Chapter 5
What had she been thinking? Who the hell asks a person they don’t even know to have sex? And what’s worse, have that person turn them down?
She was a fool of the highest order.
Walking as fast as her feet would take her, she rushed back to the studio where she’d left her car. Carly and Melanie had each cut out for the day and instead of going home like a normal person, she’d felt like she had to go visit Brandon and ask for sex.
Why, oh why was she letting her vagina do her thinking all of a sudden? Maybe because two years without sex was a long time or maybe because for her entire active sex life she had never felt the way that Brandon made her feel. A slight touch of his hand turned her on more than all the sex she’d ever had. She could only imagine what would happen if that hand, or – and she was hoping here – something bigger touched her other parts.
His other parts were what she needed to stop thinking about. Finally, to her car, she jumped inside and drove the almost mile home.
It was funny how quickly she was starting to think of Carly and Melanie’s house as her home. Parking next to Melanie’s car she hopped out and made her way to the porch. But before she could open the front door, she heard a car pull up. Turning her head, she saw the car barely come to a stop before Brandon stepped out and slammed the door.
She wanted to run and hide. Maybe lock herself in her room and shield herself with the covers on her bed. But first, she’d have to stop looking at him. Stop watching the way he swaggered up the yard and onto the porch. Stop wishing he would slam her against the door and kiss the daylights out of her.
And this was the problem.
He was standing right in front of her now, no more than a foot separating their bodies. He still wore his sunglasses so reading his facial expression was out.
“What do you want, Brandon?” It came out harsher than she’d wanted.
“First, I want you to stop fucking leaving my office like the building’s on fire.”
She raised an eyebrow at his demanding tone. “I will leave your office however I want and it doesn’t matter because I won’t be coming there again.” Where had the snotty tone come from? That was how her mom talked, not her.
“Second,” he seemed to ignore her comment completely, “don’t you know it’s unsafe to just ask a guy you just met for sex? I could be a maniac for all you know.”
“Because they let maniacs be the chief of police,” she countered.
At her comment he practically ripped off his sunglasses and she could see the fire brewing in his eyes. “That mouth. That goddamn fucking mouth,” he said.
Seconds ticked by and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to shove him off the porch or jump on his body. She opened her mouth, to say what she had no idea, but he stopped her.
“Don’t,” he said. “Just don’t say anything.”
She did as he asked, for no reason that she could explain, but gave him a questioning look with her eyes.
“If you speak, if even one word comes out of your mouth, I’m going to be forced to shut you up the only way I know how.”
Heat flared from him and his voice was low. But instead of threatening it came out as more of a promise. A promise that she wanted him to keep.
“How?” she whispered hoping that she already knew the answer.
His hand gripped her around her waist and at his touch she moaned. The moan was quickly swallowed up by his mouth. His hot, menacing mouth. The kiss was out of control right from the second his lips touched hers. Needing something to hold onto, she gripped his hair with both hands, fusing his mouth tighter to hers. He was so tall, and her so short, that he was bent at the waist making it so their bodies weren’t fully touching. That was probably a good thing though considering the way they were kissing.
“Fuck.” He ripped his mouth from hers but didn’t let go of her.
“Umm, yes please,” she said in a husky voice.
His eyes closed and he released his grip on her waist taking a step back. “No,” he said when he opened his eyes.
She wanted to pull her hair out. What the hell was his problem? First, he acted as if he wanted her, then the kiss and now he’d said nol. Which one was it?
Needing space she moved to the side and sat down on the porch swing. Brandon didn’t move from his spot and he was no longer looking at her.
“I can’t get a read on you,” she said.
“There’s nothing to read,” he said, still not looking at her.
“Brandon,” she said sternly, “look at me.” He turned his head toward her. “You said no earlier and now you come here and kiss the ever-loving-shit out of me. You either want me or you don’t?”
He hung his head. “It’s not that simple.”
“I’m gonna need more than that. I’m a horrible judge of character if the last two years are any indication and I honestly don’t trust myself to know what people are thinking anymore. I need the words.”
His eyes went soft and he turned and sat down on the porch steps. “I want you,” he said. “Apparently more than you want me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean? I asked you for sex.”
“Yeah, only sex,” he said. “I want more.”
Shocked that he would even say that she said, “You just met me?”
“You just met me and yet you know you want to have sex with me?”
“That’s not the same.”
“I’m not asking you to marry me here, Leah. I’m asking you to date.” He shook his head looking down at his feet. “Just go on a date with me.”
Before she could answer the front door opened and Carly stepped out onto the porch. “I thought I heard people out here. What are you guys doing?”
“Just talking,” Brandon said and stood. “I better be going though.”
“Stay for dinner,” Carly said. “I made meatloaf,” she sing-songed.
“I shouldn’t,” he said.
“Stay,” she heard herself say. “You should stay.”
Carly looked between the two of them before saying, “I’m gonna go check on the food.”
When she shut the door behind her Leah said, “I can’t date you, Brandon, but don’t let that stop you from staying tonight or coming over whenever you want.” She passed by him and went into the house, closing the door behind her.
Wanting to go straight to her room so she could be alone for just a few minutes, she hightailed it up the stairs only to run right into Melanie.
“Where’s the fire?”
Mel’s mention of fire made her remember how Brandon had said she’d run from his office like it was on fire. And remembering that made her remember the kiss. The kiss that had set her whole body on fire.
Fire seemed to be the word of the day.
“Leah are you okay?” Melanie said.
“No. I’m really not.” She half laughed.
Mel pushed her into her room. “Sit and tell me what’s going on?”
“You wanna know what’s going on?” Something in her snapped and she just let it all out. “Well let’s see, my dad and uncle stole a bunch of money which meant that life as I knew it ended. And that means that I have gone without sex for two years for fear that people would sell their stories to cheesy-ass gossip magazines. Then I show up here and some freaking Greek God opens the door and my mind refuses to do anything but think about him. So I figure hey, here’s a great idea, why not ask him if he wants to have sex with you. You think he says yes, then he says no and then he shows up on your doorstep and kisses you like no man has ever kissed you before. But just when you think everything is copacetic, he pulls the rug out from under you again and says he wants to date you.” She took a deep breath.
“Thankfully, I’ve been friends with Carly for a long time and I understood all of that. Now, that being said, you asked Brandon to have sex with you?” Her voice got all high and squeaky.
“Please don’t judge me. I’ve been judged enough for one lifetime.”
“Oh, I am in no way judging you. I’m freaking in awe of you. I don’t know one other person who would have the balls to ask a man they just met for sex.”
“Big balls are not all they”re cracked up to be.”
“One, yeah, they are. And two, I can’t believe he turned you down.”
Leah let out a small laugh at Melanie’s comment about balls. “Believe it.”
“I knew he liked you, but that he won’t have sex with you is crazy.”
Leah gripped Mel’s forearm. “What do you mean you knew he liked me?”
“Watch the merchandise,” Mel said and loosened Leah’s fingers. “I could tell he liked you because of the note he left your first night here.”
What was she talking – Oh the note. But wait, that note was nothing. Just straight and to the point.
“I can see I have confused you further,” she said, a small laugh escaping her mouth. “In all the years I have known Brandon, I have never seen or heard of him writing a note. Not even to his mom or brother. Or Carly.”
“I still don’t think I understand?” Although what did it matter? She only wanted sex, not to date, right?
“Leah, he took the time to write a note to you about coffee and the dog. And while in your world and mine, that’s not a big deal. In Brandon’s it is.”
“Huh,” she said. So he maybe liked her, so what?
“Can I ask you something?” Melanie said. “I know we aren’t as close as you and Carly are and maybe you want to talk to her about this but why do you just want sex and not to date? Especially a guy like Brandon. He’s one of the good ones.”
“It’s actually easier to talk to you rather than Carly since Brandon is her cousin. And Mel, just because we weren’t roommates in college doesn’t mean I don’t value our friendship.”
“Thanks,” she said. “But don’t avoid the question.”
“It’s not just Brandon I don’t want to date. I don’t want to date anyone.”
“Why,” she asked.
She shrugged. “Men just seem to let you down. And I don’t want to be let down anymore.”
“It’s not just men.” Both she and Melanie turned to face Carly who was standing in the doorway to her room. “Women let you down too sometimes.”
“Oh, Carly,” Leah said. “I know that.”
“But I don’t think you do if you aren’t willing to give Brandon a chance. You gave Mel and me a chance. Hell, after what my mom did to me, I should never trust another woman, but I trust you two with my life.”
If Leah could slap herself in the face, she would. Carly had lived through a nightmare with her mom and as far as she knew, only the three of them in that room knew about it.
“I’m an idiot,” she said.
“You’re not,” Carly said. “You’ve been dealt a shit hand,” she looked at Melanie, “we all have. But we can’t let that stop us from trying to live. We can’t let the people in this world who hurt us win.”
Melanie looked at her. “I hate how right she is sometimes. Just hate it.”
Leah looked at her two best friends, right now her only friends. “I want to be that strong, to say fuck you dad, you don’t have power over me, but I’m just not ready.”
“You’ll get there,” Carly said. “You just have to get over the hump.”
“Leah doesn”t want to get over the hump, she wants to get on it,” Melanie teased.
“Living with you two is like living in a frat house,” Leah said. “Is everything a sexual reference?”
“Whatever, I am not the one who walked up to an almost perfect stranger and asked for sex.”
“That’s what you did to Brandon?” Carly shouted and then slapped a hand over her mouth.
“It was not one of my finer moments, okay,” she said. “Could we maybe just let it go and forget I ever did it?”
“I might be able to, but do you think he can?”
“I have to worry about myself right now. I realize now that I shouldn’t have done it and I just have to live with the consequences.”
“You’re gonna have to live with them over dinner because he is downstairs right now waiting for us.”
“This just gets better and better.” Melanie rubbed her hands together.
Leah sighed. “Come on, I might as well go and face the music.”
“Or in this case the Greek God,” Mel pushed her out the door.
“I hate you,” she said, making her way down the stairs. “I really hate you.”