hands held me in place. He

kissed me again, slow and lingering. Heat and wet against

my cunt. Heat and wet against my thigh as he turned his

face to press against me there.

"Because I'l do it, if it makes you happy, Paige. I'l get on

my knees for you any time you want it. I'l let you do what

you want. If you tel me what you want me to do, I'l do it.

Whatever it takes, remember? Just…tel me. Please."

"I want you to shut up and go," I said as best I could

without breath. It had stuck in my throat, too, my world

spinning dizzily as I tried to draw in more air. "Just go,

Austin!"

"If that's what you want." He stood and his hands slid up

"If that's what you want." He stood and his hands slid up

my body to pul me closer to him.

My nightgown fel back down, but it was no protection

against him. His belt buckle pressed my bely. The denim

of his jeans scratched my bare legs. I had my hands

between us, pushing at his chest, and he snared them both

in his. Too late, I realized I would have to look at him

now.

"I love you," Austin said. "Don't you know that?"

I opened my mouth and he kissed me until I turned my

face.

"You don't want to know it," he said.

"We've been through this before," I whispered. "It doesn't work with us."

"I want it to work. Things are different now. Aren't they?

I'm different." He paused and tugged me half an inch

closer. "You're different. You know you are."

But I hadn't wanted him to know.

"We weren't al bad together," he said.

"We weren't al bad together," he said.

I looked at him again. "We weren't al good together,

either."

"I want to be with you. Not just to fuck you once in a

while. Again, serious. You and me. I'm wiling to try."

I almost said yes. But then I said no. "Leave."

"Whatever it takes," Austin said, and kissed me until I

couldn't breathe.

I didn't walk him to the door. I waited until I heard it close

behind him before I looked at the message on my phone.

It was from Eric, as I'd thought.

If I were with you right now, I'd be on my knees for you.

Your slave. I'd worship you. I wish I could be with you

right now.

It's easy to look back and blame a lot of things on

circumstance, and I could blame what had just happened

with Austin for my response to Eric. But I'l own what I

did. I answered him.

I think it's time we meet in person.

I think it's time we meet in person.

Then I wiped my face and refused to cry anymore.

Chapter 31

"Paige, I need you to come and stay with Arty next week

while I go away for a few days." My mom, for once, didn't

start with any sort of preamble.

I didn't stop to think about why she was asking, just that

she was. "Stay at the house?"

"Yes." She sounded tired and cranky. "I need you to be here to get him on the bus in the morning. He has that

after-school program until you can get home from work."

"What time does he get on the bus?" Already I was

calculating excuses, thinking only of the torture of having to

stay in my mother's house for any length of time.

"Eight. Plenty of time for you to get to work. And it's only

five days, Paige. Sunday through Thursday. I should be…

I'l be home on Friday."

Her assumption that I'd put my life on hold to do this

rankled. I was already in a bad mood from my fight, if you

could cal it that, and I did, with Austin. My mind was on

other things, like meeting Eric and teling him the truth

other things, like meeting Eric and teling him the truth

about me and his unknown her and what would happen.

"Where are you going?" I asked. "It's not like I can just drop everything, Mom."

"I'm going away for a few days. To a spa," she said

defensively. "Some me time."

I gritted my jaw and turned off the heat under my pan of

reheated spaghetti. I wasn't hungry for it, anyway. "You

couldn't have let me know sooner?"

"They had a last-minute opening. Don't argue with me

about this, Paige."

Her tone, the one she'd used often on me as a child, set

my teeth on edge even more. I dumped the pasta onto a

plate and slammed it onto my table, but I didn't sit to eat it.

"What if I can't?"

My mom's voice cracked. "You have to. I don't have

anyone else to take him, and he loves you. You're his

sister. I need you to do this for me."

The tremor in her voice slammed a door on my anger. "Is

this about Leo?"

this about Leo?"

"Why would you say that?"

"Because you lived with him for five years, Mom, and you

guys just broke up. You have to be upset."

"I am upset. Very upset." She paused. "Yes, it's about Leo. He…he's taking me away. To try to work things out.

It's last-minute because he just got the time off and this

place had an opening. So we're going. I know it's late

notice, Paige, but I don't have anyone else to ask."

I stil wasn't happy, but I was the last person to stop

anyone from trying to repair a relationship. Helping out my

mom might, in some way, redeem my lack of effort with

Austin. Or not. In any case, I sighed and puled out my

calendar from my purse. "What days, again?"

She told me. "You could come for the weekend, you

know. Friday night. We could spend a few days together

before I go."

"Don't push it," I told her. "I've got stuff going on, Mom. I can't just pop over and hang out and get home in ten

minutes."

"You think I don't know that?"

Shit, now she was crying. What was wrong with me, that I

made people around me so upset? "Mom. C'mon."

"I miss you, Paige! I'm sorry! I'm sorry I don't have a big,

fancy house like your dad does," she said more meanly

than I'd ever heard her in my life. "I'm sorry we don't meet

your standards. But it's what we have, and you didn't turn

out so fucking bad, did you?"

I might have shouted back at her, except I was tired of

fighting. With Austin, with her. With myself. So I said

nothing and after a few moments of tense silence, my mom

cleared her throat.

"I need to leave the house by 8:00 a.m. on Sunday. Be

here before then, please."

I held back a groan and reconsidered staying over the

night before. Which would be worse, a Saturday night in

my mom's house in Lebanon, or having to get up at ass-

crack o'thirty in the morning? "Fine. I'l be there."

"Thank you," she said stiffly, and not like my mom at al.

"Thank you," she said stiffly, and not like my mom at al.

"Arty wil be thriled."

That was the saving grace to it al. That my little brother

would be happy to see me. I didn't miss living in Lebanon,

and I didn't miss living with my mom, but I did miss being

close enough to see them more often. I'd spent a lot of

time taking care of Arty when he was a baby and a

toddler. He was as much my child as he was my brother.

"See you then." I didn't quite manage to sound happy.

"I love you, honey," my mom said, and like the bitch-brat I was, I hung up without answering.

Austin didn't cal me, and I sure as hel didn't cal him. Eric

didn't cal me, either, a fact that pleased me less. I knew

why—I'd nudged myself out of the top spot in his pecking

order. It would have been funny if it wasn't also sort of

sad.

It did prove one thing, that whatever we had, or almost

had, it wasn't exactly what he was looking for. The

question I couldn't stop asking myself, though, was could I

give him what it appeared he wanted, ful-time? And

would he want it from me when he found out it was me?

Most of al, did I want to become in real life the woman I'd

created in those letters?

I took my pen. I took the paper, the soft, fragrant, special

paper. I only had a couple sheets left. Maybe I wouldn't

need more.

My mom said she'd be back Thursday, a week from

today. I had Eric's schedule for the month. He worked that

night, as wel as the folowing Friday and Saturday.

Sunday, then. A little more than a week. That would give

me plenty of time to prepare.

You will reserve a room at the Harrisburg Hilton for

Sunday night. When you check in, you'll leave

instructions for the second key to be left for me, under

the name Rose Thorn. You will be in the room and

ready for me no later than three-thirty. You will bring

with you a bottle of your favorite lube, a box of

condoms and a copy of your medical records

guaranteeing your clean bill of health. Once inside the

room, you will shower and shave and smooth your skin

with lotion. I want you clean and smelling of lavender

and mint. You will wait for me wearing only the

bracelet I gave you. Kneel by the bed. When I come in,

bracelet I gave you. Kneel by the bed. When I come in,

you may address me at once and show your

appreciation of my presence by kneeling at my feet.

It didn't sound quite right. My words lacked a certain

rhythm and delicacy, but they were al I had. Eric liked

flirting with public displays of his submission, and he'd have

to give up some of that to the clerk to whom he gave my

name. But he'd be outing me, too, and I wasn't sure how I

felt about walking up to a perfect stranger and caling

myself Mistress anything. Stil, I guessed it was time to try

to find out if I could play this role for real.

"You gonna try for that new position?" Brenda had snuck

up on me, not difficult to do since I was lost in swirling,

deep-purple thoughts of fucking and sucking. I didn't think

that was the new position she meant.

"I don't think so." When in doubt, stal. It took me a minute to figure out what she did mean, but then when she cast a

pointed look at the buletin board on the wal behind me, I

turned. I scanned the papers tacked there and nodded.

"Oh. The marketing position? No. I already said I wasn't

interested."

This gave her pause. "They just put this up about ten

This gave her pause. "They just put this up about ten

minutes ago, Paige."

Okay, so Brenda hadn't been one of their preapproved

applicants. I pretended to look more closely. "Oh, that

new position. No. I don't think so. I'm happy where I am."

She made one of those noises people make when they

don't believe you but don't want to come right out and say

so. "I think I might go for it. The salary is a lot better, for one thing. I bet the benefits are good, too."

"It's a lot of responsibility, Brenda." Together we left the buletin board to head down the hal toward our respective

offices, but paused in the halway crossroads. Maybe if I

was lucky Brenda would stop to summon a demon and I

could avoid further awkward conversation.

This early there wasn't much traffic, not even toward the

copy room or the break room, which always had

customers. She shrugged and shifted her purse over her

shoulder.

"I think I could handle it. Don't you?" Her eyes narrowed.

"They're looking for a few people, I heard. Not just one."

I laughed to put her at ease. "I'm realy not interested in it."

Some smal tension I wouldn't have noticed had it not been

so obvious when it eased lifted her shoulders. "I'm going to

do it. My sweetie says I should, anyway. He says he

wouldn't mind retiring a few years early."

That seemed like the last reason for her to take a new job,

but I kept my mouth shut. "Good luck."

"Thanks." She nodded and headed off, pausing for a

moment more. "Lunch, today?"

"I can't. I'l have to work through so I can leave early." I didn't explain further, though I could see her curiosity.

Paul, of course, was in the office when I got in. I dropped

my sweater and purse on the rack and powered up my

computer, then moved to the coffeepot to get that started.

The scent of coffee usualy brought him out from the cave

if he hadn't already caffeinated on the way to work, but

since I needed to talk to him anyway I fixed his cup and

rapped on his door.

"Paul? I need to—" I stopped just inside the door, at first convinced he wasn't in there, after al.

convinced he wasn't in there, after al.

He'd puled the blinds down al the way instead of just half.

The overhead lights, as usual, weren't on, but the table

lamp wasn't on, either. The only light came from the blue-

white shine off the computer monitor. I blinked, my eyes

adjusting, and the gleam of Paul's eyes made me realize he

was, indeed, sitting at his desk. He wore his suit coat, his

tie tight to his throat, his shirt startling and white in the

room's dimness. He reached at once to turn on the table

lamp when I entered, but not even his smile could convince

me nothing was wrong.

I didn't spil the coffee, but I did set it down so hard on the

corner of his desk that I sloshed it over the rim. I went

around the corner of the desk and knelt in front of him as

he turned in the swivel chair to stare at me. I reached for

his hands before I knew it, and he took them, his fingers

strong and warm and heavy in mine.

"What's wrong, Paul?"

"I can't make these figures work," he said calmly. Solemn.

His fingers tightened briefly, a twitch.

I squeezed back, gently. "Do you need me to take a look

I squeezed back, gently. "Do you need me to take a look

at them?"

"No," he said. "I just need to sit here for a few more minutes to get them straight. Okay?"

Whatever this was, it wasn't normal, but it didn't feel

wrong. He trembled briefly, the twitch of his fingers

echoing in his entire body before he stiled. I saw the effort

in his eyes, what it took to stop himself from shaking.

I had known since the first week I worked for him that

Paul needed more attention than any other boss I'd ever

had. I'd been warned, but for the wrong reasons, and we'd

gotten along more than fine. Great. We'd made an

understanding. I didn't know what was wrong with him

right now, but it didn't realy matter. I had to take care of

him.

"Do you want me to cal your wife?"

He blinked and sighed. His shoulders hunched. "Paige, I'm

just so very, very…overwhelmed."

I looked past him to the computer, where a few windows

spread out across the screen. I stood and reached past

him to click them al closed, one by one, until al that

him to click them al closed, one by one, until al that

remained was the plain blue walpaper and tiny icons of his

desktop. Paul didn't move until I moved back to lean

against the desk. Then he swiveled his chair away from

me.

In profile, he looked older than he had before. He was a

man who wore his age in the lines of his face and his

frown, and in his heavy sigh.

"I just need a few minutes," he said quietly.

"How long has this been going on?"

He looked at me then and managed a smile. "A long time.

My whole life."

"Do you take meds for it?" I kept my voice soft, and if the intrusive question offended him he didn't show it.

"Yes."

"Aren't they working?"

Paul sighed, but smiled a little broader. "Not today, I

guess."

"Can I help you?" I asked without reaching for him again,

though I wanted to run a hand over his hair and cup his

cheek. Something smal and soft to comfort him. The way

my mom used to touch me when I was upset.

"You've helped me so much, you don't even know." Paul

took a deep, long breath and squared his shoulders. "Just

having you here has been such a…pleasure, Paige."

I smiled at his hesitation. "Uh-huh."

He rumpled his hair, and some of his tension eased with

that simple act. He took another slow breath and let it out.

He looked at me with naked eyes. "I find, sometimes,

knowing that you're there with my coffee is enough to

keep me on the right track. You never balked, Paige. Not

at anything I asked you. You never made me feel like a

tyrant for needing things a certain way."

"Of course not."

He half lifted a brow. "Others did."

"I know they did."

We shared some silence.

We shared some silence.

"You realy know me, Paige," Paul said finaly. "I'l be sorry when you leave."

This time I did reach for him, if only to give his tie a gentle

tug. "I'm not going anywhere."

The cough interrupted us, and we both looked toward the

door. I didn't drop his tie, not at first. Not when I saw it

was Vivian, her blond hair freshly styled and her brows as

high as her heels. I let Paul's tie slide from my fingers as

slowly as I stood.

"I brought those files to go over, Paul." She didn't come

into the room.

"I thought you were going to cal me first," he said.

She and I both looked at him. I couldn't see her face, but I

knew my mouth had dropped a little. Paul, as a rule,

wasn't mean. Not even close. And he'd pretty much just

spanked her, and not in the good way. I wanted to laugh,

but settled for a smile he returned.

"I can come back in fifteen minutes," she said cooly.

"Would that suit?"

"Would that suit?"

"How about twenty? Paige and I were in the middle of a

meeting."

She left without saying anything, and his shoulders tensed

again, but he took another long, slow breath. When she'd

gone he ran a hand over his hair again and let it cover his

eyes for a minute. When he looked at me, though, his smile

seemed genuine and the horrific blank look in his gaze had

faded.

"She's going to think we're fucking," I said in a low voice.

It was perhaps an inappropriate thing to say, but we'd

moved beyond the pretense of formality.

He nodded. "She might."

"Is this going to be a problem for you?"

Paul didn't even look at the photos of his wife and family,

though his mouth tightened. I wondered if I'd been wrong

about him and Vivian. "It might be a problem for her. But

not me, no."

He paused. "It could make a difference when she's your

He paused. "It could make a difference when she's your

boss, though."

"I already told you, I'm not applying for that job."

I went to the bathroom to get a wet paper towel to take

care of the coffee dripping on the desk. When I came

back, Paul had moved the mug, contents half gone. He'd

puled out a pad of paper and his pen rested on it, though

he wasn't writing. I wiped the spots and tossed the paper

in the trash, then leaned over his shoulder to look at the list

as yet unwritten.

"Start with your e-mail," I said. He wrote it down. "Then sort through the mail in your in-box. Take care of what

needs done with those things."

He wrote that down, too, and the rest of the instructions I

gave him.

"Send me home early," I added, and he looked up, the

scratching of pen ceasing. "I have to be able to pick up my

little brother from the after-school-care program every day

this week. I'l need to leave by three, al right? I'l go

without a lunch break and come in earlier if I have to."

Paul slowly wrote down, Paige leaving early, and looked

Paul slowly wrote down, Paige leaving early, and looked

up at me again. "No, you don't have to. Just make sure

your work's done." Another pause. "As if I need to tel

you."

I leaned closer, just a bit, to say in a low voice, "Write it

down in a list for me. It wil make you feel better."

I left the office with Paul's chuckle ringing in my ears.

Chapter 32

"Can we have macaroni and cheese for dinner? Please?"

Arty clung to my hand like the monkey I'd always caled

him, then lifted his feet off the ground, so I staggered from

his sudden weight.

"Cut it out." I shook him off and set down my overnight

bag.

The living room smeled like my mom's perfume and

something else. Old Chinese food, maybe. I'd have to do a

search. My mom had been known to set down a container

or plate next to the couch while she watched TV and

forget about it. Arty tossed his shoes, coat and book bag

onto the floor by the front door in an amazing one-two-

three slingshot move I wouldn't have believed possible had

I not seen it in front of me. He was already off and running

toward the kitchen when I caled him back.

"Pick that stuff up!" I pointed.

"I need a snack!"

I happened to know they fed him at his after-school

I happened to know they fed him at his after-school

program, because my mom had told me how great it was

not to worry about him being hungry when she picked him

up. "Have a piece of fruit."

Arty stopped in midleap, so fast he skidded on the worn

carpet in the kitchen doorway. "Fruit?"

"Mom doesn't make you eat fruit?"

He made a face like I'd asked him to eat dung. "But I

wanted a Doodle."

I had no fucking clue what a Doodle was, but it didn't

sound pleasant. "Fruit. Or some crackers. I'l make dinner

in about twenty minutes, just let me get settled in."

Arty grumped and groaned and stomped, but came back

out in a minute with a box of cheese crackers. He hurtled

himself into a beanbag placed close enough to the TV he

could have read Braile on the screen, and turned on

cartoons loud enough to make me wince. He wasn't happy

to scoot back or turn it down, but he did. I tried to ignore

the crumbs spewing from his mouth with each guffaw.

I took my bag up the narrow stairs and down the dark,

close hal to the room at the back of the house. My mom

close hal to the room at the back of the house. My mom

had taken the front room, overlooking the street, with a

panel of four large windows. Arty's smaler room was

between hers and the bathroom. The room at the end

should've been a nice den, a sewing room, a playroom, but

for some reason nobody in the house used it.

There was a bed, at least, a creaking twin bed that

matched one of the dressers I'd inherited from my

grandma. The sheets were clean, and the bedspread, and

my mom had laid out clean towels for me, too. I set my

bag on the rickety, spindle-legged chair I'd never have

dared sit on, and I colapsed onto the bed. The ceiling had

cracks in it, and water damage. One high, narrow window

had a blind but no curtain. That would be pleasant in the

morning.

"Paiiiiige! I'm hungry!"

The wail drifted up the stairs and I heaved myself out of

the bed to holer, "I'l be right down!"

When I yanked the door opposite the foot of the bed,

though, al I did was chip a nail on the knob. The door

stayed stubbornly shut. Not the closet, then. It must have

been the door to the attic. I tried the one next to the

been the door to the attic. I tried the one next to the

dresser, revealing a set of wire hangers I used to quickly

hang my work clothes for the next couple days. Then it

was downstairs to the kitchen, which looked as if it had

been cleaned in preparation for my arrival.

Which meant my mom had wiped down the counters and

cleared out the sink, but the floor was a little sticky in front

of the fridge and crumbs coated the table. When I was

younger, it had never occurred to me that other people

stored leftover food in the fridge or the freezer. When we

got pizza it often stayed out on the counter until it was

gone. Sometimes she put it, stil in the box, in the oven until

we remembered to take it out and throw it away. My mom

cooked but haphazardly, so spaghetti sauce had always

made Rorschach blots on the stovetop and stiff noodles

stuck to the ceiling where she'd tossed them to see if the

pasta was done.

When I was in elementary school, I'd come down with

food poisoning. To be fair, it wasn't my mom's fault. I'd

spent the day with my dad at his country-club pool, where

they fed me extravagantly on fries and hot dogs instead of

making me eat the peanut butter and jely sandwich my

mom had packed for me. I brought it home and ate the

sandwich later that night for dinner. An hour after that, the

sandwich later that night for dinner. An hour after that, the

world began to spin. An eternal half hour after that, I

started to puke.

I had a morbid fear of food gone bad after that. I wouldn't

eat anything I suspected, even vaguely, of having turned.

When I opened my mom's fridge and saw the containers

and jars, al potentialy swimming with bacteria, my

stomach clenched tight in protest.

"Let's go out to eat, okay?"

I didn't have to say it twice. My arms filed with squirming

little boy as Arty tried to squeeze the breath out of me and

mostly succeeded. I put the kibosh on McDonald's, but

conceded to Wendy's, where he thought he tricked me

into letting him get a Frosty, when realy I just wanted an

excuse to get one for myself.

Inside the restaurant, Arty launched himself across the

room. "Leo!" Arty seemed incapable of using a voice at

anything less than a shout, but Leo didn't seem to care. He

patiently let Arty leap al over him, then looked at me over

the top of Arty's head.

"Hey, Paige."

"Hey, Paige."

I stuttered for a second. "What…hey. What are you doing

here?"

He lifted his bag of food. "Getting dinner."

Arty had settled back down to the toy he'd found in his

kids' meal bag. Leo was hesitating, but I gestured at the

table, and he sat. "It's good to see you, Leo."

"You, too. What's been going on?"

Of al my mom's boyfriends over the years, Leo was the

one I liked the best. He'd never tried to be my dad, and he

hadn't forced friendship on me, either. Maybe it was

because I was already grown up and moved out of my

mom's house when they started dating.

I glanced at Arty, lost in his own world of ketchup-firing

French-fry cannons. "I thought you and my mom were

going away together."

Leo's eyes never left mine, though his mouth set into a hard

line centered in his bushy, biker beard. "Obviously, we

didn't."

"So where did she go?"

He shrugged and looked away. "That's between you and

your mom, Paige."

Another guy? It had to be. Why else would Leo look so…

lost? And on a man his size, with that beard, the tattoos

and the denim biker vest, lost wasn't a look I'd ever

expected to see.

"I gotta run," Leo said and leaned across the table to ruffle Arty's hair. "Take care of the kiddo."

"Of course." I watched him head out and turned back to

Arty. "Where did Mama say she was going?"

"To a spar," he said.

"A spa?"

"Yeah, that's what I said. A spa. She's going to get a

message."

I sighed. "A massage?"

He grinned, showing the gap between his teeth where he'd

He grinned, showing the gap between his teeth where he'd

lost one. "Yeah."

"Alone?"

"I guess so." Arty shrugged.

It wasn't like I could realy expect him to know more, but

why had she lied to me?

I woke, disoriented, when a smal hand tugged my arm.

Expecting Arty, I sat up and fumbled for the light next to

my bed, but there wasn't one. I blinked until my eyes

focused, but my brother wasn't hovering over me. The

touch I'd felt had come from nothing.

I sat straight up, the blankets I'd tucked so carefuly

around me fighting against me now. At the foot of my bed

stood two smal children, both about Arty's age, clutching

each other's hands. Pale, white children I didn't need a

lamp to see because they both gleamed in the darkness.

Pale children with empty black holes where their eyes

should've been and blood dripping from their ragged

fingertips. Behind them, the attic door gaped wide.

I waited for the blood to start pouring out of the door like

it did in The Shining, but al that happened was they

it did in The Shining, but al that happened was they

stared. And stared. The pounding of my heart became a

roar and I did the only thing I had the courage to do. I

closed my eyes, then clapped my hands over them, too.

Nothing happened until I heard a smal voice whisper,

"Take care of us."

Then I screamed, and screamed and screamed…until I sat

straight up in bed to the sound of my phone ringing. The

attic door was stil closed. No ghostly children were

begging me to adopt them. The room wasn't even that

dark, lit as it was by the light from an outside streetlamp

through the window.

I stumbled out of bed and dug in my purse for my cel. My

heart had started pounding again, but for a different

reason. I got al kinds of texts and cals in strange hours,

but this one felt wrong, and I didn't recognize the number.

"Ms. DeMarco?"

"Yes, who's this?"

"This is Dr. Philips at the Hershey Med Center. I'm sorry

to cal you so late, but your mother's surgery has had some

to cal you so late, but your mother's surgery has had some

complications—"

I had to blink twice to make sure I wasn't stil dreaming

and even then I wasn't convinced. "I'm sorry, hold on a

second. Her surgery?"

"The breast-reconstruction surgery had some complica

tions," he explained patiently, probably used to waking

people up to give them bad news. "She's running a high

fever and has been hemorrhaging."

My mother had gone and got herself a boob job. I gritted

my teeth. "You're her plastic surgeon?"

"Yes. I've been working closely with her oncologist, Dr.

Frank, since your mother was diagnosed."

I was stil stupid. "Wait a minute. Her oncologist? I thought

she was having her breasts done."

"Your mother had a double mastectomy," the doctor said.

"With a planned reconstruction. But as I said, there are

complications."

I sagged against the headboard. "What kind of

complications?"

complications?"

"Can you come to the hospital?" he said. "I think you should."

Chapter 33

Leo probably hadn't even gone to bed yet when I caled

him to come sit with Arty and get him on the bus in the

morning. He was there in fifteen minutes. I should've been

relieved to see him, but I was angry, too.

"You knew?"

He nodded. "She told me a couple months ago. When she

told me to leave."

"Months? She knew for months and…she didn't tel me?"

Leo shrugged. "She didn't want to worry you, Paige. Hey,

don't look at me like that. You know your mother. And

she broke up with me because of it."

He didn't have to tel me that was worse than being kept in

the dark. "I'm sorry she did that. Why would she?"

Another shrug. "She said she didn't want to be a burden."

"Did you try to convince her otherwise?" The question was

a little mean, but Leo took it in stride.

"I love that woman, and I love that boy up there." He

pointed. "Hel. I even took a shine to you. I was hoping

she'd reconsider once she had the operation and she saw I

didn't care about the size of her tits."

There wasn't much point in belaboring the discussion, so I

left him at the house. The drive to Hershey was shorter

than the trek from Lebanon to Harrisburg, but it was along

a two-lane, rural highway and I had the bad luck to be

stuck behind someone adhering strictly to the speed limit.

By the time I got to the med center, my stomach had

twisted itself into knots and I'd sweated big rings under my

arms. I parked in the lot and headed into the lobby, where

I managed to decipher the signs to find my mom's floor. I

took the elevator with a pair of chatty nurses and a worn-

looking older man with a basebal cap puled low on his

head.

It was just past 11:00 p.m., not the darkest hour of the

night or anything, but even so the floor was dim and quiet.

The nurses talked softly at the desk. I'd never been to the

ICU before. I wasn't happy to be here, now.

"Alicia DeMarco?" I rested my hands flat on the counter to keep myself from biting my nails. "Her doctor caled and

keep myself from biting my nails. "Her doctor caled and

said she was being moved here?"

The nurse consulted a chart. I thought there'd be trouble

with visiting hours, but she just smiled and told me the

room number and pointed the way helpfuly. My knotted

stomach twisted tighter. If my mom was realy fine I

thought they'd have made me wait until morning, which

would've annoyed me since I'd made the trip, but would've

meant she was going to be okay.

I didn't have that reassurance now.

She looked smal in the bed. Pale without her many layers

of makeup. Her hair not teased or even combed, just

puled back from her face in a high ponytail. She was

sleeping. Machines beeped and something squeaked by in

the hal outside as I just stared.

Her breath rattled and I jumped at the sound. When I

crossed to the bed, I couldn't be sure I'd wake her. I

didn't know if she could be woken.

Her eyes fluttered open when I sat in the chair next to the

bed. "Paige."

"Hi, Mom." I scooted closer. Under the covers her chest

rose higher than looked right. I couldn't avoid looking.

"Checking out my new rack?" My mom's voice cracked

and she drew in a slow, pained breath.

"Why didn't you tel me?"

I waited for a long few minutes for her to answer. Her

eyes closed. I thought she'd falen back to sleep, but then

she licked her lips and coughed.

"Hurts like a bastard," she said.

I didn't ask her again. There'd be time for questions and

accusations, and I had no doubt there'd be plenty of both.

My mom opened her eyes. Then she closed them again,

only to reopen them a second later. She smiled. "Paige."

I moved to the chair next to her bed and took her hand.

"Mom. What the hel's going on?"

"Language," my mother cautioned, and looked at the

plastic pitcher on the nightstand. "Can you pour me some

water? I'm dying."

Alarmed, I stopped halfway to grabbing the pitcher.

"Mom!"

"Shh," she said.

"Mom. You're not dying."

"I'm dying of thirst. Give me a drink, for God's sake." She frowned. "Am I going to have to ring for a nurse?"

"No." I poured and held it up for her to sip, but she waved me away with an irritated sigh.

"I can do it."

I watched her sip delicately at the water, and I watched as

she spiled it al down her chin to wet the neck of her

hospital gown. When I took the cup away, I handed her a

tissue from the holder next to the pitcher. She blotted her

mouth and held the tissue to her nostrils, one then the

other, before crumpling it in her fist.

"I know you think I should have told you what was going

on," she said.

"No shit."

"No shit."

"Paige." My mom gave me one of her looks, but it left me

unaffected. She sighed again. "I didn't want to worry you."

"How long have you known? Mom, my God." I wasn't

thirsty, but I poured myself a cup of water anyway to give

my hands something to do. Then I remembered I was in a

hospital, the air afloat with who knew what sorts of

noxious germs, and I put the cup down.

My mother watched me from dark-shadowed eyes.

Without her makeup on she looked so much younger.

Prettier, even, despite the circles and lines of fatigue

etched at the corners of her eyes. She'd never have gone

out in public like that, but I liked seeing her without so

much paint covering her face.

"For a few months. I found a lump one day and went to

have it checked out. They did a biopsy. It was cancer,

so…" She gestured with her fingertips at the room.

"But why didn't you tel me?" I didn't mean to whisper, and the way I clutched at her hand surprised me. I bent

forward to press my forehead to her hand in mine, and that

surprised me, too. "I'd have helped you!"

"I didn't want you to worry," she repeated. "And you are helping me. You're taking care of Arty. Where is Arty?"

I felt hot, feverish, my mom's hand cool on my skin the

way it had been for countless childhood ilnesses. Only,

she was the sick one this time, not me. "He's at home with

Leo."

"Oh."

At my mom's smal voice, I looked up. "You told him."

She nodded after a pause. "I had to. He wanted to know

why I didn't want to be with him anymore. He wouldn't

believe me when I said it was someone new."

"You didn't. Oh, Mom." I shook my head. "How could

you do that to him?"

She yanked her hand from mine with an unexpected

strength. "Don't you judge me, Miss Smarty. You're not

exactly the best judge of how to make a relationship work,

are you?"

My jaw dropped, but I closed it with a click. "What's that

got to do with anything? Leo loves you. You love him."

got to do with anything? Leo loves you. You love him."

She shrugged. "I wasn't going to wait and see if he stil

loved me when I was sick and losing my hair. When I was

—" She snapped her mouth closed into a tight, fierce line,

her lips sewn shut against whatever it was she refused to

say.

"But you could've told me." I sat back in the chair, a

milion miles between us. "Unless you think I would've

stopped loving you, too."

A single tear spiled out of each of her eyes and slid in twin

silver tracks over her cheeks. "I didn't want you to worry,

baby, that's al. This was something I thought I could

manage on my own."

Her eyelids fluttered closed again. "Paige, I'm tired now.

Let me sleep."

I wasn't close to being finished, but even I couldn't push

her right now. I stood and patted the bedcovers. "I'm

going to see if I can talk to a doctor or something. I'l

come back tomorrow, okay?"

Her words stopped me in the doorway, a chil skittering

Her words stopped me in the doorway, a chil skittering

along my spine.

"Take care of him."

I shuddered at the vision of eyeless children with torn and

bloody fingertips. I turned, but of course it was only my

mom in her bed, her eyes closed but her mouth moving.

"If anything happens to me, Paige, you need to take care

of Arty. Promise me."

"I promise." It was the only answer to give, realy, whether I thought I could honor it or not.

She smiled. Then I heard a familiar soft snoring and knew

she'd falen asleep. I left and went back to the nurses'

station, where a woman in a starched uniform told me

she'd page Dr. Frank and he'd meet me in the lounge when

he was available. I folowed her directions down the hal

and around the corner to find the lounge decorated in early

American Depression, worn couches in shades of beige

and brown, and abstract art in the same colors on wals in

the same tones. I felt like I'd walked into a giant box of

chocolates, which might have been the look the designer

had been going for. We were in Hershey, after al.

I perched on the edge of the couch but jumped again at

once when the doctor entered the room. Dr. Frank turned

out to be tal, with a head of wild, dark hair and a strong

grip. "Paige DeMarco?"

I nodded and he smiled as he let go of my hand. "Your

mom's going to be fine. Her blood pressure's stabilized

and we managed to stop the hemorrhaging. It was touch-

and-go there for a while, though, I won't kid you. And

she'l have to stay in the hospital a bit longer."

I'd thought I was okay until the floor jumped up to try to

smack me in the face, and Dr. Frank's big hands eased me

onto a couch, where he put a hand on the back of my

neck and pushed my head between my knees with the

practice of a man used to dealing with fainters.

"Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth," he said.

I tried, but my hands were shaking and each breath I took

whistled through my nostrils in a way I found utterly

distracting. It worked, though, because in a minute or so I

no longer felt a red haze threatening to cover me. I looked

up.

up.

"Sorry."

He shook his head. "It happens. Your mom realy is going

to be fine."

"She didn't even tel me she was coming in," I told him. "I had no idea. I'm just a little…can you tel me what's going

to happen now? With her treatment, I mean."

So he sat beside me and laid out the plan of treatment for

my mom, how long it would probably take and what she'd

have to do, and what I could do to help her. Her reasons

for choosing a reconstruction right away instead of waiting

for chemo treatment, the way I'd thought it was always

done. He explained everything to me, more about breast

cancer than I'd ever wanted to know, and I stil didn't quite

understand it al. It was worse than I'd been expecting,

only because up until a few hours ago I hadn't known

anything was wrong with her. My shock must have shown

on my face, because he patted my shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do for her right now. Why don't

you go on home and get some sleep." He paused. "Do you

have anyone who can come get you? You don't look like

have anyone who can come get you? You don't look like

you should be driving."

I nodded without realy thinking about who I'd cal, already

puling out my phone, and he patted my shoulder again. He

left without saying much more, but what was there to say?

My mom had breast cancer, she'd almost died, she'd

probably be fine, but she was stil going to need treatment.

It was a lot to absorb, and I was glad he hadn't stuck

around to baby me through it.

I flipped open my phone and pushed the Contacts button

to bring up my list of names and numbers. I didn't want to

cal my dad, I hadn't quite made up enough with Kira, and

Leo was with Arty. If I went home to Lebanon, I'd need a

ride in the morning to get my car. If I got a ride home, I

could take the bus to work and pick up my car later. I saw

two names in a row, one after the other. Two names, but

only one choice.

He came right away. I wasn't even ashamed that I hadn't

even doubted he would. It was simply something I knew I

could ask, and he would give.

The lobby doors parted and he walked through. The air

disappeared around me. I opened my mouth to speak, to

disappeared around me. I opened my mouth to speak, to

breathe, and could do neither.

I loved him.

I hadn't known it, or wouldn't admit it, but now I couldn't

do anything but feel it. Love was like a punch in the gut,

but I didn't double over. The world tipped up again, the

floor a rocking, roling platform that had decided to throw

me off it. I didn't fal because he was there to catch me.

The smel of him blocked out the scents of bad coffee and

exhaustion and bad news. I breathed, and he filed me.

It was Austin.

Chapter 34

Of course, like an idiot, I didn't tel him I loved him. I let him drive me home and I took him upstairs, where he

hesitated in the doorway until I puled him close and shut

the door behind us. When my mouth found his, he sighed

and his arms went around me as tight as I liked it.

We'd never been shy about fucking on the floor, a table,

the couch. Against a wal. But this time I took his hand and

led him to my bedroom, where I pushed him gently until he

lay on the bed and I crawled up over him to kiss his mouth

and face. Straddling him, I rocked against his denim-

covered crotch until his cock sweled inside his jeans, and

then I slid my body down until I could kiss him there.

My lips left a wet mark, and through the thick material I

could feel his hardness. I pushed my hands under his ass to

lift him closer to my mouth as I rubbed my face on his

thigh. I unbuckled his belt and puled down the jeans and

his boxers. I took him in my mouth, and he made a sound

like coming home.

I let the smel and taste of him fil me up the way it always

had, and I stopped trying to pretend it wasn't anything

had, and I stopped trying to pretend it wasn't anything

more than this. My hands found the weight of his bals, the

length of his cock. My mouth sucked, fingers stroked, lips

and teeth and tongue moved along him al the ways I knew

he liked it best.

He was moaning in minutes, his hips thrusting upward. I

took it al, his cock down my throat as far as I could, and

when he came, I took al that, too. He fel back, panting,

onto the pilows, and I crawled up him again to kiss his

mouth. Then I tucked myself up next to him in the place

that had always been mine.

He was quiet for a while, and I didn't want to talk. The rise

and fal of our breathing timed itself to each other. I put a

hand on his chest to feel the thump of his heart. Austin put

his hand over mine, and our fingers linked.

I fel asleep that way and woke to light outside my window

and a soft stroking between my legs. I didn't open my

eyes. If it was a dream, and it might have been, since the

entire night felt so unreal, I didn't want to wake. The

stroking hit me just right through the soft material of my

pajama bottoms and panties. I shifted, just enough, and

Austin paused to pul the fabric over my hips and thighs.

The bed dipped when he settled back between my legs.

At the first puff of his breath I let out a sigh. When his lips

brushed my already erect clitoris, I put a hand over my

mouth to hide my smile, and when he sucked gently on me,

I bit down hard on my skin to keep in the groan.

Austin ate my pussy like it was his last meal on earth, and I

gave up to the pleasure without hesitation. Aside from

murmured yes or two, I gave him no instructions. I didn't

have to. He didn't need me to guide him, because he

already knew how to do everything I liked.

I came softly, a slow and subtle rippling of my cunt under

his tongue rather than a ful-out blast of climax ripping me

apart. It was good that way. Smooth.

He moved up my body and looked into my eyes as he slid

inside me. So wet he had no resistance, I couldn't hold

back my cry of delight when Austin's cock filed me. He

gathered me close. His every thrust rubbed my clit and I

wrapped my legs tight around him to keep him close

enough to bring me off again. We came within seconds of

each other, me without words and Austin shouting my

name in a passion-strangled voice.

He roled off me, and I didn't jump out of bed to get in the

shower, or even to grab a cloth from my nightstand.

Boneless, sated, I didn't want to move. Fragile, too,

because I couldn't look at him. I was afraid of what I might

see in his face.

It was probably too late for us, and love realy didn't

conquer everything. We'd tried to be together and hadn't

made it work. It hadn't hurt for years, but that didn't mean

I didn't remember how much it had.

"I'l drive you to work if you want. Pick you up after. We

can swing by and get Arty and go visit your mom. Get

your car."

I studied my ceiling as Austin's warmth trickled down my

thighs. "You don't have to do that."

"I know that."

I turned my head to look at him. "What about work for

you?"

He yawned and stretched. "That's the benefit of being the

boss."

I sat. "Since when are you the boss?"

"Since I bought the business," Austin said with a strange

look. "What's the big deal?"

"You just never told me, that's al."

"Paige," Austin said. "You never asked."

This changed things, and I didn't know why. I got out of

bed and stripped out of my pajamas, tossed them in the

hamper and got into the shower, where I contemplated my

stubbled knees and underarms and thought about the ways

life could sneak up on a person.

Just yesterday, Austin was eighteen, captain of the footbal

team, apple of his mother's eye. My boyfriend. A day after

that he'd been my husband, and for a while but not too

long, my enemy. And now…now he was a man who

owned a business and was there when I needed him.

Yesterday I was a scrappy, tough-punk girl who had no

money and wore too much eye shadow. Yesterday I was

young and stupid and thought love could take care of

everything else. So who was I today?

Austin joined me in the shower and I soaped his back. He

soaped mine. He used my razor to shave his face and cut

himself in a few places. I didn't make him breakfast, but I

did make him coffee. It was the nicest morning we'd had

together in a very long time.

Even so, I braced myself for him to question me about "us"

when he dropped me off at work, but Austin didn't say

anything. He only kissed me and tweaked the single strand

of hair escaping from my braid. He waved as he drove

away, and I stood at the front doors and watched him until

he was gone.

Paul didn't ask my reasons for why I'd changed my mind

about the job working for Vivian. If he had, I'd have told

him the truth. That even though I hoped I wouldn't ever

have to take custody of my brother, I had to be prepared

in case I did. And that I was meant for more than being a

secretary, even if I'd never believed being a secretary was

being less of anything.

"Do you want me to cal her?" He was already reaching for

the phone, but put it back in the cradle when I shook my

head.

"I'l just walk down and talk to her." I smiled at him, even though my insides were hopping like rabbits on crack.

Paul nodded and sat back in his chair. We didn't say

anything at first, just looked at each other, but we didn't

need words to share our thoughts. In some ways, Paul

would always be more than a boss to me, which was even

more reason why it was time for me to move on.

"Paige, I just want you to know…" He hesitated, and I

gave him the time he needed to say what he had to say.

"I've realy enjoyed working with you."

"Me, too, Paul."

"And I wanted you to know, too…that if not for you, I

don't think I'd have made it through the past couple of

months."

I shook my head. "You're giving me too much credit."

"Maybe." His tone said he didn't agree, but he wasn't

going to fight me on it. "I just wanted you to know, though,

that every day I knew I could come in here to work and

find everything the way I wanted…no, needed it…every

find everything the way I wanted…no, needed it…every

day I faced knowing I didn't have to worry about anything

because it would al be done…I appreciate that."

He could've offered me a raise, a better computer, more

vacation time. He could easily have kept me, then, just by

asking. Paul could've kept me without much effort, but he

didn't.

He let me go.

"I'm not sure there are any slots left in the program."

Vivian, for al her bravado, couldn't meet my eyes when

she spoke. She toyed with her files, her pen, the pad of

paper on her desk where she'd ostensibly taken notes

during my interview, but where she'd realy only scribbled

and doodled. "I'm afraid you should've applied sooner,

Paige."

"Vivian," I said calmly. "I know why you wanted me to take part in the program."

She looked up, her eyes narrowing. "Oh?"

I nodded and let it sink if for a minute before she spoke

again.

"Your qualifications are average," she said flatly. "But you come highly recommended."

I happened to be confident my qualifications were not

merely average, but I didn't push her on it. "I'm also the

best candidate you have for this program."

"You can't know that."

It was only a guess, but her answer told me I was right.

No matter how much she'd wanted to get me away from

Paul and under her thumb instead, she also had to hire

candidates who could do the work. I also knew this was

an in-house program, open only to current employees, that

even if it was "better" than being an executive assistant, it was stil considered entry level, and I could've counted al

the people working there who'd be interested in applying. I

didn't care if it was arrogant to say I was the best choice.

It was true.

Vivian cleared her throat and put down her pen. "What

does…Paul…say about this?"

I didn't miss the way she lingered on his name. "He's very

supportive of me."

"And you'd be wiling to leave him?"

"I wouldn't be sitting here if I didn't intend to take the job."

Again, she cleared her throat. I wanted to feel sorry for

her, but nobody had made her start an affair with a

married man. Knowing Paul the way I did, I doubted he

was even the one to initiate it. Hel. Even if he had, anyone

with two brain cels to rub together should know better

than to poach.

"I'l let you know," she said finaly.

I knew better than to poke. I stood and offered my hand,

which she took as though the gesture surprised her.

"Thanks for your time."

"I'l let you know," she said again.

"I'm sure you wil."

She opened her mouth as if she meant to say more, but

closed it abruptly. Without another word she bent back to

her work and I left her to it. I passed Brenda in the hal,

and she gave me a squinty look.

and she gave me a squinty look.

"Were you just talking to Vivian?"

"Yep. Is that where you're going?"

She nodded. "I hope she hires me, Paige. This is my

second interview for the program." She paused. "I thought

you said you weren't interested."

"Things change," was al I said.

Brenda nodded. "Yeah, I guess they do."

"Good luck," I said, and meant it.

"You, too," she said, but probably didn't. "Though I'd be

—"

She stopped. I waited.

"Brenda?"

She shook her head, then gestured me closer. "It's just

that…wel, you know. I didn't think Vivian would want to

work with you because of you know what."

I kept my expression neutral. "No, what?"

I kept my expression neutral. "No, what?"

"Paul," Brenda whispered harshly. Her eyes glittered.

"What about him?"

"She…and him…you know."

"I realy don't," I said calmly. I wasn't about to give her the satisfaction.

"Don't you? Because everyone knows they are…?"

I studied her, wondering if she and her "sweetie" ever did it doggie-style.

"Or were…?" Brenda lilted, waiting for me to respond.

"Not a clue what you mean, Brenda."

She frowned, maybe unwiling to go there. "Oh, okay, if

you hadn't heard. But people are saying it, so I thought

you knew."

"What would that have to do with me, anyway?"

Brenda looked uncomfortable. "Wel, you have lasted

longer than any of his other assistants."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Not that I think you and Paul," she said. "You know."

I lifted my chin toward the bathroom at the end of the hal.

"I have to run. Good luck with the interview."

She nodded and turned on her heel. I watched her for a

moment before I went into the bathroom, where I ran cold

water in the sink and dampened a paper towel to press to

my forehead and against the back of my neck.

I wasn't my mother, but nobody here knew that. Months

ago I'd have been sick to my guts thinking anyone believed

I was fucking my boss, but now it simply didn't matter. I

knew the truth. So did Paul. Paul, who I was leaving.

I didn't need to use the toilet, but I went into the stal

anyway. I put the lid down and crouched there, my head in

my hands. I took a deep breath, but the scent of ammonia

and those nasty pink toilet cleaners overwhelmed me and I

covered my nose and mouth with my hand. I tried to catch

a whiff of Austin, but could only faintly smel the lotion I'd

smoothed on this morning.

smoothed on this morning.

I could remember, though. How he smeled. How he felt

and tasted, and not just because of last night and this

morning.

From before.

Austin's behind me, his breathing heavy like he'd just

run up the stairs. He's got his hand wrapped in my

hair, tipping back my head so it's hard for me to

swallow. His prick jerks inside me, but he's not

thrusting right now. He's close to coming.

I am, too.

"Pul it," I tel him. "Harder."

His fingers tighten but he doesn't pul. "I don't want to hurt

you, Paige."

I want him to hurt me. He's bigger than me. Stronger. He

holds my heart in his hands every day and doesn't break it,

at least not very much. But I want him to hurt me now, in

this moment, when my cunt is clutching on his cock and

I'm ready to burst into an orgasm that wil blind me. I don't

know why. I just want it, and I want Austin to be the one

know why. I just want it, and I want Austin to be the one

to give it to me.

"Pul my fucking hair!" I grit out the words around a groan.

His fingers tighten as he pushes inside me, then puls out,

but he doesn't do more than tug. This boy has tackled

other boys on the footbal field hard enough to break their

bones and knock them out. I know he could pul my hair

harder than he is.

He fucks into me smoothly as his fingers find my clit and

his other hand releases my hair. My head fals forward. On

my hands and knees I can put my head down and look

under my body to see where he's joined me. Instead, I

bury my face in the pilow and lift my ass in the air, push

harder against him, force him to slam his body into mine.

It does hurt, but hurts so good. Pain and pleasure are

mingling. I've read about this but never understood it,

even though it made me creep my hands into my

panties and stroke myself into coming as I read. But

it's not quite enough, it's not what I really want. Or it's

not enough of what I want.

I pull away, leaving Austin muttering a complaint. I

I pull away, leaving Austin muttering a complaint. I

roll onto my back and hold him off me with a foot on

his chest. His cock is huge and wet from me, and I

think about taking it in my mouth. Right now. He'll

taste like me, and I shudder at the thought as my

fingers move to cover my cunt. I press my palm

against my clit and pleasure jolts through me.

I get out of bed and he follows when I crook my finger.

We've fucked in the living room before. I stand in the

cool air with the windows open and without blinds,

showing me off to anyone who might look through. We

live on the third floor, which make voyeurs unlikely,

but I'm still aroused at thinking we might be giving

someone a show.

Austin smiles and moves toward me. Step and step and

one more, and my back hits the old plaster walls we've

never painted. His hands fit my hips just right. His

knee nudges my legs apart, and his thigh presses

between mine. He kisses me.

"What are you doing?" Austin says, laughing.

"Fuck me." My voice shakes.

His brow furrows for a minute, but only that briefly. Then

he's got his hands under my ass and has lifted me, my legs

around his waist, my back against the wal. His mouth

seals mine before I can take a breath, and I can't breathe.

His kiss steals my air.

My heart beats fast in my ears and the world rushes

around us. Austin fucks me and I try to take another

breath but his lips are closed tight over mine, his tongue

fucking my mouth the way his prick fucks my pussy. I'm

drowning in him. In this. In us.

I break the kiss with a gasp and now I understand more

about the alure of pain. "Put your hand on my throat."

"What? No." Sweat gleams on his forehead.

"I want you to do it, Austin."

Both of us can barely speak, our bodies using al their

energy for the fucking and leaving little for conversation. I

dig my nails into his shoulders and rock my hips, getting

closer. I close my eyes. I want him to do this, give me

what I want. What I think I want, anyway. What I want to

try.

"Put your hand on my throat!"

"Fuck…Paige…" He's getting close, and soon it wil be

too late. He'l come, I won't.

My eyes open and I bear down on him, my legs around his

waist. "I want you to do it!"

"I don't want to hurt you—"

"It's sexy," I argue.

He'l have to put me down soon. He's got me braced

against the wal, but even Austin isn't that strong. I bring his

face to mine and kiss him. And then I make him give me

what I want.

"If you don't, I can find someone who wil."

"What?" His eyes fly open, the pupils wide and dark. He's

so close he can't keep his hips from moving, even though

he wants to stop. I see it in his face. "What do you mean,

you'l find someone—"

"Maybe I already have. Did you think of that?" The lie,

cruel, pushes from my mouth.

cruel, pushes from my mouth.

I see him thinking about it, as best he can anyway with the

blood pooling in his cock and orgasm clouding judgment.

How things have changed lately. How I've wanted

different things…and where I might have learned to want

them. From who.

He doesn't know about the books I've found, ordered

from overseas, or the Internet chat rooms where people

address each other as Master and Mistress or Slave.

Austin doesn't know this part of me that wants to explore.

"Maybe I've been—" pleasure chokes me "—fucking

around."

"Have you?" He's angry in an instant.

Oh, how wel I know him.

I don't answer, but my head tips back again. My eyes

close. I'm going to come. My back skids suddenly along

the plaster as Austin shifts.

"Paige! Goddamn it!"

"Put your hand on my throat," I whisper.

"Put your hand on my throat," I whisper.

And Austin does.

His hand can't close al the way around my neck, but it's

big enough to come pretty close. We move together,

sliding as sweat makes us slick and fucking leaves him

unsteady. Something rips into me. A nail left from a picture

knocked off the wal when once I slammed a door. I can't

cry out, I can't breathe, he's done what I asked and taken

my breath again.

Austin's fingers close tighter and my fingernails dig deeper

and we both come at the same time. Only after that does

he put me down, his hands shaking, and then sink to the

ratty tied-rag rug that always manages to slip out of place

on the dirty hardwood floor. I don't quite fal, but I

colapse into a crouch.

My back stings. Hot blood drips steadily down my back,

over my ass and down my leg. I sip in the air and wait for

the world to stop rocking and my body to stop pulsing. It

seems to take a very long time.

He won't look at me.

He gave me what I wanted, but it's the last time I'll ask

Austin for anything for a long time. I move out the

next day, letting the bruises on my neck and stitches

on my back speak when I will say nothing. He gave me

what I wanted, what I needed, but the price was high.

Too high.

Someone came into the bathroom and entered the stal at

the far end. I couldn't stay there, holding back sobs and

trying not to breathe. I washed my hands and face again,

and looked in the mirror to be sure nothing was out of

place. I went back to my desk and got back to work,

wishing for a list to take up al my attention so I didn't have

to think about the past.

I was realy going to leave Paul. Move on. Move up.

But what about the rest of my life? Was I going to move

on and up from it?

Chapter 35

"Thanks for taking me." I gathered up my purse and

sweater while my dad puled into the spot next to my car.

"I appreciate it."

"No problem." He drummed the steering wheel with his

fingertips and stared out the window at the hospital. "So.

Your mom's in there, huh?"

I sat back against the leather seat of his BMW and

nodded. "Yes. She has breast cancer, and there were

complications with the surgery."

He flinched, his cheeks paling. My dad swalowed hard.

His fingers stiled and gripped the wheel. He didn't look at

me. "How does she look?"

It wasn't exactly the question I thought he'd ask, and it

annoyed me. "She looks like someone who's sick and who

almost died. How do you think she looks?"

"I meant how is she," he said, but I didn't quite believe him.

"You could go see her yourself." I knew he wouldn't. My

parents weren't enemies, but in my entire life they'd never

been anything like friends.

"Yeah. Yeah, I could do that." He licked his lips, then

turned to me with a bright, hard grin. "I don't think she'd

see me, do you?"

"I don't know." I shrugged. "Maybe you could just send her flowers."

The easy way out. He nodded and hunched forward,

looking upward to the hospital building as though he was

trying to pick out which window was hers. Her room was

on the other side, but I didn't mention that.

"Thanks again for the ride," I said.

"You know, I did love her, Paige. Your mother. I'm sure

she's said otherwise—"

"She's never said, either way." I shifted, my hand on the

door handle. I wanted to escape this conversation before it

happened, but I didn't get out.

"She hasn't?" My dad looked surprised.

"She never realy talked much about you at al, Dad."

This didn't make him very happy, and his eyebrows

beetled down. I caught a glint of silver threads in them,

too, against the blond. He sat back in his seat and turned

toward me.

"She had to have said something. I mean…I'm your dad."

"She never gave me details," I told him as gently as I

could. "It realy wasn't my business, was it?"

Not to mention how squicky it would be to hear details

about the affair that had resulted in my birth. I'd known my

whole life who my dad was, and that I only saw him

sometimes. That he had a couple other families more

important than mine, and that he always had more money

that somehow never made its way into my mom's walet

the way it should've. But I hadn't ever asked for details,

the wheres and whys and whens. I'd assumed she loved

him. I'd never considered that he might have loved her.

"I did, though. Love her." My dad cleared his throat. "You look like her, Paige. So much now."

He hadn't seen her in years, and I looked like him, but I

He hadn't seen her in years, and I looked like him, but I

smiled. "Thanks."

"She was so beautiful, you wouldn't believe it. She knew

just how to make a cup of coffee, too, my God, that

woman was a wizard." He drifted into memories, no longer

seeing me.

I wasn't impressed with his recolection. She was pretty

and made good coffee. Nice. What about she was smart,

kind, generous, funny? That she made a wicked meat loaf

and could stretch a budget so thin you could see through it,

but stil come up with the cash for a new pair of sneakers

or a birthday cake.

"My first wife didn't realy understand me."

I groaned. "Oh, Jesus, Dad. God."

I got out of the car and slammed the door. I didn't want to

listen to his crock-of-shit explanations for why he'd fucked

his secretary, knocked her up and left her to raise their kid

alone. I didn't want to hear his reasons for being unfaithful.

Maybe if he'd married my mother, if the story had become

a fairy tale with a happily-ever-after, with me, their pretty

princess, in a white dress and white patent-leather shoes

princess, in a white dress and white patent-leather shoes

with a pony and a clown at her birthday party, I might

have cared. I might have listened. But as it was, I turned

my back and tried to leave him behind.

My dad got of the car, too. "Paige!"

There had been few occasions when my dad had to raise

his voice tone. I'd always been so terrified he'd stop loving

me, I'd never misbehaved. My feet stiled automaticaly,

but I didn't turn.

He caught up to me and reached for my arm, but didn't

grab it when I glared. "Paige. Wait a minute."

"Dad, realy. I have to get inside. I promised Mom I'd stop

by and I have to get home to take care of Arty."

He looked blank.

"Arty. My brother." I didn't add the "half." "He's in an afterschool-care program, but I have to get back in time to

pick him up."

He looked up again at the building, then back at me. "I

don't think I'd better go in there. But wil you tel her I

asked about her?"

asked about her?"

"Of course." I paused, then decided not to hold back.

"You know, Dad, she's been laid off from the factory for

the past couple months. I don't know what her insurance is

like, but I'm sure she could use some money."

"Did she tel you to ask me that?"

I'd been annoyed before, but now his quick suspicion

pissed me off. "No. She wouldn't. But you have it, and she

needs it."

My dad shoved his hands into his trouser pockets and

looked at the ground. "How much does she need?"

"How much can you spare for someone you say you

loved?" I shot back, not caring if I made him mad.

He looked up at me. "You realy don't know the story,

Paige."

"I don't have to know it, Dad."

We faced each other over cracked concrete and neither of

us moved. My father sighed and stretched his neck back

and forth, then tossed up his hands. "If I give you a check,

and forth, then tossed up his hands. "If I give you a check,

wil you give it to her?"

"Yes, sure. Of course I wil."

He eyed me, then leaned back into the car and fumbled

around before puling out a checkbook. He scribbled

hastily and tore it off, then pressed it into my hand as

though he was afraid he might change his mind and take it

back. I didn't look at it, just tucked it in half inside my

palm. My dad could be generous, but I didn't want to

know, just then, if he'd made me proud or disappointed

me.

"And tel her…tel her I was asking about her. Okay?"

"Yes, Dad."

"How about you? You need anything?" He held up the

checkbook, but I waved it away.

"No. I'm fine. I'm going to be getting a new job."

He looked impressed. "Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah. I'm going to be in a new marketing program."

"Wil they give you a raise?" He didn't wait for an answer.

"It's about time they recognized your potential at that

place. Gave you a step-up."

"Nobody's giving me a step-up. I interviewed, I'm

qualified. It's not a favor, Dad."

"Of course it isn't." He tucked the checkbook into his

jacket pocket. "I didn't mean that it was."

I straightened my shoulders. "I'd better get inside."

My dad held open his arms as if he expected a hug. I gave

him one, stiff armed as it was, and he kissed my cheek. He

squeezed my shoulder.

"I'm proud of you, Paige. You should know that."

I shrugged and smiled and left before he could get

sentimental. When I gave my mom the check, she stared at

it for a long time before she unfolded it. She blinked

rapidly when she saw whatever he'd written, then folded it

tight again and handed it to me.

"Would you put that in my purse in the drawer, there, hon?

I'l have to get you to run it to the bank for me later." Her

I'l have to get you to run it to the bank for me later." Her

voice stil sounded hoarse but her color was better, and

she was sitting up. She'd brushed her hair and held it back

from her face with a pretty headband.

"Aren't you surprised at al?" I put the check inside her

walet and closed the drawer.

"At what? That you were able to shame your dad into

helping me out? Or at how much he gave?"

"Both?" I didn't ask her how she'd known I'd been the one

to force his hand.

My mom smiled and patted the side of the bed. "Come

here, Paige."

I did.

"I never told you why your dad and me never made it."

I sighed. "Mom, I realy don't care. I know al the experts

would say it traumatized me for life."

"Hush," she ordered, and I fel silent. "Me and your dad, when we met…wel, it was realy good. Right off the bat. I

knew he wasn't happy at home, and not because he told

knew he wasn't happy at home, and not because he told

me. I'd had plenty of guys tel me al about how their wives

didn't understand them, or how their marriages had been

over for a long time before I came along. I knew what I

was looking at. It wasn't your dad who came after me,

Paige. I went after him."

"Mom. I realy don't want to know."

"Wel, I want to tel you," she said. "So shut up and let me do it, or I swear I'l come back and haunt you if I die."

"Stop. You're not going to die for a long, long time." I told her and squeezed her hand.

"So I fel for this guy so hard it was like someone had

snuck up behind me and shoved me down a flight of stairs.

I just thought he was the handsomest, most special,

smartest…sexiest…"

I grimaced. "Okay, I get it. You were into my dad."

"Oh, no. Not your dad," my mother said. "Denny. Me and your dad used to go out after work sometimes for drinks.

He needed to get away from home, for whatever reason, I

guess it was because he wife was a ful-on bitch, but

guess it was because he wife was a ful-on bitch, but

whatever. Me and him and Dennis used to go out after

work and just hang out."

"Denny?" I shook my head, thinking of my dad's longtime

buddy. "But…you and dad…and…wait a minute.

Denny?"

"Oh, sure. Denny." She gave a happy sigh. "He was so

handsome. I was crazy about Denny."

"But what happened?"

"Wel," my mother said, "as it happened, Denny wasn't as crazy about me. I caught him stepping out on me with

some whore he picked up at the Downtown Lounge on

dolar draft nights. What with one thing and then another,

with your dad not happy at home and me brokenhearted

about Denny, we sort of just turned to one another."

I got up from the bed and paced the narrow corridor

between it and the wal. My world had done its share of

flips over the past couple days, but this had stood me on

end. I finaly sat in the chair and linked my hands together.

My mother had been watching me patiently. "You al

right?"

right?"

"I'm fine."

Her laugh trailed off into a cough, and I gave her a drink.

"Paige, I'm sorry. I know you had some idea in your head

about me and your dad, but it's time you knew."

"He said he loved you!" I blurted.

"Wel, I was pretty damn good," my mom said. "Don't men always think they love a realy good lay?"

"Oh, Mom." I shook my head. "Was that al it was? A

mistake?"

"No. It was the best mistake I ever made," my mother said

with a smile. "Because I ended up with you."

Chapter 36

It was sily to be shy around Austin, but I was. He'd seen

every part of me, the best and worst, and that should've

made me more comfortable with him than anyone else.

That was the way it had been when we were together, but

now…now things had changed and I was stil not sure

what that meant for either one of us.

He wasn't pushing, for once. He caled to ask me about

my mom and to see if I wanted to meet him for dinner. He

didn't say it was a date, but that's what it felt like it had to

be on a Saturday night. I told him I was busy, that I was

tired, I told him a bunch of excuses and he listened to each

one with a soft "mmm-hmm" but no protest.

"Tomorrow, then," Austin said.

"I have plans tomorrow," I told him, and he was silent.

"But…Austin, I'l cal you."

"Okay, Paige. You do that."

He hung up, and I wondered if I'd lost him. I dialed him

after five minutes, and when he picked up, I said, "I told

after five minutes, and when he picked up, I said, "I told

you I'd cal you."

He laughed. "You changed your mind?"

I thought of a hotel room and a man on his knees. "I do

have plans tomorrow. But I wil cal you. Okay?"

"With that guy?"

I should've known caling him back would lead to a

conversation I didn't want to have. "Yes. Eric."

"Does he treat you right?"

I laughed. "Oh, Austin."

"I want to know."

"He…it's not realy…like that."

Austin grunted. "Then what's it like?"

"I can't explain it to you." I sighed. "Listen, I'm realy wiped out. I'm going to go take a hot bath and read a

book and go to bed."

"No dinner?"

"No dinner?"

He could be persistent, and charming, and I loved him.

Suddenly, I loved Austin with everything I had inside me.

More than I ever had, years before, when I was young

and stupid and had no idea what it meant to love someone.

I knew now, because I'd had it and lost it. And then I was

crying, a hand over my eyes and swalowing hard to keep

him from hearing. But Austin heard me, anyway.

"Paige? What's wrong? Is it your mom?"

I couldn't tel him. Not until everything else had been taken

care of and I'd done al I needed to do. I couldn't tel

Austin I loved him without knowing for sure I could let him

love me.

"I have to go," I said, but didn't hang up. I even loved his breathing, the familiar in-and-out of it. I wanted to hold on

to it for a minute longer.

"Paige," Austin said in a low voice. "Remember what I said."

Whatever it takes.

I remembered.

"I have to go, Austin. I'l cal you. Later."

I hung up that time. I wanted to cry. And then I did.

"Paige. How nice to see you again. What can I do for you

today? Something pretty for a friend? Something nice for

yourself?" Miriam's warm, crimson-painted smile didn't

urge an answering grin from me.

It wasn't her fault. I felt as white and thin as paper held to

a too-bright light. I felt ready to tear.

"Something for me." I already knew what I needed, but

before I could head for the back room where she kept her

files of writing papers, Miriam came around the counter.

"My dear, you look awful," she said without any pretense

of diplomacy. "You sit down and have some tea right now.

Or better yet, come here."

She gestured and I folowed. She took me into a back

room marked Private and sat me down in a spindly but

comfortable chair in front of a polished wood table. I sat

gratefuly; my knees were a little shaky. She didn't pour me

tea from a pot, but she heated water in a smal microwave

and gave me my choice of tea bags from a smal container.

She didn't ask me to reveal my secrets. Not that I would

have. I didn't know Miriam al that wel, and though she

was old enough to be my grandmother she'd never acted

like one. I was glad for the tea, though. She passed me a

cookie from a tin, too.

"Sugar helps," she said.

I nibbled. "With what?"

"With everything!" Miriam laughed an entirely sexy laugh

and I could easily imagine her as the 1940's pinup girl she

must've been. "There, now. Your color's coming back."

Apparently I hadn't just felt like paper, I'd looked like it,

too. "Thanks, Miriam. But I have to get going. I have an…

appointment."

"Ah." She nodded and smiled. "And you need something

special for it, yes? Something special to write on?"

I swalowed sweetness but tasted bitterness. "Yes."

I swalowed sweetness but tasted bitterness. "Yes."

"I have just the thing." Miriam held up a finger and got up from the table to pul down a large album from one of the

shelves.

Covered in what looked like leather, the album opened to

reveal sheets of paper, al types, each bound inside the

album with thin strips of metal that held the pages together

without punching holes. Several loose pages fluttered as

Miriam turned the pages, carefuly touching only the edges.

I moved closer to look at what she offered. I'd seen lots of

fine papers, many of them from right here in this shop, but

the pages in this book were beyond fine. They were

exquisite.

"Handmade papyrus," Miriam said with a reverence some

people used for jewels. "This is linen-textured parchment

cut from an antique book bound in the 1700s. And this

one was just so lovely I had to have it."

She tapped a page of plain white, slightly glossy paper.

"Doesn't look like much, but it holds the ink in such a

way…"

She sighed and shook her head, stil turning pages and

catching a few more that floated free. "I know I have

catching a few more that floated free. "I know I have

something in here just for you. I keep this only for the most

special occasions."

"You don't even know what I need it for." It sounded like

a protest, when I didn't mean it to. My fingers itched to

caress those papers. To find exactly the right one.

"Gram?" Ari poked his head through the curtain. "I

delivered that letter for you—oh, sorry. I didn't know you

weren't alone."

Miriam waved a hand. "It's al right. Paige, would you

excuse me for a minute? I need to go take care of

something."

"Sure, of course."

"You go right ahead." Miriam put her hand on my shoulder

as she passed, as though for support.

Greedy, I was already puling the book toward me, but I

paused when she touched me. I looked up. She was a tiny

woman, and though she stood and I sat, we were stil

nearly eye to eye. She cocked her head to look at me.

"You'l find just the right thing. You always do. I told you,

Paige, you have a knack for knowing just what someone

needs." With that, she squeezed my shoulder and left me

there.

She was right, I thought, my fingers already flipping the

album back to the beginning so I could start with the first

page and savor each one. I was good at knowing what

people needed, and how to give it to them or how to help

them take it. Too bad I didn't know how to do the same

for myself.

And then, there it was.

I found it in the middle of the album. A heavy, cream-

colored card of high-grade linen. Expensive stock. The

sort of paper I coveted and hoarded but never actualy

used. A slightly rough edge along one side. Custom cut, I

could see, from a larger sheet. Not quite heavy enough to

be a note card, but too thick to use in a computer printer.

Shal we begin?

He'd been coming out. I'd been going in. Days later, the

first note arrived.

Hi, Ari. What are you doing here?

Delivering something for my grandma.

With shaking fingers I puled the paper from its binding.

Wow, I didn't think I'd run into you.

Of course not, dear, why would you?

I no longer had to wonder who'd sent that first list. The

one that had changed my life. Miriam, it seemed, knew

what I'd needed.

Now I knew what I had to do.

The right clothes make al the difference.

I wore a black pencil skirt with sheer, blackfoot seamed

stockings and a garter belt. A white shirt, fitted, with

buttons and long sleeves. Underneath, I wore plain white

lace panties with a matching bra. Black stiletto pumps. In

shoes so high it's impossible not to walk as though you're

fucking the world with each step.

I looked like a mistress, finaly, even if it wasn't the vinyl-

I looked like a mistress, finaly, even if it wasn't the vinyl-

catsuit and flogger-wielding sort. I felt like a mistress, too,

which was probably more important. I'd put this outfit on

like armor, a shield, and there was no mistaking I turned

heads.

I loved it. I don't think there's a woman alive who doesn't

relish that power of knowing any man she passes would

get on his knees for a taste of her. Even if it's al mostly

fantasy, it was one I was capable of delivering, and I had

no doubt there were at least a few I passed along the

street who would've gladly given me what I wanted just

because I demanded it.

I was a few minutes early, but not too many. The lobby of

the Hilton was done in subdued reds and golds and

browns, the carpet clean but worn in places that turned the

floral pattern into something more geometric. Paneled

wood wals turned it into a gentlemen's club missing only

men in cravats and top hats smoking cigars. The elevators

were off to the left while straight ahead past the front desk

were couches and chairs set up in conversational

groupings and doors leading to conference rooms. I took a

seat in a far chair half hidden by a tal potted plant that

turned out to be plastic.

I saw him. He didn't see me, but then Eric wasn't looking

for me the way I'd been waiting for him. Besides, I'd

planned it that way.

He went to the desk. I could see his grin from where I sat,

could tel by the way he pushed his too-long hair out of his

eyes again and again he was nervous. He had an overnight

bag slung over one shoulder.

He looked so beautiful. The hair, the eyes, the long legs

and broad shoulders. I thought of him with his hand on his

prick, coming at my command. I thought of him on his

knees, his mouth on my knee, my thigh. My cunt.

I thought of the bracelet that marked him as my

responsibility.

I thought of a lot of things as I watched him head for the

elevator and punch the button. I thought of even more as I

watched him wait for it to arrive, its progress from the top

floor taking forever and marked with a ping and the floor

number lit above the sliding doors. I got to my feet in my

armor, with my shield. The plastic plant blocked the view a

little, but he could've seen me, had he looked.

Eric didn't look around. He bounced on the bals of his

feet. His bag slapped his side and he let it slide from his

shoulder to grab the strap. The elevator pinged but didn't

open, stuck on the third floor. I heard him mutter

something. I stepped away from the plant. The elevator

opened.

Sometimes, you turn back.

And sometimes, you walk away.

I watched him get into the elevator and the doors closed

behind him. I watched its progress up and up, the lit

numbers showing me exactly how far he went. Then I

turned on my high, spiked heel and went to the front desk,

where I puled a letter from my black clutch purse.

It was an explanation, short but firm, and a final list of

commands for Eric to folow. He would be disappointed,

but something told me he'd be relieved, too. Some things

are better left in fantasy.

I handed it to the clerk. "Would you see that the gentleman

who just checked in under the name Rose Thorn gets this

note, please? It's important."

The staff at the Hilton are wel trained, and this boy was no

exception. Or maybe it was the clothes and the way I said

the words, as though I had no doubt he would jump to do

my bidding without even the snap of my fingers. He

nodded and took the paper from me. He looked at the

blank front and then at me, and nodded.

"Absolutely, ma'am."

"Right away," I said.

"Yes. I'l do it myself." He looked to the girl beside him, who shrugged, not at al taken in by any of this.

He didn't peek as he walked away, and no matter what he

might have done the moment the elevator closed behind

him, I would never know.

It was done.

Austin opened the door after I'd knocked three times. He

looked me up and down, his mouth slowly curving. He

opened the door, wide, and stepped back to let me

through. I didn't miss the way he leaned toward me as I

passed him, or the way he breathed me in.

I stopped in his living room and pivoted to face him.

"Austin."

"Paige," he said patiently.

I took a breath so deep it lifted my shoulders, and I

dropped my purse. It hit the floor and bounced, but neither

of us looked at it. When I opened my arms he came into

them, and when I kissed him, he kissed me back.

"I want you," I said.

I showed him how much with my hands and mouth.

"I'm sorry," I told him.

Austin kissed me harder.

"I love you," I told him.

It was not the first time, but I didn't want it to be the last.

Austin gathered me close and breathed into my hair, his

big hands hot and restless on my back. "I love you, too."

Sometimes, you turn back.

Sometimes, you turn back.

Sometimes, you walk away.

And sometimes, you find the place you're meant to be, and

you stay there. You find a way to make it work.

Whatever it takes.

SWITCH

ISBN: 978-1-4268-4601-4

Copyright Š 2010 by Megan Hart.

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Hart Megan Switch