The Wrong Man (9 page)

I swallowed hard, unsure how to handle what I’d set into play. Jake’s nostrils flared slightly as he sat back in his chair and then leaned toward me again.

“Bran, we ne—”

“Brandon, is that you? Honey, I have been meaning to call you! I need to come by the store to pick up a set of those divine candles. Tell me you still have the cobalt!”

I turned sharply toward the high-pitched effeminate voice. It was Trey O’Brien, a young Hollywood actor who’d recently re-signed his contract for his role on a popular television series. He was a frequent customer who often came into my store wearing oversized sunglasses and carrying his tiny Yorkie in his man-bag. Trey was harmless and sweet in his own way, but I was still reeling over my lip-lock with Jake. Trey’s appearance felt intrusive and out of place. However, he was a client so I smiled up at him kindly.

“It must be fate. I received a new shipment of the cobalt this week. I’ll put a couple aside for you. How many do you need? Three?”

I could see Trevor in my peripheral vision watching our exchange intently. Where was the waiter with our check? I couldn’t eat another bite, and I was anxious to get the hell out of here. I felt off-balance and out of sorts. But it had nothing to do with Trevor or Trey. It was all Jake’s fault. Correction. It was mine for agreeing to come to dinner with him in the first place.

“Fab! Yes, thank you, thank you. Brandon, you are a dream!” Trey turned to Jake and threw out his right hand like a femme fatale. I held my eye roll in check as he introduced himself to my “date.” “Hi. I’m Trey O’Brien. You are…?”

“Jake. Jake Westley. Nice to meet you.” As he politely shook the offered hand, I barely stifled a laugh. Trey was obviously hoping to be recognized and Jake clearly had no clue who he was.

“Yes. You too,” Trey purred before pivoting toward the table next to ours. “Oh! Wonderful. My date is right here. Enjoy your dinner. I’ll come by tomorrow, Brandon.”

Trey took the seat opposite Trevor but jumped up a second later. “I’m so rude. This won’t be awkward, will it? Us sitting next to each other? We can move, right, Trev honey?”

Between Jake’s searing hot kiss and Trey’s timely interruption, I’d almost forgotten about my ex, who sat a few feet away looking extraordinarily uncomfortable. And with good reason, it seemed. Trey O’Brien was obviously “the guy from work” he claimed to be interested in. Talk about a case of opportunistic semantics. He’d forgotten to mention the guy wasn’t a fellow out-of-work actor trying to make some extra cash till his big break came, which is how he’d made it sound. “Out of work” in Trey’s case had been code for “waiting to re-sign a lucrative contract for a hit TV series.” In other words, I’d been dumped for a bigger fish. Someone with connections to help jumpstart his stagnant acting career. Not only had that fucker lied by omission and cheated, but he’d evidently done so with one of my clients. How very fucking… Hollywood.

I waited for the wave of humiliation to envelop me and drown out the voices around me. It didn’t come. Sure, I was uncomfortable but given the circumstances, who wouldn’t be? I tried to smile at the new lovebirds, but my facial muscles would not cooperate. No doubt I looked like I’d swallowed a lemon. All I wanted was out.

“Of course.” Trevor shifted as though he were going to stand up.

“You figure it out, darling. I need to take this call. Nice to see you both!” Trey pulled out a buzzing cell phone and sashayed toward the front of the restaurant.

“Um, hey Bran, I’m sor—” Trev started as he turned to face our table.

“Babe, do you feel like dessert or can we go home for that?” Jake’s left hand cupped the back of my neck and blocked Trevor from view as he massaged the tension away. He pulled me into his side and kissed the corner of my mouth sweetly.

I grinned in response, grateful for Jake’s presence and his kindness. And his ability to stay in character.

“Let’s go home,” I said in a huskier than usual tone.

Jake pulled out his credit card and discreetly handed it to the waiter as he passed before turning back to me. He stared at me in a manner that made it hard to notice anything or anyone around us. Especially my idiot ex. My focus and energy were fixed on Jake. I let his fingers entwine with mine and answered his whispered question about a song he could hear playing softly on the speakers. He effortlessly fell into his role to a degree that should have alarmed me. There was no awkward PDA or over-the-top affectations to make his “boyfriend” act unbelievable. It was all in his body language. The way he leaned forward with his eyes locked on mine would indicate to anyone he was with someone special.

When we stood to leave, he helped me pull my chair out and politely inclined his head, inviting me to lead the way. We pointedly ignored Trevor as we traversed the maze of tables on our way to the exit and managed to avoid bumping into Trey again. I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d be sure to sic Lorenzo on him if he turned up at the store the next day. I made a concerted effort to clear my mind of any unpleasantness while I waited near the valet kiosk for Jake to give the attendant his ticket to retrieve his SUV. I had pulled out my wallet, hoping to at least contribute tip money, when he nudged my shoulder.

“Put it away, Good. I got it.”

“Good? Did you really just give me a bro shout-out?”

I treated him to the patented sassy head bob I’d perfected in high school. It was a playful gesture I had a feeling Jake would recognize. I was desperate to infuse some levity into an odd evening and perhaps wordlessly signal an end to the “affectionate boyfriend” act. He threw his head back in laughter and tossed a careless arm around my waist to pull me close. He placed a quick kiss on my cheek and then stepped away to open the passenger door for me when his SUV pulled up. I smiled at his chivalry as I fastened my seatbelt and waited for him to get behind the wheel.

When he merged onto Beverly Boulevard, I turned to face him.

“Thank you, Jake.”

“No thanks necessary.”

“Actually, I disagree. You sure you didn’t come to LA for a career switch? Fireman turns actor?” I was rewarded with a soft chuckle. “You were magnificent. Thank you.”

“Happy to be of service. Besides, you offered to watch Mack in exchange for a little tongue action, right?”

I burst out laughing, disarmed by his easy humor. The tension in my shoulders slipped away and balance was restored. Friendly banter was preferable to uncomfortable silence any day.

“I suppose I did offer my dog-sitting skills, such as they are, for your… cooperation. Let me know when I can be of help.”

“I take it that was your ex. Trev or Trey?”

“Trev. They’re a matching set with those names, aren’t they?” I snorted derisively, then sighed heavily and stared out the window. “It’s always fun running into an ex-boyfriend, especially when he’s with your replacement.”

“Trust me, I know the feeling.” Jake gave a humorless half laugh.

“I wish I’d known he— Did you run into your ex and his new man on a regular basis?”

“Often enough,” he scoffed. “And I know it sucks.”

“Trevor wasn’t… I don’t know why it flustered me to see him like that. But it did, and knowing he was with the guy he dumped me for… ugh. Did your ex cheat on you too?”

“No. Worse.” He glanced at me briefly before turning his attention back to the traffic near Sunset Boulevard. “He just didn’t love me anymore.”

“Oh.” That
was
worse.

“Don’t feel bad for me. We’ve been over for a while now. It was hard. I was sure we could fix whatever was wrong, but I couldn’t do it alone.”

“I’m sor—”

“Don’t be. It obviously wasn’t meant to last.”

It was mostly silent in the darkened SUV’s interior, only a barely audible tinny sound from the radio playing in the background. My impulse was to lean over and adjust the sound. Music should be played loud enough to be heard, in my opinion. Tonight, I didn’t mind the quiet. I was stuck in an alternate universe discussing exes with an ex who’d not only turned out to be a serious hunk but a good guy too. When the light turned red, I felt the weight of his stare. I glanced over at him in surprise when he reached out to lightly trace the line of my jaw. I pulled back slightly but didn’t argue when he took my hand in his and held it securely for the short ride back to my house.

Again, I questioned my sanity. Something was odd in my world for sure. My heart was beating double time when he finally turned onto my street. A quick escape was my best bet. I had my fingers wrapped around the car door handle and was ready to rip my other hand from his grasp when he slowed down. He must have sensed my intent to bolt, because he held on to me until I was forced to give him a “what the fuck?” look.

“Let me walk you to your door.”

“Jake, let’s not do this. Please. I really don’t want this evening to get any weirder than it already has been. Thank you for tonight. For dinner and pretending to—”

“Hey, nothing is weird here. It’s dark, and I’m walking you to your door—”

“I’m a big boy. I’ve got this.” I detached my hand from his grip and opened the door. “Thanks again.”

When I reached the sidewalk, he was waiting for me. The man obviously was hard of hearing.

“You are stubborn.” I gave him my best evil eye before I trudged up the path ahead of him.

“Me? You’re the difficult one. I’m trying to be nice—”

“You don’t have to prove you’re nice to me. I get it. That doesn’t mean—suit yourself.”

“Humor me.”

I fished my key from my pocket as I approached the well-lit front porch.

“Here I am, safe and sound. No need for worry,” I said flippantly as I turned to Jake. “You ca—”

I swallowed my words. He was closer than I expected. Much closer. I felt the warmth from his body but wasn’t prepared for the hunger I saw in his eyes. I licked my bottom lip nervously. I knew what was going to happen, and though I wasn’t sure it was a good idea, I wasn’t going to stop him. He bent slightly and brushed his nose against mine. I felt his breath on my lips as I waited for him to close the distance between us. Neither of us moved. He smelled delicious, that intoxicating combination of soap and a hint of musky cologne I’d noticed the morning he hugged me in my kitchen. I could have happily buried my nose in his shirt or in the curve where his neck met his shoulders. I closed my eyes and leaned in the tiniest bit closer, expecting him to take over. He still didn’t move.

“Aren’t you going to ki—”

And then he pounced. He crashed his mouth over mine and snaked his arms around my waist, fusing our bodies together. His hands traveled up and down my back while he licked a sensual line across the seam of my lips, requesting entry. I heard myself moan as his tongue danced and collided with mine in a lustful assault. I arched into him instinctively. Jake lowered his hands to my ass, drawing me in tightly as he thrust his hips forward. The friction was hot, and his demanding kisses had my head reeling. This was nothing like our frantic make-out sessions years ago.

Just as that errant thought surfaced to remind me whom I was grinding against like a teenager on my front porch, Jake turned his full attention to my mouth. I was painfully hard, but I was right. We shouldn’t be doing any of this. But I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I bit at his jaw and then licked my way to his ear, flicking the lobe gently with my tongue until I felt his teeth at my neck. I made a strangled sound and went limp in his arms. He was overpowering in a subtle, almost unexpected way. I was two seconds away from ripping his shirt when a car went down my street blaring hip-hop music at an obscene volume. I pulled away and rested my forehead against his shoulder. We stood quietly catching our breath for a moment.

Then Jake pressed a soft kiss on my cheek and stepped away. “Good night, Bran. Thank you for… well, just thank you. I’ll see you soon.”

I stared after him like an idiot, watching him open his door and start the SUV. I heard the familiar hum of distant traffic and smelled the fragrant sweet star jasmine from my neighbor’s garden. Everything looked and seemed to be in place, but something was different.

I had a sudden feeling of déjà vu of when I was weeks away from turning seventeen and high with a sense of confidence I’d attributed to the beginnings of feeling comfortable in my own skin. I’d always been quirky, sassy, and had dressed outlandishly, but people, even the ones my age, had begun to accept me as I was.

That had to be the reason the delicious Jake Westley asked if I wanted a ride home after the chemistry study group meeting. I gave him directions to Mara’s small Northridge home and regaled him with my raunchy version of how to memorize the periodic table. He laughed appreciatively as he pulled into the darkened driveway. I loved the merry sound and thought he was either an easy audience, or I was a hell of a lot more entertaining than I realized. I grabbed my belongings and turned to thank him for the ride, but found him closer than expected. He licked his lips and spoke. We were inches apart but I couldn’t understand what he was saying. When he moved closer still, his warm breath on my lips, I waited. The moment was surreal. It didn’t seem possible the popular, handsome jock wanted to kiss me. I wondered if I was being set up, if this was a dare or a hoax. But when he touched his lips gently to mine, I stopped thinking at all. Neither of us deepened the connection. We simply breathed. Mara turned the front porch light on, and the moment was gone. I didn’t look at him when I closed the car door. I had no way of processing this twist. It was unprecedented. My expectations were low that he’d acknowledge the kiss the next day at school anyway. Something strange, new, and different had begun.

I hadn’t known then it was an awakening of sorts. I only knew I’d felt a spark of wonder and possibility. And yes… fear.

Thirteen years later, standing on my porch watching Jake’s taillights as he pulled away, the feeling was strong enough to take my breath away.