“I’m here for you, not a home inspection.” He jutted his chin for her to open up.
Callie swung open the door. Although her place was tidy, it was a bachelorette, tiny and in disrepair. She had a green fridge and a yellow stove. The counter was peeling apart and the laminate floor was deteriorating. Even with the state of her apartment, she could barely afford the rent. She’d had to take some drastic steps when she first started her job since they didn’t pay for two weeks.
“Sorry, the landlord doesn’t answer calls.”
“I like it,” he said.
She couldn’t help but smile. He walked into the place with no hesitation, exploring everything without a word. Brick picked up a framed picture from an end table.
“It’s my grandmother,” she said.
“I see the resemblance.”
He set it back down carefully. “No other family?” he asked.
“You said we weren’t going to talk about family.”
“Good memory.” He sat down on her brown tweed sofa. “But I think we’re past all that now, aren’t we? I want to know everything about my woman.”
She sat beside him. “Your woman?”
“You’re keeping shit from me. Don’t hide things from me because you assume I’ll judge you—I won’t.”
Callie swallowed hard. She loved that Brick was no holds barred. There was something irresistible about him, and she couldn’t deny him. All she could offer were bits and pieces because no matter how much she wanted to grow closer to him, the shame of her family tree was too much to share.
“My parents are AWOL.”
“We have that in common. What happened to yours?”
She fidgeted on the sofa, hating this conversation. “They were addicts. Kids were the last thing they wanted.”
“You know where they are now?”
“Brick, I really don’t care. I wouldn’t want to see them if I could.” She shifted in her seat to face him. “Can we please talk about something else? I thought we were moving onto second base.”
He raised an eyebrow. “I don’t remember saying that.”
“Sorry, I’m not thinking straight right now.”
He ran the backs of his fingers along her jaw. “No, I like where you’re going with this.” Brick leaned in closer, brushing his lips across hers. Her heart was going to beat out of her chest. When he kissed her, she closed her eyes. Every move he made was soft and slow like he was dealing with a skittish doe. Her apartment never sounded so quiet. She felt completely inept.
The kiss deepened, his tongue tracing over her lips. The longer they kissed, the more her body relaxed. He pulled her closer, his fingers combing into her hair.
“You drive me crazy, Callie.”
He trailed his kisses down her neck. She shivered, resting a hand on his bicep. His lips against her skin had her entire reality spiraling out of control. She opened her mouth to breathe.
“Brick…” The word was breathless and sounded needy even to her own ears.
He returned to her lips, kissing her harder, deeper. She instinctually wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close. He slid his hand under her shirt, and she tried to suck in her stomach. Brick pressed forward, his big frame enveloping her until she was reclining on the cushion, his rough hand cupping her breast over her bra.
She felt his restraint, but the last thing she wanted was for him to stop. Callie was twenty-six, so it was about time she had a serious boyfriend.
“I should leave,” he whispered against her lips.
“What? Why?”
Was she too fat? Was he turned off by her? Crazy insecurities kept popping up all over the place.
“I want to be a gentleman. It would be so easy to take everything I want from you, but I won’t.”
“Do you want to see me again?” she asked.
He leaned back, sitting beside her again. His kind smirk calmed her. “Of course, I do. I’m going to do everything right by you, Callie.”
Hand-in-hand, they made their way downstairs. Brick was gaining control of her heart, and she knew he could easily break it.
It was dark outside now, and her neighborhood was unsavory at best. A distant siren wailed and a glass bottle broke out of sight.
When she saw Sean Rigby approach in that stupid black trench coat, she felt a surge of panic. He terrified her, and she didn’t want Brick to know all her affairs. She’d been desperate and had no one to turn to for rent money. It had been one of her low points, but she’d had to borrow from the local loan shark to pay her bills. Now the repayment had tripled, and as soon as she saved enough, he’d raise it again. It was a terrifying struggle she expected would never end.
“Callie…”
She held her breath.
“You haven’t answered my texts. Be smart. Answer my fucking texts.” He walked off without too much drama, and for that, she was thankful. When Brick didn’t ask her for information or appear upset like he had early in the day with the bikers, so was surprised.