Текст книги "Playing Pretend"

Автор книги: Juliana Haygert

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Текущая страница: 9 (всего у книги 12 страниц)

Chapter Sixteen

Charlotte

I knew there was something wrong the moment I drove past the gates of the Executive Mansion. There was a buzz in the air and too many windows reflecting lights.

I entered the house and halted.

“How about you, Donnie? When are you going to take your father’s place?” My mother’s voice drifted from the living room, her tone almost satisfied.

The happiness I had felt so far deflated, and I retreated to the door again. If I could sneak out before anyone saw me …

My mother walked out of the living room and smiled at me. “Charlotte! I thought I heard the door. Come. Join us.”

“I’m not dressed for a dinner party.” I gestured to my jean skirt and sandals. “I would prefer to change, if you don’t mind.” And disappear. That would be impossible, though, so just a moment to myself while I changed would suffice. For now.

“Nonsense. This isn’t a dinner party.” She walked to me and put her hand on the middle of my back, stirring me to the living room. “We’re with good friends.”

“Hello, Charlotte,” Donnie said, with a wide smile, once I walked in with my mother. He wore a perfectly pressed suit, just like his father standing beside him. His eyes ran the length of me and I shifted my weight, fighting the urge to pull my skirt down to hide my thighs, as if that would help anything.

“Hello, Donnie. Hello, Senator Williams,” I said.

“It’s good to see you, Charlotte,” Senator Williams said.

A waiter showed up by my side with a tray and a single martini. I glanced at my mother and she smiled knowingly. As if she had spilled poison in it, I took it, but didn’t drink it. First, I had already had one too many martinis the previous night, and second, I wanted to be sober for whatever plan my mother had. Because she had a plan. This unannounced dinner wasn’t a spontaneous thing and, like every one of her moves, it had an objective. I just had to find out what that objective was.

The main topic during dinner and dessert was, of course, politics.

After one bite from my petit-gateau, I excused myself and headed to the kitchen.

One of the cooks was there, along with a waiter. They saw me, and their eyes widened.

“Can I get you something, Miss McClain?” the waiter asked, looking at my feet.

“No, thank you,” I said, opening the fridge and grabbing a can of Coke. “I can get it myself.” I sat on a high chair around the island, opened the can, and drank from it. The waiter and the cook exchanged a nervous look. “Relax, I won’t bite. You can even pretend like I’m not here.”

The waiter bowed and exited to the dining room, probably to check if anyone needed something else, and the cook returned to the range.

I propped my elbows on the island and dropped my head on my hands. Goddammit, my mother needed to give it a rest. When would she leave this alone? I told her I didn’t want anything with Donnie. I knew she hadn’t really understood that, but I thought she would give me some time at least. Or try to push me on some other guy.

“Are you okay?” Donnie asked.

I straightened my back and glanced to the side, where he stood just past the door.

I frowned. What the hell was he doing back here? “I’m fine.”

As if she had been waiting for this, the cook left the kitchen through the back door. Great.

Donnie sat in the high chair beside me. “Charlotte, you’ve been avoiding me.”

I opened my mouth to negate it, but why? I tried breaking this smoothly and it didn’t work. Perhaps I should be blunter. “I like you, Donnie, but not the way you want me to.” Not the way my mother wanted me to.

“Is it something I did?”

I smiled. “No.”

“Oh,” he said, his eyes wide. “There’s someone else.”

“What? No.” I sipped from my Coke, gaining time to think of some excuse. Nothing came though. “There’s no one else. I just … we didn’t click.”

“You didn’t give us a chance to click.” He scooted closer and grabbed one of my hands in his. “I’m a nice guy. Give me a chance. We’ll click.”

I pulled my hand free of his. “Donnie—”

“I like you, Charlotte. Very much.” He stood, smoothing the jacket of his suit. “I’m not giving up on you yet.”

He leaned forward and placed a kiss on my cheek, then left the kitchen.

I stood, grabbed a glass from the inside one of the cabinets, dumped the rest of the Coke there, then reached for a bottle of whiskey that was on a tray, probably one that the waiter was serving the guests, and poured a good dose in my glass.

I drank a big swallow, welcoming the way the liquid burned my throat. Pity it didn’t burn away the problems in my life.

* * *

Mason

I was surprised when Charlotte called me to meet her the next afternoon. I thought I would only see her again in the middle of the week, when she was able to escape her mother and meet me at that Starbucks in Springfield.

Without hesitating, I canceled my plans of playing video games all afternoon with David, and took the train to the park she usually went to with Liana, MaryAnn, and Rebecca.

“Hey, you.” She skated to me and threw her arms around my neck. “I missed you.”

I laughed, snaking my arms around her waist. “We were together yesterday.”

She pouted. “I know.”

I glanced at her pink lips and desire coursed through me. Damn, this girl would be the death of me. I dipped down and brushed those plump lips with mine. “The truth is, I also missed you.”

She let out a purr and I lost it. I clasped the back of her neck and pulled her to me, crushing her mouth with mine, plunging my tongue in, and demanding all of her. She gladly complied, letting out another one of her sexy sounds.

“Christ, woman,” I whispered. “You can call me to meet you like this twice a day from now on.” She smiled, but it wasn’t all happy. I ran my fingertips over her jaw and down her neck, brushing her hair aside and exposing that perfect skin to me. “What happened?”

She groaned. “Donnie and his father had dinner at my house last night.”

I stilled. “What?”

“I had the same reaction. I got home and they were there.”

A low, agitated rumble built from my gut. “I wish the guy would back off.”

“Me too. But I don’t think he will. Not too soon at least. My mother gives him hope, I guess, and he told me he wasn’t giving up on me yet.”

I gritted my teeth, wishing the guy were here so I could punch that mama’s boy’s face. “I’ll kidnap you. You’ll come live with me and you’ll never have to see that guy again. Deal?”

She stretched her neck and grazed her lips on my chin, sending a shiver down my spine. “Deal,” she said.

I tilted my head toward her and captured her lips with mine.

“We seriously need to start meeting in places I can get you naked. This is torture.”

She chuckled. “I thought this”—she pointed a finger at her and me—“was more than sex.”

“It is.” The way I was falling for her, it definitely was. I just didn’t want to tell her how much yet. I was afraid she would be scared and break things off before it was time. “It is, but come on. Remember yesterday? That was too great, too damn good not to happen every day.”

“I agree.”

I nibbled on her ear. “Want to come back to my place?”

“I don’t have that much time. I have to be back home for dinner. Hopefully, there won’t be any surprises this time.”

“I hope so.” I took a step back. “Okay, hmm, if we keep touching and kissing, I’ll lose it, and I don’t think the other people will appreciate that.”

“But I love it when you lose it,” she repeated my words from the other day.

“Baby, you’re not making it any easier.”

She laughed. “Come on. I brought something.”

She skated to a bench a few yards behind us and I followed her. She grabbed a basketball from the ground and threw it at me.

I held it. “You brought this?”

“Yup.” She nodded to a court to the side. “We could play a little.”

“Do you know how to play?”

She sat down and took her skates off. “Not really, but how hard can it be? Besides, if I suck, you can always teach me.”

This girl brought a basketball to play with me, because I told her it was one of my hobbies. A weird feeling, like a mixture of care and admiration, swelled in my chest.

I smiled. “I like that plan.”

* * *

Charlotte

The next three weeks fell into a routine. I lied to my mother about having a project to work on, and went to the coffee place to meet Mason. I lied to my mother about going out with Tracy, and I went to Mason’s apartment. I lied to my mother about meeting some other friend she approved of, and met with Mason at the park, where I roller-skated and he played basketball.

It was paradise, except for the part where I lied to my mother all the time—more than I ever did before.

However, it was worth it. Mason and I—we had something special, I knew this. He knew this. And he was special. And kind. And attentive. And handsome. And hot.

Even though we were in hiding, Mason and I could do almost anything together—except for going out to dinner or going to the movies.

One Saturday, we decided to try the movie thing.

I lied to my mother and said I was going shopping with Tracy, but instead I went to a small shopping center in Woodbridge—wearing huge sunglasses, a hat, and a scarf. I felt silly with them, but it would help. I wasn’t trying to be unrecognizable; I just didn’t want people to see who I was with half a glance.

Alone, I bought my ticket, my popcorn, and soda, and then headed to theater seven, where the movie Mason had chosen was playing. According to him, he had chosen it because it had been playing for several weeks and the theater wouldn’t be too full.

Being thirty minutes early, I was the only one in the big room. Except for Mason. With a baseball cap, and not looking suspicious at all, he was seated at the top, in the left-most corner.

I smiled and headed to the opposite side—to the top row, but on the right-most corner.

My phone chimed as I sat down.

Mason: Hi.

Me: Hi.

Mason: How are you?

I laughed.

Me: I’m good. Just anxious. I want this movie to start NOW.

Mason: Me too. Just a few more minutes.

I glanced at the clock at the top of my screen. Few more minutes? We had another twenty-five minutes to go.

Soon, more people entered the theater, but as we predicted, there were only a few couples and friends. Nothing to worry about.

The lights went off, and for a moment, everything was dark. This was our cue.

I stood and tiptoed to the center of the top row. A movie trailer started, illuminating a little of the room, and the man right in front of me.

“Hi,” Mason said with a naughty grin.

My heart raced. “Hi,” I whispered.

Mason grabbed my hands and pulled me to sit beside him—I almost dropped my popcorn and soda—then he leaned over the armrest and closed his mouth over mine.

I broke the kiss—Mason looked at me as if I had taken the lollipop from a kid—put my popcorn and my soda in the cup holders on the armrests, dropped my purse on the floor, and then returned to him and kissed him.

A low chuckle rumbled from Mason’s throat, until I teased him with my tongue, deepening the kiss. The chuckle was replaced by a growl. I fisted his shirt and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling each other closer.

The lights of the trailers were gone, putting us in total darkness for a few more seconds.

I pulled away from him as the movie started playing.

“Hey,” he protested in a low voice.

“Hey, you. We came to watch the movie, remember?”

“But I missed you.”

I kissed his cheek. “I missed you too. And now we’re together.”

He stared at me for a while as if trying to figure out if I was joking or not. He must have decided I wasn’t, because he sighed and leaned back in his chair. I leaned back too and found his arm there, waiting to wrap over my shoulders. I snuggled against him and rested my head on his shoulder.

He turned his face to me. I thought he was going to kiss me again, and hell, I kind of wanted him too, but instead, he kissed my forehead before resting his head on top of mine.

With a smile, I shifted my attention to the movie.

Chapter Seventeen

Charlotte

“There’s that face again,” Liana said, throwing a pillow at me.

I sat straighter on the couch and flicked the pillow at Becca. “What face?”

“That gooey face you get every time you think about Mason,” MaryAnn said.

“You were with him, what? Two days ago?” Becca asked.

Three actually. I could be with him right now, but I also missed my girls. Well, I could always leave a few minutes early and stop by his apartment for a quick kiss. I was already lying to my mother about being in a study group. If I lied that my group and I lost track of time and I missed dinner because of it, would she find out?

“I don’t get a face!” I protested.

In truth, I knew I probably made a face each time I thought about Mason. I could do nothing about that. Our time together was perfect. Even our movie outing two days ago had been great. We were careful to sit in our corners again when the movie ended, and exit the theater separately. It hurt me, to see him walking away alone, when I wished to be able to link my arm through his and show him to the world.

This situation had to be hard on him. He was my boyfriend, but he wasn’t my boyfriend. I didn’t know how to proceed. He wouldn’t want to go through this for too long, would he? Then what? I would have to let him go. Well, I couldn’t force him to be in the closet forever. In fact, I should let him go soon. Now, actually.

But I was selfish. I didn’t want to let him go and I felt horrible for being selfish.

“There it is again,” Becca said, tossing the pillow at MaryAnn.

MaryAnn deflected the pillow. “So, are you going to tell us what you were thinking about? We want details.”

I scrunched my nose. “Ew.” I was not the sharing type.

“Ah, come on! We want to know. Is it good? Mind-blowing? Oh, and the size. We definitely need to know the size.”

“Hmm, no, we don’t,” Becca said. Thank goodness one of them was a little more conservative.

“You’re no fun,” MaryAnn said.

“Who isn’t fun?” Joan asked, descending the stairs and joining us in the family room. She stopped and glanced at us with a smile. “Are you guys watching a movie?” She pointed to the TV and to us. We were huddled on the couch, practically with our backs to the TV.

“That’s just background noise,” Liana said to her mother.

“You know, so you can’t hear the dirty things we’re talking about,” MaryAnn said, winking.

Joan shook her head. “Girls, girls. Keep that up and I might start spying on you.”

“No, you won’t,” Liana said. “You trust us.”

“Oddly enough, I do.” Joan grabbed a pillow from the floor and tossed it at us. “I need to go to the grocery store. Anyone want something from there?”

“Handsome, hot, honest, and faithful men?” MaryAnn asked.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m afraid we don’t find those on sale,” Joan teased.

“Too bad,” Becca said.

Joan chuckled. “All right. I’ll be back in a bit. Behave.”

“Always,” Liana said.

Joan disappeared through the kitchen door and MaryAnn turned to me. “Where were we? Oh yeah, the size. Spill!”

I rolled my eyes and hid under one of the pillows.

* * *

Mason

Only two things could make me happier now: to find a job in a good company, and to see more of Charlotte.

I had been called for an interview for one of the entry-level jobs I had applied for, but hadn’t heard back yet. In a few days, it would be August, and a couple of weeks later, classes would start and I would work at the university, but working outside the school would pay much better. I had to be called for a job before classes started.

As for Charlotte, I saw her three or four times a week, but that didn’t seem enough. That didn’t feel like enough anymore.

“Hey.” David nudged his elbow on my arm.

“What?” I turned to him.

He gestured to the controller in my hand and the TV. “You just stopped playing. Where’s your head? Wait. Don’t answer. I know. On Charlotte.”

“Well …”

“I know. You’re always thinking about her. If she was my girl, I would think about her all the time too, so you’re forgiven.”

I couldn’t decide between feeling proud or wanting to punch him.

My cell phone rang, saving him from a probably punch, and I reached for it. A smile spread across my face when I saw Charlotte’s name on the screen.

“Lovebirds,” David muttered.

I flipped him off and answered the phone. “Hey, baby,” I said, standing up and walking to my bedroom.

“Hey. Are you working Saturday night?”

I glanced at the calendar on my wall. It was Wednesday and I worked every goddamn night this week. “Yeah, but I have the early shift, so only until one. Why?”

“My mother has an event in Washington this Saturday. She wants me to come with her, so I was thinking about telling her that I was going out with Tracy after the event, and actually go to your apartment.”

Sneaking wasn’t my preferred method, but if it was the only way to be with her, then so be it. Besides, how could any reason compete with the freaking marching band act my heart performed each time I set eyes on her?

My smile widened. “I would really like that.”

* * *

Charlotte

The event was downright boring.

Donnie and his father were there and stayed close to us all evening.

I carefully avoid talking about going out with Tracy later, in the hopes that my mother wouldn’t tell him to go with me. No such luck.

“Donnie, did you know Charlotte is meeting Tracy later? They are going to some club. You should go with them.”

I groaned on the inside. “No, Mother. He can’t go.”

She turned her cold stare to me as if I had insulted Donnie in public. “Why not?”

“It’s a girls’ night out. Only girls. No guys allowed,” I explained.

“Ah, what a shame,” she said. “But you could let the name of the club slip, couldn’t you? And Donnie could meet you there by accident.”

Donnie smiled his million-volt smile at me. “I like that idea.”

Oh, crap. “Tracy would kill me.”

“She wouldn’t know,” my mother insisted.

“Oh, she would,” I said, ready to lie about Tracy having a crazy impulse to strangulate her best friends who brought dates to girls’ night out. Thankfully, another senator joined our circle and engaged everyone in another subject, saving me.

I watched as a few couples danced in the center of the ballroom, in tune with the romantic song the band played on stage.

Donnie touched my arm. “Want to dance?”

Not really.

“Of course she wants to,” my mother said, rudely cutting off whatever Senator Williams was saying. “She would love to.”

She gave me a look with murder written all over it.

I gulped and let Donnie guide me to the dance floor.

Not long now. Just hang in there for another half an hour. You can do it.

Donnie caught my right hand with his left one, and then rested his right hand politely on my waistline. With a smile, he led, swaying us around the dance floor.

“You look beautiful,” he said.

Broken record. “Thanks.”

“It’s a shame I can’t come to Tracy’s party, but we should do something else. Maybe tomorrow?” He paused, probably waiting for an answer. Well, he wasn’t getting any. “We could go out for lunch. Or catch a movie. Or have a picnic.”

“I’m—”

I felt my phone vibrating on the hidden pocket of my skirt. I dropped Donnie’s hand and reached for it.

Mason: Good news. I was able to get out early. Going home now.

I couldn’t help the smile that spread over my lips.

“May I ask who is it?” Donnie asked.

“It’s, hmm, Tracy. She’s asking me to go meet her now. Why?”

He stared at me, more serious than I had ever seen him. “I was just wondering who had the power to make you smile that way.”

I chuckled nervously. “Tracy is my best friend. She makes me smile all the time.”

“That’s good. I’m glad you like her so much.”

“I do,” I said. “Hmm, I should probably go now. Thanks for the dance.”

I walked away from him.

“Anytime,” he said, but I didn’t acknowledge it.

I fought against the urge to run out of there. Instead, I held it together while I warned my mother that I was leaving, then walked out like Miss America and waited for the valet to bring my car to me. But once inside my car, I closed my eyes for a second and mentally let everything go, only focusing on Mason and how happy he made me.

* * *

Charlotte

Something moved under me and I woke up. Mason’s heavy arm was draped around my waist and his face was tilted to me.

I smiled, but only until my eyes fell on the clock on the nightstand. It was 4 a.m.

“Oh, shit,” I said, scrambling off the bed.

“Hmm, what?” Mason asked, his voice heavy with sleep. “Wait, baby, where you’re going?”

I fumbled for my clothes on the floor. “To the hotel. I have to get there before my mother wakes, or she’ll have my skin.”

“But you’re supposed to be at Tracy’s.” He sat up. The sheets slipped off him, revealing his taut chest and abdomen, and for a moment, I considered sending my mother to hell.

I picked up my dress and started to put it on. “No. When she’s in town, she expects me to sleep at the hotel.”

He stood, in all his naked glory, and I gaped, totally forgetting what I was doing. The corners of his lips tugged up and he walked to me, his gaze so intense, it made my body heat up. He curled his fingers around my waist and pulled me to him.

“I really wish you could stay,” he whispered, his breath washing over my mouth.

“Me too,” I said, standing on my toes. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down to me. His mouth met mine and his lips opened instantly, allowing my tongue in.

He groaned, deepening the kiss. He slid his hands down my hips and around my thighs, pulling my legs up and around him. He backed us up until my back was pressed against the cold wall. He briefly broke the kiss, and with deft hands, pulled my dress over my head. He threw it aside and then his hands were on me again, his mouth on mine, and then he was inside me and all I could think was that I never wanted to leave his side.

* * *

Charlotte

I halted before the closed doors and took my shoes off. I ran the key card, the light blinked green, and I pushed the door open, careful with each and every sound I made.

I closed the door behind me and took a step.

“Where have you been?”

I froze. Oh, shit. “Out. With Tracy.”

“No, you weren’t.”

“W-what? I was.”

“I called Tracy. I wanted to know where you two were going so Donnie could be there too. Tracy said she never scheduled anything with you for this weekend, which means you lied to me.” My stomach dropped. Holy crap. “With that hair of yours, I’m guessing you were in someone’s bed.”

My mouth fell open. “W-what? Of course not.”

She marched until she was right in my face. “Do not lie to me.”

I actually flinched from her harsh tone, but I wasn’t a kid. She couldn’t do this to me anymore. I raised my chin and met her eyes. “You know what? It’s none of your business.”

Her hand smacked my face so hard, my head whipped to the side and my cheek exploded with pain, pain that spread over my face.

“It is my business. Everything you do, everything you think is my business.” She just looked at me, her eyes burning with anger and frustration. “If your father were alive, he would have died of disappointment right now.”

I pressed my hand over my cheek, willing the throbbing ache to go away. “Don’t put this on my father.”

“This isn’t what he would want for you, Charlotte. You know that. It isn’t what I want for you either. You can have everything in this world. Don’t throw your bright future away.”

Everything but my future. “You’re talking as if a bomb had exploded.”

“It could well be a bomb. You don’t know what this man is going to do.” She shook her head. “I raised you better than this, Charlotte. I thought I could trust you. I thought you had a good head on your shoulders.”

“I do!”

She shook her head again and I swear the glint in her eyes was murderous. “This escapade better not be in every newspaper tomorrow morning. I swear I’ll kill you if I find a picture of you with some random guy.”

“It’s not like—”

“Does he know who you are?”

“W-what?”

“The man you slept with. Does he know who you are?”

“Oh my God, I’m not hearing this.”

“If he does, I hope he’s discreet, because so help me, if he tells anyone about this, if it leaks and turns into gossip that will end up in the newspaper, I’ll kill you. And him too. You betrayed my trust. How long have you been doing this? How many times have you lied to me like this? Do you just pick any man at random? Like what? Your boy toys?”

“Do you hear yourself?”

“Oh, Lord. And I always thought you were with Tracy. You can ruin our lives. You can ruin my career. You can ruin your career. I won’t allow it.”

“My career?”

“I should put bodyguards on you to follow your every move.”

“What? No!”

She halted and watched me with those hawk eyes of hers. “I guess it’s too late to fix this now. If this man wanted to tell someone, it’s already been done. He better remain quiet.”

What I was supposed to tell her? I wouldn’t talk to her about Mason when she was determined to think he was a boy toy. “Mother—”

“But be warned,” she cut me off. “I won’t tolerate this kind of behavior anymore. Do as I tell you or you’ll have bodyguards following your every move. And the first thing I am telling is this: You won’t be seeing this man anymore.”