We Belong Together

by E. L. Todd

  ***

  After Slade picked me up, we drove to the bar.

  “No crutches?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I think I can handle it.”

  He eyed my outfit then looked away. “I like your dress.”

  “You mean—you like how short it is.”

  “Yep. And it’ll ride up when you sit on my lap.”

  “I’m not going to sit on your lap,” I argued. “Skye and Cayson are affectionate but they still understand boundaries. I don’t want to make anyone uncomfortable.”

  “Uncomfortable?” Slade kept his eyes on the road. “You have no idea what I’ve seen Roland and Conrad do. Believe me, having you on my lap doesn’t even compare.”

  I didn’t ask what he’d seen because I didn’t want to know. “I still don’t think it’s appropriate.”

  “Well, girls always sit in my lap.”

  I glared at him. “Is that supposed to convince me?”

  He chuckled. “Well, it’s your seat of honor. If anyone should sit there, it’s you. Besides, you can cover up my massive hard-on.”

  “We just had sex,” I argued.

  “You always get me hard, Trin.” He turned into the parking lot then killed the engine. “It doesn’t matter how many times you make me come in a single day.”

  How did he do that? He somehow made something gross sound sweet.

  We walked inside then joined everyone at the table. Skye was there, sitting next to Cayson. When Slade sat down, he pulled me on his lap, not giving me a choice.

  Cayson eyed us. “You know I can see you, right?”

  Slade kept one hand on my hip. “Then don’t look.”

  “This is weird…” Roland’s eyes darted back and forth between us. “I preferred it when you were a secret.”

  “And I specifically said no dates,” Conrad said with a growl.

  Cayson didn’t look apologetic at all. He shrugged, a pleased look on his face. Skye nudged him in the side slightly, giving him a smirk only he understood.

  “Where I go, my other half goes,” Slade said. “Get used to it.”

  His other half? I could get used to this sweet talk.

  “I knew you were being serious with Trinity, but I didn’t know you were pussy-whipped like Cayson,” Roland said. “So much for that…”

  Slade ignored the jab. “Where’s our waitress?”

  “She seemed busy so don’t expect her to come back again.” Conrad downed half his glass with a single gulp.

  “Fine.” He adjusted me on his lap so he could look at me. “What would you like to drink?” He brought his lips close to my ear and kept his voice low.

  “You.” I wrapped my arms around his neck.

  He smirked. “Right here, right now?” he whispered. “So much for not making people uncomfortable…”

  “Well, when you’re sweet to me it’s hard to resist you.”

  “What are you talking about? I’m always sweet to you.”

  “Yeah…when no one is around. I wasn’t sure how you would act in front of the others.”

  “I see.” He placed a gentle kiss on the shell of my ear. “I’ll keep it up then.”

  “Okay.”

  “Now what would you like to drink?”

  “Seven and seven.”

  “Alright, baby. I’ll be right back.” He moved me off his lap then left the booth.

  I sighed as I watched him go, looking at his tight ass in his jeans as he walked.

  “So much for a guys night…” Conrad gave me an annoyed look before he turned back to Roland.

  “Yeah…” Roland eyed Cayson and Skye, who were making out.

  “Next time, just us,” Conrad said firmly.

  Cayson broke apart from Skye even though it was clearly difficult. “Sorry, Skye doesn’t bring out the best in me.”

  “Because she’s a brat,” Roland spat.

  “Well, I guess I like brats,” Cayson said, giving Skye an affectionate look.

  Skye gave him a sweet smile then turned her attention back to the group.

  It was nice to not be jealous of her for once. I had a man that cared about me just as much, even if he was a little different than traditional prince charming.

  “I should have asked Slade to get me a refill,” Conrad said with a sigh.

  “He wouldn’t have done it anyway,” Roland reasoned.

  “You’re probably right,” Conrad said.

  I looked at Slade at the bar, wondering what was taking him so long.

  A pretty girl with black hair and sleeves of tattoos was talking to him. She had bright green eyes and a figure that would make any girl check her own measurements in comparison. One look at her told me Slade already slept with her or she was definitely somebody he would take to his place.

  “Damn, she’s hot,” Roland blurted, following my gaze.

  “That’s Stacy,” Conrad said. “That’s the one girl that Slade…you know.”

  “You know what?” I demanded, jealousy coming out.

  Roland raised his eyebrows. “Who did that…thing?”

  Conrad nodded with a smirk on his face. “Yep. She’s the one.”

  “No way.” Roland turned back to the girl, his eyes even wider than before.

  “What the hell did she do?” I demanded.

  “Unspeakable things…” Conrad’s voice trailed off as he stared at her.

  Skye tried to come to my aid. “She’s got nothing on you, Trinity. Don’t be threatened by her.”

  “Maybe you should take your own advice…” Cayson muttered.

  I looked at Stacy and watched her touch Slade’s forearm. “Why is she touching him? It’s not like he’s going to fly away.” Venom and anger burst from my mouth.

  Conrad laughed. “You’re getting so red.”

  “No offense, Trin, but that girl is one tough chick,” Roland said. “You could never take her.”

  “You bet your ass I can,” I snapped.

  Stacy leaned toward Slade, sharing a secret only for him to hear. He smirked after he listened to her, not stepping away or pulling his arm out of her grasp.

  “Not if you knew what she was into…” Cayson smirked as his voice trailed off.

  “What the hell did she do with him?” I snapped.

  “No.” Roland held up his finger. “The question is, what the hell didn’t she do with him?”

  I growled and tried not to flip the table over.

  “Trin, it’s okay,” Skye said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “What are you talking about?” I snapped. “She’s all over him!”

  Slade kept talking to her, leaning against the bar while he smirked at her. She pressed closer to him, talking like they were closer than friends. They clearly already shared a bed—several times.

  “Enough of this.” I left the table, ready to kick some ass.

  Conrad laughed from behind me. “My sister is going to get her ass handed to her.”

  I marched across the room until I reached the bar. Neither one of them noticed me, clearly lost in their own world. Whatever they were saying was too interesting to ignore. That just made me more pissed off.

  I cut her off and moved in front of Slade. My arms wrapped around his neck and I crushed my mouth against his, giving him a hard kiss that would knock him off his feet.

  His body reciprocated immediately, and his hands moved around my waist. His lips massaged my mouth for a moment before he ended the embrace. “What was that for?”

  I ignored the question and turned toward Stacy, my arm around Slade’s waist. “He’s taken. Now take your business elsewhere.”

  She gave me a glare, cool and confident, before she flicked her hair over one shoulder. “Call me, Slade.” Then she glided away, shaking her hips and turning heads as she went.

  Bitch.

  I turned to him, fuming.

  “What was that about?” he asked.

  “What was that about? You were flirting with some whore.”

  “Flirti
ng?” he asked. “I wasn’t flirting. I was just talking—”

  “It looked like a lot more than talking! She seemed to have a good grip on your arm.”

  “She likes my tatts,” he said. “So what?”

  “My tatts,” I snapped. “No one touches those but me. If you don’t know how to be a boyfriend, than maybe you shouldn’t be one at all.” I was so upset I could bring down the building. I turned around and took a step, prepared to make a dramatic exit.

  He gripped my wrist and yanked me back, forcing me against his chest. “Baby, calm down.”

  “No.” I swatted his chest. “It’s not okay to flirt with other women.”

  “It’s not?”

  That just pissed me off even more. “You are—”

  “Kidding.” He gave me an affectionate look. “Baby, I wasn’t flirting with her.”

  “It was pretty clear you were. I could see you.”

  “I didn’t say she wasn’t flirting with me.” A cocky smirk was on his face.

  I smacked his shoulder. “God, I hate you sometimes.”

  He gripped my hips and pulled me closer. “I hate you too. But I would never cheat on you. I may be new to this relationship thing, but I understand what’s right and what’s wrong. And I know how I feel about you. Please don’t ever worry about that.”

  “If that’s what you do every time you’re out by yourself, then I am worried.”

  His hands moved up my arms, touching me gently. “Look, I have a reputation I spent years building. Every single girl within ten miles of this campus knows what kind of guy I am. And sometimes they are looking for a good night on my sheets. Can you really blame them?”

  “You’re mine.”

  Fondness shined in his eyes. “I know I am. But they don’t.”

  “Then tell them.” I swatted his shoulder again.

  He laughed then restrained my arm. “I did. But she didn’t believe me. Now, can you really hate these women who have no idea. As far as they know, they aren’t doing anything wrong.”

  “Women? As in plural?” My blood was about to boil. “Does this happen a lot?”

  He shrugged, a guilty look on his face. “Perhaps…”

  “You go out behind my back?” I snapped.

  “No. It’s called a phone, Trin.”

  I hadn’t even thought of that.

  “You’re really making this into a bigger deal than it needs to be.”

  “But you didn’t push her away. You didn’t walk away. You looked like you were having a great fucking time.”

  “Hey, watching a beautiful woman hit on me isn’t the worst thing in the world.”

  “Beautiful?” I hissed. “Beautiful? I thought you only called me that.” Every other chick had other names, like ‘hot’ or ‘sexy’. Not beautiful. That was mine.

  “Baby, you know what I mean.”

  “You’re a fucking pig.” I twisted out of his grasp and walked away.

  I headed straight for the door, not wanting to talk to my friends and hear their opinion about our argument. Maybe everyone was right. Maybe Slade would never be what I wanted him to be. After everything we’d been through, how could he say that to me? Treat me that way?

  When I got outside, Slade caught up to me. “Would you stop making a scene?” he hissed.

  “You’re a jackass.” I crossed the parking lot.

  “Where the hell are you going?”

  “Home.”

  “You’re going to walk there?” He reached me then grabbed me by the arm.

  I twisted out of his grasp. “Just leave me alone, Slade.”

  “If you’re pissed, fine. I get it. But you aren’t walking home. I’ll drop you off.”

  “I don’t want to be anywhere near you.” Anger seethed out, leaking from my pores.

  “Trinity, what is the big deal? You thought all women would just suddenly stop asking me for a good time? It’s not like I have a website and I regularly make announcements about my relationships status. And I refuse to be rude to the women I’ve had a good time with. Some of them are friends. And it really shouldn’t matter because you’re the only woman I’ve ever settled down for. So when you see a woman flirt with me, you shouldn’t be threatened at all. There’s absolutely no reason for it.”

  “But you flirted back.”

  He sighed. “Trin, all people flirt. It’s innocent. It doesn’t mean anything.”

  “Cayson doesn’t.”

  His face turned red. “Stop comparing me to Cayson! I’ll never be him. I’m me. You even told me you loved me for who I was. I’m not going to change and be perfect like he is. You knew that’s what you were getting when you decided to be with me. So don’t pull that shit now.”

  I crossed my arms over my chest and looked across the parking lot.

  “You’re totally overreacting.”

  “No, I’m not. It’s a reasonable request for your boyfriend not to flirt with women he’s slept with.”

  “How do you know if I even slept with her?”

  I gave him a burning glare before I turned away.

  “Whatever, that’s beside the point.”

  “No, it’s not. Flirting with an ex is not okay.”

  “She’s not my ex,” he argued. “She’s just a warm body in a bed. You’re my one and only.”

  “Roland and Cayson told me what you did with her, how she’s so wild and thrilling.” I was pulling that out of nowhere but I didn’t need the details to know how much it bothered me.

  He rolled his eyes. “And I’ve had wilder. But I’ve also had better. Trinity, you’re the best sex I’ve ever had, hands down. She can’t even compare with you.”

  “Then why would you flirt with her?” I snapped.

  “I wasn’t flirting! I was just talking!”

  “That’s not what you said a second ago.”

  “Well…whatever. It didn’t mean anything.”

  “Well, it means something to me and I don’t want you to do it anymore. That’s final.”

  “That’s final?” he asked incredulously. “You don’t want me to do it anymore? Do what? Not speak to any girl I’ve slept with? You know how impossible that is, right?”

  “I just want you to walk away.”

  “Again…they haven’t done anything to deserve my coldness.”

  “If they mean nothing to you, why do you care?”

  “Because they are human beings,” she snapped. “Trinity, why the fuck are you so insecure? Why the hell don’t you trust me? It sounds like you’re the one who has issues, not me. Maybe you should get that figured out before you start lashing out at me and bossing me around. I told you I was faithful to you and I would never cheat on you. My word is good enough. Who cares if I talk to them? You’re the person I sleep with every night. You’re the person who I confess everything to. They are so insignificant. The fact you’re acting like a brat is making them more important, which is your doing, not mine.”

  I kept my arms across my chest and stared at the ground.

  “I’m not going to just storm off and be a dick every time a woman tries to talk to me. I’m already a dick as it is. I don’t need to be worse. You can deal with that or leave.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “You heard me. I don’t care who you are, how great your pussy feels, or how much I love you, I will not let you boss me around. That’s final.”

  The fact he wasn’t compromising with me on this only fueled my anger. “I guess we’re done then.”

  His face immediately changed. “What?”

  “You heard me. You want to have the freedom to flirt with whomever you want, fine. Then I guess having a girlfriend is only going to get in the way of that.” I walked off and headed to the sidewalk.

  “Trinity.” His voice was loud but he didn’t yell.

  I kept walking.

  “Trinity!”

  I ignored him.

  He came after me then gripped me. “You’re so fucking annoying, you know that?”

  I t
wisted from his grasp and broke free.

  He pushed me against a car then pinned me down. “God, I want to slap the shit out of you sometimes.”

  “Then just do it. You don’t respect me anyway.”

  “And you don’t trust me.” His eyes burned in a bright fire. “My word isn’t good enough and it will never be.”

  “Speak with your actions, not your words.” I shoved him back hard.

  He stumbled then hit the ground.

  “Fuck off, Slade.” I headed the opposite direction since he was in my way.

  He got to his feet then came after me again. He grabbed my wrist and yanked it toward him. Then he dropped his keys in my palm. “Drive home. Don’t walk. I’ll pick up my car later.”

  “I don’t want you anywhere near my house,” I snarled.

  “And I’ll pick up all my shit tomorrow. I’m sure I’ll be up late fucking some tramp I pick up tonight.”

  I slapped him hard across the face.

  He stilled after my hand collided with his face. His eyes burned in anger.

  And then I slapped him again.

  He took the hits and clenched his jaw. Then he stormed off and walked back inside the bar, his body tense and his hands clenched into fists.

  I got into his car and drove home, feeling the anger spread through my body. When I got inside my house, I grabbed everything that belonged to him and tossed it in a box then left it on the porch. I didn’t want to see him today or tomorrow. His face was vivid in my mind and I just wanted it to go away.

  I got into bed, still holding onto the anger. When I relieved everything he said and did, the fury flooded back, vengeful and strong. I hated him, felt the rage hit a crescendo. I regretted ever wasting my time on him, for ever letting myself fall for him. He was no good for me and he would never change. I was stupid for ever thinking otherwise.

  But hours later, I couldn’t hold onto the anger anymore. All I felt was pain. I missed him and regretted everything I said. He was the best thing that ever happened to me and I let my emotions break me. I pushed him away and ended a relationship I loved. I was still mad at him, but my longing for him was stronger.

  Hours after midnight, headlights came into my window. I peeked outside and saw Roland’s car. Slade jumped out then headed to his car. I left the keys on the seat so he would find them.

  Roland drove away, leaving Slade alone. He opened the car door then grabbed the key. When he sat inside, he didn’t move. He stayed in the same spot, staring out at the road.