Loving Lawson

He opened the door and glared at someone. “Tru.”

“Hey, sexy man, did you just get up?” came that familiar voice from many nights ago. Oh, shit. She was the last person I wanted to see right now.

“Yeah –”

“So you haven’t had breakfast. That’s good. I made a tray of muffins last night.”

She invited herself in holding said tray in her hands. Without surprise, I quickly learned she was as sexy clothed as she was nude, looking sinfully good this early in the morning. Wearing a tight top and very small shorts, her brown hair was down in waves. She saw me and her hazel eyes widened, but she didn’t miss a step. Instead, she smiled wickedly and I hated her for a split second – for ruining my moment with Heath and for making me feel drastically plain.

“You’re still here! Heath said you were crashing for a while. Ryker’s girlfriend, right?” I wasn’t sure why she’d put emphasis on Ryker’s name like that. She stepped into the kitchen and set the tray down before turning to me. Without warning, she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tightly. “It’s good to meet you face to face. I’m Tru.”

Face to face. Was she implying about that night? I tensed, hoping she’d keep her mouth shut. She seemed the type that might take pleasure in torturing someone by dropping hints like that.

“Hi,” I let out, hugging her back because what other choice did I have? “Allie.”

She let go and glanced at Heath over her shoulder. He was standing outside of the kitchen, stiff and unhappy.

“Barely wearing any clothes, Heath,” she then remarked, looking him over. “That’s no way to dress around guests.” When we didn’t respond, she went still and glanced between the two of us. “Have I interrupted anything?”

I shook my head weakly, staring at Heath.

“Okay,” she said, “so, are we all going to have some muffins, or are we going to cook something else instead?”

Looking between both of them, I immediately picked up on the tension. One second I was around a warm Heath, and the next he was still and cold, staring at Tru like she’d messed up his morning. I shot my bowl of cereal a despairing look. I’d have to forgo breakfast for another hour, which was a tragedy for a pregnant girl. But it beat being around them, especially when one of them was armed with horrible, humiliating info that could make me sound like a horrible peeping tom.

“I actually have to go shower,” I lied, excusing myself. “But thanks for the offer.”

She nodded at me. “No problem, Allie. Just let us know when you’re kicking around. You never know what Heath and I will be up to, so I’d hate for you to walk in on something.”

My jaw dropped, and I couldn’t respond.

Heath didn’t look at me once as I escaped the kitchen and disappeared down the hall. Clearly he was too shrouded in his dark mood to understand what she meant. I stopped midway when their conversation started up. I didn’t want to be nosey again, but Christ, the looks that were exchanged were lethal. And it wasn’t like they were messing around either, or would be for that matter. Despite her words, I didn’t think they’d be getting acquainted anytime soon.

“What’re you doing here, Tru?” Heath growled out in a hushed tone.

“We agreed twice a week minimum, and you’ve stood me up a few times already,” she replied in a tense voice. “You don’t answer my calls, don’t return them either, and I haven’t seen you in passing. I know you’re a morning person, so figured this was the only time I’d be able to get a hold of you and figure out what’s going on.”

“A lot has come up.”

“Like what?”

“Personal shit, Tru.”

“That’s not a good answer. And why are you barely wearing clothes around another girl?”

“I didn’t think she’d be up.”

“Piss weak excuse, Heath. On that note, is that what you’re into now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Malnourished girls like her. Is that what you keep standing me up for?” Ouch.

There was a second of silence before he erupted more edgily, “What the fuck is wrong with you?”

“Nothing!”

“Then don’t talk about her like that!”

“Serious?”

“Yeah, I’m fucking serious.”

She sighed and her heels clacked along the floor of the kitchen. I jumped and took a few steps back, hoping it wasn’t her rounding the corner to find me eavesdropping. Thankfully, she wasn’t.

“Look,” she then said in a nicer tone, “I know that was bitchy, and I’m sorry, but we made an arrangement, Heath, and I have needs that need to be met. I thought this was going to go smoothly. You promised it would, and now you’ve pulled a disappearing act on me. That’s why I showed up.”

“I made it clear you don’t come around during the day,” he snapped back. “Now I already told you I’ve been busy. I got a lot of things to take care of –”

“Distractions you mean, and they all involve her, don’t they?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact they do.”

“Why? What’s so important about her that it has to stand in our way?”

“She’s in a difficult situation right now, and I’m helping her.” My heart shined that he’d keep the pregnancy to himself.

“That should be her boyfriend’s job, not yours. You’re the brother.”

“She needs me, not him,” he said slowly and sternly. “And I’m not turning my back on her, or dropping her because some person I fuck a couple times a week comes around and has a problem with it.”

Holy shit.

She gasped. “Are you for real right now? I’m not just someone you fuck, Heath. We’ve been doing this for a while. You’ve hinted you want more. We can have a proper relationship. Something real instead of this arrangement –”

“I never hinted shit,” he cut in angrily. “You knew what this was right from the start, and it was all I was able to give you. Things have changed. Get it through your head, Tru. It’s not anything to do with you personally. It’s just me and my circumstances at the moment. I’m not in the position to give you the time you want. I’ve got a lot going on right now. I’ve got a person that needs me –”