Checkmate (12 page)

“Please, let’s leave our dissidence for later. Come in.”

I thought it wouldn’t be easy to see the house from the inside again. Was I afraid it would awaken my old feelings for Pamela? Maybe. After all, I used to think that she was the love of my life.

To my surprise and relief, my fears were not confirmed. The decorations were all new and nothing reminded
me of the day I thought I would kill my
beloved fiancé
with my bare hands for sleeping with another man in
my
bed.

“Why did you keep this place?” I asked, following her into the living room.

“I always loved it. It was hard to sell it when so many wonderful memories were buried in these walls.”

No shit?
What memories was she talking about? Those that she and I shared, or those that she and whoever she was fucking shared?

“Max, come greet our guest.”

The kid was so busy with his toy railway station, he didn’t notice me.

“Hi,” he said, frowning a little.

“Hey. What’s up, little man?”

“I can’t make this thing work,” he said, upset. “Will you help me?”

“Now, let me see.” I sat on the floor next to him and looked at the station. “I had the same one when I was your age.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It was smaller, but I still remember the sound of the trains running down the rails.”

“Wow, could your trains funk?”

“No. But I guess, yours can.”

“At least they used to. I haven’t played with them for a long time and now I
can’t seem to remember how to make them run again.”

“No worries. I think I know how to help you.”

“Do you guys want some snacks?”

I looked up at Pamela and nodded, smiling slightly. “That would be great. I haven’t eaten since lunch.” Whiskey didn’t count. I wasn’t drunk, just a little dizzy.

Our gazes stayed locked for a few long seconds, then she nodded and left, saying she would be right back.

I loosened my tie and took off my jacket, dropping it on the nearest chair. Surprisingly enough, the place and the presence of the boy didn’t bother me anymore.

“Time to make your train funk!” I said, smiling at the boy.

He squealed excitedly and the work began.

I don’t know how much time we spent sitting on the carpet and playing. Max looked so happy and I couldn’t make myself leave. For a moment, I even imagined being a part of his family, spending Sundays in the park, and teaching him how to ride a bike. This is what I always wanted, this is what I always imagined my life with Pamela would be.

She didn’t interfere in our
boys-only games, but I could feel her eyes on me. Once or twice I turned around and saw her smiling dreamily at the view of Max and me playing together.
Was one night with someone I was sure she hardly remembered worth losing moments like this forever?

“I think it’s time to call it a day,” she said, picking up the toys.

“Mom, it's so early!” Max protested. “I don’t want to go to sleep, I’m not tired!”

“I know, Honey. But it’s late and Dominick had a long and busy day. He needs rest too
,” she said sympathetically to the boy.

“Will you read me a story?” H
e asked, turning to me.

“What story?”

“A story about a Superman.”

“Of course.” I took his small hand in mine and he led me to his room.  It used to be a guest room, but now it looked different, with dark-blue and yellow walls, and a ceiling made of small
, shining stars.

“Will
you come to see me again to play?” Max asked, getting into his car-shaped bed.

I didn’t know what to say in response. “I’ll try.”

“I liked playing with you.”

“It
was fun,” I said, sitting next to him.

“Mom says that you have a lot of work and can’t
come often,” he said with a little pout that melted my heart.

“Yeah, she’s right.”
Did he know that I could be his father? “
Do you and your mom live alone?”

“No, we have Frankie and Molly.”

“Your grandparents, right?”

“They live with us. We also used to spend time with Justin. But he doesn’t come to visit us anymore.”

“Who’s Justin?” I asked, curious.

“Mom’s friend.”

Hmm…
“Do you know him well?”

“No, I only remember a few weekends that we spent together. Now, I want a story,” he said, giving me a book.

“Okay. So, Superman-”

After the story was
read and I could no longer see the letters in front of me, I closed the comic book and breathed a sigh of relief; the boy was finally asleep.

“It’s not easy to be a parent, is it?” Pamela asked, standing at the threshold of the room.

“Never thought it would be so difficult to make a child fall asleep,” I whispered back. I looked one last time at sleeping Max and followed his mother into the hall, tiptoeing the whole way to not wake him.

“He’s crazy about Superman,” she said, smiling. “He makes me buy him e
very new toy based on that comic.”

“He’s a boy. Of course he likes Superman.”

“Just don’t tell me you liked him too.”

“
Actually, I did.”

“You never told me about that,” she said, laughing quietly.

“Maybe because we never got to the page with children and good-night stories?”

She stopped near the staircase, now facing me. “I think I owe you an apology. I never meant to hurt you, Dom.”

How ridiculous did that sound?

“It doesn’t matter anymore. Life goes on, and I hope that sooner or later you and I will be able to find our halves.”

“Are you dating anyone?”

The image of Scarlett flashed in my mind, but I shook my head, saying, “No.”

“What about you?”
Was I simply curious?

“No.”

“Why? You are still young and beautiful, and-”

“You think I’m still beautiful?”

“Of course you are. The fact that you can’t be faithful doesn’t mean that something is wrong with your face or body.” Unintentionally, my eyes slipped down her dress and her curves that I remembered so fucking well.

When I looked back into her eyes, I recognized the look staring back at me. She used to look at me like that when we were making love…

“I think it’s time for me to go,” I said, turning away from her. Playing with her son was one thing, but playing with Pamela would never end well.

“You can stay here,” she said, catching me by the hand. “It’s so late, and you live God only knows how far away from here.”

I looked at her hand holding mine, and swallowed hard.
Did a part of me still want her? No freaking way.

“You can stay in the
guest room,” she said, as if feeling my hesitation.

My eyes travelled to the clock on th
e wall — 11:30 PM. She was right, I could stay in the guest room. I doubted I would try to sneak into her room and try to see if she was still good in bed. I didn’t like the mere idea of doing that.

“Okay,” I said, sighing tiredly. “I’ll stay.”

The night wasn’t much different from what I expected it to
be. With only one exception — the dreams about Scarlett didn’t leave me until the morning. And in those dreams, there wasn’t anything or anyone but her and me, making love again and again.

Wait
… Did I just call it love?

I sat abruptly in my bed, running both hands through my hair. Could I fall in love with a woman whom I knew only a few days? Could I actually
fall in love
again? Shaking my head, as if it would help me get rid of the thoughts in my mind, I got up and went to the bathroom, hoping that a shower would make my rational thinking return.

I stepped into the stream of hot water
, welcoming the drops falling to my shoulders and back. It was almost like heaven on earth, but something was still missing…

I knew where my real heaven was. And right now
, I was so far away from it, my body hurt. My relationship with Pamela would never be the same, now I knew it for sure. Yes, there was a moment I thought I would pull her to myself and kiss her lips, the way I used to do it, years ago. But then, I pictured that kiss, and realized that the lips I actually wanted to kiss didn’t belong to her. It was more than enough to break the illusions in my head and take a step back, where the reality was so much better than anything I had ever shared with Pamela.

Wrapping a towel
around my waist, I went back to the room, got dressed and called my driver.

“Good morning, Mr. Altier.”

“Morning, Tom. I need you to do me a favor. Go to my place and pack a bag with all I would need for a two-day trip: toiletry, a few shirts and jeans. No suits or ties.”

“Are you
leaving today, Sir? What about the meeting with your parents that you said they wanted to have?”

“Yeah, I know I promised to visit them, but I have an emergency in LA and it can’t wait.”

I could trust Tom with my life, so I also asked him to call my brother and tell him that I wouldn’t be able to come for dinner. Calling Oliver myself wasn’t an option, as I was so damn sure he wouldn’t miss his chance to tease me about Scarlett again. Mom was going to be pissed, but it wasn’t going to be the first time that I had missed one of our family meetings.

I could hear the sounds of cupboards opening and closing in the kitchen.
Was Pamela making breakfast?
Never in my life had I seen her cooking.

“Morning,” she said, seeing me entering the kitchen. “I thought you would like some pancakes.”

“What did you do with the girl who was afraid of touching a pan, let alone putting food into it?”

She smiled, pouring a glass of orange juice. “She disappeared
together with staying-up-all-night times and mini-skirts.” Then she looked at me again and her smile faded. “Leaving so soon?”

“Yeah, I need to be in LA in a few hours.”

“Oh-” She turned back to the pan and flipped the pancakes.

“Listen, Pam… I had a good time with Max last night. Really. So if he ever needs anything, just let me know, okay?”

She nodded without looking at me.

“Tell him, I will come to see him again. Maybe some time next week.”

“Sure. Come whenever you want. You sure you don’t want to taste my pancakes? Max says they’re the best in the whole world.”

“Maybe next time.”

She didn’t try to stop me and I was grateful for that. I hated awkward situations and even more, I hated moments when I didn’t know what to say. And right now, I couldn’t explain my hurry. I simply wanted to take the first flight to LA and kiss the lips that I missed like hell.

But the moment I opened the do
or, I badly wanted to sink into the floor. Flashes of cameras blinded my vision. I blinked and stared in shock at about two dozen reporters taking pictures of me with Pamela, standing right behind me.

“Are you and Miss
Rolsheld back together?”

“What about the girl we saw you
with last week?”

“Is it true that you abandoned your own son?”

Screw me dead…

“Don’t say a word,” Pamela said behind me.

“Wasn’t even going to. How the hell did they know I was here?” I went back into the house and leaned back against the closed door.

“Maybe they followed you last night?”

“Fucking bastards!” I took a cell phone from my pocket and dialed Tom’s number. “Where are you?”

“Waiting outside, Sir.”

“Go to the back door.”

“Okay.”

“Why don’t you wait for the reporters to leave?”

“Seriously, Pam? We both know they won’t let me out of here alive. As well as they will never leave before they get the
ir answers.”

“Mommy, what’s
going on?” Max was coming down the stairs.

“Everything’s okay, Sweetheart. Go brush your teeth, and come to the kitchen. I have your favorite pancakes waiting for you.”

“Cool! Mom makes the best pancakes in the world, Dom. Will you stay for breakfast?”

“Sorry,
little man. I need to go now.”

“Oh, okay,
” he sounded disappointed, it made me feel a little guilty.

“I didn’t know the press was still watching you so closely,” Pamela said, leading me to the back door.

“Sometimes I wonder if they have anyone else to spy on. Because it feels like every time I sneeze, they are right there to take a picture of it.”

“Anyway, I hope they won’t ruin your day.”

“I’m used to being stalked. I’ll call you next week, okay?”

She smiled and nodded, closing the door behind me.

“Bad morning?” Tom asked, watching me through the rear view mirror.

“
Bad
does not even fucking begin to cover it. Did you bring my bag?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Now let’s get the hell out of here.”

“To the airport?”

“Yeah. Did you call Oliver?”

Tom chuckled. “Yes.” 

“What did he say?”

“I’m sure if I repeat what he said
, you will fire me.”

“Come on, Tom. Just spit it out. I know m
y brother always talks first and then thinks last.”

“Quoting,
‘
Tell that asshole traitor that his penis could use a break. Poor thing, it was blessed with the most horn-dog owner ever!
”

I rolled my eyes.
Look who’s talking!

“Am I fired?” Tom asked, worried.

“Of course not. Did he say anything else?”

“He said you would owe him one forever for saving your ass from your mother’s fury.”

“I’m sorry you had to listen to all of the above, Tom.”

“No worries, Sir. I can handle your brother. At least as long as my own ass has this well-paid job.”

We both laughed and I thought it was time to check my e-mail. With the thoughts about Scarlett and problems with Pamela, I was so behind with everything I needed to do at work.

By the time my taxi stopped at Wilson’s house, I was sure I would die of stifling heat; I always hated LA. Christ, I couldn’t believe I was ready to turn my toes just to see Scarlett. She said she had a morning flight, so I hoped she would already be there and I wouldn’t feel myself like a complete idiot trying to explain my early arrival to her parents.

I crossed my fingers and pushed the doorbell button.

“Can I help you, Sir?” The maid said, opening the door.

“Yes. My name is-”

“Dominick? What are you doing here?” Scarlett asked, surprised. She was wearing a red bikini that I swear would blow my mind in no time; for a moment I forgot how to speak.

“I, um, w
as here on business. And I thought-” My eyes travelled down her neckline, breast and flat stomach and I felt my cock hardening in my pants. “I thought you wouldn’t mind me staying here, since I was going to join you tomorrow for a barbecue anyway.”

“Oh, well. Of cou
rse, I don’t mind. Thanks, Shannon. I’ll take care of this,” she said to the maid. I couldn’t read her face. Was she angry? Or happy to see me?

“I will gladly share a bed with you, if you don’t have a spare room,” I said to ease the tension.

“I don’t think you are ready to say good-bye to your balls. Because if my father finds out about you sleeping in my bed, he will do his best to teach you a very painful lesson.”

“That
doesn’t sound very exciting,” I said, grimacing.

“My point exactly.” She smiled, going up the stairs.

Following her made my lower body ache even more, because I was sure no man in this world would be able to resist an ass like hers swaying right in front of his eyes.

“Nice bikini, by the way,” I said, as she opened the door to one of the rooms.

“Thanks. I was just about to go for a swim when you arrived.” She was facing me now, with her hands on her hips, and I almost growled at how much I wanted to explore every inch of her silky skin with my lips and hands.

“You never
called me,” I remembered.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. I haven’t been on vacation for
a very long time. Coming to sunny LA made me forget about everything.”

She ran a hand through her blond hair, making it
fall down over her shoulder.

“Everything?” I asked, taking a step closer. “Even this?” I r
an my fingertips across her cheek, lower lip, and jaw, and leaned closer, saying, “I would be more than happy to refresh your memory.”

“Did you hear what I said about my father and
your balls?”

“I did. But they hurt so badly, I doubt I’ll be able to think straight if you don’t help me ease this burning pain.”
I looked into her eyes, wrapped my arms around her waist and pulled her to my chest. “I missed you so bad.”

“Oh, yea
h? How bad?”

“Shall I tell you or show you?”

I knew things were a little messed-up between us, but I still hoped she would give me a chance to fix everything.