Dangerous Attraction – Free Chapter

Chapter 1~ Zeke
9 months earlier **

“You look amazing, Zeke,” Rebecca said as she gazed up from the papers scattered across the kitchen table. The flutter of butterflies was as powerful today as the day we met. Her eyes twinkled when she took in my appearance. Heat radiated from my body just by hearing her voice. “You always say that,” I laughed, knowing I was right. She always had a way of stroking my ego. She believed in me even when I couldn’t believe in myself. Rebecca was the light to my darkness. How I managed to snag this remarkable human was as much a mystery today as it was when we first met. “Well, you always look great. What time is the interview?” Her eyes sparkled with delight and she bit her lower lip as she spoke. Did she realize how sexy she was when she did that? My groin tightened as I envisioned tugging and nipping her lip until she begged me to stop. “Two-thirty, so I need to be there at two,” I stressed and lowered my eyes to meet hers. I knew what was coming. “Of course you do, Counselor Wilheit. Will you be home for dinner?” A small chuckle erupted from her mouth with a shake of her head.

She always made fun of my punctuality because she was known for being late. ‘You have to keep them waiting.’ That was her mantra. She had held on to that title for the past three years. Regardless, I hadn’t adopted her philosophy, so I was actually going to arrive early.

The interview was just a formality. Dr. Jenkins had offered me the position last week and I had accepted it. The world was our oyster and I wanted to relish in this moment. Consciousness escaped me and I was taken back to where it all started.
“Zeke?” Her voice was wrapped in concern. I must have really zoned out when Rebecca finally got my attention.

“What? Oh, I’m sorry hon, what did you say?”, suddenly brought back into my present.

“Where did you go?” She half-heartedly asked, but her voice was laced with suspicion.

“Lost in thought, I guess. You asked about dinner?” I asked sheepishly, shaking myself back to the conversation at hand.

“Will you be home for dinner?” She looked at me expectantly and waited for my response. Something about her expression gave me pause.

“Yes, the interview should be quick, then I’ll drop some of these boxes off at my new office. Probably won’t unpack until tomorrow. I should be home no later than six this evening.”

“See you tonight.” She gave me a peck on the cheek and I turned and walked out the door.

When I got into my Jeep and placed the key into the ignition, my mind wandered back to how we got here. There used to be so much passion in our marriage. The mere mention of her name sent shock waves through my body. She admitted that she would get wet just thinking about what we would do to each other at night. We craved each other’s touch. We couldn’t keep our hands off one other. How did we get here? Now, it’s like we’re roommates living under the same roof. We loved each other, but were we in love like we once were? Our sex life had become stagnant and predictable. The spontaneity has definitely waned. There was no question that I was in it for the long haul, but there were times when I wondered if there could be more out there. I still found her extremely sexy, but easier to neglect her needs.

As I drove south on I35, I thought back to five years ago. We were blissfully happy and thought the spark that ignited in us would be enough to carry us into eternity together. Life was simpler.

Ours was a whirlwind romance. We met at the University of Houston when I was a junior, Rebecca a sophomore. My roommate Jonah, set me up with his cousin, who happened to be Rebecca’s roommate at the time. We were supposed to meet for dinner at a local steakhouse. In fact, it was the most popular restaurant in town and it took three weeks to secure a reservation. Little did I know that my intended date had taken ill, and not wanting to cancel last minute, she sent Rebecca in her place. When Jonah told me about the change in plans, I was disappointed at first, but my disappointment quickly faded when she walked through the door. I hadn’t seen a picture of her, but the tall, slender red head who hesitated at the hostess stand hypnotized me. Dear God, please let that be her. I sent up a silent prayer. When she was deposited at my table, I stood speechless, staring at her mouth. She had the most sensous lips I had ever seen, the most amazing shade of pink, and I wondered if they were as soft as they looked. Hopefully I would find out tonight. After another moment of silence, she giggled. “Are you Zeke?” Suddenly embarrassed by how I was ogling her mouth, I stammered back. “Yes, I’m sorry. You must be…” shit Jonah didn’t even tell me her name. “I’m Rebecca,” she replied in a lusty, sultry voice. A smile split my face and I was a goner for sure. As the night wore on, I learned more about this intriguing beauty who sat beside me. We were both education majors, although our paths hadn’t crossed in the traditional manner. When the night ended, I asked if I could see her again. She didn’t blink twice before she accepted my invitation and the rest is history. We were inseparable. If we had to spend more than a day apart, we’d become physically ill. I asked her to move in with me just three weeks after our first date and she accepted. Everyone thought we had lost our minds. It only made sense that we married three months after graduation. We vowed to defy the odds that were stacked against us.

It was the best day of my life. The ceremony was on a sweltering Saturday afternoon in July. The rays from the hellish fire ball were staggering. Who of sound mind got married outside in the middle of the hottest month of the year in Texas? Everyone thought we were crazy and maybe we were, but we had set our goals and were laser focused on achieving them.

Weather aside, that day was magical. Aside from sweating our asses off and the minister almost passing out, it was the perfect day. We originally wanted an ice sculpture, but who were we kidding? It would have been reduced to a puddle before the organist started the second verse of Ava Maria. Instead, we opted for the champagne fountain and our three hundred guests were eternally grateful. It was one of the happiest days of our lives, a day for the books.

~~~

I taught ninth grade history at the time, but I wanted to do more. I wanted to be more for the students. Our life together was just beginning and we were more in love that we could ever imagine. Rebecca was my world and I was hers. That fall I was accepted into the Master’s program at Lamar University. I would have my Masters of Education in School Counseling in eighteen months. Since the program was exclusively on line, it was perfect for our schedules. I taught school in the day and completed my coursework at night while Rebecca held down the fort.

It was a grueling year and a half, but I graduated on time with a 4.0, and worked as a counselor for almost three years when I sensed we needed a change. We had talked about starting a family in the New Year, but we didn’t want to raise our children in the concrete jungle. We had both grown up in rural towns before attending college in the fourth largest city in the United States. We longed to give our children the kind of childhood we both had enjoyed. We wanted lots of kids since we were both only children. I always wondered what it would be like to have a sibling and Rebecca confessed the same feelings as well.

After researching several small towns, we settled on Ashtin. The school district was rated A+ and the population was miniscule compared to Houston and its neighboring cities, not to mention the crime rate was zilch. That alone was a significant positive to our pro/con chart. It was, however, a little over eight hours from Houston, which was a major con, but not a deal breaker. Fifteen months and two U-Hauls later, we moved to Ashtin to get out of Houston because it offered a quieter, slower pace rather than the big city grind. Although we would be an hour from Amarillo, the closest major city, the advantages to live the suburban life far outweighed the lure of the Metropolitan area and all that came with it.

Rebecca’s parents hated the idea that I took their little girl away from her family and all she’d ever known. It didn’t matter that she was twenty-five and an adult who made her own decisions. One of our few arguments came when we sat her parents down and told them of our plans to relocate. Her mom and dad blew their top. Rebecca didn’t want to disappoint them and of course this was a point of contention for us as well. After that, I have always had an uneasy feeling when they are around. I guess that’s the reason for my apprehension. One would think they would want her to be happy, but I think they wanted to control where her happiness came from and they weren’t convinced it came from me.

That, and the fact she had been engaged to ‘Roger’, the boy-next-door type. Well known family, fourth generation Aggie, he checked all the boxes and was on the fast-track to become partner at a prestigious law firm in the city. Their relationship, according to her parents, was idyllic. No one could compare with the great Roger.

The fact they had been together three years didn’t negate her actions when Rebecca caught him cheating with her best friend and broke it off. Her parents were devastated, but for entirely different reasons than her. They tried for months to get her to forgive the bastard and go ahead with the wedding as planned. She remained stoic in her stance and because of that left town, determined never to love again. However, fate had other plans as she ultimately stepped into her future with me.

It was a scenic drive from Houston to Ashtin once you got away from the high rises. The panhandle of Texas was a unique place and when you adjusted to the winters there, you never wanted to leave. My childhood friend, Layne Smith, called regarding a counseling position that would be open in the fall at the local high school. He was friends with the Academic Dean and sent him my resume. We met for lunch and after reviewing my credentials, I was hired on the spot. This was my first semester at Ashtin High.

The summer before school started, we bought a two story townhome not far from campus. The homes in the neighborhood offered an old world charm. White picket fences lined most of the front yards and oversized Cedar Elms billowed across the landscape. Although our home had been built in the sixties, it had all the modern conveniences we looked for in a home. It checked all the boxes. The windows above the sink overlooked a courtyard lined with wild rose bushes in various shades of pink, which were Rebecca’s favorite. The Master bedroom had a balcony which allowed leisurely coffee time each morning. We found ourselves as intoxicated by the fragrance of the roses as we were with each other, spending most evenings out on the balcony.

We settled in nicely. Rebecca got a job teaching seventh grade at Ashtin Middle and I was primed to be the next counselor at the high school. There were currently two guidance counselors, but things had gotten pretty bad when the pandemic sent everyone to remote learning. They needed to add a third to the already over worked pair they managed to steal from Swisher County.

This was the beginning of our happily ever after, or so we thought….