I wanted to leave, but there was nowhere to go. I couldn’t go home because Jake would likely be waiting for me there. I couldn’t go to bed because it was far too early to sleep and I didn’t want Daniel to think that something was wrong. I excused myself to go to the restroom and sat on the edge of the bathtub to gather my thoughts.
Even if Daniel was flirting with me, it would be wrong to assume that he wanted to get physical. My body told me to lean over and kiss him on the lips, but my mind knew better. I needed to chill out.
When my awkward feelings about Daniel had subsided, I returned to the living room and resumed my perch on the end of the couch. Daniel looked like he had relaxed a little in my absence, but was still sitting up straight at the opposite end of the couch.
My phone started to ring, so I pulled it out of my pocket, expecting to have to come up with a story to explain to my mother that I was safe. I didn’t want her to know I was at my doctor’s house because that would invite way too many questions. But, I didn’t want Daniel to hear me lie about my whereabouts.
But, the number calling me wasn’t my mom. I silenced my phone and set it back on the couch.
“Telemarketer,” I said, before turning my attention back to the movie. It was nearly the end, and I was worried about what we would do after there was nothing to distract us from each other.
The phone rang again. This time, I looked at the area code. It was a local number, which seemed odd for a phone scammer. Still, I never answered numbers that I didn’t recognize, so I ignored it again. Most of the time, it only took a few ignored calls for the caller to move on.
“Sorry,” I said, setting my phone down. Clearly, I had distracted Daniel from the movie because he was staring at my phone.
“Did they call again?” he asked.
“Yeah. Those people are persistent. If they call one more time, I’ll give them a piece of my mind for disturbing our film night,” I joked.
Like clockwork, my phone began buzzing again. For the third time in a row, I was receiving a call from a local number that I didn’t recognize. I thought it could be my advisor trying to get a hold of me, but it was outside normal business hours. Any classmates I regularly spoke to were saved in my phone. It had to have been a wrong number—there was no other explanation.
In an attempt to look cool and stop someone from annoying Daniel, I answered the phone.
“Hello?” I said in an exasperated tone.
No one answered, but I could hear soft breathing on the other end. Someone was there.
“Hello?” I tried again, a little louder.
“Hi, Ariana,” a soft voice said. “Can we talk?”
The voice sent a chill up my spine.
“How did you get this number?”
“I’ve always had your number.”
“Yeah, but I’ve changed it since I moved here, Jake. How did you get this number?”
“Are you at your apartment?” he asked, ignoring my question. “I’m not going to be in town for long, so I thought we could go out to dinner tonight. I wanted to apologize for how we left things. I get the feeling that you’re upset with me?”
“Uh, you think?” I spat. “I’m not going to go to dinner with you. I’m staying with a friend for a few days. If you follow me around again, I’m calling the police,” I bluffed.
“Which friend?” he asked. “Carla Bevers? Tiffany Weisman?”
I froze. How did he know people from my master’s program? I sputtered, trying to think of something to say to him to get him to leave me alone, once and for all.
“Just come out for drinks with me and I’ll be gone. I just want to talk to you. You don’t have to stay longer than an hour. Please. I promise I’ve changed since the last time we spoke.”
Logically, I knew that I should avoid him at all costs. But, the idea of suffering through an hour of his narcissism would be worth it if I never had to deal with him again. For a brief moment, I entertained the idea of meeting up with Jake, just to see if he was telling the truth.
But, before I could answer, a strong hand reached across the couch and pulled the phone away from my ear. The next thing I knew, Daniel was having a conversation with my stalker.
Chapter Seven
Daniel
From the second I heard his name escape her lips, I was infuriated. Apart for a little awkwardness, we were having a nice night together. We had spent the evening watching a cheesy movie and making jokes, and I even felt like we were flirting at times. I really thought that I was helping Ariana forget all about her awful stalker.
Then, I remembered that I had agreed to help her out. If I was going to pretend to be her husband, then I needed to go all out. Fueled by rage and a sense of responsibility, I took the phone from her hand without thinking twice about what I was doing.
“Who is this?” I asked sternly.
“Who—who is this?” he stuttered, obviously not prepared to talk to anyone else. I got a kick out of this—I bet he was really freaked out to hear a man’s voice on the other end.
Ariana looked horrified. She held a hand to my face as if she were asking for the phone back. I gently shook my head. I was going to take care of this now.
I never realized how thrilling it was to confront someone for being a creep. I didn’t want to admit it to Ariana, but I was pretty fired up. I just hoped that I could scare him off for good.
After I refused her request for her phone, she sat back on the couch and folded her arms across her chest. She twirled a strand of hair around her finger.
“I don’t think you get to ask that question,” I said icily. “I would like for you to stop harassing my wife. This has gone on for far too long.”
I could hear him sputtering, the wheels in his head turning. He clearly wasn’t expecting to hear that.
“Come on,” he said. “Who is this? I’m trying to reach my friend, Ariana.”
“Your friend?” I asked. “What’s your name? If you’re friends with Ariana, surely I’ve heard of you.”
“Jake,” he said softly.
“I haven’t met you, then. I guess your invitation to our wedding got lost in the mail. I haven’t heard of Ariana’s friend Jake. I have heard of her stalker named Jake, though. Are you sure you aren’t confused about your relationship with my wife?”
At first, calling Ariana “my wife” felt foreign to me, but the more I said it, the more I enjoyed saying it. The words felt so good coming out of my mouth. Now I finally understood why girls liked to doodle their first name alongside their crush’s last name.
“Come on,” he whined. “This is some kind of sick joke. Ariana isn’t married. I would know.”
“Would you?” I chuckled. “There’s a reason we had a small ceremony. She looked absolutely stunning in her gown and we had an incredible night together. I don’t think we left the honeymoon suite of our hotel for an entire day if you catch my drift. Do you want to know why it was such a special day, apart from the fact that Ariana and I are madly in love with each other?”
“Why?”
I grinned. Winding Jake up like this was so pleasing. I wanted to savor the moment.
“Because you weren’t there,” I said. “In that moment, it was as if you never existed. I’d like things to return that way.”
Jake huffed. “Dude, I don’t know who you are, but you’re making this up.”
“Are you sure? Then how would I know that Barbara walked Ariana down the aisle? How would I know
that her bouquet was blue, her favorite color?”
Jake was silent. He was starting to believe me.
“Look,” I continued. “I get why you’re into Ariana. I really do. She’s smart, beautiful, and an incredibly kind-hearted person. She would never cause you harm because she’s a sweetheart. On the other hand, I most certainly will.”
“Excuse me?” Jake squeaked.
I was just as surprised by the words coming out of my mouth. I had never been a violent person in my life, yet I was imagining all the things I would do to this asshole if I ever came face to face with him. I don’t know if I would ever hurt him, though, but at that moment, I would do anything to make sure he didn’t harm Ariana.
“I’m giving you a fair warning. If you lay a hand on Ariana, you’re going to pay. I want you to go back to wherever you came from. I don’t want to see or hear from you ever again. If you try to hurt her, I will hurt you. This woman is my life and I will protect my family. Bring harm to her, and you’ll wish that the police got to you first. I’m sure you understand.”
Silence from the other end. If I hadn’t heard him breathing, then I would have assumed that he had hung up.
“I’m going to need to hear a yes or no response from you, Jake.”
Suddenly, his tone changed. He went from disbelieving to respectful in a split second.
“I’m very sorry, sir,” he said. “I had no idea that Ariana had a husband. “This has come as a shock to me. I never intended for her to feel afraid. In all honesty, I missed her and felt like we left things on bad terms. I wanted to apologize for my behavior and make things right again.”
I didn’t buy it for a second. Ariana told me that he was manipulative and could put on the charm when it benefited him.
“If that’s what you’re really after, you’ll leave her alone from now on,” I said, standing up from the couch. “Goodbye, Jake.”
I hung up the phone and handed it to Ariana. “I’m not sure if he got the message, but I don’t think he’s going to try anything strange anytime soon.”
Suddenly, she sprung from the couch and jumped on me, wrapping her arms around my shoulders. She squeezed me tightly in her embrace, pressing her body against mine. She was intoxicating.