Cuffed: A Novella (3 page)

I woke up disoriented and groggy. My head ached, my teeth
felt furry and I was pretty sure a desert had taken up residence in my mouth
overnight. No more wine, ever. Who was I kidding? I’d be cracking a bottle open
Saturday night with Steph at our weekly get together to discuss why we were
failing at life. The previous evening flashed back to me with crystal clarity
as I sat up, looking around Shane’s room.

Ugh! What had I been thinking or rather why hadn’t I been
thinking? This was definitely not something I could undo now that it was done.
Wait, where was Shane?

I leaned back against the headboard when I realized he
wasn’t in the room with me. Had Shane come back from helping Steph and curled
up next to me when he had found me passed out or had he walked away in disgust,
leaving me to spend the night alone in his bed?

I forced myself to get out of bed before I spent the day
there contemplating whether or not Shane had slept with me. I took one last
look around the room before tiptoeing up the stairs, hoping Steph was still
asleep.

“Good morning sunshine,” Steph chimed from her seat at the
kitchen table looking way too chipper for the morning after a party.

“Were you sitting there waiting for me?” I asked taking the
seat across from her.

“Not you per se,” she said with a grin running her fingers
through her dark brown hair that reminded me of her brother’s. “I was waiting
to see who emerged from Shane’s cave this morning since he disappeared before
the keg was tapped.”

“So, you didn’t think it was me?” I asked hopefully.

“Nope. I thought you were mad at me and left as soon as
Shane had taken the cuffs off.” I sighed in relief, if that’s what Steph
thought, then that’s what our friends thought, and I wouldn’t have to endure
their endless teasing and questioning. It wasn’t like my crush on Shane growing
up had been a secret.

“You don’t look like you spent the night with my brother
though. Is this an elaborate joke?” She asked giving me a curious look.

“Not a joke. I wasn’t sure if he had even spent the night
with me since I woke up alone.” I said feeling slightly embarrassed by my
admission.

“Shane works out with the guys from the station every
Saturday morning,” Steph said taking a sip of her coffee. “Don’t worry Lexy, he
didn’t run out on you.”

“Don’t you think it’s weird that your best friend spent the
night with your brother?” I asked stunned by her acceptance of the situation.

“Well, it’s not like you haven’t been in love with him since
junior high,” she said grinning at me. “I’ve been preparing for this moment for
years. I’m just shocked it hasn’t happened sooner. Although, judging from your
lack of rumpledness you two didn’t do anything fun last night.”

“You called him up right after he uncuffed me and I passed
out while waiting for him to return. I’m blaming the two bottles of wine I
chugged last night combined with the lack of sleep from working a double
yesterday.” I told her, some things were best left unsaid.

I froze when I heard the sound of the kitchen door opening.
I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face Shane yet. I should have just made an
excuse and gone home instead of staying to talk with Steph. I could feel my
heart start to race and my palms were suddenly damp, I was so not ready to do
the morning after with an audience.

Shane walked through the door laughing, his green eyes
sparkling with amusement. My nervousness started slipping away as his eyes
caught mine. He smiled but before I could return it a short blonde wearing
cutoff sweats and a sports bra walked in behind him.

Working out with the guys my ass. Before anyone could say a
word I was out of my chair. I grabbed my purse from the counter and stomped out
the kitchen door, looking straight ahead, refusing to look at Shane or his
“workout buddy.”

It wasn’t until I reached my car that I realized my keys
were still in the house. There was no way in hell I was going back for them. My
house was only a few blocks over, I’d walk and text Steph to bring my keys over
later.

I was running late. There was nothing more I hated than
being late, especially for a first date. It was rude and I was worried that
Toby would think I was standing him up and leave before I got there. I was
hoping that he would be understanding when I explained my day to him, it had
been nothing short of hectic.

Brushing my teeth and taking a shower had greatly improved
my mood Saturday afternoon, and after getting some food in my system I had sent
a quick text to Toby, the guy I’d been flirting with through text message the
last two weeks, asking him if he wanted to meet. I’d met Toby through the
dating app I used when I got tired of being alone and worked up the courage to
meet someone.

Toby had immediately responded with an enthusiastic yes,
well at least I took the exclamation point after the yes for enthusiasm.
Sometimes it was hard to tell with a text message. After a few texts back and
forth we settled on dinner Thursday at a restaurant in town. The week had
passed quickly and now it was twenty minutes until we were supposed to meet and
I was still in my scrubs.

Get it together Alexis! I coached myself as I made my way to
my bedroom. You have exactly eight minutes to get out of these dirty scrubs,
wash off the smell of vomit, change into something semi-flattering and get in
your car.

Thankfully Steph had dropped my car off Saturday night. She
had wanted to talk more about what had happened but I was still hurt and
embarrassed by the situation. Now, I was mostly just embarrassed. Yup,
embarrassed I told myself stepping into the shower.

I had completely overreacted to seeing Shane walk into the
kitchen with a scantily clad blonde woman the morning after we had spent the
night together. Nothing more than a heavy makeout session had happened thanks
to, his sister and my best friend, Steph and the two bottles of wine I had
consumed, but it still stung a bit that he hadn’t even waited until I was gone
before bringing another woman home with him. What would he have done if I had
still been in his bed when he got home?

No time to think about that Alexis, I reminded myself as I
turned off the shower. What the hell was I going to wear? A quick glance at my
legs determined I was good to wear a skirt, which made my life easier. I
grabbed a yellow, off the shoulder dress from the closet that I had received
compliments on before.

Slipping on a pair of black heels I hurried back down the stairs
grabbed my purse from the stand by the front door and was in my car with a
minute to spare. As I backed out of my driveway my phone rang, the number that
flashed across the screen on my dashboard was the same unfamiliar number that
had been calling me all week. They never left a message and I refused to answer
a number I didn’t know. Eventually, they’d get the hint I thought as I let the
call go to voicemail.

A knock on my window caused me to jump and jam my foot on
the brakes. I’d been so focused on watching for an opening in traffic that I
hadn’t seen anyone approach my car. A bare chested Shane was standing next to
my car; I assumed he was wearing running shorts because there was a thin sheen
of perspiration covering the parts of him that I could see. I had been right,
he would have looked even better with his shirt off Friday night, I thought as
I stared at his sculpted muscles.

Stop it Alexis! Right this second. You are on your way to
meet a perfectly nice man who won’t trade you in for a blonde in the morning
…
you hope.

“You look good Lex,” Shane said when I rolled the window
down cringing at the mannish nickname he had given me when we were children and
refused to stop using.

“Thanks, I really need to get going. I’m running late.” I
said as Shane rested his arms on my door.

“Don’t you have a few minutes for me? I really need to talk
to you about what happened last weekend.” He was looking at me intensely, like
this conversation actually meant something to him.

“Look Shane, there’s nothing to apologize for and nothing
more to say. I’m late and I don’t want my date to think I’m standing him up.” I
hit the button to roll my window up and watched Shane step back when I took my
foot off the brake pedal and started to back into the street. I was proud of
myself for being able to talk to Shane like an adult. If he could act like
nothing had happened between us then so could I.

A glance at the clock told me I had seven minutes to make it
to the restaurant. Why was it that when Shane was involved my nights never went
according to plan? I sent a quick text to Toby telling him I had got stuck
behind a slow car and would meet him at the restaurant shortly.

Okay Alexis, get yourself together. Don’t think about Shane,
focus on the great night you’re going to have. Ha, you’re a comedian self. How
am I going to be able to concentrate on anything after seeing Shane shirtless?

Toby was waiting for me by the doors to the restaurant when
I arrived three minutes after seven. He was about 20 pounds heavier than the
photos he had on his profile, but still attractive. He was 6’2, I knew thanks
to his profile, with short dirty blonde hair, light blue eyes and a faint five
o’clock shadow. The green button down and tan slacks he was wearing fit him
well and were flattering. On any other night I would have been nervous meeting
him, but after my encounter with Shane I was just happy I had something to do
other than replay our conversation over and over in my head, looking for some
hidden meaning that wasn’t there.

Toby recognized me as I approached and met me halfway with a
hug that was just a tad too close for someone I had just met. He smelled
faintly of sandalwood, which was a pleasant surprise.

“Shall we,” he asked placing an arm around my waist and I
resisted the urge to pull away. I was slightly uncomfortable with his touchy
nature.

Once inside the restaurant, Toby thankfully let his arm
drop, most likely because we had to walk single file behind the hostess to
reach our table. Toby pulled my chair out for me before sitting down himself,
was he for real? Did he actually act like this or was he just trying too hard
to make a good impression? I’d never seen anyone do that before, movies didn’t
count. I found it slightly awkward.

Toby made small talk about his day while we waited for our
server to appear. Luckily, he seemed content to chatter away without much input
from me. My thoughts were still stuck on Shane and why he wanted to talk about
Friday night.

Shane? Was I hallucinating? It was as if thinking about him
had drawn him to where I was. He was taking a seat two tables over and slightly
behind ours with the blonde from Saturday morning. I pinched myself and looked
back up, nope, Shane was definitely here, staring at me intently. Why did he
have to pick the same restaurant I was at? It wasn’t that small of a town.

Just then our server arrived cutting off Shane from my line
of sight. We both ordered the chef’s chicken special and I ordered a glass of
wine. I would definitely need some liquid encouragement to get through this night;
I just wouldn’t drink the entire bottle like before.

I focused on Toby while we waited for our meals, refusing to
acknowledge Shane’s presence. Toby was a decent guy, he just wasn’t Shane. I
wanted to bang my head against the table. It just wasn’t fair. This could have
been a decent night if Shane hadn’t shown up at my house and then again here at
the restaurant.

I picked at my meal when it arrived. I’d lost my appetite
the moment I’d seen Shane and the blonde. I could feel him watching me as I sat
there trying to ignore him. I gave up trying to eat and put my fork down. At
least I’d have lunch tomorrow that I didn’t have to make.

“Is everything okay,” Toby asked looking concerned.

“I’m fine. Just not as hungry as I thought,” I said forcing
a smile. It wasn’t his fault that Shane had ruined my night.

“Would you care to dance?” Toby asked. I was caught between
not wanting Toby to touch me again and wanting Shane to see me in the arms of
another man. My desire to show Shane that I could care less about him won out.

I nodded and stood up from the table. Toby put his hand on
the center of my back and guided me to the small dance floor in the corner.
There was an elderly couple in the middle of the floor, swaying back and forth
to the classical music the pianist was playing. Toby took my hand and pulled me
close, invading my personal bubble, again, leaving barely an inch of space
between us.

“Umm Toby,” I started, trying to find a way to tell him I
needed more space without hurting his feelings as we started a slow two step.

“Excuse me,” a voice I knew all too well interrupted. Toby
paused our movement to acknowledge Shane.

“Can I help you,” Toby asked, his voice deepening and his
hold on me tightening.

“I’d like to cut in and dance with the lady if she’s okay
with that,” Shane said ignoring Toby, watching my face as his words registered.
Was he serious?
He showed up with his own date and now wanted to cut in
while I was dancing with my date. This was outrageous! I could feel my cheeks
heating in anger.

I felt Toby’s grip on me loosen as he turned to Shane, “Now
look here, the lady is here with me. I suggest you go find your own.”

Toby was now squared up to Shane; this would not end well if
I didn’t do something. Shane wouldn’t back down and it didn’t look like Toby
would either. Shane had a good two inches on Toby, and even though Toby
outweighed him by at least 50 pounds, Shane was a wall of muscle. I had to stop
this before it went any farther.

I put my hand on Toby’s chest, “It’s okay. He’s my best
friend’s sister. He probably just wants to check up on me. He’s a cop, you
know.” The word cop seemed to lower Toby’s ire considerably and he took a step
back.

“Fine.” Toby stalked back to the table, not at all pleased
with the turn of events.
Well neither am I buddy
, I thought to myself
crossly. I’d rather still be crowded against Toby than stepping into Shane’s
open arms, and to think I had been worried about coming across as rude.

“What do you want,” I hissed at Shane as soon as Toby was
out of earshot, “And where did you find dress clothes so fast?” I asked annoyed
that he’d shown up at the restaurant only minutes after my arrival looking like
he had stepped out of a magazine ad.

“I told you we needed to talk but you didn’t want to
listen.” He said looking annoyed, with what, I had no idea. “And I keep a suit
in my truck for work.”

“I told you at my house that there wasn’t anything left to
say. Were you trying to ruin my night by making me late and then showing up at
the same restaurant with the blonde? Did you really need to rub her in my face
again?” I was furious that he thought his interference in my life was
acceptable behavior.

“I’ve been trying to call you all week, but you won’t answer
my calls.”

“What are you talking about?” Then it dawned on me, the
calls I’d been getting from the unknown number. “Wait, that was you? Why didn’t
you leave a message? I didn’t know the number so I didn’t answer.”

“This isn’t something I wanted to discuss through voicemail,
and I knew you wouldn’t return my call if I did leave a message.”

“That should have given you a hint. I don’t want to talk to
you,” I said hotly.

“Lex, we need to discuss what happened between us,” he said
softly.

Looking into Shane’s green eyes I was suddenly very aware of
the way his hand cupped my hip and the fact that he had laced our fingers
together as he twirled us expertly around the small floor. It was strange to
actually be dancing instead of the usual side to side step the few men I had
danced with over the years had done. I could only smell a faint hint of Shane’s
cologne; apparently he didn’t keep that in his truck too. That scent had
followed me home Saturday and I had spent the rest of the weekend torn between
wanting it gone and never wanting it to leave.

The reminder of the weekend brought me back to the present.
Shane had no right to ruin my evening. Toby was a nice man and didn’t deserve
to be pushed out of his own date by a man who didn’t even want me. The song
ended and I pulled out of Shane’s grasp and walked off the dance floor. Toby
wasn’t sitting at our table, but the blonde was still sitting at Shane’s.

Maybe he’d gone to the bathroom, but I had a sinking feeling
that he’d left while I was dancing with Shane. My suspicion was confirmed when
there was a note sitting on top of my boxed up leftovers. Toby was a good man,
he didn’t deserve to be treated the way Shane had acted on the dance floor.

Dinner’s been taken care of. I won’t be made to feel like
second best. Please erase my number from your phone.

Toby

Poor Toby my foot. I could feel my anger growing again. Mr.
Handsy was lucky I had stepped in when I had, but was he grateful? No, he
thought I was choosing Shane over him and instead of talking to me he had slunk
away like a spoilt child. Screw it! I was done with this crap.

I could feel Shane standing behind me and I wanted nothing
more than to scream at him for wrecking everything. Did he not realize it took
two months of screening losers and creeps before I’d met Toby? And then not
even five minutes into our first date he shows up and destroys everything. Instead,
I picked up my to-go box and walked out of the restaurant refusing to give
Shane the satisfaction of looking back.