by Jill Patten
He lifts his chin up at me. “Pay up, loser,” he says with an intense expression then busts out laughing.
I bounce the ball to him. “What the hell? I come to visit you and all you care about is swindling money out of me? Man, that’s beat up,” I say jokingly. I reach in my pocket and hand him the amount needed for his camp plus a little more.
His eyebrows furrow. “What’s this?”
“Interest.”
He shakes his head. “I’m not taking this. Here.” He hands me back the extra twenty I slipped in.
Holding my hands up in front of me, I step back out of his reach. “No. If you don’t want it then give it to somebody else who needs it. And I mean really needs it.”
He knows what I’m implying. He’d better not give it to his meth head mom. Marcus is one of those kids who fall into the category of ‘my mom loves me, but she can’t take care of me.’ In reality, she can, but she chooses her drugs over her own son. Will he keep the money for himself, give it to his mom, or give it to one of the other kids? That is a question I have no answer for.
Once he realizes I’m not arguing over twenty bucks, we play our usual game of one-on-one until it’s time for me to leave.
Work is boring as hell, especially since Thad’s mom’s here. The fucker should’ve given me the day off too. One person can handle the shop on a day like this with zero problems. Besides a couple of tourists coming in the store just out of curiosity, the shop is dead.
After tomorrow, when spring break kicks in, business will be booming with college kids, and I won’t have the time to take a piss. I lock the place up then head up the rusted metal stairs to my tiny apartment located above the shop. The place is more like a loft than an actual apartment.
As soon as I walk inside I grab a water from the fridge, then I toss my T-shirt onto my bed. I strip down to my birthday suit on my way to take a shower, and then fight with the accordion door to my make-shift bathroom when it slides off the tracks.
After a quick shower, I throw a white tank top covered up with a nice blue, button-up shirt. Any time I wear any shade of blue, girls compliment me on my eyes.
There’s a concert going on tonight at Club Le Vela. With Thad out of the game, I’m going solo. I head out, prepared to see who I’ll spend my night with. But first, I treat myself to a nice dinner.
While I’m eating my lobster, I notice a sexy little chick watching me from the bar. Her long, black hair shines under the low lights, and her sleek, long legs are covered with a fresh touch from today’s sun. She might be my in for the night. After I finish off my dirty vodka martini, I pop the blue cheese stuffed olives in my mouth and make sure I lick my fingertip. She’s still watching me, so I’ll gladly give her a show. For good measure, I lap my tongue across the tip of my thumb before closing my lips around it. Locking my eyes with hers, I slowly pull my thumb out of my mouth. Once it’s completely out, I grace her with a cocky smile.
The rise and fall of her breasts tells me she’s already down for the count. Baited. Too easy. Not my style. She can at least give me a little bit of a challenge.
Never giving the girl another glance, I pay my bill and step out into the already humid spring air. The night is alive with the commotion of spring breakers in town. When I arrive at the club, I text my sister before I step foot into the crowd. People are already spilling over inside and outside of the place. You can definitely tell it’s the first major night of spring break. And that’s why I’m not fond of her attending parties of this magnitude without me. She’s always been badass and can usually take care of herself, but sometimes her badassness is what gets her in trouble.
Immediately, my phone lights up with her name.
Molly: I’m at the bar. Meet me there.
Sliding my phone in the pocket of my shorts, I walk on the outskirts of the half-naked bodies until I see my sister. Threading my way through tight asses and tasty tits, I grind up against a few of the girls before I reach the bar.
“Lance!” My sister comes to me with arms stretched out. Instead of giving me the hug she intends, she falls against me, knocking me into the pretty brunette I caught a glimpse of when I came walking up. She whips her head in my direction and shoots me a flirtatious smile.
“Excuse me, my sister seems to be a little drunk,” I say, lightly touching the small of her back in a friendly gesture.
As I lean in toward her ear to offer her a drink, my sister pulls my arm. “Leave the girl alone and meet my friend,” she says, suddenly sounding sober. “Lance, this is Trina…my new friend.” The way she put emphasizes on friend tells me this girl is her hook-up for the night.
Shaking hands with a girl comes off awkward for me, even if she doesn’t bat for my team, so I greet her with a kiss on the cheek. “Hi, Trina, are you responsible for this?” I ask jokingly, nodding my head in my sister’s direction.
She throws her hands up in mock surrender. “Nope. She was already half-lit when we got here.”
My sister takes her by the hand and drags her out in the midst of spring breakers dancing.
Turning around to offer the brunette a beer without interruption, I discover she’s no longer there. I take a seat, order a beer, and watch my little sister have a good time with her fling for the night.
Just when I spot a fresh ginger eyeing me as she dances, all the while enticing me with her barely covered tits, I notice some douche up on my sister’s ass. From the way my sister keeps cutting her eyes at him, I can tell she’s getting tired of his shit.
I don’t have to be close to read her lips. I know her well enough to tell she’s told him to fuck off. His smile dips as his eyes narrow down at her. His chest puffs up and he stops dancing. He towers over her and says something I can’t hear. But his stance is predatory enough that things aren’t going to turn out well.
My sister, being the badass she thinks she is, stands her ground and gets up in his face, yelling while pointing her finger an inch from his cheek. Trina grabs her arm and tries to pull her away. Situations like this are difficult for me to hang by the side and be a bystander, but I made a promise and I’m one to keep them.
Shit. The stupid prick bumps her with his chest and that’s all it takes for me. My vision turns red.
Not caring who I plow over, I race through the drunken bodies until I reach Molly. I give the jackass five seconds to get a good look at me before I head-butt him. Immediately, he falls to the ground. “Learn some fucking manners, dick face,” I say calmly, pointing my finger at him.
“Fuck you,” he grumbles, then takes a swing at me. His drunken ass misses by a foot.
I put him in a headlock and talk low into his ear. “When I let you go, you’re going to get the fuck out of here and not come back the rest of the time you’re here.”
“Lance, stop!” my sister says. “Somebody is going to report you and they’re going to kick you out of here or arrest you for assaulting this guy.” She grabs the back of both of my shoulders and tries pulling me back.
“I won’t hit him again, but I am taking him down the beach before I change my mind and beat the shit out of him.” With that, I pick his arm back up and start dragging him away from the party and more to a secluded area. Somewhere he won’t bother anyone else for the rest of the night and far enough from the water I won’t have to worry about him drowning if he were to pass out.
Trying to shake my anger before I head back to the party, I wander farther down the beach toward the city pier. The sound of the waves lapping up onto the shore soothes my constricted rage. Her majestic body always fills me with peacefulness.
As I approach the pier, I notice someone spinning around clumsily. The way their slender body moves about in the shadows tells me it’s a female. I pick up the pace as I see her dance closer to the water. With the tide up, underneath the pier is the worst place a person can be, much less by themselves. Her arms are flowing out by her sides as she dances around like a ballerina, and her eyes are closed as she sings a song I’ve never heard
before. She has a pleasant sound to her voice, but she can’t carry a tune for shit. Talk about an odd combination. She’s either drunk off her ass or she has a carefree spirit.
Like a creepy stalker, I watch her carelessly. My eyes drink in her slender legs reaching for miles until they meet the round curve of her ass. And a fine ass it is. The front of my shorts slightly tightens. My feet draw me toward her of their own accord.
Before I can reach her, she trips over her own feet and lands face first in the water. Wrapping my arm around her tiny waist, I pull her out with one clean sweep. She stares at me with wide eyes then suddenly busts out into a fit of giggles. Her breath circles around my face, and my earlier guess is right—she’s drunk. Her lanky arms wrap around my neck with more strength than I thought she had, and her mouth is on mine before I even know what is happening.
I let her kiss me. From what I’ve seen, she’s cute and sexy enough for my taste. Even though her movements are sloppy from her inebriated state, her tongue caresses mine with precise grace, and it ignites a spark within me.
The taste of alcohol on her lips reminds me of her drunkenness. As much as I like the way she tastes and the way her tight little body rubs up against mine, I know it has to stop. When I try to pull away, she grips the back of my head and holds me in place. It’s just a kiss, right? Who am I to reject someone coming onto me as hard as she is?
“Lie down,” she commands, so I do what she says.
I’m still fully clothed with only my shorts unbuttoned and unzipped. When the hell did that happen?
For someone as wasted as her, she has stealth moves when it comes to getting what she wants. Her hands are inside my shorts with fingers eagerly wrapping around my hard-on. “Fuck me,” she breathes against my lips.
Fuck! I groan to myself. Maybe this isn’t just a kiss after all. I know I shouldn’t follow through with her request but, God, she’s turning me the fuck on with just those two words. What am I supposed to do now? She climbs over me, straddles my waist, and then lifts herself up just enough to align my dick to where we both want it to be. I’m so hard by her bold confidence.
She’s drunk.
She’s vulnerable.
She’s not going to remember.
As much as it kills me to do so, I sit up, forcing her to scoot back until her butt is on the sand. I take her forearm and pull it until her hand is free from the inside of my shorts. My dick twitches in protest and my balls are going to hate me in the next few minutes. I’ve never in my life purposely given myself a case of blue balls.
She frowns at me as she shimmies out of her panties then shoots me a drunken grin when she tosses them close to the water. “I have something to show you,” she sings as she teasingly inches her dress up the top of her thighs. Beautiful thighs, I might add. God, the ache in my lower belly is starting to set in.
“No, no, no, you don’t want to do that,” I retort while I try to pull her short dress back down.
“You’re such a party-pooper,” she whines. She’s literally sitting there with her plump bottom lip pooched out while looking at me with hooded eyes.
Shaking my head, I smile. “Unbelievable,” I mutter under my breath. “I promise, you’ll thank me for this in the morning,” I say to her. I brush the sand off my backside, and then use the light from my phone to locate her panties. After a couple of minutes of looking, I don’t see them, and I don’t want to leave her alone any longer than I have to.
When I walk the short distance to where she’s lying, I find her lying down and not moving. I nudge her to make sure she hasn’t passed out. “Hey, what’s your name?”
Why did I ask for her name? I never ask spring breakers their name. Shit. Now if she sees me during the week she’s going to think we’re friends. Unless I’m lucky enough that she doesn’t remember anything.
“Phoebe.” She turns her head to face me. “Can we just sleep here tonight?” she mumbles with her eyes closed. “Come lie with me.”
I’ve been known to be an asshole a time or two, but I can’t leave this beauty here alone all night. Bending down, I pick her up like one would a baby and carry her away from the dangers of the pier. “Phoebe,” I say, setting her feet down in the sand. That’s when I notice she doesn’t have shoes on. I don’t know if she had shoes on when I first approached her or not. “Where are your shoes?”
She answers me with a shrug. She sits down with her knees bent and pulls them close to her chest. Her arms wrap around her legs and all I can think about at that moment is how her ass crack is probably full of sand.
“Stay here and don’t go to sleep. I’m going to look real quick for your shoes.” Looking at her, I highly doubt she’ll be leaving without some assistance. I jog back down to the pier and turn on the flashlight on my phone. After searching around the entire area, all I find are her panties. I toss those in my pocket and run back up to where she’s now lying down on the sand.
Again, I pick her up and carry her with no idea where she’s staying or who she’s even here with. I can always let her crash in my bed. The thought of taking her to my place leaves my mind as soon as it enters. I walk closer to the crowd of people in hope of somebody recognizing her. “Phoebe,” I say loudly. Her fake eyelashes flutter as she struggles to open her eyes. Once I know I have her attention, I try to figure out where to take her. “Where are you staying?”
She stares at me for a while like she’s trying to comprehend what I’m asking then finally tells me the name of her hotel.
With ease, I carry her back toward the direction we just came from and she’s out cold the entire way. When we reach the entryway to her hotel, I wake her up before setting her down to stand. “Do you have your key card?”
She nods, reaching into her bra and pulling out her card. I can’t help but laugh at her little hideaway spot. A silly grin spreads over her face and in the light I’m able to get a better look. She’s naturally gorgeous, and I hope she realizes in the morning just how ridiculous she looks wearing those fake lashes.
“I’ll stay here to make sure you get inside, okay? Goodnight.” I lean down and kiss her on the cheek.
Her eyelids heavy, she looks up at me leisurely. The way she’s staring at me makes me want to kiss her the way she kissed me under the pier. “Thanks…”
“Lance,” I fill in. Shit! I regret the word as soon as it leaves my mouth. Why in the hell did I tell her my real name? I never tell chicks my name. They always get my nickname. Is it because I want her to know me? She’s throwing me off my game. That’s twice tonight I’ve acted on instinct without thoroughly thinking it through.
This time she gives me a lazy smile. She probably thinks I’m bullshitting her and this is my way of making sure she doesn’t find me again. “Thank you…Lance. Thanks for turning my shitty day into a great night.”
I give myself a high-five in my mind.
“Pleasure’s all mine, and I’m sorry your first day turned out bad. I hope the rest of your week ends up being memorable.”
She scans her key card, and I open the door for her. “It will be if I can find the asshole who stole my money at the airport.”
I gape at her as it dawns on me that she’s the girl. She’s the blonde I took the money from.
Ah shit! I’m fucked now.
PHOEBE
“Rise and shine, my little princess.”
My eyes remain closed, and there is a nagging ache behind them. If I continue to feign sleep, maybe she’ll go away.
“I know you’re awake,” Kristy says so loud it feels like she’s an inch from my ear. “I want the scoop on your sexcapade last night, and don’t tell me you didn’t get thoroughly fucked because your bare ass is in the air and your panties are nowhere in sight.” She slaps me on the ass. Hard.
Damn, do I even remember what happened last night? Did I lose my panties? I’ll be pissed if so because they were my favorite pair.
With my face buried in the pillow, I feel around for the sheets and cover up my naked butt. “
Touch me again and I will hurt you,” I mumble into the fluffy pillow. The bed dips down in various places and my body gets jostled around while they make themselves comfy beside me.
“Promises, promises,” Kristy sings while she slings a pillow at my bottom.
“Where’s some Tylenol and water? I feel like shit.” I’m afraid to open my eyes. Afraid that the light will shoot laser beams straight to my brain.
The bed shuffles again for a few seconds then soft hands take mine and place something in them. Pills and a bottle of water. “Here,” Tiffanny says.
“Okay, now give us the juice,” Tiffanny chirps, pushing my side to roll me over.
I don’t budge. She tries shoving me harder, this time with Kristy’s help, and I’m on my back before I ever have a chance to fight back.
“Oh, damn, girl, you look like hell,” Tiffanny says with her eyebrows high up on her forehead and wrinkles formed right below her hairline.
I show my appreciation of her compliment by giving her the middle finger. “I told you I felt like shit. What did you expect?”
“Don’t worry. I’m feeling kind of puny this morning too. I think I have the beer shits,” Tiffanny adds.
And at about that moment I hear her stomach make the most god-awful noise. That can’t be good. My eyes are still closed, so I don’t see who swats at my hand until I hear Kristy’s voice.
“Come on,” she whines, “I want to know more. This is exciting news for you.”
If I don’t tell them about last night they’re never going to leave me alone. They’re also going to be highly disappointed. “Fine. I almost had sex, but he turned me down. Or at least I think that’s what happened. Don’t ask me about the rest because I can’t remember the details.” I roll back onto my stomach, letting them know the subject is now closed.
“The hell,” Tiffanny blurts. “I want a detailed description of this guy. His name…what he looks like…where he lives…because I want to kick his ass. How dare him!”