11. Eleven
Eleven
Rosie
I ’m assaulted by a mix of vanilla and musty scents as I browse the aisles billowing with books, begging for their second chance at a new home. My eyes scan the titles on each spine as my hand glides against the smooth cedar bookshelves.
The Book Haven is about to become one of my favorite places. It’s what I would consider a gem in this little town. They seem to have every book imaginable.
Among my great loves, reading holds a special place in my heart, alongside painting and dancing. They’re all art forms and bring you to a place outside yourself and your life. It’s a way to feel free, if even for a short time.
I get this from my mama. She has a library I hope to one day emulate with its floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, a ladder that glides across the room, and comfy couches scattered everywhere.
Until I can have a library of my own, this is the perfect place to get lost in for hours.
A refuge that offers a sense of peace .
Few sounds disturb the otherwise quiet old store as I continue to browse.
The wood floors creak as if on cue. I glance to the left, and then to the right, but come up empty in the dimly lit aisle. Only shelves standing still and quiet under the immense weight of all the books crammed on them.
My earlier attempts at finding a book continue until I feel a prickling sensation against my face. Someone’s watching me.
My hand rests on a book’s spine just as something falls on the other side of the bookcase, but I don’t dare move.
My eyes dart back and forth anxiously, but my body remains paralyzed for what feels like an eternity.
The longer I stand there, unmoving like a statue, the more foolish I feel as silence engulfs me again. There’s nothing besides me and thousands of books.
My mind is obviously messing with me. I shake my head.
Ever since that fateful night at the bar a couple of days ago, I’ve been on edge, my heart racing with every little sound. I can’t shake the feeling that someone’s eyes are fixed on me. The more I think about it, the more I feel the weight of regret for not telling Vic about what that guy said.
When I hear the floor creak again, my heart rate accelerates as a ball forms in the back of my throat.
I grab the book my hand rests on without reading the title and hold it tight to my chest. Quickening my pace down the wall of shelves, I take a hard right further into the back of the bookstore. Passing by many large shelves, I attempt to get lost in the sea of books.
I look around, feeling silly and paranoid when I hear nothing but my ragged breath again .
The bookshelves catch my attention once more, and I eagerly browse the selection of contemporary romance novels. After all of this, I’m in the mood to read something sweet and funny.
As I peer around the shelf, my breath catches in my throat as I spot movement out of the corner of my eye. I crouch down to get a better view and see a white shirt partially covered by a black zip-up hoodie. Then, I smell the telltale sign of cologne. A scent I’ve become quite familiar with.
One that lingers and travels through the wind to find me.
Suffocating my senses with its sexy, masculine scent.
My eyes narrow, and I rush down the aisle to face him.
He ignores me for days, then follows me around like a creep? I don’t get it.
When he first ran out on me, I couldn’t help but feel hurt and disappointed. I didn’t know what to expect after something like that, but it wasn’t him practically running from the scene.
Maybe he was terrified that I confided in him about my dream of opening an art studio. Probably thought I fell for him after the little humping session and was talking about my future.
Once the post-orgasm glow ran its course and he kept his distance, I felt disgusted with myself. I was just another notch for him. I was no better than Samantha, who still hates me because of him.
As I round the corner, I stop dead in my tracks and look at him, casually resting against the shelf, an innocent smile gracing his lips.
“Why are you following me around like some creep when you left me high and dry the other night?” I blurt without thinking .
“If I remember correctly, I didn’t leave you high and dry. Maybe high, but not dry,” Vic says with a grin. “And I’m not here for you, I’m here for...” He grabs a book. “This.”
I peek down at the book he’s holding. His long, tattooed fingers splayed against the cover. I try to hold in the laugh bubbling to the surface. The cover captures the majestic beauty of a mountain landscape with a rugged, half-naked man. His dark hair dances in the wind as he rides his horse into the sunset.
I gaze up at Vic with a huge grin as he looks down at the cover with a less-than-stellar expression adorning his annoyingly handsome face.
I nod my head toward the book. “Well, I’m glad you found what you were looking for. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”
His determined strides toward me make me panic, and I try to turn around. However, his firm grip on my hand prevents me from escaping.
“We’re not done here.”
I look back at him, narrowing my eyes. “We never started.”
He made that apparent when the incident–as I like to think of it–happened, and he left me like a one-night stand gone wrong.
I stride to the front of the bookstore with my only book, the title of which I still haven’t seen.
Retrieving my phone from my pocket, I steal a glance. The remaining time for my lunch is dwindling fast.
“Hey, did you find everything you need?” the guy asks from behind the counter.
“Not really, but I’ll be back soon.”
“Well, I’m always here to help,” he says with a little smile .
Just as I’m about to answer, the sudden slam of a stack of books on the counter startles me. My gaze swings to Vic, his smile tight and jaw working as if he’s holding himself back.
“What’s up, Ben?” Vic says in a polite tone that I now know is anything but polite.
Vic’s arm falls around my shoulders, and I become motionless, overwhelmed by his touch and possessive gesture. I attempt to shake him off, but he’s as resistant as a brick wall. I raise my eyes to meet Vic’s. A satisfied smile is plastered on his face. What’s his deal?
“Grabbed a couple of books I thought you’d like.” Vic’s tone is unbelievably sincere for being so fake, making me want to stab him in his gorgeous caramel eyes.
His hand gives me a little squeeze before he retrieves his wallet and slaps a hundred-dollar bill on the counter.
As he bags the books up, I shoot daggers at Vic, who just smiles at my irritation .
“Thanks for coming in,” the guy says as he raises the handles of the bag toward me.
I smile while attempting to grab the bag of books.
“Nice seeing you, Ben.” Vic grabs the bag from him before I can and ushers me outside.
“Yeah, sure. You guys have a good day.”
I stop in my tracks, my heels digging into the ground the second we’re on the sidewalk. I whirl around to stare up at Vic. “What the hell was that back there?”
“We went shopping for books. Then, I bought you books. You can say thank you at any time.”
“We?” I point my finger between the two of us. “Are nothing.” He narrows his gaze at me. “And the PDA. What was up with that?”
“He was flirting with you and couldn’t keep his eyes off your chest. I didn’t like it.”
“And how is that any of your business?”
“Because I promised—”
“I’m going to stop you right there,” I say as I raise a hand. “Your promise to Gage went out the window the second you decided to hump me against the wall.”
He cringes and nods his head. “I know.”
The moment I bring up my brother, his gaze loses its intensity, and a melancholic air settles between us.
This is why he freaked out the other night. He feels like he betrayed my brother. I’m such an idiot.
That notion definitely stings less than all the other thoughts running through my mind over the past few days.
“Come on, I’ll walk you back to work,” he says as he turns in the direction of Sweet Escape.
His mood swings are giving me whiplash. Cold and detached, playful and flirty, then territorial and brooding, and then he ignores me, only to repeat the cycle.
I just don’t understand.
Jess and I walk up the dimly lit stairs to the middle row. I plop the extra buttery popcorn into my mouth before taking a healthy sip of my Shirley Temple. I sigh with pleasure. The perfect amount of salty and sweet. We find our seats, and I recline the black leather chair back as far as it can go. The tension of the day leaves my body in a flash.
“Shit. Do you have my candy?”
“Yeah,” Jess says before discreetly pulling my candy out of her bag. We smuggled our own snacks in because who wants to pay five dollars for one small box? Not me.
I take the Sour Patch Kids, empty them into my popcorn, and give them a shake. Hopefully, they’ll be nice and gooey soon.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Elevating my popcorn.”
“That’s gross.”
“Don’t knock it till you try it.”
“I don’t know about that, but this is by far the best idea after how busy we were today. My feet are killing me,” Jess says as she devours her nachos.
“Agreed. We should make this a tradition every week.”
“Deal,” Jess says as she clinks her slushy with my drink. “They have classics night every Thursday, like tonight, and I’m so down. As long as your guard lets you out, which I’m surprised he did, by the way.”
“So am I. I texted him, and all he said was okay.”
The mention of Vic has my stomach bottoming out. I haven’t told Jess about the incident yet. I’m not even sure how to start. But I have to tell someone. It was big. Maybe not for him, but it was for me. It meant something, but I’m not sure how to feel about it.
I look over at Jess who’s reading the trivia on the screen.
“We had an incident.”
“An incident?” she asks as she gazes over at me .
“Well, you know how I had my shift at the bar...”
“Yeah, I keep asking, and you keep clamming up. You totally disappeared that night.”
“Vic made me leave.”
“I figured. I didn’t see him either.”
“Well, we left, and then we... umm…” I let out a nervous laugh.
“Oh, it’s a juicy story. Wait.” She reaches over and grabs a handful of my popcorn to throw in her mouth. “Oh, that is good,” she says, licking her fingers.
“Told you.”
“Okay, continue.”
“So, he literally carried me out of the bar, then he spanked me and threatened to do it again if I moved from the back of his bike,” I whisper, not wanting any of the other moviegoers to hear the naughty details.
“Wait, he let you on the back of his bike?”
“That’s the only thing you’re questioning?” I whisper-yell. She didn’t even bat an eye when I mentioned the spanking.
“That’s big.”
“Why?”
“Most of the guys consider it sacred and only let ‘the one’”—Jess air quotes—“on the back. Unless you’re Trey. He lets anyone with boobs on the back. Stay away from that ho.”
“He only let me on the back because he had no other choice.”
“Maybe, maybe not. What happened next?”
“Well, then, we got home, and we ended up kissing, and...” Why is it so hard for me to just spit it out? It’s my first experience with a guy, so maybe that’s why? Geez, I’m a mess.
“Oh, you’re blushing. It musta been good,” she says with a smile. “You guys hooked up? ”
“Well, kinda.”
“Kinda?”
“We didn’t have sex. We just rubbed against each other until we both orgasmed.”
Her smile is the biggest I’ve ever seen until she’s cracking up. “How very middle school of you guys. I love it. Then what happened?”
“He freaked out, and I didn’t hear or see him until he stalked me in the bookstore yesterday.”
“Well, that’s odd.”
“That’s what I thought. He’s so hot and cold with me. Maybe it’s for the best since he’s my brother’s friend, and I’m not even sure if I like him, like him. We just had a moment, and now I feel stupid because I’m sure it meant nothing to him.”
“It’s not stupid. Did it mean something to you?”
“Maybe... I don’t know. I’m lost.”
“We all are. That’s what having friends is for,” Jess says as she pats my hand. “You got to be kidding me.”
“What?” I look over at Jess and follow her line of sight. Vic and Axl are at the bottom of the theater steps. What the hell is he doing here?
Vic says something to Axl, and he laughs before they split up. Vic makes his way to the set of stairs on my right. He doesn’t take his eyes off me as he ascends the stairs. I place the popcorn in front of my face, attempting to block my view of him. I’m feeling awkward about just discussing our incident and then having him materialize out of nowhere. The memories are still at the front of my thoughts.
The heat of his presence looms over me, but I refuse to look up. Acting as if the popcorn container is far more interesting .
Vic grabs the popcorn from my death grip. Yellow kernels of popcorn fly everywhere. My eyes snap up to him. But my glare doesn’t deter him. He reaches up to my head, and I slink back into the leather chair. His fingers rest on my scalp for a mere second before he pulls back with a piece of popcorn between his fingers.
“Just cleaning you up.” Vic plucks out two more pieces and eats them.
“Stop that,” I say, smoothing my hair down only to find one of my Sour Patch Kids stuck. “Shit.”
“Let me help.”
His fingers go back into my hair, and I look up at him as he delicately removes the sticky mess. Once it’s out, he puts the candy in his mouth.
“Mmm... sour and sweet, just like you.” I stare at him in shock as he licks his fingers.
I swear, this man has multiple personalities.
Vic smirks at my lack of words before sitting in the chair next to mine. Before I have a choice, my drink is in his hand, the armchair divider is vertical, and there’s no barrier between us.
“My drink…?” I ask with my hand out.
He looks down at it before smirking at me.
“No,” I say, knowing exactly what he’s going to do just as his lips encase the straw and he sucks the liquid into his mouth. His eyes go wide.
“You spiked your drink in a theater that doesn’t allow alcohol?”
“No,” I whisper, bewildered as I look around with wide eyes, not wanting to get kicked out.
Vic laughs, and the sound goes right to my core. “Careful, Princess, your halo is starting to tilt.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. ”
“You and I are going to have a lot of fun.”
“Now you want to be around me? You’re giving me whiplash.”
“We’ll see,” he says as he looks past me. “Ax, taste Jess’s drink.”
My head whips to my left to see Jess trying and failing to keep her heavily spiked slushy at bay.
I look back over at Vic with what I hope is disdain. “Stalking me twice in the past two days... sounds like you have issues.”
“Many, actually. The first being you.”
“And what have I done?”
“Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Good, wasn’t planning on it,” I mutter with a shrug as I look back at the screen.
The opening credits begin to roll, and the lights turn down to almost pitch-black.
Vic leans over into my space, his weight pressing me further into my seat, reminding me of when he had his full weight thrusting against me. His lips touch my ear. “Maybe you should,” he whispers as he licks my ear, making me suck in a breath of surprise. Goosebumps form on my skin.
My head snaps toward him as he leans back into his seat with another smile. He’s driving me crazy, and he knows it.
I lean over toward him, making sure to place my hand on his thigh with confidence I don’t have. He looks down at it before we’re almost nose to nose. “Keep dreaming, Vic,” I say with a sugary-sweet smile.
“I do, of you, every night.” My eyes widen at his words, but I know he’s just trying to fuck with me. It’s just a game. One I intend to play because I’m tired of losing whatever this is .
I lean right under his ear and place my other hand on the side of his neck. I’m sure my touch is throwing him off from the way his breathing has accelerated.
“Sounds more like a nightmare,” I whisper. Then I bite the shit out of his neck, making him yelp before pulling away. Hopefully, I drew a little blood.
My satisfied smile disappears as he looks at me with a huge grin. He enjoyed that.
Abort.
I shift closer to Jess, but she’s busy dealing with Axl.
“Nowhere to run, sweet little Rosie,” Vic says as he kicks his legs up on my reclined chair, moving himself closer to me.
My only win for the night is hearing him groan as he realizes we’re watching The Notebook. However, no one mentions the heady feeling you get when a sex scene comes on and you’re sitting mere inches from the person you’re sexually attracted to. Because, yes, as I sit here next to him, I can’t deny that. His personality might be questionable and confusing, but his looks aren’t.
My thighs rubbed together more than once as I felt the pulsing ache between my legs, and my heart rate increased as I thought about us the other night.
The feeling of him touching me, rubbing me.
But I didn’t dare look over at Vic, who has somehow moved himself even closer to me throughout the movie. First his legs, then his arms. Before I can even comprehend it, he has taken over my chair more than his own. Our bodies press up against each other in a different way. A comforting way. One that has never been introduced to me. A way that if anyone looked at us, they’d think we were cuddling and enjoying the movie together as a couple.
To his credit, he keeps his eyes on the screen, content to sit beside me, and even gave me a tissue as I teared up at the end. Their love was unstoppable, unwavering, and it gets me every time.
Seven Years Ago
Dear Rush,
Hi, I’ve never written to anyone I didn’t know. Well, unless you count school. One year I had to write to a pen pal from a different school, but it ended pretty quickly once we figured out we had nothing in common. But you said you like to draw, so maybe we’re off to a good start.
It would be cool if you sent me something. I can send you something in return, although Papa tells me it’s a waste of time. I don’t think he likes my art very much. Mama does, though, so maybe you will, too? What else do you like to do?
Maybe we should keep this as our secret. I don’t want my brother getting mad at you.
Until I hear from you again,
Rosie