Bet Me Something (Something Series Book 3) (26 page)

I turned and
walked away before he could respond.

After the cab
dropped me off at my apartment, I realized two things. One: my suitcase was in
Colby’s car with my apartment keys in the outside pocket, and two: I was
absolutely starving. The thought of Judy and him possibly eating my Thai food
made me angry all over again and so did the fact that I hadn’t thought to bring
it with me.

As I looked at
my phone, I fought the disappointment that I didn’t have a text or call from
him. Then I chastised myself for expecting one. Hadn’t I told him I didn’t wish
to talk to him tonight? This was the part of being a girl that really annoyed
me because, despite telling him not to come over, there remained a part of me
that hoped he would show up anyhow.

Was it any
wonder men couldn’t figure out what women truly wanted? Of course, if he hadn’t
acted stupid enough to put us in this situation to begin with, I wouldn’t be
standing outside of my locked apartment door having this ridiculous internal
dialogue with myself.

So I decided to
do what any hangry female in her early twenties would do. I called the
apartment management company, leaving a message to please call me back about
letting me into my apartment, walked to the nearby convenience store, bought a
bag full of Hostess products, and, upon returning, sat up against my front door
to wait. I was fully aware that calling or texting Colby to drop off my keys
would’ve been a much better solution to the problem. But pride was a stubborn
bitch and, until she was fed, there was no use trying to talk her down.

Feeling my phone
buzz, I was disappointed to see it was neither Colby nor the management company
but my father. I hadn’t spoken to him in weeks, and since I clearly had time on
my hands, I answered, “Hi, Dad.”

“Hi honey. Am I
catching you at a bad time?”

The very worst,
but he didn’t need to know that. “No, not at all. How are you?”

“Good. I was
surprised I didn’t hear from you after your mother’s visit.”

I sighed. “I was
kind of afraid you’d agreed with everything she said.”

“Your mother
feels bad she had to resort to threats.”

I wasn’t sure I
believed him. “Are you sure?”

“You were really
injured in your accident, McKenzie, and it upset her that you kept it from us.
And, unfortunately, you doing that convinced her further you should move home
in order for her to keep tabs on you. Your mother isn’t easy to deal with when
she gets her mind set, but she does love you.”

How many times
had I been told that in my lifetime? “Then why is she insistent I move home
when she knows how much I don’t want to? She made it sound like I owe it to
her.”

He hesitated.
“She’s having a hard time with change.”

“What change?
I’ve been living out here for four years. I’m sorry for keeping the accident
from both of you, but if she’d be more supportive, then I would’ve been more
inclined to call. Instead, I thought she’d insist on me moving home straightaway.”

“She probably
would have. Are you really set on staying out there?”

“Yes,
definitely.”

He sighed. “Then
I’ll pay for it.”

I was shocked.
“You’d do that without Mom knowing?”

“She’d know.”

My brain
processed his simple statement, and I could only come up with one thing. “Dad,
are you and Mom all right?” For him to contradict her wishes made me wonder if
they were splitting up.

“Aw honey,
whatever happens is between me and your mother. You’re grown up now and don’t
need to concern yourself. Anyhow, I need to go, but I’ll see you in a few weeks
when you fly in for the baptism. In the meantime, work out how much you’ll need
per month and let me know.”

Even though I
knew I was doing the mature thing, my stomach flipped as I said, “I appreciate
that, but it’s important I start supporting myself financially.”

“LA is
expensive.”

“I know, and I’m
not saying that at some point you won’t get a phone call from me asking for
help, but I need to at least try.”

“Okay. I’m real
proud of you for attempting this on your own, McKenzie.”

Not only did I
appreciate his words, but I was satisfied about answering the way I had. I
might not have a plan, but at least I was no longer traveling down the path of
least resistance. “That means a lot.”

“When are you
telling your mother?”

And, poof,
bravery had left the building. “Probably when I come out the weekend of the
baptism.”

“Okay, but do me
a favor and go easy on her with it. Tell her how much you love her while
emphasizing that you need to live your own life. Love you, kid.”

“Love you, too.”

Hanging up the
phone, I sat there looking at it for the longest time, trying not to dwell on
my dad’s deflection of my question about him and my mom. It wasn’t a good sign.
Also, his last few words left me feeling uneasy. There was definitely something
he wasn’t telling me. I also wondered if I’d be able to do it face to face with
my mother without backing down. But anything less seemed like a big fat chicken
move. Was there a hallmark card for
real sorry I disappointed you with my
college choices, but at least I don’t do heroin?

Twenty minutes
later the sound of footsteps on the stairs leading up to my floor gave me hope
the management company had finally sent someone. I stood up, feeling stiff from
sitting against my door for the last hour and a little sick to my stomach from
my Hostess feeding frenzy. Spotting Colby with my suitcase in hand was both a
surprise and a relief, but I doubted very much the latter had anything to do
with my keys.

“What are you
doing out here?” he asked, his expression conveying confusion over seeing me
outside my door.

“My keys were in
my suitcase.” I took it from his hand, unzipped the side pocket, and took them
out to unlock the door.

“So you were
going to spend the night on your doorstep rather than call me to get them?” His
voice was laced with irritation.

I opened the
door and turned, facing him. “Oh, no, you don’t. You do not get to be mad at me
right now.”

“The hell I
don’t when you’re so stubborn you’d rather—”

His voice was
rising, and I was well aware that there were three other apartments on my
floor. “Shh—We are not fighting out here with my neighbors hearing every word.”

“Fine, then I’m
coming inside.”

“No, you’re not.
We can talk tomorrow. Thanks for the keys. And for your information, I was waiting
on the management company. Guess you saved them a trip.”

A muscle in his
jaw ticked, and we stood in a face-off. He finally broke it by stepping within
inches of me. “I’m torn between wanting to fuck you senseless or kiss you
breathless. Take your pick, Kenz, but I’m not going anywhere.”

My treacherous
body shivered in response. “I told you not to come over tonight.”

He crowded me in
through my door, his hands framing my face, eyes intensely locked on mine. Once
inside, his foot kicked the door shut behind us. “I think me not listening to
you right now is the least of my screw-ups today. So I’ll take my chances. And
I’d kind of hoped your temper would’ve lessened by now.”

“I still want to
whack-a-mole your pretty-boy face, so it’s not quite there yet.”

His lips
twitched, as he fought a smile. “You love my PDG way too much to take a chance
at ruining it.”

I lifted my
chin, determined not to let his charm distract me from what had made me angry
in the first place. “I’m not done with being mad.”

He swallowed
hard and murmured, “I know.”

From there, his
mouth crashed down, and my body took over as I put all of my pent-up
frustration into the kiss, leaving us both breathless. We didn’t bother with
the steps it would’ve taken to move us into the bedroom; instead, he undid his slacks,
flipped up my skirt, and pushed inside of me within minutes on the living room
floor.

***

“You’re
vibrating,” I commented dryly while we lay post-floor-sex catching our breath.

He fumbled with
the back pocket of his trousers, which had ended up around his ankles. “My
phone. Sorry, I have to take this,” he muttered, glancing at the display and
then answering it. He spoke tersely in what I assumed was a business call.

I took the
opportunity to stand up and walk into my bathroom. Turning on the shower, I
stripped down, stepping in once it turned warm enough. I was surprised that by
the time I’d rinsed Colby hadn’t joined me. When I stepped out, however, he
greeted me with an open dry towel. “Thanks.”

He looked
anxious standing there in the small space of my bathroom. “I have to travel to
London tomorrow for business. I’ll be gone a couple days.”

“Oh.” I hated
the idea of him leaving when we were in this weird place.

“I’m sorry for
earlier, Kenz. I panicked when it came to introducing you to someone who knew
Josh now that we’re together. I never should’ve dismissed you like that. After
you left, I made it clear that her behavior towards you was unacceptable.”

“You didn’t have
to do it on my behalf.”

“I would’ve told
her the same if she’d spoken to anyone like she did, but I couldn’t do it in
front of you because she’s an employee and I’m her boss. And there really was a
legal issue with one of our vendors on a production site which required a video
conference; otherwise, I would’ve been here sooner.”

I walked past
him into the bedroom, absorbing his words, and then realized my real issue with
the whole scene centered around one question. Facing him, I had to ask, “Are we
ever telling our families about us?”

Pure panic
showed on his face before he could hide it.

“Guess I have my
answer,” I mumbled, turning away in search of clothes.

“No, you don’t.”
He moved me towards him, his hands on my hips, dipping his head down so that we
were eye to eye. “Look, I’d be lying if I said that telling them wouldn’t
complicate things. I was hoping for a longer period of time where we could be
together before bringing other people into the mix. My brother and I aren’t
exactly getting along at the moment. But if it comes down to a choice of losing
you or telling both him and Brian right now, then I’ll get on the plane tonight
to go see them.”

Sincerity showed
in his eyes, and I knew he meant it. “Why would you have to get on a plane?”

“Because this
isn’t a conversation to have over a phone, especially with your brother. You
have to understand that neither of them, justifiably, will be happy to hear
that we’re together.”

“It might be
weird at first, but what in the world would they have against it? I’m hardly a
child, and it’s not as though Josh’s wife isn’t quite a bit younger than he is,
too. He’d have no room to talk. And you didn’t make the first move. Hell, I
did.”

He exhaled
harshly. “The problem is none of those things.”

It was on the
tip of my tongue to ask what it was, but then the obvious hit me. It was his
reputation. Suddenly, I was a lot more sympathetic. In my heart, I knew that he
wasn’t giving them enough credit for being able to accept he’d changed, however
I had to respect that he was still nervous about their reactions. Telling them
we were four weeks into a relationship wasn’t exactly inspiring; but if it were
months, maybe it would seem more believable that he was a different man now.

“I wasn’t
thinking about how that scenario might go down or how the timing might be
important.”

He let out a sigh
of relief. “So we’re okay not letting them know for now?”

The more I
thought about it, the more I realized having our families’ commentary on
something this new to the both of us might make things harder—not that anything
they could say would make a difference in how I felt about him.

“Yes. But for
the sake of Judy’s health and well-being, I should probably steer clear of your
office going forward.”

He took the
towel from my hands, letting it drop to my feet. Stepping closer, his voice
dropped an octave near my ear. “Oh, I think your point was made with your quip
about her first impressions being for shit.”

“Good,” I
muttered, my body in full anticipation mode with the huskiness in his tone.

“And since
neither of us would’ve thought twice about spending time together back when we
were only friends, I still want you to be able to come to my office. Matter of
fact; I’d love it if you met me for lunch tomorrow before I need to fly out.”

He knelt down in
front of me, his face in line with my center. When he looked up, it was all I
could do not to shove his head between my legs.

“Okay.” I
swallowed hard feeling his breath on me intimately. “Uh, what are you doing?”

 He leaned
forward, inhaling my scent. “Trying to gauge if you’re still mad.” He swiped
his tongue over my clit. “Because I didn’t like how it felt when you left upset
earlier.” A finger made its way inside of me. “And I want to be sure we’re all
right before I fly so far away from you.” He nibbled lightly, nuzzling my
thighs apart further.