Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Isaac
Iwalk back inside the townhouse and plop beside Nixie, who is still sound asleep.
From the corner of my eyes, I can see Ronnie, deep in her laptop as she works her little life away.
Trying to pretend that I’m not here, even though I can see her stealing glances when she thinks I’m not paying attention.
My phone vibrates, pulling my attention to the buzzing in my chest. Pulling the phone from my pocket, I look down at the screen—a message from Blondie.
Alexa:
My place or yours?
I roll my eyes and gently smack the phone on my forehead.
Alexa can sometimes be clingy, and it becomes more evident on nights I hang out with Ronnie.
One of the many things I dislike about our arrangement.
As much as I wanted to feel bad for ignoring.
I can’t. I’m too focused on the woman furiously typing away.
I sigh and pocket my phone. I'm not in the mood for Alexa or anyone who isn’t Nixie or Ronnie.
My eyes fix on the screen in front of me, watching Edward glitter on the screen as if it's the most interesting thing in the world.
Using it as a distraction to keep my urges at bay, only for it to fail by the sound of her voice as she answers her phone.
“Hi, babe,” she chirps, her voice bright and sweet as honey.
A pang of jealousy shoots straight through my heart.
My blood turns to ice, and I clench my fist. Fucking Max.
Trying my best not to act like a complete freak, I pretend to be into the movie playing.
If there is a man I hate just as much as Max, it’s fucking Edward Cullen.
What kind of fucking vampire glitters and has no fangs?
I grimace as I watch Edward’s painful interaction with Bella.
I hear a small chuckle, a confirmation that her eyes are on me, and without a doubt noticed my reaction to the scene.
It was always the same. Her voice drops at whatever Max tells her, making me look in her direction.
She smiles when our eyes connect, as she closes her computer and stands from the table.
Walking away, her voice barely above a whisper, as she continues her conversation on the phone.
I bite down the urge to follow her and try my best to focus on the movie.
How long is this shit? My phone vibrates steadily inside my pocket, digging my phone back out to see Sledge's name on my screen.
“Brother,” I answer.
Sledge chuckles into the phone, doing very little to drown out the sound of skin slapping that fills the other end of the line. “I got you some serious cash and another fight. Tonight.”
Absentmindedly, my eyebrow arches as I scratch my chin.
“Can’t do. Family time,” I answer. The one thing I never compromise on is time with family.
My father has always been big on family time, especially since the death of my mother.
Plus, this is the only time I get to spend with my girl without needing an excuse to be here or seek her out.
No amount of money will make me leave her side.
“Tomorrow, I can push it till then, but nothing more.” He responds through his teeth. I glance over at Nixie, who stirs on the couch but remains asleep. Quickly, I give Sledge an answer just so I can end the call. “Tomorrow works. How much?”
Sledge groans. “Five thousand.”
“I can work with that. How much do you have for me now?” I ask as I rise to my feet.
“The fight, three. The bets, ten. We did well last night. Come grab the cash and have some fun,” he says.
“I’ll pass..” I chuckle. “I’ll get it all tomorrow.”
He groans once again, and I end the call. My attention goes to the small noises coming from the kitchen. I creep up to the kitchen, leaning into the wooden door frame as I silently admire the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. Her waves cascade down her body as Ronnie cuts up lettuce.
“Rabbit food for lunch?” I ask, stretching my arm above my head, my hand resting on the trim of the door. She glances over her shoulder, the knife pointing in my direction as she replies, “You don’t have to eat it, asshole.”
I laugh because she could feed me poison and I’d still eat it. Fuck, I’d even thank her for it with my dying breath. And yet, she says I’m not a romantic. The thing is, the romance is only directed to her, not anybody else.
“You're just gonna stare at me all day. Or do you have something better to do?” My girl has a way with words. That fiery tongue and quick wit is enough to make me want to turn her and smack her plump ass until it’s red and stinging.
The urge becomes unbearable to manage when she smiles, a mischievous curve of her lips that holds as much venom as it does amusement.
I push away from the frame, stepping further into the kitchen, my fingers trailing along the edge of the white counter as I move closer to her. “Can I help?”
She gives me a sceptical look but shrugs and hands me a cutting board and a tomato.
“Fine, but don’t cut yourself. I'm not in the mood to play nurse today,” she retorts, focusing back on her chopping.
Her hair cascades down to her shoulders, a veil of black waves that obscures part of her face from my view.
“Want me to pick up your hair?” It was a rhetorical question, so I don’t wait for her to answer before I’m behind her, my hand grabbing her hair and braiding it messily because I don’t know what I’m doing.
I just want to help keep hair from her face and the food.
I bite back the urge to comment or smile when she stiffens slightly when my fingers touch her scalp.
“I don’t know why you’re doing that. You’re atrocious at it,” she snaps back, even though I feel her lean into me. A small movement that sends blood rushing straight into my cock.
“It gets the job done, no hair in the food nor on your face,” I quip with a shrug, backing away from her, and taking my place on the counter beside her.
Grabbing the round tomato, slicing into it with practiced ease.
Doing this always brings me back to when we were young.
Always helping around the kitchen. Pretending I had any real interest in cooking just so I could be beside her.
There’s a comfortable silence between us as we work side by side.
The sound of knives hitting the chopping boards.
“How are things with Lex?” She asks, breaking the silence. I stop dead in my tracks and shoot her an annoyed look. “Out of all the things we could talk about. Alexa, is what you choose?”
She sighs, using the top of her hand to brush away hair that falls on her eyes. “She’s my best friend, Iz, and your situationship is hurting her.”
I grab the onion next, trying my best not to misplace my annoyance. “She’s a big girl, Ronnie. She knows the deal. I’m not playing with her emotions. Nobody is forcing her. She wants this. What can I say? It’s easy. No strings. Just fucking. If it’s not her, it's gonna be someone else.”
Ronnie shakes her head, her lips pressing together in a taut line. “It’s not fair to her, Iz, it really isn’t.” Her words are firm, almost biting. “You’re being a total asshole to her.”
I pause for a moment, my grip on the onion tightening involuntarily. I hate when she’s right. The problem is that she is the woman I want, and no one will ever be enough because no one is her. “Listen, I know she’s your friend, but our arrangement is strictly dickly. Nothing more.”
“Strictly dickly?” Ronnie scoffs, her steel eyes rolling dramatically before she refocuses on chopping a cucumber with more force than necessary. The sight makes me grimace, picturing the same thing she might be envisioning at this very moment. “Have you always been this eloquent, Iz?”
My wince quickly fades, and now I’m fighting for my life to bite back a grin.
“You know me, Veronica, I’m a poet at heart.
” I give her a wink, but she doesn’t laugh at my joke.
Instead, she glares, pointing the knife at me.
“Grow up. We aren’t children anymore.” I step closer, not the smartest thing I’ve done, but I digress.
“You’d like my arrangement if you gave it a try. ”
“Seriously, Iz,” She rolls her eyes while releasing a loud breath. “Maybe give it a shot. It’s been years… You can’t possibly feel anything towards her.” She counters by changing the subject and shutting me out once again.
I sigh, going back to chopping the onion in front of me. “I can’t, Veronica. Trust me, if I could, it would have happened already. Damn it, why are you always so quick to meddle in other people’s business?”
Ronnie returns her focus to the cutting board.
“She’s my friend, Iz. She’s hurting.” She moves with precision as she finishes assembling the salad.
Irritation takes hold no matter how much I try to shake it off.
I can’t. Inhaling through my nose, I take a deep breath.
“So are you and so am I, but who cares?”
“What the fuck, Isaac? It’s been years…”Her voice breaks, and with it, my heart. By my better judgement I should just the fuck it up and leave it alone. I don’t.
“I did grow up, and still, I can only offer sex, not my heart. That belongs to you,” I confess, speaking directly to the woman I love.
Her eyes slowly lift to mine, and the softness in her grey eyes is undeniable.
“It’s been years, and I’m still stuck in that god damn sandbox,” I add, as she remains silent, quickly breaking our eye contact before returning to her salad.
I’m so tired of this shit—tired of always being the one to chase her, to keep things together, to let her run every time it gets hard because I love her.