Because of Low (3 page)

“On the days she keeps her niece her sister lets her stay the night. The rest of the time she comes here. I tried to move her into the room you’re staying in several times but she refuses. Says she can’t handle my life style full time. The only reason I didn’t press it is because I’d end up losing her. She’d see what a chicken shit I really am and I’d lose her. I can’t lose her.”

The guy was really screwed up. How did he think he was really in love with Willow if he couldn’t even stop screwing every chick with a pair of long legs and fake tits in order to take care of her and keep her safe?

“I see,” I replied even though I didn’t.

Cage chuckled and sat his coffee cup down. “Naw, I doubt you see at all.”

I didn’t respond because he was right.

The knock on the door startled me even though I’d been anticipating it for hours. Ever since Cage told me to expect Willow around seven tonight, I’d been surprisingly anxious. I’d have Willow to myself. Even though I knew it wasn’t wise I was looking forward to it. She fascinated me.

“Hey Marcus,” she smiled up at me as I opened the door wide and stood back so she could step inside.

“Hey yourself.”

“I hope I’m not interrupting your night. You can just ignore me and go about whatever you were doing. I’ll even hide out in Cage’s room if you prefer privacy or anything.”

No way
.

“No, uh, I actually need some company. I’ve been working on getting my online courses set up. I need a break and an actual conversation.”

She beamed and both dimples flashed at me.

“Oh good! I brought a DVD I rented from the Red Box and some supplies for a homemade pizza.” She held up the large canvas shopping tote in her hand. Clinched in her other hand was the handle on the old suitcase. My stomach twisted at the thought of her having to carry her things around with her. And the fact such a small suitcase held all she owned. My sister’s swimsuit collection wouldn’t even fit in that thing.

“That sounds perfect.”

“How good are you at chopping veggies?”

I pushed up my sleeves and flexed my arm, “I’ve actually had some pretty good experience.”

She laughed making me feel like I’d just moved a mountain instead of agreeing to chop vegetables for her.

I followed her into the kitchen and enjoyed the view of her backside. Tonight she hadn’t covered those incredible legs with jeans. A pair of khaki shorts and a snug red tank top showcased her flawless peaches and cream skin. And that hair of hers was hanging down her back free of its pony tail. The silky waves seemed almost unreal.

“Okay, I know there is a decent knife in one of these drawers because I brought one over a couple weeks ago. You go on a scavenger hunt for it and a cutting board and I’ll get the veggies washed.”

I started looking for the knife while attempting to keep the goofy grin off my face.

“How old is your niece?” I was determined to find out more about her tonight. The girl was an enigma. She glanced back over her shoulder and smiled at me, “She turned one last month.”

I opened a drawer to find the missing knife wedged between two koozies.

“Found it.”

“Oh good. Here, start slicing up the mushrooms,” she said nodding her head toward the mushrooms lying on the towel still damp from her cleaning them.

“Yes ma’am.”

“So, how do you like living with Cage? I mean you two are absolutely nothing alike from what I can tell.”

What did she mean by that exactly? Not that I was upset she didn’t think I was a player but she obviously held Cage in some sort of high regard.

“He’s a nice guy. Rarely here. It’s been easy to find quiet time for my online classes.”

“Cage can’t stay put long. He needs to be social. He’s always been that way. When we were kids he was always on the go. So many nights he snuck in my window because he’d stayed out too late and his mom had locked him out.”

I couldn’t comprehend a parent locking their kid out of the house because they’d missed curfew. My parents were always standing at the door pacing ready to unleash their punishment if I came home late.

“Stop frowning,” she chuckled and nudged my side with her elbow. “I can practically see your thoughts. You’re friends with Preston so you know the kind of home life he had. Well most of the kids in our neighborhood had the same kind.”

I forced a smile and focused all my attention on the vegetables in front of me.

“No, yeah, I mean I know.”

That made absolutely no sense. Willow let out a soft laugh and began mixing up the pizza dough. We worked in silence and I tried hard to focus on the vegetables I was supposed to be chopping up while she kneaded and rolled out the dough. Her arms were slender but the small muscle that flexed as she pushed and pulled on the dough was literally mesmerizing. What was wrong with me?

“So, did you come home because you were tired of college life or do you have some other big plans that explain your sudden change in location?”

She wasn’t the first person to ask me this question. I’d been nailed with questions from all my friends who knew I loved life in Tuscaloosa. They also knew I had been looking forward to some space from the girl who had gotten under my skin this past summer. However, Willow was the first person I really wanted to tell the truth to, but it was too soon.

“Family stuff brought me home.”

I prepared myself for her to press further like Preston had but she just nodded and reached over to scoop a handful of the mushrooms I’d chopped and began sprinkling them onto the pizza.

“Family sure can screw things up can’t they,” her defeated tone tugged at me. Pulling her into my arms and promising her everything would be okay wasn’t the best idea since I’d probably freak her out. Instead, I just nodded and reached over to sprinkle onions on the pizza just so my arm could brush against hers.

“That was one of the best pizzas I’ve ever eaten,” I admitted after helping Willow clean up our mess in the kitchen.

“We make a good team,” she said throwing me a grin over her shoulder as she put the DVD into the player.

I sat down in the straight back chair leaving the sofa available for her. There was enough room for both of us on it but I didn’t want her to feel uncomfortable with my sitting beside her. Willow turned around and frowned at me.

“I don’t bite Marcus. You can come sit on the comfy old couch with me. That chair is incredibly uncomfortable.”

Just the opening I needed. I jumped up and sat down on the end of the couch and stretched my legs out in front of me.

“You don’t have to tell me twice. I was just being polite.”

Willow chuckled and brought a blanket over to the sofa with her. She didn’t sit at the opposite end which surprised me. Instead she sat down next to me just far enough away that our bodies didn’t touch and held up the blanket, “Wanna share?”

“Yeah,” I wasn’t the least bit cold but an offer to get under a blanket with Willow wasn’t something I was going to pass up.

“Alright,” she announced as she spread the cover out over both of us, “here we go.”

The dark room was illuminated by the television screen. The warmth from Willow’s body was so tempting. I wanted to close the distance and run my fingers through her hair. I’d been dying to see if it was as soft as it looked from the moment I’d opened the door last night to see her standing there in tears. As if reading my mind she scooted over toward me and laid her head on my shoulder.

“I hope you don’t mind but I’m a cuddler when I watch movies.”

I almost choked on my words. “Uh, no I don’t mind.”

Even though she’d closed the distance I forced my arm to remain on the back of the sofa and not find its way to her hair.

“I didn’t even get a romantic comedy. I thought about you when I rented it and you don’t appear to be a romantic comedy type of guy. I went for Sci-Fi instead.”

With her snuggled up against me on the couch I would watch the damn
Princess Diaries
I abhorred since my sister had forced me to watch it over and over when she was little.

“Sci-fi is good,” I assured her knowing I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything with the sweet smell that reminded me of honeysuckles wafting up from her hair.

Chapter Three

Willow

“Low,” Marcus voice whispered in my ear. I snuggled closer to the sound and breathed deeply. He smelled so good I wanted to curl up inside his clothes.

“Low, you need to wake up,” his voice said a little louder. I stretched and opened my eyes. It took a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness. But the first thing I saw was the very defined six pack of Marcus Hardy’s stomach peeking out from underneath the dark blue t-shirt he was wearing. My next realization was my head was in his lap.

“I’m sorry I had to wake you but it’s after two and I figured you might want to get to bed before Cage gets home.”

The warm cotton of his shirt was clasp tightly in my fist. I stared at my hand and quickly released the grip I’d had on his shirt. What the heck? Had I been trying to undress him in my sleep? God, I hoped not.

I sat up and a yawn escaped.

“I’m sorry I fell asleep on you,” I mumbled feeling my cheeks grow warm.

He grinned and his green eyes twinkled with mischief, “Don’t be. I don’t know when I’ve enjoyed a night this much.”

I ducked my head and bit my lip to keep a silly grin from breaking out on my face.

“Me too, well except when I fell asleep.”

His deep chuckle sent a warmth through me I didn’t recognize. It wasn’t something I was familiar with but it was nice. More than nice. It could be addicting.

“You’d better get to bed. You’ve got that early class,” he said softly.

I nodded then stood up and made my way to Cage’s bedroom door. Turning back before I disappeared inside I called out, “Good night.”

“Good night Low,” his deep voice rumbled in the darkness.

“Hey baby, I’m home and I’m clean. I scrubbed in the shower and used half a bottle of mouth wash,” Cage murmured as he crawled into bed beside me. I forced open my sleepy eyes to see the sunrise on the horizon. I nodded and rolled over to get another hour of sleep before I needed to get up.

“I’m sorry I stayed out all night. I didn’t mean to,” he whispered reaching out and clasping my hand in his. I didn’t allow him to snuggle up to me in bed. It never ended well. He’d get a hard on and start trying to feel me up. We’d tried a few times and I always ended up frustrated with him and threatening to sleep on the floor. I didn’t want things to get heated with us. Cage was my family. He’d never be anything more.

“S’okay,” I muttered

“Did you have a good evening? I saw you made pizza and left me a few slices in the fridge.”

I nodded against the pillow.

“Did Marcus eat with you?”

I nodded again.

“He isn’t like us Low. You know that right.”

I knew what Cage was saying. Marcus was out of my league. He didn’t want me thinking there could ever be anything between me and his roommate. I was low class. Marcus was a rich kid.

“I’m not stupid Cage.”

“No you’re fucking brilliant. And a guy like Marcus would never get just how fucking perfect and brilliant you are. He’d never see past the other stuff.”

I wanted to be mad at him but I knew he was right. If Marcus ever saw what I came from, what I was, he’d never give me the time of day.

“I know,” I whispered into the dark.

“I love you Low”

“I love you too”

“Then take this,” he said as he slipped a key into my hand and closed my fist over it. “I’ll be able to relax knowing you have a key. Please take it.”

I didn’t respond. I wasn’t sure what to say. The fact was I wanted that key. It gave me a warped sense of reassurance that I would be able to see Marcus even more frequently.

Within seconds he was softly snoring in my ear. I lay there staring at the ceiling. Fate wasn’t fair. It loved playing cruel jokes on me. Marcus Hardy was its new joke.

I hadn’t expected Marcus to be awake when I walked out of Cage’s bedroom at seven in the morning. And I really hadn’t expected him to be standing at the stove cooking eggs and bacon.

“Good morning,” I couldn’t help but smile at how cute he looked cooking in a pair of sweats and t-shirt that covered his yummy chest I’d had a peek at last night.

“I didn’t want you going to class hungry. So, I figured since I was up I’d go ahead and fix you something.”

My heart melted a little. No one had ever made me breakfast. Not even my mother. Oh fate really did suck. Why did this amazing wonderful sexy guy have to be a freaking Hardy? Why couldn’t he be one of the guys from my neighborhood? Someone who understood the life I’d lived and didn’t judge me or see me differently because of it.

“That’s really sweet.”

He grinned and reached for a plate.

“Then I believe my mission is accomplished.”

Laughing softly so I didn’t wake up Cage, I walked over and took the plate he was offering to me.

“I made coffee too. How do you drink it?”

This was really too good to be true. I glanced back at the bedroom door and wondered if I was actually still curled up in bed asleep. This was more dream like than real world.

“Sugar? Cream?” his voice broke into my thoughts and I turned my gaze back to him and smiled.

“Both please, two teaspoons of sugar. And thank you, really. No one’s ever made me breakfast before. I’m kind of at a loss for words.”

His smile deepened and there was something in his eyes I hoped I wasn’t imagining. The interest was there. I could see it. Was it because he thought I was easy?

“You’re welcome and if you keep looking at me like that I may become your personal chef.”

I covered the giggle I couldn’t control. He was quite possibly the most charming guy I’d ever met.

His eyes got serious a moment and I watched as he reached out and touched my cheek almost reverently.

“I really like your dimples,” he whispered.

The heat rose up my neck so fast and flooded my face I knew I had to look like a red berry. I hated my fair skin.