Cheating Time (33 page)

The moment he left our house every single
time and without anyone in my family knowing it, I'd crush the
lollipops and flush them down the toilet. I'd unwrap all the gum,
roll the pieces in the dirt, and throw them in the trash. And
because it would have been more obvious if I'd have done something
with the cake, I'd always simply left it on the counter in the
kitchen and let the rest of my family eat it.

I never ate even the first bite of his
elaborate cakes, which he claimed were his favorite and no one in
the world should be deprived of, especially not his
special little girl
. I still remember the one he
brought me when I was sixteen and a half, a few days before my
family and I took off and left without Barone's express
permission.

This was the first time I'd heard Barone's
voice since that night, the first time since that day I'd allowed
myself to really think of what happened between Barone and me.

* * *

Barone's MicroChopper landed on the roof of
our house. My parents found me in my room and, despite my protests,
insisted I follow them up there to meet our nation's president, my
father's childhood best friend, the man my father spent his work
days protecting, and the man my mother handed her life's research
over to.

Barone gave my father the perfunctory
handshake and my mother an obligatory kiss on the cheek. But me, he
pulled me into a bear hug that when coupled with a kiss near my
mouth—instead of solidly on my cheek—felt entirely too intimate. It
made me uncomfortable, and I felt dirty, as if I'd somehow done
something that drew him to me.

The fact was I'd gone out of my way to avoid
him and his eye contact at all times. Like always, I hid behind my
parents as much as I could, stayed within the confines of their
personal space, and wiggled away from his hugs, kisses, and
accidental touches.

With this particular visit and as if
planned, our house was empty except for my mom and dad, and Dad was
actually on his way out of town, as ordered by Barone himself. As
soon as he arrived, he told Dad that his MicroChopper was going to
take him to the airport before it returned for him.

I could still recall the gratitude in Dad's
eyes. He couldn't believe how thoughtful our president was by
allowing him to use the Presidential MicroChopper, the official Air
Force One, and dashed from the roof to get his luggage, returning
in no time flat.

I never wanted Dad to go on business trips,
but in this particular case, I was even more disappointed because
it left only Mom and me with President Barone. One person to shield
me from the watchful eyes. Worrying me even more was the fact that
my shield was my mother, a woman who was only perceptive if there
was the tiniest variation in a research protocol or result. With
those abnormalities, she'd microscopically notice everything
associated with the deviation. When it came to human nature, she
was naïvely—
willfully
—ignorant. She
trusted Barone. I didn't.

I suspected she'd insist I was making a
mountain out of a molehill if I tried to tell her he made me
uncomfortable. As if I'd just turned back into a three-year-old, I
shoved my hand in hers and hoped she understood I needed her to
stick with me while Barone was around.

She glanced over at me and said, "What's
gotten into you? Your dad will be back before you know it."

I nodded and let her think my mood change
had everything to do with me missing Dad. After the MicroChopper
was gone, Barone insisted we get out of the cool night air and
retire to the study, where he could build a fire and have some of
Gran's infamous lab-distilled brandy.

As always, Mom was eager to please our
president. "Absolutely, John."

I was sickened when she let go of my hand,
grabbed Barone's elbow, and hugged into it like he was her best
friend rather than my father's.

"You and I haven't talked without Sam for
years. Who are you dating now?" she asked with a schoolgirl
giggle.

He glanced over at me and Mom and said, "Sam
has to himself the only woman beautiful and intelligent enough to
get me out of the world of politics, Selma. I've told you that a
million times."

She playfully slapped his arm. "And, I've
known every one of those times that you were lying to me. There's
someone you're seeing. I feel it. I just don't know why you won't
tell us who she is. It's not as if we'd share your secrets with the
world."

By then, we'd made it to the study. As if he
lived there, Barone walked over to the fireplace and began stacking
the wood high. He meant for the fire to burn long and hot.

"Selma, you'll be first to know if there's
ever a woman besides you in my life," Barone said, looking over at
me in a way that felt as intimate as the earlier hug.

I glanced away.

"John, it looks like we're out of Gran's
brandy. Let me see if there's some in the kitchen," Mom said,
heading toward the door of the study.

I jumped into action. "I'll go check, Mom.
You visit with President Barone."

Focused on her mission, Mom shook her head.
"No. I need to look. I might even have to go over to the lab, and
you can't get in there without me because of the security."

There was a smile on Barone's face that told
me he was thrilled he and I were going to be alone together.
Finally.

After she left, I kept my back to the wall,
hugging it like I was attached to it, until Barone walked over to
me and put his hand out. "There's no reason for you to be afraid of
me, Carlie. I'm the last person in the world who'll hurt you."

Without options and knowing better than to
offend our guest, I took Barone's hand and let him lead me over to
the settee in front of the fire. The seat was barely big enough for
the two of us, and he took advantage of the tight space by edging
up closer than necessary, putting his arm behind me, and letting
his hand drop down to my shoulder.

"Carlie, your father tells me you'll one day
be as brilliant a researcher as your mother. That's truly a
compliment coming from him," Barone said, leaning into me as if he
were telling me a secret only he and I could hear.

I shrugged and made a point of not saying
anything. It had more to do with the way he terrified me than my
not having anything to offer to the discussion.

"You're always so shy around me. I go out of
my way to bring you things that will let you know how I feel about
you, to let you know how special you are to me. Still, you hide
behind your parents like I'm going to hurt you. Even now, you're
trembling as if you were trapped in a cave with a wild animal. Is
that how you think of me, Carlie? Do you think I'd ever hurt you?"
Barone asked.

His face was so close to my neck that the
whisper of his words brushed across my skin and made me tremble
even more.

I stared at my wringing hands and prayed Mom
would return soon. "No, sir. I-I know you wouldn't hurt me." I
lied.

Barone put his fingers under my chin and
gently tugged until I was looking him in the face. "Good, because I
won't ever hurt you. Not you. Not ever. Now talk to me about your
plans. I know the throw down plans about going to the preparatory
academy when you're seventeen, and I know you want to be a
researcher like Selma and Peter. What I don't know is what you want
to specialize in, what you want for your future. I want to know
everything there is to know about you,
my
special little girl
."

There was an inappropriate longing—to know
me, to know my plans—that had me stuttering. "I-I'm not sure yet.
Mom says I'll know what I want to specialize in after I've had a
chance to work in a lab with other people. Sh-she thinks I focus
too much on her work… that I-I need to work with other researchers
so I'll really know if genetics is what I want to spend my life
researching."

Barone pulled me closer and kissed my
forehead before pushing me back and making me look him in the face
again. "You silly little girl. You're still afraid of me. What can
I do to change that? Shall I whisk you away from your parents and
make you come live with me so you'll realize I'm not the monster
you make me out to be in your head?"

I shook my head a little too fiercely. "No.
I'm not afraid of you. I-I'm not ready to leave my parents. Please
don't do that. Please," I begged.

I may have been young, but I knew enough
about the world to understand if Barone wanted to take me away and
do whatever he wanted with me, my parents wouldn't be able to say a
word. They would have to go along with whatever he wanted, or he
would have them killed. I knew that as surely as I knew the man
next to me wanted more from me than I'd ever be prepared to give
him.

"Shh!"
He
hugged me tight. "I'm not going to take you from your parents. I
just want you to agree to spend more time with me. I want you to
consider that you might one day be more than a scientist… that you
might one day be the wife of the president. You could use that
position to make a real change," Barone said wistfully.

Words failed me, but clearly Barone was
looking for a response. "Do you not have anything to say to me? I
just offered to one day make you my wife… to one day give you a
piece of everything I own. All I'm asking from you is the chance to
father your children."

His grip on my chin tightened, and I knew
there was no way to get away from him without saying something.

"President Barone… I-I don't know what to
say. I-I've never thought of myself as married, much less as a
mother. I think I need a few years to think this over. I'm not even
seventeen, and I've never been kissed by a boy, I-I-I…" I was
rambling when my words were cut off by Barone's kiss.
Not a boy's kiss. Barone's
kiss.

Because my mouth was open when he kissed me,
he was easily able to slide in his tongue, giving me a firsthand
lesson on open-mouthed kissing. He wasn't rough or controlling or
demanding. If I were being honest, he was more sweet and gentle. It
was as if he were afraid anything more would frighten me, and that
was the last thing he was trying to do.

I was too surprised to fight back. Instead,
I let him do whatever he wanted. In his mind, my lack of struggle
meant acquiescence, so he deepened his kiss, pulling me into him,
cupping the back of my head in one hand and sliding his other hand
up the back of my shirt.

He didn't pull away from me, and I didn't
pull away from him until we heard noises down the hall. With the
slamming of a door, he scooted away from me and said, "Th-that kiss
must remain a secret between just the two of us, Carlie. Do you
understand me?"

He was as hoarse and breathless as I was
scared. All I could do was nod. What I wanted to do was run as fast
and far from the study as I could. I wanted to go to my room and
scream into my pillow. I wanted to scrub my skin and brush my teeth
for hours. Afraid of what offending the president would mean to my
family, I didn't do anything but sit stunned next to him.

Right before Mom rejoined us, Barone shocked
me once again when he leaned into my ear and whispered, "I've never
been so excited when kissing a woman, Carlie."

Then he took my hand and touched it to his
crotch. The hardness there barely registered because the instant I
realized what he'd done and where my hand was, I jerked it back and
shoved them both between my thighs.

"You think I won't go in there and grab
those out? In fact, nothing would please me more, my future wife,"
he said.

I knew then… I know now… I
could run from him, but I could never hide.

"Where is Carlie? I want to see her. Selma
told me she's better, but I had to come here and see for myself
that
my special little girl
is
okay." Barone's always majestic and commanding voice echoed through
the camp and into the tent where Rorie was curled into me like she
was as afraid of our president as I was.

My special little girl! I
hate it so much when he calls me that. I wish with my whole heart
that Jayden would throat punch him.

Suddenly, I forgot my fear and focused on
Rorie.

"Rorie, do you know President Barone?"

She nodded. "Yeah. He likes to meet with
Thorne and talk about you, Carles."

"Does he talk to you?"

Rorie shook her head. "No. Thorne makes me
hide from him. He locks me in the closet. I think he's worried
President Barone'll separate us. Send me away. When he comes, I
stay especially quiet."

I hugged her tighter into me. "That's what
you and I have to do right now. He's coming in here to see me. I
want you to hide behind the screen, and I want you to be extra
quiet. No matter what he says to me or what he does to me, I want
you to stay hidden. He won't hurt me. Can you do that for me?"