Page 104 of Under Her Skin

“I have to go pee, damn!” I say as I get out of bed and stomp away to thebathroom.

“You okay, baby?” heasks.

I slam the bathroom door without answeringhim.

Blake

Pushing a cherry Danish towards Rachelle as she taps incessantly at her cell phone, I ask, “Do you want totalk?”

She shakes her head and pushes the food back as she seemingly ignores me. I have no idea of what I did to piss her off, but she is most definitely pissed for some damnreason.

I take the plate with the pastry on it and take it back to the littlekitchen.

“What would you like to do today,babe?”

Her tapping stops and I glance at her to find her looking at me with what I believe is a glare for some reason. “Oh, you haven’t already set up our day,dear?”

“That was quite the sarcastic tone. And if you want to know, I thought we might look around at some places for your restaurant.” I walk back into the living room and sit next to her on thesofa.

She scoots away a little and taps away again at her phone. “I don’t want to do thattoday.”

“Okay,” I say and lean over, nudging her shoulder with mine. “Wanna foolaround?”

Her dark blue eyes level on mine. “No!”

Placing my hand over her phone, I press it down and take her chin in my other hand. “Okay, spill it. What has you somad?”

“You heldme to you all night!” she says with clenched teeth as if it’s some horrible thing I did. “I couldn’t even move until I hit you in the ribs to make you let mego.”

“Is that why you did that?” I rub the place on my ribcage that still is tender from that. “Baby, you could’ve just woke me up and I would’ve let you go. No need for violence.” I chuckle and shefrowns.

“I tried to get away from you twice. Do you think Ineedyou to hold me when I sleep? Do you think Ineedto be taken care of? Do you think I even want that?” The way her eyes go dark, and not in a good way, has me wondering what’s happening in herhead.

“Look, the whole abandonment issue thing is complicated, but this is a prime exampleof….”

She screams and gets up. “Stop! Just stop it!” She throws her hands up in the air as she paces in the small living room. “You’re no therapist. I haven’t even looked for one as I don’t think I’m as fucked up as you think Iam.”

“Inever called you,fucked up, Rachelle!” I stand up too. “I just want tohelp…”

She holds up her little hand, stopping me. “Help me, I know. You’ve said it more than once in the last couple of weeks since we’ve known each other. By the way, Blake. Who the fuck tells someone they love them after only two weeks, huh? Talk about havingissues!”

She may have just punched me in the stomach as the same amount of wind is knocked from of me. “Rachelle! Don’t act like you don’t love me too. You just don’t want to admit ityet.”

Her eyebrows go way up on her forehead. “Excuse me! Do you read minds too, Mr. I Know Everything and You Should Allow Me to Run YourLife?”

With an eye-roll, I say, under my breath, “That’s a bit of a long last name, babe. Anyway, I can tell from how you react to me that you do, if you mustknow.”

Aloud laughcomes from her mouth and she makes some grand gestures and bows in front of me. “Well, let me be the first to bow at your feet, King of Great Sex! You are a very good lover, Blake. My body likes what you do to it, okay? It does not mean I love you!Okay?”

“What we’ve had is so much more than sex and you know it, Rachelle. It’s the fear of abandonment that has you talking and acting like this. You’re trying to push me away before you allow yourself to really fall for me. But it’s useless, ‘cause I’m going nowhere. I’m in it for the long haul, baby.” I sit back down and she glares atme.

“Get out! Get the fuck out, Blake!” she shrieks at me. “You can’t tell me you’re not going anywhere. This is my damn house. My damn money pays the bills around here and it’s me who decides who stays here. Not you! Bossman!”

I take a deep breath and try to de-escalate this situation. “Baby, just sit down and let’s talk rationally for a minute. I know it’s early, but how about a little of that left over mimosa from yesterday to help calm youdown?”

“Are you suggesting that getting me drunk will help me to fall into your little Stepford Wife ideal of what relationships are like, Blake?” she hisses at me. “I’m me. Faults and all. This is me,man!”

“Your only real fault is thinking you’re not worthy of love,Rachelle.”