Текст книги "Somewhere in Between"
Автор книги: Samatha Harris
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SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN
Madison Square, Book One
By Samatha Harris
SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN
Copyright © 2015 by Samatha Harris.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: November 2015
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
www.limitlesspublishing.com
Formatting: Limitless Publishing
ISBN-13: 978-1-68058-350-2
ISBN-10: 1-68058-350-6
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To the men in my life.
Adam, who encourages me,
John, who challenges me,
and Dave, who is my everything.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
EPILOGUE
CHAPTER 1
Drew (Then)
Six years ago…
“Good morning.”
The high pitched whining sound of her voice pierced through my skull like a bullet to the head. Ugh, what the hell is that? I rolled to the side, pulling a pillow over my face in a vain attempt to drown out the noise. My head spun as flashes of memories from last night mounted a full assault on my brain.
“Good morning!” she said again, slipping her hand up my side. My pounding headache intensified, my hangover amplifying the sound of her voice to a near deafening roar.
As if the killer headache wasn’t the first clue to my drunken state last night, the blonde in my bed clinched it. I honestly didn’t remember making it home, let alone into bed with…shit! What was her name? Foggy images shuffled through my head as I tried to remember, but I got nothing. Mandy? No, that was the brunette.
Lifting the pillow, I cracked an eye open to get a better look at my bed buddy, hoping looking at her might trigger something, but my mind still came up empty. She was hot, even with the bed head and mascara smeared across her cheek, but her face was just not registering in my vague memories of last night.
“Hey.” My voice came out rough and hoarse from sleep. Damn! Did her name start with a T? Or maybe an L? While the rolodex of people at the bar last night went through my head, a smile spread across my face. I was hoping to distract her enough so she wouldn’t catch on to my confusion. If this chick realized I had no idea who she was, this whole situation could quickly go from bad to worse.
“Last night was…” She sighed, letting the statement trail off as she absently traced patterns on my bare chest. Compliments about my sexual prowess are always appreciated, but at that moment, I was more interested in getting her out of my bed before she caught on to her mystery girl status. Lucky for me, my roommate saved the day by choosing that moment to bang on the door.
“Dude, get up. We got shit to do!” Sean called.
Sean has been my roommate since the housing office stuck us together freshman year. He was an acquired taste, to say the least. Dude can be kind of crazy, especially when tequila is involved, but you can’t help but love the jackass. He at least has a knack for bailing me out of awkward situations, such as my current predicament.
“Sorry, I got to get going,” I said, quickly jumping out of bed and heading for the bathroom.
One look in the mirror told me it had been yet another crazy night. My sad, rumpled reflection stared back at me from the mirror as I brushed my teeth. My hair was a mess, and the smear of hot pink lipstick that marked my neck told the same old story.
After washing the sleep from my face and scrubbing the lipstick from my neck, I headed back into my room to find mystery girl already dressed and looking for her shoes. Stacy? No. What was this girl’s name? This was ridiculous, even for me.
I tugged on a pair of jeans from the floor next to my bed and pulled open the dresser drawer, searching for a shirt. I found a vintage Zeppelin t-shirt and pulled it over my head while humming “Whole Lotta Love.”
“Got it,” she announced, holding up the pink heel as proof.
“Great. I’ll walk you out.”
I turned the lock on my door and headed into the living room with mystery girl in tow.
Sean was sitting on a stool in the kitchen. His girlfriend, Kerri, was perched on the counter, her lips attached to his face, his hands buried inside her shirt. The two of them were unbelievable, relentless. You couldn’t pry them apart with a crowbar. Now, there is nothing wrong with a little PDA, but waking up every day to the two of them trying to swallow each other’s tongues was not my idea of a good morning.
“Dude, that’s where I eat,” I said for the hundredth time since we moved in to our new place.
They broke apart as my guest giggled behind me. I reached for the front door, still not able to remember her name. Smile, say goodbye, and you are in the clear.
“Call me.” She stood on her tip toes to kiss me goodbye and pressed a small piece of paper into my hand before turning and heading down the stairs to her car.
Once she was out of sight, I glanced at the little slip of paper. She’d written down her name and phone number.
She even left a hot pink kiss print next her number. “Tracy! Thank God! That shit was gonna bug me all day.”
Letting out a deep breath of relief, I pushed the piece of paper into my pocket and headed into the kitchen. I would not be calling her.
Sean laughed and Kerri smacked his shoulder. I grabbed a box of cereal from the counter and tossed a handful into my mouth, crunching loudly on my breakfast with a smile as Kerri glared in my direction.
“You’re an ass, Drew!” she said with a disdainful roll of her eyes. “You better not treat Alex like that.” I would have believed her concern if she hadn’t been examining her nails when she said it.
I raised an eyebrow and tossed another handful of cereal into my mouth. “Who’s Awex?” I asked, trying to speak with a mouth full of corn flakes.
“My roommate,” Kerri replied, her voice taking on that annoyed tone as she narrowed her eyes to slits. She propped one hand on her bony hip and glared at me. I laughed to myself as Sean sank behind her, trying to stay out of the developing argument.
Kerri and I never got along. She was shallow and selfish. She had that queen bee mentality and tended to try and crush anyone who had even an ounce of independent thought. Sean is a good guy. He can do so much better, but you can’t talk sense into a man who is getting laid on a regular basis, no matter how much you try.
We stared each other down until Kerri finally huffed in frustration. I smirked, making a show of putting another handful of cereal into my mouth. She rolled her eyes and reached behind her to where the clean dishes were drying, handing me a bowl. I responded by tossing corn flakes into the air and trying to catch them in my mouth, missing almost on purpose. She was not going to tell me how to eat in my own house. Plus, the look of pure rage on her face was pretty damn amusing.
Kerri dropped the bowl into the sink and hopped down from her perch on my counter.
“So, what’s this about your roommate?” I asked, leaning back against the counter.
She turned her hard glare to Sean, who refused to look her in the eye. “You said you were going to talk to him,” she said, her voice growing shriller with every word. Her voice was like taking a chainsaw to a chalkboard.
Sean shrank in his seat. “Sorry, babe. I forgot.”
She groaned and stomped into Sean’s room, slamming the door. Sean dropped his head with a dramatic sigh before taking off to beg for forgiveness. Pussy.
***
“So, what’s got Kerri’s panties in a wad this morning?” I asked Sean as we drove to the liquor store. We were throwing a party that night to celebrate moving in to our new dump of an apartment and needed to stock up on the essentials. The place was nothing to celebrate, but, as usual, Queen Kerri will use any excuse to throw a party for her horde of minions.
He sighed. “She wants to set you up with her roommate.”
Sean knows I hate to be set up, especially when it’s Kerri who is setting me up. That girl hates me, mostly because I won’t bow to her whims, like Sean. It doesn’t bother me because one, the feeling is mutual and two, pissing her off is just too much fun. Besides, all of Kerri’s friends are just like her—shallow, vapid girls who can’t talk to you without smacking their gum and twirling their hair around their finger.
“What? Why?” I chuckled.
“She thinks you two might hit it off.”
Kerri was up to something. She’d probably cooked up something with her roommate as some sort of joke at my expense. “What’s her angle?”
“What do you mean?” Sean asked, his eyes intensely focused on the road. He was trying way too hard to sound innocent. Great.
“You know what I mean. What’s Queen Kerri up to?”
“Don’t call her that.”
Sean is my best friend and I know that it grates on him that I hate his girlfriend. I need to try harder to get along with her, but that girl is impossible to like.
“Dude, why do you put up with that girl? I don’t get it.”
“You don’t know her like I do, man. She has a sweet side. She wants her roommate to get out more, meet new people, have some fun, which is where you come in.”
Yeah, sure she did. Kerri never did anything that didn’t benefit her in some way.
“You mean she wants her to get out more so the two of you can bang on every surface of her dorm room.”
“Look, I’m not asking you to hang out with her all night. Just talk to her. If you don’t like her, fine.”
He looked at me, pleading with those big dumb puppy dog eyes. “Fine.”
I was going to regret this.
***
Later that night, we kicked off the party of all parties. As I leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, I took inventory, checking to see who’d showed up more out of habit than anything. A cute brunette sat on the couch by the window. I was pretty sure I went out with her last year. She’d spent the entire night talking about her hair extensions. Sean had to call with an emergency to bail me out of that one.
There was a couple making out a little too enthusiastically on the makeshift dance floor while creepy Jason watched from the sidelines. Some of the guys on the football team were dropping ice cubes down their girlfriend’s cleavage, laughing as the girls squealed and frantically pulled at their shirts to get it out.
This was my party and these were my so-called friends, but outside of Sean, there were really only a handful of people here I actually liked. It seemed to always be the same cliché group everywhere we went. It was a little hypocritical of me to feel such disdain for these people considering I was technically one of them, but while the parties and the easy pickings had been fun for a while, I was bored.
Scanning the room again, I spotted a redhead standing by herself against the wall. She had on a pair of tight jeans, a loose fitting tank top, and a pair of black chucks. Her fiery red hair fell down long past her shoulders in silky waves, just begging me to run my fingers through it. She had a tight little body, curves in all the right places, and an ass that just wouldn’t quit. She was beautiful and seemed like the kind of girl who knew it, but wasn’t aggressive about it. If it was something different I wanted tonight, Red would do nicely.
She wasn’t talking to anyone or dancing. She was leaning against the wall as she picked at the chipped blue nail polish on her fingers, which were wrapped around her red solo cup. Occasionally, she would glance up and tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, lips tight and eyes unfocused. Everything about her body language said fuck off, which made me wonder what brought her to a party where she so obviously didn’t want to be. Everyone around her was swaying or jumping to the pulsing music, but Red was trying her best, and failing, to go unnoticed.
Guys all over the room were checking her out, but she either didn’t notice or didn’t care. I bit my lip to stifle the smile spreading across my face while watching some poor bastard try to talk to her. As soon as he approached, she just shook her head and pointed toward the door. She didn’t even have to say anything. The look on her face said it all. Keep walking, buddy!
Behind her, there was a loud crash. Some asshole jumped through a beer can tower his buddies had made. The crowd cheered as his friends picked the moron up off the floor, but Red just rolled her eyes in their direction and turned her back.
Now was as good a time as any to make my move. I walked up behind her, leaned in close, and spoke directly in her ear so she could hear me over the music. “You’re not very friendly, are you?”
“Excuse me?” she sneered. She turned quickly and I held my position so we were practically nose to nose. Her bright green eyes widened for a moment before narrowing to a hateful glare.
“You don’t seem like you’re having a good time,” I said, propping my hand on the wall behind her head. I was coming on a little strong, but old habits die hard.
Red crossed her arms across her chest and my attention immediately dipped to her breasts. When our eyes met, her glare intensified. Oops, busted.
I smiled and straightened, matching her stance. “Why is that?” I asked.
“Why do you care?” She dropped her arms and leaned against the wall, creating a bit more distance between us.
Closing the gap, I asked, “Why shouldn’t I care?”
She cocked her head to the side, appraising me like she was trying to figure out my motives. “Isn’t there someone else you can bother?”
I kind of liked that she was making me work for it. Girls usually just giggled and pressed up against me, but Red was different. She wasn’t flirting, but from her rapid breathing and the slight rise in the smooth skin of her throat when she swallowed, I could tell she wasn’t completely uninterested.
“I think I would rather stay and talk to you.” I dipped my head to meet her eyes, hoping to see them soften a bit. The cold stare remained, but the corner of her mouth twitched, like she was trying hard not to smile. Maybe she wasn’t all bite in there after all.
“What, the sea of short skirts and baby tees isn’t enough for you?” she asked as a sarcastic smirk spread across her face.
“If I’m being honest, no, it’s not.” Her eyes widened for a moment. I took the opportunity to step closer. “I’ve recently developed a thing for redheads.”
She smiled up at me, distracting me with her full pink lips. I couldn’t help but wonder how they would taste.
“If we are being honest,” she said, pressing a hand to my chest, “then I should tell you something.” She bit her lip and pushed herself against me, forcing me to back up a step. It looked like she was starting to come around, and I congratulated myself on making a small amount of progress.
“What’s that?” I asked, unable to tear my eyes from her lips.
“You haven’t got a chance in hell,” she whispered, then poured the contents of her red solo cup over my head, crushing the empty cup and dropping it at my feet. I just stood there, eyes wide in shock, doused in beer, and more than a little turned on. Beer soaked into my shirt and streamed down my face as I watched her disappear into the crowd.
The beer can morons burst into laughter, bending at the waist and slapping each other on the back. I shot them the finger. Well played, Red. There was something different about this girl, and now, more than ever, I was determined to find out just what that was.
“Drew!” Sean called from the kitchen. Shit! Kerri’s roommate. It was probably better to let Red cool down before trying again. I did my best to shake the beer from my hair before heading to the kitchen to find Sean.
“Yeah!” I called, coming around the corner, still wringing the beer out of my shirt. When I looked up, there, standing with Sean and Kerri, was none other than Red. Her eyes widened and she straightened her stance when her eyes met mine. Damn, that girl got hotter every time I saw her.
As she took in my damp sticky hair and wet t-shirt, her features relaxed. A big grin replaced her trademark scowl.
“Well, if it isn’t the life of the party.” I straightened to my full height as she narrowed her eyes. Game on, Red! The withering glare she shot me was a little scary, but sexy as hell. I couldn’t help but check her out. I smiled at her wide eyes and suddenly nervous body language.
“Dude! What the hell happened to you?” Sean asked, gesturing to my wet t-shirt.
“Why don’t you ask Red?” I nodded my head in her direction.
Kerri whipped around to Red. “Have you guys met?”
“Briefly.” Red smirked.
Sean’s attention volleyed back and forth between Red and me. He was trying to figure out what had happened while Red and I just stared each other down. An involuntary smile spread wide across my face. She rolled her eyes, but couldn’t hide the slight twitch of her lips.
“So,” Sean said, dragging out the word. “Drew, this is Alex,” he raised his eyebrows at me, “Kerri’s roommate.” He stared at me, watching for my reaction as the news sank in.
Son of a bitch! This was Kerri’s plan all along. She never wanted to hook us up. She wanted Red to shoot me down and humiliate me in public.
Now it was my turn to be pissed. I narrowed my eyes at Kerri, who was focused on Red, pretending not to notice me glaring at the side of her head.
“I’m heading out,” Red said.
“Aww, really?” Kerri whined, her bottom lip sticking out in a mock pout. “I wanted you and Drew to have a chance to talk.” I could see the evil brewing behind her eyes.
“You have got to be kidding me!” Red’s brows shot up. “That’s why you dragged me here? What the hell could we possibly have to talk about?”
“Relax, Red, you’re not exactly my type either,” I said.
“Imagine my disappointment,” she deadpanned, her lips thinning into a sharp smirk. She turned back to Kerri. “You said an hour. Time is up and I’m leaving.” With that, she headed for the door.
“Dude!” Sean said, his eyebrows raised. He pointed in the direction that Red disappeared, his gray eyes scolding me. What was he so pissy about? Kerri was the one who pissed her off. After another pointed look from Sean, I exhaled and went after Red. Sean was a good friend, so for his sake, I would try to make nice with Red.
Outside, she was already heading for the stairs. “Alex! Wait!” I called, reaching for her arm. She turned on me quickly and stared daggers at my hand, which was still wrapped around her arm. Good thing she didn’t have laser vision. She would have reduced my fingers to nubs.
I released her and took a step back, holding my hands up in surrender. Shit! As hot as she was, she had that scary back-the-fuck-off look down pat. I smiled, trying, and failing, to ease some of the tension.
She crossed her arms, waiting for me to say something. The action immediately made my eyes dip to her chest. She let out a frustrated groan, dropped her arms, and started heading down the stairs again.
“Come on, Red, wait up,” I said, following her down the stairs.
She whirled on me so fast, she lost her footing on the step. Luckily I was close enough to reach out and grab her before she tumbled down the flight of stairs. Running on pure instinct, I grabbed a hold of her arm and pulled her body tight against my chest. Her body fit seamlessly against mine, soft and warm beneath my touch. Her eyes widened. We were so close, the smell of her shampoo surrounded me. It had a fruity scent to it, so different from the too-sweet perfume that most girls on campus used.
With Red still pressed tightly against my chest, a slow smile spread across my face as I slowly released my grip on her arms. “See, you’re falling for me already.”
She scoffed and pushed me away completely before turning and stomping her way down the stairs. It was a cheesy line, but it was an opening I had to take.
I shook my head and chuckled at my own idiocy. Then I headed down the stairs after her. Just as she was getting into a little blue car, I grabbed a hold of the door before she could slam it in my face.
“Let go,” she sneered.
“Have coffee with me?”
I grinned down at her. Kerri may have been setting me up for failure, but this girl was something else. She was definitely worth any potential Queen Kerri fallout later.
“Are you insane?”
I took a chance and stepped between her and the car door so she couldn’t leave. “Please have coffee with me?” I asked, resting my hand on the roof of the car.
“Go to hell!” She tugged harder on the door, but I didn’t budge.
“Tea?”
She yanked the door again, but I just blocked it with my hip. “Let me go, asshole!”
“Just agree to meet me tomorrow so Kerri will back off of us both.” I smiled, running on the hunch that she hated Kerri as much as I did.
She narrowed her eyes at me but seemed to consider what I'd said for a moment before she let go of the door in defeat. “Fine! Tomorrow.”
Bingo! Finally, some common ground. We can bond over our mutual hatred of her roommate.
“Great. Meet me at Union Brew at two o’clock?”
I slowly stepped away from the car. As soon as the door was clear, she slammed it shut and peeled out of the lot.
***
I sat at Union Brew for an hour and a half before finally conceding she was not coming. I’d never been stood up before and wasn’t a fan. Tossing our now cold drinks, I got a couple fresh ones, then headed for her dorm. Time for Plan B.
I knocked twice on her dorm door. When it swung open, Red stood there in a pair of cotton shorts and a tank. Her long red waves were piled in a knot high on her head and she was wearing cute little black-framed glasses. For some reason, “Hot for Teacher” popped into my head.
“Did you forget our date?” I asked as I took in her small but curvy frame.
“It was not a date. I just told you I would go so you would let me leave.” She leaned against the door frame and crossed her arms. When my eyes flicked to her chest, she quickly dropped her arms back to her side. “What do you want?” she asked, straightening up again.
I took a step toward her. “Another chance.”
She blinked, her eyes going wide and lips parting in shock. I shifted my weight, suddenly feeling a little nervous.
“I was hoping we could start over,” I said, holding the coffee cup out to her as a peace offering.
She looked down at the cup in my outstretched hand and back up to me. She narrowed her eyes, far from convinced. “Why?”
Her face was an open book, the doubt clear in every feature of her face. Even in her pajamas, bathed in fluorescent lighting and without a stitch of makeup, she was unbelievably beautiful. My fingers itched to tuck the strands of hair that escaped from the small black band trying to hold the wild curls in place behind her ear.
“Why what?” I asked.
“Why bother apologizing?”
“Apologizing? What did I do? You were the one dousing me with beer last night.” I attempted humor, hoping to get her to lighten up a bit.
She giggled, but it didn’t have that bubbly tone. It was more genuine. “You weren’t taking the hint.”
“What hint is that?”
“That I’m never going to sleep with you.”
“Who said I wanted to sleep with you?” I absolutely did want to sleep with her, but she didn’t need to know that.
“Why else would you have approached me?”
“Maybe because I just wanted to talk to you, but clearly all you can think about is sex.” I couldn’t help but grin. “I mean, if that’s all you are looking for, I could definitely help you out.” Rubbing my chin, I made a show of checking out her body, sucking my bottom lip into my mouth until I finally got to her eyes.
“How generous of you,” she deadpanned. She shifted her weight and stared me down for a moment. Finally, she took a breath and said, “Give me one good reason why I should give you another shot.”
I was starting to win her over. “Well, the way I see it, we have two options. You can slam the door in my face and continue to hate me, or we can be friends.” None of my usual charm was working with Red. I wanted something different, so it was time to try a different tactic.
“Friends?” She scoffed. “You want to be friends?” She gestured between us like we were a different species. I tried not to be offended.
“Yeah. Why is that so hard to believe? We could help each other.”
“What could you possibly help me with?” she asked, propping her hand on her hip. The move caused her tank to rise a bit, exposing a strip of the smooth white skin above the waistband of her shorts.
Her question momentarily forgotten, I cleared my throat and continued. “For starters, an escape from Sean and Kerri’s sexcapades. I don’t know about you, but I have already walked in on them way too many times. It isn’t safe to sit on any surface in my apartment. Does she do yoga, by the way? That chick is really bendy.”
The corner of her mouth twitched upward, and I smiled at her reaction.
She paused, examining me while she thought it over. She reached out, taking the coffee cup from my hand, and leaned against the door frame. She took a sip.
“You going to invite me in?” I asked.
“Not a chance.”
“Okay.” I chuckled. It was worth a shot. “So, what do you say? Friends?” I held out my hand to her.
She was quiet for a moment, but then she nodded, straightening up and shaking my hand. “Friends,” she said. She pointed a finger at me while still gripping her cup of coffee, “But, to be clear, there will be no benefits. Understood?”
I laughed. “Don’t worry, Red. You aren’t my type, remember?”
I winked, turning to head out. Who knew something good would come from one of Queen Kerri’s evil plots?
