CHAPTER 15

SCOTT

Where the hell is she?

I check the clock over the door for the umpteenth time in the last fifteen minutes. She’s a half hour late, and I haven’t heard a word from her since Asher showed up on her doorstep.

After my enlightening chat with Asher, I’d gone straight to my apartment, turned on my iPod, and thought about everything he said, then I spent another two hours picking apart every detail of our time up north. From the heartfelt conversations and dancing at the bar to waking up and holding her in my arms. Every moment was nothing short of amazing. And if all that hadn’t been enough to convince me, the kisses we shared had left me feeling more than I’d been willing to acknowledge.

About that blowjob she demanded… Never happened. Tempting as the idea was to have her luscious lips wrapped around the head of my cock, I just couldn’t bring myself to go through with it. And let me tell you, she put up a fight trying to break the button of my jeans. She was far too drunk for me to take advantage of her. I’ve waited four years for this kind of chance with Skylar Dennison, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to waste something that meaningful on a drunken night. I want our first time to be special for her. I have a feeling when I slip inside her, it’s going to be a moment neither one of us forgets for a very long time. If ever.

“Hey,” Cage says, parking his ass in the chair across from mine. “Ever get ahold of her?”

“No.” I shake my head and type out another text. “She won’t take my calls. Won’t respond to my texts. And I knocked on her door no less that eight different times yesterday. Even that busybody who lives next door to me hadn’t seen her all day.

“Have you tried talking with Davis? Maybe his boss knows something.”

“I’ve called, but it goes straight to voicemail. I’m waiting to hear back.”

He messes with his phone for a few seconds before he says it. “Want me to try her?”

I narrow my eyes, wondering exactly where he’s going with this. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I just find it ironic she up and disappears after everything that went down between you two this weekend,” he quips. I don’t miss the sarcasm behind his words.

“Not that it’s any of your goddamn business, but nothing happened. We kissed.” I shrug, and he gives me the side eye. “Maybe we cuddled. But that’s it.”

His hands go out in front of him as if to say my bad. “So, should I try her?” he asks again, and this time I shut up and give him her number.

***

It’s after eleven, and once again I’m standing outside her apartment, knocking on her door. I’m not sure why I’m obsessing this much over her whereabouts. Maybe it’s because I feel like we’ve been given a second chance and I don’t want to throw that away. Not again.

Cage tried calling her and had the same result as me. As bad as it sounds, a part of me was glad she didn’t take his call, either. It gave me hope that maybe she isn’t avoiding me after all. It may be false hope, but at this point, I’ll take it.

I guess that’s why I’m here right now. Face pressed up against her door. Finger tracing the invisible letters of her name across the wooden door. Talking softly out of fear someone will hear me. Wishing for everything she could.

“Hey, Blondie. I waited for you this morning, but you never came. Is it weird that after all this time apart the thought of not seeing you makes me sick to my stomach? No? Good, because that’s what I’m feeling right now.

“Please guide me, baby. I need you to tell me what you need from me. If space is what you need, I can give you that. But if you’re hoping for something more, that’s okay, too, ‘cause I want to try. I need you to just come back home and tell me so I can fix things. I’m sorry if I pushed too hard or too fast. I thought I could handle being around you, but it’s so hard… I look at you, and it’s like I’m eighteen all over again and the only thing I want to do is come home from a bad day and know that you’ll be there.

“Today was a bad day. And I need you. Most of all, my heart tells me that right now, you need me, too. I’ll be there for you, Blondie. I just need you to guide me to where you are. Wherever it is, I’ll be there. I’ll always be there. I’ll be there, because I—”

Ring!

The sound of my phone interrupts my confession. I check the caller ID, praying to God it’s Skylar, but it’s not. It’s my sister.

“Scotty? Have you been crying?”

I ignore her question.

“Please tell me you’ve heard from her.” My voice is tight as I brace myself against the door, preparing myself for a letdown.

“Mom just called. Skylar’s in Chicago. Scott, her Mom died yesterday morning.” By this time, Cassie is crying. “How awful for her. I know they had a strained relationship.”

“Yeah. You could call it that,” I answer noncommittally. It’s not my place to air Skylar’s darkest secrets. Dead mother or not.

“The funeral is set for tomorrow. Mom said she’d send flowers from all of us. She was pretty surprised when I told her Skylar was in Detroit. You know how Mom always felt about you two together.”

“Yeah. I remember. She had the wedding planned and everything.” I laugh into the phone. “Listen. Do me a favor and let the guys know I’ll be out of town for a couple of days.”

“Okay. I will,” she answers softly. “I know this isn’t my place, but you’re my big brother and I love you very much. Your happiness is important to me.”

“Why am I sensing a ‘but’ somewhere in there?”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is, don’t go after her if all you’re hoping for is to scratch some itch you never had the chance to satisfy. If you go there, you need to make this about Skylar. Right now, more than anything, she’s going to need a friend. So, go be that friend. Beyond that, if it’s meant to be, it will be.”

I sigh heavily as my grip on the phone tightens. “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

“No”—she laughs softly—“but you can make it up to me in French toast.”

“Oh, shit. I was supposed to take you to breakfast tomorrow,” I remind her.

“Don’t worry about it. She needs you more. Go be her Captain America.” Cassie giggles, and I can’t help shaking my head.

“I swear. What is it with you women and your need to label all of us as superheroes?” I chuckle.

“I happen to think every girl needs a hero at some point in her life. Some of us just aren’t afraid to admit it. So, big brother, what are you going to do?”

I close my eyes and see Skylar answering the door wearing those ridiculous rubber boots. The memory of that morning puts a smile on my face, and I know what I need to do.

“Looks like I’m going to Chicago to save the day.”