38. Faith
CHAPTER 38
Faith
My knees wobbled as I climbed back up to the fourteenth floor. I supported myself by writing life-changing sex scenes. I’d just never experienced one myself. Until now. I still tingled and twitched in places I didn’t even know existed.
That man had some serious skills. I leaned up against the door to the study carrel and tried to catch my breath. I’d better get it all down on my laptop before I forgot what happened. I smiled to myself. As if I could ever forget.
Although I was bound and determined that our little fling wasn’t going anywhere, it sure was good for my writing. I could justify it based on the merits of research alone. Plus, it was good cardio. Yeah, I probably just burned at least five hundred calories on that little encounter.
Physically, whatever Dante and I were doing definitely agreed with me. Emotionally, I wasn’t so sure.
I sat down at the desk and started typing. The Dante and Faith on my screen somehow found themselves in an abandoned warehouse and went through a similar encounter to what I’d just experienced one floor down. When I was done capturing it all on the computer, I felt like I’d just relived the whole ordeal. Obviously, I wasn’t going to get much else done. Better to pack it in and head home.
As I shut down my laptop, my phone rang.
“Hey, Jess. How was your break?”
“Freaking awesome. I just got back. My ride fell through from the airport. Come pick me up?”
“Sure. I was just on my way home. I’ll be there in fifteen.”
I slid my laptop into my backpack. Something crunched in the bottom of the bag. Sticking my hand into the pocket, I felt around for the source of the sound. My fingers closed around a large, crumpled-up envelope. I’d forgotten I picked up the mail from my office before I left town. Hopefully, it wasn’t anything important.
I undid the clasp and pulled a single sheet of paper from inside. The intimate details of my Halloween encounter with Dante flowed across the typewritten page.
No! I yanked my computer back out of my bag and paced the tiny room while it booted up again. When the login screen finally appeared, my fingers clicked on the keyboard.
I checked my recent documents. The last time I’d saved the manuscript, it had been on my hard drive. But wait, right there. For some reason, it showed another copy had been saved on a removable drive. I’d never saved a copy there.
Who the hell had access to my computer? I’d tried to put it out of my head, telling myself someone was just messing with me. But now, I couldn’t ignore the fact that someone knew what I was hiding. The only question was, what would it take to get them to keep quiet?
I crumpled up the page and tossed it in my bag. Wouldn’t do any good to obsess over it right now. I needed to get to the airport.
Jess stood at the curb with two rolling bags behind her. Her breath floated out in clouds as she waited. As I came to a stop, she waved her arms in the air.
“Thanks so much for the ride.” She caught me in a hug as I stepped out of the car.
“You’re welcome. It’s no big deal.” We each grabbed a bag and heaved them into the trunk.
“How come I always forget how cold it is here? I hope you have the heat going.”
We climbed into the car, and I turned the fan to high. “Tell me about your trip. You look fabulous.” Jess had the kind of skin that tanned easily, and after a week of basking on the beach in Jamaica, she was rocking a killer tan.
“His name is Shanti. He plays the steel drums, and he’s got moves like I’ve never seen before.”
“So, you had a good time?” I asked.
“A great time. A mind-blowing time.” Jess flipped down the visor and ran her lip gloss over her smile. “I’m still glowing.”
“Yeah, I can see that.” I was happy for her. Jess was the kind of girl who could have fun wherever she was. She lived in the moment and didn’t spend much time thinking about the future. Wish I could try that for a change.
“Let’s stop for a drink somewhere on the way home.”
“I don’t know, Jess.” I needed to get home and try to figure out what to do about the pages that kept popping up.
“Come on, I haven’t seen you in forever. It’s New Year’s Eve. Classes don’t start until Tuesday.”
Jess’s voice took on the whiny tone, meaning she wouldn’t give up without a major fight. Easier to just give in. One drink. I’d still be home long before midnight. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”
“How about Tapped?”
“No. Pick somewhere else.”
“What’s wrong with that place? We drive right by it on the way home.”
“It’s just...I don’t know. I don’t like it.”
“You don’t like the bar, or you don’t like him?” Jess asked.
I fiddled with the radio, searching for something besides Christmas music. The holiday was over. Couldn’t they move on? “It’ll probably be crowded.”
“Yeah, right. Most people aren’t even coming back until the day after tomorrow.” Jess pointed her finger at the window. “The turn is just up there.”
“Fine.” I figured I’d left Dante at the library less than an hour ago. Odds were, he probably had the night off and would be nowhere near the bar tonight. I took the turn and pulled into the lot. “Just one drink though, okay?”
Jess cast a sly glance at me. “I think maybe you like him.”
“I don’t. I mean, he seems like a nice guy, but that’s it.”
“Are you sure, Faith? When the two of you are together, I don’t know, it’s like static electricity or something.”
I put the car in park and glanced over at her. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, I think your little one-night stand didn’t get it all out of your system. There’s something going on between you whether you like it or not.”
“I changed my mind. Let’s go somewhere else.” Before I could start the engine again, Jess grabbed my keys and climbed out of the car.
“Meet you inside.”
I sat in the parking lot until the heat seeped out and my toes went numb. “Dammit!” I slammed my hands down on the steering wheel, causing the horn to blare. Better get this over with. I climbed out of the car and followed Jess’s footsteps through the snowy parking lot and into the bar.
Jess was right. It wasn’t crowded, especially for New Year’s Eve. In fact, only a handful of people milled around inside. I passed a couple of guys playing pool and a trio of girls shooting darts.
I made my way back toward the bar and found Jess sitting on a barstool talking to... aw, hell... Dante stood behind the bar. He was laughing and talking to Jess. As I approached, his mouth quirked up in a half-smile, and he winked.
“Oh, hey Faith,” he said.
I sat down on the stool next to Jess and stuck out my hand. Jess tossed me the keys as a shit-eating grin spread across her sun-kissed face.
“Glad you could join me, Faith. Dante here was just telling me about his break.”
“Oh yeah?” I asked, “What fun things did you do over Christmas?”
As soon as I sat down, he’d grabbed a pint glass and filled it up with my favorite brew. He set it down in front of me.
“Actually, I spent a lot of time in the hospital. My grandmother had a fall.”
My hand went to my chest. “Meemaw? Oh my gosh. Why didn’t you tell me that earlier? Is she okay?”
Dante lifted an eyebrow at my concern. “We didn’t do much talking earlier. Besides, she’s fine now. She hit her head pretty hard, and they had to sedate her for a couple of days. She’s back to bossing me around, though.”
“Thank goodness.” I took a long sip of my beer.
The group of guys playing pool yelled for Dante from across the room.
“Excuse me, will you? I’m on my own here tonight and need to get those guys another round.”
“We can entertain ourselves.” Jess waved him on. As Dante left the bar to go talk to the guys, Jess turned to me. “Okay, you’re not telling me something. What the hell is going on with you guys? There’s something, I can tell.”
I put my head in my hands. “I know.”
“So, you’re willing to admit it?”
“You’re right. We’ve been meeting on the sly. We’re having rec sex.”
“You’re fucking?” Jess shrieked.
“Well, not right this second.” I squirmed on my stool.
“Spill it, Faith. Now.”