He said he'd been thinking about me all day, I reasoned as I stepped under the hot spray. Maybe he'd been embarrassed that he'd come so quickly, or maybe he'd really just wanted to watch me do it myself? I sighed, once again at war with myself and the feelings I had toward this man. Could I really judge him based on one lukewarm sexual encounter? Was that really a good reason to be annoyed with him?
I frowned as I squirted some floral-scented shampoo into my hand and then began to work it through my hair. No, I decided, that wasn't why I was annoyed. Sex with Luc had been mediocre at best, but it hadn't really affected how I'd felt about him. It was that feeling I'd had just after I'd come tonight, I realized. That lack of connection. I liked Brock, but there hadn't been any of that spark between us. What I didn't know was if it had been that way before and I just hadn't noticed because at least then, the sex had been good. Was it possible that we hadn't truly connected any of the other times we'd slept together and I’d only been fooling myself?
I rinsed my hair and then reached for my conditioner. The question was, did a connection like that really matter? Reed and I had a connection from the first moment we'd touched. A lot of good that had done us. At least with Brock, I knew who he really was, and the connection would come with time. When like turned into love, we'd have I; I was sure of it, but for that to happen, things couldn't keep going the way they were now. Something had to change.
Chapter 9
I didn't really have the money to spend on fancy food, but I managed to find room in my budget to make a lasagna from my mom's recipe. A loaf of Italian bread and a bottle of cheap wine, and I was going to be eating Ramen noodles for a while. Still, it meant I could have Brock and Julien over for a home-cooked meal on their last night in Vegas, and I was looking forward to it. I owed Julien a thank you for sticking up for me after the strip club incident, and I wanted to make sure Brock knew I wasn't angry about how things had ended up the other night.
I had given our relationship a lot of thought and when I looked at everything we’d had together, the positives far outweighed the negative.
The first batch of roses Brock had given me were starting to wilt, so I put those aside to dry and set the newer ones as a center piece after moving from the water pitcher to the nearly empty vase. I'd spent the entire day cleaning so that when the guys arrived, my shabby little place actually didn't look too bad. Of course, I'd had ulterior motives for the excessive cleaning since Rosa would be back tomorrow evening and I was going to have to break some news to her.
“That smells fantastic,” Julien announced as he entered the apartment. “What are we having?”
“Lasagna,” I said as I accepted the wine he offered. It was much better than what I had. I felt a stab of embarrassment and pushed it aside. I'd give the cheaper stuff to Rosa. A parting gift.
“We're starved,” Brock said as he kissed my cheek in greeting. “We had a guys' night out and didn't get in until like seven this morning, so we pretty much slept the day away.”
Julien glanced at me. “We went to a fight and then hit a couple casinos.”
I nodded as if I hadn't been picturing the two of them covered with half-naked strippers. I started for the kitchen. “Make yourselves comfortable. This'll be done in a few minutes.”
I was surprised at how well dinner went considering the awkwardness that had happened when we'd been together before. The three of us hadn't managed a single meal without it turning into something embarrassing and rude. Tonight, however, the conversation was kept light, with Julien regaling us with stories of some of the crazier things he'd done in his early twenties.
After we'd finished, I brought out the last thing I'd bought with the last of my tip money: a cherry pie. I confessed that pie making was beyond my skills and Julien revealed that he actually knew how to make an excellent pie crust.
“Okay, this I have to hear,” I said as I served out a slice to each of us.
“Well, remember how I said I spent some time in France?” He took a bite of his pie and then nodded in approval. “Well, I met this pastry chef in Milan and she spent a couple months teaching me everything she knew.”
“Everything?” Brock asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Julien rolled his eyes. “She was in her forties.”
Brock grinned. “For all I know, you got a thing for cougars.”
“Jerk,” Julien muttered.
I took a drink of my wine. We were getting to the end of the meal and I didn't know where we were going to go from here, which meant if I wanted to make my announcement, it needed to be soon. As the conversation hit a lull after Brock's comment, I figured now was as good a time as any.
“I've been thinking.” My voice sounded loud in my ears and I twisted my fingers together. “And if you still want me to move back to Philadelphia, I will.”
Brock's eyes lit up as he leaned over and kissed me. The enthusiasm caught me off guard and he deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into my mouth. I kissed him back, but broke away as his hand slid down my arm and moved to my breast. My face was burning and I couldn't look at Julien. I was comfortable with some PDA, but I knew how it felt to be the third person in a room where a couple was making out. It was awkward to say the least.
“If I make some calls, I might be able to get you a ticket on tomorrow's flight,” Brock said. “Julien and I can help you pack tonight.”
I held up a hand. “Whoa. I can't leave tomorrow. I have to wait to talk to Rosa and get things settled here. At the very least, I'll need a week.”
“Okay,” Brock nodded. He was beaming. “I'll start looking around for apartments.”
I suppressed a sigh. I was glad he was happy, but we were going to have to have a serious talk before he left tomorrow. He didn't quite seem to get the fact that there was no way I could afford an apartment in the city. Unless... my stomach flipped. Was he going to give me the ten thousand dollars he'd mentioned back at the wedding? I still wasn't sure how I felt about that.
I stood. “If you'll excuse me, I have to use the restroom.”
Brock stood as well, grabbing me in a tight embrace before I walked away. “I'm so glad you're coming back. You won't regret it.”
I gave him a tight smile.
“I bet when we first met, you never thought you'd be moving back to Philadelphia because of me.”
I shook my head. “No, I definitely did not.” I didn't add that if I'd thought of moving back at all, it would've been with Reed. I excused myself again and headed back to the bathroom. Before I closed the door, I heard Julien speak.
“You know, you never did tell me how the two of you met.”
I flushed, closing the door quickly. I'd assumed that Julien had already known the story. I didn't want to hear it. After I was done, I opened the door, but didn't go out into the hallway. I wanted to make sure Brock had already finished sharing before I went back into the main area.
“So, you just decided that this stripper you'd hired for your brother-in-law's bachelor party was hot and it was a good idea to ask her to come with you to your sister's wedding?”
As I listened to Brock laugh, I became curious. Aside from not wanting to be there when he told Julien about our meeting, I now realized this was a good way for me to find out Brock's original motivation behind his invitation.
“No way,” Brock said. “I thought she was hot and wanted to fuck her.”
No surprise there, I thought. He'd been pretty drunk that night.
“Okay,” Julien sounded puzzled. “How'd you go from that to wedding date?”
Brock laughed again and there was a new edge to it. “Never planned that part of it. I only did that because Reed caught me trying to fuck her and I figured I'd better make an apology look good or he'd be pissed.”
My stomach roiled and I suddenly felt like I was going to be sick.
“I don't understand. Why would it matter to Reed if you were trying to sleep with the stripper?”
“Because,” Brock said. “She wasn't exactly conscious at the time.”
He laughed and I shuddered, the pure evil in his voice vibrating deep within my bones.
“She wasn't like the other one, willing to fuck for some extra cash, so I gave her some incentive by way of a roofie in her water.” He paused, then added, “Bitch never knew what hit her.”
To be continued in Sinful Desires Vol. 4, coming Oct 20th