Temptation (9 page)

I'm surprised that after only an hour in the
water Cassie is pulling herself out of the pool, grabbing her water
bottle, and making her way into the women's locker room.

Oh, hell no. She's not leaving here without
talking to me first.

I pull myself out of the water and rush
inside the locker room, skipping the sauna and taking a thirty
second shower before dressing and walking out into the lobby.
Steven is rustling through some paperwork on the countertops when I
interrupt him.

"Has Cass- I mean, has Miss Ward been through
here?"

He throws me a puzzled look before
recognition takes over his face.

"No, sir, I believe Miss Ward is still
inside. Would you like me to check for you, sir?"

As he finishes his question I see Cassie
walking towards us from the corner of my eye. "No need," I reply
and walk towards her. She doesn't stop for me, in fact she ignores
me as she waves goodbye to Steven and walks out the front entrance.
I keep pace with her as she walks towards her car.

"We need to talk."

"Now's not a good time," she huffs. "If I
don't leave now I'm going to be late."

She continues to her car and opens the driver
side door, throwing her bag in the passenger seat and then slipping
inside. Her hand grabs the handle of the door to shut it, but I
grab onto the top of the door stopping her from closing it.

"This will only take a minute, Cassie."

Ignoring me she puts her key in the ignition
and turns it as she speaks.

"I don't have a minute. We can talk another
time."

She looks so sexy when she's mad. Her hair is
wet and she's wearing no make-up, but I've never seen a woman more
naturally beautiful than Cassie is.

Her car doesn't start, it doesn't even
sputter as she continues to turn the key in the ignition. I watch
as her hand hits the steering wheel in frustration before she tries
to start the car again.

"This is not happening," she mutters
frustrated.

I release the door from my grip before taking
a step back to let her out of the car. She walks around to the hood
and pops it open before looking inside.

"Do you even know what you're looking for?" I
ask her. I'd be shocked and incredibly turned on if she knew
anything about cars.

"No, but I was hoping the problem would be
obvious."

I walk over to her and look inside.
Everything looks pretty old. Parts are rusted over and the battery
is corroded. Since the engine wouldn't even turn over, my first
guess would be her battery is dead, but since my knowledge on cars
this old is nonexistent, I can't be sure.

"I have jumper cables in my car. I'll pull up
and we'll try to jump it."

Several minutes later and a few frustrated
tears from Cassie, her car still won't start. The problem is
definitely not the battery.

"Why don't I call a tow truck and have him
bring it into my buddy’s shop. He'll be able to tell us what's
wrong with it and fix it."

"I... umm... crap." She looks down at her
watch and then looks back up at me. "I don't have time. I'm
supposed to go grocery shopping before picking up Alyssa. She has
an early release at the pre-school this morning because Molly
wouldn't allow her to go on the class fieldtrip."

I laugh. "Yes, Molly. Ever the protective
one."

"Yes, she is, and now I have to call her to
tell her I won't make it to pick up Alyssa. Darn it, I just got
this car fixed, too!"

I walk over to the passenger side of my car
and open the door before looking back at Cassie. "Get in."

"What?"

"Get in. You'll call the tow company from the
road and tell them where to pick up your car. I'll drive you to the
store and we'll get the groceries you need before we pick up Alyssa
and then I'll drive you both back to the house."

When she doesn't move immediately, I reach in
my back pocket and pull out my wallet. When I find my buddy’s
business card I pull it out and hand it over to her.

"Here's the information to give the tow
company so they know where to drop off the car. My buddy, Miguel,
will hook you up."

She looks devastatingly beautiful, yet
completely broken. Her wet hair is drying in soft waves. I want to
run my hands through it before holding her in a protective
embrace.

I don't know why Chris lets her drive that
piece of crap. The asshole probably isn't paying her enough but
I'll make sure and fix that.

Cassie looks down at the card and then
whispers, "Okay."

Once she's in the passenger seat of my car I
close the door and walk over to the driver's side and get in. She's
already on her cell phone and talking to the tow company about her
car. Instead of asking her what grocery store to go to, I drive
towards the
Whole Foods
near Alyssa's school. I know Molly
enough that she likes her organic, gluten free product for Alyssa,
even though Alyssa doesn't have an allergy to gluten.
Whole
Foods
is one of the healthiest grocery stores in the area so I
know Molly will approve.

I find a place to park on the street just as
Cassie is finishing up her phone call. She puts her cell phone in
her bag and looks over at me. The waves of her damp hair are
turning into frizzy curls and I realize I've just learned another
thing about her. Her hair is naturally curly.

"I'm not sure about this. I can't really
afford to fix my car right now so maybe I should just have them
drop it off at the Smith's house until I figure out what to do
next."

"What do you mean you can't afford it? I knew
it! Chris isn't paying you enough, is he?" I can hear the anger in
my own voice and Cassie must hear it, too, because she slowly leans
away from me.

"The Smiths pay me wonderfully, more than I
even expected. I just don't have the money right now. I used the
last of my savings to fix my car last week. I thought by fixing
those few problems it would buy me a few months."

I sigh, dragging my hand through my hair and
trying to think of a solution. "Let's see what Miguel says first
and then we'll get the car fixed. Don't worry about the money right
now."

"But-"

"Don't worry about it," I repeat, cutting her
off.

I step out of the car and wait for her as she
does the same. There's a cool breeze in the air as I meet Cassie on
the sidewalk. We walk into the store and get all the groceries she
needs, still with enough time to get Alyssa.

Six

Entry #1594

I found an excuse to spend some time with
Cassie. Yes, her car may have broken down and things aren't exactly
looking promising for her, but her loss is definitely my
gain...

"Uncle Theo!" Alyssa shouts as Cassie buckles
her into the booster seat in the back of my Range Rover. Her blond,
curly hair bouncing as she wiggles in the booster seat.

After our trip to the grocery store we made a
quick pit stop at my condo's parking garage so I could trade in my
roadster for something that would actually fit Alyssa. I only drive
the Rover when I have Chris and Alyssa with me, so thankfully I
already had a booster seat in the back for her.

"Hey, rugrat. How was school?"

Almost immediately the tears begin to fall as
Cassie closes the back door and sits back in the passenger seat
next to me.

"I wasn't able to go on the field trip," she
cries. "All of my friends are going to have fun without me."

Big wet tears fall down her round cheeks and
I can't help but want to give her the world. Nothing should make
this little girl cry. Nothing.

"Alyssa, your mom just wants you to be
safe."

"Mommy just doesn't want me to have fun."

Lord have mercy, I am never having a
girl.

"Alyssa, honey, your momma adores you and
wants you to have loads of fun. I planned some fun crafts for us to
do back at the house. You're not even going to miss school after
the afternoon I have planned with you."

Cassie's attempt at changing Alyssa’s mood is
a good one, but she fails miserably.

"I don't want to do crafts! I don't want to
go home. I want to go on the field trip," she cries. Her tears
start to fall harder and I honestly don't ever think I've seen
Alyssa so miserable. It breaks my heart.

Instead of thinking of something to say, I
continue to drive and hope that Alyssa calms down. After a few
minutes the car grows silent and Cassie turns around to check on
Alyssa in the backseat.

"The little princess cried herself to sleep,"
she whispers, turning back around to face the front.

"Where was the fieldtrip to today?" I ask
her.

"The zoo."

"Awe, poor kid. Alyssa loves animals. She's
been begging Chris to let her get a dog but he won't budge."

She laughs. "Thank goodness, too. She'd
probably squeeze the dog to death."

"But at least the dog would be loved."

"That's true," she agrees.

We're pulling down their street and I can't
help the feeling of emptiness that takes over my insides, knowing
that they'll be leaving me in a matter of minutes.

"Hey," I blurt out without thinking. "Why
don't you cancel your afternoon craft plans? You can drop the
groceries off in the house and then we can take Alyssa to do
something fun."

She hesitates before responding. "What do you
have in mind?"

What do I have in mind? I have nothing in
mind I just don't want to leave her yet. It's the middle of the day
on a Monday where most kids are in school. Where could we possibly
take her?

"I've got it! We can take her for the rest of
her birthday gift early. I'll call the store and have them book us
a table for tea and brunch while you unload the groceries."

"It's a little late in the day for brunch and
you can't just call them up. You have to book there weeks in
advance."

I cock my head and grin at her. "You
underestimate the power I have over the people in this city. Go
unload the groceries and we'll head over."

***

After an afternoon of pure craziness, I'm
exhausted. Tea and brunch was the easy part of the afternoon, the
hard part was the hours spent looking through two stories worth of
doll shit. In the end it was worth every excruciating minute
because I had one happy four-year-old who never mentioned the
dreaded field trip again.

Alyssa runs into the brownstone and Cassie
and I follow her, our hands filled with red and pink bags. Her new
doll now has a bed, furniture, a horse, a dog, a hair salon, a
gymnastic set and a wardrobe filled with clothing - tons and tons
of clothing. As I'm shutting the door of the house behind me I hear
Alyssa in the kitchen.

"Mommy! Mommy! Look at all the stuff Uncle
Theo got me."

"Uncle Theo? Where did you see Uncle
Theo?"

I step into the kitchen right behind Cassie
and interrupt their conversation. "I was able to move my brunch
date with her to today instead of Friday."

"Yes, and I had pizza and ice cream, and I
got all this new stuff for my doll. Wait until I tell all my
friends at school," she yells out, jumping into her mother's
arms.

"Well, I'm glad you had such a fun day.
Dinner will be ready in a few minutes so go wash up."

"But I'm not hungry, Mommy. I want to
play."

"You can play after dinner."

Molly places Alyssa back on the ground and
then Alyssa runs out of the room to get ready for dinner. Cassie
drops the bags in her hands on the floor next to the countertop so
I do the same.

"Why the sudden urgency to do brunch today?"
Molly asks me.

"I just thought it would be nice, especially
since she was bummed that her overprotective mother wouldn't let
her go on the class field trip today."

She rolls her eyes at me. "One day, Theo,
when you have children, you'll understand."

No I won't. I have no plans on having any
ankle biters running around my house. I like my life the way it is.
If I were to have children, that's pretty much a guarantee for
little to no sex with my wife, which would mean I'd be cheating on
her with women half her age in order to get my dick wet.

That is not the life I want.

I do not want to become my father.

Cassie sits down on one of the stools and
starts to assist Molly in making a salad. The level of comfort she
has in this house still amazes me, but I guess it makes sense
because she's been Alyssa's nanny for a while.

"Molly, is your husband around here
somewhere?"

"He's in his study, Theo."

I leave the ladies to make their salad and
walk up the flights of stairs to Chris's study on the second floor.
A normal person would knock to make sure they weren't interrupting
something, but I haven't knocked on a door inside one of Chris's
homes since eighth grade.

He's sitting behind his desk drinking a glass
of whiskey, while watching the news from the plasma TV mounted on
the wall across the room. He glances my way when he hears me walk
in.

"Hey, T. I didn't know you were stopping by
tonight."

He starts to get up but I hold my hand out to
let him know he should sit back down.

"I spent the day with your princess and just
dropped her off."

"I thought Cassie was with Alyssa?"

"She was. We took her to a late brunch and
then she went on a shopping spree for her doll."

"We... as in you and Cassie?"

"Yeah, about that. That piece of shit she
drives broke down outside the health club so I had to give her a
ride in order for her to pick Alyssa up from school in time. Why
the hell do you let her drive that thing? You trust Alyssa in
it?"

He drags his hand through his salt and pepper
colored hair before pushing his reading glasses up and off his
face.