Cruel & Beautiful Read online

  I rub my brow. “I already told you! My mouth ran away from me.”

  “Okay. Rule number one. Do not drink to a point that on your first date with a guy you allow yourself to tell him shit like that.”

  My head hangs down. “I know. I didn’t mean to. But it just sort of happened. We were having so much fun.”

  “Clearly. He must have too. Why else would he be taking you out again? He bought you a stuffed Bigfoot, Cate!” Then she turns to me with a serious look. “Have you waxed?”

  “Yes! I’m all muffin-scaped now.”

  “Who did your waxing? I hope you went to the right place.”

  Now I know she’s going to kill me. I squeak out, “I did it.”

  “What do you mean you did it? No one does their own waxing!”

  In all the years I’ve known Jenna, I have never seen her look so furious.

  “Well, I did. I was trying to save a few bucks,” I admit.

  “And I’m trying to save you from humiliation. You probably look like Halfsquatch.” She plucks her phone out of her pocket and thumbs through her contacts. “Here’s the number of the salon I use. Call them to have your waxing done properly.” She rattles off the number.

  Then I start to think about it. She may have a point. I really couldn’t see down there when I was doing it. Maybe I did leave a bunch of hair. That would be awful. Worse than awful. It would be a muff-tastrophe.

  “Okay. I’ll call them. Just so Louise can look pristine.”

  “Who the fuck is Louise?”

  I hold up my index finger and jab it toward Louise.

  “Jesus C. You named it Louise? How did I not ever know that?”

  “It’s a private thing.”

  “Whatever. I have to go. Just make sure you get Louise taken care of.”

  She closes the door behind her and I call the salon she uses. When they tell me their prices, I almost croak. That isn’t in my budget unless I skip paying my electric bill for the month. So I hit the number for the cosmetology school I use for my haircuts, wondering if they do waxing. When they tell me they do, I ask their price. I’m excited to find I can afford it. They tell me they can take me in twenty minutes, so I dash out the door with barely enough time to make the appointment.

  The whole session turns out to be embarrassing, with two strangers getting a bullseye’s view of Louise. And Louise is rather shy. Their pitying stares at my do-it-yourself-wax-job-gone-bad make me think I have a tree sprouting between my legs.

  When I get home, Jenna is there. She looks at me kind of funny. “What’s wrong with you?”

  “I don’t know. I went and got waxed, but my butt cheeks feel weird—like they’re stuck together. Is that normal?”

  “What? Your butt cheeks are stuck together? No, that’s not normal. Who did your waxing? Everyone at my salon is usually great.”

  I give her a sheepish look.

  “Well?”

  “I went to the cosmetology school,” I confess.

  She looks horrified. “You did what?”

  “I couldn’t afford your salon,” I cry out. “It was way out of my budget.”

  “Okay, let’s stay calm here. So your butt cheeks are stuck together, huh?”

  Then she chuckles, but it turns into a howl.

  “Stop. It’s not funny. My unders are crammed up there now, too.”

  She slaps her knee with this news and snorts.

  “Wh-what? Oh my god! You have a wax-wedgy!”

  I throw a pillow at her. “Stop! What am I gonna do?”

  “Let’s Google how to get the wax off.”

  Jenna pulls it up on her computer, and using some special oil, my butt cheeks are freed from their waxy prison. Right as we finish, my phone buzzes. I look down to see Drew’s name. Thank god he didn’t call an hour ago. I would’ve been mortified.

  “Hey Drew.”

  “Cate. What’s a gorgeous girl like you doing on a Friday afternoon?”

  Getting all my hairs yanked out by the roots and freeing the cheeks of my ass, so I can be smooth if you happen to run your hand down my pants tomorrow.

  “Oh, nothing very exciting. Trying to do a little studying before tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, about tomorrow.”

  My heart plunges. I know he’s going to cancel on me, and I’ve never felt this way about someone canceling a date.

  “What?”

  “I was wondering if you’d mind very much if I came up early.”

  “Early?”

  “Yeah, like in the afternoon. Would that be okay?”

  “That would be great.” My belly suddenly warms. “I’d love that.” I wish he would’ve said tonight.

  “You’re sure? I don’t want to wear out my welcome or anything.”

  Like that could ever happen! “No I’m positive. And the invitation is still open for you to stay here if you’d like. I hate for you to have to pay for a hotel room. And Jenna doesn’t mind.”

  “I was going to ask you that. If it’s okay with you both, then I’ll take you up on your offer.”

  “That’ll be fine. Great actually.” Oh my god. He’s going to spend the night here! I end up squeezing the phone so hard; it pops out of my hand and drops to the floor, lost in those lusty thoughts. I have to scramble to pick it up. “What’s that?”

  “So is lunch time too early, like say one?”

  “Not at all. That’s perfect. Oh, and thanks for my Sasquatch. I’ll sleep with it tonight.” I laugh.

  “I never thought I’d be jealous of a stuffed animal.”

  “Strange things happen in life, Drew.”

  “They certainly do. So tell me how your week’s been.”

  “Crazy. What about yours? I don’t know much about what a doctor does.”

  “I spend a lot of time at the clinic seeing patients. Then I have hospital hours and rounds. It was a good week. But I want to know about you. What do you like to do in your spare time?”

  I laugh. Hard. “When I get any, I run. That’s pretty much my go to. I like to squeeze a run in whenever I can, although I don’t do it as much as I’d like. It’s weird, but it helps me think. If I ever get writer’s block, a run usually breaks me out of it.”

  “I knew we’d have something in common. I love to run, too.”

  “Yeah, I remember you mentioning running that night at dinner. You lift weights, too.”

  “Do you?”

  “No, sadly.”

  “Do I sense your face scrunching up?”

  How in the hell did he know that? “You got me.”

  “Why not weights?”

  “I hate to count.”

  “Cate, that makes no sense. You’re majoring in accounting.”

  As soon as he says it, we both crack up. “I can see it now. Cate Forbes, the accountant who hates to count. Want me to make you a sign? It could say, ‘Cate Forbes, CPA. I Hate Counting’!”

  “That really is bad, isn’t it? I’m going to suck.”

  Suddenly, we’re both quiet, but then his voice comes to me and he says, “Uh, I could say something to that comment, but I think I’ll refrain.”

  Again, I get those warm shivers and goosebumps erupt all over my skin. “Hmmm. I’m not sure what to say now.”

  “Then let me do the talking. Can I just say I’m really looking forward to seeing you tomorrow?”

  “So am I.”

  “I’d better go. A text just came through from the hospital.”

  “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow. And be safe driving.”

  “Always. Have a nice evening, Cate.”

  I stand there, cradling my phone.

  “If you could only see the smile on your face,” Jenna says, interrupting my thoughts. “My girl Cate, I do believe you have it bad for that man.”

  Do I? I’m not sure because I have no comparators. I can’t count dickwad. He never evoked deep feelings, other than humiliation. There have been others that I’ve dated, but none of them even stick out as memorable. It sounds like I’m a
loser, now that I think of it, but it’s only that no one ever captured my attention. Not until Drew.

  “He certainly has my attention, I’ll give him that much.”

  “Will you give him more? I’ve never seen you interested enough to be concerned about your girlie bits. In all honesty, Cate, I wondered a time or two if you batted for the other team.”

  “What?” Oh my god! I can’t believe she said that.

  “Don’t get mad about it. But damn, you get hit on all the time, but never take anyone up on it.”

  She does have a valid point. “I don’t because none of them interested me. Well, there was dickwad.”

  “Yeah, and I thought after him, since that was such a disaster, that maybe he pushed you to the other side.”

  I can’t believe Jenna thought that. “Why didn’t you ever say anything?”

  She picks up a chunk of her hair and twirls it. “I figured you were trying to work it all out.”

  “Let’s get one thing straight. I’m a man fan. Until I met Drew, I never ran across anyone that fired me up. Maybe I’m too picky.” That’s what I’ve always thought anyway.

  She shoots me a sly smile. “Well, Drew has certainly stoked the fires enough for you to buff Louise up.”

  “Okay, no more Louise talk. That’s something only for me to know.”

  “You like him a lot, don’t you?”

  “Yeah. I had more fun on that date than I’ve ever had with anyone.”

  “Including me?” She winks.

  “Different kind of fun, Jenna.”

  Drew arrives at exactly one. He looks better than good dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. When I open the door, the first thing he does is wrap his arms around me and kiss me. I love the feel of him against me.

  “You look beautiful.”

  I’m wearing jeans and a long-sleeved top. It’s nothing special, but he makes me feel that way. “Thanks. You look great yourself.” I lean in for another kiss. “Did you bring your stuff up?”

  “No, I left it in the car. Let’s go. I want to take you to this place I love. I brought lunch.”

  “Oh, okay.” He suggests I bring a jacket or sweatshirt. We hop in his car and take a drive out into the country. It’s the first week of October so the weather is cool. It’s a lovely day and Drew drives us to a really neat old timey covered bridge. He pulls off the road and in the back of his car is a backpack that has our lunch.

  “I picked it up from this great deli in Indy. Downtown Indianapolis has great cafés and delis. One thing I love most about the place. I hope you like sub sandwiches.”

  “I love everything. I’m easy to please, Drew.”

  We walk a bit and find a great place to plop ourselves down. He spreads a blanket and hands out the food. He’s right. The subs are great. They bake their own bread every morning, he tells me. While we eat, he talks about medical school and how he didn’t know what type of doctor he wanted to be.

  “How did you know? About being a doctor I mean?”

  He shrugs. “I just did. Ever since I was a little kid.”

  The sun’s rays are streaming through the trees and they create a halo effect around Drew. His hand brushes through his thick waves, pushing them back off his forehead, and I’m struck at how his face looks like it’s been painted. His brows form perfect arches over his startlingly blue eyes, and they sparkle as he speaks. It’s then I realize I could gaze at him for hours on end.

  “What?” he asks.

  I shake my head, smiling. “Nothing. You are lucky. Not many people know what they want out of life. And you knew at such an early age.”

  “I know. I do count myself as one of the fortunate ones. At first I thought I wanted to do sports medicine. Orthopedics. But then during med school, I did my first rotation in oncology and I was hooked, just like that.” He clicks his fingers.

  “It doesn’t scare you? Working with cancer patients?”

  “No. Why?”

  “Like maybe you’ll get close to them? I can only imagine how my heart would get broken.” I rub my chest, thinking how it would ache.

  “Ah, I see where you’re going. I look at it from a different perspective.” He reaches out and brushes the backs of his fingers across my cheek.

  “Which perspective is that?”

  “Cancer isn’t what it used to be. There are so many different treatment options and sometimes patients can live years with it. So I look at it as a way to prolong or extend lives or cure the disease. And if I get close to the patient in the process, then that makes it all the more special. Mind you, I’m still in my residency. I have to do a fellowship in oncology before I’ll be able to practice it. And then if I want to specialize, it may be another year after that.”

  He must be brilliant. Not only is he hot, he’s kind, smart, and sweet, too. I stare at him with what I imagine is a goofy assed smile on my face.

  “Can I tell you something?” he asks.

  “Sure.”

  “I worked long hours this week and traded today with someone so I could spend it with you. All week, you’re the only thing I could think of, Cate.” He grabs my wrist. “Come here.”

  We’re facing each other with our legs crossed. I’m not sure I know what he means.

  He pats his leg. “Right here. I want you on my lap so I can kiss you.”

  I unfold my legs and move over to his lap. I don’t want to smash him, so I climb on top and wiggle around until I’m properly seated. I finally look up at him and he wears an amused expression.

  “You won’t crush me. I’m a fairly large guy, Cate.”

  “But I’m not some tiny petite thing either.” Almost before the words leave my mouth, he pulls me against him, his mouth landing on mine. My fingers thread through his hair, something I’ve been dying to do since he walked in my apartment, and he does the same to mine.

  Drew’s kisses are mind blowing. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not very experienced or because he sparks the fire down below. Either way, I heat up. And not just my mouth. Things get seriously hot between my legs. My belly tightens with a need so forceful I end up squirming around on his lap, trying to quench the burn. There isn’t a way to do it so I end up wrapping my legs around him and pressing myself against him. Am I dry humping him? Crap, I need to rein this in. I pull my mouth away from his and it takes enormous effort.

  “Everything okay, Cate?”

  He seems so unaffected by it all. “Um, yeah. Fine. Good.” My voice is all breathy.

  He leans in for more kissing. I lean back so he can’t reach.

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “You did everything right. Too right, I think.” I bow my head because I don’t want him to see my heated cheeks.

  “Then why avoid my kiss?”

  I only shake my head.

  “Please talk to me, Cate. I don’t read minds and if I did something to offend you, I need to know.”

  I’m aggravated now. “I’m not offended, just all horned up here. I was practically dry humping you.” Oh god, did I say that out loud? Of course I did. Me and my big mouth.

  “And what’s wrong with dry humping? It’s damn sexy. I want you to dry hump me.” He grabs my hips and squeezes me. “If I knew you better, I’d strip you naked and fuck you silly right now.”

  “Oh, god, why don’t you know me better?”

  He throws his head back and laughs. Before I know it, I’m laughing with him. He’s so easy to be with.

  After we stop with the laughter, he says, “Don’t ever shut me out. I don’t like guessing games. Hell, I hate any kinds of games. Just tell me. I love how you’re frank about things. Don’t ever change. Now can I kiss those sexy lips of your some more?”

  “Is that all you want to kiss?” I ask.

  “No. Before too long, I will be kissing every single inch of you.” He doesn’t smile. He only pins me with his incredible eyes. They’re so intense right now, I can’t break the connection.

  “Good. I can’t wait. I hope I d
on’t have to wait too long.”

  “No, not too long. But not today. I’m kind of old-fashioned in that regard.”

  Disappointment rushes into me. For the first time in my life, I feel like I’m going to be the pursuer.

  “Hey, don’t look so sad,” Drew says. “I promise, I’ll make it worth the wait.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Oh, yeah.” And then his lips are on mine again, doing what they do best. Turning me into one dry humping maniac.

  That night Drew takes me to dinner. We end up at a steak house at his insistence. I feel guilty because it’s a lot of money.

  “Will you at least let me impress you a little?” he asks. He swirls his wine in his glass before he drinks it. I take a sip of mine and it’s delicious. He ordered for me because I’m clueless about ordering wine.

  “Okay. But you don’t have to try. You impressed me the first time you walked through my door.”

  “Ah, well that’s good to know. It’s burgers and fast food from now on for you, then.”

  I bite my lip to stifle a laugh. I need him to know something. “Drew, it doesn’t take much to make me happy.”

  His smile disappears, and he grabs my hand. “I can see that. I want to make you happy, Cate.”

  “You do. I’m happy when I’m with you.”

  A grin spreads across his face. “I want to ask you something. Would you like to come to Indy next weekend?”

  “You’d want to put up with me for the entire weekend?” I’m curious about where he lives, who he hangs out with. Of course I’d love to go.

  “I do have a slight confession to make. I have a short shift on Saturday. From six to noon. Would that be a problem for you?”

  “Not at all. I could actually get some studying done.”

  He gives me a megawatt smile. “Yeah? Really?”

  “Yeah.” I grin back at him.

  “There’s something else. On Saturday afternoon, I have a hockey match.”

  My brow creases when he says this. Hockey. I know nothing about the sport. Where the hell did he learn to play?

  “I can tell you’re not interested, are you?”

  He misinterpreted my silence. “Oh no, that’s not it at all. I was trying to figure out where you learned to play. Growing up in Charleston, I mean ice skating wasn’t exactly common.”