“Ignore her. Rose is a grade-A bitch. She was insufferable back in high school, and she’s insufferable now. She’s one of those girls who can’t stand the fact that their glorious teen years are gone.”
Christy so knew the type. Time had passed, but Rose was still stuck shaking pom-poms and offering her ass to the captain of the football team. Pathetic.
“That she’s making herself available for Cole and he’s passing on her must be killing her.”
“It seems to be killing many. I’m getting tired of this shit. It was fun at the beginning to see all those girls throwing themselves at Cole, but jeez, it’s annoying.” She’d been his make-believe girlfriend for a week, and all the vamps buzzing around him were already getting to her.
The truth was, she really liked spending time with Cole, and not only in bed. Aside from a couple of afternoons in Boston shopping with Annie for a gown for the gala, she’d spent all her free time with Cole. He was a dominant, take-charge male who took a lot of space, but in spite of it she enjoyed herself in his company—a lot. Too much probably. There was something about him that drew her in. He wasn’t as easygoing or laid-back as his brothers were—he was more contained, more reserved. With an edge of hardness in him that his brothers lacked, but he was considerate and fun to be around. And he was a great date. She loved the way he looked at her, as if she were the only woman in the world, never mind who else was around. And the way he listened to her, genuinely listened to her. Although they didn’t agree much about anything and he was highly opinionated, he always respected her views and never put her down. He was so unlike Todd, who used to roll his eyes condescendingly at her comments and always mocked her.
“How are things in the library? Are you still swamped with volunteers?”
Volunteers her ass. “Let’s just say that the several leeches hanging around take a lot of space.” And their bitching and their ordering around. Christy tried to stay out of their way as much as she could, but the annoying women gravitated toward Cole as if the man was their sun or some shit like that, and as Cole spent a lot of time around her, she was stuck with them too.
Their attempts to get her fired hadn’t worked, yet try they did. But whatever, they were welcome to her job, although she seriously doubted they could find their way around a computer.
“Anyway, the opening will be right on schedule. I won’t have to put up with them for too long,” she said as she unwrapped a lollipop and, opening the lid of her soda, dipped it in and then put it in her mouth.
Sophie laughed. “What on earth are you doing?”
“Cherry-flavored diet soda. Or soda-flavored cherry lollipop. Take your pick.”
As Christy munched on her lollipop, she looked up to find Aunt Maggie and Mrs. Patty from the Salvation Army smiling at her. Before she could react, Mrs. Patty hugged her effusively.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
Christy blushed. She’d dropped the ring off at the Salvation Army anonymously. Although she should have known better than to assume anything could stay anonymous in this town.
“I…hmm…my pleasure.”
“Hello, dear.” Aunt Maggie kissed and hugged her too. “We’re seeing each other this Sunday, right?”
“About that. I don’t think I’ll be able to make it.”
She could make it, but she wasn’t sure she should. Barbecues at the Bowens were a family affair, a bit outside her sphere of duties. And Cole hadn’t even invited her. Their faked dates probably didn’t include intruding into his personal life, where he didn’t have to fend off groupies.
“Nonsense. Of course you can make it. Don’t be late. And don’t worry—no wheat. I know.” Before Christy could complain, they turned around and left.
Christy had run into Cole’s aunt several times during the last week, and although she’d hugged and kissed Christy to death, she hadn’t made any comment about her relationship with Cole until two days ago, when she’d met her on her way home and invited her to the barbecue. Well,
invite
would be too mild a word. She’d told her the day and the time and all but ordered her to come with Cole. By the time Christy had thought of a comeback, the old lady had gone. It looked like attack and run away was a regular tactic of hers, because she’d done it again.
Sophie stared at her, the question written all over her shocked face.
“We had this food incident in Rosita’s and—”
“Not
that
, the other. The barbecue invitation.”
“Cole hasn’t told his aunt that all this dating is a big pretense, and she’s getting the wrong idea about Cole and me. She thinks that there’s more between us than there is.”
Sophie pinned Christy with her piercing eyes. “Are you sure you have this under control?”
Christy nodded as reassuringly as she could. She had everything under control. Yes, she was annoyed at the groupies, and yes, she might feel a smidgen of jealousy and territoriality where it came to Cole, but she could handle it. It wasn’t a big deal…really.
Probably.
Five minutes into the movie, she saw Cole approaching, and as he winked at her, her stomach flipped. They’d been fucking for a while now, and she’d had his tongue, his fingers, and his dick on her, in her many times, in many places actually, but still the mere sight of him made her insides flutter. He just had to smile at her and she felt sixteen again.
“Hello, beautiful,” he whispered so that Sophie wouldn’t hear and, taking the lollipop from her mouth, kissed her. “I told you you don’t need these. Every time you feel the need to do something with your mouth, just come get me.”
She laughed softly.
“How did it go in the gym?” Christy asked.
“It was fun. I don’t get to cover for Mike too often. You should have come to see me.”
Oh no, thank you, she’d done that once. The whole thing was too sexy.
“We could have sparred a bit together.”
“Me? In a gym? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but my natural state includes a bed, a TV, and a bucket of ice cream. I’ve made some improvements with time, but that’s basically it. Me working in a gym is a far cry from reality, buddy.”
He rolled his eyes. “What did I miss?”
“Nothing much.”
Just his aunt inviting her to a family event and his groupies publicly unsheathing their claws on her. Not that they’d been saving their punches up until now, but they’d been more discreet, if not less insulting.
This last week she’d discovered that fending off barbs was damn hard work. The snooty bitches were mean. Never in front of Cole, though. He wouldn’t have stood for it and they knew it, but when he wasn’t around, they were plain nasty.
“Where’s Annie and Holly?” Cole asked her.
“Holly doesn’t do outdoor movies, and Annie is enjoying my birthday present. She’s probably now meeting the stud of all studs while I’m here being secretly hated by almost all the females around.”
A smirk spread across his face. “That’s only one part of the deal. After the movie, we could go to my place and I’ll pay you back with orgasms for these nice, uncomplicated dates you’re offering me.”
As they watched the movie, her phone vibrated several times, but she didn’t answer. It was her mother.
“Are you up for taking a swim in my tub?” he said at the end of the movie after Sophie had said her good-byes.
“Sure.”
On their way back home, she took off the silent mode on her cell and right away came the surfer ringtone.
“I have to answer this,” she said, looking at the ID. “It’s my mother’s husband.” He never called her if it wasn’t an emergency. “What’s wrong, Fred?”
She heard a relieved sigh from the other end of the line. “Oh thank God and all the angels you answered. Christy darling, your mom is driving me crazy. Please, please talk to her.”
Poor Fred. She so understood him. “Put her on. Hello, Martha, what do you want?”
“What do I want? What do I want?” she shrieked. “Isn’t talking to my own flesh and blood too much to ask?”
Oh boy, she was in drama-queen mode. Christy drew in a calming breath. “I was at the movies.”
“The whole day?”
She had a point there. “No, I was working the whole day.” And avoiding her calls.
“It’s not work if you don’t even get minimum wage.”
“What do you want?”
“I spoke with Todd today. He said you’re blocking his calls.”
“You speak to him all the time. Maybe he should marry you.”
Cole looked at her, amused, and she signaled for him to come close, after which she turned the cell so both could hear.
“Don’t speak nonsense. I’m just trying to prevent you from making a huge mistake. Leaving just like that. It’s a miracle he still wants you back.”
“Well, maybe he should have kept his cock inside his pants. Besides, I don’t want him back.”
“You’re just being unreasonable, Christy. I know he disappointed you, but it is your fault. What did you expect? Men are like that, sometimes they go a bit…wild. They need space to do their things.”
Do their things? Please! “You make it sound as if I caught him playing computer games. His dick was in her mouth, Martha.”
“Don’t be crude, Christy. Besides, where did you expect it to end up? He told me about you not making yourself available to him. That was…ill-advised, Christy. If you don’t give a man what he needs, he’ll go find it somewhere else.”
“I made myself availab—You know what? Just forget it. Sure, it’s all my fault. Are we done now? Can I continue with my evening?”
Her mother didn’t seem to catch the irony in her tone. “At your age you should not walk out on a man who has proposed. You don’t want to end up alone, darling. You need a man. Work with me here, so that we can get past this silly misunderstanding and get back on track with the wedding.”
Christy rolled her eyes and covered the speaker. “Can you believe this?”
Cole smirked. “Come on, sweetheart, I’m waiting for you,” he said the second she freed the speaker, loud enough for her mom to hear him. At Christy’s questioning glance, he mouthed to her,
Use me.
At first she didn’t understand, but then it dawned on her.
Oh…he might have a point there.
“Who’s that?” her mother asked.
“I hooked up with someone, Martha. I’m not without a man anymore. You can relax.”
Martha was silent. “Has he proposed?”
“Actually he has. In a restaurant. I turned him down.”
“What?” her mother shrieked while Cole arched his brow at her, a cocky smile spreading on his face.
“Kidding, Martha. I don’t want him to propose. Women also need space to do their things.”
“Is he a good man at least? You should introduce him to me.”
Christy broke into laughter. “Sure, because you’re such a great judge of character.” The only good man her mother had met in her life was Fred. Christy still wondered how she’d managed that feat.
By the time her mother had finished lecturing her, they’d arrived at Cole’s place.
“Do you want to grab a quick bite before the tub?”
“Hmm…okay,” she answered, following him into the kitchen.
He opened the fridge. “I got a salad and a platter of sushi from the deli.”
So much for food. Good thing she wasn’t really that hungry.
He frowned, picking up on her uneasiness. “Something wrong? Sushi is healthy. And I asked about the salad—no croutons.”
This was so embarrassing. “Yes, sushi is healthy, but I don’t like raw fish. And deli salads come with dressing, which is basically seasoned liquid sugar. And this one has nuts. I don’t…”
He was quiet for a second, and Christy braced herself. This was the moment when Cole would realize this food thing was too much of a bother and would get pissed at her. Or he’d try to talk her into being more “agreeable.” But he just shook his head and chuckled. “We’re going to have to go to buy food, you and I. That or I’ll kill you from starvation.”
“I’m not hungry. Really. Don’t worry about me. I’ll just wait for you to finish.”
“Fuck the food,” he said, closing the fridge and taking her by the hand.
In no time he was undressing her on his deck. It was quite secluded, and he’d left the outdoors lights off, so she didn’t put up any resistance, although she truly wondered how much resistance she would put up if the lights were on. For the past week Cole had been systematically working on smashing all her hang-ups.
“
Do you really prefer it without lights
?” he’d asked her a couple of days ago, tired of her hinting about it. When she’d nodded, he’d stared pensively at her for a couple of seconds. “
Okay. Whatever you say
.”
Then he’d reached for that damn drawer where the cuffs and the bindings always came from, and in no time he’d had her blindfolded.
“
There, problem solved
,” he’d whispered in her ear, a hint of amusement in his tone. “
No more lights
.”
She hadn’t complained about it ever since. Being deprived of sight had heightened her other senses—and her sense of vulnerability—to such an extent she’d almost come on the spot. Although what was new there? She always came on the spot with Cole. It was something about his commanding ways, about how he took charge and always seemed to know what she needed to drive her out of her mind. She’d always been too self-conscious and anxious to really enjoy sex. Too frigging aware of her body’s inadequacies to ever let go. Not with Cole. He took her to her limits, but surprisingly enough she could manage that.
After getting her naked, he shucked off his clothes and came to join her in the tub.
“You call your mother by her name?”
“She insisted. Calling her ‘Mom’ would have cramped her style. She was always searching for the right man…the one. Having a brat on her heels was already enough of a handicap. She liked to believe she could pass for my sister.”
“What about your dad?”
“Never knew him. He didn’t stick around long enough for me to be born.” It felt so nice to sit there, in the quiet of the night, talking to Cole, that she let the words flow. “In spite of how crazy Martha must have sounded to you on the phone, my mother is not a bad person per se. She just doesn’t know how to be without a man. She spent all her life compromising her already shaky values in order to keep whatever guy she was dating from leaving her. You wouldn’t believe the things she did to that end: she moved us across the country, several times actually, left jobs she liked, took jobs she didn’t, financially supported him. Put up with his friends, his habits, his demeaning attitude. But she wasn’t a shrinking violet herself and didn’t hesitate to use emotional blackmail and manipulation to get her way. When the guy invariably walked away, she went ballistic and blamed it on me.