Chapter 21 #2
Okay, so he cared a little bit. She was his friend and they were sleeping together, after all.
It was only natural that he be concerned when she was putting her health and more importantly, their arrangement at risk.
He needed to work her out of his system and he wouldn’t be able to do that if she was constantly sick.
At least, that’s what he told himself.
Truth was, he really didn’t like seeing her suffer.
She’d been really good to him and he loved their time together.
She was the highlight of his day and as much as that frightened him, he couldn’t ignore it.
He’d help get her where she needed to be, finish this arrangement after he found his future wife and keep tabs on her afterwards to make sure that she was okay.
Maybe he’d put her in one of his nicer apartment houses and let her live there rent-free.
It was the least he could do for her and it would make it so much easier to make sure that she was okay.
“What if I get fat again?” she muttered so softly that he’d almost missed it.
He’d just barely stopped himself from snapping at her. “Zoe, you really need to eat. This isn’t healthy and if you make better choices and continue to exercise, you will be fine.”
She tore her eyes away from her sandwich and gave him a sad little sheepish smile. “I always gain the weight back plus a little extra when I break a diet,” she admitted, her little chin wobbling.
Sighing heavily, Trevor reached out and took her hand in his. “You’re not breaking your diet, Zoe. You’re just switching it around. Plus, I’m around and if I see you eating something unhealthy, I’ll just steal it from you,” he said with a shrug.
Her lips twitched even as her eyes glimmered with unshed tears. “That’s really nice of you.”
“I know,” Trevor sighed, picking up her sandwich and placing it on her lap. “I’m so damn giving.”
He heard what sounded suspiciously like a snort of laughter but decided to ignore it as he devoured his four sandwiches.
It didn’t take Zoe long to tear through her sub and when she shot his last sandwich a wistful look, he sighed and pulled out the small side salad he’d bought just in case Zoe busted his balls over the sub.
She took it with a smile, leaving him to finish off his sandwich and pick out a movie.
“So, what else happened today?” he asked as he sat back down, threw his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer.
She shrugged, snuggling up against him. “Not much else. I had a problem getting my car started, fell, bruised my bottom, got to go home early, and Jared yelled at me for starving myself,” she announced around another yawn.
“Seriously?” Trevor asked, not really all that surprised.
If anyone would notice that Zoe wasn’t eating, it would be a Bradford.
Since he knew that his uncle cared for Zoe, he wasn’t at all surprised that the man had taken it upon himself to have a word with her instead of ignoring it.
No wonder she’d left the trailer in tears.
When his uncle cared about someone who was doing something stupid, he really let them know it and he should know since he had firsthand experience dealing with his uncle’s “concerns.”
When he’d dropped out of school at sixteen, he’d got into a shouting match with his mother over her refusal to sign the release form so that he could join the army.
His Uncle Jared had been the one to handle him.
As he’d yelled at his mother, his uncle quietly walked into the room, crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back against the kitchen wall while he patiently waited for the argument to end.
The moment his mother told him that his choices were to get his ass back in school or move out, he told her to have a nice life and headed to his room to pack up his shit.
Since he was big for his age, looked eighteen, and had twenty-five dollars to his name, Trevor figured that he was more than ready to start a new life.
After his father humiliated and abandoned him along with all his friends because of the special classes he had to attend, he’d been determined never to return to school again.
He hadn’t seen any real reason to go back.
He was a man and more than capable of supporting himself.
After he packed a duffle bag full of his shit, he’d stormed out of the house and past his hysterically sobbing mother.
He’d barely made it three feet past the front door when he’d found himself flat on his stomach, on the grass that he’d forgotten to mow, and his uncle’s knee between his shoulder blades.
While he’d struggled to free himself, his uncle held him there, calmly explaining to him in detail what would happen to him if he’d tried to leave the house again without his mother’s permission and what he would personally do to Trevor if he ever heard him disrespecting his mother again.
As soon as Trevor apologized, with a mouthful of grass and God only knows what else, Jared had informed Trevor that he was going to come work for him full-time where he could keep an eye on him and that he was also going to get his GED.
His uncle hadn’t asked him what he’d wanted.
He’d just told him to have his ass up by six in the morning and be ready for work or his ass better be going to school.
Six the next morning, he’d waited for his uncle to pick him up and by the end of that first day, he’d wished that he was dead.
He’d hurt everywhere, had blisters on his hands, was sunburned, exhausted, starving, and more than ready to go home and crash, but his uncle had other plans for him.
Trevor woke up when his uncle announced that they were there, only to discover “there” was the community center.
With a simple nod, he told Trevor to get inside, go to his GED class and that his mother would be there to pick him up in two hours.
Before he drove off, he’d explained what would happen if Trevor didn’t stay awake and pay attention.
Knowing that his uncle didn’t make idle threats, he’d stumbled inside and forced himself to stay awake.
Eight months later, he had his GED and a pay raise for doing a good job.
By then, he’d liked his job and was pretty good at it, so he’d stayed.
He’d saved his money, learned to flip homes with his uncle and by twenty, he’d owned his first rental property, a beat-up tiny cottage by the pond that he’d fixed up.
He never had a problem finding tenants that were willing to pay his asking price.
Since then, he’d bought several more properties and flipped at least two houses a year.
He knew there might come a day when his uncle decided to sell his company and retire.
Trevor didn’t want to find himself dependent on some asshole who didn’t want a guy who couldn’t read well working for him.
When the day came that he no longer had a job working for his uncle, he knew that he could more than take care of himself.
He also knew that if his uncle hadn’t threatened to beat the shit out of him numerous times over the years that he would have probably fucked up his life and been screwed when his mother passed away ten years ago.
His uncle was also a big softie when it came to women.
So, he was probably beating himself up right now for making Zoe cry, but it had been for the best. He’d wondered why she gave in, not that he really thought she gave in all that easily, but he’d figured he was going to have to tie her down to feed her.
He was glad that his uncle did most of his dirty work for him.
Not that he really expected this to be the end of it. He wasn’t fucking stupid after all.
“Yeah, it’s really sore,” she said, squirming next to him, trying to shift some of the weight off her bottom.
“I didn’t mean that, smartass,” he said, moving away from her. “Lay down,” he said, grabbing the pillow and quilt.
When she shot him a nervous look, he bit out, “To rest, Zoe. No sex tonight. I promise.”
Did she not trust him? That just plain hurt.
“Are you sure?”
“Didn’t I just say no sex tonight?” Trevor demanded, wondering why the woman didn’t just take his word for it. It wasn’t as though he’d acted like some horny bastard that couldn’t keep his hands off of her...at least, he hadn’t tonight.
“I can survive a day without sex, Zoe,” he pointed out, purposely not mentioning the mind-blowing sex they’d already had this morning since it would only weaken his point.
“Okay,” Zoe answered slowly, keeping an eye on him as she lay down and snuggled beneath the quilt.
It was insulting and if she wasn’t so damn tired, he’d do that thing with his tongue that he knew she liked and make her apologize for doubting him.
He really couldn’t believe that she didn’t trust him, Trevor thought as he started to climb behind her, only to pause so that he could adjust the bulge in his pants.
He was just wondering how in the hell he was going to lay down behind her without her finding out that he was a lying bastard when the doorbell rang.
With a frustrated groan, Trevor climbed back off the couch and was about to tell her he’d be right back when he realized that she was already fast asleep.
Poor thing really was exhausted, Trevor thought as he pressed a kiss to the top of her head and earned a little grumble and a swat. So, of course, he did it again, chuckling when she tried to hide beneath the quilt as she called him a “Muking mastid.”
He quietly left his apartment, shutting the door halfway to give her privacy as he wondered who the hell could be at his door this late at night.
Then he wondered if Zoe called for Black Jack’s and simply forgot to tell him about it.
She was tired and he was a Bradford, after all.
She knew damn well if she put enough food in front of him that she could distract him for a while.
Poor thing was probably hoping to buy some time, Trevor thought as his poor neglected stomach growled in anticipation of finally getting some proper nourishment.
So, when he opened the door and discovered that it was not a Black Jacks delivery boy waiting to hand him a box full of deliciousness but Hank with two incredibly beautiful women, he scowled, just a little bit.
“Ah,” Hank started, clearing his throat nervously, “Mandy this is Trevor. Trevor, this is Mandy,” Hank said, gesturing to the gorgeous blonde who was busy running an appreciative eye over his bare chest.
“What do you want?” he asked Hank, feeling his patience starting to fray. Not only had the man interrupted some decent cuddling time with Zoe, but he’d made him think that he was getting Black Jacks’ pizza, something that he just couldn’t forgive.
“Did you forget about our double date tonight?” Hank bit out, gesturing discreetly to the two women standing behind him.
Frowning, Trevor glanced at the woman by herself and looked her over.
She was beautiful, stunningly so. She had just the right amount of makeup, perfect long black hair that looked like silk ending halfway down her back.
Her breasts were high and full without the look of plastic and her figure was absolutely perfect.
“We thought we’d head back to the girls’ place so that Mandy could cook us all dinner. She’s a chef,” Hank announced with a cocky grin, no doubt knowing how attractive a woman who could cook was to a Bradford.
What he didn’t know was that so far, Mandy was scoring pretty high on Trevor’s perfect woman list. He shot a look over his shoulder before stepping out onto the front stoop and closing the door behind him.
He shot Mandy a smile that she quickly returned.
“So, Mandy, tell me are you a Yankees fan?”
“Yes,” she said, giving him a warm smile.
“Are you close to your family?”
“Yes.”
“Large family?”
“Yes,” she answered, frowning a bit at his questions or the rapid-fire way that he was asking them, he didn’t know or care.
“Do you think you’re fat?” he asked, narrowing his eyes on her as he waited for her to answer.
Her beautiful, perfectly painted mouth worked soundlessly for a moment before she answered. “A little, but I’m on a diet,” she rushed to explain as if that’s what he wanted to hear.
“Do you like dogs?”
“Yes, but I’m more of a cat person.”
“Are you clingy?” he demanded.
“No,” she answered with a nervous laugh as she shot her sister, who only shrugged, a look.
With a regretful sigh, he shook his head. “I’m sorry, but this isn’t going to work out.”
“What the hell are you doing, Trevor?” Hank demanded anxiously. No doubt the man wouldn’t be getting laid tonight, but Trevor couldn’t help it. He had standards and this woman failed to meet them.
“Maybe we could go grab a cup of coffee somewhere and get to know-”
Trevor held up his hand, stopping her before she made an even bigger fool out of herself. “Please, stop.”
“But I was only-”
“Don’t beg.”
“I wasn’t. I was just-”
“Begging?” Trevor guessed, sighing. “I know, but you’re going to have to accept that this would never work out.”
She frowned up at him. “I wasn’t begging. I was just going to suggest that we should-”
“Look,” Trevor said, reaching for the door, “this is just getting sad. I’m going to go before things get out of hand.”
“You bastard,” Hank hissed as Trevor moved past him, but he didn’t really care.
He was more insulted than anything. What the hell was the man thinking bringing a woman like that to meet him?
Did the man think that he was so desperate that he’d consider sleeping with a woman like that?
It was really fucking insulting, Trevor thought as he climbed onto the couch behind Zoe and pulled her back against his body.
She, of course, rewarded him with an elbow to his gut, which he manfully took since she turned in his arms and cuddled up quite nicely against him.
A half-hour later as he dozed off, he wondered why Hank brought him a woman like that when he clearly had standards. Then, he remembered that the man was a fucking moron and that explained everything.