Into The Fire by E. L. Todd Read Free Book Online Page A

believe they were buying this
crap.
    “Your son is a wonderful man,” Alessandra
said. “He’s so sweet and thoughtful. You raised him well.”
    “Well…we did our best.” Dad sipped his
wine.
    Could we go now? How long did I have
to keep up this act for? I just wanted my money and I felt like a
dog jumping through hoops to get what was rightfully mine. At least
Alessandra was cool.
    We spent the rest of the evening making small
talk. My parents were far more interested in Alessandra than they
were in me. They hardly spoke to me. If I weren’t there, they
wouldn’t have even noticed. I didn’t mind because I didn’t like
talking to them anyway, but I’d rather be at home or anywhere but
there.
    At the end of the night, I paid our tab then
released a sigh of relief now that the evening was over. I could
probably go two weeks without seeing them again. And I’m sure
Alessandra was already sick of them.
    “Thank you so much for having dinner with
us.” Mom hugged her before she said goodbye. “You’re such a sweet
girl. You’re perfect for my son.”
    “Well, thank you,” Alessandra said. “I’m a
very lucky girl to have him.”
    She should consider acting because she was
damn good at it.
    “Come over for dinner next week,” Dad said.
“We’d love to have you over.”
    Next week? As in seven days? That was way too
soon. “We’ll see if we’re free.”
    We finally said goodbye then went our
separate ways. My arm was still around her waist as we walked down
the sidewalk. She had a tiny waist—like super tiny. I could pick
her up and throw her around if I really wanted to. “You did a good
job tonight.”
    “Thanks.”
    “You’re worth every penny. They were totally
in love with you.”
    “They’re nice people.”
    “To you, maybe…”
    “They just care about you…but struggle to
show it in a good way.”
    “Make excuses for them. I don’t care.” I
headed toward my apartment without thinking. “Can I walk you
home?”
    “You can take me back to the office.”
    “Seriously?” I stopped walking. “You’re
really that scared to tell me where you live? I’m not a
weirdo.”
    “That’s up for debate…” There was a teasing
look in her eyes. “You’re working so hard to find out where I
live.”
    “Not because I’m a serial killer. I just
don’t want you to feel uncomfortable around me. What happened to
make you this way?”
    The playfulness quickly evaporated. “Want to
walk me to the office or not?”
    “Honestly, I’d rather invite you back to my
apartment so I can teach you to play guitar.”
    “What if I don’t want to learn?” she
challenged.
    “How does this work exactly?” I asked. “Do I
have you until midnight or until the date is over?”
    “Midnight.”
    “Then let’s go back to my place and hang
out.”
    “You want to hang out with me?” she asked in
surprise.
    “Why wouldn’t I? You’re sexy as hell and
you’re cool. Besides, I paid you to play with me so that’s what
you’re going to do.”
    She cringed.
    “Okay, that came out wrong. But you know what
I mean.”
    “Well, you did pay for my time.”
    “Sweet. Now let’s go.”
    ***
    We sat on the couch and I held the guitar in
my lap. “What do you want to hear?”
    “Depends.” She crossed her legs. “What can
you play?”
    “Anything.”
    She pressed her lips tightly together. Then
she smiled broadly like she had an evil idea.
    “No Katy Perry.”
    “Dammit. How did you know?”
    “It was written all over your face. Now pick
something worth playing.”
    “How about Bob Dylan?”
    My face melted into a smile. “Very good…” I
felt the strings with my fingers and began to play. I wasn’t
nervous to play in front of people. I was never nervous to do
anything in front of anyone. Perhaps it was a gift. Or perhaps I
just didn’t care what anyone thought of me. I sang the lyrics and
watched my fingers move across the neck and hit the chords.
Alessandra sat quietly beside me and just