Page 49 of Jessica, Not Her Real Name

Julia sat back against the pillows, watching him dress. “When can I see you again?”

He glanced at her hopefully. “Tonight? My place?”

The words hung between them. She hadn’t been back to his trailer since that night. He wondered if she still saw the place in her nightmares.

She bit her bottom lip, hesitating. Then, so softly he almost didn’t hear it, she whispered, “Okay.”

Relief coursed through him. “Text me when you’re ready. I’ll come get you.”

She smiled “You know, if we’re gonna keep this thing on the down-low, you really need to get a better muffler for your car.”

He tugged on his singlet and shook his head in mock frustration. “Baby, you don’t put a muffler on a Hemi. It’s like I’ve taught you nothing.”

She stood, dragging the sheet with her. “Tonight, then.”

He lifted her chin with his knuckles, his thumb tracing over her lower lip before he dipped his head and kissed her one last time. “Esta noche,” he murmured. “Te amo.”

He turned to leave.

Behind him, Julia made a strangled noise. “Wait. Did you just say you love me?”

He paused in the doorway, a slow grin spreading across his face. “I thought you said you didn’t speak Spanish?”

FOURTEEN

Julia slowedas she approached the trailer, then stopped. It looked exactly like it had on that night.

There were the same steps leading to the door that she’d stumbled up in her stilettos. Inside would be the darkened interior where his hands had groped her, where breath had been hot and reeking of alcohol in her face.

She glanced at Daniel beside her. Squeezed his hand and he squeezed back.

Tethered in the long grass, Tequila wagged her tail and whined. Daniel went and let her off. She came bounding towards Julia, skidding to a halt just before she collided with her legs.

Julia squatted down and submitted to her daily drool session. While scratching the dog’s ears, she remembered it was Tequila who had saved her that night. Her barking had alerted Daniel to what was happening in his trailer. She felt a hot lump rise in the back of her throat. She didn’t know why that was making her emotional, but it was.

Daniel came over and looked down at Tequila resting her heavy chin on Julia’s knees. “No le gusta nadie. Solo a ti.”

“What?”

“She doesn’t like anyone but you.”

Julia stood up and followed him to the trailer steps. She climbed them slowly, stopping on the threshold.

As she stared around the room, an icy hand of fear gripped her by the throat. She’d seen this place so many times in her nightmares. There was the wall he’d held her against, which she now saw was a wardrobe door. The place where he’d held a hand over her mouth, stopping her from breathing. Where she believed she was going to die.

Daniel was standing near the bed, watching her with an expression that seemed caught between sadness and tenderness and something else. Something much darker. He exhaled and said, “I can take you back home.”

She looked at him. He opened his arms, and she walked right into them. Instantly, the grip of fear receded.

“No,” she said into his chest. “I want to stay here. With you.”

With utmost care, he removed her clothing one piece at a time, treating her as gently as a delicate porcelain doll. He discarded his own clothes and pulled her into bed next to him. With his heavy arms, he embraced her and simply held her. She dozed, and when she dreamed, it wasn’t about being paralyzed and in fear. It was of Daniel, wrapping her in his warmth, his scent, his firm hands.

When she woke, it was to find him wide awake and watching her. Their heads sharing a pillow, foreheads touching.

“You okay?” he whispered.

She nodded. They kissed. She let him in, his tongue feeling more at home in her mouth than her own.