Fame (13 page)

With one last look behind her, she walked into his house. He didn’t like that she was so skittish about trusting him. Granted, she literally just met him, but he was friends with Willow; he wasn’t some kind of creeper who lured women in with the promise of a nice brunch. Not his style.
 

“Wow, your place is nice,” Maelani said, as she looked around.
 

“Thank you,” Cruz responded, as he walked behind her, taking in the glorious sight of her ass.
 

She smiled over her shoulder and took in all the pictures of him and the band that lined his hallway walls.
 

“You play the guitar?”

“Yup, best guitarist you’ll ever meet.”

“I’m sure of it,” she smiled again at him, and then returned to the pictures. Cruz could feel her instantly start to warm up to him, and he liked it.
 

“Can I take your purse?”

“Oh, I guess,” she handed it to him, and he hung it up in the coat closet off of the hallway.
 

As they continued to walk down the hallway, Cruz asked, “So, how do you know Willow?”

“Foster sister. We were in a house together, the last house for both of us, actually. I left when I was seventeen to be with my boyfriend.”

For some reason, a flash of disappointment washed over Cruz’s body as he thought about Maelani being attached to someone. He quickly shook off that feeling, though, because he must have momentarily lost his mind. He didn’t even know the girl.
 

“Cool, you still with your boyfriend?” Why did he just ask that?

She looked up at him and shook her head, no. “He didn’t turn out to be the person I thought he was.” She shrugged her shoulders and said, “You live and you learn.” She tried to act flippant about her comment, but Cruz could see right through her, because her eyes conveyed pain, damage. There was more to the story that she wasn’t telling.
 

“I guess so,” Cruz responded awkwardly, not really good with small talk. “Do you want to make a plate of food? I have a lot of food for three people, well two right now.”

“Sure, I’m starving.”

She was cute, Cruz couldn’t help but think, as he guided her to the kitchen where he had everything displayed in dishes on the counter. He wasn’t a heathen when it came to brunch, so he at least used serving ware, but that was the extent of his fanciness.
 

“Wow, I should have worn my stretchy pants,” Maelani said, as she walked around the island of Cruz’s kitchen and took in all the food Cruz had a chef put together, yeah, he didn’t cook. “Did you make all of this?”

Cruz laughed and said, “It boosts my ego that you think I can cook so well.”

“I take that as a no.”

“No,” he shook his head. “But I taste tested some things, if that counts for anything.”

“Testing for poison?” she asked, as she picked up a strawberry and tossed it in her mouth.
 

He watched as her tongue licked the corner of her lips as she reveled in the taste of the strawberry; it was almost erotic to watch the girl take down a strawberry. Was he really that desperate for sex that someone eating a strawberry was turning him on?

He cleared his throat and shifted his position. “Yeah, poison.”

“Did you find any?” she asked, while she sucked the strawberry juice off of her fingers.
 

The way her perfectly pink lips sucked on her fingers and floated in and out of her mouth had him starting to sweat with need. Yup, he was desperate.
 

“Um, what’s that?” he asked, trying to get his head away from dirty thoughts of the girl.
 

“Poison, did you find any?”

“Oh, um, no,” Cruz replied like an idiot. He was losing his cool and fast.
 

She approached him and looked up at him through her eyelashes, those long black eyelashes that framed her eyes ever so perfectly.
 

“You seem distracted; are you worried about Willow?”

She was too close; he could smell the sweet scent of her perfume coming off of her body. Her hair swayed back and forth as she walked and studied him, and the shirt that was clinging to her chest was begging to be ripped off. Cruz wanted to see what was underneath, desperately.
 

“I am distracted,” he said, while looking her up and down.
 

Maelani understood his comment and a blush crept over her face as she stepped away. She was about to respond when the front door to Cruz’s home opened and was slammed shut.
 

“I’m sorry, I’m late,” Willow’s voice rang out, dampening the mood between Maelani and Cruz.
 

Cruz tore his gaze off of the beauty in front of him to find Willow. She stepped into the kitchen looking slightly disheveled, like she hadn’t showered yet.
 

Cruz looked at her in confusion and said, “Are you okay?”

“Yes,” she swept her hair out of her face, revealing dark circles under her eyes. “Umm, can I take a quick shower, maybe borrow a shirt?”

“Sure,” Cruz responded.
 

Willow smiled at him and then turned her gaze on Maelani, who looked a little startled by Willow’s appearance.
 

“Maelani! You made it.” Willow went up to her and pulled her into a hug that Maelani reciprocated. “I’m so glad you’re here. So, I see you met Cruz. Isn’t he just gorgeous?”

Maelani looked Cruz up and down and said, “He really is.”

Shocked, Cruz’s eyebrows shot up to the edge of his hairline at Maelani’s statement. His body heated from her perusal of his physique, sending that wave of heat through his veins and straight to his cock.
 

Clapping her hands, Willow looked at Cruz and said, “Behave while I’m gone, but if I happen to find you two fucking on the counter when I get back, at least let me watch.”

“Willow…” Maelani said with embarrassment, but Willow just slapped her ass, kissed her on the cheek, and twiddled her fingers bye.
 

Cruz watched Willow retreat up his stairs and to his bathroom, leaving him alone with Maelani once again. The knowing fact that they both found each other attractive and Willow didn’t care if they fucked or not was lingering in the room as they stood awkwardly, trying to figure out what to do. Willow’s statement shouldn’t be a surprise to him; of course she didn’t care what Cruz did. Their relationship was open…that was the arrangement they had.
 

The tension in the kitchen continued to build as Maelani and Cruz stared at each other, not really knowing what to do. They were supposed to be eating brunch, but once Willow brought sex into the conversation, it was all Cruz could think about. By the look in Maelani’s eyes, the same thoughts were running through her mind.

Clearing his throat again, Cruz said, “Um, would you like a waffle?”

Maelani licked her lips and nodded her head.
 

Holy shit, his cock just grew an inch from the sweet, yet seductive look on her face. Tearing his gaze off of hers, he grabbed a plate and placed a waffle from the oven on a plate for her and then placed it on the counter. He grabbed a waffle for himself as well and some eggs. Maybe if he fed his appetite with actual food, he could get his mind off of throwing Maelani on the counter and ripping her clothes off.
 

Silently, they worked their way around the counter, gathering food on their plates. Cruz chuckled to himself as he watched Maelani stack her plate high with food; she had no shame in eating in front of a man, and Cruz loved that.
 

Once they had their plates full, they sat down in the kitchen nook and started eating in silence. Willow really put a damper on their conversation, not that it was riveting talk beforehand, but she’d made it quite awkward for both of them.
 

“How’s your waffle?” Cruz asked, trying to strike up some kind of conversation.
 

“Good,” she answered, while licking her fork and looking at him seductively.
 

Cruz had no clue what the fuck to think of Maelani. She gave off an innocent shy vibe, but then turns around, eye fucks him, and starts licking her fork. Cruz could not be more confused by the signals she was sending him.
 

“Good,” Cruz replied, while shifting in his seat.
 

Silence fell upon them again, so Cruz took the opportunity to study Maelani a little bit more. Her hair was so silky looking, he longed to feel it, and her eyes were mysterious, so dark it was almost like they were hiding something. She was of Hawaiian descent; it was obvious from her features. And that shirt she was wearing made it look like she wasn’t wearing a bra, because it clung to every single curve of her chest.
 

“Eyes up here, Cruz,” she interrupted his thoughts.
 

If he wasn’t such a cocky bastard, he might have been ashamed of his blatant staring, but he wasn’t. She was damn fine.
 

“Sorry, just wondering whether you’re wearing a bra or not,” he stated, feeling his old self starting to come alive again.
 

“And why is that your business?” she asked, while grabbing some whipped cream with her finger and sucking it off the end. She knew exactly what she was doing, and Cruz, for the life of him, couldn’t look away.
 

“It’s not, but I’m a curious bastard with a liking for tits.”

She nodded and said, “That’s very up front of you.”

“If anything, I’m up front about everything.”

“I see,” she said, while pushing her plate away. “It seems like Willow wants us to have some kind of sexual relationship.”

Who was this girl? Cruz was so damn confused.
 

“Seems that way,” he answered, trying not to get his hopes up at the way Maelani was caressing her neck ever so slightly.
 

“Well, too bad, I have to get going. Thanks for the food, though.”

As she stood up, Cruz saw the blatant display of her erect and very excited nipples as they pressed against her shirt. There was no way she was wearing a bra; she couldn’t be. Who didn’t wear a bra to brunch? Not that he was opposed to the idea, but it just seemed like something that was required, especially for such a fancy breakfast.
 

Cruz stood up as well, disappointed that Maelani was going to leave so soon; she was so mysterious…sexual, but shy at the same time. She was a complete contradiction. He wanted to beg her to stay, to beg her to take her damn shirt off, but he wasn’t about to lose all his self-respect. He wasn’t one to beg, even if the eye candy in front of him had him harder than a fucking rock.
 

They rounded his kitchen and headed toward his hallway where the entry way was. Maelani turned and looked up into Cruz’s eyes. She was so damn beautiful; Cruz had a hard time keeping his hands off of her, but he did.
 

“Thank you for brunch, even though it was kind of weird.”

Cruz genuinely laughed and said, “Yeah…that was fucking weird.”

She tilted her head to look at him and asked, “So, you didn’t have a good time?”

“Shouldn’t I be asking you that?”

“I suppose you should,” she smiled. “For what it’s worth, I had a good time, even though it was ‘fucking weird’,” she said, while using air quotes.

The pull between them was electrifying, heavy and sexual. Cruz wanted to pull her in for a kiss, to see what those sweet lips of hers tasted like, to revel in the feel of her soft body against his. He was about to do just that when Willow came down the stairs, wearing one of his button up shirts, but classic Willow neglected to use any of the buttons. Her smile stretched from ear to ear at how close Cruz was to Maelani, and with determination, she walked over to them and grabbed their hands.
 

The girl was up to something, and by the look in her eyes, Cruz was going to really like it.
 

**Landon**

A huge weight was lifted off of Landon’s shoulders the minute he found out Grey had Rook in his possession. Of course, Landon found out from Cruz, because Grey and he were still not speaking, but at the moment, Landon would take the small victory of getting his band back together. Cruz informed Landon that Grey was going to get Rook to go to the Grammys; they just needed to show up, and Grey would take care of the rest. Landon wanted to meet up with Grey before the Grammys, and actually tried calling him to talk, but he still wasn’t taking his calls. They still had a week before the big show; Landon would continue to work on Grey, because it would be incredibly awkward to see each other for the first time on the red carpet. But, given the anger Grey had for Landon, he was prepared for such a thing.
 

“Here’s some coffee,” Quinn said, as she handed Landon a steaming cup, while wearing one of his shirts. Her gorgeous legs poked out from underneath, giving him a great view. She sidled up next to him on his couch and placed her legs over his. His hand instinctively went to her thigh to make small, reassuring strokes.