Hide and Seek (17 page)

B
rilliant
moonlight created a subtle glow in the otherwise black, cold night. Since it was Monday, Play was closed and the street was eerily quiet. Oddly peaceful.

With a sigh of physical exhaustion, Elisa set down her overloaded pack in the snow and unbuckled her boots. Stepping from her skis, she propped them against the back wall of Lizzy's club.

Shopping had taken longer than it should have and she was late. Not good, considering she'd have to leave early. A crisp, unadulterated scent lingered in the air, supporting the weatherman's forecast. Another storm would hit soon.

Lizzy was going to be pissed.

Lizzy was going to blame Maxim.

She couldn't even imagine how Lizzy might attempt to sway her from her latest sampling of the male gender, but it wouldn't be pretty. Elisa wouldn't doubt her sister had a whole truckload of dildos to give to her.

She could definitely use a strong drink. Or two. Or ten.

Leaving her pack in the snow so her groceries would stay cold, she kicked the snow off her boots and let herself in through the unlocked rear entrance.

“Hello, hello!” she called, surprised to find the kitchen dark. Silence loomed in the air. She whirled around, attempting to catch the door, but it slammed shut, leaving her in total darkness.

Well, this was weird. Where was Lizzy?

Damn it, she better not have gotten impatient and left. Just because Elisa had admitted she was falling for some guy—

Not just any guy,
her mind corrected,
Maxim
.

Yeah. Right.

Elisa explored the walls until she found the switch then flicked it on. The overhead lights to the kitchen fluttered then smoothed out, creating a neon glow.

The contrast of cold and warm caused Elisa to shudder as she unzipped her coat. On the counter sat a dusty bottle of expensive wine straight from the cellar. A good sign. At least Lizzy was prepared for her, even if she was missing.

“Yoohoo!” Elisa called again. “Elizabeth Cross, where are you?”

Stripping off her gloves and coat, she hung them on a rack near the door, then bent, unlaced her boots, and pulled them free.

Opening the massive pantry, she reached under the shelving and found the box where Lizzy kept a spare pair of slippers for her. It was incredible fun having the club to their selves for a night—often times they turned on the music and danced like nuts just because—but Play wasn't always the coziest place to unwind, so they'd learned to bring some creature comforts.

Elisa wandered from the kitchen into the dimly lit club and scanned the room's wide expanse. Empty.

A brilliant yellow light streamed down on their table in the far corner near the bar, a stack of playing cards and pen and paper sitting atop its surface. But Lizzy was nowhere to be seen.

Where could she be?

Heck, if she had to kill time, she was helping herself to a glass of that wine. She—

“Boo!”

Elisa practically leapt from her skin at the sound of Lizzy's surprising shout. A mini heart attack clutched her chest. Spinning around, she found Lizzy standing directly behind her, grinning like a fool.

“What's your problem?” Elisa gave her a little shove. “Where were you?”

Lizzy chuckled, shoving her back. “I was lurking in the shadows.” She waved her hands around, foolishly acting like a ghost. “Ohhhhhhh…”

“Funny.” Elisa rolled her eyes and shook her head, her pulse beating too fast to appreciate the childlike behavior. “You scared the hell out of me. I swear, sometimes you're so immature—” Elisa's eyes flew open as she took note of Lizzy's new hair. “Good God!”

It just kept getting worse.

“Like it?” Lizzy fluffed her mass of frizzy hair, now not only a new, brighter shade of hot pink, but permed. Tight, crimped curls clung around her over-made-up but otherwise angel-like face.

Elisa's jaw dropped. “What did you do to your hair? And
why
?”

“My regular shade of pink was getting boring. I needed a change.” Lizzy shrugged. “Don't you like it?”

Elisa raised a brow, still in shock. “A change? How about looking normal for once? What's wrong with you?”

When Lizzy had dyed her hair light pink a couple of years ago for Halloween, it had been quirky and fun. But then her wardrobe had changed, quickly followed by her nail colors, her makeup, even her shoe style.

The older Lizzy got, the crazier she became. One wouldn't even recognize her from the emotionally disturbed waif she'd been years ago. Though, even with the ongoing, increasing strangeness of her appearance, being different from
that
girl was probably a good thing.

Lizzy smacked her cherry-colored lips and chomped on gum. “Nah, sis. If you ask me, you could use a definite makeover. You've looked that way too long.”

“No. Way.” Elisa shook her head.

“Well, I have to keep scaring the men away, you know. This idiot who's a regular at the club keeps asking me out. Yuck.” When Elisa just gawked at her, Lizzy waved her hands like she was talking to a fool. “Go shuffle the cards and I'll get the wine. I made mozzarella sticks too.”

Ick. They were nothing but breaded, fried fat.

One thing was for certain, she hadn't managed to rub her health habits or fashion style off on Lizzy. But Lizzy did have her determination.

“Always trying to junk up my body and my sex life,” Elisa muttered under her breath, shaking her head.

“I heard that!” In a flurry of movement, Lizzy disappeared through the swinging kitchen door.

With a half smile, half sigh, Elisa crossed the dance floor to the bar area and sat down at their table. Picking up the cards, she shuffled them slowly, thinking of her and Lizzy's history.

Though Elisa thought of Lizzy as her sister, she really wasn't, at least not in the biological sense. Lizzy's story was a true rags-to-riches tale. After spotting her on Hollywood Boulevard, a mere child trying to prostitute herself, her mother's heart went out to Lizzy and she took her in.

As Lizzy had no parents, the state granted Elisa's parents temporary guardianship. Almost immediately, Elisa and Lizzy became close friends.

Then her mother died. During the devastating time, Lizzy was a true angel to both Elisa and her father, helping them anyway she could, and the family bond had been sealed. Eventually, her father adopted Lizzy. Maybe they didn't share the same DNA, but Lizzy was a sister to her through and through.

How many times had Lizzy been there for her? Pulled her up when she was down? Elisa wished Lizzy would let her return the favor; but it seemed no one and nothing could tempt Lizzy into revealing the dark, hidden part of her that kept her dislike of the opposite sex at an all-time high.

Lizzy was successful; without any financial help from their father she'd made Play flourish all on her own. She was educated, beautiful,
strong
. But sometimes Elisa could see straight through her quirky dildo-loving, men-hating façade to the scared girl Lizzy still was. Lizzy didn't date for a reason, but Elisa still couldn't figure why.

“Are you staying the night?” Lizzy called. Cradling the wine by the neck and balancing a plate of food in her other hand, she skipped across the club. “Or returning home to lover boy?”

Elisa could just smell a fall coming. Lizzy moved faster than a five-year-old with ADHD and she wasn't the most graceful of women.

Tapping the cards on the table, Elisa evened out their edges. “Depends on how much it snows and how much of that wine I have to drink.”

“And all that depends on how much cash I take from you tonight.”

“Oh, are you planning to win for once?”

To her surprise, Lizzy made it to the table safe and sound. She emptied her load, placing her hands to her hips and smacking her gum in the most annoying way. “It's possible. You can't always win, you know. Tell you what…let's bet on it.”

“You want to
bet
that I won't take all your money in a card game? Aren't you chancing enough just playing?”

“Fifty bucks.” Lizzy walked behind the bar, retrieving two glasses and a corkscrew. “No, let's make it a hundred.” An ear-to-ear smile on her face, she glided to their table. “What do you say?”

With a chuckle, Elisa took the bottle opener from her, twisting and pulling until the seal popped. “Lizzy, my dear, poker is my game. I've beaten you every night that we've played since I arrived in town.”

She filled the glasses to the brim as Lizzy slid into the chair opposite of her and lifted a silver charm from around her neck. She swung it in the air, pretending to be a hypnotist. “But tonight, Elisa, ohhhhh…ohhhhh…Elisa! Elisa?” When she paid her no attention, Lizzy leaned across the table and placed the necklace directly in front of her face. “Elisa Cross, you will lose the card game. You will give all your money to Lizzy. And most importantly, you will dump the loser Maxim.” The necklace fell away. “When I snap my fingers, awake!”

After three pathetic tries, Lizzy snapped her fingers.

Elisa glared at Lizzy, surprised to realize she felt a little defensive. “Maxim isn't a loser. And if you're going to try to be a hypnotist, learn how to snap your fingers first.”

“Okay.” Lizzy shrugged, leaning back in her chair and taking her wine with her. She guzzled her drink, her eyes keen. “Slut. Whore. Waste of time. Whatever you want to call him. You shouldn't be with him.”

Here we go…

“Do you think any man is good?” Elisa followed her lead, drinking like a fish. The wine poured through her, infusing her blood and instantly flushing her with warmth.

“Of course not.” Lizzy picked up a mozzarella stick and popped it in her mouth, chewing like a cow. “The male species should be wiped clean from the earth.”

“Deal the cards.” Elisa pushed the deck across the table and continued to sip the bittersweet liquid. “Don't worry, Lizzy. I'm not planning to lose myself this time. I'll admit, Maxim is touching me—literally—in ways I never imagined existed, and certainly not from him. But he's not the relationship type and now, I'm not either. Honestly, Lizzy, cocks are much better when they aren't fake. I'm having some sex, that's all.”

“Twos and tens are wild.” Lizzy dealt them each seven cards, then set the stack in the middle of the table. “You sure about that?”

Lifting her cards, Elisa was happy to see she had two aces and a wild card. Oh yeah, Lizzy was going down big time tonight.

She rearranged her cards to the order she preferred—high to low—and nodded. “I have my career…or lack thereof to think of. I can't stay at that cabin forever and we both know it.”

“But I like you being here in Aspen!” Lizzy protested, nibbling on her lower lip. Suddenly her blue eyes sparked brighter than the glittery shadow covering them. “I know! You could help me run the club. I'll make you a partner.”

“Me?”

“Or you could start a ranch. Open a ski shop. Marry Maxim and have lots of babies and raise them, right here in town.”

No, no, and double no.

“Anything to keep me, huh?” Elisa shook her head, taking her turn. “We both know those things wouldn't make me happy.”

“Yeah,” Lizzy groaned in agreement. “You're always out to save the world.”

“I'd settle for a few rainforests for mom. I just wish I knew what to do.” With a wry grin, Elisa laid down three aces. “Beat that.”

Lizzy eyed her cards, but her face showed no disappointment. “I hate to even mention this, but what about the Peace Corps? That would certainly whisk you away from the rumors and you've always talked about joining.”

Join the Peace Corps? Shit.
Now?
At this stage in life? She was nearing thirty…

“Why not?”
a little voice in her whispered. It wasn't as if she had anything better to do with her life.

Providing aid in third world countries was one of her biggest dreams…second to being an environmental lawyer and right now, her career felt like it was forever scratched from her future.

Surely the Peace Corps could put her degree to good use. She could teach environmental awareness…work hands on in the effort to promote forest conservation…the list went on. By joining the Peace Corps, she could still save forests.

But did she really
want
to? Elisa grappled with the idea. She had really wanted to once upon a time—she'd even thought about taking a year off in between college and law school—but she'd been afraid of missing out, of losing her momentum, so she'd skipped it.

The desire had never completely faded from her mind. Now though, it seemed almost overwhelming. Fantasizing about it was one thing, doing it another. She wished she could just go back to being a lawyer.