Page 41 of Glamour and Grit

I brush the crumbs off my sleeve and give him a look.

“We’re not an item. I’m her bodyguard.”

“Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?” he says, giving me a wink. “Say no more, nudge nudge, am I right?”

No, you couldn’t be more wrong, but I smile and try to be polite. I don’t want to fuck up Selene’s relationship with her coworkers.

He’s not the only one. Literally every person I speak to assumes that I’m Selene’s boyfriend. One of them even thinks I’m her husband until I correct him. Guilt stemming from several sources worms its way into my conscious thoughts.

I know I shouldn’t have slept with Selene. I knew it at the time, too, but I just couldn’t help myself. There’s something about her. Something that intoxicates me and makes me want to forget about consequences. But all I’ve got to do is think of Klaus and know thatthere’s no such thing as forgetting the consequences. Sooner or later, they always catch up to you.

As the moon dips low in the sky and the first pink inklings of dawn form on the horizon, I head out onto the second floor balcony, making sure I have a visual on the entrances and exits. No one’s getting in or out without me knowing about it. The doors swing shut behind me and I’m blessed with quiet. The morning birds are already up and at it, chirping away in their recurring symphony.

The cheerfulness of their cries juxtaposes the darkness inside of me. What was I thinking, getting involved with Selene? It’s just going to hurt her. Probably me, too, since I like her so damn much. I have to cut myself off from her, though, for both of our sakes.

The doors open behind me and I know it’s Selene without turning around to look. She joins me at the balcony railing, staring up at me for a moment before turning back to look at the ocean.

“Hey,” she says. “You disappeared.”

“Just needed some fresh air.”

Selene stares at me again, and then sighs.

“Are you mad at me, Dane?”

“No.”

I’m not really mad at her, but the flat note of denial in my voice indicates otherwise. I didn’t intend it to come out so harsh and petulant, but it did anyway.

Selene’s lips twitch. “Okay,” she says. “But it kind of seems like you’re at least irritated with me.”

“I’m not. I’m just tired.”

“If you’d stayed in bed instead of hiding from me, you wouldn’t be tired now.”

I turn a sharp glance her way.

“I wasn’t hiding from you, I was making sure the compound remained secure.”

Even as the words leave my mouth, I know they’re lies. Why did I even say that? Worse, my irritability makes me double down on it.

“I don’t run and I don’t hide.”

Selene stiffens up and turns toward the door.

“I see. Sorry to bother you, fearless Sailor. I’ll just be inside if you need me. Not that you do or anything.”

I turn to watch her leave. I want to do something, say something, that will make this all better.

But my mouth remains closed as she slips back into the party, leaving me alone in the dark.

13

SELENE

Ifall asleep on the ride back to Dane’s compound. It’s probably for the best, since he doesn’t seem to want to talk to me anyway.

The difference between last night and today is uncanny. Where did that passionate, affectionate, and determined man go? Why has this melancholy, angry guy taken his place? And how do I get the original back?

---