Page 58 of Caesar DeLuca
I’ve had to act on the spot myself. I’ve cut into the same guest bathroom Craig was supposed to go into. My options were either that or risk Craig turning around and seeing me. It seems I made the right choice as he turns away from her bedroom only a moment later.
“Yes, Ariana?”
“Are you upstairs?”
He pulls a face, mouthing the word shit. “You said the bathroom?—”
“First door down the hall,” Ariana interrupts from the foot of the staircase. “On the first floor, Mr. Craig.”
“Oh. Right. Sorry. My hearing aid sometimes goes in and out.”
Ariana doesn’t seem convinced as she makes a humming sound in her throat. Craig retreats down the hall, making his way back down the stairs. I wait until they’re both in the first floor hall before I step out of the guest bathroom a level above them.
“Are you sure you don’t need me to patch them up?”
“I told you I’d call a mechanic in the morning. Thank you for towing me back, but it’s late. You should start making the drive back to town. Mrs. Bev will be worried.”
“Ah, she’ll be fine. She’s probably already taken her Tylenol PM.”
“Good night, Mr. Craig.”
The finality in Ariana’s tone speaks for itself. She means business. She wants him to leave.
The older man gives a nod and thanks her for the water bottle she’s handed him. He exits through the front door this time. Ariana waits for him to reach the truck that’s parked in her drive and then she promptly locks the doors and lets out a sigh.
Interesting. Where were you tonight, Ariana? And why was Craig about to sneak into your bedroom?
You’d think I’d be more concerned with how I’m possibly going to make my way out of the house now that she’s home.
It’s not even a thought on my mind as I lurk in the shadows on the second floor and survey her standing in the hallway at the bottom of the staircase. But I discover that I won’t need to bide my time and sneak my way out later after Ariana’s gone to bed.
She peers up the staircase as if she can see me clearly in the pitch-black darkness that cloaks the second floor landing.
“Caesar, what are you doing here?”
20
ARIANA
“Miracles do happen!” Mrs. Bev cries out at the sight of me.
I put on a modest smile and take my seat at the dinner table. It’s another rare outing after dark, this time for Mrs. Bev’s birthday. She’d decided to go all out for her seventy-fifth and invited her closest friends and family to the Big Bear Stakehouse.
I wasn’t going to attend, but Mrs. Bev laid the guilt trip on thick. By the time she was through with her wistful sighs and not-so-subtle mentions of how much she enjoyed my company, I caved and agreed to show my face.
It’s the first time in well over a month.
I’ve spent the past few weeks even more in hiding than usual. After that morning in town where Caesar and I went our separate ways, I’ve been hibernating. I’ve been living off the stockpiled canned and frozen goods I have at home. Technically, I haven’t had a reason to drive into town other than to fulfill my monthly socializing obligation.
After being snowed in with a stranger, I hadn’t felt the urge.
I didn’t need to socialize when things were still so fresh. I still remembered what Caesar’s lips felt like and how his firm hands were groping every curve of my body. I could repeat almost word for word some of our conversations.
Conversations I had genuinely enjoyed. Conversations that felt like foreplay at times, stimulating my mind and heart in a way they hadn’t been before.
Needless to say, I’ve spent the past couple months hung up on everything that’s happened.
I’ve found solitude has slowly helped me feel more removed from the situation. Even though I’ve been recovering at home—the same location where Caesar and I spent time together—I’ve been keeping myself busy with books, hobbies, and projects around the house.
