Page 47 of Enticed

Me: Hey, you. I just left Career Day at Liv’s school and she was asking a lot of questions about our date. Just wanted to give you a heads up. I’ll talk to you later and fill in all the details. Hope you’re having a great time in Boston.

Her response comes in almost immediately.

Clara: Fuck! Okay, I’ll handle it. Thanks for the heads up. Having a great time. Meetings are going well. Can’t wait to come back home and ride that dick.

I let out a deep laugh that fills the cab of the vehicle while Cash eyes me from the side.

“What’s so funny? You’d better not be laughing if she sent you a nude pic,” he chastises me.

“Like I would do that. And I’m not telling you.” I swipe my phone out of his grasp when he tries to reach over.

“Oh, it’s like that, then? Man, she’s already got you pussy-whipped, doesn’t she?”

I ponder that question as I mentally submit to the fact that he’s right. But it’s not just Clara’s pussy that’s hooked me—it’s all of her. I’m so fucked.

“Yeah, and I’m not even sorry. But hell man, I’m sure this is just the beginning…”

Cash clasps his hand on my shoulder in a supportive maneuver. “Good luck, brother. I’ll be praying for you.”

Chapter 17

Clara

I usually love this time of year, when the weather changes and you can spend more time outside. Being stuck in an office all day and then having to come home and stay inside more because the ground is covered in snow makes me feel like a prisoner in my own home. When the evenings extend in daylight and the warmth in the air makes it comfortable outside, I look forward to coming home and sitting on my porch with a glass of wine and soaking up the crisp air and noises of Emerson Falls around me.

I spent a week in Boston meeting two current clients and one new potential account. It was a successful trip, but I am ready to soak up the evening and relax.

“How was Boston?” Penny greets me as I close the door on the Uber who just drove me home from the airport.

“Hey there, Bad Penny. It went great and I even had some time to see some sights.” I grab my suitcase and start for my door as Penny approaches me.

“Good. Glad you had a good time. So, care to fill me in on the Cooper situation?” It’s just right now that I realize I haven’t really spoken to Penny since before my date with Cooper. It’s been weeks and I’m sure she’s itching for information.

“What Cooper situation?” I play dumb, even though I’m sure Penny has an inkling to our secret. She waves me over to her porch so we can sit on her swing.

“Oh, Clara, cut the shit. I know you and Cooper have been sneaking around. You two might think you’re being inconspicuous, but I’m right next door. I can hear his bike when he rides over at night and I can hear you screaming when he’s pounding you real’ good.”

I almost choke on my spit and then turn to look at her. “Jesus, Penny! Really?” I have to admit though—when Cooper gets going, he does make me lose it.

“Yup. Sounds like you’re benefitting just fine from your situation. But is that all it is, Clara? Friends with benefits?”

I stare out at the street as a few cars pass by and a family comes riding down the sidewalks on their bikes. A slight breeze rustles through the trees in our yards, birds chase each other through the sky, and the flowers in Penny’s yard are already starting to bloom.

Spring is supposed to be a time of rebirth—the point in the year when all the plants come out of hibernation and sprout again, fighting to live yet another season and bask in the rays of the sun. And over the past month and a half, I definitely feel like I’m changing right along with the season.

Attending regular therapy sessions with Dr. Martinez has helped more than I’d care to admit—but Kane was right. Talking to someone else about my fear and anxiety that manifested from the night of the attack has helped my triggers subside tremendously.

And now my situation with Cooper has shifted something else inside of me—something I’m not so sure Iwantto admit yet. I know I made it sound like we should keep things casual between us, and I’ve tried really hard to keep it that way. But being gone this last week in Boston and not seeing him almost every day like we have been, made me realize my feelings have crossed the line of being casual anymore. All I wanted was to experience the city with him by my side, cracking sexual jokes and trying food from little hole-in-the-wall joints that we could salivate over. I wanted to go back to my room after my feet were barking at me and lie in bed with him, encircled in his arms.

And that’s not something I’m familiar with at all. I’ve had one semi-serious relationship in my life, but even what I felt for Mark was nothing like what I’m feeling for Cooper. Cooper was always just supposed to be the classic ‘wanting what you can’t have’ conquest—my best friend’s younger brother who happened to save my life. All the physical wants were there—the signs I know how to read with my eyes closed.

I can tell when someone wants me, or when I find a man I know I want to take to bed. I’ve been doing that my entire adult life—and so when I started lusting after Cooper, I convinced myself that’s all it was, that same physical craving I’ve nurtured for years.

But subconsciously, I think I knew that scratching that itch with Cooper wouldn’t be enough. I wanted to sleep with him to get him out of my system, and he seemed to feel the same way. And then we went on our date, and suddenly the pendulum shifted and was no longer rocking back and forth in the same predictable pattern. It was twisting and turning and being completely unpredictable.

And now that I’m home, he’s the first person I want to see, the first person I want to call, and I’m terrified—especially after Cooper told me that Liv was drilling him for information about our date. We talked about it a little on the phone that night, and he didn’t seem too worried, so I trusted him. But I’m still frightened that this secret I’m keeping from her could ruin our friendship. I have to know if what I’m feeling for him is real—because if it’s not, I don’t want to risk losing one of my best friends.

“It started that way, but I’d say it’s evolved to more than that,” I cast a look in Penny’s direction that screams uncertainty.

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