by Rose, Ashley
The note was written on a piece of her father’s work stationary that he always kept in his briefcase.
Carmondy, I had your mother pick out some bedding for you and sent them to this apartment, along with some groceries and other things. I told him once he was done putting the things away, to leave the key on the counter and lock the door on his way out. You can keep the spare key there or give it your mother in case you lock yourself out, your choice. The small key is for a locking cabinet in the closet. There is only one key, so don’t lose it. I hope you like the apartment. I know it’s plain right now, but we can bring some of your things down.
Call your mother if you have any problems. I’m flying off for a conference.
Carmondy frowned. There was no ‘Love, Dad’ or ‘I’ll see you soon’. She sighed and looked around. The cupboards were stocked with food that looked good, not too much junk food and lots of healthy stuff that she felt okay eating. She checked the fridge and found some fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, butter, and other basics. The freezer housed some hamburger patties and some other frozen meat.
She went to the door and locked both the chain lock and the dead bolt before going into her bedroom for a shower. Once she was done, she got dressed in shorts and a tank top to sleep in. She used the microwave to heat up some pre-made mashed potatoes from the fridge. It was weird to sit alone at the table to eat. When she did her homework, she sat on the couch in front of the TV. She turned it on but the sound of the TV in the empty room was almost scary, so she turned it off and did her homework in silence.
Around 9:30, she went into her bedroom and sat on her bed, looking around. The room was so white...and plain...and empty. It made her feel incredibly alone.
She lay down in the bed without turning the lights off. The sheets and pillowcase smelled funny. She was exhausted but somehow knew she wasn’t going to get any sleep like this. She was alone, in a strange place that reminded her of a hospital with funny smells and stark white walls.
She rolled onto her back and wished she were back on Anderson’s couch or even in Beck’s bed.
Before she could stop herself, she sat up and snatched her phone off the bedside table. She looked at it hard for a moment before pulling up her contact list and calling Beck’s number.
Her hand shook as she put the phone to her ear.
Beck answered right away. “Carmondy.”
“Beck, hi.”
“What is it?”
“I can’t sleep.”
“What?” He sounded tired and grouchy.
“I’m sorry I just...I didn’t know who else I could call.”
“Um. Kendall? Anderson? Anyone other than me?”
Her breath caught in her throat. This had been a mistake. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. She hated talking in the apartment. She felt like it echoed.
Beck sighed loudly through the phone. “I don’t know what you want me to do, Carmondy.”
“Nothing...I just...”
“Why can’t you sleep?”
Was he trying to help? She wasn’t sure, but she was going to take whatever he gave her. “I don’t really know. This place is so big and white, and empty. The bed is unfamiliar and this is going to sound dumb, but it smells weird.”
Beck didn’t respond for a moment, but she could faintly hear his breathing so she knew he was still there. “What apartment complex are you in?”
“Uh...” She blinked. Why did he want to know? “Juniper Village. C-6.”
The call ended and she looked at her phone, confused. Was he coming over or something? Why else would he ask her where she was? Why would he be coming over? Sex? She wasn’t in the mood, but wouldn’t mind if it got her some company.
Fifteen minutes later, she hadn’t moved from her upright position on her bed. A knock sounded on her door.
She scurried to her door and looked out the peep hole. Beck. Happiness flooded her. She couldn’t believe he’d come. How very un-Beck-like. She unlocked both of the locks and pulled the door open. He strode in, carrying a large box topped with a blanket and pillow that looked familiar.
“What—”
“Where’s your room?” he cut her off.
“Um...” She pointed to her door and he walked quickly into her room. She followed him, wondering what was going on.
She stood in her doorway and watched as Beck set the box on the desk. He carelessly yanked the hospital blue comforter off the bed and rolled it up, tossing it into the corner. The matching pillows followed.
He tossed the blanket he brought with him on the bed so that it spread out and then put the pillow where the other two had been.
“Beck, what are you doing?”
He didn’t answer, just started into the box. He pulled out a basketball, which he tossed on the floor. Next came some random books. He scattered them on her desk. Then came a rolled up poster of Steve Nash, which he taped on the wall. He pulled out another poster of the entire Phoenix Suns team and put it on another wall, successfully breaking up the white. Out of the box came a small lamp, which went on her bedside table along with a picture in a frame. She crossed the room and picked up the picture of what looked to be the girls´ team last year on an unfamiliar court celebrating after a big win. She turned it over and there was a note scribbled on the back.
Hey, big guy. We owe a big part of this to you. Thanks for the tips. I know you refuse to admit it but I saw you at every game. Don’t worry, I framed it because I knew you wouldn’t.
-KG
“Who’s KG?” she asked, looking up from the picture frame.
Beck looked up too, pulling hangers out of the box. “Kendall Green.”
“Oh, duh...what are the hangers for?”
”Your clothes?”
“Oh, right. Thanks.” She set the picture down and took the hangers from him before dragging her bag into the walk-in closet and hanging up her clothes. It was going to be nice not having to live out of a duffel bag. When she was done, she turned around. Beck was gone but his empty box was still there. Her room now also had a Prosser High School Cougars blanket tacked to the wall. There was an alarm clock sitting on her desk, waiting to be plugged in. She glanced out her window and saw Beck in the dim light making his way back from his car with another box under his arm.
She smiled and turned back to her room, grabbing the alarm clock and plugging it into the wall near her bed, then setting it on the little table along with the lamp and picture.
Beck came back into her room and she looked up, wondering what was in this box.
It wasn’t a box. It was the piece of kinky sex furniture that had been in his closet.
“What the...get that out of here!”
“Why?” He looked around for a place to put it.
“You can’t put that thing here!”
“Sure I can.” He dropped it to the floor at the end of the bed.
“No, you can’t!” She grabbed it and tried to give it back to him but he backed away, hands in the air.
He shrugged. “You have more space now.”
“So? It’s not mine.”
“It’s not mine either. Put it in your closet or something.”
“What if my parents saw it?”
“Is your dad really going to break in and look in your closet?”
“Well...no. But I don’t want it.” She tried to give it back but he wasn’t taking it.
He shrugged carelessly and sat down on her bed to set the alarm clock. Carmondy groaned and grabbed her keys off the desk. She put the piece of sex furniture into the cabinet in the back of the closet and made sure to lock it.
When she emerged from her closet, Beck was holding the empty box, looking around the room. He crammed the blue blanket and pillows into the box, took the stuff to the other bedroom door and tossed it in before coming back to her room.
“Better?”
She looked around. Tons better. It was not her stuff, but it did the trick. The place now passed as a bedroom, even looked semi-lived i
n.
“Yes...thank you. I didn’t know you were going to bring this stuff. Don’t you need it?”
He shrugged. “It’s just a spare blanket and pillow off of my bed and I’ve got tons of basketball posters. The alarm clock was a spare and I figured you didn’t have one. Most of this stuff I just had laying around.”
“Well, thank you anyway. I think this will really help.”
“Yep. See ya.” He turned away.
“Aren’t you going to stay?”
He turned back. “Why would I?”
She looked down and rubbed her fingers together nervously. “I don’t know. I thought maybe you came for...sex.”
“No, I came to bring this stuff. Why, did you want sex?” he asked curiously, taking a step toward her.
“No, I just thought that you might want it in return.”
“Carmondy, why don’t you lay down? I think you’re really tired.”
“Yeah, I am.” She crawled under the covers. The pillow and blanket smelled like him. It was comforting.
“Can you sleep?” he asked.
She nodded and snuggled closer to the pillow, her eyes drifting shut. “You can stay, if you want.”
“Just go to sleep, Carmondy.”
She sighed and rolled over, cocooning herself in the warm blanket. Beck shut her lights off as he left the room and shut the door behind him. Carmondy fell asleep right away, though she wasn’t sure why simply having some of Beck’s things made her feel better.
Chapter Seven
Carmondy woke up the next morning because of the doorbell sounds her phone was making. She shot up in bed, thinking someone was at the door, and then remembered it was just her alarm. She turned her alarm off and looked around. She was surprised to see it was her first night in the apartment and she had actually slept great. She yawned and left her room to see what she could make for breakfast.
The TV was on in the living room and Carmondy frowned, stepping closer. When she got close enough to see over the edge of the couch, she jumped back.
“Shit!”
What the hell?
She looked over the edge of the couch again. Yep, it was Beck. He was reclined on his back, arms behind his head, asleep.
“Beck?” she said, but he didn’t wake.
She reached over the couch and shook his arm. “Beck, wake up.”
Steel gray eyes popped open and blinked a couple times in the light.
“Hey,” he said, his voice a little gravelly.
“Good morning. I didn’t know you were sleeping here.”
He groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing his hair. “I didn’t mean to.”
“No?”
“No, I was just...” He waved a big hand at the TV, which was now playing Sports Center. “Watching a game.”
“Okay, well, since you’re here, I was going to make something for breakfast.”
“No thanks.” He made his way to the door, which she noticed had the locks back on. Why would he put all the locks on if he was planning on leaving?
“Why not? I mean, I owe you for bringing that stuff for me and I was making something anyway, and you’re already here and I—”
“Fine.” He cut her off.
She smiled brightly and hurried into the kitchen area. He followed at a slower pace and slipped onto a breakfast stool to watch her move around the kitchen.
“Those are some short shorts you got on there.”
She glanced down as she opened the fridge. “Oh, yeah...I was running a little low on clean clothes last time I was home.”
“I see.”
She could tell that he was looking at her ass as she bent over to grab some orange juice from the bottom of the fridge. She turned around and confirmed his gaze, blushing slightly.
“What?” He cocked his head, puzzled.
She turned and set the orange juice on the counter. “Nothing.”
“Was that a blush I saw? As if I haven’t seen every inch of you?”
This just caused her to blush deeper so she kept her back turned, standing on tiptoe to reach for some glasses out of the cupboard.
Suddenly, hands were on her backside, smoothing around her hips before pulling her back against a hard body. She withdrew her arm from the cupboard and kept still as his hand slid down to caress her inner thigh. His head dropped down and he leaned his chest against her shoulders, making her very aware of his presence.
She bit her lip as his hands moved up and down the front of her hips, tracing along the lines of her muscles. Beck sighed and squeezed her hips lightly before his body disappeared from behind her. She turned to see him sitting back on the stool, his gray eyes lazily looking over her entire body.
“Something wrong?” he asked. “I thought you were making breakfast.”
She frowned and turned back to the counter. He confused the hell out of her. “Yeah.” She poured two glasses of orange juice. “What do you want?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“Well, I don’t care either,” she said, handing him the glass of orange juice.
“You should be more decisive,” he said, taking a drink.
“You should be more decisive.”
He glanced down at her body again. “I’ve made up my mind.”
Wait, were they still talking about breakfast?
“Uhh...okay, so what do you want for breakfast then?” she asked cautiously.
He laughed dryly and stood up to amble around the kitchen for a moment. He picked up an empty saltshaker and tossed it lightly into the air, catching it easily. “I’m sorry, could you say the menu again, or...” he looked at her body again, “am I looking at it?”
She sighed. “Beck...you know...”
“I know what?”
She glared. “You know that you don’t have to lure me into having sex.”
“Sex?” He looked around, pretending to be confused. “Who said anything about sex?”
“Beck.” She groaned and leaned against the island.
“Oh, I see, you want to play it your way? You want me to boss you around a little? I don’t have any handcuffs handy but I’ll do my best, okay? So let’s put it this way.” His thumb stroked up and down the skin of her throat, making her want to swallow compulsively. “What would you do if I told you to pull those cute little shorts off and bend over this countertop for me?” His free hand rubbed the top of the island slowly.
Oh Jesus. She fumbled for words but her mouth wasn’t working. She wanted to do exactly what he said.
He smiled a little before he used both hands on her waist to turn her around slowly, pushing the front of her hips against the edge of the island.
She put both palms against the cool granite countertop. God, it was the perfect height. All she needed to do was bend at the waist, rest against the nice granite and let him do as he pleased. It was so tempting, but she did her best to resist. That is, until one of his hands started rubbing up and down her spine, putting discreet pressure on her to bend over.
“So?” he asked, speaking into her ear. “What would you do?” His hand slipped down to caress her ass. “Would you do as I told you to? Would you be a good girl?”
She shuddered as he breathed lightly on her ear. How was he so damn good at this? “Beck.”
She turned her head toward him and he took the opportunity. He kissed her deeply, almost frantically, while his arms crushed their bodies together. His tongue searched her mouth expertly, very familiar with it by now.
A few moments later, he pulled his lips from hers. They were both out of breath. His hand came up her back to tangle in her hair and tug her head back gently so that she was looking up at him.
“Don’t worry, our kitchen session isn’t over. I’ll see you at school,” he said pointedly before leaning down to nip her bottom lip, releasing her.
She gulped and he immediately left the room. After a second to catch her breath, she followed, catching a glimpse of him as he shut the front door behind him.
* * *
<
br /> Carmondy had gotten to school without a hitch. She found herself still smiling as she got out of her car in the school parking lot. As she was hanging around in a mostly empty hallway, admiring some old school trophies, she wondered why she even bothered to try to stay out of his way. It was like he had her locked into his GPS or something. She straightened from the display case as Beck ambled down the hallway.
“You didn’t forget the promise I made this morning, did you?”
“Beck.”
“Of course you didn’t. Maybe that’s why you chose to hang out in a secluded hallway.” He glanced around. “Gotta say it’s not really my style, but we could probably work something out.”
“Or maybe I was hanging out in an empty hallway to avoid you?”
“Now why would you do that?”
“I don’t want to have sex with you,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “No? You were singing a different tune this morning.”
“I mean, I don’t want to have sex with you at school. I can barely cope with the casual sex concept. I couldn’t handle doing it in a public place.”
He crossed his arms over his chest and surveyed her. “Hm, that’s a little odd. I figured you’d get hot for that kinda thing. Wouldn’t doing it in public make it that much more exciting?”
She hoped that he was just messing with her. She didn’t want a replay of yesterday. “I don’t like an audience.”
He checked his watch. “We’ve still got over fifteen minutes before class starts, and I parked in the far corner of the parking lot.”
What the heck was he talking about? “So?”
“Tinted windows, especially in the back seat.”
“Oh...ohhh.” A switch flipped inside her and suddenly, she was turned on.
He shrugged, even sexier than usual. “Your choice.”
Yes! “I don’t know, Beck...”
“If it’s the kink factor that you’re worried about, I’ve got a pair of handcuffs in the glove box.”
She gulped. “No, that’s not the problem...besides, last time...it took forever.”