The Impostor, A Love Story (11 page)

I could see Emily up ahead.
As we came closer, I realized I had never stopped a sprinting horse
before. I pulled the reigns like in the old movies. “Whoa.” I
leaned back. “Whoa, Misty.” It worked. She slowly broke her stride,
and soon we were walking through the gate. I was
alive.

We entered Chris’s sister Amber’s room,
turning to admire its beauty: the poster bed with the
nettin
g, the balcony overlooking the mountains,
and the huge garden tub. It felt like a spa. We freshened up
before the long drive home.

Entering the living room, we walked over to
Chris. He had a fire going and a glass of wine waiting for us. The
buzz I felt a little earlier in the day was quite gone, and even
the fear that had consumed me had disappeared. I could now laugh
about it.

“I thought you were going to kill me when I
was out there in the dark. I was sure you were that serial killer
everyone is reading about in the papers. I actually thought for a
moment you had separated Emily and me on purpose.”

“So I look like a serial killer to you?” He
seemed amused. “You do need to be careful out here, but you’re with
me. And I assure you, I will not do anything to hurt you.” He
turned to Emily, focusing on her eyes, “And that goes for your
heart too.” He leaned in and kissed her.

That night, I told Jess about the beautiful
mountains and the horse that looked like a unicorn.

“A unicorn!” I could hear the excitement in
her voice. “Can I ride one when I get to Alaska land?”

We had worked all day, but a few of the
waitresses called in sick for the night shift, so Brad asked if we
could help cover the evening shift as well. We didn’t have to, but
he said it would help him out a lot. We agreed even though it was
slow.

Katie, one of the waitresses at the club,
arrived for her shift around four. She approached me, grabbing my
arm to pull me aside. Her short, blonde, sassy hair bobbed as she
gestured.

“Oh my god, girl. Dylan has got a thing for
you.”

“What do you mean?” Why would she say
that?

“The other night at Brad’s house, he was
asking questions about you all night. Barbara was so pissed. She
was all over him, and he wouldn’t have anything to do with her. You
know how girls always come onto him? He ignored all of them and
kept asking, ‘Do you think Nicole will show up?’ And yesterday,
when you didn’t come to work, you should have seen him. The guys
were teasing him about it. He could have had any girl, and all he
did was talk about you. You have to stop being so picky and get you
some. He is hot.”

“It doesn’t make much sense to me. He’ll be
leaving soon. The band’s only staying for one more month,” I
reminded myself as I spoke the words.

“It isn’t like you are going to marry him.
Just have some fun. All you do is work. You should at least go out
with him.”

I thought about it for a moment. When he
kissed my cheek in a bar with people cleaning, people leaving,
people bustling through the place, it seemed like there was only
the two of us. I could so easily disappear in his eyes, in his
arms, in his kiss.
Red flag! I don’t need the distraction or the
broken heart
.

“We’ll see,” I told her, but I had already
made up my mind. I went to take an order from a table.

Katie had a suspicious grin on her face as
she used the phone at the bar. She hung up the phone, giving me a
smirk.
What the hell was that all about
? It wasn’t long
after Katie’s mysterious call that Dylan came through the door of
the club, arriving hours earlier than his set. Walking over to the
hostess, he soon had a table in my section.

Damn
. We only had five customers, so I
couldn’t pretend I was busy or anything. I swallowed, straightening
my apron as I approached him.

“How can I help you?” I tried to act as if
seeing him didn’t mean anything to me, but I was pretty sure that I
was doing a terrible job.

He handed me a single red rose. “I thought
about nothing but you last night.” He ate me up with his intense
warm eyes.

“You have hundreds of girls screaming your
name each night.” I knew it was just a line.

“I want to be with you, though.” Taking my
hands, he drew me closer to him. “I want to be with you.” His
fingertips tickled down my arms. Each time they did, he hypnotized
me with his sensual touch. Chills covered my body. Even my scalp
tingled. He sat before me, his mouth at the perfect height for me
to kiss him as he brought me in close to him. I focused on his
soft, luscious lips and bit down on my own, trying to hold myself
back. How I longed to kiss him. How I longed to . . . instead, I
pulled away.

“You’re going to get me fired.”

“So take off.”
God his smile was so
sexy.

“What kind of girl do you think I am? You
think I’d leave work to sleep with you?”

“Who said anything about sleeping with you?
I’ve got four hours before I have to go on. Let’s get out of here.
We can do anything—you decide. I’ll take you to dinner. You need to
eat right? We can go to a movie, we can go for a drive, or you can
come to my place. I’m actually a pretty good cook . . . whatever
you want to do. Come with me.”

I felt the thumping intensify in my chest. “I
can’t.” I removed my hands from his, stepping away.

“You can.” He stood, startling me as he
picked me up, cradling me.

“Brad,” he called out, “clock her out—I’m
kidnapping her.” He carried me to the door like it was a
threshold.

“I can’t.” I repeated, “Dylan, I really
can’t.” He didn’t listen. He left the building with me in his arms,
bringing me over to his car.

“Dinner, just dinner—you have to eat. You
have been here all day, and as much as I love Brad, the food here
is not the best. I insist.” He gently put me down next to the car,
then took his jacket off and wrapped it around me. I stared at him
silently, as he buttoned it up. He swept the hair off my shoulder
and straightened up the collar.

What the hell was I doing
? One voice
was cheering, “Wahoo!” The other voice screamed, “You idiot!
Run!”

He stood so close . . . his cologne filled my
nose with its sweet, sexy smell. As he reached around me to unlock
the door, his cheek brushed against mine. I unconsciously placed my
hands on his biceps—so firm, so hard—and lost my breath. I licked
my lips.
If I leave with him I may
. . . I swallowed. It had
been so long since I had been with a man. I gently pushed at his
body, but he didn’t move. I was trapped against the car, but I
secretly enjoyed being captured.

“Dylan,” I bit my lip again and tried to
regain my composure. “It’s really complicated. I’m just getting
over a really bad relationship.”

Dylan gazed into my eyes and gently touched
the outline of my face, trying to get me to abandon my
uncertainty.

I hesitated.

“I . . . I . . .” I shook myself out of my
trance and took in a deep breath. “Listen Dylan, I really don’t
want to waste your time. I’m going to be honest with you.”

He just stared into my eyes as I spoke.

“I’m not the kind of girl you go out with.
I’ve seen the girls you date, and I’m not like that.”

“Look, Nicole.” He grabbed my hands again,
stroking them with his thumbs. “Ever since we met last month, I
have been watching you with people, not stalker-crazy-like, well
maybe a little, but you’re not like other girls. That’s what I
like. You’re always smiling and always treat everyone so well—like
giving that little girl your coat. Brad said I have no hope, but I
had to at least try. I want to spend some time with you.”

He was good. I could see why girls fell for
him so easily. I wanted to believe everything he was saying, but I
knew I’d end up getting hurt.

“I can’t. I have to work tonight. A few girls
didn’t show up for work, and I told Brad I’d stay and help
out.”

“All right, fine.” He adjusted his stance as
if it would help him win the negotiation and again pulled me close
to almost whisper to me. “Tonight you can go back in there, but
tomorrow….tomorrow you are mine. All mine.” He brought my hand to
his lips and gently kissed it. “You take off work and spend the day
with me tomorrow. Brad will let you. I’ll talk to him. We’re not
playing tomorrow, so it will be perfect.”

“What about Emily? I never go anywhere
without her.”

“We can bring her. That’s fine.”

“I’m not going to sleep with you, Dylan.”

“Did I ask you to?” He stared into my eyes
again.

Sex had to mean more than a night of passion.
Ronald and I had used protection, and still, Jessica was born. I
didn’t want to make love to someone unless I knew the man would be
a good father—in case something happened. It was more than just a
night of passion, because I knew it could alter the rest of my
life.

“Just one date, Nicole. I won’t bite. Give me
a chance. I won’t pressure you to do anything you don’t want to
do.”

Anything I don’t want to do . . . that was
the problem.

I tried to hold a smile back, but it took
over my face. “Okay, Dylan, one date.”

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” He grabbed
my hand and led me back inside. Right before we walked through the
doors, he brought me close and pressed his forehead against
mine.

“I know I’ll have to behave myself with you,
Nicole. I will. I promise.”

Chapter
Twelve

Dylan pressed his finger over my mouth as if
to say,

“
Shh, I just want to be with you.

If you’re not ready then I will wait.”

~The Impostor

Later that evening in the bar, I set beers on
a table in front of me. “A Corona,
Yuengling, and
a Blue Moon.” As the customers paid me,
Carl handed me an
anonymous red rose.

“You got an admirer,” one of the customers
concluded. He had seen Carl approach me with at least twelve or
more. I blushed more with each rose.

“Carl, did Dylan put you up to this?”

“Young lady, he’s the one that’s been sending
you stuff all month.”

“What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“He told me not to.”

“He sent me the little chipmunk?”

“I told him you liked stuffed animals.”

“And the fox and the big bunny, that was
him?”

“He loved how your face lit up when I gave it
to you.”

I took the rose in my hand and smelled it.
Its gentle fragrance filled my nose as I walked over to Dylan.
“Thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful.”

“You are beautiful.”

Every time he looked at me, I forgot how to
exhale. Finally, I managed to ask, “What are we doing
tomorrow?”

“It’s a surprise.”

“How do I dress?”

“You should let me stay over, and I’ll help
you pack for the day.” He smiled.

“Dylan, you’re so bad! I don’t think Emily
would like that too much. ”

“I was just joking. I know; no meaningless
sex. Although, I have to say, with you it wouldn’t be
meaningless.”

“No sex,” I playfully smacked him. “Look,
Dylan, I don’t want to waste your time. I’m not going to change my
mind. If that’s what you’re after, I am the wrong girl.

“It’s fine, it’s fine. I’ll behave. Truth is
I haven’t been with anyone since Rita.”

“Her psycho-obsession made you wake up?”

“No, it was more this sassy brunette who
ruined me for all other women.” He winked at me.

In my head, I knew how this story was going
to end and that I was ultimately going to get hurt, but I finally
decided to go along for the ride anyway.

“What if I don’t bring the right
clothes?”

“We’ll have to take you shopping.”

“No, you don’t have to do that. Just tell me
what I should bring.”

“I’d love to take you shopping. I have a
little less than a month to spoil you.”

I felt like I was dreaming.
Take me
shopping? The band can’t make that much money yet
. I hadn’t
heard of them before they started working here.

“Need you for a sound check, Dylan,” Justin
called him over. The night had flown by.

“I’ll be right there.” He leaned over and
gave me one last kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you after.” He
squeezed my hand as he began to walk away.

“We’ll see,” I managed out. I got a weird
knot in my stomach. At the table, it felt like he was all mine; on
stage, he was everyone’s.

Once he left the table, Katie snuck over and
leaned in as if she was telling me a secret.

“Such a hottie.”

“Katie, did you call him?”

“Yesterday, he begged me to call him when you
got in today. I figured it wouldn’t hurt anything. Besides, it
gives me an in with Justin. Dylan really likes you. I can tell you
like him too. Every girl in this place would die to be you right
now. Aren’t you having fun? You sure seem like it.”

I decided to wait at the bar and talk with
Brad since business hadn’t picked up and there was hardly anyone in
my station. The band hung out behind the stage while the tech tuned
their instruments for their set. Chris came in to see Emily since
he was in town, so I figured I’d leave them alone. Emily deserved
someone like him. I hoped they would end up together, but she was
like me. After your heart has been broken, it’s hard to jump back
up and trust again.

That is when I had my perfect idea. I ran
over to their table. “What are you doing tomorrow, Chris?” Emily
glared at me like she was going to kill me. I didn’t give him a
chance to answer. “I actually have a date.” I perched on my seat
like a peacock—proud, because I wouldn’t be the tag along. “Emily
is going to be my bodyguard. She is a light-weight, and I thought
maybe you would like to come as her back up.”