‘I thought I was pretty impressive,’ he murmurs into my ear.
OMG! Cash’s cock is still inside me. ‘Really? I’ve seen more action at basket-weaving classes.’
He laughs quietly. The sound low and washing over me like waves. ‘Damn girl, you’re hard to please. You came so hard it felt like someone detonated a bomb in your pussy.’
‘I need a bath,’ I say, and start rolling away from him.
He grasps my shoulder, rolls me onto my back, and smirks cheekily. ‘Don’t bother. I’m the type of dirty that doesn’t wash off, Wildcat.’
I stare up into his eyes. ‘I can’t believe I had sex with you.’
‘If it’s any consolation you didn’t stand a fucking chance. From the moment I saw you, I knew I wasn’t stopping until you were mine.’
A warm thrill tingles through my spine and my heart thuds loudly against my ribs and I can’t think of a single comeback, so I just roll my eyes and pretend like I don’t care.
He springs off the bed, takes the condom off, and starts pulling his jeans on. I watch him with disbelief. That’s it. He’s leaving just like that. All kinds of crazy thoughts and scenarios run through my head at the speed of light.
In that instant I decide that yes, he’s had my body, but I’ll never let him see how crazy mad I am about him. He’ll never know that his casual rejection hurts like the stab of a knife. He wants to go, fine, I’ll just say, bye, and turn over as if he means as little to me as I do to him.
At least in this way I will leave his father’s house with my pride intact. He will never know I stalked him for years or that my appearance in this house is not a random act of fate.
But as I make my plans he turns to me, holds his hand out, and says, ‘Come on.’
Chapter Fourteen
Tori
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9Dg-g7t2l4
I get up on my elbows. ‘Where to?’
‘Up to the roof.’
I cock my head to one side. ‘Is this British humor at its best, or are you talking in code?’
He shakes his head in mock wonder. ‘Unless my cock is inside you, you find it hard to simply obey instructions, don’t you?’
‘Watch it, lover boy. You’re straying into dangerous territory there,’ I warn.
‘I like living dangerously,’ he says, shrugging into his shirt and doing up a couple of buttons.
‘Are you serious about going up to the roof?’ I ask.
‘Of course.’
‘Why do you want us to go up there?’
‘The better to push you off when you give me sass,’ he says with a deep growl.
‘Ha, fucking ha.’
‘Have you never been up there?’ he asks curiously.
‘Of course, I haven’t. I’m like other human beings. I tend to spend my time under roofs and not on them.’
‘Come on,’ he urges putting on his shoes. ‘You’ll like it. It’s good up there. I’ll show you my ultra, super-secret hiding spot when I was a boy.’
For a few seconds I look at him half-undecided, then I jump out of bed, and slip my T-shirt back over my head.
‘I never thought I’d ever say this, but you need to wear some pants, girl.’
I grin at him. ‘There’s hope for you yet,’ I say, and pull on a pair of jeans.
‘Ready?’ he asks.
I nod.
He opens the door and we pad noiselessly along the corridor to the narrow steps that lead up to the attic. The stairs creak and I freeze. Cash winks at me.
‘Relax, you need to swing a bat into my father’s head to wake him up.’
I giggle softly at the thought of mild mannered Mr. Hunter sleeping one floor below us.
In the attic there is a desk, a couple of cupboards and black bin bags of old toys that Britney hasn’t the heart to part with. Quietly, Cash pushes the desk so it is under the sash window. He opens the window and, placing his hands on either side of the frame, hauls himself up and scrambles onto the roof. I climb on the desk and Cash offers his hand. I hesitate. The roof looks pretty steep from the ground and we are three floors up.
‘Are you sure this is safe?’
‘Don’t worry we won’t be having sex up here. At least not this time around.’
‘Will you give it a rest for just a few minutes,’ I grumble.
‘It’s you. You bring out the horny beast in me. Every time I see you all I want to do is fuck you senseless.’
‘What if the tiles break?’ I ask worriedly.
‘It’s perfectly safe. Watch,’ he says and jumps about, making a horrible rattling noise.
‘Whoa, are you crazy?’ I whisper urgently.
‘Good quality tiles can last at least a hundred years. These tiles are only fifteen years old.’ He stomps his feet in a tight circle. ‘See.’
‘OK, OK,’ I concede quickly. ‘Just … please … don’t do that anymore.’
Flushing all over with a strange excitement, I put my hand into his. I’m not sure whether it’s because I could easily end up an unrecognizable splat on a London sidewalk, or because I’m with Cash finding out something about him which is not on ILoveCash.com.
Effortlessly, he hauls me up and suddenly I am on the roof and so close to his body I feel the heat coming off it. The night is colder than I thought.
‘I gotcha,’ he whispers, his breath hot and damp against my cheek.
I grip his hand nervously as he leads me a couple of steps up towards the chimney. The edges almost make for a seat and we sit side by side, our bodies touching. The tiles are rough and cold under my butt. From the corner of my eyes I can see just how far away the ground is. From up here the pavement looks very hard.
I turn my head and he holds out a flat silver box with the cover open. Inside are hand-rolled cigarettes. ‘It’s good weed,’ he says.
‘I don’t smoke.’
I watch him extract a joint and, cupping his hands around it, light it with a cigarette lighter. He draws deeply making the tip burn orangey red. Then he throws his head back and exhales the smoke. I watch the pleasure it gives him. He takes another draw and turns his head to look at me. Embarrassed to be caught watching him so intently, I let my eyes slide away to the night sky, full of stars and a nearly full moon.
‘It’s beautiful here,’ I say softly.
‘Yeah, I used to come up here all the time when I was a kid.’
I turn to look at him. He is staring at a far away dot in the horizon. He looks nothing like the playboy celebrity.
‘Yeah?’
‘Uh huh. My balls dropped early so I used to come here with my smokes and a dirty magazine to lie here, look up at the stars and dream of becoming rich and famous.’
‘And now you’re rich and famous.’
An odd expression crosses his face. ‘Yeah. Now I’m rich and famous.’
‘What’s wrong?’
He shakes his head. ‘The grass is always greener on the other side. Maybe it’s not what I thought it was going to be.’
‘What did you think it was going to be?’
‘I thought it would be more satisfying.’
I nibble at my bottom lip. ‘How can it not be satisfying? You are leading the life that most men would kill for.’
For a moment he is silent as he flicks ash from the end of his cigarette and takes another lungful of warm smoke. ‘I’m not making the kind of music I want to make.’
I stare at him and he stares back. ‘Tell me truthfully do you like my music, Tori?’
I shrug. ‘I guess nobody can have everything.’
His face shutters. ‘I guess not.’
I hold my hand out, my fingers pinched, and he slips his cigarette between my fingers. I take a drag. Wow! It’s been a long time since I smoked this stuff. He’s right. It’s good. I exhale and close my eyes.
‘What kind of music do you want to make?’ I say, and inhale again. Already I feel less uptight. More relaxed. I think I really like this guy.
He takes his
phone out of his pocket and scrolling through it finds the music he wants me to listen to.
‘Lie back and close your eyes.’ I return the joint to him and lie back. He puts his phone close to my ear.
‘Who is this?’ I ask.
‘Disturbed singing The Sound of Silence.’