Control You (12 page)

“It’s close to the college, plus there’s loads of traffic through that plaza of stores.” Cameron nodded.

A cool breeze blew, sending strands of my hair into my Chapstick. I pulled them free and tucked them back behind my ear. “It’s so crazy you mentioned that place. I already talked with my mom this morning about seeing if she could persuade my father into putting a deposit down to secure it until my five weeks of work at the coffee shop is up.”

Cameron shifted to face me. I glanced at him and noticed a large shit-eating grin plastering itself on his face. “I doubt he’ll be able to.”

“Why?” My stomach rolled and my heart sank.

“Because I’ve already done that for you.”

I stopped mid-step and stared at him. “You did what?”

“I already called and placed a deposit on it for you,” he said slowly, as though he were speaking to a small child.

“Why? Why would you do that?” I blinked, baffled, and shook my head.

He shrugged and started walking again. “I saw it, thought it would be great for your needs, and wanted to snag it for you before anyone else got to it.”

“I can’t believe you did that.” He hardly knew me. Why would he even think to do such a thing? “Are you wanting to be a partner in this or something?”

He sipped his coffee. “Nope.”

“I don’t understand, then.”

“There’s nothing to understand.” He chuckled. “I didn’t do it because I want anything in return. I did it because I saw it as a great opportunity for you, and I didn’t want to see it slip away. There’s no strings attached, and don’t even think about paying me back.”

“Thank you.” The words were thick and heavily coated with emotions as they fell from my lips, making them sound strangled.

I stared at him, unable to figure him out. Who the hell was this guy? Because the Cameron Craig had been telling me to stay away from was supposed to be an addict and a horrible person, but this Cameron—the one I was slowly starting to get to know—was far from either of those things.

CAMERON

I chuckled at the way she looked at me, as though there had to be some ulterior motive for what I’d done. Maybe there was; maybe there wasn’t. Even I didn’t know the answer to that question yet. What I did know, however, was that I truly wanted to snag the place for her before it was taken, because it was a prime spot for her little store. Damn, being home had turned me soft inside. Not that I’d been horrible and a hardheaded ass before, but this…this was something else.

“Your thank you didn’t sound too sincere, Miss…” I paused in my train of thought, and glanced at her. “I don’t know your last name.”

She laughed. It was loud and sweet, causing me to smile and then eventually break out into a fit of laughter along with her.

“Jacobs, it’s Paige Jacobs,” she said as she struggled to contain her laughter. “I’m sorry. I just…your face. You gave me the cutest look when you realized you didn’t know my last name. It was so—
boyish
.”

“You trying to tell me something—that I’m too old to look so boyish?” I raised an eyebrow at her.

Her doe eyes widened, and I loved that I’d caused them to do so. “No. Not at all. You’re only what, twenty…” She trailed off, and her eyes roamed over my face as though she were soaking in every detail that could be used to determine a person’s age. “Four?”

I took the last swig of my coffee and tossed it into the trash can beside the building we stood in front of. “Close, I just turned twenty-five actually.”

“I wasn’t far off.” She grinned, obviously pleased with her assessment.

“And how old are you? Twenty-two, same as Craig?”

She nodded, and the smile pulling at her lips dropped away to nothing. “Yeah.”

Note to self: Don’t mention Craig while in her presence. Ever.

“All right, ready to head back?” I asked. I hated the turn our mood had taken.

“Sure.”

A silence built between us that I didn’t like. Normally, I could handle silence—it was comfortable—but not with her, and not in this moment. Right now, I was fourteen again and could feel the silence pressing against me while I filtered through a list of things to say in my mind that would fill it.

Paige made me nervous.

“So what’s
your
last name?” Her voice was soft, but I still caught the slight sound of hesitation.

“Green.” I crammed my hand into my pocket and fished around for my pack of menthols and lighter. I held the pack up in the air and gave it a sideways shake. “Do you mind?”

She shook her head. “No, not really.”

I put a cigarette to my lips and lit it. The menthol coated my mouth and calmed my crazy nerves. Maybe this was why I’d started smoking, to calm my nerves around girls. It gave my hands and mouth something to do besides what my mind envisioned. Damn, I was a horn ball tonight. I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn’t shift mine to meet them. I needed a moment to calm myself first; she had me flustered in the best kind of way.

“What’s the tattoo on your wrist say?” she asked, pointing.

I took in another drag before holding my wrist out so she could read it. Here it was—the moment when my past would catch up with me and make me seem either unstable or sexy as fuck.

“A man can be destroyed but not defeated. It’s a Hemingway quote.”

Her delicate hand reached out and gripped my wrist. The coldness from her touch seeped through my skin and chilled me to the bone. She pulled my wrist closer to her face so she could see it better in the yellow lights of the strip. I held my breath as her index finger came out to stroke the scar the words covered, sending those chills all the way to my groin. Ah hell, I was excited by her touch.

“It’s a reminder?” she asked in a whisper.

“Yeah, one I need some days more than others,” I admitted. There was no point in lying.

Her brown eyes locked with mine. “Sometimes we all need to be reminded of things worth remembering.”

Her voice was soft and sad. It pulled at the edges of my heart and made every cell in my body want to press my lips to hers. But I didn’t. Instead, I forced myself to behave. I swallowed hard and licked my lips, before taking another drag off my cigarette.

“True,” I muttered.

“Can I see the other one?” She released my wrist and gripped my other arm without waiting for me to answer. “Another Hemingway quote?”

“It is.” I continued to stare at her as she reread the words. A gentle breeze fluffed the fine hairs around her face, causing a few wisps to slide across her cheek. This girl was stunning and the best part was she didn’t even seem to know it. Not entirely.

Paige let my arm drop back to my side. “Wow, those are some deep quotes. I think I’ll have to give Hemingway a try sometime.”

“You should. He’s a freaking genius.”

“Do you have any more tattoos?”

I took the last drag off my cigarette and dropped it in one of those ashtrays made to put them out. Shifting my eyes to meet hers, I decided I couldn’t let this moment slide, and said the first answer that came into my mind when she’d asked. “Yeah, but I’m not sure I can show them to you in public.” I winked. Her cheeks flushed and her eyes widened, but she didn’t look away—just the reaction I’d wanted.

“Really?” She arched an eyebrow at me.

I laughed. “No, not really. I was just messing with you.”

She broke into a grin and slapped my chest playfully. “I seriously believed you for a second, thinking you had a tattoo of some sort imprinted on your butt or something!”

“My butt, huh? I don’t think I’ve ever had a woman admit they were thinking about my butt before. This is a new one.” I grinned. She laughed louder, her gorgeous smile widening. I chuckled and shook my head. “Actually, I had another one started today, on my right shoulder blade. I went to that place called Inked.”

“Oh, that’s the tattoo place over in the Westhills plaza, right? Lauren made me go in there with her once when she got her nose pierced. I was supposed to get mine done too, but I chickened out.”

“Why?” I could picture her with a little stud in her nose. Nothing flashy, just something delicate and cute like her.

“Because I knew my mom would have heart failure if she saw it.”

I chuckled. “So? You’re an adult.”

Her eyebrows drew together and she dropped her gaze to her shoes. “Yeah, well, she can be critical of my appearance at times, relentless even, and I’d rather not give her any more ammo.”

Her words stabbed me in the heart. What the hell kind of a mother would criticize her child’s appearance?

“And what’s so wrong with your appearance?” My words came out more protective and defensive sounding than I cared for.

A small smile twisted the corners of her lips as she brought her eyes up to meet mine; obviously, she’d taken note of my tone. “Nothing, I—” Her breath hitched as she shifted her gaze from mine to in front of us.

I looked to see what had caught her attention, and I spotted Craig leaning against the trunk of her car, staring at the two of us. His arms were folded across his chest, and he was glaring at us as though he could fly off the handle and kill us both any second. I forced back a chuckle as I thought about him trying.

Paige grew tense beside me. She crammed her hands into the pockets of her sweater. From the look on her face, she had no idea he would be here and was uneasy about his presence.

“What’s up, man?” I called out to him as we continued across the parking lot. The distance between Paige and I grew with every step, but it wasn’t my doing. She was purposely spacing herself farther apart from me by the second.

“Just here to check up on Paige,” Craig said. His voice was strained sounding. Apparently, he didn’t like seeing the two of us together. This knowledge sent a sick sense of satisfaction through me.

“Does she need checking up on? What are you, her dad?” I smirked at him, knowing I was fueling the fire raging inside him right now. “You look creepy sitting here, like you need a black hoodie on to complete your emo stare.”

Paige cleared her throat, and I realized I needed to shut my mouth. I didn’t care if Craig was pissed at me, but I was afraid Paige would be if I didn’t shut up. That was something that I didn’t want.

“Funny, fucking hilarious in fact, Cam,” Craig snarled. His glanced at Paige with an intensity swirling through his eyes that should only be meant for me. A red flag about him went up in my mind. “You done doing whatever it is you were doing with him?” he snapped.

I gritted my teeth together, not caring for his tone. My mouth opened to tell him so, but Paige spoke, so I bit back the words.

“We weren’t doing anything besides talking, but yeah.” The wind blew and her hand reached up to tuck a strand of hair back behind her ear that had fallen free. “Thanks for the place, and I’ll keep you posted on what’s happening with the shop.” She flashed me a small smile, and then hurried to erase the tiny distance between her and Craig, as though she were about to appease him with a kiss.

“No problem.” Either the words came out of my mouth too late or she was walking too fast, but for whatever the reason, Paige was standing at his side when I spoke, so I couldn’t be sure she’d even heard me. She didn’t seem like she had.

I watched Craig tense as she ran a hand along his face. I didn’t like the attitude he was giving her. Taking in a deep breath, I crammed my hands in my pockets, wondering what I should do. Should I say something to her? Should I wait to leave until I saw her climb in her car? I strained my ears to hear what he was saying to her, but couldn’t make out the words. They were too low and mumbled. All I could see was his face and how pissed off he seemed to be with her.

I’d never known Craig to be a controlling ass, but I could see where that persona would fit him perfectly. Paige, on the other hand, didn’t seem fragile and tortured enough to take that kind of shit from anyone, but then I remembered Eva and that one boyfriend she’d had. Doubt crept through me, choking me from the inside.

Paige said something in response to whatever he’d just said, her hands moving wildly as she spoke. They were arguing. A smile touched the corners of my lips, and I turned to walk away.

Nope, Paige wasn’t the type to take that shit, and Craig might hang himself with her right now, without me having to do a single thing to split them up.

PAIGE

I knew the second I saw Craig leaning against my car things were going to get crazy. Why had I lied to him? That had been so stupid! I should have told Cameron I was meeting with Craig after work so he could talk to me about shop stuff then in front of Craig. Nope, instead, I’d created this mess and now I had to deal with the consequences.

“I wasn’t hanging out with him, not really,” I snapped. My heart was pounding in my throat. I hated arguing as much as I hated seeing the look in Craig’s eyes directed toward me right now.

“Then what the hell do you call that?” He motioned to where Cameron and I had just stood. “I specifically told you not to hang around him anymore, Paige. How many more times do I have to say it to get it through your thick skull? Are you fucking inept or something?” His words were cold and harsh. I felt as though I were a child being scolded for doing something I’d been told not to again. How did he have the power to make me feel so small? And when had I given it to him?

“I know. I’m sorry. He had some news about something, and I figured I’d talk with him real quick and then head home, just like I’d told you I planned to.”

“News about what?”

“The clothing shop I plan to open.” I hesitated, trying to word what I needed to say next right, so it wouldn’t enrage him further, but it wasn’t possible. He was going to hate what Cameron had done for me regardless. “He paid the deposit on a shop for me over in the Westhills Plaza.” I couldn’t meet his eyes when I said the words. Silence crafted between us, thick and heavy with all the tension emanating off Craig.

“He. Did. What.” His tone was sharp. It made me want to take a step back and sent tingles of adrenaline through my body. “Why the fuck would he think something like that was okay to do? If you needed money, why didn’t you come to me? Better yet, why the hell didn’t
I
know you needed money and he did?”