by Layla Frost
“Of course not. Hence the donuts. You’re still my boys.”
“Boys? Hell, woman, we’re men!” he yelled back as he got into his car and drove off with a wave.
*******
When Eli had texted to tattle on Kase for hoarding donuts and ask if I was coming out with them, I again declined. This time, though, it was because of my plans with Ray.
A Friday night with the boys would be a chill time.
I needed more than that.
Shaking off my kind of funk definitely called for getting decked out and partying with my girls.
Blowing off my last class of the day, I’d caught up on my baking before getting ready.
Using hot rollers and enough spray to be personally responsible for a sizeable hole in the ozone, I’d styled my hair in a wild tumble of curls. I went heavy on my eyeliner and mascara, but offset it with a simple nude gloss on my lips.
While my makeup had balance, my outfit was all-out. Pairing a black mini skirt with a fitted, dark purple, scoop neck top, I was showing more than a hint of leg and cleavage. I’d even dusted shimmer on my legs before putting on matching purple, strappy heeled sandals.
I felt good. I was ready to party.
Until I walked into the club.
It wasn’t anything against the place itself. Voodoo was kickass, and I wasn’t just saying that because I knew the owner and was best friends with his woman.
I was just in a rotten freakin’ mood.
“You can do this. Be normal for once,” I whispered to myself as I made my way around people. “Okay, not talking to yourself is probably the first step in being normal.”
I reached the bar and saw that Ray was already there with Marcy and Lily, two other tattoo artists from her all female studio.
Lily was a little taller than me and more rounded, with an angelic face framed by blond hair. Her innocent looks contradicted with her far from heavenly interests. She was constantly on the hunt for a partner that understood that. She also had rotten luck finding one.
Marcy was almost six feet tall with smooth brown skin that glowed, hypnotic light brown eyes, and a love of weaves in bright colors. She was also a self-proclaimed nerd with an anti-possession symbol tattooed around her bellybutton. She even dressed up as Star Trek’s Uhura for Halloween.
Every year.
Hugs and greetings were given, everyone talking over each other before Ray interrupted.
“Honey, there’s time for chatting later. Right now you need a drink.”
“That obvious?” I asked.
“Uh-huh. You look totally hot, of course. But if you climbed on the bar, not to dance but to sleep, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
“Yeah, it’s been a long few weeks.”
I hadn’t told Ray much about what had been happening. She knew there was a guy I dug, he didn’t end up being into me, and I was a bit bummed out.
Right after Jake halted things, I wasn’t ready to analyze and dissect everything with her. Once I’d made the decision a few days ago to put on my big girl panties and get over it, I didn’t feel like revisiting it all.
Jake and I were kinda friends on the way to maybe more. Things not working out was hardly a great romantic tragedy, even if the end was a bit of a fiasco.
The girls and I tossed back a couple shots and were already on our way to tipsy by the time we hit the dance floor. We danced, laughing and yelling over the music to talk.
“I’m getting thirsty. Anyone else want another drink?” Ray asked.
I opened my mouth to agree when I felt the hairs on my neck stand up, something that seemed to happen often.
“Hellooooo, handsome. Isn’t that Jake Hyde?” Marcy asked.
Of course. Seriously, of fuckin’ course it is. And next in will be Billy Mason with a new pair of sneakers for me to throw up on.
“Oh, damn. If I weren’t in Edge’s bar right now, I would say something very obscene regarding what I want to do to him, and which of his tattoos I want to lick,” Ray said with a laugh.
I didn’t bother to turn around to look. I figured that, based on his magical ability to know and see all, he’d already noticed me. I didn’t want to see him with what I assumed would soon be a harem of women flocking to him.
So I went with pretending he didn’t exist.
It wasn’t the most mature reaction, but it was the best one I could think of.
“Okay, eye candy gone,” Lily said. “Let’s go get a drink.”
We headed back to the bar, throwing back a shot as the bartender mixed up some fruity, but dangerous, concoction.
Wincing, I looked at Ray. “God, that tasted awful. Like ground up cinnamon potpourri and antifreeze. What was it?”
She opened her mouth to speak when her eyes went beyond me and a smile spread across her face.
I turned to see a familiar pair of sexy blue eyes looking down at me.
“Rhys!” I squealed in delight.
“If it isn’t my very favorite hot baker. Hey, darlin’.”
Ray looked between us. “You two know each other?”
“I had the great pleasure of eating Piper’s cookies.”
Am I just super horny, or did that sound filthy?
“So good, I licked every crumb.”
Okay, yeah, totally filthy.
“I saw a show at Rye recently. I made him cookies to make up for the whole law-breaking thing,” I told Ray, using finger air quotes.
Her bottom lip jutted out in an exaggerated pout. “You didn’t make Edge cookies tonight. I want some cookies.”
“I’ll hop on that this week.” I turned back to Rhys. “What’re you doing at the competition?”
“Edge and I are old friends. We try to plan events that would draw similar crowds on different days. How do you know Ray?”
“Old friends. She did all my ink.”
“I knew it was quality when I saw it,” he said with a wink to Ray. “Let’s dance.”
“Well, I’m here with my girls, so—”
“Yes!” all three girls said behind me as they pushed me towards Rhys.
I shrugged and smiled, taking his outstretched hand as he led me to the dance floor. We danced and talked as much as we could over the music.
When he turned me so my back was to his front, his hardness was impossible to miss.
So, owning a kickass bar is far from the only thing Rhys had going for him.
His mouth pressed close to my ear to be heard over the music. “Do you know how old I am, Piper?”
“Uh, Jake said you were around forty,” I confessed, feeling like I was caught gossiping.
“Of course he would. I’m thirty-seven.”
“Cool.” I wasn’t sure what else to say.
“Does that bother you?”
I shook my head. “Does it bother you I’m twenty?”
“No. You don’t act it. You don’t even really look your age.”
Tilting my head, I fake glared up at him. “Are you saying I look old?”
He grinned. “No. I’m saying you look confident. You know who you are, and you own that. You aren’t desperate or needy, all things I see nightly. So, you don’t look your age, unless you look closer.” He stood up straighter as we danced.
I reached back to put my hand on his neck and pulled him down so he could hear me. “And then what happens?”
“Then you see how soft you are. Totally unhardened by life. You’re not an act. You’re not a mask you put on to manipulate people. You don’t want anything, you aren’t scheming, and you aren’t cynical.”
I smiled, liking that someone saw me that way. I was glad he couldn’t see my face because I knew my smile wavered when he continued.
“You’re almost, I dunno, innocent. Makes a man want to protect you even more.”
Innocent. I wonder how he’d feel if he knew just how innocent I really am? Would he drop out of my life, too?
I gave a nervous laugh. “I really don’t know what to say to all that.”
“Say nothing.
Just know it’s true.”
I nodded, deciding to focus on the positive things he’d said.
We danced a minute more before he leaned down. “I gotta get back to Rye.” He kept his arm wrapped around me as we headed to the bar.
“It was cool seeing you.”
“Yeah, you too, darlin’. Call me?” He phrased it like a question, but didn’t wait for my answer. Leaning down, he brushed his lips slowly across my cheek. “Ladies,” he said with a chuckle, giving a glimpse of dimples before he walked away.
I turned to my girls and saw what he found so amusing.
Sitting at the bar, they were attempting to look casual. Since this involved looking anywhere but where Rhys and I were, all while whistling jaunty tunes, they were also failing.
All pretenses dropped once he got far enough away and they let out a collective girly screech and squeal.
Lily grabbed my arm and pulled me closer. “What was all that?”
“And what was with that kiss? How does he make a cheek kiss look obscene?” Marcy asked.
“We were just continuing a conversation from before,” I said, not sure how much detail I wanted to go into.
“About?”
“What do you think about? He obviously wants more of her desserts,” Ray said, using finger quotes as she wiggled her eyebrows.
“Is that what the kids are calling it these days?” Lily asked, giggling.
“From the looks of it, he wants some more of Piper’s glorious cookies.” Ray grabbed her own chest for emphasis. “So, what’s the story?”
“He wants to go out but I don’t want to jump into anything,” I admitted.
All three made various noises of disbelief.
Ray shook her head. “No, no, that’s understandable.” Lowering her voice, she leaned in closer. “From what I hear, jumping in with Rhys is like diving into the deep end of sex. It’s intense for one night and then that’s all she wrote. Or, I guess in this case, that’s all he humped!”
We all burst out laughing, which reminded me how badly I had to go.
“Alright, I’ve had to go to the bathroom for the past three songs. I’ll dish when I get back!” Their girly talk and giggles faded as I walked away but still left me smiling.
When I finished in the bathroom, I turned in the hall towards the bar. I let out a startled yelp as I found myself suddenly pressed up against the wall.
I pulled my fist back and was ready to swing when I looked up into a pair of intense, green eyes.
“What the hell?” I put my hand to my chest. “Are you trying to give me a freakin’ heart attack?”
“I said your name. I thought you were ignoring me.”
“No, I just wasn’t paying attention. Lesson learned for both of us.”
Jake tilted his head. “Both?”
“Mine is to not zone out. Yours is to stop sneaking up on me or I’ll open a can of whoop-ass on you. Maybe even a case of it.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
“Good, be sure you do,” I said, distracted at the way his eyes lightened with humor before going dark again.
“Havin’ fun?”
“Yes I am. You?” I was proud of how even my voice sounded since I was feeling anything but with the way he was pressed close.
So close.
You should touch his hair!
“Don’t be cute.”
“Sorry, I don’t know how to do that.”
Jake chuckled though this time his eyes didn’t lighten. “No, I guess you don’t. Where’d your dance partner go?”
“Work.”
“Little old for you, isn’t he?”
“No.”
He wasn’t. All of my close friends were older. The only guys I’d seen my age had been horrible. Some were so dull that the only desire I felt was to take a nap. Others were slightly less boring but skeeved me out, like I needed a scalding hot shower with my clothes on.
“You’re supposed to be with someone your own age. Closer to it, at least. Some nice kid.”
“Why? I’m an adult. I can pick who I want. If I wanted someone my age, I’d be with them. Now excuse me.” I shifted to get past him.
I barely moved when his mouth was on mine, hard and insistent. My hands went to his chest as I began to lose myself in the kiss. Before my brain could go to total mush, the pain of his rejection resurfaced.
At the reminder of what he’d said and how he’d acted, I pushed his shoulders hard. Though he only went back an inch, he did bring his head up enough to look at me.
“This is fucked up, Jake. I don’t play games.”
His eyes narrowed. “That’s not my name.”
“Everyone calls you Jake.”
“Yeah, everyone but you. You called me Jacoby when you found out it was my full name. I like hearin’ my name from your mouth.”
“Okay, whatever. I’ve gotta get back.” I tried to move away again but he put his forearms flat on the wall and pinned me with his body. If he were anyone else I’d feel panicked and caged.
He wasn’t just anyone, though.
“You don’t get it.”
“No. I do get it ‘cause you made that message very clear.” Inhaling deeply, I tried to calm my temper. “It’s fine.”
“I’m trying to do the right thing. It isn’t you.”
And there goes my Zenful calm.
“Oh, God, Jake, don’t give me the ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ bullshit.”
I heard Ray calling my name from down the hall, but Jake’s body blocked my view.
“Dammit, Piper, just listen. Hear where I’m comin’ from and give me a chance to explain,” he murmured in my ear, his gravelly voice coaxing.
I wonder what else that voice could get me to do. Oh wait! Been there, done that, got the emotional burn. Where was my chance to talk last week?
That thought pissed me off to Hulk-like strength.
Or so I imagined.
I pushed away from the wall, giving Jake no choice but to move. Getting free, I turned and got toe-to-toe with him, once again wishing I was taller.
“Don’t pull that shit with me. I’m not a toy you can throw away and then get cranky about when someone else picks me up to play.”
“Fuck.” Jake lifted his hand to spear into his hair. His movement stuttered when his fingers tangled in the pulled back strands. Instead, he ran his palm down his face, exasperated. ”I swear that isn’t it. I was here to talk to you already. You told Kase you were comin’ here, he told me. I just want to explain what happened. That’s all. You wanna walk away after that, I can’t force you to stay.”
“Jake, seriously, there’s nothing to explain. It’s fine.”
“It’s not fuckin’ fine.” I sensed his control was close to snapping before he stepped back and took a deep breath. “Look, I’ll leave and you go have your fun with your girls. Just… call me tomorrow, yeah?”
I nodded, but I wasn’t sure if I’d call. My mind was in no place to make a decision right now.
He brought his head down and pressed a light kiss to my lips, though I stayed still. He raised his head to look down at me, searching my face. Lowering his mouth to mine again, he kissed me harder.
Fisting my hands so hard my nails dug into my palms, I resisted the overwhelming desire to return his kiss. I refused to open myself up again. Instead, I stepped back and pulled away from him.
His grip on me tightened briefly before he dropped his hands.
I started walking down the hall with a thoughtfully silent Ray. I needed a second to get my head together, and I knew she got that. When the hairs on the back of my neck stood up, I tilted my head to look behind me.
All I saw was Jake, his back against the wall and his head turned away. Even from a distance, I could see the rigidness of his body as he bit out a curse.
I knew my reprieve was over when we returned to the bar and Ray ordered a round of stronger booze.
“So, what the fuck was that?” she started as soon as we got our d
rinks.
“What was what?” Marcy asked, looking to Lily who shrugged.
“Piper has been holding out on us. Big time.”
“It’s no big deal, really.” I took a couple large gulps of my drink.
“Oh, yeah, totally. I go to see if you fell into the fuckin’ toilet, and instead find you with Jake Hyde.”
“Dude, were you hooking up with Jake?” Lily asked, her face an almost laughable mix of interest and envy.
“No, not our Piper. She had him flippin’ in a way that was tortured hero hot. And she’s getting all feisty instead of her usual sweet.”
Marcy’s eyes went wide. “What? Why? I need details. Like what was he wearing? Was he shirtless? Can we pretend he was?”
Because my drama was more interesting than dancing, we went to a quieter VIP area so they could hear the goods while we drank.
“So, Jake was your mystery man?” Ray asked.
I nodded. “Yup.”
“Well, that explains why you were the only woman in the place that wasn’t looking at him when he walked in.”
“When were you together?” Marcy asked.
“We weren’t. We were, I dunno.” I moved my hand around, spilling some of my drink as I tried to find the right words. “Friends who made out a few times?”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa. You kissed Jake Hyde?” Lily screamed.
“Jeez, Lily, hop on the MC mic and announce it to the bar.”
“Hell, if I kissed the Jake Hyde, I would totally be on the mic announcing it. I’d tweet it, status it, Instagram it, whatever I could. I’d probably even take out a full page newspaper ad or get a billboard,” she declared, to the nodded agreement of the other two.
“Okay, so were you friends with benefits with him?” Ray asked.
“We weren’t even that. We hung out a couple times.” I looked around to see them all wearing the same shocked expression. “What?”
“Honey, Jake doesn’t do long term.”
“I never asked him to. Sure, I’ve been bummed, but I know he did the right thing.”
Ray shook her head slowly. “No, you aren’t getting it. Hanging out a couple times with Jake is the same as spending a couple months in a relationship with a regular man. To him, that is long term. Only thing crazier would be him spending the night.”
My face must have given something away because all three screeched.