Always My Home (The Aster Lake Series Book 2)

by Alora Kate

  Isaac waited outside my container while I grabbed my things and then walked with me to the van.

  “Dinner, Madi. That’s what the bet was about.”

  “I want to know what I did to upset you yesterday,” I told him trying to change the subject. We climbed into the van and noticed we were still missing two of the guys.

  “I’ll tell you over dinner,” he replied, a sly smile gracing his face.

  I let out a frustrated sigh. He wasn’t going to give up. I guess it was just dinner.

  “Tomorrow. I need tonight to myself.”

  “Finally,” he said, his grin completely transforming his face.

  “Don’t get your hopes up,” I teased.

  “Don’t’ worry, Madi. I know all about Rocco.”

  Chapter 5

  Rocco stood at the end of the hallway, his fists clenched at his side, trying his best not to kill the man.

  Rocco rushed to New York City to be with Madi; he got her address from Adalyn without telling her why he needed it and then got on the first flight he could. He had to show Madi he was serious about her, that he wanted more. He couldn’t explain it, but it felt right. He practiced what he was going to say to her, do to her, show her with this grand gesture how much she meant to him.

  Now, it was all for nothing.

  Madi’s hands were gripping his arms, while his hands slowly slid down her back and rested on top of her ass.

  He was kissing her.

  She was kissing him back.

  Rocco was sure he was in love with Madi and it killed him that she didn’t feel the same way. As much as he wanted to charge down the hallway and kick this guy’s ass, he didn’t. He wasn’t going to get in the way. She wasn’t ready. He was going to let her go.

  He slipped around the corner, hoping she’d give them another a chance.

  A real chance.

  Chapter 6

  I pushed Isaac away, breaking our kiss.

  “Why did you do that?” I asked breathlessly.

  “I had to know.”

  “Know what? We just talked about this,” I said slapping his arm. After he told me in the van that he knew about Rocco, I decided to have dinner with him tonight instead of tomorrow. We decided on a diner that was right across the street from our apartment. It was quiet and we talked while we ate giant hamburgers and fries. I needed to know everything I said to him while I was clearly blacked out. Apparently, I told him I was head over heels in love with Rocco and that I was being stupid and selfish by not giving into my feelings for him. And I cried. I cried a lot according to Isaac.

  I also learned a lot about Isaac. He was upset the other day because I laughed at him for living at home with his mom. Turns out, his mom is really sick and he moved her into his home to take care of her after his father passed away. He was on the show to win the money to help pay for her medical costs. His parents were both only children and he had no siblings. He works at a large furniture store that makes custom furniture, which didn’t help my confidence any. He showed me pictures and I showed him some of mine. He was far more talented than I was. He was going to win, and I almost wanted him to.

  We talked about Rocco and Landon. Isaac was a good listener and turning into a good friend. He said he’d stop hitting on me but warned me that I would fall in love with him anyway. We got a good laugh out of that, but then he kissed me.

  “I’ve thought about you since the day I first saw you. I just had to know what is was like to kiss you. I had to feel your lips against mine.”

  “Oh...” I said trying to pull myself together. “Ok. Well, don’t let it happen again.”

  “You kissed me back, Madi.”

  “Like you said, it was a one-time thing.” I stuck my hand out. “Friends.”

  He grinned and pulled me into a hug. “Best friends.”

  “Best friends who don’t kiss.”

  “I guess,” he said disappointed.

  I let him go and added, “You’re a great kisser, Isa-”

  “I know, I know. Rocco has your heart.”

  I ignored that. “No more sleeping in my bed either.”

  “You liked that also.”

  I dug through my purse and found my keys. “Anyways…thanks for walking me home, friend.”

  “Anytime,” he said walking backwards towards his door. “We have tomorrow off, want to hang out?”

  I shrugged a shoulder while unlocking my door.

  “I’ll make sure to come over after your shower,” he said, opening his door.

  I let out a little laugh. “Good night, Isaac.”

  I slipped inside, locked the door, and got ready for bed. I plugged my phone in and started reading my messages. It was late and I wasn’t going to bother Adalyn, even though her messages started to sound urgent. I knew she was worried about me and I loved that she was, but I needed tonight to get my shit together. I decided to tell her what was going on with Rocco and I. But not until tomorrow, when I had more time.

  I needed to talk to Rocco and explain who Isaac was. I still wasn’t sure about being in love with him, but I did have feelings for him. The same ones I had for Landon. That has to count for something.

  Out of curiosity, I called Rocco, but it went straight to voicemail. I couldn’t bring myself to leave him a message. What would I say?

  I had messages from Steph and Sam, but I would get back to them tomorrow.

  I crawled into bed knowing I could sleep in and that’s what I was going to do.

  I was barely asleep when I heard someone knocking on my door.

  I was going to kill Isaac. I threw the blanket off of me and stumbled to the door. Looking though the peephole, I saw a woman, not Isaac.

  “Can I help you?” I asked not opening the door.

  “Madi, I’m Misty, with the network AND. Can I come in?”

  “Isn’t it a little late?” I asked yawning.

  “Ummm,” I saw her pull her sleeve up and look at her watch, “it’s nine a.m.”

  “No shit?” I said unlocking the door.

  I walked over to the windows and opened the curtains. Bad idea. The light burned my eyes and I covered them with my arms as I sat down on the couch.

  “I just crawled into bed. How can it be morning already?”

  “Are you okay?” Misty asked and I rested my head on the back of the couch, keeping my eyes closed.

  “I’m tired. It’s been a long few days.”

  “Well this should only take a few hours.”

  I grunted and rolled my head to her, slowly opening my eyes. “A few hours? Don’t we have the day off?”

  “You do, but the producers wanted to give the contestants makeovers!” she cheerfully said sitting in the chair next to the couch.

  “Why?” I asked bored out of my mind and yawned again.

  “I honestly don’t know, but I’d take a free makeover any day,” she said softly, while messing with her iPad.

  I looked her over. She was my height and size, wore no makeup, and her hair was light brown and thin. She wasn’t ugly though. She looked young and was the epitome of ‘Plain-Jane.’

  She popped her head up. “Shower, but don’t wash your hair.”

  I said nothing nor did I move. I should be excited. I should be jumping for joy. I’ve never had a professional makeover before.

  “They won’t change it too drastically, but they’ll probably trim it.”

  It had been a year since I cut my hair. It was one of those things that I hardly did. My hair was curlier the shorter it was so I liked to keep it as long as possible.

  “I guess I’ll shower,” I mumbled while forcing myself to get off the couch. Like Misty said, I couldn’t turn down a free makeover. I could go see Steph and Sam afterwards for lunch if they weren’t busy. I could take a selfie, send it to Adalyn and surprise her. Maybe even send it to Rocco.

  “The vans will be here in forty-five minutes,” she called after me. “They’ll be filming the makeovers!”

  Every second th
at passed in the shower, my attitude changed. I was tired and so many things were going on in my life and I was letting them get in the way of my time here. I was in New York. I was on a TV show. Not many people have this opportunity.

  I was lucky.

  I was getting a makeover!

  I got out the shower with a new attitude. I was getting a professional makeover and I was going to love every minute of it. When Misty said they were also doing our makeup for the day, I squealed and did a little happy dance. I felt beautiful already.

  #

  “OMG!” Sam yelled after opening the front door of the dress shop. “Your hair!”

  I flipped my hair over my shoulder and couldn’t help but smile. “It looks good, right?”

  “And your makeup! It’s perfect. You know I love your curls, but your hair is so long when it’s straight.”

  It was board straight! And I loved it. I more than loved it. It was fucking awesome! I could never get it this straight on my own, but they taught me how, so I was hoping I could do it again.

  “OMG, come in,” she pulled on my arm, “it’s freezing out there.”

  Isaac and I slipped inside and she shut and locked the door, before standing back in front of us.

  “Isaac,” she greeted him with a smile and I saw her eyes ever so slightly glance down his body.

  After our makeover, he told me I was beautiful, didn’t try to kiss me, and reminded me that he wanted to hang out today. I told him he’d have to do what I wanted to do, and he agreed.

  “Sam.”

  There was a tone in his voice but before I could look at Isaac, Sam looped her arm with mine and we went in search of Steph. We found her in the sewing room, working on an order. She had a deep purple piece of satin draped over her lap and I could tell she had just started working on it.

  Steph popped her head up and smiled at us. She stopped what she was doing and crossed her arms on her chest. “Isaac.”

  “Steph.”

  “You taking care of our girl?” she asked, raising an eye brow.

  “Always,” he said confidently while putting an arm around my shoulder.

  I shrugged him off and the look on Steph’s face told me she had just noticed my hair. “Damn, Madi! You look hot. We need to go out tonight.” She pushed the fabric out of the way and stood up.

  I reached up and ran my fingers through my hair. It was so soft and thick.

  “Are you feeling better?” Sam asked fidgeting in front of me. “You look better than you did the other night. If I had drank that much, I’d be in bed for days.”

  “I wanted to be in bed for days,” I moaned. I realized I was moaning and then quickly changed my attitude. “But I’m young and I’ll be fine.”

  Sam smiled at me and before she could speak, Steph did, swinging her eyes to Isaac. “Why are you here?”

  I pulled my phone out while they talked. I didn’t have time to answer Adalyn’s calls, but I sent her a picture of my new hair and she loved it but still wanted to talk on the phone. She kept telling me how important it was but it also wasn’t about the baby. She said it was about Rocco, which I figured it would be. He still hasn’t called me back or returned my messages; I even sent him a picture of my new hair! I knew that guy was stubborn and could be jealous, but it’s not like I did anything wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong. Did I?

  “We’re best friends,” Isaac stated with a grin on his face. “She doesn’t talk about me?”

  “No, I don’t talk about you,” I snipped before the girls could. “Don’t think so highly of yourself.”

  “Have you seen me?” He threw his arms out wide and winked at me. I could only laugh at him but really, I was hiding the fact that he reminded me of Rocco. Full of himself but in a good way. He was smart and kind like Rocco. And of course, easy on the eyes.

  I missed Rocco, hard. His laugh, his kisses, and the way I saw him secretly looking at me when he thought I didn’t know. There were so many times. He gave me so many hints. All of which I ignored. Rocco was serious about everything he told me and I never believed him.

  I fucked up. I felt the panic creep through my body and tears stung my eyes. I texted him again, letting him know I had the day off and that I missed him. I needed to hear his voice. I wasn’t sure if I loved him, but I now knew I had feelings for him.

  “You’re both safe another round and that’s cause for celebration!” Steph’s words snapped me back to the conversation.

  “We have tomorrow off,” Isaac told them. “I’m up for anything.”

  Sam started jumping up and down and squealed, “We should go see Raymond!”

  “Raymond?” Isaac asked.

  “Yes Raymond!” Sam yelled back like Isaac should already know who he was.

  “The guys will eat you up, Isaac,” Steph warned him. “You better keep that ass in your seat all night.”

  Sam laughed while Isaac gave them a confused look before giving me his eyes. I shrugged my shoulder and shoved my phone back in my purse.

  “Raymond will love you, Isaac!” Sam yelled over her shoulder while skipping out of the room. Isaac’s eyes followed her this time and his confused look turned into a smug grin.

  I stood and walked towards Isaac, smacking his arm. “Don’t even think about it.”

  “What?” he asked behind me because I was following Sam out of the room.

  “I’m going to work on this dress and catch up with you later!” Steph yelled. “Some of us have to work! Make some money!”

  I laughed and found Sam looking through a rack of dresses. “These are returns.”

  “Why would anyone return them?”

  “They just didn’t like them so they’re ours now.” She picked up a light pink, long dress that had an empire waist. The material flowed and looked delicate. “This is your style, Madi.”

  “I’d freeze in that thing.”

  “When are you afraid of freezing?” Isaac asked while looking through the rack himself. “Do you even own pants?”

  “One, maybe two…some sweats…”

  “Seriously Madi, wear this.” She was still holding the pink dress, shaking it in my face. It wasn’t that bad. There was some white twirl patterns on the bottom and I had the right shoes to pull it off.

  “Where are we going?” Isaac asked and we both ignored him.

  “You’ll fit in nicely, Madi. I’ve got a long green one that I can wear and I’ll make sure Steph wears a long one also.”

  I took the dress from her and put it up to my chest. “You think?”

  She clapped her hands in approval.

  “What am I supposed to wear?” Isaac asked and this time someone answered him.

  Sam looked him up and down. He was wearing dark wash jeans, black motorcycle boots, a dark blue t-shirt, and a leather jacket. She waved her hand, dismissing him. “That’ll do.”

  I’ve never been to a gay bar, especially where drag queens performed. This was my one and only chance to experience this and I was going to enjoy it. I could add it to my bucket list just so I can cross it off. Hell yes!

  But first, I have to call Adalyn.

  We said our goodbyes with plans to meet up later that night. As soon as I got home, I laid down on my bed and called her.

  She answered it by yelling into the phone, “I know about Rocco!”

  “Adalyn-”

  “Don’t Adalyn me! I can’t believe you’ve been sleeping with him and you didn’t tell me!”

  “It was nothing.”

  “It’s not nothing! You were sleeping with him for weeks!”

  “It was just sex, nothing more.”

  “Hah!”

  It started that way but now I was having real feelings for him. I needed to figure this out, but I was here and he was there.

  “Adalyn, I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” she snipped.

  “Please don’t be mad at me!”

  “I’m emotional, or did you forget I am pregnant!”

  I couldn’t
help but laugh. “How’s the baby?”

  “Don’t change the subject.” There was a short pause before she continued, “I need to tell you something.”

  I sat up, my heart hammering against my chest. “Is something wrong?”

  “No. Yes. I mean, not with me and the baby. We’re fine…it’s Rocco.”

  I got up and started to pace the room. “What’s wrong?”

  “He’s fine, kind of…”

  “Kind of?”

  “You broke his heart, Madi!”

  What?

  “Um…”

  “I’m not supposed to tell you and I shouldn’t tell you because of the secret you kept from me but…you are my best friend.”

  I deserved that and asked, “What’s going on?”

  She lowered her voice. “He went to see you.”

  “What?” I whispered and sat back down on the edge of my bed.

  “He went to New York!” she hissed. “He said he saw you but you didn’t see him. Then he said it was over. He said he tried and now he was letting you go. He figured it was too much too soon, and he just wanted you to be happy.”

  “I’m so confused.” And I was. Rocco was here? “When was he here?”

  “Yesterday. Late last night I guess. I don’t really know all of the details because he was so pissed and rambling on and on while he was out cutting wood with Rudd. Most of it didn’t make sense. But he was mad. No… he was upset. I thought he was going to cry! I figured he needed guy time so I left him and Rudd alone. I’ve been trying to get ahold of you ever since.”

  “He won’t return my calls.”

  “His phone is off.”

  “I figured that.” A tear slipped out my eye and ran down my cheek.

  “Madi,” she said softly and I could hear the pain in her voice, “why didn’t you tell me?”

  I went and stood by the window and let it all out. “I just wanted to get laid. He was there; he was always there. One night I went to the bar, had a few drinks, and came up with the whole friends with benefits thing. I was lonely, Adalyn. And horny. Rocco’s a good looking man and he always joked about it, so I decided to see if he would really do it. You know, sleep with me. So I offered and he took me up on it. The night of your wedding, before I got the phone call about the TV show, we had a chat.” I wasn’t about to tell her we fucked in her laundry room. “He told me he was giving me one week to get my head out of my ass because he wanted more. I got the call about the show a few minutes after that. I couldn’t turn down the show so we decided to leave it where it was. We’re just friends, and when I got back from the show we were going to talk about it again. He said he would wait for me.”