by M. E. Carter
The only one of us I’d consider relatively normal is Matty of course. He’s the one I’ll need to keep an eye on should I decide to bring Nicole into the fold. I know him well enough to know he’d try hitting on her the whole time. I’ll have to keep reminding everyone he’s in high school and lives with his parents. That’s about all I’ve got over him. Even standing next to him, he towers over me.
“You wanna go again?” I ask just as she covers her mouth to let out the biggest yawn I’ve ever seen. “Or maybe you need to get some sleep instead.”
“Sorry,” she says through her hand. “I didn’t sleep much last night so I think I’m starting to crash.”
“Yes. Of course.” I feel so stupid for not remembering the whole reason she’s staying here tonight. It’s not about having a slumber party. It’s about her finally getting some sleep.
Taking the controller from her hand, I make quick work of putting everything away. “Before you hit the hay, do you need anything? I gave you enough blankets, right?”
“It’s barely October in San Antonio. I’m going to be just fine.”
“Right.” It seems I’ve thought of everything. Except how to exit this conversation and go to bed without sounding like a total dimwit.
She pushes up from the couch, moves close to me and I hold my breath as her lips get closer…
And closer…
And closer…
And suddenly my stomach is jumping as she’s leaving a kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you for everything, Kade,” she whispers in my ear and I swear I’ve lost all ability to speak, move, think, basically anything with her this close to me. “Good night.”
She slowly pulls away, making sure to give me a shy smile before walking into the spare bedroom and closing the door behind her, leaving me as stiff as a statue.
Speaking of stiff, I suddenly need to take another shower. Well, as soon as I can get my brain and body to connect again.
Finally, I’m able to blow out a breath and move, although it’s still feeling surreal that she kissed me. And yes, I know it was just on the cheek, but it had to mean something right? Or maybe it doesn’t and I’m overthinking it.
Either way, I have to hop in the shower again, hoping she doesn’t hear the water running. She’ll for sure know what I’m up to. I’m pretty sure she knew it was going to happen before we even started playing.
As I rid myself of my pajama pants and shirt, I climb into the water jet, thinking about how she looked freshly showered and in her own nighttime clothes.
No makeup on her freshly washed face. Hair still damp from the shower. She was just wearing polka dot jammie pants and a hoodie, but it didn’t matter that she wasn’t wearing sexy lingerie. She still looked like my most daring fantasy. She looked intimate. Like it was part of her she was sharing only with me. Especially when her nipples poked through and I knew she wasn’t wearing a bra.
I take my dick in my hand and begin giving it long, leisurely strokes. I wonder if this is what it would feel like to push inside of her. To feel her heat wrapped around me. To see her eyes widen ever so slightly, her mouth forming into an “o” as the tip of my dick found that sweet spot inside her, making her come.
My strokes become fast as I wonder, would she moan? Would she yell my name? Would she hold her breath as her eyes roll back into her head, bliss taking over as she scrapes her fingernails down my back? Would her body squeeze me as tightly as I’m squeezing myself right now, catapulting me into my own bliss?
It takes just a few more pumps before I find my release and my fantasy fades away. I don’t think I’ve ever come that quickly, and certainly not from my imagination. Usually, I need to watch a bit of porn to have something to go on, but not with Nicole. Freshly showered Nicole playing video games is better than anything porn can do for me.
I spend a few minutes cleaning up and then I’m out of the shower again, ready to hit the hay. While I wouldn’t trade it for anything, it’s been a long night and I need some sleep if I’m going to make it to my eleven o’clock class.
As I pull on my basketball shorts and t-shirt, I hear something from down the hall. Pausing, I realize it’s Nicole. And she’s yelling.
My heart picks up speed as I race out my bedroom door and across the apartment, ready to call 911 to come arrest the asshole who’s broken in and has ruined the calm she was finally feeling. Flinging open her bedroom door, I stop dead in my tracks.
There’s no one else here. At least not in the apartment. Inside her dreams is another story.
The nightmare looks fierce, Nicole is thrashing around, tears running down her face as she sleeps. My heart breaks for her, that she can’t get away from this man even in her sleep.
“Nicole,” I call out in a loud whisper, afraid of startling her. “You’re okay. It’s just a dream.” Not wanting to invade her space, I’m still standing in the doorway. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work so I go inside a little further.
“No!” She yells, eyes still closed. “No!”
“Nicole. Wake up. You’re having a nightmare,” I say a little louder this time. She still doesn’t respond.
I get next to the bed but make sure not to touch her, afraid she’ll interpret my touch as a threat to her safety. “Nicole? You’re okay. I need you to wake up now.” I’m speaking at a normal volume now, desperate to wake her up.
She’s still in the throes of her nightmare and I feel so helpless. The longer this goes on, the worse it’s going to be for her. The deeper she’ll get into feeling like it’s reality. I make the decision to touch her, shake her arm, speak louder, and do everything I can to wake her quickly. “Nicole! Wake up. He’s not here. He’s not here!”
She startles and pulls away from me, but at least she stops thrashing and her eyes peel open. She’s not quite coherent, but she’s getting there.
Finally, she looks up, confused by what is reality and what is not. “Kade?”
I lower my volume again, not wanting to scare her. “He’s not here. You’re having a dream. Everything is okay.”
She relaxes into the bed as it finally dawns on her what is going on. Her blue eyes look up at me and her brows furrow as tears roll down her face. Not sure what to do, I keep my hand on her arm, until she pulls me down to her and wraps her arms around me.
Instinctually, I climb onto the bed with her and wrap her in the blanket and my arms as she sobs. I know she needs to feel safe and it’s the only thing I can do to help her.
“Shhh… it’s okay,” I whisper in her ear as she continues to cry. “I know it was scary but it’s over. You got through it and you never have to do that again.”
She stays wrapped up, me rubbing circles on her back until she finally falls asleep. I feel so conflicted. While I want to memorize the feeling of her body next to mine, more than anything I wish there was no reason for me to be holding her at all.
Chapter Thirteen
Nicole
It’s been two weeks since I moved in. Two weeks since that awful night. Two weeks since Kade held me all night long and made my nightmares go away.
He has never climbed in bed with me again.
Of course, I haven’t asked him to because that would be way too forward of me, but part of me wishes he would offer. I know he doesn’t like me like that, or at least, I’m not really sure and don’t want to make him uncomfortable, but somehow, I felt really safe with him in bed with me. I don’t understand why. It’s not like either of us could fight off Jeremy if he broke in and went ballistic. And yet, Kade soothes me. He takes the edges off my terror. The fear is still there, but when Kade is around, he dims it to a manageable level.
It also helps that I haven’t seen Jeremy again. It makes me nervous and my mind still spins with all my concerns as to what is happening, but the logical one is that is he gave up when he got a less than welcome reception. I don’t remember a lot from the night my mom blindsided us, but in hindsight, I’m sure it was disconcerting to have an entire bar full of huge athlete
s go silent as they watched the events unfold. While I’m not totally convinced he’s gone for good, he’d be smart to stay away.
Me, on the other hand, I’m tired of working or hanging around Kade’s apartment. I could go back to mine, but I like being here. Kade is fun to have as a roommate and I’m getting pretty decent at Red Dead Redemption. Or at least I’m better. I made it a whole eight minutes the other day before falling off the roof of the bank.
I hear Kade’s keys drop on the kitchen counter as he gets back from class.
“Nicole?” he calls out before poking his head around the corner. “Are you decent?”
I laugh at how ridiculous he looks with his hand over his eyes, just in case I’m in my unmentionables.
“You can put your hand down, weirdo. If I wasn’t decent I’d be in the bedroom with the door closed.”
Leaning against the doorframe of the small hall bathroom, he watches as I pull a section of my hair through my wave iron and press the plates closed.
“What are you doing to your hair?” He sounds thoroughly confused as to what he’s seeing.
“I’m wave ironing it.”
“Why?” His nose crinkles adorably like I’m doing physics and not hair care.
“To give myself that wind-tossed beach look.”
“We don’t live near a beach.”
Amused, I release the plates and move down a notch to get the next section. “That’s no excuse to not have great hair.”
He looks around the small room, likely taking in everything I have in here. I don’t think I fully knew how much I had until I slowly began bringing things over and setting them up on the small counter.
“It really takes all this stuff to give you those… waves, or whatever?”
Placing the wave iron on the counter, I section off another part of my hair and spray it with some heat protector. “It all has different purposes but short answer—yes. All this stuff is necessary if I want to look my best.”
“Huh.” He sounds completely baffled. “I use this three in one shampoo and body wash Jaxon gave me. I feel like I’m missing something.”
I offer him a bemused smile in the reflection of the mirror. “I guess some of us just need more help than others.”
“Not you. You’re perfect.”
My gaze whips up to his and his eyes widen slightly, as if he just realized he said that out loud.
Clearing his throat, he bites his bottom lip before quickly changing the subject. “Why are you getting dressed up anyway?”
“It’s not really dressed up. I’m just going to run to the store and didn’t want to end up on some derogatory webpage.”
He chuckles and pushes off from the doorway. “Okay. Let me grab a sandwich real quick and I’ll go with you.”
Placing the wave iron on the counter I flip it to the “off” position and run my fingers through the waves. “You don’t have to if you want to relax and take a load off.”
Satisfied I haven’t missed any spots on my hair, I grab my favorite gloss and twist it open. That’s when I realize Kade hasn’t responded to me. Glancing up, I see him worrying his lip again.
Trying for eye contact and failing, I say gently, “He hasn’t been around at all, Kade. It might actually be time for me to go back to my apartment.”
His shoulders slump. “Are you sure you really want to do that? I mean, like, you don’t think you’ll be scared or whatever?”
I don’t really know the answer to that. I won’t know until I try getting back to my life. “I’ll be okay,” I say reassuringly. “Besides, your roommate will be moving in any day now, right? I need to clear out so he can get in.”
Kade lowers his head and grumbles. “Yeah, that asshole decided at the last minute he wasn’t moving in.”
“What! Oh no! You really do need a roommate as soon as possible.”
“It could be you.”
I blink rapidly several times, shocked by his suggestion. “You… you would want me to stay? Even with all my drama?”
“Of course. You’re a great roommate. You’re clean. You smell better than the last guy.” I can’t help my giggle at that. “And you’re finally getting the hang of Red Dead Redemption. It would be a shame for you to lose all that practice time when you’re so close to levelling up.”
“That’s really nice of you to consider me, Kade.” And now that he’s brought it up, I’m wondering if it might be a good idea. Yes, it’ll cost me more in rent, but he’s right, I like living here. It’s quieter than living at the bar and means Paul has to give me a little more space. It’s something for me to at least think about. “How soon do you need to know?”
He shrugs and I have a feeling he wouldn’t care if I just never left, agreement or not. “Whenever. There’s no rush.”
“How about I let you know in a couple of days?”
He bites his lip again only this time he’s trying to hold back the grin I see trying to come out. “That sounds perfect.”
I take a deep breath and turn on my heel. “Well. I am headed to the store for some things you don’t want to know about.”
His brows furrow until suddenly the lightbulb goes off. “Lady products. Got it. Yeah, I’m not going.”
“I swear guys are so weird. Do you need anything while I’m there?”
“Nope. No. Nada.” He stumbles over his words, probably still fixed on the fact I need more tampons. Men are so weird. “Unless you need chocolate or ice cream or something. Wait. Do you need chocolate? Maybe you should sit down and I’ll go.”
I put my hand on his shoulder and force eye contact. “A period is not life-threatening, Kade. You can take a deep breath.”
He inhales forcefully and exhales slowly. I also inhale, but mostly it’s so I don’t laugh at him.
“Yeah. Okay,” he finally says. “I’ll just… uh… I think I’m gonna play my game.”
“You do that,” I encourage and follow him out to the living room. “Just sit right there on the couch and get comfortable and I’ll be back soon.”
He follows my instructions, as if he’s the one with cramps. I make a mental note to prepare myself in case someday he gets the man flu.
Once he’s settled on the couch, I grab my keys and favorite Prada bag and head out the door. We finally picked up my car after Kade spent a week hauling me around. He says he doesn’t mind, but he’s already going above and beyond. I don’t ever want him to feel like I’m taking advantage of him.
The store is only a mile or so away so it doesn’t take long to get there. It feels good to be out on my own again. I like shopping by myself. I don’t like being rushed. I’d rather peruse the aisles a bit, check clearance racks for anything I might need, and read labels. It drives Kiersten nuts but she always has somewhere she has to be.
I park my car and grab a cart on my way in, just in case I find a bunch of things I can’t live without. Taking a deep, relaxing breath, I just enjoy being out in the middle of life again. Sure, I may be at a crappy big box store but I’m still hearing the squeals of children and seeing the Halloween decorations all on display. It’s my version of heaven.
My first stop is the clearance aisle to see what sales they have. It’s usually hit or miss but this time, I was right to grab a cart. With summer over, I feel like I hit the jackpot—I snag some new water wings for Carson and a couple of pool noodles for just ten cents apiece. They even have a Paw Patrol character set on super sale that I can put away for Carson’s Christmas present.
I scour the shelves for anything else of interest but don’t find anything I need. Still, I call this visit a win.
Making my way to the feminine product aisles, my attention is on a giant jack-o-lantern blow up for someone’s yard decoration so I don’t notice until I’m practically next to him.
Jeremy.
He’s here.
In the store.
In the Halloween section I’m walking through.
My heart begins racing and my breathing gets short. What is he doi
ng here? Why is he still in town?
I grip the cart handle tightly as my mind races with the realization that he hasn’t gone anywhere. It’s then that I notice he’s with a woman. A woman who touches his back lightly and smiles at him like he hung the moon.
Oh God. He’s dating someone but he hasn’t left either.
I will never leave you alone.
Visions from my nightmare flash before my eyes and it’s all I can do to stay upright. I have to get out of here.
Before I can make a move, his body turns my way. It’s as if he can feel my presence and knows he has me frozen in place. Then, he makes eye contact.
My blood runs cold as he flashes an evil grin and begins walking toward me. That’s when my legs finally catch up with the rest of me and I quickly flee, abandoning my cart full of goodies.
It feels like every fifth step I’m turning around to make sure he’s not following me. I’m sure I look like a crazy person and I have no doubt security will be pulling the tape to make sure I’m not a shoplifter, but I don’t care. I need to get out of here as quickly as possible.
Jeremy is back and I won’t feel safe again until I’m home with Kade. Even then, I’m not sure I’ll ever feel safe again.
Chapter Fourteen
Kade
“I’m switching to pistols.” Archie can’t seem to figure out what kind of gun he wants to use today. He’s been switching back and forth between pistols and a shotgun. I keep waiting for someone to take him out because of how indecisive he’s being.
“What’s your deal today?” Rodney’s deep voice fills the headset. “You’re acting like my wife trying to decide what to wear.”
“I heard that!” comes a female voice in the background.
“Ooooh, you got caught…” we raze him and laugh while Rodney puts on his husband cap and says, “I’m sorry honey. You’re right. Archie is just being a little bitch tonight.”