Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection) (9 page)

I wet my lips, giving him the most
flirtatious smile I could muster, even though I didn’t think it would really
work on him in the first place. “Please, could I have an application?” I
repeated sweetly. He let out a loud huff before opening a folder and yanking
out a paper to shove at me.

“RJ, are you giving someone trouble
again?” A tall, tan man, probably in his thirties, came walking out of the
back, patting RJ on the back and giving me a shockingly white smile. RJ
muttered something before moving farther down to put glasses away, all while
glaring at me.

“Sorry, he likes to be the hottest
thing in here, so he tends to be a little rude when girls like you come in,” he
quietly told me as he handed me a pen. “My name’s Brian, I’m the manager here. We
really are looking for waitresses, in fact, I’m sort of desperate. What’s your
availability?”

“Well, I have classes during the
day, so mainly at night time. I’m really looking to work as many hours as
possible. I really need the money.”

“Uh-huh,” he said, not convinced as
he studied me just like RJ had done. Okay, just because my clothes were
designer did not mean I was rolling around in the dough, at least not anymore.
I finished filling out the application and he quickly looked it over, before
looking up. “Think you can come in for training Thursday night? If I could have
you ready for the weekend that would be excellent.”

“I don’t think that would be a problem
at all.” I gave him a wide smile, mentally patting myself on the back for
scoring my first job ever so easily.

“See you then, Della.”

I practically skipped to the bus
stop in glee after leaving Shorty’s. Sure, I was going to be kept pretty busy
with school, studying, and now a job, but I think I could handle it.

“Well, don’t you look happy? I’m
sure it doesn’t have anything to do with going to visit
my
boyfriend.” I
stopped abruptly when I heard that icy tone directed at me and turned to see
Mariah glaring at me with both hands placed on her hips.

“Um…well…I just-”

“Don’t try to deny it. I know all
about your little ‘hang out session’ tonight. Nash might be excited that you’re
back in town, but he still tells me everything.” I was just about to argue that
he didn’t mention who he was meeting up with the other night, but I decided to
keep my lips sealed. No need to get Nash in trouble for no reason.

“You’re more than welcome to come.
I was actually just heading over that way.” She looked like she was really considering
just that, before she sharply shook her head.

“I think I’ll pass, but trust me,
if I wanted to be there, I would, I don’t need an invitation from
you.
So how much catching up have you and Nash done? Has he learned about your dirty
little secret yet?”

My stomach rolled at her words, and
by the evil smile she was giving me I knew, I just knew that somehow she had
found out about my past. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, I know all about you, Della,”
she replied leaning in to whisper in my ear. “And I don’t think Nash would like
how much you’ve really changed. You do know about his little sis getting
knocked up when she was sixteen, right? It was a little bit of a family secret,
but Nash never acted that way. When she wanted to get an abortion, Nash did everything
in his power to make her change her mind and she did. He’s now a proud uncle,”
she added in a spiteful tone, leading me to believe she wasn’t exactly happy
about having to share Nash’s attention.

“Look, Mariah, I don’t know what
you think you know but it’s really none of your business. Everyone makes
mistakes, and unfortunately I have a few of those. I don’t see why you had to
go and stick your nose in my business. That really just makes you a little
pathetic.”

The bus pulled up and I moved to
get on, but she stopped me, pulling on my elbow so I couldn’t go any further.
“I know everything, Della. Social media is a real bitch, you know? And I’m
making it my business because you just had to involve yourself with my
boyfriend. If you try anything with him, I guess I’ll just have to tell him
what a bad, bad girl his perfect Della is. We wouldn’t want that to happen,
would we?”

I didn’t reply, just yanked my arm
out of her claws and jumped onto the bus before it took off. I watched her
stand there through the window until the bus started up, and she disappeared
out of sight. I wasn’t proud of what I had done in the past and now knowing
about Nash’s stance, I’m sure he wouldn’t be so welcoming if he found out, but
I wasn’t about to let Mariah spill my story to him. Sooner or later, I would
have to relive my past whether I wanted to or not.

I got off at the stop Nash had
instructed me to. It was an older neighborhood with giant houses that looked to
be occupied by mostly fraternities. I checked the address again when I reached
a large brick house with a small front porch. The outside was littered with
beer cans and food wrappers and it made me cringe at the thought of the inside.

Before I could even knock on the
door, it was whipped open, and Nash came out in nothing but a pair of blue
athletic shorts, pulling me into a hug. I let myself get lost in his comforting
soapy scent for just a few seconds before I pulled away, placing my hands
against his hard chest to push back. That was a mistake because the contact just
made me tingly all over, but Nash didn’t seem to even notice.

“I’m glad you could make it, Della.
Let me show you around.” I walked cautiously behind him as he tugged on my
hand, pulling me through a wide space that made up the living room and kitchen.
Well, I guess that’s what you could call it.

There was a large flat screen
centered above a fireplace, with at least three different gaming systems set
out on the mantle. Two overstuffed and overused chairs were set right in front
of the TV and right behind it was a pool table and a ping-pong table.

A pin ball machine stuffed in the
corner completed the living room/ game room and then he pulled me into the
kitchen which about made me hurl. Dirty dishes were everywhere, the counter was
pretty much nonexistent and something resembling spaghetti sat in a pot on top
of the stove.

“Sorry,” he said sheepishly.
“Really, I clean up after myself, but Nick and Steve tend to be a little messy.
C’mon, I’ll show you my room just to prove it.” He led me up a winding staircase,
pushing open the door at the end of the hallway to reveal a room that
surprisingly was clean, I mean like overly clean.

Nothing was out of place and it
looked like he even dusted around the picture frames that were organized on his
shelves. I walked over, looking at each one, most of which contained him and
Mariah. I noticed a little girl with him and a girl, who looked like his
younger sister, Serena.

Serena had never really hung out
with Nash and me much when we were younger. She was a little too girly for
playing in the mud or trying to catch tadpoles; instead she would stay inside
playing with dolls. It was weird to see her all grown up and with a kid.

I turned around, finding Nash
sprawled out on his bed, one hand resting on his flat, tan stomach and the
other tucked behind his head as he watched me with a grin. I stood there
awkwardly until he patted the empty spot next to him, and I hesitantly sat
down, closest to the edge as possible.

“What’s the matter, Della? You look
extremely nervous. I know this is a different room, but don’t you remember we
used to have sleepovers all the time? Nothing to be nervous about, I promise I
won’t bite.” 

I kicked off my shoes, easing
myself in next to him. “I know, Nash, but we’re a little bit older now. You
have a girlfriend, and I just don’t want things to be awkward. Things change,
you know?”

“Sorry, Della. I guess I never
thought of it that way, I just see you as my best friend.” He reached over to
pat my arm and I felt my stomach drop just a little. All he saw me as was his
best friend? I guess I should feel better that he didn’t have any feelings for
me so I didn’t have to worry about Mariah, but the years we had spent apart
seemed to change both of us.

I was now looking at Nash in a
different light; if he weren’t taken I would practically be head over heels in
love with him by now. I shook my head clearing those kinds of thoughts. “So
weren’t you going to challenge me to a game of pool or something? I think you
really need a good ass kicking.” He jumped up quickly, rolling over my body to
stand up and tug me along with him. “How could I forget?”

I followed him down stairs where
two boys were now occupying the chairs in the living room. “Hey guys, this is
Della. Della, Nick and Steve. They’re the causes for the mess around here.” He
picked up a pool stick, handing it to me before pulling out the rack to set the
balls up.

“This is the famous Della?” The one
Nash had pointed out as Nick, stood up, studying me with his eyes. “No wonder
you talked about her all the time. I wish I had grown up with someone like
you.” He gave me a big wink as he grabbed a pool stick. “How ‘bout we play
against you?”

I shrugged my shoulders even though
Nash was giving him some kind of look that I couldn’t quite figure out. “Sure,
just be prepared to get your ass kicked.” The guys let me break, and the balls
only scattered slightly. I was a little rusty since the last time I had played
had probably been with Nash.

“Think we should have done a
practice game first,” Nash whispered in my ear as I leaned over the table,
looking for my shot. I jumped at the warmth of his breath that tickled my ear,
which only caused me to run into him, our bodies colliding.

“Here, let me help.” He positioned
himself behind me, wrapping one arm around my waist and the other around to
help me position the stick. My hands were shaky as his covered mine at the
closeness of our bodies, but somehow I managed to actually hit a ball this time
with his guidance and made it into one of the pockets.

“There you go, just needed some of
my magic touch to get you all straightened out.” He pulled away, our bodies losing
contact, and I instantly missed it. I stood up straight and looked up only to
find Nick and Steve staring at me with a look of shock on both of their faces.
We managed to finish out the rest of the game without any more help from Nash
but ended up getting beat in the end.

“Hey, Della since we won and all, I
think you owe me something.” Nick, the flirtier of the two, commented as I was
gathering up my stuff to leave.

“Oh, really?” I replied casually,
even though I really didn’t care that he thought I owed him something. He
reminded me of the guys I went to high school with, and those were definitely
the kind to avoid.

“Yeah, I could take you out tomorrow
night. Best date of your life.”

“That is not going to happen,” Nash
interrupted, putting his hand at the small of my back to guide me towards the
front door. “Della all ready has plans with me, and even if she didn’t, she’s
too good for you.”

He opened the door for me, and I
looked back at Nick who had a dumbfounded expression on his face. “Dude, not
cool.”

I laughed as I followed Nash out to
the driveway, and he helped me into his truck. “What was that all about? I
didn’t know we had any plans tomorrow night.”

“Well we do, that is, if you want.
Plus, you need to stay away from guys like Nick. Trust me, he has a different girl
over almost every night. I have to hear that shit all the time.” His hand
landed on my thigh as he backed out of the driveway and turned down the road
back towards the dorms. It remained there the short drive back and even when he
pulled the truck into park outside of my dorm I had directed him to.

“So if I was looking for a guy and
since you think all of them are too big of assholes for me, who exactly would
you recommend,” I asked through the darkness, the glint of the overhead light
reflecting off of his glimmering eyes as he stared back at me.

“Della…” All he said was my name
before he slid across the seat, bringing one hand up to cup my chin as he
stared back into my eyes. “I don’t want to see you with any of those guys,
because I wish it was me.”

 I sucked in a deep breath at his
admission, never breaking the intense stare he was giving me. I could tell he
was going to kiss me and I did nothing to stop it. Kissing Nash was like
nothing I had ever experienced before. It was like time stopped the moment he
gently touched his lips to mine. Nothing else mattered except for the two of
us.

I threaded my hands around the back
of his neck, pulling him closer as he gently pried my mouth open, and I sighed
when our tongues met. It was like this explosion of stars when it happened, and
I reveled in the sweet taste of him as we explored each other’s mouth. He
grabbed my waist with both hands, never breaking our kiss, as he pulled me on top
of him to straddle him. Our groans filled the small cab of the truck and when I
felt a hardness beneath me, I began to rock back and forth slowly.

“Whoa.” We both pulled back
abruptly when we realized exactly what was happening. All that was separating
us from going any further was the thin leggings I had on and Nash’s athletic
shorts. “Nash, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get so carried away.”

“No, Della. It’s not your fault,
its mine. That shouldn’t have happened.” His hands gripped my waist again but
this time to set me back down gingerly onto the passenger seat. I instantly
missed the feel of his body beneath mine. “And It won’t happen ever again,” he
said, staring straight ahead out the front window.

“Okay,” I replied quietly, feeling
rejected, even though I knew I shouldn’t feel that way. What we had done was
wrong. Nash had a girlfriend and although I thought she was a royal B, did not
mean it was all right for Nash and me to mess around behind her back.