Here With Me (Paloma's Edge) (9 page)

I started to chuckle at the idea that Hunter had goals and dreams. I just thought he wanted to tattoo until he found something else to do, because it was the first trade he had
  gotten into while he was in drug treatment. It hadn’t occurred to me that he was really serious about not only tattooing for a career, but having his own tattoo shop.

“You don’t think he can do it?” Beth asked with a heavy sigh. Riley paused and opened her mouth. Beth took out a bottle of water from her satchel and poured water into her mouth.

“I do think he can do it,” I said as she stroked Riley’s ear and threw the empty bottle of water in her satchel. “Hunter doesn’t seem like the type of guy to think about his future to me. Did he tell you all of this, or did Chase tell you?”

“Hunter told me about his dreams. Hunter made no excuses for what he’d done. He could’ve just said that it was the alcohol and coke that made him threaten and cut Chase’s face. And that opened my eyes, Mariska. Once I felt like Hunter wasn’t trying to play games with me, I wanted him tell me about himself.”

“You have a big heart.”

“So do you, Mariska. I really can’t say I wouldn’t have been like Cindy without you and Jake growing up. You’ve stood by my side and lost friends, a bunch of invites to play dates, sleepovers, parties, and trips. You and Jake think that I didn’t know about it. I knew that you didn’t want me to feel guilty. And when I tried pushing you guys away, so that your lives could be easier in Franklin Parks—so that you and Jake would fit in like you would’ve if you weren’t my friends—you guys wouldn’t have it. You even vouched for me at Luigi’s and I had a job for three years. Francine and Steve are good people, but it’s because of you that they made the risk to lose some business because Cindy’s daughter was working there. Thank God it all turned out fine, but it could’ve went the other way.” She let out a huge breath, and we laughed as Riley shifted her gaze between us as we walked. “So Hunter made mistakes. Got addicted to alcohol and cocaine. It’s not about him being at fault for having an addiction, or any of that will power mantra bullshit. He’s taking his life back. Not the alcohol. Not the cocaine, or any other controlled substance. When he confessed that he was responsible for putting that scar on Chase’s face like that on the street, I was so furious, so…horrified—”

“And then you went and slapped him,” I interrupted and huffed. Jake and I had thought that Hunter was going to try to hit her back.

“Yeah, as you like to remind me.” She rolled her eyes. “But I found it within myself to look past that, because he hated himself for doing that. He still does. I am blessed to have you guys. Can you fathom how much perseverance Hunter has to have when it’s so easy to give into negative thinking? Well, I want Hunter to know that I am a positive in his life. He’s not just Chase’s older twin brother. He’s someone else who I’ve come to care about, also.”

We went back into Hunter’s house after Riley strode inside.

I walked around his living room and looked at a wide painting on the center of the wall. In a wide mass of blue waters, three curvy nude women were looking up at the sky with haloes on their heads. They looked like sirens, with their naughty smirks and provocative gestures. While it was a striking painting, the paper and paint looked aged and cheap. I wondered if Hunter had painted it. So, Hunter liked his girls like these women? Beth resembled their shapes, only she had a flat stomach and her hair was shorter and darker.

“Did Hunter paint this?” I asked when I sank down on the black leather sofa.

“Yeah. He said he painted it after he achieved first thirty days clean after detox. He prefers to sketch more than to paint, but he loves Greek mythology, and he said painting naked women made him forget where he was.”

“A little escape like that doesn’t hurt,” I said, flicking one last look at the painting.

I met Beth’s amused gaze after she handed me a cup of Ginger Ale, like I’d done for Hunter two weeks ago. Clumsily, Riley jumped up to rest on my lap while Beth sat down, settling her hand on Riley’s tummy. “If there are times you can’t walk her for Hunter and I have time, tell me. She likes to be around people all the time, huh?”

Beth nodded. “He wants to be with her more, but he’s not done paying for her last vet’s bill. He’ll have the money after he gets his check in two weeks. He’d freak out if he didn’t have two or three month’s rent saved up.”

A smile lifted the corner of my mouth. “That reminds me of us.”

Slumping down on the sofa, Beth said, “He is more like us than not.”

Riley lifted her head up at me. “Pet her head, dummie. Can’t you see that she likes that?”

I grabbed the cushion in between us and hit her with it. Beth’s blush spread all over her face and she laughed heartily. I felt like we were kids.

Complying, I ran my nails over the top of her head and down Riley’s back repeatedly until she relaxed ag
ain.

“There you go,” Beth whispered to me and placed her hand on Riley’s tummy again.

Chapter 14

Hunter

“
YOU DON’T WANNA GET up, do you?” I asked Riley after I found her lying down on Beth and Mariska’s laps. She blinked twice and her lids fell closed.

Beth and Mariska were sprawled out on my couch. They must’ve chilled out after they took Riley for a walk and lost track of time. I really liked that Beth came to my house with her. I had day-dreamed what it’d be like to taste Mariska again—only on my bed or on any other surface of my house. Mariska was in a cute little tank top and a jean skirt that rose on her upper thighs, so high that I could’ve seen what color underwear she had on. Beth and Mariska needed to have their space while they slept. Riley was beginning to add some real weight that could be felt after some hours of having her on my lap. If I’d known Beth was this tired, I wouldn’t have let her come here, despite the twenty minute drive from their residence hall. My last options had been to call one of my neighbors or an agency for a sitter, but I didn’t want Riley around strangers. She would definitely think that I was getting rid of her. The two times I’d taken her to the vet, or anywhere that was a little far from where we lived, she’d become visibly agitated and unresponsive to my reassurances that she’d be fine. It was two forty in the morning and they weren’t going back on campus unless I drove behind them, so they had to stay here.

Beth’s head turned and was now facing me. She combed her hair back from her face. Exhaling a heavy breath, she sat up. “How late is it?” She sounded like she wanted to stay put.

“Two fifty.”

“Ugh.” She touched Mariska’s arm, but she groaned low in her throat and shrugged off Beth’s hand. “I guess she’s not awake yet,” she said with her cheeks quirked up.

“She’s not chipper in the morning like you?” I feigned disbelief and pointed my finger on the floor. Riley jumped to the ground.

Beth shook her head, and a frown crept between her eyebrows. “Why’d you make Riley get off?”

“Mariska can sleep on my bed and you can stay on the couch. I know Chase is cool with you being here, but he wouldn’t want you on my bed. He’s not that understanding,” I said with a laugh.

“Where will you sleep?”

“On the floor. I’ll just put down two of my comforters.”

A hesitant expression grew over her face. “Um…have you washed or changed your sheets this week?”

“Yes,” I answered. She’d jumped off of this couch if she knew that I didn’t have sex in my room. I always cleaned my sofa anyway, even though most of the action tended to happen on the floor.

“I’d carry her, but she’s 5’11 and—”

“It’s cool. I’ll bring her inside my room. Besides a pillow and some sheets, what else do you need?”

“You have extra tooth brushes, right?”

“Yep. You’ll find it in the bathroom when you wake up again. Get some sleep.”

I brought one hand behind Mariska’s head and another underneath her soft, cool legs. She smelled great, like she had on some fancy perfume or something. I paused for a second and with her eyes already shut, Beth pulled in a deep breath and shifted to her side. Riley came back onto the sofa and saddled next to her.

I went straight into my room and put Mariska on my bed. I quickly put a pillowcase over one of my pillows and took sheets from my laundry bag that I hadn’t put into one of my drawers yet. After I lifted Beth’s head, I placed the pillow behind her and covered her and Riley. Then, I ran back into my room and watched Mariska. Mouth moving, her arms and legs were spread out on my bed. I took one of my old shirts and shorts from my laundry bag and placed it next to her. As I pulled down her skirt, she kicked them off with her foot, sending it directly across the room. Her top was halfway up to her chest and I took it off of her easily. Just like before, she had no bra on and her little dark pink nipples tightened, as if she was waiting to see what else I would do to her, but I just dressed her fast. Her nipples weren’t pierced and it hadn’t been pierced recently. As I peered at her again, I saw two gold studs in her ears. That could be the only explanation for what she’d had done at Lasting Impressions. I could work with Vince now, without feeling like putting him into a headlock until he stopped smiling from ear to ear.
 

After I was showered, dressed, and relaxed, I put my extra set of comforters on the floor and switched off the light. I left my bedroom door open so I wouldn’t sleep on the bed with Mariska like I’d thought about while I’d been showering. And just when I was really beginning to dose off, I heard Riley jump on my bed. Unconsciously or not, Mariska shifted in the bed after she heard Riley whimper. The best thing for my sanity, and perhaps my sobriety, was not to like Mariska. How could I have anything against her, when my number one girl liked her too?

***

AT FIVE-THRITY IN
the morning, I woke up to Riley standing on all fours on my bed. Mariska was still sprawled out, but I could see her outstretched arm where she’d made room for Riley not too long ago. My back felt stiff and my eyes were gritty. I’d tossed and turned constantly, until Mariska and Riley’s peaceful sleep had lulled me back to sleep.

“Come on, Riley,” Beth murmured. “You don’t wanna wake up her grumpy ass.”

Riley obeyed Beth’s command as I chuckled into my pillow. Forty minutes later, I realized that I wasn’t going to get any sleep, so I brushed my teeth, took another quick shower, and dressed into one of my clean shirts and old jeans. I took out the milk and the pancake mix. When I’d fried the first five pancakes, Mariska frowned as she peered around the empty living room. When she gazed at me, she looked anxious.

“Did you change me into your clothes?” she asked me directly.

“Yeah, I did. I’ve seen you naked before,” I told her and placed the plate on my round table. She’d cleaned herself up and was back in her top, jean skirt, and ballet flats. “There’s pure maple syrup, butter, jam, and peanut butter if you want. You can get your drink yourself.”

She made her way into the kitchen and took out the instant coffee. “What if I don’t eat anything with gluten in it?” she asked in a serious tone.

“To you, I’d say tough shit. Have coffee for breakfast. If you had celiac, I’d run out and get you some fruits and a mix of gluten free pancakes if I could find it.”

Mariska stood beside me and poured some water into my teakettle. “You should know that I am not on a g-free diet.”

I motioned with my head and placed two more pancakes onto my pan. She put the teakettle on the stove, and then sat down by the table and drowned her pancakes in maple syrup and butter. “When did Beth take Riley for a walk?”

“At five something this morning,” I answered. “Are you going to want more?”

“No, thanks.”

“What time is your first class, and Beth’s?”

I heard her swallow her first bite and get up as the teakettle whistled. “You don’t know Beth’s schedule by heart?” She opened up my cabinet and took out a mug when I stalked over to her, leaned into her and placed both my hands on the counter. She still wasn’t used to having to look up at me, but I relished that tidbit more and more every time.

I trailed my fingers up her arm, until my thumb was on the middle of her neck. Shivering, Mariska ran her straight upper teeth over her bottom lip. Her eyes looked as black as coal. She was impossibly infuriating and a challenge to everything I should want or could have. Pressing my chin down to her forehead, I dropped my head until my mouth touched her waiting lips. As her fingers threaded into my hair, she hopped on the counter and the mug crashed onto the ground. I ignored the sound, as long and strong legs enveloped me. The balls of her feet pressed into my ass and my cock stirred against her. Our kiss became scorching and rough. Mariska started to pull on my hair and I hiked up her top, needing to taste more of her flesh again when the door unlocked. Riley trotted inside and I raced to the stove. Mariska had found the mop in the hallway closet across the kitchen.

“I couldn’t find the bucket,” Mariska said with her breathing coming out shallow, her knuckles white as she held onto the mop for dear life.

“I told you Mariska doesn’t function in the morning,” Beth said with the side of her face quirked up, as Riley was eating the food I’d put in her bowl after Beth had taken her for a walk.

“Now I know you weren’t kidding,” I said as I put the stove back on—and I saw Mariska mopping, when I casted a brief glance.

Beth shook her head and went into the closet in the hallway that led between the bathroom, washroom, and the other room that I used for storage. When she returned to the kitchen, she gave Mariska the bucket and took a seat at the table.

“It smells great in here,” Beth said. “I was just going to have an orange and make Mariska some coffee on our way out.”

As if understanding that her time with Beth and Mariska would be cut short, Riley made a sound and went underneath the kitchen table and positioned herself on top of Beth’s feet. I could hear Mariska collecting the broken pieces of the mug.
 

“Nah, you guys have a long day ahead of you,” I said, changing the subject. “I was asking Mariska when you have your first classes, but”—I cocked my head in the direction of the mess she was cleaning up, and I was almost certain that she’d sent me a glare.

“I have my first class at ten, so I am okay, but Mariska, you have your first at nine.” She looked at the floor that Mariska was still mopping. “The floor’s clear.”

Marisk
a sat back down at the table and devoured her pancakes without a word. I boiled more water in the teakettle and made Mariska another cup of her instant coffee, and I heard her murmur thank you. Shortly afterward, I grabbed my textbooks and notebooks, leaving with them to go to campus.

***

CHASE WAS IN THE café with his best friend, Pierce, when I went inside for a strong cup of brewed black coffee and some cream, after my Contemporary Moral Issues class. I sat down with them.

“What’s up, guys?” I said to them and gulped some coffee.

“Damn, Hunter. You look like shit. Rough night?” Chase asked.

“Yeah. Beth and Mariska fell asleep with Riley, and when I got back home from work I slept on the floor. And, of course, Dr. Hager wouldn’t give me a pass this morning. I am forever speaking up in her class and I was just waiting for this coffee.” I lifted the cup and took a sip of the scalding goodness. “I’ve got Mastrangelo next.”

Pierce inclined his head to me. “You’ll need a second cup of coffee, then.”

“Are you alright? I’ve barely seen you this semester. Are you going to be working on the hotel today? I asked Pierce.

“Nah. I am going to my classes and then getting some sleep. Dad should be at the site of The Paloma 2 as we speak.”

“When did you and he decide on the name?” Chase asked and dipped his fries in ketchup. This summer, Chase had stayed with Pierce’s family and had worked at The Paloma Hotel. He had to move out when Pierce’s older sister, Cassidy had made it look like she and Chase had been fooling around, when, in actuality, she’d been making unwanted advances toward him. Pierce’s Dad, Mr. Pruitt, found out that Chase hadn’t disrespected his rules by pursuing his daughter. However, Mr. Pruitt has not apologized to my brother for kicking him out of his house and basically firing him.

“We had a meeting this weekend when I was in Paloma’s Edge and Dad made that announcement.”

I downed the rest of my coffee and flicked my eyes at Chase. “Were there any other important announcements?” I asked.

“It’s not official yet, but Claude will moving back to Bermuda with his family come Christmas time.”

Chase didn’t try to hide the shock from his face. “Why? Hasn’t he been with your Dad from the beginning?”

“He didn’t become a part of The Paloma until…like fifteen years ago. Claude has told me over the years that he wanted to go back home, and he’s got another job as a Hotel Manager there.”

Chase pushed his chair back a little and crossed his arms. “Who will be the manager for The Paloma, and the Paloma 2?”

“Dad and Mom are going to do it. I’ll also take on some shifts when I can, but I want to buckle down for my last semester.”

“Are you going to work at the Paloma when you graduate?”

“Yeah,” Pierce lifted his chin. “My Dad and I haven’t gotten into it, but whichever hotel I work in, we can’t be around each other all the time, or we’ll argue about the stupidest things.”

Chase tapped him on the shoulder and I saw Scott raise his head to us as he came inside.

“Hey guys,” Scott said as he placed his tray of food on the table and took a seat next to Pierce.

“Are you packed to leave first thing tomorrow morning?” Chase asked with a laugh.

“No. Coach really laid into all of us this morning.” He sighed. “I don’t think I am going to be taking Mariska out tonight.”

They were going on a third date so soon?

“Ah, snap,” Piece said. “I didn’t know you’d asked her out.”

“It’ll be their third date,” Chase added, and I inwardly groaned at the reminder that Scott had the chance to take her out on dates, when I’d likely never be able to have a girl like Mariska. I knew she wanted to fuck me, but that didn’t make me feel great. I knew that this was how it was supposed to be, but the fact that Scott had touched her, or been in her dorm room with her alone, sucked for me. I was in no shape or form to be with her, but Scott wasn’t either.