Page 20 of Miss Taken Identity

“A bag?” I ask, still confused and sounding almost simple.

“An overnight bag. Fresh suits, a change of casual clothes. All that sort of thing,” he explains, making me realize, and not for the first time today, that my version of the world has been pretty limited up until now.

“I’ll fill the tub,” he volunteers. “And keep an ear out for the door. But I think you have a phone call to make first?” he suggests, sounding more like a seasoned executive than a man trying to seduce me.

I crimp my mouth before sighing loudly. And only because I know he’s absolutely right.

It’s not fair to my parents to leave them worrying. And especially after ghosting them at the airport.

It looks like the truth finds a way, after all, today, but I’m glad that things have gone the way they have with Xander in more ways than one.

If he was the alligator luggage kind of person, I don’t know if I’d even still be in his hotel.

I’d probably be in a cell downtown, wondering why my parents haven’t come to bail me out yet.

“I won’t make the bath too hot,” he promises me. He kisses my forehead as he passes me, and looking back over his shoulder, he gives me a look that says one thing.

Call them. Call your folks.

I stand for a moment, watching him as his perfectly proportioned body makes its way to the bathroom, undoing his shirt after slipping his suit jacket off.

He hasn’t even broken a sweat, and it’s like ninety degrees out…

He smells as fresh as a daisy, and his shirt isn’t even creased.

I really do think that Xander might have some sort of magic powers or even be from another planet. He’s that perfect.

But my procrastinating is put to a swift end when I watch my hands fish for my phone and call home.

If Xander wasn’t expecting me to, I have to be honest. I wouldn’t be calling home right now.

Expecting to hear my mom’s frantic voice, I feel worse when my dad’s calm, deeper voice picks up the home phone – something most people don’t even have anymore.

“Dad? It’s me,” I say, my voice sounding like somebody else, though.

Only because this is the phone call, I never thought I’d have to make, especially today.

I should be at home by now, running my own bath in my own house.

“Oh, Chloe,” my dad says, his voice breaking a little with emotion. “Your mom…. We’ve been worried sick,” he says, lowering his voice.

Having him pick up the phone has thrown me right off, and I can’t even think of one word to say.

“Chloe?” he asks, and I make a sound to let him know I’m still here.

“Your mom wants me to call the police…but you’re old enough now to decide where and when you go, but Chloe, gee whiz. We were waiting at the airport like a couple of…a couple of real clowns,” he finally gasps.

This is about as close to rage as my dad could ever get. Both my folks are so sweet, almost innocent in their ways, and hurting them makes me feel worse than ever.

But if only I could explain. If only they could see how happy Xander makes me.

How perfect he is.

How he might well be the only man in my whole life to even look twice at me, let alone everything else I know he wants to do to me.

Don’t lie, Chloe. Tell him the truth now.

“I’m sorry, dad, I really am,” I murmur, struggling to find the right words.

“But I got a job offer while I was on the plane, sitting next to a man after I was bumped up to first-class….”

So much for not lying.

Kind of half-truthing it really.

“A man,” my dad echoes back to me before taking a deep breath.

I can see his point. The concept of men and me never really fit. They’d never go together, even in my dad’s mind.

“It’s true, dad, and although I might not get the job, I do have a night in a fancy hotel. I’m even –,” I try to tell him, but the strain he’s under finally shows.

I hear my dad like I’ve never heard him before.

“Chloe, just stop it, will ya? No more stories, please! Your mom is hysterical right now. You left us standing like idiots waiting, and now you’re coming up with this?” he says, calmly but firmly.

My dad sounds like a man who’s had enough for one day.

“Now, wherever you are, whatever you’re doing,” he continues, not even letting me take a breath,

“I want you to get in a cab and get home right this minute, young lady. You hear me?” he snaps, finally losing his composure altogether.

I hear my mom’s voice shrieking in the background. Her feet thudding as she rushes to the phone. But I’m not gonna have the same conversation with her, not right now.

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