Chapter 2
The sun shining in my eyes, woke me up bright and early. Not that I wasn't used to it. In Iraq, I was lucky if I slept at all. I dug around in my bag, and went into the in suite bathroom to get cleaned up. I decided that I was house hunting today. After a quick shower, and tossing on a pair of jeans, and an old tee shirt I made my way down stairs. It was dark, and quiet, so I assumed Jake and Zoe were still asleep. I searched the cupboards for coffee, putting a pot on. When there was enough, I poured myself a cup, black, and made my way towards the dining room, to peer out the french doors.
I stopped, just short of turning the handle, when my eyes locked onto Zoe. She was swimming, her dark hair a blur behind her, as she expertly moved through the water. I stood there, watching her, drinking my coffee in silence. If she were any other woman, I would have gone outside, said a few nasty words, and had her upstairs in my bed before breakfast, but she wasn't any other woman.
After finishing her laps, she pulled herself up from the in ground pool, and onto the cement. She wore a black bikini with ties on the sides, and my first thought was about untying it. With my teeth. She wrung the water from her hair, her eyes closed in concentration. She was beautiful, I could almost feel the goosebumps on her skin, as I watched the water drip from her body. She was so small, I would probably break her I thought to myself, before the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs brought me back to reality.
I slipped back into the kitchen, leaning my back on the counter, and away from a very dangerous distraction, just in time to see Jake enter the room. He flipped the light switch on, and my eyes squinted in protest. “Drinking coffee in the dark? That's not weird at all.” He said, brushing past me to pour a cup of his own.
“I didn't want to wake anyone.” I said, finishing up my own cup, and pouring another.
“Zoe's always been an early riser. Swims every morning, until it's too cold, then she runs.”
Before I could respond, she came in through the french doors that I'd been watching her from only seconds ago. She was wrapped in an over sized towel, and her wet hair clung to her shoulders. “Morning.” I said, lifting my cup in her direction.
“Morning.” She smiled back, before turning to Jake. “I'm going to change. Breakfast?”
“You cooking?” He asked.
“No. You're buying!” She called, as she ran up the stairs.
“I like her.” I said, finishing my second cup of coffee, and placing it in the sink.
“But not too much.” He said, pointing a finger at me.
“Of course not.” I agreed, with a teasing tone.
“Wes?” He asked with warning.
“She's not my type, alright.” I said, getting fed up with the constant warnings. “Her tits are too small.” I regretted it as soon as I said it, but nothing made me regret it more than when Zoe rounded the corner, dressed to kill in another form fitting dress. Pink this time, and the look on her face spoke volumes.
“His dick's too small.” She said to Jake, taking her finger and thumb and showing us both her thoughts on the size of my penis.
Jake laughed so hard he nearly doubled over, but me being me, I had to have the last word. “Honey, you couldn't handle my dick.” I said showing her the correct size using my hands.
Anyone else would have faltered, but not her. She just gave me the side eye. “I'm assuming you were talking about my tits.” She said, cupping them in her hands. “Which, by the way are pretty freaking perfect. Infact, I don't even need to wear a bra.” She added, doing a little shimmy.
I could feel my jeans getting tighter by the second, and I had to look away from her. Any arousal I was fighting disappeared entirely when I caught Jake's eye. He was fuming, and all of his anger was directed towards me. “Hey.” I started. “I didn't ask her about her tits.” Jake's face only got redder, so instead of poking the bear, I slipped past him and made my way out to the garage. As soon as the door shut, I heard him let Zoe have it. A part of me felt guilty for leaving her in there alone, until I heard her yelling back, and then I just laughed. She knew how to put her brother in his place.
“What are you laughing about?” She said, when she came barreling through the garage door moments later.
“I've never heard Jake be on the receiving end of a verbal ass kicking.” I said honestly.
“Stick around, there's plenty more where that came from.” She said, pressing the garage door opener, and climbing into her car.
“Where you headed?” I asked, before she started the engine.
“We need groceries.”
“Want some company?”
I could see the contemplation in her eyes, but before I could ask again, she replied. “Hop in.”
Aside from the music on the radio, the ride to the grocery store was a silent one. When we were stopped at a red light, I cleared my throat, catching her attention. “About what I said at the house.” I started. “I uh, I didn't mean it the way it sounded. Jake is just-”
“He's warned you against me, and threathened bodily harm if you look at me wrong?” She interuppted knowingly. “His bark's worse than his bite.”
“He's my best friend. I just wanted him off my back is all.”
“So my tits are...?”
I laughed, she wasn't like other women. She was blunt, and straight forward, unfiltered. “Pretty freaking perfect.” I said, mirroring her earlier words.
“I know right!” She said, as she pulled the Chevelle into a parking space towards the back of the store. “Hope you don't mind walking. Last time I parked up front some douche bag scratched my car.”
“Walking's fine.” I said.
We walked side by side through the parking lot, and once again I noticed the glances she received, and once again I felt a need to protect her. I brushed it off, as we entered the store, the air conditioning a welcome relief. I reached for a cart, but she beat me to it, our hands brushing momentarily. She gave my hand a little nudge, before taking over the cart, pushing, and heading towards the first aisle. “You aren't allergic to anything are you?” She asked, tossing a box of cheerios into our cart.
“No.” I replied, grabbing a box of cinnamon toast crunch for myself.
“Are you five?” She teased, pointing at my choice of cereal.
“Are you eighty five?” I countered, gesturing towards her cheerios.
“Touche.” She said, pressing on to the refrigerated section for milk.
We'd only made it about ten feet before she stopped in her tracks. I stopped with her, looking around the aisle to see if she'd forgotten something. It wasn't until I noticed her grip on the cart that I began to get worried. Her knuckles were white, and when I glanced around I quickly found the reason. A man, cart in hand at the other end of the aisle. His gaze was locked on hers, and he didn't look happy.
“Zoe?” I asked, placing my hand over hers.
She flinched, but she didn't pull away. When the man finally reached us, he stopped directly beside her. “I've missed you.” He said, reaching for her free hand.
“Leave me alone David.” She said, snatching her hand from his, and giving the cart a hard push. In an instant, his hand was on her arm, stopping her, and angering the hell out of me. This time, I stepped towards him. I didn't know who this guy was, but clearly, he was bothering her.
“Are you deaf?” I asked, removing his hand from her arm forcefully.
“This doesn't concern you.” He gritted out, puffing up his chest like some sort of animal.
“When you're harassing my girl, it concerns the fuck out of me.” I said, placing my arm around her possessively.
She instantly leaned into me, her own arm wrapping around my lower back, and her thumb hooking into my belt loop. The smile I wore grew, and I could tell the prick standing in front of me was livid.
“So, I can expect to see you both at the fundraiser this weekend?” He said, in a voice that was anything but kind.
“Of course.” I said, leaning down to kiss her on top of her head. “We wouldn't miss it.”