by Weil, J. L.
She helped me unload the packages from the trunk of my car. Between the two of us we had a lot of stuff, mostly hers. There was no way I would have been able to carry it alone, but she lifted the bags like they were feathers. Not even breaking a sweat. And the air was definitely humid.
My mom had already left for her shift so I had the house to myself, as usual.
“You have such a great tan. Where did you live before?” she asked as we climbed the stairs to my still disorganized bedroom. I probably should have been embarrassed by the state it was in, but Lexi didn’t seem to really care. I liked that about her.
“Tuscon, Arizona.”
“Oooh you must tell me all about Arizona. I’ve never been before.”
I smiled, plopping the bags in the center of my room. “You would love it. The shopping is out of this world. The weather is always gorgeous and hot. The lightning storms are amazing.” My heart squeezed in my chest.
“Wow,” she proclaimed. “It must be like a culture shock moving here.”
Culture shock was the understatement of the century. This was like living on another planet. “It will definitely take some getting used to, but I’ll adjust over time. We’re adaptable.”
“I’ve never been anywhere and have no idea what you must be feeling,” she finished, sounding a little wistful.
“Back up. You’ve never been anywhere outside Illinois or this area?”
She shook her pretty little blonde head. “Never. My family doesn’t really like to travel.”
Well damn, that was taking it to an extreme, like the phobia where people can’t leave their homes. Agoraphobia I thought it was called.
“Do you want help…organizing?” she asked, scanning the chaos that was my room.
“You sure you can handle it?” I teased, scrunching my nose in aversion.
“I got this,” she grinned slyly.
And she did. She worked like a cracked out interior designer. I secretly thanked my sore ass that we hadn’t stopped to get paint. It was on my list, but after shopping with Lexi I was worn out.
“You want to hang out tomorrow?” she asked. We sat back and looked at all that we had accomplished. My room almost looked normal, and nothing like the one I’d left behind. Mission accomplished.
The sky outside was getting dark, and I needed to fix something for dinner. I was starving. A part of me wished she would stay, and it was on the tip of my tongue to ask her. Something about this house, all the open space and the darkness freaked me out.
Better get used to it, I mentally chastised.
“Sure,” I agreed.
“Great. Oh and I’ll tell Chase you said hi.”
“You don’t have to do that. Seriously, don’t do that.”
She laughed at my discomfort. “See you tomorrow Angel.”
Chapter 3
“Angel!” Mom yelled from downstairs.
I doggie-eared my place in a book I had started after Lexi left last night. Books were the next best thing to my Xbox. “What?” I hollered in return, placing the novel on my nightstand.
“Your friend is here,” she responded equally as loud.
I took the stairs two at a time. “Hey Lexi. Mom this is Lexi. She lives next door.”
“Hi Lexi, I’m Chloe Morgan.”
“It’s nice to meet you Ms. Morgan.”
She waved her hand in the air. “Please call me Chloe. Anything else makes me sound old.”
“You are old,” I teased and was reward with a mom glare.
“Watch it,” she warned halfheartedly. “You have two brothers don’t you?” she asked Lexi, winking at me.
I wanted to melt under the rug. There was nothing worse than your mom trying to set you up and being so obvious about it. It screamed desperate.
And I wasn’t desperate.
Lexi grinned brightly. “I have an older brother, Travis, and my cousin Chase. He lives with us.”
“Oh,” she replied with too much interest.
I groaned. “Don’t you have to leave for work?”
She checked the clock on the microwave. “I have a few more minutes. What do you have planned today?”
Plastering on a smile I replied sweetly, “The usual. Underage drinking, random sex, and a little shoplifting.”
“That sounds nice. Just be sure you’re home at a decent hour.” She kissed me on the cheek. “Remember, I am yours all day tomorrow.”
How could I forget? It was also that day we finally got the TV and Internet connected. Whoot. Whoot. “Can’t wait.”
“Bye Lexi, I hope to see you around.”
“Your mom is awesome and gorgeous,” Lexi gushed after she left.
I never really thought about her any other way than just my mom. “I guess. So how do feel about refurbishing furniture?”
She gave me a look like I was speaking Greek. “Why wouldn’t you just buy something new?”
Ah, because not everyone has money that grows on trees. “I like doing it. It’s like a hobby. I swear its fun.”
She didn’t look entirely convinced, but once she found out we were going shopping again, she was all onboard. “I’ve never done it before. It might be fun. We’re going to paint them?” she asked on our way to the hardware store.
I nodded. “Yeah. The old bedroom furniture I have doesn’t really match with the new stuff we bought, so I thought we could resurface it and paint it. How can you like decorating and not refurbishing? I thought they kind of went hand-in-hand.”
She shrugged. “We usually just buy new stuff. Things don’t seem to last long at my house.”
Typical.
We pulled into my driveway after picking out the paint. Lexi really did have a great eye for color. She got paint samples to test on the walls, coordinating them with the silver of the comforter set and the black and shimmering silver faux painting for the furniture.
I immediately noticed my dresser, nightstand, and headboard placed outside the garage. Sitting in my car, I scratched my head. Was I being robbed? If so they were extremely gracious robbers. I couldn’t recall if I had locked the house.
“How the hell did my stuff get down here?” I wondered out loud.
Lexi glanced over at me, realizing for the first time that something was amuck. “Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to upset you. I texted Chase earlier and asked him to bring them down for us. Much easier than the two of us doing it.”
Chase had been in my house. In my room. I think I was either going to hyperventilate or kick his door down. On second thought, he did save me a lot of headaches.
“That was nice of him,” I managed after my oh-em-gee wore off.
Grinning she said, “He has his moments.”
“His good deed for the year is done.”
She laughed, and I really liked the sound.
We tackled the sanding like two WWF smack down wrestlers. There was sawdust flying everywhere – in my hair, stuck on my sticky skin. I was a hot mess, but it was a great stress reliever, sanding the crap out of some wood. I was sure my arms and body were definitely going to protest tomorrow.
We sat back to admire our progress.
“Here,” I extended a water bottle to her, wiping the sweat off my brow with the back of my hand. “It’s not a beer, but it will do,” I joked, remembering the underage drinking comment from earlier.
“This is fun,” she admitted, taking a swig from the water.
“It’s kind of relaxing,” I agreed. “My dad used to carve wood all the time.” The offhanded comment came out before I thought about it and instantly regretted it.
“Where is your dad?” she asked.
I felt my face fall, and I stared off into the fields across the road. Did I tell her the truth? I extremely sucked at lying, and I really didn’t want to lie. “My parents are divorced.” That was the truth, just not the whole truth.
“I’m sorry.” She laid a hand gently over mine. “That must have been hard on you – moving, a new place, the divorce.”
I didn’t answer…I couldn’t. My throat had closed up.
“You okay? I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s none of my business.” She nervously rambled on.
I shook my head. “It’s still hard to talk about.”
“I understand, but if you ever do…I’m a great listener.” There was something about her that made me want to pour my heart out.
I nodded my head, picked up my sandpaper, and put on my brave face.
“Don’t look now,” she said softly, her lips upturned.
I never get why people say that. Of course I was going to look. But I wish I hadn’t.
Chase was strutting across our yards in a sinful swagger.
He looked fine, damn fine. My eyes hurt just looking at him, and my mouth went dry, forget that I’d just guzzled a bottle of water. The ripped jeans he wore rode low on his hips. His t-shirt looked like he just plucked it off the floor, yet it worked with the whole, dark tousled hair. He had it going on. Beautiful body, gorgeous face, kissable lips, wicked and dangerous attitude. He lifted his pierced brow at my meticulous inspection. I practically banged him with my eyes.
Don’t forget the sucky attitude.
Color morphed into my already flushed cheeks. Fine. I would just ignore him then. Putting more enthusiasm than necessary into the sanding, I needed the distraction. I found it nearly impossible to discount his presence.
“What are you doing?” he asked Lexi.
“I told you, refurbishing.”
“You said Angel was refurbishing not you.” Again he said my name like it left a bad taste in his mouth.
I could feel his stare at my back, spreading unwanted tingles throughout my body.
I pounded the dresser I was working on harder, taking my nerves out on the wood grain, and doing everything in my power to not look his way. I was finding it increasingly difficult. He was like a magnet. One part of me was pulled by him, the other was repelled.
“Whatever. Thanks for helping out,” she thanked him for moving the pieces outside.
I couldn’t help myself. I snuck a peek over my shoulder. He was smiling at his cousin, and it lit his entire face. Most of the fierceness and danger left his expression, softening his already perfect features. The guard he kept masked over his face was gone. I had to smother the moan I swear I almost let loose with a fake cough.
Then his silvery eyes met mine. My world paused, and I stopped breathing. He was that breathtaking. The smile on his full lips turned into a smirk, knowledge lurking behind it like he knew the kind of affect he had on me or the female population in general.
“What are you doing?” he asked, indicating to the practically bare dresser.
I snorted. “I think it’s pretty obvious, even for someone as small minded as you.”
“Are you always this feisty in the morning?”
I looked up at the sky, it was almost evening. “Umm, it’s like six o’clock. At night.” I pointed out, just in case he wasn’t sure which time of day I was referring to.
His glare ran over the pieces of furniture we had already sanded and were ready for primer. I wasn’t claiming to be Martha Stewart, but I had to say, so far we’d done a darn good job. The painting part was going to be tricky. But it was nothing I couldn’t handle. I had bought a book on faux painting for just the occasion. I might suck at gardening, cooking, and unpacking, but if there was one thing I was good at, it was reading.
“Why are you doing this?” he asked like he couldn’t figure me out.
Good. Let him wonder.
I shrugged. The last thing I wanted to admit was because it saved my mom money.
“Chase stop!” Lexi hissed. “Be nice.”
He leaned against the house with his head angled, eyeing me. It was disturbing to say the least. “What? I didn’t say anything,” he replied, pretending innocence.
He didn’t have to. It was written all over his face.
Man did I want to kick him in the balls. He riled me like no one ever had. My blood boiled just on sight.
I took a deep breath and tried to get back into the project before we lost all natural light. His husky voice prevented me of achieving my goal – pretending he didn’t exist.
“Is this what you do for fun?” he asked, throwing one leg over the other.
“Among other things,” I admitted.
“Like?” he prompted.
“Don’t you have somewhere else to be?” I huffed. This was Lexi’s cousin, and I really liked her. It would be so nice to know someone the first day at school so I could avoid all the BS of being the new kid. For her sake maybe I should try to play nice. “Sorry,” I retracted. “I think the heat is getting to me.”
A piece of hair escaped my tie, and I blew it out of my face.
“You got something in your hair.” He moved in front of me faster than humanly possible.
One second he was against the house, the next he was in my face. A breeze ruffled over my skin making me shiver, even though it was still like ninety degrees out. The shiver had nothing to do with the wind and everything to do with his close proximity. He was totally in my personal space.
Didn’t he know about the bubble?
His hand moved to brush away the tiny sawdust particles from my hair. I froze. Pieces rained down off my dark hair, his touch was electric. The energy of it traveled to the tips of my toes and by the look in his fierce eyes, he wasn’t all too pleased with me. He yanked his hand away like he’d been struck by lightning.
Jerk. He’s the one who touched me.
Shoving his hands in his pockets, he backed up rocking on his heels.
“Thanks,” I muttered, avoiding those stormy eyes.
“No problem Angel Eyes.”
“Don’t call me that.” My eyes flashed with anger. Dots of red hazed behind my lids.
“What? Angel? That is your name isn’t?” He stood his ground, a good foot taller than me. I didn’t back down either. His eyes glowered in the darkening sky. They stood out like little neon lights.
“Why do you say it like that?” I demanded, and then shook my head. “Never mind I don’t want to know.” I refused to let him know how much it bothered me. He didn’t deserve that kind of power.
He turned to Lexi. “Lex we should go. It’s getting late.”
She put her lip out, pouting. Only Lexi could pout and still look beautiful. “We’re not done yet.” It was clear she was starving for female attention. Being the only girl in a house full of men could not be healthy, especially overbearing assholes.
“Lexi now,” he demanded harsher.
It was totally not my place to intervene, but my mouth had other opinions. Plus, he got under my skin. “She can stay if she wants to. She’s a big girl.”
“This doesn’t concern you,” he growled. I mean he literally growled, lips curled and everything. His eyes had that eerie glow again, and his voice was deep and menacing.
I took a step back, thinking he was going to bite my head off. “What is your deal?” I argued.
“Chase,” Lexi called stepping between us. She put a hand on his arm. “Please.”
I wasn’t exactly sure what she was pleading. It only pissed me off more. “You are an asshole.”
“I’ve been called worse.”
I swear steam started coming out of my ears.
“Chase stop. You’re being unreasonable. I’m fine.” Her turquoise eyes pleaded with him to understand. They had a sad and lonely quality to them.
Who was he to tell her what to do? Didn’t she have a parent for that? I had yet to meet her dad, but it made sense to me that he should be doing the parenting. Not her cousin.
“Lex it’s not safe, not this late.” His voice had gone gentler and quiet. It was obvious how much he cared for her.
I looked around me, scanning to see what had him so concerned for her safety. Unless there were children of the corn lurking in the fields, it was just the three of us, and he was the scariest by far. He couldn’t possibly think I would do something t
o harm her.
I got that he didn’t know me well, but I wasn’t a mass murderer disguised in a seventeen year-old’s body.
“I got it under control Chase. I swear. Just a little longer.”
He studied her. “Lex you’ve got five minutes before I come back out to get you,” he rumbled against the darkening night.
I watched him. My eyes transfixed. He looked like a giant cat, roaring and eyes gleaming. He gave me one last look of disgust and walked away.
Unmoving, I stood there until the door shut behind him. “Ass.” I muttered under my breath.
“I’m so sorry,” she apologized, looking mortified. “He didn’t mean anything.”
I wanted to thump myself over the head. She was making excuses for his poor behavior. “I think he was pretty clear.”
“He’s worried and…it’s hard for him. Losing his parents, it’s made him overprotective. Sometimes it’s stifling.”
I felt sorry for her. I hadn’t the slightest clue what it was like to have a brother or a cousin to look after you, but from what I’ve seen, I silently thanked both my parents for never procreating again. No way could I deal with that on a day-to-day basis. “I can see that. I think we are done for the day anyway.”
“I should go before he makes good on his word. Still friends?” she asked in a small voice. She sounded almost afraid of my answer.
I nodded my head. “Of course.”
It wasn’t her fault her cousin was a raving d-bag. Hot yes, but that didn’t rule out all his other insufferable qualities. I was kind of stuck. We were neighbors, and I wasn’t going away any time soon, at least not this year.
Chapter 4
It was Saturday. Today I got my Internet connected, meaning I could finally get on my Xbox live account. Plus I got to spend the day with my mom.
Hot damn.
Waking in my new bedding, I hugged the sheets to my chest. I was so excited to finish my project and get my room in working order. Rubbing my cheek on the baby soft blanket, I couldn’t help but love it. The silver was such a striking hue, a color that haunted my dreams.
Chase.
All night the glamour of his grey eyes was there, growling at me, laughing at me, scowling at me. It didn’t matter which way. I don’t know why I let him get the best of me, he was just a guy.
