Betrayed (12 page)

“Well, all the research is at the office anyways,” he said, quickly.

I hesitated for a second as I thought about Ethan’s office. Things had happened there; fun, inappropriate, things. But it was the only logical choice. All of Ethan’s research stuff was there, and there was absolutely no way that I could go to his house.

“The office will be fine,” I said. “Third,” I continued, “and this is most important - Dana can’t know about this. It would kill her, and she means too much to me for that.”

Ethan stood there for a while, silent. He gave me a stern look and looked like he had something particular in mind. But if he did, he didn’t say anything.

“I can agree to all of that,” he said.

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“But I have one request of my own,” he added. My eyebrows arched. “I need you to make me some more of these brownies.”

Heat flooded into my cheeks, and I smiled. “If they’re that big a deal, you can take some with you.”

He smiled at me. “I think I might.”

We stood there for a long, silent moment. I could feel the unresolved tension between us, but it scared me. Ethan kept his safe distance from me, and after the flood of heat that had gone through me when he first came in, I was thankful. But I knew that the longer he stayed the more likely it was that bad decisions were going to be made. It was too quiet in Dana’s apartment, too intimate. There were too many unresolved questions, but now wasn’t the time, and it certainly wasn’t the place.

“I should get going,” he said.

I nodded, slowly, once. “Dana will be home soon,” I said.

He gave me a tight smile, and nodded also. “Of course,” he said. “Tomorrow, then? Usual time, usual spot?”

“I’ll be there,” I said.

Ethan gave me one more look and let himself out. I didn’t get up from the couch for a few minutes. I was afraid that, if I did, I would wake up from some dream, and find my phone lying on my pillow next to me with no missed calls on it.

The next morning came faster than I expected. As I drove to campus - a drive I’d made hundreds of times before - my stomach was filled with a nervous tension. I flashed back on the first time I’d gone to meet Ethan. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it had only been a bit over a month. It was funny how fast things change sometimes.

Campus was empty and it was easy to find a parking spot in the parking garage across from the business college. Ethan’s Porsche was in a close spot facing the college, and I parked next to it. The door to Ethan’s office was closed, but the light was on inside. I tapped on the door lightly before sticking my head in.

“Good morning,” he greeted me.

I was struck by how gorgeous he looked, sitting thee behind his desk. His hair was tasseled in its usual way, and he was wearing a white, pressed, shirt with the sleeves rolled to his mid forearm. His tightly wound muscles twitched as he rolled a pen in his fingers.

Maybe meeting him here hadn’t been such a great idea.

“It’s so quiet around here,” I said. I tried to block the image of him from my mind as I set my backpack in the corner.

“Makes it easier to get work done,” he said. “Plus, I get to dress a bit more casually.”

I cocked an eyebrow at him, and ran my eyes down along his chest. He looked down at himself in horror.

“Too casual?” he asked.

“It’s Sunday,” I smirked. “I think you’re fine.”

He shook his head. “I shouldn’t have worn jeans.”

He came over and helped me clear a spot on the small table next to his desk. Papers were scattered everywhere, and the office appeared in much more disarray than the last time I’d been there.

“So, why are you so far behind?” I asked. “Last I knew you had been ahead of schedule.”

His eyes met mine, and I felt that familiar twisting in my stomach. “I’ve been distracted,” he said.

My gut wrenched, and I fought to quickly change the subject.

“This is quite the mess you have here,” I said. I kept my eyes focused on the swollen pile of papers.

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, I’ve made a bit of a mess of things. I was thinking it might be wise if we spent some time organizing, then we can split up the tasks and start getting through them.”

I nodded. “Divide and conquer,” I said. “Sounds like a good idea. But, don’t forget, I need to get a lot of work done on the business plan, too. And I might need your help.”

“I can look at that first, if you want,” he said. “We can get it out of the way and ease your mind so you can focus.”

I cringed at the thought of it. “No. It’s not quite ready for you to look at. I took your advice last night and downloaded some sample business plans that I’ll use as a template, but I haven’t begun plugging everything in, yet.”

He smiled. “I’m sure it’s going to be great,” he said.

“It better be,” I said. “It’s my only shot.”

“You shouldn’t put so much pressure on yourself,”
 
he said. “Take it from me, life is more than just work. You have to stop and live every once in a while.”

I gave him a half smile. “I’m sure you’re right. My dad always told me that, without hard work, the good times are never as good as you’d hoped for.” I shrugged. “There just has to be some payoff for everything my parents have been through in the last few years.”

His eyes narrowed. “Have you ever considered that the payoff is you?” he asked.

“I’m trying to make that come true,” I said. “That’s why they’ve sacrificed so much to put me into college, and to make sure I can attend such a good school.”

He shook his head. “No, that’s not what I mean. What makes you think they’re not perfectly happy with you, just the way you’ve turned out.”

“I don’t understand what you mean,” I said.

He scratched his head and leaned against his desk. “I’m just saying that you’re more special than you realize,” he said, plainly. “You light up the room when you’re around, and I’m sure that alone makes them the proudest parents on Earth.”

I blushed and felt uneasy. I didn’t have anything to say, and I was smart enough to just keep my mouth shut for a while. Ethan took the hint and began helping me sort through the endless piles of research he had pulled together for the proposal. Many of the pages looked familiar, and I began sorting them just the way they needed to be.

Ethan wasn’t exaggerating when he said that he was impossibly behind on his work. From what I could tell he hadn’t gotten a single thing done since the last time we had worked on the project together, and nearly two weeks had passed since then.

Ethan set to work on the language of the funding proposal, while I spent the entire morning organizing all of the files we would need for reference material. Before I knew it, the day had worn on and it was approaching the late afternoon. We had snacked on sandwiches and worked straight through lunch, and by late afternoon my eyes were blurry with exhaustion. But there was a light at the end of the tunnel. It was going to be a long week, but things felt more manageable than they had that morning.

“I need to get going soon,” I said after glancing at my phone.

Ethan glanced at the clock. “So soon?” he asked, his voice strained. “We still have a lot to get through.”

“Dana is flying home tonight for the holidays. I told her I would mete her for dinner and give her a ride to the airport.”

He rubbed at his eyes. “I can’t believe tomorrow is Christmas Eve already,” he said. “This winter is going by too quickly.”

“Tell me about it,” I said. “After I take her to the airport, I’m going to spend the night working on the business plan. Hopefully I’ll have something you can look at tomorrow.”

He looked at me long and hard. “So you’re going to be completely alone on Christmas?” he asked.

“It’s nothing,” I said. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ll probably spend the day working on my business plan anyways.”

“Still, no one should be alone on Christmas.” The intensity in his voice made me nervous.

I shrugged. “I’m an adult now, and that means making adult decisions.”

He chuckled softly and his shaggy hair fell around in front of his eyes. My heart skipped a beat before I regained control of myself.

“You take yourself so seriously, Kayla. Don’t be so eager to grow up. Live a little; make some mistakes; enjoy life.”

“I think I’ve been making plenty of those, lately,” I said. Ethan winced and I immediately cringed. “I’m sorry… I didn’t mean…”

“No, it’s okay. I suppose I had that coming.”

I bit my lip. A rush of questions flooded my thoughts, but I couldn’t let myself get carried away. We were keeping things professional, and I didn’t want to blur the lines by exploring what went wrong between he and I. It was in the past, and it needed to stay there.

But still, he looked so cute in his jeans and with his boyish grin. No, cute wasn’t the right word -
delicious
was more appropriate.

Our eyes met and a long awkward stare passed silently between us. I felt myself getting pulled into him, and knew exactly what would happen if I stayed around for much longer.

“I should get going,” I said, finally. He closed his eyes and gave me a single nod of agreement. “Same time tomorrow?” I asked.

His lips pinched together in a tight grin, and he nodded.

I thanked him and gave him what I was certain was the most awkward smile of my life.

“See you in the morning, then.”

I practically sprinted back to my car. I needed to get away as fast as possible.

What was it about that man that I found so irresistible?

And why did he have to be the absolute wrong person to have such feelings for?

* * * * *

When I arrived home, Dana was packing for her flight. Clothes were strewn about her bedroom, and a couple suitcases were laid out, half-full.

“Hey,” I said, poking my head into the room.

“Why do I always put things off to the last minute?” she said. She sank onto the edge of her bed with an exasperated look on her face.

“I ask myself the same question,” I laughed. “You have plenty of time, your flight isn’t for a couple of hours.”

She quirked her lip to the side and regarded me. “Not really. I’m seeing the guy before going to the airport.”

I frowned.

“Are we still on for dinner?” I asked, confused.

She gave me a helpless expression as though to say she was sorry. I thought I understood what she was going through. New relationships have that affect on you; you want to spend every possible moment with the guy. I just didn’t know why she was so insistent on keeping him such a secret.

“So am I ever going to get to meet him?” I asked.

She turned and began going through more piles of clothes, sorting and picking out the ones she would take with her. “There’s no point - he’s just a fling. Nothing serious.”

“He takes up a lot of your time for something that isn’t serious,” I said.

She shrugged and kept throwing things into the suitcase. “The sex is good.”

I leaned against the door frame and watched as she sifted through the clothes. I didn’t know how she could be so casual about sex, but it wasn’t my place to judge. I just hoped she was happy; to each their own.

“Must be why you want some alone time before going home for Christmas,” I giggled.

A grin spread across her face, but she didn’t look up.

“You’re in a good mood. Haven’t heard you laugh in a while,” she said.

“I guess so. It was a good day.”

“What happened?” she asked.

“Found some good business plan templates online. Should make my application a lot easier.”

“But where were you? I didn’t see you all day.”

I winced, but hoped she didn’t see it. “The library. Needed to get out and get a change of scenery.”

“I didn’t know the library was open during the winter?”

I thought fast. “I think it’s for the people taking winter courses.”

Dana considered it for a second, then nodded her agreement.

“Do you still need a ride to the airport?” I asked.

“He’s going to take me,” she said simply, without looking up.

My mouth quirked to the side, but I didn’t say anything. A new sense of concern and dread went through me while I watched her pack. There had been a definite shift in her mood, and I wondered if I had done something to cause it. Was it possible that she knew about Ethan visiting the day before?

“Dana,” I said in a serious tone. I waited for her to look up at me before I continued. “Are we alright?” I asked.

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“We never really talked about everything that happened. I just wanted to make sure that we were good.”

Her eyes softened.

“Of course, we are,” she said. She looked away for a second. “I actually felt bad,” she said.

“Bad about what?”

She shrugged. “It wasn’t like I meant to butt in on your personal life or anything. I just didn’t want to see you get hurt.”

“You’re my best friend,” I said. “You didn’t butt in.”

“Well, I still felt bad about it.”

I smiled at her, and all of the tension in my shoulders lifted. “Thank you for speaking up. I know it must have been difficult.”

She gave me a half grin and nodded at me. I watched her for a while as she finished packing, then I went back to my room to continue working on my business plan. Part of me was thankful that I didn’t have to drive down to the airport. I would have more time to work on the business plan. But another part of me was annoyed that Dana would bail on me to go hang out with some guy. That was her right, though. She didn’t have to clear it with me; it wasn’t like we’d made
formal
plans to have dinner together - I just thought it had been assumed.

About an hour later she stuck her head into my room.

“I’m taking off,” she said.

“Have a fun trip,” I said.

“Will do,” she said. “Don’t go too crazy all cooped up here alone.”

I grinned. “I’ll try not to.”

She smiled back at me. “I think my flight comes back on the second. I’ll give you a call and give you all the information.”

“See you then,” I said.

The front door shut quietly behind her, and I snuck over to the window and cracked the blinds to look out. I wanted to get a glimpse of her mystery man, but all I saw was a black car that she climbed into. It was some sort of muscle car, and had a few layers of dust and dirt caked onto it.