One Week of Summer

by Amber Rides

  “Fucked?” he filled in. “Again. And again?”

  The burn in my face moved down my body and I cleared my throat. “Yes. That. It doesn’t have to mean I’m your girlfriend.”

  “You don’t want to be?” Teekay spun me around and pushed me against the counter. “Or you don’t think I’m boyfriend material?”

  Teekay leaned down to kiss my lips, slow and sensual. His tongue teased mine, and in seconds I was breathless. When he pulled away, my legs were like jelly.

  “Because I’m not boyfriend material, Maggie. I’m the fuck-around asshole who never deserves a second chance but who always seems to ask for one. I’m self-centred and arrogant and I’ve got baggage like you wouldn’t believe. But now that it’s in my head, it kind of makes me want to try it out. In fact…” He dropped his voice to that low, sexy, sure-of-himself tone and gave me another demanding kiss. “There’s almost nothing I want more than to hear you call me your boyfriend.”

  I shivered as his hand slid up my thigh.

  “What do you think?” he wanted to know.

  My heart was beating so hard I thought it was going to explode.

  Yes! I wanted to shout. Yes, I want to be your girlfriend!

  But something held me back.

  “I think…” I replied slowly. “You taste like pancakes.”

  “Waffles,” he corrected. “That thing in the sink is a waffle iron. Are you avoiding the question?”

  I slipped out of his grasp to give the charred item another look.

  “Are you sure it’s a waffle iron?” I asked. “Because it doesn’t look like one.”

  “Maggie. What’s wrong?”

  I met his eyes. “Teekay, I told you before that I felt safe when people were honest because I knew how to protect myself against that.”

  “Yes.”

  “What if protecting myself isn’t good enough?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, what if I have to actually stand up for myself?”

  His brow creased and his eyes darkened. “Against me?”

  “Yes.”

  He ran an angry hand through his hair.

  “What the hell do you mean, Maggie?”

  I could so easily see all the pieces of myself disappear into the consuming void that was Teekay Marcus. Too easily.

  “It’s like…drowning,” I said.

  “Drowning?”

  “It scared me. And with good reason.”

  “I’m not following.”

  “It’s the same with you.”

  He stared at me. “So you’re scared of me? But it’s for a good reason? How the fuck am I supposed to take that?”

  I squared my shoulders. “What happens in a day, Teekay?”

  “A day?” he repeated.

  “And what about now?” I added.

  “What about now?”

  “You want to ‘try’ it with me? You want to use me like a girlfriend guinea pig? You think you can toss me into a relationship like you tossed me into the ocean? And if it doesn’t work? Or when your family business – whatever that is – takes over…Are you just going to send me home?”

  “I’m not going to send you home.”

  “You asked me how much longer we had left on our wager.”

  “Jesus, Maggie. Is that what you thought I meant? I have to go back to work.”

  Oh. Family business.

  He meant it literally.

  “I’m not trying to experiment on you, darlin’,” Teekay said. “I just want to be with you.”

  My heart squeezed, and I couldn’t tell if it was because Teekay’s words made me happy, or if it was because I was terrified he didn’t.

  Tears pricked at my eyes. “If you change your mind, Teekay… I won’t just drown. I’ll break.”

  “I’m not going to change my mind. I’ve never met a girl like you. I’ve never, ever felt like this before. I can’t imagine I ever will again. I want you to know me. I want to tell you my secrets and know that you’ll accept me anyway. And Maggie… I don’t want to make you feel like you’re drowning. I want to teach you to swim.”

  He pulled me into a rough embrace and I let him. I sank into his arms, inhaling his scent and willing myself to believe him.

  And I was suddenly sure that the closer I got to him, the more likely it was that he was going to devour me whole. I didn’t know if it would be physical, I didn’t know if it would be emotional, or maybe a combination of the two, but either way…I was utterly certain that if I let him, Theodore Kimball Marcus would consume me.

  He leaned back then and kissed my forehead.

  “You don’t have to,” he said.

  “Don’t have to what?”

  “Be my girlfriend.”

  What was the alternative, though? To walk away and pretend it never happened? To ignore the full feeling in my heart?

  “I do want to,” I whispered.

  “You’re sure?”

  “Yes.”

  An ear-splitting grin – which was very different than his usual cocky smile – covered his face.

  “You just popped my cherry,” he said.

  I colored. “What?”

  “My first ever girlfriend.”

  “You’ve never had a girlfriend?”

  “Not until now.”

  One of Teekay’s fingers jabbed a rib and an unexpected giggle escaped my lips.

  “Are you ticklish?” he asked in a dangerously pleased tone.

  “I have no idea,” I admitted.

  “Seriously? Who doesn’t know if they’re ticklish or not?”

  “I don’t.”

  He poked me again, and I laughed once more.

  “Look at that,” Teekay said. “I taught you something new about yourself.”

  He reached for me with both hands.

  “Stop that!”

  In my eagerness to get away, I spun a little too quickly and my heel got caught in a bit of leftover extinguisher powder. With a shriek, I skidded across the slick floor. My rear end hit the floor and I continued to slide over the floor. My eyes opened wide as I realized I was headed straight for Teekay's batter-spattered jeans. He seemed to realize it too, but a moment too late. He tried to sidestep. He failed.

  My feet slammed into his shins and down he went. His legs tangled up with mine as at the last second, his arms came up and stopped him from crushing me completely. His face was just an inch from mine.

  "Oops," I said.

  Teekay burst out laughing, his amber-specked eyes sparkling with undisguised amusement.

  “If you wanted a repeat of last night, you could’ve just asked nicely,” he told me.

  “Very funny.”

  “I thought so.”

  He made no move to get up. He just examined my face.

  "We're a mess," he announced.

  "We are?"

  “Mm hmm. You are such a nice girl, and I'm card-carrying asshole."

  "You're not that bad," I replied.

  He bent his elbows and dragged his lips across mine, making me ache. "If you knew what was on my mind right now," he murmured. "You might disagree. In fact, you might run away."

  My heart skipped a beat. “Then maybe I’m not that good.”

  “You definitely are.”

  “That sounds like an insult,” I said. “What’s so good about me?”

  “You don’t swear.”

  “Damn,” I retorted, then cringed guiltily.

  “You blush when I talk dirty.”

  “So would anyone else.”

  Teekay shook his head. “Nope. I wouldn’t tell anyone else how perky and delicious her nipples are. I wouldn’t tell anyone else just how fuckable her mouth was.”

  My face went red. “Shut up.”

  “Cock,” he replied deviously, and my cheeks burned, making him laugh again. "You’re beautiful. And even though you look like the wind might blow you away at any second, you’re tough as hell underneath.”

  “Fine, I’m good. Ish,” I co
nceded. “But I still don’t think you’re so bad.”

  “I’m lying on top of you, pretending to be thinking about how good you are, when really all I can think about is how if I spread your legs just a little bit more and undo my pants just a little bit too, I can slip myself inside you one more time before breakfast.”

  I stared at him. Now I was thinking about it, too.

  “You’re right,” I said, trying not to squirm in a way that would make the fantasy a reality. “You are bad.”

  "Told you so. But you agreed to be my girlfriend and now you're stuck with me."

  "No backsies?" I teased.

  "No backsies," Teekay confirmed, far more solemnly. “Besides which…I like that you’re so good. It makes me want to be good too.”

  “Teekay?”

  “Yeah, darlin’?”

  “Don’t be too good.”

  He chuckled. “Damn, do I love you.”

  Teekay paused, his eyes wide with shock. I was sure my face had the same stunned expression as his. I waited for him to take it back.

  He didn’t. Instead, he said it again.

  “I really think I love you, Maggie.”

  19)

  Teekay’s words crashed into me, making my head spin and my pulse rip through body. My dizziness increased as he pushed himself to a sitting position, then brought both of us to our feet. He lifted me by the hips, wrapped my legs around his waist, and carried me from the kitchen.

  “What’re you doing?” I squealed.

  “I want to find out if it feels different now that we’re officially a couple,” Teekay replied.

  “If what does?”

  “Are you really asking that?”

  We hit the bottom of the stairs and he took the first six, two at a time then paused in his ascent and gave me a thorough kiss.

  “Three days,” I whispered when he pulled away.

  “What?”

  “We met three days ago.”

  “So?”

  “You just…You can’t…”

  “I can. And I do,” he said firmly.

  “But…three days.”

  “Yes. Three days,” he agreed, then made his way to the landing at the top of the stairs and stopped to kiss me again. “Funny how I thought the first time a told a girl I loved her, she’d say it back. Not try to talk me out of having said it in the first place.”

  “Funny how I always thought the first time you said it, it would be to get into some poor girl’s panties. But it looks like you’ve already done that.”

  At the surprising, intrusive, and sarcastic words, Teekay spun.

  Kirby.

  Her face, pinched with equal parts amusement and disgust, stared up at us. She was still wearing the same tiny dress from last night, and her hair and makeup were still perfect.

  Where was Donnie? Wasn’t he being paid to keep Teekay safe? How did she get by him?

  Teekay’s arms tightened protectively around me.

  “What the hell are you doing in here?” he demanded.

  “Telling you the truth about that girl you think you love.” Kirby flicked a dirty look in my direction.

  The truth?

  Oh god. Somehow, I knew she meant Jimmy. I tried to keep from shaking. I didn’t want to revisit that horrible chapter of my life.

  Kirby turned her eyes to Teekay. “You’re going to want to hear this.”

  “I somehow doubt that,” Teekay echoed.

  “Trust me,” Kirby said.

  “Fuck you,” Teekay replied.

  Kirby rolled her eyes. “Fine. Don’t trust me. But I’m telling you anyway.”

  “Darlin’,” Teekay said into my ear. “I need you to stand up so I can deal with this.”

  At his use of the word this in reference to her, Kirby huffed.

  “Yeah, darlin’,” she sneered. “Drag yourself off Junior’s cock and let the grownups talk.”

  “You’re treading on very thin ice, Kirby,” Teekay warned. “The only thing keeping you from getting a black eye is your vagina.”

  “Believe me,” Kirby replied. “I’m well aware of the fact that everything you do relates back to pussy.”

  Teekay snarled something unintelligible at her, and set me on the ground. My knees were shaking so badly that I had to grip the railing to keep from falling. And I still slipped. Teekay grabbed my elbow and steadied me.

  “You don’t have to stay here and listen to this,” he assured me gently.

  “That’s right,” Kirby agreed snidely. “Go wait in bed. Four doors down. Don’t include the bathroom.”

  Bile rose in my throat.

  “And speaking of bathrooms,” Kirby added in a sickly sweet voice. “I sure hope you’ve checked out his.”

  Teekay was holding my arm so tight it almost hurt.

  “That’s enough, Kirby,” he said.

  Kirby ignored him in favor of looking at me. “Oh, you mean he hasn’t showed you his stash?”

  What did she mean?

  Teekay’s face was stiff.

  “Maggie,” he said in a low, urgent voice. “You will let me explain this. For now, go lie down. Before you pass out.”

  I nodded and dashed for the bedroom – his bedroom, I reminded myself, not the spare room. It was a small difference, but it was something.

  For a long moment, I stood just outside the bathroom door, trying to connect the elusive dots. Both Teekay and Donnie had been worried about whatever was inside the medicine cabinet. What was inside?

  Trust, I reminded myself.

  So I backed away from the bathroom and I sat on the bed and I tried to block out whatever was going on between Kirby and Teekay. But their voices carried through the walls, making it impossible.

  “Stop right there,” Teekay said.

  Kirby laughed. “What? You don’t want to be close enough to touch me?”

  “Get the fuck out, Kirby.”

  “I don’t think so. Some of us aren’t doormats, Junior. I don’t take orders from you.” Her voice was cool. “And I’m not leaving until I’ve said what I came to say.”

  “Get out!”

  Teekay’s holler didn’t faze Kirby in the slightest.

  “Two words,” she stated. “Jimmy. Monroe.”

  Even though I’d been expecting to hear it, his name still made my skin crawl.

  What I wasn’t expecting, though – and what really made me sick to my stomach – was the change in Teekay’s voice. When he spoke again, it had a desperate edge I didn’t recognize.

  “Where the fuck did you hear that name, Kirby?”

  It was obvious to me that Teekay’s feelings about Jimmy ran as deep and dark as my own. And had nothing to do with a spilled drink.

  “I met him last night,” Kirby replied, seemingly indifferent to Teekay’s anguish. “And it turns out he’s a friend of yours. And your sister’s.”

  “You bitch!”

  “Oh, that’s not the fun part.” Kirby let out a cruel laugh. “It turns out…Jimmy is pretty close with your little girlfriend too.”

  The pause after her words was too long.

  I wanted Kirby to leave.

  I wanted to be alone with Teekay. With the ride-the-line between dangerously sexy and devastatingly sweet man whom I’d spent the last few days with. Who had – not five minutes earlier – told me I was his first girlfriend. And who was now taking his time in responding to the mean girl who really was telling him the truth.

  I curled my legs up and pulled the blankets over my head. But I could still hear them.

  “She slept with Jimmy,” Kirby added.

  “Like fuck she did.”

  “Exactly. She went to your school. Did she tell you that?”

  “I would’ve noticed her.”

  I cringed at that claim.

  “Would you?” Kirby replied scornfully. “Between the partying and the endless parade of girls and the crazy—”

  “That’s enough!” Teekay snapped.

  But Kirby wasn’t done. “Once u
pon a time, you and I had something that worked.”

  “Before I found out what kind of person you really were. Before I found out what kind of people all of my friends were.”

  Kirby’s responding sigh was audible, even through the door. “No, Teekay. You were just too much like us to know the difference. Everything changed for you, but it stayed the same for us. And before you try to shut me up again…There’s one more thing.”

  There was a shuffle and I braced myself because I knew what was coming.

  “Photographic evidence,” Kirby stated. “I know how you like it.”

  I had no problem picturing what happened next. There was a click and a snarl and the sound of smashing glass and a clatter. Then silence.

  Finally, Kirby spoke again. “Well. I can send you a bill for the phone. But you’re on your own for the goddamned chandelier. Maybe Ghost will pay for it.”

  And I knew that if the picture hadn’t already nailed my coffin shut, that nickname would.

  I closed my eyes and braced myself.

  20)

  Even before I heard him, I could feel him standing at the edge of the bed. Then his feet slapped across the floor, and the bathroom door opened. There was a lot of rattling before it opened again, and Teekay climbed into the bed.

  He draped an arm over me, and I thought he was going to go to sleep. Instead, he spoke right into my hair.

  “How much of that did you hear?”

  The dark undertone in his voice kept me silent. His hand crept up my thigh to my waist, then moved to my elbow.

  “I’ve been watching you sleep for three nights in a row, Maggie. I know you’re awake now. Your breathing’s different. And so is your pulse.”

  His finger dragged up my arm to my shoulder and rested on my throat.

  “I can feel it racing. Is that because of me?” he asked.

  I could sense the dangerous edge in his words, and I still couldn’t form an answer.

  “Do you know Jimmy, Maggie?”

  “Yes,” I barely managed to say.

  He was quiet for a long moment. “And did that sack-of-shit sonofabitch have his dick inside you, or just in your mouth?”

  Oh. Kirby had shown him that picture.

  “Both,” I whispered.

  Teekay drew in a hissed breath. “And this whole time, you knew we’d gone to school together?”

  “Yes.”

  “And you didn’t say anything?”