Out of the Storm(23)

She swallows, wrapping her arms around her waist. "Yeah. Sure," she says, averting her gaze. Then, she looks Charlie right in his blue eyes. "I was just leaving. I'm exhausted. You two can stay and have your pissing contest for as long as you want, but I'm out."

Before he has a chance to distract her from leaving, after she's in her car, I give him a little fist bump in his arm. "She's fucking gorgeous, man. You weren't kidding."

He shakes his head. "If you ever fucking touch me again-"

"What? You're going to beat my ass?" I chuckle. "You might want to actually start working out in the gym instead of trying to charm girls who aren't interested in your beer belly if you want to stand a chance at doing that." I look him up and down. "You know, beating my ass."

When Jules drives away, he brushes past me, making sure his shoulder makes contact with my chest. "Stay away from my girl."

"Is that a threat?" I ask, turning to look at him, almost amused.

"Take it however the fuck you want. Better yet, stay away from both of us."

"Now where's the fun in that? I thought we could be buddies, Charlie."

He throws me the finger as he walks back into the building. Whew. He's not following her. I don't think. Walking briskly, I make my way back to my car, wishing there was an alternative exit.

This was too easy. He doesn't strike me as someone to just walk away from me like that. Or the fact he let Jules just drive off. What if he parked in front? What if he only went inside to get me to let my guard down so he could see what kind of car I drive? Shit. What if he's smarter than I think? Maybe Jules is right. Screw it. I'm going back to my vehicle, and if he puts two and two together, then so be it.

Unlocking and opening the door, I climb inside and buckle up. Damn, I wish she were beside me. Pulling the phone from my pocket, I glance at the screen to see if we're still connected, and we are. I press unmute. Opening my mouth to say her name, I remember that she turned the volume down. She won't be able to hear me.

Cranking my car, I let it idle for a few minutes. I wish I had a visual on Charlie's car. Of course, that would require to know what he drove.

"Theo?" the sweetest voice asks.

"I'm here. I'm here, Jules."

"What the fuck were you thinking?" she hisses.





When Charlie pushed me against the car and started kissing me, I tried with all my might to keep things quiet with Theo in mind. If he had a girlfriend, and I had to listen to them make out while I was trying to help him, I'd be pissed. Especially after sharing what we did earlier tonight.

And even though we've not discussed whether he has a girlfriend, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't have slept with me if he did given his comment on liking monogamy. Unless it was just a line. But I don't believe that.

Regardless, I wanted to spare him of hearing Charlie taking what he deems as his. I think Theo would do the same for me.

After all we went through about how to avoid being seen together, out of all the scenarios we played out to prepare me for this exact scenario, none of them included us being seen together-of him being around. It totally threw me off. My hands are still shaking.

Once I get a block away from the office, I turn the volume up on my phone and put it on hands-free. There's nothing on his end. It's completely quiet, but I know we're still connected. What are you doing, Theo? It's funny how this entire night has been about him protecting me, looking out for me. Never in my wildest dreams did I think it would end with me being fearful for him. And there's nothing I can do about it, either. Except wait.



       
         
       
        

When I hear his car crank, I sigh. Why is he not talking to me? What if Charlie is with him? What if Charlie killed him, has taken him to his car, and is driving it somewhere? That's ridiculous, Jules. Charlie wouldn't kill him. And Theo had a gun. And Theo's huge.

The engine rumbles, but it's clear it's not moving. What is he doing? All these scenarios are ridiculous. It's amazing how the mind can get on this path like a runaway train with crazy ass scenarios that are usually completely unfounded and absurd. What's the most logical explanation? Rolling my eyes, I glance at the ceiling. The most reasonable train of thought is that he thinks I have my volume still down.

"Theo?" I ask.

"I'm here. I'm here, Jules." He sounds relieved.

I am too, but I'm also so, so incredibly pissed at him. I don't think I realized it until this very moment. "What the fuck were you thinking?" I hiss. "You coming around was the complete opposite part of the plan. You're going to get yourself killed."

He chuckles. "What was I supposed to do? I couldn't hear anything. My thoughts were running wild with worry about you. Of course, I should have known the fucking prick was trying to maul you in the parking lot."

"I was trying to be quiet so you wouldn't hear it, much less see it."

"I could have lived without seeing it. Trust me. I need bleach for my eyes. Why'd you tell me to go?"

Is he serious? "Why do you think I told you to go? You're going to get yourself killed. I thought that before you opened your cocky ass mouth."

"Calvin is right. He cheats on you, and it took every bit of fucking restraint to keep my hands in my pockets, to keep from strangling him." He pauses. "And I'm not a criminal like him. I don't go around doing illegal shit."

I can't contain my laughter. "Ahem. Kidnapping."

"I didn't kidnap you, and you and I both know it. How many times are we going to have to go through this?"

It feels so good to joke with him. The anger I felt minutes ago dissipates. "What now? I'm so tired. It feels like this day is never going to end."

"If I had a way to make time freeze, I would have frozen us at my place. Seriously, though. Are you watching your front, back, and sides?"

No. "Yeah." I start to look through all my mirrors.

"You need to be on the defensive constantly. Charlie let me leave way too easily. I'm worried. He acted like he was headed back inside. What kind of car does he drive?" Playful Theo has left the building. My pulse starts to race. No, it doesn't race. It feels like a herd of wild animals is pounding on it. 

"A black BMW SUV."

"Anything identifying about it?"

"No. Not a thing." I glance into my rear view mirror to see if he's behind me. "That's the way he likes it. It has tinted windows so people can't even see inside."

"Thought they had laws about that."

I don't even know Theo that well, and I can already imagine his face when he says that. I miss his face. Already. What is up with that? "He found a way to get around them. He has friends, he says."

"If you get to your place and he's there, can you go to your parents' for tonight?"

"Yeah. But that wouldn't be a red flag or anything."

"Did you not hear me? He cheats on you. I told you he cheats on you. Even though you said you believed I was kidding doesn't mean your words were true. Use that." It's funny how much I hate Charlie telling me what to do, but how comforting it is when Theo does it. "Stay on the phone with me until you're inside safely. How much longer before you're home?"

"Not much."

"You live in the city too?" he asks.

"Yeah. Walnut Bay."

"So do you have an apartment?"

"It's a townhouse." On the opposite side of town from him.

He breathes in the phone. "So, is there a parking garage, or what?"

"Yeah. A garage."

"Is there a valet?" he asks.

"Yeah." I know where he's going with this. "I never use the valet, though. That would be a red flag."

"Fuck red flags. You're going to use it tonight, understand? I don't want you in the parking garage by yourself."

"But if I use the valet, I won't be able to tell if he's here." My lids are getting droopy, and exhaustion sets in. I didn't realize how tired I was until I started driving. "Just let me park where I usually park. I'm sure he's not here. Where are you? I had hoped we'd spend the time on the phone talking about other things."

"I'm sorry. Why don't you just go to your parents'? It'd be safer."

I sigh. "What am I gonna do? Move in with them until this all blows over because you're afraid for me to go back to my place? That's not logical."

"Yeah. When you have a good excuse to be there, I think it's a decent idea. I didn't tell you that you had to keep this a secret. You can tell them about Charlie, you know."

Shaking my head, I swallow. "We have a good relationship. But I'm not as close to them as I used to be because of Charlie. You don't understand."

"It's never too late to change that, you know."

"I'm exhausted, Theo. Aren't you? I just want to go home, climb into my bed, and go to sleep where hopefully I can forget about all this shit."

"This shit, huh? Do what you did with the phone when you went through the office building if you're going to do this your way instead of mine. Go ahead and turn the volume down. I don't have anything else to say."

I roll my eyes and throw my hands in the air. "That's not what I meant. I meant the shit with Charlie."

"Okay. Do what I said, though."