Bishop - Part One: Hollows Creek Book 1 Page 10

  That was the first time I’ve ever had my face between any girl’s thighs, and I’m happy I saved that experience for my beautiful girl. I’ve saved a lot for her, even though I’ve had girls throwing themselves at me since I started high school. I’m ecstatic that she’ll be the only one to have touched me.

  Throwing the rag in the dirty clothes, I go back to the living room to get her clothes and straighten up, just in case Coach comes home early and gets an idea about what we’ve been doing. I’m not embarrassed by what we’ve done, but I’m sure my Princess doesn’t want her uncle knowing what we do. I look through her drawers and find some panties and a pair of black stretchy pants that look like the ones she had on the other night. I pull them up her legs and around her luscious ass. I cover her with the blanket at the end of her bed and lay down behind her, pulling her body into me and wrapping my arms around her. I inhale her sweet scent and close my eyes. Before I know it I’m asleep, happier than I’ve ever been, holding my sweet girl in my arms.

  I’m jerked awake when I feel Cara try to pull away from me, with little success. When she tries again, I draw her even closer to me and nuzzle her neck. “Stop baby. Give me a few more minutes of holding you.” I rest my head on her chest, and my arm is on her tummy, as I stroke the skin under my fingers. Half of my body is covering hers, and it’s undoubtedly, the most comfortable position I’ve ever been in. I feel her tense body ease, and her gentle fingers comb through my hair. This must be what a cat feels like when their owner rubs them. Must be, because I feel like I’m about to start purring, and she completely owns my soul.

  As she strokes my hair, I can feel her brain working on overdrive. I have a feeling she’s working up to something but isn’t sure about it. I give her space and time to get it out on her own. She needs to be able to come to me with anything.

  “What did she want?”

  I squeeze her side and rub circles with my thumb into the area below her breasts. “She thought we broke up, not sure why, but yeah. She tried to get back with me, but I shut that shit down before she could go down that road. I let her know in no uncertain terms that there would never be a day that we weren’t together.”

  “I didn’t like seeing her touch you, but after yesterday, I was so confused about us. I guess I thought you felt obligated to be with me, but wished you could be with someone else, Alexis maybe.”

  I shiver, disgusted at the thought. “Yeah, I know what you thought. That’s just gross by the way.”

  She giggles, and hot damn, if that isn’t the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. “Back to work woman, quick like the Flash.”

  She chokes on her laughter “What are talking about?”

  “Hands Princess, get those pretty hands back in my hair.” Thank God, my girl makes good work of her hands.

  “Where do we go from here?” She asks me.

  I lean my chin on her belly and look into the eyes of the woman who has completely captivated me. “We go forward. It’s just you and me, Princess. Stop running from what is inevitable and enjoy the good we will be.”

  She hesitates and then nods. “I can try. This is all new to me. You’ve got me at a learning curve here.”

  “I’m not worried. This is new for me too, baby.”

  She snorts. “Lie. You’ve had relationships before.”

  “The relationships I had before you, are exactly that. Before you. They didn’t mean anything to me. You mean everything. This is my first, and only time I will fall in love. With you, Cara. I get to fall in love with you, my soul mate, my only forever.”

  “Damn. Those are pretty words, Bishop.”

  I scoff. “My words aren’t pretty, Princess. They are the truth.”

  We lay there silently after my declaration, holding one another, content to just be. Eventually, I hear her belly rumbling, and I get up. “Baby, why didn’t you tell me you were hungry?”

  “I didn’t realize that was something I needed to share.” She tells me, amusement lacing her words.

  “How am I supposed to feed you if you don’t tell me?” I snap at her and regret it immediately. I’m frustrated, and I don’t know what’s coming over me. All I know is that I need her to lean on me, need her to trust me to take care of her. “Okay hungry girl, let’s get something to eat. You want to go to the diner or make something here?” I say gently.

  She looks up at me shocked as I pull my shirt over my head and reach out for her hand. She puts her hand in mine, and I pull her to standing. “What’s that look for?”

  She hesitates but comes out with it. “Well for starters, I’m not sure how to take you. Your moods are up and down, and I’m not sure which way is up.”

  I pull her into my chest and kiss the top of her head. Breathing in deep, “I’m trying here baby. My need to be everything for you is powerful, and I’m just as new to this as you are. I shouldn’t have snapped at you just now. What else is bothering you?”

  Her arms hug me tight around the waist, and she rests her head against my chest. I’m about to tell her not to worry about it, but she quietly lets me in. “I’m not used to someone caring about my needs Bishop. It’s all so much more than I envisioned in a relationship. No one ever checks to see if I need anything, I’m used to just taking care of myself.”

  I’m confused. “What about your dad?” Ah, shit. What the fuck am I thinking of, mentioning her dad? He just died a few weeks ago. Way to be an insensitive schmuck there Bishop.

  I feel her tears before I hear them. She soaks my shirt in silent tears and the fact that I caused it tears me apart even more. “Shit, I’m sorry Princess. I wasn’t thinking.” I hold her as she cries, taking as much as she’ll give me. I speak softly to her, telling her it’s okay to cry, to let it all out. I have a good idea of how she’s feeling. My dad died in my first year of high school. Losing a parent isn’t easy, and I can’t imagine the pain she’s going through not having a mom to lean on like I had during that time. It occurs to me, where the fuck is her mom? “Where is your mom anyway?” her crying stops, as her body stills. “Oh, fuck me sideways. I honestly don’t know what the hell is wrong with my mouth tonight Princess.” God, I hope she doesn’t start crying again. Stop right the fuck now, I'm not an asshole. I’d hold my girl all night through her tears, they just gut me, and if I could keep her from tears for the rest of her life, I would. I know, even I can’t stop that from happening though.

  Surprisingly she laughs. She pushes away from me, and I let her get about six inches from me before I stop her. When she goes to wipe her tears, I’m there drying them for her. “I got you, Princess.” She stares at me, and I’m hoping that I’m passing whatever test she’s giving me. “Let me be the one to dry your tears. Let me be your person Cara. I’m burning to be your person, you just gotta give it to me. I promise to take all of your hard, all of the wrong, and shoulder it. I’m strong enough. I promise I can be the gentle you need when no one is looking, the demon you need to take out whatever the problem is.”

  She nods as I free her face of tears. She begins to whisper, and I strain to hear every morsel she’s granting me. “My mom left when I was one or two. I’m really not sure. Dad wouldn’t talk about it. I overheard my grandmother talking to him one day and pieced the information together.”

  “Your grandmother? I thought that your uncle…”

  “She died when I was ten. My uncle is the only family I have left.”

  The silence that follows is heartbreaking. She has almost no family, what do I say to that? I know what I want to tell her, that I’m her family now, that she’s a part of a bigger family than she’ll know what to do with and we’ll always be there for her. Is that too much for her to handle? “You have me, Cara. Know that, you will always have me.”

  She hugs me tight “Thank you, Bishop. That means more than you know.” I hold her until her belly growls again. I look at the clock and see that it reads 6:30. Kissing the side of her head, I push her out of my arms and lead her by the hand to her kitchen. She follows and l
ooks amused when I push her onto a stool.

  Rubbing my palms together I ask, “So what are you in the mood for? I can do toast and eggs, PB&J, or box mac n cheese.”

  She giggles “I can make us something Bishop. Sit down.”

  When she goes to stand up, I shake my head. “Yeah, I don’t think so. Let me make us something.”

  She rolls her eyes at me. “Ok, toast and eggs it is.”

  I manage to stumble my way through finding everything I need to make us scrambled eggs and toast. I find out that my Princess does not, let me repeat, does not, like jelly. She is a strawberry jam girl with lots of butter. She also wouldn’t eat until I sat down with my plate, the manners on this girl, she makes me smile. When I’m finished eating, she grabs my plate and begins to clean up. I tell her that I’ll do it, but she stops me. “You cooked, I’ll clean. That’s the way it works, right? We work together.” She looks up at me, unsure. I nod and watch her finish cleaning up.

  When she’s done, we sit on the couch and turn on a crime show. I would have been happy to sit here and watch whatever bullshit show she wanted, but I’m grateful she has good taste in television, and I don’t have to suffer through some god-awful reality t.v. show. In the middle of the second episode, her uncle comes home and walks into the living room glaring at me. Probably because my feet are on his coffee table, her head is on my lap, and my hand is under her shirt caressing her hip. I smirk at him, and he gives me the finger.

  “Hey, Cara.” He says loudly.

  She bolts up from her position and scoots away from me. Yeah, that won’t do for me. “No,” I growl and pull her back to my side.

  She tries pulling away, but I hold on tight, she needs to get comfortable with people seeing us together. There’s no way in hell I’ll be able to keep my hands to myself every time someone comes up to us. “Hey, Uncle Greg.” She squeaks from my side.

  He sits in the chair next to the couch and stares at me accusingly. I can feel how tense my Princess is and it’s pissing me off. “Will you cut the shit, Greg? She doesn’t need to feel like this.”

  He barks a laugh and shakes his head. Cara sits up straight and stares at me with big round eyes. He points back and forth between my girl and I. “So are you all a thing now or something?” He asks.

  I glare at the asshole “You know we are.” I growl.

  The jackal puts his palms up in a placating gesture, “I’m just fucking with you Arnetti. I’ve never seen you like this before. You know I’ve gotta jerk your chain.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  “How do you think we’ll do tomorrow for the game? You think your boys are ready to kick some ass?” Greg asks, finally talking to me like he usually does.

  Greg and I talk back and forth about our upcoming game tomorrow while Cara sits quietly watching her show, or at least that’s what most people would think she was doing. I know she’s not here with us, she’s somewhere else, contemplating something important. Greg looks at her a few times like he’s trying to figure her out like he doesn’t know what’s going on with her, who she really is. It makes me hurt for her. Who did she have growing up to depend on, to shoulder her burdens? Who was her counsel on things that she couldn’t figure out? Did she really rely solely on herself? I’m pissed thinking about it and want more than ever to be that for her, everything she’s never had.

  After a while, Greg stands and makes his excuses about heading to bed. Cara doesn’t notice when I get up to shake his hand goodnight. I’m equally surprised and pissed he isn’t giving me the third degree about claiming his niece. He knows what kind of man I am, has known me for a few years now, but you’d think he’d warn me to do right by her or something like a father would. Why isn’t anyone standing up for her? She is an incredibly beautiful person, built with steel and covered in lace.

  She’s a genuine person, dealt a shitty hand, having lost every key person in her life at a young age, and she’s grounded in a way most people our age aren’t. I’m blessed to have been bound to such an incredible person. I’m her person, her protector. Even if no one steps up to be there for her, she’ll always have me.

  “Come on baby, walk me to the door. I need to go home and get some rest.” She nods and grasps my hand. I want her to come to me on her own about what is bothering her. I have this need for her to come to me for all of her problems, even if she can handle them on her own. I hug her to my chest and kiss her forehead. “I’ll come and get you in the morning for school.” She shakes her head no. I begin to refute her, but she stops me.

  “I need to drive my car Bishop.”

  I sigh, knowing I need to give this to her. “Okay sweetheart. Maybe you can pick up Mandy, drive in with her? I know she’d like that.”

  She smiles “I’ll ask. See you tomorrow Bishop.” Kissing her on the forehead, I linger, hating that I have to leave my girl. “See you tomorrow Princess.”

  Chapter 14

  Cara

  Today was unremarkable considering the week I’ve had so far. I picked Mandy up early enough that we could stop for coffee at the diner before we drove to school. On our way to the diner, Mandy made sure that everything was alright between Bishop and I. I assured her that things had been worked out between us, but I got the impression she was waiting for me to tell her something or maybe ask her something, but she didn’t press it.

  Peter and Ingrid were there when we walked into the diner, waiting behind the counter. They smiled at me like they knew a secret, a good secret that they were bursting to share. They didn’t share, but they did make each of us a great cup of coffee and gave Mandy and me giant cinnamon rolls to take with us. They refused to let us pay, and we left, devouring our breakfast before we even made it to school.

  As soon as I pulled into the only empty parking spot, which was conveniently beside Bishop’s vehicle, Bishop was there to open my door and help me out. Slinging his arm around me, we walked into school with a lot of people watching us, presumably talking about us, judging by the way they whispered as we passed them. I’m a private person, but when you’re dating the most popular guy in school, people take notice. Mandy ignored everyone and kept me busy by talking about the party that she and Davey were throwing tonight after the football game. When we walked by Alexis and her group of mean girls, she sneered and crossed her arms, but didn’t dare say anything. I winked at her and laughed when she glared back at me. I probably shouldn’t have done that, but damn it felt good to goad the bitch.

  The day passed by without incident, as did the football game. Mandy and I watched as Bishop led the team into a well-earned victory. It was the best day in so many ways, mostly because of the lack of drama. It’s been so long since I’ve had a day like today that I didn’t realize how much I needed it. Once the game was over, we all headed over to Mandy and Davey’s parent’s cabin out by the lake. This town doesn’t make any sense. Mandy isn’t allowed to have a driver’s license or leave the town’s limits, but she can throw a party for over fifty teenagers? Whatever, when in Rome, I guess.

  Walking out of the bathroom, I don’t see Mandy like I expect to. She said she would wait for me right outside. I rolled my eyes at her when she said this, but I kind of liked that I had someone in my corner to depend on. Bishop has also been sticking to my side all night, so I’m surprised he isn’t here when Mandy isn’t. He’s probably still standing out around the fire talking about the game with his teammates like he’s been doing for the past hour. Exhausted, I sit down on the first empty seat I can find in this place.

  God, I’m tired. This week has been one of the most emotionally tiring experiences of my life, including the week my father died and when my grandmother passed combined. The range of emotions that I’ve experienced from the day I started at this new school to meeting Mandy, and subsequently meeting Bishop, and the journey to the present time has been full.

  I never knew that one could experience so much in such a short period. After all that has gone on in the past month, I’m happy, although unsure
of what is going on, happy nonetheless though. Bishop and his friends, including Mandy, are hiding something. I’m not sure what it is, but I think it ties in with his powers. I know being soulmates is such a simple explanation of what we are to each other and is only the tip of the iceberg of whatever is going on here.

  I feel the couch cushion shift next to me, and I look over to find the asshole from our Gym class who was giving me a hard time on the first day. He’s cute, but he knows it, and that’s a shame. Cocky guys are major assholes. They may look pretty, but the way they treat others, especially women is disgusting. I’ve met my share of cocky bastards in the city, and almost all of them treat women like they should bow down to them and thank the Gods that they have the opportunity to be in their presence.

  Brenton puts his arm on the back of the couch, behind my head. He shifts his arm, so he is rubbing his fingers against my shoulder. I roll my eyes at his move and move away from him, but he just scoots in closer to me, grabbing my shoulder forcefully. “No way sweetheart. You are going to sit right here and talk to me. Then I will let you scamper off back to the king of the fucking school.”

  The pressure of his hand on my shoulder, his fingers digging into my skin tightly, and the sinister smile plastered across his face is enough to get me pissed, but the pain burning from my bones where he’s touching let’s me know this could get worse, and fast.

  “Get your fucking hand off me,” I say, clenching my teeth in pain.