“Yup. That, too.”
“When do you get off work?”
Seriously, is he still talking?
“Never,” I tell him, scurrying off.
Thankfully, that succeeds in shutting him up and shaking him off. I can’t shake off the thought of him, though, as I get into a cab, grinning as I remember his smile.
Sabrina…
I know, I know. I’m just daydreaming. It’s not like I’ll ever see him again.
Too bad.
Hide-And-Seek
Randall
Damn, that felt good.
As I sit in the corner of the coffee shop with my hand wrapped around the sleeve of my cup, I can still feel my nerves buzzing, the experience of meeting that woman with the bugs still fresh in my memory, the fruity scent of her shampoo still in my nostrils.
The woman with the bugs, huh?
I suppress a laugh. No. I can do better than that.
The woman with the mysterious, mesmerizing black eyes that I couldn’t look away from. The woman with the hair that reminds me of autumn leaves, so soft I want to rake it with my fingers and feel it against my cheek. The woman with the lips the shade of a watermelon, that bow-shaped upper lip so full and luscious I want to bite on it. The woman with the smell of summer and the laugh that brings me right back to my childhood. The woman with the lean arms and legs that I want wrapped around me, with the tiny waist I feel I can put my hands around, with those hips that I want to grip carefully as I thrust into her young – twenty-something? –body.
Whoa.
I’ve never wanted a woman like this before. I’ve wanted women, yes, but usually after they’ve flirted with me, teased me. This woman hasn’t even done anything. All she did was fall, scare an old lady and laugh. Yet I want her so bad my body is getting all worked up, heat rising up my spine and pooling in my crotch, making something else want to rise.
Fuck.
I take a sip of my coffee, hoping that the coffee will calm me down.
Not likely.
Why didn’t I ask for her name? I should have done that before asking her to join me for coffee. Why didn’t I go after her instead of just watching her run away?
Because I’m not used to chasing after women, damn it. Even my wife, Dinah, just fell into my arms.
I wonder if there’s a chance I’ll ever see her again.
Never.
I sigh. I guess she’s the one who got away.
I take another sip of my coffee, trying not to think of her, whatever her name is. Suddenly, my phone rings.
At first, I think it must be Tess, calling to remind me that the new nanny will be arriving at the mansion any minute or of something else work-related even though it’s her day off. She takes work seriously like that. As I take my phone out of my pocket, though, I see the name of Mrs. Wilson, my housekeeper, on the screen. Finally, she’s learned to use a cell phone, though the fact that she’s gone through the trouble of calling me even though she hates cell phones means there must be an emergency.
Fuck.
“Hello.” I press the phone against my ear.
“Mr. Brewster?” I immediately hear the concern in her voice.
“Yes, Mrs. Wilson. It’s me. What’s wrong?”
“It’s David.”
I tense, several scenarios going through my mind, none of them good. Does he have a fever? Did he run away? Did he eat something he shouldn’t have? Did he fall down the stairs? Did he slip in the bathroom and hit his head? Did he burn the house down?
I swallow the lump in my throat. “What happened to David?”
“He’s… missing.”
My eyebrows arch. “Missing?”
***
“We thought he was in his room,” Lucy, one of the maids, explains to me as she stands in the middle of the living room with Mrs. Wilson and the other maids, fidgeting nervously with her apron and looking like she’s about to cry. “But when I went to check on him just a few minutes ago, he wasn’t.”
I know. I checked his bedroom, too, just now, and there’s no sign of him anymore, not even in the closet or in the bathroom.
Where did David go?
“Where have you looked?” I ask, touching my chin as I try to think of where he might have gone.
“I searched the second and third floors,” Amy, another maid, says. “But I didn’t see him.”
“I looked outside,” Lucy says.
“He isn’t in the kitchen,” Mrs. Wilson says.
I sigh. Where can he be?
“Where’s Zombie?” I ask, hoping that might provide a clue.
“Sleeping out on the deck,” Mrs. Wilson answers.
That means he’s no help, then. Usually, Zombie hangs around David, but there are times when Zombie spends time by himself.
Where can David be?
I know he can’t have ran away. I checked the recording from the security cameras near the gate first and there was no sign that anyone left the compound. That only leaves one thing – he’s somewhere here, hiding. The problem is the compound is too big. Even the mansion is too big with three floors, lots of rooms, and plenty of hiding places for an eight-year-old boy.
“That boy.” I run my hands through my hair exasperatedly. “Why is he hiding now?”
“Probably because the new nanny is coming?” Lucy suggests.
I frown. Yup. That’s probably it. He knew the new nanny was coming and decided his first prank would be to hide from her. Well, if that’s the case, we’ll just have to find him.
“Let’s search the house again, top to bottom,” I order.
“Yes, sir.”
“Make sure you search thoroughly. I’ll search, too. If you find him, you can drag him out of his hiding place and bring him to his bedroom then send someone else to get me or you can just send someone else to get me and I’ll be the one to drag him out.”
If he’s hiding, it doesn’t only mean he doesn’t want to be found. Likely, he won’t want to come out of hiding even when he’s found so I’ll have to drag him out myself and talk to him.
“Yes, sir.”
I clasp my hands together. “All right. Let’s go look for him.”
***
“David, you better come out this instant! You’re already in enough trouble as it is!” I shout as I enter one of the guest rooms for the second time.
I said we’d look for him and find him but it’s already been almost an hour and there’s still no sign of him, which is why I’ve resorted to shouting and threatening. It doesn’t seem to be working, though.
Sitting on the edge of the bed, I sigh.
Why does he have to hide? Doesn’t he know it won’t change anything, solve anything? He’ll still have to meet the new nanny eventually and deal with her. He can’t hide forever.