Lost in Time (Forever and Always #20) (7 page)

And where would that bitch be staying?
I held my tongue and didn’t ask.

“Carly has a house in Burbank. She’ll be
staying there.” He read my mind.
Did he know me that well or was
my heart on my sleeve?

“Okay.”

He kissed my forehead. “It’ll only be for a
week, baby.”

“I know. Are you going to be making trips
often?”

He shrugged. “Maybe on a month.”

I sighed. That sounded unbearable.

“Quit your job and come with me.”

“I can’t do that to Sean,” I said
immediately. “The last thing I want to do is piss off a
Preston.”

“He’s not going to care,” he argued.

I would still feel ungrateful if I did that.
“I don’t want you to go…”

“Neither do I.” He ran his fingers through my
hair. “It’ll be over quickly.”

I snuggled into him, never wanting to let go.
“You’re going to leave me alone with that monster?”

“I’ll have a talk with him. I know he comes
off as a douche, but he really is a good guy. I know that’s hard to
believe but it’s the truth. I’ve seen it. And I wouldn’t leave you
alone with him if I didn’t trust him.”

“Maybe I’ll stay with Cortland.”

“While he’s celebrating his engagement?” he
asked incredulously. “That wouldn’t be awkward at all.”

“Well, I’m sure Ryan and Janice wouldn’t
mind.”

“This is your apartment, Hazel. You need to
stay here.”

“I know,” I said with a sigh.

“I can have Ian and Johnny come over to check
on you.”

“No, that won’t be necessary.” Truthfully, I
was irritated Flynn was leaving. I wanted to be with him all the
time, as wacky and obsessive as that sounded.

He closed his computer then placed it on his
nightstand. Then he cuddled into me, my legs weaved through his.
“You’re crazy about me,” he said with a smile.

“You just noticed that?”

“No, I’d always known, but now I can see it
clearly. You’re obsessed with me.”

I rolled my eyes. “Here comes the
cockiness.”

He chuckled. “The only reason why I’m cocky
is because you make me that way.”

“I do not,” I argued.

“Are you kidding me? The way you react to my
touch always catches my attention. You’re affected by everything I
do. When I touch you, your body naturally syncs with mine. When I
talk to you, your eyes hold all your love and devotion. I can see
it clearly. If it makes you feel better, I’m obsessed with you
too.”

“Well, that wasn’t super cocky…” I rubbed his
chest.

Flynn rubbed his nose against mine. “It’ll be
hard to sleep alone.”

“Yeah…” I wasn’t looking forward to that.

“You have a webcam, right?”

I raised an eyebrow. “Excuse me?”

A dirty smirk came to his lips. “You have a
camera on your laptop, right?”

“You better not be thinking what I think
you’re thinking.”

The smirk didn’t go away. “You expect me to
be apart from you for a week without getting any action?”

“You have your hand, don’t you?”

“And I intend to use it. But I need some
stimulation.” The desire was in his eyes.

“No.”

“Come on.” He kissed my neck. “It’ll be
fun.”

I’d never been adventurous in my life, and
cybersex was beyond my expertise. “I’ve never done that
before…”

“I’ll show you.”

His experience baffled me. “I’m embarrassed
you have to teach me everything.”

“I love teaching you,” he said seriously.
“Now I want to see you through my webcam every night. I need my
daily orgasm.”

“Just watch porn.”

“Porn? With a bunch of fake girls acting like
they are enjoying the pounding they are receiving? Nah. I prefer
you.”

“Don’t act like you don’t like porn.” I hit
his arm lightly.

“I used to love porn,” he said honestly. “If
I was too lazy to get a real girl, I stayed in and touched myself.
I’m not ashamed of it. But now I have a gorgeous woman that pleases
me every night. Believe me, this is much better. Now have cybersex
with me.”

“You’re bossy.”

“I know you’re nervous, but after you try it
once, you’ll feel more comfortable. You were the same way when you
were on top the first time.”

“But…I don’t even know what to do.”

“I’ll tell you.”

I was still uneasy about this.

“You touch yourself, right?”

Well, that was a personal question. “Uh…”

He smiled. “I’m not judging you.”

“Sometimes.”

“Good. Then we’ll have fun.”

The idea of having cyber sex with my
boyfriend felt dirty. I kinda felt like a slut.

“Until then, I’m going to make sure I get
enough of the real thing.” He moved on top of me then separated my
legs. I was wet from thinking about him touching himself. I didn’t
need further stimulation. He slipped inside, an easy passage. He
moaned while he rocked into me, his eyes bright. “I can never get
enough of this.”

I wasn’t looking forward to Flynn leaving. I
kept thinking about Carly, who probably wanted to sink her teeth
into him at the first opportunity. My insecurities and jealousy
came to the surface but I kept it back. Flynn earned my trust a
million times over and I needed to give him that recognition.

The days passed and his departure came near.
When Kyle left for work and went on trips with his family, I was
sad he was gone, but it was nothing compared to this. I was
distraught over it.

When the day finally arrived, I was
depressed.

Flynn gave his brother a firm look. “If you
give Hazel any trouble, any trouble at all, Johnny and I and Ian
will be here to throw you out on your ass. And if that isn’t
enough, my other boys will break that pretty face of yours.”

Cade rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

“I’m being serious, Cade. You better give my
girl the respect she deserves.”

“I haven’t bothered her in months,” he
argued.

“Because you don’t talk to her at all,” he
snapped. “Hazel is clearly here to stay. I’d appreciate it if you
made an effort to get along with her.”

“She hasn’t made an effort toward me,” Cade
argued.

“I’m really sick of you acting like a five
year old,” Flynn snapped. “Get your shit together and grow up.”

Cade rolled his eyes.

Flynn looked at me. “Call me if he even looks
at you in the wrong way.”

“Okay,” I said. Honestly, I didn’t care about
Cade. I was just sad Flynn was leaving.

Flynn walked out the door with his bag over
his shoulder. I came behind him then shut the door.

Okay, I wasn’t going to cry. He was only
going to be gone for a week. There was no reason to cry.
Don’t
cry.

He wrapped his arms around me and held me to
his chest. “I’ll be back before you know it.”

“I know,” I said weakly.

“I’m going to miss you so much. A goodbye has
never been this hard for me.”

My eyes were welling up.
Damn it! Why was
I being so emotional about this?
Yeah…” I sniffed.

He pulled away then looked at my face. “It’ll
be okay, Hazel.”

“I know.”

He kissed my tears away. “You don’t have
anything to worry about. I’m yours.”

“I know, Flynn. I trust you.”

“That means the world to me.” He kissed my
lips, his mouth lingering for a long time. When he pulled away, he
released a deep breath. “I’ll call every day. And I’ll see you
every night.” A sinister smirk appeared on his face.

“I look forward to it.”

He kissed my forehead. “Call me if you need
me. I’ll be back in a heartbeat.”

“I know.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

Without saying goodbye, he walked into the
elevator. He stared at me until the doors closed, hiding him from
sight. When he was finally gone, I felt the choking sobs emerge.
He’d only be gone for a short while, but I was still depressed by
his absence. It didn’t make any sense.

I sat on the floor and leaned against the
door, letting myself cry in peace. I didn’t want to walk back in
and see Cade. He would make a mean comment about my tears. I
decided to stay in the hallway until I finally regained control.
When I walked back inside, he was sitting at the kitchen table. His
eyes immediately moved to mine. I couldn’t read his expression. I
never could.

“Are you okay…?” he asked.

Was he being sincere? Or was he somehow
undermining me?
“I’m fine.”

He looked back down at his plate and
continued to eat.

I walked into my room and shut the door, too
depressed to do anything else.

The next two days, I didn’t do anything. As
soon as I was off work, I went home and stayed in my room. The
sheets smelled like Flynn and I lay under the covers and pretended
his body surrounded me. I didn’t eat much because I wasn’t hungry.
Flynn was busy, so when he called me we only spoke for a few
minutes.

What the hell was wrong with me?
I was
never the type of girl to be totally distraught when her man was
away. But nonetheless, I was. I felt like a piece of me was gone.
It was just as bad as when we broke up.

I watched TV in the bedroom and stayed in
bed, falling in and out of consciousness. I hadn’t seen Cade
around, but then again, I was never out of my bedroom. And when I
was, it was when I was walking out the door to get to work.

A knock on my door interrupted my thoughts.
What the hell did Cade want?

“What?” I yelled.

“Can I come in?”

“No.”

“Then can you come out?”

I sighed. “What do you want?”

“I made dinner. I thought you might be
hungry…”

What? Cade cooked something?
He
usually ate cereal or leftovers in the fridge. “I don’t have an
appetite.” I fell silent and closed my eyes.

“Are you decent?” he asked.

“Excuse me?”

“I’m going to open the door.”

I was wearing Flynn’s t-shirt and his
sweatpants. I was covered but I looked like hell. But that was okay
because Flynn wasn’t around.

He stepped inside, wearing jeans and a
t-shirt. He looked awkward as soon as he walked inside. “Um…I made
pork chops if you want to try them.”

I wasn’t in the mood to play nice with him.
“I just want to be alone, Cade. But thank you.”

“You haven’t been eating.”

“I’m fine.” I lay my head back on the
pillow.

He still stood there. “You want to watch TV
or something?”

What was his deal?
“Cade, what do you
want?”

He stilled at my words. “I just…thought you
might like some company.”

“If I did, I would visit my friends.” I
turned on my side, facing the opposite wall. I waited for the door
to close but it didn’t.

“Well, I’ll be in the living room.” He shut
the door and finally left me in peace.

What the hell was that?
Cade acted
like I didn’t exist for months. Now he wanted to share dinner and
watch TV? It was odd. Being around his brother, even though they
were nothing alike except in looks, made me miss Flynn even more. I
was totally lost without him, as lame and pathetic as that was. I
used to be strong, but now that he had my complete trust, I was
vulnerable and open about my feelings. I decided to call him.

“Hey, baby,” he answered on the second
ring.

I breathed a deep sigh when I heard his
voice. It was so calming. “Hey.”

“I hate to be rude but I’m working right now.
Can I call you when I get home?” Due to the time difference, when
he called me at ten, it was one in the morning my time. I was
usually asleep. But I didn’t want to argue with him. “Okay.”

“Alright. Love you.”

“Love you too.” I hung up. It pleased me that
he always said he loved me when he hung up. We didn’t say those
words often, but I was glad he wasn’t afraid to say them in front
of other people, particularly Carly.

Hearing his voice put me in a better mood. My
stomach rumbled in hunger so I left the bedroom and followed the
scent of the pork chops. They were sitting on the stove along with
a bowl of rice and grilled vegetables. I had to admit, I was
impressed. I scooped the food onto my plate then headed back to my
room.

“You can eat at the table.” Cade’s voice
wasn’t harsh and mean like it usually was. He was gentle, hesitant.
“You don’t want crumbs in your room, right?”

I sighed then came to the table. I sat across
from him but one seat over so we weren’t directly facing each
other. I picked up my utensils but was surprised to see that the
knife was useless. The meat was so tender all I needed was a fork.
I took a bite and was impressed, again.

Cade stayed quiet, keeping his eyes to his
own plate.

“This is really good,” I admitted.

“Thank you.”

Whoa…he has manners?
I’d never heard
him be humble or nice. What the hell was going on? I shook my head
and kept eating.

“So…have you talked to Flynn?” he asked.

Was he trying to make conversation?
“A
few times. He seems pretty busy. And the time difference doesn’t
help.”

He nodded. “He’ll be back soon. I’m sure he
hates being apart from you too.”

Was he just nice to me again? Weird…

“Do you have plans tonight?”

Other than missing Flynn, no. “None.”

“Well, we can go see a movie or something…”
He picked at his vegetables and didn’t look at me.

After being a jerk to me for months, he
ignored me and refused to look at me. Now he wanted to spend time
with me? My head was starting to hurt. I didn’t understand why he
was being so nice to me, but I guess asking him about it would get
me nowhere. I may as well enjoy the truce for as long as possible.
“Sure. I can only lay in bed so long.”

“What do you want to see?”

“I don’t care. Honestly, I haven’t been
keeping up with movies lately.”

He nodded. “There’s this romantic comedy that
looks pretty good.”