7. Chapter 7
Chapter 7
BERNIE
S he had no idea.
I’d thought my game was off, but no. She wasn’t picking up on the fact that I was very much flirting with her. Part of me wondered why, considering how secure in herself she acted. Though I’d known her for only a day or so, and maybe that was it, my assessment was off.
My stomach rumbled, reminding me that we hadn’t stopped for a lunch break, and it was nearing seventeen hundred hours. I hadn’t had a chance to check my phone all day either and wondered how many missed calls and texts were waiting from my mom.
But now was not the time to look as Kat placed her finger over her lips, reminding me to be silent, and then gently swung the front door open. The hinges groaned, but chatter from inside drowned the noise out.
Without a sound, I followed Kat inside her house. She paused in the entryway, beside boots and hats piled to the right in order to keep the shining hardwood floor clean that trailed past the stairs. The conversations filtered into the air from what I imagined was the kitchen around the corner past the sitting area at the end of the hallway.
As I crouched beside Kat, she removed her boots, and I copied her, peeling mud and shit-caked tennis shoes from my own feet. With both of us in socks, she placed a hand against the wooden knob at the base of the stairs and craned her neck. Waiting as she tried to peer around the corner past the leather couches and red argyle rug in the sitting room, she finally looked back at me.
“Don’t make a sound,” she whispered and placed a foot on the bottom step.
And the floorboard let out a massive groan.
Biting down on my bottom lip, I wiggled my brows at her as she spun around with wide eyes. The moment her gaze locked onto mine, she exhaled and pursed her lips.
“Don’t say a thing,” she hissed beneath her breath.
“Then get your cute ass moving up the stairs before someone comes to see what that sound was,” I replied as quietly as possible.
She rolled her eyes and then quickly paced up the stairs.
As silent as if I was breaching this house and needed the anonymity, I followed behind. Not a single creak whispered from the wood below me as I made my way after her.
When I emerged at the top, she latched onto my arm and guided me to the right. Down a hallway and past an open living room, we slipped silently into the end bedroom, and she quickly shut the door behind her. With her chest rising and falling rapidly, she placed her back against the wood and tipped her head onto it .
“Twenty-three, you said. Do you never do anything to break the rules, ever?” I asked, keeping my shoes at a distance from my body. Her breathing began to slow.
“What the hell does that mean?” She shot me a glare, setting her boots down by the door, and I followed suit with my sneakers.
“You’re breathing hard, and I can see sweat on your forehead. That was stressful for you.” I tipped my head with a grin. “And exciting. Admit it.”
She rolled her eyes and pushed off the door. Brown carpet worn from years of use muffled the sounds of her footsteps as she marched toward me. “Normal people don’t blow up lawnmowers. Normal people get nervous about breaking rules when they respect their parents, even as an adult.”
“I respect my mom,” I replied.
Kat shook her head and walked to her left. Placing her cowboy hat on a horseshoe-turned-hanger above the light switch, she plodded quietly toward her heavy oak dresser. The dark wood, hand-carved with sunflowers and other intricate detailing, groaned as she pulled it open. “But not your dad apparently,” she grumbled, fishing around in the drawer for a moment.
“I respect my dad too, but he’s dead, so that’s not really applicable anymore,” I casually replied.
Her gaze shot up from the messy drawer and she glanced wide-eyed my way. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
I shrugged, not in the mood to really talk about it, and scanned her room. Bright red bedspread with a beautiful flower pattern draped across the mattress, paired with a white iron bed frame. Two nightstands that matched the dresser sat on either side of the bed where a massive window bled light into the room above it. The slanted ceiling rose away from the bed, giving enough room for a closet on the opposite side of the room. A cedar chest rested at the foot of the bed frame where a plush, golden blanket covered in sunflowers was folded neatly on top.
“That’s who you buried with your buddies a couple weeks ago, isn’t it?” she continued.
Pulling my eyes away from the pictures of Kat—ones where she sat on horses or stood with a blonde girl who looked oddly familiar—I glanced back at her as she dove into her dresser again. “No, my dad died ten years ago.”
“Oh. Then what did you mean at the shelter when you said you ‘buried him’?” she asked. As I crossed my arms, she continued to push clothes around in her drawer.
“The fuck are you looking for? I ain’t fitting in any of your stuff,” I said, ignoring what she asked. The distraction from thoughts of Duncan when with her was something I wasn’t about to ruin by bringing up the funeral.
She whipped around and pursed her lips. “I thought I’d stuffed one of my brother’s shirts in here, I’ll have you know. But why do you do that?” With a heave behind her, she shoved the drawer closed.
“Do what?” I asked.
“This ‘avoidance’ shit.” She gestured in my direction.
I glanced out her window. What a lonely but serene setting. Cattle grazing on green, lush grass made for such a beautiful sight, yet something felt empty. “Why would I tell someone I just met something if I don’t want to?”
Meeting my gaze once more, she shook her head. “Stay here, I’ll sneak into my brother’s room and grab some clothes. Don’t…” She waved at the bed. “Don’t sit on anything.”
“Why do you do that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes.
“Do what?”
“Run away anytime I say something that pisses you the fuck off?”
“I’m not running away. The longer you’re up here with me, the more likely I’ll be caught with a boy—”
“Man. Thirty-one. You did it at the shelter too.”
“Oh, go fuck yourself, Bernie. Or Benjamin. You know what, why the hell does a grown-ass man go by a nickname like Bernie anyway?” she snapped.
“Damn,” I stated with a smirk.
Her brows furrowed, and she shoved her hands on her hips. Shaking some disheveled hair that had fallen from the braid out of her eyes, she glared at me.
“Just damn,” I repeated. Man, I was fucking messed up in the head finding this exciting. Fuzzy static roared in my lower back, heat swarming my skin as I studied this barely five-foot woman with an attitude to rival even Scottie’s.
“So, you’re not going to answer?” she asked, annoyance creeping across her voice.
“I thought you were concerned about getting caught with me in your room?”
Rolling her eyes, she stuck her tongue out at me. “Just, shut your mouth. I’ll be back in a few minutes. ”
I grinned wickedly in her direction as she slipped noiselessly out of the room. The brass doorknob clicked as she shut the door behind her. I remained still, simply waiting for her return. She was something else, something different, that was for sure.
Curiosity rolled through me, returning to my earlier assessment when I recognized she didn’t actually pick up on my flirting. Maybe it had something to do with that blonde girl in all of the photos with Kat. Her friend was tall, with legs for days and a smile that would snatch any guy’s attention. She was the type to draw eyes. Most of the time. But, for me, it was the short, thick girl beside the blonde that constantly caught my attention.
Her eyes, like a crystal-clear lake in the middle of a forest, swallowed me whole. Gentle cheeks with a smile so bright and wide that I couldn’t help but grin to myself as I studied the photo of Kat. She had her hair pulled up into some messy bun with mud caked down one side of her. Shorts and a simple T-shirt did nothing to hide plump curves I wanted to dig my fingers into.
Maybe she was a distraction I could pursue right now. Until more shit hit the fan, riding whatever strange wave this was would be nice. It’d been a while since I’d been with someone anyway. Mikey and Griffin seemed really happy and content, something I certainly wasn’t feeling right now.
The bedroom door creaked, opening slowly, and I watched with my hands in my pockets as Kat’s face peaked around the corner. As quickly as possible, she scurried into the bedroom and then pushed the door shut behind her .
“Here, I think they’ll fit.” Stretching her hand forward, she offered me a simple black T-shirt and a pair of jeans.
“Thanks,” I replied and slid them from her palm. Walking over to the cedar chest, I laid the clothes down and began undoing my belt. “How many siblings do you have?” I asked, making conversation.
“I have two older brothers and two younger brothers,” she replied. “Is it just you and Raiden?”
I nodded, unzipped my pants, and shoved them off my hips.
“What the hell are you doing?” she shrieked as a sharp clap bounced around the room.
Pulling my eyes up from the shit-covered jeans now around my ankles, I smirked at the sight of Kat with her hand covering her eyes. “I’m not taking my underwear off, calm down.”
Her fingers cracked apart, and blue eyes peeked out from behind her palm. They darted down my stomach, and the moment they landed between my legs, she squeaked again and quickly hid them back away. “There’s a bathroom down the hall!”
“Well, you should’ve said something before I already took my pants off.”
“In front of me! Without hesitation! Do you have no self-respect?” she gasped, spinning around to face the door.
“Kit Kat, grown men have checked my asshole for ticks more times than I can count, and I’ve taken dumps next to others while having a casual fucking conversation without a wall separating us. I have long since lost any need for modesty,” I explained, chuckling to myself .
“So, you just go around whipping your wang out for any and all to see?”
“No, I’m not some indecent perv.” Sighing, I tipped my head back and exhaled noisily. It’d been way too long since I’d tiptoed this line of wooing someone, and clearly this move had been a mistake. One that I hadn’t exactly thought through before marching straight into. “I’m sorry. I didn’t exactly think about being more private while changing.”
Slowly, Kat turned back around, keeping her hands over her eyes. “I’m so very confused by you,” she muttered.
“Why’s that?” I asked and stepped out of my pants. Snatching the pair off of the cedar chest, I unfolded the new, clean jeans.
“Who takes a crap while sitting next to someone having a casual conversation? Better yet, who says stuff like ‘having men check your butt for ticks’? Since when do you need someone else to do something like that?”
Bending forward, I picked up a foot to slide into a pant leg. “It’s really hard to see your own—”
“Kat, honey?” a woman’s voice sliced through my response.
With one leg raised, I paused, lifting my gaze to the door. Adrenaline sheared through my veins. This was not the plan. This was not happening. Some random woman just asked for Kat and was approaching the bedroom at this very moment. And here I was, wearing nothing but a pair of fucking boxers. Where the fuck was I supposed to go hide?
Kat’s hands fell from her eyes that were ready to bug out of her head, and they locked onto mine.
“Sweetheart? Dinner is ready. Aren’t you going to come downstairs to eat?” the woman said again .
“My mom,” Kat mouthed silently at me.
I raised my brows and shoulders. “What the fuck do you want me to do?” I replied without a word.
She shook her head and then raced forward. Ripping the pants from my hands, she tossed them onto the cedar chest and latched onto my forearm. With her fingers digging into my skin, she dragged me sideways.
“Kat? Sweetie?” her mom questioned, clearly closer to the door than before.
“Here,” Kat whispered to me, pausing in front of her closet.
“I’m not fucking fitting in there,” I hissed under my breath as she pulled open the door.
The bedroom knob rattled, snapping both my attention and Kat’s to the only thing standing between us and her mom. “Hold on, Mom! Just… Just getting changed!” she shouted then returned her attention to me.
“Get in.” She pushed at me.
“Kat, the fucking door is shorter than I am.”
“Then duck, Bottle Cap.”
“Duck? You’ve—” Snapping my mouth shut, I exhaled and bent over.
“And don’t you dare say a word or make a noise.”
“You’re the one who was noisy walking up the stairs, not me.”
“And you’re the one who’s wearing nothing but boxers in my bedroom where you’re not supposed to be.” Kat pushed against me once more as I wiggled between some of her clothes.
“Kat? Why is your door locked? What is going on?!” her mom asked a little louder this time, twisting the locked handle .
“And you just told her you’re getting changed but are still wearing the same shit as earlier,” I whispered as the world around me darkened. Cocooned by clothes that smelled like the Earth after freshly fallen rain, cotton fabric brushed against my bare body.
“I’ll figure it out. Now hush,” Kat sassed and shut the closet door, turning everything around me absolutely black.