Surrendering (6 page)

“Jesus, Abbi, it was just a fucking run! I can see how you two are thinking so I’ll grab my shit and go. I’ll be back to learn about the fucking alarm in an hour, so make sure your bitch hats are off by the time I return!”

A cup drops in the sink and then Abbi speaks. “Dec, we’re sorry, but Raven seems cool and she’s a blast to hang out with. She seems like she’ll be a good roommate and she has hot friends that are equally as cool as her. We don’t know much about her, but I don’t think she’s the kind of girl that you can fuck around with. She already thinks she’s out of your league because of the comment you made in the park. We know how you fool around with different girls. We see the kind of trash that throws itself at you. We also know you’re not interested in a relationship.”

“Who the fuck is talking about relationships? It was a fucking run!”

A door slams just as I get into the shower.

After the shower, when I’m dressed and ready for the day, I walk back into the kitchen to a somber looking Abbi and Ella. They seem to be whispering, but quit immediately.

Sensing the tension, I wave slightly and go to make my breakfast.

Abbi breaks the silence first, “Raven, let’s talk.”

“Okay, did I do something already to piss you off?”

“No, but we think you should know some things. It’ll be better to tell you now and let you decide for yourself how you want to move forward, especially when it comes to our brother.”

“I’m not sure what that even means, but I have to ask, is this about this morning?”

Ella cuts in, “Yes and no. I’m going to lay it out for you. We love our brother more than anything in the world. We lost our mom at an early age and my dad made sure we all grew up close. Declan’s the best to us in every single way. There’s nothing in the world he wouldn’t do to support and protect us.”

“This’s great news seeing as I have a brother of my own that I love infinitely. What’s the problem?”

“The way Declan treats us is different than how he treats other girls- no matter who they are.”

“What Abbi is trying to say is that our brother is a one-night stand kind of guy. He doesn’t do relationships, he doesn’t do sleepovers, and he doesn’t even know the names of all the girls he’s fucked. Our last roommate moved out because she was stupid enough to fall for him. She became clingy and started using us to get to him. He tried to let her down nicely, but she wouldn’t give up. Then he decided to shove other girls in her face to get her to leave him alone. By that time, our roommate relationship and friendship had taken a huge hit. She moved out and we asked Declan to never get involved with another roommate.”

I remembered our first conversation and it hit me, “Declan was the conflict of interest?”

“Yes.”

“So you are both here to tell me to stay away from your brother because he is a player and a cheat and there will never be anything serious going forward?”

“You have to see this from our side. Please understand. The Declan that you met last night for poker and Chinese food, and the Declan you went running with this morning, aren’t the same Declan Collins. We just want you to know that up-front before you decide to move forward in any way with him.”

“I think you both are overreacting a little bit. We just met formally last night and he showed me around some trails. I’m not sure this puts us up for relationship counseling this morning. I know you don’t know me too well, but I think I have a level head on my shoulders and I can make pretty good decisions. And when I don’t, I have Finn and my brother Robbie to give me shit. I appreciate the warning and I’ll take it, but don’t worry. I’m not going to run out of here in the night because Declan has broken my heart with groupies and flings.”

They both seem a little relieved so I go one step further. “Just so you know, I DO NOT do one- night stands, I DO sleepovers, and I insist on knowing the names of all the guys I fuck. So we wouldn’t be compatible anyway.”

Both girls look relieved.

“Okay, I’m going to wait for Finn in the living room. Thanks for the warnings.”

Chapter 7

Movie Night

It’s been a busy few weeks since I moved in. School starts for me on Monday. I’ve spent a lot of time with the girls, but I haven’t seen Declan much since the day we installed the alarm. Since I finally had a fully functioning kitchen, I decided I wanted to learn to cook. Ella, Abbi, and even Finn had commented that my culinary skills were improving daily. I fell into a comfortable routine.

When I received my class schedule, Finn and I went to campus to find where our classes will be and which parking garage we need to use. We both live too far away to walk so we’re going to carpool when possible. Our schedules are almost identical so it was the best solution. I was able to get all of my classes scheduled Monday through Thursday during the day; I got Fridays off. This is ideal for me for several reasons, but my favorite is that I will have three-day weekends for the whole semester.

It’s just past six on Friday night and I’m watching a “Pretty Little Liars” marathon with a glass of wine and a new romance novel; I’m in heaven. I’m alone because Abbi and Ella went to their dad’s tonight. Once a month they go over to hang out and spend the night so he isn’t always by himself. I thought that was a nice thing to do. Even though my dad travels a lot with his business, usually my mom can travel along. This is great for me and Robbie because we don’t have to worry about her being alone all the time. It’s also good because my mom loves to travel.

There’s a knock on the door and I can’t imagine who it is.

I answer the door and I’m shocked to see Declan standing in the doorway with a bag in his hand. He’s in faded jeans and a black shirt; I see he has a piercing on his lower lip and it’s sexy as hell. I’m thinking about how much I want to run my tongue over his lips when he clears his throat and looks at me.

Shit! I got caught staring again. Before I can do anything else, he straightens up and asks, “Do you have any plans tonight?”

“Um, well I have the PLL marathon that’s getting interesting and some smutty reading to catch up on. I’ve just poured myself a glass of wine.”
Shut up.
I’m babbling and I need to get a grip quickly. “Why, what’s up?”

“I don’t even know what the fuck a PLL marathon is and I’m pretty sure smutty reading can be done anytime. I was thinking we could have dinner and maybe watch a movie.”

“A movie? Like a movie night?”

“Sure, a movie night and dinner.”

“Don’t you have plans for Friday night?”

“Depends on what you say.”

“Depends on what I say?”

“Yes, Raven, what do you say? Do you want to have dinner and watch a movie with me?”

I’m sweating. I start to fidget with my shirt, trying to figure out how to proceed. He is by far the hottest guy I’ve ever been around in my life. “Your sisters aren’t here.”

“I know and that is exactly why I am.”

“Oh, okay, well come in.”

He steps in and goes straight back to the kitchen. I watch him unload the bag which was filled with a casserole dish, a six-pack of beer, and some sort of pie. I should probably offer to help.

“Can I help you with anything?”

“Nope, I actually made dinner at my house and all we have to do is heat it up. I hope you like enchiladas. I even brought dessert.”

“You cooked for me? Was I a predictable conclusion? What if I hadn’t been home?” I was babbling again.

“Raven, are you nervous?”

“I guess I’m trying to figure out why you’re here on a Friday night with me.”

“Why am I here? Why wouldn’t I be here? What’s wrong with wanting to spend some time with you?”

“I’m not trying to sound rude, but I assumed you’d be out with friends or on a date or something. I know you must have other things that are more fun than watching a PLL marathon with your sister’s new roommate. And since you knew they weren’t here, I will also assume you knew we would be alone. You have sort of a reputation and dinner and a movie doesn’t exactly sound like your MO.”

He looked at me. “For starters, I don’t date.”

“I kind of got that impression.”

“FUCK! Did my sister’s say something to you?”

“Well, we may have had a small discussion about you. Apparently, a morning jog led the way to a Ravenel Hayes / Declan Collins intervention. I didn’t know two people exercising could turn into something so concerning.”

“Yeah, that fucking jog bought me a lecture too. Not big on my sisters getting into my business, but I may have deserved it.”

He moves to the oven to start dinner and then opens a beer.

I perch myself against the counter opposite of Declan with my wine and watch as he finishes making dinner. I seriously want to walk right up and slide my hands over him. The way he moves is sexy as hell and the lip piercing is driving me wild. More than once he’s turned around and caught me ogling him. Each time he grins.

“Makes me a little self-conscious with you staring at me.”

Dammit! “I was just thinking about your lip piercing. I didn’t know you had it. I didn’t know you had any piercings actually.”

“I have a few. Once in a while I get a wild hair and decide to do something different. Sometimes it’s tattoos, sometimes piercings, it’s really whatever I feel like at the time.”

My eyes graze over his body with my imagination going wild. His chuckle snaps me out of my daze.

“You asked why I’m here. Especially knowing we’d be alone. I planned it on purpose after Ella and Abbi told me they were going to our dad’s.”

“Not to sound like a bitch, but why?”

He shrugs. “I want to get to know you better. Is that a problem?”

“No, but I got the impression that roommates were off-limits.”

“Did those fucking sisters of mine tell you the whole story?”

“Not really.”

“Well, let me lay it out for you. The old girl that lived here, Christie, was bat-shit crazy. I never planned on screwing her, but one night we got drunk as piss and it happened. It was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. She wouldn’t leave me alone. She wanted exclusivity and followed me around for weeks. I couldn’t even come over to see Ella and Abbi without her throwing herself at me. She did crazy shit. I mean crazy! She would text me from their phones and when I showed up, they were out. She would answer the door in a towel and beg me to fuck her. She showed up at gigs and told the bouncers she was my girlfriend so she could get backstage. That’s just some of the stuff that happened. Finally, I had to become a major dickhead to get my point across. She broke down, moved out, and told my sisters it was my fault.”

“What was your dickhead move?”

“It’s not a good story and not a story I want to repeat.”

This isn’t the answer I want and I guess he can tell by the look on my face. I’m not good at hiding my emotions in my expressions.

“I fucked a girl right in front of her.”

This isn’t exactly what I’m expecting so I try to hide my shock. All I can say is, “Oh.”

I want this conversation to be over, but he continues.

“Are you gonna fuck me and then turn bat-shit crazy.”

“Nope, not gonna happen.”

“That’s why I want to get to know you.” He declares with a tone that closes the conversation.

*****

Dinner was delicious. I never had homemade enchiladas before, but Declan’s were spectacular. Our conversation was light during dinner. Declan told me that his enchiladas were his family’s favorite and he made them on special occasions. Other than a few other dishes, he isn’t too much of a cook. After our Christie discussion, we moved on to safer subjects. I explained my story and why I was back home and at Vanderbilt. I told him about growing up a dancer and my love for music. I explained my new interest in cooking and he raised his eyes and laughed. He soaked up every word as if everything I said was the most interesting thing in world.

I learned a lot about Declan too. It turns out he graduated from Belmont with a business degree, minoring in music. He started playing the guitar when he was ten and writing music when he was fifteen. His band is named Sayge after his late mother. When he started on the stories of his band and the guys, he became animated in a way that had me laughing along with him.

When we finished cleaning up the kitchen, we refreshed our drinks and I introduced him to the “Pretty Little Liars” marathon.

“Raven, how old are you?”

“Twenty-one, almost twenty-two.”

“You sit around on a Friday night watching a marathon about high school girls being tortured by a ghost?”

“Well, yes and no. Since I’ve already watched this season, I know what’s going to happen. But you may remember that I mentioned my smutty romance novel. I was planning on reading tonight as well.”

“You’re fucking silly.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“It was meant as one.”

All of the sudden, the room takes on a whole new feeling. I don’t know if I should take his statement seriously or just ignore it. Either way, it puts butterflies in my stomach. When I look up, I gaze directly in to his green eyes that keep me captive. I’m not sure how long we stare at each other, but I’m the first to break the silence.

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Nope, just making a statement.”

“Well that’s a relief because that was a lame attempt.”

“Raven, take a note here, when I flirt with you, you won’t have to ask. It will be deliberate, and it will be obvious.”

“Okay,” that’s all I can say because now I’m watching his lips move and my insides are turning to liquid.

“I think that now would be a good time to start the movie.”

“I think you’re right.”

He lets me pick the movie while he gets us another drink. I’m not sure what he likes so I pick my favorite DVD and relax on the couch. When he comes back in the room, he sits right next to me and hands me the glass of wine. Then he leans back and settles in, putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me closer. I’m not quite sure what he’s doing, but I don’t fight it. My butterflies have returned and my palms start sweating. I’m pretty sure my insides are turning to liquid again. When I look up at him, he’s watching me intently. I decide not to question him.