Cook Brothers: The Whole Flipping Family Page 21

  Following her up the stairs, I only had a brief moment of indecision. It wasn’t questioning what I wanted—which was Ronnie. It was giving a thought as to what would happen when I found her. Would one of us realize it was a disaster waiting to happen and walk away? Would we be able to stop at just once?

  When I saw her standing there, her eyes shining back at me from the dim light of the hallway, I didn’t care about any of the what if’s. When I saw her bare feet, I’d never seen anything more endearing.

  When I shut the door, crossed the room, and kissed her like it was the last thing I’d ever do on earth, I was done for.

  We didn’t say a single word before we were all over each other. Then momentum took over, and there wasn’t a part of her I didn’t want to touch, taste, kiss, and take.

  Thank fuck she was on the same page as me, because that first kiss was like putting a flame to a fuse. Once it was lit, there was no stopping the explosion.

  When it was over, I was trying to come up with the right words to say other than “let’s do that again until we die” when I heard Mom’s voice. I flew off the bed, landing on the floor with a thump, kind of dazed. Yes, I may have stayed frozen in a ball, naked as the day I was born, condom still stuck to my softening dick, and not exactly in a position to make my presence known. Then again, I didn’t expect the conversation that went down between them, or for the normally bright, bubbly, outspoken Ronnie to barricade herself in the bathroom until I left.

  I didn’t stop once I got dressed, making my way downstairs to grab my camera from the backyard, giving Bryant and Cohen a quick wave goodbye before hightailing it out of there and catching a ride home.

  That brings me to now, using the key to my new office, “Jaxon Cook, Adjunct Professor” on a slide-in name-card beside the door. Swinging the door open and stepping inside, I’m first struck by how small it is then next, how goddamn dusty it is, making me think it’s been empty since last century. Of course it sets my allergies off, one sneeze soon following another, my eyes watering like a girl getting named prom queen. I’m looking for a window, hoping to get some fresh air in the place to give me some chance of breathing freely again when there’s a knock outside. My grinning twin brother pops his head in.

  “Welco—whoa. What died in here?” he says, scrunching his face up.

  “Me, if I don’t clear this dust out.” I sneeze twice in a row, dumping my brown leather messenger bag on the desk and digging inside it for tissues.

  “Shit. Of all the things we don’t share, those death allergies of yours I’m grateful to miss out on.”

  I snicker and look him up and down. “Makes up for everything you missed in the dick department, doesn’t it?”

  He flips me the bird, shuts the door behind him, and takes a seat in front of the desk.

  “I thought we were meeting later?”

  “Oh, we are, but you avoided me yesterday and our lunch meeting is for work. Now, I wanna know why you ran out of Jamie’s with your tail between your legs.”

  “That wasn’t my tail,” I deadpan. He quirks a brow and uses our damn twin-sense trick on me.

  “Asshole,” I mutter, my smirk belying the word.

  “Seriously, though. What happened upstairs?”

  I run my fingers through my hair, shaking my head with a smile on my lips. “You probably wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

  “Try me.”

  “It was incredible until we finished. I went to talk to her to ask what it meant and before I could, I was flying off the bed and she was talking to Mom about masturbation.”

  His eyes almost do that spring motion out of his head. “Say what?” he says with a laugh.

  “Yep. Then when Mom left, Ronnie was up out of bed and locked in the bathroom, refusing to talk to me, let alone come out and face me. So I left and went to the house to sleep it off.”

  “Explains the disappearing act. So now what?”

  “Now what, what?”

  He rolls his eyes and huffs out a breath. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “What can I do? I don’t even have her phone number, and it’s not like I can just call April and ask for it.”

  He rubs his chin and looks out the window. “You could ask Betty for it? You know she’s a sucker for a good romance.” Betty is April’s ex-mother-in-law and until recently, lived with April and Axel. She now stays in April’s old house next to the first Cook Construction house flip.

  I bark out a laugh. “Yeah… but that will raise other questions. Especially if she mentions it to Mom, which is highly likely since those two are almost joined at the hip.”

  “Good point,” he muses. “Well waiting until the next family event might be too long. You’ve gotta strike while the iron is hot. Or while the—”

  “Don’t even finish that sentence.” I smirk and he just rolls his eyes at me.

  “Right. Well, good chat and all that.” He stands and moves to the door. “Let me know if you get lost or fall into a deep pit of despair. Otherwise I’ll see you for lunch at twelve.”

  “Right. And thanks for not giving me shit about Ronnie.”

  “I’m the last person to talk about wanting a woman and not going after her. You made your move. It’s just that our mother had unfortunate timing—as always—and put a kink in your plans. You’ll get your shot again. You’ve just got to be patient. Besides…” he says, pulling the door open. “You’ve waited almost ten months. What’s a few more weeks before the next gathering? Or you could orchestrate another meeting, hold a ‘pot-luck fix-up’ day at the new house. Tell April and Jamie to bring her along,” he says with a shrug. “I’ve gotta get to class. Have fun.”

  He gives me a wave then shuts the door behind him, leaving me alone with the dust and the dingy old desk. I look at the bare walls and decide it needs some colorful landscape photos to brighten it up. Distraction is key. I’ll put Ronnie out of my mind until the next time I see her, but then, it’s on like Donkey Kong. I wanted her, I had her, and she’s definitely not out of my system. I need another chance to do it right… without interruptions. Hopefully I won’t lose the ability to talk next time either.

  After a productive lunch with Bry at a local coffee shop, I’m really looking forward to this first class. Standing in front of the empty room, watching and waiting for the clock to strike the top of the hour, I’m filled with a nervous excitement. I have a unique, real-life perspective I can offer these thirty-one students in this Introduction to Photography class, something I’ve developed during more than ten years of professional experience.

  Quickly glancing toward the back wall of the room, I watch the hand of the clock count down the last few seconds before five to the hour, and as if a magic gate was opened, so does the door from the corridor. A stream of students—a lot of them wide-eyed and looking terrified—enter the room, taking chairs behind the rows of desks.

  I scan the room, nodding to some students, smiling at others, before taking my own seat and organizing my class plan and notes in front of me. There’s a buzz in the air, electrified with a new, fresh-eyed energy that comes with being green and untouched by professional and industry influences.

  When the room grows quiet, I look at my watch to see it’s go-time.

  Lifting my head, I take Bry’s advice and let my gaze roam the room, finding a few eager freshmen to focus on as I introduce myself.

  “Good afternoon and welcome to your worst nightmare.” That earns a few gasps. I laugh and put them out of their misery. “Just kidding. I’m Jaxon Cook, and I’m going to be introducing you to photogra—” I make the mistake of looking toward the back of the room, meeting the same dazzling amber eyes I’d last seen up close and very personal on Saturday night. I lose my train of thought for a second, and stutter. I look away, shaking my head from side to side to clear my brain. “Sorry, I’m going to be introducing you to photography and everything it encompasses for the next ten weeks.” That earns me a few sighs of relief, a couple of grins, and one
or two smirks from a group who I can already pick as the cocky guys.

  I glance back at Ronnie for just a second, searching for any sign of surprise or shock, still rattled by the fact she’s here, and it appears she’s a student in this class. She stares at me; if anything, she looks a little guilty if the glimpse of her trepidation is anything to go by.

  How is it possible that she’s here in my class and isn’t as stunned as I am? Now is not the time to contemplate it though, because I have an employee handbook on my makeshift-nightstand at the pink house with a very clear policy on fraternization—a policy that does not allow for any kind of relationship, physical or otherwise, between faculty members and students.

  I put it out of my mind for the sake of getting through this class and not making a fool out of myself. My eyes do drift her way a few times during the lesson, but never for more than a passing glance.

  At no stage does she act differently or with any familiarity to me so—in turn—I take her lead and just get on with my job. It’s what I’m being paid to do after all. Besides, I have a plan to track her down later and find out exactly what the hell the little minx is playing at.

  “I’ll hand out your first assignment next week. As I explained, there are two individual assignments, and then your portfolio submission, which acts as your final. Can whoever has the sign-in sheet bring it to the front when you leave. Otherwise, that’s it for today. I hope I haven’t scared you off.” That earns me a collective chuckle from the class. “And I’ll see you all next week. Come armed with your camera and a healthy dose of creativity.”

  The quiet room erupts with the sound of scraping chairs and low voices as everyone stands and grabs their bags from the floor. I quickly locate Ronnie, intending to track her and call her over for something, but a rather eager-looking male blocks my view and stops right in front of me.

  “Sir, do you have a minute to discuss which camera we should bring?”

  I nod, giving him my full attention. Unfortunately, this means I lose sight of Ronnie.

  Fifteen minutes and three more students later, I’m free for the day, but the woman who holds the answers to a lot of unanswered questions is nowhere to be found.

  It’s only when I’m packing up my papers that I spot the sign-in sheet. Out of curiosity, I run my finger down the list of names, wondering how I could’ve missed Ronnie’s name when I checked earlier today.

  Then I see it: Veronica Nelson. I didn’t make the connection before now.

  All of a sudden, I’m not frustrated that I missed my chance to talk to her today, because now I have her last name, and I’m a firm believer in ‘have information, get things done.’

  She can try and avoid me for as long as she likes. Good things come to those who wait. I can be patient.

  Besides, rules are made to be broken, lines are meant to be blurred, and innocent stalking is only fun if the other person knows you’re doing it. Suddenly, I’m really looking forward to cracking the nut that is Ronnie, piece by piece, until she lets me in.

  First step… a little group project for the next class. Isn’t it a shame we have an uneven number of people, and someone will have to be paired with Veronica Nelson?

  Playing is only fun if it’s dirty, and it just so happens I like Ronnie’s kind of dirty a whole damn lot. So if playing dirty gets me legitimate time with her, then that’s what I’m going to do.

  4

  Ronnie

  “How was it?” My sister Gillian asks through the speakers of my car. With Jax distracted by freshmen students with questions, I escaped unscathed from the room before he could track me down and interrogate me. I may have some sexy teacher fantasies in my arsenal but ambushing him by appearing in his first class on his first day does not exactly set a good impression.

  “It was good. Next week, we’ve got to bring our cameras, so we’ll start actually getting into the practical side of things.”

  “And how was Professor Cook?” she asks, a teasing lilt in her voice. Where normally I tell both April and Gilly everything to do with my life, for obvious and complicated reasons, Gilly is the only one who I’ve told about being enamored with Jaxon Cook. Twelve months is a long time for a man to keep my attention, having established a reputation for being a serial monogamist with my relationships averaging four to six months in the past.

  But there’s just something about Jax that has me hooked without him even knowing it. We’ve been like two blind sharks circling each other but neither one of us willing to strike first.

  “He was definitely surprised to see me,” I say.

  “Surely he would’ve checked the list of students before starting.”

  “Funny thing about that… he knows me as Ronnie and I’m not sure he even knows my last name. So, when the sign-up sheet was passed around, I had a bit of a laugh when I was listed as Veronica.”

  “How can a man who has a habit of photographing you every chance he gets, and eyeing you up like a juicy piece of steak the rest of the time, not know your full name?”

  “I can only assume he hasn’t wanted to ask obvious questions and get the obvious grilling in return.”

  “It’s not like you’re related to any of them.”

  “They’re a pretty tight bunch, remember? Jamie is very protective of April and—in turn—me. For all I know, he warned Jax off me.”

  “Fat lot of good that did,” she says, making us both giggle.

  “Did he say anything about it? Or Saturday when you—”

  “Nope and nope. I ran out of class while he was talking to other students and rang you as soon as I got out of the parking garage.”

  “So, you chickened out again.”

  “I prefer to call it self-preservation.”

  “Bullshit,” she says, coughing like she’s not calling me out.

  Should I have told him I was his student at the party a few days ago? Yes, but in my defense, I talked about school, and then he did his typical disappearing act like always. Then later on, when he met me in the guest room of my best friend’s house, we didn’t use words to communicate with each other.

  After his mom, me hiding in the bathroom and avoiding him, then him running off without another word, it’s not like I had the chance. I couldn’t just walk up this morning and say, “By the way, sorry for Saturday night, and oh, I’m one of your students now.”

  I have every intention of explaining my little freak out the other night—just not today. Maybe next week. That’ll give him enough time to not yell at me for being stupid enough to sleep with my professor…

  It wasn’t stupid for me. It was spectacular, stupendous, and set the benchmark for all future orgasms.

  I sigh loudly, and Gilly’s laugh fills the air. “Babe, you’re your own worst enemy sometimes. You should’ve asked him out when you first caught him taking photos of you. It probably would’ve been a good idea to talk to him before jumping his bones at April’s engagement party, and you definitely should’ve tried to catch him before class to tell him you’re now officially one of his students.”

  “Hindsight is a wonderful thing,” I reply dryly, knowing she’s right but stubborn enough not to admit it.

  “Or clear thinking. Same thing, I suppose.”

  “Smart-ass,” I say back.

  “With age comes wisdom. I know you love me and my smart-ass ways.”

  “Sometimes… it’s a hard life being the baby sister of the perfect first child,” I tease.

  “Speaking of being the perfect first child, the parents have requested your presence for dinner next week. I said I’d check you didn’t have urgent assignments due.”

  “I love how you already tried to give them an excuse on my behalf.”

  “You forget, I’ve known you all your life. You’ve hated our parents’ formal dinners for as long as you’ve been able to talk.”

  “The food is always good; the company, apart from you, not so much.”

  “Ah well. Tell me what excuse to give and I’ll pass on your
apologies.”

  “Love you, Gilly.”

  “Love you too, Ronnie.”

  “Now go home, call April, get Jaxon’s phone number, and talk to the man. It’ll be a hell of a lot easier if you explain it rather than him hunting you down.”

  “Him tracking me down sounds like fun.”

  “God help the man. You’re like a perky puppy that can’t be caught.”

  “Or a cynical cat who wants a guy to do the chasing.”

  “And what happens when he catches you?”

  “He already did on Saturday. But usually, that’s when the fun begins,” I reply, a grin on my face.

  “Keep me updated. But I’ll warn you, non-fraternization policies are rife these days, so you might want to check there isn’t one in play at your institution.”

  “Already checked and covered off. Did you forget I’m a former lawyer, too?”

  “Hard to forget when Dad brings up your betrayal daily.”

  I laugh dryly, his barbs not even touching me anymore. It wasn’t a betrayal; it was a simple decision between leading the life I wanted and the one I was born into. “More like escaping from a life of torture.”

  “Was it so bad?”

  “For my self-worth, dignity, and sanity? Absolutely.”

  “Yeah… anyway, there’s no way I’d let you come back now. I’ve seen your design work; you’re wasted in law.”

  “I’m glad someone in my family thinks so.”

  “I’ll always have your back, babe. Which is why you have to talk to Jax.”

  “Yeah… I will… sometime…”

  “Just think, the sooner you hash things out, the sooner you can get more life-altering orgasms from him.”

  “That’s if he’ll even touch me again. Just my luck, he won’t come near me until summer break.”