Illicit: A Forbidden Romance (11 page)

T
he next day
I headed to Pembroke Pines, unable to stomach the idea of my mom coming home to an empty house. I cooked, vacuumed, dusted, and cleaned the toilets, doing everything short of wiping down the baseboards. I doubted some housekeeping would absolve me of my sins but it was worth a try.

I took the casserole out of the oven and ran to the living room just as the front door opened.

Mom saw me and froze.

“Hi,” I said in a small, breathless voice. I suddenly got the feeling my surprise presence wasn’t really appreciated.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, finally setting her luggage down. She sniffed the air and gave me a questioning look.

“I cooked your favorite.”

Her eyebrows drew together just the tiniest amount. She looked like she wanted to say something but I couldn’t tell what. I hoped it was something reconciliatory, but who knew anymore.

“So, you hungry?” I asked with a lift to my eyebrows.

She looked at me for the longest time until, finally, she shook her head. “No. I think I’m just going to take a shower and go to bed. Just take the food home.”

With tears in my eyes, I put the casserole in the fridge hoping my mom would eat it anyway. She definitely needed it more than me. She was looking thinner and thinner these days, no doubt forgetting to eat when she gets home at night.

I vowed then that, no matter how much she hated me right now, I would come by and cook for her as often as I could. If only to make sure she was taken care of.

T
he day started
off well enough. When I woke up to one of those wicked Florida rainstorms, my first thought was that I’d accidentally left the sunroof to my car open last night. After the rain, I went downstairs armed with a roll of paper towels but discovered that someone had draped a black trash bag over the sunroof and taped it down.

I turned in place as if I’d somehow spot the good Samaritan. But there was nobody around.

The run of good fortune continued when the hot water actually lasted the entirety of my shower, when the coffeemaker worked the first time round, and I checked online and found I’d done well on my last Comm test.

But nothing good ever lasts, at least, not in my life. My luck ran out a few hours later when my tire blew out on my way to school.

“Shit, shit!” I kicked at the busted tire of my Honda, wishing I’d followed Jake’s advice from a while ago, back when things were still good.

He’d come in one day after a run and said, “Your tires are bald.”

“Excuse me?” I’d asked with sass. “What did you just say to me?”

He’d chuckled, his face shiny with sweat. “The tires on your car need replacing.”

I’d waved him away, saying I didn’t have the money to spend on frivolous things.

“This isn’t frivolous. It’s a real hazard, Joss. If you’re driving on the turnpike and it starts raining you could—” He’d stopped and taken a deep breath. “I could front you the money.”

I had waved off his offer with a promise to get new tires but the days had turned to weeks and then to months and, here I was, stuck on the side of the road, late for my one o’clock class.

I moved to the sidewalk and looked through the contact list on my phone. Calling Ashley was no use as she was at Disney World with her brother and his family for a few days. I called Mom’s phone but it went straight to voicemail. Then there was Eli…

I snorted. There was no way he’d come out to help me after how things had ended between us. He’d just as likely drive out just to watch me suffer under the searing midday Florida sun.

I stared at Jake’s number for the longest time, searching for the courage to press the Call button. Around me, cars zipped by without slowing down, without even a second’s glance at the stranded, reminding me that I was well and truly alone.

So this was what being an adult was all about it. I had to admit, it sucked.

I was looking up the number to a local tow service when an open-top Jeep parked behind my car.

“Do you need help?” came a deep, masculine voice.

I held my breath, afraid to look up. Was it possible Jake read my thoughts and came to my rescue? Did that kind of magic really exist?

“Miss?”

I was both disappointed and relieved when I looked up. The man, though also tall with dark features, was not the one I was expecting to see.

“Yeah,” I said, pushing all thoughts of Jake to the back of my mind. “I had a tire blowout. Front passenger side.”

He nodded, his expression hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. I looked him over as he crouched down and inspected the offending tire. He wore a thin v-neck shirt in a bright turquoise color and white shorts, flip flops on his feet, looking every bit like a guy on his way to the beach. “Do you have a spare?”

I bit my lip. “I’m not sure.”

He stood and looked over at my car. “Usually it’s in the trunk.” I popped open the trunk and he pulled at the false bottom, revealing a hidden compartment with the spare tire.

“I had no idea that was there,” I said, feeling ridiculous. I’d had this car for five years and never once had I gone looking for the spare tire. I was every bit the helpless damsel right now and I hated it. “In my defense, I didn’t have a father to teach me these kinds of things.”

He raised an eyebrow, one corner of his mouth tilting up. “You were immaculately conceived?”

“Yes, I’m something of a miracle,” I joked.

He hooked his hands on the open trunk of my car and openly ogled me in my white sundress. “Yes, you are.”

If my face wasn’t already red from the sun, I’m sure I would have flushed even more. “Well, if you can walk me through it, I’m sure I can change the tire myself.”

“No, I got this,” he said, pulling the tire out along with the jack and wrench. “Wouldn’t want you to get that dress dirty.”

It didn’t take him more than fifteen minutes to lift the car up on the jack and change out the tires.

“Thank you,” I said after he’d set everything back in the trunk, including the busted tire. “I don’t know how to repay you.”

He reached into his Jeep and grabbed a rag from the back and used it to wipe the grease off his hands. “You can come with me.”

I was immediately on high alert. South Florida was infamous for its crazies. “Um, no thanks. But I have twenty dollars if you’d like?”

He shook his head, chuckling. “No. I meant to say I know of a tire place just south of here. You really need these tires replaced. You might not be so lucky next time you have a blow out.”

“Um. Hold on.” I checked my phone, logging into my bank account to see if I could afford four brand new tires. I would have to pick up a few more shifts at work, but I could probably swing it. “Do you think I can drive with the spare tire for about a week?”

He looked at the tire—which was obviously way smaller than the other three—then shook his head.

“Okay,” I said with a sigh. “Lead the way.”

I
followed
the guy to a strip mall in Aventura, stopping at a place called T’s Garage. We parked our cars and went inside to the bright reception area.

He took off his sunglasses before greeting the older man sitting behind the desk. “Hey, Joe, do we have any open bays?”

“Bay 3 is open for another hour.”

“Perfect.” The guy turned to me with hand held out. “Keys please.”

“Wait, don’t we need to talk about tires and prices and stuff first?” I asked, looking around at the different tires mounted on the wall.

He winked, his brown eyes bright with mischief. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Sorry, I can’t do that. I have a finite amount of money. I can’t just spend a bunch of it on tires, not when I need to eat and pay my bills.”

He took hold of my elbow and led me out of Joe’s earshot. “Okay, how about a deal.”

I crossed my arms over my chest. “What deal?”

“Four tires for a date.” The grin on his face was one of self-satisfaction, like I’d already said yes.

“No.”

One dark eyebrow rose. I got the feeling he didn’t hear that word very often.

“That’s too much,” I said.

“How about this: You pay wholesale prices. I’ll get labor.”

“I don’t think your boss would like that.”

He grinned. “Oh, I think he’d be okay with it. Especially if it gets him a date with a beautiful woman.”

“Wait, you own this place?”

He held out his arms. “I’m T of T’s Garage. And you are?”

I studied his face again, finding it hard to look away. There was something so familiar about him, something that made me feel like he could be trusted. “I’m Joss,” I said as I held out my car key. “So what does the T stand for?”

He folded his hands over mine. “Tristan.”

O
n my first
day off without school or work in two weeks, I decided to enjoy the sunshine and walk to Downtown Hollywood to window shop. After spending almost four hundred dollars on tires the other day (which would have been twice that if Tristan hadn’t gotten involved), all I could buy at the moment was food, of the cheap ramen noodles kind.

On the way there I passed by an old-style garage, the kind with tall doors that rolled up on both sides of the building, except now it appeared to be a furniture showroom. On the window was a vinyl sign that said Rochester Furniture. My thoughts immediately flew to Jake, but I pushed the thought away and continued my way down the sidewalk.

Walking along the busy street, the sun warm on my skin, I didn’t feel like a broke college student. Today I felt more like myself than I had in a while, free from anxiety and the heartache that had plagued me the past several weeks.

I looked in the stores, taking photos of things I liked but could never afford with the thought of
someday
. The one word was my mantra these days: Someday I’ll graduate and get a better job. Someday my mom and I would get back to good. Someday I won’t wake up in the middle of night aching for Jake anymore. Someday.

My thoughts turned back to
now
, to the date I had tonight. Turned out, not only was Tristan kind enough to give me a significant discount, he also changed out the tires himself. He was charming and helpful and funny. If anyone could break me free of Jake, Tristan could certainly try.

As I ate lunch at a sidewalk café, a pick-up truck passed by, the same model and color of Jake’s truck. My eyes followed the vehicle until it turned the corner, trying to get a glimpse of the driver, hoping against hope it was Jake.

I turned away, disgusted with myself. Even after all that’s happened, I was still waiting for him to come back.

“
H
ey
, Creepy McCreeperson is outside again,” Ashley said to me that night. She entered my room and sat on my bed, motioning toward the window.

“Who?” I asked from inside the closet.

“You know, the guy who stands at the street at night?”

I walked over to the window and peered between the blinds. Sure enough, the man in the hoodie was out there again. Only this time, he promptly turned away and walked off down the street. “He probably lives around here,” I said with a shrug, trying to ignore the strange feeling of being watched.

“He’s a drug dealer for sure,” Ashley said and promptly turned her attention to the clothes on the bed. “Ooh, which top are you wearing?” she asked, looking at the two shirts I’d laid out, one in aqua and the other in coral. She scrunched up her mouth, considering the choices. “The blue looks better with your skin tone but the other one makes your boobs look like
whoah
.”

A nervous laugh escaped my lips. “Do I want my boobs to look like
whoah
?” I asked, turning to the mirror and holding the shirt up to my body.

“On a date? Definitely.”

I put on the coral shirt and held my hands out to the sides. “So?”

Her smiling nod should’ve made me feel better; instead it made me even more nervous. “I don’t know why I’m so freaked out right now,” I said, looking at myself in the mirror. The v-neck of the top did make my cleavage look really nice, but did I want them to be that appealing?

Then it struck me that I was nervous because, in some sick way, I didn’t want Tristan to be attracted to me, that some part of me didn’t want anyone but Jake to be attracted to me.

“Stupid,” I muttered, shaking my head. “I’m turning into a basketcase.”

I went into the closet and paired the top with a formal shorts and tall heels. When I was done, Ashley actually whistled. “Oh yes. You’re going to have Tire Boy spinning in circles.”

I snorted. “I see what you did there.”

“What? Is the joke too tire-d?” she asked with a wink.

I threw a pillow at her, laughing. We traded a few more lame puns while I finished getting ready. By the time the doorbell rang, my nerves were nothing but a distant memory.

T
ristan took
me to a bookstore in Coral Gables called Books & Books. I’d been to the store before during the day, but I had no idea that it transformed into something hip and lively at night. The store itself was shaped like a square with an outdoor patio in its center. During the day, the courtyard was populated with round tables and white umbrellas, a lovely outdoor place to eat lunch surrounded by books. Tonight, however, it looked different with a small bar set up under an arched breezeway, people milling around with alcoholic beverages in hand.

Tristan led the way through the courtyard’s iron gates with one hand on the small of my back. “What would you like to drink?”

My head turned as we passed by the one of the entrances to the interior, my eyes automatically drawn to the books.

“Joss?”

I turned back to my date with a sheepish smile. “Sorry. Distracted.”

“I take it you like the place?” he asked, handing me a glass of white wine.

I forced my attention back on Tristan in his simple v-neck tee and dark wash jeans, looking so effortless and cool, his smile toeing the line between confidence and cockiness. But there was something about him that drew me to him, made me want to know more.

“You couldn’t have picked a better place,” I said with a smile, taking a sip of wine. “Do you like to read?”

“Mostly magazines and manuals. I don’t really get a lot of free time to read.” He flashed me a charming smile that almost eclipsed the fact that he wasn’t a reader. “It was actually my brother’s idea to take you here.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. He said, “Any girl worth dating would be thrilled to be around books.””

“Your brother sounds like a wise man.”

“Yeah, but sometimes he makes the stupidest mistakes.”

“Don’t we all,” I murmured into my glass.

When next I looked up, I found him quietly studying me. “There’s a story there,” he said with a curious look.

“There is, but it’s not first date material.”

“I expect to hear it on our second date then,” he said with a confident nod.

“This date just started. You don’t even know if we get along yet.”

He leaned in. “We have chemistry, that much I know.” He held out his hand. “So, should we go inside and take a look around?”

T
ristan
and I talked as we looked through the book displays. Occasionally he’d pick up a book to take a closer look while I fought the urge to read through all the blurbs. One book in particular caught my eye, one about furniture design. I slid it off the shelf and took it to a nearby chair.

“You into woodworking?” Tristan asked, standing over me as I paged through the book.

“I was just looking for a friend.” I stood, hugging the book against my chest before setting it back on the shelf.

“What about you? Is there one you’d like to get?”

I looked around, my eyes spinning in my head. I always come down with a little Attention Deficit Disorder when I’m around books. “I want to get them all.”

“So hey,” he said with an apologetic look. “My brother just called me. The alarm is going off at his shop but he can’t get there right now. Do you mind if we go check it out? It’s not too far from your apartment, actually.”

I held up the book. “Let me pay for this first.”

Tristan drove us to Hollywood, directly to the old-timey garage I’d passed the other day. Even before we parked, I could hear the sharp chirp of the alarm. He unlocked one garage bay door and slid it up, revealing the dark interior intermittently lit up by a red flashing light from somewhere on the ceiling.

“I think the alarm’s faulty. This is the third time it’s gone off this week for absolutely no reason. Probably mice chewing on the wiring.”

I grabbed his hand as we walked inside the dark interior. By the crimson light of the alarm, I could make out tables, chairs, armoires, and various other pieces of furniture set around the large space.

“This is the showroom,” Tristan said. “My brother’s been working hard, getting ready for the opening next week.”

“Did he make all of this?” I asked, thinking Jake would really appreciate a place like this. It was just his style.

I caught myself and rolled my eyes. I needed to stop thinking of Jake every time I saw furniture. Otherwise, I’d never stop.

“He made most of it. There’s also a few commission pieces from other craftsmen around the area.” He squeezed my hand. “Wait here. I’m going to check the workshop in the back.”

I wandered around after he left, trying to spot any of Jake’s pieces, running my fingers along the surface of the wood. In the dim light, I could almost imagine they were all his designs.

And then the alarm stopped and the flashing light turned off, leaving me in complete darkness. A second later, slow music started filtering in through the darkness.

I jumped when a hand went around my waist.

“Dance with me?” Tristan whispered.

I clutched my chest, my heart still beating fast. “You scared me.”

He spun me around and hooked his hands around my hips. “Sorry. I just wanted to dance with the prettiest woman in the place.”

“I’m the only woman in the place,” I pointed out.

“Still a true statement.” He started swaying to the sensual beat of the song, taking me along for the ride. “You’re amazing, you know that?” he said close to my ear.

I got the feeling that this was Tristan’s strength, his ability to charm the ladies. But I gave in to the moment anyway, enjoying this process of being wooed. Even if I wasn’t the first, at least I knew I was the only one right here, right now.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and a moment later, our lips met in the dark. Tristan was tender and seeking, his tongue dancing with mine. In that kiss I felt a stirring.

I pulled away, fighting to catch my breath.

“What is it?” he asked.

I touched a finger to his lips, my heart pounding in my chest. “Nothing,” I said and kissed him again.

T
ristan took
me home a little over an hour later, walking me up the concrete steps to my apartment door. “Is your roommate home?” he asked, the hint as subtle as an anvil to the head.

“No. She’s out with this guy she just started dating.” I looked up at him, hoping he didn’t think I’d invite him inside. I’d never been that kind of girl and, as much as I liked Tristan, I wasn’t about to become her now. “Well, I had a great time.”

He set a hand on the wall and leaned in, kissing me again. “Invite me in, Joss,” he whispered against my lips.

I pulled away with a nervous laugh. “What are you, a vampire?”

“I
vant
to suck your blood.” He leaned down and nuzzled into my neck, sucking gently on my skin. “And anything else you want me to do.”

I put a hand on his chest, torn between anxiety and just giving in. “Let’s take it slow, okay?”

“Sure.” He straightened, a rueful smile on his face. “Are you sure, though? I mean, I can go slow. Veeeery slow,” he added with a flirtatious lift of an eyebrow.

I chuckled. He was nothing if not persistent. “I had a good time tonight,” I said, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

He let out a resigned breath. “Goodnight, Joss.”

I locked up and practically floated to my bedroom, my lips curling into a smile. I set my bags on my bed and sat down, flipping through the furniture book once again. Then I remembered the sketch book and I looked through it, seeing if any of Jake’s designs matched those in Tristan’s brother’s showroom. I almost convinced myself it did. But honestly, I’d been too distracted by my handsome date to focus on woodworking details.

And I realized then, as I hummed while getting ready for bed, that maybe I could do it. Maybe I could move on from Jake.

It was that thought that finally wiped the stupid smile off my face.