WILD (Naked, Book 3) (3 page)

Yeah, but this time it’s different. We’ve kissed. It’s pretty much a given that he’s
going to expect something to happen.

You want it to happen worse than he does.

The conflict in her head was crazy making. She decided to ignore the confusion in her mind. “I’m going to grab myself a glass of water. You want anything?” she asked him.

Elijah continued watching his show. “No thanks. I’m good.”

“Okay.” She took a deep breath, telling herself that everything was normal, telling herself to stop being such a freak.

She’d been desperately waiting and fighting for the chance to be with him again, to be close to him, and yet here she was acting as though it was a fate worse than death.

Caelyn went out to the kitchen and found a glass in the cupboards, surprised by the fact that Elijah’s apartment had a set of nice dishes and glassware. As she poured herself a glass of water from the tap, she noticed a sticky note stuck to the wall.

“
Miss you, E. See u tomorrow night? –H
”

A strange sensation shot through her stomach as she read it. Caelyn leaned forward to look at the note more closely. It seemed old, barely sticking on, as if it had been left there by accident. She peeled it off the wall and looked at the back.

It was old. The glue was worn out. She turned it over again in her hand and studied the writing closely. It was written in pen, the script was small and precise. Yet, she was fairly certain a woman had written those words.

“E” obviously stood for Elijah, but who did “H” stand for?

Caelyn stood there, wondering what to do. She felt a little sick to her stomach looking at the note. Something about it was so intimate, so familiar—this person had a comfort with Elijah that Caelyn didn’t have yet.

A girlfriend? Was it possible he was still seeing someone?

She’d never bothered asking him, which seemed stupid and naïve now that she thought about it. The first time she’d met Elijah, Caelyn had thought to herself that he clearly knew that women found him attractive, and he’d seemed very comfortable with that fact.

A guy like Elijah was going to have to beat them off with a stick, and most men didn’t beat women away—they welcomed the attention.

Even if he was picky, there was almost no way that he didn’t have some romantic entanglements.

Somehow, though, seeing the sticky note on the wall had brought her doubts to the surface. Elijah was still a riddle, a black box. His history, his past, the women he’d dated, the kinds of illegal activities he’d been involved in—she knew nothing about any of it.

Caelyn stuck the note back on the wall and walked calmly into the bedroom.

Elijah was happily watching TV still. He glanced briefly at her as she entered, paused, and then quickly walked the rest of the way to the bed. She put her glass down on the nightstand and then slid under the covers, putting her head on the pillow and turning on her side, away from Elijah.

“Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” she said.

“You sure?”

“Yes. Just tired. It’s been a long day.”

“Okay, kid. I won’t bother you then.”

For a time, she listened to the arguments and bursts of violence coming from the television. She wanted desperately to calm down and fall asleep, but her mind kept looping back to that stupid note she’d found.

Just ask him already, and stop being such a wimp about the whole thing.

Finally, she spun around and looked at him. His eyelids were heavier, and he was clearly tired. But he was still watching his show.

“Elijah, I have to ask you something,” she said.

He looked over at her, surprised. “I thought you were asleep already.”

“Are you seeing someone? Do you have a girlfriend?”

Elijah stared at her for a little while and she started to feel anxiety spiraling out of control. But then he shook his head no. “There was someone but it’s over now.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he said. “It wasn’t anyone…she wasn’t special to me. Not like you.”

Caelyn smiled, feeling silly that his words could have such an effect on her.

Instantly, she was warm and drowsy. “Thank you for telling me the truth.”

He reached out and stroked her hair softly. “Nobody comes close to you,” he said, his voice low and soothing.

Caelyn’s eyes closed and she drifted as he continued to stroke her hair. Soon, she was asleep.

***

His arms were around her.

That was the very first thing that she felt upon waking in the morning. The very first thing.

Elijah’s strong arm was draped over her waist, his hand on her stomach. His other arm was wrapped beneath her ribs. She was curled up and he was encircling her, his chest against her back, and she could feel him pressing against her buttocks.

His body felt warm and strong and solid.

Was he asleep? She realized he was when she calmed down enough to hear his soft and even breathing.

She vaguely remembered tossing and turning in bed, and then him pulling her close and whispering something in her ear, something soothing and calming—she didn’t even recall the exact words.

And now they were together like two people that had shared everything…and yet they hadn’t shared everything.

They hadn’t made love, they hadn’t done much of anything sexual. Just a few kisses.

Yet she felt as close to Elijah as she had to any other boy, including those she’d gone further with in terms of physical intimacy.

She didn’t want the moment to end. She didn’t want Elijah to ever leave her, and she couldn’t imagine a world without him in her life.

How can you be so attached to a boy you’ve known for less than a month?

She didn’t know how, Caelyn simply knew that he felt right. Elijah was quickly becoming the thing in her world that mattered most to her, mattered more than things and people she’d known or been around for years and years.

Suddenly, she felt him stirring, and his chest withdrew from her back, the warmth receding. “Shit, what time is it?” he asked.

Caelyn turned and moved slightly away from him as well, gathering the blankets to her chest. “I don’t know,” she said.

Elijah was looking at his cell phone on the nightstand. “Damn, it’s late. After ten o’clock.” He wiped his eyes. “We both must have been exhausted.”

Caelyn nodded. “I slept good. Did you?”

He looked at her, a slight grin playing on his lips. “Somehow I managed, even though having you in my bed…let’s just say, it wasn’t that easy.”

Caelyn looked away from him. “I find that kind of hard to believe.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because I think you’ve had a lot more experience than me, and I doubt you get all fluttery over a girl.”

“I don’t get fluttery,” he said. “That would be weird.” He laughed. “But I’m not made of stone either.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” she said, giving his body a quick glance, before jumping out of bed.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, pretending to be annoyed.

“Nothing. Just forget it.” She started toward the bathroom.

“Come here, you.” He hopped out of bed and ran after her with speed that surprised her.

She let out a high shout and ran even faster, making it to the bathroom ahead of him, shutting the door and locking it. She was laughing, her breath coming in little gasps.

“Fine,” he said through the door. “Forget it. I’m going to eat something.”

“No,” she called out. “I want to make you breakfast.”

“What?”

“Breakfast!” she yelled. “Just give me a second!” Caelyn caught a glimpse of her own smiling face in the mirror and was surprised by the happiness she saw there.

That girl is in love.

Quiet. You’re not in love with some boy you only just met.

Her smile faded as she struggled with what it would mean if she really had started to fall in love with Elijah already. She wasn’t sure she could handle that on top of everything else.

***

They decided to go to a nearby supermarket to pick up some necessary staples.

“What’re you going to make?” Elijah asked her as they drove.

“Anything you want. What do you like? What’s your favorite breakfast?”

“I’ll eat just about anything.”

“But what do you like the most?”

“I really love scrambled eggs and bacon and sausage.”

“Sure, I can do that.”

“With some cheese in the eggs, maybe a little onion, and toast.”

She glanced at him. “Any more requests?”

“Hey, you asked,” he said, winking at her.

They parked in the lot and then got out, heading for the double doors to enter the market.

But just before getting inside, Elijah slowed down. “Shit,” he said, his expression becoming troubled.

“What’s wrong?”

He was staring straight ahead and didn’t answer her. She followed his gaze and saw someone that was standing just beside the supermarket, smoking a cigarette. He was in profile, wearing a coat with the collar up. But there was something almost familiar about him. As he turned and made eye contact with Elijah, Caelyn saw recognition dawn on his face.

The young man’s face transformed from shock into a smile of pure happiness, as he took the cigarette from his mouth and threw it on the ground, where it laid smoking.

“Bro,” he cried out, moving quickly towards Elijah with his arms outstretched. He was quite good looking—kind of reminded her of the actor Liam Hemsworth—handsome features, close cropped hair and a strong jaw.

As the stranger threw his arms around Elijah and hugged him, laughing, Caelyn quickly understood that the boy hadn’t just been calling him “bro” as a term of affection.

Elijah actually called him Jake, and Caelyn knew that Jake was his brother’s name. Not to mention, when they stood close together, the similarity between them was unmistakable.

Elijah seemed happy to see his brother, but there was also a cautious look in his eyes. Caelyn smiled, waiting to be introduced, but feeling strangely uncomfortable as well.

“I thought you were gone for good?” Jake said, stepping back and looking at Elijah curiously, before his eyes shifted to Caelyn briefly.

Elijah looked at her and then back to his brother. “Things changed.”

“Apparently,” Jake laughed.

“This is my…uh…my friend, Caelyn,” Elijah said, his shoulders hunching a little bit. “Caelyn, this is my brother Jake.”

“Pleased to meet ya, Caelyn,” Jake said, shaking her hand. His grip was cool and firm and his eyes settled on hers with a cold, detached glare, before the smile came to his lips. “Sorry if I’m acting weird, I just thought I was never going to see this guy again.”

“Hey, don’t exaggerate,” Elijah told him. “I said I was leaving Boston, not trying to get away from you.”

“You sure about that?”

Elijah glanced at Caelyn. “Hey, you know what? Why don’t you go on in and start shopping? I’ll meet you in a few seconds. We have some stuff to catch up on real quick.”

Caelyn nodded. “Sure. Of course.” She felt somehow rejected by both of them, and began walking away, her stomach curdled.

“Nice meeting you, Caelyn,” Jake called out as she went inside.

Caelyn glanced back once she’d gotten a ways inside the store. She could see the two of them still standing in that same spot, talking at one another. It was difficult to tell how the conversation was going.

She wanted to know—she was terribly curious, and somehow afraid too. It seemed as though Elijah hadn’t truly wanted to see Jake, or maybe just not yet. Maybe he’d wanted to prepare for it in some way.

Caelyn began shopping, trying to take her mind off of the meeting of Elijah and Jake and what it meant. After all, she really didn’t have the first clue about the intricacies of their relationship and its problems.

Still, as she walked down the various isles, getting yellow onion, butter, eggs, bacon, sausage, Caelyn kept hoping that Elijah would surprise her with his smile. Tell her that everything was fine, and Jake was gone. Because in her heart, she sensed that running into Jake was somehow the beginning of things going wrong for them, the beginning of Elijah’s old life invading the present.

By the time she was finished shopping, he still hadn’t come to find her, so she walked to the front of the store and saw that Elijah and his brother were still standing out front, just as she’d left them.

Caelyn set her handcart down on the floor beside a display of cereal boxes for sale, and quickly went out the front doors.

She heard them talking as she approached. Jake was in the middle of a sentence, and he was pointing at Elijah.

“…can’t just think that it’s all over and you have no responsibility to the situation.”

Elijah was shaking his head. “I told you, I’m out.”

“It doesn’t work that way.”

“Don’t tell me how it works,” Elijah growled.

“We’ve got a situation, more than one—“

“I don’t care. And you better tell everyone else, too. I’m finished. I don’t give a fuck anymore, I’m not going to fuck the rest of my life up over this shit.”

Caelyn’s step faltered as she realized the seriousness of their conversation.

Elijah saw her and stopped talking, folding his arms. “I’ve got to go,” he said softly to his brother.

Jake turned and saw her, and for a moment she saw his eyes narrow and his lips tighten. But then he simply nodded and started to leave. “All right, then. Have a good one.”

Elijah watched him go, his face expressionless.

Caelyn’s stomach was in knots. “Are you okay?” she asked, approaching him as his brother left.

“Yeah. It’s nothing.”

“It didn’t seem like nothing.”

Elijah met her gaze and his eyes had hardened somehow. “It wasn’t anything important, Caelyn.”

“Oh. Okay.”

But that’s your brother
, she wanted to say.
That’s your brother whose ID you
were using, and presumably he’s involved in whatever craziness you were trying to get
away from by leaving Boston. It’s not just nothing, Elijah. In fact, it seems like it was
really something—something important, something we should talk about.