One and Done (Two Outta Three #2) (16 page)

“Thought all girls liked talking about their boyfriends,” I replied glumly. Suddenly feeling hot again, I was more than relieved to hear the heater shut off.

“Why are you pestering me about this?”

And there it was, the answer to the nagging voice inside of me. If I were being specific I’d even say it was my dad’s voice. Maybe if I heard Rocky admit she actually liked doing all those things in the past, I wouldn’t feel so guilty about how everything turned out. Maybe Dad was right—I never did give her enough credit. I needed to hear that she wanted to do those things with me and didn’t just follow me around blindly.

Taking a moment to regain my composure, I explained, “Because I can see that after I left, you lost all ability to dabble into that wild side I know is in there. I never dragged you around with me; you did that all by yourself. You liked it.”

“What do you mean?” she asked meekly.

“You, Stephanie, and I made quite a trio, right? Stephanie, the wit of the group. You, the creative conscience, and me, the spice in what can only be described as a bland blend.”

“Really? You’re a Spice Girl now?”

I rolled my eyes. “What I’m saying is that the perception of our little group was nothing but bad assumptions.”

“Not following.”

“We all thought we were different, but we really weren’t. Our trio would never have worked if we weren’t all a bit similar to one another. I mean, look at Steph. She definitely learned how to explore her animalistic side. But you…”

“What about me?” I could almost see smoke blowing from her ears.

“Why are you trying to hold it back?” I demanded. “I’ve seen it before. Where did it go?”

Please tell me that I did not just spend my youth dragging your name in the mud and smearing your positive outlook on life. Please tell me that you enjoyed everything and that I wasn’t too influential on you.

She looked at me as if I had lost my mind. “I’m not trying to hold anything back. What ‘it’ are you even talking about?”

“The certain ‘it’ factor that, despite your naiveté, allowed you to call me out on my bullshit. The ‘it’ factor that, despite your good girl qualms, pushed you to party and skip class with me even if I could tell you were scared.”

Her lip quivered. “I only did those things because I cared about you! You were so caught up in a downward spiral that I was afraid you’d go under if nobody was with you to yank you back up. Also, I called you out on your bullshit because, just like right now, you can be a stupid son of a bitch. I followed you around to protect you!”

Okay, I did not see that coming. “Protect me? That skinny little girl with the bright pink retainer wanted to protect me?” I threw my head back and laughed at the visual. Teenaged Rocky couldn’t protect me from a ladybug.

“Not physically,” she snapped in irritation. “More along the line of keeping you in line.”

I bit my lip and narrowed my eyes, trying to get a read on her. “Why are you denying it, Rocky? Your bad side is desperately trying to get out. I mean, why else do you think you kissed me?”

“Like I said, I was caught in the moment.”

“Because I always represented your rebellious nature. Think about it; once your inner self saw me, she couldn’t contain herself!” Wow, I really should have gone to college and earned a degree in bullshit. I probably could have become a politician or something.

“Inner self? When the hell did you get into all this philosophical crap?”

Then again philosophy would have been good too.

“As odd as it sounds, I feel responsible for stunting your growth. Without me, you’d have remained the seventeen-year-old I left behind.” Without the warm air from the heater, the warehouse began to cool considerably. Rocky’s perky little nipples hardened enough to poke against the thick fabric of her sweater. Resolve weakening, my eyes dropped down to admire the sight. “Well, not all parts.”

“Is there a point to this?” she asked, completely oblivious to my gawking.

“My point is I want to prove to you that you never needed me to explore your rebellious side. It was always deep inside. It was in your soul.”

“This is the weirdest after school special ever.” She let out an exasperated breath.

If I wasn’t head deep in my ‘philosophical crap’ I could have laughed. “You wanted to be friends again, right? Like old times?”

“Yeah.”

Friends…such a bad word.

“Okay then. From this moment on, we are once again Rocky and Jesse…and Stephanie. I will show you that once we hang out together, it’ll awaken that little vixen I know you have inside you. Just give me some time to figure out how to get her out of whatever cage you put her in. I’ll show you there’s a rebel there. Shit, she showed herself on N-Y-E.”

“And then you left…again,” she pointed out.

“I promise I’ll never do that again.”

Liar!

Still looking doubtful, she asked, “What does any of this have to do with Ethan?”

“Ethan?” My gaze snapped up from her chest. Really? She had to bring him up now?

“You said that now you can see why I always acted a certain way with Ethan.”

“Oh.” My mouth curled into a perfect circle. “Um, just forget about it.”

“What? Why?”

“I said forget about it.” There was no way I’d admit that I was jealous of the motherfucker. He had nothing standing in his way, but I had the whole world against me. Before she could push further, I quickly headed toward the Dungeon. Once I stepped inside and wrapped the stupid apron around my waist, I realized just how stupid I was acting. There I was, working in a store I hated, doing work I hated, and for what? To push the girl I loved away?

I really was such an idiot.

Chapter 23

Well my sense of idiocy tripled if not quadrupled within the next few days while her parents were away on a business trip. In my quest to prove my warped theory about her inner diva—as well as have some fun with her—I not only freaked her out with sex toys but practically drowned her in foam genitalia, butt plugs, and cock rings.

Rocky was furious, and I mean the ‘I-will-kill-you-while-you-sleep’ type of furious. Though my initial joke of shoving some bachelorette party favors in her face was pretty harmless and even resulted in a sale, I guess I did draw the line by booby trapping her workspace with more serious toys. The, ahem, type for professionals, if you know what I’m saying.

I knew she was ready to pounce on me from the moment I heard her scream my name over the intercom system. Truth be told, I was a bit scared and took my time walking toward the middle of the store. By the time I made it to the main register, Rocky was beet red and shaking with fury.

I gulped before asking, “Hey, boss. You wanted to see me?”

“What the hell is your problem?” she demanded.

I wish I could say what happened next was a mature, decent conversation where I was able to explain my actions and she was able to rebut, sharing her innermost feelings.

It wasn’t.

After pointing fingers back and forth, we were no better than the pile of butt plugs surrounding Rocky’s feet, which I had to admit, was a pretty funny sight. Unfortunately, that was the only thing humorous about the situation.

After being called a dick by Rocky (seriously that hurt like a bitch) and me retaliating by accusing her of only being concerned about money, I was certain that whatever weak foundation of a friendship we had left had all but crumbled. To make matters worse, Ethan chose that moment to show up, practically ready to lick Rocky’s face off!

Since there was no way I’d stay to watch whatever fucking lovefest was going on between them, I quickly busied myself by plucking all the sex toys off the floor, trying my best to ignore whatever the hell they were talking about. However, I couldn’t help but glance over at Ethan, who kept throwing discreet looks at the toys littering the floor.

Bet he’s wondering which to use on Rocky.

As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I shifted slightly so that my back blocked his view. I quickly threw the last dolphin head into the box and abruptly stood just as Ethan was on his way out.

“Bye,” Rocky called after him as I purposely nudged her with my shoulder.

She turned around and sneered in my direction. “Hey, what’s the big idea?”

Without answering, I gripped the heavy box and pushed my way toward the Dungeon. I needed to get away from it all. Most of all, I needed to get away from her.

“Well, you were successful in your quest, Jesse.” I dropped the box at my feet and kicked it away. “Somebody was finally let go…too bad it was you.”

***

Pissing off Rocky was just the tip of the iceberg to my otherwise horrible day. Later that evening, I pulled up to my house and noticed a strange car parked in my driveway.

“What the fuck?” I muttered angrily, placing my car into park. I jumped out of my high SUV and slammed the door with enough force to shake the damn thing. I was about twenty feet away from the door when a chorus of laughs emanated loudly from the inside. Something in me snapped. It was as if repressed memories were awakened and flooded my brain, causing a rush of heat to fly through my veins.

“Little get togethers.”

That was what my mother used to call them. Fucking get togethers. It was such an innocent name for what was nothing more than a bunch of immature adults drinking and smoking their way into a stupor. There would be many nights when I’d come home to find my mom shirtless and passed out on the floor next to her ‘friends,’ and let me tell you, there’s nothing more traumatic than having to peel your unconscious mother off the floor to get her dressed. If I shut my eyes and imagine hard enough, I could still smell the burnt popcorn that surrounded her and the gross stench of alcohol and old vomit on her shirt.

Eyes glazed over, I shook the thought from my mind and with the fury of a hundred starving lions, I burst through the door.

“Jesse!” My mother choked back a cough. Her eyes danced excitedly. “Glad you’re home.”

Was she drunk?

A movement in my periphery caught my eye. Dumbfounded, I watched as a bright-eyed young woman stood up and extended her hand. “Hello, I’m Michelle.”

I frowned at the freckled face. “Hello?”

Obviously sensing my confusion, she explained, “I’m from the Home Care Agency that you sent an inquiry to. Um, your mother actually set up this meeting to interview me as a potential nurse.”

“Potential nurse,” I repeated with a sigh of relief. I’d take a nurse over a new drinking buddy any day. “Hope my mom was cordial.”

Mom flashed me what looked like a kind smile, but I could see right through it. Had Michelle not been standing there, she would have snapped, berated me, and just been downright nasty. Mom snuck me a smirk before turning back to the woman. “Michelle has been telling me all about her skills and expertise. We were actually waiting on you to come home so you could meet her.”

“And your mom is an excellent host. I could actually see us getting along really well.” Michelle grinned, brushing back a few locks of her fiery red hair.

Red.

Warning flags again?

Examining our new nurse, I couldn’t help but wonder whether she was either totally oblivious, or just one really good actress.

My mom’s an excellent liar too. She’ll manipulate you in no time…unless that’s what you’re planning to do to her, which in any case, welcome aboard!

I finally forced a smile. “Well, looks like you two have already made up your mind on this arrangement. There’s really no need for me to put my two cents in.”

Michelle’s smile quickly faded. “Um, I hope I didn’t offend you. I didn’t mean that I had this job for sure. It’s just—”

I cut her off. “Don’t worry about it.”

Seriously, you need thick skin to work for her.

Michelle nodded in relief, turning back toward the couch. Taking advantage of her turned back, Mom threw me a scowl, but kept her voice kind. “I told Michelle it was important she meet you before we moved forward.”

“Why?” I asked blankly. “I gave you the list; you picked one, end of story.”

Mom inhaled, causing her tank to tick a bit louder than usual. “Because we said we’d decide together, of course. I couldn’t say yes without your blessing.”

“Because I’m paying?” I shot back.

That was all it took for my mom’s mask to fall off. Unable to keep her kind facade, she snapped, “Because I need your signature on the contract.”

The fact that we hadn’t scared Michelle off was a good sign. Snorting, I shook my head and turned back toward the poor soul who had no idea what she was in for. “When can you start?”

“Seriously?” Her eyes widened. “But you didn’t even interview me.”

I shrugged. “Anyone who gets along with my mom this well is a winner to me. So? When can you start? Would you be able to start tomorrow? I really need to get back to my business in Charleston and if I need to train you, I need to start now.”

Her jaw dropped. “Well, needless to say this is beyond protocol but I see no problem with it.”

“Good.” I was already turning toward the door.

“Um, when are you planning to leave?” she asked in confusion.

“I just have to tie up some loose ends first…”

***

It was as if I was dragged across town by some magical force. Whipping in and out of traffic, slowing at stop signs and lights—I was a zombie if not a robot under mind control. I don’t even know how I made it to Rocky’s house, but before I knew it I was parked across the street, gaping at the foreign red two-seater sitting pretty behind Rocky’s old car. There was no way her parents came home from their work convention early (nor drove that ostentatious piece of shit) and I doubted it belonged to her sister, Emily, either.

“Shit, that must mean…” My voice trailed off just as Ethan walked past an open window looking as cheesy as ever. Heat rushed through my extremities, culminating at my hands, which gripped my steering wheel tightly. I pried each finger off quickly; worried I’d do something as crazy as rip the wheel off my dashboard.

What are you doing? Just leave! What loose ends do you need to tie up? Rocky obviously hates you!

But I couldn’t leave. I couldn’t even move. I was frozen, staring into a house where the one woman I continued to push away had finally fallen into the arms of another man.

“What did you expect to happen? That she’d wait for you again?” I spat out with distaste.

The front door opened with a bang, startling me. I sucked in my breath and scooted down into my seat, worried that Rocky would catch a glimpse of me. However, it wasn’t Rocky at the door. Ethan jumped from the cement step, tossing his keys in his hand. Like tiny bells, his keys jingled in the night, a song of happiness—a song that wasn’t mine. As if feeling my presence, his gaze immediately jumped to my car and though I was hidden behind the darkness of night and behind tinted glass somehow I knew that he saw me. A smug smile rested on his face, and for the first time I noticed his messy hair and haphazardly thrown on sweater, which was wrinkled as if somebody had been gripping onto its sides. My stomach lurched with the realization of what he and Rocky must have been doing inside.

“Well, your plan worked, genius. Rocky’s finally gone.” I waited until Ethan peeled off before I restarted my car. I threw one last glance at her house, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. Stifling a chuckle, I shook my head and drove off. “Goodbye again, Rocky.”