Fiendish: A Twisted Fairytale (23 page)

“
Heh ya bof gotsta wear thish or itsa a no go.”

She fumbled with her purse in order to hand me the little foil wrapper.
Guess she had planned on this possibility tonight.
Throwing my jacket onto the chair, I stepped out of my pants and rolled the condom on. I didn’t even bother to remove the lacy pink thong she wore under her short denim mini skirt when I bent her over the couch. She cried out when I roughly entered her, no care for foreplay or to make sure she was as ready as I was. 

I rammed into her, but my thoughts were on Calida and Macy which caused me to push harder.
 She screamed out for me to stop, something about it hurting, but I didn’t care. My hands dug into her waist, holding her firmly in place. She struggled against me trying to push me off. I grabbed her hair, yanking her head back as I thrust faster. 
Who does she think she is walking away from me? 

I pulled out,
then drove all the way back in with so much force she screamed out in pain. All of my frustration and anger poured out as I continued to ram into her with reckless abandon. When I was done, she sank to the floor sobbing. Grabbing cash from my pants, I tossed a twenty on the floor and the used condom into the fireplace.

“You can go now.
 It will be about a mile walk before you can get cell service to call a cab. I’ll open the gate for you.”

“Y…
yous pect me to walk a mile in da dark. I…I don’t even know where I am,” she stuttered through her tears. “Sumpting  could appen to me.”

I walked over to the bar to fix myself another drink.
 She sat there continuing to cry and looked at me as if I owed her something.

“
You’re right something
could
have happened to you,” I said with a smile as I approached her. 

***

I’d hoped Seth would call me on Sunday, but he didn’t. He also hadn’t called me on Monday nor was he waiting for me when I got off work. Macy was shocked when I told her I didn’t even invite him in that night. I could still hear her voice in my head.

“What!
 After almost months of trying to sleep with this guy you just walked away?!”

I couldn
’t explain why I did it; it just felt like I had to. Now as I sat here at my desk, I regretted that decision. I’m sure he wasn’t happy about going home in his condition, but he’d left me in a similar condition on several occasions. Turnabout is fair play. 
Right?
 

“I have a delivery,” said a gruff male voice.

“I’m not scheduled to have any deliveries today,” I responded, not even looking up from my computer.

“I don
’t know what to tell ya lady, but I’m here so either take ‘em or refuse ‘em.”

I looked up and saw he wasn
’t delivering cargo. The delivery man stood in front of my desk with a vase of a dozen long stemmed red roses. I tried not to get excited because they very well could be for Kerrin or even Patrick.

“Who are they for?”

“Um, a Ca-Ca..”

“Calida?”

“Yeah. Sign here,” he said, shoving an electronic pad at me.

Quickly scribbling my name, I could feel the smile spreading across my face as I took the vase from the guy.
 He’d sent me flowers before; this wasn’t a new thing, but these were different. These flowers helped ease the gnawing feeling I’d had in my stomach the last few days as I replayed Saturday night over and over in my head, second guessing myself. I took a whiff of the roses, the light aromatic scent smelled heavenly, just like the perfume I’d gotten at Barney’s. Pulling the card free, I had to bite my finger to keep from screaming out from excitement when I read it.

Dinner, my place Saturday 5pm

~Seth

I was still smiling when Kerrin came downstairs. “I take it those are from whoever has had you moping around here the last two days,” she said when she saw me standing there.

“I haven’t been moping,” I replied, putting the card back in its plastic holder.

“Yes, dear, you have.”

She gave me a little smile before heading into Patrick’s office. I spent the rest of the day with my head in the clouds. Even Patrick commented on my new mood. I guess I had really moped the last two days. 

Five o
’clock came, and I thought Seth would be waiting for me. He wasn’t. I called him when I got home, but his phone went right to voicemail. After leaving him a message, I headed into the kitchen to make dinner. My mood dampened a little since I wasn’t sure what to make of the lack of communication still. Today was Wednesday; I had to get through two more days.

When Saturday finally came, I was a nervous ball of energy.
 “How do I look?” I asked Macy for the twentieth time.

I ran my hands down the knee-length, A-line turquoise skirt. Macy thought the occasion called for a shopping trip, but she thought any occasion called for that. I managed to convince her otherwise. I still had clothes from the last shopping trip with tags on them, this skirt being one of them. I liked the snug fit around my waist right before it flared out at my hips. The fitted button-down black shirt with matching turquoise buttons completed my outfit.

“Lee, you look great. You’ve been out with him a few times now, so stop worrying. You’re going to make yourself sick with nerves,” Macy lightly scolded as she readjusted my hair. She’d put spiral curls in it that tumbled softly around my face and shoulders. 

I hadn
’t told Macy that I’d not spoken to Seth since last Saturday. I tried calling him a few more times but never got an answer. I started to think he wouldn’t show, but I’d gotten another note delivered at work yesterday confirming our date. I was confused on why he was handling things that way, and I planned on asking him about it when I saw him. 

I continued to fidget with the hem of my skirt. Macy spun me around to look at her. “If you don
’t feel comfortable going, then cancel. You don’t have to go. He’s sending a car service, so you don’t even know where the hell you’re going.”

I picked up on her tone; it was the same tone she
’d had last weekend.

“Macy, don
’t. Not tonight,” I pleaded. The mixed feelings she was starting to have about Seth upset me.

“I
’m not. Really. I talked to Mitch and…”

“You did what?” I half yelled, cutting her off.

“Calm down. It’s not what you think. And for the record he sides with you. He thinks I’m over reacting, and after you told me how Seth didn’t push at the end of that date, I would maybe, possibly have to say he’s right.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Honey, I knew you before Paul, during Paul, and after Paul, and I didn’t really like the during and after you. You were always shy and quiet, but he just boxed you in more.”

Macy started to tear up a little which was really out of character for her.
 She never let things bother her that much; it was one of the things I truly admired about her, the ability she had to seemingly go with the punches about most things. To see her near tears and this emotional didn’t do well for my nerves.

“Paul preyed on your insecurities.
 I witnessed what he did to you, and I wasn’t a very good friend for not speaking up; for not doing more. I just don’t want the same thing to happen again.”

“You think Seth is out to hurt me in some way?”

“No. I don’t know. What I do know is he brings a smile to your face. I haven’t seen this much life and hopefulness in you since you…” A funny look crossed Macy’s face, like she was debating on what to say.

“Since I what?”

“Lee, you were different, a lot different, after you…
lost
the baby.” There was something in the way she stressed the word lost that made my heart start beating faster.

“Macy…”

“Look, I was never going to say anything. Once I guessed that what you told me may
not
have been what actually happened, I figured you had your reasons. It was my job as your friend to just help you through it, and that’s what I did.”

I stared at her in a stunned silence.

“How? How did you guess?”

“The day you saw them, remember, I was with you.
The hurt that was on your face told me there was something more going on. Then, when you up and said you were moving, it confirmed my suspicions. Not to mention that for nearly a year and a half you wouldn’t even entertain the idea of dating, and don’t even get me started about sex,” she added with a small laugh, trying to lighten the mood. “Then you met Seth, and he’s been a bit of a strange one. I ain’t gonna lie about that, but his wanting your hair down because he likes how it looks was a confidence booster for you. His not wanting you to run at night or early morning makes sense. It is dangerous, especially with those news stories. I was just afraid to lose
you
again, so I guess I’ve just been overly sensitive about things.”

I gave her a hug, not knowing what to say. “Thanks, Macy.
 I needed that.”

She pulled away and smiled at me.
 It did feel good to hear those words from her, since it bothered me that she was having second thoughts about Seth. This conversation helped me, and the fact that she talked to Mitch just cemented the fact that I might be losing my friend soon. That thought made me sad and happy. She deserved someone like him, even if she didn’t want to admit it yet.

“Okay, so back to tonight,” she said, trying to lighten the mood again.

“Yes, tonight. I thought I wanted things to advance…but now I’m not so sure.”

“Look, you don
’t do anything you don’t want to do. If he tries to push it, you kick him where it hurts and get the hell out of there.”

That made me laugh
and eased some of my tension. “I’ll remember that, but that’s not my concern. I’m not like you Macy.”

“Ah, you
’re worried about your lack of experience?” I nodded, feeling like a child getting ‘the talk’ for the first time. “Have you two ever talked about your histories?”

“Sort of.
  He knows it’s only ever been Paul.”

“Well, then he should be prepared, and he
’ll probably treat you like a virgin.”

I wanted to ask her what that meant because I was assuming that was supposed to be a good thing. However, that was not my experience. I remembered the pain, my tears, and his total lack of concern.
 However, I didn’t get the chance to ask since the doorbell rang which meant my driver was here.

“I
’ll get it. You calm your nerves.” 

I took a few deep breaths then checked my makeup again. “You can do this. It
’s only dinner. You can do this,” I whispered to my reflection. Putting on a brave face, I exited my room, ready to see what the night would bring.

I rode along in the back of the black Lincoln Town Car, imagining the possible scenarios that could happen tonight. I was so lost in thought that I hadn
’t paid any attention to where we were going until the car stopped.

We were in front of a large gate with gargoyle looking sculptures sitting atop stone pillars on either side. The large stone wall they were attached to was covered in ivy. A shiver ran down my spine as I looked at the creepy stone figures while the driver spoke into the box. Moments later, the gate slowly creaked open. The tires crunched as we drove up what felt like an endless
gravel driveway. Finally, we came to a stop in the circular curve of that drive. My door was opened, and I took the driver’s outstretched hand.

The house didn
’t do anything to help my nerves; in fact, it made them worse. This was not what I had imagined his house would look like. There was a large, but dry, fountain in the middle of the yard also covered in ivy. The grass appeared to be mostly weeds and very unkempt. My heels sank slightly into the gravel as I walked the short distance to the marble steps that were flanked by stone lions frozen mid-roar. I didn’t get a chance to use the large knockers that were on the dark wood double-doors because Seth opened it as soon as I stepped onto the porch.

Chapter 22

“Benvenuti nel mio umile dimora,” Seth said, placing a light kiss on my hand.

“Um...”

“Welcome to my humble abode,” he responded.

“Oh, well, thank you for having me.”

I don’t know what it was about a man speaking a foreign language that I found incredibly sexy, but my entire body got hot. Or it could have just been because of the man that spoke the words. I recalled he’d told me he spoke a few different languages, but he’d never done so before now.

My eyes gave him a lingering glance.
 I couldn’t help but to appreciate the way his dark blue shirt fit, accenting his very well-toned physique. The muscles in his arms rippled slightly, causing me to wonder what they would feel like wrapped around me. My eyes drifted back up to meet his. The smile on his face made me wonder if he could read my thoughts.