Bound Together (6 page)

Wide eyed and shocked I
walked to the window, $10 bill in hand and watched him as he walked
down the street. Once he was out of sight I turned around and
leaned against the counter. I shook my head and massaged my
temple.
Get a grip girl
. What the hell had just happened? I’d gone from absolutely
outraged one moment to intensely aroused in a matter of
seconds.

He was so infuriatingly
frustrating. So then why the hell couldn’t I stop thinking about
his touch?! My heart was pounding and I could hear my breathing
quickening as I thought about it all. I needed some air. I ran to
the back of the shop and opened the door. The cool air washed over
me as I tried to calm my racing pulse. I darted my eyes over to the
clock next to the doorframe. 11:30. Only thirty more minutes and I
was going home. Thank god. I didn’t think my heart or my nerves
could take one more encounter like that one. And yet, deep down, I
really hoped it would happen again. Soon.

Chapter 6

You Spin Me Right Round
Baby

I couldn’t get what
happened that morning out of my mind. How could that one small
connection of our fingers make me feel so alive? The electricity
I’d felt was still pulsing through my veins as I walked back to the
dorm. This was insane. I hardly knew him and what I did know of
him, I certainly didn’t like. He was rude, cocky, arrogant and
insensitive and as if that wasn’t enough, he was a total dickweed
too. So
why
couldn’t I stop thinking about him?!

As soon as my dorm was in
sight, I practically ran to my room. I needed some space. I
had
to forget the whole
thing.

Amy was sitting on her bed
with her laptop in front of her. I closed the door behind me and
leaned against it. Letting my head fall back and closing my eyes, I
let out a long sigh. When I finally opened them to peek over at
her, she was watching me with a questioning look on her face.
Great, I was going to have to relive it all over again.

Leaning her head to one
side she eyed me with concern. “You ok honey? You don’t look so
hot.”

I walked over to my bed
and collapsed onto it. I flung my forearm over my eyes. This was
exhausting. “He came into the shop again today. I tried to be
polite. He decided to be an ass.”

I exhaled loudly and sat up with my legs
hanging over the edge of the bed. “Anyway, we got into it in the
middle of the shop and I told him off. And not quietly either.” I
stared at my feet and then sheepishly raised my head to look at
her.

Amy was staring at me wide eyed with her
hand over her mouth.

“I tried to be
professional so I apologized for my behavior and tried to start
again. The jerk laughed in my face! We did a little more to and fro
and then he finally ordered his coffee. When I asked him to pay, he
seemed confused. It was like he’d never been asked to use cash to
purchase goods or something. When he finally handed me the money,
our hands touched and…” I swallowed hard and took two deep calming
breaths. “It was like electricity Amy. My heart was pounding and my
pulse was racing. His scent was amazing and it was lingering for
what seemed like forever. I can still remember the smell even now.
I can’t stop thinking about it. When he winked at me I swear I felt
my panties get looser!” Just thinking about it again was making my
blood warm. My cheeks were flushed and I could feel the heat
radiating from my skin.

Amy stood up and sat next
to me on the bed. She put one arm around me and rested her head on
my shoulder. “Well I’d say you’ve had a hell of a week. First you
crash into Oliver, who is so into you by the way; we’ll get to that
in a minute. Then, you almost break some guy’s nose at work. And to
top it off you go and fight with him and he gets you all hot under
the collar. Damn girl. What the hell do you do to these guys?
Oliver was practically undressing you with his eyes last night. The
entire time we were on that stage he could not take them off you.
It didn’t change once we sat back down. And I saw the way you were
smiling at him. His eyes, when he bit his lip, were practically
begging you to sink
your
teeth into it for him! And now there’s this guy
at the coffee shop. Whatever it is you’re doing…keep doing it! Have
a little fun. Take a chance. If he comes into the shop again just
play it cool. You know, be aloof, even if you
are
boiling hot on the inside!” She
winked at me and smiled so wide, I could see her perfect white
teeth.

After we got back from the
bar last night, we were both so tired we never had the chance to
discuss the whole Oliver thing. But I’d had the feeling it was
going to come up. I was right. I shrugged and got to my feet. Dad
would be here soon and I needed to get my things. “Thanks Amy. I
think I’ll just play this one by ear.” I gave her a half-hearted
smile and hoped it would make her feel that I was alright. Inside I
was so confused it made my head spin.

Amy was right about Oliver
though. That moment we shared at the bar was more than just
flirting. It was almost suggestive. But could I really read into it
as much as Amy had? Maybe he was just the flirtatious type. Maybe
he had a little black book full of women he’s shared “moments”
with; though he really didn’t seem the type to indulge in
meaningless and casual encounters. At least I hoped he wasn’t.
Those lips did look delicious though. And it
had
crossed my mind to just lean in
and give that bottom lip the tiniest of nibbles. But
unfortunately,
I
wasn’t that kind of girl. After today’s events I wasn’t even
sure what kind of girl I was anymore. How could this guy that I
hardly even knew make me feel so hot? I’d heard that people change
at college but this was ridiculous!

I shook my head and rolled
my eyes at myself. Grabbing an overnight bag from the closet, I
chucked in some cosmetics and a change of clothes.
Grabbing my cell, I realized that dad had sent me
a text.

On my way sweetie. Can’t
wait to see you. I’ll call when I’m outside.

Received: 13.38

From: Daddy

Typing a simple
‘
Ok
’
in reply, I hit send. I was just
about to slide the phone into my front pocket when it chimed in my
hand.

It was another text but I
didn’t recognize the number. I opened the message, curious to find
out who had acquired my digits without my
knowledge
.

Hello Layla. Sorry to
disturb you but I thought I would let you know that the bill for my
expensive Armani shirt is $275 exactly. I’ll be by the shop on
Monday. You can pay cash or give me a check. Have an enjoyable
weekend. Jared

Received: 13.42

From: Unknown

“What!” Amy jumped
slightly and stared at me. I was gripping the phone so tightly in
my hand I thought it might shatter into a thousand pieces. “That
asshat! Just look at this!” I handed her the phone and began pacing
around the room. “How the hell did he even get my number? Is he
serious? $275 for a dry cleaning bill? He’s got some
nerve!”

Amy shook her head in
disbelief. Her jaw had dropped and she appeared to be as shocked as
I was. And what the hell was with that smiley face at the end? Like
that made it all ok. I could almost imagine that stupid smirk on
his smug face as he sent it. What a jackass!

I was furious. My whole
body was shaking with the rage I felt building inside me. My fists
were clenched at my sides and my teeth were clenched so hard that I
may have cracked the enamel.
He really was
dicking with me now
. Asshole.
Granted he was a gorgeous, sexy and oh so sweet
smelling asshole. But an asshole none the less. I crashed onto my
bed and tried to snap out of my bad mood before dad arrived. Amy
squealed as the phone rang in her hand. I jumped up and took it
from her.

“Hey sweetie I’m
downstairs.”

Too late, he was already here.

Chapter
7

Mel, Dinner And
Daddy

I climbed into the car,
slinging my overnight bag onto the back seat. I gave dad my
sweetest smile and leaned over to kiss him on the cheek. His
enormous grin was reaching all the way from ear to ear. He’d missed
me. His eyes danced as he told me how he couldn’t wait to take me
out for dinner and hear all about my first week. Thank goodness. He
was so distracted by all the plans he was making for our weekend
that he never noticed the bad mood I was still in. I leaned back in
my seat and we set off for home. I couldn’t wait to be back where I
was safe from all the drama that the week had brought.

The drive home felt like it
took forever. I was still trying to get my head around everything
that had happened that morning. I would have to talk to Mel about
it all. She was my best friend and knew me better than anyone in
the whole world. She was sure to have some insight or advice on the
week’s events. We turned onto our street and I saw our
house.
Home
. I
felt my whole body relax as I let out a satisfied sigh. It was good
to be back.

We pulled into the
driveway and dad turned to me. “It’s good to have you home kiddo.”
I beamed at him. A feeling of pure contentment ran through me.
“It’s good to be home dad.”

As I got out of the car I
scrutinized the exterior of the house. The porch swing had a new
coat of paint and the once broken shutter on the window had been
fixed. The lawn was cut and there were some flowers freshly planted
around the edge. Dad had clearly been busy.

I was just about to follow
dad into the house when I was ambushed from behind. I fell to the
ground with a hard thud and turned over to find Mel, her arms
wrapped tightly around me and her head buried in my chest. I
laughed breathlessly and tried to push her off but she just gripped
me tighter. Giving up, I lay back on the grass and rested my hands
underneath my head. “Hey Mel. How’ve you been?”

I watched her in amusement
as she crawled backwards off me. Rising to her feet she began
brushing herself off. Giving me a shrug she put on the best
performance of indifference that she could manage.
“Oh you know. Chilling, shopping, and perfecting
my sneak attack. Same old shit.”

I laughed and clambered to
my feet. Brushing off my own clothes, I smiled at her. She was
grinning at me like she hadn’t seen me in a year. Gripping my
shoulders she pulled me to her for a hug. “I missed you so much
Layla. How dare you leave me to go be a big shot California State
student! I hardly spoke to you all week. Where the hell have you
been?” She finally released me and
it was
my turn to shrug at her
.

“It’s a long story. Wanna
come in for a snack? I’m starving.” She nodded and followed me into
the house.

Sitting in my room, I
filled her in on the events of the past week. I told her
everything. Meeting Oliver, Jared, Amy, getting a job at
Lorraine’s, fighting with Jared and finally the text he’d sent me.
When I told her about my performance at Benny’s Bar she applauded
me and laughed. When I was finally finished I let out an
exasperated sigh.

“Well one thing’s for sure
Lay, you have two guys that want into your panties.”

Was she serious? I could
understand her assumptions about Oliver, but Jared? She must have
seen the confusion on my face. “Layla don’t be so naïve. He’s
pulling your pigtails! If we were in high school he’d be calling
you names and pretending he didn’t like you. But we’re not in high
school. So he’s acting like an ass to get that reaction out of you
that, apparently, you are more than willing to give him. I bet he
likes his women with a little fire in them. And it’s obvious you
like him too.”

My mouth fell open and I
almost choked on my own breath. “I do not like him! I hate him. I
told you what he said to me. How he treated me with utter contempt.
I even showed you the text he sent me. How the hell can you think I
like him? Yes, he’s hot and yes, this morning at the coffee shop I
felt something between us. But I’m a hot blooded woman. A guy gets
that close to me and my body reacts. It’s a primal instinct. I do
not like him.”

Mel shook her head and
laughed. “Oh Layla. Thou doth protest too much. Plus if you really
didn’t like him and he really irritated you so much, how would you
explain your heated reaction to him whenever he’s around? Ok so he
says things to grind your gears, but if you really didn’t care then
it really wouldn’t bother you. Would it? But, whatever you say
sweetie, I believe you. So what did you say to him after he texted
you?” She sat back on the bed and stared at me, waiting for my
answer. She was giving me a knowing look. She knew damn well that I
hadn’t replied.

“Well. Actually I decided
not to reply. I won’t get drawn into his little game. I will simply
discuss it with him on Monday.” Mel leaned over and rolled her eyes
at me “Oh come on Layla. We both know you won’t last that long.” I
pushed her aside, grabbed a pillow and hit her with it. Sniggering
like children we fell back onto the bed. I turned to her and stuck
my tongue out but she simply shrugged. “I give you till the end of
the day. I’d even bet my best DKNY dress that you’re already
thinking about him now.” She gave me a wicked grin.