by Ford, Mia
“I don’t know, your friend doesn’t seem too bothered to go anywhere any time soon.” She smiles, thinking that she has me. “We should just hang out for the night. It’s been such a long time.”
Ally would happily be the woman in my bed, even if I told her she was only a distraction, but I don’t want that. She’s trouble, she opens a can of worms that I don’t want to think about. She’s in the past, and I like to forget about the past once it’s done. Living in it never does anyone any favors.
“I know it’s been a long time, Ally, but that’s for a reason.”
She rolls her hips into me, showing me her desire. Her puppy dog eyes widen in a pleading gesture, but I won’t be sucked in. She may be a beautiful woman on the outside but I’ve seen the ugliness that she carries within and that is not something that I would ever be interested in.
“Oh, don’t be like that. You don’t have to be so serious. I don’t see why we can’t just have fun…”
“No, Ally, you know that we can’t have fun. It doesn’t work like that.”
“Once upon a time, but it’s different now. It can be no strings attached.”
“I don’t believe you. There’s no such thing as no strings attached.”
“There is now, Noah,” she whines. “Just give me a try and I’ll see.” She lunges at me, trying to kiss me and I sense an anger bursting within her as I pull away. “For fuck sake, Noah, what is wrong with you?”
“You know,” I growl. “And I’m out tonight to have a good time. I’m not getting into it.”
“You’re being an asshole for no reason.”
I reach across and grab Trent, yanking him to me. “Ally, I have to go.”
“Stop it, Noah. Don’t be like this. Don’t be such a dick.”
She yells after me, calling me names for not falling to her whims, but that only makes me even more determined to get the hell away from her. Memories of having her in my life flood back and they aren’t pleasant. The further I get away from her and the drama that she brings with her lifts a weight off my shoulders.
“What the hell was all that about?” Trent demands. “She was hot. I thought you wanted to pull.”
“Not an ex fling, no.” I shake my head vigorously. “Definitely not.”
“Ex flings are the best kind. They are wild because they don’t have anything to prove. Or they have too much to prove… either way it leads to a wild night in bed.”
“Not with Ally, no way. It’s trouble.”
“Why?” I feel Trent glance backwards. “She seems really in to you. What happened?”
“She wouldn’t accept Alex.” Even saying these words now twists in my gut. “She didn’t want him around. She couldn’t attach herself to another family. She wanted kids of her own, not one I already have. She actually wanted Alex gone because she thought that she was more important to me. That was after three weeks. Three weeks of casual dating and she thought that she would take priority over my child.”
“Oh.” Trent gets it now. “I understand. That’s rough.”
The finality in his tone brings everything flooding to the surface. I pushed Ally away, I got rid of her for a reason, I didn’t want to ever see her again. Why does she have to be out tonight when I’m supposed to be having fun? It isn’t right. Las Vegas is a big city. Why did I have to see her?
“She wanted me to send Alex to live with his mother.” I let out a bitter mirthless laugh. “That would never happen. Obviously, that wasn’t ever going to happen. I don’t know why she even thought it would…”
Anger bursts all the way through me, exploding in rage fueled fireworks as we move. This is why I don’t let too many people in. I can’t let women close because I can’t have Alex rejected again. He doesn’t even know it, but it hurts me. My boy deserves better. That’s why we have to keep it on the surface.
“Okay, Noah, you’ve walked away far enough now, it’s time to calm down.”
I halt and shake my head, knowing that he’s right. “Sorry, I’m being a freak, I know.”
“No, it’s okay. I get it. I understand now, it’s fine.”
“She just reminded me why I can’t trust anyone, why I can’t let them too close.”
“Yeah, I see. You don’t want to let someone toxic in. She sounds like a nightmare.”
“She is. She’s horrible, I don’t want her anywhere near me again.”
“I know, so we’ll go in the opposite direction, find a club to have fun in.”
I nod slowly. “Yeah that sounds good. I need that.”
He wraps his arm around me and we walk. “This is why you need to just find someone to hook up with. Never more than once because it lets people in too much. Just keep it superficial.”
“I know, that’s what I try and do now. I made a mistake with Ally.”
“So, let’s go and find someone you don’t know to have some fun with. No more messing around.”
“I like that plan, Trent. Sort me out, okay? Help me find someone fun.”
“You know me. I will. Best wingman ever, remember?”
“You sure are.” I pat him on the shoulder. “You have no idea how good it is to have you here.”
Funnily enough, I don’t necessarily want someone I don’t know. I want the woman with flame red hair who has completely taken over my brain ever since she set foot in my gym. The creative, artsy sexy woman that I want to unhinge, to have fun with, to send wild. I can just see her now, the real her not the mask she wears to cover herself up, in a giant artist smock dancing and singing as she paints. I picture the giant weight falling off her shoulders and her finally being free.
I don’t know what happened to Mia Clark, there’s something in her past that isn’t pleasant, but I’m sure it won’t stay there forever. That’s actually a big side effect of the gym that I never really considered when opening up the gym. People come to escape and move past their emotions. I have clients that are coming to recover from broken relationships, to help with grief, to get a better version of themselves… it’s a form of therapy, which is actually pretty cool. I found exercise helped with my own heart break too.
I think that’s what Mia is doing right now and I would love to see her come out of her shell. I’m sure that she’ll become more beautiful and more tempting every single day.
But she’s the person I’m supposed to be purging, so I cannot think about her for another second longer. It needs to be someone else…
8
Mia
The music pounds so loudly it shakes all the bones in my body, the strobe lighting means I can barely see what’s going on around me, sweaty bodies cover the dance floor as far as the eye can see…
“What?” I scream to Kayleigh for what feels like the hundredth time. She keeps talking to me even though it’s obvious I can’t hear a word she’s saying. Eventually, she mimes heading to the bar, so I nod and go with her.
We slide through everyone, getting crushed every so often. This is fun… at least, I think it is. It seems much wilder than the last time I went clubbing. I head out to a bar quite a lot but an actual club is something that I’ve avoided. But then, I avoided them because Wesley didn’t like them and he isn’t an issue now.
Kayleigh dips and dives through the queue at the bar. She has a rule that once everyone gets drunk, there are no rules. She doesn’t believe she should be expected to wait just because everyone else doesn’t have the will to fight, and I have to admit it is time saving. She made this rule in college and it seems that she’s stuck to it ever since. I haven’t ever liked it because it can so easily lead to a fight, but I can’t battle Kayleigh.
Once she has two drinks, much quicker than she would have without her rule, then she pulls me towards the bathroom. I’m grateful for the sound proofing when we get inside because it gives my ears a rest.
“Wow, this is wild,” I gush out with a chuckle. “It’s so freaking loud.”
“You sound way older than your twenty three years. This is why you should come
out more.”
“I know.” God, she’s right, I do need to get more of a life. “Maybe I will.”
We fight our way to the mirror and gaze at our slightly messy reflections. I’ve grown a sheen over the evening from the heat in here and the dancing and my hair certainly isn’t in place anymore, but I don’t look terrible. I kind of look sexy and wild, not like myself at all. It makes me giggle.
“Seen any hot guys yet? There was a really sexy one at the bar?”
I turn to see Kayleigh applying her trademark thing red lipstick. “Nah, not really.”
“I bet not. Because you’re hung up on Mr. Sexy from the gym.”
I try to ignore her teasing tone. “I don’t think so. I haven’t seen him since that moment.”
“That moment which sounded like the hottest moment of your life.”
In a weird way, even though nothing happened it was the hottest moment ever. I wanted it to go further and it sent me flying back to painting. Everything that I’d created since was incredibly sensual and fun. I liked it. It was as if I’d turned into a sex kitten, purring for him, begging him to touch me.
“If you’re hung up on him, what’s his name, Nigel…”
“Noah,” I correct her.
“If you’re hung up on Noah, then you should just ask him out already, like I said. This is supposed to be a practice night to flirt with someone, get you back up to scratch, remember?”
“I know, but I’ve been out of the loop for too long.”
“It doesn’t take long to get back into the right frame of mind. Start with dancing. You’re a sexy dancer.”
I nod and slug back the rest of my drink, trying to get into it. “Okay, let’s go.”
She takes my hand, commanding me, and takes me through the crowds until we get to the dance floor. Then she starts shaking her hips with her hands flung high above her head. I was dancing earlier and didn’t feel self-conscious then, but now with the thought of men on my mind, I’m all awkward and weird.
It doesn’t help that me and Kayleigh are on a health kick for the marathon and I haven’t had much to drink. I don’t need booze for fun but some Dutch courage right now wouldn’t go amiss.
I slide my eyes closed and try to just lose myself. It isn’t hard to tune the rest of the world out when the music is so all consuming, the beat literally feels like it’s crawling through my skin. So, I go with it. I slowly move my hips and just switch off any pressure. Actually, what I want is to just have a good night.
When I open my eyes again, Kayleigh is grinning at me. We dance together but it doesn’t take long for one of the guys around us to spot my friend’s beauty and her confidence. He starts dancing behind her and as soon as she sees that it’s someone she might actually be interested in, she grinds against him. Luckily, I don’t mind being left alone now that I’ve let go and I’m actually having a good time…
“Hey…” I jump as a gruff voice whispers into my ear. Still, I can barely hear him over the music, but I spin to see my dream come true. Noah is here. I didn’t even realize how badly I wanted that to happen.
I must have conjured him up because how crazy it is that we would be in the same place at the same time?
“Hi.” I mouth back, everything jolting inside of me.
He grabs me around the waist, no longer being careful with me since we aren’t in his gym anymore. He yanks my hips into him and I go willingly, pressing right back up against him to my favorite place in the world. Everything around me fuzzes into nothingness. All I can hear now is the furious beating of my heart pounding in my chest. I wonder if Noah can hear it too. Judging by the look on his face, he’s feeling it as well.
We remain frozen for just a couple of seconds, staring at each other, until he starts moving and I go with him. This time, I’m not just shaking my hips, I’m grinding into him, embracing every inch of him. I don’t know if everything has slowed down or if it’s just me, I don’t really know anything anymore.
He mouths something to me but I don’t know what he says so I lean in close, offering him my ear.
“I said what a surprise to see you.” I close my eyes and breathe him in. He smells delicious.
“Yes, it is.” My breath tickles over his neck. “A real shock.”
His hand slowly moves up my back and eventually cups around my neck. I can see in his eyes that he’s claiming me, putting a stake in me as if I’m his own. This is an alpha move to put everyone else off me, but I don’t mind. Screw practicing my flirting on anyone else when I can have the real thing.
No one does this to me anyway so there isn’t any other point.
His fingers lightly brush against my ear lobes, igniting an unexpected fire. I lean into his touch, a groan inadvertently rumbling out of my throat. His other hand edges down from my neck and cups my butt. The intimate touch has me pulsing for him, want his hand to slip further down, to brush against my core. I don’t even care that I’m in public now. I would let hm do whatever the hell he wants to me right now.
I tilt my head towards him, gazing lovingly in to his eyes. The powerful magnet between us draws me in, I rise up onto his tip toes as he leans in towards me too, the exciting, thrilling anticipation building by the second. I suck in a deep breath, flattening my lungs completely while I wait.
Any minute now… my brain screams at me. I’ll be kissing him. Any minute now…
The moment leading up to it is like no other. It’s intense, overwhelming, powerful. My stomach sizzles, my heart flip flops, my knees knock together, I almost don’t want it to end...
But then his lips crash into mine and I wish he hadn’t waited for so long, the sensation is electric. My mouth fizzles, my whole face lights up, it’s phenomenal. He starts with a delicate soft pressure, treating me with kid gloves in a sweet, romantic way. But then he pulls back and he sees the desire in my gaze, and he drags me back to him. This time, the kiss is passionate, it’s deep, his tongue darts in between my lips. He gives me everything and I freaking love it. I roll my body into him, sticking to him like glue, wanting more. Everything actually.
Oh wow, this is… I don’t even know what to think. There are no words. I want to wrap myself around him, have me press me up against a wall and take me right here. I just want to start my fling…
* * *
“Why didn’t you go home with him?” Kayleigh demands in the cab home. “I don’t understand.”
The throbbing at my core doesn’t understand either. “Because I’m not ready for a one night stand.”
“But he’s so hot. And those kisses looked incredible. The sexiest thing ever.”
I groan and fling my head forwards into my hands, desperation flooding me. Rejecting him was the most challenging thing that I’ve ever had to do, I had to go against every fiber of my being but I just felt like it was the right thing to do. I didn’t want to end up doing something that I regret.
“His kissing was off the scale,” I admit. “The best I’ve ever had.”
“So, why didn’t you go home with him? I don’t understand. He’s so gorgeous even I want him.”
“Because I didn’t think it wise when I have to see him all the time at the gym.”
Kayleigh shakes her head hard, barely understanding me at all. I don’t understand myself either. It was just one of those snap, spur of the moment ideas that I thought was right but now I’m consumed by self-doubt.
“You have to see him all the time anyway… hopefully now he will ask you on a date though.”
Hope blooms, maybe she’s right. Maybe I did the right thing by not going home with him and now he will actually want to date me… oh, but I don’t know if I’m ready for that either.
“What is wrong with me, Kayleigh? Why can’t I do anything normal?”
“I don’t know.” She pulls me towards her for a hug. “But I think you’re putting too much pressure on yourself, I don’t think you need to be quite so worried. You have been through some hard times, remember? You lost the guy you thought t
hat you would be with forever at the same time you lost your mom.”
“But that was a year ago now. I don’t why I’m still like this.”
She shushes me and rubs my head, soothing me as the cab takes me home. Then she gets out the cab with me and she carries me up to bed where I lie across the sheets, filled with regret.
“I should have gone home with him, shouldn’t I, Kayleigh?”
“Yes,” she replies with a teasing murmur. “You should have, but I understand why you didn’t. Maybe if you aren’t too hung over tomorrow we should go to the gym and try to work out how he’s feeling.”
“No, not tomorrow, I don’t think I can handle it. What if he thinks I’m an idiot?”
“Then obviously, I will kick his ass. I’m always on your side, Mia, you know that.”
I groan and turn onto one side, agony radiating through me as I do, but the emotional rather than the physical kind. I’m all raw and messy, desperately feeling foolish. Tomorrow will be a long day.
9
Noah
“Boss? Are you even listening to me?”
“Sorry, Foster, did you say something?”
“Where were you then?” he laughs. “Definitely not here, that’s for sure.”
I was back in the club with Mia then, kissing her hard, toughing all over her body, pleading her to come home with me. She refused, just like I thought she would, I could tell she wasn’t ready, but I still had to try. I got home very frustrated, having not purged Mia from my system and not gone home with anyone else, but happy.
“Sorry, I’m back in the room, what did you say?”
“I was asking when do you want to put the new equipment out? It came early this morning.”
“Oh right!” Work stuff. I need to focus on that while I’m here. “Yeah, I’ll get it out during the lull later on.”
“The lull? That’s just before my shift. I’ll come in and help you.”