Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Layla
F inding out that both Dad and Gramps were staying at my house the day after my birthday was a surprise, but I shrugged it off. I was used to never understanding things like that, so it wasn’t a hardship not knowing what they’d done to piss off my mom and grandmother.
What I couldn’t shrug off was the cuddly SpongeBob stuck on my foot. I know I’d put him in the smallest spare room on the futon I had in it, but I couldn’t explain how I’d ended him up on my foot, with stuffing trailing out.
“Morning, baby,” Mark greeted as he walked into my room carrying a tray. His eyes went from the cup of coffee on it to me, and he frowned. “How are you feeling?”
“Rough,” I croaked. “Do we have any Tylenol?”
His eyes slid to the table next to the bed, and I followed where he was looking. “Uh, why do I have so much of it?”
There had to be at least five bottles of each just sitting there.
“Something happened yesterday, and Cole just wanted to make sure you had enough to get you through not feeling well.”
There was something off about how he was talking. “What are you leaving out?”
“Nothing.” His eyes looked at the top of my head as his lips twitched.
Reaching up, I hit what felt like a ton of snags and knots. Damn it.
Carefully getting out of bed, I walked toward the bathroom, trying my best to ignore the pain in my legs. Today’s flu symptoms seemed worse in my lower extremities than they had the day before, like I’d run a marathon or something.
I’d just put my toothbrush in my mouth when I looked into the mirror and screamed at my reflection. I had a sort of top knot, but this one was on my hairline at the top of my forehead. The rest of my hair looked like I’d been rubbing it on a bed of hedgehogs, but the top knot itself looked horrific. Instead of putting a hair tie around it like a normal person, whoever had done it had wrapped my hair around the band.
Mark knocked on the door. “Layla? Are you okay?”
With my toothbrush still buzzing in my mouth, I opened it and stared blankly at him.
“What’s wrong?” His eyes slid from my toes to my head and then lowered to mine.
How he wasn’t staring at the monstrosity that was my hair was insane. Either that or he was just being polite.
Pointing at it, I waited for him to explain it to me.
“Your hair was like that when I got home, so I don’t know how that happened.” Well, that was disappointing. “Jack, Hurst, and Cole were looking after you yesterday while I was at work, so you could ask them.”
He looked way too innocent as he gave me their names, but at least I had people to press for the answers he was unwilling to provide me with. When we were kids, I’d have jumped on his back and tickled him, and as we got older, I’d have threatened to withhold blo—
Oh, Jesus, I’d tried to give him a blow job last night. And when he’d attempted to get me to stop, I’d held onto his dick like a hammer to prevent him from moving away.
Unable to face him, I turned back to the sink and finished brushing my teeth, and then washed my face. I felt rank, and I swear I could smell my hair—which was beyond gross—but I didn’t have it in me to stand in the shower. Maybe I could sit in it?
Mark lifted his arm and checked the time on his watch. “I don’t think I’ve got time to give you a deep scrub, but if you want your hair washed and a quick shower, I’ve still got an hour before I have to leave.”
Did I want that? For Mark to wash me and see me naked?
Fortunately, if I had any arguments against it, my desperation to be clean overrode them.
“Please,” I breathed. “Getting the tangles out of my hair and this damn hair tie is going to be hell, though.”
He began opening the drawers under the sink, moving stuff around as he looked for something. “Got it.”
When he turned around, I saw the small pair of nail scissors I’d never used because I liked to use proper nail clippers on my feet. I didn’t think twice about what he wanted them for until he raised them above my head.
Taking a shaky step away from him, I pushed his hand away. “What are you doing? You can’t cut my hair off.”
“I’m not cutting your hair, I’m cutting the hair tie that’s tangled up in it.”
“Ohh,” I hummed. “Okay, but please don’t leave me with a chunk that’s an inch long. I like my hair, and it’s taken me years to get it to this length and for it to still be healthy.”
It was relatively easy to grow your hair out, but what wasn’t easy was keeping the strands healthy, especially if you colored it or it was curly. Granted, some people were blessed and didn’t have that problem, but most people didn’t.
Sure, you could smooth it down with products and straightening irons, but the key word was ‘healthy.’ I’d had it cut every six weeks without fail while growing it out, and even now, I stuck to that schedule and had the ends trimmed off every six to eight weeks. It hit just above my ass right now, and I knew I would have to get a couple of inches cut off it the next time I had an appointment because it was irritating me.
But a couple of inches from the length versus only having a chunk at the front an inch long that stuck up in the air? I’d never survive the heartache that would cause.
Mark quickly cut through the hair tie and then worked on untangling it all. It wasn’t until he lifted the scissors again and I heard the snip as they cut through something that it happened. His eyes widened, and he lowered his hand with some hair sticking out.
“Shit, Layla, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean for it to happen. I was just looking at it, and my hand slipped.”
“No,” I cried, grabbing his hand and moving it closer to see. “What did you do?”
“It was an accident,” he replied, looking at me guiltily.
I pushed his hand away, trying to think of how I was going to repair it, when a sharp pain bit my scalp, making me yelp.
Dropping the chunk of hair that was still thankfully attached, Mark winked at me. “Gotcha. Now let’s get your ass in the shower and make you smell like roses instead of Cole’s sock.”
I’d smelled my brothers’ socks a lot growing up. I’m pretty sure the nauseating odor had permanently embedded itself in the walls of their former bedrooms and the downstairs closet where we’d kept our shoes as kids. I could never even hang a hoodie or a jacket in there during the winter because it came out smelling like sweaty ball feet.
Suddenly feeling self-conscious about how I smelled, I tried stepping away from him. “It’s okay, I can do that myself. It’s not a bi—”
Mark closed the space between us and leaned down until we were nose to nose so quickly that I froze. “I want to do it, and I was only kidding about you smelling like one of his socks.”
Licking my lips ended up with my tongue skimming across his own, and with the way his face softened, I couldn’t have said no to him helping me even if I’d wanted to. Which, of course, I didn’t. I mean, sick or not sick, my mama didn’t raise a fool—only my brothers who were close enough, I guess.
That didn’t mean I wasn’t nervous, though. He hadn’t seen me naked in four years, and bodies changed in that time. Age does stuff, gravity does worse stuff, food gets stuck in different areas of your body… it was a whole thing.
But I wanted him enough to get past that, so I said with false bravado, “Are you getting in with me?”
“Wouldn’t be able to wash you if I wasn’t, would I?”
Taking a step back, I pulled the t-shirt from my pajamas over my head, making sure to do it slowly. The only issue was, when I got to the base of my armpits, a mental image of hairy pits flashed through my mind, so I lowered them and tried to pull my head through without showing him what would likely be stubbly skin.
Let’s get real, it’d been four days since I’d last managed to shave them, and there was going to be very noticeable stubble.
Once my head was clear, I dropped it to the floor and pushed down my pajama bottoms. The stubble on my legs would only be an issue if he got close to them or brushed against me, so I didn’t panic as much removing them.
Holding my eyes, he stripped off his clothes, none of the issues I’d dealt with holding him back. For men, it was okay to have hair under your arms and on your legs, no one gave a shit, but for me, I was now afraid to move my arms, so I had them pressed tightly against my sides.
Keeping my eyes above his waist, I waited until he was naked and then moved to turn the shower on. Yes, I could have done it while he was stripping, but I hadn’t wanted to miss it, even if I’d censored the areas of his body I was allowing myself to look at.
In all of my musings and with a fuzzy head still, I forgot that the water came out of my shower like ice that’d just melted, and when it hit me, it almost took me down to my knees.
“Shit,” Mark clipped, catching me when my legs gave way and turning me away from the spray. “Give it a second to warm up, Layla.”
“Why does it hurt?” I whimpered, rubbing my hip and thigh where it felt like I’d been hit by a car.
“Having the flu makes your body ache, and the temperature of the water has made your nerves send out messages saying it hurts even more, is my guess.” Shoving his hand into the spray, he finally looked satisfied with the temperature. “Under you go. It’ll help the area settle.”
He was right, but he’d also adjusted the strength of the spray while he was waiting for the water to heat up. With a sigh of relief, I leaned back against him and just enjoyed feeling the water flowing over me for a moment.
However, I couldn’t dilly dally because he had to go to work—shit balls.
Mark carefully spun me around until I was facing him, then with his hand supporting my shoulders and the other one at the base of my back, he slid his leg between both of mine and slowly tipped me backward until my hair was under the water.
I’m not going to lie, I was delighted with the move. “Very smooth, Mr. Montgomery.”
He winked. “Only for you, Mrs. Montgomery.”
It made my heartbeat speed up hearing him call me that again after so long.
Did we really need to have that talk? Couldn’t I just lift a rug and sweep it under it?
“I need to hurry this up, baby, so I’m not late for work,” Mark said, sounding disappointed, as he washed my hair with shampoo and put the conditioner on it. “One day soon, once our talk’s out of the way, we’ll do this again, and it’ll be different.”
Tilting my chin up, he held my eyes with his own as he added, “But if you want to shower like this every day, you won’t get any argument from me.”
I sank into him, wrapping my arms around his waist, and listened to his heart beating. We were naked so there was obviously an element of sex to our situation, but mostly, it felt like I was reconnecting with him and lowering my guard that little bit more.
And that got me thinking as he washed the rest of my body—over the last couple of weeks, he’d done so much to prove he cared about me. What had I done back? I hadn’t made any little or grand gestures. Sure, he was staying in my house, but he’d bought the home of my dreams, for frick’s sake.
Just thinking about it made me feel guilty and like I was being self-centered. I needed to get off my ass and start showing him I cared, too. Our relationship had never been one-sided, we’d always contributed equally, and doing this would help us move forward.
Tipping my head back once the conditioner was washed out and I was squeaky clean, I pressed a kiss to his chin, something I’d done all the time when we were younger.
When his head dipped down, I could tell just that one small action had resonated with him.
Yeah, I was going to enjoy planning my gestures for Mark. I had some time on my hands, what with still feeling like shit, but at least I had the energy now to do some shopping online and some research.
With a devious smile, I waved him off to work and then curled up on the couch with my phone and Zeus. Discovering the little guy was all mine and that Mark had gotten him for me for my birthday as he was leaving for work had been amazing. Not that I’d have let Zeus go if he wasn’t.
“You going to help me plan big surprises for him, baby?”
My dog wagged his tail and braced himself with his front paws against my bicep and his back legs on the couch.
“Okay. Wait until you see the new home. Once it’s done it’ll look spectacular, and you’ll have so much space to run around in. There’s lots of grass and plenty of space for you to run outside, too.”
At that, he looked bored and laid down. That was until I decided it was treat time.
Wait, what would a ‘treat’ for an adult male like Mark look like?
Three days later…
The rearranged celebrations for my birthday were tomorrow night, and today was the first day I had the energy to get ready and go out somewhere.
I’d gotten to thinking the other day when I’d seen how enthusiastic and excited Zeus had been over getting a treat and how happy it’d made him about how I could evoke a reaction like that in Mark. The idea I’d had would still count as a gesture from me to him, there was no way it couldn’t, but how would I go about making it happen?
On a whim, I’d texted Cyn, and here we were, with her taking me to where she figured I could do that. I hadn’t wanted to go to Scarlett’s because she was married to Mark’s brother, and I was worried she’d let the surprise slip, so Cyn was taking me to a shop she knew of instead.
She squealed as we pulled out of the road leading to the main street in Palmerstown. “So, we’re going to get a human treat for Mark that’ll make him wag his tail excitedly.”
“That makes it sound like we’re going somewhere they sell animal costumes, and people meet up dressed in them and have an orgy.”
Her lip curled. “I don’t touch shit like that. Hey, maybe that’s what they did in the house Mark bought. I’d imagine if you… ‘discharged’ over one of those furry costumes, it’d smear around—” she gagged before I could. “Forget I mentioned it.”
She took a turning and pulled up in front of a place called Lexie’s. There were mannequins in the window wearing lingerie, and behind them I could see rails and shelves with items on them in a variety of colors.
It looked naughtier and a bit more risqué than Scarlett’s store.
“Are you sure this is the right place?”
Cyn grinned at me. “Absolutely, it’s the bollocks. I came in here when I was bored one day, and now I’m addicted.”
As we got out of the car, we heard our names being called.
“Of fucking course we get caught outside this shop,” I muttered to her as we both turned around to see who it was.
My smile grew, whereas hers dropped off her face when we saw Kapono walking toward us. Ah, what were the chances of him catching us here?
“Hey, is it girls' lunch day?”
I kept my eyes off Lexie’s sexy shop.
“We’ll be eating,” I hedged, again not wanting to lie to a police officer but not wanting him to know my personal business.
Kapono frowned at Cyn, who’d pasted a smile on her face again that looked as fake as Barbie’s boobs.
“You okay, Cyn?”
“Peachy. How are you, Officer?”
God!
“I’m doing well,” he said slowly, looking her over carefully. “What’s going on?”
Cyn grabbed my arm and tugged me into her side. “Nothing at all, Officer Ortiz. Isn’t it beautiful weather we’re having? I checked my phone this morning, and it’s brass monkey weather in the UK again.”
Both of us looked up at the sky, heavy with rain clouds.
“Cool it,” I whispered as he looked around where we were standing for something.
“I’m trying,” she hissed.
When his eyes turned back to us, they narrowed accusingly. “Something’s up. What’s going on, Cynthia, and don’t tell me nothing.”
“Is there something wrong with two women going to a shop to buy some lingerie? Some knickers to wear like a majority of women do? I mean, more power to you if you can let your minge be free, but I personally like the security underwear gives me.
“And don’t get me started on bras. We love and hate them, but if you don’t wear one or get the size right, bloody hell, man, it’s hell on earth. Your tit could pop out and give some poor old geezer a heart attack, or you get that chunk of under boob hanging out. Trés unattractive, don’t you think?”
I stared at her with my mouth open and then checked on Kapono’s reaction seeing him standing, almost frozen in place.
Finally, he cracked his neck and snapped out of it. “Pardon?”
“Knickers and booby holders.” She pointed at Lexie’s. “Why else would we be in front of a lingerie store, Officer?”
He followed where she was pointing, then looked back at her with a scowl. “Since when do you call me officer?”
“You’re a man with a badge.” She gestured at the badge on his hip. “I’m being polite and respectful.”
Taking a step closer, he leaned into her. “Cynthia, you know what’ll happen if you push me. Now quit trying to rile me up.”
I jumped in to help her. “No, we really are going in there. I wanted to get some new… uh….”
“Knickers?” Cyn suggested helpfully.
“Right, knickers to wear. All of mine are old with holes and stuff in them.” I blushed as soon as it came out. My underwear was definitely not old and holey, so I didn’t have the first clue why I’d told him that.
“She wants those garter thingies you attach lacy stockings to as well,” Cyn added. “I wonder if they have those bras that sit under your tatas and push them up like a buffet?”
Just as he opened his mouth, his radio squawked, and their dispatch sent out a weird message that likely could be interpreted by aliens, but not the common folk of the world. Did that make Mark an alien?
“I’ve got to go,” he muttered as he fished his car keys out of his pocket. “Enjoy your shopping, ladies.” As he passed us, he leaned in and whispered something in Cyn’s ear that made her stiffen up.
Then, with a wink, he walked to his car and got in.
Tugging on my arm, Cyn pulled me through the entrance to Lexie’s.
“Well, what did he say? You can’t expect me to witness what I just did and then not tell me what that bit at the end was.”
She scowled at a negligee that was hanging closest to us. “Nothing much. One of these days, I’m going to slap a wax strip on his balls and then rip it off while he screams and begs for mercy.”
Seeing how irritated she was by what’d happened, I waved my arm in a circle. “Okay, you’ve brought me to a wonderland of underwear. Tell me where to start.”
She tugged me over to the shorter, lacier nighties with a chuckle.
“You’ll want a couple of these to begin with.”
We’d been selecting stuff for almost half an hour when my brain returned to something she’d said.
“Cyn, I need to get waxed.”
She was reaching up for a teddy as I said it but froze and looked at me over her shoulder. “You’re not thinking of doing it yourself, are you? Don’t forget what that daft twat Sadie did when she fell for that, and she waxed her nunny and her arse shut.”
No one could forget that story. No one!
“No, you’ve put me off even attempting to do it by myself for life. Would you be okay to go to Delicious Divas with me if I can get an appointment?”
“Sure,” she shrugged. “See if you can fit me in at the same time. It’ll be like a minge bonding session.”
I made a face as I pulled my phone out. “I hate that word. It just makes it sound so gross and disgusting.”
“Minge?”
“Yeah. It’s like the ‘c’ word for me.” I hit the number for work and waited.
“I hate the ‘c’ word and wish it’d never been invented.”
We agreed on that.
Fortunately, the lady who did the waxing had a free hour that afternoon, so after we paid for the underwear and went for lunch, we drove back to Piersville and dropped into Delicious Divas.
I can’t say I enjoyed getting waxed, but it beat shaving it and worrying that I’d missed a spot. Whereas I made noises each time the strip was pulled off my skin, Cyn could lie back and tell us a story about something her son Wick had done the day before. Hell, her voice didn’t even change when the hair was ripped off her body.
Afterward, she dropped me off and held up her hand for a high five.
“Now, go and rock his world and give his todger a workout.”
The smile that’d been working its way onto my face froze.
“Todger means penis. You know, his Johnson? His Dick Van Dyke?”
“Ahh, I thought it was a machine or a tool.” I mean, it kind of sounded like one. “I can’t wait to see his reaction to my new underwear.”
I got out of the car and blew her a kiss.
“Just hope your dad doesn’t bring home another puppy and end up in your spare room again,” she shouted before she burst out laughing and drove off, leaving me glaring in the direction of my parents’ home, almost daring him to ruin my plans.
Dad had gone back home this morning, and now that I had Mark all to myself, I wanted to show him at least one of my surprises.