by Sam Crescent
Why him?
Why his kitchen?
She had a good-sized kitchen and could bring him any item of food she wished to make, but no, not his mom. She would leave him the cleanup.
“Have they left you in the truck? What evil men,” she said.
Eliza chuckled.
Her laugh still did things to him. The sound drifted down his spine and made him want to fucking kiss her or something. Damn it.
Why did he volunteer for this?
Eliza being so close. Possibly naked, or in skimpy pajamas. He was fucked. Royally fucked. There was no way he was going to make it through the night, was there?
He ran a hand down his face, trying to clear the fog from his mind. He had to fix this.
“It’s okay, Mrs. Hard. How are you?”
“Please, it’s Jane. I’m fine. Come on, honey, let me help you.”
He and his brother rushed toward her, but she batted them away, already taking control as was her nature.
“You boys take care of what you think is the most important and I will take care of this one. I can’t believe you two. The bike over the young woman.”
Eliza chuckled and he glared at her. With his mother’s back turned, she stuck out her tongue. He knew what he’d like to do with that damn tongue, or at the very least, what he could get her to do with it, but he wasn’t going to because he was the nice guy who didn’t do things like that.
He watched them both move into the house.
“Come on, before all of that lasagna goes,” Caleb said.
They got the bike off the truck. He pushed it into the garage, closed the door, and headed inside. When Caleb was done, he’d let himself into the house.
The kitchen … was a mess. No, it looked like a bomb had gone off. It was that bad.
Eyes wide, he couldn’t believe it.
Holy shit, it was a mess. Sauce was everywhere and it even looked like white bechamel sauce was stuck to the floor and his cupboards. The smell was amazing, though, and he made his way into the dining room.
Eliza was already seated, digging into a nice, large slice.
Caleb joined them. “Maybe we should invite Rome. Show him how it’s done.”
James shook his head. His mother and Eliza were lost in conversation, both of them eating. There was salad on their plates but it wasn’t near the size of the lasagna.
Eliza sipped at her water as his mother told another story about them as boys and how she had to deal with being a full-time mom.
“Mom, please, don’t tell any embarrassing stories,” he said. He had to live with Eliza for the next two days.
“Did you know James used to wet the bed?”
He spat some of his beer out.
Eliza laughed. “No, I don’t think wetting the bed ever came up.”
“Mom!”
“What, honey? These kinds of things are important.”
“We’re not going to be sharing a bed, and that happened years ago when I was a kid. Even before preschool.”
“I know. I know. But, I remember being so worried. I thought you were terrified about something. I would stay up, watching you just to make sure.”
“You fell asleep in the rocking chair near the bed,” Caleb said. “Dad would have to carry you to bed. Don’t believe all of her stories, Eliza. She’s one hell of a mom, but she did raise three boys.”
“Yes, I’m aware of that.” Eliza chuckled.
“Boys are so easy to raise, Eliza. Don’t let them put you off. It’s easy. You just have to know when to feed them, hold them, and let them go and scream in a pillow at the unfairness of it all.”
James wasn’t going to survive the night with his mom.
“Screaming into pillows.”
“It was how James got his anger out. It was so cute. When he would temper tantrum, I’d watch him. He’d grab a pillow, push it against his face, and scream. He’d scream his little heart out. It was so cute.” She laughed.
Nope, he wasn’t going to survive the night. There was no way he could look cool in front of this woman with his mother ruining him.
With his constant smirk and laughter, Caleb seemed to be having fun.
After Eliza finished the first piece of lasagna, she asked for seconds, and he watched as his mother served her more. She had an appetite. He liked that.
“We need to invite her to dinner,” Caleb said.
“Dinner. She’s coming home tomorrow. You’ll bring her, James. She has to have breakfast and dinner. I won’t accept anything less.”
“I’ll still be cleaning the kitchen tomorrow,” James said.
“Nonsense. It won’t take you long to clean. Besides, I made you a perfectly good meal.”
By the time dinner was finished and his mother and brother had left, there was no lasagna or salad, but a whole lot of cleanup.
Eliza offered to help and when they entered his kitchen, she paused. “What the hell did she do?”
“I have no idea. Mom cooking is a bad idea. She makes so much of a mess. At least, most of the time. There are some breakfasts and dinners where there’s next to no mess.”
“Let me guess. When she has to be the one cleaning up?”
James laughed. “You have already figured out my mother.”
“Not hard to do, is it?” Eliza asked. “The lasagna was worth the messy clean-up. What would you like me to do?”
“You start on the dishes. I’ll get to the floor, ceiling, walls, and everything else. If I knew she was coming around, I would’ve packed everything away.”
“Does your mom come to visit often?”
“Rarely. Only if I’m sick and it’s one of those days she brings me her soothing soup, and that is it. She doesn’t cook.”
“I like your mom.”
“I don’t wet the bed.”
Eliza frowned, turning to look at him.
“I figured I’d get that out there for you to know. No peeing the bed.”
“It’s fine. I’m sure we all have our tales from childhood.”
“What’s yours?” he asked.
She paused and looked back at him again. “Mine?”
“You heard my mom today. She has a lot of tales to tell. What about you? Do you have any?”
“Er, not ones I’d like to tell.”
He noticed her face was bright red. “No problem.”
“It’s not that I don’t want to tell them or anything. It’s just … my mom and dad left me. You’ve probably heard the tale.”
“It’s not a tale.”
“I know. This actually happened. I guess it is only fair. I would have nightmares about being abandoned. There’s no way for me to escape and no one cares about me. I’m forgotten and the box is thrown away like trash. I think I’m miniature-size or something. I don’t know. I know I’m not normal, but who is in dreamland?”
“I have no idea, but I agree with you. Dreams can suck.” He couldn’t believe she’d even shared a part of her fears with him. They were childish ones, but he had to wonder if she still had the same fears now. He had an overwhelming need to let her know it was going to be okay. That he and his brothers would never let anything happen to her.
Instead, he remained silent. Not saying a word. He wanted to. He felt like a fucking idiot for staying quiet, but he didn’t know what to say.
It was late by the time they finished cleaning the kitchen.
“I need to shower.” She winced, glancing down at her knee.
“I’ll be right outside. Come on, I’ll take you.” He lifted her in his arms, liking the weight and feel of her against him. She felt good, amazingly good. He enjoyed having her in his arms, to love, to hold, to cherish.
What the fuck?
He carried her upstairs to the bathroom. “If you need anything, I’ll be right outside.”
****
Someone was mocking her.
Eliza knew it as she stripped out of her clothing. The steam from the shower filled up the room, and she had to wonder who it was
.
Shaking her head, she ran her fingers through her long hair. She’d never gotten it cut short, always preferring the long length of her locks. Aunt Betty loved to comb it at night. They would spend hours watching movies while her aunt brushed her hair, or they did facials together.
She’d missed her aunt so much while she’d been away, but it felt important to her to know what she wanted. Also, it was nice to be far away from people who had already judged her before getting to know her.
Not tonight. She doesn’t get to invade my thoughts tonight.
Climbing into the shower, she winced and released a gasp.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m okay.” She couldn’t believe James was right outside the bathroom door. She didn’t even have any pajamas, and they hadn’t thought this through. The lasagna his mother made was amazing, though. She’d have to ask for the recipe so she’d be able to treat her aunt.
Tilting her head back, she relished the feel of the water against her face and body. It felt good. There were some stings as it grazed her cuts, but other than that, she was more than happy.
She used his soap, washing all over her body. Thinking about James had her pussy going slick and her nipples pebbling. What would it be like to have his mouth on her body, licking and sucking at her?
Get your head out of the dirty. It’s not going to happen.
If he couldn’t ask her to prom all those years ago, then there was no chance he was wishing for more with her now. She was on her own. Which she was more than happy about. She could handle everything on her own. After surviving the city, nothing seemed scary anymore.
She finished washing her hair and reached for a towel. For a split second, she completely forgot about her ankle. As she put pressure on her leg, she screamed, tumbling in the slick water, falling out of the tub and pulling the shower curtain down with her.
The door was open within seconds and only the shower curtain offered her any kind of modesty.
“What happened? Are you okay?” he asked, running his hands over her body.
“I’m fine. I really am.” She was naked. The shower curtain wasn’t designed to keep her body safe. The fabric pressed against her front and in clear view, he’d be able to see her breasts.
They paused.
“I forgot about my ankle and I hurt myself. I didn’t mean to.” She winced. “I kind of feel like I suck at the moment.”
“You don’t suck.”
“I feel like I do.”
“There is no way you can suck,” he said.
His voice sounded hoarse. She noticed his gaze lingered on her breasts and she licked her lips, liking his eyes on her.
“James.”
James grabbed a towel, pressed it in front of her, and covered her up, offering her some form of modesty. Then he helped her up and she groaned. If the ground could open up and swallow her, she would gladly fall into it.
“I don’t have any clothes,” she said. She was soaking wet and aware of her naked state.
“I’ll get you some clothes.” James lifted her again and carried her down the small hall toward one of the bedrooms. He opened it. There was a single bed inside, nothing else. “My brother crashes here from time to time when he’s working late.”
“Caleb?”
“No. There’s no way in hell I’d let him here. He’d bring a woman back with him and I’m not interested in having to clean the sheets from him. There’s only so much I’m willing to do. Rome stays from time to time. He works late and time gets away from him. He crashes here.”
“Are you sure he’s not going to be here tonight?”
“Nah, he was volunteering at the school today. He would’ve gone home long before now.” James sat her down on the edge of the bed. “Rome doesn’t bring a woman back here.”
“Oh, that seems impossible to believe. A Hard boy without a woman.”
“I don’t bring a woman back here,” he said.
“Are you telling me you live like a monk?” she asked, brow raised.
“I wouldn’t go that far. But there’s no woman who’s going to come and knock at the door. I haven’t been on a date in a while.”
Why was he telling her this? She didn’t know why he would share this with her. Had she been in the city that long?
“I haven’t had a guy around for a long time either. As you can see, there’s no one chasing me to take me back to the city.”
“That’s their loss.”
“Are you paying me a compliment?” she asked.
“I think I am. Are you prepared for it?”
“I don’t know if I can handle it.”
He winked at her. “You’re a beautiful woman, Eliza. You should know that.”
No one had ever called her beautiful before. None of her boyfriends. They’d said she was pretty, but most of the time, when they told her, they were staring down at their phones. The way James told her, he was making sure she knew how beautiful she was, speaking firmly.
The silence in the room filled with tension. She wanted to say or do something, but she didn’t.
He got up off the bed. “I’ll grab you some clothes.”
Whatever moment they’d been sharing left when he stood. She watched him walk out of the room.
The shower curtain was still around her and she rolled her eyes, quickly removing it so she didn’t look like a crazy person.
Great, just great.
She had the curtain neatly folded as he came back.
“Sweatpants and shirt.” He held them up.
She took them from him, placing them on the bed. “I need to dry first.”
“Right. I’ll be outside again, just in case.”
She watched him go and then quickly dried her body, wrapping her hair up in a knot in the towel and putting it on her head. She pulled his clothes on, smelling him around her. His scent comforted her and it was a little strange to find so much pleasure from just sniffing him. She felt crazy.
Drying her hair quickly, she looked for a brush but didn’t see one.
Instead of waiting for his help, she hobbled to the door and opened it. “Do you have a brush?” she asked. “Crazy hair.” She pointed at her head.
“Yes, I do.”
He turned to leave, and she admired the curves of his ass.
Head out of the gutter.
No time for it.
He returned with a brush. She took it from him, leaving the door open. She brushed her hair, trying not to look at him.
It was late. She was tired.
What does he feel about me?
“Tomorrow morning?” she asked.
“Breakfast. Mom and Dad will be expecting us. It’s what she does every weekend. Full breakfast, sausage, bacon, scrambled eggs, hash browns, all the good stuff. There will even be waffles, pancakes as well.”
“She goes all out.”
“That she does, for her kids.”
She finished with the brush. “Right. I better go to bed. You know, long day and all that.”
“You can’t sleep,” he said. “I promised I wouldn’t let you fall asleep.”
“I think the doctor was being overly cautious for me. He doesn’t want to risk getting sued. I want to get some sleep. I mean, you can keep checking on me.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, I’m tired, but I’ve been fine all day. I’m sure I’d have had, you know, some kind of symptom if I wasn’t okay.”
“I’m just next door.” He took the brush from her. “I’m going to head for a shower.”
“Okay. Good night, James.”
“Good night, Eliza.” Her body felt alive under his gaze.
“Wait, I know this is a little crazy, but, why don’t you like to be called Elizabeth?”
“You really want to know?”
“Yeah. I mean, if you want to tell me.”
“It’s not really a big secret. My mom called me Elizabeth whenever she was angry. I always hated the name.” She shrugge
d. “Changing my name just seemed like a headache.”
“I like Eliza.”
She laughed. “Thanks. Good night.”
It looked like he wanted to say something more, but he didn’t. Finally, he turned and left. He didn’t close the door.
She climbed into the bed and lay staring at the ceiling. She heard the shower running and she imagined him naked, under the spray.
Even his cock.
What is wrong with me?
She didn’t fantasize about men in the shower or their cocks. The two boyfriends she’d had even called her frigid because they felt she wasn’t experienced enough in the bedroom. She knew what she wanted, and they just didn’t satisfy her. Their idea of a good time was doing it with the light on. They didn’t believe in foreplay either.
“Why am I thinking about them?” The shower stopped and her thoughts immediately returned to James.
He’d had a reputation in high school. The girls he’d been with, she would hear them talking about how good he was. How he took care of a woman’s needs before his own. Was it real? Did he really care?
Did she want to be another notch on a Hard boy’s bedpost? All three boys were known for working hard and playing hard. Even their dad had had a reputation before he married.
She rolled over.
It didn’t matter because she wasn’t going to fall into James’s bed. He didn’t want her, anyway.
Chapter Four
“I thought flowers, chocolates, dinner, and a date was what got women to fall for you and stay the night. You, you run them down with a bike.”
James was going to pound Rome’s face in. This was the reason why he hadn’t taken Eliza to breakfast with his parents this morning, and they’d hung out instead. He’d called his parents to let them know they would be over for dinner. He wanted to keep an eye on Eliza before he brought her to his family. He’d hoped his brothers wouldn’t be there, but of course, no such luck. “I didn’t do it like that.”
“He was actually trying to look at her in the florist shop,” Caleb said, snorting. “She’d gone out for lunch. He ran her down.”
“Now she’s in there with Mom and she’s probably telling all kinds of unattractive stories,” Rome said, wrinkling his nose.
