Chaotic (Imperfect Perfection) (11 page)

A scream escaped my lips and I
quickly covered my mouth, hoping I hadn’t woken my grandparents back up. I
pushed the window up and stuck my head out. “What in the hell are you doing on
my roof in the middle of the night?” I hissed at Nash, who was biting on his
bottom lip, probably trying to hold back his laughter at my reaction.

“I’m here to take you on an
adventure. You remember those, right?”

“Oh, really?” I rolled my eyes and
tightly crossed my arms over my chest, I’m sure the thin material of my cami
was not providing much protection, and I was not about to give Nash Griffin a
show.

“Yes, now come on.” He yanked on my
arm with enough force to pull me through the window, and I followed along so I
wouldn’t fall off the damn roof. He walked carefully onto a thick tree branch
and held out a hand to help me. I have no clue why I willingly went with him. Now
was my chance to go back inside and lock the window behind me, but instead, I
followed his every move until our feet hit the grass beneath the tree.

I kept following him until he
stopped abruptly, and I realized we were right at the edge of the lake that our
houses were situated around.

“Um, what exactly are we doing
here?” I wrapped my arms around my shoulders that had broken out in small goose
bumps with the brisk air.

“We’re going for a swim.” He
grabbed the bottom of his t-shirt and pulled it over his head in one tug. You
know that one tug thing that some guys just perfect so easily they could
probably do it in their sleep? Yeah, that one.

And Nash, well, I could look at him
all day without his shirt on. He wasn’t buff like some weightlifter, but he was
lean and tight in all of the right places. He tugged on the gray pajama pants
he was wearing, to reveal a pair of black boxer briefs and rocked back on his
feet when he saw me staring.

“C’mon, you’re turn to put on a
show.” He twirled a finger at me and I shook my head sharply. “No way, I’m not getting
in there. It’s starting to get cool and that water is probably freezing.” I
rubbed my arms again to emphasize my point and he took a step closer until he
was just an inch from my face. “Where did my adventurous Della go? The old
Della would be all for this. In fact, it would probably be her idea.”

“Well, the old Della obviously
didn’t know what hypothermia was,” I deadpanned. I turned to leave, but was
quickly twirled around, so I was face to face with Nash, his hands resting at
the waistband of my yoga pants.

“You either take these off now or
I’ll do it for you.” I knew he wasn’t joking, he would, and he snapped the
stretchy material to prove his point.

“Fine,” I huffed out. “But you need
to turn around or get in the water or something.” I pushed him closer to the edge
of the water and tugged on my pants. Thank god I didn’t have a thong on, but
instead a pair of lacy boy shirts, at least they pretty much covered up more
than a bikini. There was no way in hell I would be taking off my top, even
though once it got wet I knew it would end up sticking to me like a second
skin.

I heard a loud laugh as I hit the
water but it was soon drowned out as I went under. The chill of the water
shocked my body, and I quickly swam to the top, gasping when my head broke
through the surface.

I pried my eyes open, wiping away
the cold moisture that was blurring my vision and turned around in a complete
circle, looking for Nash. He wasn’t anywhere in site, and I groaned out loud.
Did I just run in here like a complete idiot, practically naked, and he took
off? My question was answered quickly when I felt a tug on my ankle from
underneath the water, and I smiled right before I was pulled back under the
water.

“You’re seriously crazy,” I stated
as we both broke the surface again, my teeth chattering as I spoke every
syllable. “So is this adventurous enough for you?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” he
responded, gliding through the water until he stopped right in front of me. We
could both just barely touch the muddy bottom where we were, and I felt his
hand land on my bare thigh and the other wrap around my waist to pull me
closer. “I think you need some warming up.”

“Nash,” I breathed out, trying to
ease some of the sexual tension between the two of us. “What are you doing? I
thought we talked about this. How did you even know I was here anyway?”

“I saw your Grandpa bring you home
earlier while I was helping my mom out in the garden.”

“Ok-ay,” I dragged out. “Thanks for
skipping the most important part of my question there. What about-”

And before I could even bring up
his girlfriend that he was clearly forgetting about, his lips were on mine. My
body was too stunned to react at first, so I held still while his lips mashed
against mine and then he roughly probed my mouth open with his tongue.

It was then that I joined in, our
tongues mingling together and making my body instantly warm in the chilly
water. I wrapped my arms around his neck, tugging him towards me to bring him
closer and wrapping my legs around his waist. His body felt like it fit with
mine perfectly. He pulled back slightly and dipped his head down to lick and
nip at my neck, so I threw my head back to give him better access.  

The feelings that were running
through me were something that I had never felt before with any guy, including
Chris. They were almost animalistic, and I seriously wanted this to go farther.
Right now. His hand landing on my right breast, squeezing gently, was what
broke through the fog that was clouding my head.

“Nash, please stop,” I managed to
pant out. I let my legs drop, realizing how little material there was between
our two bodies. “You have a girlfriend and I’m really not looking to come in
the middle of that.”

 He gave me a disappointed look and
moved an inch closer. “Della,” he panted out, lightly stroking my cheek but I
quickly pulled away. I was only so strong and if I let him keep doing that, I
would soon forget about Mariah and anything else. “I’m sorry I let things get
so carried away. I promise I’ll be on my best behavior from now on. Promise.
But I am thinking about breaking up with Mariah, I just thought you should
know.” He held his hands up and backed away, watching as my feet found the
shore.

I looked away not wanting to give
him any kind of hope. If he was going to break up Mariah, he needed to do it
for his own reason and not because of me. I was more worried about me. I was on
the path to becoming a real adult like my mother and everyone else expected,
and I needed to stay on that path. I knew if I let Nash Griffin in at all, he
wouldn’t just be another meaningless hook up like in the past. Nash was the
kind of guy you fell for and fell hard. But Mariah would also be added into
that mix. And I did not need that kind of mess.

                                                              
***********

“Della, make sure you set an extra
place for lunch, honey pie.” I looked up at Grams questioningly but she just
gave me a bright smile and turned back to the stovetop where she was checking
her roast.

Church had been worse than usual
this morning since I hadn’t gotten much sleep last night. The nightmare combined
with Nash’s visit had earned me maybe a total of two hours of sleep, and it was
definitely showing. I was able to cover up the bags with makeup this morning,
but that didn’t help me to keep my eyes open during church. I had gotten a few
nudges from Grams though that helped me along.

“So, Della, how has school been
going? I’m assuming you’ve been keeping up on your grades?” Grandpa set the
newspaper down that his nose had been buried in since we got home.

“Good, I think I’ve really got the
hang of it. I’ve been keeping up on my studying along with getting all my
papers in on time. The professors there are really helpful. I’ve even joined a
few study groups.” I couldn’t believe it myself really. Della McGregor was not
a scholar. I had skimmed by in schoo at MCCC. I was actually pretty proud of
myself.

“Well, that’s great to hear then,”
he replied, giving me a slight smile which was the most I had received from him
since being back. “And your job?”

A knock at the door saved me from
answering that question. I had informed Grams the minute I got a job, but I
wasn’t sure if they would really approve of the uniform I wore while doing it.
I guess in a way you could basically compare it to Hooters and Grandpa tended
to be a little old fashioned about things.

“C’mon in, it’s so good to see you,
son.” I heard Grams say from the entryway. I turned quickly when I heard the
word son and dropped everything I was doing when I saw my dad walk into the
dining room.

“Dad!” I launched myself at him,
his strong arms easily catching me and twirling me around in a circle.

 “Della, baby. It’s so good to
finally see you.” He finally sat my feet back down on the ground, looking at me
with a wide smile before patting me on the head. “I would have been back sooner
for a visit, but I just couldn’t get away. You’re looking well. These two have been
keeping you in line,” he teased, while patting Grandpa on the back.

“For the most part,” I shrugged
with a smile.

We all sat down and caught up with
dad over the giant lunch Grams had prepared. She always fixed big meals, but
now I understood why this one was completely over the top. It was good to see
my dad, it had been a long time, and while we kept up occasionally with phone
calls and emails, it was never the same.

“So, Della, Grandpa was telling me
you got yourself a job. That’s great to hear sweetie. Tell us about it.” I
squirmed in my seat as dad beamed at me from across the table. I could tell he
was proud of the progress I had made since moving here. I guess I really
shouldn’t let it bother me though, I was a grown adult now, and while everyone
thought they needed to keep an eye on me at all times, it really was time for
me to be able to take control of my own life.

“I got a job waitressing at a
sports bar near campus. I’ve worked a few days on my own now, and the tips are
really good. I’ve actually been able to start saving some money up.” There, my
answer was vague enough. It’s not like I needed to describe the work uniform
for them.

“That’s great sweetie. And I hear
that you got two pretty great roommates. Have you met many other people on
campus?”

“She’s actually reconnected with
Nash since moving back,” Grams chimed in with a mischievous smile on her face.
It made me wonder how much ‘reconnecting’ Grams actually knew about.

“Yeah, just as friends though, he
has a girlfriend, and I’m really not looking to get involved with anyone right
now.” We all knew what happened the last time I had been in a serious
relationship.

“Hmm…well that’s nice,” Dad
replied. “You know, Della, you’ve grown up a lot since dating Chris. I don’t
think it would hurt to get back out there in the dating world. No one expects
you to live like a nun for the rest of your life.”

Judging by Grandpas scowl directed
at my dad, I think he was expecting just that, and I had to bite back a laugh
at his expression. It was true though; I would grow up and possibly have a
family some day. “I know Dad. Actually, I have a date later tonight after I
head back to campus.”

“Oh, really?” Grams asked in
surprise. “Tell us about him. Was it someone you met on campus?”

“Maybe we should meet him before
that happens,” Grandpa interrupted sternly.

“Absolutely not,” Dad piped in and I
gave him a thankful look. If he hadn’t been there, I probably would have give
in to Grandpas strict rules and introduced them to Justin.

I don’t think that one would have
gone over very well. I had a feeling a tattooed, pierced, cigarette smoking guy
would be someone Grandpa would ban me from dating, no matter how old I was. I
had defied my mom plenty, but I wasn’t prepared to do that with my
grandparents.

“I think Della has learned her
lesson over the years and can make her own choices. I would like to spend some
together while I’m back though, Della. Maybe we could meet up to go fishing one
day this week if you don’t have any early morning classes.”

“That would be great.” Fishing had
always been our thing. We would wake up early to take Grandpa’s fishing boat
out and talk for hours. My mother thought it was the most disgusting thing and
demanded I immediately bathe whenever we came back from one of our trips.

We finished up our lunch and dad
and I did the dishes while catching up with each other. It was great to have
him around again. We had always had a special bond that I think my mother was
jealous of. It had fizzled a little over the years when I had moved away, but
he always tried to come up with something special to make it up to me. Now that
he was back, I could tell that he really was interested in getting to know me
better and being the father that I needed.

“How do you think this looks?” I
stood in front of Callie and Zoey who were sprawled out on their stomachs,
spinning around Callie’s room that looked like Pepto Bismol and a furry white
cat had gotten into a fight and exploded all over her room. I mean, I loved
pink, it was my favorite, but this was a little much.

“Hello?” I jutted out a hip,
glaring down at them when they still didn’t give me answer.

“Oh, sorry Della, We’re just a
little busy reading about you.” Callie giggled before looking up from the
newspaper that they the two of them had in front of their faces.

“Huh?” I scrubbed at my face,
regretting ever coming to the two flighty twins for advice on what I should
wear on my date with Justin. I had no clue why I was so worried about what to
wear. Justin would probably show up in a t-shirt and those ratty jeans he
always had on, thinking he was hotter than any guy out there.