I don’t answer. Instead, I reach up and unhook my bra, freeing my breasts. His gaze is instantly pulled down, he sucks in a breath then lowers his mouth to my body.
***
Gasping, we fall apart in the bed. The heat in here is unbelievable considering that only thirty minutes ago it was perfectly comfortable.
Turning my head, I see that his chest is heaving and he’s got his hands over his face. I poke him in the ribs. “You okay?” I force my breathing to slow.
He uncovers his eyes, then smiles.
“Hell yeah, I’m way better than okay.”
“Just checking. You look ready to have a heart attack or something.” I tease.
He laughs.
“I think I almost did.”
Our eyes meet as he calms his breathing. My instinct is to get up, clean off, and call a cab. I shouldn’t stay. Problem is, I’m not ready to say bye just yet.
The next morning, I wake up tangled in his blankets. Heat radiates off his body as the realization of last night hits me. The best sex of my life, all three times.
Panic clenches around my heart like a cold fist. He’s going to want more from me, I could see it in his eyes last night. I felt it in his touch. Carefully, I get out of bed and start the search for my clothes. They are scattered all over a cluttered bedroom. Isaiah snores lightly in the bed, never stirring.
I like him. I like him a lot, and that’s what scares me. I don’t even know why it does, but I’m terrified.
I slip out of his room, dressing quickly. I retrieve my phone from my purse and Google the number for a cab company.
Glancing around the room, a twinge of guilt hits me. Regret. Something screaming in my brain telling me I’m a fool, just calm down and don’t panic.
I take in the nice apartment for the first time. Last night I was lost in a fit of passion. We could have been in a cave and I wouldn’t have noticed. One of the living room walls is all glass, making it a giant window in a high rise apartment. A view of the forest, green trees. It’s lovely. The furniture is all gray microfiber, a big screen TV and dark wooden accent tables. A small kitchen, pretty clean except for a few dishes in the sink.
With my shoes in my hand, I slip out the front door. I really wish I had thought to grab those bears, now they are locked in his car. I would’ve liked to keep one. God knows I’ll never forget him, or last night.
***
Caroline snaps her fingers in my face, bringing me back from the memory. Isaiah called me a few times, but I never answered him. Didn’t take him long to stop. I still regret it. By the time I realized what I did, a month had passed by and I knew that it was too late to think about calling him up, he would already hate me.
“Sorry, what did you say?” I blink at her, looking back over at him.
“I said, how do you know him?”
I take in a deep breath, but before I can pull her away and tell her the story, he turns and sees me.
Chapter Two
Isaiah
I remember that voice. It takes me back eight months to that damn rodeo date that I fooled myself into thinking was more.
I guess it was more for me than it was for her.
Turning my head, I laugh out loud at the sight of that bright, red hair. Her back is to me, but I still know it’s her.
I suppose I should be annoyed, or pissed off. What’s the point though? It’s been forever. Months. So what if I’ve I thought about her for way too long, or that I kept hoping she might call me for weeks? I sure won’t chase someone that made it abundantly clear she didn’t want more from me.
But here she is. Her shoulders bare and creamy in a black halter dress, back to me until she peeks over her shoulder.
Our eyes meet across the space, she bites her lip and I grin, laughing again as her cheeks grow crimson.
After excusing myself, I make my way over. I don’t want to be the asshole that didn’t say hello.
“Hey there, stranger.” I smile.
Caroline gives me a confused look. Emily turns and breathes deeply, looking up into my eyes.
“Hi Isaiah, small world I guess, huh?”
“Sure is. I didn’t know you knew these two. How have you been?”
Emily glances between Caroline and myself. “Caroline, Isaiah and I dated a few months ago for a short while.”
Dated. I guess you could call it that.
Caroline smiles as understanding fills her eyes.
“I’ve been good, you know. Just working and stuff.” Emily looks back at me.
“I’m going to go check on the food. I’ll find you later.” Caroline smiles and walks off.
“Same here. So, burned anyone else with coffee lately?”
A slow smile creeps onto her face. I see the ice starting to thaw, the embarrassment fading away from her big brown eyes.
“Trust you to bring that up. No, just you.”
I grin. “Nice to see that smile.”
I know, I shouldn’t flirt with her. That smile however, it does the same thing to me now that it did the first time I saw it. She touches her hair. It’s longer now, cut in layers that hang a few inches past her shoulders. Straight, falling into her face until she tucks the stray strands away.
As beautiful as ever.
“So, how do you know these two?”
“I went to school with Gary. We have one of those on again off again friendships. We stop talking for a while then one of us calls the other out of the blue and we start hanging out again.”
She nods, glancing down at the beer in my hand.
”You want one?” I move to go grab her one out of the tub of ice not far from where we are standing.
“Sure. Thanks.”
She sits down on the couch, wrapping a napkin around the dripping bottle. She lifts her eyes and our gaze meets, and a flash of her in my bed blinds me for a moment. I can almost hear her panting, the soft moans that made me crazy that night.
I’d love to know why she never answered the phone, but I’ll be damned if I’ll ever ask her.
An awkward silence falls between us. All I can think about is the way we crashed into my apartment, and the feeling of waking up alone, no note, no call. Nothing.
First time I ever felt used by a woman.
I sit down beside her, wondering if either of us will ever bring it up. Will we sit here and make small talk, as if it never happened, and then say a casual goodbye in a couple of hours, leaving me with even more questions than I had before?
She glances over at me more than once, takes a couple of sips of beer. I hear an intake of breath.
“Um, Isaiah, I think I owe you an apology.”
You think so? “Don’t worry about it, Emily.”
She shakes her head.
“I’m sorry, I was a jerk. I wanted to call later, but it was too late. I shouldn’t have done that.”
What the hell do I say to this? Yeah, you were a jerk. I thought about you every day for weeks. I still have those freaking teddy bears in my closet that you left behind. I don’t really know why it bothers me. It’s not like I’ve never had a one night stand before. I guess I just thought it was more. What a brutal way to find out you’re wrong.
“Emily-”
“Isaiah,” She shifts, turning to me. “I mean it. I felt bad, and I still do. I never do stuff like that. The whole thing was...” She pauses, biting her lip and picking at the label on her beer.
“It is what it is. No point in worrying about it now. Let’s just forget it.”
She looks at me funny.
“You want to forget it?”
I flash a smile. “I mean the way you bailed. Why, you don’t want me to forget something?”
She flushes. Her creamy skin blooms pink as she casts her eyes out into the room, over the people milling about in this big expensive house.
“Well... I... I mean....,” she stammers, then stands. “I’m going to go check on Caroline. I’ll talk to you later, ok?”
I grin. “Ok.”
<
br /> I watch her walk off, then turn over her shoulder as she enters the kitchen.
***
Noah
I cruise Emily’s street, looking around, checking out the front of the house. Her car isn’t in the driveway. She’s gone.
Pulling my black Corvette around, I park on the next street, and never in the same place twice. Neighbors are nosey, and I don’t like people in my business.
Emily is always my business.
Entering the unlocked gate that leads to her back yard, I cross on swift legs to the back door. As always, I find the spare key hidden in the potted palm by the back door. Her little dog Maxie barks through the door until I get it open, then greets me with a wiggle and furiously wagging tail. The first few times I came I brought her treats, now she follows me around like she’s my dog too.
Of course, soon she will be.
I can’t stand clutter, and it’s the first thing that I see when I walk in. Everywhere. The kitchen is dirty, dishes, overfull trash can. Clothes In the living room, coffee cups on the table.
I take a deep breath. She just needs to be taught, that’s all. She’s smart, my girl Emily. Once she knows the rules, she’ll be grateful for them. Until then, I swallow down the urge to toss the dirty dishes on the floor and walk past them. That’s not why I’m here.
My loafers click on light-colored, hardwood floors as I pass through the front of the house and down the hall to her bedroom.
Her dog is still on my heels when I push the door open. Once again, assaulted by the clutter. Unmade bed, covers all but on the floor in a tangled swirl. It’s a nice bed too. Padded, grey, tufted headboard with pine furniture.
I approach the bed, cracking my knuckles to stop myself from making it. Leaning over, I pick up her pillow, burying my face in it. I breathe deep the scent of her perfume and shampoo. It calms something deep inside me.
Circling around the bed, I kick laundry out of the way. I’ll hire a maid for her when we are finally together. She clearly needs me.
Opening her top drawer, I pick up a pair of her silk thong panties and finger the fabric. Lingerie that’s been close to her skin, touching it makes me breathe hard.
One day, she will lay in this bed and look at me with those big brown eyes and beg me to take these panties off of her. She’ll arch as I slip my fingers over her body, into her, and she will know how deep our love really is.
She just needs time to understand her true feelings. When she sees how I take care of her, then she won’t ever want to leave. Not that I’d ever let that happen, of course.
I pocket the panties, and move out of the room to the living room where her laptop sits. It took me two weeks, but I finally figured out her password. She’s too smart to use the common stuff, I knew she would be. She likes to challenge me. It’s why she makes me wait to be with her. I type it in and the laptop comes to life. I open her internet, browse her history.
Nothing special, mostly bills and things. I find her student loan and open that up. She still owes fifteen thousand. I pull out my credit card and pay the bill for her with a few clicks. This will be a nice surprise for her when she goes to make her next payment. I can’t wait to see her face.
I love sitting here, feeling close to her. It’s getting late though, and tonight I can’t hide in the attic like I do sometimes and watch her. I have a very early meeting, and I know if I stay, I won’t be able to leave her.
As I set the computer back where I found it, I check my watch for the time. She will probably be home soon. I need to get out of here. After one last pass through her bedroom, I grab her t shirt off the floor and inhale the scent of her body one more time. I don’t always take her clothes, only when I’m really missing her. It seems that the more time goes by, the further under my skin she seems to burrow.
It’s okay, her smile tells me that she feels it too. We will be together soon. Timing is everything. My Emily knows this, we are so in sync. She’s just waiting for the right moment to tell me to come for her.
Chapter Three
Emily
I find Caroline in the kitchen getting chewed out by her future mother-in-law for using “cheap plastic plates” for the food.
I clear my throat, effectively making my presence known. Her mom-in-law sighs and tosses the plastic plate aside, walking out of the kitchen.
“You okay?” I ask.
Caroline nods. “Fine. She’s such a snob. Thinks I should use real plates. It’s not that formal of a party. She’ll get over it.” She waves a hand towards the door. “Tell me about what happened out there.”
I sigh, taking a drink of the beer. “One night stand. That’s what happened. We connected, really connected and I flipped out and ran before he woke up.”
Might as well be honest.
She snickers. “No kidding? He’s so cute, too. You and him? I had no idea. Why did you freak out?”
“I don’t know why I freaked out. I regretted it later but it was too late. We clicked, big time. It was on a whole different level than just attraction. I’ve never had that before. So I guess I panicked.” I shrug.
“So what about now?”
I smile down at my beer bottle. “Yeah right. Like he’d trust me now. I did tell him I’m sorry.”
“Just now?”
“Yeah. He acted like it was no big deal. It’s been a while. I guess by now it’s not.”
She shoves me lightly. “So go talk to him. Maybe you two can rekindle the flame.”
“Whatever. I’m sure it’s too late for that. He is still so damn cute, though.”
She laughs, shoving me again. “Go, talk to him. You never know.”
With an eye roll, I leave her alone with her plastic plates and walk out of the kitchen.
I bide my time for a while. Later, finding him sitting with someone I don’t recognize. I was going to approach him, but get cold feet at the last minute and pass him, making accidental eye contact when he looks up at me as I head for the back patio.
“Hey there.” I hear his deep voice behind me moments later and it makes me smile.
Turning, I lean on the railing. What might have happened if I hadn’t left? If I’d stayed the morning and lingered to look into this face in the morning light of his bedroom? These light-colored, brown eyes that are looking down on me with mild amusement and curiosity as he stands in front of me.
“Hi.”
His chuckle fills the air around us, making me smile. It lightens the awkwardness of the mood between us.
“So, what do you say we just kind of…. start over?” He cocks an eyebrow at me.
Start over? What’s that mean? Pretend it didn’t happen? Be friends?
“Sure, why not. It was a while ago. I really am sorry though.” I wince.
“You could’ve called. I would’ve answered.”
“Weren’t you mad?” I look up.
He meets my eyes, giving me a slight shiver.
“No, not really mad. Just disappointed.”
He’s still looking me in the eyes and it feels like he’s pulling me in. Right back to where I was that night, the itch to be close to him starting to bubble up.
Man, what’s this guy got that does this to me? I drain my beer. He takes the bottle from me and tosses it in a nearby can.
“This party sucks.” He adds after a moment with a laugh, moving to lean on the rail with me.
The closeness isn’t lost on me. Almost touching. Reminds me of being tossing into his bed and those big hands pulling my clothes off.
Did it just get hot out here?
“Her mother-in-law wanted it like this I think. Low-key fancy.”
He nods. “Yeah, I know her. I was lured by food and free beer,” he laughs.
“Caroline said she needs me for support. Not that I’m doing anything.” I shrug.
“Just having a friend here probably helps. I’d say let’s take off but sounds like you’re stuck.”
I glance at him out of the corner of my eye, finding him fiddli
ng with his beer bottle. Did he just suggest leaving with me?
Guess there’s a shot for this after all. I smile to myself.
“I think I am. But at least I have someone to talk to now instead of following her around like a puppy.”
When I look up again he’s watching me. Our eyes meet for a moment and my stomach curls. I was an idiot to leave the first time. He’s so adorable.
An hour later we are sitting at a little table across from two empty plates. Caroline peeked in at us and gave me a thumbs up, making me laugh.
“… so my dad lives here in Galveston and my sisters family lives in Austin. My mom died from cancer when I was a kid, so it’s just me and dad here.” He leans back.
“Are you close at all?”
“Sort of in the middle. My sister and I talk on the phone, mostly. We usually go up there for Christmas at her house, me and dad. We catch up on the drive.”
“I left home the second I turned eighteen. I was adopted by parents that shouldn’t have ever been able to adopt. They were awful. I haven’t seen them since.”
“You’re twenty-six right? Do you miss your family?”
I nod. “Yep. I’m okay with it. I’d rather be on my own than settle for a crap relationship just to have something to hold onto.” I lean forward, propped up on my hand.
“That’s strong. I like that. So many people are afraid of being alone.”
“I’ve never understood it. People come and go, it’s nothing to be afraid of.” I stand up. “Let’s go find some cake.”
He follows with a grin. “Lead the way.”
The party wears on. I bounce between Caroline and Isaiah all evening until I see guests starting to leave. She wishes me luck when I tell her I’m leaving.
“Crazy. I’m not leaving with him.”
“Even so. He’s going to want to call you.”
Man, I hope so. Given our history, I know that I’ll have to bring it up, and I’m perfectly okay with that.
I walk out onto the oversized front porch to find him lingering. Seeing me, he gives me a smile and casually walks me to my car.
Crazy Love Page 2
