Break You (17 page)

Besides, it had made my mom smile when I’d said I was going to take the day off from fixing Gramps’ house to spend the day with him, and that had been worth it.

The rain was still coming down in sheets outside. Cramming my hands in the front pockets of my shorts, I headed across the parking lot to my Jeep with my head down. When would it ever stop raining? It was like the freaking sky was broken and no one knew how to seal up the damn hole.

“Jason?” a familiar voice called to me.

I knew who it was instantly and a smile came to my face. “Blaire. Hey.”

“Hey, what are you doing here?” she asked. She stopped walking and stood in front of me beneath an oversized polka-dot umbrella.

I scurried beneath it with her, not because I cared to be out of the rain, but because I cared to be near her. I felt bad for not calling after that night, even though I hadn’t had a number
to
call. If that was her way of doing things I didn’t like it. I wasn’t a one-night-stand type person and I still couldn’t get over the fact she apparently was.

My eyes trailed over her. She was dressed in a pair of light pink scrubs and had a name tag fastened to her chest. Her short hair was pulled back into a ponytail at the base of her neck with a few strands hanging loose around her face. She lifted her hand to tuck them behind her ear.

“So, how have you been?” I asked. There was a smirk on my face I couldn’t keep off, no matter how hard I tried. It came from simply being in her presence.

“Good. Same old, same old.” She nodded and shifted her gaze away from me. “So, what are you doing here?”

 “What do you mean what am I doing here?” I asked innocently.

I cocked my head to the side. My intentions were to make her smile before we both walked away. Hopefully I succeeded and didn’t make myself look like a moron in the process. Then I would ask her out again for that second date, and if the conversation went really well, I’d ask for her phone number too.

“Umm, this isn’t generally a place to hang out,” she said.

I shrugged. “I don’t see why not—awesome food, free TV, and the place is overrun with loads of mature, established women.”

Her blue eyes met mine, searching to see whether I was serious. Our eyes locked for the briefest of moments before she broke out into the smile I’d been hoping for. “What you just said is wrong on so many levels,” she chuckled.

“Maybe, but it made you laugh,” I pointed out. “Seriously though, my Gramps is here. He’s the reason why I’ve been in and out of town. I came to visit with him on this glorious day.” I motioned toward the rain.

Blaire glanced at me with a look of utter concern. I could see why she was a nurse now. She cared so deeply for people. It was in her nature. “I had no idea you had family staying here. What’s his name?”

“Gerald Stilton,” I said. My eyes dropped to the wet ground beneath me. This had not been the way I’d planned on steering the conversation. It was getting all serious and sad.

“Mr. Stilton! He’s such a sweetheart,” she said as a look of recognition passed across her face. “He’s not on my hall, but I still see him in the media room and stuff.”

How the hell do I switch this topic around? This was not even close to what I wanted to be talking about with her right now.

“Yeah, well…” I trailed off. There really was no nice way to shift off the subject, so I figured I’d go with a gradual one. Blaire was perceptive enough, she’d take the hint that I didn’t want to talk about my Gramps anymore. “So, what have you been up to lately?”

She shrugged, tipping the umbrella up a little more than it was. Water dripped onto my shoulders from it. “Nothing. Work and that’s about it.” Her tone seemed sharp, as though she were pissed about something. “What about you?”

“I’ve been working on my Gramps’ house, attempting to get it up to par for my mom to sell it.” Damn it, there I go talking about Gramps again.

Fuck.

“Sounds fun.” She smiled. “Listen, I really need to head inside, I’m gonna to be late for my shift. I’m sure I’ll see you around sometime.” She started to walk away. It was now or never.

“All right. Don’t have too much fun.” I started past her. One. Two. Three. Turning around to face her as I walked backward, I called out, “Hey, do you wanna have dinner or something tonight?”

Blaire stopped midstep and turned to face me cautiously. Damn it, I knew she was going to say no before the words ever left her mouth. Plastering on my best smile, I prayed her tongue didn’t want to cooperate with her brain and that it let a yes slip out instead of the no she obviously was struggling to word nicely.

“I can pick you up after your shift and we can head to Burger Buns,” I said in the most enticing tone I could muster. Rain continued to pelt my bare arms and slid down my face. “You know they have the best burgers in Coldcreek.”

The desire to get out of the rain was nearly unbearable as it picked up, but I refused to move until I had an answer from her. Her eyebrows scrunched together and I braced myself for what she was about to say. “I’m sorry, I just don’t think dinner is a good idea.” She turned and walked away.

Shot down. Again. If you counted the Facebook message, which I did.

What the hell had I done on that date to make her so skittish when it came to going out with me a second time? From where I stood, the entire date had been awesome. What would make a woman act the way she was?

And then it hit me—was Blaire embarrassed or ashamed of what had happened between the two of us? Did she think that was all I expected now?

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

BLAIRE

Leaving Jason standing in the rain without a good excuse as to why I wouldn’t go out with him a second time was not my best moment. What else should I have said, though, that I wasn’t into the whole “casual dating thing,” that it wasn’t me? Fat chance he’d believe me now.

All I knew was that there was no way I could go out with him a second time, because things were too awkward now. I’d slept with him without protection and desperately wanted to know if he had any STDs—not a conversation starter at all! Not to mention, I’d seen him gripping the town slut’s ass while she sat in his lap and kissed him the very next night.

No. Jason Bryant might be able to add me to his belt of women he’d slept with, but I’d be damned if he added my number into his little black book designated for booty calls. My mind buzzed with the possibility of being added to that book though. To get a call in the middle of the night from him, saying he was thinking about me and wanted me to meet him someplace, maybe even for him to talk dirty to me just a little… Dear God that seemed exciting.

But no. I was not becoming that girl. Ever.

Shaking the water off my umbrella, I closed it and shoved it into the umbrella holder beside the door with a little more force than necessary. I prayed someone pulled the fire alarm tonight and this place became a chaotic mess, because that would be the type of distraction I needed.

* * * *

I ignored every single one of Jason’s Facebook messages and avoided him at Cross Meadows like he was a resident with MRSA for the next two weeks. He was not going to get that second date, regardless if every test I’d had done at the health center had come back clean of STDs. The amount of time I’d spent in the waiting room, freaking out with Lauren by my side while waiting for my turn to be poked and prodded at in order to get tested, just pissed me off even thinking about it. Not that it had been all his fault, because it takes two to tango, but because of who I’d seen him with the very next night. Standards. That was the key to my anger issue.

Jason Bryant obviously didn’t have any.

Lugging my groceries to the apartment, I paused halfway there and shook off the anger building inside me due to his actions. Everything had happened weeks ago, I should be over this all by now. God, I’d have to check my tampon supply, because there was no denying my period was about to start any day now. Inhaling, I found my key. Music blared from my apartment—Paige must be in a great mood or else she was entertaining Craig. It was three o’clock in the afternoon, if I walked in on her and him going at it I was going to be pissed.

Thankfully all I saw was Lauren when I walked through the door.

“Hey, chick, where have you been?” she asked.

“At the store,” I snapped. I closed the front door with my foot and carried all the bags in my hands to the kitchen. “We have no food and I think I might be coming down with something. I haven’t felt right for a few days now.”

“You always think you’re sick,” Paige scoffed. She was sitting in the recliner, filing her nails. “That’s what you get for working around sick old people all the time.”

“At least I work,” I said with way more harshness than I’d intended.

“Yikes, someone’s in a bad mood. And I do work, thank you very much,” Paige insisted. I didn’t have the strength to argue with her. “I think you need some love, come here.” She held out her arms.

I laughed, but honestly the gesture nearly brought me to tears. My entire body hurt and my emotions were way out of control today. Jesus, I needed to take a freaking happy pill or something. “I’m fine, really,” I said.

I started to unload the groceries that I’d bought into the fridge. A rancid scent floated to my nose as soon as I opened the door. There was something rotten in here. I’d never been one to have smells get the best of me and force me to gag—I worked in a nursing home and changed old people’s diapers, for crying out loud—but there was something horribly disgusting in there.

Pushing around what little we did have in the fridge, I found the stinky culprit—a moldy block of white cheese covered in Saran Wrap and sitting in its own juices on a plate. Plugging my nose, I pulled it out, being cautious to not spill any of the juices.

“What the heck is this?” I walked to the trash can, staring at the oddity in front of me with a crinkled nose, while fighting my gag reflexes like never before.

“Oh, that was the Brie Daddy gave me a while back. Sorry, I forgot it was in there.” Paige walked over and opened the trash can lid for me. “It’s really good with crackers.”

“Yuck, I could never eat that,” I said. My stomach churned as I peeled the Saran Wrap off and slid the cheese into the trash. “You get to take that crap out to the dumpster, like now.”

“All right, give me just a second.” She went across the room to hand Lauren some bottle of lotion she’d been holding. I rinsed the plate off in the sink and then washed my hands. The stench was still floating in the air, souring my stomach more by the second. “Here,” Paige said as she tossed the lotion bottle to Lauren. “This is the stuff I just got at Bath and Body Works. It smells like heaven.”

I huffed and dried my hands on a towel before starting to unload the rest of the groceries I’d bought. If Lauren slathered on too much of that lotion it was going to smell like rotten fruit in here and I would barf for sure. Grabbing a granola bar, I watched as Paige took the trash out. I’d only taken three bites when a sudden whiff of the lotion Lauren had put on mixed with the stinky cheese wafted to my nose and I had to haul ass to the bathroom.

Hugging the toilet like it was a life preserver, I expelled everything I’d eaten the entire day.

A cold sweat broke out across my body. Gathering some toilet paper, I blew my nose and sat there trying to catch my breath. If I was coming down with something like a stomach bug, then I wouldn’t be able to work. Which meant I might not be able to make my portion on the rent this month. What the hell was I going to do?

My stomach ached when I stood to rinse my mouth out with mouthwash. Glancing in the mirror, I took note of how horrible my appearance was—my complexion was pale, my eyes a little sunken in—there was something off about me. I could feel it, but I couldn’t place what.

A soft knock sounded on the bathroom door.

“Are you okay?” Paige asked.

 “I’m fine, I think. Hopefully I’m not coming down with something.”

Slipping past Paige, I headed to my room to lie down. Exhaustion had overtaken me.

* * * *

I slept through the night and woke up feeling refreshed the next morning. Making myself my usual cup of coffee, I also grabbed one of the muffins I’d bought yesterday and warmed it up in the microwave. Paige came walking down the hall and into the kitchen sleepily.

“What are you doing up so early?” I asked, knowing she normally was not a early morning person. Early morning to her was around eleven.

“I have a meeting with my parents.” She yawned. “There’s something my dad wants to talk to me about.”

“Oh. What do you think it is?” I asked. Concern filled me suddenly; Paige’s parents were not known for being very loving. If they wanted to see her for something in person, then it couldn’t be good.

“I don’t know,” she said. She rummaged through the fridge for something to eat. Setting out the eggs and milk, she turned to face me. “I have to ask them to foot the bill for my half of the rent and utilities this month though, that job at Canard’s didn’t work out. I’m not cut out for selling kitchen equipment apparently.”

“I could have told you that,” I chuckled and took a bite of my muffin.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence.” She pulled a mixing bowl out from a cabinet and cracked two eggs. Mixing in a splash or two of milk, she poured it all into a pan. “I mean, who would have thought selling people a freaking top-of-the-line blender would have been so hard?”

I laughed and shook my head. Taking a sip of my coffee, I watched as the eggs she was cooking curdled and bubbled in the pan. She spread them around with a plastic spatula. The scent of egg wafted to my nose, causing me to gag the same way I had last night. I bolted to the bathroom and tossed up the little bit of muffin and coffee I’d had.

Paige came barreling in after me. “Are you okay? What the hell was that about?”

I groaned into the toilet and shook my head. “I don’t know.”

“Well, you’d better be pregnant. If not and you’ve got something contagious and I get it, I am going to be so pissed.”