Inferno Anthology

by Gow, Kailin

  “Aubree.” Just who I didn’t want to see.

  Aubree Vincent is the exact kind of trouble I’m not interested in tonight or any other night of the year. I’d like to think I have standards. Aubree was Steph’s best friend, and just about anything to do with Steph is sacred. I shake her out of my mind. I can’t go there tonight. There aren’t enough girls or beer to self-medicate from that pain.

  Aubree’s brassy blonde hair is spun in tight ringlets. Her roots are coming in strong. She has a knack for wearing too much makeup and not enough of anything else. Aubree has made a pass at me every day of the week and twice on Sundays for as far back as I can remember. High school blinks through my mind, and I swat it away like a fly.

  Aubree and I happen to share an internship. I witnessed her going off on some poor girl in our group for not getting her coffee right, and that sort of killed any future boners I might have pointed in her direction. Since I’ve been at Briggs, I haven’t been too picky about who I land in bed with. Both my heart and my dick have turned hard as steel since I’ve entered these hallowed halls.

  “You feel like stripping down and getting wet?” She licks her bright pink lips.

  I crane my neck toward the back window where I spot Cole with a bevy of lonely beauties and shake my head.

  “Hot tub looks filled to capacity. And, you know me”—I shrug—“I’m a stickler for that damn fire code.” She came down on me last week for having more than ten executives in a cubicle while I showed them an ad our competitor launched that happened to go viral. She actually busted my balls over the fire code of all things, which I hope sounded just as ridiculous now that I’ve handed the bizarre malfeasance back to her.

  “Who said anything about the hot tub?” She lowers her false lashes and pulls me in by the belt loop.

  “Aren’t you the little vixen tonight?” I step in and press my hand to the small of her back. Maybe I should nail her and get it over with. God knows she’s all but fallen on her knees trying to land me horizontal these past few years. But a part of me doesn’t want to cave. A part of me wants to believe I’ve got standards somewhere in this depraved mind of mine, and I draw the line at girls who give more blow jobs than a leaf blower.

  “Vixen?” She bites over her bottom lip so hard I expect to see blood. “Oh, sugar, for you? I can be anything you want,” she purrs low in my ear, and my stomach turns as if I just downed a bad burrito.

  “I’ll have that Snap Track file done before next week.” Maybe if I talk shop, she’ll run in the other direction.

  “Oh, hon”—her eyes expand showing off a network of bulging red lines—“the last thing I want to do is talk business.” Aubree is the internship coordinator over at Capwell Inc., the ad agency that’s my ticket into the corporate world once I graduate. Her uncle owns it, so she gets special privileges like busting my balls whenever the hell she feels like it. “As your boss, I forbid you to mix business with pleasure.” She tracks her hand over my shirt, and a trail of chills explode up my spine.

  A gorgeous brunette with long, sleek locks darkens the doorway—Baya. She’s got on a pair of sky-high heels that tie to her knees and shorts that amount to not much more than a glorified zipper. She’s traded her friendly tube top for a sequin tank, and I most certainly approve of her sparkling bosom, but something in me says Cole won’t.

  “Look, I better go.” I pluck Aubree’s nine-inch nails out of my back, and she pops them right back in.

  “I’m not letting you off the hook so easy, honey.” She leans in and takes a bite out of my ear. “I’m a little hungry, and I’m liking the menu a whole damn lot.”

  “Lucky for you there’s an entire buffet of beefcake right out that door.” I spin her toward the back and ditch into the crowd before she can render me lobeless.

  My heart picks up pace as I scan the doorway, but Baya’s nowhere to be found. I was sort of looking forward to showing her around, not that there’s much to see here other than the requisite amount of liquor and sorority girls. The truth is, a part of me wanted to take up the big brother torch and protect her from the douches running rampant in this place. Not that I’m feeling brotherly toward her, quite the opposite. Baya has a sweetness about her that I hadn’t seen since—

  My mind starts to drift to the dark cave of the past, and I cinch it before I get too sucked in. I know what today would have been. I hadn’t thought about Steph in so long—and yet something in Baya’s eyes this afternoon reminded me of her. There’s something downhome and innocent about Baya, and it’s a far cry from what I’m used to around here. I would have bet every shiny dime I own that the last person she was related to was Cole screw-them-by-the-dozen Brighton.

  A group of girls hanging out on the fringe of the room catch my attention, and I spot Baya standing by the keg, looking every bit the wallflower. Her dark hair falls seductively over one eye, and I swear a dimple just lit up in her cheek at the sight of me, at least that’s the story I’m feeding my ego right about now.

  I head over and swoop a cold one off the counter for her.

  “For you princess.” I hold back a smile that’s begging to let loose. My dick twitches at the sight of her, hopeful to get laid because we both know it’s been weeks. After years of bedding my way around campus, the local girls have lost their luster—not that I plan on bedding Baya. Cole would have my balls on a spit if I entertained the idea.

  “No thanks.” She makes a face at the amber bottle. It’s only then I notice I’m holding it out in front of my jeans like some phallic extension. “I don’t really drink.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You’re thirteen.” I cinch a smile at my adolescent dig. I like teasing Baya. Nipplegate broke the ice, so we can only go up from there.

  “I’m nineteen,” she corrects. “And I don’t drink because it’s a personal preference. Trust me, if I wanted the beer, I’d take it. I just so happen to hate the taste of alcohol.” She shudders. “I hate everything about it.”

  “I suppose this is a lousy time to tell you I work at a bar.” That my family owns a whole string of them, but I leave that part out.

  Her lime green eyes float up to mine. Her lips curve a naughty smile as if she’s having her way with me mentally, and my dick starts knocking for attention again. I broaden my chest, trying to deflect my hard-on from launching into an all out crisis with no relief in sight.

  “I couldn’t care less where you work, Tyson.” She smirks while peering around me into the crowd.

  Damn she’s hot when she’s annoyed.

  My brows knit. “It’s Bryson.” I glance down at her hot pink toenails and can’t help but think they look like candy. Those shoes definitely have my attention, but it’s her smooth creamy thighs that are making my mouth water. “I actually own the bars.” I don’t technically own jack, except maybe by way of inheritance, and judging by the way my dad keeps hitting the gym, that day is a long way off. Not that I wouldn’t want it to be. “My family owns them,” I fess up. Something about her has a way of dragging the truth out of me faster than expected. I’m not sure I’ve ever showed a girl the scoreboard, let alone filled them in on what it means. Sure it’s out there in the open, but no one’s ever questioned its relevance, or accused it of being remotely related to weight training or wrestling.

  Baya continues to watch the crowd behind me. I glance back. She’s eyeing about twenty different people, and at least half of them are jersey-wearing jocks. “I’m headed over to one in about twenty minutes if you want to join me. You could make some quick cash if you want.”

  “One what?” She takes a step to the right and gives a little wink at some dude in a Whitney Briggs sweatshirt.

  “A bar—we’ve got a full menu, so it’s more of a restaurant.” Why does this conversation suddenly feel one-sided? “You could waitress if you want. It’s a good way to line your pockets.”

  Her eyes narrow in on mine. Her lips purse, and it’s becoming obvious she’s visibly pissed.

  “Look. I appreciate t
he offer, I really do.” She floats her glowing eyes to mine, and her lips curl in a gutting, sexy way that make my balls ache for her touch. “I’m sure deep down under that mass of muscles you’re a nice guy, but I prefer my first time to be with someone who doesn’t swim in the hooker pool.”

  First time?

  I run my gaze over her in this new light. Baya is gorgeous and sweet. She brings new meaning to the word beautiful. Of course she’s a virgin—hell at nineteen she’s barely legal.

  She whisks by me and heads over to a group of helmet heads that have their biceps permanently flexed as a testament to their roid addiction. The one in the sweatshirt wastes no time in cupping her ass and makes her jump three feet in the process. His buddy pulls her in, and a dark smile stretches across his face at the prospect of fresh meat.

  I head over and wrap my arm around her shoulder.

  “Here you are,” I say, leading her right out the exit and into the fresh night air. “So, have you reconsidered the offer? Up for some impromptu waitressing?”

  She glances back at the frat house with its wild catcalls and army of panty-hungry jocks.

  Baya swallows hard. “I don’t see why not.”

  “The Black Bear Saloon,” I tell her as we drive down the highway. “That’s the closest one to campus, but we’ve got two other places about a half hour away in either direction—the Sky Lab, and the Ice Bar. The Ice Bar is literally lined with ice, so you’ll want to bundle up for that one.” It’s my father’s crowning glory. Sometimes I think he appreciates the bars more than his own family.

  “Excellent.” She pulls at a strand of hair and twirls it around her perfectly long finger. Baya knows how to tease me like a master, and I’m pretty sure she’s not aware of it.

  “So what was a nice girl like you doing at a sleaze bag of a party? Delta is notorious for its inglorious hookups. There’s a new strand of herpes that’s been traced back to that very room we were standing in.” Shit. Should I have said that? From now on I think I’ll keep all references to communicable diseases to a minimum—that minimum being none.

  “I don’t doubt it.” She pulls her shoulders back and arches her neck as if she’s trying to seduce me, but I can tell she’s just naturally sexy as hell. And, right about now, I’m regretting ever knowing her overprotective brother. The last thing I need to be doing it setting my dick compass on his little sister, but I have a feeling it’s too late. The destination’s been set, and, now, I have to figure out how to reprogram my balls before it’s too late.

  She sighs, and I wonder what it would feel like to have her making that noise in my mouth.

  “I wasn’t really planning on going out tonight but Jeanie had another ‘guest’ and, oddly enough, neither one of them were too shy about entertaining each another. Can you believe that?”

  I shake my head while choking the shit out of the steering wheel because her cleavage just jumped as we took that last turn, and my semi-hard-on just graduated to the next phase in my Levis.

  “It’s like I’m invisible or something,” she continues, and badly I want to interrupt and let her know my dick and I can attest to the fact she’s very much visible. “One second I was organizing my books, and, the next, some guy drops his boxers and bends her over the mattress.” She squeezes her eyes shut tight, and I steal a moment to envision Baya bent over my mattress. “I’m lucky I got out of the way in time.”

  A soft chuckle pulses through me.

  “It’s not funny.” She swats me in the stomach, and a part of me wants to encourage a full on beating. “And, to make it worse, I’d swear on my dog’s life, it was a different guy. What’s wrong with you people here, anyway?”

  “Wrong?” I consider this for a moment. There does seem to be a lot of random fornicating. She might be onto something. I shake my head as I pull into the lot of the Black Bear Saloon. It’s the campus crawl, so I’d warn her to expect more of the same, but I’d venture to guess she’s already caught onto the idea. “So, what kind of dog do you have?” I kill the engine and nod for her to hop out of the truck.

  “Black lab,” she says, as I meet up with her on the other side.

  “Really? That’s what I’ve got—well, my mom. My dad got the bars in the divorce—my mom got the house and the dog.” Technically Dad bought Mom out, and, at the time, there was only one bar. What little she had left after paying her attorney went toward my sister Annie’s education. She attends a private school for the deaf and hard of hearing. Dad pays out for her education too, but Mom’s ego insists they split the bill, and, unfortunately for Mom, it hurts her bank account a little bit more.

  Baya’s eyes steady over mine, and, for a moment, I’m tempted to lean in and test out that luscious mouth of hers with a kiss.

  “Yeah, well, I miss my dog like crazy.” She bites over her cherry-stained lip. Baya glows against the backdrop of night like a lily. “Sounds like your mom got the better end of the deal.”

  “She did.” I shake off a laugh. “Although she might deny it. She’s trying to make ends meet as a realtor. My dad comes through every now and again, though.” Great. Way to sound like I’m feeding her some financial bullshit about my family. The next thing I’ll be telling her about is the time Holt stole my blankie when we were four and how I cried like a pussy for a week. “How about you? What do your parents do? I’ve been hanging out with your brother for almost half a decade, and I don’t think he’s mentioned them once.”

  “My mom does insurance billing for the local hospital, and my dad died when I was in eighth grade.” She glances down at the concrete, and my heart drops to my feet.

  “Sorry to hear that.” Crap. I can’t believe Cole’s never mentioned it. “Can I ask what happened?”

  She lets out a steady breath, and a layer of fog encircles her head like a frosted wreath. “He was a cyclist.” The whites of her eyes glint in the moonlight, and I can tell she’s tearing up. Way to bring up her misery. Looks like I’m up for the asshole of the year award. “One night, he went out for a ride, and he got hit.”

  “Shit,” I whisper. “I’m sorry.” I wrap my arm over her shoulders. “Look, if you’d rather do something else tonight I totally understand. It’s your first night, and, if punching a time clock isn’t you’re idea of a good time, I get it.”

  “No, it’s okay.” She glances at the entrance with the overgrown bear looking ready to sexually assault the next patron and shudders. “Besides, I’m all for lining my pockets.” She pinches at her barely-there shorts, and my dick weeps for her to touch it. “My clothes haven’t quite arrived, so I may have raided Jeanie’s closet without telling her.” She twists her heels into the ground, and her cleavage bounces unexpectedly. “And shoes.”

  Baya sparkles under this dim light both inside and out. Her perfect lips are calling to me, red as rubies, hell, raspberries that I’d like to bite into. But she’s not just some chick from Briggs I’m looking to bag, not some barfly ready and willing to drop in front of my Levi’s, she’s sweet—special—somebody’s little sister. And if I keep saying it I might actually be able to defuse the bomb ticking in my boxers, but a part of me knows better. I’ll be slicking one off in the shower later in her honor whether or not Cole approves.

  I warm her arm with my hand and lead her up the walk.

  “Let’s go make some money,” I sigh.

  Deep down I know I have to have Baya. I need her to want me too, and I can’t figure out why the hell I feel this way after knowing her for less than a few hours.

  Baya Brighton has cast her spell whether she’s aware of it or not, and, now, the only thing left to do is to figure out how the hell to break it.

  I don’t think I can.

  I don’t think I want to.

  There’s a trifecta of universities in the area that have turned the Black Bear into a hub of social civilization—although technically most nights are anything but civil. Having a central outlet like this has expanded the dating pool by three campuses and is half the reason the
re are so many damn tally marks on my wall to begin with.

  Inside the bar, the mountain motif fits the area, unlike the upscale Sky Lab with its sci-fi feel or the Ice Bar with its literal frozen tundra. I can’t wait to show Baya both of those places. What the hell am I saying? I glance down and give a polite smile, but my gut twists like a schoolboy at the sight of her. I need to stay the hell away from Baya, not drag her around to each of my family’s establishments in hopes that a blowjob waits for me on the other end of the factory tour. I’m a moron for even looking at her. She’s like crack, the more I’m near her, the more I need to have her.

  “This is really nice.” She looks around taking it all in, the mountain-themed tapestry lining the booths, the barstools carved out of gnarl wood. “So what do I do?”

  “Start here.” I pluck a small white apron from behind the counter and hand it to her. It’s frilly and looks more like lingerie, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Baya ties it low on her waist and with her micro-shorts it looks like that’s all she’s wearing.

  Hot damn. I ride my gaze up her body, nice and slow, and my dick perks to attention.

  “Who’s this?” A woman’s voice grumps from behind, and for a second I think I might find Aubree with her disgruntled lady boner, but it’s not. It’s Laney, one of the girls from school who works part time as a waitress. Her dark hair is pulled tight in a bun, and she’s sporting her signature ultra-tight Black Bear T-shirt. Laney is hot in her own right, but she’s not for me. Besides, she dated one of my good friends for a while last year. That sort of took her permanently off the roster.

  “Laney.” I pull her in. “This is Baya—Cole Brighton’s little sister.” Maybe if I keep reminding myself, out loud, many fucking times, that she’s Cole’s little sister my dick will back off.

  Baya gives a disapproving smile in my direction before moving her glowing eyes to Laney.

  “Cool name.” She shakes her hand “And for the record”—she drags her eyes over to me again and shoots venom—“I don’t care to be addressed as anybody’s little sister. I’m just Baya.” Her brows peak. For a moment she looks like she’s about to invert my balls, but then she takes a breath and shows off every one of her perfect teeth with that killer smile. “Now teach me how to make some money.”