Chapter 6
Trace
Good. I woke up and saw that Lila was still there. The curvy girl learned fast.
At first, seeing her naked in my bed gave me ideas of picking up immediately where we’d left off before passing out. However, in that moment, I couldn’t bear to wake her up. She was so beautiful sleeping, and I wanted her to get enough rest.
I heard some noise going on outside in the living room. Slowly, I got out of bed, threw on some shorts and a shirt, and stepped out of my bedroom, closing the door behind me.
Emerson was playing video games, sitting on the couch near the window, and smoking a cigarette. He looked surprised to see me.
“Well, hey there,” he said. “Morning, pal.”
“Yo,” I grumbled.
“So, how did things go after I left you kids alone last night?” he wondered.
“Good,” I smirked. “She’s still here.”
The small man paused his video game and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Lila’s in your room right now? Is she awake?”
“No, still sleeping.”
“Ah.” He turned off his video game and stood up. “So much for breakfast, then.”
“What?” I asked, confused.
“We were supposed to get breakfast out by South Beach this morning, remember?” he reminded. “We were getting those burritos that have egg and chorizo.”
“Oh shit, that’s right!” I grunted. “Sorry dude. Busy.”
“Hey, don’t worry about that,” Emerson said reassuringly as he ditched his cigarette. “This is way more important. Tend to your girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend.”
“Whatever.” He laughed. “So, did you two, you know, do it?”
“Are you asking if we had sex?”
“You don’t have to tell me if you’d rather—”
“Yes, we did,” I cut him off. “And it was fantastic. It quite possibly was some of the best sex I’ve ever had. She was fucking hot as fuck.”
“Wow,” he said appreciatively. “Too bad I didn’t have tickets for that show.”
“It was a private screening.” I grinned. “Is your brother here by the way?”
“No, he’s out until later tonight,” Emerson said. “Don’t worry. You kids will have the house all to yourself today.”
He patted me on the shoulder, grabbed his keys and headed out the door.
“We’ll meet up later,” Emerson called. “Or maybe tomorrow, depending on your situation. Keep me posted on that, amigo.”
“You got it,” I said, giving him a thumbs-up.
After Emerson’s departure, I got the coffee started for the morning. Either the sound or the scent from the machine woke Lila up. I heard noises in the bedroom as I prepared breakfast.
And finally, the girl stepped out, wearing a tank top and short shorts, looking sexier than ever. I didn’t even think it was possible for someone to look that good so soon after waking up. She looked left and right hastily, taking tentative steps.
“It’s just us,” I assured her.
“Oh, good,” she said with relief. “I was so embarrassed.”
“No need to worry,” I said. “I made eggs and coffee. Want any?”
“I’ll have some coffee, thank you.”
We sat down together, sipping our brew in silence. She would occasionally look at her phone, but our minds were definitely on the same thing.
“So, when are you heading back to L.A.?” she asked.
“I’m not sure,” I answered truthfully. “I don’t have another shoot until Friday, so I can stay until Thursday probably.”
“Cool. Do you have any plans today?”
“Not really,” I said. “I’m pretty much free until I leave.”
She paused for a moment.
“So, I gotta ask Trace,” she began. “That whole ‘you wanting me to stay the night’ thing, I was just curious why you were offended that I left. Most guys want the girls out afterwards, don’t they? Love ‘em and leave ‘em and all that?”
“Perhaps,” I replied. “But I’m not like most guys. I had a really good time with you that first night. I wanted to keep it going in the morning.”
“Well, our day is young still,” she said suggestively.
“Yeah.” I laughed. “Don’t worry. I wasn’t, like, trying to lock you down or something.”
“Lock me down?” Lila looked surprised. “What does that even mean? How old are you?”
“No, it’s just that I’m not going to be around Miami much longer, and I didn’t want to confuse you,” was my bumbling reply. “I… you know what I mean?”
What the hell was wrong with me? Why was I tongue tied? I haven’t been tongue tied around a girl since I was thirteen and fumbling with Sandra Boynton down the block. So what was Lila doing to me now?
“I think so.” She laughed lightly. “You’re not looking for a girlfriend. I get it.”
“I do want to settle down someday,” was my admission. “I really do. It’s not being with one girl for a long time that I mind. It’s the commitment part.”
“Are you afraid to commit yourself to someone?” she asked curiously.
“I guess so. I tried it a few times and it never worked out. I used to really try, too. Lately, I just flash my money, and the girls come flying in,” was my wry admission.
“Hey, you didn’t need to do that to get me,” she said lightly. “I was interested before you said you made a lot of money.”
“Oh, that doesn’t count.”
She looked offended, that pretty mouth turning into a frown.
“Just,” I stammered, trying to rewind. “I mean, we knew each other in high school. We’ve got history.”
“You didn’t know me in high school,” she stated. “You were a cool kid, and you never talked to me.”
“You never talked to me, either.”
She looked like she wanted to get into it before relenting.
“Fair enough.”
“I always wind up being unhappy while I’m in a committed relationship,” were my slow words. “That’s why I avoid them. I don’t want to torture some poor girl with false hopes. I change my mind all the time too. I was on my way to being a football player, and then I decided it wasn’t for me within seconds. I couldn’t be a star for my parents because my happiness comes first. A guy like me can’t be in a serious relationship. She was just be disappointed.”
Lila looked at me searchingly.
“Do you really care what your parents think?” she asked.
“I do, but I don’t,” were my slow words. “I want them to like what I’m doing, but they really wanted me to play football. I think they’re pretty disappointed as a result, and after a while, I just shut it out. I stopped letting them make me feel bad about myself.”
Lila shot me a half-smile.
“I need that ability,” she said. “My mom and stepdad are super judgmental.”
“Sorry to hear that.”
“Well, my mom’s not so bad,” she continued. “But my stepdad always forces her to go along with his program. I hate seeing it, so these days, I try to avoid their company.”
“When’s the last time you saw them?”
“Around Christmas,” she said. “I still see my parents and stepparents on holidays. I usually have to split my holidays between my mom and dad and their respective spouses. It’s weird. I dislike my stepdad, but I love my stepmom.”
“Does your family approve of your modeling career?” I asked curiously. “No offense, but I don’t think they saw you as a model when you were younger. You were a real bookworm when I knew you.”
She nodded knowingly.
“It was a surprise to them when they saw my first magazine,” she said. “But ultimately, they just want me to be happy. I like my work, and I make an okay living doing it. It’s fine.”
I nodded, finishing up my coffee, shooting the curvy female quick looks.
“It’s crazy how we’ve had the house to ourselves so much,” she added.
“Well, obviously it isn’t totally by accident.” I laughed.
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“Well, Emerson was here before you got up, and he said he wanted to give the kids some privacy.”
“How did he know I was here?”
“I told him,” I said. “He’s my roommate, you know? And my best friend.”
“What a coincidence,” she remarked. “I live with my roommate and best friend, too. She’s getting ready to move out, though. Moving in with her longtime boyfriend. I’m hoping she’ll be engaged soon.”
“Who knows what the future will bring?” I remarked.
But Lila was still thinking.
“So, the first time I came over,” she continued. “When Emerson just ran out the door like that… Did he think you and I were going to have sex?”
Silence.
“I didn’t have any expectations,” was my gruff reply.
“That’s a yes then,” she said, rolling her eyes.
“Hey, he’s my best friend!” I said defensively. “We tell each other everything. You and your best friend…”
“Her name is Annie,” she said.
“Okay, don’t you and Annie share secrets?” I asked her.
“We tell each other a lot,” she admitted.
“There you go. I promise I invited people over to party,” was my reassuring statement. “No one wanted to come over, and only, like, one guy was down. It would’ve just been the three of us, and frankly, that dude’s annoying. It’s better this way.”
“Does Emerson think we’re really unprofessional now?” she asked.
“No,” I replied. “In fact, he gets it. Trust me, he gets it. Once I explained who you were and how I knew you, he was totally supportive.”
She looked annoyed. I tried to hold my smile, but I could tell Lila was troubled.
“But you didn’t know me in high school,” she said. “What did you tell him about me?”
“What? I just told him how I wanted to bang you back in high school, and he wanted us to have our privacy.”
“You wanted to ‘bang me’?” she asked in disbelief. “You didn’t know me. I was the invisible girl.”
“I did want to, trust me,” I said. “Every time I saw you, I always thought you were really hot. But you were a nerd, and I didn’t go for those back then.”
She licked her lips. “I’ve still got a bit of that nerdy girl in me. I’m not ashamed of how I wanted to succeed in high school. An education is valuable. You know I can’t be a model my entire life, so brains are an investment just like anything else.”
Nodding, I agreed. Man, this girl was smart if she could do long-term planning.
“My point is, I would see you around, and I always thought you’d be an amazing lay, but it was always just that: guy talk. You know? But I definitely knew who you were. I never would’ve imagined you’d become a model.”
Getting up, I sat down close to the beautiful female, kissing her neck while caressing her shoulders.
But Lila didn’t respond.
“No wonder you have to flash money to get girls,” she tightly.
“What?”
“I’m just another one of your lays,” she said. “You sure know how to make a girl feel special.”
“I don’t mean it like that,” was my protest. “I’m talking about back then. Now—”
“Right. Now, I’m a model, so I get the reward of being one of your lays. That’s cool, Trace,” she said sarcastically.
“That’s not what I meant.”
Lila shot me a long look.
“Then why act all offended when I leave in the middle of the night?” she asked. “I’m just the model you’re trying to screw while you’re back in Miami. That’s okay! But call it what it is at least.”
“I don’t have to call it anything,” I said. Now I was mad too. “All I know is we’re good together sexually. I’m willing to stay in Miami longer just so I can have you more.”
“Aren’t I lucky?” the brunette quipped sarcastically.
“I’m just upset that I didn’t really know your full potential back in high school,” I said. “I would’ve been hitting that all day and night.”
The curvy girl scooted away from the table. “I’ll be going now.”
Instinctively, I reached up and grabbed her wrist to stop her.
But wrong thing. Lila reacted badly to the restraint and with a quick reflex, slapped me across the face. It was the hardest smack I’d ever gotten from a woman. She looked just as surprised, her face a mask of horror.
But it was too late. Without a word, the girl grabbed her stuff and bolted out the door before I could even get out a full sentence.
What the hell had happened? My face stung, but I was more confused than angry. That wasn’t the first time a girl had stormed off angrily after a conversation. But this was the first time that I was bothered about it. Usually I let the females go without a second thought. They’ll calm down, it just takes some time.
But this time, it was different. It upset me that Lila had left on a bad note, my stomach churning uneasily. Why? What did this girl have that others didn’t? Stellar looks, for sure. A curvy body and big brown eyes that did me in every time. But it was more than the physical. It was the way she made herself out to be so sassy and confident, and I knew the Lila underneath … the shy, sweet, caring girl who I’d seen across the football field so long ago. And that was the woman I wanted to be with.