by A. J. Pryor
Oh, shit! Who’d she meet? I didn’t have to ask, drunk Jessica was talkative.
“Small blonde girl. Walking around by herself.”
“Oh, that’s Megan. Yeah, she doesn’t like me very much.”
“Well, I almost decked her. Jaxon had to physically restrain me.”
Fuck, he had his arms around her. I need to get my shit together. If I don’t want her going off with other dudes then I can’t leave her alone at a party like that.
“Lucky for her she walked away when she did. If she actually thought she was the one who could tame you, then she is crazy. She was saying how I wasn’t your type, but clearly, she is not your type.”
Another goofy grin hit my face. I don’t have a type but if I did, her name would be Jessica Baker. “Come over tomorrow. We can nurse our hangovers together.”
“I’m goin’ shootin’ tomorrow. Join me.” Ever since Jess had told me that she could shoot at a moving target I’d conjured up this vision of her in Daisy Dukes, cowboy boots, and a gun balanced between her two arms. There was no way I was going to miss seeing the real thing in person.
“I’ll pick you up at ten.”
“Wait! I was kidding. You are not coming shootin’ with me tomorrow. That is my world and you are not invited into it.” The regret in her voice rang through.
“No way out of it now, Locks. I’ll be at your house at ten and not a minute later. Sleep tight.”
urprisingly, Jessica was waiting on her front porch when I pulled up to the Spanish style house on a tree-lined street in the heart of Beverly Hills. Wearing jeans and a long sleeve white shirt, she made her way to my car. Her hair was up in a ponytail and she looked beat, but even hung-over, she was the hottest girl I’d ever laid eyes on.
She turned to the side and I got a glimpse of the gun that was slung around her shoulder. Well, wasn’t that just the sexiest thing I’d ever seen in my life? I jumped out of the car and opened the trunk for her. I was driving the Cruiser today and the back could get tricky. “Morning, Locks. I have coffee up front for you.”
She tousled my wet hair. “Did you go surfing today?”
“Of course. Best cure for a hangover. Well, that and sex, but today I had to settle for surfing.”
She shook her head and placed her things in my trunk. “Maybe if you let that girl spend the night you could have had both.”
I stayed silent. She didn’t need to know that I never took the brunette home last night or that every chick I’ve tried to hook up with made me feel nothing compared to the way I felt when I was around her.
Until I figured out what this . . . thing between us was, why every time she was near, my heart felt an electric jolt, my lips never failed to turn up into a big ridiculous grin, and my body sprang alive, she could continue to believe that I was hooking up with any and every woman that came my way. That life was still a part of me, and I had no idea if I could ever give it up, even if it was on hiatus right now. Closing the back of the Cruiser, I walked to the driver’s side of the car and hopped in.
The One Republic album I was currently listening to was turned off in the middle of “Love Runs Out” and replaced with country music. “Seriously?” I asked.
“Seriously. Let’s get going. It’s at least a forty-five minute drive.”
Before pulling away from the curb, I handed her the diamond earring. “This yours?”
A slight blush appeared on her cheeks as she took the sparkly jewelry from my hand and placed it in her ear.
“Thanks,” she mumbled.
“You can crash my pad anytime.” Not waiting for a response, I pulled away from her house and headed toward the 10 freeway.
“I love this car, Roan. It fits you perfectly.”
I fell a little deeper into the Jessica Baker obsession. Anyone who loved my Cruiser scored high points in my book. We had a long drive ahead of us. I could have talked about surfing, asked about her cookbook, or asked her anything other than what she had been doing with Jaxon last night, but I couldn’t help myself.
“So, Jaxon, huh?” I let the innuendo hang between us.
Her head flipped around and she glared at me. “What are you asking, Roan?”
“You hung out with Jaxon? All night?” Maybe he was still inside her place and that’s why she was waiting on the porch.
Her lips slightly turned up on each end in the beginning of a smile. “I had no idea techies could let loose like that.”
“Are you going to see him again?” Why the fuck was I asking her about Jaxon? For one, I really didn’t want to know her answer, even though I really did. For two, it was my own damn fault if she suddenly started dating Jaxon. And three, if her answer was yes, I was probably going to pull over and kiss her senseless to change her mind (not a great idea on my part). I knew Jess had it bad for me, even though she tried to hide it as best she could. I knew if I’d kissed her in that bathroom last night, she would have kissed me back. So why was I grilling her about Jaxon? Because I had always been a curious guy, and this was an interesting situation.
She shrugged at my question. “He’s going to send my cookbook up to his dad’s company so yeah, I’m sure I’ll see him again. Why?”
“Just curious.” Well that was probably the lamest answer I could give her, but telling her that I didn’t want her kissing anyone else, because I was pretty sure at some point her lips were going to belong to me, wasn’t the right answer either.
She gave me a questioning glare then turned and looked out the window. Five minutes later, her phone rang. “Hi, Savannah! How are you?”
Jessica had told me that she was one of five girls; I recalled that Savannah was the youngest.
“Savvy, you’re eighteen years old; you have a lifetime ahead of you. Why are you so stuck on finding your Prince Charmin’ right now?”
Jess turned to me and mouthed sorry then went back to her conversation.
“Honey, I promise, you won’t be alone your whole life. You’ll be off at college next year. You need to focus on your schoolwork. The boys will come.”
I was listening intently to her conversation, hoping to catch a glimmer of insight into Jessica’s thoughts. Whether they were with me, Jaxon, or, hell, any other guy I hadn’t met yet. There was no imagining the current of sexual tension that flowed between us, and most other women would be green with envy that I’d gone home with someone else. I had to remember that Jessica wasn’t like other women, and that was the reason I was so infatuated with her. She hadn’t been jealous of that brunette, but she’d definitely been hurt, and she was determined to try and hide that fact from me.
“Life in Los Angeles is very different from life in Texas. I don’t feel the need to rush into a marriage and kids. I’m still young; I know it will happen for me at some point, I just haven’t found the right man yet.” Jess looked my way when she said this last part and my heart pounded inside my chest. Could I change enough to be that man and did I want that? I had been scared off from commitment for so long, I wasn’t sure I could live a lifetime with one person, but I sure as shit knew I didn’t want Jessica living that life with someone else.
“Yes, I’ll come home for a visit soon. I love you too, baby sis.” She hung up and looked my way. “Sorry, Roan. My family is a little nuts.”
“Aren’t all families? Is she okay?”
“She’s fine. She’s just fallen into the trap called our mother.”
I looked over at her hoping she’d expand. I wanted to hear more about her family and see if they were any saner than mine.
“Mother has spent our entire lives trying to find the right man for us to marry. I swear if arranged marriages were legal she’d have us all married off by now. She tries to control all of us girls and, unfortunately, Savvy gets the brunt of it. Bein’ the youngest, she’s seen how desperate Mother is to find us all Mr. Right. Savvy’s hell-bent on finding her man on her own. I can’t say I blame her.”
I wanted to ask her more about their mom and that whole situation.
Jess was not the type of girl to let anyone make decisions for her, but if she had to choose between me and her mom, there was a good chance I’d lose.
old it tight against your shoulder here.” Jessica was behind me, her arms circling me, trying to show me the correct way to hold the shotgun. How she thought I could concentrate with her lips so close to my ear was beyond me. After watching her shoot that first clay pigeon out of the sky, all I wanted to do was take her somewhere quiet and have my way with her. The image I’d conjured up of Jess and a gun in no way compared to watching the real thing. She defined the word sexy. Her arms left me as I was getting ready to get another shot off.
“Ouch, is it supposed to kick back like that?” I complained. This hurt.
She stifled a laugh.
My shoulder was going to be sore for days.
“Sometimes if you’re not holding the gun tight enough it’ll kick. Don’t be surprised if you have a bruise tomorrow.”
“Bruise? I’m not sure I’ll be able to surf for a week my arm hurts so badly.”
“Here, let me show you.” She took the gun from me and lined it up. I stood back and watched her wait patiently for the sound of the skeet being shot off, admired how her attention was focused solely on the sky, and how she moved her gun in the precise right direction. Bam! She blew it to pieces. She turned in my direction and I couldn’t help but grin at her.
“See something you like, Surfer Boy?” she asked, swaying her hips from side to side as she slowly walked up to me.
I grabbed her around the waist and pulled her in tight. Moving my lips right next to her ear, I whispered, “Everything I envisioned just got smashed to pieces. You’re way hotter shooting that gun in real life than any picture I could have ever dreamed up.”
Her heart sped up against my chest and her hands clenched the back of my T-shirt. Once she gained control of her emotions, she looked up in my eyes and blinked a few times. “Too bad I’m not your type.”
I grinned down at her and shook my head. I was about to respond, maybe even kiss her to let her know she was exactly my type when a deep voice was suddenly reprimanding us.
“Hey kids, remember you’re holding a lethal weapon in your hands.”
An elderly man sauntered our way. Jess pulled away from me and greeted him fondly. “Bill, I’m so glad you’re here today! This is my friend, Roan.”
His concern for Jess was clear as he looked me over with distaste. “Roan, huh?” Bill narrowed his eyes in my direction. He was older, but still big, solid; his face reflected that he had lived a hard life. Not someone to mess with.
“Jessica, can I please see your gun?” Bill asked her.
She handed it to him. I almost asked her not to, but rational thinking told me he wasn’t going to shoot me out here in front of all these people. Jess must have dazzled this guy too, or he wouldn’t be giving off this crazy-protective vibe.
Bill turned toward me. “You’re dating one of the toughest girls I know. You’re going to need to learn how to shoot one of these, come here; I’ll give you some pointers.”
I was going to correct him and say Jess and I were just friends, but I didn’t feel like it. “Don’t I know it.” I winked at Jess and let Bill instruct me. Jess shook her head and rolled her eyes, but she didn’t correct him either. Let him believe what he wants. I’d love for every man out there to think she was taken until I figured out my own shit.
I learned a lot more from Bill than Jess could have ever shown me—probably because I didn’t want to pull him away behind a tree and touch every inch of his body. I couldn’t keep my hands off Jess when she had that gun anywhere near her.
Once Jess was taken off the role of teacher, I could actually focus and took to it quickly. I knew she was watching me. Felt her eyes scan the back of my body, and the grin she was sporting told me that my gun-toting arms were a turn-on to her as well.
“Okay, Roan, I think you’re good. You’re not going to be able to move your arms for weeks if you keep going.” Bill patted me on the shoulder and walked off to help another customer.
“Come on, Surfer Boy, let’s go home.”
I shook my head and walked up to her. “I think I graduated, Locks!”
She gave me a questioning stare.
“What’s it going to take to prove to you I’m not a boy?”
Jess stared at me and roamed her eyes up and down my body, stopping for a second on my lips. “A lot more than shootin’ at some skeet. Let’s get out of here; I’m starting to get a headache.”
We were close to my car when I heard someone calling my name. Jess and I turned around at the same time to see redheaded Reese Bailey running up to us. “Roan, it’s been ages.” Before I could react, her arms were around my neck squeezing tight. Reese and I used to hook up a few years back. It really had been ages since I’d seen her. I caught Jess rolling her eyes over Reese’s shoulder.
“Hey, Reese, this is my good friend, Jessica.”
Reese gave Jess a small smile then turned her attention quickly back to me.
“I have friends waiting for me, but call me. I’d love to catch up.” Then she turned and walked off.
“They really are hiding under every rock aren’t they?” Jess was watching Reese saunter away, her eyes plastered to the back of all that red hair.
“Who?”
“Your women, Roan. You have them everywhere. Do you have them stashed away in all the different places you travel as well?”
I gave her a blank stare, remembering all the women around the world who I’d been with. There were a lot of them and I wasn’t sure I’d be able to hook up with any of them either until I settled these feelings I had for Jess, but she wasn’t so innocent herself.
“Me? What about you?”
Jessica’s eyes almost popped out of her head when I asked her this and she practically yelled, “When have you ever met anyone I’ve had sex with?”
“Goldilocks, I haven’t met a guy yet who doesn’t want in your pants. Even Bill wants you.”
“Oh, gross, Roan. Get your head out of the gutter. Bill is like a dad to me.”
“Okay, I’ll let Bill go, but come on, Jaxon?”
“What about Jaxon?”
“‘My dad owns a publishing company. I can have him take a look.’ That is so code for, ‘and then you can thank me with a quick roll in the hay.’”
She glared at me, but didn’t deny it.
hen I’d agreed to be friends with Roan a month ago, I had no idea it would be difficult. He’d proven to be a great friend, though he was a flirt and confusing my feelings all over the place. The guy was a dog, able to sniff out a single and willing girl in two seconds flat, and with Roan they were always willing; single was optional.
If he wasn’t such a good time, I’d be able to get over his handsome face, but being around him, was turning out to be one of my favorite activities. Against my better judgment, I was falling for him and I needed to put a stop to it. The last thing I wanted was to end up like Megan, prowling around some boy’s home late at night because I’d placed my heart in the wrong person’s hands.
So tonight, I decided to spice things up. Casey agreed to leave Mason’s side for once, and we planned a Girls’ Night Out. We’d go dancing at a new nightclub in Hollywood. Ashley Theodore, a friend of ours from college, was coming with us. She’d gone home to Portland a few years earlier to care for her mother, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Luckily, her momma was in the clear now, and Ashley recently moved back to Los Angeles. She just started a teaching job at a local elementary school.
I was wearing a green halter dress that scooped in the front. It was tight and short—extremely short. My doorbell rang, and I opened it to find Ashley standing on my front porch. She wasn’t much taller than five-foot-one, with short, brown hair and a petite body that was rocking a fitted mini black dress.
I nodded at her. “Nice. I hope that you won’t bump into any coworkers tonight. I highly doubt that outfit is appropriate att
ire for a kindergarten teacher.”
She strolled into my house with a carefree shrug. “Where’s the tequila? I need a shot.”
Before I closed the door, Casey arrived. “Someone’s looking for some action tonight,” she said looking me up and down and pushed right by.
I closed the door and followed them into the kitchen, where Ashley went straight for the liquor cabinet.
“Damn straight,” I said. “Someone needs to scratch this itch that’s been crawling all over me for weeks now.”
“What’s that mean?” Ashley asked as she poured herself a shot of tequila.
“Nothing.” I was sitting at my kitchen table poised to take my first shot of the night when Casey decided to talk for me.
“It means there’s a boy who has our friend here wound so tight, she doesn’t know what to do with herself.” Casey walked over and gave Ashley a huge hug. “Anyway, how have you been? It’s great to see you.”
We caught her up on recent events, and Casey let her gawk at her ginormous engagement ring.
“So, Jess,” Ashley began, “tell me about this guy.”
Casey jumped in and told her all about my love life, or lack thereof. By the time she was done, I sounded pathetic to my own ears.
“Hence the dress,” I said as I opened my arms wide.
“What about you, Ashley? Do you have a boyfriend?” Casey asked.
“Nope, nor do I want one. There’s just too many out there to try—big, small, fat, skinny . . . I hear some are even crooked, but I haven’t come across one of those yet.”
“Are you talkin’ about men or penises?” I asked, amused.
Ashley shrugged. “Both, I guess.”
“Well, I’d like to get personal with whatever Roan’s got going on inside his shorts.” On more than one occasion, I’d seen his pants tent up in arousal. He wasn’t hiding anything small, skinny, or crooked in there—that was for damn sure.
Coming back to the present, I found both girls staring at me.
“Yeah, you definitely need to get laid,” said Ashley. “And the way your legs look in that dress, I’d say that’s a done deal tonight.”