Undeniable (5 page)

I wish Jace and I were that way.

She moved the painting toward the back door so it would dry. “Now we’ll do one more and we’ll be ready for your debut.”

“I’m nervous,” I admitted.

“Don’t be. You’re an amazing photographer.” She stared at me for a moment then her eyes widened.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re a photographer!”

Was I missing something?

“My best friends are getting married and they are looking for someone. Are you interested?”

“Of course,” I said. “But my schedule is pretty packed. It depends on when their wedding is.”

“I’ll set up a time for you guys to meet,” she said. “And I’ll ask when their big day is. They’re a bit indecisive about it.”

“Cool. I look forward to it.”

Nana took a bite of the tortellini I brought her. “If photography doesn’t work out, you can always be a cook.”

That was a huge compliment from my grandmother. “Thanks.”

She finished it then put it aside. “For lunch, we had tuna sandwiches with pickles…why would you put pickles on a sandwich that already has pickles in it?”

I tried not to laugh. “Maybe you should take over the cafeteria.”

“Nah. I’d put a lot of people out of a job.”

“Cocky, much?” I said with a chuckle.

“The Patelo women know how to cook—that is something that can’t be denied.”

I smirked while I listened to her.

“So, how did your conversation with Jace go?”

“Well. Really well. He apologized and said he would be better.”

“Then why do you sound sad?”

I couldn’t hide anything from this woman. “We went out to dinner the other night and he just…acted weird.”

“What did he do?”

“He was about toask for our reservations when he said he needed to leave. He pulled me out of there and said he wasn’t feeling well.”

She stared at the opposite wall, lost in thought. “Did he go to the hospital?”

“No. He didn’t really say what was wrong. He dropped me off and went home.”

She fell quiet again. “Maybe he saw someone he didn’t want to see.”

“Like who?” I asked.

She shrugged. “An enemy, an old girlfriend…”

He did have a lot of old girlfriends, or old flings would be a better way to describe it. “I guess that makes sense. Maybe he just didn’t want to make me uncomfortable.”

“Possibly.”

“I can’t think of anything else.”

My grandma handed the
Harry Potter
book to me. I picked it up and noticed we were in a different place than last time. “Who’s been reading to you?”

“One of the medical students. I’m his patient a few times a week.”

“That was nice of him. I’m sure he’s busy.”

“Yeah, he’s a sweetheart.” She leaned back and waited for me to read.

I found the page and began the story. Like always, after reading for half an hour, my nana fell asleep. I sat with her until visiting hours, and then I went home, wishing she would come with me.

CHAPTER NINE

Ash

My parents were having dinner at their house, and I couldn’t think of an excuse to get out of it. I preferred to stay at home and look out my peephole, waiting for my beautiful neighbor to do her laundry so I could sneak a conversation in.

She loathed me and, and a part of me loathed her too. But I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Even when she snapped at me and treated me like I was a four-year old little boy, I was still obsessed with her. I’d never seen a more beautiful woman in my life. So naturally, I was hooked.

I wanted to sleep with her. I still felt that way. Call me a pervert or a jackass, but that’s what I wanted from her. She was exotic and sexy. She had full lips I wanted to part with my mouth. I wanted a night of passionate sex with her. My body was attracted to her, needing her. Anytime I was near her, my cock was hard.

Why couldn’t I want an easy slutty girl? That would make my life a lot easier.

And then she had to move next door to me.
Really? Right next door?
I hated my luck. If I never saw her again after that night at the bar, forgetting about her would be easier. Now it was impossible.

I arrived at the house at the same time as my sister and Scotty.

“Hey.” Livia smiled when she spotted me.

“Hey, brat.” Every time I looked at her, I thought about what happened to her. I didn’t think less of her. I still loved her with my whole heart. But I hated myself for not preventing it. We’d always been close. I should have been there and I’d never forgive myself for not rescuing her. But around her, I put on a fake face and pretended my heart hadn’t been shattered.

Scotty carried a bottle of wine. “I brought this just in case…”

I laughed. “You’re going to need it. My parents are boring, snooty and—”

“You’re here!” My mom opened the door and smiled.

“Wonderful,” I finished awkwardly.

Livia elbowed me in the gut then walked forward. “Hi, Mom.”

My mom hugged her. “Hello, dear. You look nice.”

“Thanks.”

My mom rushed to me and gave me a big hug. She practically crushed me. “My boy.”

I patted her back. “Hey, Mom.”

When she pulled away and looked at Scotty, I wasn’t sure what to expect. “It’s nice to see you.” She pulled Scotty in for a hug and embraced him.

Phew. That went well.

After my dad hugged Livia, he came to me. “How’s my son?”

“Good. How about you, Pops?”

“Better now.” He hugged me then clapped me on the shoulder. “You’re looking fit.”

“Scotty and I play basketball pretty often.”

My dad shook Scotty’s hand. “It’s nice to see you.”

“You too, sir.” Scotty held out the wine. “It’s not vintage, but it’s pretty good.”

My dad took it. “Thank you. My wife loves wine.”

And I love alcohol.

We walked inside then gathered around the table. I ate out a lot because I was busy and lazy, so it was nice to have a home cooked meal, especially one where I didn’t have to do the dishes.

My mom passed the bread around. “So, what’s going on with you guys?”

“I have an art show this weekend,” Livia said.

“You always have art shows,” I mumbled.

“Because I need to make a living,” she snapped.

“What time?” my mom asked excitedly. “Your father and I will be there.”

Wow. They were really making an effort.

“At one.” Livia smiled. I could tell she was thrilled about the support of my parents.

“We’ll be there,” my dad said.

“Are you coming, Ash?” Livia looked at me.

She really needed to ask that?
“I’m always there, Liv.”

She nodded then took a bite of her chicken.

My dad looked at Scotty. “So, how’s street fighting…or whatever you do?”

Street fighting?
I tried not to laugh.

“Well,” he said. “I made it to the championship this year. Ironically, my opponent is one of my closest friends.”

“That’s going to be such a good fight,” I blurted.

“You make a living doing this?” my dad asked.

Of course, my dad cared about the income.

“I do.” Scotty was humble and kept his income to himself.

But I wasn’t humble. “He makes twenty grand for every match he wins.”

Livia shot me a glare.

I didn’t care. I kept eating.

“Wow…that’s impressive.” My dad had new eyes for Scotty. “Where can I sign up?”

Everyone laughed.

“Son, how’s school?” my dad asked.

He wanted me to be a surgeon like him. I was the only child that followed in their footsteps. Now the attention had increased by tenfold. “It’s good. I have a boring patient for my clinical rotation, but it’s okay.”

“They’ll give you more advanced cases as you go along.” My dad gave me a reassuring nod.

My mom gave me a smirk. “So…any girls you’re interested in from school?”

I didn’t mix business with pleasure. Since I saw my classmates everyday, I didn’t fool around with them. It would get too messy. A few showed their interest in me but I always brushed them off. “No, not really.”

My mom was disappointed by that response. “There’s got to be somebody…”

Just a girl across the way in my apartment building I was dying to fuck.
“Too busy with school.” That was always a good excuse.

“But you’re getting older, Ash.” She said it like it was a threat.

I didn’t have the heart to tell my parents I’d be a terminal bachelor and there wouldn’t be any grandkids from me. “I’ll find someone. Don’t worry.”

“He will.” Livia gave me a meaningful look.

Yeah…never going to happen.

My dad turned his gaze on Livia. “I went by your house yesterday but it was empty. The property manager said it was for rent again. Did you move?”

Oh no.
My parents didn’t know she was living with Scotty. I had a feeling this would end badly. I grabbed the wine and filled my glass to the brim.

“Yeah,” she said calmly. “I found a new place.”

“Where?” my mom asked.

Livia held her ground but she was starting to falter.

Scotty took the lead. “She lives with me.”

Both of my parents stilled.

I could tell they didn’t like that very much.

“You live together…?” My mom looked horrified. “And you aren’t married?”

My parents really needed to get with the times.

“Yeah,” Livia said plainly. “And we love it.”

I drank half my wine then waited for the explosion.

“But you aren’t married.” My dad said it like my mom didn’t say those exact same words.

“No, we aren’t,” Scotty said. “But we love each other and we’re together all the time anyway.”

“That’s no excuse to jump the gun.” My mom struggled to keep her voice down.

“Mom, calm down.” Livia held back her irritation.

“Calm down?” my mom asked incredulously. “How do you expect me to calm down? You obviously aren’t a virgin anymore.”

I covered my face because this was getting too awkward. I just wanted to crawl under the table.

“No, I’m not,” Livia said simply. “I’m a grown adult and I make my own decisions. I do what I want.”

“This is unacceptable.” My dad abandoned his food.

I felt obligated to chime in. “Who cares? They love each other and they are happy together. I’m obviously not a virgin but neither one of you care. Why do I get away with it because I’m a boy, but if Livia has sex she’s a whore? It’s totally sexist.”

Livia smiled at me.

“Mom, I’ve had over a hundred sexual partners.”

She turned white in the face.

“You heard me. I’ve never been in a serious relationship because I love sex too much.” Maybe I drank too much wine…

Scotty tried not to laugh.

“So, don’t be so hard on Livia.” I patted Scotty’s shoulder. “I know he plans to marry her anyway. So just let it go.”

Both of my parents were speechless. Livia kept her eyes glued to her plate, but a smirk was on her lips. Scotty held his fork in his hand but he didn’t touch his food. I had successfully made the night even more uncomfortable.

Whoops.

After dinner was finished, we grabbed our stuff and headed to the door. We usually watched a movie together, but it was pretty clear that everyone was too awkward to pretend like everything was peachy.

With a quick wave, Livia and Scotty walked out and headed to his truck.

When I tried to dash out the door, my mom grabbed my arm. “Wait a second.”

Damn…

I turned to her, trying to hide my annoyance.

“Is what you said true…?” She cringed while she said it, begging me to say otherwise.

“I’m almost thirty and I’ve never been in a serious relationship. What did you think?” I hated to be a smartass but it was my natural response.

“But…a hundred girls?” My mom looked like she might vomit.

I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation. “It was an exaggeration.” Actually, it was an underestimation. But I wouldn’t tell her that.

She gripped her chest and sighed in relief.

“But you need to back off Livia. She’s a grown woman that makes her own decisions. Don’t give her crap for living with Scotty. He’s a good guy. I promise.”

She took a deep breath and put her hands on her hips. “I know…she’s just my baby, you know?”

“I get that. But she’s an adult. It’s unfair of you to treat me differently just because I’m a boy.”

My mom didn’t have an argument against that. “Can I ask you something?”

Oh no. I successfully diverted the unwanted attention away from my sister, but now I was taking the heat. “I guess…”

“Why haven’t you settled down?” The plea was in her eyes. “You’re such a good-looking boy, and you’re too smart for your own good. Women must want you on a daily basis.”

They did. There was no question of that.

“Why are you still alone?”

I didn’t want to break my mom’s heart and tell her I’d be a terminal bachelor. It really shouldn’t matter because it was my life, but I wanted to please her. “I just haven’t found the right girl yet. I’m picky.” I was picky about the size of their waist and their chest.

She breathed a sigh of relief. “You’ll find her eventually. She’s out there.”

“I’m sure she is.”
Not
.

She was in a better mood. “I’ll see you at the art show, honey.”

“Okay.” I hugged her goodbye. “It means a lot to Livia that you’re going.”

“I know.”

I rubbed her back gently before I walked out the door. “Good night.”

“Night.”

On the drive home, I made a call.

“Hey.” She said it in a bored voice, pretending she didn’t care.

“You want to come over?”

“And do what?” Shelly was playing hard to get.

“What do you think?” I snapped.

“You can’t just call me and expect me to come over at the last minute.”

“Fine. Have fun with your vibrator. Bye.” I was about to press end before she changed her mind.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes.” The self-loathing was heavy in her voice.

I loved girls with low self-esteem. “See you soon.” I hung up and drove home. When I parked into my spot, I spotted Shelly’s bug a few rows away.
Man, she really wanted to get nailed. She must have flown here.

I got out of my car then spotted Alaska by the mailbox. She was pulling ads and junk mail out. It was ten o’clock at night.
She really thought now was the best time to check the mail?
“Are you a vampire?” I demanded when I walked up to her.

“What?” She stopped what she was doing and glared at me.

“You’re always out at night—by yourself. Knock it off.”

She slammed the door to her mailbox. “What I do is none of your business.”

“Just go inside. You can’t check it in the morning?”

She glared at me. “You’re really annoying.”

“Like you aren’t,” I hissed.

“Then why do you care? Get off my case, Ashley.”

My eyes widened. “Say that again and I’ll—”

“What?” She mocked me. “Go tryout for the softball team? Play with your Barbies?” She smirked when she saw the fire in my eyes.

“What kind of name is Alaska? Your parents have a thing for Sarah Palin?”

“Did your parents wish you were a girl?”

Man, I wanted to slap her sometimes.
“Fine. Get mugged or raped. Like I give a damn.”

“I don’t want you to give a damn,” she snapped back.