Replace Me (Kin #2)(22)
Author: Jennifer Foor

“My shampoo smells like a man.”

I smiled. “I don’t even care.”

As I entered his bathroom, I could already smell the scent of his shampoo. It reminded me of the way his skin smelled when we kissed. I stripped out of my clothes and let them lay on the bathroom floor. It was pathetic, but I didn’t even have the energy to pick them up. The hot water fell over my head and I wrapped my arms around my body, unable to control my emotions any longer. I began to sob in the shower, thinking about Shayne and everything we’d never have. I don’t know why it hurt more than the first time. I guess I’d built up so much hope of us having a second chance. I wasn’t going to jump into bed with him, but I considered starting off slow. It was definitely over this time. I felt insignificant, like nothing I could do would ever be good enough to make a man want only me. I never considered myself bad at sex, albeit it was possible that I was awful and just didn’t know it.

Why else would every boyfriend cheat on me?

I don’t know how long I’d been crying, but I heard the bathroom door open and froze in place. Through the sheer curtain, I could see him standing there, looking at me. He started undressing and it frightened me, because being intimate was the last thing on my mind, especially with him.

He climbed in behind me and pulled my back against his chest. His hands traced my arms until he brought them up across my chest. Joey kissed my shoulder and let his jaw sit there. “I hate hearin’ you cry.”

I closed my eyes. “I’m sorry. I feel like I’m drowning in pain.”

“I won’t ask what happened, but I’m not goin’ to let you cry anymore.” He turned me around and kissed the top of my head. Our eyes met and I couldn’t look anywhere else. He had me completely captivated again.

“I’m sorry I showed up without asking.”

He smiled. “You’re not sorry, Lace. You came to the one place where you knew you could make it all go away.”

Normally, when Joey said things like that, he was being cocky, except this time it was the absolute truth. “I’m not supposed to want you, Joey.”

He smiled and let his lips trace over mine. “I’m not supposed to do a lot of things that I do.”

“I liked it better when you were an ass**le. At least then, I knew what to expect from you.”

“I’m still an ass**le. Ask anyone.”

“I hate to break it to you, but I think we’re becoming friends.”

“That’s what this is?” He laughed and held me closer. “I’m kiddin’.”

“Just make me forget I ever left your bed this morning. That’s all I want from you.”

He raised his eyebrow. “So, you want to use me?”

“Isn’t that what you want from me? Isn’t it about being able to say you had me?” Even in the shower, I could feel the heat building between my legs again. “Havin’ you was never a question.” His wet hands ran down my arms as the conflicted look on his face remained.

“Why are you looking at me like that?”

His face changed as he spun me around again. With my back to him, I couldn’t read him, which was exactly what he wanted. He picked up the bar of soap and ran it over my back, creating a lather, as he massaged it into my skin. As his hand made its way to my ass, I heard him groan. He put the soap down and kissed me on the shoulder, while the water rinsed off the remaining soaps suds. I was shocked when he began to climb back out of the shower, so shocked that I pulled the curtain and looked out at him.

“What just happened?”

He wrapped a towel around his waist, before I could look down at his package that I’d yet to see. “Nothin. Take your time, Lace. I’ll be out here when you’re done.”

I was puzzled and didn’t know what I could have done to make him want to get out and leave me hanging. One minute he had his hands all over me and the next he was walking away. I couldn’t help but wonder if it was something that I’d done wrong.

Still, I did as he said and let the water wash away my tears. Once Joey walked away, my mind went right to Shayne. I was so overwhelmed with sadness knowing that we’d never be together again. My mind had been made up and there was no way that I could allow him back into my life, when it was clear he couldn’t be honest, or even faithful.

When the water started to run cold, I knew I’d been in the shower too long. My skin was beginning to prune up and soften. I climbed out and wrapped myself in a towel, noticing that a clean folded t-shirt was sitting on the sink waiting for me.

I shook off a smile, knowing that Joey had come into the bathroom to give me something comfortable to wear, even though I had a bag of things that I’d brought with me.

Maybe he did it because he got off seeing a woman in his clothes. Either way, I pulled his shirt over my head and smelled the fabric. His cologne still lingered faintly and it gave me comfort knowing that I wasn’t going to be alone.

Even though I was still confused about his intentions, Joey was being nice to me. He wasn’t pushing me to do anything.

I found him on the couch with a plate of food on his lap. He was sucking up a noodle in his mouth as I walked into the room. “Do you like pasta?”

“I love it.” Even with my mind focused on so many other things, I knew I needed to force myself to eat. Besides, I knew it was going to taste fantastic.

“I made homemade sauce the other night. It’s sweeter than the jar.” He stood up and went into the kitchen, coming back out with a plate full of noodles and red sauce.

I sat down on the other side of him and wrapped a bunch of noodles around my fork. Joey watched as I took a bite. The sudden burst of flavor was like an orgasm in my mouth, and from the look on his face, he knew I was in love with his cooking.” Ain’t it good?”

“It’s delicious. I’m impressed. Did you always want to be a cook?”

He shrugged and took another bite before answering. “My mom has ran that diner my whole life. I guess it’s in my blood. I think I started working there when I was twelve. Since it was all I ever learned to do, she sent me to culinary school and the rest is history.”

“Sky made it seem like you and Ford bickered about everything. I couldn’t believe you moved in to this place.”

“He’s my cousin, but we like to compete, that’s no secret. Since we’ve gotten older it doesn’t happen so much. We have more in common than he likes to admit, like fast cars and sexy women.”