Lovely (37 page)

I chuckle and elbow him. “A double date so I can watch my best friend suck face with my sister? No thanks. Actually, Cara’s away for the weekend in San Jose, and …” Mid-sentence, I smell an all-too-familiar cheap perfume. Shelby. She’s practically standing on top of us.

“Hey, Ash,” she drawls and I’m repulsed. “So, your lovey’s away for the weekend? What on earth are you going to do?” She bats her eyelashes and sticks her chest out.

Jason whips his head around. “Do you always eavesdrop on conversations, Shelby? We were kind of having a private one here, before you rudely interrupted us. Is there something you want?”

Shelby places her hands on her breasts, pushes them up, and adjusts herself. “No, just saying hello, that’s all.” She walks around us, her hips twitching in her micro-mini skirt, and continues down the path.

Jason shakes his head at Shelby and scowls. “So anyway, since your girl’s away, how about you and I hang out tonight? I can come by and maybe we can watch a movie or play video games or whatever?”

I like that idea. I’ve actually missed spending one-on-one time with Jason. “That sounds good.” Mom is taking Colt and Delilah to some concert tonight so they won’t be around, but I’m sure he already knows that. “Why don’t you come by around eight?”

“Sounds good, dude, I’ll see you later.”

“See ya.”

It’s six o’clock. I haven’t heard from Cara yet and I’m trying not to worry. Maybe her plane got delayed. I pad to the kitchen, take out a frozen pizza, preheat the oven, and plop down on a stool. The house is so quiet, and usually I don’t mind it, but with Cara away, I suddenly feel very alone. We’ve been spending practically every second together and now I have to go a whole four days without seeing her.

The oven dings and I pop the pizza in, quickly running upstairs to grab a shower while it’s cooking. I let the water run down my body, my mind completely consumed with thoughts of Cara.

I rush to towel-dry my hair, throw on a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt and make it downstairs just in time to take the pizza out of the oven before it burns. I grab a can of soda from the fridge and slice up the pizza. The doorbell rings and when I glance over at the digital clock it reads 7:00. I’m actually glad Jason’s a bit early.

A ticking starts up in my jaw and I let out a palpable breath when I open the door and see Shelby. She’s wearing a white blouse so incredibly tight her nipples push right through the fabric and a super short jean skirt that could more likely be classified as underwear.

“Shelby, what are you doing here?”

She leans on the doorframe and wets her lips, making me want to vomit.
What did I ever see in her?
Silly question. I already know the answer.

With a knowing grin, she rolls her hair around her finger and juts her hips in my direction. “I was in the neighborhood and thought I’d stop by,” she says.

I shake my head and eye her with a heavy dose of suspicion. “You just happened to be in the neighborhood? Where’s your next conquest?”

She peeks around me and into the house, avoiding my question entirely. “So, are you going to invite me in or what?”

I wave a path with my hand. “By all means, come on in. But only for a few minutes. Jason and I are hanging out tonight.”

She walks in and instantly makes herself a little too comfortable. She kicks off her heels and takes a seat on the sofa, crosses her legs, and hikes up her skirt. I know
exactly
what she’s doing here.

I shove my hands in my pockets and lean against the wall closest to the door, far away from her. “So, you didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?”

She uncrosses her legs, licks her lips, and gives me a devouring look. “I miss you.”

This is a sudden turn of events. I scratch the back of my head repeatedly. “Since when?”

She looks down at her hands, feigning shyness. “For a while now.”

I continue to keep my distance. “I’m with Cara now,” I caution.

Her eyes trail from her left to her right, scanning the room, stretching her arms out on the sofa. “I don’t see her anywhere.”

I rest my hand against the wall, my eyes turning cold but my body warming at the mention of Cara’s name. “She’s away this weekend, but we’re together, and I’m not interested in anyone else.”

“Hmmm …,” she responds, though I know she could care less.

I hear a faint beeping noise and look around the room.

“What is that?” Shelby asks.

I continue to survey the room and walk towards the kitchen as the noise grows louder. It appears to be coming from the basement. “I don’t know. It sounds like it’s coming from downstairs. I need to check the basement.”

She doesn’t move but only makes herself more comfortable. “Okay. I’ll be right here when you get back.”

Great. That’s what I was afraid of
. I’m in the basement for less than five minutes, when I hear muffled voices and realize Jason’s here. Good. Now he can help me get rid of Shelby. I reset the alarm and climb the stairs when I hear Shelby’s voice.

“I was just waiting for him myself.”

“I’m sure you were.”

I stop dead in my tracks when I realize that’s not Jason’s voice, it’s Cara’s. What’s she doing here? She’s supposed to be in San Jose.
Shit
. I fly up the rest of the stairs, my heart hammering against my chest. I reach the living room to find Cara standing there with tears in her eyes and Shelby on the couch in her bra and panties. My eyes dart from Shelby to Cara. “What the fuck? Cara, what are you doing here? I thought you were away?”

“Obviously,” she bites out, her mouth falling open, her head shaking in disbelief. She sends me a long, pained look before she breaks eye contact. “You don’t waste any time, do you, Ash?”

“Cara, let me explain. It’s not what it looks like,” I protest as I stand there, my limbs shaking, a bead of sweat forming on my upper lip. I don’t know what the hell to do except maybe pray this isn’t really happening.

Tears slide down her cheeks. “Bullshit, Ash. I know exactly what this is. I have eyes.” She stumbles back a step before turning and running out the door, leaving me momentarily paralyzed, fear ripping through my chest.

“Cara, wait!” I chase after her, but she won’t even look at me. She’s fumbling around with her keys, trying to open her car door. “Cara, please. She came over to talk to me, I didn’t …”

She whips around and I get a glimpse of the angry fire burning in her eyes, her shoulders shaking with anguished sobs. “Really, Ash? You can do better than that. Do you always talk to girls when they’re in their bra and panties, or were you just making an exception for her?”

I move towards her and reach for her arm but she wrenches it away, holding her hands up. “Cara, I swear to you, she wasn’t …”

She cuts me off instantly, keeping her hands out in front of her, demanding I stay away. “You know what, Ash? I didn’t tell you this, but I actually knew about you; I knew about your reputation, about all of it. I tried to stay away from you, I really did. But … you … You
broke through
somehow. Like an idiot, I made myself believe that you were different with me, but I was so wrong.” She turns around, swiping at the tears that won’t stop falling, and all I want to do is wipe them away. “I loved you, Ash, like
really
loved you. I’ve shared things with you that I’ve never shared with anyone.” She places her hand over her chest, tears dripping onto her shirt. “I gave you my heart, Ash … to love and to protect. You were the one who helped me put the pieces of my life back together.” She casts her eyes to the ground, her voice barely a whisper. “I just never thought you’d also be the one to tear it apart.”

When she finally raises her head, the hurt in her eyes makes my insides crack open, the pain bleeding its way out. She spins around. I reach for her arm again but she yanks it away.

“Cara, you have to listen to me,” I plead. “Do you think after everything we’ve been through together that I could be with anyone else? There was nothing going on in there with Shelby. Just give me a chance to explain.”

She keeps her eyes downcast, a hard sigh leaving her throat. When the car door opens, I panic. “Cara, wait!” The snap of desperation in my voice causes her to turn around and a tiny bit of hope springs up in my chest. “Don’t you get it? You have my heart; it’s in the palm of your hand and what happens to it now is up to you. Don’t walk away from me, Cara … please. I’m begging you. I’ve never begged for anything in my life; I’ve never had to, but I’m begging you now.”

She drops her hands to her sides, her back slumped over. “I trusted you, Ash. I’ve never given myself to anyone like that before.” Her hands are shaking as she pulls the handle to the car door but stops. She takes the bracelet I gave her off her wrist and throws it at me. “Here, why don’t you give it to
her
?!”

Panic seizes me, tightening around my neck like a noose at the thought of losing her. “Don’t go Cara, please!”

The door slams and she cranks the engine, screeching out of the driveway without so much as a look in my direction. A tear slips from my eye and I roughly swat it away. They say at certain crucial moments, your life flashes before your eyes … fuck that … my life just left me and took my heart with her.

I clench my fists at my sides and storm back in the house. Shelby’s laying on the couch, still in her bra and panties, with a satisfied smirk on her face, thrilled that she’s fucked up my entire life. I want to march up to her and shake her, tell her she just ruined the best thing that’s ever happened to me, but I don’t … I don’t want to touch her because she repulses me. I just want her the fuck out of my house.

“What the fuck was that, Shelby? Why are you in your fucking underwear?” My blood boils, rage filling my veins. “You said you wanted to talk. Was this your plan all along? I fucking love her, Shelby! Don’t you get it, I fucking love her! Get out!” I swipe her tank top and shorts from the floor and throw them at her. “Get dressed and get the fuck out!” I boldly push her out the door and slam it in her face.

As soon as it closes, I sink down to the floor, unable to control the onslaught of tears mixed with anger. “Motherfucker!” I shout to anyone who’s listening. Something heavy is sitting on top of my heart, pushing down so hard I can barely breathe. I have to figure out a way to make this right, to make Cara see that this wasn’t what it looked like. Pulling my phone from the pocket of my jeans, I dial Cara. Her phones rings once, twice, three times, but she doesn’t pick up.
Of course not, asshole. She doesn’t want to have anything to do with you now
. I haul back with my fist and punch the wall. “Fuck!”

A few minutes later there’s a knock on the door and I drag myself up, nursing my throbbing hand, while I look through the peephole to make sure it’s Jason before I answer it. I open the door when I see his face.

He pops his head back. “Whoa. You look like shit, man.” He eyes my bloody hand. “And what the hell happened to your hand?”

I hold the door open so he can come in, shutting it behind him. “It’s a long story.”

He kicks off his shoes and throws a brown bag filled with junk food on the coffee table. “Let me get you some ice for your hand. Then you can tell me what has you this upset.”

I take a seat on the sofa and lay my head back. My hand is fucking killing me, but not nearly as much as my heart.

Jason brings me an ice pack with a cloth and I wrap my hand up.

“Thanks, Jason.”

He sinks down next to me and kicks his feet up on the table. “What happened?”

I run my good hand through my hair with exasperation. “It’s fucking Shelby. She showed up here and said she wanted to talk. While she was here, there was a problem with one of our alarms, so I went in the basement. When I came back up, she was sitting in her bra and panties.”

Jason smirks. “And the problem is …”

I glare at him. “The problem is Cara showed up here and thought there was something going on between us and now she ended things and won’t talk to me.”

He opens the brown bag and pulls out an open bag of chips, jamming one in his mouth. “Wait, I thought she was away?”

I bang my head on the back of the sofa, sighing. “I thought so, too.”

Jason throws the bag of chips on the table and brushes the crumbs from his pants. “So just explain it to her,” he says as if it’s that easy.

I exhale a deep breath. “It’s not that simple, dude. She has a hard time with trust and she knows how I was before I met her.”

He pushes away some of the shaggy hair that’s falling in his eyes. “Just give her some time. Once she has a chance to think about it, she’ll realize it was a mistake. And if not, just forget her and move on.”

My hand hurts and I wince, the pain numbing my heart. “It’s not that simple. You don’t get it, because you’ve never felt love like this. I don’t ever
want
to forget her.”

Jason’s forehead crinkles and his blue eyes sparkle. “Actually, I do understand. That’s how I feel about Delilah. I love her, man.” The wrinkle in his forehead softens. “I’ve loved her since ninth grade.”

“I know,” I say. I think I’ve known all along. “Then you do get it. I can’t just move on. She’s
it
for me. She’s the one.”