Before You: Standalone Contemporary Romance (11 page)

“I was about to get in the shower. I’m all stinky from the travel. So I sprayed deodorant so you didn’t have to smell my stank.”

She shrugged. “I wouldn’t have cared.” Then she took my hand and dragged me toward the kitchen. “I hope you haven’t eaten. I brought you some of mom’s chicken that you like. And I brought a bottle of wine so you can tell me all about Chicago, and I can catch you up on what’s been going on here.”

“I was only gone a few days, Milly,” I laughed as she pulled out a stool for me to sit at the counter as she bustled about the kitchen, serving food and pouring wine while she chattered about the week we’d been apart.

Apparently, our senior editor had been bitching about the fact I’d taken emergency leave without notice, and Jasper had snapped at her and said that for an editor, she wasn’t very bright. ‘The very definition of an emergency is that you don’t generally have time to prepare for it’ he’d said, and Milly had taken great delight in telling me.

“See? I told you he was interested. And just like I also predicted, he didn’t go out with us on Friday night. He’s all about you, Will.”

I shook my head and took a sip of wine, feeling guilty for having a plate of food in front of me, while André was upstairs and probably hungry too. I should have offered him some, but I didn’t want him involved with my friends and my life while we were still in this...this faze we were going through. That wasn’t what we were. I decided I would just save him some...

Standing across from me, Milly pulled chicken off the bone and slid the meat into her mouth as she continued to talk about Jasper. “I really think you should date him – he’s good looking, has a good job, a great ass, nice personality. There’s much worse out there.”

She glanced up at me then her eyes widened as her gaze moved past mine, and she whispered. “Don’t freak out. But, there is a giant male model in your entry hall.”

Immediately, I turned around and saw André standing there. He was looking in the bowl where I’d dropped my keys.

“That’s Dave’s roommate André.” I slid off my stool to go to him.

“Why is he here?”

“He needed somewhere to stay too.”

“Willa,” she quickly called out when I was only a few steps away.

“What?”

“He’s fucking gorgeous!” That was whispered, but if André was looking, he would have definitely known what she was saying based on the look on her face.

I laughed and continued down the hall to him.

“Hey. There’s um... Milly brought food. It’s in the kitchen if you’re hungry.”

He shook his head. “Can I borrow your car?”

When he looked at me, his expression was blank, and it caused a heaviness to thud in my stomach.

“Where are you going?” I asked, keeping my voice low as I dug through the bowl and pulled out my car keys.

He took them from me. “Out.”

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Milly asked, her voice breezy as she stood behind me expectantly.

“We aren’t friends,” André said, then he opened the door and left. I jumped when it closed harder than it needed to, and I wondered what it was I’d done or hadn’t done...

“Wow. What’s up his ass?”

I shook my head and sighed. “Who knows?”

“You two don’t get along?” she asked as we returned to the kitchen and went back to eating and drinking our wine.

I shrugged and kept my eyes down. “I only met him this week.”

“And you’re living with him?”

“Dave swears he’s a stand up guy.” I poked my chicken with my fork as my mind ran through everything that happened with André before I went downstairs, trying to figure out what had him so pissed off.

“And what do you think? Was he at the apartment when you were packing it up?”

“Yeah. He helped. And I don’t know what I think about him. He’s hard to read. I just think he’s...complicated.” I used the word Abbot had used to describe him as I picked up my wine glass and took a mouthful, my mind still trying to work out what went wrong.

“Oh no,” she said, dropping her fork on her plate and gaping at me. “You slept with him.”

My cheeks went bright red, and I dropped my face to hide my reaction. “Don’t be ridiculous, Milly. Dave would go nuts.”

Deny. Deny. Deny. It was the only way to deflect any further questioning.

“What’s Dave got to do with any of it?”

“They’re friends. André saved his life or something, so they’re like, besties.”

She looked at me, while I shoveled food into my mouth then met her eyes and said, “What?!”

“You at least
like
the guy. I mean, you
want
him to fuck you, right?”

“What?” I rolled my eyes, laughing as I shook my head. “Get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Come on, Willa. That man was the epitome of all men. And what was that accent?”

“German.”

She grinned lasciviously. “German? Oh god, imagine how bossy he’d be in the bedroom.”

“Just because he’s German it doesn’t make him bossy. Just like how being Latino doesn’t make you J.Lo.”

Milly surprised many with her looks as she was more like Alexis Bledel’s Latino appearance than the mainstream J.Lo’s. People often got confused whenever she stated her very Latino sounding name as her pale skin and bright blue eyes didn’t seem to match their expectations.

She lifted the gold chain holding a small crucifix that always adorned her neck and slid the small cross back and forth along the chain. “Men who look like that, they’re always bossy. They’re the kind of men who can have anything they want and know it.”

“Well,” I said, letting out my breath as I stood and took my empty plate to the sink. “That’s really awesome for him.”

“Just admit you like him,” she said, laughter in her voice as she brought her plate over then went and refilled our wine glasses.

“Why would I do that?” I scrubbed at the plates then rinsed them and put them in the rack to dry.

“Um, because you’d have to be blind not to.”

I shut off the faucet then dried my hands as I turned back to face her.

“I’m not blind. I think he’s hot. I just don’t
like
him. He’s an asshole. Remember that.” It was possible I was trying to tell myself that more than I was trying to tell her.

“So, do a Catherine – fuck him and move on. Because if you don’t, I will. A guy that hot in such close proximity, needs to be utilized properly.”

She handed me my glass then tapped hers against mine, her eyebrows raised in an expression that made me laugh and shake my head. “You and your libido are incorrigible, Milly.” I took a mouthful of wine. “Although, speaking of your libido, did you make any poor decisions on Friday night?” I asked to purposely change the subject.

She rolled her eyes and scoffed. “Oh God, did I ever.
Please,
don't ever leave me alone on a Friday night again. I can’t be trusted once I start drinking – all of a sudden every man is good looking. I need your radar.”

I laughed and indicated that we move to the sofa in the lounge. “Tell me everything that happened.”

She followed me in, and I sat in a position, giving her what looked like my rapt attention while really, I was focused on the front door, wondering when and if André was going to come back home.

––––––––

W
hen I opened my eyes everything around me was dark. I’d fallen asleep on the couch after Milly had left, telling myself that I was just tired and couldn’t be bothered moving. But deep down, I knew I was waiting for André. I should have just gone up to my room. I wasn’t supposed to care...

Letting out a sigh, I shifted so I could get up, which is when I realized there was something heavy wrapped around my waist. And something very un-couch-like pressed up against my back.

“Stay.” André’s voice, thick from sleep, murmured from behind me as his arm tightened around my waist.

“André. I don’t...” I began to protest.

“This doesn’t count as sleeping. This is lying on the couch. Close your eyes and be still. Your ass is wriggling against a very sensitive spot.”

I pulled away again, and with a groan, he released me and I sat up. “This isn’t part of our deal.”

“Jesus, Willa. It’s just sleeping. When I’m on location, I sleep in tents with like, five other guys. It doesn’t mean anything then, and it doesn't have to mean anything now.”

“Are you spooning with those five other guys in that tent?”

A grin spread across his face. “Well...”

“I’m serious, André.”

“Of course not. But just because I’m sleeping next to you, doesn’t mean...” He sat up and shook his head. “I’m just used to sleeping with other people around. It’s weird when I’m on my own. OK?” He shifted his eyes downward, not meeting mine.

“It doesn’t mean that you can just get into bed with me whenever you feel like it.”

He returned his gaze to mine. “I didn’t. This is a couch, and you seemed pretty content when you snuggled against my chest and sighed my name in your sleep.”

My mouth fell open. “I did
not.
”

He chuckled. “You did. It was adorable.”

I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. I’m going up to bed. Alone.”

“Sure,” he said, reaching out to pick up the TV remote as he stretched his long legs out and rested them on the coffee table. “Thanks for trying to wait up for me.”

I stopped walking away and turned to face him. “I wasn’t waiting up for you.”

He flicked the TV on and began cycling through the channels. “Sure you weren’t.”

“I wasn’t. I just wanted to make sure you brought my car back safely.”

He chuckled and kept flipping the channels.

“Are you going to just sit here and watch TV all night now?”

“What is it I’m supposed to do?” he asked, holding the remote between both of his hands. “I just told you I don’t sleep when I’m alone, and you made it clear that I’m not to fuck anyone but you. So, you’re severely limiting my options.”

“So that’s what you do? You go out and pick up some girl, then go back to her place, fuck, sleep, then do it all again?”

“Sure. I like fucking. I like sleeping. I never promise anyone anything, so they all know the score. If you’re honest, no one gets hurt.”

“And if they start wanting more?”

“Then we stop fucking.”

I let out my breath. “I’m starting to think you aren’t as complicated as everyone thinks you are.”

He laughed at that and adjusted himself on the couch, his eyes moving to the TV screen. “I am not complicated at all. I am a man. We’re ruled by our dicks so we aren’t that difficult to work out.”

“So I’m starting to see,” I said, as I began to turn away. But I stopped again.

“Do you want to fuck other people, André?” I asked.

Letting out a sigh, he sat forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “No, Willa. I don’t. I have no interest in other women right now.”

I couldn't stop the excited butterflies that danced about in my stomach.

“Then come upstairs and fuck me.”

Grinning, he shut off the TV then followed me up the stairs.

***

“W
here did you go tonight?” I asked as we lay together after, naked in the dark, our limbs entwined, our bodies sated.

“To see some friends.”

“You have friends out here?”

“I have friends everywhere.”

I thought for a moment about what he said before he walked out the door earlier. “Did you mean it when you said to Milly that you and I aren’t friends?”

“Yes,” he responded immediately, and again that heaviness hit me.

“That’s a bit of an asshole thing to say.”

“It upsets you?”

“Well, a little, I suppose. I mean, considering what it is we keep doing. That at least constitutes friend status.”

“Dave is my friend, Willa. I don’t fuck my friends.”

I frowned. “I’m not sure if I’m offended by that statement.”

“Why be offended? We know where we stand. We aren’t friends. We aren’t in a relationship. But right now, we’re what each other needs. I don’t know if there’s a name for it. I just know that’s what this is.”

“You seemed annoyed when you left earlier.”

“I was.”

“Was it because I hadn’t offered you food before you came down?”

“No.”

“Did I say something – do something?”

He let out his breath. “No talk about feelings. It’s part of the rules.”

“No relationship feelings – were you annoyed with me?”

“Who is Jasper?” he said finally.

“What?” I had to search my memory for when he would have heard that name. Then I remembered Milly talking about him before André came downstairs.

“He’s a guy I work with. There’s nothing going on with him if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not. I just want to make sure we’re both held to the same set of rules. If you want something with someone else, you need to end it with me first.”

I nodded and brought my hand up to run my fingers over his thickening stubble. “OK.” He sighed and closed his eyes, his breathing deepening as I watched him relax.

“André?” I whispered.

“Hmmm?” he replied, his eyes still closed.

“Get out of my bed.”

“No. I need to sleep, Willa, and I’m sleeping right here.”

“Fine. Then I’ll go and sleep somewhere else.” I went to move, but he reached out and grabbed me then dragged me up against his body, spooning me again. His body was so warm and damn it felt good. I hated that. No, actually, I really, really liked it. But, I tried to hate it and continued my attempt to break free.

“Go to sleep, Willa,” he insisted, holding me steady until I quit resisting and relaxed against him with an annoyed sigh, trying to ignore the way his body perfectly enveloped mine. “
Gutes Mädchen
.”

“What does that even mean?”

“It means ‘good girl’.” He pressed a kiss to my shoulder and pulled me a little closer.

I wasn’t sure that I liked him calling me a ‘good girl’, but I definitely liked it when André held me. Even more than I liked him being nice, and more than I liked it when he laughed...Slowly, I allowed my eyes to close.

“Hang on a second,” I said, opening my eyes again. “If you can’t sleep on your own, how did you sleep in Chicago? You weren’t with anyone then.”