Lucy pulled her sunglasses over her eyes as she tossed bread crumbs to the geese at the lake’s edge. She glanced down at her watch, one-fifteen. Maybe he couldn’t get off. With a huff, she threw more crumbs into the water. It doesn’t really matter, he’s still with Lillith. I probably shouldn’t even have come.
With that thought, she brushed off her hands, grabbed the smoothie sitting next to her and stood, preparing to go home.
“Sorry I’m late.” Mateo’s smooth voice caught Lucy off guard.
She spun around and her mouth went dry. He stood in black slacks and a button up blue shirt that was beautifully tailored. His hair was gelled and styled and his goatee looked freshly groomed. Holy ... Lucy had to clench her jaw to keep it from dropping open.
“It’s okay,” Lucy heard herself saying.
“I was worried you would be gone by the time I arrived, but it looks like I got here just in time.” He smiled and Lucy felt as if the sun’s rays had suddenly increased.
Refraining from the desire to fan herself, she took a sip of her smoothie instead and swept her arm toward the bench. “Should we sit?”
“Sounds good,” he said. Then proceeded to sit down a few inches from her side. In his hand was a brown paper bag, which he put in his lap. “I brought a couple of sandwiches. Would you like one?”
Lucy eyed the bag from a close by cafe and felt her stomach rumble. “What kind ya got?”
“Turkey, bacon, avocado and a club.” He smiled as he watched her purse her lips and tilt her head back and forth.
“TBA please.”
Mateo chuckled. “One TBA coming up. So ... whatcha got in your bag over there?” He tilted his head toward the bread bag at her side.
“Crumbs for the geese. Thank you,” Sse said after taking the sandwich from him.
“Ah. I suppose a goose gets hungry too.”
“Mmmm ... ” Lucy chewed the bite she had in her mouth.
An amused half smile played on Mateo’s lips. “That good, huh?”
She nodded and continued eating. After swallowing she took a long pull of her smoothie.
“What kind is that?” He asked.
Lucy looked at him. “The smoothie?”
Mateo nodded while taking a bite of his sandwich.
“Strawberry, banana.”
He reached out his hand and raised his eyebrows in question.
Lucy hesitated. Sharing a straw with him just seemed so intimate. I barely know him. Well ... I mean. Sort of. I know him through emails and our kiss, but not in real life. He makes me feel things no one else ever has, but ...
Sensing her hesitation, Mateo pulled back his hand.
With a burst of courage, Lucy thrust out the drink.
A slow, sly smile crossed his face and Lucy once again felt the heat rise. He took hold of the cup, but instead of pulling it from her hand, he held on over top of her fingers and pulled her with the cup when he brought it to his mouth. His eyes never left hers and Lucy found her breathing growing more shallow with each moment their eyes remained locked.
She was practically panting by the time he let go of her, a smirk on his lips as if he knew exactly what he had just put her through. She didn’t even think before she shoulder bumped him and said, “Stinker.”
Mateo threw back his head and laughed, bringing a smile to Lucy’s face as well.
*****
IT’S GOT BE HER. THERE’S no way Lillith is the one writing those emails. How did I not recognize this before? The draw to Lucy is a dead giveaway. But why? And how did everything get so mixed up?
Mateo cleared his throat. It was time to ask the hard questions. “So ... how do you know Lillith?” He tried to hide his wince as he watched Lucy’s happy face disappear. Her features hardened and the light in her eyes died. Dang it. Now what? He found himself wanting to comfort her, to hold her, to say everything would be okay, but he held back. He wanted to dump Lillith and move on with Lucy, but he needed answers first.
Lucy turned her face to look back at the geese waddling around. Reaching into the bag next to her, she grabbed a handful of crumbs and tossed them out, causing a riot of honking and wing flapping as they all dove for the treat.
“I told you, she works with my best friend.”
Mateo pursed his lips and nodded. “Yeah, you did say that. But I didn’t get the impression that Lillith was really close with anyone at the school. So that still begs the question of how you know her.”
Lucy locked her jaw and didn’t say any more. Picking up her sandwich, she continued eating, keeping her eyes toward the lake.
In for a penny, in for a pound. “It was obvious something was going on when I walked in on you yesterday. I’ve taken your advice to spend more time with Lillith. In fact, we’re going to dinner tonight, but I was hoping you could help me out. You know, give me some insider information about who she is?”
Shame hit Mateo as he watched Lucy deflate.
“I don’t think I can help you,” she said quietly, packing up her stuff.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He reach out and put his hand on her arm, enjoying the zing that always occurred when their skin touched. “I’m not ready for you to go yet. Can’t you stay a bit longer?” Why won’t she just say something? Why is she protecting a woman she doesn’t seem to even like?
Lucy looked at his hand and up at his face. Her bright blue eyes searched his, as if asking if he felt their connection too. He did. All the way down to his toes, but until he discovered what he’d inadvertently gotten stuck in the middle of, he wouldn’t act on it.
He kept his face as neutral as possible. “Friends can sit and feed the geese together, right? We don’t have to talk about other stuff.”
Lucy blinked, looking away and clearing her throat. “Friends. Right. Yeah ... ” She gave a small smile. “Friends can do that.” She picked up her sandwich and took another bite.
When this is all over, we are going to be more than friends. With that swirling around his head, Mateo also picked up his sandwich and continued eating.
*****
LATER THAT NIGHT MATEO drove by Lillith’s place to pick her up for dinner. A feeling of dread sat heavy in his stomach. “It’s just dinner. Get a grip!” He chided himself as he drove. Every part of him wanted to run back to Lucy, to hold her in his arms and kiss her until she couldn’t think straight. Once she was sufficiently subdued, he would get answers out of her.
He shook his head. Time to focus on the task at hand. Lucy wouldn’t give you answers, let’s see if Lillith will.
Using the manners his mama taught him, Mateo walked up to the door and knocked; waiting patiently until Lillith answered. He had to hold his breath to keep from sneezing when she waltzed past him toward the car. That dang perfume is gonna kill me before this is all over.
Holding her door, he helped her in, closed it and walked around to drive them to the restaurant. He had called ahead to get a table, but had specifically instructed that they not be given a booth. He didn’t want to sit any closer to this woman than he had to.
Apparently Lillith noticed the lack of privacy, because she scowled as they were led to their table. Mateo, however, smiled. “This table is great. Thank you.” He held out the seat for his date and then settled himself.
Lillith flipped her hair over her shoulder. “You should have told them we wanted a booth. Those are much better for a romantic date. Privacy ... sitting close ... ” She leaned onto the table and raised a seductive eyebrow at him.
Mateo nearly jumped out of his seat when something ran up his leg. Shoot. I hadn’t thought of that. He cleared his throat, scooting his chair back just a touch and shifting his legs to the side as best he could without appearing too obvious.
When Lillith pouted, he realized he wasn’t as subtle as he thought. “Never been a big fan of PDA,” he explained.
Her eyebrows shot up and understanding lit her face. “We’ll just save it for later,” she said as she winked.
Mateo focused on the menu and hoped she would do the same. You need answers. He reminded himself. Lucy won’t give them, so you have to get them from Lillith. A few minutes later, they both ordered and then were left to themselves.
With no menu to hide behind, Mateo found himself fidgeting with his napkin and silverware. He placed it and replaced it around his plate until suddenly Lillith’s cold hands rested over his.
“What’s got you in such a dither tonight, huh?” She grinned slyly at him.
Mateo resisted the impulse to jerk his hands away, removing them from her grasp slowly instead. “I, uh, just was curious about a few things, I guess.” He cleared his throat.
Lillith tilted her head to the side. “Really? About what?”
“About you and Lucy.”
Lillith stiffened for a moment, panic spread across her features, but she quickly erased it and sat back in her seat, crossing her arms. “What about Lucy?”
“How do you know her?”
“Why does it matter?” Lillith’s voice had hardened and Mateo knew he was treading on thin ice.
“It doesn’t really,” he said soothingly. He leaned across the table and pulled her hand to him, patting it in a placating manner. “I’m just curious. It was obvious there were hard feelings between the two of you and I was wondering what the story was behind that.”
Lillith flipped her hair again. “There’s not much to tell. Lucy is a teacher, same as me and has been after my job for years.” She shrugged one shoulder. “Principal Grimm is afraid to hire her because she tends to be flaky. He does allow her to sub once in awhile though.”
Mateo felt his brows furrow. That’s the story Ruby gave, except swapped. So which one is true? His mind spun. Did Ruby have a reason to lie to him? No. Atleast I can’t imagine a reason she would. I don’t even know her. But Lillith has been hiding things from the beginning ...
Lillith tugged on his hand. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I’m fine. Sorry. Just spaced it for a minute.” He let go of her hand and sat back in his chair.
Silence reigned at their table for a moment before their waiter showed up with their food.
Mateo sighed in relief, grateful for the interruption to their awkward pause. But I still don’t know the truth. He reminded himself. He shifted in his chair, waiting for the waiter to leave them to their meals before trying again. “So ... uh ... tell me about your family.”
Lillith eyed him cautiously over her plate. “What do you want to know?”
Mateo shrugged, cutting into his meal. “Where are your parents? Are you close to them? Do you have any siblings?”
Lillith pinched her lips and didn’t answer right away. “Didn’t we already discuss this with each other?”
Mateo wiped his mouth and swallowed. “Yes. But you said you wanted to forget about the emails and get to know each other in person.”
Lillith scrunched her lips to the side. “You’re right. I did say that. But I prefer not to talk about my family. We aren’t close. Let’s just leave it at that.” She picked up her fork and began eating again.
“Okay ... what about movies? Have any favorites?”
“I watch just about anything. A littlle of this, a little of that. You know ... whatever strikes my fancy at the time.”
This is going nowhere fast. “Hobbies? Favorite holidays? Celebrity crushes?”
Lillith frowned and set down her fork. “What’s with the twenty questions?”
Mateo cleared his throat and stretched his neck to the side. “You know, just trying to get to know you. What makes Lillith Gresham tick?”
“We can get to know each other all you want when you drive me home.” Lillith twisted the stem of her wine goblet between her fingers, looked up through her lashes and waited for his answer.
“We’ll see.” Mateo said, refusing to commit to anything. Not happening. He thought.
Lillith scowled, but went back to her meal without a word.
Little was said the rest of their meal. Mateo was out of ideas on how to get answers out of her without flat out accusing her of lying to him. His concern for Lucy, kept him from doing just that. With plans A and B now a failure, he was going to have to go back to the drawing board.
As he drove Lillith home later that evening, Mateo allowed himself to zone out from her chatter. His mind was chaotic as he tried to formulate another plan that would get Lillith to confess what was going on. Or at least what I think is going on. Shoot! This is all such a mess. I still don’t understand why Lucy won’t say anything.
Mateo parked the car as he pulled into Lillith’s condo parking lot. Walking around to her side, he helped her out and walked her to the door. “Thanks for a pleasant evening,” he said. When he turned to walk away, Lillith grabbed his arm.
Slowly Lillith pulled him closer and closer until she wrapped her arms all the way around him. Snuggled up against his chest, she looked up at him, her bright,red lipstick nearly glowing in the evening light. “Don’t you want to come in?” She purred, batting her eyes a few times.
Mateo leaned back from her as far as possible, completely uncomfortable with her embrace. His arms were trapped under her arms so he couldn’t set her away from him. Why couldn’t this be Lucy instead? He lamented. Clearing his throat, he tried to step back. “Um ... not tonight, thank you. I have to be at work early in the morning.”
Lillith locked her arms, refusing to let go and pushed out her lower lip. “Surely you can get ready from here in the morning? I have a second shower.”
Mateo jerked back, nearly knocking Lillith on her face. He felt heat flooding his neck and cheeks and was again grateful for his skin tone which hid the blush he was experiencing. “I’m not-that is- I don’t ... ” He trailed off, unsure how to reply to her bold invitation.
Lillith righted herself and fluffed her hair. “I see. Well ... if I was Lucy would you be interested then?”
Mateo’s eyes went wide and he stammered as he tried to answer her. “Yes ... I mean no ... I mean I wouldn’t—”
Lillith put her hand up to cut him off. “I’ve heard more than enough.” She narrowed her eyes and her anger hit Mateo directly in the chest.
“You know ... I thought Lucy and I had solved our little tiff the other day. Obviously that’s not the case.” Lillith studied her long nails, holding them up the light. “I suppose I’ll have to have another chat with her.”
Anger boiled through Mateo. “What exactly are you talking about? What tiff? Thanks to you I can hardly get Lucy to talk to me, tell me what is going on.”
Lillith smiled and Mateo was sure he could feel the temperature drop. “Nothing you need to worry about.” Reaching up she patted Mateo’s cheek like he was a little child.
Before he could react, she slipped inside her door and he heard the deadbolt click.
Mateo turned and walked back to his car. I gotta figure this thing out quick. I have no idea what she has planned for Lucy, but I can’t let her get away with it. But the biggest question of all remained. How?