Reckless
Chapter 1
"As a novelist, I remain interested in the notion of a single reckless act and its consequences."
-Anita Shreve
Six years ago…
Toni took another sip of her watered down margarita before she set the heavy glass down on the table. Salt from the rim was sticking to her full lips and she flicked her tongue out to rid herself of it. Her small unconscious gesture caught the attention of the man across from her and he imitated the movement more deliberately, swiping his thumb and forefingers along the corners of his lips as he parted them. A small wrinkle appeared between Toni's dark eyebrows. She forced a tight smile. But she was unable to totally hide her irritation with her date's juvenile behavior. At this point, she wasn't even sure if she cared whether or not he knew that she was having a terrible time. Toni was starting to regret allowing him to pick her up in his vehicle instead of driving herself and meeting him at the Mexican restaurant of his choosing.
Normally, Toni wouldn't get into a vehicle with a man she didn't know. Especially one she met online. But this was her third date with the successful financial analyst across from her. He was a perfect gentleman when she met him for coffee, and a few days later when she met him for dinner and a concert in the park. He wasn't really her type. He talked about his personal trainer incessantly. He didn't like to read detective novels or watch college basketball. And he reminded her of superman in an off brand Dean Cain kind of way. But he was polite. He had a good job. Toni's only female coworker told her she was being picky and judgemental. And she was starting to feel like if she didn't find a boyfriend soon, she was going to have to start buying stock in Duracell batteries and adopting shelter cats. So when the overly muscled dating site financial analyst texted and asked her if he could pick her up in his classic plymouth convertible, Toni threw caution to the wind and said yes.
"I've been looking forward to this," her date said, his eyes lingering on her breasts as he spoke. Toni tugged at the top of her strapless sundress, pulling it up a little higher on her body. She didn't mind being looked at. They were on a date. But his obvious leering was starting to make her uncomfortable. "Don't bother with that," he suggested. Since his eyes were locked in on her cleavage, Toni assumed he was talking about the way she just pulled her dress up. "You'll be taking it off soon enough," he added with a laugh and a conspiratorial wink.
"Excuse me?," Toni asked. She knew they'd been on a few dates. But she'd given this man no indication that she planned on sleeping with him after this one. With the way he was acting, he'd be lucky if she even spoke to him again after today.
"It's our third date," he announced, as though that ought to serve as all the explanation needed to explain his prior comments. When Toni's only reply was a questioning stare, her date was more than happy to elaborate. "I know how women like you work," he said, leaning back in his chair and taking a swig from his beer bottle. "You didn't want to give it up after the first date or two because you were worried I'd think you're a slut. But by the third date, it's game on."
Toni sat quietly for a moment, letting his offensive remarks settle in. Normally, she would have reacted faster. But the guy was such a gentleman the first two times she went out with him. His sudden and complete change in demeanor was unsettling. It was like he was a completely different person. If she was totally honest, he was starting to give off serious Ted Bundy vibes.
Toni reached for what was left of her margarita. Mostly because if she didn't she was going to reach for her fork and use it to stab his eye out. When Toni plunked her empty glass down on the table, her date lifted his hand and started snapping at the waitress. Snapping at her. Like he was calling a dog. That was the last straw. Toni worked part time as a waitress in college. And the one thing she hated more than anything was people who were rude to the waitstaff.
"She'll have another," he barked. The waitress had a friendly smile on her face. But Toni could tell it was forced. She gestured for the waitress to wait before her date could send the young woman scurrying off towards the bar.
"Actually," Toni corrected, "I'm fine. I'd like my tab please."
"Coming right up," the waitress chirped. Before she hurried away, she cast an amused glance towards Toni's date.
While the waitress seemed more than well aware of Toni's intention to ditch her date, that realization had yet to dawn on him. He was still leering at her. If that wasn't bad enough, he scooted closer to her, setting his hand on the back of her chair and leaning in close. Toni leaned forward, not wanting to feel his fingers against the bare skin of her back. The thought of being touched by him was nauseating.
"Aren't you eager," he teased. "We don't have to rush back to my place right now. We've got all night. You should have another drink. I want you nice and loose for what I have planned."
The man lifted his hand off her chair. He grazed his knuckles down the length of her arm, finally reaching in to rest his hand on the meat of her thigh. Toni pushed his hand away. But he was not going to be deterred so easily. He forced his hand back where it was, this time reaching for the inside of her leg and sliding closer to the apex of her thighs.
"Don't worry," he drawled. "I like 'em shy."
Toni could feel the man's breath on her skin. His fingertips were digging into her thigh. She spoke to him through her gritted teeth. "Get your hand the fuck off me. Now," Toni hissed. "Or you're not going to walk away from this table with two of them left."
Toni felt like that was a fair warning. She hadn't gotten to know her date well enough to disclose that she was a competitive kickboxer and held a black belt in kyokushin style karate. Or what she really did for a living. So he wasn't aware that she not only meant what she said when she threatened him, but was also capable of carrying out her threat.
Not only did her date not heed her advice and remove his hand, the asshole laughed at her. And then suddenly, Toni was the one that was smiling. She caught him by the wrist, jerking his arm back and to the side. And before he had any idea what was happening, Toni's date was face down on the table with his arm twisted behind his back. Toni wrenched it up a little higher, putting painful pressure on his elbow and shoulder joints.
The man cried out in pain and shock, protesting loud enough to get the attention of anyone in the restaurant that wasn't already staring. "Let go of me you crazy bitch!," he hollered.
"Crazy bitch?," Toni repeated. "I'm FBI you pervert! The next time a woman tells you to get your hands off her, I suggest you fucking listen!" Just for good measure, Toni gave his arm one more hard jerk, eliciting another howl of pain and humiliation from him before she released her grip on him.
"How much do I owe?," Toni asked, snagging her purse up as she moved around the table towards the waitress. The young woman looked impressed with what she just saw.
"It's on the house!," she declared. Toni returned her smile and thanked her. She didn't bother to glance back at her date before she walked away. His arm would be sore for a few days. But his ego would be bruised for much longer. She'd like to think she taught him a lesson. But she doubted it. He'd probably be luring his next victim in before she managed to catch a cab home.
Toni pulled out her phone, intending to call for a ride. She slapped the device against her hand a few times, letting out a stream of foul curses under her breath. She'd been complaining to her section chief that she needed a new phone. The one she had kept picking and choosing when it felt like connecting to the network. And at the moment, it was displaying a little x and the words no service available.
"Stupid ass thing picked the perfect time to crap out," Toni grumbled as she strode down the sidewalk. Her strides were long and mannish even in her flowy sundress. She considered heading back to the restaurant and seeing if the waitress would call her a cab. But in case her pervert date decided to call the cops on her, she quickly decided that was a bad idea. Any charges he tried to press wouldn't stick. But they would land her on desk duty or suspension from work until they were sorted out. Toni hated desk duty.
"Shit yeah," she exclaimed. Toni giggled. Maybe that drink wasn't as watered down as it tasted, she thought with another laugh. The source of her giddiness was a few more yards down the sidewalk. In the age of cell phones, there weren't many left. But up ahead, she spotted one of Washington DC's last remaining pay phones. Toni dug in her small purse, pulling out all the loose change she could find.
The payphone was currently occupied by a man in a neatly pressed suit. He was the type of man Toni might find attractive if she wasn't currently pissed at the entire male sex. He was taller than her and lean, with what she liked to call a swimmer's body, though most men that had them didn't actually swim. Toni waited patiently for a minute or two. But when it became clear that the man had no plans to stop his incessant yapping anytime soon, she moved into his line of vision and gestured towards the phone. Whatever nonsense he was talking about didn't sound exactly urgent. And Toni needed to call for a cab, preferably her gym muscled date gathered his ego up off the floor and came looking for her.
Instead of gesturing back, the man on the phone ignored her completely. He turned his back to her and continued on with his strange conversation about euclid's geometry. Toni huffed in indignation. This guy has to be joking, she thought.
"Every penrose triangle has its thorns," he repeated with a laugh. "I like that."
Toni shook her head. Then she skirted around the man and pushed forward, forcing him back and away from the phone base. Toni lifted her hand and smashed down on the cradle, ending his call. Then she snatched the phone from his hand. As the poor man stood there with his mouth open in shock, Toni called information and had them connect her to a local cab company. She gave the dispatcher her general location. And then she ended the call. The whole thing took less than a minute. When she was done, Toni shoved the phone back towards the man she snatched it from.
"Here," she barked. "I'm finished."
The man grabbed the phone back, giving her an irritated glance. He swung his bony elbows around a little more than he needed to as he pushed back towards the payphone base and began furiously dialing the number of whoever he'd been talking to before she rudely interrupted.
Toni headed down the sidewalk a little further, taking a seat on a wooden bench to wait for her cab. She was trying not to stare. But it was hard to miss the rather epic fit the man threw when whoever he was conversing with didn't answer any of his multiple calls. He slammed the phone down into the cradle and slapped at the base of the phone with his open palm. It wasn't until she saw his face that Toni started feeling really bad. He didn't look angry. He looked completely devastated.
"Fuckin' hell," she cursed. As if her day couldn't get any worse. Now she was feeling awful for what she just did. What if he was talking to his dying gran or something, Toni thought with a cringe. Just because her date was a total jerk, that didn't give her free rein to act shitty to a total stranger. The guy on the phone didn't do anything to her. He was just living his best weirdo life before she rolled up and ruined his day. Before she could overthink her actions, Toni was up off the bench and moving back towards the pay phone.
"I guess I'm done now," he barked, gesturing towards the phone. He started to turn, intending to stomp off and find somewhere to mourn his interrupted call privately.
"Wait," Toni said, catching the man by the sleeve of his shirt. He looked down, focusing on her hand with an intense glare. Toni immediately released her grip on him. "I'm so sorry," she gushed. "I uh… My date just sort of tried to force himself on me. I needed to call a cab. I'm sorry I hung up on your call."
Toni watched as the man's expression immediately softened. His eyes were big and expressive. And the tender way he was looking at her made her feel like she was in a fast moving elevator.
"Where is he?," the man asked, turning towards the direction she came from. And for the second time, Toni grabbed his sleeve. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate that gesture. But she didn't need this poor guy getting his ass kicked by off brand superman on her account. Not after what she already did to him.
"It's okay, I already kicked his ass", Toni explained. "But I'd really like to not be around here in case he comes looking for round two." The man nodded, smiling a little at her recount of what happened to her date. He glanced around. And then he gestured towards a small irish pub across the street.
"Let's go in there. That way if he comes looking, he won't know where you are. And I'll wait with you until your cab comes," he offered.
Toni wasn't sure if it was the mix of determination and concern on his face or his totally selfless and chivalrous offer that did it. But she'd be goddamned if she didn't feel a tug in the center of her chest and a tingle between her legs. He was handsome and kind. And from the snippet of conversation she heard on the phone, smart as well.
Toni's mother was a devout roman catholic. She believed in signs and fate and a whole host of other things that up until this moment, Toni thought was all pure bullshit. But it was hard not to wonder if her bad date was meant to happen. To lead her to this moment. All of that is crap, Toni thought. And it was. But still, Toni couldn't deny the strong pull she was feeling towards the man in front of her.
"That's sweet of you to offer," Toni said, unable to stop herself from grinning. "But I can only accept your offer on one condition." Her smile widened as a look of more intense concern fluttered across his face. "You have to let me buy you a drink… To apologize for hanging up on your call before."
That must not have been what the man was expecting her to say. Because a laugh bubbled out of him before he could stop it. His laugh was musical and unapologetic. The sound of it made Toni laugh. And she couldn't help but notice he had a handsome smile. Toni was prepared for an objection from him. Lots of guys would consider it a threat to their manhood to let a woman buy them a drink. But not this one apparently. He just smiled again and nodded his head. Then he offered her his hand. Toni didn't hesitate to reach for it, twinning her fingers up with his and holding on until they crossed the street and entered the small darkened pub. Her cab showed up about twenty minutes later. But both of them were too busy talking to notice.
