Just A Small Town Girl (5 page)

“Hey,” I smiled, shifting Riley on my hip and trying to guess a possible reason for the tension rolling off Puck’s body. I couldn’t think of one.

“What the fuck Piper?” he bellowed, his raised voice making me jump and Riley begin to wail.

“I’m not sure I know what you mean,” I stepped to the side hoping inviting him inside would somehow calm his temper or at least prompt him to divulge what exactly had him so upset.

He crossed the threshold, but stepped close to me instead of moving further into my living room.

“I heard you went to Conductor’s last night,” he bit out, his voice still raised and Riley heightened his screams in response.

My own temper began to boil in response to his tone. “First, you need to stop yelling. I really don’t appreciate your yelling at me and you’re really upsetting the baby.” I stepped away from him sideways, gently comforting Riley and depositing him in his playpen to gnaw on a plastic key ring once his tears dried.

“I don’t even understand why you take care of that little bastard,” he mumbled.

I whipped around to look at him, my eyes narrowed into slits. “What exactly do you want?”

Puck stepped close to me again, his chest brushing my crossed arms.

“I don’t like my girlfriend getting drunk and rubbing all over Travis Fisher, especially when he’s got you playing mom to his mistake.”

“When did we decide I was your girlfriend Puck?” I was angry with him for insulting an innocent child for the second time and his claiming me as his girlfriend before discussing it with me added to that anger, lighting a fuse in my belly.

“I thought that was what you wanted Pipe,” his voice softened and he reached out to me, running his hands from my shoulders down to my elbows where he rubbed his thumbs against my skin. “I know that’s what I want.” He leaned in to kiss my lips and caught my cheek when I turned my head away.

I didn’t know if I wanted a boyfriend. Being with Puck, especially considering how he’d acted that afternoon, didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel right to enter into a new relationship so soon after drastically changing my life. Giving Puck a cold resounding ‘no’ was on the tip of my tongue, but then I looked into his eyes. He was there and interested in me and we had fun when we went out. Still, I wasn’t ready for anyone to call me his, especially before we’d even talked about it.

“Can’t we just keep it casual?” I stepped back from him, pulling my elbows from his grasp, a little afraid of how he might take my request. “Can we just have fun and see where it goes?”

“Sure Piper, whatever you want,” his features were pulled tight and I could tell he wasn’t happy, but I couldn’t give him anything more.

He leaned close to press a bruising kiss to my lips and I let him. He pulled my body flush with his, my arms, still folded, were pinned between us as he held me so tightly I felt a constricting pressure on my ribs. His kiss was claiming, his tongue demanding entrance into my mouth, only pausing in its onslaught for his teeth to nip at my rapidly swelling lips. When he pulled away I was breathless, whether from the tight grip he still maintained around my torso or from his kiss I didn’t know.

“Want to hang out tonight?” his voice was heavy with suggestion.

“I have plans,” I just wanted to be alone. I needed a few Puck-free hours to think about our relationship or lack thereof. 

“With who?” his arms tensed around my body and his voice became suspicious.

I opened my mouth, having no idea whose name I was going to blurt out, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. Puck released me and I opened it to find Bailey, wearing her signature boots and a baby pink halter top.

“Hey honey,” she leaned in to kiss my cheek before brushing past me into my living room. She stopped when she saw Puck, “Oh, I didn’t know you had company,” she gestured toward Puck with the bottle of wine she held in her hand.

“He was leaving,” I tried to sound chipper instead of mean.

“I’ll see you soon Piper,” Puck whispered before leaning into me for another kiss.

He took my lower lip between his teeth and bit down, eliciting a pained whimper from me. Puck bit down again, mistaking my sounds of pain for pleasure. I pulled away when his teeth finally released my lip, more grateful than ever for Bailey’s unexpected visit.

Bailey pretended not to notice when I closed the door and made my way to the bathroom, inspecting my bleeding lip. I rinsed my mouth and dabbed at the small pool of blood forming in the corner of my lip before returning to the living room.

“Sorry for just dropping by,” Bailey apologized cheerily, standing when I came into the living room and following me into my kitchen, “I just needed girl time tonight and Seph is,” she hopped up to sit on the counter and popped a piece of tomato into her mouth, “Well, she’s Seph and she’s in her own world. I love her, but sometimes I feel like she doesn’t care what’s going on with me.”

I nodded, a little unsure what to say, “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, nothing big,” Bailey picked at the fabric of her jeans for a second, “Just boys being boys you know.”

I nodded again, I really did know, especially after the afternoon I’d had, “Want to stay for dinner?”

She leaned forward, batting her eyes at me playfully, “Such a sweet talker; you know just what to say.”

We both laughed until a fussy Riley began making his presence known in the next room. I reached for the red kitchen towel to dry my hands, so I could calm him, but Bailey hopped off the counter and returned with the baby on her hip before I could.

“Is he always so sweet?” she asked, holding his little overall clad body in the air and making faces as he garbled out gleeful sounds.

“He’s a great baby,” I nodded, placing our fish in the oven and leaning back against the counter to watch them.

“And he looks so much like Fi-Travis,” she tickled his belly, “When I found out about him I was so sure I would be a godmother or practically an aunt, but I guess things didn’t quite work out the way I thought they would and I’ve only seen him once, when he was a lot smaller,” she kissed his fingers as he reached out to her face.

“Yeah I noticed you guys don’t seem to like Fisher very much, what’s that about?” I reached into the cabinet and started making a bottle for Riley’s dinner.

“It’s complicated,” she sighed, deciding where to begin, “We all used to be really close friends. We went to high school together, so we used to party and hang out as a group all the time,” she shook her head, lost in a memory, “we were so wild-we thought we were invincible,” I thought back to my own high school friends. We’d never been wild, but we’d had fun. A little pang of homesickness hit my chest.

“You and Seph seem like you haven’t lost that,” I took Riley from her and began feeding him his bottle.

“If you think Seph’s wild now you should have seen her then. The rest of us couldn’t even keep up, except Fisher. They were best friends and partners in crime. Me, our friend Ally, who’s off at State, and the guys in the band couldn’t do much more than watch as they got us into trouble for stuff like setting the field on fire or trying to dig out the dunes or terrorizing the few summer families we get out here.”

Bailey sat down across from me and Riley reached out to her. I handed him over and checked on our fish. “I guess you changed all of that didn’t you little guy?” she smiled down at Riley happily sucking down his meal.

“Having a baby must have changed everything for Fisher,” I began cutting lettuce for our salads.

A sarcastic laugh erupted from Bailey’s lips. “You think?” she tilted her head, highlighting the sarcasm in her voice, “Our group got really divided. Those who thought Fisher did the right thing stayed tight with him while those who didn’t stayed tight with Seph.”

It bothered me to think Bailey believed Fisher had done the wrong thing by keeping and attempting to raise his son, especially considering how much I was beginning to fall in love with Riley.

“I wasn’t sure what to do, so I just stuck with my best friend, but seeing Riley makes me reconsider that decision,” she sighed, sitting him up in her lap and patting his back a little until he released a deep belch, “Especially knowing how much help Fish probably needs considering how much he works and everything.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I settled for placing Riley in his high chair with some cheerios for entertainment while we enjoyed our dinner.

Riley was fussy that night when I tried to put him to sleep in his playpen, so I opted for keeping him in bed with me even though I knew Fisher didn’t exactly approve. He was releasing tiny baby snores while making sucking motions with his lips when I was shocked out of sleep by the slight creak of my bedroom door opening. There, framed in the light streaming in from my living room, was the tall and muscular form of Fisher.

“Did I wake you up?” he whispered, making his way to the opposite side of my bed while I watched. Something about the way he moved combined with his welcome presence in my bedroom was sending shocks across my skin. “Sorry about that, usually I just grab him from the living room and we go back across the hall,” he sat on the edge of my bed and ran his hand across his son’s mussed black hair.

“I thought it was Rose coming in here to get him,” my voice was crackly from sleep.

“You sound beautiful when you just wake up,” Fisher kicked off his shoes and propped himself up on his elbow, looking past the baby and into my eyes.

“You’re a liar,” I laughed out, lightly punching him in his shoulder.

He caught my hand before I could pull it back to my body and kissed it across the knuckles, “Really? I’m a liar?” his voice was thick with humor and flirtation, “Would you believe me if I told you you’re the prettiest neighbor I’ve ever had?”

“Nope,” I laughed again as he loosened my fist and pressed a soft kiss to my palm.

“Too bad,” he started to play with my fingers, weaving them with his then unraveling the pair, “It’s true you know,” he whispered a little more intimately before expertly reaching across the bed and lifting me over the sleeping baby to lay flush against him, our chests touching.

“Fisher,” I wasn’t sure if I was asking him to kiss me or release me, but he obliged neither request, instead he stared into my eyes, heated breaths passing between us.

My entire body tingled with anticipation, lust, and something else I could only define as the electric current that always spread across my skin when Fisher touched me.

Several minutes later he spoke, “Can you do me a favor Piper?”

“That depends on what it is,” I joked, I knew I would do pretty much anything he asked.

He laughed before rolling us so we were on our sides and wrapping his body around mine, so I was sandwiched between Riley and him.

“Can we just lay like this?” he whispered into my ear, his breath tickling my neck, “I haven’t had someone in my arms like this in over a year and I can’t think of anyone else I’d rather have in my arms right now.”

“Liar,” I whispered, snuggling closer to his body warmth.

The laughter he produced as a response lulled me to sleep.

The mattress shifted below my body and I shivered a little against the rush of cool air dancing across my back. My eyelids lifted slightly and I watched Fisher lift his son from my mattress.

“Sneaking out?” I whispered, my voice a little rusty from sleep.

“I have work,” he shrugged, seeming a little uncomfortable.

“At,” I glanced at my alarm clock, “four AM on a Saturday?”

“Yeah, well I have work at five thirty, but I have to get this guy changed, fed, and ready for Rose to watch him today,” he shifted Riley on his shoulder, the baby’s fists grabbing at his t-shirt.

“I can take care of that if you want,” I sat up, shrugging a little self-consciously, “I mean I can change him and get him ready and I mean I don’t have plans for today if Rose wants a day off or if you want to give her one.”

Fisher laughed a little, shaking his head at my blabbing, “This is the only real time I get with him, so I kind of like getting him ready for the day, but I might take you up on watching him later if that’s okay.”

I nodded, “I’ll be here.”

Riley watched me over his father’s shoulder as they left my bedroom and a few minutes later the soft sound of my front door closing signaled I was alone with my thoughts.

I rolled over and buried my head in the pillow, trying to get a catnap in before Riley returned for the day. My senses were overwhelmed with the smell of Fisher. All man and freshness combined with a hint of beer from the bar he’d performed at the night before. I closed my eyes and breathed it in, ignoring how admittedly creepy it may have seemed. I’d been completely surprised, but pleasantly so, when he arrived at my bedroom the previous night. In the month and a half I’d been watching Riley I always assumed Rose came in to get him while I was asleep. Lying on my bed with the smell of Fisher assailing me I thought of the countless times he’d been in my apartment while I slept. It made me a little uneasy, but it also confirmed my thoughts that I could trust Fisher. He’d never stolen from me during the night, he’d never trashed my apartment while I slept, he’d never taken advantage of the vulnerability my sleeping offered-until the night before he’d never even touched me.

My stomach clenched and my skin tingled at the memory of how he felt wrapped around me. His heart beat reassuringly against my back and somehow being between the man and his child felt right; so right it scared me a little. Despite the wisps of fear present, I wanted to spend the night in his arms again. I wanted to feel that peace and sense of belonging again.

“Piper,” calloused fingers ran across my cheek, gently pulling me from my sleep, “Piper, I have to go,” I opened my eyes a little to find Fisher’s dark eyes smiling down at me. I hadn’t even realized I’d fallen asleep. “Riley is in his playpen. It’s only eight, but he might just go back to sleep. I know he had a hard time getting to sleep last night. I should be back by one or two, but just before my show tonight.”

“What about you?” I sat up a little, trying not to smile at his babbling words.

“What about me?”

“Did you have a hard time getting to sleep last night?” I tried to give him a flirty smile.

“Nah,” he leaned forward to cup my cheek in his hand and kissed my forehead, “I slept the best I have in a while.”

My forehead tickled where his lips had touched, causing a big goofy smile to spread across my face.

“I’ll see you later,” he smiled back at me again before slipping through my bedroom door.

Riley did not go back to sleep. I was washing the dishes from my breakfast when he grew bored with the frozen apple slices I’d given him and began to squeal.

“Hey big guy,” I lifted him out of his playpen and settled us both on the floor.

We sat for a few hours, doing baby sit-ups, rolling over, and were engaging in a thrilling game of peek-a-boo when we were interrupted by a knock at the door.

I hopped up, excitement at the idea of seeing Fisher again making me nearly skip to the door and yank it open, a winning smile on my face.

“Hey baby,” Puck murmured before driving his lips into mine and shoving his tongue inside my surprised mouth. I stood frozen until I felt his teeth bite down on my tongue, bringing tears to my eyes.

“Puck,” I dragged the word out, with a slight lisp. I could taste a little blood in my mouth.

“I thought I’d surprise you,” he pushed past me and made his way to the couch, nearly tripping over Riley.

“This really is a surprise,” I shut the door and scooped up Riley, seating him on my hip while I paced in front of the couch. Puck’s presence made me nervous.

“I see you’re still watching the little bastard,” Puck smiled to himself, seeming to enjoy insulting the baby.

“He’s not a bastard,” my sharp tone even surprised me.

“Uh, yeah he is,” Puck rose, stepping toward me and pulling my body against his when I was within arm’s reach, “See that’s what it’s called when a mommy and a daddy aren’t married and they have a baby,” he stuck out his bottom lip to accompany his patronizing tone, “and this guy is an even bigger one because his parents weren’t even dating and his mommy doesn’t even love him.”

I jerked Riley away and used all of my weight to pull out of Puck’s tight grasp. After tucking Riley into his playpen with a mirrored rattle to play with, I crossed my arms over my chest and turned to Puck.

“Do you have a reason for being here aside from insulting a small child?”

“I came to see you baby,” his tone gentled as he wrapped his arms around me, gripping my sides tightly in his palms, and pinning my arms between us, “I had to see you,” he grazed his teeth against my neck and bit down on my collarbone through the fabric of my shirt. I felt the skin break and let out a cry, trying to wiggle away from him.

Seriously, he seemed to think women liked the whole being eaten alive by a vampire thing. I was sure some women did too. Otherwise how did books and movies about sparkly guys wandering around sucking blood become multi-million dollar franchises? The problem here was Puck and I didn’t seem to agree on the romantic potential of biting.

“Puck,” my voice was raised, but I fought to keep it as calm as possible.

“Mhm?” he grumbled through a mouthful of my flesh and t-shirt.

“Let me go for a second?”

“Sure baby,” he bit down hard on the skin of my neck before leaning away from me, but still maintaining his firm grip on my sides.

We played a silent game for a few seconds. I pulled to get out of his arms while he held on to me, digging his fingers further into my skin and making me struggle even harder. I twisted and pushed at him until he finally let me go, making me stumble back a few steps before regaining my balance.

“Look, Puck,” I stepped even further out of his reach, worried he might get a hold of me again, “I don’t think this is working.”

“Not working?” it was like someone had flipped a switch, instantly turning him from overall easygoing if not a little aggressive to angry.

“Yes, I just don’t know that we really have all that much in common or that we even want the same things,” he wanted to eat me alive and I never wanted him to touch me again.

“We do want the same things Piper,” he stepped toward me and I stepped away, maintaining my distance, “You told me you wanted to see where things go and I want that too,” he reached for my arm and caught my wrist in a tight grip before I could step away again, “I just want to keep seeing you,” he murmured, using my captured wrist to yank the rest of my body toward him.

“I don’t think I want that anymore Puck,” my voice cracked a little as I tried to wretch my arm free.

“Well I want you,” his breath was hot on my cheek as he spoke close to my face, ensuring I understood his unspoken threat.

“Puck-”

“Excuse me young man, please let go of my friend’s arm,” Rose entered my apartment and crossed the living room to stand next to me. I hadn’t even heard her open the door.

“This isn’t the end of our conversation,” Puck ground out close to my ear before letting my arm go, flinging it back toward my body in the process, and marching out of my apartment.

“You shouldn’t be messing around with that boy,” Rose murmured to herself before bending over Riley’s playpen, her fuchsia cloak sweeping the floor as she did, “Especially with Travis Fisher slipping in here every night to get a glimpse of you sleeping and after the way you three spent the night last night. It was like the family this little boy deserves,” she bounced Riley on her hip to indicate him.

“How did you know about last night Rose?” I asked, a little surprised.

“How do you think my dear?” she busied herself with entertaining Riley.

“Fisher told you?” I was seriously confused

“No!” she laughed and shook her head, “I have other sources!” she waved her free arm around in the air as if there was a crowd of people telling her all of my secrets from right there.

“Oh,” I couldn’t manage a better response.

“Oh is right Piper Lee. Now, why don’t you let me watch Riley while you get a shower? I’m sure you’ll want to wash that Puck off of you before Fisher comes by to get Riley,” she dismissed me, turning her back and walking into the kitchen to make Riley a snack.

I left the water on after I finished washing. I let the warm droplets drip down my face and soothe my muscles. Whatever makes the shower a perfect place for daydreaming and reflection took over and before I knew it I was lost in thought.

I had a problem. Puck was becoming more aggressive and I was in way over my head. I hadn’t thought nights out with our group of friends constituted a relationship, but to him it obviously did and I had no idea how to make that clear without making him even angrier. I knew Rose wouldn’t be there every time he started to scare me or grabbed me a little too roughly.

I ran my fingers over the five red dots on my wrist, turning darker and angrier by the minute. I didn’t think he meant to grab my arm so tightly, I didn’t think he was trying to hurt me, but I wasn’t sure that made a difference.

Rose was gone when I walked back into my living room. Fisher stood where I’d left her, singing a song I recognized as one of his own to his son as he danced across the carpet, rocking the baby slightly to a silent beat. I leaned against the wall, unwilling to interrupt the private moment. Riley smiled and cooed back at his father, almost singing along in his own little baby way. The sound of their combined voices soothed me. I closed my eyes, welcoming their distracting sounds.

My eyes fluttered open when I felt Fisher’s finger trace the strap of my tank top before running along my collarbone. The warm tingles his touch sent through my skin almost distracted me from the reason he was touching me. I’d seen the neat impression left from Puck’s teeth while I was dressing, but I hadn’t expected anyone to pay close enough attention to notice.

“Do I know you well enough to say I’m worried?” he dropped his hand before I could swat it away.

“I don’t think it’s about how well you know me. It’s more about how much you care,” I looked into his eyes, sincerity swirling in with the brown-making me feel vulnerable.

“I care,” he raised his fingers to brush wet strands of hair away from my eyes before dipping his head to touch our lips together. The gentlest meeting of our lips sent a shock through my system. In the three seconds we were connected a need for Fisher passed through my body, planting a seed of attraction deep in my veins and forcing me to acknowledge the chemistry between us.

When he pulled away and looked into my eyes I thought I saw the same acceptance until he spoke.

“Sorry,” he mumbled, dropping his hand from my cheek.

“No problem,” I mumbled back, stepping around him. I wasn’t really sure how to respond and I needed space until I figured that out, “Are you hungry? I can make sandwiches,” it wasn’t the most graceful subject change, but it worked for me.

“Sure, sounds good,” he mumbled, I imagined his face was strained to match his voice, but I didn’t turn around to look. Instead, I made my way to the kitchen and began situating lunchmeat atop slices of bread.

A few seconds later Fisher joined me, placing Riley in his high chair with some cheerios to play with while he leaned against the counter next to me. I chanced a peek at him from the side, his eyes were downcast and his hands were stuffed in his pockets, but he was still the most gorgeous man I’d ever seen in a way that was uniquely Fisher.

Awkwardness filled my little kitchen, infecting the air and making it hard to breathe. I struggled with the inconsistency between the residual tingling on my lips left over from Fisher’s kiss and the squeeze of awkwardness fisting around my stomach.
“Piper-”
“Do you like turkey?” I interrupted without looking up from the mayonnaise I was spreading on each slice of bread. I was avoiding his explanation, not because I thought avoidance would help, but because I wasn’t sure I could handle hearing him explain my flaws in detail. I was still too swept up in the glimmer of actually being attracted to someone after my failed marriage. I wasn’t willing to give up the excitement brought on by hoping he might feel the same.

“That’s fine, but Piper,” he huffed out a breath before beginning again, “It’s not you, it’s just, I can’t-I really just need to focus on-.”