“You don’t want me to prove anything to you. You want me to be just like everybody else.”
Kade was silent for a few long moments, and then he slowly moved past me to the door. His eyes gave everything away, but he said the words anyway, “You’re right,” he whispered, “because then, I’d have a tangible reason to stop thinking about you.”
Clearly not thinking, I stepped in front of him, blocking his way to the door. “Kade?” This man has to be suffering from dissociative identity disorder.
He lifted his head up to meet my eyes, “Don’t, Lainey. Don’t listen to anything I’m saying. I’m drunk as hell and I liked what I saw through your window, that’s it.”
I nodded my head sharply, “Right, because I’m only good for a dance. Well, you got what you wanted, so no charge either. I guess you were right about how easy I was to label into your lap-dancing-gold-digging-uneducated-waitress-trailer-trash file,” I smiled. “Oh, wait. Hold on,” I said, pulling my aid-bag off the hook by the door and rummaging through it. When my hands felt the small-foiled package I was looking for, I grinned wider at him, flicking the condom right into his face.
Kade caught the condom with a quick flick of his hand. Yeah, great reflexes for a drunk, right? He arched his eyebrows up at me.
“It’s a condom, Kade, because if you’re going to act like a dick, you might as well dress like one,” I explained, smiling so wide my cheeks actually hurt. Then I grabbed his jacket from the hook I hung it on last night and tossed it at him. “Thanks for the pleasant visit.”
“Well, love, maybe you are one step above trailer trash,” he smiled sadly.
“Well, fuck me gently with a chainsaw and no lube. Thank you for the compliment!” My head started to ache from all this crazy. This man needs an array of meds.
A knock at the door silenced our immature conversation. Both of us realized we were mere inches away from each other, and ready to either claw each other’s eyes out or lick each other silly.
I swung the door open to find Fran standing behind the screen with a dozen red roses. He’s eyes bulged out of his sockets when he looked at me, and I felt the deep flush of embarrassment across my cheeks when I realized I had not gotten dressed the whole time I was fighting with Kade.
“Excuse me,” I snapped, shoving past a sneering Kade as I stalked through the trailer, straight to my closet to make myself look decent.
Through the thin slats of the trailer blinds, I looked out in time to see Kade kick a huge dent into the side of his truck, swing open the door and furiously climb into it, slamming the door shut so harshly that his jacket got caught in it. I hoped to God, he wasn’t drunk, then felt guilty as hell for not making sure before letting him drive. I’ve seen the results of too many drunk-driving accidents, and my stomach knotted. I yanked a sweatshirt over my head, slid my legs into a pair of yoga pants and ran back into the kitchen to my phone on the counter. I typed out a quick text to Dylan telling him his brother just left here and that he was drunk, and to maybe check on him to make sure he got home and didn’t kill any innocent people. Slamming the phone back down on the counter, I tore my hands through my hair and almost jumped clear out of my skin when I heard a throat clear behind me.
I completely forgot that Fran had come over.
“So…is there anything that I should know?” he asked sadly, placing the beautiful flowers across the counter and gripping his long fingers on the edge to lean forward.
“Not at all.”
He cocked his head at me, and offered me a sarcastic chuckle under his breath, “Last night that man couldn’t keep his eyes off you and today I come here at 9:30 in the morning and you’re half dressed with him, looking quite flushed.” He tapped one hand on the counter, and continued, “Lainey, I know we’ve just met, but I really would like to know if you’re having any sexual relationships elsewhere.”
I burst out laughing.
Poor Francis looked heartbroken.
“Trust me; I am not having any sort of relationship with that idiot. He came here this morning because he forgot his jacket last night and all we did was to go at each other’s throats.” I picked up the bouquet of flowers with my trembling hands and pulled out a plastic dollar store vase Bree had bought the first week we were here, and placed the flowers inside. “And for your information, I haven’t been sexually active for a very long time.” But, seriously, what I would give to be fucked until I couldn’t walk straight. Just to see what the hell I’ve been missing.
My stomach coiled up into thousands of little hard knots, because I knew my next sentence would be a lie. “Kade is not even a thought in my mind.” I still felt his lips on me and I knew he was pushing me away from him because he was just as attracted to me as I was to him. He said he pushed people away on purpose. But, let’s break this down right now, shall we? I will not fool myself. Kade would never be healthy for me. He’s too wrapped up in whatever it is that consumes him. He’s sick. I let that shit seep into my brain the minute Kade came here throwing his invisible demons at me. It pissed me off for a minute, and then I moved on. The man had dangerously glaring-in-your-face character flaws, and I knew there was no such thing as believing love will conquer all and change everything. If it did, I wouldn’t have a missing person’s file out on me in the tri-state area, and the police probably wouldn’t want to take me in for questioning. I’m not surprised, nor could I bring myself to give any fucks about the situation. Seriously, my fucks had been all used up already.
Fran cautiously shifted his body in front of mine and tenderly lifted my chin with his finger, attempting to make me look him in the eyes. “What do you think of being in an exclusive relationship with me?” His eyes scanned my face, searching for an answer he wanted to hear.
“I just ended a long monogamous relationship, Francis. I explained that to you. I don’t want to be part of another relationship right now.”
He leaned closer to me, his breath hot on my face, “I would like getting to know you though.”
My stomach churned as he brought his other hand to my cheek and dipped his head closer to me, kissing me slowly and softly with closed lips. I opened my lips against his and he pulled in a sharp breath. I wanted desperately to feel a spark, or a flutter of something, but all I thought about was how different his lips were from Kade, or how Fran kissed just as softly, robotically and clinically as the man, I had once been married to did.
I pushed the thoughts out of my head. I wasn’t Samantha Matthews any longer.
Fran buried his face in my hair and pulled me in tighter for a hug. “Okay, I will take this as slowly as you need me too.” Raising his head, he slowly ran his nose along my cheek and kissed me on the forehead.
Breaking away from his embrace, I moved along the counter, grabbing my phone to find no new messages. My stomach ached a little, worrying about anyone in the path of Kade’s truck.