Aligned: Volume 2 (8 page)

“Are you okay?” the deep voice says with concern.
 

“Yes, just go back to your date.” I rip my arm from his with a smile as I turn to the crowd gathered around us.
 

“I knew I should have practiced more in my heels,” I say to the crowd trying to make them laugh. It works as everyone chuckles and goes back to their earlier conversations. I make my way toward the bathroom to freshen up before I go find Laura and start my apologies. I open the door to the bathroom and find it empty.
Thank god!
I head to the sink and splash water on my face before I think about what I’m doing.
Shit
! I don’t know if the makeup is waterproof or not. I grab a paper towel and start dabbing the water from my face. I look back up at the mirror and the makeup still seems perfectly in place, unlike my heart. I’m a piece of shit for letting Landon bother my heart when I’m here for Ethan. To honor Ethan, I can’t do that if my heart is anywhere near Landon. Maybe I should just ask him to leave. He owes me that. He made his appearance so all the papers will say how charitable Landon is for supporting his photographer friend, but now, he just needs to leave so I can get through this.
 

I hear the door open to the bathroom. I don’t glance up. I just reapply the lip gloss I was given pretending I’m completely fine.
 

“He’s mine,” a feminine voice says.
 

“I’m sorry?” I turn to face the woman. Caroline is standing at the sink next to me glaring at me in her short sexy red dress that makes mine look ridiculous in comparison. She looks like a perfect model, unlike me, who is much too short even in my heels to be intimidating to this woman.
 

“Landon’s mine. You get one taste of him but nothing more. He gets one night with you, and then he’ll be gone out of your life forever. So you better make that one night memorable because your dreams will be the only way you will be with him again.”
 

“What are you talking about? What do you mean he only gets one night? I think that’s Landon’s decision of how many nights he wants to be with me.”
 

She smiles sweetly as if I don’t have a clue. “No, it isn’t.” She turns and leaves without another word. Damn this night.
I will get through this without punching anybody
, I repeat to myself over and over.
I will get through this
…
 

***

I walk off the stage to thunderous applause. I did well. I only bobbled one word when I saw Landon in the crowd staring up at me, watching my every movement as if he couldn’t get enough of me. As if he wants me. Like he’s looked at me so many times before when he takes me with his body. I almost said Landon instead of Ethan, but I caught myself. I pretended it was too hard for me to say Ethan’s name, and instead, let a tear fall down my face.
 

“Well done,” Laura says glaring at me as if I didn’t do well at all. “Now, if you could just stay on your feet the rest of the night, I think we can consider tonight a success despite your earlier mishap.”
 

I glare back ready to fight it out right now with Laura backstage, but I don’t. Instead, I let my glare fall from my face and I just nod before heading back to mingle with the crowd. The dance floor is full now, and Landon and Caroline are at the center of it dancing. Caroline looks beautiful with him. He’s the dark bad boy, and she’s the beautiful princess. It’s a perfect mixture of dark and light blending together. I look down at my own tattooed and broken body. Landon and I together would be like dark and dark. There is nothing beautiful about complete darkness. It’s magical watching them dance together as if they have been doing it their whole life. They look fantastic together. I’ve never seen Landon move like that. I’ve only seen one of his music videos, and he didn’t dance in it. He moves smoother, more in control of his body than any dancer I have ever seen. I can’t help but stare at him as he glides across the dance floor. I look around the ballroom, and everybody has stopped to watch him.
 

I grab two glasses of champagne off a tray as a waiter walks by. I haven’t had a drink all night. I didn’t want to stumble or look drunk on stage, but now that that part is over, I don’t care. I need the drink to get through the rest of the night if I’m going to have to keep watching him with her. I down the first drink and set it back on a passing tray before I start sipping on the second. I try to pull my eyes from his body, but I can’t. Even as his eyes find mine, I can’t rip mine away. I see his lust grow in his eyes as he looks at me, but it does nothing to me. He’s with her, not me. And as Caroline said, “I’ll only get one night with him.” One night would be more than enough to break my fragile heart. One night already has.
 

Could be I’ve fallen for you

I feel her eyes on me. I’ve felt them on me the entire night. I made a mistake coming here with Caroline. I didn’t even know what I had agreed to when Caroline asked me. If I had, I would have refused her, but Caroline knows how to manipulate any situation to her advantage. She knew I would destroy whatever I had with Alex by coming here with her. I’m an asshole. I dance in the middle of the room with Caroline as we have thousands of times before. I know her body, how she is going to move, how to turn her on, but as I dance with her now, I’ve never regretted my relationship with Caroline so much in my life.
 

The music stops and I dip Caroline right on cue, but my eyes are on Alex. Beautiful Alex in her perfect black dress that looks like it was made for her. Appropriate color for a widow mourning her husband, yet she still glows despite its dull color. I can’t keep my eyes from her. She holds her chin high; her face is a deep red, and I can see her uneven breathing even from here. What scares me most is the cold in her eyes, like stone that is unmovable, unbreakable. She’s put up more walls I’m afraid are going to be impossible to break down.
 

I release Caroline as I move toward Alex. She shakes her head with just the slightest movement. She doesn’t want to draw attention to her. I don’t listen to her, though. I keep moving toward her as her scowl turns into a fake smile as the crowd’s eyes turn from me to her.
 

I reach her and take her smooth hand in mine. I can’t help but smile at the feel of her skin, the electricity running through us. And I know she feels it too despite how hard she tries to keep it at bay. It’s there, running through her body just as easily as it runs through mine.
 

“May I have this dance?”
 

She nods; her fake smile still covers her face as the crowd looks at us. They ooh and aww as I walk hand in hand with Alex to the center of the dance floor. The crowd thinks I’m trying to cheer up the widow by letting her dance with the famous rock star. That it is out of charity, not out of longing. A slow, haunting song starts, and I take her in my arms as we float across the dance floor.
 

Our movements aren’t as perfect as Caroline’s and mine were. I have to move slower to help her maintain her balance in the heels that I’m awed at her wearing with her prosthetic leg. Her body feels perfect in my arms as if her body was made to align with mine. She’s the missing puzzle piece from my body this whole time. I don’t know how I’m ever going to let her go when the song ends. How am I ever going to let her go again?
 

“I’m sorry,” I say into her hair.

She glances around the room, the same fake smile still plastered on her lips. “Fuck you, Landon,” she hisses between clenched teeth so that only I can hear.
 

I take a deep breath before trying again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know this ball was for Ethan. I had no idea what I agreed to when Caroline asked me here. I just thought it was like any other event we occasionally attend together. It would be boring as hell, we’d make an appearance, and then I’d leave after fulfilling my duty as her friend.”
 

“It didn’t look like two friends dancing to me.”
 

My jaw clenches. “We are just friends. Nothing more.”
 

“Like you and I are ‘friends’?”
 

“Yes, exactly!” I say. Her face drops the fake smile as anguish fills its place. “Wait … no, that’s not what I meant.” I take her chin lifting her eyes to look at me. “We are friends, but there is so much more I want between us.”
 

She closes her eyes, I think to avoid having to look at me, but when she opens them again, I see the moisture building there. Shit! I’m making it worse instead of better. I keep moving us across the floor. I realize the song is close to ending and I’ll have to let her go, but this conversation is far from over.
 

“Alex, please just give me a chance to explain my feelings. Meet me in the conference room down the hall. It will say McCally conference room on the door. I’ll meet you there in five minutes.” I don’t want to draw any attention to our relationship. Neither of us needs the bad press that would ensue to see her at her dead husband’s event with another man so soon.
 

The song is ending, and she still hasn’t answered me. “Please,” I beg again. I see in her eyes the desire for more, and I know she’ll be there. As the song ends, I spin her making her the center of attention as the crowd cheers loudly for her. When she stops spinning, I expect her to be wearing her fake smile again with appreciation for the crowd in her eyes. Instead, tears fall as she looks at something behind me before running from the room. I look behind me and see Caroline smirking at me, just as she no doubt did to Alex.
Fuck five minutes
. I need to find Alex now.
 

***

I run to the conference room and duck inside without being seen. It’s dark in the small room that fits only ten or so people. I’m not sure if she’s even here or if she just ran off and left me.
 

She shoves me hard before I realize that she’s here. It just makes me smile. I’m relaxed that she still came despite how angry she is with me. Even if she only came to hit me and yell at me, I don’t care. She came.
 

“How could you? How could you bring her here?” she says between sobs. I don’t defend myself as she says it again and again. Hitting me over and over again on my shoulders and chest. Trying to get her anger out with each sob, word, and hit. When she finally stops, I pull her to me needing her against my chest. She lets go, needing me too.
 

When she calms and finally pulls away, I reluctantly let her, feeling empty the second she is gone from my arms. Her eyes have turned back to stone, her breathing calm as she says, “You still love her …”

“What?” I pull away from her in shock.
 

“You still love Caroline.”
 

“No, I don’t. I did at one time, but that was a long time ago. We are just friends.”
 

“You’re more than friends. I saw it in the way you are together.”

“We are nothing. She’s nothing to me but an old friend I still try to take care of.”
 

“Then why did she threaten me? What arrangement do you and Caroline share? She said I only get one night with you. What did she mean? Why does she know anything about our relationship?”
 

“She’s just a friend …” I can’t tell her more. I can’t tell her the truth.
 

“No,
I’m
just a friend. Caroline is something different.”
 

She waits for me to say something, but I don’t. There is nothing to say. I try to keep my anger at bay, try to remain rational, but it takes all of my energy to do so.
 

“What are you hiding?”
 

“I can’t tell you.”
 

“Why?”
 

“It will destroy you.” She takes a step back at my admission, searching my eyes for the truth. When she sees I’m speaking the truth, her body grows stiff again. She’s shutting me out. One by one, she is putting up every wall to keep me out.
 

“I need to get back,” she says without a hint of sorrow or pain.
 

“I want you, Alex. I want more with you.”
 

“I need to go,” she says again, not looking me.
 

“Where does that leave us? What about our arrangement?”
 

“We are nothing. Consider this the good-bye I promised you.”

“Alex …” I start, but I don’t know what to say. I know she won’t stay without me telling her the truth, but it’s not something I can tell her without pushing her further away from me.
 

“Good-bye Landon,” she says and walks out the door.
 

***

I don’t walk ten feet out of the conference room before Caroline stops me.
 

“Let’s go home. This party is boring. We can have a lot more fun in bed,” Caroline says slobbering on my neck. I don’t feel it. I’m too numb to feel anything.
 

“Not tonight, Caroline,” I say. She pouts but seems to be expecting it, so she just slides her tongue down my neck again to see if I’ll change my mind. I don’t.
 

“Just leave me alone before I say something I’ll regret.”
 

“Don’t get mad at me just because your plaything of the week won’t put out.”
 

I grab Caroline by the arm glaring at her. Her muscles quiver beneath my grip and fear registers on her face. “You did this. You drove her away,” I growl at her before continuing. “I’m done, Caroline. It’s over,” I say releasing her.
 

She stumbles back, but her sly grin creeps back easily over her face. “We will never be done. I own you, Landon, or did you forget? I know every secret about you, and if you have more than one night with Alexa, I’ll destroy you with your own secret. You get one night with her. That is our agreement, and then you better come running back to me like the good little puppy you are.”