Chapter Fourteen
Nash
One eye peeks open into the dark room when I realize the pounding in my head isn’t just from a hangover. There is in fact someone pounding on the door. I pull the blanket over my head and hope that whoever it is will just go away.
The sound of the bedroom door flying open has me ripping the blanket back off. “Nash!” Rowan gasps. “The realtor. She and a family of four are at the door.”
“Fuck.” I spring out of bed. “We aren’t supposed to be here.” Gripping my head with both hands, I growl inwardly. It feels as if all the blood in my body just shot straight to my brain. I grab a pair of sweats and a T-shirt off the floor and walk right past Rowan to the bathroom. I don’t care that they are here. If I don’t piss right now then I’ll be pissing my pants walking out the back door.
Pressing one hand on the back wall, I close my eyes for about three minutes, because that’s how long it takes. “Nash, hurry up. They are walking around the house now.” Rowan hisses from outside the bathroom door.
“I’m coming.” I give it a shake, wash my hands, and slop some toothpaste on my toothbrush then stick it in my mouth. Rowan is pacing in front of the door when I walk out with the toothbrush dangling from my mouth.
“Come on, we’ll sneak out the front and leave the door unlocked since they are out back.” I lead the way as she follows. Continuing to brush my teeth as we walk, I spit in a bush to the side of the front door as soon as we walk out.
Rowan looks at me with a snarled lip. “That’s disgusting.”
“What would be disgusting is if I didn’t brush my teeth at all.” I smirk before sticking the toothbrush back in my mouth.
We climb in the truck and shut the doors, driving away before I even get my seat belt buckled. “Can you hand me that bottled water rolling around down there?” I nod toward the passenger floorboard.
Rowan leans forward and picks it up. “This one?”
I nod with a mouthful of foam that is seeping out of my lips. With my knee held tight to the steering wheel, I twist off the cap then roll the window all the way down, spitting out my mouthful, before dumping some of the warm water in my mouth and spitting again.
Rowan chuckles. “So attractive.”
I screw the top back on and toss it behind me into the back seat. “Gotta do what I gotta do. So, where do you wanna grab breakfast?”
“You pick.”
“Lulu’s it is.” I take a sharp right without even braking or turning on my blinker.
“Maybe I should drive. You’re still probably way over the legal limit after how much you drank last night.”
“How do you know how much I drank? Were you watching me all night?” I glance over and smile.
“No, but I carried your ass in and that says enough about how intoxicated you were.”
Interesting. I don’t even remember that. Last thing I remember was scraping my back down the back of the building and waiting for her to come out with that asshole Pelton. I was fully prepared to kick his ass last night. Now, I’m thankful it didn’t come down to that. Curiosity getting the best of me, I need to know what happened with those two. He seemed to be getting up close and personal before I went outside. “What did Pelton want last night? You two looked like you were hitting it off pretty well. The bastard even tipped you a hundred.”
“It was eighty-four, and I gave it back. Apparently he thought he could pay for his way between my legs.”
My jaw ticks as I clamp my mouth shut tightly. Trying to hold back my upset, I glance out the driver’s side window. “Oh yeah, and you weren’t interested?”
“Of course I wasn’t interested.”
I brush the thoughts aside. “Good.”
“Good?” She turns her head toward me. “Would it bother you if I did go back to his hotel with him?”
“You’re a big girl. You can do whatever you want.” I pull up to the stop sign right before Lulu’s and look both ways before crossing and pulling alongside the front of the restaurant.
“You’re right. I am,” she agrees.
Truth is, if Rowan had gone back to Pelton’s room, I probably would have kicked her ass out and never talked to her again. I don’t want to care—but I do. After what happened between us a few nights ago, something changed. I’ve changed. I can’t stop thinking about her and the way it felt to be inside of her. To feel her warm breath against the skin of my neck. Her fingers trailing lines down my chest. I’m getting hard just thinking about it. I ignored her for a while, hoping the feelings would disappear. When they didn’t, I tried to drink them away. Fuck if they aren’t still there.
We go inside and grab a booth that faces the road. Rowan has been staring out the window in a daze ever since we ordered. “What’s wrong?” I ask her.
Her eyes widen as she turns to look at me. “Hmm?” She chews on the inside of her cheek.
“I asked what’s wrong. You look like you have something on your mind.”
“What makes you think that?”
“Because you always bite the inside of your cheek when you are deep in thought. Also, because you’ve been staring at nothing out the window for the last five minutes.”
“I’m fine. Just thinking about my next move.” She takes a sip of her water, peering at me over the rim of her glass.
Her face is free of makeup and she looks naturally beautiful. Even with her hair disheveled and a T-shirt that looks far too big for her. “Is that my shirt?”
Looking down, she pulls the shirt out to get a look. “Oh yeah, sorry,” she shrieks. “I just grabbed it quickly this morning.”
I’m not complaining. It’s actually pretty damn sexy. Gemma used to—I stop the thought. I can’t go there. I can’t compare everything Rowan does to her sister.
God, I miss her so much.
I need to focus on the here and now. “What is your next move?” I ask. Killing two birds with one stone—curiosity and small talk.
“Well, I need to go back to my old hole in the wall apartment and pack up my things. Assuming my landlord hasn’t already done that. Before I left for the treatment center, I paid a couple months of rent, but that’s run dry and I’m sure I’m late. Then I think I’ll go stay in Arizona for a bit. I’m sure Aunt Lori would like the company.” She shrugs. “Who knows, maybe I’ll lay down some roots there.”
“Honestly, I think that’s probably a good plan.” I hate to say it. As much fun as it’s been having Rowan around, this isn’t going to last. We both know it. Whatever I’ve been feeling these past couple of weeks will disappear the minute she walks out that door. I’m not even sure I’ll ever see her again when she does leave. There is no reason for her to come back to Sunnyville, and I doubt I’ll ever visit Lori in Arizona.
Suddenly, the tension in the room becomes suffocating. Rowan looks as if she’s on the verge of tears and I’m really needing coffee before I say something else that actually makes her cry. Girls crying is the worst. Especially when it’s your fault. I’m no idiot. I know that Rowan is feeling the same way I am. The only difference is, I can shut it off. I just hope she can do the same. The waitress joins us with our food and her timing couldn’t be more perfect. She sets our plates down in front of us.