Insecurity and a Bottle of Merlot (3 page)

“You got that right, mister. There’s no way someone as hot as you is going to sit in a corner and go unnoticed. I’m getting you out there, baby, and we’re gonna shake up the dance floor. We’ll have a great time. My family is a riot. I need to figure out how to keep all my cousins off you though. There’s going to be a lot of hot, young chica’s there that would love your attention.”

“Are you worried?” he asked, with a chuckle.

“Naw… I can take all of them. They know better than to mess with me. I’ll whip their asses.”

“My eyes are focused only on you. You look stunning today, Vic.”

“Thanks, Max. You’re not so bad yourself.”

The wedding was glorious. The bride, Vic’s cousin, Serena Lopez, wore a wedding dress that could rival any royal. Serena’s beautiful, single sister, Olivia, was the Maid of Honor and the groom’s brother, Élan, was the Best Man. Ten couples, a miniature bride, flower girl and ring bearer made their way down the rose petal lined path while the guests snapped picture after picture.

Max watched Vic as tears of joy wet her cheeks. The smile she wore illuminated her entire face. He smiled too, and squeezed her hand.
She’s a spitfire alright, but sweet and sentimental. I like this girl.

Vic caught the bouquet and Max caught the garter.

“You know what this means, right, Max?” she taunted. “You have to slow dance with me now. Just us, in front of the whole world. Don’t worry, it’s only for a few minutes, then everyone else will join in. But for those few minutes, you’re all mine. I’ll take it easy on you, babe, I promise.” She laughed and gave Max a peck on the cheek.

Vic and Max danced in front of the crowd of onlookers while the smoke machine set the mood, and the spot light was fixated on them. The music played slow and sexy. Hoots and hollers came from everyone watching, because they looked that good together. Vic nuzzled in close with her arms wrapped around Max’s neck. He pulled her in even tighter.

“Max Cole, I think you’re enjoying this,” Vic whispered in his ear.

“Victoria Alonso, I’m enjoying you.”

The bride and groom made their exit at eleven o’clock and the party began to wind down. “What do you think, Vic? You wanna blow this pop stand?”

“Sure, let’s go to my house. What’s your pleasure?” she asked, making sure she sounded sultry.

“Seriously?”

“Seriously… beer or wine?”

“I’m a beer kind of guy, but you knew that. There’s time… plenty of time to get better acquainted. Now let’s go have that beer, gorgeous.”

Chapter Four

Mia called the locksmith Sunday morning hoping to leave a message. A recorded voice said the office would be closed until August 4th.

Well, what the heck?
Now she felt anxious and irritated. “C’mon Reggie, let’s go for a walk.” Mia grabbed the leash and snapped it to Reggie’s collar. She pulled the front door closed out of habit, then turned back and went inside to grab her keys and slip them in her pocket. She exited again, giving the doorknob a twist to make sure it was locked. Going through the daily process of walking Reggie made Mia stop and take note of her actions.
Crap! I never lock the front door when I walk Reggie. I’ve never given it any thought until the keys went missing. Anybody could have come in and taken the key, even Jack.
Mia’s eyes darted up and down the street, looking for that familiar white BMW. Nothing. Goose bumps rose on her arms.
Okay Mia, stop freaking yourself out. I’ll keep the deadbolt and chain lock secured for now when I’m inside. In a week I’ll get the locks re-keyed.
She turned the corner with Reggie.

The man wearing the baseball cap and sunglasses waited an extra minute, then nonchalantly went up the sidewalk, unlocked the front door and slipped inside. He headed straight for the basement. He knew Mia rarely went down there. Out of sight, out of mind, she always said. Truth be told, Mia didn’t use the basement for anything except storage because it creeped her out. It was the perfect way for Jack to come and go at will.

He descended the twelve steps and pulled the string on the ceiling light. The windows were large enough to easily fit through.
This will work out fine. It doesn’t hurt to have another way of getting in, in case Mia changes the locks again.
Jack unlatched all the basement windows, then went back upstairs. Just to mess with her, he pulled one of the kitchen chairs out about a foot from the table. “That will drive her nuts,” he sneered. He peered out the windows to make sure nobody was outside, then left.

The neighborhood walk ended, and Mia returned home with Reggie. She had lunch plans with Aaron, and wanted to look especially nice for him. She felt good about their relationship and where it was going.
Soon,
we’ll take it to the next level.
Mia wanted to be intimate with Aaron. She was ready, and dreamed about it when she lay in bed at night. Aaron would wait for her to initiate sex because he was a gentleman.

This whole thing with Jack had Mia unnerved. She hadn’t heard from him at all. That in itself didn’t sit well with her. Jack had always been a loose cannon, and his silence worried her more than anything else. Unfortunately, her thoughts were more on Jack and the divorce, then on Aaron, the man she loved. She couldn’t wait until it was over. Jack needed to be nothing more than a bad memory. Mia hoped to hear from her attorney saying Jack signed the papers.

Reggie bolted for the kitchen after Mia took off his leash. She laughed as he plopped down on the cool tile floor. His tongue tapped the floor as he panted. “Need some water, Reg?” Mia grabbed his water bowl and emptied the tepid water into the sink. She filled it with clean, cold water and turned to set it on the mat. She watched, as if in slow motion, as the bowl fell to the floor, spilling water everywhere. Reggie yelped and ran for the bedroom.

“Son of a bitch! I know that chair wasn’t pulled out when I left.” Mia’s hand shook as she made the call to Aaron.

“Hi, sweetheart, what’s up?”

“Aaron, can you please come over? I need you right now.” There was urgency in Mia’s voice.

“Mia, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

“No, I’m not. I’m seriously going crazy. Please, Aaron, come over now.”

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Hang tight, honey.”

Mia sat on the porch waiting. She fidgeted and couldn’t control the trembling of her hands. Aaron’s car rounded the corner and squealed to a stop in her driveway. He rushed up the sidewalk and embraced her.

“Sweetheart, what happened?”

Mia began sobbing with her head in her hands. “Aaron, somebody came into the house. I mean just this morning, a half hour ago.”

“What? Are you okay? How do you know? That’s it, I’m calling the cops.”

“Wait, just hold me for a minute. We need to figure this out,” she said, as she wiped her eyes.

“Do you want to go to my house?”

“We’ve got to go inside, first. I didn’t look around yet. I ran out when I saw it.”

“When you saw what?”

“Come inside, I’ll show you.” Mia took Aaron by the hand and led him into the kitchen. “Be careful, the floor is wet. There.” She pointed to the chair, in the same position, a foot from the table.

“I don’t understand what you’re pointing at.”

“The chair. When I took Reggie for our morning walk, all the chairs were pushed in. I had my coffee and toast at the breakfast bar this morning. I never sat at the table. I locked the front door when we left, and we were gone for about thirty minutes. This is how the chair was when we got back. I haven’t touched anything.”

“Stay in the kitchen, honey. I’m going to search the house thoroughly.” Aaron opened the service door and flipped on the garage light to check there first. “Come, Reggie, you can help me.”

He searched the entire house and found nothing out of place, other than the chair. “Everything looks normal, sweetheart. None of the doors or windows appear to be tampered with.”

“There’s still the basement. I hardly ever go down there. It’s dark and creepy.”

“Okay, I’ll be right back, stay put.” Aaron grabbed a flashlight, then he and Reggie disappeared down the flight of stairs. Mia heard each descending step, and counted them in her head. She knew he reached the bottom when she heard him pull the strings on the individual ceiling lights. Within minutes he and Reggie came back upstairs.

“Mia, when was the last time you were down there?” Aaron asked.

“Last year when I brought up the Christmas decorations, why?”

“Every window latch was open, and the dust on the sills was disturbed. I locked them again. My question is, if it’s truly a thief, wouldn’t they have taken anything?”

“It’s Jack.”

“What?”

“It’s him, he’s messing with me. He wants to drive me crazy. I have to warn Karen and Sasha. He left them threatening messages too. We have to get restraining orders right away.”

“Honey, he’s still your husband, and he hasn’t done anything to warrant a restraining order against him.”

“Aaron, I changed the locks. I told him I did, and not to come back. That means if he does have the key, he trespassed to get it. He stole it.”

“That’s a good point. We need to catch him in the act so you can press charges against him. It’s probably the only thing that will stick. Let’s go buy a camera to hide in the bushes.”

“Tina and Karen were right. They told me to do that yesterday.”

“So you thought it was Jack all along?”

“In my gut I did. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. You’ve put up with my Jack bs for way too long.”

“Here’s the plan, Mia. We’re going to set him up. We’ll get the camera and if he is watching when you take Reggie out, he’ll make his move then. I don’t think Jack is dangerous. I’m guessing he’s only trying to unnerve you. Anyway, we’ll catch him trespassing in the act, on video. That should be reason enough to get a restraining order against him. Until this is taken care of, I’m staying here with you. I’ll keep my car in the garage so he won’t see it. I’ll protect you, no matter what.”

She wrapped her arms around Aaron’s neck and cried. “I appreciate you so much. I wish we would have started our lives together years ago.”

“Shhh… honey. We have each other now, and that’s what counts. Nobody is ever going to ruin that for us, especially Jack. Now let’s go buy that camera.”

***

Jack had been staying at his brother’s house for the last week, which irritated Mick to no end. They weren’t close, and Mick knew Jack was nothing but a user. Jack was given a month to figure something out, then he would have to go. His belongings were put in storage. Mick wasn’t about to let Jack unpack and get too comfortable.

“So tell me, Jack,” Mick asked over dinner, “how did you lose your job? Weren’t you in a top position at Plan-It Kidz?”

“Mia caused this entire mess. She was jealous of my advancing career and fabricated an enormous, slanderous story about me to my bosses. She wanted me out of her life and house. Losing my job was the perfect reason to kick me out. Plus she was cheating on me… the bitch.”

“That doesn’t sound like Mia.”

“Well it’s been some time since you saw her, Mick. I’ve wanted to come by and visit you a number of times, but she always had an excuse why we couldn’t. She’s changed since we got married, for the worse. To be honest with you, I’m glad we split up. She’s become paranoid and neurotic lately.”

“That’s really weird. So have you started looking for work?”

“Yeah, I have feelers out everywhere. As a matter of fact, I have an interview at Saks next week. They’re looking for a buyer in their men’s clothing department. Great opportunity, Mick. I should be able to advance quickly with my credentials.”

“That sounds good. I hope it works out for you.”

“No problem brother. It’s in the bag.”

Chapter Five

Aaron and Mia snuggled on the couch together watching TV Sunday night. Reggie lay on the floor, content. They purchased the camera earlier and installed it in the shrubs just outside the front door. Now, the waiting game would begin to see if anyone shows up.

“Aaron, something this simple, as normal as watching TV together, means the world to me.”

“I’m sorry things with Jack didn’t turn out the way you hoped it would, Mia. I want to give you a happy life. We’ll get married and raise a family together.”

“I want that too,” Mia said, as she turned the TV off. “Let’s go to bed.”

Aaron had a surprised look on his face since it was only nine o’clock. “Okay, where do you want me to sleep?”

She smiled and took Aaron by the hand to the master bedroom. “I want you to sleep with me… for the rest of my life.” Mia folded back the bedspread and dimmed the lights, creating a soft glowing ambiance. She turned on the radio to a blues station and set the volume low. “I want you, Aaron Daniels, right now.”

“Mia, I love you so much. I’ve dreamed of this day for years, and now my dreams are coming true.”

Mia lifted her arms as Aaron slowly raised the tank top over her head. He unbuttoned her white shorts, and slid them down her perfect, tanned legs. Mia unzipped Aaron’s jeans, releasing the growing shaft that he no longer had control of. He lifted her, and she wrapped her legs around his waist, feeling his rock hard manhood against her body. Deep moans sounded from the pent up need they had for each other. The passion escalated as Aaron carried Mia to the bed. He pulled his t-shirt over his head and dropped his jeans to the floor. Aaron straddled Mia, leaning down to kiss her. She ached for his touch. She couldn’t stop quivering even if she wanted to. It was magical the way Aaron licked and kissed her most private parts. She couldn’t believe what this man was doing to her. “Aaron, it was you all along. You’ve always been the man for me. Make love to me and don’t ever stop.”

“I can’t believe how you make me feel, Mia.” He moaned as he entered her hungry loins.

She gasped and pulled him in deeper, thrusting her hips up to meet his every stroke.

“We have to slow down, honey, I can’t last much longer. You have me on the edge.”

“Aaron, just take me, I can’t slow down either. I need everything you have right now. I’m going to explode.”