“Are you by yourself?” His voice pulled me out of my daze. Neil came forward a few steps, and I watched him wipe his shoes on the blue, crescent-shaped rug just inside the door.
“Logan and Alyssa came by today.” I ignored the question, and out of nerves I said the first thing that popped into my head. I was also confused—Alyssa had told me that Neil didn’t want to see me, yet now he was here, right in front of me and not in one of my dreams.
“Yeah, I know,” was all he said, sounding slightly irritated. I closed the door behind him, and he touched his wild hair with one hand. My eyes tracked a trail of droplets until they vanished into his short beard. It looked good on him.
“I’d like to talk,” he answered, catching me off guard.
He of all people wanted to talk?
“So you can tell me that I mean nothing to you and you were just using me? Trust me, I got it,” I snapped indignantly, drawing on the anger I’d been suppressing for far too long. He hadn’t gotten in touch, he hadn’t apologized, and now he wanted to just swan into my house with his smug attitude and careless air like he knew he already had me in his grasp? Well, he didn’t.
“Sweetheart. Who was at the do—” My mother appeared behind me in a pair of black pants and a blue sweater, the long sleeves of which she was rolling up over her forearm. She turned her blue eyes on the boy in front of her. A lock of hair slipped from her orderly bun, and she moved it aside with her index finger.
“Hello, Ms…” Neil looked to me like I was going to supply my mother’s last name, which he had surely forgotten. But I remained silent.
“Ms…” he said again, less confidently this time. He rubbed an eyebrow with his thumb and looked my way again, seeking my help, which I cheerfully denied.
“Ms…um…Calvin?” He hazarded a skeptical look. I held myself back from laughing outright, and he must have seen that because he immediately started glowering at me.
My mother, however, continued to watch cautiously as Neil licked his lips in a particularly uncomfortable way. I’d never seen him look so nervous before.
“Martin,” my mother corrected at last, a faint, amused smile on her face. “Judith Martin,” she elaborated gently, and unable to control myself any longer, I burst out laughing, even resting a hand on my stomach. They both turned to look at me, and my mother cocked an eyebrow in confusion. Neil, by contrast, just clenched his jaw.
“Yeah, pardon me, Ms. Martin. My memory’s not so great,” he explained before turning back to me with a look so severe that it immediately extinguished my laughter.
“Selene, is this how I taught you to welcome a guest?” my mother admonished me, letting me know I needed to get it together. Then she turned back to the walking disaster who stood before us. “You’re Neil,right?” A warm, welcoming smile lit up her face, and she looked him top to bottom.
“Yes,” he answered, standing motionless there with his clothes all soaked and his powerful body exuding a breathtaking beauty. I knew he wasn’t going to be particularly chatty with my mother either. In fact, he’d probably already said more than he’d like.
“Well, Neil, I think you need to change your clothes, or you’re going to get yourself a bad cold.” My mother lifted her index finger, and Neil looked down at his sodden clothing and sighed.
“Does it always storm like this in Detroit? This freezing rain is a real motherfu…” He paused, looking from me to her, and I gave him a minute head shake. “Fluffer… A real motherfluffer.” He cleared his throat and forced a faint smile that somehow turned out sensual.
“I agree with you, Neil. I’m going to go get something for you to wear. I think I still have some of Matt’s old things,” my mother explained briskly, tapping a finger on her chin.
I looked at Neil and immediately saw that he was very nervous, so much so that I could feel how difficult it was for him to keep talking to her. By now I knew him better than he realized. As soon as my mother retreated, Mr. Disaster’s golden eyes turned on me, looking irritated.
“You done fucking with me now?” he chided me, his eyebrow raised.
“Calvin,” I repeated mockingly, still trying to keep from laughing.
“So immature,” he muttered with a roll of his eyes.
“And you’re an asshole. I still haven’t forgotten about what you told Matt,” I said, making a challenging face, and he smiled at me, amused.
“Looks like you missed me, didn’t you, Tinkerbell?” He gave me a seductive wink, and I felt my cheeks blaze with heat.
“If I’d really missed you, I would have gotten in touch with you,” I answered firmly, determined that I was going to act just like him. He was the one who taught me, after all, how to give biting answers and act like I couldn’t care less. But something changed in Neil’s eyes, and he strode toward me determinedly until he could take my hair in his fist. Surprised, I let out a cry of pain, and he breathed against my lips, making me go rigid. My arms twitched with tension. I looked defiantly into his eyes.
“You can’t lie to me, Babygirl. Remember that,” he whispered. His pupils had dilated enough to reduce his irises to a thin, golden ring.
“Here you go, Neil.” I winced at the sound of my mother’s voice, and he pulled away, restoring his composed equilibrium. Oblivious to everything, my mother handed him some clean clothes and smiled.
“Many thanks,” Neil said, almost imperceptibly, as though he weren’t accustomed to such gestures. Then my mother pointed out the bathroom, and we both watched his imposing figure walk in that direction.
“Well, he’s undoubtedly very sexy, but that doesn’t justify you not telling me about the two of you,” my mother said the moment he disappeared behind the bathroom door.
“Mom, this is not the time to talk about it.” I chided her softly so Neil wouldn’t overhear. “And there’s nothing going on between us. We’re just two screwed-up people,” I added quickly, and she gave me a skeptical look.
