When you're standing there in your underwear
And my T-shirt from the night before
With your messed up hair
And your feet still bare
Would you mind closing the bedroom door
— DNCE, Toothbrush
"She's gone." I heard his voice before I could see him, standing in front of the bush I was hiding. "Come on, you can come out now."
I put my hands on my knees and pushed myself up. "Damn." My knees felt weak after thirty minutes of squatting down behind the bush. It was a miracle that I didn't fall asleep while waiting for him.
"Are you okay?" He put one hand on my arm, trying to support me in case I fell.
I gave him a firm nod. "I'm okay." One thing about my family, the Summers, was that we didn't like showing our weaknesses. Being part of the family, I was stubborn enough to act tough no matter the circumstances.
Frazier looked at me as if he didn't believe me for one second. Still holding my arm, he led me away from the house. We walked across the yard towards a small house on the far side of the main house. "Why did I have to hide from your grandma?"
He looked at me as if I just asked the dumbest question ever. "Did you forget my story about her throwing girls out?"
Oh, right. "Oh."
"I don't know what her problem is but she always wants me to be that perfect grandson." He shook his head. "She wants me to be well-mannered and keep my dick in my pants."
I nearly laughed at the last part. "Isn't that a good thing?" From what I heard, he left a line of broken heart girls around Columbia and Manhattan.
"Does an arranged marriage sound good to you?" asked him with a sigh.
I lifted one brow, unsure of what he meant by that. "What?"
"As a dowager duchess, she thinks she has the right to manage everyone's lives." We reached the guest house and Frazier fished out a set of keys to unlock the door. "Why else do you think my parents' marriage failed?"
He held the door open and I stepped inside. "Do you live here alone?"
There was a couch on the right side of the room with a flat-screen TV placed on the wall in front of it. A pool table was placed on the right side, with the kitchen at the of what looked like a small hallway. There were two doors, one on each side of the hallway. One of them must lead to a bedroom, while the other was probably a bathroom or toilet.
"Yeah. Corbin stays at the main house." Frazier shrugged off his coat and put it on the stand by the door. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"Yeah. Water would be fine." I followed him to the kitchen. His kitchen was massive. If I were a chef, I would jump on my two feet in joy considering he had all the necessary equipment in his kitchen. "Do you cook?" I asked out of curiosity.
He looked like he wasn't going to answer me but in the end, he gave me a small, wary nod.
I gasped. "Really?" I narrowed my eyes as I watched him take a bottle of water from the fridge. "Boiling water or heating stuff on the microwave doesn't count as cooking."
He handed the bottle to me and rolled his eyes. "I can cook. Not as good as Gordon fucking Ramsay, but I can cook."
I twisted the cap and took a drink. "Uh-huh. Like what?" I could feel my stomach churn but I ignored it.
He leaned on the kitchen counter. "Like pasta and soufflé."
I shook my head in disbelief. "No way."
He shrugged. "I only cook things that I like to eat." He sounded like he was telling the truth. I guessed I simply had to take his words for it.
My stomach felt weird. Maybe another sip would help. "Why?" I took a long drink and put the cap back on.
He folds his arms across his chest as he answered, "One time when I was in a restaurant, I complained about their soufflé. The chef came and told me that I shouldn't be complaining since I didn't even know how to make one." He lifted one shoulder. "I learned how to bake a proper soufflé so next time someone told me I don't know what I'm talking about, I can tell them that I actually do."
The water didn't help. I could feel it travel from my stomach all the way up to my throat. The urge to vomit was so strong and before I could ask him where was the bathroom, I made a clown out of myself and vomited right in his kitchen. I heard his rapid footsteps as I bend down. I was so sure he ran the other way and regretted ever bringing me here.
Surprisingly, he didn't run the other way. He rushed to my side. He held my hair back with one hand as he asked, "are you alright?"
I shook my head and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "Damn. I really need to stop drinking."
He led me to the bathroom where I could clean up. I heard a knock on the door and swung the bathroom door open. "Here." He handed me a small towel and a dark grey T-shirt. "You got some on your clothes. You should go ahead and change."
I put the towel under my arm and held the shirt with two hands. It was big, so big. I slid my gaze back to him and he scratched his head. "Yeah, it's my shirt. I don't have any sister so I can't steal her clothes for you." He smirked as he added, "I can steal Corbin's if you want."
I giggled. "It's fine. This one is fine."
*~*~*
I went out of the bathroom once I cleaned up. I felt so guilty for throwing up in his kitchen just a few minutes after I arrived. I moved to the kitchen, wanting to clean up my mess, but the floor was spotless. It was almost as if the last five minutes has never happened.
"Frazier?" I called out his name.
He walked out of the bedroom. He had changed his clothes earlier with a black sleeveless shirt and a pair of white shorts. "Yeah?"
"Where is my barf?" I pointed to the spot where my barf was supposed to be.
He slid his gaze from the floor back to me. "I cleaned it up."
I stared at him in disbelief. "You clean?"
"Yeah." He shrugged as if it was no big deal then added, "I do it all the time." I still had trouble believing what I just heard.
"I don't know you do your own cleaning."
He smirked as he closed the gap between us and put his hand below my chin. Those hot charcoal eyes looked at me with a mischievous glint. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, luv."
I cleared my throat and took a step back. "So, should I sleep on the couch?" I asked as an attempt to change the subject.
He dropped his hand to the side of his body and moved toward his bedroom. He held the door open. "You sleep on the bed."
"What?" I frowned. "Then where would you be sleeping?"
"On the bed, of course."
I was confused. "And how many beds are there?"
He looked at me as if I was being ridiculous. "One."
"So you're saying that we should share a bed?" I knew I was asking the obvious but I couldn't help myself. What was he thinking? I couldn't share a bed with him, that was way too intimate. "I can't."
He rolled his eyes. "Come here and have a look."
I knew this was crazy but I stuck my head out of the door just to satisfy my curiosity. A huge bed which probably could fit one family was placed in the middle of the bedroom. There were two nightstands, one on each side, and a huge wardrobe on the side of the room.
"The bed is huge. You sleep on one side and I sleep on the other." He was right but I still felt uncomfortable about us sharing a bed.
I turned to face him. "Do you promise not to try something on me?"
"Temptress, I'm a man of my word. I've promised the same thing a few days ago, I won't break that promise." He walked into the bedroom. He reached for his shirt and pulled it over his head before tossing it to the laundry basket in the corner of the room.
If I hadn't held the doorknob earlier, I would have fallen right now. Holy crap! He had big pecs and shoulders and a six-pack of killer abs. What did he do in his spare time? Lift small buildings? I closed the door and moved towards the bed.
I watched him lift the dark blue quilt and slide into the space between the quilt and the mattress. He turned to his right and his eyes found mine. "Plus, I don't like to start something I can't finish." He smirked and reached for a small remote on the nightstand and before I knew it, the lights were off and I was surrounded by darkness. "Good night, temptress."
*~*~*
I woke up with a banging headache. I felt like my head would burst anytime. "Shït!" I put both hands on the side of my head and gently massaged my temples. I haven't drunk that much beer in a while and last night was a total knockout.
"Oh, you're awake."
I sat up and turned to look at a pair of grey eyes staring back at me. Frazier stood there in a pair of loose shorts and a sleeveless shirt. He had his arms folded across his big chest like he was big, bad trouble. He smiled, sweat dripping down his nose as if he just ran a marathon. And maybe he did, God knew how long I'd been sleeping considering the sun shone through the big windows on the side of the bed.
My breath hitched. It wasn't the first time I saw a lot of testosterone in one guy. I ran my gaze up to his legs, past his waist, over his folded arms, to his grey eyes. "What time is it?"
He glanced at the watch on his wrist and looked up. "Eleven thirty-five."
"Geez!" I jumped off the bed but immediately had to sit again as my head suddenly felt so heavy.
He rushed to my side and kneeled on the floor in front of me. "Are you okay?" Worries flashed on his face.
I wanted to say that I was, but it was not a time to act tough. I shook my head. "My head hurts." I pressed my temple using my fingers.
He nodded. "You drank too much last night. Do you need anything? Advil, maybe?"
"Two Advil and a glass of water would be great." I laid back on the bed and let out a deep sigh.
"Wait here," answered him as he stood. "I'm gonna sneak into Corbin's room and grab the pills." He moved to the front of the house and swung the door open.
*~*~*
By one P.M. I was feeling a lot better. I was still able to feel the tension pressing against my temples and the back of my head but they weren't as intense as they were this morning.
My eyes fluttered open and I forced them to stay open. I looked around the bedroom and couldn't find Frazier. I moved to the next room where a huge TV was placed on the wall. There he was, sitting on the couch with a controller in his hands, playing a video game.
He was playing something that looked like CS but I couldn't tell since I called any game with guys holding guns on ops as Counter-Strike. It was the only game I've ever played.
Frazier hit some buttons then lowered the controller as he looked up at me. I glanced at the screen to see the game was on pause. "How are you feeling? Better?"
I nodded. "Much better." But I felt dirty. I haven't showered since last night. "Can I take a quick shower?"
"Yeah." He rose to his feet and led me to the bathroom. "Here." He opened the drawer below the sink and added, "you can take one."
My eyes widened in surprise. There were at least three dozen toothbrushes laying in the drawer. "Do you work at 7/11?"
"Huh?" He frowned and looked down at me with his brows knitted in the middle of his forehead.
I pointed at his drawer. "Why the hell do you have so many toothbrushes?" I wondered if his being rich meant that he wore a new toothbrush every time he went to brush his teeth.
"Oh. Those for," he cleared his throat before continuing, "people who crash at my place." He scratched the back of his neck, looking guilty. I saw a shade of red on his high cheekbones. I stifled a giggle. It was my first time witnessing a six-feet-three tall guy with big muscles on his arms blush over something.
"You mean girls who slept with you every night?" I rolled my eyes at him and picked up a toothbrush. I ripped the package open and started to brush my teeth while he went outside to get me a towel. By the time he got back, I was about to throw my toothbrush in the bin below the sink but he caught my wrist. He took the toothbrush from my hand and put it into the small mug where his toothbrush was.
I frowned. "What are you doing?" I wondered if he was going to recycle the toothbrush or something.
He smirked. "For next time you decided to sleep over."
I gave him another eye roll. "There won't be next time" I took the toothbrush and threw it into the bin. His smile dropped and I could see sadness flashed in his features for a brief second before he put his walls back up.
"I'll be outside. Yell if you need anything." He stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him.
I stared at my own reflection in the mirror and wondered what the hell just happened.
TYLER
The night turned into morning and before I realized it, it was afternoon. I was still sitting on the balcony, waiting for the front door to swing open with Autumn walking in. I knew I've seen her this morning but it felt like weeks instead of merely a few hours.
I shifted in my seat and rested my head. I'd drunk a total of five cups of strong black coffee, my eyes were tired and my body wanted to rest. But I couldn't sleep now, not until I made sure she was home. Not until we had a talk. I rubbed both hands over my face and took another drink.
My phone buzzed and I immediately pulled it out of my front pocket to find that it a text was from Mario. Maybe I should put a different ringtone for him so I'd know. His text was short as always. An address.
126 Bleecker Street.
It wasn't far from where I lived but Autumn wasn't home yet and I didn't want another day to go without us making up and talking this through so I typed my reply before hitting the send button.
Not today. I'm sorry but I can't work today.
I tried to keep my message clean, without telling him the real reason because I honestly didn't know what they'd think if they knew I chose Autumn over them. Mario's reply came shortly.
No day off. You must come.
I let out a deep breath. I knew this job didn't have any off days but I really couldn't leave the house right now. I've sent a dozen texts to Autumn and none of them was replied. Clearly, she was still angry at me so there was no way I was going to go before seeing her.
I'm sorry, man. I really can't work today.
It took about ten minutes before Mario sent me a reply. His text was in Italian.
Il grande capo non sarà contento di questo.
My Italian was not as good but I could understand his message. The big boss won't be happy about this. I honestly didn't know who the big boss was, whether it was Santiano or someone else. These past few days I've only been dealing with Mario. Although there were other people who were wearing black shirts, coming in and out of the room that I was guarding, and maybe one of them was the big boss but I wouldn't know since none of them made any gesture or eye contact with me. For them, I was merely a security guard, someone of no importance.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket and looked far ahead at the blue sky hovering over New York City. So many scenarios played in my head, some of them were just fantasy, something exaggerated that I was sure would not happen to Autumn. But those that seemed so logical, something that could happen to Autumn, scared the life out of me. No matter how many times I tried to shake those images away, they still haunted my mind. I just wished she'd be here as soon as possible so that I could watch her with my own eyes and make sure she was okay.
*~*~*
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