“It’s a two-bedroom in Brooklyn. I just moved in today and am picking up supplies to improve it so it might be a week or so before it is ready to view,” I told her honestly. I was hopeful some headbanging rocker would come along instead of this shy sounding girl.
“What does it need?”
“Everything, I’m at the hardware store now, to gather materials to get started, but it will take me a while to get all the work done,” I explained again. I don’t think she was getting that it would be quite some time before it was ready.
“How about I meet you there, see the place, and if it works out I will order pizza and help you get it ready?”
“What happens if it doesn’t work out?” I questioned as her eagerness was almost endearing with her timid voice.
“Then you get free labor and food from a stranger for an evening,” I could almost hear her smiling through the phone as her voice lifted.
“Okay, I’ll be back in a couple hours,” I ended the call as I picked up a wireless drill and went to pay.
When the cab turned down the street I lived on I saw a familiar face. Sitting on the steps was the girl from the plane. She was gorgeous. Her dark brown hair hid the small strands of blond. It reminded me of sunshine trying to break through the clouds on a stormy day.
When the cab came to a stop, the driver got out and started unloading the trunk while I swiped my card in the machine. When I stepped out, I saw her moving the paint cans to the steps.
“I’ve got that,” I told her as I lunged into action. There was no way I was going to let her do any heavy lifting on my account. As long as I had a free hand it would hold up anything, we needed it to.
“It’s you,” she looked shocked when she finally took stock in who I was. Her brown eyes looked so hopeful that I almost wanted to let her live with me, but then reality slapped me in the face. She was not the type of person I wanted to room with.
“And it’s you,” I flirted as I moved the paint cans to the door.
“It’s me, Hallie Henderson,” she nervously stated. “I’m double H, it’s not a bra size it’s a life choice,” Hallie joked, but she truly failed on its delivery.
“Don’t be nervous,” I reassured her as I used my key to get inside. When I turned back I noticed she still had her bag with her and seemed to be questioning what to do with it. I walked out and picked it up, took her hand, and led her around everything we had unloaded and into the house.
Without a single thought in my head, I marched her up the stairs, hesitating at my doorway. I knew with my face and her faint-hearted personality I would have her riding me by dinner, but for some reason I didn’t want to.
She had seemed so timid at the airport. She seemed like she was a virgin to big cities, life, and men. I couldn’t allow her to be taken advantage of by me.
The choice between seducing her and keeping things platonic was a war between my brain and my cock. A waging battle that had me chastising myself for eye-fucking her as she turned to look into the empty room.
“This would be your room. You can leave your bag in here, so nothing happens to it,” I told her as I sat the bag down. She walked inside the room and looked around, I left her there as I went down and started bringing everything into the house.
“Let me help,” she offered a few minutes later and then began bringing in the last of it. “You plan on renovating?” she asked with a laugh when she saw all my supplies.
“I want to make it a home,” I explained, and her cheeks flourished in a pink blush.
“I think I want to live in your home,” she quietly spoke. “I feel like I know you, and that makes me feel safe, which is weird because I don’t even know your name.”
“I’m Dean, and why don’t we get to work and see how it goes,” I suggested, knowing I would never let her live with me. “I need to start plastering the holes in the walls. Do you know how to do that?”
“Yes sir,” she stated playfully, as my inner caveman smiled at her response. “My dad was in construction my entire life,” she answered with excitement lacing her voice.
We both started working and after a little while she ordered the pizza she promised, but I paid for it. By the time we got the living room ready to paint the sun was coming up. This house was going to be a lot more work than I wanted it to be, but I had a lease that allowed me to stay here rent-free for the first month if I fixed it up. The work had begun, so there was no turning back now.
“I think you missed a spot,” Hallie took me by the arm and led me into the kitchen that had been completely covered in plastic. She had spent the last hour getting it ready to paint.
“Where is it?” I inquired as I looked around at the walls.
“Here,” she laughed and plastered drywall mud on my face. Then she took off running down the hallway. I had the stupidest grin on my face when I took off after her. I caught her by the waist and spun her in the air. When I got her turned around to face me I rubbed my cheek on hers while she squealed.
We breathlessly looked into each other’s eyes and everything seemed to halt. My heart pounded, and I blamed it on being out of shape. My cock twitched as I saw sweat lying on her chest above her tank top. I put my hand behind her neck and leaned in closer. She met me and pulled herself up to my face.
“I um,” she hesitated as I held myself just above her lips. “I don’t want to jeopardize this.”
“I understand,” I responded as I let her go and stepped back. Both of us were covered in mud that was hardening and the moment had been eviscerated.
“Dean, you are really—,” her words rushed out of her mouth as she fidgeted with her fingers.
“I’m what?” I asked seeing an opening to toy with her.
“You are exceptionally attractive,” she was so formal I nearly laughed. “I think we could have one of two things. We can have hot construction sex that won’t allow us to look at each other in the morning, or we can agree that while you or I might look delicious on the menu at home, it's better to eat out,” she turned a shade of crimson as she talked. I couldn’t help but notice she was lost in thought with no idea of what she was saying.
“You want me to eat you out?” I joked and she turned a darker red.
“No, I mean. We shouldn’t eat each other at home,” she stuttered, and I chuckled.
“Does the music hall work for you then?” I countered, and she playfully slapped my chest.
“You know what I mean,” she was so flustered I knew I was pushing it too far, so I let this one go, but I found my opening and if she was going to live with me, she was going to have to get used to it.
“How about you and I finish our house later? We should get some sleep.”
“Our house?” She asked and I smiled. She had actually been a lot of fun and easy to get along with the whole night. She knew where she wanted her boundaries and had no problem telling me. I think she might work out as a roommate if not I could always ask her to leave later.
“Yeah, we can work out the details tomorrow if that’s okay with you.”
She nodded and walked upstairs. I had my bedroom all set up from the day prior. I climbed into my oak sleigh bed with my clothes covered in plaster and the thought hit me. Where was she sleeping? I crept out of bed and walked across the hall to see her using her bag as a pillow and her coat as a blanket.
I walked in and scooped her up in my arms without a second thought. I had this overbearing need to protect her; to keep her safe. I carried her while she tried to form words into a sentence as we walked into my room and I put her on my bed.
“You will never sleep on the floor while I’m here,” I told her and crawled in beside her. She started to argue, but I put my finger over her lips. “We’ve been up all night and we need to sleep.” I reassured her and she quickly fell asleep. I laid beside the angel next to me and watched as her breaths fell into a rhythm. When her hair fell forward I reached out and pushed it back, spurring my cock to life. I slowly got out of bed and walked into the bat
hroom. I turned on the shower, so she couldn’t hear me taking matters into my own hands.
As I stroked myself and envisioned her the one reality hit me square in the face. With her in the house day in and day out, it was going to be a long hard lease.
Chapter Three
Hallie
“Daddy I can’t wait to see you again,” I exclaimed. It had taken Dean and I nearly a full month to get the house the way we wanted it. I was always checking curbs for furniture or decor that wasn’t complete garbage when Dean went to sing at the open mic nights every night. He had been turned down by the music schools, they told him he didn’t have promise, but when he held that guitar in his hands and his voice rang out my ears fell in love.
“I should be there in a few days,” his exhausted voice broke through my thoughts of Dean and his guitar. “How is Dean?” He asked, and I smiled
“He is still just like you. He loves to laugh, and makes corny jokes. You have to be careful what you say around him because he can twist anything to be dirty,” I enthusiastically spoke. “I did tell him no sleepovers with his groupies while you are here.”
“Cock blocking him?” My dad joked. “I think that’s what you kids are calling it these days. In my day, we called that person dead.”
I laughed as I put fresh flowers in the vases in the living room. We couldn’t decide on a color, so the walls were beige, the furniture was maroon and navy, and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out.
“Good Morning sunshine,” Dean spoke up as the newly varnished cherry stairs creaked. He walked over and placed a kiss on my forehead which was his thing it seemed.
“Morning,” I returned the greeting. “My dad says hi.”
“You need to let him rest, he’s been packing all your stuff for three days and now he’s on the road. The man is tired,” Dean admonished me. “Joe, if you need the rest tell her something is out of place. She will hang up and go looking to fix it,” Dean yelled so my dad could hear it and he laughed.
“Are you driving that boy nuts?” My dad pried, and I gave Dean a dirty look with narrowed eyes.
“No, he’s just being a man,” I answered when I heard the rain beating on his windshield. “Daddy, I think you should pull over and wait out the storm.”
“Child, I took your mother in my car to the emergency room to deliver you in a hurricane. A little rain won’t hurt me.”
“Yes Daddy,” I surrendered. “Drive safe and stop when you get tired. I love you.”
“I love you Joe,” Dean shouted from the kitchen and made my dad laugh again.
“Love you both. Bye Slugger.”
“Did you hide your vibrators?” Dean pried, throwing me off guard.
“Oh shit,” I exclaimed and set about to find all my stuff and put it in a paint can in the basement area.
With my dad being a contractor there wasn’t really anywhere that was safe. He had been here several times to help with this project or that, but he was coming to officially help me move in. Everything would be finished this week and I couldn’t wait.
I walked out of my closet with a smile on my face only to unzip the bag that held my favorite toy and see that my battery-operated boyfriend was missing. In its place was a yellow post-it that said, “Come find me when you need it.”
“Just like a man,” I muttered under my breath. “Dean!”
“Good afternoon Hallie,” Dean greeted me with that Cheshire grin on his face as he turned and allowed those hazel eyes to greet me with a glimmer of mischievousness.
“Give it back!” I demanded, as he continued cooking something in a frying pan on the stove. He completely ignored me, but that devil-may-care smile was still there. “Where is it Dean— Michael— Thomas?”
“Where is what?” He played coy as he sat the frying pan down and wiped his large man hands on a blue towel that hung from the white apron string that was wrapped around his muscular waist.
“You know what,” I narrowed my eyes at him. “Just because there are two A’s in alpha doesn’t mean you are better than Energizer.”
“I’m hurt, yet curious as to how you ascertained this information,” he flirtatiously walked around the counter, so he could tower over me.
“Give it back!” I demanded, trying not to let him see me sweat. He ignored me and stood there smelling like an edible man as the delicious food scent seemed to follow him. “Dean, I swear—,” I growled as he moved close enough that we could feel that energy that came when you put two magnets of the same polarization together. It was enough friction to force me to turn away and head back toward my room.
“Aren’t you hungry?” He loudly asked as I went into my room and shut the door. I took a few steps in and fell face forward onto my purple comforter. I laid there for a few minutes before I heard the knock on my door. I pulled myself up with a groan and walked over to the door. I hesitated, and then after a deep breath I opened the door to Dean, his brown bedroom eyes, and a plate of food.
“I’m sorry Hallie, but I did it for your own good,” he pushed his way into my room and put the plate on my white desk.
“How is stealing my toys good for me?” I scoffed.
“Eat and I will answer.”
I rolled my eyes, but he wasn’t budging as he stood there with his arms crossed. Some days I loved him, and he was a big teddy bear, but then this annoying class clown version of him popped up and I wanted to strangle him with his own guitar string.
Maybe it was the upcoming final inspection my dad would give the place, but my head was envisioning all kinds of scenarios where my dad would drag me back home kicking and screaming because I hadn’t been honest with him or with anyone about where I finally found a job.
The version of the truth that I told my dad and Dean was that I was a stagehand and was contracted for a television show, but in reality, I was bartending at a strip club for tips. I was the F in failure. I wanted so badly for my dad to think I was one of the ones that would make it here. I wanted so badly to not let Dean look at me with the sheer disappointment I see from my co-workers' friends.
“Fine,” I responded as I angrily stomped over to my desk and sat down. I waited for him to start to explain, but instead he ran his hand through his chestnut hair and leaned against my lavender paint-covered wall. “Well?”
“He insulted me.”
“Excuse me?” I asked in disbelief, as he waved at me to start eating. I cut up the egg white spinach and tomato omelet that he always made me when he had been really bad and needed forgiveness.
“Actually, that yellow wiggling flesh banana is an insult to all men.”
“How?” I inquired, forgetting that I had food in my mouth and allowing a little to fall with my words. Any likeness to being a lady was gone. I was angry, but yet one bite of the omelet and my stomach was growling for more. Dean knew what he was doing by feeding me when I was growing agitated. My brain couldn’t stay as infuriated when my stomach was happy.
“You cannot take something that is supposed to resemble a hard cock, make it glow in the dark, and smell like sunshine. It’s against the man code.”
“Then you don’t have to use it,” I gritted my teeth as the rage renewed. Dean leaned down, reached over, and picked up a tomato that had fallen into the edge of my white tank top. “Dean, I have to hide it. Give it back.”
“Sunshine Hallie, it smells like rainbows and spring mornings from that soap you used on it. You destroyed any semblance of manhood it was supposed to have. It’s no wonder why you are so moody. No one can get off on a ray of light,” he sarcastically continued to try my patience before tossing the tomato into his mouth.
“Where is it?” I demanded to know as I stood up, took a step over to him, and stood against him with my arms crossed. I became very aware of just how intimidating those tall towers could be. I looked up at this beast of a man towering over me, but I held my own and refused to back down.
“I gave it to Goodwill,” he smirked, and I was about to blow the lid on what
ever control I had.
“Goodwill?”
“Poor people need sunshine,” he tried to hide his laughter, but when I saw the edge of his lip curling up I reached out to slap him. With a rapid quickness, he grabbed my wrist and held it as his smile turned to a frown and his eyebrows furrowed. “I get you need to get a little. I get that you want to hide it from Daddy, but seriously how do you expect anyone you date to measure up to a thing that smells like happiness, and glows like its radioactive?”
“I hate you,” I screamed as I tried to push away from him. Then he moved my hand down and placed it over the zipper on his jeans.
“This is better than anything that Duracell can bring to life,” he pushed my hand down over his hardened cock.
“I will rip it off,” I threatened, and he shook his head.
“You won’t. In fact, you don’t hate me Hallie. You and I have been doing this little dance for weeks. Truth is you just don’t know how to take what you want.”
“I know what I want,” I shouted loudly. “I want my thingy back.”
“Say you want your toy cock,” he challenged, and I shook my head. “Say the word cock. I dare you,” he came closer and I couldn’t breathe. My hand was still holding him as he grew harder under my palm.
“We can’t cross these lines,” I whispered as he let go of my hand, but I failed to move it.
“Why has a line been drawn?” Dean questioned as he pushed my hair off my shoulder and then placed his hands on my hips.
“I can’t lose you because we lost ourselves,” I tried to explain as I stared at my hand. Dean’s hand moved up my shirt exposing my olive skin along the way.
“Like some annoying song stuck in your head I’m not going anywhere,” Dean smiled and then he wrapped his hands behind my neck and pulled me in closer. I couldn’t breathe as his lips moved closer to mine. I let out a whimper, and his smile grew.
“Hmm, that adorable little squeak you made tells me you want this just as much as I do. Tell me you don’t,” Dean waited but words failed me. I did want him, but he wasn’t supposed to know it. The flirting was harmless as long as neither of us caved in. I swallowed hard and begged my brain to overrule my body. I pleaded with my heart to barricade itself, but my hormones took control.
Web of Lies Page 39