by Leah Holt
A wise woman once told me, 'You can't judge a book by its cover, August, it's what's in the pages that matter.'
My grandmother was a good woman, I could thank her for a lot of things, but she taught me what was important when no one else around me could see it anymore.
“It's one piece of pizza, I don't think it'll hurt me,” she said, reaching out to pick it back up.
Justin shoved the box to the other side of the table. “Your jeans are already getting a little bit tight,” he snapped, giving her a stern look.
Balling my fists in my lap, I glanced over at Ella. Her face was contorted, lips folded into a heavy frown, the vein in her forehead was throbbing angrily. “Hey, ass police, who gave you permission to tell Kay what she can and can't eat?”
Crooking his jaw, Justin scoffed. “Last time I checked, I wasn't talking to you.”
Ella shot up in her chair, pointing a slender finger in his direction, but Kayla gave her a look and shook her head no very lightly. With rigid movements, Ella reluctantly sat back in her chair, her teeth grinding down hard. I could see it in her eyes that she was ready to tear him apart, she wanted to rip his balls off his body and stuff them down his throat. But she was going to respect her friend.
You could see the rage she was holding in and the hatred she was trying desperately to confine. And that spark, that little firecracker she had living inside her, that turned me on even more.
She wasn't someone who was going to sit back and let anyone walk over her. That was what I wanted for my child, a woman who spoke their mind and didn't take shit, someone who could be a good role model.
Justin smiled, his grin making my muscles shake and stomach tighten from anger. Ella wasn't the only one who wanted to make him eat shit. I had no idea where the fuck that guy got off talking to Kayla that way and why she didn't tell him to get bent.
Kayla just ignored him, simply letting his snotty, demeaning comment roll off her back. But the closer I looked, the more I saw that she wasn't letting it go, she was holding it in. Her eyes were filled with thin tears, the shiny coating only staying in place because she wouldn't blink. If Kayla blinked, there was no doubt those tears would break free.
“What, no smart-ass remark?” Justin asked, his eyes hooded as he stared down Ella.
Ella squinted her eyes, her mouth rocking back and forth, hands balling into fists as they rested on the table. She was about to fucking lose it.
Parting her lips, I stood up, interrupting her before things could get any worse. I wanted to avoid him saying something to Ella he would end up regretting. Because it wasn't just for her sake, it was for mine too. I wasn't sure what I would do if he said something to her that set me off. I couldn't promise I wouldn't knock his teeth down his throat or give him a broken nose.
Justin was a dick, I knew it the second he walked through my door, carrying a box labeled glass and his first comment was wondering how many glass dildos she had in there.
But I kept my mouth shut, because he wasn't worth the aggravation, I had better things to focus on that night. And going to jail for someone like him wasn't in the cards.
Clearing my throat, I clapped my hands together. “Alright, it's getting late, so I think it might be time to wrap this up for the night.” Stepping behind Justin, I slipped my hand under his arm and lifted him up from his seat. “I have a car waiting downstairs to take you home.”
“Hands off, man.” Jerking his arm, he took an off balanced step to the side. “It looks like we're getting kicked out, Kay.”
“No,” I said, arching a brow. “I'm sending you home, she's more than welcome to stay.”
“What the fuck, that's not an asshole move or anything.”
“It's an asshole move, perfect for another asshole.” Gripping his arm again, I started to drag him towards the door. “I think you should really listen to yourself when you talk, you sound like a fucking tool. Kayla, if you want to stay, I have an extra room you can use. You don't need to go anywhere with him.”
“I appreciate what you're trying to do, August,” Kayla said, standing up and gathering her purse and jacket. “But I think I'm going to go too.”
“Are you sure, because you don't have to.”
“Stay, Kay,” Ella said, reaching out to touch her arm. “August said it was fine, let Justin go home and sleep off whatever crawled up his ass.”
“Screw you,” he braked, waving his hand at Kayla. “Let's go, Kay, I don't want to be here anymore anyway.”
“Kay, please, just stay.” Ella gave her pleading eyes, pouting her bottom lip.
“No, we really should give you two love birds some privacy.” Kayla over exaggerated her lips into a large O as she winked. “I'll call you tomorrow, if you don't answer, I'm going to assume it was because you were up all night.”
Palming her forehead, Ella groaned. “Oh God, please stop.”
Kayla giggled, walking to Justin and taking his hand. “Come on, Babe, we're not going to want to be here for this.”
“Speak for yourself. I might not like your friend, but as long as she isn't talking to me, I could watch her have sex.”
“You're disgusting,” Kayla said, laughing off his comment.
But I could tell it made her uncomfortable, not only was he a jerk, he was a fucking pig too.
I'm going to fucking him knock him to the floor one of these days.
The door closed, finally leaving me alone with Ella. The entire night all I felt was this urgency, like a weight on my chest, anticipating that moment when it was just the two of us.
Turning to face her, our eyes connected, causing me to stop in my tracks. Ella was still sitting down, her hands nervously picking at each other. I was standing still, stuck in the empty space between my kitchen and living room.
It was hard for me to tell if it was nerves or excitement or a mixture of both that was rushing through my body. My love life had mostly been based around convenient sex with women my mother considered close in status.
But not one of them gave me the feelings that Ella did. My stomach never turned, my muscles never buzzed, my heart never sped up, sweat never beaded up across my forehead. Yet, with Ella Day, all of that was happening at once.
“Let me ask you something.” Stroking my jaw, I let my gaze settle on hers. Swallowing hard, she looked at me like she was worried about what was going to come out of my mouth. “What the hell Does Kayla see in that guy?” Furrowing my brows, I watched the tension in her body relax.
Sighing, her shoulders rolled forward and she let out a weighted breath. “I've been asking myself that question for a long time. Kay is just someone who got sucked into his trap, but I'm working on setting her free.”
“Well, maybe I can help, that guy needs a swift kick in the ass.”
“That guy needs to just disappear.” Ella giggled as she pushed her hair away from face. “He's no good for Kay, and she knows it too. But I can't get her to see it.”
“She will, change takes time and so does seeing the real person. Love is blind, that's not just a cliche, it's the truth.” Stepping down the small step into the living room, I rolled a finger against the air. “Not to change the subject, but it looks like we have the whole place to ourselves now,” I said, resting my hand on my chest.
“Yup, it sure does.” Her voice pitched, wavering slightly as she watched me. I knew she was worried I would demand sex. Her body jerked subtly as she tried to brace herself for what she expected.
Ella slowly seemed to fold into herself, not purposely, but guardedly. Her shoulders caved in at the same moment her chest did. Her eyes went from green to gray, scanning me uncomfortably.
“Let's get you settled in.” Crossing the room, I picked up a box labeled clothes. “Want me to bring this into the room?”
Her muscles loosened and she laughed nervously. Standing up, Ella started picking up the garbage off the table, gathering it in the crook of her arm. “That's perfect,” she said, looking over the table. “I'll pick up this mess,
then I'll help move my stuff.”
“You know normally I have a maid here to do that. So don't worry, cleaning will be a distant memory for you once she gets back from vacation.”
“Oh,” she said, her tone baffled as she let out a light giggle. “I actually don't mind cleaning. It'll probably feel weird to have someone else doing it for me.”
“You can still cleanup after yourself if it feels weird, it's not a rule you have to turn into a slob just because there's a maid.” Chuckling, I coddled the box in my arms.
“Don't you ever feel lazy having someone else cleaning your mess?” Dumping the paper plates into the trash, she carried the glasses to the sink. “I would probably keep everything cleaner if I had someone coming in to clean for me.” Ella laughed as she shook her head. “The maid would get to my house and think I was crazy for calling her. When really it would just be because I was embarrassed about the mess to begin with.”
Angling my head, I thought about her question. The answer was no. It wasn't weird to me because this was my life, but I guess when you came from a different background, your experiences were different.
“Honestly, I'm used to it, but I'm not incapable of picking up after myself.” Carrying the box down the hall, I set it on the floor in the bedroom, and went back out to get another one. “But it is nice to have someone else to dust, I hate dusting.”
Groaning, Ella gave me a funny smile. “Yeess,” she said, drawing out the word. “Dusting is the worst. Most of the time I just forget to do it, and when I finally decide to, it's an inch thick, growing an entire ecosystem of its own.” Taking a paper towel, she began to wipe the crumbs off the table and into her palm. “I'm pretty sure I heard screaming the last time I dusted.”
Laughing, I sat on my couch and pulled one of her boxes towards me. “What's in this one? Pics and year books? Sounds scandalous. . .” Arching a single brow, I started to pull back the cardboard tabs slowly.
“Whoa, do not open that.” Shooting forward, Ella had her arms out in front of her as if she was going to scoop up the box and steal it away.
“Oh come on,” I said, blocking her easily and holding her back. “Let's see these pics.” With one hand, I opened the top and started to dig around.
“No, don't you dare!” she yelled playfully, doing her best to break through my arm.
“Look, we're going to be living together and sharing basically everything, which means we need to share it all. No secrets. If you had spiked hair and a tail when you were in grade school, I have the right to know.” Plucking out a frame, I saw an image of Ella when she was a teenager, wearing jean overalls and a pair of roller blades. “Look at you, don't you look cute.”
And she did. She was probably about fourteen, her body slender and lacking the current curves she had now. With a big goofy grin, she was holding her arms up over her head, while her feet tilted in towards each other as she balanced on her blades.
Her hair was a deep burgundy color, thick bangs almost covered her eyes, but that smile, that smile was gold. It was pure, happy, and full of life.
Ella kept moving and rocking, reaching out her arms to take the picture. “Yeah, yeah, very funny. Hand it over.”
“I'm serious,” I said, passing it to her. “You look really happy.”
Squeezing next to me, she held the frame and stared at the image. “I was.”
The way she said it made me think that her life had taken a wrong turn, but that turn had come long before I stepped into the picture. Her eyes seemed to look past the picture, as if she had climbed inside that small frame and was trying to reclaim the girl she used to be.
“And what, you're not happy now?”
“I wouldn't say that, I'd call myself. . .” Pausing, her mind twisted, looking for the right word to use. “Frustrated,” she finally spit out. “I'd say I'm more frustrated than anything.”
I wanted to ask her more, but I figured I'd give her some time to settle in. We were going to have plenty of chances to learn about each other's pasts, and I wasn't the type of guy who pressed where pressing wasn't wanted.
If she wanted to tell me, I would let her decide when.
Smiling at her, I picked up the box and stood up. “I won't pry, but if you ever want to talk, I'll listen.”
Ella ran her fingers through her hair and snapped her head up to look at me. Giving me a soft smile, she danced her eyes around my face. “Thanks, I'll keep that in mind.”
Setting the box on the floor, I turned around to find Ella leaning against the door frame. “So this is my room?” she asked, crossing one leg over the other.
“This is our room, I already told you that.”
“Yeah, I know, I was just hoping you forgot. But, you said you're sleeping on the floor, right?” Taking a step in, she ran her fingers over the knickknacks on my dresser, picking up a bottle of cologne and smelling it.
“Nope,” I said, flashing my brows and baring my teeth. Stepping to the dresser, I grabbed a pair of shorts from the drawer and laid them out on the bed. “This has to look real, so we'll be real. A real couple, who shares everything that real couples share.”
Dropping my jeans and boxers to the floor, I heard Ella suck in a gasp of air. Looking at her under hooded lids, I watched her cover her eyes with one hand and quickly jerk her torso so she was facing the wall behind her.
“Seriously? Can't you do that in the bathroom?” she asked, her eyes drifting to peek over her shoulder, only to be ripped away by her good conscience.
“I could, but this our room, in our home, and since we're going to be sharing a lot more than just walls, we might as well get the uncomfortable stuff over with early.” Picking up my shorts, I slid my feet through the legs and pulled them up.
“This is really early, don't you think? It's literally day one.”
Shrugging a shoulder, I smirked as I watched her peek again. “I'm dressed, but tell me, did you like what you saw?”
Ella gave me a flirty smile, her eyes twinkling with tiny stars. “It's cold in here, don't you think?” Biting her bottom lip, she winked.
“Burn,” I said laughing, shaking my head side to side. “It's not cold and obviously you weren't looking, but that was good. You're quick, Ella Day, I like that.” Looking at the bed, I asked. “Left or right?”
“What?”
“Left or right, which side of the bed do you like sleeping on?”
“Don't you think it'll be a little weird if we share a bed?”
“Why would it be weird? We're just going to sleep. Are you afraid to sleep in the same bed as me? Afraid you won't be able to keep your hands to yourself?”
“No, but I don't know you and you don't know me. I just think we should get to know each other a little more first.”
Brushing past her, I spun on my heels and dropped onto the bed. “You know I mean we're just sleeping? I'm talking about real sleep, not porno style, dirty naked, screw like jack rabbits type of sleeping. . .” Pausing, I pushed up on my elbows and asked, “Unless you want to?”
Ella smirked, twisting away and shaking her head. “Uh, no, I don't think so.”
But you thought about it. I saw that grin on your face.
“Alright, but I'm here if you feel frisky during the night. I'm claiming this side, so that one is yours.” Climbing under the blankets, I pulled them up to my chin and rolled onto my side.
I heard her sifting around in one of her boxes and the bathroom door shut. A few moments later, the door opened and Ella walked over to the bed. I felt her press the tips of her fingers into the mattress, checking the bounce.
“I can't believe I'm doing this,” she said under her breath, slipping under the covers with me.
“Believe it. This is what you signed up for.” My stomach gurgled, and I felt the bubble of air as it moved through my intestines.
“Did you—” Cutting herself off, I could hear that she was holding her breath. “You did, didn't you? You just farted.”
“Sorry, pizza does that to
me.”
The bed wriggled and bounced as she adjusted in place. Ella started flapping the blanket up and down as she pinched her nose closed. “I can't believe you just did that. We literally just met, and already you're letting them rip as if we've known each other for years.”
“Well, that's just opens up the door for you. Don't hold back, let it go if you have to, I won't judge you, Baby.”
Ella laughed loud and breathy. “Wow, alright, I'll keep that in mind. I thought you were labeled New York's hottest bachelor? I think that I could definitely debate that right now.”
“It's a natural body function, it doesn't make me less hot, but it does make me feel a little less bloated. You know, you should just let it out if you need to, I don't want you to explode.”
“I thought rich sexy men are supposed to be polite?”
“You think I'm sexy?”
“Forget it.” Rolling onto her side, she tugged the blanket up to her neck. “Goodnight, August.”
“Goodnight, Ella.”
And as I laid back to back with the woman who had agreed to have my baby, my mind ran wild with what the future would look like.
Could two strangers really make a life together?
Could we live side by side and learn to coexist?
Could I learn to love in the end, even though I didn't love in the beginning?
Chapter Thirteen
Ella
My eyes opened and for a second I didn't remember where I was. Panic and worry clouded my head,making my heart slam against my ribs, and forcing me to stay really still.
Where the hell am I? Clutching the sheets, I closed my eyes and tried to force my brain to work. Something hard pressed into my lower back. My eyes popped open wide and all of it came flooding back.
The ad.
The man. . . the man—August.
Oh my God, is that what I think it is?
I was afraid to move, afraid to make a sound that might signal I was up, and that I was aware his morning wood was pinned against my back. Unless he already knew what he was doing, and this was part of his little plan to get to know each other sooner.