Unsolved Mysteries
UNSOLVED MYSTERIES
RACHEL
With a shaky hand, I hit send, officially accepting Cam’s invitation to be his plus one for Jill’s wedding on Grand Cayman in June. Emily and Laura’s talk helped to persuade me, along with the fact that summer had its strangling grip on Scottsdale.
From Halloween to Memorial Day, the city of Scottsdale hums along. The snowbirds pack the restaurants and stores like mine, and then as soon as that heat hits, they fly away back to their milder summer weather.
Quitters.
It’s not the heat in the day that gets to you, it’s the crushing death grip of swelter that remains even into the night. Couple that with rattlesnake and scorpion awakenings, and I can’t blame people for not being able to hack it.
The week leading up to the trip, Cam and I only texted a few times since he was busy cleaning out Sugar he was only forced to every time I got up the courage to leave. I continued to put necessities in my purse. “For?”
He took a step toward the kitchen island. “Can I sit down?”
I zipped my wallet and ignored his question. “Did my mother send you?”
“No,” he chuckled. “Listen, the last week or so, I’ve been … I mean, I’ve acted like a prick.”
I smiled thinking about Cam’s pet name for him. Andrew bowed his head and rubbed his neck before he continued. “I miss you, Ri, but that’s no excuse for the way I’ve acted. I should have texted you instead of Charlene, but I was desperate.”
The fact that he was calling my mother by her first name made me cringe. This apology was clearly more for Andrew to feel better about himself and less about me, but for some reason I listened anyway. Listened to him go on about all his regrets and how he knew he could do better now.
My focus soon drifted from his words, and I took a moment to step back and really see him for the man he was.
He had purposefully let his hair down in a way and styled it the way he used to when I loved him. Instead of the stiff suit he loved, he had donned a simple T-shirt and jeans. Exactly what he used to wear when we’d get ice cream after classes at ASU. He wanted me to see him the way I used to, but as I looked at him, I wasn’t sure what I saw.
Seriously, why was I ever in love with this man?
Was it the fact that I was young and dumb and full of, well, twenty-year-old angst that led me to bad choices? He was charming and he showered me with attention, but he did that with most women. It clearly wasn’t his sense of family since he wasn’t close to his parents, who had been angered and embarrassed by the way he had treated me.
So, what was it?
My thoughts had drifted so far out of the room that I was completely checked out when Andrew got up and eased toward me.
“And it’s for all those reasons that I think we should get back together,” he said with a sly smile.
I stiffened. “Time to go. Cam is going to be here any minute.” I pushed past him and walked to the door, but before I could open it, he grabbed my arm.
“I know you’re with that other dude, but we were happy. We could be happy again if you give me a chance.”
My eyes widened as he lunged for me. He grabbed my face with both hands and painted a sloppy, wet kiss on me. It stunned me for a second, but when his lips started to move against my frozen ones, I yelped and pushed him away. I wiped my mouth, smearing my freshly applied lipstick. He came at me again, but I pushed him and slapped him across the face.
He fell into the wall and brought his hand to his lip. “You’re lucky a man even wants to kiss you. Charlene says you don’t have many dates. You should get smart and realize I’m the best you’re going to get.”
“I think you mean worst . You’re the worst man, Andrew. Now get the hell out of my house, and you tell Charlene that if you’re at the store when I get back, I won’t be.”
The door swung wide when he opened it, and I held my stomach when Andrew crashed into Cam, whose extended arm froze as he reached for my doorbell.