The Game Has Changed (4 page)

Evan led her into the store and seemed to be
focused on finding something in particular. She didn't want to ask
him what it was and allowed him to drag her along. She saw him pick
up a roll of duct tape. Her eyes widened and she became extremely
frantic. He noticed her panic, but he only gave her an audacious
wink.

Let her think what she wants of me.
If she's thinking what I think she’s thinking about,
she's more of a pervert than I am,
he thought. His need for the tape was more utilitarian than
sexual, but he wouldn't tell her that. At least, not yet.
Let her sweat it out.

“Pick up some snacks, Luv,” he commanded.
“Anything you like.”

In retaliation, Jaime started to grab things
off of the shelves. She loaded up on soda, cookies, and chips, as
much as the two of them could carry with one hand as they continued
to hold the other.

He knew she was doing it on purpose. After
dropping everything onto the counter, he winked at the woman in
front of him and reached into his inside jacket pocket to retrieve
a bit of his money. Since he couldn't use his other hand because it
was tightly wrapped around Jaime's hand, he placed the wallet upon
the counter and struggled to pull a bill out. The starry-eyed and
intrigued woman watched him with interest.

He winked at her again and asked in his flirty
British accent, “Would you mind pulling a twenty spot out for me,
Luv?”

The cashier woman appeared to be awestruck.
Jaime was certain the woman was about to faint. She said nothing,
but was breathing heavily as she pulled the money out of his wallet
for him.

“Ta, Luv,” he replied, taking his wallet back.
Shoving it into his jacket pocket, he blew her a kiss and she
practically melted.

“That was some display,” Jaime mumbled
irritably once they were on their way again.

Evan laughed. “Whatever do you
mean?”

“Do you flirt with every woman you come
across?” she asked.

He seemed thoughtful, for a moment, and then
answered, “Yeah, pretty much.”

“Bet you have a lot of sex partners,
too.”

Jaime decided to be brave and get downright
personal with him. She only knew about the things she learned in
sex education class at school, so she wasn't that comfortable with
any terminology or slang.

Her daring statement showed him her naiveté
immediately. It made him smile. “Yes, lots of sex partners,” he
agreed enthusiastically. “How did you know?”

She was a little stunned at his candor, but in
order to try and hide that fact, she shrugged and feigned
disinterest. “I don’t know. I just could.”

“How about you, then? Lotsa boys been in your
garden?” he asked crudely.

Jaime shrieked at that. “Of course not! How
dare you say that?”

“Well, how is it any different than you asking
me?”

She sighed. He had a point. After a moment's
consideration, she said, “I’m sorry that I brought it
up.”

“It's quite all right, Darlin'.” He smiled,
turning toward her momentarily as he drove and gave her another of
his sexy winks.

She didn't mean to let it get to her. Yet she
found herself feeling a tad breathless. Mortified, she turned away
from him.

“When are you gonna let me go?” she asked once
she’d regained her wits.

He decided to tease her once again. He knew it
was a mean thing to do, but he couldn't help himself. “When I'm
through with you,” was his answer.

She gasped. Her fiery temper rose to the
surface once more. “Why are you doing this to me? It's not fair! I
didn't ask for this to happen, you know.”

“Since when does anyone get asked to be
kidnapped?” he shot back at her. “That's the whole bloomin' idea,
isn't it?”

Jaime took them both by surprise when she burst
into tears. They were so abrupt and uncontrollable.

“Jaime?” Evan said with worry, but then
wondered if they were pity-inducing tears. She was playing the game
now, he feared.

“I'm so scared!” she sobbed heavily. “Can you
just do it really quick? And make it painless, so that I won't even
know? Please!”

“Make what painless?” he asked with
amazement.

“When you kill me.” She heaved a languid
breath.

“Jaime! I wasn't planning on killing you!” he
assured her, fully distressed now. “I really wasn't!”

“Did I just give you the idea, then?” She
continued weeping.

A forlorn laugh escaped him before he sighed
deeply. “I'm not a killer, my love.”

Her breath caught in the midst of her sobbing.
He’d called her affectionate names ever since they’d met, yet she
knew he probably did it with everyone he met. The woman in the
shop, he’d called that woman
Luv
, hadn't he? Why did the names he called her
seem to have a certain nuance that she just couldn't quite explain
within herself?

“I'm not a killer,” he whispered again, almost
defiantly, to himself.

A short time later, Evan pulled into a motel's
parking lot by the side of a country highway southeast of
Pittsburg. He was much too tired to attempt driving any longer. As
he got out of the car, he could see an abundance of stars in the
sky above him. It was an awe-inspiring sight for him to see and it
wasn't something he normally took notice of.

His whole charmed life, he had spent it in big
cities. First, in London and ultimately, in Los Angeles. His
current job also afforded him a jet-setting lifestyle. Most of the
United States had just been a blanket of clouds under his wings. So
why was he seeing it for the first time? Why was he noticing
everything now? It was as if he was finally forcing himself to stop
and smell the roses.

He hurried about to Jaime's door. Jaime wanted
to pretend he was being a gentleman, but she knew better. He took
her hand and helped her out of the car.

“We'll stay here for the night,” he said, yet
his expression told her so much more. He no longer had to say the
words. She sensed he was asking her to behave.

“Don't forget my backpack,” she said fretfully
as he closed her door.

“It's just a backpack, isn't it?” he dismissed.
“I suppose we'll have to do some shopping for clothes come
tomorrow, won't we?”

“I want my backpack,” she whined, angry that
he’d ignored her request.

“All right,” he sighed, holding her hand tight
as he opened the back door to retrieve it.

They entered the motel’s office to find a
sleepy old man sitting in a chair in the back room. He peered over
his gold-rimmed glasses to gaze at them suspiciously as they
approached the desk.

“What do you want?” he grumbled, not bothering
to move from his chair.

“I imagine I want what it is you have to
offer,” Evan replied with heavy sarcasm. “I mean, this is a motel,
isn't it?”

It seemed like a huge effort for the man to get
up, more of a bother really, but he did so, none-the-less, and
hobbled toward the desk, looking down at his watch as he did so.
“You're a real character, aren't ya?”

“Mostly, yes,” Evan agreed. Jaime was doing her
best to stifle her giggle as she stood behind him.

“Check in time is usually way before
this.”

“Well, we've been on the road and . .
.”

“You got a reservation?”

“No, I do not.”

“Oh, listen to your fancy pants accent there.”
The man gave him a peculiar smile. “All right, how long do you need
the room for?”

“Just for the night, please.”

“I hope you realize this establishment is not
for that sort of activity?” the man said sternly, his eyes swinging
in Jaime’s direction.

Jaime gave him a shy little wave.

Evan smirked when he realized how the man
perceived the situation. “I should hope you realize I didn't bring
that sort of woman with me. Really? Does she look like a hooker to
you?”

“Now, don't go and lie to me and tell me she's
your wife! She's way too young for that,” he snorted.

“She's my little sister.” Evan
grinned.

“Oh. Let's hear you talk fancy, too, little
sister.”

Evan's eyes widened. So did Jaime's. Evan
turned toward her, their eyes meeting momentarily. She suddenly
didn't want to disappoint him.

Heaven knows why,
she
thought.

Having never done so before in her entire life,
she put on her best Cockney accent. “Cheerio,” she said with
perfect inflection. It was the only thing she could think of to
say.

Evan's face lit up with both happiness and
amusement. He looked back at the quizzical fellow. “There you go,”
he said with a grin.

The man shrugged and smiled and pointed to a
paper sitting upon the counter in front of him. “Sign here and I'll
need a card.”

“Um . . . I'll pay cash,” Evan said as he
scrawled a pseudonym.

The man nodded and accepted his payment. Evan
smirked with amusement as he accepted his room’s key and quickly
exited the office with Jaime in tow.

“That was brilliant, by the way,” Evan praised
her as they walked along, hand in hand as they made their way
toward the diner nearby.

“Thanks. And you signed the name
Smith
?” she noted.

“Now how do you know that's not my real name?”
he laughed.

“I could probably bet my life on the fact that
it isn’t.”

“Really now?”

“Yup.”

They sat across from one other as they slid
into one of the booths within the greasy spoon diner. Jaime noticed
Evan was looking at the menu with disgust and it seemed as if he
were trying to avoid touching it.

“What's wrong?” Jaime asked and laughed at him
as she noticed his snooty attitude. “Not the five star restaurant
you're normally used to in your high and mighty England,
huh?”

“This isn't even what I'm used to at a Denny's
in Encino,” he replied with a scrunched nose.

“California?” she wondered, intrigued. “Is that
where you live?”

“Yeah. Malibu,” he answered vaguely as he
perused the dirty menu.

“Wow, that's where lots of movie stars live,
right?” She was now sounding like a star-struck teenager and he
wasn't exactly relishing that idea either. “Are you famous? I mean,
you’re obviously rich and all since you were gonna buy my car, but
. . .”

“Yeah,” he admitted with a smirk. “Pretty
famous. Been in lotsa films.”

That wasn't a lie in the least
bit,
he thought. Except he wasn't exactly an actor,
but rather a stunt double for very famous actors. He would take his
time in getting to know her. Perhaps he would feel comfortable
enough to tell her more about himself when the time
came.

“Seriously?” she retorted. “I don't believe
you.”

“I don't really care if you believe me or
not.”

The waitress approached their table. Evan had
to stifle a laugh. She was the very epitome of the type some
actresses were cast as when portraying small town waitresses with
her big hair, the chomping of her chewing gum, and the cute little
ruffled apron. Heck, she fit the whole bit completely.

“What'll you have?” she prodded, popping her
chewing gum.

“Um . . .” Evan smiled at Jaime. “What you are
having, my dearest?” he asked.

She shot him an evil glance and ordered a
turkey sandwich and a Coke.

“I'll have the same.” He smiled at the waitress
and then, just to irritate Jaime, he turned to the woman and said,
“When do you get off work?”

The waitress's face lit up with a huge smile.
“Mmmm, I wish, Baby! You're gorgeous! And that accent . . . wow!
But sadly, I have a boyfriend.” She brazenly touched his shoulder
with a heavy jewelry-adorned hand.

“Aww,” he said, playfully disappointed. “Well,
he better appreciate the beautiful woman he’s got.”

“Oh, my God!” she squealed. “Yes, he had
better, for his sake!”

Jaime stared at Evan with annoyance once the
waitress had left. “That was pretty rude.”

“What?” Evan feigned wide-eyed innocence. “You
said it yourself that I flirt with every woman I come across. Just
living up to your expectations, Darlin'.”

“Well, why should I even care?”

“Do you?”

“Absolutely not, so you don't have to bother
doing it anymore.”

“I really don't mean to make you jealous,
Luv.”

“I said I couldn't care less!”

“But if that's the case, why can't I keep on
doing it?” He smirked.

Jaime huffed aloud. “Actually, I wouldn't mind
if you went off with her. Gives me a great chance to
bolt!”

“No worries, my Darlin'. I intend to stay
faithful to only you.”

“You probably don't even know what being
faithful to one woman means,” she challenged him
angrily.