Into The Fire (22 page)

***

I entered the restaurant and tried not to
play with my hair. He probably already spotted me by the door and I
didn’t want to look unsure. Confidence was always attractive, not
shyness.

People were chatting quietly at their tables
and drinking from their glass flutes. Waiters passed by with trays
laden with delicious food. I stepped past the hostess podium and
searched the tables. When my eye fell on a young man sitting alone
and staring at me, I knew he was the one.

He stared at me like he knew exactly who I
was. He wore a collared shirt with a dark tie and slacks. He had
short brown hair that wasn’t long enough to run my fingers through.
He slowly rose from the chair and gave me an inviting smile.

He was cute.

Shelly didn’t show me a picture of him
because she didn’t have any on her phone and he didn’t have a
social media account. I had to admit, I was surprised. He was
handsome in a classic way. He was tall and built like he hit the
gym a few times a week. Of course, he was nothing compared to Ash.
He didn’t have that cocky smile that made me weak at the knees. His
body didn’t flex with power and strength. He didn’t have that
twinkle in his eyes. But he was still a catch.

I approached the table and tried to retain my
composure. “Brad?”

“Yes. You must be Alessandra.” He shook my
hand as he kept smiling. “It’s lovely to meet you.”

“You too.” I held my clutch in front of my
waist because I didn’t know what else to do. I was always nervous
with these sorts of things. I hoped I was hiding it.

Brad pulled out the chair for me before he
sat across the table. There were already two glasses of wine. “I
hope you like red.”

“I like anything with alcohol.” I blurted
that out without thinking. It probably made me look trashy so it
was a stupid thing to say.

Thankfully, he smiled. “We already have
something in common.” He clanked his glass against mine before he
took a drink.

“I guess we do.” I sipped mine and felt how
smooth it was. “Good choice. What is it?”

“1973 Merlot.”

“Good taste.” I liked wine but I didn’t know
much about it.

He held his menu on the table but didn’t eye
it. His eyes were directed at me.

I averted my gaze because I felt
uncomfortable being on display.

“Shelly told me how pretty you were. I guess
I’m surprised she was right for once.”

“Oh…” I blushed at the compliment. “Well,
thank you. You’re very handsome too.”

“Thanks.” He turned his eyes to his menu. “I
know what I’m getting. How about you?”

There was too much to choose from. “I’d order
everything on the menu if I could afford it.”

He chuckled. “I have a feeling you’d waste a
lot of food.”

When I decided, I set the menu down and the
waiter took our order. Then he left, leaving us with nothing to do
but stare at each other. I immediately missed Ash. With him, it was
so natural. We could just sit together and not say anything at all.
It was never uncomfortable. He could stare at me forever and it
didn’t unnerve me.

“So, Shelly says you’re an escort just like
she is?” There was only curiosity in his voice, not judgment.

“Yes. I like it.”

He nodded. “That’s good. Shelly says the same
thing.”

“I feel like I really help people. Some more
than others.”

“I’m sure you do.” He moved his hands from
the table to his lap.

“So, what kind of law do you practice?”

“Criminal. I’m a prosecutor.”

“Wow…that sounds stressful.”

“It can be,” he said. “But I really enjoy it.
At first, whenever I lost a case I felt discouraged but once I
finally understood I couldn’t win them all, I finally relaxed. Now
I just do my best without overthinking it.”

“That’s really cool. Do you have people
coming after you all the time?”

He chuckled. “Not really. But nothing scares
me anyway.” He sipped his drink. “So, Shelly told me you’ve been
single for a while.”

“Yeah…about six months.” It didn’t seem that
way because Ash filled all my extra time. But he was just a
meaningless fling so it didn’t count…as much as I wanted it to. “I
was with my last boyfriend for a year before it ended.”

“May I ask why?”

I didn’t want to talk about it, but I should
probably get it over with so he didn’t waste his time. “I stripped
for a while because I needed the money. When he found out, he
left.”

“Oh…” He nodded but didn’t seem disappointed.
“What did you need the money for?”

“Hospital bills. My appendix burst.”

“Damn, that’s terrible. I’m sorry.”

I shrugged. “It is what it is. It’s my fault
for not having health insurance.”

“I’m sure the surgery wasn’t cheap.”

“It wasn’t. And I waited so long before I got
there that I had other damage.”

“I’m glad you’re okay.”

“Me too.” I sipped my wine just so I had
something to do with my hands. “So, does it bother you?”

“What?” he asked. “That you don’t have an
appendix?”

I laughed. “No. That I was a stripper.”

“Oh.” He shook his head. “No. You did what
you had to do. I guess I can understand why he would be upset. If
you guys were serious, he probably wanted you to talk to him about
it. But it’s a little harsh that he just walked away.”

That was the reaction I was hoping for. “The
break up was hard for a while but I eventually got over it. How
about you? Shelly said you had a break up around the same
time.”

“Yeah…” He released a deep sigh like it was
still painful for him. “I was with her for about two years when she
just walked away. She said she needed time to see the world and
travel…some shit like that.” He was clearly still bitter about it.
“A week before I was going to propose to her, she ditched me.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.” That was heartbreaking.

“Thank you,” he said. “It’s been six months
and everyone in my life has pressured me to move on. So, here I
am.”

“I’m in the same boat.” I gave him a small
smile.

“Honestly, I was really nervous before this
date. I haven’t gone out in a really long time. I’m a bit
rusty.”

“It’s okay. I am too.”

“You seem really nice, and obviously you’re
beautiful. I owe my sister a nice Christmas gift this year.”

I chuckled. “I put up with her all the time
so she owes me, like, twenty Christmas gifts.”

He laughed. “She’s a cheap brat so don’t send
her your wish list.”

I smiled before I took a drink.

He did the same. “So, tell me about
yourself.”

I told him a little about my life and how I
ended up where I was. He made eye contact with me the entire time
so he seemed interested. When the food arrived, he ate but
continued to watch me.

“So…I’m not that interesting,” I said with a
laugh.

“I’m not either. If you were hoping I was in
a bike gang and I parachute out of airplanes, you’re going to be
disappointed.”

“That would be a little risky for me,
honestly.”

He flexed his bicep and winked. “You wouldn’t
think I was daring or brave?”

“Of course I would. But I wouldn’t want to be
married to you. I’d be afraid you wouldn’t come home.”

“Good,” he said. “Because I risk my life
enough as a prosecutor.”

“At least that’s for a good reason. Jumping
out of a plane makes you sound like an adrenaline junkie.”

“I guess.”

We spent the rest of the evening making small
talk. He was nice enough, and had interesting things to say. We
didn’t exactly click but we got along well enough. And he was cute.
I’d definitely had much worse dates than that.

After he paid for dinner, we left the
restaurant and stood on the sidewalk.

“Thanks for going out with me tonight,” he
said politely. “I hope I didn’t scare you too much with my baggage
and slightly crazy job.”

“No,” I said with a laugh. “I have the same
baggage and an even more unusual job.”

“True,” he said in agreement. “Well, I’d love
to take you out again…if you’re willing.”

It wasn’t exactly love at first sight, but
most romances weren’t. “Yes, I’d like that.”

“Great.” He seemed relieved like I might say
no.

I was surprised he didn’t offer to walk me
home, but perhaps he wasn’t ready for the possibility of me letting
him inside. Maybe he wanted to take this as slow as I did. That was
perfect for me.

“How about Saturday?” he asked.

“I’m free.”

“Cool,” he said. “Dinner? I won’t take you
parachuting if that’s what you’re worried about.”

If nothing else, he was funny. “Dinner sounds
great.”

“Alright. I’ll see you then.”

***

The doorknob to my apartment jiggled then
something heavy smacked against it. “Ouch.” Ash’s voice came
through the door. “Why the hell is the door locked?”

I was cooking on the stove when I heard him.
I purposely locked the door because I thought this might happen.
The dynamic of our relationship had changed, and he couldn’t come
and go freely whenever he wanted. I could have Brad over soon.
“Hold on.”

“I think your door is busted,” he said as he
tried to push against it. “Why would it be locked?”

“Just chill out.” I got to the door and
opened it.

He stood in jeans and a t-shirt. His arms
looked delicious in his sleeves of tattoos, and his blue eyes were
hypnotic. I thought I was getting over him and realizing he was
just a friend, but the second I looked at him, all I could think
about was how beautiful he was. “What the hell? If you’re going to
start locking the door, I’m going to need a key.”

“Why don’t you just knock?”

“Because it’s loud and annoying.” He walked
inside without being invited. “I always leave my door
unlocked.”

“Well, I don’t want to just barge in on you.”
Especially when you had beautiful women open the door in just a
t-shirt.

“I don’t care,” he said. “If you walk in on
me rubbing one out, you can help me.” He turned to me, and quicker
than I could process, he pressed his lips to mine and gave me a
slow kiss.

I fell prey to his touch immediately. His
mouth always felt so good and I loved it. But I knew I couldn’t
kiss him and touch him anymore. I ended the kiss prematurely and
pulled away.

The look on Ash’s face told me he knew
something was off. “What? Does my breath stink?”

“No, of course not.”

“Then give me some sugar.” He wiggled his
eyebrows at me.

I wasn’t sure why I was nervous to tell him.
It’s not like he would care. He had his own relationships when I
wasn’t around. “I think it’s time we end our relationship.”

He cocked an eyebrow like he didn’t
understand me. “What?”

Was that really so absurd to him? A woman
breaking it off before he did? “I started dating this guy and I
can’t fool around with you anymore.”

“What?” He stepped back like I stabbed him.
“You’re seeing some guy? Since when? Who is he?” He was talking
like he was in a panic. His eyes were wide and he was breathing
hard.

“Shelly set me up with him last week. He’s
her brother.”

“What?” he said for the third time. “I didn’t
know you were dating.”

“Well, I need to move on sometime.”

He remained in place, still confused and
stricken.

Why was he being so weird about this?

“I don’t understand…”

“What don’t you understand?”

“I just…didn’t know you were looking for
something serious.”

“Well, I’m not,” I explained. “But Shelly set
me up and wouldn’t take no for an answer. So I just went.”

He crossed his arms over his chest and a
pissed look overcame his face. “Then why does that end our
relationship? You just said you weren’t serious with him.”

“I think it’s pretty shady to start dating
someone while sleeping around with some other guy. That’s not fair.
What if it does turn into something more?”

He shifted his weight and opened his mouth to
speak. When nothing came out, he closed it again. “Do you like
him?”

“Yeah, he’s nice.”

“Have you slept with him?” he demanded.

“Whoa…that’s personal.”

“Answer me,” he said. “We tell each other
everything.”

“I haven’t even kissed him. We only went out
once and we’re going out again on Saturday.”

He scratched his head like none of this was
adding up.

“We can still be friends and hang out. We
just can’t be fuck buddies anymore.”

He stared at the ground with his jaw
clenched.

Why was he being so weird about this?

“So…that’s it?”

“Yeah.”

“We’re just…done?”

What didn’t he understand
? “Yes.”

He nodded his head slowly. “Who the fuck is
this guy?”

My eyes widened. “Why are you being so
hostile right now?”

“I just want to know who he is. He better be
good enough for you.”

“I really don’t know him that well.”

“And it better not be Tony.”

“It’s not.” Now I was growing irritated.

“You know what? I have to go.” He headed to
the door and practically ran.

“Okay…”

He walked out then slammed the door behind
him.

What the hell was that about?
It was
like he was mad at me. But I did nothing wrong. Was he angry I
didn’t tell him about the date before it happened? Or was he just
irritated he wasn’t getting laid like he thought? He could screw
whomever he wanted but I had to stay monogamous with him? That
didn’t sound right.

Then what was his problem?

CHAPTER TWELVE

Ash

She was seeing some guy?

What guy?

Who the fuck was he?

Why was she dating at all?

She didn’t want to sleep with me
anymore?

Was this really happening?

I walked inside my apartment and immediately
grabbed a beer. I chugged the whole thing while standing in front
of the fridge because I was so desperate for the distraction. Then
I grabbed another one and kicked the door shut.