Drawn To You (Paloma's Edge) (3 page)

“It’s something you can remember me by. All strong, sweaty man.” I winked at her and her smile widened. It might’ve hurt her head because her bun was always so tight.

“You’re too much, Chase!” She shook her head.

“It’s her job—to tend to this house and the people who inhabit it
.” An unfriendly voice that could only belong to Cassidy interrupted Nancy and I. Rudely. What was it with people today? Here was the bane of Nancy’s existence.

Nancy’s demeanor
changed with Cassidy’s statement. It pissed me off that Cassidy got away with treating Nancy like shit. Who the fuck was Cassidy, anyway? She was a nauseating blend of entitled and conceited. And I had encountered many girls who thought they were the shit, when they were very basic. The only reason for Pierce’s protectiveness of Cassidy had to be because of their blood relation. I didn’t even think he’d talk to her if they weren’t related. He may be spoiled too, but he always treated the staff at the Paloma Hotel and Nancy with respect. I wouldn’t be here, or even be his friend if it were otherwise. My summer arrangement had to come with one major string attached: Cassidy.

Cassidy flicked her pale blue eyes over my body like she was gonna fuck me. Like she’
d fucked me before. Like what she had just said wasn’t degrading to Nancy.

“Nancy’s not your lackey
. And this grown boy right here knows how to do his laundry and does it. Some grown girls should acquire that basic adaptive skill.” I heaved in a breath because this was a mental workout on my self-control. “I speak for myself. I know what I want. And I want you to keep it movin’. I was talking to Nancy.”

Cassidy’s mouth opened wide like I
’d shoved a gigantic watermelon in her mouth. A look she likely wore often and I didn’t want to see it again.

I casted
a glance Nancy’s way. “And we’re gonna go out for a late lunch today.”

With a grateful look, she bobbed her head and left the room. I stalked over and slammed the door in Cassidy’s face, but she opened the door and closed it, leaning against it. Damn
it, I hadn’t locked it. I wanted to make sure I had everything I needed before I went to the beach.

“You don’t have to play hard to get,” Cassidy said with an air of distaste.

When I felt her fingers linger on my shoulders, I instantly recoiled. “This isn’t a game, Cassidy. I don’t want you. Go after someone who does.”

As she sat at the foot of the bed
and raised a brow, her mouth twisted in question. “Come on, Chase. Even with that scar on your face, you’re still good looking,” she said with mirth, in a failed attempt to make me feel like shit. “Surely you can’t be immune to this”—she swept her hands along the sides of her body—“unless it’s true that we’re batting for the same team…” She tapped her chin. “I’d be more than willing to help with that.”

I sucked in a deep breath. Comments about my sexual orientation didn’t bother me like it did with other guys I knew. “Stop being so goddamn juvenile and get your ass off the bed.” I strode to the door and pushed it open with more force than I had intended.

At a leisurely pace, she got up and shook her long, pale blond locks. “At least you know that”—she motioned towards the bed and then the entire room—“bed isn’t yours. You’re a guest. For now. And if I were to tell father that you’ve made inappropriate advances towards me, you’d be out of here.”

Squaring my shoulders, I shot her a bland look. “Go on and do that,” I managed in as flat a tone as possible. “I am not gonna beg to stay. If I am told to leave, I’ll keep it movin’ like I’ve been telling you to do.” I clasped my hands together. “Or do I need to tell your daddy or Pierce that I can’t get you off my dick? That you’re begging the help to fuck you?”

And, temporarily, she exited my life.

***

My arms and legs burned a little, but it was a good swim, the best way to work out my body. Get my mind right. It was a nice cloudless sky, and the beach wasn’t crowded yet. As I stepped out of the lukewarm water and onto the warm white sand, I returned a wave in greeting at a couple from the Paloma Hotel, and then sat down on my beach chair. Droplets of water trickled off my skin and I didn’t bother drying it off. The anger and frustration I had felt churning in my stomach stopped.

Unlike Rylan, Joel, and a whole bunch of guys around here, I never took to Cassidy or felt compelled to speak to her. Even before I learned what a nasty piece of work she was. The guys had said that she was a cocktease.
I’d learned that when she’d finally slept with them, she’d acted like they hadn’t existed for weeks. Pierce knew that Cassidy had slept with his friends, plenty of other guys in Paloma’s Edge and nearby Miami. When someone had stupidly mentioned Cassidy’s sexual encounters when he had been close by, I’d had to hold him off from punching the other guy in the face. Rylan and Joel had been considerate enough to tell me about Cassidy when Pierce had left to go somewhere with Mona. They’d wanted to warn me because I was the new guy. They were both miffed to this day that she had ran the shots and had treated them like shit afterwards.

I had pointed that
out to the Joel and Rylan that guys pulled the ill treatment on girls all the time after fucking them. And they had just sneered at me and drank more beer. I had respected Cassidy for getting her instant gratification and not making it out to be more than what it was. I’d once been loose just like she was. Very loose. Almost indiscriminately loose.

Literally hundreds of fucks later, I didn’t want to use any more girls for sex. It didn’t sate me like it once had. I had felt out of control, like any chick with a willing cunt was good enough for me. But I deserved better than that. I d
idn’t know why. But my persistent mind kept on telling me until I listened. I hated that I kinda understood Cassidy. She wasn’t exploring her sexual identity, like she probably had been doing initially. No, her goal was to conquer any guy she set her sights on. It made her feel empowered. I just so happened to be a flavor that she was intent on tasting. Cassidy’s warped identity was tied up in her efforts to be desired by every man. Any pity, or empathy, however, I may have felt for her from the jump dissipated. I had no right to judge. No place to think her vile. She was aware of how fucked up she was, and didn’t give a flying fuck about who she stomped on while she tried to reconcile her need for validation with the reality that outside of her Paloma’s Edge bubble, she would get lost in the crowd.

My phone buzzed, reminding me that it’d been an hour and a half since I had brought Bethany to the lobby at the Paloma. She’d still been concentrating over sections of her papers that she had highlighted before we entered the hotel. Watching her comb over her flyovers and apply a little makeup had me too hard for my liking. Thank goodness for boxers. My chest had felt heavy after I
’d told Brody, one of the concierges, that Bethany had been waiting for Mr. Pruitt; I’d stopped and had come close to rounding on her and she’d craned her head up, peering at me. The light made her cerulean gaze twinkle. And I hadn’t thought that she’d felt any pull to me, but I’d seen it—whether or not she liked it, her control had momentarily vanished. On the most basic level, she wanted me. Her cute and warm-looking blouse didn’t hide the fact that her nipples had hardened.

The AC hadn’t caused her body’s reaction
. In my car, her nipples hadn’t pebbled from the AC. Every opportunity I had, I drank her in like the rare delicacy she had to be. Mixed with desire in her eyes and the faint shade of pink that spread across her face was fear. Maybe she hadn’t felt a physical draw to someone in a long-ass time. I sure as heck could relate to that. Or it could have meant that she also hadn’t had a guy in a while. Damn me if I enjoyed that possibility too much. Not wanting to make her feel more flustered, I had grinned at her and told her that she was gonna do really well during her interview with Mr. Pruitt, and as a result, she beamed at me, stirring my cock again. I’d sped off so she wouldn’t notice. Why’d Pierce say she was on vacation but she’d acted like a stressed out job applicant? Man, I couldn’t get Bethany out of my mind or my erection to let up.

Pierce:
Everything went ok?

Me:
Yeah. Took her str8 2 the Paloma.

Pierce:
I owe you one.

Me:
U think? R u still with Mona?

Pierce:
Yep. C u soon. Gonna c Beth b4 2nite, 4 sure.

He had no idea that it had been a pleasure to meet Bethany. However, I couldn’t let him know that. He may think that I’d gotten fresh with his cousin. I never thought I’d see her again. University of Miami was huge. Visitors and non-admit students came all the time. I had been too late when I had decided to catch up to her and offer her a ride to wherever she needed to go. Too damn proud, like I had been in the past, to reach out to someone. And now that I’d seen her again, my interest in her had only increased. She was probably a student there too.

With my wide beach bag and beach chair folded up, I headed towards the long path to get to my car. Joel and Rylan came in with what looked like ten girls. One of them I recognized from last night. She was a pretty girl by conventional standards, although she didn’t hold a candle to Beth’s beauty or degree of sex
iness. Last night, this girl must’ve told me her name five times, and I couldn’t recall it to save my life. As most of the girls tittered in a fake and exaggerated way, the girl from the night before sent me a lascivious wink and curled her finger around the loop of her belly-button piercing. While I liked piercings on girls, her doing the belly-button twirl did nothing for me like I knew it once would have.

“Chase! You leaving already?” Rylan smiled while one of the girls rubbed her hands over his chest.

“Yeah. Gonna go to lunch with Nancy. Gotta look my best.”

Joel’s mouth twitched. “Don’t even go there
,” I warned him. Joel had the grace to look embarrassed, but I doubted that he really was.

“His mind is always in the gutter.” Rylan shook his head. We
were young, horny bastards, but Nancy had treated us all like we were her children. She could be our grandmother. Joel wouldn’t have attempted to make a joke involving Nancy if Pierce were here.

“Have a good one.”

Joel looked on as most of the girls started to frolic in the sand. “We most certainly will.”

Rylan chased after the girls.

“And you don’t wanna leave those girls unattended for too long. They have short attention spans.” I cocked my head in the direction of other guys, who were looking at them.

A thought seemed to enter his mind and he faced me again. “Hey, did you pick you up Pierce’s cousin today?”

“Yeah.”

Joel’s face became animated. “Well,” he said impatiently. “How’d she look?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “She’s all right,” I gladly lied.

Joel’s face scrunched up in disappointment. Good. He raised his chin up at me and then he sauntered over to one of the girls.

Bethany

When Mrs. Adler, Uncle Anton’s personal assistant, had informed me that he was unable to pick me up and someone else was going to, I thought it’d be Pierce, my Aunt Deborah, or Cassidy. Or a driver. Not Chase.

B
efore Chase had left me in the lobby, I’d felt like I was gonna melt into a puddle of water under his hazel gaze. Addled, my skin had heated, and I had felt like he stroked my face with his hands. Knots formed in my stomach because I wanted him to hold my face in his hands. Okay, I also wanted him to ease my growing ache below.

What the heck was wrong with me? I had just met the guy
. Ruggedly handsome, he had such strong and big hands, with arms like boulders. In fact, his entire body was a walking billboard for fitness.

In less than a day’s time, I wanted Chase something awful. Somehow he had calmed my nerves about seeing Uncle Anton, setting off a different kind of tension in me. I’d been tempted to
gawk at his figure. And I had come close to giving in when I had recalled why I was here. Plus, there was no way he’d get the satisfaction of catching me peek at him. Enough women had done that in the lobby. And I was really losing it; I’d given them a flinty-eyed stare like he was mine.

Shortly after I had seen Mrs. Muldoon and I was home, I tried to absorb that Cindy and Mr. Baxter had left
town together. I hadn’t heard the note slip underneath the door; it’d been a letter from the landlord, stating that Cindy hadn’t paid rent in three months. She also hadn’t re-signed the lease. I’d been given two weeks to move out. Because rent had been paid consistently for years, thanks a lot to yours truly, my former landlord had given Cindy an extension. I’d thought that the notice had been a cruel joke played on me until I called the landlord’s office. I called Cindy afterwards and left her a message, letting her know that we were officially out of a home.

To say I was devastated would be an understatement. I would’ve sobbed right then.
Jake had enveloped me in his arms and had said that he was there for me.

Soon after, Jake had picked Mariska up from work and she
’d come to the house, assuring me that I could stay with her. But it hadn’t been right. Caring for Pete was a handful and her parents wouldn’t have said yes. She would’ve been angry at them when they had a right to say yes or no to begin with, and I didn’t want to be a source of discord in the Landry or the Cox homes.

Jake had offered
for me to stay in his room, while he slept on the couch in the living room. I’d have only accepted Jake’s invitation if Uncle Anton hadn’t invited me to his house through Mrs. Adler. To my relief, Jake understood. Mrs. Cox had thought my decision was best also. She’d only agreed to Jake’s offer because I meant a lot to him and he’d have been mad if she refused. She didn’t like to upset her boys. And Mr. Cox had always supported his wife’s decisions, so that was a non-issue.

As a
n eighteen-year-old adult, I shouldn’t have thought that Cindy would want to do anything for me, including be home when she’d said she’d be. I just thought what she and I had as friends meant as much to her as it did to me. She had told me all sorts of details about her relationships that I really didn’t care to know about, but she didn’t have any friends here. She had lived in Franklin Parks all of her life and I didn’t think she ever really considered leaving the only place she ever knew until she had the chance. But what did I know? Maybe she’d planned to leave with her boyfriend or any man and she hadn’t wanted me to be their plus-one.

Cleaning up the apartment had served as Cindy’s way of apologizing. And considering how dirty the house had gotten while I had been in college, it saved me hours of doing that task myself. After two days of sulking, I had gone to Jake’s house to use his internet and had applied for jobs. But without a car, which most of the jobs required, I was screwed.
I needed a job to save up money to buy a car by the end of this summer. The hours of the jobs I had seen were so inconsistent that I had declined Jake’s offer to give me a ride to and from a job. He drove Mariska to work when he could because she didn’t have a car either. I wasn’t going to make Jake feel conflicted between Mariska and I.

A group of men and one woman
with sharp business suits and stern expressions walked into the hallway and out of the hotel. Everyone peered at them. It was hard not to. They had such a strong and intimidating presence, and I’d seen a good share of powerful looking people come in and out of here.

“Ms. Pruitt,” Brody, the concierge
, called. He was cute in that boy-next-door way. He had a great smile and welcoming phone voice. He had to be around my age, or maybe even younger. I stood up and walked over to him with my stuff. “Mr. Pruitt is ready to see you. Your patience is much appreciated.”

“Thanks, Brody.”

“You can leave your suitcases and backpack here.” He jerked his head to a small corner behind the front desk as he started towards me, and I handed him my stuff.

“Thanks.”

He inclined his head to me. I walked to my left and headed towards a door. Another employee swiped his card and let me inside.

***

Uncle Anton stood in the middle of the narrow hallway with a wide grin, changing his entire countenance. The meeting had obviously been stressful…and long, according to what Brody and an employee had said. Uncle Anton was still fit for his age. His dark blond hair was combed back, making his features look rough. He wore a polo shirt and cargo shorts with sandals. A look I remembered very well.

“Bethany
.” He addressed me with affection and softly sighed. “It’s been way too long. Hmm?” He wrapped his arms around me and kissed me at the crown of my head like he had when I was younger. Only when he released me did I realize how much I missed him.

“It’s been…a few years. How’re you? How’s everyone?” I followed him past the glass
-encased conference rooms into his office. His grand office.

He gestured me to take a seat
in front of his dark wooden desk, and I did. “We’re doing well. Deborah and the kids can’t wait to see you.”

“I look forward to seeing them too.”

“How are you doing?”

“I am doing well.”

He slid me a disbelieving look. Ignoring it, I obtained my folder from my satchel in order to show him my most recent résumé and letters of reference.

“There’s no need for all that
.” He stalled my movement and waved at my folder. “I know that you need a place to stay. For various reasons. I was going to call you directly, but my schedule was packed. Mrs. Adler had the impression that you wanted to interview for a position with me.”

“Well…ah…
” I tried again. “Yes, Uncle Anton.”

Linking his hands together, he studied me. “I am sure Mrs. Adler explained to you—on my behalf
—that you’re welcome to stay for the whole summer without working for me or anyone else.”

I nodded. “She was very clear—”

“Well, good then.”

“I’d like to earn my stay. Usually I have a job lined up
, but I made a mistake and I’ll need to save what I have and make some money to get me by until I return to school and resume the job I have during the school year.”

He creased his brows. “You shouldn’t have to pay for those mistakes. Or for Cindy’s unwise decisions. I can provide you with money to enjoy yourself around here. Our house manager, Nancy, or Deborah, can get you whatever you need.”

“Letting me stay in your home is quite generous. I am grateful. Your hotel is really beautiful. I’ve got housekeeping experience and I’ve worked at Luigi’s for three years—”

“I know.” He motioned his head. “I also know that your major is Human Resource Management. 3.7 GPA. Hundsworth fellow.” I could hear what sounded like pride in his voice.

I nervously laughed and jerked my gaze to the wall, where he had many accolades for his entrepreneurship. Of course he had looked into my background. I was going to stay at his house with his family. It didn’t matter that I was his niece. I understood, and in his place, I would’ve made the same move.

With school work and my cleaning job, I hadn’t had much time for myself. If my GPA went below a 3.5, I would automatically lose my scholarship. I didn’t have time to have a social life when many other students were just waiting to take my place. Also, I didn’t naturally have an easy and fast grasp of material. I had to study diligently. I had gained a few study buddies, who hadn’t been keen on talking about anything other than the course material. Which ended up only helpin
g me to comprehend information faster.

“You don’t need to prove yourself to me, Bethany. I really want you to be with us. To be family again.”

“I want that too.” I hated how much I sounded like a little girl.

I missed the times when Uncle Anton
had chased me around the house and had flung me in the air in his version of the tornado ride. I had fond childhood memories playing with Pierce in the dirt of my backyard and spraying him with the hose when he got out of hand. The neighbors’ kids had done whatever Cassidy had ordered them to do because they’d been so smitten with her. If she was as beautiful now as she had been when I’d been little, then there was no doubt in my mind that guys were crawling at her feet. I had thought about Uncle Anton and his family on occasion. Jake and Mariska filled the void that I had when I no longer had Pierce in my life.

“When you were seventeen, I came to see you. Twice,” Uncle Anton said
, and pushed his chair back in a more relaxed position.

“She didn’t tell me.”

“I didn’t think she’d tell you.” He scowled. “At any rate, both times Cindy wouldn’t let me see you.” He threw his hands in the air. “She and I had a falling-out, a grown-folk matter. If it’s been on your mind, I wanted to make it clear that I didn’t stop seeing you or bringing Pierce and Cassidy to see you because of anything to do with you.”

“I thought about it,” I admitted
, and his expression conveyed that he already knew that.

“I’d only recently learned that you were the head of household for most
of your adolescence. I want you to recharge. Continue to excel in school. Secure an internship that will enable you to compete with hundreds of thousands of other applicants when you graduate.” He paused and pinned me with the same color eyes I shared with he and Cindy. “I am a reasonable man. I listen. Starting Wednesday, you’ll work in HR. Mrs. Clark will train you.”

He stood up and I did
also. I couldn’t fight the smile on my face. He walked over to me, stood in front of me, and hugged me again. The only way I could describe it would be a bear hug. “Adults, as you know all too well, aren’t perfect. I’ve messed up big time. You and your cousins lost out in the process. But that’s in the past. This is now.”

“Okay.”

He patted me on my back. There was a knock on the door and then it opened. A tall guy, almost as tall as Chase’s six-two frame, entered the office. The only way I knew for certain that he was Pierce was because of his dimples, the one characteristic about him other than his eye color that hadn’t changed. He had sapphire blue eyes, flawless alabaster skin, and light and dark blond hair, cut short. He had a leanly muscled and lanky body.

“Ah, good
—you came in early. See you didn’t let her drag you down for the whole day,” Uncle Anton said sarcastically.

Pierce impassively
looked at his dad. I guessed Uncle Anton hadn’t taken a liking to a girl Pierce was seeing. “Father.” Pierce swung his gaze to me. “Well, I’ll be damned,” he said, and Uncle Anton made a disapproving noise. “Noodles has grown up!”

I lightly laughed at him. “
And look at you, Porkchop.”

Pierce ruffled my hair and I swatted his hand away. I
t didn’t feel like I hadn’t seen him in years.

“I hear you’ll be
working with us.” He quirked a brow at me.

I turned to look at Uncle Anton, who regarded his son. “Bethany will work in HR. Pierce is the second general manager for the summer. He’s done very well. Especially when she’s not around to crowd up his head and time
. You’ll meet Claude, the primary general manager, soon. Pierce has been offered the general manager position contingent upon his successful graduation next year. And then Claude will oversee a hotel that’s being built in nearby Miami.”

“Enough talk about work,” Pierce said. “I am gonna take Bethany to the house and come back to start my shift.”

“All right. Call me if you need anything,” Uncle Anton told me.

I nodded. “Yes, Uncle Anton.”

Uncle Anton eyed Pierce. “And see me before you start your shift.”

***

“Who is she?” Resting my head against the passenger seat in Pierce’s 2012 Mustang, I slid my heels off of my feet and put my flip-flops back on. I gave him a curious look and he instantly flashed a smile.

“A girl I’ve been having sex with on and off since I was f
ourteen.”

I crossed my arms. “Then how can she be just a girl? That’s a pretty big deal.”