Forbidden Fruit (20 page)

“
You reported a break in Friday night. Is that correct?”

“
Yes.” I felt Michael’s gaze turn on me. I had completely forgotten to tell him about that. Well, not exactly forgotten, I more or less decided not to tell anyone about that embarrassing episode.

“
And you didn’t get a description on the perp, correct?”

“
No.” What, had they come to make me feel completely inadequate, again? Or, maybe they found a lead. Hope filled me. It would mean I wasn’t crazy after all.

He scratched his head as he thought for a second. “How well do you know your neighbors?”

“
What?” I asked, confused. I thought we were talking about the break in.

“
Are you particularly
close
to any of them?” he probed.

“
I know the neighbors on either side of us,” I said cautiously.

“
That wasn’t what I asked,” he eyed me suspiciously.

I watched as the other, more round officer circled around the side of the house. “I don’t understand,” I admitted.

“
Ma’am, were you having an affair with your neighbor, Mr. Manning?” he asked bluntly.

My jaw dropped, and I just stood there for a moment, feeling like I had been slapped. My first thought was to ask, are you kidding me? Then I remembered my last confrontation with Mr. Manning and the result of that attack, Michael ‘taking care of him.’ I still didn’t know exactly what had happened.

I decided to put my blonde hair to work and played stupid. I wouldn’t let them know there was ever anything between myself and Mr. Manning, even if it was an assault.

“
That’s ridiculous,” I finally said.

He eyed me suspiciously for several minutes. It was obvious he thought I was lying.

Then Michael piped in, “Officer I think one insult is enough, don’t you?”

The cop looked toward Michael and immediately started to back off. Whatever he saw on Michael’s face had him seriously back pedaling. He turned back to me and asked, “Is this your boyfriend?”

“
Yes,” I answered immediately, then stupidly wondered if that statement was indeed an accurate description of our status.

Then the officer sighed and pulled a plastic baggy out of his pocket. “Well, this may be a surprise to you then.” He flashed some pictures before us.

My jaw dropped for the second time. There were various pictures of me, in my bikini, beside the pool. Then there was more of me, wrapped in nothing but a towel, in my bedroom. I gapped at that one, wondering how that could have been taken?

“
These were found on Mr. Manning’s personal computer. There are a lot more where these came from, some of which are much more…revealing,” he cleared his throat. “Apparently he had quite the interest in you.”

“
Had?” I asked, my stomach sinking even further.

“
Yes,” he folded the bag, and slid the pictures back into his chest pocket, “He has been missing since Saturday evening.”

I just stood there dumbfounded. Missing, or dead?

“
Do either of you have any idea where he may be?”

“
No,” Michael said. I shook my head, unable to speak.

His partner sauntered toward us and gave him a nod. “Well, if you two hear of him or think of anything that may help us find him, give us a call.” He handed each of us his office card and then turned on his heal, muttering something to his partner.

I stood there in a paralyzed haze and watched them drive away. Michael tugged on my arm and pulled me into his chest for a hug. He breathed into my hair, “Don’t worry.”

I couldn’t stop wondering what had happen to Mr. Manning. My gut told me he was dead. Michael killed him. Was the world better off for losing a pervert and rapist? Yes, but that meant I more or less had blood on my hands. I couldn’t believe the next words that came out of my mouth. “Where is his body?”

Michael didn’t stiffen, or even skip a beat stroking my hair, at the overt accusation. He only let out a sigh, “You’re worrying.”

I pulled back and looked up at him, “I just had two police officers suspicious of me being involved with a dead man! I need to know what happened.”

“
I never said he was dead.”

“
He’s alive?” I asked, a mixture of hope and anxiety flooding my system. I hoped I didn’t have a murder staining my soul, yet I was scared that if he was still alive, he would come back for me.

He just smirked.

“
This is not funny,” I gave him an impatient look.

His face transformed, “No, its not.”

He cupped my face fiercely in his palm. “Lily,” he sighed, “You’ve got to trust me here. Don’t worry about it.”

I sank into those cavernous eyes and found a life boat I could cling to. I did trust him. Yes, he was dangerous. But I knew he wouldn’t hurt me. After all, he did whatever he did to protect me.

It took the next couple days for me to feel comfortable with the whole Mr. Manning thing. I finally convinced myself that whatever was done was done and that it was done for good reason, so there was no reason to feel guilty. It worked, most of the time.

Friday morning at school, we walked through the crowd while a few hopefuls said hi to Michael. I spotted Bailey grinning at me from beside Eric. She waved us over.

“
Hey, you guys have to come to my party Saturday! It’s going to be awesome!” Bailey exclaimed bouncing on her toes.

“
Is your dad gone?” I asked. There was no way he would put up with a bunch of teenagers. He had his own parties on the weekends, and Bailey was typically considered ‘in the way.’

“
Yeah, he’s meeting with some hot young client in Berlin. Whatever. So, I have the place to myself the entire weekend.” She looked so excited. “I have the perfect outfit for both of us already picked out!”

She loved to play dress up with me. I’m not sure if she just liked doing it because it was fun, or if she was trying to tell me I had no fashion sense.

“
Sweet!” I said, joining her excitement. Turning to Michael, I posed, “Do you want to come with?”

He smiled down at me, “If you’re there, I’m there.”

Bailey added to Michael, “Bring your bathing suit.”

He raised his eyebrows and gave a wry grimace, “Do I have to?”

I laughed, “Do you have a problem showing some skin?” I had seen that skin and it was meant for showing. Michael had a body that every guy in the world would want to have.

“
Maybe,” he teased.

I eyed him suspiciously, trying to figure out where this was coming from. He was nothing if not confident, so what was the bashful game he was playing? He grabbed my hand as the first bell rang for class, and tugged me along the hallway, successfully ending the conversation.

“
Get your ass over here!”

I pulled the phone away from my ear and winced as Bailey’s screech and the loud music in the background blazed over the receiver.

“
I’m on the way, chill,” I told her.

“
People are already here, and you haven’t even gotten ready.”

Oops, I had forgotten about the little dress up session she had coordinated. “Sorry, I’ll be there in a few. I promise.”

“
Good, and bring the BF.”

I laughed, “Bye Bailey.”

“
Chow.”

Michael chuckled in the driver’s seat. “So what’s the deal with her always dressing you up like her personal Barbie doll?” he asked.

“
I guess she thinks I can’t successfully do it myself.” I sighed, “Which is highly likely.”

He chuckled again. “So who’s going to be there?” he asked curiously.

“
Probably everyone,” I assumed. “Is there someone you’re worried about seeing?”

“
Nope, just like to be prepared.” That was strange, I thought. Prepared for what?

We arrived fashionably late through the ornate gates of the Brown Estate. Like most other students at Legare Prep, Bailey lived in a luxurious mansion, only her father coveted modern architecture with plush décor (as opposed to Rose’s historical and antique design).

I was torn away from Michael immediately as Bailey ushered me upstairs as soon as we entered the house. She threw a cute bikini at me with a matching wrap around dress and ordered, “Make it quick! I can’t deal with Lacy all alone, I might drown her in the pool if you aren’t there to stop me.”

“
Then the world would have one less bitch,” I suggested.

Bailey tapped her chin with her index finger, “Do you think my dad would get me off the hook?”

I laughed, “You go entertain, I will be down in a sec to help establish peace.”

She modified the mission, “On second thought, I will be occupying your man so no skanks start jumping his bones, a.k.a. Loose Lacy.”

“
Sounds like a plan,” I agreed. I had no doubt there were hopefuls surrounding him as we spoke.

I threw on the pink and blue paisley combination and checked the mirror to see if any body parts were showing that weren’t supposed to be. It was pretty skimpy, but I hadn’t expected anything different from Bailey. She always tried to get me to show more skin. I threw up my hair at the last minute, remembering curly hair didn’t bode so well when allowed to dry on its own after a dip in the pool.

Then I sauntered down the oversized stairwell and out to the pool house where the party was picking up. Almost everyone from our school was there along with a few additional guys I had never met. They looked older, about college aged, likely prowling for fresh meat.

I spotted the poolside bar, which, to my surprise, was run by a hired caterer. I had no idea how Bailey, a teenager, managed to hire a company to serve alcohol to underage kids. I knew her dad had no idea about this party, so I could only assume her cousin had something to do with it.

Without my wing woman, I attempted to order my own drink, “Something fruity please.”

The bartender cocked his brow line, undoubtedly humored by the inexperienced teenager in front of him, but he mixed up a red cocktail nonetheless. I sipped on it as I scoped the crowd, looking for Michael.

There. Of course, he was surrounded by giggling, hair flipping girls, who reminded me of puppies stepping on each other, all trying to get to the milk. I smirked, and it dawned on me that I was comfortable with our relationship, finally being able to find the behavior amusing rather than threatening.

Then Lacy sauntered toward the crowd. Well, maybe there was still one person who made my blood boil. I didn’t necessarily believe Michael would leave me for her, but something about her set off warning alarms for me. Bailey thought she was the devil, and I thought she might be on to something. We seemed to be the only two people in the school who saw straight through her act, or maybe we were the only people who weren’t afraid to admit that.

I watched as she placed a well-manicured hand on Michael’s chest to get his attention. When he looked her way, she pressed herself against his side, hiking up one leg in her stilettos, and whispered something in his ear. He looked directly at me as she spoke to him. When she pulled away, she brought her face up to his, waiting for a reply, or maybe a kiss. He said something I couldn’t hear, still looking directly into my eyes from across the pool.

I watched as her face flipped from flirty and sexy to pissed off and dangerous. Michael cut through the crowd and walked around the pool, never taking those deep, shadowy eyes off mine. I could feel the heat coming from Lacy’s glare and I refused to acknowledge her.

His exotic body prowled right up to me. “May I join you?” he asked.

“
I suppose,” I grinned.

He nodded at the bartender, “A Johnny Walker Black.”

I had no idea what that was, but it sounded pretty badass. Instead, I finished my fruity concoction and ordered another. I was feeling tipsy as I finished my second cocktail. Per usual when I drank, I developed some sort of alter ego that was much more daring and, quite frankly, more fun. I eyed Michael as he sipped the dark drink, somehow making even that look sexy. He tilted his head to the side and slanted his eyes.

I blurted out, “Why do you like me?”

His eyebrows arched, “Why wouldn’t I?”

“
I’m serious.”

He downed the rest of his drink and asked for another. I just waited patiently. “Well, if you must know, it’s the way your eyes glitter when you are truly happy. The way you have no idea how beautiful you are. The way you care about others.” He leaned closer to me. “The way you laugh at a terrible joke to save someone’s feelings. The way you look when you’re sleeping.” His hand reached to my cheek and caressed as he spoke, “The way your skin feels next to mine.” He leaned his mouth a mere inch from mine. “And the way you make my heart pound in my chest.” He pulled back a little and took a long swig of his new drink, and then asked, “Do you need more reasons?”

I shook my head and shut my dropped jaw. “You talk like you’ve known me my whole life.”

He winked, “Who says I haven’t?”

I laughed, “I think I would remember meeting you.” How could anyone forget a guy like him?

“
Lily!” Bailey skipped over toward us and gave me one of her ‘I’m getting pretty drunk’ hugs.