by Tara Lee
I don’t see her anywhere.
Shit.
I head to the bar and ask the bartenders, Chester and Chase if they’d seen her. Chester grew up with us as children. Having them work with her is hard. They flirt with her constantly and it drives Jensen crazy. No one is ever good enough for his little sister, but for once I need to agree with him. These two are anything but right for her.
This is a small town. Nothing ever really happens in Pleasant Grove. Not many outsiders come here, either. We have the occasional tourist, but that’s it.
I’m certain Chester has a thing for Charli, but he needs to stay the fuck away. I know I wasn’t good enough for my girl, but Chester sure as hell isn’t any better.
Shit
“Have you seen Charli?” I yell across the bar at Chester. He strains at first, trying to hear me over the music. “Charli?” He yells back.
“Yeah, have you seen her?” I asked again.
“She left, bro.”
What?
“What do you mean, she left?” I ask him, confused. She was just here I hadn’t been that long in the bathroom. Maybe five minutes.
“She saw you go off with the blonde and then stormed out,” he says.
I shake my head at him and say. “Thanks.”
She left. Fuck. So much for keeping an eye on her. I make my way through the crowd, pushing people out of my way. Maybe she is still outside, but I can’t see any of her friend’s maybe they all left.
Jensen will be pissed if I let anything happen to Charli. Especially if he knows I was here. My friend is so overprotective of his sister. It is a wonder she was ever allowed out. He acts more like her dad than a brother. Yet, I understand why, I am protective of her too… protecting her from me. I’m not a bad guy; I just don’t want her getting the wrong ideas.
I push the door open and walked outside, it is late or early? Depends how you look at it. The street lights light up everything. Charli is nowhere to be seen. Cars line the street, but I can’t spot hers. Did she leave with her friends?
Fuck, I have lost her.
I pull out my phone to call her number. I get her voice mail. Hey this is Charli, leave me a message.
Charli, where are you? Are you safe? Please let me know. I hang up and run to my truck.
I put the keys in the ignition, I’m going to go to her place. Before I can start my truck, my phone screen lights up with Charli’s name.
“Hey where are you?”
“At home. Why?”
Charli asks me with a hint of anger in her voice. “I’ve been looking for you. Shit Charli you scared me! You just walked out. Why?”
“Because I wanted to go home.” She replies
I release a deep breath. My heart has finally stopped beating out of my damn chest.
“Okay, so you’re safe?”
“Yes.”
“Okay well… That’s good. I was scared shitless something happened to you.”
“Just wasn’t in the mood in anymore.”
I can practically hear the frown in her voice.
She isn’t being honest with me.
I knew that was a lie she left after she saw me with that girl.
Fuck.
I am an asshole.
I rub my fingers over my face, frustrated with myself. “Okay well, I’ll see you soon. Goodnight Charli.”
“Goodnight.”
And the line goes dead.
I let the phone slip from my hand into my lap.
I punch at my steering wheel, angry at myself. Why am I such an asshole? Can I not make a decision without thinking with my damn cock?
“Fuck.”
I want to redial her number to explain everything. I had regretted fucking that girl, just thinking I have upset Charli… Which, I probably have. Her face still falls whenever I flirt with another chick or go off with one. I know how Charli feels, but I still do it anyway. Maybe I really am an asshole. My finger hovers over the call button. I stop myself before I make all this shit worse. I start up my truck.
I get home but all I think about is letting Charli down, I start getting annoyed at myself. Charli has been different lately, there is something about her now; like she is changing who she is, how she dresses. How she acts, is she doing that for me? I not sure if I like the new Charli, I mean shit the way she dressed tonight had guys practically drooling over her.
She is hot but she has no idea just how fucking exquisite she is.
She is like a rare fucking diamond that sparkled; elegant and graceful. One you look at from afar but never get to close too. The aura around her is magnificent, the type of girl all men adore. They all want her. I’m no different.
I worship the fucking ground Charli walks on.
She is perfect, flawless, and so fucking faultless. She always has been. When we were younger, I once thought she was untouchable, so breakable, I wanted her but kept my distance, I knew I didn’t deserve to touch that beauty, didn’t deserve to even breathe the same air as she did.
Yes, I use women. I do it to mask my pain and the scars that cover my body. Using women is nothing more than a meaningless way to get my dick wet. No connection, no love, no more than one time. One-night stands are all I do. It’s what I have always done. I was sure once I had a taste of Charli, I would become addicted. I’d be hooked and that scares the fucking shit out of me. When she’d kissed me that night, I was sure my heart had leapt out of my chest. I was right, I had a taste and I haven’t had enough, I want more of her. I’d slept with countless women after just to get Charli’s smell off me… to get her taste out of my damn mind, to get the image of her fucking tits in my face. But none of them worked or compared.
I am still trying three years later, even that girl at the bar tonight, was just an attempt to get Charli off my mind. Fuck.
My dick is as hard as a rock.
I rest my hand on my very hard length
I stroke myself to release some tension.
Thoughts of Charli always have me ready to explode. I never want to admit it, but I want her so bad. My dick jumps in my hand as I rubbed it up and down. I visualise Charli on her knees, claiming me in her mouth.
I grunt.
Fuck me.
My balls tighten as I imagine her mouth gliding over the tip of my dick, sucking my pre-cum, letting her tongue lick up the side as she goes all the way down, taking me to the back of her throat. I roar as my orgasm erupted, coating my sheets. My hand trembles. I rub the last few drops out.
I’m a mess, but damn if I care. The images I have of Charli in my head were enough to send a man wild.
My breath is shallow as I come back from my high. Fuck, I’d do anything for that to be real.
I get up to clean myself.
I need to leave my thoughts of Charli in the back of my mind where they belonged.
I stare at myself in the mirror, in my hall. I’m not sure why I had the mirror since I hate seeing my skin. The scars I have from the beatings I took as a child remind me of my crap childhood with Mom’s boyfriend. I take in each scar, each one reminding me of him. I have tried to cover them the best I can with tattoos, but they’re still visible. I hate that they mark my body and remind me of the hell he put me through. There had been others but he had been the worst.
He had used his belt. I cringe at the memory of how the leather felt against my skin. Each whip broke skin, each bump was a reminder of how much it had hurt, of how I cried with every single blow, and each welt on my skin was a reminder of my past. The one I try to hide, try to forget.
I have gone without my shirt in front of people, explaining that the scars were from falls as a child but I will never tell them the truth.
I remove the rest of my clothes and climb into bed. I stare up at the ceiling then roll to my side. I close my eyes to try and stop my racing thoughts, instead I imagine Charli in nothing but some sexy lingerie.
Fuck.
I’m doomed.
Chapter 5
CHARLI
OH MY GOD, WHAT AM I doing?
This is a bad idea. Possibly the worst idea I've ever had. I can’t go in there.
I chant in my head:
You can do this.
Just one foot in front of the other.
I just want to see if he is here tonight, to get him to notice me,
I’m not that little girl anymore.
Yes, Eli is my brother’s best friend, but I am twenty-one now. I sit in my car and take a few deep breaths.
Just go in what's the worst that could happen?
Okay, I need to stop talking to myself.
I unbuckle my seat belt, and then slowly exit my car. I make
my way towards the door. The Grove Bar is the best bar in town. Well, the only bar. I enjoy the live music. I work here, but hardly come here as anything other than an employee but tonight I’m going to change that.
Steve, the new bouncer, waves me in. I walk in casually, like I do this all the time.
I don’t. I never drunk anything outside of the comfort of my apartment before. It never interested me. I’m here alone; I didn’t ask the girls to come with me.
The voice in my head is telling me this is a bad idea. I feel like I needed to run back to my car and return to my comfort zone.
But I am punishing myself, even though I know it won’t happen, I want Eli to run his eyes over my body. I want him to look at me the way he looks at other women.
He never looks at me that way, but I want him to so desperately.
As I walk to the tables where my brother and his friends always sat, my heart is pounding. If I didn’t know better, I could have sworn the people around me could hear my heart trying to break out of my chest.
Pour Some Sugar on Me plays and makes my blood pulse. The band on the stage are doing a good job covering the song.
I smile to myself.
I'd really like Eli to pour some sugar over me and lick it off with his tongue.
I chuckle as the image runs through my head. Okay, Charli, calm down. The image has sent a heat searing between my legs.
I get to my brothers table, I swear this table is reserved just for my brother and his friends. Well, or it is just a given by now that they get to sit there. These guys are all gorgeous, muscular and fuck-worthy.
They are the kind of guys who get girls to drop their panties easier than a credit card at a half price shoe sale. They have all been coming to this bar for as long as I can remember.
“Hey, what are you doing here, Charli?” Lucas asks.
“Hi,” I say.
Lucas chuckles. He is a charmer, alright.
Carter turns to look at me, bending his elbows on the table, and smiling.
“Hey, Charli, you know Jensen won't be happy to know you’re out drinking.”
I roll my eyes at him.
“I’m twenty-one. Jensen can't tell me how to live my life.”
Carter laughs.
“Yeah, but that doesn't mean he isn't going to be pissed.”
I can’t help but smile. The guys all know how overprotective my big brother is. If my brother isn’t bad enough, any guy that tries anything will also have to deal with these guys since most of them treat me like a little sister, too.
Tyler looks up from the girl who is sucking on his neck and winks at me. I smile at him, and roll my eyes. Tyler is a nice guy, but he just runs through women too fast. He runs through them faster than even Eli.
As if he knows I am thinking about him, Eli walks in. My breath catches in my throat at the sight of him. He is handsome… no, breathtaking. I think he knows it too.
I often wonder if he has been made just to taunt women. He is smiling and laughing as he makes his way to the group.
He hasn’t noticed me, yet!
Christian and Max walk with him. They are the other two guys in my brother’s group of friends.
They all notice me at once.
Max smiles, “Hey, Charli.”
Christian gives me a nod and a wink.
Eli however, seems furious.
“Charlotte,” he says, frowning, “you shouldn’t be here?”
He used my full name. No one but Jensen calls me Charlotte. Eli always calls me Charli.
Wait a minute…What?!
I shouldn’t be here?
What am I?
A kid who has a curfew?
I stand straighter and look him square in the eyes.
“I’m an adult, Eli. I’m the legal age in this country to drink. I’m allowed to have fun.”
“I can see that!” He replies his gaze sweeps over my body.
My nipples stand to attention under his gaze. I try not to shiver. The dress I have worn is a good choice. I have chosen it for Eli, I knew he would like it. His eyes keep wandering over my body.
He is definitely checking me out!
I mentally hive-five myself.
Having him look at me like that sends sensations between my legs, hot and heavy.
“That's not what I mean,” he says.
His eyes finally found mine.
“If I want to have fun, I’ll damn well go out and have some fun.”
I cross my arms over my chest. I know this pushes my breasts up further but I’m not breaking eye contact. Eli, on the other hand does. Maybe if he stares long enough, something might click his brain that I actually am a woman now.
“I don’t need you to take care of me,” I add
“Charlotte,” he says with an angry snarl on his face.
“What? You aren’t my bodyguard.” I shoot back
“I know you're twenty-one now. You can drink and party, but doesn't mean you have to,” he says.
He runs his fingers through his hair and releases a sigh of frustration. I want to be the one to run my fingers through his hair.
“You hardly ever dress like that.”
I look at my dress.
Is it that bad?
“Have you ever drunk alcohol before? And how are we going to explain to Jensen when you’re drunk off your ass?”
I have had alcohol before. Eli saw the empty wine bottle on my coffee table three years ago. Is he pretending he didn’t know? Or doesn’t remember?
Eli acts like this with everyone. He is the protector. He wants me safe—and sometimes, I really do feel like he is my bodyguard. I enjoy it on some level, but other times, it makes me feel small, like I am incapable of taking care of myself.
Which… I totally can.
I hate feeling like I need my big brother and his friends to rescue me all the time.
They all need to back off—Especially Eli. They don’t need to protect me anymore. I have had enough, I’m starting to get angry now.
Eli is hot. I have wanted this man since I was a teenager, but enough is enough.
“Look if she wants to go out and enjoy herself, we can't force her to go home,” Max speaks up in my defence.
This is a first.
“Why the hell not?” Eli glares at him as he speaks.
“Like she said, she is twenty-one, legal and not a kid anymore,” replies Max.
“We can protect her and make sure she is safe if she is here,” Lucas says.
Wait, does he mean keep an eye me?!
The scowl on Eli’s face says he still doesn't like the idea.
Tyler pipes up for the first time since I got there.
“Look, Eli, I know you think you’re doing Jensen some sort of favour by looking out for Charli. But dude, she is grown up. Jensen smothers his sister. Let her live a little!”
“Yeah, dude, give her room to breathe,” Christian tells him.
“He treats her like he's her damn father not her brother, just let her have a little fun,” says Carter.
Wow, this surprises me, normally these guys all agree with whatever Jensen or Eli say.
Maybe finally they all saw me for who I am, a grown woman who can make her own decisions.
Eli gives up and throws his hands up and just shakes his head.
�
��Fine but don't drink too much, don't go off with someone you don't know and if someone bothers you come get me. And for the record I still think this is a bad idea!”
I smile at him. He just grins and shakes his head at me. “You're stubborn I’ll give you that”.
He says smirking at me.
Eli’s eyes stay on mine. Even if it had only been for a few seconds, my heart does a silly flutter,
It always did I can’t control it, not around Eli.
Tyler says his goodbyes, I assume to get things even more heated up with the girl he had on his lap.
I watch Eli watching me, the smirk on his face told me he thinks it is funny that I came back at him.
Good he will have to get use to the new me.
“What do you want to drink? I'll get it for you?” Carter asks, breaking me from Eli’s stare.
I heard someone order a Cosmo once, so I told him to get me a Cosmo even though I have no idea what’s in it. Carter heads off to get it for me.
Max and Christian both smile at me. I know they were wondering what I am up to and what my plan is. I am pretty sure all my brothers’ friends know I have a crush on Eli. Everyone that was except for Eli, and of course, my brother. He would be pissed if he thought I remotely liked or was interested in any of his friends. After what happened three years ago, maybe Eli knows, but he won’t acknowledge it.
“Excuse me, can I have a dance?”
I turn to a guy standing there smiling at me. He is attractive in his jeans and tight shirt. Okay, hot, maybe? But he isn’t Eli.
I am about to turn him down when I think, why the hell not? Eli isn't making a move. Maybe this will make him jealous.
“Sure.” I say, giving him my hand.
Maybe this will help stir Eli up a bit.
He pulls me to him and as he leads me to the dance floor I turn to see Eli looking like he is about to blow a blood vessel.
“I’m Tobias,” he says.
His hand goes to my lower back, briefly skimming the top of my bottom. He pulls me into him as the song begins. I pull his hands off my bottom where his hands strayed, and place them on my lower back. He chuckles.
“Come on, baby, we can have some fun,” he says as he tries to move his hands back to my bottom.
I try to smile but I am starting to get uncomfortable. He starts to kiss my neck as he pulls me in to him, I push back at him and try to back up but he is too strong. I have made a terrible mistake by agreeing to dance with this Tobias guy. All of a sudden, I see a set of hands one pulling me back and the other pushes Tobias away. I spin around, Eli pulls me behind him as he marches us off the dance floor.