Rewriting the Rules (6 page)

Pulling back, I watch her and sense she has a lot on her mind. The girl from Michigan is different. I tilt my head and look more at her. Charlotte’s still there, but now she’s in a new body and damn, that body is something I’d like to know. She’s feisty and no longer the shy girl from before. I’m not sure if this is a rouse or what, but whatever it is, I like it. Women with confidence, who also wear it proudly, are the sexiest women on this earth. When a woman knows her worth, and knows what she wants, then to me, she’s what I want. I hate insecure women who depend on compliments. If you don’t know your worth, then figure it out. Having a banging body won’t get you far in life.

“You’ve changed.”

“So have you,” she turns her head to look at me. “But you’re still my Troy.”

My Troy.

“Not anymore, Charlotte.” Not wanting to continue the conversation, I excuse myself and head inside. Andrea’s at the front door with her bags.

“So I guess this is it.” I nod. “Are you going to say anything?” She sniffs and I notice her red eyes.

“There’s nothing left to say. You cheated on me after everything I’ve given you.”

“Not your heart,” she sadly says. “All I wanted was your heart, Troy.” I look away from her and set my focus on Charlotte.

“Goodbye, Andrea.”

“Bye.” She turns away to leave and I watch my front door shut.

Going back to the kitchen I make us our protein shakes and head back outside. Handing her shake to her, she sits up and smiles at me. I should take the time to talk to her and figure out her story.
I should.
Only I won’t. Getting close to her means opening myself up to her again. That won’t happen. She can’t stay here as long as she wants. The sooner she’s out of my house, the sooner I can get back to my normal life, without Charlotte.

“So good,” she moans, and my cock says good morning. “So are you going to tell me what’s going on with you?”

“Not until you tell me why you’re here, and why you won’t tell your brother.”

She turns her head and stares at me. “I need time, and before everything fell apart you were the one I ran to whenever I needed someone.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say. It’s been four years.”

“I know,” she turns her body to face me and places her hands on my knees. Fuck, I miss her touch. “Listen to me, okay?” I look down, unable to focus on her. “I made a mistake. I miss you guys, and I especially miss you and the love we shared.”

“I can’t do this, Charlotte.”

“I get it. Can we try to be friends?”

“We can try.”

“Better than you saying no,” she laughs and I can’t stop the smile forming on my face just from the sound. “So I really want to know what’s been going on with you and how you ended up with Andrea.”

“She didn’t break any promises,” I lie and see her wince. I keep an emotionless look on my face and wait for her to respond. Instead of a feisty response or a punch in the arm, she turns back around and puts on her sunglasses.

Heading to my office, I log on and get some work done. The space away from Charlotte is what I need.

Chapter 6

Charlotte

Watching him leave, I sit back and cannot wrap my head around how rude he’s being. I understand the pain he’s feeling. I’m feeling broken without him too. He’s acting as if he’s the only one who was hurt. Thinking back to a time when we almost got caught sticks with me.

“I wanna kiss you,” I smile and straddle his lap, feeling his erection against my pussy. “Show me how you like to be kissed. Show me how you like to be pleasured.”

He moans, throwing his head back and closing his eyes. I feel his hands gripping my waist and I know I’m getting to him. “I want that so bad, but sweetheart, your brother’s in the next room and he’s already told me to stay away from you.”

“It’s not fair,” I rest my forehead against his and feel his heart beating against my chest. I love this closeness I have with him. Right now it feels like we’re the only ones here and no one else can touch us. “He should know how good you are for me and that you’ll protect me.”

“He loves you, Charlotte, and only wants the best. I don’t have the best past with girls and he thinks I’ll treat you the same.”

“But you won’t. I know it.”

“I know.”

Not liking the quietness, I march into Troy’s office to get the answers I need to understand where his head’s at.

“Don’t act like you’re the . . . ohmyGod!” I stand frozen in the middle of his office and stare at his beautiful cock. He’s so hard and I see his hand at the base. Our eyes are locked on one another and neither of us says anything. Licking my lips, I imagine walking around his desk and getting on my knees. What I would give to feel his cock in my mouth, and hearing him moan my name. I wonder if he’d talk dirty to me and fully take control. I’d submit to him without fighting and do anything he asks of me.

He doesn’t make a move to cover himself up and I don’t move from where I’m standing. Seriously . . . how can he be that big? Everything is big! Usually I think cocks are really ugly because of the veins, and some are kind of wrinkly, but Troy’s is the image of perfection. If there was a cock pageant, he would win hands down.

“So . . . ah, I’m sorry for bursting in,” I stammer. “I can see you’re busy, so I’ll leave.” Forcing a laugh so it’s not too uncomfortable, I rush out of the office and jump right into the pool hoping to drown and die so I’ll never have to face him again.

When I come to the surface, I look up to find deep, golden brown eyes staring at me. The mysterious way he’s looking at me makes my body sing with desire.

“Hey,” I finally say.

“Having fun swimming?”

“I am.”

When he stands up and takes off his shirt, my eyes roam his sexy body and sexy as hell tattoo on his chest and down both arms. I can’t believe I never noticed his ink before. The six-pack and glorious v he’s sporting are delicious and I love how his brown hair looks touchable.

Troy gets in the pool and relaxes against the pool wall. His arms are spread out and he’s staring at me, not saying anything. I swim around a little before standing in front of him in the pool.

“I’m sorry about not knocking and just barging in.” He shrugs and closes his eyes leaning his head back and enjoying the sun. “I mean . . . you know it’s not weird for me.”

“Not weird.”

“Do you masturbate a lot?”

This causes him to laugh and he shakes his head. “Sometimes. Why, do you?”

I swim a little closer to him and see his body straighten. Am I making Troy Harding nervous? “I do. A lot,” I slowly say. “It’s healthy and I have a healthy appetite for ensuring my cravings are met.”

“I see,” he smirks and shakes his head. “Poor sex life?”

“I guess you can say that. With Shawn, it wasn’t like before. We were more like friends than dating. Our sex life was nonexistent and when he brought up a future with me, I panicked. I didn’t know what I wanted, got scared, and left.”

“How could your sex life be nonexistent?”

“Is that all you got from my story?”

“You said sex. That’s an important word. When a man hears the word sex, everything else goes out the window.”

I roll my eyes. “Shawn got busy and sex wasn’t as important to him. He didn’t need it, and I thought he was cheating on me.”

“What man says sex isn’t important? Hell, if I don’t have sex on a regular basis I get sexgry.”

“Sexgry?”

He laughs. “Like hangry. Sexgry.” He wrinkles his nose and kinks his brow. “You know, that word is awesome.”

“Whatever.” I don’t agree with him. “So yeah. I loved him, but I wasn’t
in
love with him.” I can’t tell him the truth. Not yet. We need to build our friendship first and make that foundation solid.

“Oh, okay. I mean, I guess that makes sense.” He pauses for a moment as if he’s tossing around a conflict in his head. His body is tense and he has an unreadable expression. “I have a lot going on with work. You can’t stay here. Will has a house too, so staying with him is better.”

“Now? You’re kicking me out?”

“No,” he says. Turning around he pushes himself up from the pool and I follow him. He faces me again and I’m waiting to hear his explanation. “You can stay here a little longer, but you need to go to Will’s today.”

“Wait, why?” I stammer, not understanding his quick change. “Are you mad at me? Did I do something wrong?”

He kinks his brow. The way he’s looking at me is making it hard to breathe. I love how his eyes see me, and the feelings are erupting inside. No matter how much time has passed, he’s still the one who makes me weak and the one I want. All the memories we shared, even though years have passed, nothing will take away how I felt, and how I still feel to this day, at this very moment. I want to feel his lips against mine and forget the entire world.

“Talk to me, please. I’d like to be friends again and I know we can never have what we had before. When you look at me I feel like you don’t see me. I feel like you see past me and I don’t matter.”

“You were always more. You are always more.”

Instead of responding, I smile and he smiles back. Hearing him tell me I’m more means so much to me. It’s a start and I’d rather take that than hearing his hate for me.

“I don’t want you to hate me . . .”

Troy immediately stops me. “I don’t hate you. Even if I tried, I can never and will never hate you.”

My heart feels like it’s going to beat out of my chest. Hearing this from him is making me experience his words and feelings. Needing to feel his arms around me again, I stand up close to him. He smells so good, like mint and fancy cologne. Not the type of cologne you can spray on like deodorant. This smell is very GQ-posh, alpha, and sexy. All man. The heat between our bodies radiates and I feel weak in my knees. I want to collapse in his arms, look him in his beautiful brown eyes, and hear him say he doesn’t hate me again. Troy stares deeply into my eyes and it’s not the angry glare from before. It’s mysterious and full of wonder. He leans in closer to me and I take a deep breath, hoping he’s going to do what I want him to do. Fluttering my eyes closed, I feel his hands on me and soon. . . .

I’m thrown backwards in the pool.

“Troy,” I scream, spitting out water, and wiping my face. “Game on, asstwat! Game freaking on!”

Chapter 7

Troy

“You will be relieved to know I haven’t texted Will.”

“And why will that make me feel relieved?”

“Because,” she sits down on the couch next to me and tucks her legs under her ass. “This gives us a chance to
really
talk.”

I wipe my hand down my face. I don’t think I can stand another talk. I’m not ready to bring up the feelings I’ve buried. I need to plan what I want to say to her and not allow her to touch me or make me forget the broken promise and the lost years.

Coming home from the doctor’s office, I expected her to be gone. When I walked inside she was dancing in my living room. I stood quietly and watched her shake her ass and sing along to
Confident
by Demi Lovato. It was quite a show and I had to laugh when she let the music take over her body. She belted each word beautifully and performed as if there was an audience. When she saw me watching, she winked and kept singing and dancing.

Unable to stop myself from touching her hair, I twirl a strand between my fingers I lean in closer to her. “You’re right, I should be relieved you’re still here. As much as it’s fucking with my head to have you here, I admit I’m relieved.” Leaning in closer, feeling her breath near my lips, I whisper, “I’m not the same man, sweet Charlotte. I’m cold and dark. Keep your distance from me. Having you here in my home is driving me crazy. Last night, thinking about you in the next room made me hard and, God, I wanted you so bad.”

“We can have that,” she whispers and cups my face with her soft hands. “We can start over. I’m back, Troy. I’m back and I’m not leaving you.”

“Stop. I can’t,” I grit out and quickly get up to head upstairs. When I’m safe in my room I look outside my window and hang my head. I can’t deny how happy I am to have her here. And I can’t deny the hurt and regret I feel. I’m not mad at her for making the choice she did. I get it. She’ll do anything and everything for her brother. They only have each other left and they depend on one another. Maybe that’s why it was easy for me to let her go. Part of me doesn’t want to stand in the way between her and Will, and the other part doesn’t give a shit.

Fuck.

Being close to her and almost feeling her lips on mine makes my chest tight. If I have one taste of her, I know I’ll be fucked.

It’s still early and I’m not going to be holed up in my room the whole night. Taking out my phone, I text Carter and tell him to meet me at MacGregor’s for beer and pool.

“Troy,” Will calls out from the pool table in the corner of the bar. He gives me a manly one-arm hug and I shake hands with Sal and Carter, two of our other friends. I look at Carter and he gives me a questioning look. Fuck. I’m out with Will while his sister’s relaxing at my house and I don’t have the balls to tell him, because for one, I need my balls.

Heading my way over to Carter, I look at Will and see him taking shots with Sal. “Charlotte’s at my house,” I mutter.

We met Carter and Sal at a fitness convention after a few months of living in Rochester. The two brothers helped us get clients from their gym set up with meal plans, and we’ve been working together ever since. I trust Carter more than Sal. One drunken night I told him all about Charlotte and how much I missed her. His wife, Jane, told me to chase her and do anything to get her back. I couldn’t. I didn’t have the strength to get hurt again.

“Oh, shit,” he says. “Here? In Rochester? At your house?” I nod. “You need a shot, my man.”

“That I do.” Carter hands me a shot and I take it. “I’m fucked, man.”