Ch. 56..60: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 56-60

Chapter 56

Jerome drives casually down the country roads close to the stables, singing along with the old country music from the 50s and 60s that's playing on the radio. I smile, watching and listening to him. Who knew that a guy trying to work his way up in a mafia family

could sing so well.

And knew so much Patsy Cline.

I shrug, looking out the window, enjoying the view when suddenly Jerome slams on the breaks.

"Shit," he mutters as our car skids to a stop, beginning to fishtail a little.

I gasp, grabbing on to the handle above my head and the center console to hold myself steady. My vision, of course, snaps directly to the road, anxious to see what the hell is in our way.

My eyes go wide with shock when I see it.

A bright red Ferrari, situated sideways in the middle of the road, blocking any traffic that might come by on either side.

And leaning against it, his arms crossed casually in front of him, is a young man in a fashionable designer sweatsuit. With tattoos all the way up his neck.

"Shit," Jerome says again, scrambling for the glove box, popping it open and pulling out -

Oh my god, a gun.

"What!?" I ask, my eyes following it with shock. "Has that been there the whole time!?"

Jerome ignores me, flicking the safety off the gun and expertly ensuring that the clip is full of bullets.

"Stay still, Fay," he murmurs, looking out of the windshield as Ivan stands up from his position leaning against the car, smirking at Jerome in the front seat. Then, his eyes slide to mine, and he c***s his head to the side. A question.

I glance back at Jerome, the loaded gun in his hand, and make an impulsive decision.

Before he can stop me, I pull the handle on my door and push it open, putting one foot out.

"Fay!" Jerome yells, grabbing for me, but I'm out of the car before he can get a grasp on me. "Get the fuck back in here!"

"He's not going to hurt me," I say, bending down so that Jerome can hear me and see my face. "But you're definitely going to get shot if you go out there with a gun -"

"You're going to get kidnapped Fay!" Jerome exclaims, but I just shut the door in his face, hoping he listens to me.

Then, I start to walk towards Ivan, who gives me a sly little smile.

He's not going to kidnap me. If he wanted me kidnapped, he wouldn't be putting on such a show. No, this is him wanting to impress me.

"Would you mind?" I say, coming within about five feet of him. He watched me as I came, his eyes sliding over me from head to foot. "You're kind of blocking the road."

"Am I?" Ivan asks, glancing over his shoulder, feigning ignorance. Then, he turns back to me and gives me his most charming smile. "My bad."

I just raise an eyebrow at him.

"Where are you off to?" he asks next, too casual.

"You know where I'm going, Ivan," I say, shaking my head a little, unwilling to play his game. Clearly, if he's here, he knew that I would be coming to Kent's stables this morning. And he knew precisely what time I'd be here, and why I was going. "You look cute," he says, sliding his hands into his pockets. "A real equestrian, in that getup. Can you ride?"

"Barely," I say, looking to my side at the pretty fields by the side of the road. Really, though, I turned away because I didn't want him to see the little smile on my face that came as a result of his compliment. "But I like my horse. He needs his exercise." My face more under control now, I turn back to him, crossing my arms. "So do you mind?"

"Ah, come on," he says, wrinkling his nose at me. "Let someone else exercise your horse today. Hang out with me instead."

"Seriously?" I say, tilting my head as I look at him. "You think that if you block the path towards the thing that I actually want to do, I'll just cave and go out with you?"

He gives me a naughty little smirk then. "Never failed me before."

I can't help myself. I laugh. "Wait, so you've done this before? Just blocked the road until the girl you like goes out with you?"

"Well," he says, giving a shrug. "If someone is being a c**k block, then I've got to pull the road block."

"What do you mean?" I ask, suddenly curious. "Who is cock blocking you?"

"Your new daddy-in-law," he says, leaning forward and grinning at me. "I've been trying to get in touch with you for days. But Lippert is blocking all my calls. My messages. All those poor carrier pigeons," he shakes his head in regret, "dead, for nothing but his pride." "Really?" I ask, surprised. "You've...been trying to call me?"

"Why are you surprised at that?" he asks, smooth. "You're a gorgeous girl. And, well. At the beach I thought we had sort of...a connection. Or whatever."

I let him see my little smile this time. "A connection? Or whatever?"

"Whatever," he says, leaning forward further so that his eyes are even with mine, looking at me intensely. "Whatever you want, Fay Alden."

I can't help myself, then. The little butterflies that flutter around in my stomach make the decision for me.

"Fine," I say, taking three steps forward to join him at his side. "You'd better drive fast, though," I say, nodding back to Jerome in the black car behind me. "Because he's definitely going to shoot you if you don't."

Ivan laughs at this, raising a hand and giving Jerome a friendly wave. "What, that guy? Not a chance. He doesn't have the balls."

I see Jerome in the front seat suddenly go red with rage when he sees what I'm doing. He moves, fast, grabbing the handle of his door.

"Quick!" I shout, feeling a little reckless and liking it. I shove Ivan's shoulder, urging him to move. "Go, go!"

Ivan laughs, giving a little whoop and running around to the driver's seat of his car.

"Fay!" I hear Jerome shout behind me. But I've already got the ferrari's door open.

"It's okay, Jerome!" I shout to him as I throw myself into the seat. "We're just going out for lunch! Can you take out Heathcliff for me!?"

"God damnit, Fay!" he shouts, and I see him raising his gun. But I slam my door shut, giving a little shriek of excitement.

"Hold on, baby," Ivan murmurs, throwing the car into gear and then slamming on the gas, the tires spinning as he turns the wheel hard, spinning the car back into the lane and starting to fly down the road.

I look behind us, then, through the little back window, still laughing as I see Jerome raise his hands to his hair, clearly freaking out. I don't feel guilty, though for some reason, in this minute, I've given totally over to the adrenaline rush. There's no room for guilt. "Did you just get him in big trouble?" Ivan asks, glancing at me as we pick up speed.

"Probably," I murmur, still looking back until Jerome until he disappears around a bend. Then, I turn to Ivan, a big smile on my face. "What's next?" I ask.

"Anything you want, Fay," he murmurs, keeping his eyes on the road.

I bite my lip, then, considering the possibilities.

 

Chapter 57

That afternoon, I have a lot more fun than I've had in a long time. Perhaps made even more fun by the knowledge that when I get home, Kent is going to kill me. So, I'd better live it up while I can.

"Another!" I call to the bartender, raising my hand to get his attention.

Ivan laughs at me, pulling my hand down. "You know you don't have to do that, right? He's been keeping an eye on you all afternoon. There's no way he's not going to notice when your drink is empty."

A few hours ago, in the car, I had asked Ivan to take me somewhere Kent wouldn't easily find us. He'd smirked and told me he had just the place, driving me across the city to the bad part of town. Then, he'd parked his sparkling Ferrari in front of a decrepit dive bar. I'd been hesitant at first but he'd taken my hand, telling me to trust him, and pulled me inside.

I'd understood the minute we stepped in the door and my eyes adjusted to the light. With deep red booths ringing the walls and a meticulously polished mahogany bar, this neighborhood bar wasn't a dump - it was a well-kept secret.

And we've been here for about three hours now, drinking and laughing, chasing that reckless feeling that I've had since I made the snap decision to get into his car.

"Really?" I ask now, glancing between the bar tender and Ivan. "He's been keeping an eye on me - like, watching me? Why?"

"Because you're hot, Fay," Ivan says, leaning in to whisper it like it's a secret. I throw my head back and laugh, surprised and tickled by the answer. And, yes, well inclined to laugh now that I've got a belly full of tequila.

"Seriously," Ivan says, smirking at me. "Once he figures out that you're rich and funny, too, he's going to lock you in the basement and keep you for himself."

"Really?" I say, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Is he going to lock you up? Probably, Fay, but I've seen that basement and you -"

I giggle, but shake my head. "No," I say. "Do you really think I'm funny?"

"Fay," Ivan says, smiling at me with disbelief as he tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. "Who ever told you that you weren't funny?"

I shrug, considering it. "I don't know," I say, shrugging. "My sister is funny. I just always thought I was the...other sister."

Ivan cocks his head to the side, his attention fully on me as the bartender delivers two more shots to us. "What's the 'other' sister?"

"I don't know," I say, looking deep into his grey eyes. "The nerdy one. The dork."

"Fay," Ivan says, shaking his head again. Then he leans forward, bringing his face close to mine, like he's telling me a great and terrible secret. "You are beautiful," he says, placing a hand on the side of my face, brushing his thumb over it tenderly. "And you're cute," he leans closer then, placing a kiss on that cheek.

I'm almost breathless when he brings his face back to where it was before, our noses almost touching.

"And trust me, you are funny," he says, surprising me by not kissing my mouth and instead pressing his lips to my other cheek instead.

I can't help but smile back at him, as he looks at me levelly again.

"And yeah," he whispers, smirking, "you're kind of a dork."

I laugh uproariously at that, tossing my head back and shaking with the laughter that pulses through me. When I look back at him again, I can see him laughing just as hard, right along with me.

I almost can't believe it, how much fun I'm having with Kent's worst enemy.

Maybe Kent just has bad taste in men. Because Ivan is a blast.

We both pull ourselves back together, Ivan reaching for the drinks on the bar and handing me mine. I sip from it, staring at him, at his handsome face and the sexy pinup tattoo that wraps around his neck.

"You don't think I'm a dork," I say teasingly, taking my sip from my drink. "Because you wouldn't like a girl who's a dork," I say, leaning forward, trying to bait him into coming closer. "And I think, Ivan," I say, pausing and not bothering to stop the grin that stretches across my face. "I think you like me."

"Really, Fay?" he asks, leaning forward again to bring his face close to mine. "Did you just figure that out now? The Ferrari across the road wasn't enough?"

"No," I say, narrowing my eyes, my smile dropping a little bit. I'm serious now, not playing anymore. "But I thought...I thought you were just trying to date me for...for who I am. For the connections you would make, if you took me away from Daniel."

Ivan doesn't flinch at that. Just holds my eye contact, his face steady. "Honestly, Fay?" he says, his voice as serious as mine now. "It started that way. But you are a surprise. Every extra minute with you," he says, his eyes drifting down to my mouth, "has made me want to do this more and more."

And then, slowly, he lifts his hand to the back of my neck, tangling his fingers in my hair, pulling me closer.

I exhale, my stomach turning over with anticipation, and close my eyes.

But.

The kiss never comes.

Instead, I feel Ivan's grip loosen, and see the color change on the inside of my closed eyelids from purple to orange. I blink my eyes open, looking towards the now-open door leaking sunlight into the room as Ivan straightens on his stool next to me. "Well, Fay," he murmurs, looking at the six guys in suits who walk into the bar, their eyes on us. "Looks like you have a decision to make."

They see us, then, and steadily walk over, their faces deadly.

"Fay," the one at the front says. It's a guy I've seen a hundred times in Kent's kitchen having breakfast, but I don't know his name yet. "It's time to go home now."

I don't say anything, just quickly shoot back my shot, flinching and wiping my mouth with my arm.

Ivan smirks at Kent's guys, placing his still-full drink back onto the bar. "Nice afternoon we're having, isn't it?" he says, cheeky.

The men ignore him, their eyes fixed on me.

I grimace and turn to Ivan. "I'd better go," I say, sad to see it end.

"I get it," Ivan says, hopping up from his seat and putting a hand out to help me down, which I accept. "If he'd sent one, I could take 'em," he says, "but six?"

I laugh a little, nodding in agreement, my eyes fixed on his face as I hop down from my stool.

"A pleasure, Fay," he says, surprising me then by raising my hand, still in his, to his mouth and pressing a kiss to my knuckles, his eyes on mine the entire time. "Thank you," I say, fascinated by him, my words hardly more than a whisper. "It was...I'll never forget today."

"Hopefully you won't have to," he murmurs, letting my hand go and putting his in his pocket. "I hope that we have lots more afternoons, just like this."

I smile at him, then, even as Kent's guy gently takes my arm and guides me out of the bar.

Ivan's face is the last thing I see before the door closes and I turn towards the street, blinking in the sunlight.

"Come on, miss," the guy says, leading me over to a black SUV idling in the road next to Ivan's car. "He's not happy."

"He never is," I murmur, looking out the window at the bar as we drive away.

The trip passes quickly, lost in my thoughts as I am. I barely notice the city passing by as we drive through it. When we get back to the house, though, I do notice when the driver turns to pull in front of the house, instead of to the garages around the side and back. I'm about to open my mouth to ask about the change when the car comes to a stop, Kent's guy next to me opening the door and getting out.

And then, as soon as he moves so that I can see the front of the house, I know why.

He's standing there, at the top of the steps in front of his front door, his arms crossed across his chest as they always are when he's pissed at. He glares at me as I guiltily climb out of the car, meeting his eye.

"Good luck," Kent's guy murmurs, closing the car door behind me and walking around to the other side. "You're going to need it."

And as I stare at Kent up there, at the top of the stairs?

I know he's right.

"Fay," Kent calls, from the top of the stairs. "Inside. Now."

 

Chapter 58

Kent doesn't wait for me to climb the steps up to the house. Instead, he goes in ahead of me, leaving me to follow dutifully behind.

I feel my stomach turn over for the second time today, though this time for totally different reasons. I would feel better, frankly - understand it more - if Kent were freaking out at me. Yelling at me, losing his temper, giving me commands. But this Kent? The quiet, controlled, considered Kent?

He's the one I'm afraid of.

I look down at my feet as I climb the steps, feeling every bit the naughty schoolgirl about to get yelled at for breaking the rules. The pleasant buzz that the tequila built in my mind gets wiped away by my anxiety, my adrenaline. It's as if my body knows that I have to be focused right now to face him.

When I walk into the house I see that his office door is open, a silent demand for me to enter. I take a deep breath, steeling myself, obeying that command and then walking into the office, stopping just as I cross the threshold.

"Close the door," Kent demands, his back to me as he leans his arm against the mantle of the fireplace, staring down into the fire. I don't do anything for a moment, staring at the fire myself. Why did he light it? It's warm out - a fire, so late in the season - "Fay," Kent snaps, turning to glare at me. "The door."

"Oh!" I gasp, scurrying into action and pushing the door shut behind me. Then, not knowing what else to do, I lean back against it, staring at him, waiting for him to deliver his judgement.

Kent just stares at me for a long moment. Then, he begins. "What the hell," he demands, "did you think you were doing today?"

I shrug one shoulder, not really knowing what to say. Honestly, I should have spent the time in the car planning my response to this very question. And because I don't have a practiced answer, I just tell him the truth.

"I...acted on instinct," I say, my voice a whisper. "Ivan was there, all of a sudden, his car across the road - and I got out because Jerome was going shoot at him and get himself killed. So I went to tell Ivan not to come any further, and he said he wouldn't if I went out with him for the day and..."

I run out of words, out of ideas, out of breath under the force of Kent's furious glare. But it doesn't matter. Kent knows how it ends.

"A date, Fay?" Kent asks condescendingly, putting his hands in his pockets and slowly walking over to my place by the door. "You thought that a great response to my enemy blocking your path to the stables was to go on a date with him?"

I blush as he comes to stand before me, his feet spread wide in a powerful stance.

"It wasn't a date," I murmur, looking down at my feet, feeling the redness on my cheeks deepen. "It was just..."

He laughs at me then, a low, disdainful thing.

"Drinking all day at a bar, laughing, kissing," he chides, leaning forward towards me. "It sounds like a date to me, girl."

I whip up my head at that, glaring at him. "We didn't kiss," I blurt out, defiant. Then, I blush harder when he laughs at me again.

"Does it matter if you kissed, Fay?" Kent asks, leaning back and shaking his head. "The damage is done. You were seen today, did you know that? That place he took you - it's a gathering place. Neutral territory. So, it wasn't just you and him there in that darkness - no. Men from all the families saw you there. Your father's men saw you there. Alden was the one who called me, in fact, to tell me where you were."

I go pale at this realization. Kent was right - I had assumed that Ivan took me to someplace personal and private, to a place where we precisely wouldn't be seen. I hang my head, realizing that the damage is just as bad as Kent says it is.

"So, you understand now," Kent continues. "What you've done. How you've embarrassed me. How you've embarrassed Daniel, of all people. About whom I actually thought you cared."

Frowning, ashamed of myself, I meet Kent's eyes, a little angry at that. "I do care about Daniel," I spit out. "I - I'm sorry. I didn't know that we'd be seen."

"Haven't you learned enough, Fay?" Kent bites out, his voice sharp. "To know that you can't trust your instincts in this world? That it's always one step ahead of you?"

I sigh, hanging my head, realizing that he's right. Damn it, I really thought Ivan had liked me...but now, realizing that he brought me there just so we'd be seen, so Kent would be embarrassed? I realize that I've again fallen for a ruse. "Have I not been kind to you, Fay?" Kent scolds. "Have I not given you your horse, given you your sister back? You have everything you need to live a happy life, if you'd just stay within the lines I draw for you."

His voice raises in the final words of his sentence, and I clench my teeth as I hear them. Perhaps it's the frustration in me, the embarrassment, rising again, but his words - they rankle me. I can't help myself as I raise my head to glare at him.

"Is that what I'm supposed to do?" I spit out. "Just...follow the rules? Live the life you lay out for me, Kent? Wear the clothes you pick out for me every morning, participate in the approved activities you plan, talk to the people you want me to, when you want me to?" I feel my mouth raise in a little sneer as I continue my tirade. "What's next, Kent? Are you going to pick my food out for me, plan my meals? Cut my meat on my plate every morning?"

Kent comes forward then, all quiet control, and places a hand beside my head on the door, leaning close. "If that's what it takes, Fay," he murmurs, a cruel smile playing on his lips. "To get you in line? Then yes. I'll feed you with a spoon, if you like."

I glare up at him, my lips pressed into a thin line. "And if I disobey?" I ask, my voice angry. He opens his mouth to respond but I continue, to fast for him. "What are you going to do then, take me down into your little t*****e chamber in the cellar? Punish me?" "No, Fay," he says, bringing his face closer to mine as he smirks at me. "I got the feeling that you...liked that. A little too much. So, we'll have to find some different methods to teach you how to act in this family."

I gasp at this, shocked at the gall of him - but also, frankly, by the fact that...well, that he's right. I just didn't know he knew.

Embarrassed, I push myself away from the door, moving to my right, working to get past him, away from him. "Bully," I growl, my teeth clenched. "I'm engaged to your son, you don't have any right to control my life -"

He puts his other arm up, blocking me as I try to get past him, and then his hand is suddenly against my chest, pushing me with force back against the door. I feel the breath leave me as I look up into his face, which glares furiously down into mine. "Do you think this has anything to do with Daniel anymore, Fay?" he snaps. "No, you ended that today, with your little date. You belong to me now, girl. I decide your fate from here on out."

"Is that it, then?" I ask, cocking my head and staring daggers into his dark green eyes, which are lit now with that fire I know I kindle in him. "It has nothing to do with Daniel anymore? So what, Kent, are you just admitting that you're jealous?"

"Jealous?" he whispers, considering, as if turning the word over in his mouth, tasting it on his tongue. He brings his whole body closer to mine, moving his hand away from my chest and instead back to the door on the other side of my head. He's trapping me now with his whole self, not touching me but pinning me to the wood none the less.

"Do you honestly think I'm jealous of those little boys, Fay? Daniel, or even Ivan?" Kent continues, his face filling my vision now, a smile turning up the corners of his lips. "That I'm jealous of the little stolen kisses, and the way he takes your hand, and the shivers he sends up your spine that make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end?"

I say nothing, staring up at him, the traitorous hairs on neck indeed standing to attention at his words, at the feel of his breath against my face. My breath comes quicker now, raising my chest, brushing it against Kent's. He observes me, laughing a little to see that me open my breath to get more air, that I fidget beneath the force of him.

His laugh turns in me like a knife.

"Yes," I snap, lifting my chin in defiance. "I do think you're jealous - I think you wish you were the one to -"

He snaps into action, then, quick as a fox, forcing a gasp from me as one arm wraps around my waist and another slides behind my neck, his hand holding my head in place as he pulls me flush against him, against every hard muscle of his body. "Wish I were the one to do what, Fay," he demands, cruel. "This?"

I cry out, but the noise is silenced by his mouth on mine.

 

Chapter 59

I pound my hands against Kent at first, desperate to get away, but he holds me steadily against him with that arm wrapped around my waist, with that steady hand wrapped in the hair at the base of my neck. I am locked in place as he moves his mouth against mine,

his movements slow, controlled, taking his time as he explores the contours of my lips. Savoring the experience.

A breathless moment passes and then, damn it, but my body betrays me.

I stop beating at him with my fists, distracted, suddenly, but the incredible softness of his lips, the expert way they slide over mine, at the feel of his tongue moving exploratively over my bottom lip. I feel my own mouth fall open at this, obeying his demand for entry, allowing him to slide that tongue into my mouth and press it urgently against my own.

He tightens his arms at this and I hear a moan escape me as he pulls me away from the door, bending me backwards at the waist. His mouth is sealed against mine, kissing me with an demand that makes me want to submit, makes me want to follow his every command. Suddenly, my hands are in his hair, my eyes sealed tightly shut as he slides the hand around my waist, and then lower, down to grab the curve of my a*s, to press me closer against the swelling mass of him that I can feel pressed against my abdomen. Still holding me tight against him with that hand on my rear, Kent takes his mouth off of mine suddenly, laughing.

I blink, panting, looking up at him, returning to myself in a flash and feeling the sudden rush of embarrassment and panic and rage. I freeze for a moment and then I shout as I pull my hands from his hair and begin to shove against him with all my might. But he doesn't let me go - not an inch.

Instead, he continues laughing that low laugh, holding me tight against him.

"You see, Fay?" he murmurs, watching me, taking pleasure in my futile struggle. "Why would I be jealous when I can do this any time I want?"

I continue to shove against him, my shout turning into a little roar of fury, and he holds onto me for a second or two more - just to prove he can. Then, he releases me all at once and I skitter to the side like an angry cat, glaring at him and whipping at my mouth as I move away from the door, away from him.

"You're a monster," I snarl, pursing my lips together in an angry, embarrassed line.

"I never said I wasn't," Kent says seriously, putting his hands cooly in his pockets. "But don't forget it, Fay. Monster or not?" He pauses, and leans towards me. "I own you. You are mine."

I storm towards the door then, intent on leaving, not wanting to give him another word. But he just laughs and, damn him, leans forward to pull the door open before I can lay a hand on the knob. As if it's his choice to release me.

"Good night, Fay," he calls as I stomp up the stairs towards my room. "See you at breakfast."

I don't look back. Instead, I storm through my bedroom door and slam it shut behind me, hurling myself onto my bed. There, I hide my head in my pillow and burst into furious tears.

I stay alone in my room for hours after I finish crying. Vacillating between feeling absolutely horrible and then feeling absolutely nothing at all, I stare at my ceiling for hours.

I had thought I was in charge with Kent. That I could rile him, and use his...his attraction to me for my benefit. But today, everything had proved to me that I was again out of my depth. I had thought Ivan liked me, but he was just doing it for show. I thought I had been in control of things with Kent but -

God damn it, tonight he played me like a puppet. First raising me to anger, and then kissing me, making me kiss him back, lose control like some lovesick girl while he humiliated me.

God, I really am his puppet. Ivan's puppet. Even Daniel's sometimes. It is so mortifying, realizing how easily I play into all of their games.

I stare at the ceiling, watching the light of day fade into the shadows of night, trying to come up with a plan, with some way to get what I want out of this stupid game.

But at the end of it all?

The fact is that I don't even know what I want. Or how to play. Everyone is playing chess and I'm not even playing checkers. I feel so...stupid. And alone. I pull my pillow over my head, groaning, missing my sister, my dad, my old life. God, what I wouldn't give to go back to it all.

The thing that finally breaks me out of my stupor is my stomach, which gives a mighty growl at some point in the evening when I've been laying in the dark for what must be a few hours. I sit up, looking down at my complaining stomach, and feel a headache pulse at the back of my head.

I groan, and put a hand there, wondering if it was Kent pressing me up against the door or Ivan feeding me tequila all day that's responsible for this. Either way, I want water, and sustenance. Now.

When I peek out of my bedroom door, the house is quiet, which pleases me. I want to see no one - absolutely no one - this evening. Waiting a moment to check that the house is quiet, I then sneak out into the hall, pulling my door softly shut behind me. I glance at a clock down the hall, surprised to see that it's much later than I thought - around one in the morning.

I am pleased when I encounter no one in the kitchen. I quickly pour myself a glass of milk and grab an entire box of cookies from the cabinet. Not healthy, I know, but tonight I need food for the soul as much as the body, and chocolate and sugar sound about right. I begin to relax as I head back up the stairs, confident I won't meet anyone, but just as my foot hits the landing I hear something and freeze.

It was just a soft noise, a groan, or a moan...

I stand at the top of the steps like a startled hare, not moving a muscle except my eyes, which dart around looking for the source of the noise. Nothing in the hallway moves but...yes. There it is again!

Curious, I listen closely and find my eyes moving to Daniel's door. I continue to listen for a few moments more and then - yes. I'm certain. It's coming from inside.

I let my curiosity get the better of me, perhaps feeling a little reckless as a result of my great embarrassment earlier in the day. Either way, I tiptoe closer to Daniel's door, careful not to make a sound. Passingly, I wonder if he's okay and hope that nothing is wrong... But deep down, I know what it is that I'll see when I lean down and peek through the little keyhole of his door.

And as I do just that, my suspicions are confirmed. It's convenient, frankly, that Kent never replaced the old-timey locks on the bedroom doors in this old house, because Daniel's gives me a perfect view inside to where he and another person - I can't see who - tangle on his bed.

I cock my head to the side as I look, curious. I know that it's wrong - that I should give Daniel his privacy, but...I realize, suddenly, that I've never seen anyone have sex before. I blush to realize it. I mean, of course I have seen it on TV and the internet. But not like this, never before so...real...

I'm mesmerized, frankly, by the sight of the bodies pressed together so fervently, tangled so that I can't tell the limbs apart in the dark blue light of the room. I continue watching as they pull apart for a moment sit up, changing positions. I recognize the profile of Daniel's sweet face, looking down at his lover.

I'm embarrassed, a little, by the tenderness that I see there, and know I should move away. In fact, I start to do so when the lover himself turns his torso towards the door. And I gasp aloud because...

Because I know that face, I know the shape of that body.

Jerome.

I stand up straight, aghast, my eyes wide and my jaw dropping open.

"Did you hear something?" I can barely hear Daniel's voice from inside the room, but I know that I've been caught. I scurry backwards, my eyes fixed on the door, when - Oh my god.

I go stock still as I feel my back collide with something else. Someone else.

"Good evening, Fay," I hear that familiar dark voice purr. "Why are you spying on my son?"

 

Chapter 60

I almost spill my milk everywhere as I spin to look up at Kent.

"Shut up!" I whisper angrily, glancing back at the door. "They'll hear you -" "They?" Kent asks, raising an eyebrow and looking at Daniel's door.

"Come on!" I hiss, throwing my shoulder against his side, trying to herd him towards my room, to get him away from Daniel's door before it opens and Daniel sees us both standing here.

Kent laughs a little at my wasted effort to get him to move - we both know I couldn't budge him an inch if he didn't want to go - but after a moment he allows himself to be shepherded out of the hall and through my open door, which I press my back against to close. I flinch as my lock clicks shut, desperately hoping that Daniel and Jerome didn't hear us.

"Well, Fay," Kent's voice says, and I look up to see him standing in the darkness of my room, hands in his pockets, smirking at me. "I didn't think you'd be so eager to get me alone in here -"

"Would you shut up," I murmur, turning my head back to the door to listen, my milk and box of cookies still clutched in my hands. "I don't want Daniel to know I was listening."

"Listening, is it?" Kent says, not bothering to lower his voice. "Looked like you were peeking -"

I give him a dirty glare, promising murder and torture and every horrible thing he can imagine if he doesn't shut his mouth right now. I can see the laugher cross his face but he puts his hands up, complying with my demand for silence.

I hear Daniel's movements, then. Hear him open his door, take a few steps outside. Silence, for a moment, and then murmured voices. Then, someone passes by my door, and someone goes back into Daniel's room, shutting the door behind him. When the hall goes quiet again, I release my breath.

"Okay," I murmur. "I think...I think we're safe."

"You know, Fay," Kent says evenly. "I don't like it when there are people in my home whom I'm unaware of. If Daniel is having midnight visitors..." He pauses here, looking at me curiously, allowing me to finish the sentence for myself.

I hold his gaze and slowly shake my head. "You're getting nothing from me, Kent," I say slowly. "So don't even ask."

He purses his lips then, cocking his head to the side, clearly curious. "And you're not mad about it?" he asks. "That Daniel is entertaining...someone? In his room? At night? While you..." he looks at the contents of my hands for a moment, "...eat cookies alone?" "Well, I'm not alone, am I," I toss back at him, speaking before I think about the implications of my words because I'm angry at him for his stupid pressing questions. "After all, you're here, aren't you?"

I push myself up from my spot against the door and walk to my bedside table, placing my snack down there and turning back towards Kent, my arms crossed.

"Am I your midnight visitor, Fay?" Kent asks, his voice taking on a sensual note I'm not sure I've heard before. "Is that what you want?"

Suddenly, I'm just...exhausted by it all.

I put my hand to my forehead, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath. Honestly, it's past midnight, and I'm hiding in my room from my fiancé with his dad who I made out with earlier tonight - and he's asking if I want him to be my midnight visitor - whatever that is and Jerome is gay, when I thought he liked me -

It's all just...too much.

"Sure, Kent," I sigh. Then I look up at him blandly. "Visit all you want. Do you want a cookie?" I grab the box off the table and shove it towards him. "We can have a real sleepover, just like I did in Girl Scouts."

Kent grabs the cookies from my hand and tosses them on the bed, taking a step closer to me. "Trust me, Fay," he murmurs, his eyes on my mouth again. "This will be nothing like Girl Scouts."

I groan then, tossing my head back, letting him see that none of this is sexy. It's all just so draining.

"Whatever, Kent," I murmur, looking up at the ceiling. "Can you just go away? I'm tired. I want to go to bed."

He surprises me by backing off. I watch him as he moves away from me, heading towards the door.

"Seriously?" I ask, watching him as he twists the handle. "That's it? No fight? No repartee? It's that simple?"

Slowly, Kent turns to me. "You're tired, Fay," he says. "Go to bed. You need your rest." He takes a moment to consider me, though. To run his eyes over my tired face, my rumpled hair, my lips still swollen from the force of his own pressed against them not so long ago. "But simple? No, Fay. If you think this is over..." He just slowly shakes his head.

With that, he pulls my door open and steps out into the hall, closing it behind him.

I stand still for a moment, staring at the door. Then I slump down onto my bed, pulling the box of cookies into my lap.

Without a word, I eat the whole thing.

The next morning I push through the door to the kitchen rubbing my eyes, still bleary from lack of sleep. Unfortunately, no matter how late you go to bed, the Lippert house is buzzing with activity as soon as 6 am. A knock came to the door at 6:30 - a housekeeper delivering my fresh clothes for the day. There was no getting back to sleep after that. So here I am, at 7 in the morning, needing coffee. Badly.

I make a beeline for the espresso machine and am surprised to meet Daniel there.

"Hey Fay," he says, handing me the cup of espresso he just made. I accept it gratefully. "How did you sleep?"

I shoot the shot of coffee down in one and hand the porcelain cup back to Daniel.

"Not great," I say back to him, and then I lower my voice. "Daniel," I say. "We have to talk."

He frowns at me, curious and a little concerned. "Is everything all right?"

"For me?" I ask, pointing at my chest. "Sure. Weirdly fine at the moment. But for you?" I raise my eyebrows, switching the direction of my finger so that it points at him. "You are oddly in hot water today."

"What?!" Daniel exclaims, looking around at the others in the kitchen, checking to make sure we aren't overhead. Then, he puts a hand on my elbow, drawing me closer to him. "What's going on?"

"Last night," I say, leaning closer to him. "Whatever was going on in your room...your dad..." I bite my lip. Damn, I didn't really plan how I wanted to say this.

Daniel's face goes pale though. He slowly looks around the room and then back at me with a level gaze, looking so much like his dad in this moment that chills run up my spine. "What?" he asks, glaring at me a little. "What does he know?"

I freeze, then, realizing something very suddenly that I hadn't thought of before.

That what I'm about to say to Daniel...it's leverage. That this is precisely the sort of information that these families trade on, that they hold over each other's heads, that they use to keep each other in check.

And if I wanted to, I could use it against Daniel to get something that I want. That I could enter this game of chess that they're all playing around me. Stop being a pawn, and become a real player. But the real question is, do I enter the game at Daniel's expense?