Love Me Like You Do (Love Me Book 1)

by Jaime Russell

  “Honey, I’m not mad at you, just disappointed. You’re so beautiful and sexy. Any man—” I start to say something, and he holds up his hand to stop me before continuing. “Who is deserving of you will love you for who you are. Just for you. No other reason. I wish you could see it. When you meet the man who is worthy of you, he’ll show you, and you’ll believe it. I think you should keep getting to know Cash and see where things go. Keep an open mind. If all else fails, think ‘what would Rob say?’ I’m very wise, you know.”

  I laugh. “Wise huh, maybe a wise-ass.” He feigns shock by my words. The bell rings, indicating my free period is over. We get up, to say goodbye, and he gives me a hug and kisses me on the cheek. “I’ll call you tonight about tomorrow.”

  “Sounds like a plan. I’ll let Max and Sarah know what’s going on.”

  “Bye, baby girl.” His laughter echoes down the hallway, he must have heard all the kids asking me if he’s my boyfriend. I groan out loud.

  When the last bell rings, I’m so thankful my day is over. It’s Friday, and I have no intention of staying late. I start looking for my car in the parking lot and then remember that I brought my brother’s truck. I find it, get in, and head home. I pull into the driveway, spotting my car and a car on the street that I don’t recognize. I walk into a quiet house. I start heading upstairs to change out of my work clothes when I hear a noise. I listen more closely and identify a moan. I slowly start back down the stairs. I tried to be quiet, but the bottom steps creak, and I hear Max say something, so I hurry into the kitchen. I walk over to the microwave to put in a bag of popcorn. The house is filling with the delicious smell of freshly popped corn when I notice out of the corner of my eye that Max has come into the kitchen.

  “Hey, squirt. What are you doing home so early?” he asks with an innocent look. He keeps looking back towards the stairs to see if the girl was coming down.

  “It’s Friday, and I always come home at this time. It’s usually Monday and Wednesday that I stay after to work. What are you doing home?” I ask nonchalantly.

  “Oh I wasn’t feeling good, so I came home to rest.”

  “I can go to the store myself so you can get some sleep. Since you look a little flushed.”

  “No I’m feeling better; we should go. Now, in fact.” Max starts to stammer and pushes me towards the door. I was shooing him away from me when a blonde, big chested woman came into my view. She plants a kiss on his lips while looking at me. I roll my eyes at her as he tries to push her off of him. He whispers in her ear and shows her to the door. I ran up the stairs to my bedroom to change. I walk over to my window to look out as I hear them arguing. He’s letting her know it’s a one-time thing.

  CASH

  We skipped lunch because we got slammed with brides, mothers, and staff. You name it, and it went wrong. Shawn made us the lunch special, and we ate at our desks fielding calls, emails and people coming in. When the clock finally reads six p.m., I’m more than ready to get the hell out of here before someone else breaks something. I make sure to put my phone charger in my pocket. I’m shutting everything down when I look up to see Sally standing in the doorway,

  “No, not going to happen. I’ve been at this desk since I came in at seven-thirty this morning, and I want to leave.” I say snidely.

  “You can leave, but we’re going to dinner, and I won’t take no for an answer. My husband is working late tonight, and I have a sitter for the kids. We missed lunch together, and I want to talk to you. I think we should, don’t you?”

  “If you’re going to sit and lecture me, then no. But if you’re going to keep an open mind then yes. Which one will it be, dear sister of mine?”

  “I’ll always be supportive of you.” I scoff at her answer. She starts to get mad, and I hold my hand up to stop her.

  “Alright then, let’s go. Where are we going?”

  “Let’s go to that pizza shop down the road from my place. If Matt gets done early, he can join us.”

  “I’ll meet you there. Be careful driving.” We part ways, and I get into my car. I hook up my Bluetooth and dial Abby.

  “Hello?” A voice that I don’t recognize answers the phone.

  “Is Abby there?”

  “She just ran upstairs to change.” the mystery voice replies.

  “Okay, I guess I’ll call her back then.”

  “I can take the phone up to her, who should I tell her is calling?”

  “Cash.”

  “Oh, so you’re the famous Cash that my sister talks so much about.”

  I let out a laugh. “She talks about me?”

  “She does, so do you want me to get her?”

  “Nah, I was just leaving work and heading to dinner with my sister. She usually keeps me company on the drive. I’ll call her later.”

  “I’ll let her know you called.”

  “Thanks.”

  I pull into the pizza place and get out of the car. I survey the parking lot for Sally’s car. I head inside and am immediately hit with the smell of pizza. My stomach growls in anticipation of a delicious meal. I get a table for three since I’m sure Matt will be joining us at some point. I ordered a beer and an appetizer and pulled out my phone to check some emails. I needed to get a confirmation from Jenny about a few things, and she sent some emails that needed my attention. You would think since Thanksgiving was just under a week away; people wouldn’t want to book parties, yell at the staff for something out of our control, or just be annoying. It’s surprising how many people wanted to have their hands held during this process. I guess what they say is true, those who can do and those who can’t teach, and I’m the teacher.

  “If you’re going to be on your phone all night, I’m going home.” I raise my head to see Sally and Jenny walking over to our table.

  “I was waiting for you to get here and decided to check on my sports teams. Hi, Jenny, I didn’t know you were going to be here.”

  “Is it alright that I crashed your sibling party?” Jenny asks.

  “You are like a sister to me.”

  The waitress brings out my appetizer and takes everyone’s orders. “Today was rough, and I don’t want to do another one like that again!” Jenny starts. “I mean if one more person calls to yell at me because we’re sold out of tickets or the date they wanted was already booked and oh please don’t get me started on the Bridezillas.”

  “Enough about work, spill on cell phone girl. I know that Shawn knows, and he won’t say a damn thing. I even threatened to cut off his dick, but he just went on about the bro code.” Sally says as she starts taking her silverware out of the napkin.

  I clear my throat and take a drink of my beer. “Do I start talking or do you have questions you specifically want to know?”

  “Oh, little brother, I have my questions but why don’t you just start talking.”

  “Abby Stephens is her name. She’s thirty years old and a History teacher at her local high school. We met online through World of Warcraft about two years ago. We’ve been emailing back and forth for about six months and recently started to text and call each other. She lives in Pennsylvania, so we’ve never actually met.”

  “Wait, how could you like her without knowing her? Cash, meeting someone on the internet? And on that stupid game, you play as well.” Sally’s tone is filled with bitterness. “You do need to grow up. You’re not a college student anymore; you’re a business owner. She probably looked you up and found out that you’re worth millions and wants a piece of the pie.”

  “Seriously, Sally? If you wish to know about my private life, then, at least, do me the favor of keeping your opinion to your damn self. I didn’t tell you how you met Matt at the campus bar was wrong so don’t you do it to me. I play this game when I need to deal with our parents’ death. It’s Shawn and Abby that made me want to feel again. So get off your fucking high horse.” I get up from my chair and throw some money down. “I’m going home, and if you ever talk about Abby that way again, you’ll stop being my sister
. You don’t know her, and obviously, you don’t know or trust me either. Goodnight, Jenny.”

  “Cash, wait.” Sally stands to follow me.

  “Don’t. We need to say goodnight before we ruin our relationship anymore.” I kiss the top of her head and head to my silver Lexus to call Shawn about meeting up at our friend’s bar.

  “I’m at Nic’s already. I’m out with friends.”

  “Okay, I’ll meet you there,”

  I explain to him about the conversation we had.

  Shawn whistles. “What is she more pissed about, you finding someone or the fact that she didn’t choose the girl for you?”

  “My issue with this whole thing is that I never said that I was with her. I told her that I liked her. We may never meet, so this is ridiculous. My sister feels that she needs to control the situation. I’m just tired of her bullshit. I love her dearly, but this has got to stop. I don’t tell her what to do in her marriage or how to raise her kids.”

  “Take a stand. You’re not an asshole for fighting for your life. We’re inside waiting for you.”

  “Alright coming in now.” I open the door and step into Nic’s hoping to forget the fight with Sally.

  “SHOT! SHOT! SHOT!” I lost track of how much I drank. These guys with Shawn are hell-bent on getting me drunk. I haven’t been this drunk since my parents died. I know that I should stop, but thought, fuck it.

  “Don’t you think you’ve enough?” Shawn tries to take the drink out of my hand.

  “I’m feeling good! I need more.”

  “I think you’ve had enough.” Shawn insists, still trying to take my beer.

  “I’m thirty fucking years old! I don’t need a goddamn babysitter. If I want to fall in love with a girl I’ve never met and get drunk in the middle of the week, then I can!” I am yelling at him now. I even shove him. I noticed the bartender start to move down our way and stops when Shawn puts his hand up.

  “I’ll get him out of here, Nic.”

  “You better. I don’t need the cops here tonight. If I get shut down or a fine, pretty boy over, there will be paying.” Nic says, pointing at me.

  “Add it to my tab then.” I snap at her.

  Nicarra comes over to stand in front of me with a glass of water, “Listen here, you pain in my ass, we may be friends but that doesn’t mean you get to talk to me like that, and if you continue to do it, I’ll call the cops on you.” She motions towards the glass of water, “Sober up, my friend, before you do something you’ll regret.” I take the water from Nic’s hand as she stomps off to talk to another customer. Shawn’s eyes look full of disappointment.

  “I’m sorry, for being an asshole.”

  “We’ve been down this road before but, Cash, stop going to the bottle. You won’t be finding the answers there. Sally can’t make you do anything you don’t want to do.” Shawn says, keeping an eye on Nic.

  “Looks like she has his balls in a jar behind the bar.” Someone said behind me as Shawn takes another sip of his beer, ignoring his friend behind us.

  “Fuck off, Jason!” I’m now facing the six foot former Navy Seal whose arms are bigger than my head.

  “Should we ask Mommy if you can come out and play?” He’s pointing to Nic now. “I bet she’s wild in bed. Have you tapped that, Stewart?”

  “One more word from you and I’ll knock you on your ass.” I threaten.

  “You and what army?” He looks back at his friends who are now watching.

  “Sorry, Nic.” I catch Jason by surprise as I punch him square in the jaw. He yells out in pain as he comes flying towards me, his shoulder connecting with my rib cage, I’m thrown into a table. We’re rolling around on the floor throwing punches and kicking wildly while Shawn and his friend try to separate us. The cops arrive and we’re arrested. I’m sitting in the ER waiting to be seen by the doctor, and I feel like a complete ass. I go straight for the bottle when Sally and I fight, maybe she is right that I need to grow up. I can’t believe that I destroyed tables. I feel the tears forming in my eyes when I think about how disappointed my parents would be. I messed up big time. The doctor finally comes in after ordering X-rays and informs me that I have a concussion and two broken ribs. He gives me some pain pills, and I’m taken to the jail.

  After I’m processed, I’m stuck in a cell with Jason, who has a busted nose. The officer closes the door and locks it. Now we wait to find out what’s going to happen. I had to get a mug shot done, and I can just hear Sally now.

  The officer that arrested us came to let us go, “Against my better judgment, Nicarra isn’t going to press charges. You two are not allowed in her bar again for a month. You’ll pay for the damages and any lost income. Nicarra’s lawyer will be contacting both of you for the amount. Boys next time, don’t drink.” He hands us our stuff and tells us we were free to go.

  “I’m sorry.” I head over to where Nic and Shawn were standing.

  “Don’t talk to me, Cash. I’m so disappointed,” she replies, shaking her head.

  “Can you take me to the hotel?” I didn’t feel like going home.

  “I brought Nicarra when she’s done; I can take you both wherever you need to go.”

  “I feel like shit. I can’t believe I punched that guy.” Shawn has a somber look on his face. I couldn’t keep standing here; it was like the walls were closing in on me. I head outside. I Googled the number for a cab company and called them to pick me up. Then I type a short text to Shawn.

  Me: Dude, I took a cab

  Scrolling through my phone, I have a lot of missed calls from Sally, Jenny, and Abby. I don’t bother to return them because I don’t want to deal with anyone. The cab arrives, and I tell the driver to take me to my hotel. I take my keys out of my pocket to go to my office. Sitting on the couch, I examine the room. I’ve worked so hard to achieve this, and I have nothing to show for it. I may have just destroyed my friendship with Nicarra, and I don’t know where my relationship with Sally will end up. I pick up a picture of Shawn, Sally, Matt their kids and myself, and I start to cry. I disgust myself knowing that the bottle became my answer to a fight with Sally. I take the picture with me as I collapse onto the couch and before drifting off to sleep, “Dad, how do I fix this?

  ABBY

  “Max, you are the most annoying brother in the world.” I’m getting frustrated with him while we’re trying to shop.

  “I don’t think I’m the most annoying brother because you don’t know all the brothers in the world. I bet there is some way more annoying than I am.”

  “Stop being a smart-ass. You need to get a life.” He laughs, and I punched him.

  “Are we almost done, I’m starving. I skipped lunch today.”

  “I thought we were doing pizza for the five of us since we’re going to discuss the trip.”

  “Let’s hurry up then.”

  “Max, is that you?” I see his ex—Emily coming towards us. She’d used him for his money and broke his heart. We aren’t rich people but comfortable. “Emily,” is all Max says to her. He starts to move away from her, but she follows him. He suddenly stops, and she runs right into him. “Sorry, I didn’t realize that you were that close to me. Why are you chasing after me?”

  “I haven’t seen you since someone,” she glares at me. “Made you break up with me. I missed you and wanted to see if you’d like to get some dinner.”

  “First of all, Abby didn’t make me break up with you. In fact, she’s the one who made me stay with you longer. Second of all, I’m broke. I invested in a company that I thought would turn around, and it didn’t. I lost all of my money. My sister here is paying my bills.” He has a look of sadness, bottom lip out as his eyes glanced at me then Emily, and is trying to be serious.

  “Oh no! I’m so sorry to hear that happened to you. I guess we will meet up another time. I must run. My mom is waiting in the car. It was nice seeing you again, Max. Abby.” She bolts from where we’re standing. away. I start laughing, and I can’t stop.

  “You have
women chasing you, and I have to pay people to spend time with me,” I say with a sigh.

  “What the hell are you talking about? Who do you have to pay?”

  “Forget I said anything. I’m going to head over to the register. If there’s anything else you want for a few days, we better get it now because we’ll all be too busy after this to get it.”

  “Stop and talk to me.”

  “No.” I’m at the checkout lane unloading the groceries while Max keeps hounding me to talk to him. I’ve been checking my phone for Cash to call me. I hadn’t heard from him since this afternoon when we admitted that we liked each other. Why would he tell me that he liked me and then ignore me all day and night? I put my phone in my back pocket and say hello to the cashier.

  “I don’t get you sometimes. You make these comments about not being pretty, paying guys to spend time with you, and collecting cats for the rest of your life. Where do you get this from?”

  “You wouldn’t understand. Do you think we could have this talk another time? I don’t want to talk about it in the grocery store.”

  “Don’t think I’ll forget. We will have this talk.” I breathed a sigh of relief when his phone started ringing. He steps away to answer the call. I smile at the cashier.

  “Thank you. Have a great night.” I say to the cashier as I put the last of the groceries in the cart after paying for the food. Max finally hangs up the phone and helps me unload the cart.

  “So where are we going for dinner?” Max is unloading the cart into the back of the SUV.

  “Change of plans. That was a buddy of mine; he wants to get together for some beers. I’m going to drop you off at the house and then go out.”