Not the answer I was expecting. “Oh. Well, then can I help in any way?”
“Help me find my brother.” She gave me those damn eyes again. “Please?”
“Benjamin Miller, right?”
“Yes.”
“Does he go to Tulane? Loyola?” Considering most of the houses on my street were rented by college students, I assumed that’s the demographic she was looking for.
“I don’t know. I don’t know anything about his life now.”
“Oh.” Ok, this was getting more difficult. She was confused, but she wasn’t acting drunk at all. Her speech was clear. She was standing up straight. She didn’t appear disoriented in any physical way. “Is there anyone else I could call? A friend or a roommate?” I wasn’t trying to get rid of the girl. But I also didn’t know what else to do.
“I know no one else here.” She took a seat on our ancient black couch. It was left behind by the last tenants, and I didn’t want to know what some of the stains were.
“Okay… so you’re from out of town?” I remained standing. I wasn’t sure if sitting down next to her would freak her out.
“Yes. From out of town.” She looked up. “I’m Rachel.”
“Hi, Rachel. I’m Noah.” I held out my hand.
She accepted my hand and shook it, holding onto it a moment longer than necessary before letting it fall.
“Where are you staying?”
“Staying?” She furrowed her brow.
“Yeah. What hotel or whatever? Or with a friend?”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought that far ahead. I guess I assumed I’d find my brother… I guess I didn’t think things through at all. It was all such a rush.”
“Well, you can stay here for the night if you want.” What had I just said? Was I insane?
“I can?” Her eyes lit up.
“Yeah. You can take my room.” If I was offering her a place to stay, I needed to make sure it was decent.
“Where will you sleep?”
“Out here.” The couch was safer than Dale’s bed.
“Oh. I can’t ask that of you.” She pressed her lips together, pulling my attention to them. They were light pink and all natural. It didn’t look like she was even wearing lip gloss. Considering her over the top outfit the lack of makeup was surprising.
“You’re not asking. I’m offering.”
“Oh.” She seemed to think it over. “Great.” Her stomach growled.
“Are you hungry? Have you eaten?” Okay, here was my chance to find out a few things. “Were you out drinking tonight?” That would explain her confusion even though she still really didn’t seem drunk.
“No. I haven’t had anything to drink today.”
“Not even water?” Maybe dehydration was the problem.
She shook her head. “No. I left in a hurry.”
“Oh. Well, I’ll get you some water.” I walked into the galley kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water out of the giant pack in the fridge. I handed one to her.
She took it and stared at it a moment before twisting off the cap.
“Yeah, it’s the generic brand. From Winn-Dixie.”
“Generic brand.” She repeated my words.
“Yeah, you know the store brand. It’s like half the price of the brand name stuff sometimes.” And now I sounded cheap. Good thing I wasn’t actually into this girl.
“Good information to know.” She sipped the water. Then she sipped again before downing the entire thing. She crushed the empty bottle in her hands. “Thank you.”
“You really were thirsty.” I was winning at this awkward thing.
“May I truly spend the night here?” She brushed some of her brown hair behind her ear. She was wearing this unique kind of earring. It was black and wrapped around the edge of her ear and seemed to dip inside the ear too.
“Yeah. Absolutely. Just don’t try to kill me.”
“You make jokes a lot.”
“Evidently not funny ones.” Usually my jokes landed okay. Not tonight.
“I’m not the best at picking up on humor. Caspian tells me that all the time.” She adjusted a metal chain necklace around her neck. There was something on it, maybe a pendant, but it was hidden underneath her bodysuit.
“Caspian?” I tried not to react to the name. It sounded like some brawny warrior or something. Knowing my luck he was her boyfriend and would show up looking for her and beat the crap out of me thinking I’d hurt her.
“Oh. He’s my friend.” She looked down. “You wouldn’t know him.”
“Got it.” I did my best to hide my momentary panic. “Can I get you anything else? I don’t actually have much food here. Cereal, peanut butter. I could make some eggs. That’s about it.”
“The water was fine.” She held up the empty bottle.
“Want another one?”
“Yes, please.” She smiled.
I retrieved one from the fridge and handed it over. She made no move to open it.
I led her down the hall to my room. I pushed open the door, relieved I’d at least made my bed that day. “This is my room. It’s not much, but it’s a place to crash.”
She studied the room before turning to me. “Thank you. Is there a place to… to?” She tapped the side of her head with her finger. “A bathroom. Yes, a bathroom.”
Did she really take that long to remember the word for bathroom? There had to be an explanation. She was speaking in English. Maybe there was a faint accent there? Maybe it wasn’t her first language?
“Yeah. Down here.” I led her out of my room and pointed to the door at the end of the hall. “It should be decently clean.” Thanks to me. Dale never cleaned.
“Thanks.” She smiled before brushing past me.
I tried not to notice the way her ass looked in the tight material. I had no idea what was going on with this girl. But from the small glance I allowed myself, the rear view of her was just as pleasant as the front. That meant I had to get her out of there before Dale got home tomorrow. I didn’t want to know the things that would come out of his mouth around her.
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The Corded Saga Page 48
