Page 65 of Wine & Whiskey
“Nice to meet you.”
The driver nods as he opens the car door. “You too, ma’am."
All the oxygen evaporates from her lungs. She gasps for air, suffocating from Juan’s musky cologne drifting from the backseat, pummeling her with memories. He stares at her, a confident smirk playing on his lips. “Your life or his. You decide.”
“Shae? Are you okay?”
Concern and confusion twist through Max’s tone. She fists his jacket to try and stop the swaying, and points to the backseat with her other hand. “Juan…”
“No one’s in the car. I swear.” His fingers grip her trembling shoulders, turning her toward him, forcing her to meet his gaze and return to the present. “You’re safe. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Her voice lost in fear, she nods as he loosens his grasp. Looking back in the car, Juan’s vanished. Just like the false sense of safety she let herself be lulled into. Shattered at the first reminder of the carjacking and his threats.
Clutching her elbow, Max guides her away from the limo. “How about I drive your car?”
After closing the door behind her, he climbs in on the driver’s side and drums his fingertips on the steering wheel. They sit in silence while she takes a few cleansing breaths. In and out. Slow, deep, and even. Calm infuses her body as air fills her belly, replacing the fear engulfing her. She opens her eyes and blushes at Max’s stiff posture as he watches her. “I’m sorry I freaked out. My imagination got the best of me I guess.”
“No need to apologize. You’ve been through a lot.”
She leans over and gives him a quick hug, awkwardly maneuvering between the seat and steering wheel to encircle his neck. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
“You’re welcome. I’m just glad you’re okay and there’s no baby coming out.”
A loud, ugly laugh bursts out of her mouth, releasing the last of her anxiety. “That’s Lamaze, not ujjayi.”
He winks before putting the car in gear. “We’re good?”
She smiles and clicks her seatbelt. “We’re good.”
* * *
“Hi.”
Jason looks up from tossing white towels into the industrial-sized washing machine filling the corner of his makeshift office also doubling as a storage closet. Too proud to let her help him, he has a long way to go until the gym is the dream he imagines it to be.
“What are you doing here?”
No smile or welcoming nod. Just an indifferent shrug of his shoulders making her stomach hurt. “It’s seven o’clock. I came to work out like always.”
He glances at his watch before resuming his work. “Where’s Nick?”
She skirts the truth to protect the men she loves. Their already tumultuous relationship doesn’t need another argument to sever the tenuous connection. “He had a meeting and couldn’t make it.”
His body stiffens as he stuffs the linens deeper into the tub. All the years they’ve known each other, they’ve never fought, somehow always avoiding conflict. Until now.
“Can we talk?”
After pushing a few buttons on the control panel, he plops down in the ratty chair behind his desk. The piped-in music fades to a new song, the acoustic version of her first hit. She sticks her tongue out. “I hate hearing myself.”
He sings along for a few lines, his voice soft and wistful, perhaps remembering like she does how good things used to be between them. Maybe as hopeful as she is they can be again.
“You sound so young.”
“I would hope so. I was only seventeen.”
Everyone, including herself, thought if she was lucky she might be a one-hit wonder. Yet, her first single rose to number one in just a few weeks. Practically unheard of in the music industry. She broke into the top ten with her next few songs, forever cementing her career as a pop star princess.
“A lot’s changed since then.”
