by Stacy Borel
His brow rose. “It’s hotter than hell out here. What do I want to wear a shirt for?”
“Dad,” I said, giving him my most stern voice, “Ms. Stevens and her friend are nearly keeling over from heatstroke staring over here.”
He chuckled as we both looked behind me. My dad waved at them and said hello. As they both lifted their arms and waved frantically, one almost toppled off her chair. They made him feel like he still had it, I guess. But he was head over heels for my mom. My dad might be my dad, but growing up, it didn’t take long for me to recognize that the female population found him attractive. Just like Foster and all the other boys in the family. They were Brooks men. As young as elementary school, my friends were bashful around him and asked if they could sit next to him at the dinner table whenever they stayed the night.
“You’re flirting,” I scolded.
“No, I’m not. And those women are harmless.”
“Yeah, till one of them slips something into your next batch of delicious brownies, and you’re waking up in their basement with a hell of a headache.”
He barked a laugh. “You have a wild imagination.”
I rolled my eyes. “I guess we’ll just wait and see if I’m saying I told you so.” I started to walk toward the house. “It’s the harmless ones you should worry about, Dad.”
“You mean like you?” he called back.
I didn’t respond as I walked into the house and went straight to my room. After changing into a different pair of jeans and tying my long brown hair up, I went in search of my favorite hoodie. It was one I’d gotten on a class trip to New York City during my sophomore year. I’d worn it so much the material was thinning, and after so many washes, the deep red color was now a faded rose. Just as I was squatting to check under my bed, it dawned on me that I had left it at Foster’s.
“Dammit.”
Looking up at my clock, I knew I had plenty of time to get to work, but I hadn’t planned on making any side trips. I needed to eat before I started my shift, but it didn’t look like I’d have time if I stopped at his apartment. I contemplated not getting it, but I knew if I didn’t, I’d be freezing in my little craft shop. Mumbling under my breath, I stood back up and settled on snagging the container with the curry chicken Mom had made for dinner last night.
Once outside, I tossed a shirt I’d grabbed from the dryer at my dad and let him know I’d be home late. He grunted as he tugged at the cotton, fighting to smooth it out over his sweaty torso. He was frowning when he got it put on. I knew the ladies behind me were making a similar face, and it brought me joy. Before I got in my car, Dad told me to let Foster know he would see him later at the gym.
As I backed out of the driveway, I smiled, and said, “Just trying to save you from being a statistic, Dad. The date rape drug is real.” He just chuckled as I drove off.
Foster’s apartment complex was close—three miles away, to be exact. My parents lived there before they had me. They’d been remodeled since then, but it was a perfect setup for Foster. It was near campus and not far from the gym. Foster was going to school for business, and my dad planned on giving him partial ownership in the next couple of years.
Foster’s place was on the first floor, and of course, I had a key. I never knocked when I came over. If he was here and he had company, it was a general understanding that he would shoot me a text and let me know it wasn’t a good time to pop in. Normally, he knew when I planned to come over anyway. Today’s trip was impromptu, but it was still before noon, and I knew he wouldn’t be here with a girl right now. In fact, if I knew my cousin, he went back to find the one he was checking out to get her number.
Slipping the key in the lock, I let myself in. My cousin wasn’t a messy person, so the apartment was nice and tidy. For an early twentysomething, he was very put together. Plus, the place always smelled like Febreze and whatever candle I’d bought from Bath and Body Works on sale. The kitchen was directly to my left when I came in. No dishes were piled in the sink, and the counters were cleared off aside from a few stacks of fitness supplements lined against the white subway tile backsplash. The counters were a cheap but pretty Formica with cabinets in a rich honey color. The kitchen had an opening that looked out to the living room and dining room combination. He had two black leather couches that I hated but had been given to him for free. They were either freezing cold during the winter or the material stuck to my legs during the summer. The massive 70-inch television mounted on the wall screamed bachelor pad. Directly in front of that was a metal and dark oak coffee table. The space had minimal décor, but Foster didn’t care for wall hangings or curtains that would make his space look girly as he called it. I’d hung a picture of us playing ball when we were kids once, and it was gone the next day.
I didn’t question it.
Walking into the living room, I set my keys down and glanced around. I could’ve sworn I left it on the back of the couch. Putting my hands on my hips, I nibbled on my bottom lip. Oh, yes! Dawning on me where it was, I walked down the hall, going over in my head the list of things I needed to study while I had some downtime at work. I was so consumed in my own thoughts that I didn’t even pause at the sound of the shower running as I twisted the knob on the door and shoved it open to retrieve my hanging hoodie.
The sight in front of me had me stumbling backward over my own feet and hitting my back against the wall.
Standing there was a man wearing only a towel and the cloud of fog that swirled around with the breeze of the open door. At first, a particularly pleasing scent lingered. It wasn’t one I’d ever smelled before, so I gave the air a little sniff. Not quite pine, but it reminded me of camping in the mountains. Earthy, but delicious. My eyes traveled the length of his body, starting at his feet. I discovered even more pleasing things the higher I went. His towel-clad body had long, lean legs and a deep V that seemed to be hiding a treasure beneath. Rippling abs covered by golden skin and a stomach that tightened with every breath he took. Up and up my eyes went, reveling in a body that I couldn’t help but appreciate. His chest was broad, and his nipples were pebbled by the cooler air hitting them. He was well-defined and muscled.
And I’d give my right arm to run my tongue across every exposed surface of it.
My eyes caught a tattooed arm with a full sleeve of art and designs. It was devoid of color except for black and the natural coloring of his skin. I tried to take a moment to pick out a single drawing but couldn’t. A throat cleared, bringing my attention to his face. That was when I realized I hadn’t even taken notice of just how fantastic he really was. Had I started at the top, I would have never moved past his eyes. Yellowish-green slits glared at me as I had idiotically stood gawking at his incredible body. The color was simply spectacular. They were so deep they reminded me of desert sand, and they held a dusty shade to them with flecks of gold. High cheekbones and an angular jaw gave his face a perfect shape.
I nearly groaned in appreciation.
In my entire twenty years on this earth, my eyes had never feasted on anything more beautiful. Drops of water fell from the tips of his messy wet brown hair, making him even more delectable. I had run out of adjectives to describe him.
“Can I help you?” His deep voice rang in my ears.
I blinked. Licking my lips, I saw his eyes move to my mouth.
I tried clear my throat but ended up coughing awkwardly. “I’m so sorry … uh, yeah, I didn’t mean to, um. Okay.” I hunched my shoulders up. “I just needed to get my sweatshirt, and I didn’t know Foster had someone over.” I tried to maintain my composure. “Let me just grab …” I took the smallest of steps forward and stretched to reach behind the door. I nearly toppled over, but I got it. The beautiful stranger hadn’t moved an inch or offered to help. I clutched the hoodie to my chest. Bashfully, I smiled, and said, “Again, I’m very sorry. I didn’t mean to barge in on you like that. Foster normally tells me when someone is here.”
He smirked, but the confidence was coming off him in waves. “How do you know F
oster?”
Shifting on my feet, I stood a little taller. “He’s my cousin.”
“Cousin, huh?”
“Mmmhmm.”
He reached out his tattooed arm and held out his hand to me. “I’m Crew, the new roommate.”
Oh shit, that’s right. The roommate thing was so foreign to me, I didn’t even give it a passing thought when I let myself in and marched back here like I owned the place. Tentatively, I took his hand for a brief shake. In that millisecond, I felt the warmth of his rough hands against my softer ones. The scratchy feel of calluses that most normal men didn’t get without manual labor. I wondered if he got toughened skin from working on cars.
It also dawned on me that this was a conversation we didn’t need to have while he was nearly naked and tempting me with every little drop that trickled down his body and disappeared into the towel.
“Ashton.” I said my name, looking down at the floor. “Anyway, I’m going to, uh …” I awkwardly pointed at the living room.
“Nice meeting you, Ashton,” he said with a slightly seductive tone.
I started to walk away. “You too.”
My cheeks were still enflamed, and the color of his wolfish eyes were burned into my brain. I gripped my hoodie to my chest as I stumbled out of the apartment and to my car. My drive to work was an interesting one. The name Crew and his rippling abs played on repeat in my head like a skipping soundtrack. While it was humiliating, I only hoped I’d get another sneak peek of the new roommate who shattered my notions of what a mechanic looked like.
IT WAS JUST AFTER NOON when I rolled out of bed two days later on a Saturday and grabbed a bite to eat from the kitchen. As long as I didn’t get called into work, I had three glorious days to do whatever I wanted. The skies were a beautiful blue with barely a cloud in sight, and it was still warm outside for being the end of September. While I normally spent my weekends bumming around the house and reading a book, I decided to get one last session lying out by the pool to give my body a good dose of vitamin D. I wasn’t one to tan very well since my skin was more like my mother’s than my dad’s, and I was lucky I managed any suntan lines from my bathing suits by the end of summer. Sunscreen was my best friend.
Even though I was constantly over at Foster’s place, I wasn’t in the habit of keeping a change of clothes or a bathing suit there for convenience, so I got together a small bag of items and headed over. I had three hours to get some color before I went to my grandparents’ house for an early dinner.
When I got there, I heard music coming from the small surround sound Foster had installed in the living room last year. It was loud enough that I could hear it when I stepped out of my car. The doorknob was even vibrating from the bass as I let myself in, but I was slightly perplexed when I heard electronic music. Never in the history of growing up had Foster liked or enjoyed EDM. I would almost go as far as to use the word hate to describe his distaste for it. Rounding the corner, there stood Crew in the kitchen ever so subtly bobbing his head and cooking something that immediately made my stomach roar to life. I glanced around, but Foster wasn’t anywhere in sight.
After my first encounter with Crew, I had avoided coming over till now. I was feeling sheepish and unsure how he would receive me after I’d practically molested him with my eyes, but I couldn’t avoid him forever.
“Hey!” I shouted over the music.
Crew looked over his shoulder, slightly startled by the sound of someone’s voice, but when he saw me, he gave me a quirky grin. “Hey back.”
He pushed a button on a black remote, and the annoying repetitive noise lowered to a much more tolerable level—silent. Jesus, my ears felt like they were bleeding. Except now it was so quiet I wished he’d only turned it down.
“Omelets and music … it’s the only way to wake up in the morning,” he said, waving a spatula in the air.
That was what the delicious smell was. I peeked into the pan and saw the snotty yellow mixture of uncooked scrambled eggs. I wasn’t a big egg eater anymore. My dad fed them to me too much when I was little, and I stopped liking them when I was in the fifth grade. Folded into the eggs were green peppers, onions, and bits of steak. All those other things had my mouth salivating.
He did this every morning? I shifted uncomfortably on my feet.
“That’s your choice of music?” I asked, sounding rude to even my own ears.
He brushed his tousled brown hair back, causing it to stick up in every which direction. It gave him a boyish appeal unlike the rest of him that screamed untamed bad boy. “Hell no. But my mom discovered in high school that if she put my alarm on the other side of the room, I would be motivated enough to get out of bed to shut it off. After a while, I stopped turning it off, and it sort of stuck, even after graduating. It keeps me from going back to bed.” He flipped his eggs. “Whatever works, right?”
I nodded. “I’m a morning person.”
He looked over his shoulder. “Easy riser?”
Clearing my throat, I set my keys down and started toward the living room. “Something like that, but it sure smells good.” I wanted to know where Foster was. He was my saving grace so I didn’t have to be alone in a room with Crew.
“Want me to make you one?” he called back.
I turned back around, and he was watching me through the opening into the kitchen. “Oh, uh, no thank you. I just ate.” That was a lie, but my stomach was still full from my extra-large cup of coffee. And I didn’t think I could sit down near him on the couch or even stand in the kitchen and not watch his mouth as he chewed his food. His golden eyes pierced me, making me want to run and hide.
“Foster?” I yelled.
The bathroom door opened, and my cousin stepped out looking freshly showered. He was dressed and vigorously rubbing the top of his wet head with a towel. “Hey.” He stopped mid motion. “You okay?”
I forgot I was wearing a pair of short cutoffs with white fringe hanging from the edges. My top was a midriff tank I’d cut myself. I wore it around the house normally because I’d cut too much material from it. My electric blue string bikini top was playing peek-a-boo. I reddened, realizing I’d given Crew an eyeful.
Looking into the kitchen, I saw he was back to cooking. “Mmmhmm.”
“You don’t look like it.”
I leaned in a little, and whispered, “What’s his deal?”
“Who, Crew?” he said a little too loud. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, who is he? A mechanic, but where? How old is he? Is he from here? Do we know his family?”
He dropped his hand by his side and gave me a sidelong look. “What’s with the fifty questions, Ash?”
I didn’t even know, and I shouldn’t have asked. One naked encounter with a stranger and I was having word vomit like a frazzled middle school kid. Foster could read me easily, and as hard as I tried to hide my weird curiosity, I wasn’t doing a good job.
I shrugged. “I just want to make sure you know who you’re living with.”
His lips formed a thin line. “By know him, know him, the answer is no. Do I know enough about him to make this living arrangement good? I know enough. What’s going on with you?”
I sighed. “Sorry, I just … I sort of had an awkward first meeting.”
Foster smirked. “He mentioned you came over the other day when I wasn’t home.” Reaching up, he snapped his towel at me. “What happened?”
“Nothing.”
“Riiiight. Why are you acting so weird then if it was nothing?”
I leaned back against the wall and pressed my palms against the cool paint. Looking up at the ceiling, I said, “I came to get my hoodie, and I sort of walked in on him.”
“You what?” he said with a boisterous voice. I tried shushing him, but he was grinning like an idiot, and it would have given me great pleasure to slap him on the head. “So my little baby cousin got an eyeful, and she liked it.”
“No, I didn’t,” I hissed.
He chuckled low. “Okay, we
will go with that … for now.”
I leaned forward and peeked down the hall. Crew was doing something on his phone. Long dark lashes fanned out along his cheeks, hiding his wolf-colored eyes, and a plain white T-shirt covered the chest and chiseled abs I had the luxury of seeing only two days ago. I purposely ignored the tattered jeans hanging low on his hips when I’d walked in, but I was paying attention to them now. I always hated when guys wore their jeans that way and their boxers were showing. To me, it felt lazy and not classy, but this wasn’t that. They were simply resting on his hips in a form-fitting sort of way. Almost like the curve of his ass held them up. My cheeks heated, and I stood with my back straight.
“Don’t be ridiculous,” I calmly stated. “I had just forgotten that you aren’t the only person here anymore.”
He gave me a long look. “Ashton, you may be able to hide from your parents and even Grandma and Grandpa, but you’ll never be able to lie to me.” He tapped my nose and flung his arm around my shoulders. “Remember that. Besides, boys aren’t your focus right now.”
“Boys have never been my focus. Nor will I be paying attention to the one over there.”
“Hush now, you’re giving yourself away. Besides, I’d hate to see you hurt again after what Cooper did.”
A small twinge of pain shot through my chest. He was the reason I didn’t want anything to do with guys right now. Even though a few here and there had shown interest, I never really put myself out there for that kind of attention. After I’d had my heart ripped out of my chest and put into a blender, I decided I needed to focus on getting my life together by obtaining a degree and being a big girl before I allowed myself to feel anything for anybody else. Cooper was a piece of shit I’d dated periodically from seventh grade till the middle of my senior year. He was a year ahead of me, and when he left for college, I discovered he’d been seeing a girl he had class with. When he showed up during winter break to visit me, he confessed he had fallen for her and she was pregnant. Devastation didn’t even cover the lengths of hurt I’d felt.
