14

 

Jarek straightened slowly, spine protesting the hours he’d been bent over the shower basin. With Cali pissed off, he’d thought it best to make himself scarce. He’d left her sandwich in the refrigerator and came upstairs to work on the master bathroom. She’d called Benny a pedophile. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why she hated to be called little girl; just like it was a good bet the term daddy during intimacy would draw more than a casual objection. To say he felt like an ass would be an understatement. Enjoying their easy banter, he hadn’t been thinking.

His knees cracked and popped as he pushed to his feet. He glanced at his watch. Almost six, he needed to get dinner on the grill if they were going to have chicken tonight. It was quiet downstairs. Her door was closed. He didn’t test the lock. Washing up in the mudroom, he stepped out and lit the grill to let it preheat while he got things around. It turned out he didn’t have much to do. The chicken had been marinating in the refrigerator since they got home. Cali’s sandwich was gone and four ears of corn were wrapped in foil. Some of the tension left his shoulders. Obviously, she planned to be there for dinner.

The solid click of her deadbolt releasing warned he was about to have company. The tension returned

“Sorry I was such a bitch.”

Turning, he shrugged. “Sorry I was a dumbass. I wasn’t thinking.”

It was her turn to shrug. “I’m petite and a girl. Not every guy means it in a creepy way.”

“No, but I get it. I won’t call you that again.”

Juggling the pan of chicken, BBQ tongs, and a beer in his hands, the wrapped ears were cold tucked between his ribs and forearm. Glad he’d left the inside door open, he nudged the screen latch with his elbow and made it to the grill without mishap. He didn’t realize Cali had followed him until he felt the slightest tug on his belt loops. Situating the food on the hot grates, he was very aware of the woman standing close behind him. She sighed and the whisper of her breath was warm through his shirt.

“Why do you have to be so reasonable?”

“Maybe because I understand, as much as a guy can,” he said. “Would you feel better if I acted like a wounded ass about it?”

“Maybe.”

Her forehead rested against his spine. His eyes closed for a moment. It was such a simple thing, but touch was usually something he tolerated, often had to steel himself for. With her it was different. It felt…good. It scared him that he craved more. 

“Sorry to disappoint you.”

She pinched his side and he chuckled. Keeping it light was the right move. He waited for her to move away, but she didn’t. He stared down at the grill, not wanting to be the one to break the moment. Finally, she shifted, sliding around the side of him. She leaned further to peek at the sizzling chicken thighs. He lifted his arm out of her way and she hummed softly, settling against his ribs. She didn’t protest when he let his arm fall over her shoulders. They stayed like that until the food was ready.

He looked up from his plate at a small huff of what sounded like amusement. A smile played on Cali’s lips at his questioning look and her cheeks pinkened.

“This feels kind of surreal. I feel,” she hesitated, looking around like the word she wanted would appear mid-air. “I guess grown up is the only way to describe it.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know,” she said, picking at a bit of crispy skin on her chicken. “Here we are eating a real meal, nothing frozen or out of a can, at an actual dining room table,” she said her wide gray eyes taking in the food and their surroundings. “Yesterday, we picked out furniture and started decorating your gorgeous house. Today we argued about laundry detergent.” She shrugged. “So far, it’s just not what I imagined, and better than most things I dared dream.”

“Mrs. M swore by Tide,” Jarek said.

Cali rolled her eyes. “It costs twice as much.”

“You’re not going to let laundry soap be the stumbling point in our perfect partnership, are you?” he asked, forcing his voice to be light and teasing.

“We do work well together,” she admitted, the curve of her lips settling into a satisfied smirk.

He nodded. They did. Being around Cali was easy. He didn’t feel pressured to impress and she made him laugh. Hanging out with her at the pub Friday and this weekend everyone had pegged them for a couple. Fantasy or not, he’d enjoyed it in a way he never had with Alyssa.  

“Please tell me it’s not just me. Did it feel that way to you when you first got out on your own?” she asked, the smugness falling away.

“It’s not just you. When I moved into my first apartment I remember thinking, now it’s all on me. Now I’m an adult.” He laughed. “Hell, sometimes when I sit down to pay bills I still feel like that.”

“Were you scared?”

“Shitless,” he said nodding. “It’s getting better now, but for the longest time I felt like I was one screw-up away from living on the streets.”

“So pretty much like you have ever since you hit the system,” Cali said with a cynical smirk.

He grinned in answer. “Yeah, one screw-up away from the door.”

She nibbled on her corn, staring down at it intently. When she spoke again her voice was soft, reflective. 

“Did you ever wonder why they plucked you out of one hell only to drop you into another one?”

“All the time. What makes it better if strangers are beating or starving you?”

Cali grimaced, but it wasn’t one of those pitying looks that chipped away at his soul. She got it.

“When my mom wasn’t spreading her legs, she was shooting up or sleeping. I took care of myself and the apartment. We were okay until the hallucinations started. She’d go out of her mind screaming, scratching and slapping at herself. Her nails would leave welts on her face and arms, breaking the skin in places. She’d beg me to get them off her, but there was nothing there. The screaming drew attention. When they finally took me away the lady cop promised everything would be better. She lied.”

“Better the devil you know,” Jarek muttered.  

“It can always get worse,” Cali whispered in agreement.

He couldn’t think of anything to add to that. Spearing another piece of chicken onto his plate he let Cali’s revelations roll over in his mind. They shared a special kind of hell a lot of people would never understand. He was sure that was part of the reason they got along so well and likely contributed to his growing attraction to her. She’d said he was a nice guy and decent looking. It wasn’t a glowing description, but fair. He’d take it. When she’d said a lot of women would’ve been jumping on the chance to be with him, it hadn’t sounded like she was objecting to him in particular as a partner, but rather that she wasn’t ready. He rolled his neck to ease the tension building and glanced at her. He’d told her he was okay with just being roommates. The more he got to know her, he wasn’t sure how long that would be true.

“You hung the new clock.”

Thankful for the change in topic, he nodded at the large metal timepiece in the living room. “That’s where you were thinking, right?”

“It’s your house you know, but yes,” she said with a grin. “I think it looks good there.”

“I like it.”

“You’re easy.”

“I told you I don’t know much about decorating.”

“All I know is what I’ve picked up in magazines or on HGTV.”

“I watch a lot of that channel too,” he said with a small smile. “The renovation shows.”

“I like a couple of those. Who knows? Maybe when the cable gets hooked up we won’t fight over the remote.”

“Whoa! Don’t get carried away over there. You’re talking about messing with decades of human nature,” Jarek said giving her a look like she was crazy.

Cali rolled her eyes. “Your house, your TV, your clicker, Tarzan. No worries.”

Her mocking sarcasm helped erase the last of the darkness and restore the easiness between them.

“We could take a test run and see if we can agree on a movie from the Redbox for tonight,” he offered.

“Only if you let me drive.”

Jarek pulled a look of faux dismay and Cali’s eyes narrowed.

“You best not be trashing my driving skills.”

“We haven’t even settled the battle of the remote and already you want to drive?”

“In case you’ve forgotten you offered.”

“I offered to let you borrow the Jeep. At no time did I say I would put my life on the line and get in the vehicle with you.”

Cali threw a wadded napkin at him. “Man up, funny guy. I haven’t killed anyone,” she said picking up dirty dishes and heading for the dishwasher.

Jarek laughed as the word yet floated from behind the kitchen island followed by a maniacal giggle.