Say Nothing... (The Speak Series Book 2) (37 page)

"Thank you," I murmur into his chest. "I'm sorry for ruining your night. I hope your friends aren't too upset."

He pulls back meeting my eyes. "You didn't ruin anything. I'm just glad I was there."

He's a good guy, and maybe if I hadn't found the person who owns my heart, I'd give us another chance.

"So am I. Thanks again." I give his cheek a quick kiss and slide into the driver's seat.

"Stay safe." I nod and he waits until the gate pulls up to go back inside.

Letty is sitting on the couch when I get to the apartment.

"Okay, spill it. What the hell happened last night?"

"He's dating Natalie." She gives me a confused look, and it takes her a minute to work it out.

"Wait. What? Psycho stalker is dating your co-worker?" I nod and sag into the couch burying my face into a pillow.

"He cornered me at the bar, Letty. Said he was taking care of her like he took care of me. He was here the other night."

"When?"

"The weekend I was at my parents’. When my sisters got here banging on the door, I woke up in my bed and the house was cleaned up. I don't remember doing any of that. I was drunk off my ass, but you'd think I'd remember if I walked outside to throw out the trash." She shakes her head and grabs her cell phone.

"I'm calling the cops."

"And telling them what? I have no proof. He's set it up perfectly. Ben asked him to check on me. It's not illegal to send someone flowers. I can't prove that he broke in. It'll look like I'm the crazy one. I was there last night, and he was working. He could turn it around on me. "

"What about what he did at the bar?" she says frustrated.

"Besides leaving me a shaken mess? There are no marks, and I have no witnesses. I froze up like an idiot so, as far as anyone is concerned, it probably looked like a guy rubbing up on his girlfriend."

She paces the living room. "How are you not more pissed off?"

"I am. I hate having to look over my damn shoulder all the time," I say frustrated.

"You need to tell Ben. You need to call him and tell him to get his ass home. If you don't, I will. You can't let that psycho get away with this. He's fucking crazy, Ari. I don't think he’s just going to go away."

"I know."

"Where did you stay last night?" I don't want to get into this right now. There's too much to think about, and I need to call Ben before he loses his shit on me too.

"Rudy's," I say getting off the couch to go to my room.

"Rudy who?” she says probably running through everyone she knows. “Wait . . . high school boyfriend Rudy?"

"It’s a long story. I need to call Ben. I'll tell you later."

"I swear I could write a damn Lifetime movie with all the shit going on around here."

"Tell me about it," I mutter.

The look in her eyes was my undoing. It was a mixture of shock and maybe jealousy and I thrived on it. The hope beats deep in my chest. Being that close to her at the bar put her perfectly round ass snugly against the hard ridge of my cock. Maintaining control is becoming impossible.

Natalie is oblivious. She's curved over the edge of her couch as I take her from behind. Her long black hair is fisted in my hand. If I don't see her face, I can imagine it's my sweet girl. I thrust into her, the smell of Ari's sweetness still fresh on my clothes. She whimpers, and I thrust harder wishing it was Ari's cries. My eyes are closed as I shut out the world and imagine my sweet girl. How she would take me and how I would bring her so much pleasure she wouldn't be able to deny me.

"I'm close,” she whispers.

I pick up my pace, the image of those red lips making me lose my resolve. She whimpers my name, and I follow close behind with only one person on my mind.

Ari.

MY DECISION WAS MADE THE
minute I hung up the phone last night. There is no way I could last another six weeks without my girl. I wanted to climb through the damn screen and claim my woman. She looked unbelievable, and the thought of any other motherfucker even looking at her had me seeing red. I couldn't get back to sleep after that call if you paid me, so I've tried to keep myself busy ever since. My muscles are aching from my latest attempt; I took what feels like a ten-mile run around the city. She might still be sleeping, but I'm done waiting. I dial her number and wait for her beautiful face to appear on the screen.

"Hey," she answers with a smile.

Her bare shoulders come into view, her hair is piled high and last night’s makeup is smudged around her eyes.

"Did I wake you?"

"No, I was just getting ready to take a shower."

"Can I watch?" She gives me a shaky smile and looks away from the screen.

"What's the matter, baby?" She looks into the camera and gives me a shrug. Her eyes are glossy, and I know she's holding back tears.

"You can tell me anything, Ari. Talk to me please."

"I need you," she whispers.

I furrow my brows. "You have me."

"Here. With me. I need you." A tear runs down her cheek and she's quick to wipe it away. "I'm sorry if that makes me a selfish bitch, but-"

"I'll work on it. Okay? I'll call Larry and I'll figure it out."

She nods. "I'm just going to take a quick shower. Do you mind if I call you back?"

She looks defeated, and I wish I were there to take that look off her face. We disconnect, and if I hadn't already made the decision, this conversation sealed it.

The rest of our conversations over the weekend seem to go the same way. She's distant and preoccupied. We haven't FaceTimed since Saturday before her shower; she made up some bullshit story about the camera on her phone not working.

It's Monday and I've overslept. My racing thoughts have been making it hard to get to sleep and exhaustion has finally set in. I slept through the alarm, and there's a missed call from Ari. My phone rings as I run around the apartment like a chicken with my head cut off.

"Hey, kid."

"Hey, Larry. Thanks for calling me back."

I left a message for him to give me a call. My hope is that he'll let me come back to the L.A. office without giving me a hard time.

"No problem, what's up? Taylor tells me you're doing a great job, and he's looking forward to having you for the rest of the summer." I put him on speaker so I can finish getting dressed.

"Yeah. That's what I was calling about." I take a deep breath before continuing. "I don't want to stay. I'm thankful for the opportunity. You and Taylor have been very generous with your time and I've learned a lot. It's just, personally, I'm going through some stuff, and I think being home is better for me right now. If possible, I'd like to come back to the L.A. office."

I probably sound like the biggest pussy, but it's the truth without telling him the whole truth. He's quiet for what seems like years.

"I understand, kid. I didn't really give you much of a choice. Thought getting out of here for a while would be good for you. Don't worry, I'll give Taylor a call and we’ll work it out. He's going to want you to at least finish out the week. You okay with that?"

I feel like a hundred-pound weight has lifted off my shoulders.

"Yeah, that's fine. Thanks again, Larry, I appreciate it. I'll talk to you soon. I'm running late, and I don't want to give him an extra reason to be pissed off today."

He laughs. "Yeah, I'm not sure he's going to take it well, but he'll get over it."

"Thanks."

Four days and she'll be back in my arms. The thought puts a smile on my face, and I'm out the door. I send Ari a quick text explaining what happened and promise to call her in the afternoon.

I don't want to look at Ben. It's not his fault I'm mad at the world, so I told him I dropped my phone and the camera stopped working. He knows it's bullshit; the cover he bought me could probably stop a bullet, but he hasn't argued. Which, in turn, has only pissed me off more. He's so damn agreeable lately when all I want is someone to fight with. My heart is racing out of my chest as I run out my aggression on the treadmill. Letty is on the elliptical next to me, and I can see her worried glances in my peripheral. We missed our nightly call—he texted that he overslept—and I feel evil for being relieved. It's exhausting to pretend everything is okay.