Bad Seed

Tara laughed, and I felt my chest swell. “Stephanie’s bar?” she asked. “Eight o’clock.”

“Sounds great,” I said. “You drive.”

“No shit.” She laughed again, and the sound sent waves of desire shooting through my body. God, I wanted her.

That night couldn’t have arrived fast enough. When Tara finally pulled up outside my apartment, I was already waiting outside. She grinned when she saw me. I hurried toward her, using my crutches. I climbed into the passenger seat, and she leaned over to kiss me. The kiss lasted longer than I expected. She lingered on my lips, lighting tracing my tongue with hers. It was a kiss of longing, full of undefined emotion.

When we pulled apart, I felt my cock grow in my pants. I was excited to spend the evening out, but I would have been just as happy to stay in and explore Tara’s sexy body some more.

“Maybe we should skip going out,” I began, but Tara shot me a look.

“Behave,” she said.

“Fuck that,” I said. “Misbehaving is so much more fun.”

She laughed, and I grinned at the sound. Her laugh was beautiful and sexy at the same time. It brought a smile to my face and made my cock twitch with desire.

We drove into downtown and parked down the street from Stephanie’s bar. Tara led the way. We stepped inside, and Stephanie squealed. She ran around the bar to embrace Tara. When she turned to me, she looked me up and down with a stern look on her face.

“You,” she said.

“Nice to see you too, Stephanie,” she said.

“I still don’t like you, and I’m not sure I trust you,” Stephanie said. “But if you’re drinking, I’m pouring.”

“Bourbon,” I said.

“Red wine,” Tara said.

Stephanie nodded and went back around the bar. She poured our drinks and slid them over to us. I paid, and Tara led the way to a booth in the back corner. It was far enough removed from everything that we could talk. I was glad, still determined to find out what was going with Tara.

“She still wants me,” I joked, jerking my head toward Stephanie.

“She would kill you if she could get away it,” Tara said without hesitation.

I laughed, and Tara joined in, but she quickly fell silent. I tried to pull her into conversation a few more times, but her attention never stayed on me for long. She was trying, I could tell, but something was still weighing on her mind. No matter how much I tried to make her happy, she stayed standoffish and distant.

She smiled and laughed, but it never reached her eyes. She let me hold her hand and even kiss her a few times, but she never initiated anything. By the time the evening was over, I was incredibly worried. Whatever was keeping her from enjoying herself must be fucking terrible. She could barely meet my eyes, and when she did, her own were glazed over.

We said goodbye to Stephanie and got in Tara’s car. She was silent the entire drive back to my apartment. She parked and turned to face me, an apologetic look on her face.

“I think I should head home,” she said.

“No,” I said firmly.

“No?” She raised her eyebrows.

“Not until you tell me what the hell is going on,” I said. “Come on, Tara, this is getting ridiculous. Just talk to me.”

She sighed and shook her head. I could tell she wanted to let me in, but she didn’t know how. When she locked eyes with me, a sense of dread filled my stomach. Suddenly, I wasn’t sure I wanted to know the truth.

“Listen,” she said. “Things are insane right now. My clinical rotation is kicking my ass. I just had a patient lose his leg after months of PT. I was so hopeful for his recovery, and then, he just deteriorated. Everything went to shit. I’m stressed out, Caleb. I’m stressed as hell, and it’s killing me.”

“That’s it?” I asked. “It’s just stress?”

“I haven’t been feeling well,” she said slowly.

“From the stress?” I asked.