Make Me Yours (9 page)

He kissed her on the lips, a much longer kiss than she’d expected. “I’ll miss you,” he whispered.

“I’ll only be gone about ten minutes,” she said in a low voice.

He kissed her hand and walked back to the car. She got into the driver’s seat and waited for David to get in and fasten his seatbelt. They pulled out behind Jeremiah and started back to the cabin.

“So what was she like?” Susan asked.

“Who?”

She sighed. “The girl whose number you got?”

“Oh.” He shrugged. “Pretty nice. I probably won’t call her.”

“But she’ll expect at least one call.”

David laughed. “She probably gives her number out every night.”

“Then why did you talk to her?”

He shrugged again.

“David?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you upset about the talk we had?”

“No. Just had too much to drink. I told a joke, and she laughed. It made me feel good.”

“Is that all?”

He rubbed his eyes for a minute. How many shots had he done? He looked like he might fall asleep. He hadn’t looked that way five minutes ago. Maybe the drinks were really kicking in.

“I was upset.”

“About me?”

“I’m worried about you.”

“Why?”

“This isn’t about you and me, Susan. I swear.”

“I believe you, David. I promise.” She wasn’t one hundred percent sure she did believe him, but what else could she say?

“It’s Erik. You heard us talking when I came in?”

“I heard you come in, and then it was a minute or two before you came up. What did you talk about?”

“Erik said he didn’t want me around you. He told me to stay away from you. He said he better not catch us alone.”

Was that true? She couldn’t deny Erik had been suspicious of David from day one. He had acted jealous, but they’d talked about it. Erik was fine. He might still feel jealous, but would he really do something like that?

“Are you sure, David? Are you sure you understood him?”

“Yes, I did. It depressed me. I don’t want to lose a friend over this. You’re one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

“You wouldn’t.” She bit her lip. “David, I really think you misunderstood him somehow.”

David looked incredibly hurt. “You don’t believe me. Fuck! Forget I said anything!”

“David! I never said I didn’t believe you.”

“You think I’m being paranoid. I didn’t misunderstand him. I wasn’t drunk when he said that to me.” He sighed. “Susan, I did lots of family work when I practiced. Jealous men…they do things when they feel threatened. It doesn’t mean they don’t love the women they’re with. It just means they have…a problem.”

His words stung. He was genuinely worried about Erik being jealous. Why would he feel that way if Erik hadn’t done something? She hadn’t said a word to him about any of Erik’s jealous behavior, and Jeremiah would never bring up such a personal subject unbidden. She didn’t believe Erik had been as threatening as David said, but what had happened?

“David?”

“What?”

“I still believe you misunderstood him, but I do believe you. I’ll handle it, okay?”

After a long moment, he looked at her and nodded. “Okay.” He took her hand. “Just promise me you’ll be careful,” he whispered.

She focused on the road ahead, not sure what to believe. Would Erik really have said something so blatantly threatening? He’d warned her he might get jealous and possessive because he was in love with her. He’d said he had been for years. Things were moving very fast. Perhaps they should slow down. She wasn’t ready to move in with him or make a big commitment. Would he be upset if she told him she wanted to slow down? And if he was upset, would that mean David was telling the truth? She pulled into the driveway, unsure what her next move should be.

* * * *

Erik got out of the car slowly and tried to act nonchalant. He didn’t want to act possessive or clingy at this moment. He walked toward the house with Jeremiah and only briefly glanced at Susan. She looked a little stressed. What had David said to her? He wanted to grab him by the collar and demand to be told right then, but that wouldn’t help anyone. Maybe she was just worried about him.

She smiled at Erik, but it definitely looked forced. He offered his hand, and she took it. He pulled her closer and breathed in her scent. Whatever they had talked about, he knew she’d tell him. David walked silently behind them. When they got inside, David headed straight for the stairs.

“See you guys tomorrow,” he said. His speech was slurred, but he made it up the stairs with little trouble.

After they heard his door close, Susan said, “I think those shots really kicked in. He’ll be out cold in no time.”

“Will he be okay?” Erik asked.

She met his gaze, and he felt like she had her guard up. “He’ll be fine. Just needs to sleep it off.”

Jeremiah sat on the couch and reached for the remote control. “Well, I’m probably going to watch a movie. You guys up for one?”

Erik nodded. “Sure. A quiet night in okay?”

Susan nodded. “Yes. That sounds fine. We’ve got a couple of frozen pizzas too.”

“Sounds perfect,” Erik said.

Susan went to preheat the oven, and Jeremiah started looking through the menu of “On Demand” movies. Erik wanted to talk to Susan right now, but it would probably go better if he didn’t push the issue. They’d have plenty of time to talk later. He didn’t want to assume he was spending the night, but he hoped he was. He didn’t want her to lie in bed alone thinking about whatever David may or may not have said.

* * * *

After the movie and pizzas, Jeremiah headed up to bed. Erik slid his arm around Susan. “Did you like the movie?” he asked.

Susan nodded. “I did. Did you?”

He nodded too. Damn. David had said something, but what? He knew asking was a bad idea, no matter how badly he wanted to. “The presentations start at three tomorrow. I think they’ll have hors d’oeuvres, but that’s about it. Do you want to go out for lunch first?”

“Sure. What’s the topic again?”

“I believe it’s cryogenics. They’ll probably be an interesting ice sculpture or two.”

She finally laughed. “I should hope so. How could they resist?”

They’d been apart the past three nights, and he wanted to stay. He pushed her hair behind her ear. “What would you like to do tonight? Should I be heading on?”

“No. Not unless you want to.”

He felt relief wash over him. Maybe they weren’t talking about it, but whatever had been said hadn’t changed her feelings. Perhaps she was just uncomfortable because David had gotten drunk. In fact, she might be upset with David, not him. He didn’t want her to be upset at all, but he preferred to know what she was thinking if she was upset with him.

“Then I’ll definitely stay. I’ve missed you.”

She smiled shyly. “We talk every night.”

“I know. I still miss you. I like feeling you near.” He pulled her close and began to kiss her. She responded, but she felt stiff in his arms. He pulled back to look into her face. “Would you like to go straight to bed? I know all the bedrooms are very close. We’re used to more privacy back at my place.”

She nodded and looked relieved. “Yes. We’ll work up to that.”

“That’s fine, Susan. You can always tell me things like that. Always be honest with me, okay?”

“Okay. I will.” She stood and extended her hand. “Let’s head up.”

She turned off the lamps and then hit the switch in the kitchen. As soon as they were in her bedroom, he pulled her into his arms again. “What’s wrong?”

Her face was blank, but her eyes moved rapidly over his face. “Nothing.”

“Susan, if something’s wrong, please tell me.”

“Nothing’s wrong.” She sighed and ran her hands over his chest. “It’s David, and I don’t want to talk about David. I’m sure you don’t either.”

“But if you’re upset, I’ll talk about anything for as long as it takes.” He made her look into his eyes. “I’m serious. Are you upset about what happened tonight? Has he said or done anything?”

“I’ve hardly seen him this week.” She pulled herself out of his arms and sat on the bed. She patted the comforter beside her and he sat there. “Yes, it did bother me tonight when I realized he was getting drunk. It wasn’t bad, but it bothered me that he simply didn’t seem to care.”

“Is he upset about something?”

She stared at him a long time, and he couldn’t understand her hesitation. What had he said to her? “Is he upset because of your talk? Is he disappointed?”

“It’s not that, exactly.”

“Then what is it?”

She seemed to struggle with her words. “He’s worried about me. He thinks I’m moving too fast with you.”

Erik bit his tongue. He counted to five, and then he did it again. “If I may be blunt,” he said as he tried to control his tone, “he’s worried about you moving so fast with someone who isn’t him.”

“Erik, that’s not the reason.”

“I’m not some stranger you picked up at a bar. Yes, I am moving fast, but years of missing you proved to me that you’re the only woman I want, the only one I need.”

She seemed to soften a bit when he said that, but she still seemed very agitated by his accusation of David. “We talked about it, and he said he’d been thinking about us, but that was the extent of it. He was thinking about it and considering us as a possibility. Like I said, I think he’s missing Bethany, missing someone who needs him. He probably thinks I feel the same way. He understands what I’m going through.”

That was a card he couldn’t easily trump. She’d only become angry if he dismissed that point. Yes, David did understand what she had gone through far better than he could, but Erik found it very manipulative of him to try to cash in on that fact. “I understand that, Susan, and I would never deny it. I can’t relate to you the way he can when it comes to that, but I don’t like you constantly making excuses for him.”

“I am not making excuses for him!” she snapped. She flushed and lowered her voice. “Why would you say that? I’m trying to explain his behavior to you. All you want to do is blame him and see sinister intentions in all of his actions.”

Erik let his breath out in a huff. What could he say to that? How was he supposed to calm her down? He hated arguing, but he didn’t want to keep going around in circles about this. “Maybe I see things you don’t see. Or maybe I’m completely wrong. I doubt we’ll settle this tonight. I don’t want to fight right now. How about we calm down, relax, and think about this? Okay? We’ll sleep on it. I’m sorry I’ve upset you. I didn’t mean to. We can get up tomorrow with fresh perspectives and discuss this.” He took both her hands in his. “How does that sound?”

“That sounds fine, Erik, but I need to know one thing,” she said in a very small voice.

“Yes?” What was she going to ask? He tightened his grip on her hands. “Anything you need to know. Anything.”

“Are you always going to be jealous of men in my life?”

He pulled his hands away from hers and stood up. “You think all of this is happening because I’m jealous? That it’s all in my head and I’m the only one who’s responsible?”

“Partly.”

“Partly?” He walked a few feet away, running his hands over his face as he tried to control his temper. “Exactly which parts do you see as being my fault? If David is going to get depressed and drink too much every time I’m around, that is his problem.”

“That’s unfair!”

He turned back to her. “No, you sitting here and making excuses for his immature behavior is unfair. I am not being jealous. I trust you. It is not an issue of jealousy! It is an issue of me seeing something you do not. I am trying to help you. I don’t want you to get hurt or lose a friend or—”

She stood quickly and stopped him with a kiss. His head began to spin both from the intensity of the embrace and the sheer surprise of it.

“Susan?” he said when she released him.

“Yes?” She looked close to tears as she gazed up at him.

He stroked her face, unsure what to do. “You’re sending mixed signals.”

A few tears streamed down her face. “I think all of our signals are crossed up right now. I’m tired of this argument and didn’t know another way to get you to stop.”

“Well, feel free to use that method any time you like.” He wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Tell me what you need.”

“Let’s go to bed. I need you to hold me. I don’t know what to think, and this is only making it worse.” She hugged him close and rested her head on his chest. “I’m sorry.”

He stroked her hair. “No, I’m sorry. I didn’t intend to lose my temper. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”

She pulled away and nodded. She went over to her dresser and pulled out a new toothbrush. She tossed it at him, smiling just a little. “Thought I might need to keep one around. You go ahead. I’m gonna change.”

He went and brushed his teeth and then hung his pants and shirt over the shower rod. He turned down the bed as she brushed her teeth and hair. He felt both happy and sad as he watched her brushing her hair. He wanted to brush it for her, feel how soft and silky it was. He wanted to breathe in her scent and pull her close.