I let out a crazy groan mixed cackle. I couldn't help it. This shit was ridiculous.
Brooklyn
"I love your name." A tall blonde woman wearing a white maxi tank dress approached me. Seth had introduced her as Brittany, a high school friend.
"Thank you," I said as I surveyed the room.
She stood over six-feet-tall. She didn't seem to know who I was, but from the look on her face, Piper did.
Piper looked like her name, petite with shoulder-length brown hair and big eyes. She nodded.
The hair stood up on the back of my neck. Piper knew my secrets.
Something was wrong. My eyes darted around as I tried to remain calm. It was no use.
Where is Harrison?
His truck was out front, so I knew he was here. I wanted to tell him as soon as possible. I was a free woman. It had been four weeks. I missed him.
I stopped by my house straight from the airport, hoping to catch him at work. When I stepped into the foyer, my brain spotted every one of Harrison's signatures in the place.
When I called Justin to get an update on the house, he invited me to the party.
Justin and Seth lived in a glass house. The whole front of the house was windows. If it weren't for the wall of trees lining the property, it would have felt like he was living on a stage for the world to see. A solid white wall ran the length of the living room, but at the ends, glass doors led to the rest of the house.
My gaze locked on the shadows from the hall. I spotted Seth first, followed by Justin and then Harrison. I smiled as they shuffled back in the room. I could see them as kids getting into trouble but always sticking together.
I waited for Harrison to acknowledge me, but he didn't.
He walked right over to Brittany and kissed her on the cheek before grounding me with a look.
I stood with my mouth open a little too long.
"Harrison, sweetie, have you met Brooklyn?" Brittany asked.
I cringed, and my insides turned into a tumultuous mess.
He's had his fingers inside me, bitch.
"Oh. Yeah." Harrison nodded. "I'm working on Brooklyn's house."
"You built a house." Brittany turned to me. "That's so great. Where is it?"
"Turtle Creek," I answered, but I didn't recognize my voice.
"You remember the dungeon?" Harrison asked
"That place off Lover's Lane." She laughed.
"She and her husband tore it down and built a place." He looked over at Justin. "Justin designed it."
"Oh, my God, that's amazing.” She looked behind me. "Where is your husband?"
"He . . ." I said.
"He travels a lot," Harrison continued.
Why is Harrison answering for me?
"Brooklyn is an interior designer. Put herself through Parson's Design School in New York.” Harrison ran down my credentials for this woman.
All I wanted to know was who she was or why she was on his arm.
I thought he was in love with me.
"Maybe you could do something with my place. I think my look is more college dorm meets Mother’s last decorating rejects," she spoke with her hands and laughed.
Harrison smiled.
I frowned.
"Brooklyn," Justin croaked from the kitchen. He and Piper were huddled up near the refrigerator with matching sorrowful looks.
"Would you excuse me?" I asked Brittany.
"Sure. I have got to get your number before I leave," Brittany said.
I looked up at Harrison. His eyes locked onto mine. I couldn't breathe.
"Brooklyn," Justin said in a dominent tone.
Harrison's scowled.
Justin using that tone with me, Harrison didn’t like it, but it was what I needed.
"Harrison has it." I produced a smile from somewhere. "He can give it to you."
I turned on my heels and headed toward the kitchen.
When I made it to Justin and Piper, the smile had faded along with most of my self-esteem and seventy-five percent of my dignity.
"Awe.” Piper hugged me.
It would have been funny and inappropriate if I didn't need it.
Justin rubbed both our backs.
I groaned into Piper's shoulder.
Justin steered us into another part of the house. I would die if anyone saw the blubbering idiot I tried with all my strength not to become.
"Piper, let her go," Justin whispered.
She gave me one last squeeze and stepped back.
"I am sorry. I had no idea he was going to bring her." Justin's face broke my heart all over again. He was sorry and as confused as me.
"No. It's okay. It's not your fault." I turned toward the window. "I guess if you want to surprise someone and tell them you want to be with them, you should probably call first."
"What?" Justin yelled.
I shushed him.
"You left Paul?" he whispered.
Justin spun me around.
Piper yelped and placed a hand over her mouth.
Justin gave her a look.
She took a couple of steps back. She was so cute, and I wanted another hug.
"Yeah. We signed our separation papers weeks ago." I nodded. "That's what I came back to tell Harrison."
Piper squeaked.
We both turned toward her.
"Piper." Justin shook his head.
"Oh, I have to tell her. You can deal with me later." Piper grabbed my arms. "He loves you. He wants you so bad. He’s been beating himself up over what happened between you two, and Brittany is a distraction. I mean look at her. Men don't fall in love with women like her. Besides, she is unbelievably too tall."
Her speech came to an abrupt halt.
Justin gave her another look.
We were all silent for a minute before bursting into a tearful laughter.
"What the hell?" Seth poked his head in.
We cracked up.
I waved Seth over.
He approached while eyeing Justin.
"I'm not going to hurt you, but you have got to get me out of here,” I said.
"Listen. It's fine. Harrison is fine. He won't—"
"She and Paul broke up," Justin interrupted.
Seth was usually the man with all the answers, but he was at a complete loss. He lowered his head and shook it.
"I fucked something up, didn't I?" His high voice along with his wavy brown hair flopped into his face.
It made me giggle more.
"Oh, that's right." Justin grinned. "I didn't even get around to tell her that Brittany was your fucking idea."
Seth flipped his hair back; his gaze bore into Justin.
"Well, thanks for that, buddy," Seth said.
"You guys. It's fine. I'm fine. Do me a favor?" I asked, and they nodded. "Don't tell Harrison about Paul and me."
"Brooklyn—" Justin said.
I held up my hand.
"I'll tell him but not now. No point in messing up everyone's life." I turned to Piper. "You are adorable." I kissed her on the cheek.
She blushed and grinned from ear to ear.
I headed out the front door.
I drove back to my apartment and made it inside before collapsing at the door with tears running down my face.
Harrison
The evening continued without anyone addressing Brooklyn's entrance or sudden exit. I tried to get Justin alone to asked him why she left, but I knew why. Confirming it would make me feel like a bigger asshole.
We left shortly after dinner. I was silent the entire car ride home despite Brittany's attempt to make conversation.
I pulled up to her house and turned off the engine.
She reached for the door handle.
"Brittany. Hold up a second." I kept my hands on the wheel.
She settled back.
"I know we aren't anything serious, but I don't think we should see each other anymore." My tongue felt thick in my mouth.
"What's wrong, Sir?" she asked in a high-pitch
little girl voice while rubbing my cock through my pants.
I cringed and pushed her hand away.
"No. Don't do that. Don't call me Sir. Don't touch me. I don't want to be with you." It pained me to have this woman touch me.
I was a sick bastard. I wanted to hurt her because I wasted three weeks thinking about her when I could have been thinking about Brooklyn.
Tears sprung to her eyes, and she groaned.
"You’re an asshole, Harrison Crawford." She wiped the tears off her face.
I nodded. Finally, something we could agree on.
She didn't move.
I waited her out. She sighed and opened the door. She slammed it hard.
I watched her stomp to her front porch. She stopped at her door.
I turned on the engine and drove away.
I headed toward my apartment. My car detoured on it own to my new house.
I stepped into the wood frame in the foyer and leaned against one of the support beams. When I closed my eyes, the finished house appeared in my head.
It smelled like Brooklyn. I imagined her walking the halls, her bare feet slapping on the hardwood. She was everywhere—in the walls, the floors, the molding—her taste touched every surface.
When I opened my eyes, the home felt empty. I built it for us, but it hurt to step foot in here knowing she would never enjoy it with me.
I walked out back to the workroom. While the second floor was a frame, the first floor was nearly finished.
A strange chill ran across my back as I opened the door. I ran my hand along the wooden workbench. It needed more sanding. The bench ran down both sides.
The guys help me move my equipment in a few days ago, but it sat against the wall.
On the main table sat the stools for Brooklyn's game room bar. I etched small lotus flowers into the corner of each stool. Just a little signature piece that I knew she would love, but her husband would never notice.
I eyed the wooden chair in the middle of the room. I approached it, stalked over to it. I ran my hand over the smooth wood on the back and on the seat.
A metal storage closet sat abasing the wall. It held a few change of closes and my smaller equipment. I changed, grabbed a pair of goggles and my electric hand sander and got to work.
I called this piece the throne. I made it out of the softest, smoothest wood I could find. It was so porous; it would eventually mold to her ass.
I pictured my queen on the throne. Clipped directly into mounted D-rings on the arms and legs or tied down with ropes. My queen would be strapped to it naked, squirming against the restraints while I toyed with her to my heart's content.
A special queen deserved a special throne.
It was a shame, this one might go unused.
As I finished sanding the last bit of the workbench, my phone beeped in my pocket. I looked up for the first time in hours. The sun rose and shined through the windows. I fished my cell out of my pocket. It was six a.m. I had worked all night.
Justin's name was on the caller id.
"What?" I growled into the phone.
"Is that any way to greet your best friend?" He chuckled. "You want Piper to bring you over a smoothie so we can wake your ass up."
"I am up. I've been up all night." I grunted.
"You and Brittany." He didn't bother to mask the venom in his voice when he said her name.
It wasn't Brittany's fault.
"I'm working." I ran my hand down the bench. I'd finished sanding and staining the chair around three a.m. I touched it to see if it was dry.
"What are you and Brittany up to tonight?" he asked.
"We broke up," I answered.
"Really?" Justin asked. He sounded almost giddy.
"Yes. We weren't actually together. Just messing around. But last night, I confirmed what she knew all along." I tapped my fingers on the seat.
"What's that?"
"I'm an asshole."
"Come on, man. You're not an asshole."
I grunted.
"You can be an asshole. It's a personality flaw, but it isn't a lasting characteristic. Besides, we love you," Justin said.
"Who’s we?"
"Seth, Piper, and I."
"While I am enjoying this little love fest, can I get back to work?"
"Sure, but I need you at Crush tonight."
"No—" He didn't let me finish.
"I'm not taking no for an answer." He paused. "My sub wants you there, and I try to give her everything she wants, so you have to come."
"You're going to ask me to fuck your sub while you watch, aren't you?" I rubbed my face. "That shit gets old after a while."
"No." Justin laughed. "Nothing like that. And while we may indulge in that kink every once in a while, I've discovered I am a bit more into participating where Piper is concerned."
"I'm happy for you, man.” I nodded.
"She has personally invited you tonight, so you have to come."
"Listen, man, give me a few days okay." I didn't recognize the desperation in my voice.
"You sure you're okay?” He asked.
"Yeah, I just need a break. A small one."
"Tuesday, then."
"Tuesday what?"
"You meet us at Crush on Tuesday?"
It was three days away. He wasn't going to leave me alone until I agreed.
"Okay, Tuesday. I'll see you there."
I finished the chair and stood back to admire it. I would never use it with anyone else, but I loved it anyway. I might have to change its name to Brooklyn.
I cleaned up and headed over to my apartment to get some sleep. My goal was to throw myself into my work. I'd power through Tuesday and let my friends know I needed to step back from the community. It didn't have the same hold over me as before. I needed some distance, and at some point in my lifetime, I would stop pining over a particular unavailable woman.
Seventeen
Brooklyn
My phone rang from a distant place. I pulled myself up and found it in my purse. I had thrown it across the room when I entered. Justin’s name popped up on the caller id. I called him back.
"Hey," he said.
I pulled the phone away from my ear.
"Hello."
"Brooklyn. It's me. Justin."
"Yeah. I know, Justin." I squinted at the phone. "What time is it?"
"Does everyone sleep in?" He sounded alert.
"What?" I rubbed my face.
"Never mind." He coughed. "Meet me for breakfast. We have some planning to do."
I pulled the phone away and looked at it with confusion. Maybe I was still asleep.
"Planning for what?" I asked.
"Planning for how you're going to get Harrison back. I left this task up to the amateurs for too long. It's time for me to step in."
I shook my head, but he continued to talk.
"Bread Winners in uptown in thirty minutes."
"I'm not breaking Harrison and Brittany up."
"Well, darlin’, lucky for you, Harrison took care of that bit of unpleasantness for us last night. So now, we can just concentrate on him and you."
"What? Why?" I sat down in the living room.
"No, we didn't tell him. I made sure Seth was occupied the whole night, so I know he didn't tell him." Piper giggled in the background. "But now that you're both available, we need to figure out how to get you two together."
"Jus—" I shook my head again.
"I'm not asking, sub," Justin said.
“Fine.” I groaned and ended the call. I stumbled into the bathroom. Hoping the water would wake me up, I feared nothing would calm the nerves brewing in my belly.
Justin and Piper sat outside at the crowded uptown restaurant.
I walked up to their table with my hands out.
Justin stood and laughed as he pulled me in and kissed me on the cheek.
Piper and I shared air kisses while seated. I knew nothing about her, but she was up on my personal life. I needed all the help I cou
ld get.
"You look pretty this morning," Piper said.
I rolled my eyes.
She giggled. She was sweet in that southern style.
Justin motioned for a waiter.
"What are you drinking?" he asked.
"I'll have what they're having." I pointed at Piper's orange juice in a champagne glass. I hoped it was spiked with champagne. I needed a drink.
After the waiter had brought my drink, we ordered. I sipped and waited for Justin to layout his plan.
"First of all, let me start by saying, while I love to tell people what to do. I don't like to get in the middle of two people in a relationship," Justin said.
"But . . ." Piper prompted him.
"But"—he leaned over and grabbed Piper's hand and squeezed it—"like my love here reminds me every day, getting involved sometimes is a good thing."
She beamed and turned back to me.
"I don't want you and Harrison wasting another second being stubborn. He needs you, and you need him. He needs to understand the responsibility of having a relationship like this or he's going to be justifying his destructive actions forever and will never be happy.” Justin pointed. "You need to stop denying your true nature and trust that this time you are submitting to the right person, and he will never let you down."
"You're getting a little preachy, babe," Piper said.
He frowned at her.
She kissed the air in his direction and turned back to me.
"Do you want to be with Harrison?" Piper asked.
"I do." I held up my hand. "Does he want to be with me? I ran away from him. I was the one who took advantage of him. How is he ever going to forgive me?"
Justin chuckled.
Piper shot him a dirty look.
He frowned again.
Hopefully, he'd wait until after breakfast to punish her.
Justin turned back to me. "I'm laughing because he said the same thing to me about you."
"He only did what I asked him to do. He doesn't have anything to be ashamed of," I said.
"Well, you need to tell him that." Justin tilted his head.
"Oh, my God." I sighed and looked out at the street. This whole time, I blamed myself for tempting Harrison. Maybe we did need Justin's help. We sucked at doing this on our own.
"I—" Justin said.
"We," Piper said.
Salvage Him (Highland Park Chronicles Book 1) Page 13