Part 3 (1/2)
I watch the man sit straight up and stare at me. ”There was no way I'd sleep with you.”
My brow raises. ”Then how do you explain the lack of clothing?”
Cob stands and shocks me by revealing a pair of tighty whites. He snaps the elastic. ”I'm not naked, and you, well you did that yourself. It's funny you say you'd never sleep with me, because two hours ago you were begging for just that. You took your clothes off and climbed into my bed. After the mess you made in the bathroom I figured it was safer to let you rest until your stomach settled.”
Oh no. ”Please tell me I didn't get sick.”
”All over my sister's car, the front steps, my pants, and the bathroom. What the f.u.c.k did you eat?”
I'm queasy just thinking back to the burger and fries.
Cob points at me. ”You want something to cover up with?”
”Isn't it obvious? Where are my clothes?”
”Probably in the street where you took them off,” he says while chucking a blanket in my direction. I quickly scoop it up off the floor in front of me and cast it over each shoulder to prevent him from seeing anything but my face.
I'm not sure I believe him about leaving my clothes on a public road. ”Yeah right. I wouldn't.”
His face contorts as a chuckle escapes him. ”You did. As a matter of fact, I have about two hundred witnesses. You said you wanted to be free. You screamed it at the top of your lungs. You told somebody named Cammie to go to h.e.l.l and f.u.c.k herself, and then you spun around in a circle. It was pretty entertaining for me, but the chick I was trying to take home, not so much, especially when you came over and claimed me for yourself.” He throws up his hands and rests them behind his head while leaning back down on his pillow. ”There went my chances of getting laid.”
”What?” I'm horrified. ”No. I would never get that intoxicated.”
”Woman, you obviously have issues and no stop point. Face it, I saved you from yourself. Who knows where you'd be if I didn't pick you up and carry you here myself?”
I place both hands at the side of my face and rub my temples. ”This can't be happening.”
”Like I said, you should be grateful. I saved your a.s.s. You'll be forever in my debt,” he taunts.
My emotions. .h.i.t me like a ton of bricks falling from the sky above. Fixated on not moving from my position, I sulk on the floor next to the bed, praying this is all some kind of bad dream I can wake up from.
Cob climbs out of the bed and makes his way toward me, only to pa.s.s by and leave the room. I can hear the toilet seat hitting the porcelain back as he lifts it, and his strand of urine when he begins relieving himself in the hallway bathroom. I finally recognize being back at the house Lys shares with her friends, so I'm able to stand up and pray I can find her in the room she showed me from earlier. After making sure the blanket is covering all my appendages, I whisk through the hall, hoping I won't see Cob and have to stop to explain myself.
I'm not surprised when I find Lys' room unoccupied. At least Cob hadn't been lying about that part, though I'm still unsure of everything else he told me.
My stomach churns with disgust as I find my travel bag and locate clean clothes to put on after a hot shower. Before leaving the confines of the room, I peek out to make sure that man isn't anywhere near. If I never see him again it will be too soon.
Once I'm safely in the bathroom without incident, I immediately hop into the hot shower, hoping the water will refresh my soul and solve so many unanswered questions from the previous night. I no sooner begin was.h.i.+ng my hair when I hear the familiar sound of the door opening, which is alarming since I vividly recall fastening it into the locking position. I peer through the front of the shower curtain to spot Cob standing in front of the sink with a toothbrush in his hand. He's occupied as if he hasn't noticed he's invaded my privacy. I'm quick to speak. ”What the h.e.l.l do you think you're doing? How did you get in here?”
”I used my thumbnail to turn the simple mechanism. What's wrong with you? I've seen everything you have, so there's nothing else to hide. I need to get going, and I'm not going anywhere until my teeth are clean. You never know when an opportunity might arise.”
”Opportunity? Oh Jesus. I can't even listen to this anymore. Make sure the door is locked when you're done, and please do me a favor and forget we ever met. I'd like to pretend none of the past twenty four hours happened.”
When I duck back behind the curtain he responds with a calm tone. ”That's probably going to be difficult. I don't think I'll ever be able to allow myself to forget something so exquisite.” I hear him take his last spit and then the sound of the door opening then closing again.
When the spigot is shut off it's silent. I fetch a towel off the holder and hurry to the door to ensure it's locked, before dressing and exiting the bathroom. From there I wander downstairs to find I'm in the house alone. Cob is gone, but the memory of what he told me haunts my every muscle.
I locate and manage to charge my phone before I can get in touch with Lys. Just like Cob had mentioned, she'd hooked up with some random guy at the party and a.s.sumed I'd be fine about it. I try to keep my cool and think back to the times I left her alone because someone caught my attention.
By the time she arrives at the house it's after noon. I've been in a negative state of mind since our previous cell phone call. As soon as she steps into the room and sees my face she knows I've got trouble on my mind. ”What's up, girl? Did you get any booty numbers last night?”
I sit up from my slouched position. ”If I did it was no thanks to you. How could you leave me like that?”
”You've never had trouble fitting in before, besides, this guy, oh my Jesus, you would have pounced on that s.h.i.+t too.”
I have to let out a sigh-filled laugh. She will never change. She'll be fifty years old picking up random men at retirement homes, because in her mind it's absolutely normal. It's not all Lys' fault. Her mother raised her alone. They lived in a small single-wide trailer up until she graduated from high school. If it wasn't for her grandfather's life insurance Lys wouldn't be in college. Since her initial enrollment her mother has spent every last penny of the money on G.o.d only knows what, leaving Lys to have to pay for her cla.s.ses herself. She works a full time job now, and attends school on a part time basis. To be honest, I don't see her ever returning to North Carolina. She wants to be as far away from the person who raised her as she can get.
”So, apparently I ripped off my clothes and danced around in the road last night.”
”No way. That was you? I heard someone talking about it this morning. Wow. Sorry I missed that.”
”Lys, I woke up naked in a bed with a stranger. Do you have any idea how c.r.a.ppy I feel?”
”Was he s.e.xy?”
I shove her. ”Shut up. You're terrible. This is serious. I came here to get away, not contract an STD or get pregnant. I'm a freaking mess. Maybe I should head home tonight.”
”Please stay. I promise I won't leave your side.” She waits a second before continuing. ”Did you at least get his number?”
I shake my head. ”I don't want it.”
Her face curls. ”Why? Is he ugly?”
”No. He's a p.r.i.c.k. I'd rather not talk about it. It's not like I can change what happened.”
”Was it good?”
”According to him, we didn't have s.e.x, not that I would remember.”
She reaches over and hugs me. ”I'm sorry, Cal. You must think I'm a s.h.i.+tty friend.”
”No. You're worse than that,” I tease.
Just like that all is forgiven. We've been through worse than this before, and I can't help but love her anyway.
I think that's what bothers me so much. I'm easy to forgive others, but when it comes to my family it seems impossible. Maybe it's that I can't forgive myself. I suppose only time will tell me if we can manage to get past this hurdle.
Lys and I spend the next two nights hanging out in front of her television. We watch an entire streaming series and eat two whole pizzas, and three bags of chips. That's more than I probably eat in a week, so you can imagine how I left with an upset stomach.
I was sad to drive away from her place and know I had to head home. Wedding festivities awaited me, and knowing I was a huge part of them only made it ten times worse. All I could hope was that I'd find a way to make it through them so I could leave on good terms with my family.
Before pulling up at the ranch I promised myself I'd put what happened at the party behind me and forget all about meeting and waking up naked next to the very s.e.xy Cob. Guys like that are why women like me stay single. He was trouble with a capital T and I'm glad I'd never have to see his face again.
Chapter 5.
Callie The weeks leading to the wedding went by quickly, especially when I threw myself into everything I could in order to keep my distance from my sister and Wes. I know it seems like it would be difficult since it's their wedding, but actually, I found it easy. Despite the fact that time was helping me with my grudge, I am excited for my sister. Her beautiful daughter deserves to have two happy parents to love and cherish her. Wes is a loyal man. He'll be good to both of them, and for that I'm grateful I have no idea how my parents would have handled it if Cammie came home with her married teacher in tow. They certainly wouldn't be celebrating the way they are now.