Dirty Trick (12 page)

Her thoughts went to Catman for the dozenth time that day. She squirmed in her leather desk chair as memories of the night before played on an endless loop in her mind. There was no question they had great chemistry, and while she’d thought that was enough for her right now, it was becoming more and more evident that she wasn’t the kind of girl to have a purely sexual relationship. After only two “dates,” she craved more than that.

Funny, she’d told Serena a hundred times she’d given up on that dream. The fantasy of having it all. That if she found someone she could laugh with and who treated her well, she could be happy without the fireworks. But now she wasn’t so sure. After what she’d learned in the past two days, she didn’t think she could ever go back, just as certainly as she couldn’t only be with a guy for the sex. Which, as hot as it was, was all she had with Catman.

Now the key was finding someone who made her tingle above the neck
and
below the waist. Even if it meant risking heartbreak again. The thought scared the crap out of her, but she hadn’t realized until now that the thought of anything less was far more terrifying.

Trick.

His smiling face barged its way into her brain, taking center stage and muscling everything—and everyone—else out of the way. That had been happening more and more the past few days. Why, she couldn’t say. Not for sure, anyway. He was treating her the same as always. No different than he had in the past year-and-a-half she’d known him.

But
you’ve
changed.

She had. Over the course of one whirlwind, wild fling, she’d become someone different. Or maybe she’d just found her old self again. The Grace she could have been before Victor had broken her. To be fair, she should have left sooner, but every time he told her it would be different, it would get better, she’d believed him. She was different now. Still trusting, still an optimist, but stronger somehow. Like she knew what she wanted and what she deserved finally. Whatever was happening, she liked it. In fact, she loved it. So what to do about the two men in her life who made her tingle? Maybe it was time to take a chance. To see if one of them could be the whole package…her forever kind of guy.

But if so, which one?

…

“How did you know it was me?” Trick asked, the second he swung Grace’s door opened to see Serena standing on the porch.

She eyeballed him hard before pushing past him into the house. “That doesn’t matter. We only have a few minutes before she gets home, and we need to have a serious talk.”

Grace had called him earlier to let him know that she had to work late and asked if he would take the dogs for a walk. He’d just gotten back in and had been about to feed Gandalf when the doorbell had rung. He’d managed to hold Serena off for more than two days, but now it was time to pay the piper.

“Okay, let’s talk. But not until you tell me how you knew it was me.” He shook his head, still baffled by that one. “I was so careful.”

They’d headed into the living room by tacit agreement, and now she turned to face off against him. She’d been an ally for a short time, but that status was teetering on this discussion. She’d ambushed him by showing up when Grace wasn’t here, and he needed a minute to get his thoughts together.

She glared at him as if she knew he was stalling, but obliged him anyway. “I didn’t, at first. But you know me. I saw a guy with a hot bod and had to check out the kicks.” She sent a disgusted glance downward at his aging Adidas. “And then I saw those god-awful things and realized it was just you.”

His sneakers. Who looked at people’s shoes? The thought hadn’t even occurred to him. “Should I be offended?”

“You should, but you probably won’t have the sense to,” she said with a sniff. “Anyway, you’re lucky I didn’t blow it right then and there.”

“So why didn’t you?” Her answer meant more to him than it should have. Almost like he needed to know he wasn’t the only one who thought he and Grace belonged together.

Serena stared at him hard before shrugging a slim shoulder. “Because I think you could be good for her. If you truly want to.”

Her approval settled him some, and he nodded. “I do. I don’t think she’s ready to hear it, though.”

“She got burned pretty bad. Vic lied on a daily basis and spent the better part of their relationship pretending to be something he wasn’t. Not a good strategy out of you to repeat that pattern, buddy.” She let out a low, sympathetic whistle through her teeth but then laughed, presumably at the dread on his face. “I get why you did it, and I think if you tell her the truth, she’ll come around. She’s going to be pissed at first though, you can bet that. Better to get it over with before things go too far. She’s already hoping he…I mean you, will call her.”

Trick shifted from foot to foot and scratched his head. To tell or not to tell, that was the question. “Well, about that,” he began.

Serena pushed off the couch to her feet, shock etched on her face. “Tell me you didn’t call her already.”

He’d done a shitload more than call her. He called her, and met her, and touched her, and made her come—

“I was wondering why she looked so guilty earlier at the office!” Her eyes narrowed with fury. “God, you are an asshole. It’s one thing to have slept with her at the party. Then you could’ve come forward and been like, ‘I wanted to show you what it could be like between us’ or some crap. But instead you had to make it a thing. Now she’s going to feel humiliated that you tricked her over and over. Not to mention all the new lies you’ve had to tell to keep this all going.” She shoved him on the shoulder, hard. “Promise me this is the end. Swear to me that you won’t see her again or call her. Not as Catman.”

He wanted to promise. He really did, but what if she still wasn’t ready to accept the fact that they were perfect together? The thought of never touching her again made him sick inside. Just a little more time…

His face clearly told the story because she hit him again, this time with a closed fist. “Shit, Trick. You are fucking this all up. I know you love her, but I can’t help you if you—”

The door swung open and Grace stepped in, cheeks pink from the cold. “Hey, what are you guys yelling about?” There was no censure in her tone, only curiosity. Serena was typically loud and a drama-queen, so anything from an episode of
The Bachelor
to a discussion about who the sexiest frontman of all time was could have raised the decibel level of the conversation.

“Nothing. Trick was telling me about this thing he has to do at work. He inadvertently hurt his co-workers feelings, and I was letting him know that he needs to rectify that ASAP so it doesn’t fester, you know? Like within the next day or so. At. The. Latest.”

The last was aimed at him, complete with a scowl that would’ve made Cruella Deville wince.

“Yeah, I think you’re right. I’ll take care of that as soon as I’m able,” he assured her, hedging a little. If he felt like he needed more time with Grace as Catman, he was going to take it. He wasn’t about to undo all the progress he’d made by coming clean before she realized that they were made for each other. He’d just have to hope that she’d see how happy her friend was and give him the space he needed.

“Oh. Well, if it matters at all, I agree with Serena. Honesty is the best policy. After being lied to for nearly a year, I can promise you that it’s no fun at all, and even if the truth hurts, it’s best for everyone in the long run.”

Trick only hoped his poker face was better than Serena’s because Grace’s little speech made him even queasier. Serena gave him an “I told you so” brow raise and he looked away.

Bottom line, he was clearly on borrowed time. He needed to raise the ante and bring this thing home because it couldn’t go on for much longer.

“I’m on it,” he said to them both with a reassuring smile. “Anyone want a beer?” he asked and then made his way to the kitchen. He needed a minute to himself. Just a few seconds to think. Aside from a couple attacks of conscience, he’d been pretty satisfied with the way things had been going so far—and from what he could tell, so had Grace—but now everything felt shitty again.

It would be okay, though. Once he told her, everything would be okay.

Wouldn’t it?

He shook off the impending sense of dread and decided to enjoy their evening. Once he was alone with his thoughts in bed that night, he could work through this mess and come up with a plan to explain things to Grace in a way that would make her understand.

“Grab me one, too.” She’d come up behind him and was standing right over his shoulder. She’d taken off her coat, and her body was close enough that he could feel the chill coming off her. He wanted so badly to turn around and pull her close to warm her up. But that would freak her right the fuck out. He swallowed a laugh and grabbed two beers.

“Serena want one?” He straightened and closed the fridge door before setting the bottles on the counter, Sam Adams for him, Nantucket Ale for her. He poured hers into a glass and handed it over.

“Nope, she left. She only came by to drop off the sweater I let her borrow last winter. She never returns anything she borrows, so I’m not sure why the new leaf, but it’s a nice sweater, so I’m happy.” She took a long pull off her beer and smacked her lips. “Thanks.”

He nodded but was preoccupied by Serena’s tactics. Grace might not have realized, but he knew exactly why Serena had stopped by. She’d wanted to corner him alone, and she had. Now he was questioning everything. Still, even with the stress, being alone with Grace again after last night sent a million thoughts up to bum-rush him at once.

They’d been alone hundreds of times before, and to be fair, every one of those times had resulted in at least a few minutes of mental “what if” that read more like the screenplay to a porno. A classy one, but a porno nonetheless, and now it was even worse. What if Grace lifted her hair off her neck and asked if he was hot and then decided to strip her shirt off to cool down? What if they got into a water fight when she was wearing that threadbare Lady Gaga T-shirt she loved so much, and he could see her nipples through the cotton? What if he was a pizza delivery guy and she was a lonely—

“Is that okay?” she asked. “You look weird. Is something going on with you guys? You’ve both been acting strange lately.”

Her forehead pinched into a frown, and his pulsed kicked up a notch as he put the pieces together. Whether she saw him as a possibility or not, she definitely didn’t like the idea of him and Serena together. Another little thing, maybe, but they were adding up.

He tried not to let the elation show on his face. “Nothing that I know of. We’re fine.”

“Well, she and I are meeting at the Brewhouse to eat after I change, if you want to come with,” she said rubbing Skeeter’s head gently.

Trick briefly thought of the chicken pot pie in his microwave then nodded. “Yeah, sure. I didn’t get a chance to feed the dogs before you got here, so why don’t you get ready while I do that?”

He loved being around her, and hanging out on his nights off for some grub and games was pretty much the status quo, but it was like running across a mine field with her right now. Every step held the potential to make it all blow up in his face. He briefly considered changing his mind. Not going to happen, though. The extra time with her was too sweet to pass up. He’d just have to make sure he stayed on his toes at all times. Which included breaking her balls about her new boytoy. She’d be expecting it. “So have you heard from Catman yet, or what?” He kept his tone casual and watched her as she took a slug from her bottle.

She didn’t answer for a long moment, and he thought maybe she hadn’t heard him. He noted the beet-red flush on her cheeks and laughed. She’d heard him, all right. She was trying to think of how to answer.

“You don’t even have to tell me. Your face is saying it all. Are you seeing him again?”

“Honestly? I don’t have any idea. And that’s okay.”

It was? Damn. He must have been doing something wrong, then. He’d thought that tongue thing was pretty spectacular, and she’d seemed to like it, but maybe it was time to break out the—

“I mean, the physical stuff has been a lot of fun, but I don’t even know him. We don’t do a whole lot of talking.” Beet-red went to a violet shade, and still she managed to push through. “I guess since there’s no real emotional attachment, I’d be okay whether or not he calls.”

So she didn’t feel emotionally connected. That should’ve bothered him, but instead it thrilled him. The idea was to make her love him, Trick. The whole Catman thing was just to open her eyes and see him as more than “Trick, the friend.” Now the hard part was going to be merging the two together, her attraction to the masked man and her affection for him, without making her run for the hills when she realized that he’d lied to her. He’d come up with this stellar plan on the fly at Alec’s that night, but had never thought about how to end it. Now that the end was near, he had nothing.

“Even if not, I’m happy you met someone to unwind with,” he said.

She gave him a bittersweet half-smile and cocked her head. “Speaking of which,” she paused and took another sip of beer, “Who have you been unwinding with? I haven’t seen anyone in or out of your house in…” She frowned, her smooth brow wrinkling.

Almost six months
, he wanted to say. Instead, he bit back the telling admission. There would be time to point that out to her later, when he was going for the hard sell. It bugged the shit out of him that she hadn’t noticed on her own, though. “It’s been a while,” he conceded. “Lots going on at work, and haven’t found anyone I wanted to spend that kind of time with lately.”

She looked at him hard before nodding slowly. “Interesting.”

Was it? “Not really. I think you got the wrong idea about me.”

She laughed then. Hard enough to make him frown. “Oh, come on, Trick. When I first moved in, I thought you were running some sort of clinic over there or were an artist who painted nudes or something. There was a different woman pulling out of your driveway at least twice a week.”

He tried to stay cool but found himself getting defensive. “Not always a different woman. Sometimes it was the same woman twice.” Her derisive snort made him realize how lame that sounded. “Okay, so I had company sometimes. No one serious, and like I said, it’s been a while. I’m starting to see the merits of a real relationship now.” This time he held her gaze, refusing to look away.