Exposed (Free Falling) (7 page)

His fiancé was still attached to his arm, mingling with a couple standing nearby, but AJ wasn’t paying the conversation any attention.  To my surprise, his focus was completely on me.  I cringed at the thought of how he must hate me.  I imagined him standing there thinking of all the things he wanted to say to me as soon as he had the chance – cuss me out for making a move that had to seem completely selfish to him at the time.

Jason did a quick estimated headcount.  “How many of these people are actually in the wedding?” He asked.

Terrell thought it over in his head.  “Twelve on each side, so twenty-four, but friends and family were welcome to come today too.  I guess the mention of
‘free food’
got
everybody’s
attention.”

They shared a laugh and I tore my eyes away from AJ.  Ter
rell excused himself and left Jason and me standing there.  I looked everywhere but the direction where I knew a pair of eyes remained trained on me.

“I think I’m
gonna grab something to drink.  You want me to bring you a glass?”  Jason asked.

I
nodded with a smile as he made his way over to the bar.  “Thanks.  Something strong, please.”

He shot me a look
and then walked away.  I felt awkward and nervous, but I held it together.  While I waited, I didn’t wander far, but there were a few cheap paintings on the walls that I decided to check out.  They were the usual still-life replicas that can be found in thousands of hotels across the continent, but today, they gave me an excuse to turn my back on the room and catch my breath.

The sound of high heels approaching from behind made my posture stiffen.

“Aren’t these things nasty?” An unfamiliar voice asked.

I tilted my chin to the left
and a breath hitched in my throat when I saw AJ’s fiancé standing beside me.  To conceal the fact that she startled me, I gave a polite smile and nod.  “Yeah…they’re pretty disgusting.”

She laughed easily and then
went right into an introduction.  “I’m Kira.”

I hesitated
, but shook her hand when she extended it.  “Sam.”

Judging by the knowing expression on her face,
I knew that I’d guessed right; she
did
know who I was.  “Nice to meet you.”

Again, I only smiled.

Kira placed the hand not currently cradling her glass of wine on her hip.  She stared at the pictures and didn’t make eye contact when she spoke.  “I just want you to know that there doesn’t have to be any weirdness or anything between us just because…well…you know.” 

I drew in a deep breath and continued to evaluate the hideous green vase of flowers in the print.  “I’ll take that,” I replied.

Kira nodded in my peripheral.  “AJ didn’t want me to come over here and say anything, but I thought it’d be best to clear the air.  With the wedding tomorrow and everything, it just seemed like the mature thing to do.”  She let out a nervous laugh.

I glanced over at he
r when I felt her staring.  She looked me up and down a little like
any
woman would, smiling shyly when she realized I’d noticed. 

We were plunged into awkward silence and I found myself wondering where AJ was during my and Kira’s conversation.
  How much had he told her about me?  About
us
?

“Well, at any rate, it was nice finally meeting y
ou,” she said with a heavy sigh, only now letting on that this was difficult for her.  She reached out her hand to shake mine, and when I returned the gesture, her eyes zeroed in on her man’s name tatted on my wrist and mine went to the huge rock she was sporting on her ring finger.  I withdrew from her grasp quicker than seemed natural and she cleared her throat, both of us feeling equally uncomfortable for different reasons.

“Guess I’ll see you later,” she concluded, finally deciding to walk away to end both our suffering.

When she was gone, Jason returned with whatever he’d ordered me.  I didn’t even bother asking as I downed it in one swallow.  It burned my throat and chest which meant he did as I asked and got me something with some kick to it.

“You good?”

I nodded and touched the back of my hand to my lips lightly.

“Take it easy; it’s still early, Babe,” Jason suggested.

I heard him, but he had no clue how my insides had just flipped upside down with that one conversation. 

“
Wanna walk around and –“

“Actually, I’m not feeling so well.  I’m going back up to the room.”

A look of concern crossed his face, but he didn’t hesitate to follow me as I made my way toward the doors of the banquet hall, headed back out toward the lobby.  As I passed the blur of faces, one in particular stood out and I couldn’t make myself look away.  AJ watched me from where he stood towering over Kira’s small frame.  When she realized that he was distracted, she followed his line of sight to me as I made my last few steps toward the door.  I didn’t miss the way the faint smile on her lips faded when she saw me.

Maybe this – coming here, seeing him – was all a mistake.
 

C
hapte
r
F
our

AJ

“Satisfied?” 

Kira watched as I undid the last few buttons on my shirt.  The look on her face baffled me.  Did she really not get it? 

“Satisfied?  How so?”  She folded her arms over her chest and waited for me to explain further.

Hours had passed, but I was still fuming from her display down in the banquet hall.  “Kira…you escalated a semi-
awkward situation to
full-blown
awkwardness with that one, pointless conversation.”

Her hands shot to her hips.  “Are you serious right now?  My goal was to let the girl know that, just because s
he’s your ex, things between she and I don’t have to be weird.  I was being
nice
.”

No, you were
being catty, but I’m smart enough to know not to say that out loud.

“She was fine with what I said, AJ!”

Standing there, I bit back the response that first came to mind –
if she was fine with it, why’d she dart out of there like a bat out of hell afterward?
  I just shook my head.

“Are you upset because I made
you
feel weird about this….or because I made
her
feel weird about this?”  Kira asked.

And there it was.  Shaking my head, I rolled my eyes, raking my fingers through my hair.  All these years Kira had been the picture of
confidence when it came to what we notoriously referred to as ‘
the Sam situation’
, and now all of a sudden her true colors were showing.  I knew what this was about, though.  Up until now, Kira had only seen
pictures
of Sam – old ones from back when we were younger.  However, now that she’d actually seen Sam face to face, taken her all in, she was jealous – a new emotion for her.  Realizing this, I moved in to take her hands instead of blowing up like I initially thought to do.  When I did, she looked up into my eyes.

“Listen…I’m not upset.  I just don’t want you working yourself up over a situation that’s been dead in the water for years.  Sam is my past,” I assured her.  “And you’re my future.”  When I ran my hand down the side of Kira’s face, she leaned into it and held it there.

Her eyes were locked on mine and I saw the tension beginning to melt away.  She let out a long sigh and had my full attention.  “Okay, moment of truth?”

I nodded, ready to listen.

Kira’s cheeks flushed red as I stared down at her as she wavered back and forth, wondering whether or not to admit whatever was on her mind.  Her gaze fluttered up at me through her lashes.  “I may have let myself get a little jealous,” she admitted.

No…
really
?  I just smiled and let her finish.

“It’s just that, even though I know technically you and I have been together l
onger than you were with her…I don’t know, I’ve always just…sensed your connection to her.  Your past with her is like this lingering pink elephant standing in the middle of our relationship.  Maybe because I saw how broken you were afterward and knowing how much you loved her once upon a time.”  Kira paused and let her eyes shift to the floor.  “And let’s not mention how
beautiful
she is…”

My posture stiffened and I did all that I could not to visualize the way Sam walked into that banquet room.  All eyes were on her…including mine.  While I felt like
I was staring at the same girl I knew from Fairfax, she’d grown into one
hell
of a beautiful woman – filling out in all the right places.

“AJ…
AJ!
”  Kira called out when I stopped paying attention.  “Were you even listening?”

I nodded and blinked a few times. 

Kira sighed and laughed it off.  “I said I’m making that appointment for you.”

Confusion crossed my face.  “What appointment?”

She leveled a finger toward my tattoo and spoke forcefully about it for the first time ever.  “Yeah…that’s not gonna work anymore.”

Instinctively, my hand went to the spot where I knew Sam’s name was.  “Sure…fine,” I replied aimlessly.

Kira crossed the room and went to her purse to grab out her phone, checking to see if her boss had tried to contact her, no doubt.  With her eyes still glued to the screen of her cell, she spoke again.  “She still has hers,
too,
you know.”

She took a tone that I couldn’t quite read, leaving me to wonder what her statement implied.

“And?”

Kira shrugged and tapped away, returning a text.  “I don’t know.  It just all seems a little weird if you ask me.  You have yours.  She has hers.”

“What’re you getting at?”  I came across as defensive despite my best efforts to hide it.

“It just seems to me
like, on some level, you’re both holding on to the past by holding on to those tattoos.  Like I said, it’s just kinda….
weird
.  I mean, clearly she’s with another guy, we’re getting married – it’s just ironic that you’re both committed to other people and still….kinda committed to each other in a way.”  She almost mumbled that last part, but I heard it anyway.

“What the hell is
that
supposed to mean?”  I folded my arms across my chest and stared at her dead-on.  When she put her phone away, she looked me in the eyes.

“I –
“ she shrugged her shoulders and sighed heavily, forcing a smile.  “I didn’t mean anything,” she lied.  “You’re right, it was a stupid thing to say and it didn’t come out right anyway.”

Standing from her seat, Kira slung her purse over her shoulder, taking a few steps toward the door.

“Where’re you going?” I asked, not moving to stop her.

“Out.
  I just need a little air.”

The next second, the door closed behind her and I was left there alone with my thoughts.  I kicked off my shoes and sprawled out on the bed.  We’d only been here about six hours, and already there was drama and tension.  Now, more than before, I wished to be at home in D.C., minding my own business, leaving the past in the past where it belonged. 

Kira had been on high alert with the jealousy since the second we got here.  She tried to pretend like everything was okay, like she didn’t feel threatened, but I knew something was up when she decided against the black pant-suit she
originally
planned to wear that afternoon, choosing a short, pink dress instead.  Meeting my ‘
one that got away’
clearly had her feeling rattled.

My thoughts
again settled on that image of Sam coming into the room downstairs.  I’d done all I could to focus on the conversation with Maisha’s cousin and his wife, but the second she walked in…

In my head, I never forgot a single detail about her.  I remembered the exact shade of her skin, the soft texture of her hair, and her scent.  The details of her face were permanently carved into my mind as well.  However,
the woman who I’d laid eyes on a little while ago was Sam, but not.  When she left Charleston, she was gorgeous by all accounts.  Now, though? 

Understatement.

When I caught myself thinking about
her
instead of Kira, I rolled over onto my side and corrected the problem. 

Half an hour passed before I decided to call Kira’s phone to see where she’d gone.  Originally, I assumed she just stepped outside the hotel to gather her thoughts, but she would’ve been back by now.  Two unanswered calls later, I slipped into my shoes and took to the halls in the wife-beater and jeans I’d been lounging in. 
The elevator doors opened immediately and I pressed the button for it to take me down the four floors to the lobby. 

I shoved my hands in my pockets and leaned against the back wall while I stared at the ceiling, waiting.  The music blaring through the speakers sucked pretty hard so I mostly concentrated on tuning it out.  When the elevator doors opened, I looked down semi-startled because I wasn’t paying attention, and then froze.