??Its Too Late??
Chapter 31
…….
Asa follows me out of the bedroom and down the stairs. Dalton is standing at the base of the stares, and I can see the concern in his eyes.
I still don’t trust him.
I walk back into the kitchen and straight to the stove. I pull the noodles off the burner and begin pouring them into the strainer just as a car pulls up in the driveway.
Carter POV
I finish straining the noodles, staring down at my ring the whole time.
It’s not even straight. It’ll be a Ɓîtçh peeling off the super glue and will probably take me days. The least the @$$h0le could have done was make sure he glued it on straight. It’s going to drive me crazy.
I make sure not to look at the front door when it opens. I go back to the stove and stir the spaghetti sauce, then check the meatballs in the oven. Asa is washing blood off his arms at the sink when Carter walks into the kitchen and opens the refrigerator.
“What happened to you?” Carter says.
I can’t make out what Asa says thanks to the pulse still pounding in my ears, but Carter laughs. “You guys win any jackpots?”
I turn around and walk to the sink, catching a glimpse of Carter out of the corner of my eye.
Asa shakes his head and says, “Not a goddamn thing. Not like that jackpot you had wrapped around you Friday night.”
It feels like all the blood completely leaves my heart. I can’t look at Carter right now. I can’t. Either Asa is testing me to see if I react to that statement or Carter isn’t at all who I thought he was.
“She was a motherf-__-king firecracker,” Asa adds. “Good job, man. I was definitely impressed.”
I walk to the oven to check on the meatballs, but only so I can get a glimpse of Carter’s face. He takes a sip of his beer, not making eye contact with me. “She’s just a friend,” he says.
I have to grip the oven door with all my strength, because it feels like I’m about to crash to the floor.
What girl? When? Friday night was when Carter came to my room and kissed me. How in the world did I not know he was here with someone else?
I feel like more of a fool in this moment than I’ve ever felt dating Asa. At least I’ve always known Asa is an @$$h0le.
I honestly thought Carter was different.
“A friend my @zz,” Asa says. “Do you hump Dalton against the living room wall like that? Jon? Where I come from, friends don’t do that to friends, my man.”
I pull the meatballs out of the oven and am forced to walk the long way around the island back to the stove, just to avoid either of them seeing the tears in my eyes. A few seconds later, I feel Asa’s arm slip around my waist. He kisses my neck, and f-__-k if I don’t turn around and plant my mouth on his. As much as I h@ťě him and as much as I want to cut his Ďïčk off for what he just did to me upstairs, this kiss isn’t at all about him.
I want Carter to feel what I just felt. Like there’s a huge gash in my chest.
f-__-king bastard. They’re all f-__-king bastards.
I pull away from Asa. “You’re making it hard to concentrate. You guys get out of the kitchen so I can finish cooking.”
I have no idea how I’m able to speak, because each of my words want to turn to sobs. I drop all the meatballs into the sauce, and as I’m pouring the noodles in, Dalton walks in the kitchen.
“Christ, Asa. Go take a f-__-king shower. We’ll all lose our appetite if we have to stare at all that blood while we eat.”
I use Dalton’s distraction to glance over at Carter. He’s staring right at me, his eyes full of concern. It’s like he’s trying to tell me a million things right now. He lifts his hand and runs his thumb over his bottom lip.
I don’t twirl my hair around my finger. Instead, I rub my mouth with my middle finger and then turn to face Asa. He pushes my hair over my shoulder. “You should come shower with me. It’ll be kind of hard to do it one-handed.”
I shake my head. “Later. I have to finish cooking.”
Asa runs his fingers down my arm, sliding them over my hand and over my ring. He turns and walks out of the kitchen. Dalton follows him. As soon as I’m alone with Carter, he’s rushing across the kitchen toward me. He stops when he reaches me and comes as close as he can without it looking suspicious. I grip the counter in front of me and don’t look up at him.
“It wasn’t like that, Sloan. I swear. You have to trust me.”
His words come out in a rushed, desperate whisper.
I don’t look at him when I say, “You were making out with another girl?” I slowly turn my head and make eye contact, and I can almost swear he’s about to risk getting caught and pull me to him.
He starts shaking his head. “I wouldn’t do that to you. It wasn’t like that.”
*****
His words are slow and precise this time. Everything about him makes me want to trust what he’s saying, but everything about every single male from my past tells me never to trust anyone with a Ďïčk.
He glances around to make sure no one can see us. All the guys in the living room have their backs to us and they’re facing the TV. Carter leans in and squeezes my wrist. “I would never do anything to hurt you. Ever. I swear on your brother’s life, Sloan.”
And that’s when I really get angry. I rare back and slap him so hard, all the guys in the living room turn around in their seats.
I’m more hurt than I’ve probably ever been in my life, but I’m still smart enough to know I need to cover up the fact that I just slapped him so it doesn’t appear personal. “Don’t talk about Asa like that, @$$h0le! He’s having a bad day!”
Carter immediately realizes what I’m doing. He forces a laugh for the sake of appearance and rubs his cheek, but I can see the devastation in his eyes as he turns and walks toward the living room.
I spin around and I stir the f-__-king spaghetti. I pause to wipe tears away with the sleeve of my shirt, and then I start stirring again. A minute later, Dalton appears at my side and reaches across me, dipping his finger in the sauce. He tastes the sauce and then slides his finger out of his mouth. “He’s telling you the truth, Sloan.”
He walks away, and that’s when I can’t control the tears any longer. I don’t know what to believe. Who to trust. Who to be mad at, who to love. I go to the sink and wash spaghetti sauce off my hands.
I need out of this house.
I walk to the back door and yell over my shoulder. “Your f-__-king spaghetti is ready, you goddamn @$$h0le motherf-__-kers!”
Carter-POV
I rinse out the last of the bowls and place them in the dishwasher.
Asa never made it down to eat. Sloan never came back inside. I texted Dalton a few minutes ago and asked him to go upstairs and check on the status of Asa before I risk going outside and talking to Sloan.
I wipe down the countertop and start the dishwasher. I hear Dalton coming down the stairs at the same time I get a text from him.
Dalton: He’s passed out naked on his bed. Looks like he’ll be that way for a while, but I’ll text you if he starts to come downstairs. Make sure your phone is on.
I double and triple check the sound and vibrate settings on my phone, then slide it in my pocket. I head outside to smooth things over with Sloan.
She’s in the middle of the swimming pool, floating on her back, staring up at the stars. She doesn’t look at me when she hears the back door shut.
As I’m making my way toward her, I notice her shirt and jeans are thrown over a lounge chair.
f-__-king hell.
She’s swimming in her underwear.
That may be normal practice for her around here, but it just feels like I’m stepping on a landmine by being out here while she’s not technically in a bathing suit.
I reach the edge of the pool and stare down at her, but she still won’t look at me. The water is covering most of her face, but even with the dim lights from the house, I can see the redness in her eyes.
It’s kind of f-__-ked up if you think about it. She’s upset that I might be messing with other people, but all the while she’s sleeping in another man’s bed every night.
Hell, she f-__-king kissed him just to spite me earlier.
But I get it. And I don’t blame her, because I know how much she was hurting. How much she is hurting.
And that’s the hardest part of this. It’s not that I’m about to have to convince her that I really do have feelings for her. The hardest part is knowing what she feels right now as she doubts them.
If I could just come out and tell her the whole truth it would make things so much easier. But that’s a violation of my job. It would be disobeying a direct order from Ryan. And with as unstable as Asa is right now, the less Sloan knows, the better.
When Asa mentioned Tillie in the kitchen, the color completely drained from Sloan’s face. I could have ki||ed him right then and there.
Sloan fans her arms out and kicks her legs, giving herself a push back toward the middle of the pool. “He forgot to turn off the pool heater this weekend,” she says quietly. “It feels really good. I think I might just stay here forever.”
Her voice is sad. I want to kick off my shoes and dive in the water and stay there with her forever. Just not in this pool or at this house.
“What’s her name?” she asks, still quiet and staring at the night sky.
I squeeze the back of my neck, wondering how much I should actually reveal. “Tillie.”
She laughs, but not because she finds it entertaining. “Is she your girlfriend?”
T…B..C