Autumn and Summer (20 page)

             
“You could say that.” Again, he didn’t elaborate.  “Anyway, the multiplex is showing midnight movies starting next weekend. Would you be interested in going?”

I
looked at him blankly for a beat before asking, “Jordan, why is it that you never want to talk about the whole future-ex-wife thing? We talk about everything else in our lives, but you skirt around the separation.”

Leaning across the table, Jordan ran his hand across mine. He looked down
at our intertwined fingers before meeting my gaze again. “I married young and it didn’t work out. We grew into two different people and we wanted different things. Things were messy at first, but it’s being handled now.”

“If it’s been so long and she hasn’t signed the divorce papers, it feels like things might be still messy…emotionally.”

Jordan shook his head. “Emotionally, no it’s not messy. Financially, it’s a little messy and that’s why she won’t sign the papers. She wants more money. More specifically, she wants Ciao Bella.”

So emotionally, it’s over? That doesn’t change his relationship status, but that’s promising
, right?
I thought, warming to the thought.

“So, you’re ready to date? I know you said our first date was the first date you’d been on in a while so…” I let my sentence trail off.
“I guess I’m just wondering what you’re looking for?” I asked, curiously.

“I don’t know. This is my first real attempt at dating since I was eighteen years old. So twelve years later,
I’m just taking it one day at a time, you know?

“
I get it.” I nodded in understanding. I smiled gently, hoping to ease the tension I could see building behind his eyes.

“We separated
a little more than two years ago. My lawyers assure me that we’ll be divorced soon. I’m just waiting for her to sign the paperwork.”

“How many
people have you dated since you two separated?”

“Not many,” he answered uneasily.
A second passed before he continued, “Just you.”

“
Just me?” I repeated, my eyebrows shooting up. The silence that followed echoed through the air so loudly I fought the urge to cringe.

             
“You’re the first person I’ve felt ready to date.” He smiled one of his trademark shy smiles that highlighted his gorgeous eyes.

             
With a smile that I know didn’t reach my eyes, one word kept playing in my head as I sat across from him:

Rebound.

**********

             
“…so after telling him that we should just be friends, I left his place almost immediately and got home a little before midnight,” Autumn conclude
d
over lunch at DC Deli a few blocks from home.

             
“Wow,” I exhaled. “He said he wasn’t dating anyone and hadn’t dated anyone since he’s been separated. I just thought he meant he hadn’t had a relationship because he was newly single and doing some much needed mingling.” My mouth hung open and I’m sure the shock was evident on my face.

             
“Well, what he meant by that is that he hasn’t dated anyone at all since his wife,” Autumn clarified, popping a seedless green grape into her mouth.

             
“Damn. I’m sorry. I would’ve never set you up with him had I known.” Running my hands through my hair, I slowly shook my head.

             
Autumn gave me a look, narrowing her eyes. “I thought you said there wasn’t anything wrong with dating a man who’s divorced.”

             
“There’s not! You just don’t want to be the first one he dates after the divorce. Especially not you. You’re too good, too sweet, too…lovey.”

             
Autumn rolled her eyes and I had a moment to admire her expertly applied eye makeup. “Too lovey? What’s that supposed to mean?”

             
“You know exactly what it means. You’re so relationship minded that you aren’t the right candidate for a fling or to be a rebound. You’re just not equipped for it. You are the complete opposite of me.” I gave her half a smile before continuing, “You are wife material.”

             
“And you aren’t?” she asked in exasperation.

             
“No, I’m not. I’m not relationship material at all. And I’m not interested in it, thank you very much.” I chomped down on my chip to emphasize my point.

             
She pushed the remaining portion of her sandwich to the middle of the table and threw her hands up. “Are you serious?”

             
“Yes,” I answered simply. “But you knew that so I don’t know why you’re surprised. Nothing is going to change on that front.”

             
Again, she rolled her eyes. “Okay.”

             
“I’m not going to entertain whatever is going on in that pretty little head of yours so let’s talk about something else,” I said as I finished my sandwich.

             
“I have one question… why do you think you made up having a boyfriend and then avoided work all week?” Autumn leaned forward, eyeing me suspiciously.

             
“I told you. I am attracted to him and he has a girlfr—”

             
“You
think
he has a girlfriend,” she interrupted with her lips pursed.

             
“Fine. I’m attracted to someone who
probably
has a girlfriend so I removed myself from that situation.”

             
“You’ve never acted like this about a guy before. Never.” She gestured with her hands to emphasize her point.

             
“So?”

             
“So you’ve been talking about this Xavier Ford for the last three weeks. Every single time you talk about him, your face lights up. Even when you were pissed that he called you a stalker, you still talked about him constantly and went to work. But the moment you two have some alone time, you lie and say you have a boyfriend and then you avoid work all week because there’s a chance you might see him. You don’t think that means something?” The exasperation in her voice and the truth in her statement made me defiant.

             
“No.” I sat back in my seat and nibbled on the skin at the tip of my thumb. Just hearing his name made my heart flutter.

Xavier is unavailable,
I reminded myself.
And I just needed a week to detox from seeing him. If she saw him, she’d understand. It’s not anything more than intense lust. It’s lust in the most primal, animalistic, carnal way, but still only lust.
I blinked slowly trying to erase the way his blue eyes crawled up my body whenever we were around one another. 

             
Shaking the image, I focused on Autumn who was looking at me the way a mother looks at a lying child. Or a teacher looks at a cheating student.
Shit,
I thought, looking down at the last bite of my sandwich. 

She sighed as I put it in my mouth.

             
Chewing slower than usual, I watched her watching me and as the seconds ticked by, I knew that she knew something was up. 
And sometimes that’s the downfall of having a lifelong best friend,
I grumbled, feeling myself growing increasingly uncomfortable.
They always know when you’re bullshitting.

“
Fine! What do you think it means Autumn?” I sighed, narrowing my eyes at her.

             
“What do
you
think it means Summer?” she countered, her head cocked to the side.

             
“So, I’m pretty sure I figured out who my date is with tonight,” I said, changing the subject abruptly.

             
I could almost see Autumn’s struggle between trying to get me to admit to having feelings for Xavier and wanting to know if I really knew who I was going out with.
And I know the exact thing to say to tip her over the edge,
I thought, utilizing any means necessary to get my best friend off of my back.

             
“You don’t remember telling me about the eight passes to the hospital gala your job was gifted thanks to your campaign. Your supervisor did a lottery for who would go. I remember this because you said your idea was the idea that won the hospital over, but your number didn’t get called in the lottery to go to the gala…” I smiled as I saw the dots connecting quickly. “And you told me who won…”

             
Yes, my friend, I remember,
I thought, nodding and smiling devilishly.
It has to be Max, Trey, or Juan…unless there’s someone new that she works with who somehow got their hands on those gala tickets.

             
She laughed. “I was hoping you had forgotten! That was months ago!”

             
Tapping my forehead, I winked at her. “You know this is a steel trap.”

             
Picking up her trash and standing up, she responded, “Yet somehow you keep forgetting that I can I read you like a book.”

             
Saved by the bell
, I thought as my cell phone started ringing. Although I didn’t recognize the number, in an attempt to avoid where the conversation was going, I answered the phone.

“Hello?”

“Summer Wilson?” The thick accent and annoyed tone immediately alerted me to whom I was speaking and caused my lips to purse.

“Yes
, Gabriella,” I responded with an equal amount of annoyance in my tone. I picked up my trash and threw it away.

“We are adding one more person to
our ‘Most Eligible Bachelor’ spread so you need to take the photos. We need them by Monday. Go to 119 Elk Hill in Alexandria at 1pm.”

One o’clock?! That’s in an hour,
I thought anxiously.

“Gabriella, I don’t—”

“Don’t mess this up,” Gabriella interrupted before hanging up the phone.

I looked at the phone in disbelief. Looking at my best friend, I said, “
I fucking hate her.”

As we walked out the door of the deli, she asked, “What happened now?”

“I have to be in Alexandria in an hour to do a photo shoot and all she gave me is an address. I don’t know what kind of place it is I’m going to. I don’t know if it is indoors or outdoors. I don’t know what type of lighting will be available and what I need to bring with me. I don’t know who it is I’m even shooting!” With each point, I increased my pace as we quickly walked home.

“
How could she not tell you who you’re going to meet?” Autumn shook her head. “There’s something wrong with that.”

“
Exactly. She just said we needed one more set of photos done and when I started to say something she said some shit like, ‘Do as I say and don’t ask any questions, bitch!’”

“She did
not!” Autumn gasped, stopping in her tracks on the sidewalk.

I stopped too and laughed. “No she didn’t.
I feel like that’s what she wanted to say though! But she did say ‘don’t mess up’ which is just as rude.”

Autumn laughed, “You are ridiculous!”  Once her laughter faded out, she asked,
“Do you think she’s trying to set you up for failure?”

I looked over at Autumn and nodded. “Probably. But I won’t fail—I’ll just bring extra stuff with me and figure it out when I get there…which means I need to leave ASAP!”

As we entered the house, I checked the time
before running around and stuffing necessary items in my camera bags. Once I was packed up, Autumn helped me carry everything to my car. “You okay back there?”  I looked over my shoulder to see her eyeballing the equipment.

“
I’m fine. But will you be okay? This is a lot of stuff to carry by yourself.”

Putting everything in my trunk, I said, “You have a date. And I won’t need all
of this stuff at the same time. It really just depends on where we are and what the lighting looks like. I’ll be fine. Promise.”

“
Okay,” she conceded, dragging the word out longer than necessary as I got in the car and started it.

“But
what I do need your help with is this,” I began, waiting until I had the window rolled all the way down before continuing. “Will you pick out something for me to wear to the gala? I trust you so it truly can be anything.”

Autumn’s face lit up and her eyebrows shot up. “You know I’m picking it out of my closet, right? And I won’t be picking out a solid black dress?”

Putting the car in gear, I smiled. “I know. And Autumn, don’t mess this up,” I said with mock seriousness.

“
Goodbye,” she giggled, rolling her eyes.

With moderate traffic, I made it to my destination in twenty-four minutes. Pulling into the parking lot next to a brick building with BOX
emblazoned on the front and side, I double-checked the address. The place didn’t look run-down; however, it definitely had an air of roughness to it. With only one camera bag, I got out of the car.

119 Elk Hill,
I read the plate fashioned on the black glass door. I pulled the door and it wouldn’t open. I noticed a keypad, a card reader, and an intercom so I pushed the intercom button. Static filled the speaker and then the door buzzed open. I opened the door and right as I let it shut behind me, I thought,
Autumn would have never walked in here. And if I’m being honest, now that I’m thinking about it, I should probably check to make sure I’m not locked in!

After confirming that I could actually open the door back up from the inside, I felt more confident walking further into the building.
The short hallway led to a large room with a boxing ring in the middle of it. Three middle-aged men milled around—one in gym attire and the other two in suits—but besides appreciative glances from the group, they continued talking loudly as I moved further into the room.  I couldn’t tell if they were arguing or talking as they walked toward an office in the back.

The lighting in the room wasn’t the best. It was simultaneously dim
and harsh. My eyes swept the ceiling to see if any additional lights could be turned on.

“Can I help you with something?” One of the men in a s
uit asked as he peeked his head out of his office on the other side of the boxing ring.

Yes, perhaps you have someone I can hire to beat Gabriella Torres’ ass so I don’t have to worry about going to jail
,
I grumbled to myself as I struggled to think of what I was going to say in response.
I don’t know who I’m here to see!

I opened my mouth and then closed it twice before I started, “Well, I—”

“She’s here to see me,” a voiceinterrupted, causing me to whip around quickly
.
Even though I knew it was
him
when I heard his voice, seeing him made my heart start beating wildly.

“Xavier,” I exhaled as soon as my eyes landed on him. Wearing jeans and a white t-shirt that stretched deliciously over hi
s chest and arms, he looked casual and undeniably sexy.

“
Summer,” he returned, stretching his hand out to shake mine. A smile played at his lips before he said, “Long time no see.”

Without saying anything, I
shook his hand while gaping at him. He pulled me closer to him and whispered, “I like the way you say my name.”