Overture (Rain Dance, Book 1) (Rain Dance Series) (69 page)

     
Ethan's face
turned to slight surprise. "You don't have to leave. You're already here,
so you might as well stay the night. It
is
Friday, you know."

     
I loved him and
was glad to hear that even though he'd returned with Karina, he still welcomed
me as though I belonged here. But I didn't want to be near him at the moment.
Not so long as she was still here, and not when he wasn't willing to be honest
with me. If he wouldn't tell me what had happened with Noel, I would just have
to find out for myself.

     
I shook my head
and smiled. "Not tonight. I have stuff to do." It was getting a bit
harder to act like I was fine, but I managed.

     
"
Stuff
?
Such as…?" Of course he sounded skeptical. He knew I had no life beyond
being lazy at home.

     
"That's
top secret information, Spook. Telling you would put me on the hit list."
I winked and headed for the kitchen phone. I was just about to reach for it
when Ethan grabbed a hold of my wrist.

     
"If you're
so set on leaving, I'll have Douglas drive you home." He was angry again.
I was about to argue when he covered my mouth with one hand and pulled out his
phone with the other. After hitting one of the numbers on his speed dial, he
spoke into the receiver while keeping his eyes on me. "Come back. No -
Daphne. Take her home. Then return for Ms. Greene." He hung up. "How
long were you waiting?"

     
"Um…"
I looked away. "I don't know. What time is it now?"

     
"Half-past
nine."

     
Oh. That meant
that I was out there in the rain for at least two hours.

     
"You look
surprised."

     
"I am. I
guess I slept longer than I thought I did."

     
His frown
deepened. "Why didn't you at least bring the necklace with you?"

     
"I wasn't
thinking."

     
"Obviously. What the fuck were you doing falling asleep out there
like some stray dog? I swear, one of these days you're going to catch
pneumonia," he exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

     
"…Stray
cat, you mean," I replied quietly. "And I don't believe the rain
itself causes pneumonia."

     
He rolled his
eyes and folded his arms. "You know what I mean." A few seconds of
silence followed before his frown returned. "You said you would never lie
to me - not outright. Why did you really come here so suddenly?" He
forcibly held my eyes, his gaze deep and unfaltering.

     
So he had his
own suspicions about me. I knew that the right thing to do was to be honest. I
knew that I was just being childish by wanting to run away and figure
everything out on my own. But that was how I'd always done things before. I
mean, why should I be open with Ethan when he wasn't willing to be open with
me?

     
This was the
moment of truth, I guess. Either I could run away as I always did and go back
to relying on only myself, or I could just ask him what the hell had happened
when he saw Noel.

     
Releasing a
heavy sigh, I began walking towards the front door. "I wanted to see you.
To make sure you were alright."

     
He followed
closely. "Why would you need to know that I was alright?"

     
You have to
stop running at some point.

     
"…I know
you saw him."

     
I felt Ethan
tense behind me. "Did he contact you?"

     
As soon as I
got to the door, I reached for the handle. But once again, he grabbed me.

     
"Ethan!
For fucks sake, if you don't hurry up I'm going to start stripping,"
Karina yelled from the second floor. Moments later, the click-clacking of her
heels could be heard, growing louder and louder as she neared. "You
wouldn't want that, would you? After all, you always preferred to do that part
yourself."

     
Ethan shut his
eyes in annoyance. "Get back in my office," he called to her with
gritted teeth.

     
"I don't
want to," she whined. "It brings back too many painful memories.
That's the same desk, isn't it? The one you would fuck me on when you were too
stressed out from work?"

     
Turns out that
I
was
, in fact, very capable of jealousy. Good to know.
Then again,
she had just referred to their past as painful.

     
"You know,
I still haven't found a man who can make me come as many times as you
could," she continued.

     
Did I want to
laugh or did I want to cry? I knew she was just goading me, but that didn't
make it any easier to hear.

     
"Karina,
if you don't get back in that office, the deal is off." His voice was low
now, his patience obviously running thin.

     
She finally
came into view, seeming totally unconcerned, eventually stopping at the top of
the stairs. When her eyes landed on me, her expression turned to genuine
confusion. "Why her, Ethan? She's a little girl. You should be thinking
about your future. Let that other guy have her."

     
"
Karina
,"
Ethan nearly growled.

     
She took two
steps down, speaking to me now. "Are you really that selfish that you
would have him risk everything by getting caught up in your shit? Do the right
thing and leave. Take the other man and leave us the fuck alone."

     
Ethan released
his hold on me and turned to look at his ex. He was practically radiating with
violence. I would have been scared, but I couldn't focus on him right now. I
was too confused. How did Karina know about me? About Noel? Clearly, she was
involved with whatever had happened tonight.

     
"…In the
end, hiding things might as well be the same as lying, right?" I asked.
"So I'm just as bad, if not worse. But...Ethan…why did you lie to me?
About
him
of all things?"

     
He turned to
look at me. "I di-"

     
There was a
knock at the door then, quickly cutting him off. I opened it to find Douglas.
Never had I been more relieved to see the man.

     
"It's
okay," I told Ethan. "We'll talk later." I walked out and headed
straight to the car. It was still pouring, so I had to shield my laptop
underneath my coat until I was safely inside the vehicle. A minute later,
Douglas got into the front seat and started the engine.

     
So you still
ended up running away.

     
I tried my best
to go into a numbing state of mind, but I couldn't get rid of the hurt I felt
inside. Karina's words had cut deep. There was truth to everything she'd said.
But, much to my shame, what hurt more than knowing that I might be putting
Ethan at risk was her last request.

     
Leave us the
fuck alone.

     
Us
being Ethan and Karina. She had spoken as though they
were a team. Hell, for all I knew maybe they were. Maybe they were like Dale
and I. Only they just happened to have been involved intimately.

     
I took yet
another deep breath, not wanting to think about the two of them anymore. At
this point, I had only one option. I was going to have to talk to Noel. He may
have been a sneaky bastard, but he was always honest with me, for the most
part. I couldn't trust him, but of this I was certain: he would not lie to me.

     
"Douglas,
stop the car, please."

     
"I have
specific instructions to take you straight home, Miss," he replied calmly.

     
It wouldn't
look good to make a scene. I would just have to take another fucking cab after
I got home. Actually, I would have to go home first anyway since I would need
my phone to contact Noel.
Dammit Daphne, get your shit together.

     
Douglas was
eyeing me carefully through the rearview mirror as though I were a ticking time
bomb. Looks like I would have to try and play it cool again. I needed him to
report back to Ethan that I was fine.

     
"Please. I
haven't eaten in hours. Can you at least stop at a drive-thru? My fridge is
sort of lacking at the moment."

     
His suspicious
gaze turned to warmth. "Of course, Miss. What do you feel like
eating?"

     
I bit my lip.
"…Onion rings. And a strawberry milkshake."

     
His mouth
curved upwards slightly. "Is that all?"

     
"Curly
fries, too."

     
I was about to
complain when Douglas paid for the food before I could hand over my money, but
he was already prepared. "You can pay him back later on if you think it
necessary, but please don't trouble yourself right now and instead focus on
getting warm."

     
I hadn't
realized I was shivering until he brought it up. Leaning back against the seat,
I kept quiet. When he handed me my food, I said thanks and dug through the bag,
pulling out an onion ring to nibble on.

     
We arrived at
the apartment only five minutes later. After thanking him again for the ride
and the food, I headed up. Once inside, I put the food in the fridge. It
probably wouldn't taste very good when I came back to eat it later, but I
couldn't handle eating anything right now. I went straight to my phone, hooked
it up to the charger, and sent a reply to Noel's text:
We need to talk.

     
His answer came
less than a minute later.

     
Didn't he talk
to you? - Unknown

     
He won't tell
me shit. - Me

     
I love it when
you use dirty words. Are you free now? – Unknown

     
Knowing that
Ethan would probably want to check up on me, I left my phone at home charging,
along with the necklace. After paying, I exited the cab and entered the diner
Noel had told me to meet him at. The inside was bright with white walls,
checkered flooring, and red booths. It was very old-fashion and I found myself
falling in love with it immediately. It was also empty aside from one small
family, a couple, a group of friends, and a familiar-looking man who sat by
himself at a window booth. He smirked at me when I spotted him just as he was
inserting a coin into the tabletop jukebox. A few seconds after he hit the
buttons for his song of choice, 'Footsteps In The Dark' began playing.

     
Damn. Even the
dread I was feeling couldn't keep me from enjoying that snazzy tune. I went to
take my seat across from him.

     
"Is Ice
Cube on that list?" I asked.

     
He smiled.
"The seventies is already cutting it pretty close. I'm afraid gangster rap
isn't old school enough for a place like this."

     
It had been
just under a year since I'd last seen Noel. Was it wrong that I could admit he
was physically attractive without actually being physically attracted to him?
Compared to my pale skin, his could almost pass for tan. His hair was a dark
honey-blonde mixture that seemed to be in a constant state of misshapen chaos.
His eyelashes were thin except for the outer corners, accentuating his bright
blue eyes. They were a light, almost turquoise kind of blue. They didn't hold
the depth or the spark that Ethan's held, but they were lovely nonetheless. His
nose was straight and slender, and his mouth was more narrow than it was wide,
but it was extremely pouty - the bottom lip being twice the size of the upper
lip. He gave off an air that was both sly and charming, and altogether, his
features reminded me of those elven-looking males from video games and movies.
He was dressed formally at the moment, no doubt due to his appearance at the
fundraiser.