The heavy beat of hip-hop hit us as soon as we walked in. The place was already crowded, and I didn’t see Dilly or Lance anywhere. I huffed in annoyance. They weren’t supposed to leave me on my own. I wasn’t ready yet.
I popped to my tiptoes to look for them, but Cody was already pulling me through the crowd. I followed in his wake, amazed at how easily he moved through the laughing, swaying people. He was heading toward the bar, but I didn’t want a drink, I wanted to find my friends and get away from his very intoxicating presence. I pulled against him, but he yanked me against his side and wrapped one large arm around my shoulders. I was pinned to him by physical restraint, but also by the warmth of his body and the delicious smell of him, wine and something masculine and spicy. It felt really good, so I didn’t fight too hard against his grip. He steered me to a small table in a far corner of the large club. Dilly and Lance were there, deep in conversation. I pulled out from under Cody’s arm and hurried over to my friends.
“There she is,” Dilly said. She shoved a drink in my hand. It was pink and pretty and probably one of Dilly’s too-sweet favorites. “Drink,” she said. “Then we dance.”
Cody stepped up behind me, his body warm against my back. Ordinarily, I would have sipped the drink and chatted with my friends, but I didn’t feel like sitting around. I felt like spinning around and pressing my body against Cody’s. So, I chugged the drink, grabbed Dilly’s hand and pulled her out to the dance floor. Lance hated dancing, but he loved people watching, so I didn’t feel bad about leaving him with Cody. I doubted they’d find anything to talk about, but that wasn’t my problem.
I hadn’t been out dancing in way too long, more than six months, and I loved it. I didn’t listen to hip-hop or rap or techno at home, but I loved the beat on the dance floor. I hadn’t gone out more often because of Harrison and my string of bad blind dates, but that was going to change. I was turning over a new leaf, a fun leaf, a going out at least once a week leaf. I faced Dilly and we danced until we got thirsty. I had another drink, when I should have had water, because Lance and Cody were deep in conversation and seemed to be getting along.
I went back out to the dance floor with my feet barely touching the ground and my head in the clouds. Everything was wonderful, everyone was gorgeous, and I was young and free and having the time of my life. I faced Dilly and started to move. Someone put their warm, big hands on my hips. I widened my eyes at Dilly and she gave me the thumbs up, so I spun in the guy’s arms and came face to face with bright blue eyes, an easy smile, and a pretty face. I could definitely work with this and, if I danced well enough and smiled enough, maybe I could forget that for a moment I’d hoped it was Cody’s hands on my hips.
I danced with the beautiful stranger and I let him put his hands all over me, something I’d never allowed in the past, because it felt good and I was young and this was fun. I pushed aside the buzz of worry in the back of my skull and threw my arms around his neck.
New hands grabbed my hips and pulled me away from the beautiful boy and I looked up to see brown eyes and a scowl. It was too loud to talk, so I scowled back at Cody. He pulled me tight against his body and he started to move. I mean really move. This wasn’t like the pretty boy who was just undulating to the music, Cody’s large body moved in a sinuous rhythm that made me think of dark bedrooms and bare skin and thrusting — I pushed away from him and mimed that I needed a drink.
I stumbled off the dance floor and to the bar, waiting for the bartender to see me.
“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” Cody asked, sliding up to the bar next to me.
I’d been planning to have water, but his words made me change my mind. “Not at all. I’ve got a high tolerance.” I did not have a high tolerance, but I didn’t need a babysitter and more booze might help me to stop thinking about how much I wanted to lick the throbbing pulse in his neck. I turned away and flagged down the bartender. I was losing my ever-loving mind.
The bartender finally made his way down the bar, and I ordered a tequila shot and a martini, just because I could, damn it. Before I could dig out my money, Cody laid his on the bar.
He raised his eyebrows when I lifted the tequila shot to my mouth and I downed it, like a pro. Professional drinker that is, not prostitute.
***
My head hurt and I was pretty sure I was on a ship because the bed was rocking in a slow, undulating rhythm. I wanted to open my eyes but it was too bright and I knew it would hurt. I already hurt too much. I couldn’t take more pain. I groaned and tried to roll away from the light, but it was everywhere. I was surrounded by light, light with razor blades attached to it.
“Here, sweetheart,” a male voice said, and the brightness dimmed a bit. “Is that better?”
“Mmmm, Yes, thank you.” I didn’t know who the voice belonged to, he could be a kidnapper or a serial killer, and I really didn’t care, because he’d made the light hurt less and I loved him for it.
The bed or boat shifted and warmth came near. “You can stay in bed all day if you want, but last night you told me you needed to go to church this morning. Something about being an usher.”
And just like that, I hated him because he’d brought reality in and reality hurt. “Go away.”
He chuckled. “This is my house, sweetheart. I’m not going anywhere.”
I cracked one eye open to see Cody, shirtless, leaning over me. “Why am I at your house?”
“You were pretty drunk last night. I didn’t want to leave you alone. And I know where the aspirin and the glasses are at my house.”
“Glasses?”
“For water,” he said. “You want some?”
“Yes.” It felt like my mouth had been stuffed with sand at some point during the previous night.
He helped me sit up and handed me a cool glass of water. I drank it in three fast swallows, not caring that my stomach rumbled in discontent. “Aspirin?”
He dropped two tablets in my hand and gave me another glass of water. I drank them down and passed him the glass back. I was wearing one of his t-shirts and I still had on panties and a bra, so I was pretty sure we hadn’t slept together, but he’d definitely taken off my clothes.
“Um, what happened last night?”
He leaned back against the headboard and stuck his legs straight out in front of him. “I thought you had an unusually high tolerance?”
My words came back and bit me in the ass, just like I would have known they would if I’d been remotely sober when I’d said them. “Yeah, I might have exaggerated a tiny bit. I don’t really remember anything after that shot.”
He shook his head, his smile growing. “That’s too bad. You put on quite the show.”
I didn’t like the smug look on his face and I hated being in a position of not knowing if he was telling me the truth. I knew better than to drink too much, I didn’t do it often, but when I did I always blacked out. I didn’t pass out, I still functioned like I was fully present, but I’d wake the next day with no memory of what happened. After the last time, while I was still in college, I’d sworn it would never happen again. Cody’s mere presence had made me lose control, had made me act in ways I normally never would. It wasn’t his fault, but he wasn’t good for me. That much was very, very clear. “Just tell me one thing,” I said. “And don’t mess around. Did we have sex last night? Did we do anything at all?”
He leaned in close, so close I felt his words against my lips. “Sweetheart, if I’d touched you last night, if I’d tasted your sweet lips, you would most definitely remember.”
His proximity and his words made me forget my headache and my twisting stomach and I found myself leaning toward him, wanting to touch him, to close the distance between us. I was stronger than my primal urges, so I backed away from him and slid out of his bed. “I’ve got to go. I’ll be late to church.”
He beat me to the front door and blocked my path. “Sweetheart,” he said, his voice a low husky growl. “The next time we share a bed, I’m not going to
let you run away from me.”
“Okay,” I said, because we’d never share a bed again. “It’s a deal. Will you move so I can go home?”
He handed me my purse from where it lay on the floor next to his front door and I ran out of his house and all the way back to mine. I didn’t even bother to take the time to look for my clothes, his t-shirt fell to my knees and I ran fast. I slammed through my front door and inside, slumping to the floor as soon as the door had closed behind me. Ooowwww. That was a really stupid thing to do when I was hungover. I put one hand to my aching head and one to my roller-coastering stomach. This was what I got when I decided to go out and live a little, a hangover from hell and an awkward wake-up in a bed with the Neanderthal next door. Dilly was wrong, fun was definitely overrated.
I got to my feet slowly and limped to the bathroom, trying not to jostle my stomach too much. I took off Cody’s t-shirt and absolutely did not luxuriate in the smell, slipped off my panties and bra and stepped into the hot shower. There was nothing quite like a nice, long shower when I felt like a cow patty that had been stomped on by an elephant. I shut the water off and toweled dry and left the bathroom, naked, to head to my room and dress. Yeah, my house was so small that I only had one bathroom and it was in the hall, right across from the living room. And, yeah, I absolutely did consider it one of the perks of living alone that I could walk around naked whenever I wanted. There weren’t a lot of perks to living alone, so I made the most of them.
I stepped out of the bathroom, stark naked, steam still hissing off my body and almost ran into Cody. Cody who was standing in my hallway. His eyes tracked over my naked body and I just stood there, my hung-over brain not operating correctly or quickly. The heat in his eyes sparked a heat in me that I was in no hurry to escape.
Luckily, my survival instinct kicked in and I slapped hands over my breasts and my hoo-ha and ran for my bedroom. I heard Cody say a very ungentleman-like word behind me. I slammed my door, my heart racing like I’d just escaped a near-death experience. Apparently being hung-over sent my heart into overdrive.
I pulled on dress slacks and a nice sweater over sensible panties and a bra - I just couldn’t wear sexy underwear to church. I was an Episcopalian, so I didn’t believe much was sinful, that’s just not how we rolled, but it seemed more respectful, somehow, not to wear skimpy lingerie in the Lord’s presence. I didn’t even bother combing my hair. I stormed back out of my room to face Cody, who was pacing in my living room and muttering something at the region of his crotch.
“What the heck are you doing in my house?” I asked.
Cody turned to face me. His cheeks were a bit pink. Was he blushing? His eyes went immediately to my chest and he swore again, his hands curling into fists. “I brought some food over for you, since I figured you wouldn’t have anything here and hangovers just don’t go well with an empty stomach.” he said, his eyes bouncing up to my face. “I knocked and rang the doorbell, but you didn’t answer and the door was open, so I let myself in. I shouldn’t have, but I was worried you might be sick, and then you were taking so long in the shower, I figured I’d just shout in and let you know there was hot food here so you’d pick up the pace and then you stepped out and I…” He dropped his head into his hands and muttered some more. “Shit. I’m really fucking sorry. I know I’ve invaded your space and I promise I am not a creeper, I—”
I knew I was missing a golden opportunity to use his guilt against him, but he was kind of cute, all embarrassed and babbling. He was usually so smug and self-assured and his nervousness, his discomfiture…It was just plain adorable. Plus, he’d mentioned food and my fickle stomach, that had been sloshing in discontent a moment before, rumbled with queasy hunger. “Did you say you brought food?”
His concern changed instantly to a cocky smile and I internally kicked myself for not punishing him for his bad behavior. “It’s in the kitchen.”
I followed him to the kitchen to see a plate of eggs and bacon and hash browns, actual hash browns, and a second plate of pancakes, fluffy, delicious pancakes. On one of the kitchen chairs, my clothes from the night before were neatly folded. Forget torturing this jerk, maybe I should marry him. I might be able to put up with his snarky attitude if he graced me with food like this every day. “How’d you have time to make all this?”
He shrugged. “I did most of it while you were sleeping. I’d just finished it up when you ran away.”
“I didn’t run away,” I said. “I hurried out so I wouldn’t be late for church.” I somehow doubt my words had the intended effect, because I sat down and picked up a fork as I said them. I took a bite of melt-in-my-mouth pancake and groaned in absolute ecstasy. I was in food heaven.
Cody shifted behind me. “I should probably head home.”
I took a bite of eggs that had a slight hint of cheese and something spicy and moaned. “You bring me food like this and you can stay as long as you want, whenever you want.” I blame the food for my poorly considered invitation.
Cody leaned over, his mouth right next to my cheek. “I just might just take you up on that, sweetheart.”
I spun to tell him I wanted a take back, but the fact that his words made my body melt like warm butter and that I was severely hung over must have made me move more slowly than normal. By the time I’d spun to face him, he was already gone, my front door closing behind him.
If I hadn’t had a pile of food in front of me, I might have been more upset about his abrupt departure and the possibility of him following through on his threat, but I chose to eat and enjoy the moment.
I’d just finished putting the last dish in the dishwasher and was about to leave, when someone knocked on my door. My heart leapt into my throat. Had Cody come back? What could he possibly want?
That question made images of Cody’s pouty lips and his warm body against mine flash in my mind and I forgot where I was until a second knock startled me out of my reverie. I hurried to the door and flung it open to see Kayla, a little girl, and a little boy on my front porch.
Kayla’s eyes were red and watery, but it looked like she’d washed her hair and her dress was clean. The two younger children were clinging to her, their eyes wide and afraid. “Kayla,” I said. I opened the door wider and gestured the three of them inside. “Is everything okay?”
She didn’t move from her spot on my porch. “Miss Harrison,” she said, as though she were reciting a practiced speech. She looked so much younger than she did at school. “I was outside, playing with Simon and Jenny before church and I…I locked us out of the house. Dad’s at work and I don’t know how to get us inside. I…” Her lower lip trembled and it looked like she was about to lose it. I could only imagine how scary it must have been for her, to be stuck outside with two young children and no idea what to do. I also suspected there was a lot more to her story, like how she’d gotten to my house, but I wasn’t going to push her on the details. Not when she was so upset and not when her brother and sister were standing right there, looking at her like she’d invented dolls and race cars.
“That sounds like the sort of thing I would do,” I said. “Have you eaten?”
“I’m hungry,” Jenny said, her voice little girl sweet.
Kayla tightened her grip on the little girl. “We’ve had breakfast,” she said firmly. “Simon needs to use the bathroom.”
“Okay,” I said. “Simon is welcome to use my bathroom.” I pointed it out to the little boy. He walk-hopped there like he really had to go. “I’m on my way to church, myself,” I said. “I’m an usher today. You three are welcome to come with me. There will be snacks there.”
I didn’t miss the flash of hunger in Kayla’s eyes or the goose bumps on her bare arms. It was spring, but it was still chilly in the mornings, and it looked like it might rain. “If you’re sure it’s okay,” Kayla said. “Our church is on the other end of town, past the college…Too far to walk. We usually get a ride with Mrs. Simmons, but she’d already left and…”
There were so many
holes in this story it was see-through, but I didn’t want to ask any questions that might scare them off. “I’d love for you to go to church with me. It won’t be any trouble at all.”
Simon came out of the bathroom and I piled everyone into my car. I was certain Jenny should have a booster seat, but I didn’t have one and it wasn’t far to the church. I drove slowly and carefully and we arrived all in one piece.
***
I made it to church just in time to get Kayla, Simon, and Jenny set up with snacks and seated in pews, before I went to perform my usher duties.
Lance was my co-usher and he looked natty and bright-eyed. “Good morning, sunshine,” he said. “How are you feeling?”
I grabbed a stack of church bulletins to hand out and glared at him. “A bit betrayed by my very best friends who allowed a Neanderthal to carry me home.”
Lance laughed. “That wasn’t the tune you were singing last night, darling. You told both me and Dilly that you wanted Cody and his big, strong arms to take you home.”
Ugh, just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, somehow it did. “Please tell me he didn’t hear me say that.”
Lance’s smile widened. “He didn’t hear you say that, but he did hear you when you told him he had very kissable lips.”
“No,” I said, my heart sinking into my toes.
Lance laughed just as Norma Jane walked up. She leaned in close and pecked my cheek. Then she took a bulletin from my hand and winked at me. “Very fine choice, Carrie. That Cody is a real gentleman and very easy on the eyes. Your parents will be pleased.”
Oh, no. This couldn’t be happening. I was in a nightmare. Or in hell. Maybe I’d died from alcohol poisoning and I was in hell. At church, in hell. I shook my head. “What do you mean?”
The Deadbeat Next Door Page 8
