Chapter 07
“Do you own anything other than the color black?“
May demanded, making me laugh. It faded quickly into a yawn as I stretched on the bed, my muscles pleasantly sore from a terrible night of sleep positions to accommodate her presence.
Somewhere around dawn, denim and leather had turned from sexy to suffocating. It was too hot and too uncomfortable to sleep in such heavy clothes. Half asleep, we managed to blindly dig through my drawers to trade out clothes. She’d pulled on one of my t-shirts with her panties while I opted for a tank top and shorts.
And yes. Everything was black.
They matched my sheets, blankets, pillows, and everything else in the room. Probably even my soul if I thought about it long enough.
“It was a phase,“
I told her.
“It’s still a phase,“
she commented, glancing at me with dramatic judgment written all over her gorgeous face. “We need some color in this room.”
The sunlight caught in her red hair, practically setting it on fire. Between that and the natural light of her smile, I decided she was more than enough color for any space she occupied.
I pushed up onto one elbow and leaned over her in an effort to grab my phone off the nightstand. I didn’t get far. Her fingers slid into my hair, tugging me down, and her mouth found mine before I could protest.
The kiss was slow and demanding—an unfair distraction.
“This isn’t helping me get up,“
I muttered against her lips, already sinking into her.
“Who says I’m trying to help?“
Her mouth wandered, brushing along my jaw and down my neck. A soft sound slipped out of me before I could stop it. Yeah, fuck responsibilities. I was never getting out of this bed.
“It’s almost noon—”
“Crap!“
She launched upright, practically throwing me off her while I yelped in surprise. Blankets twisted around my legs as she scrambled free, panic replacing her sleepy laziness in a heartbeat. “I’m late! I have a meeting this morning.”
Well, we weren’t fucking responsibilities after all.
“Bathroom?“
she demanded, already halfway out the door.
“Across the hall!“
I called after her.
“So fucking late!”
I dropped back onto my pillow and stared up at the ceiling with a helpless smile stretching across my face. My chest felt full and content. One day and one night should not have been enough to feel like this.
But it was, and I did.
It also wasn’t enough. I wanted another night and another morning. I wanted habits and routines. I wanted her stuff and mine mixed until we didn’t know who belonged to what.
Fuck, I really liked her.
“There’s a naked man in your shower,“
May announced, reappearing in the doorway.
I bolted upright.
“What?”
“Obviously, he’s naked,“
she clarified, far too calm for the scene she was describing. “This isn’t a serial killer situation. Unless the serial killer is showering before he kills you, except I don’t think that’s what he’s doing. It’d make more sense for him to shower after… get rid of all the evidence.”
“For fuck’s sake,“
I grumbled. I tossed blankets off and climbed over a pillow barricade. “I apologize for him.”
Fucking Rhodes. Why? Why the hell was he in my shower?
“Don’t,“
she said with a shrug. “He’s hot. There was zero shame as he threw open the curtain. Though I think he was expecting you.”
I paused, frowning. She thought Rhodes was hot?
A stupidly irrational and deeply annoying flicker of jealousy sparked in my stomach.
“He’s gay,“
I informed her quickly.
“He’s still hot.”
“We’re painfully co-dependent.”
“So, he doesn’t live with you?“
she asked.
“At this point, he might as well,“
I muttered and stormed across the hall to the bathroom. I pushed the door open without knocking. Rhodes let out a strangled sound and scrambled for a towel like modesty had suddenly become a concept he respected. I hissed, “What are you doing here?”
“I didn’t know you brought home a date!“
he whisper-shouted back.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re here!”
“Because I needed a shower!”
“You have a shower!”
“Yours is better!”
“We need boundaries,“
I snapped. Cracking the door slightly, I glanced out to check on May. I caught sight of her combing her fingers through her hair. While she had put on her own shorts, she kept my shirt as if it belonged to her. I knew that shirt was never coming home to me again, and I wasn’t bothered by that thought in the least.
“Please,“
Rhodes scoffed behind me. “We’ve never had boundaries.”
“That doesn’t mean we don’t need them,“
I retorted. I gestured to all of him. “Just put… something on! She doesn’t need to see you naked.”
“It’s a little late for that.”
The smugness in his voice threatened to be the end of him, but I resisted. I abandoned the argument before I committed a felony and hurried back to my room.
May sat on the edge of the bed as she laced up her boots. The easy smile on her face when she looked up at me made my heart practically swan dive out of my chest.
“I’m sorry about him,“
I said. “We’re working on boundaries.”
Not entirely a lie. We would definitely be working on boundaries.
“He’s cool,“
May replied. “Maybe next time, I can get his name.”
“It’s Rhodes,“
I told her. “We served together.”
“Is he the best friend that tells you not to punch people?“
she asked, and I nodded. “He gets bonus points for keeping you out of jail.”
She stood and crossed the distance between us. Her hands were soft as they framed my face. The kiss she gave me was short, sweet, and worse than all the other ones. It held the promise of the goodbye I didn’t want.
“Thank you for yesterday,“
she whispered.
“You’re welcome.“
I had a million and one things I wanted to say, but nothing good formed in my head. Instead, I opted for, “I hope you’re not too late for your meeting.”
“Oh, I will be.“
She kissed me once more. Taking her hand in mine, I walked her to the door because if I didn’t physically escort her out, I would’ve tried to convince her to stay another hour. Or six. As she passed the bathroom, she yelled, “Next time I’d like to see more of you than just your dick, Rho-Rho.”
I made a ridiculous sound, some mix of laughter and surprise. All May did was grin deviously over her shoulder without an ounce of remorse. Behind the door, I knew Rhodes was grinning like the idiot he was at that.
“I’ll text you,“
May promised as I held open the front door for her. I pulled her back for one more kiss, quick and a little desperate, but forced myself to let her go.
“I can’t wait,“
I said and meant it. I watched her leave until I was sure she’d gotten safely out of the building before shutting my door.
“Do you know who that is?“
Rhodes demanded, wandering out of the bathroom. A towel hung low around his hips as he combed his hand through his long hair.
“That’s my future wife,“
I announced with the utmost confidence. I wasn’t lying. I had every intention of marrying her–after I dated her, of course.
“No, no. Do you know who she is?“
he interjected, and I shook my head. I didn’t really give a fuck who she was. I just cared about when I’d get to see her again. “That’s May Monroe.”
“I know her name,“
I replied. “I’m not that kind of person.”
Okay, once upon a time, I was.
“She’s Crashbaby…“
he said it slowly, like I should’ve known what he was talking about. The only thing I knew was that she’d used the title as her spy name, but he didn’t mean it like that. “Of the Noise Dolls…”
I shrugged, still clueless. He was saying words that meant absolutely nothing to me.
“They’re an all-femme, alt punk rock band…”
I shrugged again. We had very different tastes in music.
“Their song Love Song for the Unstable was number one for four weeks last year… is any of this ringing a bell?”
“I don’t have a fucking clue what you’re talking about.”
He stared at me, sizing me up as if he wasn’t sure he believed me.
“You just hooked up with the drummer of a fucking rock band. A famous drummer. A fucking celebrity.”
Oh, shit… I… what?
You’re famous???
MAY: Rho-Rho recognized me, didn’t he? He got that look when I ran into him.
Yeah. Yeah, he did.
MAY: Does it bother you?
No. But it would’ve been nice if I found out from you.
MAY: Honestly, I just thought you were being nice and not saying anything.
I listen to country music.
Mostly only country music.
Sometimes rock.
But like 80’s rock while I punch things.
MAY: That’s sexy.
The guys at the gym are scared of me.
MAY: They should be. My girl is a beast.
Your girl?
MAY: If you want…
I think I need like… at least three dates before I agree.
MAY: Only three?
Maybe more.
MAY: Doing anything Saturday?
Not that I know of.
MAY: Want to go to London?
London? Like… London, London?
MAY: Yeah. Our European tour starts. You could come with?
To London?
MAY: To London… and everywhere else we go in Europe.
Okay.
MAY: Perfect. It’s a five-week date.
Deal.