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“I don’t give a fuck.”
“But what about keeping the peace with her?”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
“Zac…”
“What?”
“Now think about this.”
“There’s nothing to think about.”
“But there is. If you come over here and then go back home, Avery is gonna ask you where you went?”
“I’ll tell her that I went for a run. I’ve gotta get out of here. I’ve gotta see you, Stevie, even if it’s only for five minutes.”
She started chewing on her fingernail but she was also smiling. “Okay,” she finally said. “Text me when you’re almost here.”
28
#pounce
Stevie
SINCE AVERY CAMEback into town two weeks ago, Zac and I had seen each other only a handful of times. Some of those occasions happened while I was at the courthouse, taking care of one of the many cases that I’d been assigned. I saw Zac in the security line again then he saw me in it on three different days and waited for me to clear it. We walked to the elevators together and made certain to keep adequate space between us, as well as a serious professional expression on our faces. That was until we got onto the elevator and the doors closed.
On those three occasions, the stars aligned again for Zac and me by allowing us to be completely alone on our ride up. We kissed during those private seconds but the three kisses that we shared weren’t soft like before. They were hungry kisses because we were starving for each other.
Afterward, Zac wiped my lip gloss off his mouth and I tidied up what was left on mine. Our lips were redder than usual and so was the skin around them. Zac’s redness didn’t show as much as mine did because of his short beard. I wasn’t concerned, though. Like Brooke said she was going to do should anyone come toher with their suspicion of Zac and me having an affair, I was prepared to play dumb—or whichever role was necessary.
The other occasions that I’d seen Zac in the past two weeks happened at the Starbucks that was around the corner from the D.A.’s office and also at the running trail. I met him in the parking lot of Starbucks where he came over to my car and handed me a large coffee with a splash of whole milk. Then he leaned through my driver’s side window and stole a quick kiss—both of us mischievously grinning afterward.
During the two times that we’d met at the running trail, we did take our separate runs but then met in the woods where I’d overheard Zac arguing with Avery on his cellphone on that Sunday morning. We were secluded from anyone seeing us then and we were also secluded during the two times that we walked into the camouflage of the trees after taking our runs.
As soon as we were alone on both those days, Zac was all over me as much as I was him. The first time, I’d thought all we were going to do was kiss each other but when Zac started pulling down my shorts, I realized what he had in mind—and I didn’t mind. Not at all. On the first day, we fucked each other on top of the soft grass, and then on the second day, Zac took me from behind while I held onto one of the trees to keep myself steady. We were like animals taking what we wanted and also needed from each other…and it felt so good.
Zac hadn’t been able to break away from his house to come over again since the night that Avery had come back into town. He’d had Malcolm with him on each night and I understood him having to stay home to take care of his precious mini-me. Something was going to have to give, though, for both of us. We needed more time together than the periodic brief moments that we’d been able to steal from time.
On the Avery front, Zac said she hadn’t wavered from her calm demeanor toward him and she also hadn’t backed off fromtrying to work out things with him. She’d told him again, on three other occasions, that it was what she wanted more than anything in the world. Zac still didn’t believe her, still didn’t love her, and still didn’t want a thing to do with her. He was just biding his time and doing what needed to be done to keep the peace within his home while waiting for Avery’s true colors to reappear.
I heard a knock on my office door and Brooke peeked her head around it.
“Hey, Stevie,” she said.
“Hey. What’s going on?”
“Everyone up here wants to go to Mystic Bar after work because of the week it’s been.”
“Yeah, it’s been a doozy. It’s like the moon is stuck on full.”
“It certainly feels that way. So do you wanna join us?”
“Um…”
“I’ve already texted Buchanan and he’s in if you are,” she said quietly, grinning. I didn’t grin, though. I smiled all over.
“I’m in.”
