Chapter 6

 

The next morning, I thought I woke up to a dream. There had been many dreams I'd had of Betsy waking me up; of her blonde hair splayed on my pillow. But this was different.

She was crouched at the end of my bed, like some kind of animal going for its' prey. Her hands were splayed next to my hips and she slowly bent down, running her bottom lip just below my belly button.

"W...W...what are you doing?" It took me a minute to actually get any words in. My dick was screaming at me to stop talking and just push her head down.

"Isn't this what you want, Leo?" Her voice was husky, just like it was in all of my fantasies about her.

But my fantasies didn't include the black and blue contusions that were now parading down her face. As much as my dick protested and wanted her to keep going, my brain was telling me it wasn't right.

I sucked in a deep breath and grabbed her wrist. She gasped, stopping her movement.

"Betsy. Stop. You don't have to do this."

"Do what? Give you a thank you for last night?" She smiled coyly.

I shook my head. "You don't have to thank me. I just wanted to make sure you were okay and maybe it was stupid to bring you back up in my room, but I was really fucking tired and ready to sleep."

She pushed against my hands. "Don't you want me, Short Stack? Haven't you always wanted me?"

I licked my lips and swallowed hard. Damn, this was harder than I thought it would be. "I do. But not like this. I'm not just going to let you play with my dick because you think you owe me something. We're both better than that."

She huffed and didn't say anything. Just narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

"Betsy," I pleaded. "You have to know that you don't need to do this. I like you without you having to throw yourself at me."

She pulled free of my wrists. "Fine. I get it. You think I'm hideous with these stitches, or you're afraid Rico is going to beat your ass. Whatever it is, I don't need you! Do you hear me? I don't need you!"

Her words may have been sharp, but she was anything but. Her whole body shook as she got off the bed. I didn't notice she was crying until she sniffled and turned toward me, wiping the fallen tears off her cheek. "I'll just go downstairs and hope Rico isn't too pissed at me to give me a ride home."

"Wait!" I grabbed her wrist. "Betsy. Please, stop. I don't know what's going on with this hot and cold thing you're doing, but you need to relax. Talk to me. Something. Anything."

Slowly, I reached my free hand to her face and wiped a freshly fallen tear. "Please."

She shook her head. "There's nothing to say. We had nothing to say to each other last night and I think you've said enough this morning."

She hopped off the bed, keeping her back to me and threw open the door.

"Betsy, wait!"

I jumped off the bed and adjusted myself. I may have said "no" to her, but my massive wood was definitely saying something else. I didn't bother throwing on a shirt or shoes when I followed her down the stairs, but she was quicker and already out the door before I could follow her.

I raked my fingers through my hair and stood in the open doorway, blowing out a deep breath of air. "Shit."

"Damn, Short Stack, what did you do to make a girl run screaming from your room?" I turned around to see Meatball, with a broom in one hand and a donut in the other.

I shook my head and shut the door. "Nothing and that's the problem."

"Okay..." Meatball raised an eyebrow.

"Have you seen John Boy?"

Meatball nodded and hitched his thumb toward the kitchen. "Yeah. He's the one who got the donuts. I think he's still in the kitchen talking to Cali."

I patted his back. "Thanks, man."

I didn't wait for a response before I headed toward the back of the house. Just as Meatball said, John Boy was standing in the kitchen, talking to Cali while he sat on the granite island. The house may have been made for parties, but that didn't mean our cook didn't get an amazing kitchen with all stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, and marble floors. The first time my mom saw the place, I think she wanted to just sleep in the kitchen and wake up every morning to make Arepas.

"Hey, Short Stack!" John raised his arms with a big smile.

I nodded. "Hey, man."

Cali hopped off the counter and turned toward me. "Man, you look like hell."

"Yeah. I feel like it, "I muttered.

John pushed one of the donut boxes toward me. "Need breakfast?"

I shook my head. "No, man, I'm good."

Cali patted my back and then grabbed a donut, walking backwards. "I think I'm going to leave you two alone for some brotherly love."

He took a bite of his donut and then continued backwards out of the room.

John leaned his back on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest. "So, are you going to tell me what happened last night? Or maybe this morning, when Betsy ran out of your room crying?"

I shook my head and leaned on the counter. "You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

He picked a donut out of the box and ate one of the sprinkles. "Was the sex with you really that bad?"

I groaned. "We didn't have sex. We didn't do anything. That's what she was pissed about. I don't know how a girl could think their self worth is wrapped up in if they can get a guy off or not."

He picked off another sprinkle. I don't know why he didn't just eat the whole damn thing. "Not all girls. Just the ones that seem to hang around here."

I sighed. "It probably doesn't help that she's been hanging out with assholes like Rico forever."

"Hey, Rico isn't an asshole. He just has some issues."

I raised an eyebrow. "Issues? Like that he treats women like shit and all these girls still seem to clamor for him? What the fuck is up with that? Why do girls always like the assholes?"

He finally set the donut down. "Not all girls."

I rolled my eyes. "Right. You find the one girl that walked into this house who wasn't looking for an asshole, so you married her."

John laughed. "Melanie was looking for an asshole, but she just wanted a one night stand and I wasn't about to give that to her. She wasn't really the type of girl that would go through with it anyway, but that's another story."

"Yeah and that story doesn't help me at all."

He sighed. "Look, Short Stack, I know you've never exactly been really good at talking to girls, or hell, getting them to stay around, but if you really like Betsy, and she really likes you then it's going to work out."

"That doesn't help me at all."

He laughed. "I don't think it was supposed to. It's way too early for this philosophical shit and because you were out and brought a girl back, I had to sleep on Cali's floor and I feel like hell."

"Sorry about that."

He shook his head. "Nothing to be sorry about. I would have done the same thing. You're a good guy, Short Stack. You know that just as well as I do. If a girl can't see that, or anyone else for that matter, then they aren't worth your time."

I raised an eyebrow. "Are you trying to dad me right now?"

He laughed. "I may be an old fucker, but I'm sure as shit not being your old Jew Dad. No offense. Just trying to be a good friend and big brother."

I nodded. "Thanks, John Boy. I appreciate it."

He opened his mouth like he was going to say something and then shut it again before squeezing my shoulder. "I'm going to head out, okay? I could use a shower and something that hasn't been puked in and I'm sure my wife is waiting for me."

I wanted to ask him if he had more to say. I knew there had to be something, but I wasn't about to push. That, and I was about to go back and pass out for a few hours and then drown myself in coffee. "Okay, John Boy, go home to your wife."

He smiled. "Take care, little brother."

With that, he threw the rest of his donut in the trash and was out the door, leaving me with more questions than I had answers for. Girls were a big fucking conundrum.