by Sharlay
“Yeah?”
“I love you, ok?”
“I know.” I smile.
“And that answer to Jackson’s question was EPIC!” She laughs. “Other than Ned, probably not.” She mimics my voice before throwing her head back in laughter. “EPIC!”
“Thanks.” I smile before she waves and drives away.
When I step inside my apartment, I head straight for my room. I fall back on my bed, pull out my phone and start scrolling through my contacts. If Ned wants to spend the night with Jackson then whatever, but I don’t see why I should stick to the rules of the contract when she bends them whenever she feels like it. I look through the names on my contact list one by one … blonde … blonde … blonde … redhead … blonde … ah, brunette …
Mercedes. I remember her, the girl Bobby and I met on New Year’s Eve last year. She had the hottest body I had ever seen — before Ned’s. Dark brown hair and caramel colored eyes. Yes, I remember how hot she was. Before I can talk myself out of putting my five thousand dollars at risk I call her number. She picks up instantly.
“Brennan, what a nice surprise.” I can hear the smile in her voice.
“It’s good to know you still have my number.”
“I told you that I’d keep it for a rainy day.” She giggles.
“Guess what?”
“What?” she asks.
“I just looked outside of my apartment window and you’d never believe it but it’s raining.” She laughs. “I think you should come and take shelter with me,” I say.
“Is that right?”
“Yup, what do you say, Miss Mercedes? Fancy not getting wet with me?”
“Quite the opposite actually,” she purrs. I laugh. This is what I need — a little no strings attached fun. A night of not thinking about Ned. “I say that you should give me your address so I can let you know how long it’ll take me to get there.” She continues.
“That, I can most definitely do. Let me hang up and I can send it to you.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
I laugh before hanging up. I send her a quick message with my address. She replies instantly, letting me know that she can be here in twenty minutes. So, I jump in the shower and prepare to break provision 3.8 of the contract.
I’m pulling my T-shirt over my head when I hear a bang on the door. I smile to myself before going to answer it. When I open it, Mercedes is standing there staring at me — not quite as beautiful as I remembered but she’s decent enough. It just seems like something’s missing.
“Come in,” I say as she smiles at me.
“Still looking good, Brennan,” she says as I shut the door.
“You’re not looking too bad yourself.”
“So, what made you call tonight?” she asks with a smirk on her face.
“Oh, I don’t know … I just fancied seeing dark brown hair fanned across my pillow and caramel colored eyes staring up at me.”
“Then you’re in luck,” she says, fluttering her eyelashes at me.
I plan to offer her a drink but remember that there’s only water.
“I’m going to get you some water; you’ll need to keep hydrated tonight.” I wink before disappearing into the kitchen. I hear her giggling from behind me. I run the faucet for a few seconds before filling up two glasses.
She takes a glass from me. “So thoughtful, thanks.”
“You know me, always thinking of others.”
She takes a sip and sits down on my couch never taking her eyes off me. And as much as I should be turned on right now the brain in my head is not communicating this to the brain in my pants.
“So, how has life been?” I ask.
“It’s been great actually …”
My phone alerts me of a message and I wonder who it’s from. It’d be rude of me to take it out while she is talking so I ignore it. I doubt it’s Layla, she rarely messages me, she prefers to call. It could be Bobby hounding me about the details of mine and Ned’s “relationship” again. Maybe it’s Ned but I doubt she’s even sparing me a second thought while she’s out with that jerk Jackson. That’s what I’m going to start calling him, Jerkson it suits him way better. Maybe mine and Ned’s relationship isn’t real but he doesn’t know that. What kind of guy takes a woman on a date when he knows that she is in a relationship? I’ve done some pretty screwed up things in my time but I would never get involved with a girl who was not single. Don’t get me wrong I’ve brought some back here, to this very apartment, but the minute they revealed their situation I’ve kicked them out. You just don’t do that. And Ned should know better. We have roles to fulfill. She’s the one who said we should be keeping up appearances at all times. Hypocrite. I wonder where they are now. Maybe she’s taken him back to her place. He better not be in her room. Would she sleep with him? She did say it was over but I bet he can’t wait to get his slimy little paws on those strings she calls pant—
“… which is completely crazy, right?”
Oh gosh, Mercedes has been talking all this time? I only asked her one question, this isn’t a keynote speech, sweetheart.
“Absolutely,” I say, agreeing to the unknown.
“My thoughts exactly.” She giggles. “I’m surprised you haven’t got a girlfriend yet if I’m honest.” I kinda do but she’s on a date with her ex.
“I’m not really the girlfriend type in all honesty.”
“Well, that’s good because neither am I?”
“What? The girlfriend type?” I tease.
“You know what I mean, silly.” She giggles. She seems so young. I’m bored and so is the rest of my body. I decide to speed things up a little.
“Right, less talking … come here.” I beckon her with my finger. I see the excitement flash in her eyes. We rest both of our glasses on the coffee table and then she straddles my lap. I slip my hands around her waist and pull her closer. She giggles. It’s the most annoying sound I have ever heard. I lean forward and cover her mouth with mine. It’s more of an attempt to shut her up than anything else. She slips her hands around my neck and pulls me closer. I wait. And I wait some more. Nothing. I don’t even feel a slight twitch in my pants and I wonder if something is broken. Hello down there, time to wake up! Believe it or not, I can’t do this thing without you. Mercedes wiggles on my lap and I feel like pushing her as far away from me as possible. This is ridiculous.
I flip her onto her back on the couch and hover over her. I can see the heat in her eyes. As she stares up at me it doesn’t quite have the effect I imagined it would when I called her earlier. I ignore my thoughts and instead trail slow wet kisses along her neck which, by the sounds of it, she is enjoying very much. I’m glad one of us is. I slip my hand under her tank top and trace the skin on her belly waiting for some sort of reaction. Nothing. I pull my hand out and sit back in frustration. She smiles up at me before taking her hand and pushing me backward. A wicked smile touches her lips and I force myself to smile back. She uses her hands to lift my T-shirt over my head, throws it to the floor and then looks down at me with a smile.
“This,” she says trailing her fingers over my abs, “is the hottest thing I have ever seen.” She places a soft kiss on my chest before slowly undoing the buckle on my belt. This is the part where I should be wildly turned on and helping her to speed things up. Instead, I lie back and watch in boredom. What the hell is wrong with you, Brennan?! Maybe I should have gone for one of the blondes or even that hot redhead I met in Ibiza two years ago. I really thought Mercedes was the one that was going to blow my mind tonight. I guess I was wrong. For some reason, I’m just not feeling it.
By the time I look down, my belt is undone and my zipper is down. Then there is a loud bang at my door and I have never felt as happy as I do in this moment.
“Ah damn,” I grunt pretending to be annoyed.
“Just leave it,” she whispers, trailing kisses up my neck.
Bang. Bang. Whoever you are … please keep knocking.
“Sorry, but they don’t seem to be going away.
Let me go and get rid of them,” I say, grabbing her waist and lifting her off me. I don’t even hesitate to move away from her. I escape to the door and swing it open.
“Ned?” I say in shock as she stands there in that beautiful green dress. I’m pretty sure I just stopped breathing for a second but I ignore that.
“Wow.” She takes in my current state and shakes her head.
“You have no idea how happy I am to see you, babe.”
“Really?” she asks in disbelief.
“Really,” I assure her. I look down at my pants. Oh, now you wake up?! I push her out the door and step outside with her. I close my apartment door a little and drop my voice down really low. “I need your help,” I whisper.
“What?” She says a little too loudly.
“Sssh. I said I need your—”
“I heard what you said, I’m just in shock. You are standing here, half naked — clearly breaking the terms of the contract — and asking for my help?”
“I know it sounds crazy. And I haven’t broken many of the terms — not yet anyway,” I say with a smirk.
“Dating, kissing, touching, sexual contact—”
“Ah ah there has been no sexual contact yet and if you help me there definitely won’t be.”
“Give me one good reason why I should help you?”
“Because this is your fault, you’re the one that chose Jackson.”
She looks surprised.
“That really bothered you didn’t it?” Is she smirking?
“No.” Hell yes … I just don’t know why. “Look, I seriously don’t want to have sex with this girl.” She raises her eyebrows at me. “Honestly, I thought I did but I really don’t. I couldn’t even … you know,” I say looking down at my pants in embarrassment.
Her eyes follow mine and then she does the last thing I expect. She laughs. She bends down, places her hands on her knees and laughs.
“I’m glad you find this so funny.”
“I do, it serves you right for trying to break the terms of my contract.”
“You’re right and I promise that I won’t do it again but, for now, can you please just help me?”
She looks at me for a moment before her face softens.
“What do you need me to do?” This woman is the best.
“Get rid of her … please,” I beg.
“And how exactly do you expect me to do that? Why can’t you just tell her to leave yourself?”
“Because I feel bad. I invited her over to break the terms of your contract but for some reason, I’m just not feeling it. I can’t tell her that. She’s … excited.”
She folds her arms across her chest and smirks at me. “You’re not feeling it? And why is that?” Because of you. What? That’s not why. Is it?
“Well, I don’t know, do I? This has never happened to me before. I’ve never had any issues with … anything,” I say looking away.
She laughs … again.
“Ned, babe, is this your version of helping because it’s not working?”
“Sorry but it’s funny. Right, just follow my lead.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask suspiciously.
“Just trust me, Cole.” I do. She walks past me and I follow closely behind. “No, I will not wait outside any longer, what are you in here doing?” Ned asks leaving me utterly confused.
I see the surprised look on Mercedes’ face as I walk in with Ned.
“So, this is what you do when I’m away on my business trips? You are unbelievable!”
“What?” I ask Ned. She ignores me but not before giving me a look that says, “play along, idiot.” Ohhhhh. Now I get it.
“Look, babe, it’s not what it looks like,” I say.
“No, then you weren’t about to have sex with some random girl?!”
Mercedes’ mouth falls open.
“Ok, maybe it is what it looks like,” I say.
“Brennan, who is this?” Mercedes asks looking at Ned’s angry face.
“Yes, Brennan why don’t you tell her who I am? Better still, I will.” She marches up to Mercedes and shakes her hand. “Hi, I’m Brennan’s girlfriend. I’m so sorry that I interrupted you when I should have still been away on business. It’s just that finding out you have crabs is a reason to come back home early and confront your cheating boyfriend.” I see the corner of Ned’s mouth twitch and I know she wants to laugh. I cannot believe she just told Mercedes that I gave her crabs. I only wanted to get rid of her for the night. I guess I won’t be seeing her again now. Why does the idea of never seeing Mercedes again not bother me in the slightest?
“He gave you what?” Mercedes asks jumping up from my couch. It’s in that moment that I take a chance to look from Mercedes to Ned. They actually look a little alike except Ned is way prettier. Strange.
“Crabs, sweetheart, you know those disgusting creepy craw—”
“It’s ok, I know what they are,” Mercedes says in disgust. “Brennan, we’re done here,” she says marching past me.
“No, Mercedes wait, I’ve been having treatment. They’re almost gone!” I call after her as I hear the sound of Ned’s laughter. I love that sound.
“You disgust me!” Is the last thing I hear from Mercedes before I close the door behind her. I walk back into my living room and cross my arms across my chest.
“Crabs? Really?” I ask Ned with a smile on my face.
“I was being creative.” Ned shrugs, still laughing.
“Yeah, you may have just ended my sex life permanently with the little show you put on.”
“Good, let that teach you a lesson for breaking the terms of my contract.” She raises her eyebrows at me.
“True and I am sorry. Do you forgive me?”
“For what? Breaking the terms of the contract, the way you behaved at the restaurant or for kissing me?” Her breath hitches toward the end of the sentence.
“The contract. My behavior at the restaurant was warranted, Jerkson deserved it and I’m not going to apologize for kissing you, Ned.”
“His name is Jackson,” she says with a little smile and I know that she likes my new name for him. She’ll probably even start using it in secret. “And yes he has his ways but I expected you to be the bigger person. And you shouldn’t have kissed me.”
“I can accept that maybe I shouldn’t have but the guy just gets under my skin … something about him. And I didn’t see you pulling away,” I say.
“This conversation’s over,” she says as she goes to walk past me. I hook an arm around her waist and pull her back. I stand her right in front of me and look down into her eyes.
“Ok, I’m sorry. You were right, I shouldn’t have kissed you but in my defense, you did kiss me first.” I smile.
“I was in character, Cole.” She huffs.
“Really? I guess that explains why it wasn’t a great kiss,” I say, holding back my laughter.
“Excuse me?”
“It was basic but nothing spectacular, but now I know that it was because you were acting I understand,” I say before walking around her and into my bedroom. I hear her following behind me.
“What do you mean it wasn’t spectacular? I have never had anyone complain about the way I kiss before.” And they never should.
“That’s because you’ve only kissed guys like Jerkson.” I shrug my shoulders before turning to face her.
“And what’s wrong with guys like Jerkson … I mean Jackson?” She says trying to ignore her mistake. I laugh. “Come on, stop messing around. Elaborate?”
“I’m just saying that you’re a basic kisser if tonight’s anything to go by but it’s not your fault. You’ve never had a real kiss before.”
“How the hell do you know that I’ve never had a real kiss before? I have had some great kisses I’ll have you know and not once has one guy complained,” she says in frustration.
“Ok.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means ok. You think you can kiss then it’s al
l right with me. It’s not as if I have to kiss you for real anyway,” I say, turning around and heading toward my closet. I feel her hand on my arm and that one touch turns me on more than anything that Mercedes tried earlier. She spins me around.
“You are being a moron. And I’m pretty sure that you were probably intoxicated during most of your kisses so how you even remember them is beyond me.”
“Oh, I remember the good ones that’s how I know yours is not one of them.” Her eyes widen and her face goes red.
“You’re a jerk.”
“No, I’m honest. I never said you were bad, just below average.” I want to laugh so badly but I am not done yet.
“I am not below average! I am a good kisser!” I let out a small chuckle at her words.
“Ok … then prove it,” I say holding her gaze.
“I don’t have to prove anything to you, Cole.”
“True. Oh well, I guess I’m right.”
“You are not.”
“I am. It’s not a big deal don’t worry.”
“This is ridiculous!” She screeches.
“If you don’t want our kisses to look genuine in front of the public then it’s fine. I’m only trying to help.”
Her face is the reddest I’ve ever seen it, and before I know what is happening she has dragged me toward her and her lips are on mine. I don’t even get the chance to take a breath but right now I really don’t care.
My hands are tangled in her hair and all I can hear is the sound of our frantic breathing filling the room. Gosh, this girl can kiss. I take it back … the pancakes did not make love to my mouth, that was just foreplay. Ned is making love to my mouth. Right. Here. Right. Now. Ned may claim to be the one with a year left to live but if she keeps kissing me like this — stealing my body’s oxygen — then I won’t be far behind. I groan into her mouth seconds before she gently pulls away.
We don’t speak for a moment. We stand in silence. I’m not sure what Ned’s doing but I’m trying to remind myself to breathe and find the oxygen she just stole from me. My hands are still in her hair and her hands are firmly wrapped around my neck. I push her back a little so that I can look at her face. She opens her eyes and looks up at me in a daze. Then in a breathy voice, she says, “How was that?”