Why do they call it rush hour when nothing moves?

-

Robin Williams

******

Terry shook his head to wipe off the image of the gorgeous naked woman from his brain. What in the world was she doing in his room? He didn't even know someone was living here in his house until he heard the screeching from the shower. He didn't remember asking Laura aka Purple to move out but he'd assumed that she would have considering that Mia wasn't staying here anymore.

How long has it been since Mia moved out? Almost five months. Yes, it's been five months since Mia moved in with Tristian and Terry started staying with Troy. Five months! He didn't mean to stay with his brother for so long but his fear didn't give him another way.

When Troy started behaving strangely, Terry didn't think it was serious. He thought it was because he was stressed but when he started behaving like a jerk towards Mia, Terry knew something was wrong. When Mia started moving on from her crush on Troy and started dating Tristian, Terry assumed that everything would be fine. All three brothers had girlfriends, Mia with Tristian, Stacy with Terry, Troy and Tessa getting married soon and expecting their first child but things got messed up. He still remembered how Troy, Tessa and Stacy tried to bring problems in between Tristian and Mia.

He remembered seeing Tessa in hospital room, breaking down after her miscarriage with Troy nowhere to be seen. He still sometimes felt pain he had in his heart and hands when he punched Troy. It was even more painful to know that his brother was a drug addict and it was Stacy who provided him drugs. The woman Terry wished to spend the rest of his life. He loved and wanted to marry her so when he finally realized that she was the actual villain in his life, Terry lost his mind.

His parents were there for him, trying to convince him that it wasn't his fault but Terry wasn't convinced. Tristian almost lost Mia, Troy turned into an addict, lost his child and ended breaking up with Tessa. All because Stacy wanted to separate Terry from his family, her selfishness and greed almost burned his family.

Nobody blamed Terry but he couldn't stop from holding himself responsible. Jesus, he was with her almost every day and yet he couldn't understand her, see her real face.

He spent the last five months staying with Troy and helping him get over his addiction. He worked from home and avoided travelling as much as possible and his guilt must have alarmed Troy because he practically kicked Terry out of his house and asked him to go get laid. Terry chuckled thinking about Troy and the progress he made. He was back to his original self and ready to start working in his new restaurant and it's time for Terry to start doing the same. He needs to move his focus completely back to his work so he decided the first step is to get back to his home. He dreaded that his house might be filled with dust and cobwebs but he didn't expect to find a naked woman in his shower. Especially not Purple.

Terry's lips curved when he thought about her shocked expression. Her skin turning red, her purple hair sticking to her huge breasts. He didn't know much about her other than the fact that she is one of Mia's best friends. They did talk sometimes but nothing very memorable except her long purple hair.

He shook his head again as he entered his kitchen. He opened the cabinets only to find them empty. He frowned. Where did she keep the groceries? He checked the refrigerator but only to find it in similar condition. Does she keep food in bedroom? No way. Laura might be a bit nut but definitely not crazy enough to store food in bedroom when she has a luxurious kitchen.

After searching for five minutes, Terry found few slices of bread and some jelly. No fruits, vegetables, spices or anything that is edible. He sighed as he picked up his phone to order something. He was starving and he hoped that she likes Italian. His eyes scanned his house. It looks just like before, nothing different except the empty kitchen. His kitchen was never empty. It's one of the habits followed by him and his brothers. They all love cooking and never hesitated to try different recipes. Now Terry might not be as great as Troy, considering he is a chef but Terry can stand on his own. His parents hated cooking and that might be reason why their children were so good at it. It irked him that he didn't have anything to cook, he liked cooking and it helps him think. Terry settled on the white L-shaped couch as he waited for his houseguest to grace him with her presence.

He straightened when he heard the footsteps and found Laura moving to the guest room. "Care to explain why there was a woman with purple hair shouting her throat off in my bathroom?"

She froze in her steps and very, very slowly turned to face Terry. "Um... Hii?"

Terry held back a smile as he gazed at her with his stern expression. "What are you doing here, Laura?"

"Um... I was taking a shower?"

"Without locking the door?"

She closed her eyes and bite her lips in obvious embarrassment while Terry used that moment to scan her. She'd grabbed a towel and had it wrapped around her, tucking it in tight around her breasts and barely covering the tops of her water-splattered thighs so that she showed off just how long and lean her tanned, gorgeous legs were. Her hands were clutching a bundle of clothes. Her hair was purple and shoulder length, cut in varying lengths so a few tendrils spiked out in a fashionable mess. Her eyes were a chocolate brown fringed with the curliest lashes he'd ever seen. And her pink painted lips were equally as full on the bottom as they were on the top.

He sucked in a harsh breath. She was quite simply stunning.

Laura drew in a deep breath, stared at the floor a moment, then looked up, meeting my gaze head-on. "I have been living here for the past nine months. I'm sorry I didn't tell you but it's so difficult to find a house in this city and I love staying here. I didn't mean to use your room but your bed is so comfy and I couldn't resist. I didn't sleep there always, just when I'm too tired and today I didn't mean to use your shower either. It's just mine wasn't working and I didn't have to time to call a plumber and your shower is better than mine. I had a hectic day and you can't blame a girl for wanting to take a shower. I was so sweat-"

"You slept in my bed?" Terry asked, raising his brows.

"Son of a monkey!"

Terry couldn't help but feel amused. He knew that he was freaking her out, but he kind of liked that. She'd definitely freaked him out when he'd discovered her in his shower.

"I didn't mean to say that," she muttered, scowling. They both turned their head towards the door when a knock was heard. Terry swung off the couch and leapt to his feet so quickly she jerked and eyed him warily.

He only grinned and shook his head. "I don't think our conversation is done but let's talk once we're done eating."

Her eyes flared and she whispered, "Okay."

He leaned closer, his grin only stretching wider. "I suggest you get changed."

"O-okay," she repeated, her breathing picking up as he dipped his face closer to hers. She definitely no longer appeared afraid of him. Her eyes glossed with heat and she didn't even try to pull away. From the entranced way she studied him, he wondered if she was going to lean more towards him. He kind of really hoped she did.

Raw, hot lust stirred inside him, prickling his skin and bringing back desires that he thought had gone away from him.

No. He's not going there.

Laura cleared her throat before rushing towards her room and he moved towards the door to collect his food.

Terry decided he need to change before dinner so he charged towards his room. When he entered his room, he ran his hand through his hair and twirled in a slow circle, trying to make sense of what had just happened. This urge to race after her enveloped him, but what the hell does that mean? Laura tended to make him question why he'd given up on dating and relationships. Because he liked women. They were soft and supple, and Jesus, they smelled divine. His body began to crave the physical contact he hadn't had with one in what felt like forever until he saw her in his room. Instinct told him she was most likely a fervent lover. She looked beautiful while she argued with him, the irritation bleeding out of her with the brightest of color. How could she kiss or touch with any less tenacity?

Damn, he needed to stop thinking about this.

He hurried to his closet, reminding himself that along with sex, women came with something far more dangerous:

Feelings.

He shuddered and shook his head. When you let someone in, you let them cut into you and expose your soft inner tissue so they could see everything and know you inside and out, the good and the bad, the strong and the weak, the bitter and the ugly. And as soon as you trusted them with your most vulnerable bits, that's when they struck, when they belittled and nitpicked, when they scoffed and pointed, when they humiliated and hurt you the most, and then eventually turned away, leaving you abandoned and nothing but a gaping, bleeding wound.

Yeah, he could do without soft and pretty if it was just going to land him in that kind of clusterfuck. Again.

******

Terry didn't mind eating in silence but he could say that it definitely bothered the woman sitting in front of him. So, he decided to cut to the chase.

"Why are you still here?"

"Here?"

"This is my house," he reminded her helpfully.

"Oh, yeah. Right."

"Which I didn't give for rent," he added smugly.

She scowled, "You know I live here."

He shook his head, really confused now. "Your point?"

She lifted her eyebrows meaningfully as if that should suddenly make everything abundantly clear to him. Then she stressed, "You saw me here."

"Again," he said, lifting his eyebrows right back at her. "Not seeing a point."

"Well, maybe it's also escaped your attention that I lived here with Mia for five months before she moved out and since you didn't say anything about me moving out, I assumed I can still stay here."

"I didn't say you can stay," he said logically.

"You didn't ask me to leave either."

"That doesn't give you the right to stay here without confirming whether I'm in the same page as you in this matter."

"Oh my God!" She lifted her hands incredulously. "Are you always this damn annoying?"

Annoying? Huh. "No one's ever called me annoying before."

She set a hand on her head and eyed him dryly. "You must not get out much."

He almost laughed. But then he paused, trying to remember the last time he'd honestly laughed. Stunned because this little spitfire had almost made him laugh, he blinked at her in astonishment. Then he shook his head, jostling his head back into the game as he said, "So you were saying you stayed here because I didn't ask you to move out, and then what? You will continue to do this for how long?"

"Well..." She shifted as if uncomfortable, and her gaze went leery with guilt. "Not long. You see, I—" Motioning blindly, Laura waved a hand toward the opening of the hall. "I was planning to talk to you but I really didn't want to disturb you with such a tiny matter."

"Tiny matter?"

She attempted an innocent smile. "I cleaned your house and watered all your plants."

"I have a maid for that. Wait, does she know that you are staying here?"

She swallowed before answering, "She assumed that you knew."

"Okay," he drew out slowly when she didn't elaborate further. "And you didn't think to tell her that you're not actually a guest or a tenant?"

"Um..." Growing even more agitated, she scowled at him as if blaming him for all her problems before she muttered, "I mean, I didn't know the answer myself, so..."

"So?"

"So, I just decided to enjoy my stay here."

"Enjoy?" He repeated, squinting deeply into her eyes.

"Yes," she answered, staring right back at him with the same intensity. "It's a beautiful home and your maid cleans it only once a week. I did more work than her and I think it's fair."

He lifted his hands, not believing her bullshit story in the least. "Why didn't you move out?"

"I like it here." That's a lie. He could tell. She might actually like the house but that's not all of it. She's hiding something and he doesn't want more people in his life with hidden agendas.

"Why did you use my shower?"

"I told you." She furrowed her brow incredulously. "Mine is not working."

Blowing out a breath, he shook his head, impressed by her story. What a clever little liar with so much of creativity.

"Why is there no food in the kitchen? I don't think you were in some kind of hunger strike for months."

She blinked, gaping at him as if he'd lost my mind. "I ordered. I'm not a great cook."

"I want you to move out."

And, yes, victory was his. He had rendered her absolutely speechless. She stared at him with nothing to say in return.

He leaned toward her and softly prompted, "Within a week."

"A week?" she repeated absently, as if she didn't even know what a week was. Then she jumped up from the chair and blinked herself present again. "You can't do that."

"Of course, I can," he countered. "You're not a legal tenant."

"Oh, give me a break," she snapped, glaring down at him.

"You have a successful business and I'm pretty sure you have money so you can definitely find a place and if you can't, I'll help you find one. Anyway, you can't stay here."

She did that uncomfortable shifting thing again, transferring her weight from one leg to the other as her gaze darted away. She'd done that before, when she'd confessed a truth, she hadn't wanted to share, like sleeping in his bed. He really wanted to ask her about that but he didn't want to imagine her in his bed.

She scowled at him and muttered, "Look, I need more time."

"No," he whispered. The agony and torment in her eyes had his lips parting as he continued to study her.

Every emotion in her features was genuine, he realized, but he couldn't afford to take a risk. She resembles Stacy more and more and he hates it. He doesn't want another Stacy in his life.

Jesus, this woman just might have the power to destroy him.

She took a deep breathe before muttering, "Okay." She picked up her dishes and walked to the kitchen and he felt like an asshole. Dammit, he really need to talk to Mia. 

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