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Stepping to the curb, I hail a taxi. Climbing in, I give the driver the name of my hotel and he pulls out into traffic. He weaves in and out and before I know it, we are back at the hotel.
* * *
A few hours later,I’m sitting in the hotel lobby bar with a glass of scotch when my phone rings. I answer without looking. “This is Kane,” but I’m met with silence, “Hello?” I ask and again silence, “Is anyone there?” and then I hear a whimper and I don’t know why, but I say the first name that comes to mind, “Calliope?”
“Yeah,” she quietly replies, “it’s me.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
Hearing her so timid and meek causes something inside of me to snap, my heart is racing because the person on the other end of this call is not the brave and confident Calliope Fischer I know. This person is frail, distraught, and upset and not Calliope like at all. I want to protect her. Wrap her in my arms and never let go. “Where are you?” I ask.
“In a taxi,” she replies with a sniffle. Hearing her so down and aloof affects me in a way like never before. Relief floods me that she’s alone but I still don’t like it.
“Tell him to come here.” I demand, “Hotel Q on Fifth.”
She covers the phone and I hear her muffledly tell the driver her new destination. “I’m on my way.”
“I’ll meet you out front.”
“Thank you, Mr. H.”
Before I can ask again if she’s okay, she disconnects and once again, I’m met with silence.
Waving down the waiter, I order two scotches and a plate of buffalo mozzarella sticks, Calliope’s favorite. I tell him, I’m going to meet my friend and will be back. He nods and I head outside to wait for her to arrive.
Just as I step outside, a taxi pulls up and from my position near the entrance, I watch her climb out. My eyes run over her. Her gray, almost black dress hugs her curves. It dips in the front, showcasing her tits, her gorgeous plump tits that I can’t stop staring at. Shaking my head, I stop checking out my best friend’s daughter and I look her over to make sure she’s not hurt. She seems unharmed and it eases my worries somewhat.
She lifts her head and when she sees me, she pauses mid-step. She blinks a few times and then smiles shyly and finger waves at me. Smiling back, it sparks her into action and she races over to me. She throws her arms around my waist. Holding me tight, she begins to sob. Her body is shaking as I wrap her in my embrace. Holding her close to me, she begins to cry harder.
We stand here hugging one another until her sobs stop.
She pulls back and I cup her cheek in my palm. “Calliope, sweetheart, you need to tell me what’s going on because you’re really worrying me right now.”
She nods and covers my hand cupping her face. She still has one arm around me, hugging me, and doesn’t let go of her grip on me. To be honest, I like the feeling of being hugged like this.
She licks her bottom lip and my eyes track the movement of her tongue over her lip. “Can we go inside?”
“Of course.” Lifting my hand from her side, I wipe the tears on her cheeks. Taking her hand in mine, I entwine our fingers together and escort her inside. Making our way back to the bar where I was sitting, I smile when I see our drinks waiting for us, and a steaming plate of buffalo mozzarella sticks next to them.
“You remembered my favorite?” Her eyes brighten at this revelation as she flicks her gaze between the food and me.
“Nah, these are for me,” I tease her, shaking my head and picking up one of the fried cheese sticks.
“Ohh.” She dejectedly sighs as I take a bite before shoving the entire cheesy morsel into my mouth, scorching my tongue in the process. I hiss and she grins in a ‘that’s what you get’ kind of way. Pulling her chair out for her, she takes a seat and before I’ve sat down, she grabs the glass of scotch and chugs the lot back in one swallow, slamming the empty tumbler down on the wooden bar top. I notice she winces at the burn but it doesn’t stop her from reaching over to grab mine.
Gripping her wrist with my hand, I stop her. Getting drunk isn’t the solution right now, but I notice she’s stopped breathing and she’s staring at my hand on her wrist. I quickly release her from my grasp and she lifts her gaze to mine. She stares at me, rapidly blinking, her eyes glossy with unshed tears.
Breaking the silent stare off, I look and nod to the glass. “You can have that one, but only when you tell me what happened because right now, my mind is racing and I don’t like any of the scenarios playing out in my head.”
She nods, and again licks her lip but this time, she bites it. “I … I met Seth for coffee after I bumped into you. We had a great time and then he asked me to grab a drink. I was having a good time so I went to a bar with him. We had a few drinks, played some pool …”
“You weren’t assa—”
She shakes her head. “No, but it felt like he could have. Thankfully, Dad made me take that self-defense class sophomore year because when he wouldn’t stop getting all handsy, I kneed him in the balls and hightailed it out of there.”
“But he didn’t touch you?”
