On the Edge (3 page)

I’m not sure what to expect when I step inside the home. After all, three, single guys live here, so who knows what kind of mess I’ll find.

The living area is open, and beautiful French doors lead out to the backyard, letting in lots of natural light. Dark brown, leather furniture suits the guys perfectly. The spacious room opens into the kitchen with light maple cabinets and cream marble countertops. The room’s sparse decorations and neutral colored walls match the basic pieces of furniture. I only see a few knickknacks and can’t help but wonder if they hire someone to clean, or maybe a girlfriend who lives here with one of them does it. I just can't see these three badasses cleaning house.

Thoughts of Hulk vacuuming the living room flash through my mind. The whole idea is absurd. I start laughing and quickly try to cover it with a cough, but the more I think about Hulk wearing an apron and cleaning house, the harder it becomes to hold in the laughter. It erupts out of me, and all three guys turn to see what is funny. They give me questioning looks because I’m bent over laughing with tears streaming down my face.

I think I have officially cracked. Today’s events have finally made me flip my shit. First, that asshole, thinking I would want to hook up with a fat-ass old man like him. Then Cole and all the sexual tension between us, and him stating he wants me, and me knowing I’m going to be in this house with him for a week. I'm completely fucked. I finally sit down on the nearest chair because I’m breathless from laughing so hard. The three guys are staring at me like what-the-fuck-is-wrong-with-this-bitch. I’m fine until I glance at Hulk and then I start snickering again. His eyes narrow when he realizes he’s the source of my amusement.

“Kat, are you okay?’ Drew asks me in a voice that says he isn’t sure he doesn’t need to call for a straitjacket.

I just shake my head because I’m afraid to open my mouth in case I lose my shit again. The guys want an explanation, but I’m not sure they would find humor in my image of Hulk. Cole watches me with questions in his eyes, but he hasn’t changed his mind about wanting me.

”So Drew, where will I be sleeping?” I finally ask.

“I already said you were staying with me,” Cole states.

“Cole, not my sister, man!” Drew says.

One of those guy looks passes between them, but they seem to get what the other is saying. Drew turns and walks away.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” I yell. My brother isn’t protecting me like he generally does. This is some fucked up shit right here. I turn towards Cole and take a long, hard look at him. I won’t deny that the guy is major makes-me-want-to-strip-my-clothes-off hot, but I won’t be bullied into being with him.

“Cole, give her a choice, man. She’s just a senior in high school. That’s too young to be putting up with the shit that comes as part of being with you.” My brother tries to reason with Cole one last time.

Cole looks between Drew and me, deep in thought about something, and I can almost see the wheels turning in his head. I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing for me, and I’m not afraid to say I’m a bit nervous and scared.

“Fine, she doesn't have to stay in my room if she doesn’t want, but that doesn't mean I’m not going to make her my girl! I want Kat and not just in my bed. I will show your sister the respect she deserves. I don’t need your blessing, Drew, but I’m giving you the chance to give it anyway,” Cole says to my brother, which pisses me off.

Shouldn't he be asking me? Maybe I don’t want to date him. Did he ever fucking think of that? I don’t want to be stuck in this town. I have six months to go, and then I’m off to school and not looking back. I want more than this neighborhood has to offer me. I don’t want to be that girl, hooking up with the local crime boss's son and ending up stuck in a dysfunctional relationship, or to be trapped in the same town my cunt of a mother lives in where I risk the chance of running into her at the grocery store. I have plans, big plans, to get the fuck out of Belmont and make something of myself, be better than what my family is. I love my brother, but his only decent job opportunity is whatever he does for the Knight family.

“Whatever, man. Just remember how you would want a guy to treat your sister,” Drew directs to Cole.

The recognition of how Drew feels dawns in Cole's eyes, softening his expression, and I grasp that he may have a tender side, at least when it comes to his sister. Maybe he’ll back off now.

“You’re right, man. I promise I will treat your sister right, the way she deserves.”

Drew and Cole seem to come to an understanding, but that doesn't mean I like it. They may be fine with the situation, but I’m far from okay with it.

“Do you think you might ask me what I want?” I ask.

Two heads turn to me as if they suddenly realize I have been in the room with them the whole time.

I’m surrounded by morons.
Both guys slowly consider my body language and facial expression, though Cole's assessment is a little over-friendly.

“Kitten, I’m letting it be known that I want you as my girl, meaning you have the backing of the Knight family. That’s how this works. Nothing you can do about it, but I’m willing to move slow with you. It’s the best I can give you. Because, you
will
be mine.” Cole says.

The room closes in on me at the idea of being trapped in my neighborhood. The thought of my hometown makes me feel sick to my stomach.

“I leave for college in six months. I have no plans to stay in this town. I won’t be stuck here.” I manage to tell Cole.

“Like I said, we take it slow. I’m not going to push you. I promised your brother to respect you, and one thing I take seriously is respect. We’ll work everything else out as we go,” Cole says calmly as he lights a cigarette.

I don’t say anything. I
can’t
say anything. The fear of being stuck in this town paralyzes my mind. I have to avoid being alone with Cole at all costs because I don’t trust myself not to jump in bed with him. I sure don’t need an unwanted pregnancy, getting me stuck in this place. I just need to last another six months and then I’m out of here. I’ve applied for admittance to UCLA and for every scholarship that I qualify for to get me there. I want to get as far away from the East coast as I can, and I guess Los Angeles is it. I plan to use my love of art and design to get a degree in Architecture so I can make something of myself.

But I don’t think Cole is going to let me just walk away.

“Fine, but we follow my rules. I can't believe I’m doing this.”

I’m talking to Cole and myself at the same time. A smile crosses Cole's face and I understand that he really is taken with me. I’m not just a fling or a one-night stand, and honestly, I don't know what to make of that. How could he have just met me and already want to possess me so much? Better yet, why do I want to let him own me? This does not fit my strategy to get out of here, but I won’t be stopped. I make up my mind to enjoy my time with Cole, but not to let myself get attached because I’m leaving. I’m not sticking around.

I wonder if Cole realizes that his sister Juliana and his brother Justin are the only two people I really talk with at school. I have worked so hard not to form attachments to anyone so I can leave Belmont without looking back or having regrets. Justin has two buddies, Steve and Gary, who round out the band of misfits I hang out with at school. I know they are either Knights or work for the Knight family, but they are the only ones who are not afraid of me at school. It seems when you fight a few girls, you get a reputation and people are afraid of you.

Juliana and I began talking, which led to me hanging around with the three stooges, as I call them. I had no idea that one day Cole Knight would know who I’m, or, for that matter, that he would want to pursue a relationship with me. This will be fun to explain to Juliana at school tomorrow. We have talked briefly in the past about our older brothers being friends, but me never having met Cole. The first time I do meet him, I want to jump his bones. Maybe I shouldn’t say that part.

“Kitten.” Cole’s voice brings me back into reality. He gives me a strange look. I realize I’m really zoned out, and he has probably been trying to get my attention for a while.

“Sorry. I was deep in thought,” I say while shrugging.

“I got that. What you’re thinking about is what I want to know.”

“I’m thinking about my friends at school and how they will react to the news that I’m going to be dating you”

“Why do I care what your friends will think?”

“Maybe because two of them are your sister and brother,” I say in a smartass tone.

This makes him pause. “You’re friends with Juliana and Justin?”

“Yeah. I mean we don’t hang out after school or anything, but during school hours, they’re the only ones who’ll talk to me. Everyone else is afraid of me.”

“So, you hang out with my sister at school? And your brother works for me? How is it that I’m just now meeting you? I think someone didn’t want us to meet.”

“No one was hiding me, unless you count me not wanting to be connected.”

“Kitten, your brother’s known I’ve wanted you for a while now.”

“What do you mean he’s known? When have you seen me before today?” I ask, catching on real quick. He is saying that this is not the first time he has seen me. Drew hates introducing me to his friends because they always hit on me or flirt with me.

“A couple of years ago, we went to a club, and your brother caught you making out with some guy. I was there and saw you for the first time, but I knew you were much too young for me back then.”

“I don’t remember seeing you.” Even as I say it, I recall my brother being with friends. I didn’t pay any attention to who was with him because I was upset with Drew for knocking out my hookup for the night.

“I was there and I remember thinking you were beautiful, even then. I wanted you that night! Now that I have a chance, I’m not letting it go. Remember, I always get what I want.”

“Cole, are you serious about taking things slow with me?” I need to set some boundaries to keep me safe from everything that could happen between us.

“Yes, I’m serious, Kitten. Why?”

“I’m thinking no sex for six months. I’m not saying we can’t do other things, but just no actual sex.”

“No sex for six months? Kitten, are you trying to kill me?” The dirty look he gives me says I’m crazy.

“I think it will be a good way for you to prove that you’re serious about a relationship with me.” And a good way to protect myself from getting attached when I intend to leave for LA at the end of the summer.

“When you say we can do other things, what do you mean?” Cole cautiously asks me.

“I mean anything but intercourse.” I try to make it sound like it’s not a big deal.

As Cole thinks about my proposal, several emotions cross his face.

“Fine. For you, Kitten, I will do it. That’s how bad I want you.” Then he pulls me into his chest and, with those gorgeous eyes looking into my soul, leans in, and softly kisses me. Not hot and lusty, but a sweet, tender kiss that forever changes my life.

When all is said and done, I will leave Belmont with a broken heart. All these years I have managed to avoid forming attachments is gone in the split second of this soulful kiss that Cole has just laid on me. I’m so screwed.

The next morning, I wake up and wonder what is crushing me.

Cole.

All of yesterday’s events, from Jim putting the moves on me, to Cole and me winding up in bed together, run through my mind. After our little sex chat, we spent half the night talking. I’m surprised at how much we have in common. We did kiss a few times, and I lost myself in those kisses. It didn’t take much for him to convince me to share his bed with him.

Surprisingly, he was a gentleman through the night. But now, I have to untangle myself from his hold. I need to get ready for school, one of the few things that I take seriously, because it’s my ticket out of this town. I try to unravel myself from Cole, but his grip only tightens around me as my movement wakes him.

“Stop moving,” he grumbles into the pillow.

I resist the urge to laugh at him.

“Cole, I have to get up for school.”

He groans and then turns me so that I’m facing him. Without opening his eyes, he rolls in close and, still half-asleep, leans into me and presses a light kiss to my lips.

“Have a good day at school, Kitten,” he mumbles. Then he lets me get up from the bed.

I go about my morning routine and prepare myself for a day at school. It should be interesting because I know I will have to tell Juliana about this thing with her brother. I’m not even sure what to say because my feelings are so mixed up about him. I want to be with Cole in every sense, yet I know if I let myself fall for him, I will never leave and achieve my dreams. I glance back at Cole before leaving his room and a shiver travels my body as I look at his handsome face. I quickly gather my bag and head out.

I don’t see Juliana until our second period class, but we don’t have time to chat. We may not hang out with each other outside of school, but we understand each other on a level that others don’t. She is the only person I talk to about stuff like guys. The morning seems to pass slowly while I wait for the bell to ring for lunch. The moment it sounds, I practically fly out of my seat and outside to the back of the school where I usually meet Juliana and the three stooges.