Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (16 page)

“Lee?”

“In the kitchen,” I answered, keeping my head down in an attempt to hide my face.

“Man, smells great in here. What
’d you cook?” she asked, opening the container I’d placed the left overs in.

“I didn
’t. Seth cooked. He made extra for you just in case you came home.”

“Sweet!
Guess you didn’t get my text.”

“What text?” I asked, turning to look at her, which was a mistake.

“Why’ve you been crying? Did he do something to you?” Macy asked, her voice instantly taking on a protective tone.

“No.”

“Then what has you looking so pitiful?” she challenged, crossing her arms as she leaned up against the door that led to the backyard.

“Too much wine,” I answered, hoping that would satisfy her.

“Nice try. I’ve seen you shit-faced drunk, and you’ve never ended up in tears.”

Times like these I wished Macy wouldn
’t always be so ‘concerned’ about me. I knew she was only trying to be a good friend, but sometimes she just ended up making me feel worse. No matter how much I tried, or how much I wanted it, I would never be like her. That’s why I never told her the truth about how terrible my relationship was with Paul or about the abortion. Instead, I lied and told her I miscarried. I wouldn’t have told her that much, but I’d made the mistake of calling her when I got the positive pregnancy test.

“I know Mace, but those times the conversations were better. Seth and I were talking about past relationships, and all those old memories came up, and out.”

“Out?”

“Yeah, as in I totally flaked for some reason and went off about how Paul cheated on me and such. I sounded like that classic girl still carrying around baggage and…and it was awful Mace, just awful,” I whined.

She pulled me into a hug. “Aw, Hun. I’m sure it wasn’t that bad.”

“It was, Mace, it was. After I managed to collect myself, he politely called it an evening. And the absolute worst part…he had actually asked me out finally.”

Macy tightened her arms around me. “That’s a good thing,” she said, trying to be encouraging.

“It was, until I wigged out. He left without finalizing the plans for tomorrow.”

Macy baked some cookies, something she normally did when she was upset about something. We spent the rest of the night drinking Kahlua and eating chocolate chip cookies. Macy kept the conversation steered away from Seth, and she made sure not to bring up how well things were going with Mitch. I appreciated what she was doing, but the evasion tactics just meant that she also took Seth leaving like he did as a bad sign.

***

I stared at Pet as she lay in a fetal position on the tiny bed. Her mouth was swollen; her eyes had formed dark circles under them. The two broken fingers were severely discolored. I stood outside the glass watching her for several minutes before she noticed me. When she did, she quickly scampered into the corner, pressing herself up against the cold, ragged stone walls of her prison. Normally, the fact that she finally feared me would’ve excited me, but instead, I felt nothing.
It’s her fault you know
. Pet looked so sad and pathetic. I was completely unmotivated and uninterested in doing anything with her.
She is changing you.
 I turned to leave when I heard her call out to me faintly.

“
Pla-eez, fo..food,”  she begged.

I rolled my eyes in disgust before heading up the stairs. I needed to get ready for my date.

She was yours for the taking last night, yet you walked away.

“I wasn
’t ready yet.”
What are you waiting for?

What was I waiting for? I
’d never denied myself something I wanted before, yet I continually found myself doing that with Calida. I massaged my temples. I needed to think and reassess the best way to handle her. Today was going to be a test.
But for which one of you?
Ignoring that thought, I gathered up the things I needed before heading to Calida’s house.

I heard laughter coming from the house when I stepped onto the porch before I rang the doorbell. Our eyes met through the glass pane on her door when she stood to answer. The smile that was on her face moments ago faded slowly.

“Seth, what are you doing here?” she asked, stepping aside to let me in.

Macy sat on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in her lap. She smiled as she greeted me.

“We have a date,” I replied.

Her face filled with color; she
’d forgotten about our plans.

“What? You left and…I, I don
’t recall you ever telling me…” Her words faltered when her hand flew up to her hair.

It sat on the top of her head in a messy heap. She wore a pair of over-sized sweatpants and an equally oversized collegiate sweatshirt that hung off one shoulder.

“I’m not…I wasn’t expecting you.” She looked over at Macy who placed the bowl down before walking over to us.

“Give us a sec,” Macy said, taking Calida by the shoulders, directing her down the hall. “Casual?” she inquired, looking over my choice of jeans and sweater.

“Yes, that’ll be fine.”  

I took a seat on the couch. The screen on their TV was paused showing a man in some sort of mask. I
’d interrupted movie day. There were a few DVD cases scattered across the table. The open, empty one was
V for Vendetta
.

A few minutes later, the ladies reemerged. Calida now wore a pair of well-fitting jeans that disappeared into a pair of brown, knee-high boots and a dark-green, button-down shirt which made her eyes stand out. Unfortunately, she
’d pulled her hair back instead of letting it hang free.

“I
’m ready,” she said, walking over to the coat rack in the corner of the room.

She retrieved her black pea-coat before picking up her wallet and phone off the console table by the door. Getting off the couch, I walked over to help her into her coat.

“Have fun you two,” Macy said from where she stood propped up against the wall.

“Enjoy the rest of your day, Macy,” I replied, opening the door for Calida.

She smiled and gave a wave to her friend before walking out of the house.

When we got to my car, she stopped before getting in. “Sorry, for not being ready. I really don
’t recall you finalizing the plans for today.”

“No problem,” I replied with a smile. “You haven
’t put us behind schedule.”

“So, are we seeing an early movie?” she asked once I
’d gotten into the car.

“No.”

“Lunch?”

“Are you hungry?”

“Um, a little. Macy and I have dined on only snack foods so far. We were deciding on lunch when you showed up.”

“Ah, I
’ll be sure to get you something to eat.”

Calida
’s brow furrowed together when she looked over at me. “Do I get to know what we’re doing?” she asked, sounding annoyed with the evasiveness of my answers.

“Don
’t you trust me?”

“I
’m not sure I know you well enough to trust you yet,” she replied.

“I would disagree since your actions betray your claim.”

“How so?” she asked, crossing her arms.

“Well, if you really didn
’t trust me, you wouldn’t be in my car heading off to an unknown place. I could take you anywhere at this point, and you would be completely at my mercy,” I answered, glancing over at her with a smile.

Calida nervously fidgeted with her hands as the implications of my words sank in.
 After a few minutes, she sat straighter in her seat as if something had dawned on her.

“You being a man
doesn’t necessarily put you in control.” I looked over at her, those beautiful green eyes burned with a false bravado. “Who’s to say I wouldn’t be able to have you at my mercy?” She stuck her chin in the air as an act of self-assurance, which caused me to let out a hearty laugh.

“I guess anything is possible,” I replied, giving her a wink. “I
’m taking you to see Phantom of the Opera.”

“The movie version right?
Not the actual production?” Calida asked, sounding confused.

“No, the actual production.
Have you seen it before?”

“Um…wow. No, no I haven
’t. But, even with an afternoon showing, doesn’t The Fox require a different dress code?”

“I
’m sure they do, but we aren’t seeing an afternoon showing. It’s at eight, and the production isn’t currently running at The Fox. It hasn’t for years. Only New York or London.”

Calida looked over at me, her eyes wide with shock. “I
’m sorry, so that means…”

“We
’re going to New York,” I answered matter-of-factly.

Chapter 15

I sat back in my seat, letting the news sink in.
Holy shit!
Seth was taking me to New York to see Phantom of the Opera. My heart was pounding in my chest with the thought of how crazy that sounded. When he asked me out yesterday, I thought maybe dinner and a movie. Then after the way he left, I was sure I’d never hear back from him again. Now, I sat in his car heading to the airport I assumed, to go to New York. I needed to call Macy, but I couldn’t.
Oh my goodness, what was I going to do?
More importantly, what was I going to wear? I let out an audible gasp when that thought hit me.

“Problem?”
Seth asked.

“No,” I replied, shaking my head. “Well, maybe. I just realized I
’m in jeans, you didn’t say where we were going.”

“Ah, so you are worried about your attire for the evening?”

“Yeah, just a tad.”

“No worries,” he said, giving me that signature sexy smile. “I
’ve arranged for everything.”

He
’d arranged for everything?

We arrived at a small, private airport, not Hartsfield-Jackson as I
’d expected. Seth pulled into a covered parking deck; I read the sign on the concrete wall: RESERVED JOKOBI ENTERPRISES. I looked over at him, and he just winked in response before exiting the car. I’d figured he was in a much higher income bracket than I was, but the fact he had reserved parking at a private airport meant he had to be richer than I had even imagined. That realization made me once again question why he would have an interest in me. The gold digger comment popped into my head. I guess he must have come across a lot of women that would be after him for his money.

“What exactly is Jokobi Enterprises?” I asked after he
’d helped me from the car.

“My company,” he replied with no further explanation.

Placing his hand on my lower back, Seth escorted me inside the building. There was a pretty brunette woman wearing deep pink lipstick and a blue, low-cut, V-neck sweater working the front desk, chatting on the phone when we walked in. Her eyes lit up, and she quickly hung up when Seth approached.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Jokobi,” she said a little too cheerily.

“Good afternoon, Julie,” he replied, returning her smile.

I stepped back, taking a seat in one of the chairs, watching as she not so subtly flirted with Seth. Leaning over the desk, Julie kept pressing her arms close together, an action women did to push their breasts up to draw attention to them. Surprisingly, Seth
’s eyes never appeared to leave her face.

“Ready?” he asked, holding his hand out to me a few moments later.

I took his outstretched hand. He lead me through a set of double doors, down a short corridor, and finally outside. I stopped when I saw the small jet with Jokobi Enterprises written on the side.

“You have a plane.”

“Yes, I do. One that is waiting,” he answered, gently pulling me along.

“Good afternoon, Mr. Jokobi,” the pretty blonde flight attendant said as he walked up the stairs.

“Good afternoon, Megan.”

“And welcome aboard to you, Miss.”

“Thank you,” I replied, looking around once I stepped inside.

The small plane had eight cream-colored leather seats, and all the trim was done in a cherry lacquer finish. The door to the cockpit was open, and Megan was saying something to the pilots. A few moments later she walked out, closing the door behind her. She smiled when she walked past us towards the back of the cabin, disappearing behind the curtain. 

As I sat beside Seth, I realized my hands were shaking with nerves. I was sitting on a private plane, with a man who was very out of my league, heading out of state for a date. A first date. Pulling out my phone, I thought about firing off a quick text to Macy, but with Seth sitting beside me, I decided to just power it off instead.

“You look nervous. Have you flown before?” Seth asked, leaning close to me.