Chapter 7 #5
They were thankfully sated and dressed by the time Mr. Wynn came out to see the progress of his truck.
He found them sitting on the garage floor with Cayden’s back to the front passenger wheel and Trixie cradled between his knees.
The knowing look Mr. Wynn gave them said that he was aware Cayden’s house arrest had been terminated and he was not surprised in the least to see Trixie there.
As he walked them inside for dinner, Mr. Wynn told Trixie he’d give her a ride back home once it was curfew. “So long as your boyfriend fixes whatever he messed up on it.”
Cayden scoffed but Trixie laughed. God, he’d missed that sound.
He was unable to release her hand during dinner. He ignored the kissy faces, the winks, the catcalls, and the innuendos from his housemates. Trixie was back, and he was no longer under house arrest. All was right in his world.
Weekend curfew demanded that Trixie leave by eight o’clock. Cayden had a hard time letting her go. He was quite tempted to try to sneak her up to his room for the night. It seemed everyone was anticipating that move, and they hadn’t been out of Mr. Wynn’s sight since seven-thirty.
Finally, Cayden had to accept that she had to go home, and he had to go back up to his room like a horny teen.
“You’ll see me tomorrow,” she told him again. They were by the house’s front door. Mr. Wynn was sitting on the living room couch in full view of them with a newspaper in front of his unmoving eyes.
Cayden stood before her, their hands laced, his right knee between her legs. Christ, he still couldn’t believe he’d taken her against Mr. Wynn’s truck with the garage door open. Anyone could have seen them. And she’d initiated it! It was exceedingly hot and utterly reckless.
He didn’t want to let her go, but he wanted to give her something of his. Cayden asked her to wait while he ran up to his room. They only had a few minutes before curfew so he needed to be quick. She’d clung to his hands as he’d pulled away.
Up in his room, Cayden rushed over to his dresser and pulled out the only thing of value he owned. Keeping it clutched in his hand, he ran back to the top of the stairs in time to see Mr. Wynn and Trixie exiting the door.
“Wait!” he called, running down the steps. His eyes were only on Trixie. Something had changed in hers, though. The light that had been in them when he’d gone upstairs was now dull, wild. She looked panicked. “What happened?” he demanded.
Had one of the house residents done or said something to her? Shit, he shouldn’t have left her alone. The damn present could have waited.
Trixie, though, shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. I’m fine.”
“What happened?” he repeated. He was going to filet whoever put that unnerved look in her eyes.
Mr. Wynn cleared his throat and said he’d bring the truck down the drive. Cayden could care less about the damn truck, though he appreciated the privacy the act offered.
Cayden reached for her, but to his disbelief, she stepped back. The fuck? “Trix, what—”
“No,” she said quickly. “I mean, nothing happened. I’m just tired, I guess. I should go.”
She turned to leave, but Cayden quickly grabbed her arm with the hand that wasn’t holding her gift.
“You’re not getting away from me that easily,” he warned.
“We’re both adults here. Use your words and tell me what happened.
” When she started to shake her head again, Cayden cursed.
“Damn it, woman. I’ve seen you naked, I’ve been inside you.
There’s nothing you should be hiding from me. Tell me what happened.”
Her breath hitched, and she quickly looked over her shoulder at Mr. Wynn waiting in his truck for her on the side of the road.
“Really, Cayden, everything’s fine. I’m just tired.
I’ll see you tomorrow.” She leaned forward and kissed his cheek rather than his lips.
That right there told him something was wrong.
“Good night,” she added hastily, like she had to remember to say it.
Trapped once again in this damn house, he watched her go. Fuck, what the hell had happened?
Cayden didn’t get an answer to that question until Tuesday evening.
Work had been…tense, to say the least. All of the employees skated around Trixie and Cayden like they had leprosy.
Cayden could care less what they thought of him but didn’t like seeing them treat Trixie that way.
Worse, she was acting like he was patient zero of the contagion.
They hadn’t kissed or touched since her quick peck on the cheek Sunday evening.
She hadn’t answered any of his phone calls and had ignored all of his text messages.
Cayden was approaching his wit’s end on Tuesday evening when he heard a small sniffle coming from Geordi’s room. Concerned, Cayden knocked before entering the open door. Geordi was sitting in the far corner of the room with his arms wrapped around his legs and his head against his knees.
“Hey,” Cayden approached him. He sat down cross-legged across from Geordi. “Hey, kid, what’s wrong? Do you want me to get Mrs. Wynn?”
The man with a kid’s innocence shook his head against his arms. His shoulders shook violently, making Cayden worry. He was in the process of getting up to get Mrs. Wynn anyway when he heard Geordi say, “I think I messed up.”
Cayden sat back down. “How so?”
People were likely to assume that Geordi had messed up, but Cayden knew that Geordi tended to think he did without actually doing so.
It was little things that tended to upset Geordi, like forgetting to rinse a plate off before putting it in the dishwasher or putting his socks in the laundry basket inside out.
“I told Ms. Trixie what you said.”
Cayden’s heart skipped a beat. That had not been what he’d expected Geordi to say. “What do you mean? What did I say when?”
Geordi raised his head, which was good because his words were no longer muffled.
Tears flowed freely down Geordi’s cheeks.
It was so hard to see him as anything more than a giant kid.
He was almost six-feet tall, but his personality overruled his large frame.
“Mr. Wynn told Mrs. Wynn tonight that Ms. Trixie was still really upset, and I know it’s my fault. ”
Impatient to know what Geordi had told Trixie that he’d said, Cayden encouraged, “Geordi, tell me what you said.”
He picked at a loose string in his jeans. “I thought it was good news. I thought she’d be happy for me.”
“Geordi!” he called louder than he should. Lowering his voice, Cayden forced himself to say calmly, “I’m not mad. Just tell me what you said to her.”
He wiped his eyes. “I told Ms. Trixie that you said I could be your best man.”
Cayden’s jaw dropped. “Well, fuck.”