“Iris,” she said. “You can call me Iris.”
I took the full bag out of her trash can and tossed it into a larger trash can waiting in the hall. Resting the new bag inside her can, I pulled the edges over and set it by the door.
“There. That didn’t take too long, now did it?” I said, checking to make sure she didn’t have any other trash lying around.
“Not nearly long enough, I’d say.”
I worked my way back to her door, ready to move on to the next room.
“Okay, Iris, I’ll see you next time. You be good now.”
She chuckled, her head falling back with her laughter. “Never.”
I closed the door behind me with a smirk. Miss Davis had made my day. I went into her room feeling like shit, but after talking with her, I was feeling much better. She made me laugh, and that was never a bad thing.
I strutted down the hallway, wishing I was done for the day and ready to get back to the real world when Red came around the corner. She was looking at the pictures on the walls as she passed, not paying attention to the path in front of her. Once she was close enough to walk into me, I stopped, letting her run right into my chest.
She was taller than most girls, but I was taller than most men, so her forehead bumped into my chin.
“Oh, my God! I’m so …” She stopped her apology when her eyes met mine. “You again,” she breathed.
I grinned, loving her unhappy response at seeing me. “Yep. Me again.”
“Are you following me? Because if so, I should probably warn you that I can take down a man with one finger.”
She was serious, her face emotionless.
I couldn’t help myself. I laughed.
Women had threatened me with a great many things. Most of them pleasurable. But not Red. She was sticking to the game. Staying strong and fighting my charms.
I loved it.
“With one finger, huh?”
She nodded. “Yep.”
“Damn. If you can do that with one finger, I can only imagine the things you could do with your entire hand. Better yet, your mouth.”
Her eyes widened, and a pretty pink blush covered her face, making her freckles darken.
“You’re disgusting.” She moved to go around me, but I stepped in her way.
“Go out with me.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes. “I really don’t have time for this.”
She would give in at some point. She couldn’t resist me forever.
“Go out with me,” I repeated.
She looked up at me, her light green eyes moving over my face before landing on my lips. I licked my bottom lip, and her eyes jerked back up to mine.
She wanted me.
I knew women, and I knew regardless of what she was saying, her body and reactions were speaking a different language. One that begged to feel me.
“No.” She moved quickly, going around me before I could block her path, and I let her go.
“You’ll give in at some point. They all do.”
With her back to me as she walked away, she chuckled sarcastically.
“I’m not they.”
She was right about that. She was nothing like the rest, but I knew myself, and I always got what I wanted. Currently, I wanted her.
Heading back toward the front of the building, I was caught once again by Jermaine leaning against the front counter. He snickered, having heard my conversation with Red.
“Damn, bro, mopping the front hallway and cleaning the visitor’s bathroom. It’s going to be an easy night for me.” He laughed as he walked away. “Wear gloves in there, man. Those toilets are nasty,” he called out.
“Next time,” I yelled. “Next time, I’ll get her.”
His laugh echoed down the hallway.
“Want to bet kitchen duty on that?” he called out.
I had no self-control.
I was a stickler for a good bet. Especially if I knew I could win it.
“If I strike out next time, I’ll do kitchen duty, but if I win, I get a day away, and you sign my community service sheet. Deal?”
Again, he laughed, shaking his head at the fact that I refused to give in.
“You’ve got yourself a deal, man.”
And then he was gone, walking around the corner to do whatever the hell it was he did.
I leaned against the front desk and mentally prepared myself for my next run-in with Red. I needed a plan. Obviously, she wasn’t going to fall for my usual game, which meant I needed to step it up. The next time I saw her, it would be on. But until then, much to my dismay, I had a bathroom to clean.
A bet was a bet.
EIGHT
SHANNON
HE WAS ALWAYS THERE.
Always stalking the halls like a ghost waiting to haunt me.
Did he live at Twin Oaks?
Almost every time I visited, which was two to three times a week, he was there taunting me. Teasing me. Making me think of things I had no business thinking of. My body reacted. My mind twirled with sick and desired thoughts.
It was annoying.
Visiting Grammy should be the highlight of my day. A time without the stress of my past. A time when my brain and body were on the same page.
That wasn’t happening.
Seeing him confused me and made me feel lost. He gave me an emotional beating, stretching my anxiety and nerves to their limits. He was a physical challenge, working my muscles past the point of straining until I felt as if something would snap at any second.
On the days I ran into him, I would leave Twin Oaks emotionally tender and physically exhausted. My mind and body ran marathons whenever he was near, losing the ultimate race every time he said go.
Once I was away from him, I sprinted down the hallway to Grammy’s room and burst into her space without knocking. I felt as if I was being chased, as if he was following me. And the desire to run away was potent.
“Can I help you?” Grammy asked, standing from her reading chair.
She looked nice. Her hair was down and wavy, and she wore one of the nice outfits I’d picked up for her the last time I visited. Pink dotted her lips, and her nails were painted as well. I was thrilled to see her up and moving around, focusing on living and feeling alive. Even if that meant a bit of lipstick and a stroke of polish on her thick fingernails.
“Hey, Grammy, how are you today?”
I moved farther into her room.
She squinted at me as if I were familiar but she couldn’t quite place me.
I smiled to hide the pain.
“It’s me, Grammy. Shannon.”
She didn’t believe me at first, but then her face lit up, and she smiled so wide I could see the chip in her dentures. She shuffled across the room toward me with her arms open wide.
“Hey, honey, get yourself over here and give me a hug. I haven’t seen you in months. Where have you been?”
I hugged her, her feeble arms squeezing the best they could. “I’ve been around. How are you feeling today?”
“Oh, I’m feeling well enough, I reckon. My back’s been giving me a time, and the arthritis in my hands is making crocheting harder than it should be, but I’m here, so I suppose I can’t complain much, huh?”
She chuckled.