Sweet Cheeks (6 page)

Then the hot meter skyrockets as he moves behind me and places two hands on either side of the counter top where I’m trying to make coffee. My whole body is on fire as he leans in and his breath brushes over my neck. I’m so glad I chose this dress. His lips are at my ear. And my heart is in my throat. I close my eyes, so all my senses are alert to his warmth and his smell, as it surrounds me.

“I lied before,” he whispers, and my legs nearly give way.

I can’t ask what about. I can hardly breathe right now.

“I like my coffee sweet and creamy.” And his lips brush over my ear lobe and down my neck.

O.M.G. I can’t take much more of this, and if he’s messing with me again, I really am going to cry.

Then like a bucket of ice cold water, the front door slams and Tanning moves quicker than the speed of light, stepping away from me, and I literally have to grip the counter top to stop from melting into the floor.

Shit.

My heart is pounding, and I don’t dare move, lest my legs give way. I was wrong. This guy is far from dangerous. He’s like a ticking time bomb, ready to set me off. I want him like I’ve never wanted anything or anyone before. Defences be damned. If he wants to see the real me, he can. He can have every bit of me, as long as I can have a little bit of him. Any bit. I’m desperate, but I’d take anything he had to offer right now.

For the first time in my life, I am in so deep and in so much trouble.

SiX

_________________________

Tossing and turning is all I can do. I can’t sleep. My body is on overdrive thinking about Tanning and what he did before Bailey and Cam got home. Ugh. I sit up and pull back the covers. Maybe a hot tea will make me forget all those lustful thoughts that won’t leave my brain. Yeah, I’ll get up and think of other things. Like… like… oh, stupid brain. All I can think about is his hot breath blowing on my neck and the shivers it sent everywhere. All over me. God, I want to scream. That, or race into his room and tear his clothes off. Crappy thoughts. Now I have that new sexy image in my brain.

Stupid, stupid brain.

 I stomp into my slippers, but don’t bother to cover up. I have on my favorite red silk night shirt, but I can’t be bothered changing. I march out of the room. It must be the middle of the night, I won’t see anyone. I creep down the hall and pass Tanning’s bedroom.
Keep going, keep going,
I say in my head, but I stop and listen outside. It's dark underneath and I can hear his deep breathing. I am so tempted to push his door open. I’d only watch him sleep. I’d do anything to watch him sleep. I mean, I’d much rather he was awake, but even a glimpse of him might settle me down. No. I can’t. He’d freak.
Okay, keep moving.

So I do. I make it into the kitchen and I’m just about to turn on a lamp, when I see a shadowy figure move. 
Crap. Who is that? And why are they wandering around in the middle of the night?

I grab a cushion off the couch and cover Treasure Pot. Not sure what protection that will give me, but its instinct and I do it anyway.

“Who’s there?” I whisper.

“Shit,” I hear a female voice say.

Crap
. It’s
Her
. Not exactly the visitor I wanted to run into.

“Bailey?” I ask in my sickly sweet voice, that I’m beginning to hate.

She turns on the light over the stove and I see her. She’s dressed in boy shorts and a strappy singlet top. So she does show a bit of flesh occasionally. She has nice legs and a nice set of boobs. I suppose I can see the attraction. At least in the looks department.

“What are you doing up?”  she asks.

“Um ... thirsty. I get real thirsty some nights when Treasure Post is moving around and keeping me awake.” That sounds feasible, even if it is a lie.

She nods and gives me a small smile. Better than usual. She usually spends her time glaring at me.

Okay. Maybe, just maybe, I can use this to my advantage.

“I was going to make a herbal tea. Raspberry. Do you want one? They’re really good.”

She looks at me, as though she’s deciding if it’s a good idea or not.

“It’ll help you sleep,” I say to encourage her some more.

“Um … okay.”

So I set about making the tea. Luckily Cam installed one of those instant boiling water taps, so it doesn’t take long.  I finish making it and pass it to her. “Do you want to sit down? I could probably use the company for a bit.” I make it like it’s about me and not her. Get on her good side.

She nods again and we move to sit on the couch. I decide to let her sit for a bit before I try and pry further. I have to go carefully. She’s so suspicious. Okay, probably with good reason, I guess I can’t blame her. She’s on the money when it comes to my plans for Cam. In her shoes I’d be a raging bitch, and wouldn’t let Cam within ten feet of me.

Funny, I’ve never thought about it from her perspective before. Usually there is only one perspective, and that’s mine. I really am losing my mind. Tanning has a lot to answer for, and I’ve only been around him for a couple of days. Hopefully I’ll go back to normal when he
leaves
... Oh crap. I hadn’t thought about that. He'll be leaving in a few days’ time. That is kind of depressing. Real depressing. Damn it.

Treasure Pot chooses this time to stir, it feels like I have a butterfly loose in my stomach and the cute little flutters take my mind off of Tanning for a millisecond. God I love that kid. I let out a chuckle and rub my belly.

“The baby?” Bailey asks, and looks at me with big sad eyes.

What is her deal?

“Yeah. I think he likes raspberry.” I smile at her and she gives me a tight smile back.

She puts down her drink, sighs long and hard and fidgets with her fingers looking so uncomfortable, but I don’t think it’s because she’s sitting with me, there’s something else that seems to be bothering her.

“You, okay?” I ask. And for once it's a sincere question. Normally I wouldn’t care less.

She grimaces. “Not really.”

Okay, this is progress. Didn’t expect her to admit to anything. She’s always so cagey and closed off.

“I guess I’m the last person you want to talk to. I get that. But if …” I prompt, carefully.

“I'm so messed up,” she breathes out softly, her eyes focussed on her clenched hands in her lap. Almost like she’s not registering she’s actually talking to me. “Seeing you makes it a thousand times worse.” And she flicks her gaze toward my stomach.

From her actions I have an inkling me being pregnant is the thing upsetting her. Which means one of two things. Either she wishes she was pregnant, highly unlikely given our age. Or she’s been pregnant and isn’t anymore. Crap. That’s a big deal.
Huge!

“Bailey, I overheard you talking to Bennett.”

I have no idea why I just admitted that to her, but it seems appropriate given the way the conversation is heading. She has no reason to trust me, but right now I want her to. There's a lot of pain in her eyes. I think I recognize that pain. It was the pain I felt when I first found out I was pregnant.

She widens her eyes, and bites her lip. “You know.”

“I don’t know the details. I only know you have a big secret you’re keeping from Cam.”

“And you haven’t told him?” She bites her lip harder.

That is a good question. I wonder why I haven’t told Cam. I’ve been so caught up in all things Tanning, I haven’t thought about planting that seed. Most unlike me.

“No. I haven’t said anything. I don’t want to hurt him.”

Bailey wipes a tear from her eye and takes a big breath looking up to the ceiling. “Yeah. I don’t want to hurt him again. I hurt him enough. That’s why I haven’t been able to tell him.”

This is the big moment. And I don’t know if she’ll answer the question, but I have to ask it.

“Tell him what?” I say softly.

She sucks in another breath then looks at me and blinks away more tears. “That when I was in Chicago …” She takes another deep breath, and my insides start to squirm. “I … I … um got pregnant and then I … I … lost the baby…”

The following silence, while I pick my jaw off the floor, is palpable, until a glass falls, breaking it. I’m still in a bit of shock, so it takes me a minute to register we're not alone, and that it isn’t either of us who’s just smashed a glass all over the polished floorboards.

Jesus, Cam.

And I’m betting from the devastated look pasted all over his face he just heard the same words from Bailey’s lips as me.

SeVeN

_________________________

Cam doesn’t hang around. He storms off down the hall slamming the door to the kitchen and then the front door. Bailey is sitting rigid, except, her hands are shaking and she’s turned a really pale gray color.

I’m still in a bit of shock myself, not sure who I should be with right now. My allegiance is with Cam, but he looked too pissed to try and talk to. I don’t think he’ll be listening, and I’m not really the one he needs to talk to. I’m snapped out of my daze when Tanning stumbles into the room, shirtless of course, which always renders me speechless, but right now I have other things on my mind distracting me. Then I realize he doesn’t have anything on his feet.

“Tanning. Stop. There’s broken glass.”

“Broken glass? What the hell happened?” he says with alarm, looking at both me and Bailey.

Bailey isn’t moving and now the tears are streaming down her face. I’ve made up my mind.

“Um … you need to get dressed and go find Cam. You need to look after him, he’s had a bit of a shock.”

“A shock?” he asks, then narrows his eyes at me. “What have you done?”

I really want to scoff at that remark. Typical. So, he thinks this is all my fault. Well let him, I’m a little pissed myself right now. “Just go, and go quick. Cam … well he might do something …” I decide not to finish that sentence as I hear Bailey’s breath hitch and she chokes back another sob.

I move closer to her and put my arm around her, and she grabs on to me and leans into my shoulder. Her sobs are gut wrenching. She’s really hurting. Wow, I never thought I’d ever be the comforter, but it actually feels kind of nice to be needed like this. Must be the pregnancy hormones making me all nurturing or something. I’ve certainly never experienced this before.

I hear Tanning mutter a few curses as he hurries off down the hall and disappears into his bedroom. I wait till I hear the front door slam shut and breathe a sigh of relief. I know Tanning will find Cam and look after him. He needs a good buddy like Tanning. Just like Bailey needs a friend. Now Gerry is living in Chicago, she really doesn’t have anyone else. We are more similar than I thought.

And with that thought, my plans change. I want to help her. I want Cam and her to be happy. He would never look at me the way he looks at her. And when I think about it, it was always just a dream to have Cam for myself. A dream that would never be a reality for either of us. It never would have worked. Not long term.

Bailey continues to cry, and I continue to comfort her, until her breathing evens out and she’s cried herself to sleep. Not sure what the morning will bring. And I’m not sure that the world is going to be a whole lot brighter, but one thing’s for sure, there are no more secrets and no more living in the past for her now. She has to face her future head on, and she will need to start by facing Cam.

I covered Bailey in a blanket from Cam’s room and left her to sleep on the couch a few hours ago. Figured she might like to be surrounded by his scent. I know how much I love being near Tanning for that reason. I crawl back into bed and leave the door open. I’m a pretty light sleeper most nights so I’m hoping she doesn’t wake and decide to leave. She needs to stop running. I’m really not sure how Cam is going to be with this latest development. I know they were broken up, but I also know he never cheated on Bailey. Not once was he tempted to sleep with, or even kiss, another girl. I know because I tried to be that girl on many occasions and he never wavered. He always held the hope she’d come back to him. And she did, but she obviously didn’t come back untainted.

I hug my arms tight round Treasure Pot. Losing her baby must have been awful, despite the circumstances. Not that I know the whole story, she fell asleep before I could get any of the sordid details. I’d say the pregnancy was a big mistake, like mine. And just like me, she had obviously decided to keep the baby. Wow, I can see now why being around me annoyed her more than usual. I kind of rubbed it in her face a little, well, a lot. No wonder she hated me so much. It must have been killing her not to tell Cam about it, but I can see why she decided to keep it a secret. And judging from the look on Cam’s face she might have been right.

The front door creaks open, and I hear heavy footsteps down the hall. I jump out of bed hoping Tanning has brought Cam home. I’ve decided I’m not letting either him or Bailey leave till those two have talked this out. Bailey has been doing it tough and I know all too well what that’s like. Cam needs to be there for her, like he was for me. She may have slept with someone else while she was in Chicago, but her heart belongs to him, it always did and it always will. I get that now. She needs to tell him everything so they can move forward. If she runs from him this time, I know it will be over. Cam won’t be able to deal with that again.