Wasted (7 page)

She opened the fridge and grabbed the jelly.
Then, she pulled a spoon out of the silverware drawer and pushed it
closed with her hip. Taking a few steps toward me, she set the
spoon on the counter and tried to open the jelly. “Dang,” she
mumbled as she took a breath and tried to open it again.

“
Here.” I held my hand out,
and she handed me the jelly jar. With one turn, it popped open, and
I handed the jar back to her and set the lid on the
counter.

“
Thank you.”

“
No problem.”

She spread jelly on my toast as she chatted
about the weather for the day.

Unable to concentrate on her words, I
watched her movements as she worked. Her slender hands, so small
compared to my own, intrigued me. I’d been with lots of women, but
for the life of me, I couldn’t remember noticing a woman’s hands
before. I’d noticed what their hands were doing plenty of times but
never had I been captivated by watching them doing something so
mundane.

I rubbed a palm across my face. Maybe I
needed a drink.

When she finished with the jelly, she pushed
her plate across the bar toward the seat next to me and poured us
each a glass of orange juice.

Tearing my eyes away from her, I
concentrated on my toast as she sat beside me. The subtle fragrance
of her perfume wafted through the air behind her. Damn, she smelled
good.

“
So where are we hiking
to?”

“
There’s a park not far
from here with lots of trails.”

“
There aren’t any bears,
are there?”

Amused, I laughed at her question. “No
bears. Maybe a bobcat or a coyote, but definitely no bears.”

“
I’m not sure a bobcat or a
coyote sounds any better.”

“
Most likely, deer are the
only thing you’ll see larger than a squirrel, and if they see you,
they’ll run the other way.”

After we finished eating, I grabbed a quick
shower and packed a backpack with bottled waters and snacks. We
loaded into my truck and took the half-hour drive to the park.

I pulled into a small, empty parking lot on
the north end. We got out, and I shrugged into the backpack.

“
So where will this take
us?” she asked as we entered a narrow trail framed by a canopy of
leaves.

“
It’s about a three-mile
hike. There’s a pond along the way and a small cave.”

“
A cave?”

“
Yeah, but it’s not very
deep. I still like to go in it every once and a while just for the
hell of it.”

“
I’ve never been in a
cave.”

Her comment made me smile, and I had to
admit that I was glad that I was exposing her to something that
she’d never experienced.

“
I’ve been in some a lot
larger than this one, but it’s still neat.”

As we hiked along the trail, birds chirped
in the boughs above us, and an occasional squirrel scampered as we
approached. A slight breeze rustled the leaves and carried the
sweet smell of honeysuckle.

“
It’s so peaceful out
here.” Lexi’s comment was a breathy sigh, and I could tell she
appreciated nature.

“
Come on.” I grabbed her
hand and began jogging, pulling her along behind me. “The pond is
just right up here.”

As we cleared the curve of the path, the
trees opened into a grassy field. A small worn trail led through
the waist-high grass, and I ushered her to go in front of me.
“You’re almost there.”

Approaching the pond, we climbed onto a
large flat rock formation that jutted out over the water. I let the
backpack slide down my arms and tossed it on the rock with a thud.
Lexi and I sat down, our legs dangling over the edge as we scanned
the water’s glittering surface.

“
Look!” She pointed.
“Fish!”

Right below us, a couple of large fish
weaved their way through the green haze.

“
If we had a fishing pole,
you could catch our supper,” I teased.

“
And you could build a fire
and cook it.” She laughed. “Oh, wait. No, you couldn’t. Hawk isn’t
here to put out the fire.”

“
Not to mention that I have
no idea how to scale and gut it,” I added. “Do you know how to do
that?”

She wrinkled her nose. “No, and I don’t want
to know. I think I’ll opt for picking berries, instead.”

“
Do you know how to tell
whether they’re poisonous?”

“
Oh.” She furrowed her
brow. “Good point. I guess we’re not much in the way of
survivalists. Maybe we’d better stick to the grocery
store.”

“
That or a good
restaurant.” I grabbed the backpack and unzipped it. “But for now,
I did bring us some nice, safe snacks and bottled
water.”

After taking a break, we stuffed our trash
in the backpack and continued along the trail until we reached the
cave. The cave was a small hole directly off the path with an
entrance of approximately four feet high by three feet wide.

I stooped down and entered first with Lexi
right behind me. After the initial opening, the cavern opened up
above our heads, and we were able to stand upright.

“
It’s a lot cooler in
here,” she said softly as if she were afraid to speak
normally.

“
Feels good, doesn’t it?”
The light that spilled into the cavern illuminated another opening
on the far side of the cave.

Lexi scanned her surroundings. “I guess if
we were alive in the prehistoric days, this might’ve made a good
house.”

I grinned at the thought. “Yeah, and I
might’ve picked you up, thrown you over my shoulder, and forced you
to cook my fish.”

Her lips twitched. “I hope you like scales
and guts.”

I nodded. “I do. I like poisonous berries,
too.”

Her laughter echoed in the cave. “Good,
because that’s what I was going to fix you for dessert.”

I pointed at her and beat my chest with my
fist. “My woman. Cook fish. Pick berries.”

Mimicking me, she beat her chest, a wide
smile planted on her face. “My man. Kill bear.”

I delivered my best caveman grunt. Hunching
down, I walked around like I was half gorilla, my arms swinging
around as they reached down to my knees. A peal of laughter erupted
from her as I snatched her up, my arms encircling her legs just
below the sweet curve of her ass, bringing her face just above my
own. “Me no kill bear. Me kiss woman.”

The smile fell from her face as the meaning
of my words dawned on her. I could tell that she wasn’t sure what
they meant, and honestly, I didn’t know, either. I hadn’t planned
on kissing her. I’d just known that she didn’t have many friends in
Creekview yet, and I’d wanted to take her out to do something, to
get to know her as a friend.

But I’d been captivated by her all day. She
was witty and kind, and even though her hair was pulled up and she
wore no makeup, I found her extremely sexy. Still firmly in my
grip, her body pressed against mine as her face hovered just above
my own. My eyes were drawn to her plump bottom lip, and I had the
overwhelming urge to run my tongue across it and suck on it.

Slowly, I released my hold, letting her
slide down my length until her feet were firmly on the ground. She
stared at me like frightened prey, as if she wasn’t sure whether
she should stay in my presence or turn and scurry away.

I knew she’d be better off running.

I leaned in toward her, and her lips parted
softly as if she were waiting on me to make the move. Her chest
heaved and the artery in her throat pulsed.

Damn, I wanted to.

I wanted to know how she tasted. I wanted to
know how her lips felt against mine.

But she wasn’t some girl I could get up and
leave when the sun rose. She was my roommate, and if I crossed the
line now, things could get awkward quickly.

I liked Lexi. I didn’t want things to be
weird between us.

I recognized all the signs. She wanted it,
too.

She lowered her eyes, her lashes fanning
across her cheeks. Her lips closed, and she turned away. “I guess
we better hit the trail,” she said softly.

And just like that, the moment was over.

Chapter
6

Kamikaze

Lexi

A week had passed, and neither of us
mentioned our almost-kiss. But even though we hadn’t talked about
it, I could tell our relationship had changed. It was a subtle
shift but detectable just the same.

Since the naked lady, Mason hadn’t brought
any more women into our apartment, and oddly enough, he hadn’t
spent any nights away from our apartment, either. We’d been
spending our evenings after work watching television and talking.
No serious conversations, just easy talk among friends.

I now knew that he hated bowling and olives,
and he loved watching sports, even though he had never played them
himself.

It was Monday night, and the bar was slow
but steady. I watched him as he showed me how to make a
Kamikaze.

He turned and looked at me with his
infectious grin. “If you want, I’ll make you one at home after
work, so you know what it tastes like.”

“
Are you trying to get me
drunk tonight?” I teased.

He leaned in close to me. “That would be
kind of impossible, wouldn’t it? I don’t think I’ve seen you drink
more than one drink at any given time.”

“
And there’s no reason to
think that tonight will be any different.”

“
I don’t, but it wouldn’t
hurt you to get a little buzzed, would it?”

“
And what would you do if
you got me drunk?” I didn’t know where those words had come from.
They had surprised me, just as much as I could tell they had
surprised him. Maybe I’d been thinking too much about our
almost-kiss.

“
What would you want me to
do?” His eyes were focused on mine, and for a moment, I couldn’t
hear anything that was happening around us. The scant inches that
separated us made my pulse race, and his intense gaze made my face
burn red.

“
Mason.” The voice sounded
like it was traveling through a tunnel of dense fog.

Both of us ignored it as he continued to
watch me intently, awaiting my answer.

“
Mason!”

We both turned to the source of the
irritating disturbance. Stormy, one of the servers who had been
training to tend bar, twisted her hand, shaking a cordless phone at
Mason. “Telephone. It’s your mother.”

The expression on his face immediately
transformed into something much more sinister. He reached out and
took it from her. “Thanks.”

He held the phone to his chest and turned
back to me. “Can you cover the bar a minute?”

“
Sure.”

I watched him as he stepped out from behind
the bar and made his way through the swinging door that led to the
kitchen. I assumed he was going to step out back.

Taking a deep breath, I realized that I had
just dodged an awkward moment. What did I want from Mason?

Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I
focused on the patrons at the bar. They were all engaged in
conversation, and no one seemed to need anything at the moment. I
concentrated on stocking garnishes, and when I finished, I noticed
that Hawk was draining the last of his beer.

“
Want another one?” I
rinsed my hands and dried them.

“
Yeah. I’ll take one
more.”

I glanced at Cade beside him. “You,
too?”

“
Why not?”

I opened two beers, placing one in front of
each of them.

“
What happened to Mason?”
Hawk asked. “Did he run out and leave you with it?”

“
He stepped out to take a
call from his mom,” I explained.

“
That’s not good,” Cade
mumbled.

“
Why?” I looked at him,
shocked by his comment.

Cade looked surprised. “Well, I just
meant….”

“
Usually, his mother only
calls when she wants something,” Hawk supplied. “You know how some
people are.” His tone was friendly enough, but I got the distinct
impression that he wanted to dismiss the subject.

“
Yeah.” I picked up the
money they had laid on the bar and went to the cash register, my
curiosity eating away at my insides. What was the deal with his
mother?

I delivered their change.

“
So how’s life living with
Mason?” Cade asked. “Are you tired of cleaning up after
him?”

I leaned against the bar. “He’s actually not
too bad. For a guy, he’s pretty clean.”

“
Ouch.” Hawk rubbed his
jawline.

His response amused me. “No offense. I guess
the only real comparison I have, other than my dad, is the guys
from college. And most of them were slobs.”

“
Okay,” Cade announced, “I
admit it. I
am
a
slob.”

“
You got that right.” Hawk
nodded in agreement.

“
Whose side are you on?”
Cade held his hands up in question.

“
Sorry, bro, but I can’t
help you there. You
are
a slob.”

“
Who’s a slob? Cade?”
Mason’s voice drifted over my shoulder. “Dude,” Mason addressed
him, “I won’t call you a slob, but I will say that you are
definitely not a neat freak.”

“
I do it intentionally.”
Cade shifted in his seat. “I’m hoping some good-looking sex kitten
will have mercy on me and clean my apartment while wearing a
seductive French maid costume. Or maybe in the nude. That would
work, too.”