Pieces of Me (3 page)

Chapter Three

We
finally get out, and I see that there aren't very many cars parked in front of
the townhouse. I take that as a good sign. Grace walks right in and leads us
straight to the kitchen, which is empty.

She
dumps the bag of ice into the freezer.

“They'll
be outside. They have a little patio area out there.”

I
follow along behind her, trying to squelch the panic I feel rising. I shouldn't
have come. This was entirely too much for my first night here. I should have
taken smaller steps.

The
roommate, the shopping, the general socializing I had done today, that was
enough.

This?

This
was way too much for me to handle.

But
I was here, and there was no way out without looking like a freak.

The
rising sound of voices can be heard as we get closer to the back of the
townhouse. Loud boisterous male voices.

Maybe
looking like a freak would be worth it.

Grace
pushes open the back door.

“Uh-oh!”
I hear someone say loudly. “Trouble’s here. There goes fun Grant.”

“Shut
up asshole.” Grace laughs. “And behave. I brought my new roommate with me, so
be nice. Or as close as you can be.”

There
are five guys standing around the porch. One of them I easily pick out as Grace's
brother.

He’s
standing next to the grill, laughing at the antics of the others.

His
hair, just as black as hers, curls down across his forehead, the tips of his
ears, and dances along the top of his shirt. He’s tall, standing what has to be
almost a full foot above Grace, with broad shoulders that taper down into a
trim waist. This all sits on long legs, the strength of which is evident under
the khaki cargo shorts he wears.

He
topped the shorts with a black shirt, stretched tight across muscles that bulge
and shift in his chest and arms as he moves. He has incredibly gorgeous navy
blue eyes, framed by thick black lashes, and he is, by far, the most gorgeous
specimen of male I have ever seen.

I
force myself to look away from him when Grace calls my name.

“Delaney,
this is Robby, Grant, and Todd. And those two assholes are my brothers Cole and
Holden.”

I
watch as she nods her head to each one in turn. I never would have pegged
Holden as her brother. In every way that Grace and Cole were dark, he was light.
With soft blond hair he keeps short and soft shimmery green eyes. He is every
bit as tall as Cole and has the same muscular build that screams of hours spent
in the gym. He wears a pair of loose jeans and a red shirt and is the first to
smile and step forward to greet me.

“Hey,
Delaney, it’s nice to meet you. Though I'm sorry to hear you got stuck with
Grace as a roommate. I've lived with her before. It's rough.”

“Hey!”
Grace exclaims. “Don't fill her head with lies. I am a perfect roommate.”

“You
snore.” Cole tosses out the words from behind me. His voice is soft and low and
seeps through my skin.

“I
do not!”

“Oh,
honey, yes you do.” Grant says with a laugh. He reaches out and grabs her hand,
pulling her against him, brushing a light kiss across her mouth.

Holden
glowers at them both, but even I can tell it’s halfhearted.

“How
the hell would you know, Grant?” he asks, raising one eye brow. Grant just
smiles and shakes his head.

Grace
shoots her brother a look. “Don't be an ass.”

“So,
Delaney, where you from?” Robby asks.

“Oregon.”
Grace puts in for me before I can answer. “We went shopping this afternoon, and
worked up an appetite. Robby left us something to eat didn't he?”

“Cole
just put a couple burgers on for y'all right before you got here so they'd be
safe.”

Grant
is tall and lean, and honestly looks like he should be working a runway
somewhere. His face looks like it was etched from marble, and his eyes are the
richest color of brown I've ever seen. He has light brown hair, scattered
messily around his face. The two of them look beautiful standing together.

“Where's
Ally?” Grace directs the question to Holden. “I thought she was coming
tonight.”

“She
got caught at work, she should be here soon. I think Robby's flavor of the week
is stopping by soon too.”

Robby
makes a face. “Yeah, can we not call her that to her face when she gets here?
She might take offense.”

“Ya
think?” Grace asked dryly. She looks to me. “Robby here is a bit of a male
slut.”

“I
can't help it that the ladies love me,” Robby inserts.

“I
think he should make them all wear name tags so we don't accidentally call them
the wrong name.” Grace continues as if Robby hasn't spoken at all. “Ally is
Holden's girlfriend. I bet you he knows if she snores or not.”

I
can't help but laugh softly at the petulance in her tone. Holden sticks his
tongue out at her in return before taking a big bite of the burger off his
plate.

In
the past, when I’ve been forced into situations I find uncomfortable I’ve
always had to concentrate on making myself relax. I use a process I learned a
few years ago from research I did online. I focus on each part of my body in
turn, from the top down, and imagine each one of them softening until they
really do and the last of the tension leaves my body.

Tonight,
I find that, while I may not be ready to jump right in, I do not have to force
myself to relax. I find comfort in knowing that nobody here has any knowledge
of my before. It makes it easier for me to pretend, even for a moment, that
there is no reason my before should dictate my now.

Conversation
flows all around me, but I don't make an attempt to join in. For me, for
tonight, just allowing myself to be here is enough. I'm surrounded by a group
of people who don't know the old me, the one I left in Oregon. There's no hint
of scandal, no tint of shame as I stand here. It's the start of everything I
ever wanted.

“Hey,
brat, your burger is ready.” Cole’s deep voice comes from behind me.

I
had studiously not been looking at him, as I was afraid once I did I wouldn't
be able to stop. I seriously had never seen anyone as gorgeous as he was. Just
standing in front of him, without even looking at him I had butterflies in my
stomach.

Grace
rolls her eyes as she moves away from Grant and over to the grill, and the tiny
table of food situated next to it.

“What
do you want on your burger?” All of a sudden Cole is standing next to me, close
enough that I can feel the warmth of his body.

“Oh,
um,” I stare at him blankly for a moment, trying to force the words out of my
suddenly dust dry mouth. “Just ketchup please.”

“That's
it? You want some chips too?”

He
slathers ketchup on a bun and drops a hamburger on top. He sets it on a Styrofoam
plate and then adds some chips.

“You
didn't fix my burger for me.” Grace whines as she makes her own plate.

“You
aren't the sexy new girl,” Cole says.

“I'm
your sister.”

“Exactly.”

I
feel my face turn about six different shades of red as everyone laughs.

How
am I supposed to respond to that?

Before
I can think of anything even remotely coherent to say, Cole has moved to stand
directly in front of me.

Good
Lord, his eyes are captivating.

“We
have beer in the fridge inside the house if you want.”

I
blink to force myself to focus. “Oh, um, bottled water would be fine.”

His
smile hasn't left his face and it only makes him more appealing. “Come on; let’s
go get you a bottle of water.”

I
sneak a look to Grace, who is once again standing next to Grant, laughing at
something Holden is telling them. She catches my gaze and I nod my head towards
the house to indicate that I am heading inside. She just smiles and nods her
head in return.

Wiping
my damp hands on my jeans I follow Cole inside. He leads me through the
kitchen, dropping the plate he'd made for me on a small table just off the
kitchen.

“Have
a seat,” he says as he opens the fridge and grabs two bottles of water before
sliding into one of the chairs across from me. He slides one bottle of water
over to me, and then opens the other for himself.

“So
you're from Oregon?”

I
nod my head. “Yes.” I take a small bite of the burger, chewing slowly. “A
relatively small town in Northern Oregon called Tylaya.”

“That's
pretty cool. I've never met anyone from Oregon. What made you chose CMU?”

I
swallow another bite of burger and pick up a chip. “I’ve always wanted to go to
the East Coast, now seemed like a good a time as any.”

“Well,
Oregon’s loss is our gain.” He reaches over and grabs a chip off my plate
before leaning back in his chair. I wonder briefly what he means, but I decide
not to question it tonight. Tonight I'm conquering fears, one battle at a time.

“Grace
said you're a junior this year.” I’m proud of myself for coming up with a
logical question to ask him, even if it is a lame one.

Honestly, I'm proud of myself for being coherent at all as he watches me eat in
the tiny dining area.

“Yeah,
I'm studying business. What about you? What are you planning to study?”

“History.”

“Really?”
His eyebrows shoot up as he speaks. “That's cool. History has never been my
thing. I can never keep all those dates straight.”

“I'm
sure I'd suck at business. Everyone has their strengths.”

He
studies me for a minute while I try not to choke on my food while eating in
front of him.

“I
wouldn't have pegged you for a history buff. You don't fit the image.”

“Oh
yeah? What image is that?”

He
has a dimple that flashes when he laughs. “I think of crusty old men in tweed
jackets with patches on the elbows and a pipe in their mouth. Not sexy
brunette’s with sad blue eyes.”

Before
I can ask him what he means the back door bangs open and Robby and Todd stumble
in laughing. They stop at the fridge to grab a couple bottles of beer and
that's when they notice us at the table.

“Uh-oh,”
Todd says. “We interrupted Cole getting his game on.”

He
swings into the chair next to me, snagging a chip off my plate on the way. Apparently
food isn’t safe around any of them.

“They
call Robby the male slut, but Cole’s the one you really need to look out for.
He can talk a girl out of her panties in like five minutes flat.”

“Jesus,
Todd, shut up.” This comes from Robby, whose leaning against a counter in the
kitchen.

Cole
is just leaning back in his chair, with a half-smile on his face, that one
dimple showing, watching me.

“What?
She'll hear it sooner or later. He may love ’em and leave ‘em, but he always
leaves them happy.” Todd smirks at me. “The girls are lining up for a chance at
Cole.”

“Todd.
Seriously. Shut up.”

“It's
alright,” Cole says. “It's only the truth.” He winks at me. “I do leave them
happy.”

I
feel the heat steal up my cheeks, which only makes Todd laugh harder and Cole
smile wider.

“Look
at that blush! When's the last time you saw a girl blush like that, Cole?”

Todd
leans in closer to me, studying the blush on my cheeks, and I instinctively
lean away from him, but he only leans closer into me which causes me to lean
even further away.

If
this continues, in a couple of seconds I'm going to be flat on my ass on the
floor.

It's
preferable to being that close to Todd though.

My
gaze involuntarily flicks to Cole for just a moment, and I see that the smile
on his face has dropped. He looks to Robby, and something passes silently
between them before Robby steps forward and claps Todd loudly on the back.

“Come
on, buddy. Let’s go outside and wait for Marcy. Maybe she'll bring you a friend,”
Robby says cheerfully.

Todd
smells of beer and stale cigarettes, and the moment Robby guides him away I
take in a deep breath of clean air.

The
smell of alcohol makes me nauseous.

“You
alright?” Cole is studying me, and I do my best to pull all emotion off my face
so he can't see anything I don't want him to. “He's mostly harmless,” he says,
smiling again. “And totally an idiot.”

He's
touching my arm, and the warmth from his fingers and palm spread throughout my
entire body like wildfire. It throws me off and for a moment all I can do is
stare at his hand where it touches my skin.