Author: Priscilla West

“You’re right, Kristen. It was selfish. I’m sorry I didn’t see it that way before. I was trying to do what I thought was best. Hopefully you see that, even if you disagree with my actions.” He gently rested his hand on my shoulder.

Despite enjoying the sensation, I shrugged it off. “I don’t trust you now though. You lied to me. You fucked Ariel Diamond. You cheated on me. At least Marty never did that.” I tried shoving him away but he was like a wall. Instead it was me that fell backward. He grabbed me before I could fall on my ass.

“Hang on, Kristen. Listen to me,” he growled, raising the hairs on the back of my neck. “That is all a mistake. The text you saw from Ariel wasn’t what it looked like.”

“How gullible do you think I am? What else could it mean? It was pretty clear: she liked riding your cock,” I spat. The words tasted like battery acid coming off my tongue. I regained my footing and pushed out of his arms. He stepped forward and pulled my waist to him demonstrating his persistence. I knew I wouldn’t win a battle of wills with him so I let it pass.

“She meant my surfboard. The new product my company launched—which is why I went to Brazil. It’s called the Shuttlecock.” He articulated his words carefully but assertively.

What. The. Fuck.

The room spun. “You’re lying,” I said uncertainly.

“No.” His voice softened and his eyes carried the tenderness they had earlier. “I’m not lying. I’m sorry you saw that, but Ariel was just being flippant in that text like she usually is. It’s her personality. You saw how she was when you met her. I’m sure she had no idea you’d be seeing that message. Even she’s not that much of a trouble-maker.”

A wave of embarrassment washed over me. I’d run out of the restaurant upset over a misunderstanding. Realization that my actions must’ve seemed absolutely childish to him made me pissed off. At him.

“‘Shuttlecock?’ You have to be kidding me. That’s the stupidest name I’ve ever heard.”

He allowed himself a smile. “You thought ‘Pier Pleasure’ was pretty clever.”

“That at least makes sense. Shuttlecock makes no sense.”

He took a deep breath and sighed. “You’re right, it’s dumb. But it’s edgy and it’s selling well. As you can see, people love making cock jokes.”

I took a step back and folded my arms across my chest. I eyed him sternly. “So you didn’t have sex with Ariel?”

“No. God no. I haven’t even seen her since the time we ran into her on St. Lucia. I told you we’re just friends and have been for years. I’d never cheat on you Kristen. Now that would be stupid. Unbelievably stupid.”

My arms tightened. “I don’t know if I can believe you.”

“It’s true. There’s not much I can do to prove it so you’re just going to have to trust me.”

“I’ve trusted you all this time. But now with the whole security team thing, you going psycho, Giselle, and everything else, I don’t know what to think. What else are you hiding from me?”

“Ask me anything. I’ll tell you.”

I clenched my jaw. “But I don’t even know what to ask, Vincent. You can’t do that—put the blame on me for not asking the right questions.”

“No, Kitten. That’s not how I meant it.”

After lying to me, he was still calling me Kitten? Give me a break. “Don’t call me that. You’ve lost that privilege.”

He exhaled heavily and gestured to the living room. “Okay, let’s sit down on the couch, cool off, and talk.”

Because my feet were getting tired, I begrudgingly obeyed. Once we were seated, I ran through in my mind what I had just learned, deciding what to ask. There were so many pieces missing that needed filling in. I decided to start with the first question on my mind. “So what happened with Giselle?”

He shifted in his seat beside me. “She was in a relationship with someone she met in college for two years. Jim. No one knew she was suffering. There were small signs like arguing but it seemed normal—couples usually have fights every now and then. It wasn’t until I saw her bruises that . . . that I decided I needed to intervene. I made sure he got the message.” He sighed.

“I’m sorry about what happened to your sister, but in this case you took it too far. Way too far. You didn’t have to break Marty’s face. He wasn’t going to hurt me.”

“What did he want?”

“He said he just wanted to talk.”

Vincent’s eyes narrowed as he ground his teeth. “I wouldn’t believe him. That’s a classic trick they use. He hurt you before. That’s enough to establish that he’s dangerous.”

“He said he was sorry and brought me flowers. He just wanted to apologize.”

“You don’t know that Kristen. Kurt and Bernie were watching. If they made a move, it meant they thought you were in danger.”

“You don’t know either. He was just extending his hand to say sorry. Last time I checked that wasn’t a felony.”

He looked at me probingly. “Why are you defending him?”

“Jesus, Vincent. Can you be any more insensitive? I’m not defending him.” My eyes began tearing again. “Don’t treat me like I’m a helpless victim. I can’t stand it.”

“My team will make sure you won’t be.”

“Why aren’t you listening to me?” I screamed. “Get rid of them! I hate the idea of being watched and monitored.”

He kept his gaze firmly on me as I broke down. “Kristen, he might come back. You have to take this seriously.”

“You nearly killed him for bringing me flowers, Vincent! I doubt he’d be coming back. I think he ‘got the message’.”

He quietly handed me a tissue. I took it and wiped my eyes, pulling mascara off in the process. I knew I looked like a mess but I didn’t care.

“I don’t like it. I want you to feel safe. If he does come back, you’ll be completely exposed.”

I closed my eyes for a moment and forced out a shaky breath. “Right now, I’m more afraid of you than I am of him.”

He narrowed his brows. “You don’t mean that.”

I looked at him directly. “I do. You don’t know what it’s like watching your boyfriend nearly beat your ex to death. I’m scared of you and what you’re capable of.”

Vincent staggered back for a moment, no doubt reeling from my response. “All right, fine. I’ll get rid of the security team. I’ll tell them to put a tracking device on his car so we can monitor his whereabouts.” He stared into my eyes. “But you should know that I’d never hurt you.”

“You already have. Maybe not physically like Marty did, but you hurt me emotionally. You betrayed my trust.”

“Okay. How can I make this right?”

I shook my head. “I don’t know if you can.”

“I really care about you Kristen and if you need space, I can do that.” He got up from the couch. “But if I had to choose between us breaking up and you being safe, without a doubt I’d choose the latter. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if you got hurt and I had the ability to prevent it. I’d even lie to you if it meant saving you from harm.”

“You can’t do that. You can’t take away my choice from me. I’m a grown woman who can make her own choices balancing her privacy and her safety. You made it your choice.”

“It’s what happens when you—” He cut his sentence short. “When you really care about someone. If you’re asking if I’d do it again. I’ll tell you right now: I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

After he left, I locked the door. Then I went to my room to cry.

***

I’d cried until I felt nauseous from everything and vomited. It was incredible the police didn’t show up. The commotion from the fighting, shouting, and cursing was probably heard on multiple floors. I didn’t know my other neighbors on the floor that well but I knew they were in their mid-twenties. They were probably out clubbing. It was Friday night after all.

I walked from the bathroom to the kitchen to get a cup of water. It was past midnight and I was exhausted from the evening’s events. I couldn’t wait to fall asleep and block everything out until tomorrow. During a long sip of water, the front door unlocked, opened, and clacked against the chain lock.

“Kristen? You left the chain lock on. Open up.”

I nearly choked on my water before I recognized the voice.

“Riley, is that you? Are you by yourself?”

“Uh yeah, duh. Were you expecting someone else?” She jiggled the door again but it wouldn’t budge. “Are you naked right now with whip cream on your nipples waiting for Vincent to show up? Is that why there are flower petals all over the doormat?”

I breathed a sigh of relief. Typical Riley. “No, I’m not naked,” I hollered. “I’ll open the door.” I went to undo the chain. Once she was inside, I redid the chain.

The short blue dress she went out in was rumpled and there were drink stains on it. She must’ve danced pretty hard, even if she’d gotten in early. “So how was dinner?” she asked.

I groaned. “Bad.”

“Bad? Or badass?” Riley said, her mood chipper as she flung off her shoes into the corner.

When I didn’t respond, she looked at me and studied my face. “Whoa Kristen, were you crying? Oh my god, what happened?”

I told her about how I saw Ariel’s text message during dinner with Vincent and how I ran home and then Marty showed up.

Riley dropped her bags, gripped my shoulders, and shook me. “Are you okay? Did you call the police?”

“No. Kurt and Bernie tackled him. Turns out they were Vincent’s security team he assigned to watch over me.”

She squinted. “You mean the gay couple across from us?”