Opposites Attract (The Locklaine Boys Book 2) (11 page)

“PICK UP. PICK UP
, pick up, pick up. Oh, thank Buddha,” I breathed once Devon answered the phone, followed by a snippy, “Where the hell are you? I thought you’d be home by now.”

“Well, good morning to you too, bestest friend,” Devon replied sarcastically.

“Good morning,” I snapped drily. “Now where are you?”

I heard what sounded like carnival music from the other end of the line.
What the shiitake mushrooms
?

“Coney Island,” she said with a deep, weary sigh.

“What? Why? You hate Coney Island. Didn’t you once tell me carney folks are one of your greatest fears?”

“Second only to spiders,” she answered. “Believe me, I had no idea where we were going when Matt dragged my ass out of bed at the ass-crack of dawn for a surprise trip. And because you can’t see me right now, I used air quotes when I said surprise trip.”

I tried not to smile as I said, “I got that by the way you said it. Am I right to assume your face is all screwed up in that
something-smells-like-fart-in-here
expression of yours?”

“Your assumption would be correct, dearest Del.”

Momentarily forgetting why I called in the first place, I asked, “So how in the world did you end up all the way in Brooklyn on a Saturday morning against your will?”

“Apparently Matt got a wild hair up his ass to do something romantic — air quotes again, just FYI —and thought it would be sweet if he brought me to ride all the scary deathtraps they call rollercoasters and feed me funnel cakes and corndogs like something you’d see on a goddamned
Hallmark
movie during Christmas time.”

“Oh no,” I gasped, knowing my best friend well enough to know that was something she’d hate.

“Yeah,” she grumbled. “I’m in the seventh circle of Hell, Delilah. I’m not sure how much longer Matt’s going to last if this is the shit he thinks I like. You know me. I’m so not the hearts and flowers, holding hands while strolling along the boardwalk kind of girl. Those girls make me want to barf.”

“Wait… funnel cake and corndogs first thing in the morning?”

“Yeah. It was
not
a well thought out plan. That’s why Matt’s currently stuck in the bathroom, sitting on a toilet that’ll probably give him herpes, wishing he’d never been born.”

I pulled the phone away from my mouth long enough to release the laugh that desperately wanted to escape. “Well, have you tried telling him you’re not that kind of girl?

She was silent for several seconds. “No, and I’m not going to.”

“Why not?”

“Because guys
want
those types of girls, Del. They want the damsels in distress that’ll swoon over them and all that shit. I’ve never faked being one of those girls before and look at my track record. I’ve never had a relationship that lasted longer than a few months. I like this guy. He’s sweet and hot and smart. Do you have any idea how many guys out there are so fucking stupid I want to punch them in the face?”

I couldn’t hold in my laughter with that question. “No.”

“Just take my word for it, there’s a lot of them. I just want this one to last, you know? So if I have to suffer through Coney Island for a day, then I’ll pull up my big girl panties and tough it out.”

“By being something you’re not?” I asked, feeling more than just a little sad for my best friend.

“If it means getting to keep the guy who actually knows how to make a woman come, then yeah.”

“And I’m guessing there aren’t many of those out there.”

She laughed. “Oh, my sweet, naïve friend. You’ve only had sex with two men in your life. One was a total fucking fluke, and the other was
Brant
,” she said his name like it left a bad taste in her mouth. “Trust me, finding someone like Richard is as rare as stumbling upon an authentic Kate Spade handbag while rummaging through Goodwill bins. Anywho, enough about me. What were you calling all in a tizzy about?”

“A tizzy?” I giggled.

“It’s my word for the day. Now answer the question.”

I looked over the kitchen counter to where Shady lay on the living room rug. “I was going to see if you could watch Shady. I was supposed to have the day off, but Toni called in sick and there are arrangements that need to go out today.”

“Aw,” Devon cooed. “Is poor Sac-less still not feeling like his usual chipper self?”

I scowled even though she couldn’t see me. “Don’t call him that. He’s been through a traumatic experience.”

She snorted. “Yeah, because his Mommy’s a heartless bitch who chopped off his manhood.”

“You’re an asshole,” I laughed.

“I wish I could be there for the little guy, but seeing as Matt’s been locked in that stall for the past half hour, I don’t think I’ll be leaving here any time soon.”

With a heavy sigh, I glanced over at my little guy. He really did look miserable. “It’s okay. I didn’t want to take him to Flora with that cone still on, but I don’t have much of a choice, I don’t want to leave him by himself.”

I could hear the smile in her voice as she said, “You could always ask the hottie next door to doggy-sit.”

I was thankful that she couldn’t see me as I snorted at the same time my cheeks burned red at the mere mention of Richard. I hadn’t told Devon about what I overheard the other night while inadvertently invading Richard’s privacy… mainly because she’d never let me live it down. It had been two days and I was doing everything in my power to avoid any and all contact with him in the hallways or lobby, ashamed for being such a perv.

I even went as far as to bolt for the stairwell when I saw him waiting for the elevator yesterday evening. I made the conscious decision to do cardio rather than live through a thirty second elevator ride with the man I couldn’t help but picture naked on a daily basis. And as I mentioned before, I
hated
cardio. I thought I might die of a heart attack by the time I made it to my floor. It couldn’t have possibly been healthy for a human being to produce that much sweat in such a short amount of time.

“I don’t think he’s a fan of Shady’s. I’d be better off just taking him with me.”

“Suit yourself. Shit, I have to go. The sounds coming out of that bathroom are really starting to scare me. I’m thinking I should maybe call an ambulance or something.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to you later. I hope Matt gets to feeling better.”

“Serves him right, eating that fried shit before nine AM, and from a carnie, no less.” With that, she hung up, leaving me thankful I wasn’t in her shoes at the moment.

“All right, bud. Looks like you’re going to have to come with me today after all,” I spoke to Shady as I lifted him off the living room floor. He let out a pitiful groan and stayed limp in my arms. Once I got him settled in the crook of my elbow, he looked up at me with those sad eyes and whined. “Don’t look at me like that. It’s not an ideal situation, but what else do you expect me to do, huh? I can’t just leave you here by yourself.”

With Shady in one arm, I slung my purse over the other shoulder and moved out, locking up the apartment behind me. I started down the hall toward the elevators, but the closer I got to Richard’s door the slower my steps became until I came to a complete stop right in front of his apartment.

Shady whined, drawing my attention down to the furry bundle in my arms. Jeez, he really looked pathetic with that cone on. “I can’t possibly ask him, right?” His puppy head cocked to the side. “I mean, he’s probably busy. And you two don’t even like each other.” Another whine. “Save the guilt trip. None of this would have happened if you weren’t determined to hump anything that crossed your path. Technically, this is all your fault.” He dropped his little head in shame, making me feel like an even bigger asshole for putting the blame solely on him.

I let out a defeated breath and took a step closer to the door, lifting my hand to knock as I mumbled, “Please don’t be home, please don’t be home, please don’t be home,” under my breath. I heard the sound of a lock disengaging a few seconds later. “Oh, fudgesicles.”

My walking, talking fantasy opened the door looking like a wet dream. The jerk-face. The wicked smile that spread across his lips at the sight of me rendered me temporarily speechless. His jet black hair was damp from a recent shower. He must have just been getting out when I knocked because beads of water clung to his shirtless chest. The jeans he wore hung low on his hips, the button undone and drawing attention to that yummy, sculpted V that disappeared beneath the denim.

He crossed his arms over his chest, making his biceps pop out and my mouth water. “Well, look who it is. Should I take this house call to mean you’ve finally stopped avoiding me?”

My face scrunched up as I snorted. “Whaaa? You’re crazy! I haven’t been avoiding you.”

He leaned against the doorframe and narrowed those icy blue eyes. “Really? So it was just my imagination when you took off for those stairs like an Olympic sprinter?”

“
Pfft.
I didn’t do that. Why would I do that? That’s just silly. Totally silliness. You’re a silly man, Richard.”
Oh sweet Mother Mary in a rocking chair. Stop talking. Stop it right now!

I reached up to push my glasses up my nose only to have Richard beat me to it. My eyes went wide as I stared at him in shock, his actions throwing me off kilter. It was such a simple move, but one that felt decidedly intimate, at least to me. In all the time I’d been with Brant, he’d never once touched my glasses for any reason than to move them out of his way if I’d taken them off and sat them somewhere. “You have beautiful eyes,” he stated in a tone that indicated he was speaking more to himself than to me.

“Uh…”

Something flashed in his gaze as he studied my face, something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. “Have you ever considered contacts? Not that you aren’t cute without them.”
Richard Locklaine called me cute? He thinks I’m cute?
He's seen me without my glasses and I looked so far beyond cute. I looked downright smokin’ freaking hot! Not that the ass remembered.

I hated that my brain refused to function normally at just the sight of him without his stupid shirt. I wanted to be mad, to scream even though he’d just paid me a
really
nice compliment, but I just couldn’t find it in me to do it.

While my brain was practically screaming, all my mouth could manage was another, “Uh…” Was I sweating? God, I was sweating! So not a good look for me.

The earlier glimmer in his eyes faded away, the cocky smirk taking its place. “So what brings you by, neighbor?”

His pecs sure do dance real nice when he moves.

What
? “Huh? Oh!” I held Shady up none too gently in front of me. “Are you busy today?”

His hands dropped to his side as he leaned back like he was prepared for Shady to attack at any moment. “What? Why? And what the hell’s wrong with your dog?”

Realizing how I was holding my puppy out in front of me was probably hurting him, I pulled him back and cradled him against my chest. “Sorry. I know it’s strange for me to be asking you a favor, and you have every right to say no, but I’m kind of desperate. Devon isn’t home and I need to get down to the shop. I have a ton of arrangements going out, but Shady had surgery and I’d really rather not take him in with me. I’m worried he won’t be comfortable there. I was just hoping… if you weren’t busy, if you’d mind watching him for me?” I gave him my best doe eyes, hoping it didn’t make me look like a crazy person. “I’ll owe you so big! I’ll…” What could I possibly do to pay him back for watching a dog with a tendency to pee on him at any given moment? “I’ll do your laundry for a month! Oh! And I’ll clean your apartment!”

I chanced a glance over his shoulder only to notice the living room was practically empty, with the exception of several partially unpacked boxes. There wasn’t a single piece of furniture as far as I could see.

Richard’s gaze wandered in the direction I was looking before coming back to me. He smiled sheepishly as he scratched at the back of his neck. “Uh, yeah. I’m still working on setting the place up.”

“I can see that,” I muttered.

He winked at me. “And speaking of laundry…” he started backing away from the door and bent to pick something up just out of my line of sight. “You left something behind the other day.”

My cheeks burned fire red when I saw what he held in front of him. “Oh, God,” I groaned, squeezing my eyes closed so I couldn’t see the laundry basket full of my unmentionables in front of me.

“Gotta say, Delilah, I’m a real fan of your taste in lingerie.”

My eyelids snapped back open as I scowled at him. “I’m going to pretend you never saw those.” He shrugged casually, his lips spreading into a full blown grin. “Pretend all you want. I’ll just be over here imagining what you look like in them.”

My mouth dropped open, a choking, wheezing sound coming out. Richard put the basket on the floor and took Shady from my arms, cradling him against his naked pec. The lucky little punk. I was still standing with my mouth agape when he nudged the basket toward me with his bare foot and used a finger under my chin to close my mouth. “I’d be happy to dog sit for you today, Delilah. But I’ll need your number just in case I need to reach you for anything.”