Chapter Three
Pierce
Who is a bigger idiot than I am?
No one. Not even close. There is no contest, I take the cake. Last night the prettiest, kindest woman I have ever met gave me her number. Even kind of flirted. I told myself I was going to call. Going to ask her out and give it a shot. Once I found out she was my new neighbor, I panicked.
If I screwed things up—which I often do—I couldn’t escape her.
Now I am sitting mere feet from her, with just a breezeway and two locked doors between us. I can smell her perfume. Cherries and cream. It hit me hard last night standing in the hall together. What I should have done was tell her how I was going to call. That I wanted to call.
Instead, I said almost nothing. I was so thrown off balance by her. By how pretty she is, how thick and curvy her beautiful body is. How good she smells and how I wanted to taste her cherry red lips. I gave her the cat to give her something. Anything is better than the nothing I’ve been for so long.
Sitting here now, I can’t take my eyes off the door. I could just go over and knock on the door. Ask her how the kitten is doing. Find out if she named her. I called her Smoke because I was smoking when I found her. If I had to wager, I would think she would choose a better name. Does she need things for the kitten? Can I be bold enough to get things to bring to her?
It would almost be as if we were sharing the cat.
“Go talk to her, idiot. Paige gave you her number for a reason.”
Paige wrote her number on that ticket for a reason. I can’t understand it, but I ought to do something about it. Climbing to my feet, I storm to the door, telling myself to get it done. To go talk to her. As soon as I open the door, there she is standing in her doorway, clutching the kitten to her.
“Paige, what is going on? You or the kitten need anything?”
Tipping her head up, she is smiling at me, but I see a sheen of tears in her pretty green eyes. Seeing it slices my heart in half. Which is wicked weird. I press a hand to my chest, to ensure I am no in fact bleeding out. Reaching out to her, I cradle the side of her face in my hand.
“We both need food. I have nothing here. I came here to be on my own. I don’t know how to be on my own, Pierce. I want to know. I want to do this on my own. But...can...can you help us?”
“Oh, babe, of course. Want some French fries and French toast?”
Paige peers up at me before she laughs a soft, melodic laugh, falling against my chest. The cat is tucked between us but doesn’t seem to mind. I sure as hell do not mind her soft curves pressing up against me. Slipping an arm around her waist, I haul her a little closer. Sighing, she nestles close and lets me hold her for a minute.
It takes just this embrace for me to decide. I will do anything for her. Be her best friend who cooks for her. Her neighbor she can borrow sugar from. A — figure to her new kitten. Or a man who will be anything she could ask of. Pulling back, I wonder if she can see the decision in my eyes.
“I would not say no to more fries, Pierce,” her voice is breathy, her eyes darker green than before.
Those pretty eyes drop to my lips. My heart twists in circles. I want to kiss her. Right here, right now, without knowing a single thing about her. My fingers brush over her cheek, slipping back to tangle in her thick, golden hair. Paige’s mouth parts as a little sound hums out of her. I lower my head, ready to take a chance, give it a go. I am inches from her lips when a fuzzy paw reaches up with a smack to rival Gordie Howe.
Chuckling, I pull back, letting the little thing curl up on her chest. Paige also laughs, making my chest and my jeans tighten. Turning back to my place, I take her hand to lead them both in. Paige wanders through the place as if taking her own tour while I head to the kitchen.
“That little creature will love a little tuna. For you, I will make whatever you want.”
Coming to the small island between the kitchen and living room, she takes a seat on a battered stool. I am reminded how shabby a place I have. The couch was there when I got the place, the chairs I picked up off the curb, and my bed is the small double I took from my mom’s place. I flush as she takes a good look at the place, setting the kitten on the counter.
“How long have you been here, Pierce?”
“Uh...about a year. I finished school and... well, I guess I could have gone anywhere. Truth is I thought I would be better off coming home.”
“Were you at school to be a chef?”
Once again, heat hits my cheeks as I set the can of tuna out for the little creature. Immediately she begins to eat, even growling a little when we gently move her aside. Poor thing must be starved. Sharing a look with Paige, I ask the question I have thought about all night.
“What will we name her?”
Paige smiles as if glad I asked. “I was thinking...Frenchie?”
Laughing, a real head back, belly laugh, I nod. It is perfect. Agreeing, I reach out to give the hungry girl a few scratches. With a full belly, she crawls across the counter to Paige and settles against her bosom. I glance away because it’s hard not to stare at her soft tits, but I know it’s wrong.
“Frenchie it is. And, no, I went to school on a football scholarship. Blew my knee sophomore final season. It gave me time to switch majors. Since I always loved cooking, it made sense. How can I impress you today?”
Tilting her head, she considers my question seriously. “Could you make...waffles? With some chicken?”
Nodding with a smirk, I agree. It’s one of my favorite dishes to make. Crispy, fried chicken with sweet, syrupy waffles is delicious. “Anything you want, babe.”
Her beautiful face goes pink as I realize it’s the second time I called her that. I don’t have a right to. Yet it sounds good. It feels good. Her teeth nip at her full bottom lip as she gazes up at me. Wanting to kiss her hits me again. Something tells me until I kiss her, I won’t shake off that feeling.
It’s been years since I even kissed a girl. At a party in my sophomore year, I spent Seven Minutes in Heaven in a locked closet. It was more metal mouth and slobber than heaven. This would be different. There would be no mess, no awkward teeth, no scars left behind.
Kissing Paige would be actual moments in Heaven.
“Awesome,” Paige answers with a laugh, tucking some hair behind her ear. “I can see I will eat well with you for a neighbor, darling.”
Blinking at her, I flush. I would love to feed her anything she asks of me. Just thinking of watching her full mouth close around a bite of food makes my dick jerk in my jeans. Never found food or eating it to be a turn on but damn, this girl eating anything for sure turns me on.
“You said you wanted to do this alone. What is this, Paige?”
Cocking her head at me as I start putting some food together, she considers my question. She does this often it seems. I like it. It shows she listens to what I am asking and takes the time to answer. Bouncing a shoulder, she puts on a smile that does not reach her eyes.
“Life, I guess. I finished college two years ago. Once I graduated I... I had no idea what to do next. I went to school because it was the next obvious choice. Once it was done...there were no obvious choices left.”
“Ain’t life about choices though? We can go where we want or be whoever we want now. It’s the eighties, baby. You could be the next president or go to space. There is nothing stopping you but yourself.”
Surprised by my words when I am usually less optimistic, I grin. Paige laughs that cute fucking laugh and shakes her head. I don’t care if I am talking nuts. My best friend’s sister and his old lady are some of the coolest Bettie’s I know. Bobbi is the hottest trainer in town at the Sweat Shop gym and Blair is a kick-ass teacher whose students adore her.
“Yeah, Pierce. We can choose to be whoever we want to be. Even little ol’ me,” she teases, fluttering her lashes at me as she preens a little. I laugh too, shaking my head at my foolish speech. “I mean it. What do you want to be, Pierce? What would you choose if you could, right now?”
“This, right here,” I answer honestly, not even thinking about it. I don’t have to. “Cooking for someone. Making food makes me feel good. It’s how I show my mother or my sister I care. How I prove myself to others.”
“You’ve proven plenty to me,” she whispers in a raw whisper.
Between us sits two plates of crispy fried chicken and fluffy waffles. A tub of butter I made myself, along with the best maple syrup in town. None of it even registers as I stare down at her. Being with her feels good. It is the first time I feel like myself. As if I can be who I want to be.
“Does that mean you cooked for me because you care?”
“Yeah, babe...it does.”
Beaming up at me with the most beautiful smile I have ever seen, she flushes a pretty pink. I’ve never been with a woman this way before, not where I can feel every single part of me wanting all the parts of her. Reaching out, I brush the backs of my fingers over her cheek, sighing as her eyes flutter at the touch.
Showing me my touch does something to her changes me entirely. Earlier in the hall, I decided I would be anything for her. Now, now I know I want her to be everything for me. Everything she will let me be. I want to cook for her and touch her and I damn sure want to kiss her.
Bending my head, I take a deep breath before I brush my mouth over hers. Paige sighs and opens her mouth, letting me get a good taste of her. She is sweet, sweeter than any syrup or candy I ever tasted. Going for a deeper kiss, I pull back as Frenchie mewls in protest, smacking me again.
“Bad girl,” Paige laughs, scooping the kitten up.
“No, good girl. If I hadn’t found her, would I be feeding a beautiful woman my food? Not a chance.” Paige frowns as she pulls back to wipe her mouth. Her glare up at me cools the heat coursing through me in an instant.
How could I be such an idiot again?