Leo Maddox (5 page)

Last summer I was only in Blue Creek for one week. I had vacation time off from work. Rather than spending my week in Paris or Rome or somewhere grand, I came to Blue Creek. I knew Clara would be home from college and I secretly hoped I would get the chance to talk to her. But in six out of seven days in Virginia, I had yet to even see her. So on day number seven, with nothing to lose, I took a chance and went to the country club pool. Maybe we’d randomly run into each other there. I’d already tried my luck everywhere else.

Much to my surprise, minutes after stopping by the pool, Clara entered. She came in through the women's locker room, her flip-flops slapping on the pavement. She paused when she noticed me resting in a lounge chair across the way. We were both alone. She didn’t have to even acknowledge me. But she did. She started walking in my direction. I wasn’t dressed to swim. I hadn’t actually expected to find her here. And now she was coming toward me in her fucking swimsuit.

“Do not have a heart attack, Leo,” I muttered under my breath. “Be cool.”

She walked closer.

Yeah, I was going to have a heart attack. There was no controlling my racing heart.

“Clara,” I said as she neared. Despite the way I felt on the inside, my voice remained calm.

“Leo,” she said. “It's like eleventy-hundred degrees out here and you're fully dressed. Aren't you miserably hot?” Kicking off her flip-flops and spreading out her towel, she lay down uninvited beside me.

“I'm fine,” I muttered, unable to think of anything better to say. Like I said, she was in her fucking swimsuit.

Thank God I had on sunglasses because I couldn’t peel my eyes off her body, especially her thighs. She had killer thighs—firm, sexy, tanned. I wanted to see what those thighs looked like wrapped around my body while my cock was buried deep inside her. Jesus Christ. I didn’t need to think such intimate thoughts about her. Not when there were children present. Not when she wasn’t even mine to think about.

“Whatever,” she groaned, picking up the book she’d brought with her. It had some half-naked couple on the front. They were kissing. This surprised me. If I had to guess, I would have thought Clara would be into science fiction or vampires or some shit like that. Not romance.

An hour passed. We were both just lying there. At one point during that hour, out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Clara’s breathing pick up some speed.

Holy Shit. She was reading something dirty. I knew it and I couldn’t move or speak because of it. Something had turned her on and dammit if I wasn’t half-jealous and fully-turned on now myself. This was the best hour of my entire seven day vacation. I closed my eyes and relished in this small moment, wondering desperately what she was reading.

“Why are you here?” Clara asked, cutting off my thoughts. “The pool in your backyard is better than this one.”

My eyes flickered open. “Hmm?”

“You have a pool in your backyard.”

“I'm aware.”

“So, why are you here?”

“If you're so annoyed by my presence, you don't have to sit next to me. Nobody's breaking your arm.” I wasn’t exactly sure why she was pestering me with these questions all of a sudden. I couldn’t tell her the real reason I was here.

“I’m not annoyed,” she groaned. “I sat by you because I wanted to. Why can't we just get along? And I do really want to know...why this pool?”

I took a deep breath. Did she really want to ‘get along?’ Because right now it sure felt like the opposite. “Relentless, aren't you?” I grumbled.

“Are you gay, Leo?” she suddenly asked.

What.

The.

Fuck.

Was that the vibe she got when she looked at me? Women were constantly coming on to me. Why didn’t I affect her in the same way? I stood to my feet, yanking off my sunglasses so I could see her better. “Do you spend your free time just trying to think of ways to purposely piss me the fuck off, Clara? Because you're really good at it and it's working out too well for you.”

She followed me to her feet. Her hands landed on her hips. “No,” she said softly. “If you're gay, you can tell me. I wouldn't tell anyone else.”

“I want to know why you're asking me this,” I said through gritted teeth.

“I don't know,” she huffed. Her chest rising and falling quickly. “You always dress so well—better than girls—and you have such a weird friendship with Maggie. I've never seen you with a girl or even heard Maggie mention you dating someone. Don't be such a homophobe, it was an honest question.”

“First, you assume I'm gay and now you accuse me of being a homophobe. Which is it, Clara?” I groaned. I might love her, but right this moment I’d never been more pissed at her. “I have a question for you. Are you gay?”

She blinked up at me. “What?”

“Where's your boyfriend? Where are all of your girl friends? I haven't seen you with either. You certainly excelled at being a tomboy growing up. And even now, even when you go to the pool—” I glanced deliberately down at her one-piece swimsuit. It looked like something she’d bought from Goodwill. It was beautiful on her because she was beautiful. But something nicer wouldn’t have killed her. “You can't dress for shit. So why don’t you satisfy my curiosity…are you a lesbian? If you are, you can tell me. I wouldn't tell anyone else.”

She yawned. She actually yawned! And she started acting as if talking to me was the most boring thing imaginable. Her eyes were cold as she said one last thing to me. “Grow up.” Then she dropped to sit and fell back down onto her towel.

“We will never get along,” I groaned, glaring down at her. “Because you will never stop infuriating me. If you must know, I came to the pool today because I wanted some company—or at least the illusion of it—but I'd prefer being alone to being with you.”

“You're blocking my sun,” she replied, indifferent.

I groaned again, even louder this time. “You're insufferable. I hope your milky-white skin burns. And buy a bikini. You aren't eighty or fat, so I don't get why you're always wearing that damn thing.”

She let out a slow, bored breath. “This suit used to be my mother's, asshole. Now can you please move? You really are blocking my light.”

For once in my life words failed me. I couldn’t win with Clara. No wonder she hated me. When we fought, I always ended up saying something nasty, something I couldn’t take back. I walked away, wishing everything could be different between us.

I scrubbed my skin under scalding water, scrubbing off that memory. Then I very quickly towel dried, picked out a fresh suit, and got ready. Not bothering with my bags because I wasn’t sure when I’d be back here again, I hurried downstairs. By the time I was locking the front door, it had been almost twenty minutes since Regina told me the time. I skipped down the stone front steps, heading straight for the waiting car in my driveway. My heart was in my throat and one thing was on my mind.

Would Clara be in that car?

By all means, she had every right in the world
not
to be. I fully expected her
not
to be. I yanked open the door and slipped inside. And my heart expanded.

She was there. She was
fucking
there.

We didn’t even make eye contact as I settled into my seat. No words were exchanged. Regina told the driver we could leave and the car started to move. On the outside—I was my normal calm, slightly detached self. On the inside—my heart was wild, raging, screaming. Regina started talking business on the drive to the airport. I listened. I responded. I played the part I was born to play. But my heart was with the girl sitting across from me in the rumpled black dress. Words couldn’t describe how happy I was that she had come with me. Even if she ignored me all weekend long…this meant something.

Two hours later the plane landed at JFK airport. I noticed I had five missed calls from Maggie. But rather than calling her back now, I stepped off the airplane and into the black town car that would take us all to the Maddox International Hotel and Tower on the Upper West Side. Maybe I would call Maggie later. But she didn’t know about my infatuation with Clara and I really wasn’t ready to explain why I’d brought her sister along with me to New York.

The car carried us closer to the hotel. Regina continued to go over everything for tomorrow’s reopening. My dad wanted me to be versatile within the company. So over the past few years, he’d bounced me around from job to job. Working everywhere from housekeeping (
had that really been necessary?
) to managerial jobs. I was putting in my ‘dues’ as he called it. And after tomorrow’s reopening went smoothly, I’d move up the ladder to something better.

But what Regina didn’t seem to understand, as she went on and on, was I’d been living in my father’s hotels my entire life. I knew the procedures. I knew how to walk the walk and talk the talk. I opened my mouth and the right words always came tumbling out. Charisma. My grandfather, Leonardo Maddox Senior, invented the word. My father inherited the skill. And I, Leo Maddox III, hadn’t fallen far from the same apple tree. I had charisma in spades. Maybe I couldn’t function properly around Clara, but I could put on a good show for everyone else.

As we neared the hotel, Regina ran out of things to discuss. We all rode along in a comfortable silence. With nothing else to do, I watched Clara. It was a safe moment to do so because her eyes were wide and staring out her window. It was if she’d never seen the tall buildings in the city before. Maggie came to visit me in New York about monthly. But maybe it had been longer since Clara had been here. It made me wonder where her head was at.

“What are you thinking?” I asked, the words escaping me before I could stop them.

She looked at me, seeming surprised I’d spoken to her at all. “That I'm glad I came,” she answered.

“Good,” I responded.

In the next second, thankfully before things had a chance to get awkward, the car came to a halt outside the grand entrance to the Maddox hotel. The very second we stopped, Clara leaped from her seat and out the door. Someone was waiting for her on the street—a tall brunette in a flowery dress. Stephany. I had met her maybe twice before. She was Clara’s friend from Virginia Tech and she caught the girl in an immediate hug. Clara must have called or texted Stephany to meet her here. I hadn’t known she knew anyone in the city but this was good…right?

It hadn’t occurred to me before this moment, but what was I really expecting having Clara come here with me. That we’d walk hand-in-hand through Times Square kissing and taking photos? Of course she knew someone else in the city. Of course she had plans. I was still thankful she’d come, but this new development made my weekend suddenly seem much bleaker.

“Regina,” I whispered. “Please get Clara checked into a room on the penthouse floor. The executive suite on the west corner is nice. She’s my guest. Make sure she has everything she needs. After you show her to her room, come find me. We have work to do.”

Regina nodded, always eager to do whatever I asked. She stepped out of the car, while I stayed seated for a moment. I watched Regina speak to Clara and her friend. Then the girls disappeared into the building.

“Dammit,” I said aloud, burying my face in my hands.

* * *

H
ours passed. Work kept me so busy today that I skipped lunch. And by seven in the evening, when I hadn’t eaten all day, I was famished. I needed to take a break or I was going to pass the hell out. Taking the elevator up to the penthouse floor, I walked toward Clara’s suite. I wanted to invite her to eat—as friends, at the very least. I’d brought her to New York. That meant it was my responsibility to make sure she had everything she needed.

But when I knocked on her door, there was no answer. I knocked again. Nothing.

“Hey, Shelly,” I said, stopping a maid who was vacuuming on the other end of the hallway. “Have you see the girl staying in that room?” I pointed back to Clara’s door. The maids were the eyes and ears of this hotel. I knew because I used to be one.

Shelly clicked off her vacuum and shook her head. “No. My shift started at noon, honey. No one has left or entered that room since I’ve been here. In fact, you’re the only other person I’ve seen on this floor all day. Is something wrong?”

“Everything’s fine,” I told her. “Just wanted to check on the girl that’s staying here this weekend. She’s a friend.”

“Okay, dear,” she said. “I can let you know if I see her.”

“Thanks, Shelly.”

She nodded and then continued vacuuming the carpet that was already immaculately clean.

I walked away. But now I had an unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach. It wasn’t because I was hungry either. New York City could be a dangerous place. Clara was smart but also very impulsive. “Dammit, Clara,” I cursed out loud, nervous as hell now.

There was only one thing I could do. I had to call her.

She was a big girl—she could do whatever the hell she wanted, but I needed to know she was okay. My heart raced and my stomach rolled as I pulled my phone out of my pocket, staring at it. I had her phone number. I’d always had her phone number. I’d just never used it before. It was only a phone call. I don’t know why this was making me so nervous. I hit the button and made the call.

It rang and rang. Then rang some more.