Page 41 of Wasted Memories
“I figured me walking out after he told me not to come back kind of confirmed it.”
“Where have you been staying?” he asked again.
I looked directly at him now. “Tell him to ask me if he really wants to know.”
“I guess I should bring you to him, then.”
He tried to yank me forward when a man's voice interrupted, “Gonna have to ask you to take your hands off her.” Luke looked about ready to bite the head off the person behind the voice when he turned to see a tall man wearing a black police uniform.
His features looked somehow familiar. His dark hair was thick and cut short. He was freshly shaven and had dark eyelashes surrounding mossy green eyes. My eyes fell to his belt, holstering a gun, pepper spray, a flashlight, and a variety of other items.
It dawned on Luke that a cop was intervening and he dropped his hands, letting me go.
“Unless you want to end up in county jail tonight, I’d suggest you go about your business and leave her alone,” the cop warned.
I kept my eyes to the ground, not wanting to get the law involved with any of this. I hoped that if I didn’t make eye contact, he wouldn’t strike up a conversation.
“You got lucky,” Luke whispered low enough for only my ears to hear before he stepped back and walked away, leaving his six pack on the ground.
Taking a steadying breath, I bent down to pick up my basket. “Thank you.”
He grabbed the basket before I could grasp the handle and handed it to me. “Say the words and I’ll arrest him.”
“As much as I would love to say yes, it’s okay. You've already done enough.” I looked at him then, trying not to take in the uniform. For all I knew, Luke was into the same shit Jett was, and I did not want to get caught up in any of that with the police.
“Are you going to make it home okay?”
Please don’t offer to drive me home. “Yep, thanks again.” With that, I turned to the pastas, grabbed a box of angel hair noodles, and walked past him to gather the rest of the ingredients I needed for the sauce.
Wesley’s house wasn’t too far from the store. With the look on Luke’s face when he saw the man was a cop, I had a feeling he wasn’t going to try to harass me for a second time today, which meant I could hopefully make it back to his house in one piece.
I also didn’t need Wesley to see a cop driving me to his house after he explicitly told me not to go anywhere without telling him. I wanted to surprise him with dinner and if I’d told him I was going to the store for ingredients, he would have told me to wait for him to go. But it’s not really a surprise if he’s the one shopping for it, is it?
Chapter Twenty Two
Wesley
Mymouthbeganwateringthe moment the smell of food hit my nose as I shut the door behind me and locked it. Making my way to the kitchen, I found Emerson pulling a baking sheet out of the oven. She was wearing light gray sweats and a black tank top that hugged her form. The hem stopped right below her belly button, showing a sliver of smooth skin.
I stood in the entryway to the kitchen, watching her cook. She stirred something that was simmering in a pot on the stove, her long hair swaying loosely over her back. She picked up the second pot on the stove after switching off the burner and turned toward the sink in the island when she spotted me.
She jumped, some water sloshing over the rim. “Ow! Fuck!” I quickly closed the distance between us and took the pot from her, setting it back on the stove, then crouched in front of her to analyze her bare foot. “I’m fine, Wesley. Maybe if you learned to announce yourself, shit like this wouldn’t happen.”
“Didn’t think watching you cook would make you burn your damn foot.” I stood up, grabbing her hand. “Come with me.” She followed me to the bathroom where I had her sit on the edge of the bathtub, pulling her foot up onto the porcelain. I turned the handle for the cold water and grabbed the shower head attached to the hose. Kneeling next to her, I grabbed her foot and aimed the water at the spot where the hot water had burned her.
“You’re overreactingjusta little,” she said as she watched me hold her foot under the stream of water.
I kept my eyes on the water as I spoke. “It’ll help reduce the swelling.”
“It’s kind of cute.”
I looked up at her then, seeing a smile on her face. It melted my insides, turning all coherent thoughts into mush. If that was the look I got for taking care of her, I’d find any reason to tend to her. She could simply stub her toe and I'd jump at the opportunity.
She wasn’t dressed up, wearing makeup, or trying to impress anyone. The simplicity of her in this moment was more earth shattering than her in some smokeshow outfit.
The desire to kiss her, touch her, was almost too much. I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to gather just a speck of self-restraint. It would complicate everything and I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.
She bit her lip, keeping those blue eyes on me. That fucking lip was all it took to make me snap.
