The Deal Dilemma

If there’s one thing I’ve learned in the last several days, it’s that Crew Taylor is completely insatiable… and a little more paranoid than I remember.

His need to watch over me, be near me, be inside me is marvelously exhausting, yet somehow, I still wake in the middle of the night unable to keep my hands to myself, but I should have expected as much, considering how long I’ve waited for this.

Truth be told, I had given up on a chance to go from him and me to “us,” especially once we made that stupid deal. I thought for sure his rejection confirmed I was out of my league, and in many ways, I am. Crew’s this tall, strong, walking enigma—tanned and toned and primed in inky art, where I’m so standard across the board, I can hardly find pants or shoes I want, my size so… average. So common.

I mean, I’m not even a real brunette, but a basic and boring blonde, no pretty waves or deep ringlets to speak of.

But what the hell do I care if Crew chooses to have me on his arm, under his body?

It never really bothered me to be the unspectacular girl next door in comparison to others, but I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to be prettier or sexier or any other ideal I assumed Crew preferred over what I was. Is that a little pitiful? Maybe, but it’s honest. What young girl doesn’t look in the mirror at least once, wishing to magically morph into exactly what the boy she likes would like? Not many, I’d bet.

To know Crew wants me as I am settles me in a way I can’t explain, in a way I didn’t know I needed. His tentative, one might call obsessive, ways make it that much harder to be away from him. It sucked worse than I thought it would to go back to work this week, but that’s life.

If only I could figure out what the hell to do with mine. According to my parents, I’m suddenly supposed to know exactly where to go from here.

What a load of crap.

So I graduated college with a degree in both mathematics and microbiology, cool. And?

I’m as clueless now as I was when I enrolled.

I wonder if Xavier feels the same? I think as I spot him pulling up outside—Crew insisted I have an escort to the bar, rather than driving myself there. I guess he wants me to ride home with him after closing.

Clocking out, I say bye to the girls and meet X at his truck.

“What’s up, girl?”

“Hey.” I smile, spotting not one but two 7-Eleven cups in the holders.

I meet his gaze with pleading eyes, and he laughs.

“Yes, girl, one’s for you, and while I would love to take credit, I won’t.” He smirks. “This time.”

Chuckling, I go right for it, settling against the seat with a sigh as he pulls onto the road. I decompress a moment before I turn to X.

“What do you want to do when you graduate?”

His head snaps toward mine at the unexpected question before focusing on the road again.

“I mean, I’ve still got a year of school left, and while I’m a badass on the baseball field.” The man literally pauses to grin my way and I shove his shoulder. “I have no unrealistic notion of going further, and while I can’t say if someone came to me today and offered me a spot on a roster, that I wouldn’t accept it, but…”

“But?”

“But I’m simple folk.” He laughs at himself. “I kind of want to rise with the sun and be home before dark. Maybe have some kind of farm, but nothing fancy. Shit, I can manage with a buddy or two.”

“Aw, that’s so cute.”

“Aye, Mommy, don’t say that.” He shakes his head with amusement. “Sounds like a good life though, don’t it?”

“Yeah, it does.” I take another long, slow drink, letting the cold linger on my tongue until my teeth grow sensitive. “So, what are you majoring in, then?”

“Bullshit that keeps my grades decent enough to play. My coach helped me figure it out, but turns out, he’s a prick who only cares about himself, fucked my buddy, Tobias, over pretty good, so I should probably go see a counselor.”

I almost spit out my Slurpee, laughing at him. “Ah, fuck it.”

Xavier’s grin widens, and he too grabs his ICEE, but he’s not skilled like me, and not ten seconds later, he’s gripping his head with a grunt.

Boys, such crybabies.

“All right, I had strict instructions to deliver you to the back door, however, that tow truck looks like he’s got his work cut out for him.”

I look to find the truck attempting to wedge between two buildings, a broken-down van, hidden in the dark. “Oh, that looks sketch.”

“Girl, it’s eleven p.m., not much isn’t.” He shrugs, reversing and pulling around the side. “Front entrance, it is. I’ll just be sure to walk you in.”

“Good save,” I tease.

Climbing from the truck, I wait in front of it for Xavier to lock up, and a car comes down the street. The black El Camino rolls slowly by, and a small frown builds along my brow when a flash of silvery-black hair catches my eye.

“Hey, X…”

The car speeds off, burning out before shredding from the parking lot.

“Whoa, that thing’s got some power.” Xavier steps up, concern drawing his brows in when he spots me. “You good?”

“Yeah. Let’s go inside.”

Just as we make it through the door, I spot Crew disappearing around the corner, so I stay beside X until we’re close, and then break off, heading up to the office.

My feet lock in place, eyes bulging as I reach the room’s threshold.

It’s free of Crew, so I have no clue where he went, but right now, I don’t even care.

This is the space I was in not three days ago; yet it looks nothing like the stuffy, broke down place it did before. Not in the slightest.

A sudden tsunami whirls in my stomach, my hand shooting out to catch the frame of the door, my knees literally threatening to grow too weak to hold my body up. My blood runs warm, yet a shiver runs down my spine.

The dusty cream walls have been painted a soft gray, the window free of the ancient, split blinds, and in their place, dark-blue curtains, sheer enough to allow the sun in before dark.

The rickety bookshelf is nowhere to be found, a larger one in its place, the color a perfect match to the curtains, everything placed exactly as I had it on the other—a little messy, a lot left to do, but on its way to being organized.

The cot in the corner is still there, but it sits nearly twice as high, a fluffy gray comforter draped over it and hiding the bottom, blue pillows perched against the wall to make it look like a cozy couch or perfect reading nook.

There’s a whiteboard on the wall above it, a giant crisscross square in the center, ready and waiting for a game of tic-tac-toe.

My eyes grow cloudy, my fingers shaking as they rise to press at my lips.

This is…

“You were supposed to wait so I could see your face when you walked in.”

Crew’s gravelly tone wraps around me from behind, and my chest inflates with a deep inhale.

“I’m pretty sure my face has yet to leave the state of holy shiznit, he did not, he so did, this is… yeah.”

Crew laughs loudly and comes around to step in front of me because I can’t seem to make my feet shift or head turn to face him.

He calls my eyes to his, bending and getting into my direct line of sight.

My lips press firmly together to keep from crying like a baby, but I don’t think I’m doing a good job. Crew’s face transforms, the amusement fading into something deeper, softer, and I want to bottle the expression and keep it forever. The vulnerability, dipped and wrapped in pride, is a good look on him.

“Baby, you like it?” His voice is so low, my chest aches.

“Are you joking?” I whisper.

Crew chuckles, reaching for me, but I’m frozen, my eyes snapping to the left corner, where a three-tier rolling cart sits, stacked to the nines with all the things my nerdy heart loves—paper, pens, folders, labels, sticky notes, and on top… snacks.

His hand finds my cheek, tucking my hair behind my ear as he eases my eyes to his. “Is it too much?”

“Is that another joke?”

Crew smirks, but his gaze is a little tense, so I press my hands to his chest, and his muscles settle beneath my touch.

“You did this for me?” My voice cracks. “Changed your office, got all this… for me?”

His nod is slow, eyes pinned to mine.

“But… why?”

“Isn’t it obvious, Sweets?”

I shake my head, and his soft laughter wafts over my skin, causing my eyes to close for a few brief moments.

“Baby, I want you to have a comfortable place to be when you come here, and on the chance you want to keep working your way through my mess, I wanted to do what I could to make that easier on you.”

My lids open and his lips curve to one side.

“I’m shit at all the things you’re good at, but I want to be good at giving you all the things you need.”

“I just need you.”

“So you don’t want the bag of Cheetos over there?”

“Hey now, don’t get crazy.”

Crew skims his tongue over his lower lip, grinning, and I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him down for a long, slow kiss. His forehead falls to mine once he breaks away.

“Being what you need is all I want, Sweets, so to hear you say that has me all twisted.”

“How about we twist up the sheets over there?”

Crew smirks. “Love to, baby, but I’ve got a twenty-first birthday party in the reserved section downstairs who booked for fifteen people and showed with twenty-five. Shit’s getting wild. I’ve got to get back down there before Drew beats someone.”

Laughing, I pull back, but Crew hesitates.

“What?”

“I don’t want you to feel like you have to touch any of that shit.” He jerks his head to the bookshelf. “That’s not why I like you here, and that’s not why I did this. My hours are fucked up and unfair, so I wanted you to have a spot to sleep on the nights you come to me.”

“Thank you, but this is good for me. I’m bored at home. Without school, I need to keep my mind moving or I’ll go crazy, but the way this room was, was okay with me. I didn’t need any of this, Crew, but the fact that you did all this just for me… I kind of feel the need to bow to a king right now.”

“Wait until you open the drawers.”

Excitement blooms, my grin stretching.

Crew steps closer, pressing another quick kiss to my lips, smacks my ass and heads out the door. “Love you, Sweets.” My insides turn to mush and I nod. “Be back up to check on you in a bit.”

He walks out, and I rush right over to the desk, smiling down at the drawers.

I tug the first drawer open, laughing at the perfect rows of Pixy Stix, then pull open the second to find it full of mini boxes of Red Hots and Lemonheads.

Last, I pull the large bottom drawer out, practically stomping my feet at the dozens of individually wrapped candy necklaces.

A deep, happy sigh leaves me, and I shake my head. “I fucking love this man.”

“Oh, yeah?” Layla’s voice has me whipping around. She smiles at the room, laughing as she meets my gaze. “He should so get his dick sucked tonight.”

A laugh bursts from me, and she smiles wider, her hands folding over her growing bump.

“I’m headed home. I just wanted to say bye, and… thanks.”

“For?”

She shrugs coyly, her eyes flicking to the ceiling. “I might have made an appointment with a friend to talk loans and permits.”

“What?!” I gape, running to her. “Oh my god, that’s amazing! But don’t pay a fee. I can help with the permits part, or the filing, anyway, and figuring out what kind you would need. You’d just have to pay the filing fees, assuming there are some.”

“Davis, no. I don’t want to take advantage.”

“What? No. Oh my god, Layla, my mind is so bored. You have no idea how much I used to study. I basically need this.” I laugh.

She chuckles and then says, “What if I hired you?”

My face falls. “What?”

“I pay you what I planned to pay them. It’s fair.”

“But I want to help, not take.”

“You are helping, Davis. Don’t make me feel like a snaky broke bitch and take my money or I’ll find someone else.”

Okay, I understand where she’s coming from, but. “Okay, I get it. What if… what if we make a deal?”

“What is with you and deals?” she teases but adds, “I’m listening.”

“I help you get everything in motion, and you can give me whatever you were going to pay them when we celebrate after a successful grand opening.”

Layla purses her lips, eyes narrowing, but then her smile spreads wide, and she flails her hands up. “Holy shit, I’m opening a business!”

We squeal, jumping up and down like girls will do.

Willie comes around the corner just then, stealing his wife from me with a quick tug of her top. “What did I walk into?”

“None of your business.” Layla winks my way.

“That means she’ll tell me after I spread—”

“Okay, time to go!” She waves, leading her man out the door.

I drop back onto the cot turned fluffy dream nook and fold my hands beneath my head with a smile.

God, my life.

A few weeks ago, I was alone, mentally and physically, and now?

I have friends, a boyfriend, and something real to look forward to.

Something more.

I may not know where I’ll be professionally a year from now, but I hope to hell, on nights like this one, I’ll be lucky enough to be in this exact spot… waiting for my man to take me home.