Worth Every Cent Read online

  “Trust me, I really hated it then,” I said.

  “Stop dicking around, Michelle. Come home. This is getting ridiculous. I miss you.”

  “No you don’t. You miss having someone you can bully and push around,” I said.

  He took a step towards me and I followed with a step back. Andy wreaked of alcohol and his eyes were bloodshot from his hangover. I slammed my hand onto the bathroom counter and watched him wince.

  “You’re still drunk,” I said.

  “Still?” Andy asked.

  “Then you’re freshly drunk at nine in the morning. Either way, I’m not interested. Go home, Andy. You’re nuts, and I want you out of my life for good,” I said.

  “You’ll never get rid of me. I’m the only man capable of loving someone like you. You’ll come home eventually. When you know where you belong.”

  “I don’t belong anywhere near you,” I said, hissing. “I have no idea what the hell I ever saw in you, Andy Prentice. I was a fool then. But I’m not a fool now. Get out.”

  “I provided for you. Protected you. Brought you back to my hometown when you had nowhere else to go. No job. No prospects. No men knocking down your door. You owe me, Michelle.”

  “I owe you nothing. You’ve been going downhill ever since you lost your job at the oil fields in North Dakota. But the signs of your true nature were always there. I simply refused to see them because I was a naive little girl.”

  “And you’re not now? Walking around this town, thinking you’re better than everyone else because you hopped on the dick of some rich guy? Well, what happened to you when he left? Did he take you with him? Because to me, it looks as if he left you behind. Like the simple piece of ass you are. At least with me, you have a home. A place to go back to. Someone who will wrap his arms around you at night and at least make you feel like you’re loved. You think Gray gives a shit about you?”

  “This has nothing to do with Gray,” I said. “This has to do with me and the mistakes I made when I was younger. I’m paying the price for them now, but I won’t pay them for the rest of my life. Now you can either get out of my way, or I’ll move you myself.”

  “With those thighs, I don’t doubt it,” he said.

  I charged him as adrenaline surged through my veins. I knew I needed to get out of that confined space with him. Because the second he had an opening, he’d try to get my towel off me and he wouldn’t stop until he took what he wanted. Andy was disgusting, and I wasn’t past making him bleed if it got me away from him.

  I shoved past him, listening as he stumbled into the shower. He cursed as he fell to the tub floor and I had my sights set on Cecily. Why the fuck would she let that man into her place? Why the hell would she let him barge in on me while I was in the shower? I had no idea what she was playing at or what her problem was with me, but I was going to solve the issue today.

  The second I stepped out of the bathroom, however, I saw the reason why.

  “Michy, come on. All I’m asking for is—”

  I heard Andy come out of the bathroom behind me, but my eyes were leveled with Gray. He stood in the doorway of Cecily’s place as she stood beside him. The front door hung wide open and she stood there with a look in her eye that made me want to slap her. She crossed her arms over her chest as Gray’s unwavering stare bounced between my face and Andy’s presence behind me.

  I felt Andy reach out for my hip, but I smacked his hand before turning around and glaring at him.

  “Hey there, Gray,” I said.

  I flushed with embarrassment from head to toe as Andy pushed past me. He almost knocked me off my feet before he headed for the front door. And I steadied myself just in time to see him shoulder-check Gray on the way out. Cecily snickered and shook her head, like she was innocent in all this. I wanted to punch her right in her nose. She had orchestrated this somehow, but to what end, I wasn’t sure. All I knew was the frown on Gray’s face signaled his anger and the way he glared at Andy let me in on the fact that he wasn’t past beating the shit out of him, too.

  Like he had those guys in the bar.

  “I have a list of rental properties for us to see today,” Gray said.

  His eyes slowly panned back over to mine as Cecily’s face shot up to his. Her eyes widened with shock, and I had no idea why. None of this made any sense. But I knew I couldn’t stay with Cecily a second longer. She had willingly let my ex into her place so he could corner me and she even more willingly brought Gray to watch the show.

  Whatever her purpose, it was dangerous staying with her any longer.

  “Just give me a couple of minutes to get dressed,” I said.

  “I’ll wait in the car.”

  He turned quickly on his feet and left in the blink of an eye. My hands trembled as I turned around and scurried back to the bathroom. I pulled my wet hair back and braided it down before I dried the rest of my body off. I had no time for makeup. The only thing I could hope was that Gray enjoyed a natural look to the women he enjoyed.

  How bad did all of this look to Gray? I was honestly surprised he didn’t turn around and leave. My breaths came in short spurts as I pulled on the clothes I brought with me into the bathroom. Tears fell down my cheeks like the weak little girl I was. Why had Cecily done something like that? What was the purpose? What was she trying to accomplish?

  I didn’t know. And I didn’t really care to stick around and figure it out.

  Wiping at my tears, I wished for the day to go by quickly. It took me a few minutes before my breathing evened out and the tears no longer poured down my cheeks. I took one last look in the mirror before I stepped out, and I was met with an empty room and my things piled in a corner on the couch.

  “I’m heading out,” I said. “I’ll be back later.”

  But instead of Cecily responding, she simply stayed silent.

  She was probably getting annoyed with me. And I couldn’t blame her. Everywhere I went, things crumbled underneath me. Disappointment and destruction followed me in my wake. My mother reminded me of it every day she could, and now I was reaping the truth behind her words. I always thought the slogan ‘mother knows best’ was a crapshoot thing mother’s said when they wanted to manipulate people into doing things they wanted them to do.

  But I slowly started wondering if my mother had been right about me.

  If Cecily was disappointed or annoyed with me, then she could join the club. I could probably make us some damn t-shirts. All I seemed to be good at was disappointing people. Ruining moments. Screwing up my life. I walked over to my purse and picked it up, checking to make sure I had everything I needed. My wallet. My money. My cell phone. My identification. Because if I saw something I could afford and I had the ability to apply for it today, I would.

  Anything to get away from the disaster that had just occurred and start over. On my own.

  Yet again.

  As I stepped out onto the porch, I saw Gray sitting in his car. His head was tilted back and his eyes were eyeing the clouds as they passed by. The only good thing about the encounter with Andy was that my day could only get better. Even if Gray was pissed off at me and wanted to get rid of me as quickly as he could, it was still better than what had just happened. I approached his car and opened the door, ripping him from his trance.

  He eyed me up and down before I slipped in, then backed out of the driveway before I even had my seat belt on.

  “The first property we’re going to see is an apartment complex a half-mile walk from the diner,” Gray said.

  I nodded my head as I watched the world pass us by.

  “After that are a couple of homes, then a duplex and another apartment.”

  I nodded again, but I didn’t want to say anything. I kept my features tight and unreadable, because the last thing I wanted to do was ruin anything else. Decimate anything else. Chance the inevitable destruction of my time with Grayson by saying the wrong thing or shooting him the wrong glance or giving him the wrong impression.

  But I he
ard the agitation in his voice. I knew he already had the wrong impression.

  So all I could do was tell him the truth and hoped it would alleviate the tension that laced us together. All I had to do was not screw it up.

  Chapter 13

  Grayson

  I was proud of my ability to master my rage. The second I knocked on Cecily’s door, she opened it up with a feral smile on her cheeks. Trying to press her hand against me and snuggle up to me. I knew she was up to something, but I had no idea what the hell it was. Not until the bathroom door came bursting open and Michelle charged out in nothing but a towel and dripping wet.

  And the second Andy walked out behind her, I knew why.

  Michelle stood there, all pink from her hot shower with her ex standing right behind her. What it looked like was that Michelle had taken a nice roll in the sack with her ex. What it looked like was that Michelle had decided to take a morning to herself and indulge in the pathetic excuse for a man I knew Andy to be. It looked like he had worked her up and down in that damn shower, pressing her against surfaces he had no business pressing her against.

  And the flush of Michelle’s cheeks told me a similar story.

  The guilt that flooded her eyes punched me in my gut, but the anger Andy threw my way when he charged out the front door didn’t match the scene. He was angry, and Cecily was a bit too proud of herself. Michelle seemed to be a mixture of embarrassed and confused, when she didn’t look guilty as sin. Either way, I didn’t want to stick around in that bullshit excuse for a house any longer than I had to.

  I had no idea if that scenario was what it looked like, but I was too angry to address it.

  As I sat in my car waiting for Michelle, I thought about her with that asshole. I thought about his slimy hands on her and his lips pressed against her neck. That was my neck. My body. My hands should be the only hands on Michelle’s curves. I considered driving away. Leaving her to search for a damn place of her own volition. It was obvious she didn’t need me to get what she wanted. To fulfill the cravings of her own feverish body.

  But I wanted to hear it from the horse’s mouth.

  I wanted to hear her admit it.

  Michelle sat down in my car and I headed off, not bothering to look over at her. I guided us towards our first address, making nothing but small talk to try and ease the tension. But she was quiet and her features were tight. The tension grew between us with every beat of silence that pulsed. I wanted to ask her outright. I wanted her to tell me what the hell had been going on that morning.

  But she beat me to the punch.

  “I swear I didn’t know Andy was going to show up this morning,” she said. “Cecily came knocking on the bathroom door telling me I had a visitor, and I thought it was you. So I grabbed a towel and went to speed up getting ready when Andy barged right into the bathroom. That’s all that happened, Gray.”

  I nodded my head as I came to a stop in front of our first destination.

  “He was drunk. I don’t know if it was fresh or if he was still hungover, but he was drunk and trying to corner me in the bathroom. He kept saying he wanted to talk and I kept telling him I didn’t want to talk to him. He kept asking me to come back home and that he missed me. That at least he could give me a warm body to sleep against, whereas you’ll be leaving soon—”

  I snapped my head over to look at her and found her wide eyes staring back at me.

  “I’m not interested in Andy in the slightest, Gray. He’s repulsive. Annoying. It’s why I want to find a place of my own. He won’t know where I live, so he won’t be able to force a confrontation like that anymore.”

  “Why did Cecily let him in?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “Maybe she’s annoyed with me and wanted the encounter to trigger my leaving her place. Maybe she told Andy to go away but he forced himself in. I honestly don’t know.”

  Her words did ease the tension a little bit, but it brought up a host of other questions I wanted to ask. But they were questions I knew Michelle wouldn’t have answers to. Only Cecily would. Because I sure as hell wasn’t going to talk with Andy again.

  I’d beat the shit out of him if I tried.

  “Lets go look at this first place,” I said. “It’s a little small, but well within your price range.”

  We walked into the front office and the woman led us to a mock-up of the studio apartments they rented out. The thing was a damn crackerjack box. No more than six hundred square feet of space. But the look in Michelle’s eyes was unmistakable. To her, this was a palace. My gut still rolled with uncertainty and disgust. My mind still kept flashing back to all sorts of moments she and Andy could’ve shared.

  Andy could give her something I couldn’t?

  Hardly.

  I could give Michelle everything she wanted and more, whether I was present physically or not.

  “The shower’s a nice size,” Michelle said, as she dipped her head into the bathroom. “I really like this place. You said there’s a pool downstairs?”

  “There is. A small pool, a hot tub, and a gym with some equipment. And if you don’t have a washer and dryer of your own, we have stackable units you can rent for thirty dollars a month, maintenance included.”

  “That’s really good,” Michelle said as she looked up at me. “That’s good, right?”

  “For this place, sure,” I said.

  I watched her face fall at my reaction.

  Escorting her to my car, we went to go look at the two houses set for the middle of the day. One house was a small ranch-style home. A little over one thousand square feet, with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. There was a decent living room area and the kitchen was a bit bigger. Not by much, but better than the studio apartment kitchen. Still well within her budget, but she wouldn’t have to be sharing amenities with throngs of other people.

  I liked that.

  We went to go look at the other house and Michelle’s eyes bulged. The carpet was plush underneath her feet, so much so that she slipped her shoes off and wiggled her toes in it. Had my mind not been so damn occupied with Andy’s apparent statement, I would’ve grinned at the cute little action. The house only had one bedroom and one bathroom, but it was still a little over one thousand square feet. It had a great deal more storage space as well, and the landlord was giving the renter the option of customizing the house. Painting the walls and shit like that.

  Michelle really liked that option.

  “I don’t know, after seeing those two houses, I’m not sure I can go back and look at an apartment. And right now, a duplex does not sound palatable at all,” she said.

  I glanced over at her as the wind whipped through her flowing red hair.

  “We don’t have to look at them if you don’t want to. We could get lunch, instead.”

  “You want to do lunch with me?”

  The sound of her voice tugged at my walls, breaking them down another inch.

  “If you don’t want to go see the last two places, you don’t have to. If you want, we can go back to the two houses, apply, then get some lunch,” I said.

  “I like that option. Let’s go with that one,” she said.

  I whipped a quick u-turn in the middle of the road as giggles fell from Michelle’s lips. And for the first time that day, I found myself grinning. I was hard to be angry at that sound coming from her. It was hard to be angry at her excitement. And applying for places meant she’d get away from Andy sooner. Something that was very much needed.

  I didn’t want her around that asshole any longer than she needed to be.

  “So,” I said as she handed over the last application, “where do you want to eat?”

  “Wanna go to that soup and sandwich shop on the other side of downtown?” she asked.

  “Soup and sandwiches it is.”

  I didn’t like the thought of her being with Andy, and every single time I looked at her, it was all I could think about. I had no way of knowing what really took place in that bathroom, b
ut I did know I wanted to wring Andy’s neck. Whether he cornered her or slid his cock into her, I didn’t know. But either way, she wasn’t his to touch. The possession of Michelle—the primal feelings bubbling in my gut—were strange to me. I’d never been jealous of other men before. But then again, no other woman meant to me what Michelle did.

  No woman connected with me the way she did.

  The feeling was new, and it made me tense. It forced my mind onto a one-track highway I couldn’t seem to exit from. I opened the door for her before we walked into the restaurant, and my eyes fell directly to her ass.

  An ass I wanted to mark as mine.

  A body I wanted to own.

  “I love their broccoli cheddar soup here,” Michelle said. “It’s so good. Especially with the chicken salad wrap. Have you ever had it?”

  “I usually make my own,” I said.

  “Well, it’s great here. You should really try it.”

  I watched her shuffle from foot to foot, like an eager child on Christmas Eve. Another reminder of her innocence.

  An innocence I wanted to remind of my darkness.

  “If you really like those two houses, we can stop for the day,” I said, as we sat down. “But there’s one more house I was going to show you tomorrow. We can see it after lunch, if you’d like.”

  “I’ve got enough money for one more application. It’s worth a shot,” Michelle said. “Maybe I’ll hear from one of them tomorrow, and I could start the move-in process before I go back to work.”

  “I wouldn’t hold my breath on that, but sometimes people have fires lit under their asses in this town. You never know,” I said.

  I watched Michelle’s eyes flutter up to mine before she took another bite of her soup.

  “Do you believe me?” she asked.

  I felt my entire body tense back up as I drew in a deep breath.

  “Nothing happened between me and—”

  “Let’s just act like it didn’t happen. Okay?” I asked.

  “So you don’t believe me.”

  “Michelle, lets enjoy our lunch. Then I’ll take you to see the last house.”