Doll Face (Baby Doll #3)

by Heidi Acosta

  “Get up, asshole, you’re late.”

  I squint. Who the hell turned on the sun? I flip James off and pull the pillow over my head.

  “Vic said if you’re not out there in five, he is turning the hose on you.” Fuuuccckkk. My dad has brought the garden hose in on all of us so that we know he’s not bluffing. I sit up, my head spinning, still drunk off the alcohol me and Doll Face consumed last night. I’m surprised with as much as we did consume that I had enough self-control to walk away from her. That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I meant what I said—she is different, and I want her for more than a quick fuck. She is the type of girl I can see spending the rest of my life with. She just needs to see it too … I have to figure a way to make her see it. The chemistry that we have just doesn’t happen all the time. Some people search forever to feel a quarter of what we have.

  Five minutes later I’m in the passenger seat of the truck, sunglasses on, and a hat pulled low over my head, but it’s still bright as hell out here.

  “You keep getting fucked up like this, and there is going to be no going back.”

  “You drink more than me,” I snap, in no mood for James’s shit today not when I’m this hungover.

  “I’m not talking about the alcohol.”

  “Then what the hell are you talking about, dickhead?”

  “You keep fucking around with that girl.”

  “That girl is Katie and nothing happened last night.” But God did I want it to.

  “It’s better that way, you know it is. She’s not worth a good time. She will just fuck you up in the end.”

  “Why the hell do you think it’s any of your goddamn business?” I snap, the remaining alcohol in my system fueling the fire. “You know, what fuck this shit. Pull over.” James doesn’t argue; he pulls the wrecker over. I leap out of the truck. “Fuck you, asshole. Have fun working by yourself today, because I quit. And for the record, Katie is more than a good time to me. I’m in fucking love with the girl.” I slam the door shut and walk away. My head throbs and the sun is brutal, but I don’t give a shit. Fuck James, he knows how to piss me off.

  My mind reels as I think about the last words—I’m in love with her. I’m fucking in love with her. I’ve been trying to play it off as an attraction, but now that it’s out there I know it’s true. We are both fire, crashing into each other ready to burn down the whole damn world with each other in it. But I want to burn with her. I have to tell her, fuck being her friend. I start to jog, not wanting to waste another minute being her friend. She needs to know the truth, now.

  By the time I get to her apartment building, my shirt is soaked in sweat. I ring the doorbell, but no one answers, maybe she went to the yard. I don’t know her damn schedule. I pound on the door and ring the doorbell again, before turning away ready to jog back to the yard.

  “Cool, the guns, cowboy.”

  Turning back around, I see her friend Kiki leaning against the door. “I need to speak to Katie; it’s important.”

  “She’s sleeping.”

  I pull off my hat, running my hand over my head. “I really need to talk with her.”

  “Mmm hmmm, I know what you want to do to her, and it’s not talking.”

  “Please.” I’m ready to fall to my knees and beg him if I need to.

  “My God, you are a delicious piece of man candy. You are even hotter when you’re desperate. Okay, go and wake her. I have to get to class, but no funny business got it?”

  “You have my word.” I push past him and into the apartment. I remember where her room is from when I carried her there. I knock softly at her door, but there is no answer. “Katie,” I call as I open the door.

  I stop, my breath catching, she is laying on the bed on her side, her hair is loose, and the sheets are wrapped around her waist. Her cream-colored skin peeks out, and I follow it up to a black bra. She is the most beautiful person I have ever seen. That familiar desire springs back to life, and I want to capture her at this moment.

  I kick off my sneakers and walk slowly as to not wake her, and kneel down next to the bed. Placing my hand next to hers, I listen to the sound of her breathing. It’s like music I have never heard before, inviting and soothing. I listen for a long time, and only stir when I feel her hand slip into mine.

  When I open my eyes, my hand is enlaced with Adams, I should be startled to find him asleep on my floor, but I’m not. Sunlight peeks through the blinds sending light dancing over his face. His long eyelashes look gold in the afternoon light. The sharp angles of his face are softer in sleep, his full lips are slightly parted, and once again the desire to lean over and kiss him takes over. Katie, you told him you just wanted to be friends. Last night was confusing, making me glad that he had the strength to walk away because I didn’t. Hesitantly I begin to unlace my fingers from his, but his hand tightens, gripping mine harder.

  “You’re staring,” he says in a husky voice still laced in sleep.

  “I’m not. I’m just wondering what you are doing in my room.”

  “Kiki let me in if I promised to behave.”

  “I’m going to kill him.”

  “Don’t, I think he’s in love with me.”

  “Please.”

  “He can’t help it. Come on, look at me … even you think I’m hot.”

  “I do not.”

  “You’re lying.”

  “Okay, you’re hot, happy?”

  “Yes.”

  “Adam?”

  “Yes.”

  “What are you doing in my room?”

  “I needed to see you.” He opens his eyes, and the steel color burns me.

  “Why?” I whisper, and then bite my bottom lip, hoping he says what I want him to say, and praying he doesn’t.

  “First, can I get off this floor? My neck has a kink in it.” He rubs at the back of his neck with his free hand.

  “I’m going to regret this but yes.” I scoot over, making room for him in my bed. When he lifts up the sheets to get under, the realization of what I have on hits me. I changed into the black bra and panties combo that I decided against the night before. I yank the sheets back down. “Over the sheets!”

  He laughs, but let's go and stretches out on top of the sheets. “What is so important that it couldn’t wait until I got to work?” I ask. He rolls to his side so that our faces are mere inches apart. Oh God, I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet. I clamp my hand over my mouth.

  He laughs. “What are you doing?”

  “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”

  He smiles that addictive yet infuriating smile at me and pulls my hand down from my mouth. “I don’t think you could ever smell bad, not to me.” He moves a little closer. “Katie, I think I’m in love with you. No, I know I’m in love with you.”

  I want to wrap my arms around him and kiss him, want to tell him I think I’m falling for him, too. That even though he makes me angry, he also makes me feel safe—like I’m the most important thing to him.

  “You can’t be; you don’t even know me.”

  “I know you enough to know I want to keep getting to know you.”

  “Adam—”

  “Don’t say we are only friends. I don’t think I can be just your friend. I want more of you than your friendship.” He reaches up to trace the outline of my neck, trailing white hot trails of fire with his fingers.

  “Adam, I … I’m going to be late for work.” I roll over, taking the sheets with me, and lock myself in my bathroom.

  Panic grips me. Why now? How can he say that he’s in love with me? I pace the bathroom, stuffing incriminating things—like tampons and Kiki’s jar of condoms—into drawers. When did he put those in here? Oh God, this can’t be happening. I can’t tell Adam that I want the same things he wants. How can I bring another person into my life right now? He doesn’t know how screwed up my life is. I’m afraid once he sees what I’m really about he will not want that part of me. I strip off my bra and panties and climb in the shower, letting the
hot water wash away and remnants of last night, and the sweet smell of Adam that still clings to my skin. I let the tears fall free, washing down the drain. When I’m sure that there is nothing left of last night on me, and I no longer have any tears left, I turn off the water. I half expect to see Adam sitting on the bathroom counter, but he is not there. I blow dry my hair and slather on a shit ton of makeup to cover up the red puffiness of my eyes and the blotchiness of my skin. I hate crying. I hate crying over a boy. My mother taught me better than that. Never to cry over someone, unless they’re dead, and even that must be done in privacy. Always be cold and never let anyone see your emotions. But with Adam, it just doesn’t seem possible. He has a way of dismantling the wall that guards my heart. The one that keeps my feelings and emotions imprisoned. .

  I tighten my towel, ready to tell Adam to go away if I need to, but he is gone from my room as well. Good. It’s better this way. Let him think I’m a bitch. Whatever. I wish I didn’t need the car like I do. Vic said I can have the car for $700—I’m making twelve dollars an hour, so I should have the car paid off in a month working part time. I just need to stay strong for that long. I pull on a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and my sandals, then head into the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee … I’m going to need it to get through the rest of today.

  “I take mine with cream and a shit ton of sugar.”

  I scream, almost dropping the pot. Adam walks up behind me. “I thought you left.”

  “Why would I do that? I walked all the way here just so I can give you my heart to trample on.”

  “Adam,” I close my eyes, “this is really bad timing.”

  “There is never the perfect time to start a relationship.”

  Turning away from him, I fill the pot with water and dump it in the coffee maker. “You just don’t get it.”

  “I do.”

  “My dad …” I grip the counter, afraid to look at him, for him to know the truth about my family. He moves closer, so his chest is pressed against my back, his hands grip the counter next to mine.

  “I know,” he says.

  Talking about my parents leaves a lead weight in the pit of my stomach.

  “And … and you’re not even in college,” I say, grasping for any reason not to be weak.

  “How is going to college going to change anything?” he asks.

  I turn, and now my chest is to his. I wish he would back up and give me space, with him this close I can’t think clearly.

  “It just does.”

  “You’re wrong, you are just reaching for reasons for us not to be together, but there isn’t any.”

  Maybe he is right, maybe there is no good enough reason to deny what we feel.

  She says it like going to college will change the freaking world. For a moment, I ponder it—I could go to college and I would if that is really what she wanted from me, but it’s just an excuse from her. I let the image of struggling through community college hit me, getting some shitty job at the end where I make just barely over minimum wage, but, hey the benefits are not that bad. I can feel the necktie strangling me like a freaking noose.

  “You think you are better than me. You think I’m going nowhere, that I’m stuck in this shit town, and if you are with me, I will keep you stuck here, too.” I take a step closer, and automatically she tries to step away from me, but she has nowhere to go.

  “No, I didn’t say that.” Her ass is pressed against the counter. Blocking her escape, I go in for the kill leaving no space between us. Our bodies are pressed together, and this time, neither one of us has liquor as an excuse; what happens here and now between us is consensual. Our faces are so close that her breath mixes with mine. I can tell our closeness is getting to her because she sucks in a tiny breath of air and begins to fix her hair nervously. She has probably never even been with a man before, only boys from high school. Shit, as tight as she is it wouldn’t surprise me if she’s still a virgin. I lean down toward her, and God she smells fucking amazing like jasmine and vanilla, like eating ice cream while walking through a park. From this angle I can see down her shirt, the top of her cream-colored breasts are inviting. I want nothing more than to reach up and feel the velvet soft skin in my hand. She now has on a pink lacey bra, and the lace hugs the curve of her breast. Shit. She is like a walk in a freaking park.

  “What are you doing?” Her voice cracks, but she doesn’t move away. I can do this; I can prove to her that I will not hold her back from her dreams. That being together will make us stronger. Hell, we can take over the world if she is mine and I’m hers.

  “Give me a week to prove to you that I’m good for you. That we belong together.” I desperately want her to say yes, that she will let me prove I can be the man she needs, the man she deserves.

  “Adam, this isn’t some romance movie where you prove what a great guy you are, and in the end, I realize I’m head over heels in love with you.”

  I smile at her. “We can skip that part, and you can just admit it because I’m cool with whatever gets us in between the sheets faster.” Her cheeks turn crimson. And though I mean it—I really do want to get her into bed—I also want to prove to her that I’m good enough for her.

  “Not happening.” She steps out from under my arms. Damn, me and my sarcastic mouth. I spin, catching her wrist; it’s tiny and feels fragile in my hand like at any moment she might break.

  “Fine, give me three days. Three days is all I’m asking for, and if you still hate my guts, I will leave you alone and never talk to you again.” I stick out my bottom lip. Girls can’t resist my sad face.

  “I don’t think so!”

  “It’s three days, what’s it going to hurt? Half the time you will be at work anyway. Three days, even you can handle that.” She falters and I know I have her where I want her.

  “Three days?”

  “Yep, three days for you to try to find something that repulses you about me.” Her lip curves a slight smile.

  “That will not be too hard.”

  “Do we have a deal?”

  “Fine, but it’s not my fault when you don’t like the results of this little social experiment.”

  Still holding her hand in mine, I place the other over my heart. “I’m fully prepared to take all the odds and prove you wrong.”

  “God, I can’t believe I’m agreeing to this.” She shakes her head. “When will the torture commence?” she asks, no longer able to hide her smile.

  “Tomorrow at seven.” I want to pull her closer to me, but I fight the urge, not wanting to push her too far yet.

  “Perfect, I have to work.”

  “Actually, don’t worry about that. I kind of know the owner and I’m sure that he will give you the day off.” She rolls her eyes at that one. “Yeah, I’m sort of a big deal around there, but don’t tell the other guys they will just get jealous.”

  “Wow, you’re going to make finding repulsive things about you real easy.”

  “Hey, my three days doesn’t begin until tomorrow.” I give her another irresistible Nash smile.

  “Fine, you get the whole day tomorrow, my friend, and nothing more.” She purses her lips at me. “From seven to seven.” Her mouth relaxes. “You have me at my door no later than seven o’clock on the dot, got it?”

  “Got it! Scout’s honor.” I give her some made up salute that makes her roll her eyes again.

  I can hardly believe that I talked her into giving me three days to make her fall for me. I can do it; I’m up for the challenge. I have always loved a good challenge, and she is the best one I have ever had. I can’t help but grin like a damn fool.

  “Can you stop smiling like that?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like you just won the damn lottery.”

  “I feel like I did.” Now that the lines of friendship are gone, I bring her hand to my mouth and kiss each one of her knuckles.

  “Hey, you are cheating! Your three days start tomorrow,” she says, but lets me continue to kiss them.

>   “Getting a head start.” I bite the last one gently. She sucks in a breath and pulls her hand away. This is going to be easier than I thought. She is going to be mine.

  Three days, I’m giving him three days only for his little experiment that is not going to work. How can he think that I will fall for him in that amount of time? How can I not? No, I have to remain strong I can’t fall for him or anyone. I refuse to drag anyone into the mess I’m in right now.

  “Where is he taking you?” Kiki bounces around me like a kid on pixie sticks.

  “I don’t know. He just said to wear something comfortable and bring a change of clothes that I don’t mind getting dirty.

  “Oh my God, that’s code for ‘I’m going to make dirty cowboy love to you.' I can’t even,” Kiki squeals, and begins to smack my ass with a hairbrush.

  “First,” I take the hairbrush that he was attacking me without of his hand, “he is not a cowboy, and second, I do not plan on having sex with him … the clean or dirty type.”

  “That boy would have me out of my panties in the first three minutes. Hell, I wouldn’t even wear any on a date with him.”

  “Well, not me! I will be wearing them because I have no attention of sleeping with him.”

  Kiki ignores me and spins around the room repeating, “Three magical days. I can’t even.”

  Adam pulls up at exactly seven to pick me up. He has the music turned to a country station again. His voice is like honey, but I don’t tell him that—he doesn’t need anything to add to his ego or excitement that this can go any further after the three days. He pulls into a strip mall in the next town. He is either taking me to the butcher shop, get my hair done, or yoga.

  He turns in his seat to face me. “Today, I’m going to give you a glimpse into my life.”