What They Deserve

THIRTY-THREE

"Why are you being so secretive?" Bailey bounced on the balls of her feet as she tried to get him to admit what he was up to. 
          
He had sent her a text, telling her to be ready by five o'clock. He followed that up with a GIF of a man rubbing his hands together in anticipation. 
          
Bailey had giggled and opened her video chat, determined to pry information out of him. But he wasn't budging. 
          
"Can you at least tell me what I need to wear?" She flashed him her best smile, hoping to loosen his lips.
          
For a moment, she thought it worked. His eyes softened and his own lips curved up. But then he shook his head from side to side, his eyes bright.
          
"What if I underdress?" Bailey whined, hoping he would give a little.
          
"All I can say is that the only way you'd be underdressed is if you went naked." 
          
Bailey lowered herself onto her bed, her eyebrows raised. "Do you want me to go naked?" 
          
His face flushed before he looked away, trying to regain his composure. "Um...I just meant…"
          
"Sam." Bailey let out a light chuckle. "I'm just teasing you."
          
He looked at her and gave her a bashful smile. "Not that I wouldn't enjoy that." 
          
This time, Bailey blushed. She wasn't sure why. They'd seen each other naked before. She wondered if they both were thinking that things were going to escalate between them.
          
Before she could say anything, he told her to wear whatever was comfortable. "I gotta go. I love you and I can't wait to see you." He winked before blowing her a kiss. 
         
"I love you too. And you're driving me crazy!" She playfully growled at him.
          
He laughed before disconnecting the call.
          
Bailey held her gaze on the phone for a few seconds before deciding to figure out what she wanted to wear on the mystery date. She went to her closet and began pushing clothes from one side to the other. 
          
What should have been a quick decision turned out to be an undecided twenty-minute hunt. She even tried on outfits, unsure what she even felt like wearing.
          
"Maybe I should just go naked." She turned away from her closet and decided to just wait a little while. Maybe she'd decide on something later.
         
It bothered Bailey that she was so indecisive, especially about a stupid outfit. There was a part of her that was nervous about the date. And that bugged her too.
           
Why am I so nervous? What the hell is wrong with me?
          
Stomping back into her bedroom, Bailey threw on an old pair of exercise shorts and shirt, tied the laces of her sneakers, and made her way to the gym. Since there was plenty of time before she had to be ready, she was going to work out these unexplainable feelings.
          
However, her workout went longer than she'd planned. After stretching, she attacked the elliptical, her next victim was the rowing machine, and to end it all, she worked the bicep curl machine. 
          
"Crap." She muttered as she hurried out of the gym, sweat running down her back. She jogged to her house, a little bewildered that she still had energy. It had been a long while since she’d worked out. And it had been an even longer time since she'd done so with a vengeance. 
          
Bailey peeled her clothes off of her after kicking her sneakers into a corner of the room and hung the clothes over the laundry room door to dry; she didn't plan on doing laundry for another day and didn't want the clothes to stay wet.
          
Her phone chimed just as she started the water. It was from Sam. Of course, he was on his way. The man was so punctual. She typed a hurried ok and jumped in for the quickest shower of her life. 
          
She shaved, praying she wouldn't end up with razor burn or have any surprise nicks. Her hair needed to be washed, especially after the workout, but she was worried Sam had made reservations for somewhere. After a second she decided to say screw it. If he wanted her to dress comfortably, how likely was it that they were going somewhere with reservations?
          
The doorbell rang as she stepped onto the floor mat. Grabbing her towel, she dashed out of the bathroom, toward the front door. A quick peek through the peephole showed her that it was just who she thought it would be. Who else could it be?
          
"I'm sorry." She breathed, yanking the door open. "I lost track of time. And I still need to dry my hair."
          
"You're good." Sam hurried into the house, pushing Bailey back a little. "You could have gotten dressed first." 
          
She noticed that he looked a little shocked. "Oh. I didn't want to make you wait." She locked the door behind him as he turned around to face her.
          
"I'd rather your neighbors not see you in your birthday suit. I mean, I thought we established that you weren't going to actually go out naked." He gave her a smirk and she knew he was teasing her a little. He edged forward until her back was against the door, her chest rising and falling with controlled breaths. 
          
"My hair is dripping everywhere." Bailey could feel the towel soaking from where her wet hair touched the edge. But she didn't really care; not with the way he was looking at her. 
          
His lips curled up, his eyes glimmered. He inched closer until his body touched hers. As he leaned down, he never took his eyes off of hers. 
          
"Take your time. We have all night." He brushed his lips across hers and slid his hands down her arms, squeezing her hands before he stepped back.
          
Bailey was ready to drop the towel to the floor and spend the night right there, but she had to admit that she was curious about what he had planned for her birthday. She pursed her lips, making a kissing sound before she sauntered into her bathroom to dry her hair and get dressed. 
          
Once she had her hair dried, she decided to just wear the first thing she grabbed - an oversized crochet sweater with a V-cut neck and skinny jeans. She opted to wear the black suede knee-high boots that she had bought a few days ago. 
          
"Okay. Ready." She came out of her room, her arms spread to showcase herself.
          
"Gorgeous." He slid his arms around her waist and nuzzled his face against her neck. "As always." 
          
Bailey couldn't help the goosebumps that erupted along her skin. She was grateful her arms were covered so that he couldn't feel or see them. She twisted her face, waiting for him to do the same. His lips locked onto hers and she couldn't contain the small moan that came from her.
          
He ended the kiss, but he had a look that suggested he didn't want to. "Let's get going."
          
Bailey took the arm he offered, going where he led. Once at his truck, he helped her into it. She settled herself and watched the city zoom by. Before she knew it, he had stopped in front of a warehouse-type building. If it hadn't been for all the lighting and luxurious landscaping, she would have questioned why they were there.
          
"What is this place? A restaurant?" Bailey unbuckled her seatbelt and shifted to face him. "This looks like a place I should have dressed up for."
          
His mischievous grin told her to just wait. "You're perfect."
          
Once he had helped her out of the truck, he held her hand and led the way inside.
          
Bailey took in a sharp breath at the sight. It was a massive cooking studio, with six stations that she could see. Everything was sleek; stainless steel shining in the overhead lights, travertine flooring across the great expanse of the building, and large honey-colored wood-paneled stations. 
          
Couples already occupied a few of the work areas, talking as they waited for their teacher. Some turned their heads to see the newcomers.
          
"Oh wow." Bailey breathed as she stepped up to the counter of the station with her name on it. "Sam, this is…"
         
Just then the boisterous instructor came in, greeting everyone as he introduced himself as Felix. He went over the menu, wasting no time getting things started. 
          
Everyone talked and laughed as they worked. Some couples knew each other and crossed to one another's kitchens.
          
Bailey lost herself in the creation of their meal. She bumped her hip against Sam's a few times, gaining a smirk and every now and then, some kind of retaliation like a gentle smack to her butt. 
          
Felix raved over her while he offered Sam some tips. When it was time for dessert, Bailey beamed, excited to make something she'd never made before; cinnamon raisin bread pudding. 
          
All too soon, the class was over. Bailey leaned into Sam as he took her back to his truck. "Thank you. This was so much fun." She looked up to him, her eyes glistening.
          
"It was fun." He agreed before placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "Happy birthday."
          
He helped her into the truck, once again and took off.
          
Bailey watched him drive this time, wondering how she'd gotten so lucky to get him. The man was amazing and everything she could ever ask for.
          
Once they got back to her place, he followed her inside and they snuggled on the couch to watch a movie. They judged the characters, giggling at each other.
          
Bailey's phone chimed once the movie ended and he had gotten up to leave. She checked to see that Sasha had sent her a text. "Oh! Turn it to the news." She was already reaching for the remote control. 
          
"What's going on?" He had his jacket and shoes on, but turned to watch her.
          
The room filled with the noise of the news anchor's rushed words. "The body has not been identified at this time. It is suspected that she has been dead for several months, although it's hard to tell for certain."
          
"Oh my gosh!" Bailey had shifted to a kneeling position on the couch. The screen flashed to a shot of a sheet-covered body, with only the face visible. Even this was hard to take in. Her skin had been gnawed away to reveal gaps in muscle and tissue where rodents had feasted.
          
The screen shifted to an older man, shock clear across his face. "I just bought the building and was getting ready to have it torn down. One of the workers found her. She was...she was naked and hanging by her wrists. Rats were...all over...her. This is really...just so horrible. My condolences to her family." The man was shaken as he looked away, trying not to cry on national television.
          
The shot went back to the news anchor as he mentioned that she was found outside of Rochester, New York. 
          
Bailey whipped her head to see a stunned expression on his face. "Oh my gosh! That's so crazy! It happened so close to where you were." 
          
It took him a few seconds to respond. "Uh...yeah. Definitely." He nodded as if in slow motion, his eyes never leaving the screen.
          
A frown creased Bailey's eyebrows. She had turned to face him and was leaning over the back of the couch, unsure if she should reach out to him or not. She'd never seen him look so scared. "You good?"
          
"Yeah. It's just…" He swallowed hard. "Crazy."
          
"Definitely. What kind of sicko would do something like that? That's just so awful." Her voice cracked and that seemed to break him out of his reverie. 
          
"They'll catch the guy. Or woman. Whoever did this." He stepped forward and placed a hand over hers and squeezed.
          
"I sure hope so." Bailey squeezed back, her southern accent more pronounced.
          
"I gotta get going. Got an early day." He gave her a quick kiss and left.
          
Bailey would later realize that as the moment she started to question just who Samuel Thompson was.