Just One Kiss: A Black Alcove Novel (The Black Alcove Series Book 1) (3 page)

“What’s with the smile?” I ask. She
instantly blushes and her posture straightens.

“What smile?”

“The one on your face that screams, ‘I’m up
to something.’ You wore that smile a lot when we were kids. I know
it better than you think.”

“I’m not up to anything, Ethan,” she says
with a straight face then walks behind the bar. Slowly that sneaky
smile reappears, and I can tell she’s trying to hide it. For
whatever reason, she doesn’t want to tell me and that’s fine. I’m
not here to build a relationship. Not with her anyway.

“Thanks again for hiring me.”

“Oh yeah, no problem. It was you or Kelsey,
and, well…” She looks up again, still smiling. “She needs a little
help with the whole staying-on-schedule thing. I think hiring
someone else to be her manager might motivate her to take that next
step.”

Ahhh. I’m catching on now.
I don’t think having a different manager is going to motivate her.
It’s
who
her new
manager is that will motive her. Women—they’re not as sneaky as
they think they are. But heck, I’ll play along. If it means more
time with Kelsey, I’ll do whatever my cousin wants me
to.

Whoa.

Where did that come from? More time with
Kelsey is the last thing I need.

“Come back tomorrow at three. You can follow
one of the bartenders around for a bit to get the flow of things,”
Sara says before a tall man and a woman with firecracker-red hair
wearing black shirts with the bar’s logo on them approach from a
back room. The guy unlocks the front door and a gray-haired couple
walk in. The elderly love arriving to places right at opening. I
assume these two will be the only customers for at least another
hour.

I nod on my way out, but Sara greets the old
couple. She shares a laugh with them and even gives them each a
polite hug. She looks happy here, and for a minute I feel guilty.
I’m going to be the bad guy and help take it from her.

Right before I step through the exit, I hear
her call my name. I turn to see her coming toward me with a smile.
She wraps her arms around me, giving me a tight hug then steps
away.

Yep, I’m the bad guy already.

Kelsey

For the next five months,
my parents will be touring France, Italy, and Germany. They’ve left
me in charge of everything they own, and this is night one. I’ve
already managed to lock myself out.
Go
me.

“You’re not seriously going to break in, are
you?” Sara asks through the phone.

“What choice do I have, Sara? All my stuff
is in their house, and my dad was very clear on his rules. Make
sure the sprinkler system comes on each morning till the end of
August, dust everything, cleaning includes bathrooms, and don’t
drive the cars. That’s just the small list. For all I know, he
could have a camera set up to make sure I do as he instructed.”

Without a key, breaking in
is the only way to go. He didn’t say don’t break anything or
break
into
anything, but those are probably basic rules. Still, he never
actually said it.

“This sucks. I’m gone in less than four
weeks, and you’re not even going to be staying in our apartment
until I leave. You could come home and crash here for just one more
night. Then we can call the locksmith in the morning.”

I shake my head, refusing her offer even
though she can’t see me. Sara’s suggestion is good, but it’s not
going to work. Not right now. Not when my computer is inside this
house and my fingers are itching to get some writing in before I go
to bed.

I’m sitting alone in my car in my parents’
driveway. It’s in a new neighborhood just east of town, and they
picked a fully beige house. I call it “The Palace of Beige.”
Everything is that boring ass color—the house, the trim, the doors.
Everything. It has a three-floor layout with five bedrooms, each
with their own bath; a movie room; and a four-car garage. They have
two kids who no longer live at home and four cars. What a waste of
money.

“That defeats the whole purpose of
housesitting, Sara.” I move my cellphone to my left ear and hold it
in place with my shoulder as I turn off my car. The wind is intense
tonight, and my car moves in a wave like motion with each gust.
Thankfully, it stopped raining so I can see a little better, but
it’s almost midnight and everything is pitch black. Add the fact I
forgot to leave the front porch light on and the fact the
subdivision has a lot of houses still in the building phase and it
makes this whole situation creepy. I’ve watched too many movies of
what can go wrong in a construction zone.

“Okay, so what are you
going to do? Throw a rock through the window, crawl inside, and
then claim someone broke in while
you
were watching their house? I
guarantee they won’t give you the money they offered. In fact, I
bet they would make you replace it with your own cash. You should
totally rethink whatever plan you have devised in your
head.”

Lose out on five grand for five months of
housesitting? Easiest money ever. I need it so I can start a career
in self-publishing. I could buy a new window and still come out
ahead.

“It’s my only option. I’ll call you when I’m
inside.”

Sara’s voice raises a few pitches, but I end
the call before I can hear what she says. I know she’s right that I
should just wait till tomorrow, but writing is way more important
than whatever window I’m about to bust.

I open my car door only to
have it blown shut by the strong August wind the moment my left leg
is out.
Ouch!
Only
this stupid Wyoming wind would stick around for
every day of the year. I push the door off my leg and jump out
of the car in a hurry to avoid the same mistake. The wind again
slams the door shut at the same time I firmly plant my feet into
the ground to keep from blowing away. My long, brown hair is
blowing in all directions and it’s a battle between Mother Nature
and my hand to keep it away from my eyes long enough to walk to the
house.

Each step is like pulling a semi-truck
behind me as I walk against the wind. I swear it feels like I’m not
even moving. Thank goodness I went with blue jeans and a black
hoodie tonight. Trying to keep a dress or skirt down in this mess
would be pointless.

I finally make it to the
front porch, pulling my smartphone from my back pocket to turn on
the flashlight. I shine the light around the windows and over the
deck in search of a hide-a-key. When I come up short, I catch sight
of a curtain blowing freely inside the house.
Yes!
There must be a window open. I
hold the flashlight against the window to pinpoint my next
destination. Perfect, I should be able to climb through from the
back porch.

I leap off the front steps, not making much
distance when the wind pushes me backward. The ball of my foot
catches the last step and I fall. I hit the steps just perfectly to
pinch the skin on the back of my thigh, and a small scream passes
my lips as I roll on the ground, grabbing the tender area and
trying not to cry.

You had to remember one thing, Kelsey. The
key. This whole mess could have been avoided had you remembered the
key.

After allowing myself a minute to scold
myself, I push off the ground and head for the back porch. I walk
around to the left side of the house and come to a complete, firm
stop, not giving the wind a chance to blow me down. What the — when
did they do this? A fence. A stupid tall, white,
keep-the-burglar-out-of-my-yard wooden fence. Right where I need to
be. Okay. I get it. Lesson learned. I will never forget the key, or
any key for that matter, ever again.

I force my way to the fence and sigh with
relief when my fingers can reach the top. If I jump just a little,
I should be able to pull myself over. Finally, someone is on my
side.

I extend my arms as straight as I can get
them, but they don’t get a good enough grip on the top of the fence
when I jump. A few more tries later, it’s still not enough. I bend
at the knee and swing my arms behind to give myself the extra oomph
I need. The sound of an empty dumpster hitting the pavement
startles me, and I quickly turn around.

“Who’s there?” I call out.
I can’t see anything; it’s too dark. It was probably just a cat or
the wind. Either way, that’s all the motivation I need to get over
this fence. This time my effort is just good enough to haul myself
over. Or — maybe not. My arms are stuck mid-pull, ready to give
out.
I should really start working
out
. This is just stupid. As I hang on the
fence, I hear the sound of footsteps on the grass behind me.
Instantly I have the strength I need and I pull myself halfway up.
All I need to do it swing my legs over and it’s done.

Suddenly, my body goes stiff and I’m pretty
sure I’ve stopped breathing.

Someone is touching me.

Ethan

After finding every excuse I could to get
out of dinner with my cousin – the less time with Kelsey around me,
the better – all I wanted to do was get some sleep. Instead, I’m
wide awake and irritated with my new neighbors.

I woke up when I heard a car door slamming
and a light scream minutes after. This is not the way my first
night in my first home should go. I’m no pansy, but it’s a good
thing I own guns because if this shit goes down every night, then I
damn sure better stay alert. I’ll be ready for whoever wants to
break into my house.

I drag myself out of bed and down the stairs
to look out the front window. There’s some chick across the street
rolling around on the ground in front of my neighbor’s house. When
she shifts, I can see that she has a flashlight in her hand. This
is not normal behavior for most people.

I watch as she pushes herself up and rounds
the house, coming to a stop. I can’t see her face because the wind
is out of control, blowing her hair in all directions, and right
before she turns toward my house, she pulls the hood of her
sweatshirt over her head. She stands there for a minute, looking
defeated.

Just when I think this bizarre mini-event is
over the girl marches up to the fence, reaches her hand high, and
then starts jumping. I don’t know the people in my neighborhood
yet, but this isn’t a good sign.

I don’t waste any time as I slip my shoes on
and run out the door. I’m wearing only a pair of black gym shorts,
and this wind feels like ice against my skin. My goal is to sneak
up on her, but after a huge gust of wind comes out of nowhere, I
lose balance and bump into the dumpster. Sneaking is no longer an
option. I run straight for the intruder and get there just in
time.

She is half over the fence, dangling her
upper body on one side and her legs on the other. My side. The legs
also come with a very nice ass that’s hard to miss.

I wrap my hands around her ankle and pull
her toward me. There’s no way I am letting her over this fence.
Nice ass or not.

The eardrum-busting scream that comes out of
her mouth is not what I’m expecting. I start to shake my head to
get the ringing to stop at the same time she starts yelling. I
can’t hear her very well because my ears are still recovering.

“Let me go!” she demands.

“No way! I’m not letting you over this
fence,” I shout back.

Her body goes stiff and the screaming stops.
I think I hear her whisper the word “no,” but I’m not sure. If
she’s trying to talk me into letting her go, it’s not working. I
use this moment to tug on her legs, attempting to pull her back
over. Instantly she starts resisting, giving it her all as she
tries to wiggle her way out of my grip.

“Just jump back down and we…”

Fuck!

The stinging pain of her foot making solid
contact with my face distracts me and I lose my balance, again. My
hand loosens its grip, and as I stumble backward, I grab her ankle
to keep myself from falling. It doesn’t work and we both fall to
the ground.

I grunt when she lands on top of my stomach,
making it hard to breathe. She pulls herself together, quickly
rolling off me and scrambling to her feet, but I’m faster. I grab
her foot and yank her back until she is under me. With my legs on
either side of her, my arms are straight as I hold her arms tightly
against her sides to keep her pinned to the ground. She wiggles
hard trying to escape.

“Don’t touch me!” she hollers and continues
to attempt yanking her arms out of my grip while trying to sit
up.

“Yeah, no, that’s not going to happen. You
can’t just go breaking into someone’s house and get away with
it.”

Her body goes lifeless under my hands and
she takes a sharp breath. When she opens her eyes to face me, I
almost let go. The wind has blown her hair out of her face, giving
me a perfect view of bright, gold eyes piercing me with a heated
glare. Her creamy white skin glows in the darkness, rendering me
speechless.

Kelsey.

For a moment neither of us says anything.
Maybe she wasn’t breaking in after all. Someone this beautiful
can’t be that crazy. Can she? Sara definitely would have told me if
her best friend has a few screws loose.

The stunned moment is
interrupted when I hear the sound of sirens approaching.
Just awesome.
Someone
called the cops. Kelsey uses the distraction and shoves me off of
her, quickly rising to her feet.

“You called the police on me? Seriously?
This night just keeps getting better,” she snaps.

“I didn’t call the cops. I had it handled,”
I spit back at her.

She takes a step toward me, dramatically
placing her hands on her hips.