Heart Of Marley (26 page)

Shaking my head at the unfairness of it, I watched him make his way into our living room and plant a kiss on Meg and Julianne’s head as they played with their toys.

Storming out of the house, I climbed into my Wrangler and sped down the streets of Myrtle Beach, pulling onto the interstate and stopping down the road from the house that I had sat in front of almost every night for the past several weeks. I couldn’t tear myself away, no matter how hard I tried.

Nothing ever changed. I would see him come home from work. Apparently, he worked as a carpet cleaner these days. I hoped that the only homes he cleaned were vacant and he never came into contact with any families that had little girls. I refused to believe he was a reformed man, regardless of my uncle’s convictions that God had judged him enough.

I remained parked on the street that Friday, just like I had done so many other times in the past. I watched his car pull up and he got out, walking toward the house. A few hours passed as I sat there, wondering if this was a waste of time. Suddenly, just before eight o’clock, he walked out of the house with that same woman on his arm. I wondered if she knew about his predisposition for underage girls.

He helped her into his car and within moments, they were heading down the street. Cranking the engine of my Jeep, I maintained a discreet distance as I followed them to a downtown section of town, where he parked the car and got out. I observed them enter an upscale restaurant, and I hated Buck for being able to go on a date with a rather attractive older woman.

I was about to leave and call it a night when I saw the hostess seat them at a table by the window. Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to stay and keep watch, and that’s when I saw it…the light from the candle on the table reflecting on her ring finger. Buck grabbed her hand in his and kissed it in an affectionate manner. She smiled with an enthusiasm that a woman could only give if in love with someone. I punched the steering wheel at the thought that the bastard was getting married.

T
HE
DOWNSIDE
OF
HAVING
a job in retail is the busy Christmas season. From Thanksgiving through Christmas Eve, the mall is packed with holiday shoppers trying to find the perfect gift for that special someone.

As I pulled into the parking lot on the last Friday before the big day, there were barely any spots to be found. About to give up, I decided to drive across the street to a vacant grass lot that people used during busy times at the mall…like the Friday before Christmas.

Locking my Mustang, I hurried across the street, walked the extensive mall parking lot, and made my way into the crowded shopping center. When I entered the boutique clothing store that I worked at, I groaned at the disaster that greeted me.

“Hey, Marley!” Kristen exclaimed, running up and hugging me, completely ignoring the customer she was helping. “I’m so glad you got me a job here! It’s the best ever!”

“You’re welcome. Now don’t make me look bad and try to actually work for your paycheck, okay?”

She winked. “You got it.” She turned to walk back to the now irritated woman she had been helping and then stopped, facing me once more. “Oh, by the way, Doug came by looking for you.”

My face flushed. “Really? When?”

“A few hours ago. He had some Christmas shopping to do and said he’d try to swing by before he had to get home.”

“But he’s Jewish.”

“But
you’re
not.” She raised her eyebrows at me.

I groaned.

“What did you get for him?”

“Nothing yet. I’ve never had a serious boyfriend before so I’m at a complete loss about what to get him for Christmas or Hanukkah…or Christmaskah, as he’s been calling it.”

“You have a brother, though. It can’t be much different.”

“I don’t want to give him something that I’d give Cam. I want to give him something a little more meaningful.”

She giggled. “I know what he’d like and it’s definitely not something you can give Cam.”

“Really? What?”

“Sleep with him. He’d love it. That’s what I’m planning to give Mason for Christmas.”

I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion. “You’re dating Mason? This is the first I’m hearing of it.”

“Oh, no. We’re not dating. But I’ve heard he’s good in bed. Carla and I are meeting him and Grady after I get off here tonight, and I’m probably going to give him his present then.”

I rolled my eyes. “He’s a pig. Stay away.” I pushed past her, walking toward the back room to drop off my bag and start my shift.

She followed. “But seriously. Doug and you… You should let him fuck you.”

I avoided her eyes.

“Unless…
Marley Jane
!
You’ve slept with Doug
?!” she shouted so half the store could hear.

I lowered my head, my entire face flushing red in embarrassment from the looks I was getting from a few of the guys I went to school with that were shopping in the store.

“Kristen,” I hissed, my teeth clenched. “It’s none of your business if I’m sleeping with him or not. What we do in private is exactly that. Private.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Fine. But if you haven’t, you can give that to him. And if you have, think about spicing things up. I think there’s a store in the mall that sells fuzzy handcuffs and grape-flavored condoms.”

I rolled my eyes and retreated into the staff room, wondering why the hell I was actually considering Kristen’s advice. I did want to give Doug a present that meant something, but I had no idea what that could be. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Kristen had a point. Doug and I had been sleeping together for almost a month, and, every time, he had been gentle and cautious, almost as if he was scared to do something that would set me off. What Doug needed was freedom. I needed the freedom, too.

Going back into the store and taking my place next to Kristen behind the cash registers, I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “So, what store sells those fuzzy handcuffs?”

She giggled and beamed at me. I hated and loved her at the same time.

The evening flew by as the line to check out seemed to never end. I barely had time to even take a break. Thankfully, I managed to escape for a bit to go grab a few things from the store that Kristen had mentioned. I thought I would be slightly embarrassed to buy handcuffs, an eye mask, and body paint, but I wasn’t. I was incredibly turned on just thinking about Doug using it all on me. A year ago, or even a few months ago, the thought of being restrained in any way would have caused me to scream and break down, but I trusted Doug with my heart. More importantly, I trusted him with my body, something I never thought I’d be able to do. Doug was my future. Finally realizing I had a future made my past seem insignificant in comparison.

As I was walking to my car after closing the store, all thoughts were of Doug. He never stopped by during my shift, which kind of disappointed me, but I understood that it was the first night of Hanukkah and he should celebrate with his family. I was in a complete trance as I contemplated the expression on his face when he opened his gift, my entire being overwhelmed with excitement and nerves at the same time.

Unlocking my car, I nearly jumped when I heard a deep voice call my name. Turning around, I scrunched my eyebrows. “Mason… Grady… What are you doing here? Kristen got off work over an hour ago.”

“I know,” Mason said. “She and Carla just left to go home. We were about to leave when we saw you. Not too smart to be walking all alone across an empty parking lot this late at night.” His dark eyes narrowed on the bit of cleavage that was showing from my fitted black shirt.

Crossing my arms in front of my chest, I raised my eyebrows at them. “Get what you wanted from Carla and Kristen then? You two make me sick sometimes. They’re real people with real feelings. I know they say they’re not interested in a relationship, but maybe if you assholes acted more like Doug, my friends wouldn’t feel like they had to sleep with half the school.”

They both stepped toward me and I backed into my car. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you that variety is the spice of life, Marley?” Grady said, licking his lips in a sly manner.

“I much prefer monogamy. That’s my kind of turn-on. But that’s me. There’s plenty of other ways to spice things up, Grady.”

I spun around and was about to pull the door open when I felt a hand on my shoulder. My gut reaction kicked in and I grabbed the hand, reeling around and pinning it behind the body attached to it.

“I like a girl with fight in her, don’t you, Mason?” Grady asked coyly.

“Makes it more fun,” he offered in agreement.

Grady pushed out of my hold with ease and they began to walk away.

Looking over his shoulder, Mason said, “Don’t worry, Marley. One of these days, you’ll get sick of boring old Doug. When that happens, I’ll be happy to show you some real spice.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” I spat out.

“We’ll even put those handcuffs in your bag to good use,” Grady interjected, his brown eyes scanning my body.

Climbing into my car, I tried to shake off the interaction. It wasn’t the first time something like that occurred between us. It usually happened when they got bored with whatever girl they were sleeping with at the time. They certainly made the rounds. There were a handful of us that they always attempted to flirt with, but lately, their flirting had become more and more aggressive. Brianna had noticed it, too. Cam and Mason had gotten into quite a few fights when he had seen Mason grabbing or touching Brianna in the hallways, begging her to reconsider and take him back. I wondered if that was what caused her to close down on occasion. Maybe their flirting had turned into something else…something unwelcomed that she was forced to keep to herself to salvage her mother’s friendship.

The thought consumed me as I drove from the mall and toward my house.