What If

                                                                          Chapter 24

“So what are we doing today?” Raegan asked after lunch the next day.

Oded leaned back in his chair and propped his elbows up on the dining room table. It was performance time and he hoped he could pull this off. Not one word had been mentioned about her birthday by either of them. Oded wasn’t sure why Raegan would keep it from him, other than it was just one of those “woman” things. “Well, I was thinking about us heading out your way and having dinner. I’ve wanted to see where you live anyways; ‘thought it might be fun,” Oded suggested while keeping a careful eye on any suspicion on her part.

Raegan nodded her head and shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, if that’s what you want to do. I can tell you now, though, my place is not all that exciting.”

Oded smiled. “Since we are heading into your territory, is there any place in particular that you’d like to have dinner at?”

Raegan grinned. “Well actually, there is this great Mexican food restaurant that I love called Don Joses. Can we go there?”

Oded smiled as he reached across the short distance between them to caress her cheek. “We can go wherever you wish, sweetness. That sounds good to me.”

That evening, after eating a wonderful dinner, Raegan gave Oded directions to her and Nancy’s duplex. It was just after 7 o’clock and Raegan didn’t suspect a thing; or if she did, she kept it to herself. There were no cars about when they pulled up in front of the duplex, which Oded expected. During dinner he had managed to slip away for a moment to call Nancy and let her know that everything was working out and that they should be there soon. Nancy had been pleased and told him that everyone was there, but the cars were all scattered about so that Raegan wouldn’t recognize any of them. Oded parked his Beemer in the driveway and got out. He walked around to the passenger side and helped Raegan out.

“Looks like a nice neighborhood,” Oded commented as he looked up and down the street.

“It is. Nancy and I have lived here for three years and have never had any trouble,” Raegan answered as they approached the front door. “I wonder if Nancy is home?” she wondered out loud as she fit the key into the keyhole. She opened the door and stepped in with Oded right behind her. The house was dark but for the fading sun outside and Raegan flipped on the living room light.

“SURPRISE!” came a loud chorus as people jumped out of their hiding places. Raegan jumped in surprise and backed into Oded’s solid form as he reached out to steady her.

“What the hell is this?” Raegan asked softly as people she knew came forward to wish her a happy birthday. She turned to look up at Oded, who grinned down at her. “You sneak! You and Nancy have been conniving behind my back,” she accused.

“Guilty as charge, sweetness.” He laughed as he leaned down and kissed her. “Happy Birthday, by the way,” he said, then whispered in her ear, “We will discuss why you failed to tell me it was your birthday later.”

Raegan cringed a little, then smiled up at him sheepishly. She was saved from responding when Nancy came rushing up. “Hey you two, it’s about time!” Nancy hugged Raegan. “Happy Birthday, Rae.”

The party went smoothly. Raegan received quite a few gifts, but the most precious one was the camera that Oded gave her. She had looked up at him with tears of happiness in her eyes when she’d unwrapped it, and Oded felt as if he were king of the mountain. Later that night when they were back at Oded’s condo and laying in bed after making love, she thanked him.

“Thank you for my camera, Ded,” Raegan said softly as her fingers traced lazy circles across his chest.

“Your welcome, sweetness,” he answered, feeling tired and content. “We will have to take it out soon and let you try it out,” he suggested.

“Hmmm, that would be great. I can try it out on you,” she answered, playfully tickling his ribs.

Oded jumped with a grunt. He grabbed at her naughty hands, pinning them to his chest. “What was that for?” He laughed.

“That was for being sneaky about my birthday.” She giggled, settling in against him.

Oded wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead. “I actually knew nothing about it until last Monday when Nancy informed me of it. She already had the party planned, I was just responsible for figuring out how to get you there without you knowing.”

“Hmmm,” Raegan responded sleepily.

Oded grinned. “Go to sleep, love,” he commanded and reached out to turn off the bedside lamp.

“Good night, Oded.” Raegan snuggled close.

“Good night, Rae,” he whispered, his heart swelling with love for the beautiful woman in his arms. In an effort not to make her feel pressured, Oded refrained from telling her that he loved her as often as he would have liked, instead showing her his love in many different ways.

The next week was busy again as the trial that Raegan had been helping Lisa prepare for began. Raegan didn’t get to see Oded as much that week, only able to break away for lunch once the entire week. It made them both antsy and irritable and to make it worse, Oded told her on Thursday when they finally had been able to go to lunch that he was having to leave the next day to go out of town and wouldn’t be back until Wednesday or Thursday of the following week. Oded suggested that she go with him, but Raegan said she couldn’t, that her attorney was in the middle of a trial and there was no way she could get the time off. They ended up having their first fight.

“Well God damn it, Rae, can’t they find someone else to handle it?” Oded snapped angrily as they sat in his car in the underground parking structure. His hands gripped the steering wheel tight, causing his knuckles to turn white.

“No, they can’t. I am the only one familiar with the case and what is going on. To bring in another secretary who knows nothing of the case, to take over in the middle of trial, would be stupid,” Raegan answered, irritated that Oded was being unreasonable. “Besides, short of a death in the family, there is no way they would let me have the time off, so just forget it.” She turned her head away from him to stare out into the parking structure, not wanting him to see that her chin had begun to tremble in hurt and anger.

Oded took a deep breath to reign in his anger and let it out slowly. He knew he was being unreasonable and he knew that it wasn’t Raegan’s fault. But damn it, he missed her this last week and now he wouldn’t get to see her again until the middle of next week. If this meeting in San Francisco wasn’t so damned important he’d be tempted to chuck it, but with his career just getting started, every move he made was life or death for him. The thought just irritated him even more. He angrily grabbed the door handle and shoved the door open. He walked around the back of the car to open the passenger door for Raegan, but found she was already out of the car and moving way from him through the parking lot.

“Raegan,” he called after her. “Son of a bitch,” he growled under his breath as he picked up his pace to catch up with her. “Damn it, I’m not done talking to you!”

“Go to hell!” Raegan snapped at him over her shoulder. “I don’t have to put up with this shit, I got enough crap going on right now.” Her feelings smarted. She didn’t understand why Oded was acting this way, but she didn’t want to deal with it.

Oded grabbed her arm and spun her around to face him. “Damn it, don’t walk away from me, Rae.” His dark eyes sparked with anger. “We aren’t finished talking.”

Raegan yanked her arm roughly away from his grip and rubbed the spot with her other hand. She would have a bruise there later. “We aren’t talking, Oded, we are yelling! What the hell is wrong with you anyways? Why can’t you just accept this? Why are you so angry?”

“Because you’re not even trying! You don’t even bother to find out, you just say no you can’t go,” Oded yelled furiously, raising his hand and emphasizing his words by jabbing his finger in the air at her. Good god, what the hell was he doing? He was acting like a spoiled child, he thought, but he couldn’t seem to reign in this temper. The harder he tried the more it slipped away from his grasp and the further he dug himself into this pit.

Raegan stood there staring at him for a long moment. Their eyes clashed, his dark and intense, his mouth pursed in anger. Raegan shook her head sadly. “Goodbye, Oded,” she said and turned and walked away from him.

Then just as suddenly as it had come upon him, all the anger Oded had been feeling drained out of him. He could have kicked himself as he realized he was taking out his frustrations on the very person who made him whole. To lose her now because of his own stupidity . . . Oded shook his head. “Rae,” he called softly to her. Raegan stopped at the sudden change in his tone. She turned to face him, and Oded saw tears in her eyes. His heart broke as he realized he’d put those tears there, and he closed the short distance between them and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry, sweetness,” he whispered into her hair. “I’m so sorry.”

Raegan clung to him and cried. He held her and whispered soft words of apology to her, his hands stroking her back, her hair, her arms. He felt like such an ass, and he knew he’d have to make it up to her later. When she finally stepped away from him, she smiled up at him and thumped him lightly across his chest. “Jerk,” she said as she wiped her eyes. “I must look a mess now.”

Oded smiled back, his hand coming up to rub across the spot she hit. “Well if ‘jerk’ is the worse I get called after that, then I’m doing pretty good here.” He bent and gave her a tentative kiss. “And you look gorgeous!” he added as he straightened up, hoping it would score him some brownie points. Either way he was telling her the truth, she did look gorgeous, and he couldn’t figure out what the hell had come over him that he would get so angry. “Come on, I’ll walk you in.” He took her hand, lacing his fingers through hers.

They got up to the 7th floor, and with the few minutes they had left, Raegan got the key to the conference room to give them some privacy to say goodbye since she wouldn’t see him again till the following week.

“I’d really like to know what triggered that little temper tantrum of yours,” Raegan asked as Oded shut the conference room door behind him.

Oded dragged his fingers through his thick hair as he turned to face her. “God babe, I don’t know.” Oded met her gaze. “All I can claim is temporary insanity. I honestly don’t know what came over me.” He sighed softly. “I just hate the thought of being separated from you for so long. I guess I just lost it there for a bit. Am I forgiven?” Oded asked as he reached for her and pulled her into his arms.

“I’ll think about it,” Raegan teased as she fingered a button on the front of his dark green shirt.

“You’re going to make me grovel, aren’t you?” he asked, wincing at the idea.

Raegan looked up and met his dark gaze. Her finger followed the line of facial hair that ran along his jaw. She smiled up at him. “No, but you will have some serious making up to do when you get back!” she informed him.

“Hmmm,” Oded responded as he kissed her fiercely, pulling her hard against him. He didn’t want to let her go, but he knew she had to get back, so with great reluctance he released her. “God, I’m going to miss you,” he whispered as his hands came up to frame her face.

“I’ll miss you too.” Raegan started getting teary eyed again.

“Oh baby, don’t start crying on me or I’ll be forced to do something that you won’t be pleased with,” he threatened as he pulled her into his arms again. He hugged her tight, then they left the conference room and headed to the reception area.

“You’ll call me?” Raegan asked as they came to a stop just outside of the waiting room.

“Every night,” he promised. “Rae?” he started.

“Yes?”

“We can discuss it more later, but think about maybe flying up to San Francisco to meet me just for the weekend, alright?” Oded asked, then added when she opened her mouth to protest, “Just think about it, honey. You can fly up tomorrow night or early Saturday morning and come back Sunday night. Think about it.” He pressed a kiss to her mouth.

“Alright, I will,” she conceded. “Have a safe trip, Ded.”

“I love you, Raegan.” He smiled and kissed her again, then he walked away. Raegan waited until Oded was in the elevator before turning back to go into the office.

“Well wasn’t that sweet?” Raegan flinched at the sound of Billy’s voice, then blushed furiously when she realized that he’d witnessed her and Oded’s goodbye.

She turned angrily to face him. “Sinking to lower levels, Billy? Voyeurism is against the law you know!”

Billy’s face hardened at her insult. He grabbed her arm and dragged her down the hall. “We need to talk,” he growled.

“Let go of me or I will scream bloody murder, you bastard!” Raegan tried to pull her arm out of his tight grip.

“I don’t think so, Rae,” he said as they came up to the conference room door. “Open it,” he commanded. “I think you should listen to what I have to say. It concerns your lover boy.”

Raegan froze and turned to face Billy. “What about Oded?” she asked, suddenly frightened.

“Open the damn door. I’m not saying anything out here in the hall,” Billy snapped.

Raegan turned back to the locked door, stuck the key in, and turned the knob. Billy pushed her into the room and shut the door behind him. Raegan spun around to face him, “What about Oded?” she demanded more forcibly this time.

Billy gave her a devious smile. “You are going to break up with Oded and come back to me,” he announced, crossing his arms over his chest.

Raegan blinked in surprise. “What?”

“You heard me, Raegan.” Billy looked at her seriously.

“You have got to be joking.” Raegan felt her anger building again. “I will not break up with Oded for you.”

Billy took a menacing step toward her, his arms dropping down to his side. “You will if you wish to keep him from losing his visa and being deported,” he threatened.

Raegan felt like someone had just thrown a bucket of ice-cold water on her. Her eyes widened, and she felt like she couldn’t breathe. “You can’t do that!” she breathed softly.

Billy smiled icily. “I’m an Assistant U.S. Attorney with connections to the INS office. A word from me and Oded Fehr’s visa is yanked and he’s back in Israel before he can blink.”

“You bastard!” Raegan blinked back angry tears.

“The only way he can remain here is if you break up with him and come back to me,” Billy announced, ignoring Raegan.

“Fuck you, Billy!” Raegan hissed at him and started to push past him.

“Fine, then he’s as good as in Israel now!” Billy said as if he could care less. Raegan froze next to him. “It’s up to you, Rae. You hold all the cards here. You decide his future. If his career is destroyed because of you. . .” He let the sentence hang.

“You don’t have that much pull,” Raegan said weakly. She stared at the floor, tears running down her cheeks.

“I think you know I do. But go ahead, test me,” Billy offered.

Raegan glared up at him. “I’ll tell.”

“Tell who, Rae?” Billy asked. “You say anything to anyone and he’s history, got it?” he threatened.

Raegan’s shoulders sagged in defeat. She had no way of knowing if Billy could pull something like that off, but she couldn’t take any chances. It was in that moment that Raegan realized that she was truly in love with Oded. She was in love with him and she’d never get to tell him. Instead she was going to have to hurt him. “How long do I have to break it off?” she whispered, dropping her gaze. Raegan didn’t think she could hate Billy more than she did at that moment.

“I gathered from what I heard of your conversation with him that he is leaving on a trip. I want it done before he leaves. I don’t care how you do it, and you will not breathe one word of why. Tell him whatever you want, but you say anything to him about our conversation here and he’s gone, understand?” Billy roughly tilted her head up with his hand to meet his gaze.

She jerked her chin away from his hand and nodded. “Anything else?” she asked, disgusted.

“Yes, we are going to dinner tomorrow night. Be ready for me to pick you up at seven,” he commanded. He watched as Raegan nodded once and opened the door to leave. “And be prepared to stay with me the weekend,” he added.

Raegan froze in horror. She spun and glared at him. “No! I put my foot down there, Billy.” Billy raised an eyebrow indicating that if she didn’t cooperate that Oded faced deportation. “Please.” She changed tactics. “Just give me some time, Billy. A couple of weeks, that’s all I ask. Let me get through this first.”

Billy watched her carefully then finally nodded. “Alright, I’ll give you some time,” he said. “Two weeks, Rae. Then be ready to move in with me.”

Raegan blanched at that, but she nodded weakly then turned and walked away.

                                                              ********************

                                                                        Chapter 25

Raegan wasn’t sure how she made it through the rest of the day without breaking down. If it hadn’t been for Lisa’s trial keeping her busy, she knew she would have lost it long before then. The drive home with Nancy was quiet. Nancy asked her several times if she was okay, trying to get her to open up and talk, but Raegan gave her the excuse of Oded leaving town and that she was just down about missing him. Raegan had no clue how she was going to tell Nancy about her seeing Billy again. She wanted to curl up and die. When they got home, Raegan went straight to her room and shut the door. Crawling onto her bed, she began to cry. She kept thinking over and over that she loved Oded and she’d never get to see him again. She would never get to see his sexy smile, those expressive brown eyes. She would never hear his deep voice teasing her, talking sexy to her, or stunning her with his straightforwardness. Raegan drew her legs up against her chest and wrapped her arms around them and began to rock.   An hour or so later, Nancy knocked on her door and told her that her and Rick were taking off for the evening. A little while after that, the phone began to ring. Knowing it was Oded and knowing that she couldn’t talk to him yet, she let the answering machine get it. She could hear the confusion in his voice as he told her to call him. He had expected her to be there.

The next morning Raegan tried to put on a more chipper face, but failed miserably. Nancy frowned and once again tried to get her to open up, but Raegan said she didn’t want to talk about it. She knew that Oded’s flight left at eleven, so she called him as soon as she got to work, leaving him with no time to come after her. Going into John’s office, she shut the door and sat down. Her stomach was tied in knots, and she thought she might throw up. Her mind was numb, and she really had no clue as to what she was going to say to him. Her palms sweaty, she wiped them on the leg of her slacks before she picked up the phone and dialed Oded’s number.

Raegan was beginning to think that she had missed him when he picked up the phone sounding a bit out of breath. “Yeah,” he answered.

“Hi,” Raegan greeted, her voice a bit shaky.

“Rae! God, babe what happened to you last night? I called and you weren’t home. Why didn’t you call me back?” he asked, concerned.

“Oded, I need to talk to you,” Raegan said, ignoring his questions. She closed her eyes and swallowed hard, trying to keep the bile from rising in her throat. Hot tears spilled out of her eyes and left a wet trail down her cheeks.

“Sweetness, the taxi is here to pick me up. Can this wait till I call you tonight?” he asked, confused by her mood.

“No, it can’t,” Raegan whispered. She took a deep breath then, “I can’t see you anymore, Oded. Please don’t call and don’t try to come see me when you get back.” She said it all in a rush, her words nearly tumbling over the other.

Total silence. “Is this a joke, Raegan?” Oded asked, his voice eerily soft. “If it is, it isn’t funny.”

“No, it isn’t a joke. I don’t want to see you anymore,” Raegan answered, nearly choking on her words. Oh god, she wished this whole conversation was over with.

More silence. Oded’s mind was racing. What the hell was she doing? He thought to himself as he tried to think of what he might have done to cause this. “Raegan, what is this about? Are you still angry about yesterday?” Oded asked, trying to stay calm. Inside his heart was beating erratically, and he felt as if a knife were being jammed into it.

“This has nothing to do with yesterday!” Raegan yelled, her nerves finally snapping. “Damn it, Oded, I don’t want to see you anymore! What part of that don’t you understand?” Her voice cracked as she smothered a sob with her hand. Her heart was breaking, and she felt as if her insides were being ripped out.

“I don’t understand any of it, Reagan, especially when you won’t give me a reason,” Oded snapped back in retaliation. He was beginning to ache inside, his mind panicking at the thought of losing her.

Raegan’s own mind was racing trying to find a reason to give him, then, “I told you that I wanted to make sure of my feelings about you as a man rather than the actor and…” Raegan paused, her heart clenching. She wasn’t sure if she could go on. Fortunately she was saved from continuing when she heard the honk of a car horn. She heard Oded swear softly in Hebrew.

“Rae, I’m sorry, but I don’t have time for this now. I’ve got to go. Please, sweetness, don’t do this right now. Whatever it is that is bothering you, we can work it out when I get back, alright?” Oded pleaded, trying not to panic. It had to be some kind of misunderstanding, he thought. The taxi driver honked again. Oded turned, agitated, and glared at the driver who couldn’t see him. “I’ve got to go, Rae. I’ll call you tonight. We’ll talk more then.”

Raegan didn’t answer; she just hung up. She barely reached the trashcan before she heaved into it. She hadn’t been able to eat any breakfast that morning because her stomach had been tied in knots, so nothing came up. When her stomach settled enough, she sat back on her knees, wrapped her arms around herself, doubled over, and cried, her heart breaking.

Oded slowly hung up the phone. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath to settle his panic. Okay, he had to go. It was just a misunderstanding, and they would work it out. She was obviously upset about something, but Oded was confident that they could talk it through, whatever it was. He picked up his bags and headed out the door to the waiting taxi. He would call her tonight, he told himself as he climbed into the back seat of the taxicab. “LAX,” he told the cab driver. Oded settled back against the vinyl seat and let his head drop back to rest against the top of the seat. He felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach as he stared blindly up at the ceiling of the taxicab. He felt a tightening in his chest to the point where he felt he couldn’t breathe as he thought about the possibility of never seeing Raegan again. His hands clenched into tight fists. No, he thought as he lifted his head to stare out the window, his sunglasses hiding the dark intense look in his eyes. He wasn’t going to lose her. Whatever it was, they could work it out. Oded was sure of it. In fact, he wouldn’t wait until tonight to call her; he would call her at work as soon as he got to the hotel where he was staying. With that settled in his mind, he forced any other thoughts of losing her out of his mind.

Raegan didn’t tell Nancy about her breaking up with Oded. She blissfully avoided lunch and Nancy’s eagle eyes by being too busy with the trial. But she saw Nancy eyeing her every time she passed by her desk, and Raegan wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to keep the truth from her best friend, who knew her better than anyone. She also didn’t know how she would explain her suddenly seeing Billy again. Explaining her break up with Oded was one thing, explaining her reunion with Billy . . .

The afternoon slowed down a bit, which was a bad thing for Raegan because it allowed her to think too much of Oded and her guilt over hurting him. It was just after 3:00 p.m. and the judge had called it a day. The trial would pick up again on Monday. Raegan was sitting at her desk, staring at a picture of Oded. She hadn’t taken them down yet. She just couldn’t bring herself to do it yet. The phone rang.

“Raegan,” she answered automatically.

“Rae.” The sound of Oded’s husky voice washed over her and she almost started to cry again.

“Oded.” She whispered it like a prayer. He caught her at a weak moment. She hadn’t expected him to call, though she should have.

“Please, honey,” he pleaded softly, wishing to God that he were there so that he could see her face. “Please don’t do this to us! Tell me what’s wrong! What happened this morning?”

Raegan felt her heart melting, felt her resolve dissolving into nothing. “Oded, I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “I don’t know . . .”

“Raegan?”

Raegan froze as she recognized Billy’s voice behind her. She swallowed hard and wiped at the tears on her cheeks. “Goodbye, Oded. Please don’t call me anymore,” she said loud enough for Billy to hear.

“No Raegan, don’t hang up on me!” She heard Oded pleading as she hung up the phone and turned to face Billy.

Billy stood there decked out in a dark suit, his hair neatly combed. If Raegan didn’t hate him so much, she would have considered him handsome. His smile was cold. “I see you did as I asked,” he commented without feeling. “Did he take it well?”

Raegan glared up at him. “Go to hell, Billy!” she hissed angrily at him. “I did as you asked. There is no need to be callous about it.”

“Ah-ah-ah,” Billy cautioned, wagging a finger at her. “You’re going to have to change that attitude of yours Rae.”

Raegan fell back against her chair in defeat. “What do you want, Billy?” she asked, rubbing her aching temples.

“First off, I want all these pictures of him down. Now!” Billy commanded. “Secondly, I’ll be picking you up tonight at seven sharp, be ready and dress nice. Thirdly, we are having dinner with a nice couple. I expect you to be act appropriately. No sharp tongue and no snide remarks or dirty looks. You will act happy and you will do whatever it takes to convince them that you are crazy about me, is that understood?”

“Perfectly, master!” Raegan answered sarcastically.

Billy gave her a hard look. “Don’t push your luck, Raegan,” he growled, then turned and walked away.

It was just before midnight when Billy dropped her off at home that night. Raegan entered the dark duplex and flipped on the living room light. The evening had actually turned out all right, all things considered. Nancy had left with Rick before Billy had shown up, so Nancy was still unaware that she was dating Billy again. The couple that they had dinner with were actually nice people, which surprised Raegan. Billy usually didn’t associate with nice people. She hadn’t been able to eat much, keeping her meal light; it sat in her stomach like a rock. Raegan noticed the blinking light on the answering machine and walked over to punch the play button. There was only one message:

“Rae, please don’t avoid me. We need to talk about this. Are you there, Rae? Pick up, babe, please. I’m staying at the Sheraton here in San Francisco. The number is (805) 555-1378, room number 1207. Your name has been added to the list of people who can call directly through, so you shouldn’t have a problem getting me.” He paused. Raegan could hear the confusion and hurt in his voice. “I love you, Raegan,” he finished, then hung up.

Raegan jumped, startled, when the answering machine beeped loudly, indicating the end of the message. She felt numb inside. Even after she’d erased the message and gone to bed, lying there staring up at the ceiling with tears streaming down her face, she could still hear his deep voice. “I love you, Raegan.” As if he were lying right next to her, whispering it in her ear. The pain of her losing him jabbed at her heart like a dull knife. Its cut was excruciating, leaving jagged tears, leaving her lying there bared open and bleeding. Why couldn’t she be stronger? Why couldn’t she stand up to Billy and call him on his threat? Because if you’re wrong . . ., the thought flittered through her brain. Raegan turned over on her side and squeezed her eyes shut, forcing the tears out. The very thought of Oded being deported, his career ruined, not to mention she’d never get to see him again, was more than she could handle. So for him she would do this, she would give him up so that he could stay. As she drifted off to sleep, part of an old saying flittered through her mind . . . If you love something set it free . . . “So if I hate something, does that mean I can kill it?” she mumbled as sleep overtook her.

Saturday was a disaster. Billy showed up at 10:00 a.m. to pick Raegan up and Nancy was furious. Raegan had made sure that she was dressed and ready to go so that when Billy knocked on the door, she could just scoot on out the door, but Nancy had been in the kitchen and saw Billy as Raegan tried to leave.

“RAEGAN!” Nancy yelled at her as she tried to follow them out the door. “What the hell is he doing here?”

Billy snorted his laughter. “Didn’t tell Nancy yet, huh? Chicken,” he taunted as he continued on to his car. He didn’t bother to go around to open the passenger door for Raegan, leaving her to get in on her own. Raegan ignored Nancy and climbed in, and they left.

“I don’t fucking believe this!” Nancy grumbled as she turned and went back into the house. Nancy was majorly confused. Why was Raegan going out with Billy? What happened with Oded? Rae hadn’t mentioned anything about breaking up with Oded. “God damn it, I hate this! Now I know why Raegan has been so closed mouth the last few days!” Nancy finished, getting ready for her day with Rick. She decided she would get to the bottom of this the next time she saw Raegan. No more skirting around the issue. Rae had a lot to answer for!

Later that evening Nancy and Rick entered the dark house, and Nancy knew immediately that Raegan wasn’t home yet. First it was still too early for her to be going to bed, and from the way the light was blinking on the answering machine there were a million messages. She and Rick had had a good day, but her mood had been marred by seeing Raegan leave with Billy. Back at Rick’s place, he had listened to Nancy tell him what had happened but was just as clueless as to what was going on.

“Well, maybe Raegan just decided Oded wasn’t the guy for her, Nancy,” Rick had offered.

“No, that’s not it. Something is wrong. You don’t go from one day blissfully happy with the guy to the next day not. You can’t just turn your feelings on and off like that, Rick. I know Raegan, and she is nuts about Oded. To watch her expressions when she talks about him. No, something is definitely wrong,” Nancy had answered, convinced in her knowledge of her best friend. “Besides, if it was just breaking up with Oded, I could deal with that. It’s this whole issue of Billy that has my hackles raised. Raegan despises Billy. She would not dump Oded for Billy.”

Rick had leaned forward and kissed the frown off Nancy’s lips. “Well, babe. I don’t know Oded all that well. I only met him at Raegan’s birthday party, so I can’t say anything there. He seemed like a really nice guy, though, and I only remember a little about Billy, so any thing I said would be speculation on my part.”

“I know, honey. I’m just using you as my sounding board. I can’t yell at the person I really want to yell at, so you will have to do in a pinch.” She grinned up at him in that way that Rick loved, and he grabbed her around the waist, his hand sliding over her ass and giving her a pinch.

“I’ll give you a pinch, all right!” He grinned back. Nancy yelped, jumping forward to flatten herself more closely against him. Now he had her right where he wanted her.

“You, rake!” Nancy accused, but her blue eyes had darkened with desire.

“Yeah and you love it!” Rick had answered as he bent his head and kissed her senseless.

So now, hours later, Nancy hit the play button on the answering machine. “You have 6 new messages,” the computerized woman’s voice said. They were all from Oded and they all said basically the same thing.

“Rae. Why are you doing this? I don’t understand. Please. Please talk to me. I’m helpless here, Raegan. Call me, you have the number.”

Nancy could clearly hear Oded’s pain and confusion. She could also hear with each new message that he was getting angry. “Damn her!” Nancy said softly. “She didn’t even give him a reason. He has no idea.”

Rick nodded. “That is pretty low. That doesn’t seem like Raegan, though.”

“No, it doesn’t. Which is why I think Billy has something to do with this,” Nancy answered. “And I’m going to get to the bottom of this one way or another.”

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                                                      What If - Chapters 26 - 27