In the beginning, p.26
In The Beginning, page 26
“Observant even when you can’t walk straight,” I said with sass. “Impressive.”
“So does this make us friends?” he asked as I leaned back against the bench, still doing my best to remain aloof.
“I don’t know about friends,” I teased.
Reaching out when he began to pull the Skittles away, I swiped them from his hand and he chuckled. “Do you mind if I sit?”
“It would be kind of rude for me to say no now, after you just bribed me with candies.” I slid over, giving him a little more space just before he sat down next to me.
“Listen, about the other day,” he started to backtrack, and I held up my hand to stop him.
“I was a bitch,” I said, and he scrunched up his brows, surprised by my words, I guessed. “I’ve had a really shitty week, my car quit, I have to take the public bus every day. Let’s not forget my boss is a complete asshole, and when your friend mentioned something about us in the middle of the Sub Shop, it hit me wrong.”
“Defensive,” he said, turning more to face me, “but not a bitch.
“Sweet, but really, I was a bitch.” This time he didn’t argue.
“I apologize for Brent, he can be a jackass.” He placed his arm over the back of the bench and I felt his fingers brush over my shoulder in the process. “But I meant what I said.”
“Which part?” I asked, feeling my heart race now that he was closer and his eyes were fixated on mine. What was it with me and this guy? Any other male I could remain aloof and brush off their advances. Xavier, though, he had this way about him, a look maybe, or just his mere presence that had me feeling all girly and soft inside.
“About all of it, actually.” And there was that smile again. “I never told them anything about our night. I’m not the type of guy to run back and share details. I prefer keeping my personal life private. It’s disrespectful.”
I looked down at the bag of Skittles I held in my hand, just to gain a moment of clarity. It was hard to focus when he was staring back at me with the gentlest brown eyes. I wasn’t a girl wounded by a man of my past. I wasn’t even a girl who allowed men close. There was no hidden secret as to why I kept myself out of relationships. I just truly didn’t have time for the distraction.
“I also meant what I said about being willing to take whatever I could get, just to get some time with you.” I took in a deep breath and tilted my head just enough to see his expression. “I know what you said about not having a lot of room to date.”
“I don’t,” I assured him.
“Okay, so, we don’t go out to movies and dinner, instead I surprise you with takeout when you’re too tired to make something after a long day.” I had to give it to Xavier; he was quite persistent. “So what if it takes us a full week to watch a movie on Netflix? We’ll take all the time we need. I want to get to know you, Morgan. Even though you say it’s complicated, I think we can un-complicate it.” He offered a silly little wink that made me laugh.
I quickly regained control and shook my head, as if to clear my thoughts.
“Xavier, I had a lot of fun that night.” I couldn’t think of any other word to use. Fun was definitely an understatement. “But with school, work, and other things, I just don’t have much space left in between.”
“Other things?” he asked, just as he skimmed over my shoulder with his thumb.
Chills covered my arm, and I fought the shiver that rolled through me. “Family,” I said, more breathlessly than intended.
“No guy friend?” he asked, still toying with me.
“Guys are too much trouble,” I told him, gaining a smile almost instantly.
“Is that right?” He leaned in closer and I suddenly found it a little harder to breathe evenly. I only nodded my head in agreement. “I can be fun,” he assured me.
The idea of just how truly fun he could be flashed in my mind, and I squeezed my thighs together trying to control my thoughts.
“Too much drama,” I said, looking away from those brown eyes that were completely focused on my mouth.
“I hate drama,” he added. Lifting his other hand, he placed it over mine, resting on my leg. “Just one chance,” he whispered. “It’s all I’m asking for.”
My entire body was screaming “yes.” I wanted to skip work and take him back to my apartment where we would spend the entire afternoon reliving each touch, each kiss from that night. I felt almost desperate to feel him touch me again.
But the woman inside me who knew I didn’t have time to be a horny college kid fought against every single urge inside me.
“I can’t,” I whispered before I could talk myself out of it. I closed my eyes, and for a moment just focused on the feeling of his fingertips. His touch made it almost impossible to stand behind my words.
If that wasn’t already bad enough, he moved in closer, much like he did that morning when I dropped him off at his house. His lips brushing against my cheek, his warm breath fanning out over my shoulder and neck. “You can,” he whispered. “I’ll convince you, it’ll all be worth the fight.”
He slowly stood, placing a soft kiss on my cheek near the corner of my mouth. When some distance had been created between us, I looked up at him. “You don’t give up, do you?”
“No.” He didn’t even hesitate. “Not when I want something.”
“I’m that something?” I replied, finding that inner sass I had momentarily lost.
“No, Morgan, you are that someone.” He continued to stare at me for just a moment before leaning in and placing a piece of paper in my lap.
“What’s this?” I asked, opening it up.
“Don’t take the bus,” he said. “Call me.”
He turned around and began walking away without giving me the chance to argue. I watched as he moved across the grass toward the parking lot. A confident sexy swagger, his pants hugging his legs and ass just perfectly.
Just before he got into a red car, he lifted his hand and offered me a wave and my heart rate sped up. Why did he have to be so confident and demanding? Couldn’t he just take our night for what it was? One night of heated sex between two consenting adults. Done, finished, and move on.
By this time I was too distracted to even attempt continuing to read. Every other word had to be reread because all I kept remembering was the way his hot breath felt against my neck, or his fingers on my shoulder. It was pointless.
So instead I gathered my things and started walking to work.
My phone began ringing about halfway there. I pulled it out of my back pocket to see it was Marcus.
“Hey you,” I said as I pressed my phone to my ear.
“Where are you?” he asked and the seriousness in his tone frightened me.
“Walking toward work, why?” I paused at the side of the road and listened to what sounded like tires squealing through the phone. “Marcus, what is going on?”
“I stopped by your parents’ to hang with Toby for a bit,” he said, his voice laced with anguish. It wasn’t unlike him to stop by for no particular reason; he did it all the time. “Toby was asleep, and your mom…” he started to explain, and I stopped walking as I stepped to the side, allowing people to pass me.
“Tell me,” I said, pushing him.
“I think I should wait until I get there to pick you up,” he insisted.
“No, you can tell me now,” I practically demanded.
“The last few times I’ve stopped by to visit, I’ve found her crying in random places throughout the house. Today she sat at the kitchen table staring off at nothing. She hadn’t even heard me come in, she was so lost in her sadness,” he continued and my chest tightened. “I think she needs help, Morgan.” Of course she did, she was overwhelmed, stressed about medical help for Toby, and money to pay for everything. “I know that you talk to your mom, and you offer her help whenever you can, but have you ever just sat back and watched her?”
Of course I had…hadn’t I?
“I think she needs more than just physical help, Morgan, I think she needs to see a doctor.” Just then I looked to my left to see Marcus pull up along the curb only a few feet away from me. “She’s depressed, and I don’t mean just a little. It’s severe, Morgan, and she needs help.”
Tears pooled in my eyes as I thought of her being so saddened that she felt like the world was crashing in all around her.
“If I miss work, I’ll lose my job,” I whispered. I don’t know if it was my way of ignoring the truth and not wanting to face it, or if I was truly worried about being fired.
“It’s a shit job for shit pay,” Marcus added, and I knew he was right, but it was all the income I had. Even with student loans and grants I barely made it as is. “I already called your dad, he’s on his way home. They’re gonna need us.”
Things like this, times like these just confirmed what I told Xavier only moments ago. My life was complicated. I’d give in, and he’d be all right at first with the limited time we’d have. Then it would all change and he’d grow tired of having to attend events alone or me having to leave at the drop of a hat to rush home for some reason.
In the end I’d be left missing the idea of us and he’d move on to another girl who could offer him a real relationship. It was better for the both of us if I just continued to resist his advances.
I climbed inside the car, reaching across to latch my seatbelt before I actually took the time to look at Marcus. “You okay?” he asked, and I offered him a nod. That nod immediately shifted to a no.
Shaking my head, I looked back at him and a tear escaped me. “How did I not see how depressed she was? I knew they were struggling and that she was overwhelmed, but I just continued on each day thinking it would all work out in the end.”
“We all did,” he said, reaching out to take my hand in his. “She’s taken care of all of us for so long, now it’s time we take care of her.”
He was right, my mother had given so much to everyone around her and never expected anything in return. She was selfless, and I thought it was time she got a well-deserved break.
Chapter 19
Xavier
It had been two days since I saw Morgan outside of the student hall. I’d looked in that same spot at the same time each day to only come up empty. Had I truly expected her to use the number I gave her to call for a ride? I guess I hoped by some miracle she would.
I didn’t like the idea of her riding the bus.
After the third day I grew anxious and stopped in at the Sub Shop, only to find out that she no longer worked there. The guy behind the counter was a raging dick who told me to tell her thanks for leaving him high and dry. I assumed he was the manager as I observed him barking orders to the rest of the workers. Had it been me working for a douchebag like that, I would have told him to fuck off and walked out too.
I know I had no right to worry, but I couldn’t stop myself.
I drove across town to the apartment I knew she shared with her friend, and as I stepped up to the door, I took in a deep breath. I heard the sound of the locks clicking and a chain being slid across the metal bracket, just before it came open. “Well, if it isn’t Mr. Pineapple.” Just inside stood her roommate and the man I knew would never let me live down that night. I was afraid to know all the things he heard and actually witnessed from that night.
But the entire pineapple flavored lubricant was more than I wanted him to know already. I was very thankful to find that the night hadn’t gone as I initially thought once I woke, but I had this creepy feeling that Marcus stood outside Morgan’s room and got an earful.
Some things are just better left unknown.
“Is Morgan home?” I asked, ignoring his pineapple comment.
“Nope,” he said, enunciating the pop of the “p” of the word. “She took my car over to her parents’ house, but uh…” He paused, lifting his phone from his back pocket. He typed out a message, and just when I was about to speak, he looked up at me with a gleam in his eyes. “You could be a hero and take me over there so I can get my car, though.”
I won’t lie; the guy creeped me out a bit. I think it stemmed back to the fact that he did indeed see me naked.
“You’ll get to see Morgan,” he offered with a grin. Apparently bribing me was his next attempt.
“Sure,” I replied as I backed away when he rushed forward, crowding my space. The guy seemed harmless; something told me he just liked getting a little rise outta me. Maybe it was the way my cheeks reddened whenever he mentioned anything about that night. Or hell, the way he looked me over as if remembering the way I lay sprawled out on Morgan’s bedroom floor with my ass in the air.
Once we were inside the car, Marcus made himself at home. He took control of the radio until he found the station he liked. When he started looking through my glove box, I looked at him, thinking the man had lost his damn mind. I mean, who does that shit to someone they barely know?
“Do you know that there are two very sure-fire ways of getting to know a person for real?” he said, not looking in my direction as he continued to search my glovebox, now empty, as he held its contents in his lap. “Someone’s garbage, but I’m too good-looking to search through the garbage at that fraternity house. So the next option is a person’s car.”
He shrugged as he continued to look over one item after another. I had nothing to hide, though I did find his tactics strange.
He lifted a picture out of the bunch as I slowed for the red light. “Family?” he asked.
I leaned in closer, “Yeah. That is Carter and Cassie, my brother and sister. The woman is my mother, Caroline.” I had forgotten that picture was even in there. It was at least four years ago, because Carter was now in high school and it was taken before Cassie cut off all her hair.
“Your father in the picture?” Marcus asked just as I sat up straight once again and eased my foot off the brake.
“Yeah, he is.” My parents were so together that it was at times nauseating. Still to this day they acted as if they were teenagers dating. I don’t think the newness phase had ever worn off for them. My family was amazing. “He just works a lot.”
“Something you and Morgan have in common,” Marcus added as he placed the items back in my glovebox. “Her father works way more than any one person should.”
“Does she have any brothers or sisters?” I asked.
“Toby,” Marcus said and I could almost hear the smile in his voice. “Amazing kid.”
He didn’t say anything more about him, but “kid” gave me enough indication that he was younger than Morgan. The remaining part of the ride the only conversation shared was when he’d tell me where to turn and so on.
“Here we are,” Marcus said, pointing toward the small yellow house on the left corner. It was aged, grass a little taller than the others surrounding it. It appeared at one time it had a screen door of some type, the frame with hinges were still visible. The blue paint on the front door was cracked and weathered, chipped away in places, showing the wood beneath. In the driveway was a bright blue car, clean and sleek. Just next to it was an older model Toyota, the paint faded and aged in spots throughout.
“Come on, loverboy,” Marcus hollered out as he pulled open my driver’s door and hurried toward the front porch.
My parents aren’t wealthy, but they’ve done well for themselves. My father owns his own construction business, updating homes and remodeling. It was a business his father started so long ago that has since flourished and expanded beyond his wildest dreams. They’ve all planned well for the future through investments. My mother was a teacher at the high school in Kissimmee, Florida, where I’m from.
I wasn’t raised to think I was better than anyone; we were all the same. But looking ahead, I knew there was a part of this beautiful girl I had not witnessed. She was so different, and I think I knew that from the beginning.
Marcus didn’t even knock before entering, just pushed the front door open and hollered out something about the sexiest man was in the house. I chuckled to myself, because honestly the guy seemed like a fun dude.
Just outside the front door was a makeshift ramp, made out of plywood and two by fours. My first thought was it would really dress up the front if they added a small deck with maybe some railings.
I felt a little strange just walking inside without being invited, but Marcus was nowhere in sight. I could actually hear his voice echoing out the still opened door, but I couldn’t see him.
Not wanting to leave the front door wide open, I stepped just inside and closed the door behind me. Pushing my hands into my front pockets, I looked around at the small space cramped with an abundance of furniture. In the corner was some type of contraption with straps and a hoist, or seat, or something.
I felt huge in the space as I continued to scan the area.
“Well, hello.” I looked to my left and felt nervous as a shorter woman with cropped blonde hair entered the living room. “You must be Xavier, though Marcus did insist that I call you Pineapple Man instead.” She smirked. “I’m not sure I even want to know.”
I tried not to react, but when she laughed I knew my face gave away my shock, and maybe discomfort. I made a mental note to get him back in some form whenever the opportunity arose.
“Xavier,” I said, thrusting my hand forward, “Stone. Just Xavier Stone,” I insisted as she reached out and shook my hand.
“He tells me you’re a friend of Morgan’s.” I didn’t miss the curiosity in her eyes. “I never get the chance to meet many of her friends, besides Marcus, of course, but he is like one of my own. She keeps her life outside of here pretty private.”
“I’ve learned that about her too, she’s a difficult puzzle to solve,” I agreed, and her smile only grew.
“Difficult is one way to describe my daughter. Strong willed, determined, and stubborn would be a few other options we could use too.”
“Cranky, broody, irritable,” Marcus said as he entered the living room. “Maybe bitch too.”
