I took a Lyft back to the office to pick up my car, which was still in the lot. Thankfully, the firm had given me a pass for the summer, otherwise I probably would have had to sell a kidney to pay for overnight parking in a downtown LA lot. I drove up along Sunset, trying to formulate an explanation that would make sense. Would Asher even listen to me? I wasn’t even sure I fully believed Amber, would Asher believe her words secondhand? As I wound along the curving road at the base of the Hollywood Hills, I felt a pit grow in the depths of my stomach, filling with anxiety and fear.

When I left his house that morning, I was resolved to never see or speak to him again. Yet here I was, driving right back to his house. I told myself that it wasn’t about my feelings for him. It wasn’t about his feelings for me, whatever those might be. This was an act of duty, giving a warning to a colleague, if nothing else.

But if that was the case, then why was my stomach buzzing with butterflies the size of sparrows when I pulled up to his house?

The sun was beginning to set as I came to a stop across the street from his house. I sat there in the car for a few minutes. I chided myself for feeling nervous and excited. I wasn’t going there to see him. I had walked out on him for a reason. I wasn’t going to be embarrassed by the fact that I had left so abruptly. I drew in a deep breath and let it out, then I stepped out of the car, and strode confidently across the street.

My first knock was not quite as confident, so I followed it up with a firmer, stronger rap on the door. I waited for a few moments, but nobody came to the door. I didn’t hear any movement inside either. I knocked again, louder this time. Finally, I heard footsteps approaching and a shadow darkened the windows on the side. The door opened.

Asher was dressed in a sweat-drenched t-shirt and basketball shorts. His hair was wet and bedraggled, but somehow still looked good. His cheeks were slightly flushed and his face was covered in beads of perspiration.

“Cora, I didn’t expect to see you again so soon. Come on in.”

His manner was affable, pleasant. He didn’t seem to be at all concerned with the fact that I had left first thing in the morning and then just showed up unannounced. I stepped through the doorway and back into Asher Dean’s house. I reflected on how different it felt compared to the night before.

Walking past Asher, I breathed in the scent of his sweat, salty and musky. The smell triggered something in me. For a moment I was back in bed with him, feeling the weight of his body on top of me, the pressure of his cock as it pushed deep inside me. I felt a spasm, a contraction of the muscles in my pelvic floor.

“Can I get you something to drink?”

I shook my head to decline and to clear my mind of distracting thoughts. I followed him into the kitchen.

“So, what brings you here?”

I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by his causal manner. After all, I didn’t mean anything to him, why should he feel uncomfortable? I took a breath and settled myself. I had a reason for being there and it wasn’t to lose my head over this guy.

“Asher, I had a visitor today. Amber Warner.”

His demeanor changed instantly. His face tightened and his eyes narrowed.

“What? Cora, you should not be speaking with the defendant. I can’t believe she did that. When was this?”

“Just a couple of hours ago. Asher, you need to be careful. She said that you could be in danger.”

“What exactly did she say?”

I told him everything that Amber had told me. He listened carefully, never changing his expression of intense concentration. He rested his chin in his hand and stared directly at me.

“And, Asher, I wanted to tell you, I overheard you at dinner the other night with those guys in the hallway. They sounded pretty dangerous. You need to try to get out of this case.”

His expression broke into a wide smile. He laughed lightly and stood up from the table. I was annoyed by the fact that he didn’t seem to be taking me seriously.

“Asher, please. You need to listen to me.”

“I did listen to you, Cora. Thank you, for your concern. Truly. But it is misplaced. I’m not in any danger, I promise. Now, did you need anything else? Otherwise, I will see you in the office on Monday.”

I sat back in the chair. I wasn’t going to give up that easily. I felt like his nonchalance was an act. I had to press him further.

“I won’t be coming in on Monday.”

“What?”

“I said I won’t be coming in. I am not going to be working with you anymore unless you promise that you will drop this case. I will not get involved or put myself in danger.”

“Cora, you aren’t in any danger, don’t worry.”

“Really? How did Amber know where I lived? If she found out, then those guys from the hallway, the ones who are paying you, they could find out, too.”

“Look, I don’t know why Amber came to you, but I can assure you that nobody is going to come after you.” He closed his eyes. He seemed to have realized he’d said too much. “Not that there is anyone who would be coming after either of us,” he added, but he clearly didn’t believe it.

He sat back down at the table. His shoulders sagged and he appeared deflated.

“Asher, why don’t I go to my uncle, maybe he could help?”

His head snapped up.

“No. Absolutely not. I don’t want to let this get out at the firm.”

I reached across the table and squeezed his hand. Seeing him vulnerable for the first time was disconcerting. He had always appeared so capable, so unflappable.

“Ok, fine. But I will help you get through this, somehow. I want to make sure you are going to be alright.” I paused, hesitating. I wasn’t sure I should say anything else. I didn’t want to confuse an already complicated situation. Maybe it was best just to focus on solving whatever problem was in front of us and not worry about other issues. But I couldn’t resist. I had to know.

“Even if I don’t mean anything to you.”

If I thought he had looked deflated before, he positively folded in upon himself now. He let out a groan.

“That’s why you rushed off this morning,” he said under his breath. He looked up at me and took one of my hands in both of his. “Cora, I am sorry that you overheard that. I was talking with the man who hired me for this case. They saw you at the courthouse and at the restaurant. I was afraid that they were going to try to use you as leverage against me. I tried to make it seem like you were just another girl so that they wouldn’t pay attention to you, so that you wouldn’t be in any danger. I’m sorry that…I care for you, Cora. I just didn’t want to see you in any trouble. I was going to explain it to you in a better way, but you left so quickly, I figured if you were eager to get out of here, all the better.”

It made sense, in a way. And he sounded sincere. I felt a warmth spread from my mid-section all through my body, releasing tension and relaxing my muscles. I wanted to reach across the table and grab him by his sweaty collar, pull his face to mine, and kiss the life out of him. I wanted to pull him on top of me right on the kitchen table and wrap my legs around his back. But I couldn’t, not yet.

I kept myself as outwardly composed as I could, even though inside I was a swirling, writhing mass of conflicting emotions. I couldn’t deny how he made me feel. I had never been with anyone like him. But at the same time, he had gotten himself into a precarious situation. Did I want to open myself up to him, knowing that he could be so reckless? Beyond that, how was I to know that he didn’t regularly associate with this kind of trouble? As a criminal defense attorney, especially one who so causally talked about never defending innocent people, he must spend a lot of time with criminals. Would I be getting myself into a situation I couldn’t easily extricate myself from? First things first, though.

“Asher, do you have any idea how you are going to get out of this?”

He smiled at me. His easy grin was betrayed by the tension around his eyes.

“Not yet.” He let go of my hand and leaned back in the chair. “The man who hired me, I had done some work for him before, early in my career. I took a big fee to get one of his guys off of a robbery charge. But I made a mistake, the guy went to prison. The man stayed in touch, always polite, always friendly. But I knew that he hadn’t forgotten. In his eyes, I owed him. So, when he showed up at the office the day Amber was arrested, I knew he had come to collect.

“What I didn’t know, however, was that bit about the insurance.” He stood up and started pacing around the kitchen. “Funny how things work out. Sometimes things that just look like chance happen for a reason. A regular defense case turns up insurance fraud.” He shook his head. “Like you showing up as my summer intern. I almost refused to take you on and now, I can’t imagine not having met you, having been with you. I don’t want to be pushed around by these guys, but I also can’t risk anything happening to you,” he sighed and leaned over the table. “I’m not doing it. I’m not going to go through with this case.”

“But, how, what are you going to do?”

“Go back to your apartment and wait. I’ll send someone to get you in a little while.”

He walked around the table and put his hand on my shoulder.

“Trust me.”