Reed's Reckoning

The sincerity in his voice is hard for me to remain upset and I realize he’s a good guy to have on your side. I’ve always wanted to know a police officer—retired or not.

“Well, that may be but it was not nice of you to impersonate a land inspector.”

“Not nice, but necessary in my line of work. And it looks like the end result is good.” He motions between Reed and me.

I grin at him because I can’t argue his point. “Yeah, I guess you can say that.”

The waitress comes over and we order our lunch. While waiting for our drinks, Trey pulls out a few files and a notebook. I look at Reed confused but he shakes his head. Once the waitress puts our drinks in front of us and leaves, Reed talks.

“Ari, I’ve hired Trey to look into what happened to us in college.”

“Wha-wha-what? Wh-wh-why?” I stutter, looking between the men.

“Baby, I need to know. It’s bothered me since you told me about what happened.”

“Reed, I think we should leave it alone. Nothing good can come out of it.”

“I can’t.”

“Please, I don’t even want to talk about it. And how would he even find them?”

“Ari, the world of technology is a wonder. Everything is online now. All I need from you is a description of the girls that approached you. There is an online community with the alumni, sororities, cheerleaders, and then Facebook can help. That’s just scratching the surface.” Trey answers.

The way he and Reed are looking at me, tells me there is no arguing about this. I sigh and settle back in my chair. Our food arrives and I pick at mine as I go over the details I can remember about that day. The girls that spoke to me are etched in my brain, but I can’t recall many details about Bailey’s posse. Reed touches me several times in encouragement, but I don’t return the sentiment.

I finish lunch and tell the men I need to get back to work. Now my mind is completely frazzled and I’m not sure what use I will be for the rest of the day.

Reed walks me to my car, but I barely look at him. He notices the tension.

“Angel, don’t be upset.”

“Why, Reed? Huh? Because you say so? Because you NEED this? What about me? I lived with it and it almost destroyed me. I finally moved on—finally! Then you show up and turn my world upside down again. Did you even stop to think what you’re going to do if we find these girls? They’re women now. Maybe married with kids of their own. Are we going to arrange a bitch slap bash? Track them down and call them bullies? What are we possibly going to do about it now?” I’m yelling by the time I’m done with my rant. Then I notice several bank employees at a nearby restaurant watching through a window.

Reed’s reaction is not what I expected. He pulls me into him and slams his lips against mine. I resist at first, but he coaxes my mouth open and then pushes me against my car. I try to step back, but he holds my neck and continues to kiss me until dizziness sets in. Releasing me a little bit, he kisses along my jawline to my ear. Obviously, he doesn’t care that we are in a very public parking lot.

“That is why I need to know, Ari, that kiss, that magnetism, the way your body fits to mine. Someone took that away and I have to at least know why. Three nights ago, you told me you loved me and fucking finally my life made sense. I was put on this earth to love you and you finally gave yourself back to me. No bitch slap bash, no name calling. You’ve moved on, but the only way for me to…is to know who was responsible,” he tells me softly.

His eyes have darkened to a deep shade of blue and are pleading with me to understand. “Okay, I can understand that, but why couldn’t you have told me this and discussed it? I was blindsided in there today with Trey.”

“Would you have agreed?”

“Probably not, but I should be given the option.”

“You need to get back to work baby?” He successfully changes the subject.

“Shit! Yes, I need to go.”

“Okay, give me another kiss.”

“No! I’m mad at you. I have to pretend to pay attention for the rest of the day. Then I’m going to have Sophie and Katy come over tonight to dissect this whole situation. Maybe a bottle of Cabernet will help explain how six weeks back in my life you’ve managed to twist it around. I think it’s a good idea for you to stay at your place tonight.”

“Not a fucking chance in hell.” He growls. “I get I caught you off-guard but one little indiscretion does not take you out of my bed at night.”