SEVEN
MATTHEW
I WATCHED HER WALK AWAY, her thick hips swaying with each step, and I knew the fact I had to have her no longer had anything to do with my bet with Jermaine. I’d known it since the night of Lilly’s birthday party. The second my body pressed into her heat and I’d lost myself in her long red waves.
My want was ten times worse after talking to her in the hallway. She refused a date with me, and it was like a shot of something strong to my ego, and I liked it. Her turning me down had left me hot and bothered—my cock throbbing like it hadn’t in a long while—and my mind swam with all the dirty things I wanted to do to her lush body.
I was pissed about being forced to do the community service at the nursing home, but I was also embarrassed, which was why I lied to her about why I was there. Knowing she would be visiting someone at Twin Oaks made it a lot easier to deal with my punishment, though, because I would see her again. As long as I was at the nursing home, the chance of running into her again was high.
My community service became thrilling—a wild ride I couldn’t wait to jump on. Red did that to me. She made me feel urgent with need and ready to pounce.
I followed behind her, stopping at the front desk where Jermaine was sitting, and watched her through the front window as she made her way across the parking lot. She ran her fingers through her luscious scarlet locks and dug in her purse for what I assumed were her keys. She was wearing brown ankle boots and maroon tights that hugged every curve of her legs like a fucking dream. Her top was green, which made the color of her hair pop even more.
I liked her style—that she knew how to dress her voluptuous body so perfectly to allow me and every other man she passed see her thick frame and what I was slowly realizing was a gorgeous body. Round and tight and flowing with curves I wanted to speed around.
Jermaine was right. If a little of something was good, more was better. Shannon had more of everything, and I wanted to sample every inch.
“Told you so,” he said, leaning his back against the front desk and crossing his ankles in front of him.
He laughed when I shook my head and exhaled.
“She’s a hard one to crack. Probably got a boyfriend already. I wouldn’t stress about it, Matt.” He shrugged.
I hadn’t even thought to ask her about another man, but the truth was, it didn’t matter to me. She was mine for the taking regardless of who had staked their claim on her.
“She’s just playing hard to get,” I said.
Jermaine laughed harder, his head falling back. “You’re delusional, man. You ain’t getting none of that.”
I shook my head, my cheeks aching with my smile. “She wants me. I can feel it.”
It was a lie.
I was certain she wasn’t playing hard to get. That she really did want me to leave her be. Yet every time she was snappy with me, basically telling me to leave her the hell alone, another challenge was laid down for me.
She didn’t want me, but she would, and her surrender would be sweeter than any other woman because of that.
“Whatever you say, man. Have fun mopping the main hall. I’m going to take a nap in the break room while you do my work.” He laughed as he walked away.
“Fucking slacker,” I joked.
He flashed me a peace sign.
“Double or nothing the next time she’s here,” I called out to him.
He turned, walking backward to his destination with a huge grin on his face. “Deal. Next time, you’ll mop the front hall and clean the visitor’s bathroom.”
Over my dead body would I clean a toilet. The next time she came to visit, she was as good as mine. You had to be patient with women like her, and luckily for me, I was the most patient man I knew.
FOUR DAYS WENT BY, and in that time, I did everything I was supposed to do. Mopped hallways, changed bed sheets, and fixed things as if I were a fucking repairman.
One lady had somehow managed to pull off her door handle. She was eighty. How the fuck she managed to have the Hulk-like strength, I’d never know. I used a drill for the first time in my life thanks to her.
The entire time I worked, I patiently waited for Red’s next visit. I knew if I could get one more shot at asking her out, she would land in my palm. That thought helped push me through the manual labor and urine smells. It wasn’t easy, but I had to do it. Besides, there were worse things than cleaning. Things like jail and the possibility of being ass raped by a big fucker named George. I was lucky to get out of jail time, so I considered myself a winner every time I unclogged a toilet.
A few days later, working at the nursing home was starting to take its toll, and I wasn’t sure how much longer I would last. Jermaine had me taking the trash out, so for over an hour, I tapped on room doors, went inside, and changed out used trashed bags for new ones.
It was gross.
It was tedious.
And at that moment, I almost gave up.
I was rich beyond belief. I didn’t have to work. I was done cleaning up after the elderly.
“Come on in,” the lady behind the door in room three hundred called out.
I pushed the heavy door, and it creaked open.
Inside was comfy. Somehow, the lady who stayed in this room was able to make the infirmary feel go away completely. A crocheted throw laid across her bed, and a comfy chair with a lamp was beside it in the corner. The room even smelled different. Instead of the antiseptic odor of the nursing home, it smelled like apple pie and cinnamon.
“I’m here for your trash,” I said, stepping deeper into her space.
“Well, get on in here, handsome. Let’s have a look at you then.”
There she was, sitting at the head of her bed with a grin on her face. The gray pants and the flowery top she was wearing were different from the other ladies who wore gowns all the time. It was as if she wasn’t ready to let go of living yet.
She had a touch of pink lipstick on and her hair looked as though it had recently been rolled, puffs of hair clouded around her head like a halo. The white lengths fell far down her back and into the pillow behind her, hiding her hair’s true length.
“Oh, my. You are a handsome guy. Did you come here to ask me on a date?”
I chuckled as the older lady took me off guard. I was used to the old women at Twin Oaks gawking and incoherently saying lewd things, but this lady seemed to know exactly what she was saying.
“No, ma’am, I came to take out your trash.”
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” She chuckled.
I snorted. “I’m afraid not. When I say trash, I actually mean trash.”
I moved deeper into the room, flapping the new trash bag as I tried to open it while I looked for her trash can.
“Well, that’s a pity. I haven’t had a date in a long while.” She patted at her hair and fingered the white waves with her wrinkled fingers. The pink color painted on her nails matched her lips.
“Is that so?” I asked, playing along. “That’s a shame.”
“It sure is. I was hoping a nice-looking fella like you could rectify my sad situation.” She adjusted herself in bed as if she was posing to look sexy.
I laughed.
I’d never seen anything so ridiculous and cute in all my life.
“Mrs. …” I started.
“Davis. It’s Miss Davis.”
I shook my head, feeling myself blush, which was something I hadn’t done since I was a boy.
“Miss Davis, I’m flattered, truly, but I’m no good for you, babe.”
I didn’t want to be rude. The least I could do was let her down gently.
“The best ones never are.”
At that, I laughed again. She was something else.
“We can be friends though, right?” I asked.
She sighed, a flirty grin transforming her aged face. “I suppose. You can’t have too many friends, I guess.”
“That’s definitely true. Now, where’s that trash can so I can do my job? I’ll get kicked out of here if they find out I’m in a lady’s room flirting in the middle of my shift.”
She giggled, her voice sounding much younger than she was.
Reaching over the side of her bed, she pulled up her trash can and held it out to me.
“I hid it. It was my way of keeping you for a while.”
I chuckled and waved my finger at her. “Naughty girl, Miss Davis.”
“Iris,” she said. “You can call me Iris.”
I took the full bag out of her trash can and tossed it into a larger trash can waiting in the hall. Resting the new bag inside her can, I pulled the edges over and set it by the door.
“There. That didn’t take too long, now did it?” I said, checking to make sure she didn’t have any other trash lying around.
“Not nearly long enough, I’d say.”
I worked my way back to her door, ready to move on to the next room.
“Okay, Iris, I’ll see you next time. You be good now.”
She chuckled, her head falling back with her laughter. “Never.”
I closed the door behind me with a smirk. Miss Davis had made my day. I went into her room feeling like shit, but after talking with her, I was feeling much better. She made me laugh, and that was never a bad thing.
I strutted down the hallway, wishing I was done for the day and ready to get back to the real world when Red came around the corner. She was looking at the pictures on the walls as she passed, not paying attention to the path in front of her. Once she was close enough to walk into me, I stopped, letting her run right into my chest.
She was taller than most girls, but I was taller than most men, so her forehead bumped into my chin.
“Oh, my God! I’m so …” She stopped her apology when her eyes met mine. “You again,” she breathed.
I grinned, loving her unhappy response at seeing me. “Yep. Me again.”
“Are you following me? Because if so, I should probably warn you that I can take down a man with one finger.”
She was serious, her face emotionless.
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed.
Women had threatened me with a great many things. Most of them pleasurable. But not Red. She was sticking to the game. Staying strong and fighting my charms.
I loved it.
“With one finger, huh?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“Damn. If you can do that with one finger, I can only imagine the things you could do with your entire hand. Better yet, your mouth.”
Her eyes widened, and a pretty pink blush covered her face, making her freckles darken.
“You’re disgusting.” She moved to go around me, but I stepped in her way.
“Go out with me.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I really don’t have time for this.”
She would give in at some point. She couldn’t resist me forever.
“Go out with me,” I repeated.
She looked up at me, her light green eyes moving over my face before landing on my lips. I licked my bottom lip, and her eyes jerked back up to mine.
She wanted me.
I knew women, and I knew regardless of what she was saying, her body and reactions were speaking a different language. One that begged to feel me.
“No.” She moved quickly, going around me before I could block her path, and I let her go.
“You’ll give in at some point. They all do.”
With her back to me as she walked away, she chuckled sarcastically.
“I’m not they.”
She was right about that. She was nothing like the rest, but I knew myself, and I always got what I wanted. Currently, I wanted her.
Heading back toward the front of the building, I was caught once again by Jermaine leaning against the front counter. He snickered, having heard my conversation with Red.
“Damn, bro, mopping the front hallway and cleaning the visitor’s bathroom. It’s going to be an easy night for me.” He laughed as he walked away. “Wear gloves in there, man. Those toilets are nasty,” he called out.
“Next time,” I yelled. “Next time, I’ll get her.”
His laugh echoed down the hallway.
“Want to bet kitchen duty on that?” he called out.
I had no self-control.
I was a stickler for a good bet. Especially if I knew I could win it.
“If I strike out next time, I’ll do kitchen duty, but if I win, I get a day away, and you sign my community service sheet. Deal?”
Again, he laughed, shaking his head at the fact that I refused to give in.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, man.”
And then he was gone, walking around the corner to do whatever the hell it was he did.
I leaned against the front desk and mentally prepared myself for my next run-in with Red. I needed a plan. Obviously, she wasn’t going to fall for my usual game, which meant I needed to step it up. The next time I saw her, it would be on. But until then, much to my dismay, I had a bathroom to clean.
A bet was a bet.