“I leave for two minutes and you’re here with another guy who happens to be your boyfriend?”
His anger morphs into a jealous rage; his fist meeting the wall with a ferocious punch. I leap off the bed, shocked at his sudden outburst. A minute ago he was staring at me, calm and eerily silent. Now I had a dent in the wall that my landlord will crucify me over.
“What did you do that for?” My high-pitched voice does nothing to hide my panic. “Do you know how much that will cost me! Of course not, you would have no concept of what it’s like to have nothing and work hard for every cent you own.”
“To let out my frustration,” he shouts again, pacing the room back and forth. “You never said you were in a relationship.”
“I said it was complicated.”
A laugh escapes him; delirious and unwelcoming. He stops the manic pace, positioning himself in front of me with an overpowering stance.
“This is the problem. You don’t open up about you.” He points his finger into my chest, eyes blazing. “You can say all you want about your complications but you don’t tell me why, or who. I mean, for fuck’s sake, do you have some lovechild back home? Are you part of a traveling circus act? Who the fuck knows!”
Now it is my turn to pace; a reaction from the pile of questions he just threw at me. This wasn’t how I envisioned this night to go. I should be mourning the loss of a man that had been my steady rock the past few years. Not fighting a battle with this crazed lunatic.
“I left home because my mom forced us. She has advancing Alzheimer’s and in order to keep our house and afford her care, I had to move somewhere we could earn more money. I lost my job back home. There was nothing else for me to do. She’s staying in a care facility.” My voice fades, leaving it at that till I realize he has followed me to the window where I unthinkingly gravitated to.
“Liam and I had been in a relationship for years. When I left, I promised him that we would just be. I didn’t commit to anything more than that.”
“So you’re still together?”
“No, I mean yes. I said it was complicated…” My head begins to hurt, a migraine imminent from the stress of today. Shutting my eyes tight, I wish the pain away, opening them moments later with the same pain in the back of my eyes and circulating around my head.
“Did you fuck him?”
“When?”
“Now, today, whatever!” His eyes continue to haunt me; this jealous beast that has trapped me in the corner of my room.
“No, he wanted to but I…”
The warmth of his hands suddenly grips my face; lips pressed firm against mine as he pins my body against the window. The glass is warm; the heat coming through from outside. His tongue rolls against mine, hard and with force, sending a stream of sensations to every part of my body, and making me ache everywhere for him.
It’s just a kiss.
How does he do this?
Wesley pulls away, only just, keeping his lips extremely close so I can feel his breath against my skin. I wanted to tell him to go away, we probably shouldn’t be doing this, but this newfound lust that I had guiding me—made it difficult to think about anything besides his lips.
“I come home and you’re here, with another man, that says he is your boyfriend. You can expect I will go wild.”
“But he’s not my boyfriend…” I finally admitted it. Liam said goodbye, and I let him walk away.
“I know…because I am.”
My face pulls away from him, confused. “You are?”
“Why do you sound surprised?”
“Because don’t you ask these things?”
“Maybe, in high school. My thoughts are crazy when I’m around you. And when I’m not around you, they’re wild. I fucking missed this smart mouth of yours when I was gone. So if that isn’t enough to be your boyfriend then maybe this is…”
He gets down on his knees, his hands wrapped around my legs, eyes wide staring up at me with a sexy grin. “I want you.”
With a slow burn, his hands wander up and down against the back of my thighs, causing my legs to shake with pleasure.
“What if I say no?”
He kisses my thigh, the moan escaping my mouth as his lips linger against my heated skin. “I’d say we’d have to find a way to cure that smart mouth of yours and I’m sure I could find something to stick inside.”
“Okay, fine. Since you’re practically begging me.” I roll my eyes, hiding my elation at this over-the-top cutesy conversation where the baddest boy in town just asked me to be his girlfriend.
It was stupid, ridiculous, yet—I didn’t care. If there was anything that Wesley had done right, it was make me forget. When he was this close to me—it was all about him.
He continues to slide his hands up my thighs, positioning them so he is firmly cupping my ass. Slowly, he eases his way to stand up, his body pressing against mine.
“I don’t beg. You would have said yes.”
“Oh please, cue the badboy talk.”
He tilts his head in amusement, displaying a wide grin and teasing me by biting his lower lip. I’m drawn to the way his teeth gnaws on the corner of his mouth, much like an animal ready to pounce on his mouthwatering prey. His grip around my ass tightens, till his hands slide lower and around the front. His long fingers brush against my clit, causing me to suck in my breath as the sensation begins a rippling effect of pleasure.
“Like I said…” His head is buried into my neck, his warm breath against my skin. “You would have said yes.”
I clutch his hair in my hands, desperate for him to continue and disappointed when he distances himself. My panting is uncontrollable, yet I raise my brows, silently questioning why he pulled away.
“But not here.”
“When?” I blurt out, desperate and forthcoming.
“I want you to come with me to an event tomorrow night. It’s a fundraiser at my mother’s house.”
“Your mother?” I step back, curious as to why he wanted to go and with me of all people. According to the Internet—they didn’t have a relationship. “I didn’t think you guys spoke?”
“We do, sort of. This is for charity. So I would like to go. Will you be my date, as my girlfriend?”
The cute, adorable, wants-to-raise-money-for-charity Wesley, is a side of him I hadn’t seen. I’m still in awe. This guy in front of me wanted to be with me, no other reason, just because he wanted me. This fantasy world that my brain created for itself, bursts from the reality of the world around us—the people around us.
“But what if someone tells Emerson about us?”
“So let them.”
“I can’t jeopardize my job,” I tell him firmly, backing away. “I’ll go, on one condition.”
Wesley stills his demeanor, looking slightly agitated that I had mentioned Emerson.
“No photos, of us, together. I will go as a different name. I don’t want this leaking out. I have my mom to think of, Flynn, you need to understand, please.”
His arms are folded, and any minute now—I’m expecting Mr. Rage to let me have it. He surprises me with a bemused smile.
“Any name, huh? Like…Ivana Cumalot?”
I’m unable to hold my laughter in, clutching my stomach while I encourage this childish behavior. “Helda Dick.”
“Anita Cox.”
We both laugh contagiously, until we slow down enough to catch our breath.
“How fancy are we talking?”
“Don’t worry, I got you covered.”
“It’s fine.” I turn away, pretending not to care but knowing full well I will be judged. “I can go buy a dress.”
I’m mentally thinking about my bank account, about the check due to Mom’s facility tomorrow and my rent due next week. I’d received a few paychecks since I started and managed to put away some money for a rainy day—I wasn’t sure if this constituted as a rainy day.
“Would you please let me cover this? Besides, I know most of the owners on Rodeo Drive.”
“Rodeo Drive? That’s not me.”
He throws his hands into the air with frustration. “Look, I know you’ll look beautiful no matter what you wear. Just go pick anything. They owe me. In fact, I’ll send you to a shop that owe me big. I wear their shit all the time and that’s how they get their sales. Stop frowning and just do it.”
Flynn’s voice echoes through the apartment, calling my name.
“I need to go. Tomorrow?”
“Wait, you don’t have to go. Can’t you stay?”
I wanted to ease my concerns. Put to bed everything I had read about him and start our newly formed relationship on a fresh slate. But he’s fidgeting, and desperate to leave. Wasn’t worth the argument.
“Tomorrow.”
Wesley kisses my lips one more time before leaving the room. He stops outside, chatting to Flynn before the main door closes shut. Flynn steps inside my room.
“I didn’t know you were friends with Wesley.”
I sit on the bed, tying my shoes. “You don’t talk to me. Anyway, it’s a bit more than that.”
“You’re fucking him?”
“NO!” I grab my cell and purse. “Why does everyone assume I’m some whore that just sleeps around?”
“Calm the fuck down. I like Wesley. He gets this crowd. Liam left.”
I fall backwards onto the bed, allowing the tears to fall. “I hurt him. I didn’t mean to. Everything is so different. He says I’ve changed. I’ve become one of them.”
Flynn sits beside me, smelling of stale beer. “C’mon, it’s hard. They just don’t get it. He’ll move on. You guys just weren’t on the same page.”
My brother giving me relationship advice was odd. When did he turn into this mature man? Back home, he was the boy that sulked in his room while playing emo beats on his drum.
“You think?”
“Wesley will be good for you. The thrill seeker to bring you out of your shell.”
“I’m not in a shell. I’ve already lived that crazy life. You were too young to remember. I’m happy this way.” I didn’t sound very convincing and if anyone could see through me, it was my baby brother.
He laughs, slapping my knee. “You’re one step away from joining a pottery class.”
“You know, pottery students around the world would take offense to that. Wesley is different. He invited me to some event. I have to go buy a dress. I really don’t want to buy anything, I have to send some money to Mom.”
Flynn leaves the room, coming back moments later. “Here.”
There are a few hundred-dollar notes in the palm of his hand. I sit up, cautiously eyeing the pile of money.
“Where did you get this from?”
“Gigs.”
“I can’t take this.” I push his hand back towards him.
“You can. It’s the least I can do for being a pain in the ass.”
“Okay.” I take the money with a thankful smile. “But just promise you’re not doing anything illegal.”
He places his hand on my head, purposely messing my hair, much to my annoyance. With the pillow by my side, I grab it and whack him with it, just like old times.
“I promise.” He winks, before walking away and singing the lyrics to Gold Digger, just to rile me up.