Slow No Wake (16 page)

THIRTEEN

Relaunch

A few minutes later, I breathed a sigh of relief as I dropped my bags at my entryway and stepped into my living room. “Home sweet home,” I said although the word
sweet
didn’t quite fit my apartment. More like home
shabby
home.

I thought I heard stifled laughter, followed by whispering coming from the spare room where Hannah was staying. And I thought I heard more than one voice.

“Hannah,” I yelled. “Are you in your room?”

More laughter and more whispering.
I cringed at the thought of who she could have in her room with her.

I hurried over to her bedroom door and knocked. “Hannah, let me in.”

A few second later, she cracked open her door. Hannah was wearing only a man’s button down shirt over her otherwise naked body.

“Are you alone?” I asked, even though it was obvious she wasn’t.

She went wide-eyed for a moment, then slowly shook her head.

“Who do you have in the room with you?” I asked.

She gulped.

“Hannah?”

She opened the door wider, revealing Brad naked expect for his boxers.

Now I gulped.

Brad gave me a half wave. “Good afternoon, Lexie.”

“Brad,” I acknowledged.

“I-I can explain this situation,” he stammered.

I held up a hand. “No need. You’re both consenting adults.”

I could see Brad’s face turning beet red as I spoke. “Why don’t I let the two of you get dressed?” I said as I slowly backed away from the door.

“Thank,
Lexie,” Hannah said as she closed the door.

I exhaled a large breath. It was going to be a long evening. I grabbed my bags from the foyer and dragged them into my bedroom. By the time I got them put on my bed, I heard a knock at my front door. What now? I thought.

I opened the door to a freshly showered Daniel. His hair was still damp but he smelled clean and fresh. “Just wondered if you’d like to grab a bite to eat? Maybe in 30 minutes or so. If you’re hungry.”

I smiled. “I am hungry and I would love join you.”

We both heard the spare bedroom door slam. I braced myself for the inevitable. I knew Daniel would have to meet my sister eventually. The moment of truth was about to arrive. “Ready to meet my sister?” I whispered.

He raised an eyebrow.

“And she had company this weekend. He’s still here.”

Hannah and Brad entered the living room. They were now both fully clothed.

I could hear Daniel take in a shocked breath when he saw Brad. At least I hoped that’s what caused the reaction. I cringed at the thought that he might be reacting to my gorgeous sister.

“Hannah, I’d like to introduce you to Daniel,” I said.

I was pleased to see that Daniel made no move toward my sister. He gave a slight wave and said, “How’s it going?” Then he crossed his arms over his chest.

My sister responded with a quick “Hi” in return.

“Of course, you already know Brad,” I said.

Brad gave Daniel an
embarrassed half wave. “Hey,” Daniel said in acknowledgment. I knew Brad and Daniel were nowhere near being buddies at work.

When I looked at Daniel and noticed his eyes had returned right back to me, I breathed a sigh of relief. There apparently was at least one man on Earth who was not completely taken in by my sister’s charms.

Then Daniel leaned over and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll see you in 30 minutes,” he whispered in my ear then he walked out the door.

I turned back to Brad and my sister. I couldn’t believe Brad, who was usually Mr. Calm and Collected, actually looked uncomfortable. He was restless and fidgety. “I guess I’d better get going,” he said finally.

Hannah heaved a huge sigh and pouted. Brad was immediately at her side. He put his arms around her and started snuggling her neck. Then he said, “It’s okay, Pookie. We’ll see each other tomorrow.”

I could feel myself throw up a little in my mouth. Did I really just hear Brad, of all people, call my sister
Pookie?

Then Brad starting kissing my sister and
I thought the two of them would start having sex right there in front of me. I coughed a little to remind them I was still very much in the room.

Brad looked up at me with a deer-caught-in-headlights expression. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

Brad kissed my sister’s cheek then headed out the front door.

I crossed my arms over my chest and stared at Hannah. “I see you and Bad wasted no time getting to know each other.”

“I really like him,” she whined. “And he’s going to help me get enrolled at the community college.”

I was immediately impressed. That was the first time my sister had ever uttered the word
college
in her life.

“Okay,” I said cautiously.

“And Brad really likes me,” Hannah said. “For the first time, a decent guy truly likes me. Please try to be happy for me.”

I softened a bit. “I’m glad, Hannah. I really am.”

Hannah flopped on the couch. “So tell me everything about you and Daniel.”

I stood over her. “First, we need to get something out in the open. If I ever see you touch Daniel, even one little finger, you and all of our stuff will be out in the street. Do I make myself clear?”

She harrumphed. “Overreact much?” she blurted.

I glared at her.

“Okay,” she said. “Maybe that isn’t an overreaction. I get it. Stay away from Daniel. He is cute, by the way, but definitely not my type. Besides, I’m really into Brad, so you don’t have to worry.”

I eyed her suspiciously.

She made a cross over her chest then held up her hand. “I swear, I will never touch Daniel. I’ll even promise not to look at him if you’ll sit your ass down here and talk to me.”

The moment of truth.
Would I let me sister back into my life? Would I trust her again? I tentatively sat at the edge of the couch. It was a start. 

***

W
hen Daniel picked me up, I was freshly showered. I decided to put on a light sundress and sandals, which was apparently the right move, because Daniel’s face lit up when he saw me.

“I love that dress on you,” he said. Then he whispered in my ear, “But I think I’ll like it off of you even better.”

A wave of desire rushed through my body.

He grabbed my hand. “Come on. I know exactly where I want to take you.”

We walked down to the main street that paralleled the beach and I noticed there were tents set up all along the road and lots of activity. A huge banner read Annual Taste of the Beach.

Daniel glanced at me to gauge my reaction. “Most of the restaurants in town have a booth where you can try their signature dishes. I thought this would give us a chance to see which ones we like best.”

I took a deep breath. I could smell seafood and garlic along with some fainter smells of cinnamon and chocolate. “A few things smell good already,” I said as my mouth started to water. I hadn’t realized I was so hungry. Then my stomach groaned slightly.

Daniel grinned. “It sounds like we came to the right place.”

The first booth we stopped at had fried calamari and shrimp. Daniel and I both grabbed sample plates and dug in.

The calamari was tender and tasty. “This is delicious,” I said.

“It is good,” Daniel agreed. Then he popped a shrimp into his mouth. “This is really good, too.”

As I took a bite of the shrimp, Daniel said, “I need to tell you something in case Rick mentions it.”

My stomach clenched slightly. I didn’t know how much more I could take of the weirdness between Daniel and his friends.

“Everyone is probably going to find out pretty quickly about Brad and your sister,” he said.

I nodded.

“I just wanted you to know that Ricky and I sort of had a bet.”

“What kind of bet?” I asked with some hesitancy.

Daniel glanced at the ground uncomfortably. “I know you’re going to think this is wrong on so many levels. I’m a little embarrassed to even tell you.”

“Please just tell me, Daniel,” I asked, no longer able to hide my apprehension.

He gulped. “I lost twenty dollars because I bet Ricky that Brad was gay.”

“Don’t feel bad,” I said. “The twins and I couldn’t figure it out either.”

Daniel kissed my forehead. He pulled me toward a booth with Italian food and we each grabbed plates with toasted ravioli.

We bit into our ravioli simultaneously and each gave out a little groan of pleasure at the same time.

“It’s good, huh?” Daniel said.

“It’s great,” I said. “Definitely add this restaurant to the list.”

As we continued down the walkway, Daniel asked, “Have you given any thought to what’s going to happen when people see Eddie’s face? Or when they find out we’re a couple?”

“The only person I’m really worried about is Tom,” I said. “I don’t want either of our jobs to be in jeopardy.”

“I’m sure Tom will be cool about it as long as we’re not too demonstrative at work, which I’m not saying is going to be easy. I’m not sure how I’m going to keep my hands off of you.”

I grinned. “I’m sure you’ll figure out a way.”

He leaned down and kissed me, sending electricity racing through my body. Then he whispered into my ear, “But how are you going to manage to keep your hands off of me?”

I looked up at Daniel and his beautiful blue eyes looked with mine. “That sounds like a challenge, Mr. O’Grady.”

He raised an eyebrow.
“A challenge?”

“We’ll see exactly how long we can keep our hands off of each other at work. The first one who caves has to buy dinner tomorrow night, preferable at the Italian place with the fantastic toasted ravioli.”

“You’ve got yourself a bet, Ms. Wilkins.”

***

I
barely made it to work on time on Monday. I blame it on Daniel and keeping me up late with incredible sex, but I’m not complaining. The entire drive to work, I thought about the way he looked at me and touched me, with so much desire, but also so much reverence. Our bodies fit together, and worked together, so perfectly. But it was even more than that. We when joined, our union was more than just physical. I know it sounds corny, but I felt so connected to Daniel on such a deeper level.

As I ran into the administrative building, I noticed Lily was whistling. I had never heard her whistle before. It was weird. Then she started humming even though no music was playing.

“What are you so happy about?” I asked as Lily turned to me with a huge grin on her face.

“I know this is going to sound really bad. Please don’t hate me.”

“I could never hate you, Lily,” I assured her.

She leaned in like she was going to share something secret and said quietly, “Mr.
LaRoche got beat up pretty badly over the weekend. His face is a mess.”

My stomach clenched, but I tried to hold a neutral expression on my face.
“Really? Why are you happy about that?”

“Let’s just say that he and I may have dated and it didn’t end well.”

I nodded in understanding. “So, any idea who beat Mr. LaRoche up?” I asked in an effort to ascertain what other information was circulating.

“No one knows for sure, but the majority opinion is that he messed around with a married woman and her husband caught them in the act.”

I had to stifle a chuckle. Figures that the rumors would somehow turn Eddie into some kind of cult figure.

“Interesting,” I said.

Lily leaned it close. “It doesn’t really matter who did it. What matters is that he deserved it.”

If nothing else was true, that certainly was.

The twins were waiting outside my office when I arrived. As soon as they saw me, they each grabbed me by an elbow and dragged me across the hallway to their lair.

As soon as the door closed behind us, they both looked at me expectantly.

“Spill,” Trinity said.

I looked at her puzzled. There was so much I could have spilled about, I wasn’t sure exactly to what she was referring. 

“What did you do to Brad?” Serenity clarified.

I breathed a small sigh of relief that they weren’t going to ask about Daniel and Eddie.

“Well, he’s not gay,” I said.

“No shit,” Trinity said. “But why after eight years is he suddenly acting like a human being?”

“When he saw us this morning, he actually smiled and asked us how we were doing,” Serenity added.

“Sex will do that to you, I guess,” I said.

The twins went wide-eyed. “You’re doing Brad and Daniel and Mr. LaRoche?” Trinity said. “Lexie, you are a slut.”

I guess I wasn’t getting off that easy after all.