by Harper Sloan
This time, I can hear laughter from the other side. “Whatever,” I mumble as I make my way down to my apartment.
Sitting on Asher’s back deck with my Kindle in my hand, my feet up on the railing, my head tilted back and enjoying the sun on my face, is practically paradise. I can hear Beast running back and forth in the yard, chasing something. I let my mind wander to thoughts about my day.
After my tantrum, I went down to my apartment and looked around. It was obvious that my uncle and Dad had been busy. The red was gone and there were three full garbage bags. I walked around to see if anything was missing but couldn’t find anything out of place. The chair and couch were now garbage because the cushions had been slashed. I walked into my bedroom to make sure everything was in its place and it looked perfect. There were even yellow roses sitting on my side table. I walked to them and noticed the card.
You deserve beauty. Why are you forcing me to become ugly?
“What the heck?” I whispered. These were from the person who broke into my apartment. My hand started to shake and I wanted to cry. I knew my family had worked hard to make that space special for me and now I didn’t even want to be down there. I sat on the ripped couch and had my face in my hands, thinking about how I was going to fix this. I smelled Asher and he pulled my hands away from my face. He was crouched in front of me and looked worried.
“Is everything okay?” I asked, thinking he and my dad got into it.
“I think I should ask you that,” he said, pulling me up then sitting on the couch with me in his lap.
“Whoever did this left me flowers.” I felt Asher freeze underneath me as I handed him the card.
“What the fuck,” he whispered.
“How am I going to fix this?” I asked. “Everyone worked so hard for me to feel welcome and now this is happening and I don’t even know why.” He started rubbing my back so I cuddled into his chest with my head under his chin.
“I'm going to give this to my dad. The rest is just stuff, baby. Your family is just glad that nothing happened to you.” He ran his fingers along my jaw then kissed the top of my head, I couldn’t help but to sigh. I wanted to close everything off and pretend that this wasn’t happening.
“I'm glad I wasn’t here when it happened,” I said, cuddling closer.
“November,” my dad called from the top of the stairs. “Nick Stevenson is on the phone. He says he needs to talk to you.” I felt Asher’s body go tight under me again. I lifted my head to look at him and he was pissed.
“Nick who?” I called up the stairs.
“Nick Stevenson. His dad is a lawyer in town.”
“What the fuck?” Asher clipped then he stood, taking me with him. He dragged me up to the kitchen where my dad left the phone on the counter. I watched in horror as Asher answered the phone. Well, if you understand caveman talk, he answered the phone.
“I know I made myself clear yesterday so why the fuck are you calling?” Asher growled into the phone.
“Oh my God, Asher. Give me the phone,” I yelled as I reached around him, trying to grab the phone from his hand but he’s so damn tall that it was useless.
“Hold on,” Asher said, handing me the phone. I wanted to kick him but he wrapped his arms around me, holding me close. I was counting in my head, trying to keep calm and it wasn’t working.
“Nick, I'm sorry,” I said, apologizing for Asher’s rudeness while shoving Asher but he didn’t even move.
“Um, its okay, November. I'm calling to set up a time for you to meet with my father. He represented John and Ellen Armsted before they passed away and he needs to go over a few things with you regarding their will. Can you come into the office on Monday at around eleven?”
“I'm sorry, Nick, but I have no idea who John or Ellen are.” I was completely confused. Armsted is my last name but John or Ellen didn’t ring any bells.
“John and Ellen Armsted were your grandparents on your mother’s side.”
“Oh… Why do I need to see your dad?”
“It seems that your grandparents had you in their will before they passed away and my father needs to meet with you to talk about it. I don’t know what it says but if you can meet here on Monday, he will discuss it with you.”
“Um…sure. Monday at eleven,” I said into the phone.
“Okay, November, see you then.”
“Yeah, see you then,” I said, confused about the conversation. I heard the phone cut off and felt Asher’s arms give me a squeeze.
“Is everything okay?” I remembered what he did and I'm pissed at him. I turned in his arms and stood on my tiptoes so I could get in his face.
“I can’t believe you answered the phone and worse, you were rude to Nick. He didn’t do anything to you.”
“Babe, he wants to get in your pants.” I could feel my head getting ready to explode and I knew my eyes were bugging out.
“He does not.”
“He does and that shit’s not happening.”
“Oh my God, you’re insane. He just introduced himself to me at a bar because he noticed I was new. That’s all it was. Then he calls to tell me that I need to meet with his dad because my grandparents put me in their will and you go all caveman on him for no reason.” I pushed at his chest.
“Am I a man?” he asked.
“Yes,” I snapped, not knowing why the heck he asked that stupid question.
“Then I think I know what the fuck I'm talking about.”
“Whatever,” I said with clenched teeth. “I don’t have time to argue with you. I have stuff to do and you need to go to work.”
“Don’t be pissed, babe. It’s done. Now he knows that I was serious yesterday. Hopefully he spreads that shit wide so I don’t have to deal with anyone else.”
“You do realize it’s 2013, right?” I glared at him.
“Are you mine?” He nuzzled my neck then I felt his tongue and I forgot I was mad and he was rude and that, once again, he embarrassed me.
“Yes,” I say, even though I was questioning my sanity. I just couldn’t help it when his mouth was on my neck. Then, without warning, he picked me up. I squealed and my legs automatically went around his waist so I wouldn’t fly back. My hand went to his shoulder, the other to his hair, feeling it prickle. One of his hands was at my ass, the other went up my back and into my hair. Then he tugged my hair to tilt my head while his went the other way. The kiss was hot and wild. He started walking and I felt the wall at my back and his heat hit my center. As I moaned into his mouth, he was grinding into me. He pulled his mouth away and set his forehead to mine.
“I fucking love your mouth, baby,” he said against my lips.
“I kind of like yours too,” I told him and laughed when he growled at me, grinding his hips into mine, making me whimper even more.
“Well, good thing I’ve got all night to make you love it.” Oh, crap. With everything that has happened, I forgot that I'm going to be sleeping at his house again.
“We need to talk about tonight,” I blurted out then bit my bottom lip. I mean, I'm okay with making out but sex…I wasn’t sure about that.
“Listen,” he said, grabbing my face while holding me up by his waist and the wall. “We don’t have to do anything. We can go slowly.”
“Okay,” I whispered, feeling the tension leave my body.
“Okay,” he whispered back then kissed me softly on my lips then my nose. My hands went to his shoulders and his to my ass then he slid me down and smiled. “I’ll see you at my house. The key will be on your car key ring and I’ll bring pizza back for dinner.” He kissed me quickly and was gone before I could get out of my Asher fog and remember that he’s a caveman and I should really question why the heck that turns me on.
After Asher left, the rest of my day was quiet. I packed a bag with enough stuff for a couple days. Dad and I hung around and I told him about the lawyer. He offered to take me if I wanted him to. I asked him how he felt about me and Asher and he said that he trusted him. It made
me feel better that my dad approved. I was just going to have to try and take things slowly.
I spent the rest of the time begging him to teach me how to ride a motorcycle. Once he agreed, he had to go to bed so I decided to go into town. I wanted to look around at some of the antique shops to see if they had anything interesting.
I found a small side table that had a large round top with three legs that curved up and in. I couldn’t wait to get the old white paint off it to see what kind of wood was underneath.
After I stowed the table in my car, I wandered into a small boutique on the square in the center of town. The window display was what caught my eye. They had a cool metal mannequin that would look perfect in my dream closet. When I walked in the store, there was an older lady behind the counter talking on the phone.
As soon as she saw me come in, she gave me a smile and a wave then went back to her conversation. Looking around, they had large and small mannequin stands. They also had all kinds of cool handbags, scarves, socks, jewelry, and other odds and ends that women don’t really need but want anyway. I was in the back of the store looking at a mannequin stand. It was a metal frame painted pink with no head or arms. It was just the torso in the shape of a dress with a long pole out the bottom and three legs like a Christmas tree stand. I loved it. I could picture it in my dream closet or even just the corner of my bedroom.
“Can I help you?” I heard a small voice ask. I turned my head and a woman my age was standing next to me. She was about my height. Her long, blonde hair was pulled away from her face with a clip and she was very pretty, even without any makeup. She had on a pair of dark jeans and a green wrap shirt and cowboy boots.
“Yeah, how much for this stand?” I asked her, smiling.
“This is one hundred and twenty five,” she mumbled like she didn’t want to actually talk to me but was forced to because of her job.
“Really? Wow, I love it. Don’t you love it?” Her head flew up and she looked me in the eye for the first time. They were light green with a ring of dark green. She had the most beautiful eyes I had ever seen besides Asher’s.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” she said so quietly that I almost didn’t hear her.
“I'm November,” I said, sticking out my hand. She hesitantly shook it.
She looked a little surprised before she answered. “I'm Liz. Are you Mike’s daughter?”
“Yeah. You know my dad?”
“He and my dad were best friends,” she said quietly. I saw the look of sadness cross her face and I realized that she said were and not are.
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Liz. This is an amazing store. I can see where my paychecks will be going,” I said, trying to change the subject and hating that she looked so lost. She laughed and the sadness was replaced with pride and her whole face became stunning.
“My mom and I own it. We just opened a few weeks ago. I grew up around here so if you ever want me to show you around, let me know,” she said. Then she froze when we heard laughing from behind us. Two women were there. One I recognized from the bar.
“Oh, how cute. Liz is trying to make a friend,” the taller of the two girls said.
“Some people never grow up,” I mumbled under my breath, shaking my head. Having dealt with my mother, who was just like these women, I did what I always do. I ignored them. “I don’t know many people in town. We should get together and have coffee sometime.”
She looked a little surprised but recovered quickly. For some reason, I was proud of her. I got the feeling that she usually let what people said get to her.
“Um…sure. That would be nice. I’ll give you my phone number when you finish shopping,” she said, turning and going through a curtain into the backroom of the store. I looked around for a few more minutes and the girls were still in the store. I heard them whispering and could make out Asher’s name a few times but I couldn’t be bothered with them so I went to check out. I found a very pretty scarf that had a bold paisley print in lots of bright colors and a pair of wide silver hoops with a cool design etched into them. I set my stuff on the counter and the woman looked up to me.
“Did you find everything okay, dear?”
“Yes. I would also like to buy that stand in the back. The pink one,” I told her with a smile, thinking about my new treasures.
“Sure. I’ll have Liz pull it out for you.”
“Thanks.” She gave me my total and when Liz came back out, we exchanged numbers. I told her that I would call. I went to my dad’s and dropped off my new stuff and packed up Beast. I quickly left my dad a note telling him to call me later and drove to Asher’s.
Now, I’m enjoying the sun that is slowly setting. There is a slight chill in the air but I put on my knit hat and giant wool sweater so I feel nice and toasty. My hair slides across my neck and then lips kiss the sensitive skin under my ear. I open my eyes to see Asher smiling down at me.
“Hey, baby. I’ve been looking for you,” he whispers.
“Hi.” I stretch, sitting up and looking around. “I guess I fell asleep,” I say quietly, realizing that I'm still sitting outside but it’s dusk and really cold.
“Yeah, I got worried when I couldn’t find you in the house. Where is your phone? Your dad and I tried calling you.”
“Oh, crap. I think it’s still in my bag. I wasn’t planning on being out here so long.”
“Let’s get you inside,” he says, picking me up. My arms go around his shoulders and I lay my head on his chest. His body is so warm and he smells so good.
“I can walk,” I mumble into his chest.
“I like carrying you. You’re so tiny,” he says and I feel him kiss my forehead.
“Ha! Only to you because you’re a giant,” he laughs and I can feel it rumble against my cheek as he carries me into the living room and sits with me in his lap. I curl into him for a few minutes just absorbing his warmth and the feel of his steady breathing. It should feel awkward to be with him like this but it feels completely normal. How creepy is that?
“What do you want on the pizza, baby?” he asks, rubbing my back. I feel like I could fall back asleep.
“Um, mushrooms, peppers, olives, and pepperoni, unless you want something else.”
“Nope, sounds good.” I feel him lift his hips and his hand leaves my back. I can hear the beeping of his phone before he places our order. After he hangs up the call, I hear the phone hit the coffee table.
“Did you have a good day?” I ask into his chest.
“No. The fire inspector wanted to close the site and Cash had to go to the hospital to get stitches.” The second the words are out of his mouth, I'm up, trying to pull out of his arms.
“Oh my God! What are you doing? You should be with him. Is he okay? Who’s taking care of him?” I yell, trying hard to pull away.
“He’s fine. Mom’s with him. He just cut his hand. Calm down.”
“How many stitches did he need?”
“Just three. Why are you so worried?” he asks, narrowing his eyes. Suddenly, he looks angry.
“He was hurt and he’s your brother,” I say slowly. “What do you mean, why am I worried?” I ask. I’m confused. He doesn’t say anything. He just stares at me then I realize why he’s asking that question and I want to kick him. “Seriously? Your own brother?” I ask, shaking my head in disbelief and again trying to pull away.
“Let me up,” I say but his arms only tighten. “I'm serious, Asher. Let me up right now. I cannot believe you would even think that I would be sitting here with you if I was even a little interested in your brother. I mean, obviously we don’t know each other very well but if you want to get to know me, you’re going to have to trust me. Otherwise, don’t waste my time.” I pull away and am finally able to stand. I leave him sitting on the couch and go into the bathroom. I hop up on the counter, wondering what the hell is wrong with him. First Nick, now his brother. I want to scream at the top of my lungs.
The door opens and I look up. He’s just standing there, look
ing at me, and not saying anything. I'm beginning to feel like I shouldn’t be here anymore and should risk respiratory failure and stay with my grandma.
“I think I should go stay with my grandma,” I say quietly.
He still doesn’t say anything and I start to squirm on the counter under his stare. Then I see him take a deep breath and he lunges at me his mouth crashes into mine. His hands go to my ass, pulling me to the edge of the counter.
I'm caught off guard but my body takes over and my hand goes to his back. My other hand digs into his hair as he bites my bottom lip, then lightly bites my chin and then comes back to my mouth where he devours me.
His tongue is in my mouth and playing with mine, nipping and biting my lips. I feel one of his hands leave my ass and travel around and up the front of my shirt, cupping my breast through my bra. I whimper into his mouth and try to press closer, knowing my panties are soaked. I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on in my life. Then he pulls away, kissing me softer and setting his forehead to mine.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he rumbles and I feel the vibrations of his words straight between my legs.
“I don’t want to go anywhere,” I tell him truthfully, knowing that I should leave because this situation has heartache written all over it.
He presses his forehead to mine and takes a breath. “Almost every woman that I’ve fucked has also fucked one or more of my brothers,” he says quietly.
I can feel bile crawling up my throat and a horrible pain hits my chest at his words. He is actually opening up to me but I'm not sure I want to know this.
I don’t know why, but I feel like I need to share something about me to make us even, to make him understand that he isn’t the only one with baggage.