The Beginning of Us (264 page)

“Okay, Angel. I’m going to go ahead and head home. I’ll see you when you get off in the morning.” I give her a goodbye kiss and walk out of the bathroom smiling from ear to ear like an idiot. Not because I just got laid, but because I am in love with an angel.

I no longer have control over my mind, my body, or my heart. She owns it all, and I couldn’t be happier.

Samantha

“I think that’s about all of it,” Holly calls from a table she’s cleaning off.

“Yep! Let’s get out of here. It’s…” I look at my phone, “almost four thirty and I’m exhausted.” I go behind the bar, grabbing both of our purses.

“I don’t know why the place was so messy tonight. It took longer to clean than usual,” I say as we walk out the back door.

“Yeah it’s not like we were very busy. We—”

“Shit!” I say, interrupting what Holly was saying.

“What?”

“I have two flat tires. They look like they’ve been slashed.” I bend down to examine one of them.

“I bet it was Jessica. She said she only stopped to see Slade because she had spotted his truck. She must have thought he was driving it.”

“That fucking bitch!” I put my hand on my hip and look around the dead parking lot. “I have to call a wrecker.” I pull out my phone and google search a tow truck company here in town.

“Are you going to call Slade?” Holly asks as she leans on the truck.

“No, why would I do that? I can call a tow truck by myself.” She lifts an eyebrow.

I sigh. “If I do, he will freak. Plus, he has to be up in like an hour. I don’t want to wake him. I’ll just call a tow truck and have them take me to his house.”

“I don’t think so. I’ll wait here with you, then drive you home.’’ She crosses her arms over her chest.

A woman’s voice fills the other end of my phone. I explain to her what has happened.

“Okay, ma’am, but it may be a while. They should be there within an hour.”

An hour? Maybe they only have one working at this time in the morning. “Thank you.”

I hang up and look at Holly. “It’s going to be an hour before they get here. Really, you don’t have to wait with me.”

“I’m not leaving you. Come on, let’s go wait inside.”

I reluctantly follow her back into the bar.

We both lay down on a bench by the entrance, getting comfortable. She lets out a dramatic sigh, and I can tell it’s one of those sighs where something’s bothering her.

“What’s wrong, Holly?” I cross my arms over my chest as I look up at the ceiling.

“I’m just thinking.” She sighs again.

“About?”
Do I really want to know what she’s thinking about?

“You and Slade.”

I sit up and turn around so fast that my purse falls to the floor. “Why would you be thinking about us?”

“I know he’s in love with you, Sam, and I know you love him just as much.”

I start shaking my head. I don’t want to have this conversation. “No, he doesn’t.”
He can’t love me!
Why would he love me?

She sits up. “Yes, he does. I have never seen him look at any other girl the way he looks at you. He doesn’t even look at other girls anymore. Believe me, I know. I watched him tonight, and his eyes stayed on you. And the way he spoke to Jessica...” She shakes her head with a smile on her face.

Just hearing her name makes my blood boil.
I can’t stand that bitch!

“He treats you differently. I’ve known him for three years. Trust me.” She crosses her arms over her chest.

I shake my head.
Does he love me? How could he? He doesn’t know what love even is. But what if what he does feel for me is lov––

My phone interrupts my thoughts. I look down at it. “Shit! It’s Slade. What is he doing awake?” I run a hand through my hair.

“He’s going to be mad that you didn’t call him.” Holly whispers as she lies back down.

“Hello?” I say cautiously.

“Angel, oh thank God. I was worried something happened to you.” He lets out a long breath. “Where the fuck are you?”
Oh, oh. His tone has changed.
“Are you okay? Why aren’t you home? Is something wrong, Angel? Do you know what time it is? It’s 5:15! In the morning!” he yells, just in case I thought it was 5:15 in the evening. He’s rattling off so many questions, and talking so loud that I have the phone pulled away from my ear while Holly laughs. I know she can hear everything he is saying, and the fact that he’s yelling at me takes away the warm feeling of the way I felt when he said I wasn’t home.

“Babe, calm down. I’m okay. When I went to leave work, I found that Nadia had two slashed tires. I called a tow truck, but they said it would be an hour wait. Holly stayed here with me so I wouldn’t be alone.”

“What?” he yells. “Tires slashed? I bet it was that little bitch Jessica. I’m on my way!”

“No, no. It’s okay. I’m okay.” I say to a dead tone. I turn to face Holly. “He hung up on me. He said he was on his way then just hung up on me.”

Holly laughs. “I told you. You should have called him because now he is going to be pissed.” She bends down and picks my purse up off the floor while I just stare at the wall.

“I’m not a child,” I huff.

She laughs. “Yeah, guess
he
thinks you are.”

“Well, then he has another thing coming.”

She laughs as if she doesn’t believe me. “Come on, let’s go wait outside. I have a feeling you’re going to need the fresh air.” She wraps an arm around me and leads me outside.

We stand outside in the back parking lot not saying anything. All I can do is think of how mad he is at me. I don’t know why. It’s no big deal. People have to call tow trucks all the time. It’s not fifteen minutes later when we hear screeching tires come around the parking lot. I hear Slade’s car before I see it, followed by Micah.
Shit!

His car jerks to a stop. “What the fuck were you thinking not calling me?” he screams as he exits his car, wearing a pair of light blue jeans and a white-shirt with a pair of tennis shoes. Even through his yelling, I find him mouthwatering sexy.

“Excuse me?” He is way too pissed off over something so minor. I put my hands on my hips

“You heard me. Why didn’t you call me?” He’s walking toward me fast which makes me take a step back. “Something could have happened to you, waiting at this bar at this time of the morning. And you don’t know who this guy is who works for the wrecker company.”

I have to hold in my laughter. Really? He thinks the guy bringing the tow truck may not be safe? How crazy is that? I stand up and square my shoulders. I am not going to step back. I am not scared of him.

“I’m not a fucking child, Slade. I can take care of myself!” I yell back at him.

“What the fuck did you say?” he says very calmly, making me rethink screaming at him again.

I take a deep breath. “I said that I’m not a fucking child. I called the tow truck and told Holly to go home. She chose to stay. I’m a big girl and can take care of myself. I didn’t need to wake you up so you could come up here and wait with me like a father.” I’m starting to get pissed. Just who the hell does he think he is?

“Well someone needs to. This was stupid, and you know it.”

“What the fuck?” I take a step towards him. “What is your problem?” I point a finger at him. “Why are you freaking out about nothing?” I look over to Holly and Micah, and both of their eyes are huge.

“Because you’re being careless by not calling me!” He fists his hands down at his side.

I’ve had enough of all this bullshit “Well, first off, I’m in this position because some girl you once wanted to fuck slashed your tires because she thought
you
were driving it. Second of all, I didn’t need your help!” I scream the last part. “I can do shit without you, Slade.” I cross my arms over my chest. “I’m not some whiny little girl who will call you every second something little happens. I don’t need you to take care of things I can do on my own! And I sure as hell won’t call to ask your permission to do something!”

“You are mine! Therefore, you should have called me!” he screams, fisting his hands to his side.

What the hell?

“I don’t belong to you, Slade!” I scream back. I am not his to control.

My blood is boiling!

Thank God the wrecker pulls in. I stomp away from him to go explain the situation to the man driving the truck. After I explain everything, he goes to load up the truck, and I turn to thank Holly for staying and to apologize to Micah. They both try to calm me down, but I’m still pissed, and I notice that they make no move to leave.

Hmmm, what’s up with that?

Slade is standing over by his car, running a hand through his hair while talking on his phone, looking like he wants to throttle me. He hangs up and starts walking towards me at the same time the tow truck guy does, but I ignore him. I’m still furious.

“There you go, ma’am. I need your signature.” He hands me a clipboard. “Do you need a ride somewhere?” he asks as he takes the clipboard from me.

I don’t hesitate. “Yes, please.” I hop up in his cab before Slade can make me stay.

On the way to Slade’s house, I think about what just happened. Why was he so mad at me? I didn’t do anything. It’s not my fault some jealous bitch slashed his tires. And what was that about the tow truck driver? I shake my head to clear it. It’s like nothing I do is right.

As the driver pulls me up to Slade’s house, I notice there is a light on inside. He must have been in such a hurry to leave, he forgot to turn it off. I tell the man thank you and say goodbye.

I’m so exhausted. My body is literally running on fumes. I use my key and go through the front door which feels weird; I always come in through the garage. As I walk down the hallway, I turn off the light that was left on and proceed to the bedroom. Once I enter the dark bedroom, I undress quickly and get under the covers, naked. I sigh as I stretch out my body and relax on the cool silk sheets.

“Comfortable?” Slade asks.

I sit up so fast I feel dizzy. “Shit!” I put my hand over my frantically beating heart “You scared me! Quit doing that,” I snap as I lay back down. Even though the sun is coming up, it is still very dark in his room. I love that his curtains are so dark that you can sleep any time of the day. I close my eyes, thinking how nice it is to finally lay down. That my pissed off attitude has gone away to contentment.

As I lay there, I start to realize how eerily quiet it is in the room. Why was Slade in his room? Shouldn’t he have been at work already?

“Slade?” I ask hesitantly.

“Yes?”

I sit straight up again, my heart pounding. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at work?” I ask, sounding a little too bitchy.

“I called in sick for the day.” He sounds very calm. Too calm.

“You what?” I squeak. I clear my throat. “Why would you do that?” I move so that my back is against the headboard, and I pull the sheet up to my chest. Why in the hell would he call in sick?

“Just thought I needed to be home today.” He sounds like he’s standing at the end of the bed.

I sigh. “Do you want to talk about earlier?”
Might as well get this over with.

“Not really,” he replies carelessly.

“Well, I think we should. There’s no reason for you to be mad at me, Slade. You need to understand that I’m an adult and that I can take care of myself.” I lean over and turn on the bedside lamp. One look at him standing at the end of the bed, and I can tell he is pissed. His face is expressionless, but he has his arms crossed over his chest. His stance is tight, and his blue eyes are smoldering.

“Is that so?” He raises a dark eyebrow.

“Yes,” I respond slowly. “You don’t own me, Slade.” I rub a hand over my face. I’m exhausted. “And I’m getting really tired of you trying to control everything. I can think for myself and make decisions on my own.”