Part 10 (1/2)
He laughs while grinning. ”Sorry. I thought girls gabbed about everything. I just a.s.sumed my sister would have told you or maybe Lys.”
”Sorry. I never asked.” I admit.
He seems surprised, as if he thought I'd press the girls for details. Honestly, after the fair warning I never wanted to discuss him again with them.
”Monroe. Jacob Monroe.”
I extend my hand. ”Callie Healy.”
When our hands connect I experience that same electric rush as before. I can't be positive, but I believe it's the same for Cob.
”Now that we've gotten that out of the way, I'm going to the kitchen. Good luck on your toothbrush hunt. Need be you can always use mine, being that my mouth has been all over you.”
”And plenty of other women,” I add.
He peeks back into the room after exiting. ”None here, Callie.”
I raise my left brow. ”Did you arrive yesterday?”
”Nope.”
He disappears without being able to answer anymore of my inquiries regarding his personal endeavors.
Lucky for me, I find a toothbrush in the medicine cabinet. The shampoo in the shower expired two years ago, but I choose to use it regardless of the package date. It's just soap, and thankfully smells fantastic. I look on the bottom of the bottle and find the salon's name. Hopefully they still sell it, and might also be looking to hire a new beautician.
After making sure I'm nice and clean, I step out from the shower and get a whiff of something delightful.
I pull out the first t-s.h.i.+rt that's hanging out of his suit case and throw it over my body. Then I head into the living room where I left my purse. My phone still has a little battery left, so I check my messages first.
Addy is concerned. She's text me three times. Christian once. Aunt Van invited me to breakfast, which I'm kind of sad I won't be able to attend. She makes the best food I've ever eaten.
When my phone flashes that the battery is even lower, I know I only have a few moments left to use it, before needing to ask for a charger. I shoot Lys a message.
Tell me everything you know about Jacob Monroe. C I'm surprised to get a text back.
Why? Did you give him your number that time you visited? Did he find you on social media? L I forgot I haven't told her we slept together. Now I doubt Cob told her about my unannounced visit.
Just tell me what you know. C I don't know much about him. He's not my type. His sister says he's a manwh.o.r.e. She said he can't make his mind up about anything. He has a good job. He even owns the house we rent. I know he asked about you after that time you visited. I didn't tell you because I thought it would be a bad idea. L He asked about me. I'm sort of shocked, but in a way I feel giddy. Like a school girl, I'm excited to know he was interested.
What did he ask? C He asked if you just broke up with someone. He said you were too hot to be single. He asked me if I thought he had a chance with hooking up with you. I told him h.e.l.l no. L I'm laughing to myself as I read it. She has no clue we've hooked up on two different occasions, but now a lot more makes sense about the night I showed up in Pennsylvania. Now I need to know more from the source.
Making my way to the kitchen isn't difficult with such a wonderful aroma resonating. I find Cob s.h.i.+rtless standing over the stove. He's flipping what I think is a pancake, and I immediately get excited since they're one of my favorites. ”I have to say, you look pretty d.a.m.n s.e.xy from the back.”
He turns and offers a sly grin. ”I can say the same for you. Especially without clothes.”
I lean against the counter beside him and become startled when he sits down the spatula to fence me in between his strong arms. He leans forward and kisses me. As he pulls away I speak, while his eyes are still peering into mine. ”Glad I found a toothbrush.”
”I would have kissed you anyway.”
”Who are you and what have done with the a.s.shole I first met?”
”When we first met I'd had a s.h.i.+tty day. The second time was even worse.”
”Speaking of the second time,” I say when he gets back breakfast. ”You planned on having a guest over, but you sent her away. Was it because I was there?”
I hear an air-filled laugh escape him. ”What if I said it was? Does it change your opinion of me?”
”Did you ask Lys about me?”
He's not looking at me when he says it. ”Maybe.”
”Why?”
”If you know I asked about you, then it won't take a lot of brains to figure out why, Callie.” For a second he glances at me with a half-smile plastered on the side of his face.
”Why act so c.o.c.ky then?”
”Because Lys told me I didn't have a chance, and after the c.r.a.p day I'd had, I wasn't in the mood for rejection.”
”Not used to being turned down?” I playfully ask.
”Not usually, but you are worth the challenge.”
The goose b.u.mps are back. I'm struggling to find reasons to hate this man when he's saying all the right things. ”I didn't put up enough fight, I suppose. I should have made it more difficult for you.”
He turns off the stove and sits the pan away from the hot burner, before pinning me again. ”I doubt you would have resisted that first night. You were on a mission to forget something. It was a win-win for me. Either way I got to experience you, even if I suspected you'd hate me and yourself afterwards.”
”I didn't. Hate you, that is. I thought you were an a.s.shole. You still might be.”
”I've been called worse.”
When he's this close to me it's hard to focus on anything but kissing him. My arms come up around his neck and I hold him close. ”You said you're here a couple months?”
His lips brush over mine as he responds. ”Yeah, why?”
”Do you want to see me again?”
The arms that were at my sides wrap around my back so that our bodies are touching at every part. ”Maybe.”
”Maybe I'd like that.”
Cob takes one hand and reaches it up into my wet hair, pulling me against his lips as they crash into mine. Our kiss is heated, and within a few seconds we're carried away. He's shoving down his shorts, while I lift off his t-s.h.i.+rt. Before we know it he's taking me on the countertop, hard, as if to celebrate my wanting him. Unlike the times before it, we don't switch positions. He pounds me until he finally finishes, and it's not quick. It isn't until it's over when I come to rationalize with what we've done and how careless we've both been. Cob pulls away and peers down at his relaxed c.o.c.k. ”s.h.i.+t, Callie.”
”It's okay. I think. I mean, I'm safe. I don't know about you.”
”It's happened a couple of times several years ago. d.a.m.n. I'm such a d.i.c.k.”