Simmering Love (Slow Burn Book 3) Page 11

  Danger just stares at me, blinking once.

  “What? Like you’ve never fibbed … even a little bit? I know you’ve said you finished your meal to get a treat before. Don’t lie,” I say, bending to pat his head, and then I realize I sound a little loony. “Come on. Let’s get back inside.”

  I tug on his leash, and we head back in the apartment, running into Ben, who is standing right beside the door.

  Oof.

  “What are you doing, just chilling in front of the door?” I ask, placing a hand on his chest to push myself back.

  “Couldn’t find you or Danger. Was about to check outside.”

  “Here we are,” I say with a bright smile. “So, I’ve come to a decision.”

  “On what?”

  He reaches to shut the door behind me, and I head to the kitchen to whip up some pancakes for my intense day ahead.

  “I’m going to tell my parents the truth as soon as they get here.”

  “I think that’s great,” Ben says, sitting at the table and leaning back in his chair, hands locked behind his head.

  I’m momentarily distracted by his bare arms staring at me, all muscly and beautiful, but then I shake my head, looking back down at the bowl of blueberries I’m washing.

  “Set the chair back down. You’ll fall backward and hurt yourself.”

  “What are you, my mom?” He sits back down with a chuckle.

  In all honesty, I just couldn’t look at him like that and then try to form coherent sentences.

  “I’ve got to meet my brother about that money today, but I can be here after that.”

  “You don’t have to be here if you don’t want.” I shrug, not looking at him.

  “I don’t have anything else going on. I’ll be your support.” He stands and stretches his arms back, letting a sliver of skin show above the sweats he’s wearing.

  Gah.

  I nod to let him know I heard and continue making pancakes. He shuffles back to his room, leaving me with my dirty thoughts and pounding heart to slowly melt in the kitchen.

  My phone dings, and I pick it up, seeing a message from Andi.

  Andi: How is Operation Get Pepper Laid going?

  Pepper: That’s not a real thing. I don’t need your help.

  Andi: You are twenty-three, woman. You need my help.

  Pepper: There is nothing wrong with being a virgin at twenty-three.

  Andi: Nope, there’s not. And I respect your wishes to remain a virgin. But when you need some help, I’m your girl.

  Pepper: What are you, my pimp?

  Andi: Has a nice ring to it …

  I laugh and stick my phone back in my pocket. I have bigger things to worry about right now. Like telling my parents I’ve been lying to them.

  I plate up a few pancakes and go knock on Ben’s door, holding them out when he opens it and shutting my eyes tightly so I can’t see his naked chest.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Giving you privacy.” I peek one eye open and then quickly close it again.

  “You’re so weird.” He chuckles and takes the plate and fork I offered. He digs in, standing in front of me like a caveman. “These are delicious,” he says around a mouthful of food.

  I open my eyes, and my entire body warms at the compliment. Warning bells go off in my head.

  Walk away now. Run away. Do not lean up and lick the drop of syrup on the corner of his mouth.

  I dart across the hallway and into my room, slamming the door behind me before wincing at the sound of his laughter.

  “Put a shirt on,” I yell through the door, and his laughter only gets louder.

  “You could take yours off, and then we’d be even,” he says.

  It takes me a second to comprehend what he just said.

  Is he … was that … was he flirting?

  I crack the door open, and he’s still there, smirking at me and eating my pancakes, looking way too good. I narrow my eyes at him.

  He was just joking. I convince myself.

  “So, that’s a no on you taking your shirt off?” comes the reply.

  I slap my hand over my mouth to suppress my laughter.

  “That’s a no,” I say back, closing the door and turning to lean against it.

  I stay with my back to the door until I hear his shut, and I quickly gather my clothes and dart to the bathroom for a shower. I make mental notes of what all I need to get.

  I feel right. My decision feels right, and I think I might be lifting a weight off my shoulders by not hiding this from my parents anymore.

  17

  Ben

  Pepper’s parents are supposed to arrive today, and it honestly sounds like it’s going to be a clusterfuck. I’m hungover, and she’s nervous as hell to tell them her secret. I wish I could take it from her and be the one to tell them, sheltering her from their disappointment.

  I’m heading to take money out of my savings to give to my brother, and I can’t even focus on it.

  I curse and hit the steering wheel. Embarrassment blooms through my body that I’ve let myself get so involved in this girl’s life that I’m now trying to plan it out for her.

  Will I ever stop trying to protect people?

  “Hello?” I answer my phone, which has been ringing off the hook since I climbed into my truck. I know who it is, but it looked like he was going to drive me crazy if I didn’t take the call.

  “Where are you?” His gruff voice grates on my ear, and I squeeze my fingers tighter, my jaw clenching so much that my teeth ache.

  “Going to get your money,” I say, proud of myself for reining my anger in and not saying what I truly want to. “I told Mom and Dad.” My words hang, suspended across the phone between us, before I hear him breathing again.

  “That wasn’t your place,” he says.

  I sigh. “You weren’t going to. Where else do you get your money?”

  “I know people.”

  “Do you, Mark? Why didn’t you ask them instead of me?” I can feel the blood starting to boil in my veins.

  It’s the same thing every time. He gets in trouble, and I bail him out. Wash, rinse, repeat. Now, he’s trying to lie and tell me he can get it taken care of? I don’t think so.

  “When will you be here?” His voice changes to a pleading tone, and I roll my eyes.

  That’s what I thought.

  “Soon. Where are you living now?”

  “Hotel. I’m moving to Pete’s place after we meet. Thank you for kicking me out.”

  “You tried to steal from me,” I say as calmly as I can muster.

  “I was going to pay you back.”

  “When?”

  The line goes silent, and I let my shoulders drop. It’s not worth it, getting so worked up over this. I can’t change him. After years of trying, I’ve finally seen that.

  “Look, Mark, I’m running into the bank now, and then I’ll be there. Just sit tight.”

  I glance over at the envelope sitting on my console. Dad handed it to me before we left their house.

  I’m not crazy. I keep it in the console, so nobody tries to break in and steal the five thousand dollars I’m just toting around like it’s an everyday occurrence, but I can feel it as soon as I sit down, like a noose around my neck. Or around Mark’s.

  I don’t want to bail him out. I don’t want to keep teaching him that I’ll always be there to rescue him. But it’s so ingrained in me now that I couldn’t stop if I tried. Maybe I don’t truly want to stop. Maybe I want to be someone’s hero.

  I pull into the bank parking lot and sigh, letting my head fall forward until my forehead hits the steering wheel. After a few breaths, I pick myself up and glance out the window, seeing a young girl with her face pressed up against her car window, staring at me.

  Live it up, little girl. Pretty soon, you’ll be an adult, and then your own soul will be sucked dry by leeches and people who only care about themselves.

  I do what needs to be done at the bank. The teller doesn’t
even bat an eye when I request to take five thousand dollars out of my savings account.

  I was at least hoping for an, Are you sure, sir?

  But, no, she lets me take it, no questions asked.

  I looked it up, and you only have to fill out paperwork if it’s ten thousand or more.

  Pulling into the parking lot of Waffle House, I see Mark sitting in one of the front booths, a stack of pancakes in front of him, and he’s eating without a care in the world.

  How do people like him do it? How do they take and take, never giving back, and then fall asleep at night?

  I feel like I’m about to do a drug deal. The money burns through the envelope in my hand as I stuff it in my jeans pocket. The bulge it makes is obscene, so I opt to just carry it.

  “Ben, hey. You want anything?” Mark asks as soon as I sit down, so fucking cheery and willing to buy me breakfast because I’m helping him out.

  Maybe he considers this payback? A couple of pieces of bacon and scrambled eggs for ten thousand dollars. Most expensive breakfast I’ve ever had.

  “Nah,” I say since I just ate pancakes.

  Just then a plate of every breakfast meat, plus a few pancakes, eggs, and a biscuit, is laid in front of me, proving that Mark already ordered for me before I got here. Maybe the way to a guy’s heart is through his stomach after all because even though I just ate, I can feel myself warming up as soon as the first bite of eggs touches my tongue.

  “Who do you owe, Mark?” I ask, reminding myself why I’m meeting him with an envelope of cold, hard cash.

  “Just some guys. Got in a little over my head,” Mark says with a shrug before stuffing another forkful of pancakes in his mouth.

  “A little?” I say sarcastically.

  “Thanks, man. For bailing me out. I’ll pay you back,” he says begrudgingly.

  I won’t hold my breath. We both know he’s not going to pay me back, but I just shrug and continue eating. No use in voicing it.

  “These guys, should we be worried about them?”

  “Nah, I’ve got it handled.”

  Translation: be worried about them.

  “Okay. Well, this is the last time. You need to find a job and quit trying to get rich quick. I can put a good word in for you with Jimmy, the guy who gets me odd jobs every once in a while.”

  “I don’t want to do odd jobs,” he says, a little bit of pancake falling out of his mouth, and I cringe.

  “Well, what you are doing right now isn’t really working out so well, is it?”

  He glares at me, and I glare right back. I won’t back down now. I’m tired, and I don’t want to parent him anymore. I pull my wrist up and check the time, wanting to be anywhere but here.

  “Yeah, I hear you. This coming from the guy who kicked me out.” He brings it up again.

  “Look, you forced me to. I have a new roommate now, one who doesn’t try to steal my things.” I wipe my mouth and stand, throwing a twenty on the table to cover my meal. “You have my number and my help. Use it. Quit hanging out with Pete. He’s not a good friend.”

  I force myself to walk away while Mark shakes his head at me. Maybe tough love will work now. Lord knows that soft love isn’t working.

  I promised Pepper I would pick up a few things from the grocery store on my way home. She’s cooking for her parents, and I could feel the tension in the air before I left as she scrambled around the kitchen, a wild look in her eyes. I was kind of grateful to be able to leave, but meeting with Mark was just as stressful.

  Pushing open the apartment door, I’m greeted with a delicious smell that sets my stomach rumbling even though I just ate a second breakfast. Pepper is looking frantic and bouncing back and forth in the kitchen, her hair up in a fluffy bun that I want to unravel and run my fingers through.

  “Hey,” she says, her tone bright, and she has a warm smile on her face, making my heart jump a little.

  I’ve never been affected by someone like this, and I wonder if I’m just letting the stress get to me.

  “Got your stuff,” I say, holding the bag up, walking into the kitchen, and setting it on the counter.

  “Thank you,” she says, rising up on her tiptoes to wrap her arms around me, shocking me.

  I freeze for a second but then wrap my arms around her. It feels good to be holding her. If this is how I can feel with her skin underneath mine, then I’ll let her caress me in the kitchen over a bag of ingredients from the store.

  “When are you headed to get your parents?”

  “Oh, great news. They decided to rent a car, so they’ll be here in …” She pulls her phone off the counter and checks the time. “Oh my God, I’ve got to get in the shower.”

  She takes off for the hallway, and I watch her go. Then, I glance back at the oven as it counts down. Pepper runs back out clutching a wad of clothes and looks at the timer too.

  “Will you take those out when the timer goes off?” she yells behind her as goes back down the hallway, and I hear the door to the bathroom slam shut.

  I still don’t know when her parents are supposed to be here, and now, I’m left to guard the cookies and the door, praying with all my might that she’s ready before they arrive.

  No such luck.

  The shower is still running when I hear a knock on the door. Danger barks, and I have the urge to slink into my bedroom by myself and pretend that I didn’t hear the knock.

  Danger stands at the door and continues barking, ruining my plans, and now, I have to open the door to Pepper’s parents’ smiling faces and greet them with my own.

  Glancing back toward the hallway, I confirm that Pepper still hasn’t come out of the bathroom, and the blaring music under the door tells me she definitely didn’t hear the knock. This is all on me, and honestly, I’m not sure if she’s even told them about me.

  “Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Stratten,” I say after opening the door.

  If there’s anything I can do, it’s good manners. They look confused for a moment, wondering who this strange man is, opening their daughter’s door, and why I know their name.

  Mrs. Stratten recovers first.

  “Hello,” she says, giving me a tight smile. “Who are you?” She cocks an eyebrow.

  “I’m Ben, Pepper’s roommate. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” I stick my hand out between us, hoping one of them will take it.

  Mr. Stratten steps forward across the threshold and clasps my hand in his, a tight grip that doesn’t feel too friendly. It more or less says, You’d better not have touched my daughter, or I’m fucking your shit up.

  “Roommate?” Mrs. Stratten asks, the last part coming out high-pitched, as if she doesn’t believe her daughter could hide something like this from her.

  Believe me, she’s hiding more than that. Is her name even Pepper?

  “Yes, ma’am. She’s in the bathroom right now, but she should be out soon.”

  Mrs. Stratten nods at my statement and lets her gaze peruse the living room we’re standing in. “Pepper didn’t tell us she had a male roommate.”

  Pepper hasn’t told you a lot, I’d wager.

  “Yeah, it was kind of a spur-of-the-moment thing. I actually know Mason. That’s, um, sort of how we met.”

  Kind of.

  “I see,” she says, but it’s very clear she doesn’t see.

  “It’s really no big deal. I’m not here a lot of the time. I work down at the station with Mason as a volunteer, and then I do construction work with a friend. She basically has the place to herself.”

  “I see,” Mrs. Stratten says.

  “I’m off today,” I say unnecessarily, stepping back a little and cursing myself for opening that stupid door.

  Danger sits next to my feet, his head cocked to the side and eyes focused on the couple standing in front of us. He hasn’t decided how he feels about them either. Now, I kind of see why Pepper would keep secrets. Her parents are sort of imposing. Their feelings are very evident on their faces.

  “How convenient,” Mr. Strat
ten murmurs.

  I don’t say anything. Better wait for Pep before I fuck this up any more. I decide that I definitely won’t rat her out. I don’t want the wrath focused on me. With my luck, they would blame me for corrupting their precious little daughter.

  The door finally opens, and Pepper steps out of the bathroom. Her steps falter in the hallway when she sees the three of us in a standoff before she finally recovers and pastes a large smile on her face.

  “Mom, Dad.” She gives them both hugs before stepping back and nervously fidgeting with her hands. “I see you’ve met my roommate, Ben.”

  Her eyes dart to mine, and she mouths, Sorry.

  I just wink back.

  “Yes, we have. Interesting that you never mentioned that he is in fact a he,” her mom says.

  Pepper flinches at the tone of her mom’s voice.

  “Yes, well … it just never came up. I’ve fixed lunch for us,” she says brightly before moving into the kitchen.

  I follow behind her before helping to carry the dishes to the table where she motioned for her parents to sit down.

  Do I really want to suffer through what is possibly going to be the most awkward meal in my short twenty-seven years of life?

  Pepper pats the seat next to her, so I’m left with the choice of getting the hell out of Dodge and hurting her feelings or sitting down and enduring her parents’ glares the entire meal.

  Spoiler alert: I pick option two.

  “How have classes been going?” her mom asks before we’ve even shoveled the first bite in.

  I see Pepper flush, and she glances at me, waiting to see if I will spill the beans like I did at Mason’s.

  Baby, my lips are sealed.

  “They’re going great. I’m really enjoying them,” Pepper says, pushing food around on her plate.

  “What all are you taking again?” her dad asks.

  Now, I’m leaning forward, really invested in what she’s going to say. I’m thankful that I’m not in her shoes right now.

  “Oh, you know, the typical classes,” she says in a noncommittal tone.

  I have to fight back a smirk. I nudge her with my knee, and she shoots me a look, but I can’t decipher it before her mom is chiming back in.