Текст книги "Love Hate Relationship"

Автор книги: Jessica Prince

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Текущая страница: 13 (всего у книги 16 страниц)

Me: Come over

Navie: Can’t. I have plans.

Me: Then come over after. You can stay the night. We have a weekend full of non-work hours.

Navie: Sorry. I have company this weekend. I can’t come over. See you Monday.

Me: What company? You didn’t tell me you were having company.

My last text was an hour and a half old, and without a response. I started off curious, but after the first fifteen minutes, that curiosity turned into concern. At the forty-five-minute mark, that concern morphed into agitation. At an hour fifteen, I was just straight up pissed. My mind was all over the place, wondering who the hell she was with and why she hadn’t told me. I felt like I was reliving the past with Bree all over again, only this time, the tension in my chest was almost unbearable.

It was over a twenty-minute cab ride to Navie’s place in Murray Hill and by the time I got there, I was ready to kick whoever’s ass was encroaching on my territory. I took the stairs up to her apartment like a raging bull preparing to gore the motherfucker standing in front of me.

I made it to her landing and pounded on her front door, just itching for a fight. And that was exactly what I got. The moment the front door swung open and I was hit with an eyeful of naked chest—naked male chest—my vision went red and I lunged.

“Motherfucker!” I shouted as I barreled into the guy standing in front of me, slamming my shoulder into his stomach with a satisfying grunt. “I’m gonna kill you!” We went down in a heap onto Navie’s entryway floor. I had to hand it to the dude; I might have caught him off guard, but he rallied quickly, twisting around and landing a right hook that had me seeing stars with a shocked, “What the hell?”

While we wrestled around on the floor, each of us landing blows, I vaguely registered the sound of feminine screams. I was pretty sure my lip was split, and my eye was hurting like a son of a bitch, but I wasn’t giving up. The guy pinned me in a headlock as he rose to his feet, and I took the opportunity to land a few well-placed punches to his kidney and ribs. And the bastard still didn’t let go.

“You fuck my girl, I fuck you up!” I voiced in a painful wheeze as he squeezed my neck tighter. At that point, it had become clear I was losing, but I’d be damned if I tapped out before that asshole did.

I was just two seconds away from taking a cheap shot to his nuts when Navie’s voice cut through the rush of blood raging through my ears.

“Carson, Rowan, STOP!”

Carson? Oh, shit!

“Carson?” I coughed, unable to breathe with the guy’s arm threatening to crush my windpipe. I could only speculate, but I was pretty sure my face was turning purple.

“Let him go!” another woman yelled, and the arm around my throat instantly loosened. Gulping down air like a man, well, choking, I tilted my head the best I could while still in a headlock to find Navie and a very pregnant woman standing in the middle of the living room, looking like they were about to murder someone.

“Carson Langford,” the pregnant woman scolded. “I said let him go. Right. Now.”

“This shithead started it,” the guy—apparently named Carson—said as he released me with a less than friendly shove. I stood straight and turned to see that his face hadn’t fared much better than mine. It shouldn’t have sent a spike of male pride through me, considering I’d just jumped Navie’s fucking brother, but what could I do?

“Rowan!” Navie screeched, stomping up to me, the look on her face so furious I had to keep myself from cowering. “What the fuck were you thinking? I cannot believe you!”

“Who the hell is this dickhead?” Carson bit from across the living room where the pregnant lady—his wife Cassidy, I assumed—was examining the cut on his lip.

“Jesus, I’m sorry, man,” I started, running a hand through my hair as my gaze darted back and forth between him and Navie. “You opened the door without a shirt, and I just… I didn’t realize who you were. I just thought… hell, I don’t know what I thought.”

“This guy? Seriously?” Carson asked Navie incredulously, and she turned her glare from me to him.

“For the love of God, will you just please put a damn shirt on!” Looking back at me, she sucked in a deep breath, exhaling slowly as though she were trying to get herself centered. “Rowan—”

“Rowan!” Carson cut in. “Your douchebag boss, Rowan—?”

“Carson!” both Navie and Cassidy yelled at the same time. The sting from knowing how she’d once described me to the people she loved settled in the pit of my stomach like rancid meat as Carson continued his tirade.

“And what the hell’d he mean by my girl? Wait—are you bangin’ your boss?”

“Carson Langford!” Cassidy scolded loudly. Navie began twisting her hands in front of her in discomfort, unable to meet anyone’s eyes. The sudden shift in her demeanor didn’t sit well with me. I wanted these people to know what Navie meant to me, but based on Carson’s reaction, Navie had been quite upfront about her dislike of me at the start of our working relationship.

Well, shit. It looked like I was going to have my work cut out for me. But I’d already managed to sway Navie. It was going to take a little more effort, but I was sure I could get Carson and Cassidy to come around to my side eventually, too.

“Holy fuck!” Carson boomed.

Or maybe not.

“What are you thinking, little bit? And you…” He swung a murderous look in my direction. “I’m gonna kick your ass, little boy.”

“Oh, for the love of—” Navie paused, pinching the bridge of her nose in obvious agitation. “No one is kicking anyone’s ass. And you can’t call him little boy, Carson. For Christ’s sake, he’s taller than you. And older!”

That gave Carson pause before he asked, “How old?”

“Thirty-three,” I answered.

“Thirty-three?” he shouted then pushed against his wife’s hold, speaking in a low, menacing voice. “I’m gonna kill you.”

My body stiffened, preparing for another throw-down as Navie blocked Carson’s path to me. But it was Cassidy who brought the impending fight to a halt. “Everybody stop! So help me God, Carson, if you do not calm the hell down right now, I swear, this morning will be the last time you ever see me naked again!”

“Oh, sweet, merciful, Lord,” Navie prayed, looking up at the ceiling in an attempt to find divine intervention.

I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well, that would explain his lack of a shirt.”

Navie let out an adorable growl. “You don’t talk! Cassidy, will you get some ice for these two idiots’ faces? Rowan and I need to have a little chat.”

“You got it, sweetie,” she replied as Navie grabbed my hand and started pulling me toward what I could only assume was her bedroom. Under different circumstances, I would have gotten hard from the walk to her room alone, but seeing as I was undoubtedly about to get my ass handed to me, I wasn’t feeling the excitement.

When she turned to face me after slamming the door, I was overwhelmed by my sudden and intense desire to touch her. Even with her face scrunched in anger and her hands planted on her hips in a don’t fuck with me pose, she was the most gorgeous thing I’d ever seen. Maybe I needed to have my head examined, because at that very moment, with her standing there pissed to high hell and my face beginning to throb, I couldn’t remember ever wanting her more.

Yep.

I was crazy.

I was furious.

I was beyond furious.

Carson was already a pain in my ass when it came to who I dated. No one was ever good enough in his opinion. And having the guy I was currently seeing—the guy I was head over heels in love with, even though I wouldn’t admit it to him—sock my overprotective brother in the face upon meeting him most certainly didn’t scream stellar first impression.

“You want to tell me what that was all about?”

“You didn’t return my text,” he answered simply, like that was supposed to explain everything.

“What text?”

“The one I sent right after you told me you had company.”

Walking past him, I snatched my phone off my nightstand and scrolled through our message exchange. Sure enough, there it was.

“I was in the shower, Rowan. I didn’t see this. If I had, I would have responded.” I felt my level of frustration rising at the knowledge that he clearly didn’t trust me. “So, what? You convinced yourself I was shacked up with some other guy and came over here to prove a point? Was that it?”

“No. Yes. Shit! I don’t know. I just…” He raked both his hands through his shiny black hair and plopped down on the side of my bed, elbows to his knees as he hunched over and looked up at me. “I was going out of my mind,” he admitted, embarrassment shining in his clear, icy gaze. “You didn’t respond and I lost it. I jumped to conclusions and didn’t think.” I couldn’t help myself. He just looked so… lost. While I hated that he hadn’t trusted me, I hated the fact he was so torn up over the ‘what if’s’ of our situation even more. “I may have over reacted,” he finished.

“You think?” I laughed, coming to stand close to him. When I moved within reach, his hands went to my hips, pulling me between his knees so he could rest his forehead against my stomach. “I’m not her,” I spoke softly as I ran my fingers through his hair.

He exhaled heavily, his breath leaking through the cotton of my shirt and caressing my skin. “I know.”

“I don’t think you do,” I responded. Holding tighter to his hair, I used it to tilt his head back so I could see his handsome face. “I’m not her,” I repeated emphatically. “I’m not a cheater. I’m not a manipulator. I would never do that to someone I care about. You have to trust me, Rowan. If you can’t do that then we might as well call this off right now.”

“No.” His tone held so much vehemence as he spoke that one word through gritted teeth.

“Then no more jealous, Neanderthal bullshit. You got me?” I grinned down at him and his lips tilted up in response.

“I got you.” As soon as the tension bled away, Rowan’s hands slid from my hips around my back, pulling me even tighter against him. My pulse picked up speed and my body heated. It was the same reaction every time he touched me. I couldn’t get enough of it. “So,” his grin turned wicked, “you care about me, huh?”

I did. I really, really did. But I refused to admit anything beyond that.

“Maybe,” I teased, holding my thumb and index finger less than an inch apart as I squinted. “About this much.” I squeaked and tried to squirm away when he gave my hip a hard pinch in retaliation. “Keep that up and I’m telling Carson.” I laughed. That got him to stop.

“So, what now?”

“Well, we’re going back out there and you’re going to kiss ass like you’ve never kissed ass before.”

One corner of his mouth tilted up in a grin. “You really think that’ll work?”

“Oh, hell no,” I answered with brutal honesty. “Carson’s going to hate you until the end of time now. But at least sucking up will keep him from trying to kill you in your sleep.”

“Fucking brilliant,” he grumbled toward the ceiling, causing me to giggle.

“Pucker up, baby.”

For the first time in my life, things were perfect. I was enjoying my job, I had amazing friends, and I had been seeing a guy for over a month who I was one hundred percent completely in love with. And that relationship was going surprisingly well.

But when you live a life where it’s guaranteed that the other shoe is going to drop sooner or later, it’s hard to sit back and relax. It’s impossible to bask in the joy of all the good because you’re constantly worrying, waiting for the day to come when it all blows up in your face.

I wanted to believe that I’d reached a turning point in my life where the good outweighed the bad. I wanted to believe that things with Rowan had nowhere to go but up. I wanted to trust that I was finally getting the happy I deserved. I just couldn’t stop looking over my shoulder, nervously waiting for the inevitable to happen.

I lowered my guard. I’d handed my heart over willingly so when that boom was lowered, it hurt so much worse than I had anticipated. I should have known better. I never should have gotten my hopes up. Because that just made the crash back down to rock bottom all the more painful.

“Ouch, Harlow! You’re about to rip my damn hair out!” I whined from my place in front of the bathroom mirror.

“If you’d sit still, it wouldn’t hurt so much!”

“You’re pulling too hard!”

“Just take a deep breath. I almost got it.”

“Ow!

Pepper’s voice spoke up from behind us and we both turned to see her leaning against the bathroom door. “You know, if I were a guy and had no clue what was happening back here, I’d probably be sporting a chubby right about now.”

I rolled my eyes just before slamming them shut in pain as Harlow ripped the comb through my hair once more. “She’s trying to scalp me!”

“Stop being such a baby,” Harlow complained. “It’s just a tangle. Ha! Got it!” she crowed triumphantly as the comb finally slid through my strands of hair unimpeded.

“I hate you,” I grumbled, reaching up to touch the tender section of my scalp.

“You love me. Now, shut up and let’s get you beautified.”

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glowered at my reflection in the mirror. “I don’t understand why we have to go through all of this anyway.”

“Uh, maybe because one of the hottest guys who’s ever graced our planet told you he wanted to take you out on a date?” Pepper asked sarcastically.

“We’re already sleeping together,” I insisted. “And I’ve stayed the night with him, so he knows what I look like first thing in the morning.”

“Doesn’t get much worse than that,” Harlow said under her breath, then, “Ouch! Damn it!” when I reached back to pinch the hell out of her arm.

“What’s up with you?” Pepper asked as she studied me with a narrow-eyed stare. “It’s not like this is the first time we’ve made you over, and you’ve never been this bitchy about it. You’re going on a date tonight with one of New York’s most eligible bachelors. You should be excited! Women would literally kick your ass to be in your shoes.”

I inhaled deeply through my nose before blowing out a deep breath. “I’m nervous,” I begrudgingly admitted. “I feel like I’m out of my element here. This whole thing has gotten so much bigger than I planned for, you know? I mean, first we hated each other. We went from enemies to friends, then to friends with benefits to dating so damn fast my head’s spinning. I feel like I’m not prepared.”

“Ah.” Harlow grinned, leaning down to pull me into a hug. “Young love, it’s a beautiful thing.”

I shoved her face away. “Shut it, whore.”

“Just go with the flow, Navie,” Pepper advised. “Don’t overthink things. Just take each moment as it comes.”

Pulling in another fortifying breath, I focused on my reflection in the mirror and willed myself to believe everything my girlfriends were saying.

I could totally do this.

I couldn’t do this.

What the hell was I thinking, trying to set up a romantic date for Navie? I wouldn’t have recognized romance if it walked up to me and kicked me in the nuts. The longer I thought about everything I’d set up for our evening, the more I felt like a douche. I wasn’t really a romance type of guy. Navie wasn’t the typical hearts and flowers kind of woman. And the evening I’d arranged for us was a total cliché, right out of a poorly scripted chick-flick.

“You’re taking me on a horse drawn carriage ride?”

I could see the humor swimming in her smiling eyes as I looked down at her. Then it hit me.

Son of a bitch! Why the hell did I think a fucking horse and buggy would impress her? She lived on a ranch in Texas, for Christ’s sake. I’m sure she rode horses all the damn time.

“Uh…” I stumbled, feeling like an asshole.

“It’s sweet!” She giggled, but I got the distinct impression she was just humoring me as we climbed into the carriage. “This is fun. I’ve never done this before.”

“I feel like an idiot,” I groaned, dropping my head against the back of the red-velvet cushioned seat.

“What? Why?”

“Because this is stupid.” I waved my arm around, indicating the carriage ride. “It’s like I stole every dumbass date from every cheesy movie ever created.”

Navie’s head fell back in laughter as her hand rested against my thigh, the melodic sound combined with the heat of her touch warming me from the inside out. I was quickly becoming addicted to her laughter. Playfulness strung her words together as she asked, “Well, what else did you plan for tonight?”

I glared at her from the corner of my eyes. “You can’t laugh.”

She pretended to lock her lips together and throw away the key. “No laughing, I promise.”

I hesitated before finally admitting, “A picnic in Central Park then a trip to the top of the Empire State Building. That’s it!” I harrumphed when she burst into a fit of laughter. “The date’s officially canceled. Get the hell out of my carriage.”

“No, no, no.” She giggled hysterically. “I’m not… I’m not making fun of you.”

“Could have fooled me,” I muttered, arms crossed over my chest as I glared out at the pedestrians we passed.

“Aw, I’m sorry,” she cooed, reaching up to place her soft palm against my cheek so she could turn my face to hers. “I’m sorry, Rowan. I’m really not making fun of you, I swear. I can see how much effort went into putting this together, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that. It’s just…”

“What?”

“This doesn’t really feel like… us, does it?” It was as if she’d just read my mind. I felt awkward and out of place. “Can I tell you something?” she asked with a conspiratorial gleam in her eye. “I was really nervous before you picked me up.”

“What? Why?”

She shrugged and gave me a self-deprecating grin. It was then that I realized that no matter what we were doing or where we were, as long as I was with Navie, it was impossible for me not to enjoy myself.

“Things feel… different with us. I always have so much fun when we’re together and you’re not being a giant ass-face—”

“Wow,” I deadpanned. “You really know how to make a man feel good about himself.”

“You love it.” She winked, and Lord help me, but I was pretty sure I did. “Anyway,” she continued, “I guess what I mean is that this date kind of feels like the next level, you know? At least to me. I got worried that I’d somehow screw this up.”

I was in awe of her honesty. Just when I thought I knew every aspect there was to this girl, she hit me with something else that had me even more spellbound. I had never experienced such a strong connection with another person before, where we seemed to connect on levels I hadn’t even known existed.

“I feel the same way,” I told her in a low voice, reaching for her and pulling her flush against my side. After her confession, there was no way I was getting through the rest of our date without touching her in some way. Feeling her became necessary.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Griffin gave me shit when I told him what I’d planned for tonight. Believe me, I’m never going to hear the end of this. I guess I was worried about screwing it up, too, so I might have overcompensated.”

“Just a little bit,” she teased. Unable to help myself, I leaned in for a taste of plump, berry-colored lips. Once I ended the kiss, she let out a dreamy sigh. “How about this? We’ll do everything you planned for this date, but we do it as ourselves. That means heckling and jokes, you occasionally saying something asshole-ish, and me relentlessly teasing you for your sudden and unexpected romantic streak.”

“Deal,” I grinned then added, “and asshole-ish isn’t a real word. Maybe if you read something other than your porn books, you could broaden your vocabulary.”

“There he is!” She laughed, giving me another kiss.

The evening turned out to be more perfect than I could have imagined. We were us, no false pretenses, no need to put on a show and be someone other than who we were. I couldn’t remember ever having been on a better date. Navie was the perfect companion… even when she kind of lost her shit upon discovering that the guys from the cable show Impractical Jokers were filming in the park, insisting we do anything possible to get on TV.

By the end of the night, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that I could seriously fall for her. And the knowledge of that didn’t scare me the way it normally would have. I found that I was actually excited about the prospect of a future with Navie.

It was unexpected.

She was unexpected.

My life was brighter just by having her in it.