Chapter 17
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
DAMON
I watch Blake sleep peacefully for about an hour before I tuck her in and leave. It’s not that I don’t want to curl up with her and get some shut eye. I do, so fucking badly, but I can’t stop the racing thoughts.
Blake didn’t have to spell out what happened to her. What she told me was more than enough. I laid there, seeing Blake’s tear-streaked face behind my closed lids, and knew I wouldn’t rest until I made it right.
My headlights reflect on the rain-soaked street when I pull up to the apartment. The rain’s lightened up, thankfully. Leaving Blake’s warmth was tough enough, but going out into the rain again made it that much harder. I inhale the comforting smell of wet leaves and damp earth. It takes me back to playing in the woods as a kid. My mom would hand me a cup of Kool-Aid and lock the door behind me, telling me not to come back until the sun went down.
I never had many friends back then; we moved around too much. Different towns and different junkie boyfriends. They’d doctor hop, using a bullshit injury to get their fix of oxys, until those sources ran dry. My friends became the salamanders I’d catch underneath soggy logs or the stray cats I’d steal cans of tuna to feed.
Most kids would hate getting locked out of the house the way I did. But not me. I preferred to be out there instead of trapped inside while they were high. I still prefer the outdoors to any four walls.
My life changed the moment I met Jasper, one hot summer day catching crawdads in a murky stream. We were fourteen, both awkward ass kids. Jasper hadn’t gotten contacts yet, or discovered the power of weightlifting. I was even scrawnier than him, but I’d gone through a growth spurt that year and none of my clothes fit. The first thing he said to me was, “Hey, did you raid my sister’s closet for those shorts?”
After that, we spent the whole summer together. I ate meals at his house. Slept over most nights too. The Shea’s took me in, and by the time my mom was ready to leave town, I begged her to let me stay. I couldn’t move again, not after I finally had somewhere to belong.
I’d put up too much of a fight while she was coming down from a week-long bender. With shaking hands, she patted me on the shoulder, got into her waiting cab, and left me. I only found out that she died a few years later, from the cops going through her stuff and finding an old report card. I’d gotten straight A’s. They tracked me down and left the information with my high school guidance counselor.
None of that matters now. I didn’t need to go inside all fucking sad and nostalgic while Leon was keeping a keen eye on me. Pulling myself together, I peek into Dolores’s window and see her TV on—some soap opera looking show. Smiling to myself, I get ready to deal with the guys.
I have accomplishments to focus on.
Getting Leon to help me find this Trevor guy.
Hiring the private investigator to take over some of my responsibilities.
And sneaking off to make Trevor pay.
Nothing to it.
I realize it’s long after midnight when I walk inside and find Leon asleep on the couch, laptop open on the coffee table. Jasper’s in a similar state, except his computer is showing the “Are you still watching this?” screen and his hand is in a bag of chips.
Quietly, I shut his screen and pull the open chip bag away from his bed. I guess I’m a mama bear tonight, tucking everyone in nice and cozy. I hope Blake’s still sound asleep.
There’s slim pickings in the fridge, but I luck out in the freezer and find a microwavable burrito. It’ll have to do. Once it’s ready, I take it into my room along with Leon’s laptop and settle in on my bed.
“Alright, motherfucker. Let’s see if I can find you.” Between bites of burrito, I scroll different social media profiles and Google listings. Using the information I know about Blake’s past, I’m able to somewhat narrow it down, but I’ll admit that I’m kind of shit at this sort of thing.
I try different combinations on the search bar. Trevor, band, Oak Falls, NY. That brings up a bunch of useless shit. Next, I try the name of her high school and the year I assume he graduated, according to the age difference Blake mentioned. Trevor, Oak Falls High School, Class of 2013. A few different articles about the school pop up but nothing that mentions a Trevor, unless she was talking about a janitor named Trevor who won employee of the year for the district. He’s not a complete rule-out, but he wouldn’t be my first suspect.
Fuck, I feel like damn Sherlock Holmes. How the hell does Leon do this all day? About to give up, I hop on Facebook and search for anyone who graduated that year from Blake’s school. Thoughts of her face keep popping in my head, how broken she must have felt. I want to throw the computer against a wall.
Time for a smoke break.
Leaning against the front steps, I take a drag and blow the smoke out slowly. It does little to calm me. At this point I know there’s only one thing that will.
A dark colored car with tinted windows drives by and maybe it’s my imagination but it seems like it slows as it passes. I shake off the prickly sensation that crawls up my skin. I’m just cold. The temperature’s dropped since I got home and I’m out here in a T-shirt. Real smart. Still, I keep my eyes pinned on the vehicle until it’s completely out of sight.
I wake up to Jasper standing over me. Hell, I don’t even remember falling asleep. “Late night?” he asks. “Hope you didn’t download any more sus porn onto Leon’s computer again. He’ll fucking beat your ass.” He grabs the laptop and clicks a few buttons. “Damn, I was secretly hoping you did so I could see him kick your ass. I’m bored as hell.”
I grab my extra pillow and toss it at him. “Get out.”
It would be a miracle if he actually listened. “What do you got going on today? I just finished Death Note again. I think this was my third rewatch. No, wait, maybe the fourth. Anyway, I had this dream, I found a Death Note and had a hot anime girlfriend and I was?—”
“If I buy you food, will you shut up?” I groan against my pillow. I love Jasper but holy hell, he’s annoying sometimes.
I can tell I’ve caught his interest. I push up onto my elbows and he’s already out of the room.
“I take it that’s a yes?” I yell.
“I’ll never deny my body the sweet thrill of breakfast foods. Ohh, bacon. It’s been so long since I’ve crunched into a nice thick piece. Or do I want sausages, spicy with maple syrup drizzled over them. Help, I can’t choose!”
He can’t be serious? One peek from my doorway and I see that yes, he is serious. He’s standing there idling about bacon or sausages.
“Throw on some clean clothes and I’ll get you both,” I say. “And run a brush through that hair, you look like you’re building a nest up there.” I guess getting shot and being laid up in bed did a number on a guy’s hygiene routine.
“It’s not that bad,” he says, making me scoff.
“I guess your mirror was injured too?” I love fucking with Jasper’s fragile ego. Almost as much as I love picking on Leon for being a boring British bastard.
Cleaned up and smelling fresh, thanks to me reminding Jasper that deodorant exists, we pull up to the local diner. I’ve only ever had takeout from here, but the guys love the place. It’s got the retro feel with the jukebox, red and white booths, and neon signs. Reminds me of the places we’d stop in our travels from town to town when I was a kid.
We grab a booth in the back and settle in. I watch Jasper shift around with a grimace on his face. “How are you feeling? You’re up and around a lot more. Still on pain meds?”
He scans the menu and answers without looking up. “It’s not as bad as it was. Honestly, I feel like I’m more sore from not working out than from the healing. Oh, stuffed French toast!”
“Get whatever you want, it’s my treat,” I say. Am I kissing ass so he’ll back me up with Leon later? Maybe. Even so, it’s nice to get some time out of the apartment together.
“You’re not getting in my pants later, even if I order the most expensive shit on the menu.” He cracks a Jasper, mega-watt grin while I toss a piece of ice from my water glass at his head.
“I draw the line at lobster,” I say. “While we’re on the subject of your pants, no sane woman will wanna get in those pants again unless you start showering more. We share a bathroom. I know that it hasn’t been used as much.”
Our waitress comes to take our order. Black coffee and a breakfast sandwich for me, and half the menu for Jas. Jasper calls the older woman sweetheart and flashes another grin. I’m pretty sure she floated back to the kitchen.
“Lining up more cougars for the back burner?” I tease, tapping my fingers on the table. “Dolores not enough woman for you?”
“Blasphemy,” he says. “Dolores is enough woman for the three of us. I don’t know how her old man handled her.”
Shaking my head, I picture a younger Dolores. “She was probably hot back in the day.”
Jasper leans in conspiratorially. “Don’t tell Leon this or I swear I’ll key your car.” I choke on a sip of water—he’d never. “Dolores posed for Playboy back in the 70s. She pulled it out to show me when we first moved in.”
“I bet that wasn’t all she pulled out.” He kicks me under the table. “So… how was it?”
“Tasteful yet erotic. Chub inducing. Mr. Langston was a lucky man.” We laugh as the waitress returns to fill my mug with steaming hot coffee. I take a sip and feel it scald my throat on the way down, adding to the warmth in my chest. I didn’t realize how much I needed this. No stress, just me and Jas being dumb like we always have. The solid six hours of sleep might have helped too.
Jasper stretches his neck from side to side, rubbing his injured shoulder. “You take your meds this morning?”
“No, I gotta take them with food or I’ll barf. I’m worried it’s not healing right. You think you can get Blake to come back over and take a look soon?”
I’ve purposely kept Blake away from the guys since that night. I’ve told myself it was to keep her safe from retaliation but a part of me wanted her to myself. It’s always been dog eat dog with the three of us when it came to girls. Jasper would be drowning in more pussy than he could ever need. He’s a 6’4” jock with blue eyes and sandy blond hair. The prick went through puberty and turned into Charlie Hunnam. Next to him, I never stood a chance.
Then there was Leon, with his tan skin, dark hair, hazel eyes, and British accent. He might have played the quiet one, but the second he opened his mouth he had them. The hot, smart girls with their secret Dom kinks were his thing in college.
And for me, I did alright. I’ve always been a one woman guy though which never worked well for me in those days.
Our plates come, distracting Jasper from his question. I can’t hide Blake from them for long. Not with how serious I intend our relationship to be. “I’ll see if she can stop by after class this week.”
He cuts into his French toast like he’s never seen food before, shoveling monster bites into his mouth. With a mouthful he says, “Thanks, man.”
Speaking of Blake, I haven’t checked in on her yet this morning. I grab my phone and pull up my GPS app. Blake’s in class, exactly where I knew she’d be. My shoulders relax as I drink more of my coffee. I wish she was here in the booth beside me. I’d love to rest my palm on her thigh, drag my fingers up along the length until she squirms.
Me: Sleep okay, Angel?
Jasper finishes chewing and looks up from his plate. “So you really like this girl, huh?”
I glance at my phone screen on the table and wait for a response like a lovesick puppy. “Yeah, she’s incredible. So fucking smart and gorgeous. She makes me laugh.”
“You guys fuck yet?” He waggles his brows and it’s my turn to kick him under the table.
“That’s my future wife you’re talking about,” I say.
He holds his fork up in surrender. “Sorry, you know me… I can’t help but ask. From your response I’m assuming the answer is no, though. I wonder how her friend is doing, the blonde I met at the party.”
“She hasn’t been around. Blake mentioned that she’ll sometimes take off to join her brother for work trips though.”
He shrugs and finishes chewing a piece of bacon. “I know Leon wanted me to keep an eye on her, which I don’t mind doing in the slightest. You know I have a thing for blondes.”
“Your dick has a thing for anyone with a pulse,” I deadpan.
“You’re an ass.”
My phone vibrates with a text from Blake.
Blake: I would have slept better if someone didn’t leave me all hot and bothered.
Fuck, this isn’t the time or place to be having a daydream about last night. Blake was so wet and ready for me. The sounds she made. Her startled face when she woke up restrained. I drop my fork and gulp more coffee.
“Is that her texting you?” Jasper asks, polishing off the last bite of food on his plate.
I nod and text her back.
Me: If you’re good and don’t touch yourself, maybe I’ll reward you later.
“Dude, you’re so down bad. The dimples are out.” Jasper watches me like a hawk. It’s quite creepy if I’m being honest. I hope I don’t look at Blake that way.
“Shut up, or I’m gonna send you in the back to wash dishes.” My phone goes off again.
Blake: What if I already did? ;)
This fucking woman will be the death of me. My leg vibrates under the table while I think of a clever response.
Blake: Just kidding… Did you spin out for a second there?
Me: I’m going to spank that ass raw tonight.
Our waitress drops off the check and the to-go box I got for Leon. She gives Jasper a wink before walking over to her next table. I pull out my wallet and notice she left her number on the check.
“See what happens when you clean up and use deodorant?” I pass the check to him and he smirks.
“I’m back on my game.”
We’re getting in the car as my phone vibrates again.
Blake: Looking forward to it.