Enjoying the Chase (57 page)

She shook her head quickly, before turning
to me and kissing my cheek affectionately. “You are the most incredible man I
’
ve ever met, Nate Peters,” she whispered. She
took my hand and gave me a little tug in the direction of the door, while I
just let her lead me along having no clue as to what had just happened.

When the intercom buzzed, Rosie was
still sorting out her clothes and unpacking from the weekend. “Want me to get
it?” I called.

“Yeah, thanks. That
’
ll be DJ and Josh,” she shouted from the bedroom.

I buzzed them up and opened the door,
waiting for them to get there. DJ skipped up the stairs, grinning happily so he
’
d obviously had a nice time.

“Hey, Kid.” I greeted, happy to see him
again.

“Hey, Nate!” he cheered. “Here, I made
these for you and Momma,” he boasted, holding up a little clear bag with two
cupcakes in it.

I laughed at his thoughtfulness. “Thanks,
DJ. Why don
’
t you take those in to
your mom?” I suggested. He nodded and immediately skipped off to the kitchen. I
looked back at Josh
’
s tight jaw
and hard eyes. “Can I have a quick word with you?” I asked, nodding back into
the hallway.

He frowned, and his eyes darted behind me,
probably looking for Rosie to help him or something. Without a word, he sighed
and strutted back into the hallway. After flicking the latch on the door so we
could get back in, I followed him out there, pulling the door closed so Rosie
wouldn
’
t hear anything.

Josh
’
s arms were folded across his chest as he glared at me like the arrogant
asshole that he was, and I wanted nothing more than to punch him in the face. I
gritted my teeth and pushed the angry thoughts away. This was DJ
’
s dad at the end of the day, so I needed to
respect that.

“Did you get the money for DJ
’
s ticket to the show?” I asked curiously.

His body tensed as his eyes narrowed. “If
she
’
s asked you to threaten me or
something then you can just back the hell off. I don
’
t have the fucking money; if I did, I
’
d give it to her! Why is the little bitch getting you involved? This
isn
’
t any of your business; you
’
re just the new boy toy. She
’
ll soon kick you to the curb as soon as she
realises she can do better than a cop,” he growled, sneering and looking me
over like I was something he
’
d
stepped in.

My hands itched with the need to grab him
around the throat and choke the life out of him for calling my girl a bitch,
but I couldn
’
t do that.
Technically, I shouldn
’
t even be
getting involved now; she
’
d
probably kill me if she knew I was doing this.

I gritted my teeth and pulled my wallet out
of my back pocket and counted out fifty bucks, holding it out to him. This was
my plan, and I should stick to it even if he had just disrespected both me and
my girl. I still needed DJ to go on the trip, and I couldn
’
t let the kid down like that. Rosie wouldn
’
t take the money from me, so this was the only other option that I
could see. Sure, I knew this would give him a leg up in the, so called, ‘
competition’
, and if I really wanted to get
ahead then I wouldn
’
t be doing
this now – but the thing was, I liked them both too much to play this game with
him. DJ desperately wanted to see the show, Rosie couldn
’
t pay, she wouldn
’
t
take my money but yet she
’
d take
his, so there was no other choice here.

“What
’
s that for?” he asked, frowning at it and not taking it out of my
hand.

I slapped it against his chest. “Go pay for
the ticket and grow some fucking balls. That
’
s your kid in there that you
’
d be disappointing again. You don
’
t even seem bothered by how upset he
’
d be if he couldn
’
t
go,”
I spat angrily.

“It
’
s just a fucking show, he
’
ll get over it!” he cried.

“It
’
s not about him getting over it, it
’
s about you breaking your promise to your kid and his mother. You
said you
’
d get the money, so go
give her the fucking money. Man up, stop pulling this shit all the time, they
don
’
t deserve it!”

He snorted and shook his head. “So you
’
re gonna let me go in there and give her the
money, and then make me look like a prick when you tell her it
’
s yours. Then you
’
ll look like the good guy, and I look like the freaking waste of
space dad, borrowing from her new boyfriend?” he retorted.

“I
’
m giving you the money to pay for your son, Josh. Just go in there
and pay her for the ticket. I don
’
t
want any glory and I don
’
t care
about the money, I just don
’
t want
to see my girl or her son upset because of it. You don
’
t need to pay me back, just try and keep your promises from now on.
You can
’
t keep letting them both
down like this,” I stated, frowning.

“So, what are you getting out of this?” he
asked, nodding down at the money that was clenched in his fist.

I shrugged. “I get to see Rosie smile when
you give it to her. I get to see her stop worrying about how she
’
s going to tell DJ that he can
’
t go and see Buzz and Woody. That
’
s all I want.” Unable to look at his
distasteful expression any longer, I turned and headed back into the apartment.
Voices from the kitchen caught my attention so I walked in there. DJ was
sitting on the counter, grinning happily as Rosie fussed over him with a huge
smile on her face. “Let
’
s see this
cake then, Kid.” I smiled, leaning on the counter next to him.

DJ grinned and passed me a cupcake with
blue frosting and some sort of silver flakes over the top. It didn
’
t look edible. Forcing a smile, I took a bite.
Surprisingly, it wasn
’
t too bad.
“Wow, you and Nanna Juliet
do
make the best cakes,” I lied, looking at
him with wide eyes.

He smiled proudly as I stuffed in the rest
of the cake, forcing it down where it was a little dry. Behind me, Josh walked
into the kitchen, and Rosie looked at him with a fake smile. They obviously
pretended they had a great relationship in front of DJ.

“Hey, did he behave?” she asked him, poking
DJ in the ribs playfully, making him giggle.

“Good as gold, the same as always,” he
confirmed. His eyes flicked to me before he stepped forward and held the money
out to her. “For the ticket,” he said quietly.

Her eyes widened as she squealed and threw
her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. “Oh God, Josh, thank you!” She
bounced up and down on the spot as she hugged him.

He laughed uncomfortably as he patted her
back awkwardly, looking at me over her shoulder.  “Thank you,” he mouthed
behind her back. I smiled and nodded. Hopefully he
’
d try and stick to it and not disappoint them anymore. It wasn
’
t just the money, it was promising something
and then backing out and leaving someone else to pick up the pieces, and then
not even understanding how important it was to his son.

Rosie pulled away, grinning happily as she
clutched the money to her chest as if it was the most important thing in the
world. She sighed happily. That happy expression on her face was totally worth
it.

“
Well, I
’
d better get going. Thanks for looking after
me for the weekend, DJ,” Josh teased, ruffling up DJ
’
s hair. DJ laughed and pushed him off. “I
’
ll see you in two weeks, and I
’
ll call next weekend too. Maybe Momma might let me take you out to
play ball for a couple of hours? If you
’
re not busy that is…” he trailed off, looking at Rosie hopefully.

She smiled and nodded. “Sure. Call me, and
we
’
ll sort it out.”

“Great. Well I
’
d better get going. See you next time then, Buddy.” He kissed the
top of DJ
’
s head, hugging him
tightly.

“Bye. Daddy.” DJ smiled, hugging him back.

He smiled at Rosie, and she hugged him too,
kissing his cheek. “
Thanks, Josh,
”
she whispered, looking at him tenderly. I gritted my teeth and prayed that this
didn
’
t come back to bite me in the
ass.

Josh nodded awkwardly, his eyes flicking to
me again for a second before going back to her. “No worries. I
’
ll call you.” He turned and walked out of the
kitchen without another word.

Yeah, bye, Josh. Asshole.

Rosie grinned and grabbed DJ off the
counter, spinning him in a small circle, making him laugh and grip her
shoulders. “Right then, Baby, bath time and then bed,” she announced, setting
him on his feet.

He skipped out of the kitchen, and she
walked to my side, gripping the collar of my shirt, pulling my face down to
hers. She kissed me softly for a second before pulling away and following her
son, but not before she turned and blew me another kiss at the door. I grinned
proudly. I didn
’
t need any
recognition. That smile and that kiss was totally worth fifty bucks.

Chapter
Thirty

The following two weeks passed quickly.
I was hanging around Rosie and DJ like a bad smell; I literally couldn’t get
enough of their time. The kid seemed to like me more and more each day. We hung
out, laughed, played and joked around, it was fun.

Even though it wasn
’
t his turn to have him, Josh had kept true to his word and had
picked DJ up for a few hours, taking him to the park to play ball the following
weekend after I
’
d given him the
money. Although it was nice to get some alone time with Rosie, deep down I didn
’
t like the fact that Josh was making an
effort. I knew that I
should
like the fact that he was trying to turn
over a new leaf, but part of me wondered how long it would last for, and if he
would hurt them both again in the long run. DJ especially would be hurt if he
suddenly changed and stopped calling him every other night and turning up when
he was supposed to. Rosie had obviously hardened herself to it because they
’
d been apart so long, but the kid would be
crushed. He was definitely enjoying his dad
’
s attention. Another part of me didn
’
t like Josh seeing them at all; the jealous part of me, the
possessive part, just wanted him to crawl under a rock and die. I couldn
’
t stop wondering if maybe he was doing this to
try and win them back, that his tactic for the ‘
competition’
was to be a great dad, clearly that would score him a
few points with Rosie. If that was the reason, the only thing I could do about
it was to be myself and pray that Rosie chose me in the long run and that she
wouldn
’
t be impressed by Josh
’
s pathetic attempts to win her back.

The day of Cameron’s christening also
finally came around. I was driving today, picking up Rosie and DJ, and we were
all travelling there together. The only thing I didn’t like the sound of – I
was also driving her parents.

Because they knew Rosie
’
s parents, Anna and Ashton had invited them
along to the ceremony too. They
’
d
caught the train in from Barstow this morning, and were currently at Rosie
’
s apartment where they would be staying the
night. To say I was terrified of meeting her dad would be a ridiculous
understatement. From what I
’
d
heard, Rosie was a bit of a daddy
’
s
girl, and he was slightly overprotective of her. After what happened with Josh,
I could understand why, but I was hopeful that I
’
d win him around with the old Nate Peters charm. All I needed to
keep in mind was that I was to make no slutty remarks to my girl in front of
them. For me that would be a feat in itself considering it was the first thing
that usually fell out of my mouth around her. Hopefully, I
’
d be able to keep my hormones in check tonight; otherwise there was
no chance of him liking me.

Sitting in my car that I had spent a
painstakingly too many hours cleaning, washing, waxing and vacuuming yesterday
in the hopes that it would help me make a good impression, I fiddled with my
tie and took a few deep breaths. I wasn
’
t prepared for this at all.

By the time I
’
d made the short walk up the front door of her building, my hands
were sweating and I felt slightly sick. Rosie had, of course, assured me that
everything would be fine, that he would give me a hard time, but she was
confident that I would win him over because I was, in her words, incredibly
adorable. The girl still refused to use macho words for me.

I didn
’
t let myself up to her door, like I usually would when I came to
visit. Instead, I pressed the door buzzer and waited for her to answer and buzz
me up. “
Hello?
”

“Hey, it
’
s me,” I replied, closing my eyes, trying to take deep breaths so I
didn
’
t punk out and run to the
car, crying like a little girl.

She didn
’
t say anything, the door just buzzed and the lock clicked, allowing
me to open it. I made my way upstairs, fiddling with my suit jacket nervously.

Remember, no slutty jokes, Nate. Do not
make any slutty jokes!

When Rosie opened the door, my mouth popped
open in shock. She looked incredible in a pale blue dress with a little white
cardigan thing over the top. Her hair had been curled and hung loose, framing
her exquisite face. I raked my eyes down over her body, taking in every
glorious detail from her delicate neck, right down to her stiletto, open-toed,
blue heels that she was wearing. Instantly, my mind was taking off the dress,
imagining her in just the heels.

I dragged my eyes back up to her face,
unsure what was going to come out of my mouth. “Holy shit, you look so
scorching hot that I could jizz in my pants right now.”
Hmm, not quite the
opening I was going for…

Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly
open as her gaze raked over me. I waited for her reply or to scold me with a
‘you
’
re a pervert
’ comment
– but she was just staring at me.

After a couple of seconds, I frowned and
looked down at myself. “What? Did I leave the price tag on or something?”
I questioned.

She blew out a big breath and shook her
head. “God damn, you look good in a suit. Seriously, I just…” she swallowed,
“…yeah, you
’
re wearing that next
time you stay over, okay?”

A predatory smile crept onto my face as I
stepped closer to her. “Oh, I look good in a suit, huh? Maybe we could start
some little office worker fantasy. I can be the boss, and you could be my
secretary wearing those
hot little
glasses of yours. Also, don
’
t forget to wear the fuck me shoes that you have on right now,” I
breathed, my mind already working out the details of the game.

She giggled and turned her leg to the side,
glancing down at her shoes. “These are fuck me shoes?” she asked, trying to
look innocent.

I wrapped my free arm around her waist and
pulled her closer to me. “On you they are,” I confirmed. “On anyone else they
’
re just blue shoes, but you just add that
extra little sparkle to them that makes me want to strip you naked and have you
walk for me in nothing but them.”

Her hands ran across the front of my suit
jacket as she chewed on her lip, looking at me lustfully. “Maybe later,” she
whispered, nodding in agreement.

I sighed dejectedly. “Another night, you
have company tonight.”

She groaned and let her head drop onto my
chest as she obviously remembered her parents were staying the night. “Damn it,
I forgot about that. Did you seriously have to look this good today? We
’
re going into a church and all I
’
m going to be thinking the whole time are
inappropriate thoughts about you. I
’
m seriously going to hell.”

I laughed and kissed the top of her head,
being careful not to mess up her perfectly styled curls. Physically, Rosie and
I were very compatible. For the last two weeks, since the beach party at my
parents
’
place, we
’
d done
a lot
of fooling around. Rosie was definitely a dirty girl at heart. In
the two weeks that I
’
d had her
naked for, I had already memorised every single inch of her skin. I knew she
had exactly twenty-three little freckles on her body. I knew that she was
immensely ticklish on her ribs on the right-hand side. I knew that when I ran
my tongue down the length of her spine she gasped and gripped the bed sheet so
tightly that her knuckles went white. We
’
d done a few little role play games already; the office one would be
new though. Personally, I couldn
’
t
wait.

Reluctantly, I pulled back and brought my
other arm up, holding up the flowers that I bought for her.

She smiled gratefully and smelt them. “Aww,
thank you. They
’re beautiful.
”

“I haven
’
t bought you any for a while. Plus, I thought it would impress your
parents if I bought you flowers. I want to look like the romantic boyfriend
after all,” I explained, grinning sheepishly.

She laughed and slapped the back of her
hand on my chest. “And you were doing so well before you said that,” she
teased, rolling her eyes playfully. She took my hand and nodded back to the
door of her apartment that we were standing outside. “You ready for this?”

I winced and shook my head. “Not yet.” I
tugged on her hand, making her stumble towards me and crash into my chest. I
bent my head and kissed her, relishing in the feel of her lips against mine.
The kiss was totally worth whatever her dad would do to me over the next
twenty-four hours. “Now I
’
m
ready,” I confirmed.

She laughed and walked backwards into the
apartment, smiling at me reassuringly as I pushed the door shut. My heart was
beating so loudly that I wouldn
’
t
be surprised if the whole building could hear it. I couldn
’
t relax as I followed her awkwardly into the lounge where I could
hear voices. 

As we rounded the corner, I forced myself
to smile. The lady was sitting on the sofa had brown hair, pulled up into a
little twist at the back. She looked like Rosie and her sister. DJ was sat next
to her and they were examining a drawing of his, he was explaining what it was,
pointing out bits, while she smiled at it enthusiastically. Rosie
’
s dad was standing there looking at the photos
that I had hung on the wall for her last week. His hands were on his hips. He
wasn
’
t smiling. To say I was
slightly intimidated of this man, would be the understatement of the century.
He had the power to turn Rosie and DJ against me if he wanted to. She wouldn
’
t choose to stand up to her dad for me, and I
wouldn
’
t really want to make her
choose in the first place.

Rosie cleared her throat to get their
attention, and I wanted to clap my hand over her mouth to silence her, just so
I could have precious extra seconds to compose myself. The three faces turned
towards us.

Rosie
’
s mom smiled at me politely. Her dad
’
s eyes raked over me slowly, as if appraising me to see if I was
good enough for his daughter. And DJ, well, DJ jumped up, beaming at me, before
he literally threw himself over the back of the sofa at me so that I had to
catch him before he fell to the floor.

I laughed and lifted him up into my arms as
he hugged me tightly. “Hey, Nate! We
’
re going to a party today!” he sang excitedly.

“Hey, Kid. You all suited and ready to go?”
I asked, playfully tweaking his tie that he was wearing. He looked adorable in
a little fashion shirt with a grey tie, and grey waistcoat over the top.

Rosie
’
s dad snorted and mumbled something under his breath that I didn
’
t even attempt to understand. Rosie smiled and
placed her hand on the small of my back as I settled DJ on my hip, holding him
with my left arm.

“Guys, this is Nate Peters. Nate, this is
my mom, Tracy, and my dad, George.” Rosie waved a hand between us all
introduction.

Smiling, I stepped forward, trying to act
confident.
Surely the fact that DJ is hanging around my neck, will help the
situation?
George looked me over distastefully.
Huh, apparently not…

“Nice to finally meet you. I
’
ve heard a lot about you guys from Rose and
DJ,” I greeted, holding out my hand to him.

He frowned, looking like he didn
’
t want to shake my hand at all, but reluctantly
did it anyway. “You too. Rosie tells us that you
’
re a cop. Kind of a dangerous job, don
’
t you think?” he replied tersely.

Okay, we were straight into the pissing
contest.

“Er… I guess, but I
’
m always careful. I
’
m
actually never really too close to the action or anything,” I explained,
looking down at our hands because he still hadn
’
t relinquished his grip on mine. He was definitely trying to scare
me away; this was obviously his bad cop routine. According to Rosie, I just
needed to push past it.