Chapter 10
“If only I had a crystal ball”
Dylan
The look on her face is pure happiness, and I truly want that for her, I just hope she doesn’t change her mind a month from now because of her quick decision. Call me crazy but I don’t see her staying above the tattoo shop for another week or two longer being that much of a big deal. I know that her and Shane need their own places but honestly he hasn’t really been there since she has come back home anyhow.
Maybe I’m just thinking of my first place. It was nice at first then I realized what a shithole it really was after I moved in and saw that the landlord just slapped shit together in order to rent it out. Pipes kept leaking and ants came in through the windows. Needless to say, I got the fuck out of there after a month and told the fucker I wasn’t living like that, so he never charged me for breaking lease. Ended up going into the military right after that anyways.
Mr. Myers shakes her hand as he begins to tell her that he will go grab the lease. I can’t help but step up and ask. “How long is the lease for?” He turns to look at me. “It’s only a one year contract. If she has to break it early I keep the deposit fee.” Fuck it, here it goes. “Can you at least make it 6 months, just in case something comes up?” I ask and Lilly looks at me like I’m crazy while he contemplates my request. “This is the first place she will have on her own, so give her a break just in case she decides to go somewhere else. After the 6 months she can sign a new lease if she wants to stay.” I make it sound believable and like it’s not a big deal. After a moment he smiles at her. “I remember my first place, so I understand. Just give me a little bit to go get the paperwork.” Then he excuses himself before leaving to go back across the street. So just like that I know that the next six months are going to be pretty interesting, especially with her right down the road.
Alone at last I walk up to her and reach for her hand not knowing what she is thinking right now. She smiles and takes my hand and squeezes, then she goes up on her toes to kiss me. When the kiss ends she lets go and walks over to the kitchen island and leans against it. “Thank you Dylan. I didn’t think of that, but you’re right. What if I don’t like it? Or what if I get lonely. I mean I lived at home then with Shane until college, then Everly after that, and now… I’ll finally be alone.” She sighs while looking around at the empty space. “Maybe I’ll need a roommate.” Like hell. I go over and wrap my arms around her. “You won’t be alone Lilly, because I’m a lot closer than you think. Literally like two blocks away. Plus, I already know I want to be right here every night and every morning.” I tell her in a low voice as my hand slides down the front of her pants and right into her opening so I can take her mind off of the “what if’s”. It’s a bold move, but I couldn’t help myself. She sucks in air and grips my arms tight to hold herself steady as I begin to move my finger to tease. Her hips tilt my way as her eyes briefly shut, and it’s hot as hell that she loves my touch. “What do you think of that?” I ask as I pull my hand free so we don’t get caught and look into her wide eyes as I taste the finger that was just inside of her. “Like fucking candy sweetheart.” The corners of my lips curl up in a grin and I wink. Her face blushes and it’s so damn sexy but I can tell she wants more. At least she knows how I feel as I move to lean on the counter next to her and wait for a response. I was never one to beat around the bush about anything. If I want to say something I’ll say it, and I have no problems telling someone how I feel because I expect the same in return. It’s how I grew up. My Aunt and Uncle made it clear that that’s how relationships work. Communication is key, and I hate wasting my time on guessing.
It only takes seconds. “Only two blocks huh?” She asks with a nervous smile. “Yep.” I arrogantly confirm. “What if you get tired of being that close to me?” “Lilly, I’ve been hearing about you for a long time. How funny you are. How sweet you are. But when I met you for the first time I have to admit I was blown away, and when we began talking every day about random things, I knew there was no avoiding the inevitable. Now I’m fucking hooked.” I admit as I tug her over so she is in front of me nervously looking up at me. A moment of her processing what I just told her brings a true smile to her beautiful face. “With all of this charm how come you’re still single?” She asks me playfully as her arms rest on my shoulders. “Well, I guess I just haven’t found anyone who is real, until now. I’ve been to war, I’ve seen things in the world that no one should ever have to witness. So I don’t like to play games. Most women think it’s fun to play fuck around. Not me though. Plus I’ve heard that you needed someone who isn’t a douche bag in your life. Hence why as of last night we both are no longer single” She laughs at the douche bag part. “Who said that?” She asks. “Oh you know, Jen, Sill, your brother.” She looks surprised. “Shane said that?” I shrug then answer. “Well in a roundabout way, yeah.” “That’s refreshing.” She chuckles with her response. “So I guess this means we’ll be spending some more time together.” Hope sparkles in her eyes. “Fuck yeah babe. You won’t be able to get rid of me now.” I tease. “Good, because I want you around.” No more jokes as a serious look conveys how true that statement she just made was. I pull her in for a kiss to seal it with, as the door then opens and Mr. Myers comes walking in with a folder full of papers.
“Sorry it took so long, I changed the twelve months to six.” He begins as he lays it all out on the counter and hands her a pen. “Please, look over all of this and when you are ready, sign by the X’s. I’ll just need first moths rent plus the deposit fee and you can have the key.” I lean in next to her and read over her shoulder. Stupid people don’t bother to go over everything but Lilly does. She checks them all front and back. She even hands them to me to double check before she signs.
When she is finalizing everything and paying him I check one missed call and a text from Shane. “I’m guessing you have my sister?” I think before I text him back. “I do, at the corner of 3rd and west if you ever want to see her again.” And chuckle to myself as I hit send. “Real nice asshole, I’ll be there in a minute then. I take it she likes the place.” I read it then respond. “She’s signing for it now.” Send, and now I wait for him to show up.
Deciding to give in I take a seat on the floor in the living room. As Her and her new landlord talk about Armed and Inked he seems to come up with a ton more questions. Then when Shane walks in the door Mr. Myers grins. “Shane, good to see you!” He shakes his hand. “It’s been a while; I see you are going to have my sister as a new tenant.” “I am.” He says with a more proud face now as he realizes who Lilly is. “How’s security here?” Shane asks with his arms crossed on his chest. “It’s pretty good; I went over it all with Dylan.” He tells him as Shane nods. “Good, well… when can we start bringing stuff over?” Shane asks and Lilly rolls her eyes. “That anxious to get rid of me huh?” He laughs. “No, I’m just asking so I can be here to help.” He holds up his hands in surrender. “Well she can start tonight if she wants to.” Mr. Myers adds as he tries to play along.
“I hate to burst your bubble but I have to go do some shopping or I’ll only have a TV and a bed.” Lilly says as she swats at Shane’s shoulder then comes over to me and holds out a hand as to insinuate she is going to help me get up. So I grab her, not because I need her help up but because I want to pull her into me when I stand. It works and she is by my side as I hook and arm around her and hold her there.
Mr. Myers says his goodbyes and leaves. Leaving us three standing here. “There’s no hurry Lils you know that.” Shane tells Lilly as she appears to be a little uncomfortable at the moment. Probably because of me but she’s just going to have to get over that shit. “I know, I just got to get my stuff together and put it in some boxes. Since I’m only taking it a couple minutes away. Did you want to see the rest of the place?” She asks him and he nods as Lilly leads the way while sounding super excited about the laundry hookups as she gives him the tour.
Back at the trucks we stand on the sidewalk ready to part ways. “Do you have an idea about what you want to look at car wise?” Shane questions. “A jeep maybe?” Lilly says with a shrug as if she wants to choose what her brother would pick for her. “I’d have to agree with you there.” He replies. “I know a guy; maybe we can go tomorrow when they’re open and check them out?” I tell her and she grins from ear to ear. “That would be great!” She replies as Shane laughs at us. “Well I’m going to go get some shit done. If you need me just call.” Shane says as he ruffles her hair and she smacks his hand away. “Dammit Shane!” He laughs even harder once he sees that he successfully messed up her hair as he runs towards his truck jumps in and laughs when she flips him off.
She huffs as she finger combs it back in place. “Don’t be mad at him, you’ll always be his little sister that he loves to torcher.” She sighs and rolls her eyes. “I’m glad to see you’re on his side.” Sarcasm intended in her reply. So I make a quick decision to pick her up and hang her on my shoulder with her perfect ass in the air. “Dammit Dylan, you two are bullies!” she yells as I smack her back end and carry her over to the passenger side door. When I let her stand again I prepare for a smack but instead she pulls my neck down and kisses me, hard too. Didn’t expect that, but I’ll sure as fuck take it. When she ends the kiss however she bites a little hard on my bottom lip before she lets go. I felt it believe me, but what she doesn’t know is that I liked it. When she waits for a reaction I stick out my tongue and lick my lips in front of her. “Mmm, I like it a little rough baby.” I wink at her to egg her on which only causes her to laugh and shake her head before she hops up into the truck.
After I get in and start it I look over to her as she appears to be busy texting. “Hungry?” I ask. “Starving!” “Do you care where we eat?” “No, you pick.” She tells me as she finishes on her phone and sets it down.
“Do you mind if I run home and change first though?” I ask her because I still have my work shirt and jeans on from yesterday. “Sure, let’s go.” “Thanks, I’ll just be a minute.” I promise while she doesn’t seem to mind as we drive the whole two blocks and I park in my drive way. “Why don’t you come in while I run up and change?” I ask before I get out. “Okay, if you want me to.” She smiles. “You know I do. Come on.” We get out and walk up to my side door and she looks around. “This is nice Dylan. Big yard, nice big garage that will actually fit your truck. You weren’t kidding about how close you will be to me now, huh?” I chuckle as I open the door for her that leads to a small hallway. “Nope, I told you it’s literally like two blocks away.” She walks in and her eyes go wide as she takes in the maintained original look of the house. “Wow…” She says as she glides her hand on the wood molding and follows it into the dining room. She stops and stares at the chandelier. So of course I flick the light on to make it sparkle like her eyes. “It’s breath taking. Did you do all of this?” She looks to me in question. “Well, most of it is original but when I bought it there was a lot that needed fixed and re-stained. So my uncle helped me and we were actually able to save most of it. I take it you approve?” I ask as she still seems to be in awe. “I do! You did a wonderful job. I absolutely love old houses; they have so much charm and detail.” Her sentiments are the same as mine and it’s nice to have certain things in common. “Come in here and you can see that there is still a shit ton more work to do yet.” I laugh as I take her into the living room. “The floors were just done, but I still have to fix around the fireplace yet.” “Yeah, but it’s going to look even more amazing when it’s done.” She tells me. “Well, feel free to keep looking, I’m going to run upstairs for a minute. There’s a bathroom in the back by the kitchen and also one at the top of the steps too just in case you need to go.” I lean over and kiss her; I can’t help it, as we linger there together for a moment or two I know I have to stop. “I could keep you here all day.” I whisper. “I might let you.” She teases, making it hard to resist. “Let’s get some food first though.” I tell her with a wink. Because truth is that I so fucking want to haul her to my bed and eat her for lunch, and again for dinner, but I don’t want her to think this is all about sex for me. I mean it’s important to have that connection, and we have no problems with that. However, we need to be able to have fun and get along in the normal world also, so at this point I’m determined to give this my all.
“I’ll be right back.” She nods as I turn to go up the stairs.