her eyes were full of tears. How could her son leave her in an apartment alone like this? She needed someone with her all the time. “No, dear. Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I just smiled and walked out of her wide-open front door, and right into a nicely muscled chest.
“Jesus, Kash!”
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing? Why are you just standing out here like a creeper?”
He smirked and followed me over to my apartment. “I’m trying to figure out why you’re army-crawling all over the breezeway and shouting for a candy bar.”
“I’m not shouting for a candy bar, I’m looking for a cat that isn’t there.”
One of his thick eyebrows rose and he bit down on his lip ring to try to hide his smile as he held my door open for us.
“Mrs. Adams . . . isn’t exactly all there. She thinks she has cats and she doesn’t. And every Thursday since we moved in, she’s come knocking at eight thirty asking for me to help her look for them.”
“And you help her, knowing they aren’t there?”
“Well, I didn’t know the first time until I got into her apartment. Her cats are really stuffed animals and pillows.”
“But you helped her every other time knowing what you know?” He’d stopped biting on that ring and his lips kept tilting up as he tried to control his smile.
“Yeah, Kash, I did. Because no one else does, and don’t laugh at me! It’s not funny, I feel really bad for her! You should see how upset she gets over this.”
I turned to walk into my room, but he caught me around my waist and hauled my body back to his. “I’m not laughing at you, Rach,” he mumbled huskily, and his gray eyes roamed my face. “I think it’s adorable that you help her. You’re really just a big softy, aren’t you?” Laughing when I growled at him, he continued to piss me off even more. “You’re like Sour Patch Kids candy.”
“What the hell?”
“Sour . . . then sweet.”
“I will castrate you if you don’t let me go right now.” My eyes narrowed and he lost his fight as he grinned widely at me and kept me in his arms. When I realized he wasn’t letting go, I sighed as I gave in. “Look, it breaks my heart. She shouldn’t be there by herself. Her son drops off food three times a week and he’s only here for about twenty minutes or so each time. She needs someone with her all the time. Instead she’s just—she’s alone. I hate that for her.”
Kash’s face softened and his hold on me got a little tighter. My heart picked up its pace and I blinked quickly as I looked away and pushed out of his strong grip.
“Do you want breakfast?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Clearing his throat, he looked behind him, toward the kitchen. “What are you gonna make me, woman?”
I snorted. “When you call me that, I literally just want to give you a bowl of cereal.” But even as I said the words, I pulled the sausage out of the fridge and grabbed the pancake mix.
“You know you like it.” I jumped when his voice came from directly behind me. He took the food out of my hands and put it on the counter before grabbing the skillet out of the cupboard. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t keep cooking for me.”
Rolling my eyes, I tried to act like his voice and nearness didn’t have any kind of effect on me. But I’m sure I wasn’t succeeding. I was positive he could hear the way my heart was pounding, the way my breaths were coming far too quickly, and see the goose bumps covering my arms.
We worked quickly and easily together in the kitchen, and soon my body relaxed as I remembered we could only be friends and we slipped into the comfortable banter Kash and I had shared over the last week.
Just as we were finishing up and I was grabbing plates out of the cabinet, Mason walked in without knocking and announced, “Kash, we gotta go.”
“Breakfast,” was his only reply.
“Nope, now.”
I set down the plates just in time to be picked up in one of Mason’s bear hugs, and
I just smiled and walked out of her wide-open front door, and right into a nicely muscled chest.
“Jesus, Kash!”
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing? Why are you just standing out here like a creeper?”
He smirked and followed me over to my apartment. “I’m trying to figure out why you’re army-crawling all over the breezeway and shouting for a candy bar.”
“I’m not shouting for a candy bar, I’m looking for a cat that isn’t there.”
One of his thick eyebrows rose and he bit down on his lip ring to try to hide his smile as he held my door open for us.
“Mrs. Adams . . . isn’t exactly all there. She thinks she has cats and she doesn’t. And every Thursday since we moved in, she’s come knocking at eight thirty asking for me to help her look for them.”
“And you help her, knowing they aren’t there?”
“Well, I didn’t know the first time until I got into her apartment. Her cats are really stuffed animals and pillows.”
“But you helped her every other time knowing what you know?” He’d stopped biting on that ring and his lips kept tilting up as he tried to control his smile.
“Yeah, Kash, I did. Because no one else does, and don’t laugh at me! It’s not funny, I feel really bad for her! You should see how upset she gets over this.”
I turned to walk into my room, but he caught me around my waist and hauled my body back to his. “I’m not laughing at you, Rach,” he mumbled huskily, and his gray eyes roamed my face. “I think it’s adorable that you help her. You’re really just a big softy, aren’t you?” Laughing when I growled at him, he continued to piss me off even more. “You’re like Sour Patch Kids candy.”
“What the hell?”
“Sour . . . then sweet.”
“I will castrate you if you don’t let me go right now.” My eyes narrowed and he lost his fight as he grinned widely at me and kept me in his arms. When I realized he wasn’t letting go, I sighed as I gave in. “Look, it breaks my heart. She shouldn’t be there by herself. Her son drops off food three times a week and he’s only here for about twenty minutes or so each time. She needs someone with her all the time. Instead she’s just—she’s alone. I hate that for her.”
Kash’s face softened and his hold on me got a little tighter. My heart picked up its pace and I blinked quickly as I looked away and pushed out of his strong grip.
“Do you want breakfast?”
“Uh, yeah. Sure.” Clearing his throat, he looked behind him, toward the kitchen. “What are you gonna make me, woman?”
I snorted. “When you call me that, I literally just want to give you a bowl of cereal.” But even as I said the words, I pulled the sausage out of the fridge and grabbed the pancake mix.
“You know you like it.” I jumped when his voice came from directly behind me. He took the food out of my hands and put it on the counter before grabbing the skillet out of the cupboard. “If you didn’t, you wouldn’t keep cooking for me.”
Rolling my eyes, I tried to act like his voice and nearness didn’t have any kind of effect on me. But I’m sure I wasn’t succeeding. I was positive he could hear the way my heart was pounding, the way my breaths were coming far too quickly, and see the goose bumps covering my arms.
We worked quickly and easily together in the kitchen, and soon my body relaxed as I remembered we could only be friends and we slipped into the comfortable banter Kash and I had shared over the last week.
Just as we were finishing up and I was grabbing plates out of the cabinet, Mason walked in without knocking and announced, “Kash, we gotta go.”
“Breakfast,” was his only reply.
“Nope, now.”
I set down the plates just in time to be picked up in one of Mason’s bear hugs, and
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