"I don't know, it just seems too out of the realm of reality for me, I mean look at him." We all turned to look at him and his friends, as they seemed to be having some kind of powwow down the other end of the hallway. "If he's who they say he is, he can have anyone he wants, so why me?"
"Would you stop? How many times do we have to tell you, you're gorgeous? Why wouldn't he fall for you? And trust me, the way he's been looking at you all night, he's got it bad girlfriend." Cassie isn't as discerning as Mel, but she's no flake either.
"I don't know guys … " I couldn't fool myself that I wasn't interested, but I wasn't sure. I didn't sense the same danger as with Carl, but he posed a whole other kind of danger for me. This one, I could lose my head over in a hurry, but then what? I'm nowhere near equipped to deal with someone of his caliber.
"Look, you can't compare him to that crazy asshole, it's like apples and oranges, look." Cris showed me her phone where she'd downloaded the information on Wyatt, and there he was in Technicolor.
There were thousands of pictures of him and everything you'd ever want to know about his fighting career. Even with a black eye and a busted lip he was hot, and that grin, it hit me in the gut even through the filter of the screen.
Everything in me wanted to say to hell with it and jump in with both feet, but after the last few months there was still that niggling doubt in the back of my mind. "And look here, here's his last interview."
I speed read the screen at his words and felt myself melting even harder. "Aww, he loves his mom. But what if it's all, just for show? What if beneath all that he's as ugly as Carl?" I didn't believe it for a second but it needed to be said.
"Look, every guy you meet from now on you're gonna ask yourself that question. The choice is yours, you gonna give this guy a chance, or are you going to let the actions of one asshole cloud your judgment on what could be your future? From what I've seen so far he seems like a good bet." After Cris put in her two cents Melissa turned me to face her.
"We're not telling you to marry the guy or to jump into bed with him, just give him a chance. We want you to be happy and my gut tells me he'd make you very happy. But forget all that, how do you feel about him?"
"Don't ask me that, I don't have the best judgment when it comes to men as I have proven." That nasty feeling in my gut whenever I thought of Carl was back. I guess I had been stupid in thinking I could make it go away on my own. I thought the phone calls and the annoying persistence would fade eventually, but tonight had proven that I'd just been fooling myself.
"Fine, take your time but don't just blow him off okay." Melissa squeezed my hand in sympathy.
"Shit if she don't want him I'll take him."
"Shut up Cris."
"Oh-ho a little territorial are we?" I knew she was just trying to get my goat but the thought of her or anyone else having him didn't sit well with me. I guess that should tell me something, but as much as I wanted to just give in it was hard.
I hadn't always been like this; I was once like every average twenty something. Outgoing without a care in the world. With my future mapped out in front of me and things going as well as they could, I didn't think that the horror stories you read about in the paper or see on the evening news could ever be part of my existence. Little did I know!
Carl, like I'd told Wyatt was just someone I'd met by chance one day. He'd seemed harmless enough, never pushy, never even a hint of interest in anything other than a casual friendship. Until he made a move and I knocked him back as gently as I could, then all hell broke loose.
I'd been too ashamed and embarrassed at first to say anything to anyone. What if they, like him, believed that I'd led him on? What if they saw what he saw and believed that I'd used my whore's body to entice him, only to rebuff him in the end?
I'd convinced myself that I had the situation under control, even after he'd pushed me around that one time, using his much larger frame to overpower me. It had seemed like he'd gone away after I'd threatened to call the cops, so I'd thought it was all over, just a lesson learned and never to be repeated; and now this.
Tonight though had been a little too close for comfort. If Wyatt hadn't been there I don't know what I would've done and just the thought of it left me cold. I looked over to where he stood and tried to imagine a life with someone like him, what would that be like?
He's so perfectly handsome, so sure of himself and confident in a way I never could be. And he did seem genuinely interested. But how could I trust that? How could I accept that someone like him could ever love someone like me? And for me that's what it would have to be. I'm an all or nothing girl, always have been. But a guy who looks like that, no way I can hold his interest.
It's not like I'm a complete dog, but I know that he could have anyone else if he wanted. In some of those pictures on the net he'd been coupled with starlets and supermodel types, so again, why me?
The others were still trying to convince me, and I have to admit, they made it sound so simple. Just close my eyes and jump right in. The thought made my heart race with excitement and my skin tingled in all the places he'd touched. What would it be like to have all that fire in his eyes directed at me, only me?
Wyatt
I couldn't hear what was going on over there but from the looks of it-it was pretty serious. Now she was giving me a look that I read all too easily from across the room. I could see the indecision coming off her in waves but was no longer worried about it. My mind was set, that, all that; was going to be mine. I'll just have to work real hard at convincing her while taking care of this shit.
"I'm not leaving her here alone, I don't trust that guy. Jace I need you to do a complete run on this skel." I'm not sure if she knew that Jace was a detective with the Salem police. I don't recall it coming up in conversation earlier but whatever. If I was going to be here and I'm fucked if I ain't then I'm taking over the situation. How can I not?
"Already on it brother. So we're hanging here for the rest of the night?" I knew he would say that, that they would all take that stand. Not because they didn't think I could handle things on my own, but because they always have my back. "You guys don't have to stay." I knew that was blowing into the wind too but thought I at least had to say it. They all had lives after all.
The girls finally made their way back to us and mine was back to being shy and sweet. "Okay ladies you can go on in after I look around and make sure there're no unwanted guests. Give me your keys." Her girl Cris got this dreamy look on her face before bumping her with her shoulder. What was that about?
She hesitated a little before opening her purse and passing me her key ring. "How can you find anything in there?" Like a typical female she had half her condo in her purse. What if someone was following her and she had to get to her keys? She'd be dead in ten seconds flat fucking around in that sack.
I heard the cell door clang shut and lock behind my ass when I started thinking of my dad and the way he protects my mom, always getting after her about shit like that. Later I'll have to tell her about making sure she cleaned her purse out so that she could get to her keys and the pepper spray I was going to buy her.
I opened the door and hit the light switch on the wall, all the while chronicling all the things I was going to have to teach her to keep her safe. Like keeping a nightlight on when she planned on returning home after dark. The place was neat and cute with lots of color and not a thing out of place. Kind of like her.
I gave the rooms a complete walkthrough, checking under the beds and in closets and any place that looked like it could hide a body. I picked up the wisp of silk she'd thrown over a chair in her bedroom and lifted it to my nose. Her scent went through me like a knife and headed straight for my cock.
My eyes went to the bed and I tried to imagine us rolling around there. I'd break that shit if I did half the things I wanted to do to her on it. No, better save that shit for home; my bed can withstand that shit. Everything looked fine so I went back to her.