by Pamela Ann
He was simply remarkable.
Bass kissed my forehead and squeezed me tightly. “Go freshen up while I make us some breakfast. Take two lefts and the bathroom is on the right. See you in a bit.” With another kiss on my head, he strolled towards his enormous stainless steel kitchen.
I just stood there and watched him walk away.
Oh My God! What was going on? My nerves were all over the place! I was confused as hell. This was like an odd dream or one of those movies where the plot was too good to be true and then out of nowhere an axe murderer joined in and killed the happily ever after.
Mentally shaking my head, I followed the directions he gave me and found the bathroom without difficulty.
“I look like a bedraggled cat,” I voiced out loud as I stared at my reflection.
I fished out my phone and called Amber. After two rings she picked up. “Girl, you are getting it on!” Amber announced happily.
I groaned. Did I expect anything else? They were going to tease the hell out of me until they get some juicy info. Shit. Here we go. “Listen, Linds left and went back to the dorms and I was hoping I could ride back with you guys.”
“Oh no, we left like an hour ago, doll. We’re like around Summerland, babe. Sorry, cupcake.” Amber did sound sorry.
Oh crap, what the hell was I supposed to do? I groaned. Uh, this is what I got for being so idiotic. Why didn’t I figure this out last night? Since when had I ever been so unprepared? The old me would’ve made sure I had a ride before I left the club last night. The new Emma was obviously too star-struck to think coherently
Ugh!
“You know, why don’t you ask the bad boy BC himself? I bet he has a hot ride!” Amber suggested with tons of innuendos in between her words.
Bad boy BC, was that his nickname?
“Emma! Was he good in the sack?” I could hear Trista in the background. I guess the entire car could hear me. Damn speaker phones!
“Good God! I didn’t sleep with him!” I countered back. This was still unchartered territory for me, dating and the like. I was still learning here, I wasn’t going to just start sleeping around.
“No fucking way, why not? THIS is The Bass Cole, Emma! You’re such a bore whore!” Amber sounded aghast.
Thank you, I guess?
“Need I remind all of you that I just broke it off with Carter? Yeah—exactly! I am a bore whore, whatever.”
“Carter’s pissed as shit. You better watch out for the angry monster when you get back in town,” Cece added with derision.
Yeah, because you posted fucking videos on Facebook! Who fucking does that? Of course, she’s friends with like the entire campus. Of course, each person who saw it would mention it to Carter. Carter Mason was like their freaking school hero. They simply loved him.
“Gee, thanks for the heads-up. Anyway, I have to go and look for a ride elsewhere,” I muttered.
“Damn straight! And that ride better be Bass Cole’s warrior! You better tell me the deets and how he is between the sheets. Please, please, please!” Amber begged. She was obviously going bonkers.
“There’s no point in arguing with you, is there? See you later, girls!” I laughed and cut off the call before they threw any more innuendoes my way.
After I washed my face, rinsed my mouth out with some mouthwash I found and applied some lip gloss, I came out of the bathroom. How would I bring up my dire ride situation to Bass? What if he has other plans? Maybe I could call a taxi to take me or better yet, I could just rent a car somewhere.
As I entered the kitchen, Bass gave me a dazzling smile. “Come sit and talk to me while I cook. Which hotel are you and your friends staying at again? I’ll drive you there myself.”
I strode towards the kitchen island, sat on one of the stools and watched him master the kitchen. “That might be a problem. It seems that they all left already and I’m stuck alone in Los Angeles.”
“No problem. I can take you back to campus.” He shrugged and continued to chop mushrooms like a Michelin star chef. Impressive.
“Where did you learn how to cook?”
“I was a chef in one of my movies and I had to train with this five-star chef for three months before shooting.”
“Wow, three months? What movie was it?” I hadn’t seen any of his films except for that first vampire movie. Amber and Cece had told me there were two more and another one was in the works.
Bass smirked at my innocent question. “How many films of mine have you seen, Emma?” He cracked four eggs in a bowl, peppered them, added a dash of salt and rapidly scrambled them. His large hands were even nice…
“Knights of Cimmerian.”
“Did you like it?” he inquired as he drizzled olive oil into the heated pan.
“Sure, it was great!” I fibbed.
“What did you like about it?” he pressed on, again.
Shoot.
Your rock-hard abs and that sexy, crazy, erotically charged sex scene that had gotten me so aroused in the movie theater. I clearly remembered how his sculpted, firm ass looked as he made love to the woman in the movie.
“Everything… it was… great.” I bit my lip as I looked at him through my lashes.
He barked out a loud laugh.
And what a… fucking stop it, Emma, I scolded myself as I lusted from afar.
“It’s either you didn’t like it or you weren’t paying attention. So which is which?” Busted! I suck at lying.
“I wasn’t paying attention. Sorry. When you asked, I didn’t know what to tell you to be honest.”
“Don’t worry, babe, I’m not offended.” He winked at me as he prepared our breakfast.
I made toast, coffee and cut up some fruit while he cooked.
We ate at the island counter and I noticed how his eyes looked even more spell-binding in the daylight.
It was past noon when we left his house and drove back to Santa Barbara. His bright blue Lamborghini Gallardo weaved through the traffic and I couldn’t help looking at his hands when he shifted gears. I loved men that could drive a stick.
He looked so fucking edible in his aviator shades, wearing a simple white shirt and dark jeans. He looked like every bit of the heartthrob that he was. I was crushing hard on Bass.
As we got closer to school, my stomach nose-dived at the thought of seeing Carter again. Did he hook up with another woman last night? Quite possibly; it didn’t take him long to jump in bed with me after his conquest before me. It was what? Two days, three maybe? We had sex on our second date. We almost did it on the first date, but we were at a party with our friends and got too drunk to do anything.
Carter didn’t talk about his feelings at all. Instead, he expressed them through his actions, usually during sex. When we fought or he was angry, he would take me hard and fast. When he was happy, he teased me and tickled me and left me begging for him to take me. Yeah, I think I fell hard during his happy phases, sadly.
I still hadn’t read the rest of his messages, but I couldn’t fathom going over them right now. I bet he’s just angry that I was with Bass only a day after I dumped him.
What else would he be so angry about?
“Much unhappiness has come into the world because of bewilderment and things left unsaid.”
~Fyodor Dostoevsky
Chapter Eight
When we exited the freeway and were closer to my place, I gave Bass directions to my dorm.
He parked the car and killed the engine then looked at me silently.
The silence stretched for a good minute before I spoke; unsure how to take it from here. “It was nice to meet you, Bass. It really was. I had a great time; bizarre, but enjoyable nonetheless.” I grinned at the studious man beside me. My smile faltered when he didn’t smile back. Why was he so serious all of a sudden? We were fine when we left his house.
“I have this dinner thing on Tuesday night for a film I just signed up to shoot this summer in Greece. Would you come with me and be my date?”
“Oh, d
on’t you all discuss work details? I don’t want to intrude on that.” Not to mention, I would look like a complete idiot and so out of place.
“You won’t. It’ll be fun. The director is my godfather, actually. So it’s going to be laidback; don’t worry. You’re going to have a blast. Say you’ll go with me?”
“Do people ever tell you no?” I cocked my brow at him. I somehow doubted he ever got a ‘no,’ especially from women.
A lazy, gorgeous smile etched on his face as he responded, “Well, there’s this girl… she’s stunning and funny and she has these beautiful blue eyes and golden hair and she doesn’t seem to be interested in me, not one bit. I, on the other hand, feel compelled to be with her and to see more of her.”
I nudged his arm. “Now you’re just being silly, Bass.”
“I’ll pick you up at five, Tuesday afternoon?” He reached up to my face and his thumb grazed my bottom lip. His eyes darkened as he studied my slightly parted mouth.
Why doesn’t he just kiss me already? He was always looking at them.
Oh, hell yeah, I knew he was staring at me; my skin would prickle every time he did. His gaze was that powerful; it affected me even if I wasn’t paying attention to him.
“Bass…”
He looked at me, his eyes unreadable. “Did you love that guy you were with, Em?”
My throat ran dry. “Unfortunately, yes.”
“I knew you did. I just needed confirmation. Thank you for your honesty.” all right… then.
He got out of the car and opened the door for me. I cleared my throat as I stared at him; the sun was glowing behind him, almost blinding me. “Bass, I think you’re great, but I don’t think I’m what you’re looking for. Everything’s complicated with me right now.”
He held my chin and forced me to look deep into his eyes, powerful in their passion, acute in their force. They reached something inside me.
“Aren’t we starting out as friends as we agreed upon? Don’t worry, Em.” Bass gently kissed my forehead. “Be ready by five come Tuesday afternoon. I’ll see you then.” With that parting, he slid back inside his car, gunned the engine and raced out into traffic.
I was standing on the pavement, rendered speechless.
What a man…
With my purse in hand, I strode toward my building and into my dorm. Thoughts of the night spent with Bass raced through my mind. The sunrise… each time I saw one would forever bring me back to the night I spent with Bass.
I was about to unlock the door to my room, but before I could even get my key in the lock, it was yanked open by an angry looking Carter.
What was he doing here? Probably to see Lindsey, they were siblings after all.
“Uh… hello," I said lamely as I started to walk towards my bedroom.
Carter jumped in front of me. “Is that all you have to say? A fucking hello!” In my sleep deprived state, it annoyed the hell out of me. What a drama queen! I was not in the mood to be bombarded by him at that time.
I looked up to face him as I folded my arms across my chest. “What do you want, Carter?”
Carter pulled me inside my room and shut the door loudly. He shoved me up against the wall and placed his hands on each side of my head, caging me in. “What I want is for you to explain what the hell you’re doing? The entire school knows about your little getaway and your little stunt with that actor dude.” So what? Who cares about the entire school? I had fun and that’s all that mattered.
“That’s none of your business, Carter, and certainly not the entire campus’s either. I couldn’t care less about what they think. Now, will you please move? I need to rest. I’m exhausted.” It was too late to realize that that was the wrong thing to say. It set off something in Carter. He looked downright murderous.
“You’re exhausted? From what, Em?” Carter’s voice had gone low and deadly. I swallowed hard as I studied him. He looked deadly; his eyes were so dark and dangerous. Had I pushed him too far? No matter how angry he was, I knew for a fact that he would never, ever hit me.
“I said. That’s. None. Of. Your. Business. Got it?” I spat the words back at him. If he was angry, I was angrier.
How dare he march in here and act like this?
“Don’t do this to me, Em… this is driving me insane!” he spat out, wretchedly. I wasn’t expecting that. Never from him.
I felt a spring of hope… maybe… just maybe… “I thought we were done?” I asked, watching him with uncertainty, trying to gauge his thoughts.
He closed his eyes and whispered, “I know, but I can’t stomach the thought of you with another guy. I just can’t. I’m going crazy here, Emma.”
Oh fuck, I feel torn. Did he have a change of heart?
Oh, fuck it! It’s now or never.
Emboldened, I went for the kill. “Do you love me?” I throatily asked.
His eyes instantly opened with my damning question, searching and pensive. “I told you I don’t do love, Em,” Carter responded with distaste.
His words gutted me all the same. What was I thinking? He wouldn’t just change after a few days. “Then there’s no point of you being here, now is there, Carter?”
His dark eyes penetrated mine and my heart stopped when he spoke. “Are you in love with me, Em? Is that what this is all about?” His hand cupped my cheek. The sudden contact of him almost undid me.
For some odd reason, I wanted to cry. I loved him so much, it was crazy. I felt crazy for wanting him to love me, even if it was just a small fraction of what I felt for him.
But alas, it was not meant to be.
“I don’t.” It was the biggest lie of all, but I wouldn’t back down knowing he didn’t feel the same way about me.
“You don’t sound convincing to me and if that’s the reason why you broke it off, then I don’t mind that as long as you’re with me again,” he emphasized. How embarrassing was that?
He didn’t mind that I loved him, did he? Well, great. Good for him because I fucking minded! I minded that he didn’t feel shit about me.
Romantic, was he not?
“Well, that’s your problem. Now, will you please get out of my room? I didn’t sleep much last night and I need some rest.”
“Em, is it true? Did you spend the night with him?” His voice sounded pained again.
Was it pain, really? Or was it his bruised ego because I ended our stupid relationship? The question was a Catch-22 and I didn’t know which answer to give him.
Did I spend the night with Bass? Yeah, I did. Did I have sex with him? That was a definite no.
“He took me back to his home. We spent the night together, if that’s what you want to know.” I pressed my lips together as I watched all kinds of emotions run through his eyes… his face. The way he looked at me, sliced me in two. There was so much hatred there, I felt pained and wretched. I wanted to reach out to him, but I didn’t. We were past that.
He punched the wall next to me hard and growled like a maniac. I was surprised that the wall didn’t have a hole in it. His knuckles—from what I could see—were cut open and bleeding, but it didn’t seem to faze him.
“Goodbye, Emma,” Carter whispered and marched out of my room, my life.
What a stupid mess this was. I guess this really was goodbye for us. It was the conclusion, the ending.
Why wasn’t I crying? The night we officially broke it off, I felt every single pain that wracked through my body. Now, there was still pain, but not as intense or numbing. It was bearable. Heavy on my heart, but bearable.
It took me a good five minutes before I was able to move. I stripped off my clothing and jumped into bed in my underwear. I just wanted to hide inside my comforter and curl up. I definitely needed my brain to shut down and dream away. It took an hour for my pressing wish to happen and I was more than relieved when it did.
“Sometimes you need a second chance, because time wasn’t ready for the first time.”
~Author Unknown
Chapter Nine
I barely made it to my literature class the next day. I slept so soundly that I didn’t even hear my alarm clock. When I did wake up, I didn’t want to get out of bed.
Lazy bones.
For one thing, the rumor mill was probably going viral about Bass and me after that video evil Cece uploaded; God only knew what the gossipers were whispering about. The break-up with Carter was big news around campus. Actually, it was probably MAJOR news. Second, I knew Carter would be around school and from our heated encounter yesterday, I honestly did not want to see him so soon.
After an hour discussion on Leo Tolstoy, the class was dismissed. As I got up to gather my belongings, two girls stopped in front of me.
“Is it true? That you’re the mystery woman?”
I’m a what? “I beg your pardon?” I questioned, looking wholly baffled at the two enthusiastic women.
“You’re Bass Cole’s mystery woman. You’re all over the gossip blogs and gossip magazines.” No. Fucking. Way.
“Sorry, I have somewhere I need to be,” I excused myself and left them whispering to each other.
Later, I was at the coffee shop, enjoying my macchiato, when Trista and Amber walked over to my table. Trista slapped a magazine down as they both sat across from me, each with a mile wide grin on their faces.
My eyes immediately darted to it. ‘Who is Bass Cole’s Mystery Woman?’ it said in bold blue lettering. There were two large, grainy pictures of us on the front page. The first one was a picture of us leaving the club, Bass’s arm clutched on my hip as he guided me towards the SUV. The second picture, on the other hand, was something else entirely. The picture was taken through the gates of his home and it showed him opening the car door for me—I was dressed in the same clothes from the club picture the night before—and as I looked up to his face, I was smiling and looking rather… well, happy. It looked like we had a great night fucking each other’s brains out.