Leo's Chance

  Damn. I feel the emotion welling up in me and I push it back down for later. "Thanks, Preston. I appreciate–"

  "No need to thank me. Just wanted you to know that I’m dealing with the board situation, okay?" And with that, he gives me a pat on the back and walks off.

  **********

  I ask Evie to stay with me on Friday night. I have an idea that I hope will make her happy. Not only did we never get a chance to do the normal stuff kids do, but we never got a chance to do the things young couples do – all the things we might have done just for fun if we had actually gotten a chance to date when we were young and carefree. If we had ever been young and carefree. I’m also going to satisfy something in me from a long, long time ago. I’m going to buy her a dress and take her dancing. It still won’t top dancing with her under the stars in an empty park, which, despite shaking with nerves and stepping on her feet, was the best dance of my life so far. Two foster kids dancing together in the park because they didn’t have the right clothes to wear to a dance. Completely pitiful. But completely magical.

  My mind goes back to that dance so many years ago and I can’t help smiling. It had been so awkward, yet so intense, one of those memories that seems to be scalded into the very fiber of my being. Funny, I don’t remember the songs that were playing, my head was so filled with static at her closeness, how good she smelled, how she moved against me. If I asked her, I wonder if she’d remember the songs. Those are the types of things I long to ask her, to reminisce about. Our memories. Some of the only good ones I have.

  When I open my door for her on Friday, she looks beautiful but tired. That won’t do. I scoop her up and tell her I’m going to run a bath for her so she gets a second wind because I’m taking her dancing.

  She fights me a little bit on the dancing plan and gives me an exasperated look when I tell her I bought her an outfit. But she marches toward the bedroom to see what I picked out for her so I think that’s a good sign.

  I follow her back to the bedroom and watch her as she fingers the silky material of the dress and checks out the Jimmy Choo shoes. The saleswoman at the department store had put several in front of me that she suggested for the dress I chose, and I had noticed that one of the pairs was more than the fourteen hundred dollar price tag that Gwen had shrieked about after Evie spilled caviar on them. I had automatically chosen those. It was petty and superficial, I knew, but it made me smile to know that Evie would be wearing better shoes than that snotty bitch.

  Finally, she turns to me with a smile. "I love it. Thank you. Did you really pick this out?"

  "Well, I had some help from a saleswoman. But I did give her the color scheme I wanted, and I looked at the clothes you left here for your size."

  "Peacock blue, huh?" she raises an eyebrow.

  I shrug, grinning. "I like the color. Just don't ask me to take you anywhere near the zoo."

  She laughs and I head into the bathroom to start her bath.

  I make her some pasta as she’s getting ready and when she emerges from the bedroom, I almost start drooling on myself. Holy shit, she’s gorgeous. I’ve seen her body in nothing at all and I know it’s perfect, but that dress highlights her best assets, her perky tits, flat stomach and firm little ass, without showing too much skin. "You’re stunning." I’m not sure if I want to take you out in public in that. I momentarily regret not picking up that black, oversized sweater that I passed on the way to the eveningwear department.

  "Thank you. I have a personal shopper who's well acquainted with my figure." She raises her eyebrows, but smiles.

  Once she’s sitting down eating, I decide to unveil the t-shirt I had made at a mall kiosk I passed when I was buying her laptop, just purely to make her laugh. I take off my long sleeved pullover and nonchalantly turn toward her so she can see written across the front in bold, black print, World's Greatest.

  She almost chokes on the bite she's chewing, and brings her napkin up to her mouth, fighting back laughter.

  "What?" I ask, innocently.

  She points at my shirt. "World's Greatest what?"

  "Oh, this?" I point at my shirt. "It's all inclusive. World's Greatest Guy, World's Greatest Lover, World's Greatest Cook. You name it, I'm the greatest."

  "Ah. Well, I do appreciate your confidence. But you know, you've left yourself wide open now for your critics to test you." She raises an eyebrow.

  "I only care about one critic. And I'm looking forward to being tested. The more testing, the better. Lots of testing would be good." I wink.

  "You're completely ridiculous, you do realize that, right?" she says, shaking her head, but grinning.

  I laugh. "Finish up. I'm going to go change while you're eating and then we'll get going."

  "You're not going to wear your World's Greatest shirt to the club?" she yells after me.

  "You don't really want me to advertise all over town, do you?" I call back. I can hear her laughing as I open my closet door.

  I change in to some dressier clothes, and ten minutes later, we’re headed downtown.

  **********

  I take Evie to a club called Igby’s that’s relatively new and I’ve heard has an amazing interior that was completely gutted and re-done to resemble a New York City loft.

  After we’ve gotten a drink, she mentions her friend Landon, the guy who was shooting death glares at me over the Gwen incident at the autism benefit. I know he’s someone important to Evie, and I’d like the opportunity to make a better impression, so I suggest that she ask him to meet us here. She looks hesitant for a minute, but then agrees and about an hour later, he and his friend, Jeff, join us.

  I buy a round of drinks and we all squeeze into the small table. I don’t mind that Evie practically has to sit on my lap. I welcome the excuse to be as close to her as possible, especially in public. I’ve already caught several men staring at her for a beat longer than I’m comfortable with, and I want to make it crystal clear that she’s here with me.

  Landon leans toward me and asks, "So, Jake, you’re from Cincinnati?"

  I pause for a second, discombobulated, but then I realize that Evie probably hasn’t had a chance to tell him too much about me, and he’s just asking a simple question. So instead of saying, yeah, I grew up in Northside just like Evie. I say, "No, actually, San Diego."

  "California? Really? I love San Diego. I’ve been there twice. I stayed in Pacific Beach with a friend of mine. Where did you live?"

  "La Jolla." I take a drink of my water, chewing a piece of ice.

  From a run-down foster home in Northside, Cincinnati to a mansion on the cliffs of the Pacific Ocean. And each was a different sort of hell.

  He stares for a minute. Obviously he knows the area. He whistles. "Nice part of town. What brings you here?"

  "My father’s company has an office here. I started running things about six months ago."

  Landon nods, raising his eyebrows and glancing at Evie.

  Jeff says, "You must miss the sunshine."

  I look at Evie. "Plenty of sunshine here too." I smile at her.

  "Cheesy," she laughs, but pulls my face toward her and gives me a quick kiss on the lips.

  We look at each other grinning for a minute, and when I look over at Landon and Jeff, they’re both looking back and forth between the two of us, huge smiles on their faces.

  I pull Evie against my side and look toward the guys. "So, Landon, Evie tells me you’re in school at U.C. What are you studying?"

  "I’m getting my business degree," Landon says.

  I nod. "Cool. When do you graduate?"

  "Still a couple years away. I’m on the slow track," he says, smiling and taking a drink.

  I nod again, smiling too. "What about you, Jeff? What do you do?"

  "I’m an engineer," Jeff says.

  "Oh really? What type of engineering?"

  He tells me he’s a mechanical engineer and we talk for a few minutes about his job and what my company does.

  After a few minutes, I hear a
good song come on and I stand up, pulling Evie with me, and whisper, "I want you on the dance floor." I need to feel her against me. She looks hesitant but gives a little wave to the guys and starts following me.

  When we make it to the middle of the dance floor, she puts her arms up around my neck and we start moving to the beat. The combination of our bodies moving against each other and the intense beat of the music is sexy as hell. I look down at her and her eyes are filled with the same thing I’m feeling.

  "I should have known you'd be a good dancer," she whispers to me, and the feel of her breath at my ear sends a lightning bolt of arousal through my body. I press more closely into her.

  Landon comes up behind Evie as the song changes and I take the opportunity to go to the restroom.

  "Take care of her," I say to Landon as I hand Evie over.

  When I return a few minutes later, I see a big, overly muscled meathead pulling Evie toward him as Landon tries to pull her in the other direction. A red haze comes over my vision and suddenly, I’m fourteen again and someone is pushing Evie around at school. Only now there’s a sexual element to the bully’s motives. It’s all I can do not to tackle the asshole and pummel his face into the bar floor. Instead, I grab the back collar of his shirt and haul him back toward me.

  I get right up close to him, and say, "Hey asshole, you need to learn what no means." He sizes me up for a split second. He’s bigger, but I’m taller and my expression must tell him that I’m willing to push this because he says, "Whatever, man," and holds his hands up in mock surrender and pushes me back off him as he walks by me. Stupid meathead. I look over at Evie, and for a second our eyes lock and the rest of the club fades away as she tilts her head, looking dreamily at me. She knows. But just as quickly, she shakes her head very slightly and smiles brightly at me, crooking her finger to come to her. I do. When I reach her, she looks up at me and whispers, "My hero."

  I look down into her slightly buzzed expression, shaking my head and smiling at her ability to disarm me. Sweet, beautiful lion tamer.

  We dance next to the guys for another forty five minutes or so. Landon is funny as all hell and I can see why Evie likes him. Troublemaker by Olly Murs comes on and Landon starts doing these dance moves I swear I’ve never even seen before. We’re all laughing at his show as people start to stand back to watch and cheer him on. I look over at Evie and I can’t stop smiling, watching her as she laughs and has fun, living in the moment. Time seems to slow and the music fades out. There’s only her, and I think, this, this makes my soul feel full.

  The music comes slamming back into my head, and time resumes as Landon pulls Jeff forward, and now everyone is clapping for the both of them. Jeff isn’t nearly the dancer Landon is, but he manages to hold his own. It’s entertaining, but I’m ready to get Evie home to bed. The adrenaline rush from tearing the big guy off of her, and all the sweaty dancing has me worked up. All I can think of is getting her beneath me in bed and sinking into her tight, wet warmth.

  As the crowd fills back in and Landon dances over to us, I lean toward him and tell him I’m going to get Evie home. He nods, saying, "It was great to really meet you." I smile and nod to Jeff a few feet away, and Evie blows him a kiss and waves to Jeff as I lead her off the dance floor.

  Evie heads off to use the restroom and as I wait for her, I do a double take as a woman walks straight toward me. Are you fucking kidding me? A huge surge of adrenaline releases in my body. Lauren. She followed me here? I glance quickly toward the restrooms and walk straight to Lauren, grabbing her arm and turning her around so that she’s forced to walk with me toward the front of the bar. She leans into me, hugging me as I practically drag her forward. I shake her off. "I’m done. I swear to fucking God, Lauren."

  "Jake – stop! Wait, I’m in town to meet with the board tomorrow. You wouldn’t let me talk to you in San Diego! I went to your building to see you and your doorman told me you were headed here. I didn’t think you’d mind–"

  "Yeah, I fucking mind. What about any of my words or actions in the past five fucking years gave you the idea that I wouldn’t mind? And what the fuck are you meeting with the board about?" I’m gritting my teeth so hard that I’m barely moving my jaw as I’m spitting out each word to this crazed lunatic. She’s gotta be living in a fantasy world in her own head. It’s the only explanation.

  I glance back toward the restroom, my heart hammering in my chest. Evie’s going to be coming out any second. There is no way in hell that I can let Lauren know I’m here with a woman. She will attempt to cause a major scene – I’m all too familiar with the way she treated girls I brought around her when I was still living at her house. Ugly. If I saw her try some of that shit with Evie, I might have to kill her. And just having gotten Evie back in my life, prison doesn’t sound all too appealing.

  "I’ll tell you, Jake. Please, I–"

  "Fine, call me this weekend and we’ll talk. If you leave now, I’ll answer your call and we’ll talk, alright? I’m with some friends here tonight and this is not the time or the place."

  She furrows her brow and looks at me suspiciously for a minute, but then looks around and when she looks back at me, she says, "Fine. I want to meet in person though – I’ll call you after my meeting. Make sure you answer, Jake."

  And with that she turns and walks out the door of the club. I let out a breath and turn to look toward the restroom again, but still no sign of Evie.

  I walk over to the bouncer and ask him if there’s a line outside. He says yes which makes me feel better. If Lauren tries to come back in before we leave, she’ll have to wait.

  When I look up, Evie has almost made it all the way to where I’m standing. Shit, I didn’t see her come out. I smile, hoping it doesn’t look forced and take her hand.

  "Ready?" I ask.

  "Who were you talking to?" she asks, frowning.

  Damn, she saw me with Lauren. More lies. I fucking hate this. I feel a depression sweep over me.

  "Just some woman who was drunk, making a scene. The bouncers called her a cab and I just lead her to the door. Hold on, let me get a glass of water for you at the bar before we leave," I say, trying to distract her.

  "I'm okay," she says. "You looked mad."

  "Not really. She was just being kind of belligerent. She tried to make a pass. I said no. That was that." I don’t know what she saw so I’m covering all the bases.

  I tell her to trust me on the water and lead her over to the bar. I watch her drink it, trying to calm my frayed nerves. This night just went to shit.

  She puts the glass down on the bar, smiling at me flirtily and saying, "Take me home. Before I have to beat more women off of you."

  I laugh, hoping it doesn’t look forced. Inwardly, I cringe.

  We pull into my garage fifteen minutes later. In those few short minutes, Evie has managed to relax me a little as she chats and reminisces about our night and just seems so enthusiastic and happy.

  I don’t know what I’m feeling right now. I feel all keyed up, an intensity running through my body that I don’t know is good or bad, or maybe both. I’m on a high from making Evie happy tonight, from the intense feelings of holding her body against mine for hours, from the music, but I’m also ready to burst out of my own skin at the rage I feel that Lauren won’t leave me the fuck alone, at the guilt for lying to Evie. The lies are building up and it’s getting worse and worse. It’s all swirling inside of me and I don’t know what to do with it. In the past, it was all negative and I would seek to numb it with a substance, but now there’s that river of joy running through it all, muddling up my mind. I feel gentle and aggressive and so fucking confused.

  I turn off the car and pull Evie to me, and take her face in my hands, pouring all my emotions into kissing her. We kiss fervently in the car for a few minutes before she climbs on top of me and fuck! This show needs to head upstairs now so I can fuck her properly.

  I’m about to suggest just this when the sound of fabric tearing fills the car. What the h
ell? She leans off of me and the seam at my crotch is torn straight down the middle. Well, that’s interesting.

  "Oh my God," she breathes, "your boy part is like the Incredible Hulk."

  Boy part? "Boy part?"

  She nods, her eyes wide. "Is he angry?"

  I’m trying really hard not to laugh. "Not yet. But if you keep referring to him as a 'boy part,' he could get there. He's all man. You don't want to see him get angry."

  "Oh, I definitely want to see him get angry."

  I can’t help it then. I laugh out loud. "Come on, let's get you upstairs."

  Evie walks in front of me to hide my gaping pants as we walk past Joe, the front deskman. I’ll deal with him later regarding Lauren. Thinking of the whole situation tonight sends a bolt of possessiveness through me – my first priority is protecting Evie. Lauren will not mess this up. No. Fucking. Way.

  We walk into my condo, stumbling against the wall, still laughing about my pants. I press her up against the wall and the testosterone starts pumping through my veins. My desire for her notches up several levels and the blood rushes downward. She’s so fucking beautiful. I stare down at her and her face becomes serious as she stares back. "Jake, I've never really been silly a lot in my life and so I want to thank you for that. I know that sounds kind of crazy and maybe even a little dumb, but, really, it's a big deal to me so, honestly, thank you for tonight."

  That’s the best thing she could have said to me because that was the whole point. "I look forward to lots more silly moments with you, beautiful," I say back, smiling.

  I press her harder into the wall and lower my mouth to hers. We kiss for long minutes, our tongues wrestling, licking and sucking at each other’s lips. She tastes like Evie and chardonnay. I groan at the mixture, loving it, feeling like the residual alcohol on her breath is making me drunk, but I know that in reality, it’s just her who intoxicates me. With the arousal, the feelings I had running through me in the car surge forward, and my body reacts, my tongue plundering, my hips rolling against her as she moans and whimpers, completely undoing me. I feel out of control, dizzy with desire, more aggressive than I’ve felt so far, a need to lose myself in her and claim her completely at the same time.