Tell Me a Secret (12 page)

He backed away and stuck both hands in his pockets. “So you want me to order food?”

As a distraction, she eased to Aphrodite’s cage and opened it. The cat came out and hopped under the sofa.

Getting Jace out of her thoughts was going to be harder than she thought. Zach Roberts had his work cut out.

Three hours later, with Jace gone, Maggie wrote in her journal. When she heard the key in the front door, she put the book away and called out to Sarah. “I’m in here”.

Her roommate strolled in and sat in the corner chair. “Sam tells me Jace showed up in Abilene.”

“Yep.”

“That’s all you have to say?”

Maggie averted her eyes. She’d known Sarah her entire life, and her friend had a way of reading her thoughts. “Nothing much to tell. He arrived and the weather was too bad for him to leave. He helped me pack.”

“Why did he follow you there?”

“I wouldn’t take his calls.”

“You’re kidding. He traveled all the way to Abilene in a snowstorm because you wouldn’t answer the phone?”

“That’s what he said.”

“Did you sleep with him?”

“Sarah!” Maggie swallowed hard and tried to look offended, but failed.

“Oh. My. God. You did.”

Her voice elevated an octave. “It isn’t what you think. We slept together, but we didn’t have sex. I’ve told you, he’s not interested in me.”

“Tell me what happened.” Sarah leaned forward with genuine concern, but Maggie hoped her friend wasn’t going to sympathize with her. She didn’t need any more people to join Jace’s pity party. She gave her the details and when she finished, Sarah smiled.

“Why are you so happy?”

“Well, whataya know? Sam’s right. He’s been right all along.”

Maggie knitted her brows together. “Right about what? Oh—I get it. From the beginning he knew I wasn’t Jace’s type. That’s not a surprise. I guess it says a lot about me when a man-whore isn’t even interested.”

“Oh, he’s interested all right. That’s the problem.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We slept in front of a romantic roaring fire, just like the ones you see in the movies where the couple ends up making love, and he didn’t so much as touch me. The only thing he feels for me is pity.”

Maggie’s eyes misted. She hated being so emotional. She sniffed, stretched the neck of her tee shirt up and wiped her eyes. “He sees me as this helpless, loveless, motherless, and every other less word in the dictionary.”

“You’re wrong. He’s interested and that scares the shit out of him. You’re different from his usual fare. That’s why he hasn’t slept with you.”

“No, he isn’t attracted to me and I’ve got to stop these feeling I have for him. So, I’ve taken action.”

“How so?”

“I have a date with Dr. Roberts Friday night.”

Sarah laughed out loud. “Well, a little competition is what Jace needs to force him to face the truth.”

“I didn’t finish. I’m going out with Zach on Friday and Jared Sloan on Saturday.”

When Wednesday arrived, Maggie wanted to call off the study session, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. She wasn’t sure if her attraction to Jace was the reason, or her addiction to his family, especially his mom.

With the tutoring session over, Maggie returned home. It had gone better than she anticipated. Jace stayed on point and didn’t engage in his usual flirtation. She snuggled deep into the mattress and pulled the covers around her. Aphrodite tried to jump onto the bed and missed her landing. Maggie reached down, lifted the cat and stroked her fur. She inhaled a deep breath and thought of Elizabeth Sloan. She’d miss the bond they’d formed.

She rolled to her side and thought of her upcoming dates. Thank goodness Jared wasn’t at the weekly dinner. If he had been, he might have mentioned their meeting.
Meeting
. It wasn’t a date. At least she didn’t consider it that way.

She flopped onto her back and recalled the conversation she’d had with Sarah a few days ago. Could she be right? Was Jace interested in more than friendship? No. No way. She’d given him plenty of opportunities to make a move and he hadn’t.

Head pounding, she stared into the darkness. She flicked on the lamp and grabbed her journal. Writing was therapeutic. It was the one place she could spill her guts and not be judged.

The phone chirped. She read the text.
r u up
? Damn. Jace. She should ignore it. But if she did, he’d be at her door, and she didn’t want that. Crap. She texted back and right away the phone rang.

“It’s eleven o’clock. What do you want, Jace?”

“Hello to you, too.”

“I thought you had lights out at eleven.”

“Yeah, we do, but I can’t sleep. I wanted to talk. What are you doing?”

“Writing in my journal.”

“Ah, see somebody else have sex?”

So much for staying on point
. “Hush.”

He whispered a laugh. “What are you writing?”

“None of your business.”

“Ever write about me?”

“Occasionally.”

“What do you write?”

“Mostly how annoying you are.”

He laughed. The deep, mellow tone came from the back of his throat and it caused her heart to race.
 

“Read me one thing you’ve written,” he begged.

“No.”

“C’mon. Just one thing. One sentence. That’s all and then I won’t bother you anymore.”

“That’s a lie.”

“C’mon, Magpie. It’ll help me sleep.”

“That’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I’m not hanging up until you read me something.”

“Fine. One thing. One sentence.” Her heart fluttered. She fanned pages and then stopped on one and smiled. “Tonight I met my study partner for the first time. His name is Jace Sloan.”

“Crap, Maggie.”

“You should be happy. You said one sentence and I gave you two.”

“You think you’re smart, don’t you?”

“I am smart.”

“Yeah, you are. We fly to Kansas on Friday for our game, so I won’t see you until Monday. What are you doing this weekend?”

“Working.”

“All weekend?”

Her stomach knotted. Had he talked to Jared? Did he know about their meeting? “Yes, why?”

“No reason. I just wondered. Will you miss me?”

“Go to sleep, Jace.”

“Yeah. Okay. I’ll talk to you later. Good night.”

“Bye.”

The familiar squeak of the front door sounded and in a few seconds Sarah breezed in. Maggie glanced at the clock again. “You’ve had a late night. How’d work go?”
 

Sarah kicked out of her heels, went to the corner chair and sat. “Yeah, and my feet are killing me. I’ll be so glad to graduate and quit that job. I had a customer who tried on every shoe in her size and stayed until closing. Then, we had to get the department perfect, because bigwigs are coming tomorrow from the main office.”

“The shoe department is hard, but on the bright side, you only have a few more weeks.”

“Thank God. Do you have an extra tube of toothpaste?”

“Top right-hand drawer.”

Two minutes later, Maggie heard the cadence of Sarah’s bare foot tapping against the tile. She raised her eyes to see her roommate holding a package. “You want to tell me about these?”

She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “Those are birth control pills.”

“Yeah, I can see that. How long have you been taking them?”

“A while.”

“Let me guess. You got them when you started tutoring.”

Maggie shook her head. “No, before that. You remember when you tried to convince me to join the dating website?”

“Yes, and as I recall, you did join but never accepted a single invitation and pulled your profile after two weeks.”

“I got cold feet. I wasn’t comfortable meeting someone online. It’s great for people who like that sort of thing, but it’s not for me. Anyway, at the same time, Zach Roberts asked me out and I decided maybe it was time I thought about ending my virginity. Now that I’m seeing him on Friday, they may come in handy.”

It’s easy to fool the eye, but it’s hard to fool the heart.

~Al Pacino

After studying with Jace on Wednesday, Maggie managed to avoid him the rest of the week. He kept his word and stayed out of her business and didn’t call or show up at her house uninvited. Of course not seeing him didn’t keep him out of her head. She’d given her best effort to concentrate on her date, but each time, Jace slipped right back into her brain.

She glanced at her watch. Right about now, he, along with the rest of the football team were on a plane to Kansas City, due to land the same time faux boyfriend arrived. She went to her closet to choose an outfit. Zach planned to take her to a new restaurant. She’d googled it and learned it wasn’t fancy, so something casual made sense.

One by one, she slid the hangers across the rod. The long purple batik skirt? No, she might trip on the hem. That would be embarrassing. She pulled out a pair of denim leggings and decided they were a good choice.

Fingering the selection of tops, she chose a soft, drapey maroon shirt with roll-up sleeves. The silk scarf, a Christmas gift from Marc would be the perfect accessory.

She took a good look in the mirror. Earlier, she’d straightened her hair. Not that a sophisticated style was needed, but this was the first date…

She stopped. She couldn’t remember the last time.

Sarah walked into the room. “Wow, you’re gorgeous.”

“Thanks. Can you remember the last time I had a date?”

“Hmm, sophomore year? That geeky guy from your biology class?”

Maggie pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “Oh yeah. What was his name?”

“I don’t remember. I just called him geeky-creepy. Why did you go out with him?”

Maggie adjusted the collar of her blouse and flipped her hair away. “Gerald. That was it. Gerald Duncan. I went because it was the first game of the season and everyone had a date but me. He asked at the last minute and I was desperate, so I accepted.”

She laughed, sat on the bed, and slipped her feet into a pair of navy flats. “He was nice enough, but he ate a hot dog and got mustard and ketchup everywhere. All over his shirt and a big glob on his pants in the worst possible spot.”

“Oh yeah, I remember. It put a bull’s eye on his baby-maker. God, he was messy. Let’s hope Dr. Roberts is neater. Where’s he taking you?”

“Kirby’s. Are you familiar with it?”

“I know where it is, but I haven’t been there. If it’s good, Sam and I will give it a try.”

Thirty minutes later, Dr. Roberts arrived. He looked handsome—and perfect. Every hair in place, plaid sport shirt and khaki pants without a single wrinkle, not even from wearing a seat belt. Maggie wondered how that happened.

Once they arrived at the eatery, the hostess seated them at a small table. Maggie sat with her back illuminated by a neon sculpture. Happy she’d straightened her hair, because in its normal state, with all that electric light, the curls would have projected like the Bride of Frankenstein. She glanced around the room and noticed the décor. Lots of chrome and glass. Then the waitress appeared and asked for their drink orders.

“Unsweetened tea, please,” Maggie said.

Zach eyed her, then addressed the server. “Make that decaffeinated. Water for me. No lemon. And no lemon for the lady either.”

The waitress retreated. “I hope you don’t mind me changing your tea and requesting no lemon, but nobody washes them and everybody in the kitchen touches them,” he said.

“That’s fine.” She opened the menu. “Do you know what’s good?”

“Select what you like, but I order from the vegan section.”

“Oh. I didn’t know you were vegan.”

“Absolutely. I plan on living to be a hundred, so I eat healthy. I’ll be happy to recommend something. I’m surprised you don’t watch your caffeine intake. Or do you?”

“I don’t drink too much caffeine.”

“Good. As you know, research shows a little is good for you, but too much can do damage.”

“Well, since you’re familiar with their selections, by all means, choose for me.”

The waitress returned with their drinks and Zach gave instructions. “The lady and I will start with a bread roll filled with salad and vegetable pate. For our main course, we’d like the stir fry of mushrooms, bamboo shoots, green and red peppers, sweet corn, tofu and bean sprouts, marinated in soy sauce, served on a bed of brown rice.”

The attendant left and Zach smiled at Maggie. “I’m confident you’ll enjoy what I ordered. It’s one of my favorites. For dessert they have a wonderful shortbread.”

She swallowed hard. “I can’t wait to try it.” She hated lying, but Rose taught her sometimes it was more important to be kind than truthful. Obviously, he was trying hard to please her and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

While they waited, she rested her chin in hand and pretended to be interested in his conversation. He babbled on and on about how he loved research, but there wasn’t enough money in it.

Once the order came, she picked at her food and wished for a double-bacon-cheeseburger and a large plate of curly fries, finished off with a hot-fudge sundae buried under a mountain of whipped cream. God, life with Zach would be worse than she thought. Not only would he fold his clothes before sex, they’d probably have to boil themselves.