Bender (The Core Four Series)

by Stacy Borel

  I nodded my head in understanding. I’d seen so many expressions on Camden’s face in the past couple months, but this one, this one unnerved me. He was warning me about Luke, but I had no idea why. I sat there wondering what could possibly make him say this to me, but I’d felt nothing but comfortable with Luke. He was warm, gently, caring, and endearing. If I should be worried about anybody, it would be Camden. He was the one who had an air of dangerousness, edginess, and darkness that I’d never touched before. Well, not until last night. I should be scared of the man sitting next to me, because he made me feel like his very essence was a drug. The draw I felt to him was so potent, that even now, I wanted to taste him. I wanted to feel him on me, caressing me, whispering things in my ear that made me blush. Rubbing my hands back and forth on my legs, I needed to get going. Some fresh air and time away from Camden would do me good. I stood on shaky legs and made my way to the door. Camden remained on the couch and watched me walk away.

  “I’ll be home later,” I said over my shoulder.

  “Okay.”

  I opened the front door. “And Cam?”

  “Hmmm?”

  “You’re not sleeping in my room tonight.” I leveled a look at him.

  That glorious smirk that now made me feel naughty things crossed his mouth. “We’ll see Blue, we’ll see.”

  With that I walked out the door and headed to the mall.

  TWO DAYS AGO I’D LEFT THE APARTMENT, and my mind was reeling. After talking to Macie while I found the rest of my Halloween costume, I was no longer questioning if Camden liked me, but rather just wanted to know why? I wasn’t his usual M.O. When I looked in the mirror I saw an average girl with curvy hips, somewhat pretty hair, and that was it. When I looked at Camden, he was dangerously sexy, the guy who every girl wanted to tame but never could. So I wondered again, why me?

  I thought about this while I was putting on my costume that Macie had talked me into and was feeling butterflies in my stomach. Nobody had seen me in it yet, and as much as I told myself I was nervous for the general masses to get a load of me in my barely there nurse outfit, I was mostly terrified of Camden seeing me. He’d already referred to me as ‘the chubby one’ once before. Despite working out, I wasn’t feeling overly confident in my appearance. Macie said the costume was made for my body, but, as my best friend, I figured she was supposed to say that. I stood in front of the full-length mirror that hung behind the bathroom door. I had on a pair of black stilettos that increased my height by four inches, fishnet stockings, and a lace garter with a little red bow hugging my right thigh. A black dress that embraced every one of my curves completed the costume. There was no way I’d be able to bend over or sit down without flashing my box of treasures. When I decided to go with a nurse costume, it was really just as a joke since I was in nursing school. There were two options: black or white. Macie told me to go with the black, and we’d make it look like a vampire nurse, so it would be something different; darker, more alluring. My long blond hair was pinned up in a messy bun with some loose tendrils falling down around my face. What was most shocking were my eyes. The color of them were already a vibrant blue, so when I added the dark eyeliner and shadow, they stood out in stark contrast against all of the black. I leaned in a little to get a closer look. Weird…they seemed almost light blue/white. I added a finishing touch of some fake blood at the corner of my mouth and stood back to check out my reflection. Oh man, there was no way I was going to be able to go out looking like this. I didn’t look like a naughty vampire nurse, I looked like a straight-up hooker who must have bit some poor dude’s dick because he shoved it down my throat too far. Ack! No way, I needed to go change. I was sure I had something in my clos-. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.

  “Get out here woman! Luke will be here any time now, and I want to take a few shots before we leave,” Macie called from the other side of the door.

  Well there goes that plan, I sighed. Tentatively I opened the door and slowly showed myself. I heard her suck in a breath of air before she let out a low whistle. “Holy hot momma, you’re going to set all the boys’ panties on fire tonight.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Shut up, Mace. I’m not comfortable at all. Can’t I change into something that’s a little less revealing? I’m sure I have an adult onesie that I can put on. It even has a flap in the back. I could let it hang open and put a sign on the open part that says ‘no entrance’ or something.”

  She shook her head and giggled at me. “No way lady. This outfit is smokin’! I don’t get why you’re so worried. I told you that you looked great, so what’s the problem?”

  “The problem is my cooter is feeling far too drafty, my boobs are about to pop out, and all this makeup makes me look like a two dollar whore.”

  She tips her head to the side and deadpans, “I’d totally pay a solid twenty to see your meat curtains.”

  I cracked a smile. “Really?”

  “Absolutely. I bet you have a better roast beef sandwich than any Arby’s.”

  I let a giggle slip out. “This conversation is ridiculous, you know that right?”

  “Yep, but if it convinces you to go downstairs and do some Lemon Drops with me, then mission accomplished. Now let’s go, or I’m sending Dodger up here to get you.”

  I paled a little. There was a vast difference between standing in front of your best friend looking like a high-class hooker, thank God, than standing in front of a super-hot guy and letting him judge you. She must have seen the indecision on my face because she yelled, “Dodger?”

  “What?” he called from downstairs.

  I leaned in and grabbed her arm. “Wait, wait, wait…I’ll go, just let me get my purse.”

  “Never mind.” She gave me a devilish smile. Little brat always got her way.

  As we descended the steps, Macie was walking in front of me looking crazy beautiful, as always. She was wearing a shorts one-piece set that was supposed to look like a fighter pilot. Her long brown hair swayed with each movement she made. A pair of aviators sat atop her head, and she had on tan boots that stopped above her knee. They laced up and looked like combat boots. Where she found those, I didn’t know. I admired her confidence. She owned every room she walked into, and people took notice of her. Not because she was the fat girl who looked like she stuffed herself into a sausage tube, but because she has always been this way; gorgeous, stunning, poised.

  I was looking down, watching where my feet were and hoping like hell I didn’t fall in these killer heels. As my foot hit the bottom step I heard a, “Holy shit,” come from Dodger’s mouth, and what sounded like an animal growl from Camden. When I was safely off the stairs I looked up. Macie was already in the kitchen pouring the liquid courage, and the two brothers were staring at me open mouthed.

  “Jesus Christ, Keegan, have you been hiding that under all those clothes this whole time?” Dodger wondrously asked.

  As I came toward the both of them, Camden’s eyes were following me. The intensity of them lit my insides on fire. I shook my head at Dodger. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Your body is fucking banging!” he said appreciatively, but soon after was rubbing the back of his head where Camden had just smacked him.

  “Shut your mouth douchebag,” he told his brother.

  I shyly looked down at the floor and back up through my eyelashes. Camden and I made eye contact and all the air was sucked out of the room. His tongue came out and licked his bottom lip, and I felt my knees go weak. I took a few purposeful steps in his direction and saw his nostrils flare. I felt desire pooling at my core. He was holding me captive with his piercing brown eyes. I was a few feet away from him when Macie broke the trance I was in.

  “Get over here Nurse Sexy, it’s time to make a toast.”

  Clearing my throat I went to the counter and picked up a shot glass.

  “To new experiences, dancing our asses off, getting laid, and making every cock on campus stand at attention,” Mace announ
ced with a raised glass, throwing back her shot. I tipped my head back and swallowed the murky yellow liquid, its bitterness burning my throat. I noticed that Dodger was glaring at her. She leveled a stare at him. I took note of it and would have to remember to ask her what that was all about later. The two of them had been hanging out a lot, and I knew Macie liked him. They’d gone out on a few dates, but apparently Dodger wouldn’t give in to Mace and sleep with her. I could tell she was getting upset about it.

  I felt someone behind me, and a subtle brush of air across my ear. “Can I talk to you for a minute?” Camden rumbled.

  I looked over my shoulder and gave a slight nod. I didn’t think Dodger and Macie would even notice my absence. They seemed to be locked in a battle of wills at the moment. Camden put his hand on my lower back, leading me into our small laundry room. When he shut the door behind him, I suddenly felt claustrophobic. Facing him, Camden took up majority of the space. His wide shoulders and tall stance dwarfed me.

  “You can’t wear that,” he said flatly.

  My brows drew together. “What? Of course I can.”

  “Don’t test me on this.”

  “I’m not testing you, but you’re not making any sense.”

  He roughly reached up and yanked on his hair. “Seriously Blue, you can’t walk into a frat house where everybody has been drinking looking like that. Every guy in there will get the wrong impression.”

  “Camden, I’m not wearing anything that’s more revealing than Macie, what’s the big deal?”

  He took a step into me. The warm chocolate of his eyes hard, yet pleading. “You just can’t. I’m not going to be there to make sure you stay safe.”

  “I wasn’t aware that you cared so much.”

  He grunted. “Don’t start. You and I both know that isn’t true.”

  “Oh really? Cause I’ve been going over and over it in my mind the past two days, trying to figure out what exactly this is between us, and I can’t seem to figure it out.” I had no idea what was making me discuss our mysterious relationship now. Regardless, I let it out and the question was now hanging out there for him to answer.

  “Don’t be so dense, Keegan,” he replied harshly.

  I put my hand up to my chest and gasped. “Are you insulting me now?”

  “No, I’m stating the facts. You know damn well what’s going on with us and yet you come walking downstairs looking like a tramp. Then you say that you are still going with Luke, even after I warned you about him. I’m starting to think you don’t know your head from your ass,” he reprimanded.

  My hand came up on its accord and slapped him across the face as hard as I could. His head swung to the side, absorbing the impact. Ouch, that stung. I was sick and tired of the hatred he spewed, especially after questioning his intentions.

  “You’re a self-righteous son of a bitch!” I spat. “From the day I walked in here, you’ve treated me like I was some inconsequential thing that you could speak to and treat however you wanted. You’ve degraded me with name calling, harassed me, ignored me, and pushed me. Then you all of a sudden find out that I was the poor girl living across the hall without furniture, and now I’ve become some project. It’s like you’re testing me to see if you can get me to fall for you. Well fuck you Camden. I’m not falling for you. In fact I’m jumping off this rollercoaster ride. I’m sick to death of your bullshit, and I call quits. Enjoy your evening, I have somewhere I have to be.” I tried to push past him, but he blocked me.

  I saw so many emotions warring across his face. If I didn’t know any better I would say it looked like sadness, regret, pain. His hands came up to touch my face. I held my breath, knowing that if he did it, I’d melt into him. I needed my resolve to hold strong. If I gave in to him right now, he would never stop this outlandish quest he seemed to be on. There was a knock at the front door, and Camden dropped his arms. Every expression I’d seen only a second before was now wiped clean. The indifference on his handsome face was like a punch to my gut. Stepping aside, he gave me enough space to leave. I guess that was it. I somehow got the last word with him, and I honestly couldn’t feel worse about it. He’d always fought me every step of the way, and now he seemed to be giving up. I couldn’t afford to let him in right now. Camden would destroy me if I let him. Steeling myself, I squared my shoulders and lifted my head. Hoping like hell that my eyes showed exactly what I felt in that moment, I stared at him. When he tilted his head to the side I knew I needed to get out of here. When I walked past him, my side brushed against his front, and I could have sworn I heard him groan.

  Macie was just opening the door for Luke while a very grumpy looking Dodger stood in the kitchen watching her. Apparently I wasn’t the only one having issues tonight. When Luke walked in it was like seeing a breath of fresh air. After several days of Camden’s intensity, it was going to be nice being around Luke’s easygoing demeanor. His tamed blond hair and aqua eyes sought me out. When he found me over by the laundry room door, his eyes grew wide, and the shocked expression was well worth the discomfort of wearing the outfit. We tried to coordinate what we wore, so he was decked out in a pair of scrubs with splatters of blood on the front and had a stethoscope hanging around his neck.

  I walked toward him, wanting nothing more than to feel his embrace. He opened his arms to me, and I sank into him, breathing in his clean scent. His mouth came down to the top of my head, and he kissed my hair.

  “You look stunning,” he complimented.

  I tipped my head back and smiled at him. “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself, Doc.”

  His pointed finger tapped the tip of my nose, and he smirked. “Maybe later we can play doctor. You can be the naughty nurse and assist me with a breast exam.”

  I threw my head back and laughed. “You’re terrible,” I said, slapping him on the arm.

  His deep chuckling warmed my chest. I stiffened when I heard a door slam behind me. Looking over my shoulder I saw Camden standing with his hands on his hips looking furious. His eyes were trained on mine, and I felt myself sinking into Luke. Those dark brown depths looked lethal, and it made me nervous. Even Dodger and Macie paused what they were doing to look at Cam. The room was silent and nobody moved. Camden’s look was meant for me. He was angry, hurt, vulnerable, but there was something else there. He was warning me. I squinted my eyes in confusion and tilted my head to the side. It was barely perceptible but I saw it, he glanced from me to Luke. He was telling me again to be careful. I desperately wanted to know why he felt the way he did when Luke’s been nothing but a gentleman to me. Either way, I’d heed his warning. How could I not? No matter how confusing our relationship was, deep down in my gut I knew I could trust Camden. I nodded even more subtly toward him. His mouth thinned into a straight line, and he exhaled loudly. Breaking his stare, he walked over to the corner of the dining room and picked up his gym bag. Slinging it over his shoulder he moved past Luke and me to the front door.

  “Where’s he going?” I heard Macie whisper to Dodger.

  “He has some issues he needs to work out,” he replied.

  When the front door closed we all visibly relaxed. “What was that about?” Luke asked in my ear.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know,” I lied, not wanting to tell him anything.

  When I turned to face him again, he looked down at me skeptically. A slow smile spread across his face, and he brought his lips down to mine. The soft tenderness of his kiss causing me to sigh. It was the briefest of pecks, but it was enough to erase the tension that Camden had caused. However, I couldn’t ignore the niggling feeling that there was still so much unsaid between Camden and me. We’d have to talk at some point. Plus I wanted to know what his issue was with Luke.

  “You ready to go?” he asked.

  “Yep, let me grab my coat.”

  When I was all set, I shut off the lights, and we headed to the party.

  Pulling up to the house, there were cars parked haphazardly all over the place, and the music could be heard al
l the way down the street. Orange lights were strung up in the trees, and cheesy Halloween decorations adorned the front lawn. There was everything from Styrofoam tombstones to plastic zombies that looked like they were clawing their way out of the ground. Cobwebs were strung all over the front bushes, and black lanterns lit the path to the front door. The house itself was huge. It was a two-story Tudor style that could use a coat of fresh paint and some new trim. Coupled with the Halloween decorations, the place was pretty creepy.

  As we approached the front door I hesitated. Not only was I nervous because I never really hung out with the frat types, but it was made worse because of my chosen attire. Silently cursing myself, I wished I’d gone with the onesie. When Luke opened the door, the party was in full swing. People were packed in like sardines; dancing, laughing, kissing, and having a good time. Up against the far left wall was a small DJ booth with speakers planted all over the house. The booming music of Ellie Goulding-Burn was reverberating in my chest. Those who were dancing had their hands in the air feeling the beat. Luke placed his hand on my lower back leading me through the crowd. People were bumping into me left and right, and I lost my balance a few times in these heels. Thankfully Luke was there to steady me. Several couples stopped us as we pushed our way through the crowd, greeting Luke with hellos and eyeing me with curiosity. We made our way into a kitchen that seemed much too small for a house this size. Assorted alcohol littered the counter, along with cups that were half full or tipped on their side. Luke opened one of the cupboards and turned toward me.

  “Pick your poison Nurse Rachett.” The lazy grin he gave me was infectious.

  “Beer from the keg is fine.”

  “I never pegged you for a beer girl. I would’ve figured Cosmos and anything with an umbrella was more your speed.”

  I laughed. “That’s Macie’s thing. I’m not a high-maintenance girl.”

  Filling a red cup, he handed it to me and pulled me into him. “No, you’re really not,” he said with such amusement I wondered if that was what he thought of me this whole time.