Kiss a Stranger

by R. J. Lewis

  “I was one of those girls on there that would change her profile picture every single day. I’d get dolled up in some skimpy outfit. It’s hilarious now that I think about it.”

  “I enjoyed those daily photos,” he replied happily. “But nothing was better than your pictures at the Royal Show. All sopping wet, your make-up running down your face, but you had the biggest smile –”

  “You’re referring to the shit photos Emily tagged me in to be a little wench.”

  “I’ll have to thank her then.”

  “Don’t go near her. She’ll hump your leg, I’m sure.” Emily was infatuated with Ben. Every time they crossed paths she was all over him. He wasn’t interested at all, so her advances were funny to watch, and I knew she was doing it in jest.

  “Don’t worry about your friend,” he said. “I only have eyes for you.”

  Ben was really talented with words when he wanted to be. He could make my entire day with just one simple line like that. I savoured them because while he was affectionate with his hands and mouth, he was usually reserved about his feelings.

  He trailed his thumb over my scars again, something he did when he was reflecting. I learned to stop cringing when he touched that side of my face. It helped me to overcome how conscious I was of them when he was always acknowledging their existence.

  “Can I ask you a question, Claire?” he said seriously.

  “Of course.”

  “When I first started getting to know you, every morning you’d rush off to the bathroom. It’s been less lately, but you still do it. I don’t like that it happens, and I know by the way you hurry that it’s not coming out intentionally. Is there something I should about with you health-wise? Because I’d hate for you to be sick when I could be doing something about it.”

  I wrapped an arm around him and kissed him gently. “Well, thank you for worrying about me, but it’s not happening as often. They’re panic attacks. After I got attacked, every morning I’d wake up feeling like I was back there. That fear made my body react, and I’d throw up as a result. Sometimes I feel lightheaded instead.”

  He was very concerned. “Maybe you should see someone.”

  “I saw a counsellor for a while, but it wasn’t doing much. And the doctors just wanted to put me on medication. Thing is, I don’t feel it throughout the day. Just in the mornings, and it’s been happening less than before, so I think I’m getting a bit better.”

  He frowned. “I just don’t want it to happen at all, period.”

  “Me neither.”

  We continued to lay there for a while after. He continued to run his fingers over my scars reverently, and it was when I started to fall asleep the sound of ringing tore through the silence. I jerked awake and watched him fumble out of the sheets. Naked, he bent down and took his phone out of the pocket of his pants. The screen’s light shone on his face, and I could see the frown forming deeply on it.

  “I have to take this,” he said in a grim voice, disappearing into the next room.

  I didn’t like when he got called. It usually happened this late at night, and it always took him to different rooms. Sometimes I wanted to eavesdrop to get an idea of what was going on, but I reminded myself that ignorance was bliss. My life was too perfect, and if I had the control to stop it from falling apart, I wasn’t about to sabotage it.

  I fell asleep minutes later.

  Chapter Sixteen

  He likes broken things

  It was a distant slam that woke me up in the middle of the night. I stretched my arm out and reached for Ben, but I met empty air. I sat up in bed and fetched his plain tee off the ground where he’d thrown it earlier. I put it on and tip-toed out of the room.

  I followed the sound of light voices and stopped at the top of the stairs.

  “And this is why I don’t leave you in charge,” hissed Ben.

  “I beg to differ,” retorted a male voice. “You don’t leave me in charge because you simply don’t want to. It’s an ego thing for you.”

  “Bloody ridiculous, Jamie. You’re paranoid.”

  “Oh, so this isn’t because you hate my guts for what I did to you?”

  “I don’t care about what you did to me.”

  A rueful laugh sounded out in return. “Right.”

  “Why are you even here? Shouldn’t you be trying to fix your fucked-up relationship instead of bumming a bed off a man you crossed?”

  “It’s not a relationship.”

  “Yeah, yeah. Keep denying it. Stupid and paranoid.”

  “Not paranoid, and you can’t use that as an excuse not to put me in charge.”

  “Maybe that time’s coming, and maybe it’s not. Prove yourself first.”

  I descended the staircase when their conversation died down. It was approaching the living area that I spotted Ben standing in front of the window, peering out with his arms crossed. His stiff demeanour told me he was in a shitty mood. Since the time I saw Macht, he’d never displayed that intimidating behaviour around me again. But it was in full force now.

  I turned my head to the source of the other voice. On the black leather couch was a sprawled out body of a young man. I knew straightaway this was his brother. He had the same thick black hair, pale skin, and tall body. He was in a leather jacket and jeans, looking like a rougher version of Ben.

  “I have proven myself,” he muttered tiredly with his eyes closed. “And I don’t see what the problem is. It’s perfect timing. You’ve gone AWOL for a couple months now. I could be taking care of the business while giving you all the time in the world with the half-naked girl standing at the end of the room right now.”

  Ah, shit.

  Ben’s body whipped around, catching me with a startled look on his face. He hurried to me.

  “Sorry,” I immediately said, backing up a step. “I didn’t mean –”

  “Did I wake you?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I answered. “It’s alright. I should have waited for you instead of coming down here and interrupting you.”

  “It’s fine,” he reassured me. “We were just finishing up now anyway. Weren’t we, Jamie?”

  Jamie chuckled sardonically before sitting up on the couch. His movements were slow, giving away how drunk he was. He looked over at me, roaming those eyes over every inch of me.

  “I didn’t know you liked jailbait, brother,” he remarked.

  “I’m not jailbait,” I snapped at him in shock.

  “When did you graduate high school, sweetheart? Yesterday?”

  “I skipped a grade, I’ll have you know. And I’m twenty one and graduating College!”

  Jamie chuckled for real this time. “Your body has some catching up to do, then.”

  My jaw dropped in shock.

  “Shut it, Jamie,” Ben snapped, glaring at him before turning to me. “My dickhead brother’s just trying to wind you up. He does that often. Don’t take it personally.”

  Jamie smiled, and it lit up his entire face. Well, shit, he was actually better looking than Ben in a pretty boy kind of way, and I felt suddenly severely under dressed.

  “I’m only joking. Fuck. Bunch of nuns in this apartment.” He looked me over again and said slowly, “She’s pretty. Prettier than Melinda. I’m impressed, Ben. After that dry spell, I thought you were secretly batting for the other team. What’s this one’s name?”

  “This one?” I gaped at Ben in bewilderment. “Your asshole brother thinks he can talk to me like this and get away with it?”

  Ben sighed, showing his brother remarkable patience and explained, “He’s not usually like this. Not until he gets on the drink.”

  Jamie stood up from the couch and meandered over to us. Looking between the two brothers, it was hard to decide who I wanted to look at the most. Their similarities were startling, but there were noticeable differences. Ben carried himself confidently, whereas Jamie was arrogant all around, reminding me of a sly snake nestled in the bushes, waiting to strike.

  “Did he tell you about m
e?” he asked, eyeing the two of us with his hazy blue eyes.

  “Get back on the couch,” Ben demanded. “The only way you’re spending the night is if you’re on that couch in five seconds, or else I’m kicking you back out.”

  Jamie merely blinked at this threat and said to me, “Did he tell you I’m the fuck-up brother? The one that’s incapable of simple shit like exchanging briefcases under some bridge in plain sight –”

  Ben suddenly shoved him back. “On the fucking couch, Jamie, and keep your fucking mouth shut.”

  He listened, albeit with a gleeful look on his face. He collapsed back onto the couch and not a moment later passed before his snores sounded out.

  “I’m sorry for this,” Ben told me, staring at his brother with a look of wild bitterness. “He’s worn out his welcome with somebody. When he does this, he usually crashes here, until he’s back in their good graces.”

  “He’s a bit of an asshole, isn’t he?”

  Ben’s smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Jamie can be the nicest person you’ve ever met, or your worst nightmare. Sometimes he’s both. Don’t take anything he says to heart. He likes to see how far he can push someone.”

  Turning to face me, he took a step back and really looked at me. “You’re in just a shirt.”

  I shrugged. “I thought it was just you down here, and then I forgot about… this.” I motioned to the shirt that was barely skimming my upper thighs.

  His body tensed. He closed his eyes and breathed through his nose. “I’m feeling incredibly possessive right now, and I’m not sure that’s normal.”

  I bit my bottom lip to keep from smiling. “Why are you feeling possessive?”

  “Because I hate that you were half naked in front of somebody else, particularly my douchebag brother who will have without a doubt put his moves on you if I wasn’t here.”

  “Then that’s normal,” I reassured him softly. “And I’d never have let him work any kind of moves on me.”

  “He has a habit of being very charming.”

  “Then it’s good I saw his asshole side first.”

  He stepped to me and wrapped his arms around my waist. With a soft kiss he said, “I’m going to grab him a blanket. Be right back. We’ll grab some munchies before we get back to bed. I’m wide awake now.”

  “Me too.”

  He hurried back up the staircase and disappeared from view. I watched Jamie sleeping for a few moments before I wandered to the window. There was no life stirring below. No cars roaming the streets. It looked eerily black, even for this hour.

  I pressed my forehead against the glass and was lost in thought when he said, “I’m not surprised he likes you.”

  I turned around, narrowing my eyes at the brother who appeared wide awake now. Had he faked sleeping?

  “Why aren’t you surprised?” I asked him, feeling incredibly distrustful of him.

  Jamie stared about my face, and his lips curved up. “He likes broken things.”

  My heart skipped a beat. “What do you mean?”

  He didn’t answer. Just kept staring at me with an intensity that was unnerving. Then when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching, he shut his eyes and parted his lips and pretended to be asleep again. Just like I thought.

  He was a snake.

  A very intriguing one.

  Ben threw a thin blanket over his asshole brother’s body. I thought about telling him the shady bastard was awake, but for some reason I didn’t. Ben took my hand and led me into the kitchen. I turned my head back before we disappeared just in time to see Jamie’s lips forming a cheeky, closed lip smile.

  *****

  The next morning I made sure to be appropriately dressed for breakfast. I had bagels with cream cheese while Ben cooked up bacon for himself. Jamie joined us after the food was done (conveniently good timing) and grabbed himself a plate.

  I watched him take a seat across from me, loading his plate up with the bacon Ben had left in the centre of the island.

  “How are we this morning?” Ben asked with a hard voice. “Sober, I hope?”

  Jamie looked like a mess, his hair even shaggier and all over the place than Ben’s. His white plain tee was ruffled, and I spotted some heavily tattooed arms now that he wasn’t wearing his jacket.

  But regardless of his messy state, he smiled apologetically and said, “I am, and I sincerely apologize for my ill conduct to you and your girlfriend, Benjamin.”

  Bloody hell, these Costigan boys sure had manners. Their mother may have raised them well, but that didn’t stop me from looking at Jamie suspiciously. He could be genuine, or he could be laughing at us too. It was hard to tell with this one.

  “And may I formally introduce myself.” His hand reached out over the table. “I’m James Costigan – Jamie for short.”

  I glanced at Ben’s equally wary face before shaking his hand. “Claire.”

  “It’s nice to meet you, Claire.”

  “You too.” I guess.

  “How long have you two been seeing each other?” he then asked curiously.

  “A few months,” I answered.

  “That’s very nice,” he remarked, eyeing Ben carefully.

  For a minute they just looked at each other, some kind of unspoken communication going on. I felt like I was interrupting something, and was about to sneak off when a cell phone erupted from the kitchen counter.

  Ben stood up and retrieved his phone. He briefly glanced at the number on the screen before picking up with a snippy, “What?”

  He listened for a few moments, his brows knitting together. “Got it.”

  He got off and slammed the phone down on the counter heatedly and gripped the counter with one hand so hard his knuckles whitened.

  “Is everything alright?” I asked him.

  His head dropped, and he looked at the tile floor for a moment. “I um… have some business to get around to. I’m going to need to fly out tomorrow morning.”

  I didn’t reply because I knew this had something to do with what he wanted me to be oblivious about. He infrequently went away. Sometimes it was for a night. Sometimes it was two. But never had I seen him so bothered by it until now.

  “Is everything alright?” Jamie tentatively asked. It was said in a different manner to mine, sparking an equally different reaction this time.

  “I don’t like the people I’m dealing with at the moment,” Ben answered, before he glanced at me and stopped himself from saying more.

  I took this as my cue to go. Whatever was going on, Jamie was well aware of it. So I took a last bite out of my bagel and said, “I’m going to have a shower.”

  They didn’t acknowledge me as I stepped out, but as I climbed the stairs I could hear them having a heated conversation.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Unimaginably

  Sitting on the edge of the bed later that night, I watched him pack a small suitcase of clothes. He was going away for a week. We’d never been away from each other for that long, and I was bummed out to say the least.

  “I’m leaving you my apartment key,” he told me as he zipped up his suitcase.

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “Because in case anything ever happens, I want you to know you have another roof you can sleep under.”

  “What could possibly happen?”

  He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, avoiding eye contact as he said, “Claire, the truth is I’m giving you the key because I want our relationship to take that extra step.”

  I stilled. “Oh.” Sometimes I could be so dense. “I didn’t even consider you were thinking along those lines.”

  His jaw clenched as he turned away from me and sorted through his closet endlessly. Having not pulled a single thing out, he seemed to be doing this as a distraction.

  “We’ve been inseparable,” he muttered thoughtfully. “You’re imprinted in my mind. How could I not be thinking along those lines? Have I not been doing this right?”

  I frowned. “Doing wha
t right?”

  Exhaling, he finally turned, casting me a lost look. “I don’t know the first thing when it comes to relationships. I’m just as lost as you.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Because of my life,” he said, hesitating. “The travel and the…”

  “But you haven’t been traveling much at all.”

  He chuckled disdainfully. “That’s because I didn’t want to be away from you, and it’s caused some problems lately. I’m overdue on taking care of issues I should have dealt with ages ago.”

  He looked at me again. “If I’m not doing right in vocalising how I feel then…”

  “Then what?” I eagerly asked.

  “Then let me know and I’ll try to do a better job.”

  I smiled. “So try better and tell me how you feel.”

  God, sometimes he could look at me so intensely it gave me the same reaction to him touching me. This was one of those moments, and it made my heart thump faster.

  He said softly, “I feel like I’m dreaming. I feel like you’re too good to be true. Like any second someone’s going to shake me awake and I’ll have been in a coma these last few months.”

  I swallowed a lump, and I was sure my eyes glistened with unshed tears.

  “I feel like that too,” I replied.

  He smiled softly and approached me. He knelt down in front of me and rubbed his thumb along my cheek sweetly.

  “You’re special to me,” he said.

  “What makes me special to you?”

  “You’re different.”

  “And what’s so great about that?”

  As he roamed his finger over my scars, he answered, “I love different.”

  He kissed me softly then and his hand slowly descended, gripping me possessively, hunger in his touch.

  “We have time, you know,” he whispered against my lips.

  “For more yogurt tasting, you mean?”

  He chuckled. “Especially yogurt tasting.”

  “You’re sick.”

  “And you love it.”

  Oh yes, I admitted to myself as he pushed my back against the mattress.

  I fucking loved it.

  “And do you know what else you love even more?” he huskily asked as he stripped me of my shorts and pressed his body against mine.