The Space Between

by Victoria H. Smith

  “Indeed I was.”

  He moved just a bit closer to me. I pretended not to notice, but the nibbling on my lip ring displayed that I had.

  “First time?” I asked, watching his proximity.

  “I’ve seen the show before, but this was my first time seeing it in that particular theater.”

  He didn’t move this time. Perhaps, he noticed he made me nervous. I could’ve kicked myself.

  “New to town then? Our theater is pretty well-known despite its size.”

  He gave a deep, throaty laugh. “Yes, I am new to it all. And because of that fact, I know nothing about you. This disappoints me.”

  “Does it now?”

  “Yes. It does. I want to know everything about the girl who sang like an angel on that stage tonight.”

  My cheeks heated, and my eyes flickered away. Was it like this for all the stars of a show? Because if it was, I didn’t know if I could handle being a celebrity. This guy was melting me like freaking butter.

  “Tell me about yourself. I want to know everything.”

  “Everything, huh? Don’t know if you’d like everything.”

  “Try me. I’m pretty open to new things tonight.”

  “Well . . .” I nibbled the backing of my lip ring during my pause, trying to figure out where to start. “I hail from Cicero. Well, just north of it.”

  Sucking in a breath, he cringed.

  I leaned back in response to his surprise. “Not to your liking?”

  He tilted his head from side to side. “I guess I’ve just heard things.”

  I gave a short laugh. “Well, not all of it’s true. You just have to surround yourself with the right people.”

  At that point, he didn’t hide the fact that he moved closer. Using the back of his fingers, he brushed them against my hand. The action sent chills throughout my skin.

  “What else?” he asked, staring at my flesh that held goose pimples.

  “Uh . . .” I let out a breath. I wasn’t used to guys being so forward around me, but I had no intention of telling him to stop. “I live with my Mama.”

  He glanced up from my hand with an arched eyebrow. “Mama, huh?” His deep tone peaked on the word “mama.” “Interesting term.”

  I gave a short laugh. “I take it that’s not what you call yours?”

  He shook his head, smiling. “Nope. Just Mom.”

  “Your dad?”

  “Father.”

  His word was short and clipped for some reason when he said that.

  “Yours?” he asked.

  “Not in the picture enough to have developed a name. It’s just been me and Mama for a while. We take care of each other. Me more so now that I’m out of school.” I didn’t hesitate when talking about my dad. I didn’t feel ashamed. My words were facts, nothing more.

  Studying his own fingers against my skin, he didn’t push what I stated about my dad. Perhaps, he understood not to. Watching him, I nibbled my lip ring.

  “I like that lip ring of yours.”

  “You do, huh?” God, he was so direct. Holy heck, I had to watch myself around this guy.

  “Mmmhmm, especially when you bite it. It’s like you’re nervous or something. Do I make you nervous?”

  He ran his fingers from my hand and up my arm. He stopped at my elbow, brushing it gently.

  My breath caught in my throat. “No, I’m not nervous.” Clearly a lie, but I thought the word came out casually. I shrugged. “It’s just a tick. A habit. You’d bite it too if you had one.”

  He laughed his deep laugh again. “Oh, really?”

  “Yeah. They’re fun to play with.” I bit down on it. “To suck.” I sucked on it.

  His brows shot up, and the brushing of his fingers froze on my elbow. I guess he was the one who was nervous now.

  “You should get one. If anything to give yourself something to do when you’re bored. Excellent entertainment.” I sucked down on it a little harder.

  He breathed in deep. “You’re making me want to go out and get one right now.”

  I let go of the ring when he checked his watch. Did he have someplace to be? The caving feeling in my chest surprised me. I didn’t even know this guy. Why was I so let down that he had to leave?

  “I think,” he said, gazing up from his watch, “I’m going to ask you out now. We’ve been chatting for a few minutes. Seems safe.”

  The feeling let up instantly, and I chuckled. “You don’t even know my name. Nor do I know yours.”

  He pulled me toward him by my elbow. “Exactly why we need more time to discuss such matters.”

  He tugged me so close I was able to rest my hand on his chest. He was firm, really firm.

  “What do you say?”

  Forcing my focus off the hard panes of his body, I met his eyes. “I think that can be arranged.”

  “Good.” He slid his hand up to my forearm. “Now that’s settled, I have to get something else out of the way. It’s been bugging me our entire chat, and I need to fix it.”

  “What?”

  He watched his own hand as it ventured to my neck. His fingers played with the baby curls at the base of my scalp. “Dates take planning. Time. And I can’t wait even twenty-four hours, hell, the next minute, to fix the problem that’s been bugging me.”

  “What’s been bugging you? Can I help you fix it?” I asked, watching his lips draw in close.

  When he gave a half-smile, his lips parted. The action exposed his tongue, and sent my body swimming in heat. “I think you can, angel of song.”

  I didn’t have time to take in another breath before his mouth moved over mine. He wasn’t aggressive, and savored my lips like he couldn’t get enough.

  When I parted my lips, he didn’t hold back from the invitation. My tongue danced over his, and a burst of his scent filled my nose. His skin so close to mine, smelled of juniper and various spices. The pure ecstasy the concoction created made me groan.

  His hand went to my bare midriff, and he pulled my body even closer to his. He didn’t stop there, though. He caressed my body with his fingers as if studying every part of me; analyzing my skin and discovering the new territory I welcomed him to have.

  Eventually, his hand lay flat against my stomach and his thumb brushed over my bellybutton ring. He seemed to like it, because he didn’t stop his thumb from gently caressing it.

  To suppress a moan, I nibbled his lips. When I did this, he nibbled mine back. His kiss became more urgent and soon my lip ring became his new fascination as he toyed with it.

  “You’re right. It is fun to play with,” he said, tongue flicking the stud.

  I now, officially, would have let this nameless guy take me against the roof if he wanted.

  After a few more flicks on my ring, he kissed his way down to my neck. His hand moved on from my stomach and covered lower back. He pulled my waist to him like my body was made to fit in his hand.

  I panted, gripping my fingers against his chest.

  “Ahem.”

  I heard the voice, but was far from caring about it. I slipped my arms around the guy’s waist and brought him in closer. He didn’t seem to have heard the voice and kept on against my neck.

  “Ahem.”

  The voice was louder, and I knew it was Margot. Couldn’t she see I was busy?

  The guy’s tongue peeked out and ran at an angle up my neck. “I think we’re supposed to stop.”

  “No, it’s fine. If we ignore her long enough she’ll go away,” I breathed.

  “We can wait.” Stopping his lick, he gave me a single kiss on my neck. “No rush.” His heated breath brushed against my skin just before he pulled away. He ran his fingers against my jaw. “I fully intend on continuing this.”

  Unable to contain it, I let out a fit of nervous giggles.

  Margot approached us, hand at her mouth to hold in her laugher. After she composed herself, she wrapped her arm around mine. “I see you found my girl here,” she said.

  I frowned. Had she met
this guy before?

  He smiled. “I did. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long. Sorry I wandered away, but I had to look for her. Couldn’t resist after I saw her on stage tonight.”

  Wandered away? What did he mean by that?

  “I figured since you just had to come here so urgently tonight after finding out she’d be here.” Laughing, Margot dropped her arm from mine, then turned my way. “Well, I’m sorry, hon, but this guy and I have some business to attend to. I’ll make sure to bring him back quickly, though.” She winked at me.

  As soon as she said the word “business,” my heart skyrocketed into my throat. Staring at the guy, he didn’t seem to notice what I found off about Margot’s statement. I held up my finger. “I’ll be right back. I have to talk with her for a minute.”

  Not waiting for his response, I whipped Margot around by her shoulder and left the roof. I waited until we were on the stairwell before I let her go. “Please tell me that is not your client up there?”

  “Um, is this a trick question? I just said we had business. Why do you want me to lie to you about it?”

  I dropped my head in hands. No. No. No. He can’t possibly be into that stuff. No. No.

  Margot put her hand on my shoulder. “Hey, Lacey, what’s up?”

  Throwing my head back, I whimpered in frustration. “Margot, you know I can’t be with a guy who’s into that.”

  Her mouth made a small “o.” “Oh, yeah. Well, fuck. I’m so sorry, Lacey. Wow. That’s some shitty luck.”

  I collapsed onto the stairs, running my fingers into my curls. “I just don’t understand. He seemed so strait-laced. I never would have thought that about him.”

  Margot sat next to me. “I hate to break it to you, girl, but even strait-laced guys like to smoke weed.”

  I shook my head, refusing to let the issue go. “But you don’t understand, Margot. We meshed so well together.” Obviously, since I didn’t let just any guy shove his tongue down my throat within minutes of meeting him. “I can usually sense these things, and this guy just doesn’t fit the bill. I just don’t understand.”

  She didn’t say anything, and I looked up. Sitting with her hands in her lap, she played restlessly with her fingers. When I saw the uneasy look on her face, I knew something was off.

  “What is it?”

  Glancing my way, she rubbed her arm with an anxious expression. “Derrick brought him to me.”

  My eyes blazed. “Derrick? My cousin Derrick?” I was going to kill him for dropping one of the sexiest guys I’d ever met into my life only to find out he was a druggy.

  “Yeah, and I get what you’re saying about the type. When Derrick brought him to me, he said the guy had never even bought before.”

  My eyebrows shot up.

  “You should have seen him when I showed him my stash, Lacey. He looked at it like he’d never even seen product before.”

  I grabbed her shoulders with so much force that she almost lost her balance. “You’re telling me that you’re selling massive quantities of weed to an innocent.” I gritted through my teeth.

  She gave a crooked smile. “Money is money, honey.”

  Has she no shame! “Well, you can’t. I refuse to let you.”

  “You can’t ask me to do that, Lacey. I’ve done nothing wrong. It’s your guy who’s got the issue. His decision to buy has nothing to do with me. I’m just the source. Don’t punish me.”

  I dropped my hands from her shoulders. “Where did Derrick even find this guy?”

  “It was actually Ty’s referral. He texted me that the guy was going to come. Derrick was just the delivery boy.”

  My nostrils flared. “Ty? Got-too-much-power-and-not-enough-brain-cells-to-use-it Ty?” That creep asked me out his fair share of times. Needless to say, I wasn’t interested. The guy was into way too much trouble for my tastes.

  “The very one. But watch it, he’s like family.”

  “You don’t have to like all your family.”

  “Regardless, he is.”

  “Well, how would he come across a clean-cut guy like the one on the roof? Lord knows it wasn’t in our neck of the woods. You should have seen his face when I told him where I was from, Margot. A guy like that doesn’t normally set foot on the West Side.”

  She shrugged her shoulders, but then stopped and snapped her fingers once. “I got it. Ty just got a job in the North Shore at a country club.”

  “The North Shore? Why is Ty working out there?”

  “Two words: it pays. He works on kitchen staff, and I bet you that’s where he met that guy.”

  Groaning, I dropped my head between my knees.

  Margot put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry to break it to you, Lacey, but it looks like Ty might have picked up a stray.”

  Chapter Five

  Drake

  When I rested my wrist on the brick ledge, I refused to look at the Fossil watch on it again. I was going to lose the bet, and there wasn’t a point in looking at it anymore. I wasn’t going to lose because I wouldn’t be able to make it on time. The loss would be because I no longer cared about making it on time. Truth be told, if I hoofed it, the Jag would get me there in the time allotted. But when choosing between going back to my father’s fundraiser for a quick buck and staying at the party longer to get to know Lacey the choice was simple. She looked crushed when she saw me check my watch in front her, like it ached her to watch me leave her. Thinking up a quick excuse, I made that horrible look go away. I was going to ask her out anyway, so the proposal just seemed natural.

  I could still feel her on my lips, her scent of cherries with a hint of warm vanilla burning in my nose. Her taste was exotic and light; equally enticing just like her song voice.

  And seeing her from far away was one thing, but up close a guy could barely form his next sentence. Her hair was elegant when wrapped up on stage, but released and natural, she looked like a mouthwatering Amazon princess; absolutely wild and free. Her caramel skin glowed and those chocolate eyes took me as their prisoner. And when I saw her nibbling on that lip ring of hers, I surprised myself by how long I was able to resist kissing her. She didn’t wear the accessory on stage, and it was a pleasant surprise. Even more so was the bellybutton ring on that perfect torso of hers. The thoughts of other piercings on her body came to mind, and I’d make it my personal mission to explore her body for the answer.

  I couldn’t understand why she intrigued me so. Perhaps, it was because she was so different from what I was surrounded with every day. She was different, but amazing.

  The scraping of rocks sounded behind me. When I turned, she was back. I met her before she could make the journey to me and put my hand to her cheek. I fully intended on picking up where we left off. I was never one to bluff.

  Tilting her chin, I moved in for the kill, but she turned her head.

  After the intense moment we just had, the denial was so unexpected that I didn’t make sense of it at first. When she grabbed my hand with both of hers, pulling it from her chin, I was no longer confused that I was being rejected. But the reason for it couldn’t have baffled me more.

  “What is it?” I asked her, my hand still in both of her small ones.

  She let out a breath. “I’ve um, discovered something.”

  “You’ve discovered something?”

  “Yeah, about you, and I don’t know if I can get past it.”

  My first thought was that she found out my identity, but I didn’t see the reason why she would withdraw from me because of it. I decided to play oblivious. “Okay. Well, whatever it is, I’m sure we can work it out.”

  The words came out calm, but my insides were anything but.

  “I know you’re buying drugs from Margot, and I’m not exactly okay with that.”

  I tried to keep my surprise from reflecting across my face. “You’re not?”

  When she shook her head, her brown curls flowed in the summer breeze. “I’m not into that kind of thing, and I can’t date somebody who is.”


  If I wasn’t surprised before I was now. “You don’t smoke?”

  When she looked up at me, her expression read insult. “Did you assume that I did?”

  I actually had. She didn’t seem like the type of girl who cared to stay away from that kind of stuff. Like I said before, she was completely exotic to me; wild and free. “I guess I did. I mean, most people our age do.”

  I thought it best not to tell her the truth. I didn’t want to piss her off that I misjudged her.

  “Oh,” was all she said, but she didn’t look mad.

  The relief set in immediately. If that was her only issue then I saw no problem here. I never bought drugs anyway, and when I took hits it was rare. If she didn’t want me to buy I wouldn’t.

  I raised my hand. When her fingers fell from it, I ran my thumb along her bottom lip. “That’s not a problem. If you don’t want me to buy—”

  She lifted her hand, cutting me off. “Before you say anything about that part, I have something else I want to talk to you about.”

  I exhaled a breath to relieve the anxiety building inside my chest. That wasn’t her only issue. “Okay.”

  She grabbed my hand again from her face. But this time, she didn’t keep it in hers. She let it go, and we both dropped our hands to our sides. “I found out that Ty referred you to Margot.”

  “All right.” My words implied a question, confused by where this was going.

  “Did you meet him in the North Shore?”

  “Yes,” I said, unable to lie to her. I didn’t see any reason to. Why did the fact that I live in the North Shore matter?

  She nodded once. “You met him there because you work with him.”

  “Not exactly.”

  That was when she took a step back. “How is it exactly? How did you meet him?”

  I put my hands in the pockets of Omar’s tight uniform pants. “I met him in a game of poker.”

  “In the North Shore.”

  “Correct.”

  “The only place Ty goes in the North Shore is his job at the country club. Did you meet him there?”

  Her words were really tense this time around. Why was she upset? Again, I didn’t see the point in lying to her so I said, “I did.”