Maybe This Time (Maybe #1)(14)

“No, thanks,” I politely decline, looking around for Reid, desperate to get away from the man in front of me. When I see him in a heated argument with a petite girl with short blonde hair, I change my mind. I wait until my dad is busy looking at the girl he came in with, then I walk outside and call a cab, which luckily arrives a few minutes later. I almost fall asleep on the drive home, but manage to stay awake. I pay the cab driver, and hop out, walking quickly to my front door. I unlock the door, which takes a few tries, and lock it behind me as soon as I enter. I undress and walk to my room, not caring right now where my clothes land. Tying my hair out of my face, I get up on my knees on my bed, and face plant into the mattress. Sighing in contentment, I finally let myself fall asleep.





Chapter Five


Summer


I flop over onto my stomach, and groan. I can hear someone banging on the door. Why? Why me? My throat is parched and my eyes won’t open. I put the pillow over my head to block out the banging, but it doesn’t stop. I will myself out of bed, throwing on an oversized T shirt, and tripping over my handbag on the way to the front door. I look through the peep hole, only to see Reid standing there. Unlocking the door, I pull it open and come face to face with an extremely pissed off alpha male.

“What?” I ask grumpily, not waiting for his answer as I turn to head back to bed. Surely he has a key? He’s over here all the damn time.

“Where the f*ck did you go last night?” he booms. I wince as my head throbs.

“I caught a cab home,” I say, rubbing my eyes.

“You caught a…” he trails off, laughing humourlessly. “Next time tell someone where you're f*cking going so we don’t have to spend the night worried about you,” he growls, walking to the fridge and helping himself to some orange juice.

“Why didn’t you just come here to see if I was home?” I ask.

“Of course I f*cking did that! No one answered the door and there were no lights on,” he practically growls at me, and if looks could kill I would surely be dead right now.

“Can you please yell at me later? I’m hung over and I have the worst headache,” I sulk. His expression softens a little at what I assume is my pathetic appearance.

“Go to bed,” he says. I don’t need to be told twice. I’m warm under the covers when he walks into the room holding a drink, and two pain killers.

“Thank you,” I tell him gratefully, swallowing the tablets with some orange juice. I’m surprised at his thoughtfulness.

I yawn and offer him a smile. “Is Xander still out?”

“Yup,” he says, popping the p.

I frown. “I should call him.”

“You should let your brother be,” he says flippantly, sitting down on my bed.

“Where’s the fun in that?” I say, my lips curving.

“I almost got into it with Jack last night.” He's staring at my stuffed unicorn on my shelf, not looking at me.

“What happened?” I ask, raising my head.

“Just an argument.”

“How do you know Jack?” I ask him.

Reid collapses on my bed next to me and stares at the roof. “He used to be friends with… my dad.”

“Where’s your dad now?” I ask him softly, hoping he hadn’t passed away.

“In jail,” he huffs, and I can feel the anger lurking behind his words. I think he expects me to pry, and ask why he’s in jail, so I don’t.

“Okay,” I whisper, leaving it at that.

“Why did you leave? I told you I was gonna take you home,” he says, biting out each word.

“You were busy talking to some chick, and I just wanted to get away from my dad, so I left,” I admit. I didn’t want to bring up the girl because I didn’t want him to think I was jealous. There's clearly nothing between us, especially after what he did last night. We're just friends, and I suppose I could always use more of those. Truth be told, I like being around Reid. Sure, he may be surly and brooding sometimes - okay, most of the time - but he has this quality about him that I can’t help but be drawn to.

“About last night...” he starts, but doesn’t say anything else.

“You don’t need to explain anything, Reid,” I say softly, my eyelids feeling heavy.

“Why haven’t you asked me about my scar?” he asks, changing the subject.

I shrug. “I don’t even notice it anymore,” I say, meaning every word.

It’s a part of him, and it’s neither ugly, nor beautiful, it’s just him.





*****


I wake up suddenly, sitting up in bed. I almost squeal when I see a blond head poking out of my leopard print sheets.

Reid is in my bed, fast asleep.

He looks so huge in my bed and he’s taking up a good three quarters of the space.

I lean over him, smiling to myself. He looks so peaceful and serene, I don’t want to wake him, so I quietly leave the room, heading straight for the shower. I take my time in there, dry myself and then stand naked in front of the mirror staring at my reflection. I've definitely seen better days. I grab a makeup wipe to remove the black under my eyes from my mascara, and put moisturizer on my face.

“Yep, this is as good as it’s gonna get today,” I mutter to myself, throwing on my pink fluffy robe. I open the bathroom door and walk out, the steam escaping the room with my exit. I take two steps down the hall before I face plant into a rock hard wall of muscle.