An Exceptional Twist (15 page)

In the room next door, she found towels all
over the tiled floor, and she was hit in the face with the
over-powering smell of vomit, triggering her to stick her head in
the bowl as she dry heaved.  

She had to get out of this
room,
now
.
 Peering around the corner, she found the kitchen.
 

First things first—she needed water.

Taking a few sips, her stomach began to
rumble. She decided to take it easy and only drink a bit at a time.
Opening the back door, she shielded her eyes.  It was even
brighter back here than in the house. Nevertheless her lungs
welcomed the clean air.  She took deep breaths as she shuffled
over to the poolside lounge chair, trying to remember what had
happened.  

She and Stefen had gone wine tasting
yesterday, and he flirted with those wenches until…

Oh no!
 

She shook her pounding head.  

I didn’t do that, did
I?
 

She pictured Stefen’s expression and tears
of embarrassment ran out of her puffy eyes. She covered her face,
ashamed as the pictures played out in her mind.

 
Openly weeping, she nestled her face between her bent knees
as she heard someone enter the other side of the yard.

It was him. She just knew it.

Turning slowly, she saw a sweat-covered,
shirtless Stefen, stretching his calves, ear buds in his ears.
 He must’ve just come back from a run. Not even noticing her,
he continued stretching. Finished, he strolled alongside the house
and spotted her by the pool, only glancing at her long enough to
glare.  

Her chest tightened, filled with regret. It
was time for her to go home.  She couldn't wait around for
Dani to wake up, so she pulled out her phone and called the same
cab company from yesterday.  They gave her an estimated time
of forty-five minutes. Hopefully they were wrong, or she might be
tempted to walk to her car.

Leah was just about to get up when the door
to the house opened again.  Stefen reappeared, this time in
board shorts and carrying a towel.  She vaguely recalled him
telling her he always went for a swim after running.  

Placing his towel down on the opposite side
of the pool, he dove in and completed a lap quicker than she
would’ve been able to swim from one side to the other.  He
completed several laps before taking a breather at the far side of
the pool.  

Pulling her knees to her chest, she tried to
figure out what she was supposed to do. Clearing her dry throat,
she finally spoke.  “I'm sorry, Stefen.”  

No response.  He kept his back turned
to her.

She cleared her throat again, raising her
voice. “I said, I'm sorry, Stefen.”

“I heard you,” he answered without turning
around.  “I think you need to go wake up your sister and
leave.” He said emotionless.

Her face crumpled.
It’s even worse than I thought. He isn’t pissed.
He just doesn’t care.  

Her heart shattered into a million pieces.
 Stefen was unwilling to forgive her.

Listlessly, she got up, struggling to mask
her tears as she gradually made it to the door.  In spite of
her efforts, a loud sob escaped her throat.  

Unable to face him, she stared directly at
the door as she said, “I really am sorry.  I let my emotions
get the best of me and you were right. I did act childish.  I
just hope you can forgive me one day.”  

With that, she opened the door and headed
straight to the front porch to wait for her taxi, shoeless and
all.

Dani practically busted
down the door before Leah had a chance to open it.
“
Hermana
, what
the hell did you do to Stefen?”

Dani stormed past her, tossing her keys onto
the counter as she waited for an answer.

Leah’s head pounded harder. “I screwed up,
and he won’t forgive me.” Slipping back under the comfy covers on
the couch, she waited for the lecture she was about to get.

Popping her hip out and
waving her hands wildly in the air, Dani began, “I barely had a
chance to open my eyes and clean up
your
vomit before that
pendejo
told me to
leave. Apparently, I’m guilty by association.” Dani glided into the
kitchen, poured herself some coffee, and joined Leah under the
covers.

Steam floated away from the top of the
coffee mug as she took a long sip. “I didn’t get the whole story
from Bri, but caught that you basically called him a man-whoring
jackass in front of a bunch of people. Sound about right?” Raising
her eyebrows, Dani gave Leah an all-knowing look.

Ashamed, Leah nodded as
her bottom lip quivered slightly. “I was jealous,” she admitted
bitterly. “I don’t know what came over me. I started drinking, then
these
cochinas
were throwing themselves at him, and he made sure that I saw
him enjoying it. I just…lost it.”

“Well,” Dani took another sip of her coffee
before placing it on the side table, “if you ask me, it sounds like
he wanted to get you riled up, so it’s his own fault. Then again,
he’s probably never dealt with an enraged Latina before.” Dani
winked in an attempt to make Leah laugh.

Lovingly patting Leah’s blanket-covered leg,
Dani added some simple words of wisdom, while tapping her index
finger on her lips. “Yes, you screwed up. But if Stefen won’t
forgive you, it’s his loss.” She shrugged as if it were that
simple.

“Thanks for cleaning up my puke, Dani. I
love you.”

Pointing her finger at
Leah, Dani grimaced. “Oh hell, no. You aren’t getting off that
easy. That shit had
egg
in it. I’ll find a way for you to repay
me,
believe me.
”

That thought almost sent Leah running to the
bathroom again. Though she found herself smiling at her sister’s
goofy face. “I’m sure you will.”

Abby and Caleb were returning from their
honeymoon tomorrow, and Leah planned on filling their cupboards and
fridge today. She knew the last thing they’d want to do was go
grocery shopping.

She’d avoided dealing with the Stefen
situation yesterday, but would have to see him if he was at the
house. She sent him a text to warn him and wasn’t surprised that a
return text never came.

Standing on the front porch, she took in a
deep breath, then knocked. Although Abby had given her a key, Leah
was petrified of walking in on Stefen half-dressed like before, or
worse.

What if he has a girl in
there?
She hadn’t even considered that
possibility until now.

In a panic, she spun around to run back to
her van. On the way, though, the handle to the paper grocery bag
ripped, spilling all of its contents onto the driveway. She was
frantically gathering the items when she heard the door squeaking
open.

“What are you doing here?” his voice was
gruff and demanding.

She squeezed her eyes closed, muttering a
curse under her breath. Turning slowly, she thanked the freaking
heavens that he was dressed. “I sent you a text this morning,” she
softly answered.

He scowled, crossing his arms over his
chest. “I know. I deleted it.”

What an ass.
“I’m not here for you, Stefen, so don’t worry.”
Done with his shitty attitude, she stood up straight, pushed her
shoulders back, head up, and strutted toward the door, groceries in
hand. “I’m here to help, and it has nothing to do with you, so if
you’ll excuse me.”

She pushed past him into the kitchen.

He followed closely behind. “Well, maybe I
don’t want you here.”

Exhausted, she spouted
out, “I don’t really care what you want. Like I said, I’m here for
Abby, not
you
.”
She put two of the bags on the floor since the countertop was messy
with what looked like pancake batter.

“What do you have to do for Abby?” If he
wasn’t being such a jerk, his gruff voice might have actually
sounded sexy.

The nerve.
Leah wondered if anyone ever stood up to this
guy.
Why won’t he just leave me alone?
Nosy bastard.

She already felt bad enough. He didn’t need
to rub it in.

Slapping her palm down on the counter, she
placed her other on her hip and snapped, “If you have to know, I’m
here to clean up and fill the fridge, so she doesn’t have to do
anything when she gets back. It’s nice to come home from a trip to
a clean house and stocked kitchen.” She tacked on, “Not that you
would know.”

Stefen crossed his arms indignantly, eyes
sparking. “I can hire someone to do all that shit.”

“Nope.” She shook her head stubbornly. “I’m
already doing it. Abby and I take care of each other like this. Go
on.” She shooed him off. “Pretend I’m not here.”

Leaning into her, he growled, “Like that’s
possible.”

He picked up a wet sponge and began to
vigorously wipe down the counter, then he reached for the bags on
the floor, brushing up against her in the process. As much as she
didn’t want to, she gasped, exhaling as her traitorous body reacted
to his touch. She leaned into him, loving how close his body was to
hers.

But when she saw the smug look on his face,
she abruptly pulled away. He knew how he affected her, and it
infuriated her that she had no control of her emotions around
him.

“I’ll be right back. I have more bags in the
car and a lot of flower arrangements.” She needed a moment away
from him. Before she had a chance to turn, though, he came up
behind her, his warmth covering her back, and her eyes closed
involuntarily.

He brought his mouth to the side of her
face, his husky voice cutting through any defenses she had left.
“Don't worry about it. I'll get them.”

But these weren’t sweet nothings. He was
messing with her, and it was working. She spun around, gazing into
his mesmerizing eyes, then to his soft lips, and back. He appeared
to be struggling internally as he watched her take him in.

Good.
She raised her chin.
If he could
dish it out, he could take it, too.

“I’ll start in here.” She placed her hands
on his chest, stepping away from his hypnotic gaze. But her plan
backfired, and she had to fight even harder to keep his
overwhelming presence from affecting her further.

Groaning, he muttered something under his
breath and left her alone to deal with the intense sensations he
drew from her.

It took a minute to compose herself. She let
out a long breath, then started searching through the kitchen
drawers for trash bags. Figuring she would clean out the fridge
first, she pulled open the door and a putrid odor slapped her
upside the head. “What the hell is that smell?”

Stefen appeared just in time to see her
gagging. Snickering, he put the rest of the bags on the counter.
Then the stench hit him.

He buried his nose into his shoulder,
setting the bags down. “What the hell died?”

She couldn’t answer him as she threw open
the back door, gagging until she reached the yard. Stefen followed
closely behind. Breathing deeply, her eyes watered. They looked at
each other, and all the tension from only moments before dissolved
into a fit of laughter.

“That smelled like a piece of shit threw
up,” he laughed out loud, barely able to catch his breath.

Leah crossed her legs, cackling
uncontrollably. “Stop! You’re gonna make me pee!” She gasped for
air between her hysterics.

Stefen bent in half, bracing himself on his
knees. “I think I know what it is.” Grimacing, he admitted, “I may
have put some shrimp chow mien take out in there last week. I guess
I totally forgot about it.”