I didn’t hear him walk in much less close the door and start to remove his clothes. First the soaked white sleeveless shirt comes over his head and is quickly tossed to the floor. I glance in the direction of his discarded clothes and then back toward Shawn before raising an eyebrow. He knows damn well I can’t stand any type of mess. Clothes not put in their proper place might as well equal a mess and chaos in my world.
“I hope you’re planning on picking that up.” He smirks and starts sauntering my way where I’m sitting on the edge of our bed. Well, it’s really his bed. When we decided to take the leap and combine rooms, mine being the master was the obvious choice, Shawn had to have his Temper-Pedic, saying it is like sleeping on a cloud in heaven. I couldn’t disagree with him on that so mine got moved into his old room. “Just thinking. That’s all.”
He dips in front of me to plant a salty kiss on my lips. My eyes flutter close as they always do when his mouth is pressed against any part of my body. I can’t help it; it’s a reflex. Shawn’s touch is my own piece of heaven and I will savor every second I’m given with him. He grabs my boobs, but I swat his pawing hand away from my breast. Shawn is a freakin’ groper and a half. In other words, he’s a boob man, not that I complain a lot. It tends to pay off to my benefit more often than not, but I suddenly recall what he said a few minutes ago.
“What did you mean when you said, Matt finally told me? Told me what?”
His eyes grow large like he’s been caught doing something he shouldn’t have.
“Umm, nothing. Going to shower, babe.”
“I don’t think so.” I grasp him by his biceps, wrapping my fingers around tightly, telling him he isn’t going anywhere just yet. “Spill it, Braden.”
“Shit.” He pulls backwards causing me to lose my grip. “You’re going to have to ask him that.”
“So he’s keeping something from me, you know what it is, and won’t tell me? Am I hearing you correctly?”
“Don’t get pissed at me. It’s not my place to tell you. It’s his. It’s ticking me off that the motherfucker hasn’t grown the balls to spit it out yet. Why don’t you do he and you a favor, go downstairs and make him spill the beans?”
“I think I will. You shower and hurry it up because I don’t plan on wasting a Saturday that you don’t have to go into work.” Shawn lips turn up into a self-assured smirk.
“Are you trying to tell me my girl needs some of this dick?” He grabs his junk that’s practically eye level with me. “I thought I gave you enough of it last night to sustain you.” I don’t think that I’ll ever get enough sex from the man standing in front of me to ever sate my need for him. I don’t dare speak that. Shawn doesn’t need any more arrogance in that department.
“Just go shower already.” I stand. Apparently my best friend has been keeping something from me and I aim to find out what that something is. Matt and I have finally fallen back into the friendship we had in high school so it’s bothering me to know he’s not telling me something.
Shawn turns, walking in the direction to the master bath without another word. I exit the room seconds later.
After I make it down the stairs I hear conversation coming from the living room. I start there, finding Matt and Mason yelling at the TV screen. Rolling my head, I see it’s a college football game. Being as its January, it has to be a recording of a game that’s already aired.
“What secret are you keeping from me?”
“What?” Matt’s eyes practically bug out as he turns to look at me. “Shawn fucking told you, didn’t he?” His shock turns to anger.
“He let it slip thinking you’d already told me. But he didn’t actually tell me what it is that you’re hiding from me.” When he doesn’t speak, I huff out a breath of air in frustration. “Well?”
“I was offered a job.” He sits back into the sofa, leaning his head back. This isn’t making a bit of sense. This is great news. Matt’s been freelancing editing jobs since we graduated.
“So what gives? Why are you keeping that from me? This is awesome, Matt. Don’t you know I’d be happy for you? Ecstatic even?”
“It’s in California.”
Say what? Okay, I don’t mean to, but I know my happy face just fell flat on the floor and he knows it.
“This is why I haven’t told you. I didn’t know how to tell you that I’m leaving, Mississippi.”
“So you accepted the offer, then?”
“Yes. It’s Lockhart Publishing. I couldn’t turn it down, Taralynn.”
Shit. Even I know that’s an amazing opportunity. “So when do you leave? Oh. My. God. You’re moving away from me.” Yes, as I asked him the question, it hit me like a freight train. He’s leaving and I won’t be able to drive over when I want my Matty time.
“Nine days.”
“WHAT? You can’t be serious. They only gave you a little over a week to pack and move across country?” This is too soon. He can’t leave. I want to be selfish and tell him he can continue to freelance and do great. I won’t, though. Fact is, I’m not selfish like that. No matter how much I want to stomp my feet and be.
“They gave me forty-five days actually.” I’m going to kill him. The bastard can leave to tomorrow.
“You’ve known for—” I don’t get to finish my sentence because there is a knock on the front door. Matt’s saved by the knock so to speak because I tell you I was seconds away from smacking him a few times. Instead, I pivot and walk the short distance from the living room to the front door in the foyer.
When I open it, a very pregnant brunette is standing in front of me.
“Can I help you?” I ask in a polite manner even though moments ago I was feeling anything but polite toward my sorta, sorta not best friend.
“Is Shawn home?” Something about the way she says his name has an alarm going off inside my head. I don’t like her. I’ve only ever experienced an instant feeling like this once with one person and that was Holly. “His truck is in the driveway so I figured he was home.” She smiles a little, but it looks forced.
“He is.” I tell her. “He’s in the shower at the moment. Would you like to come inside and wait for him?”
“Yes, please.” Her reply is too excited, but I take a step back, bringing the door fully opened to allow her to enter.
“You can go through that entrance and wait.” I point to the living room where Matt and Mason are. I can see their faces from where I’m standing. They both look alarmed too. “He should be down shortly.”
I close the door and follow her, stopping at the entrance. I prop my body against the frame as she walks to the couch and takes a seat on the opposite side of Mason.
“Who are you?” It’s Mason that asks her the question. He’s never one to wait for answers. If he wants to know something, he asks.
“Tiffany.” Sounds like a stripper name if you ask me.
That was so judgmental and not like me at all. Still, there is a vibe I’m getting from this woman that I don’t like.
“How do you know Shawn?” Again, Mason with his twenty questions. I hope she’s prepared to talk until Shawn makes an appearance. Mason doesn’t shut up.
“We met a few months back. I work at Vivid Theatre.” Stripper she is then. Maybe I wasn’t so judgmental after all since I called it straight out. That doesn’t explain what she wants with my man. Yes, my man. Shawn just became a possession to me. He’s mine. I’m his. We’ve been through a lot of crap to get to where we are.
“And you’re here to see him why?” Mason’s tone turns hard. He’s protective of me. Loyal to Shawn no doubt, but I know exactly where I fit in Mason’s heart.
“Well I should really tell him, but it’s going to get out eventually.” She turns to look me directly in the eyes. “I’m carrying his baby. He should know after all and I want my baby’s daddy in his life.” Oh if this bitch weren’t pregnant I would have jumped on top of her.
I don’t react, though. The cat claws stay sheathed. For now! She obviously wanted one, t
hat’s the reason she looked at me the way she did.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you are, but that baby isn’t his.” I’d like to say that was me that made that blunt statement, but it wasn’t. Again, it was Mason taking up for his best friend, his brother from another mother so to speak.
“I have no reason to lie and I’m very willing to do a paternity test to prove he is.” Again the cunt turns to direct her words at me. Shawn’s language has been having more of an effect on me lately than I’d like to admit. The “c” word, Taralynn? At least I didn’t verbalize it. Thinking it is bad enough.
“Taralynn.” Mason says my name with caution. I still haven’t spoken a word since she sat down and I don’t intend too. I know exactly what I need to do and I’m not about to waste time because Shawn is liable to make an appearance at any moment.
I turn away from my two friends and the trash I let walk into my home minutes ago, grab my keys hanging next to the door, and then I walk out.
“Taralynn, wait.” Is the last thing I hear, coming from Matt, before the door shuts and I race to my car with a plan forming in my mind.
When I come out of the bathroom I’m half hoping Tara will be naked in our bed, but that dream dies when I see she isn’t even in the room. The bed is perfectly made the same way it was fifteen minutes ago.
I quickly throw on a pair of jeans, one of my company t-shirts that I once again had redesigned recently and pair of socks, followed by my boots. If she wanted to be sexed then she should have gotten her sweet beautiful ass back up here. Too bad for her, and me too because now she will have to wait. I plan on having a few hours of fun outside of the house with my friends, today.
Matt is leaving in less than two weeks. Tara is going to need a distraction because my woman deals with shit too much as it is, so the four of us are going to play Frisbee golf as a local park. It’ll be fun. We haven’t played in forever and it’ll give her and Matt some time together and memories to pile up.
It’s not a bad thing that he’ll be based in Los Angeles. It’ll give the both of us more reason to make trips out west. Chance and I have become pretty good friends in the past year since I became the owner of the tattoo studio I work at. He’s offered a lot of great advice. The place has done a one eighty in a short time span.
I hate that Tara isn’t there daily anymore, but Natalie was a good hire. She keeps everyone in line and our schedules full. She filled our vacancies. We now have seven full time artists in the studio. She hired a piercer who is equally talented as a tattoo artist. His name is Danny. He, along with his wife, Carly moved here a few months ago. Carly is a tattoo artist, too and she’s great. Tara still does payroll and all the accounting for the business, but she mainly does it from home. Natalie took over as the manager a few months ago.
I head out of the bedroom door and jog down the stairs landing in the foyer in seconds. I’m immediately alarmed when I hear Mason’s voice booming. He’s shouting.
“You’re a fucking lying bitch.” Mason is angry that much is clear. It takes a lot to set him off.
“What’s going on in here?” Three bodies turn to face me. Matt is gripping Mason by the arm. Mason, whose face is blazing, has his fist balled at his sides and then there is a chick that doesn’t look the least bit familiar, then again my motto hasn’t exactly changed where they’re concerned. Women are still a dime a dozen. What has changed is me, because of Tara. She’s the one that is special. The one that does and will always have my attention captured. No other will ever hold a candle to my girl, the love of my life. I know my dumbass wasted so much time fighting my feelings for her. I know why, but I also know deep down that they aren’t logical. I keep trying to tell myself that every day. Maybe one of these days I’ll start to believe it.
Speaking of Tara, I don’t see her, but I can’t worry about that now. Mason looks like he wants to rip this woman apart.
“This bitch came in here saying she’s pregnant with your kid.”
It takes me at least ten full seconds to comprehend what he’s has said. I look down, the woman is indeed toting a calf, but I can guaran-fucking-tee you it isn’t mine. I haven’t sleep with another woman since the night I first hooked up with Tara. I still have a hard time believing she and I have been together for a year. I don’t count all that other bullshit when we weren’t officially dating or when I had a short circuit in my brain last year and damn near cost us our future.
Tara is the only woman I want to be with. I don’t miss the one-night stands. Those days are over and I’m not the least bit sorry to see them go. No more does a quick fuck get me the release I seek. If I’m honest with myself, even then it wasn’t satisfying; it took shutting my eyes and picturing the woman I really wanted in order to get off.
“I don’t know who the hell you are.” I look her in the eyes, training mine on her hard. It doesn’t take but a second or two for her smug smile to disappear and be replaced with what looks like a bit of fear. “I’ve never laid eyes on you, much less touched or fucked you.”
“Look—” Her voice is drawn out and maybe even shaky, but I don’t give her an inch nor do I let her get another word out of her lying mouth.
“You came into my house. Lied to my friends. What the fuck did you hope to accomp—” I stop mid-sentence.
Tara.
She not being here suddenly has my chest tightening like there is a rope squeezing around my heart. Where is she? She didn’t know what I had planned, but she was well aware the only reason I took today off was so we could spend time together.
I turn to look at my friends.
“Where’s Tara?” I ask fearing the worst. Did this bitch get to her, spewing her lies to my girl and if so, did Tara believe her? I won’t lose her again. I can’t go through that again. Eight months ago I almost lost her for good. I was stupid for doubting I am what she wants and needs.
“She took off.” Matt confirms my thoughts.
“And you both let her leave?” She can’t possibly think I’d cheat on her. There is nothing or no one worth losing the person I can’t live without over.
I turn back toward the nuisance taking up oxygen in my living room. “Get the fuck out of my house. Make sure I never see you again.” When she doesn’t make any attempts to leave I force my point by taking a large step closer to her. “If I need to remove you from my house, don’t think I won’t.”
I’ll never touch this bitch, but she doesn’t know that. I’m okay with using my large build to my advantage.
“Whatever.” She walks around me heading in the direction of the front door. Good, the sooner she is out of my sight the sooner I can focus on finding Tara and fixing this mess. “I’ve completed the task I was hired to do anyways.”
“What does that mean?” It’s Mason that demands an answer. Normally I’d care, but I don’t know where my girlfriend is or what’s going through her head. My priority is Tara.
The cunt turns back around to face us before walking out the door. “Seems your friend there,” she point her finger at me. “Pissed off the wrong bitch. She did tell me to relay a message. Something about regrets are such a bitch.”
Holly Torres.
“Elaborate.” Mason’s tone is furious as though it were him this woman came in and shelled out lies about.
“A few weeks ago, an uppity blonde, looking more like white trash than even me and her bitch of a friend came into the club. Being this far along I can’t dance, so I was their server. I don’t remember the blonde’s name. Mandy, I do remember she called her dark haired friend, though. They offered me cash, a grand to pay your girlfriend a visit and convince her that I got knocked up by you.”
By the mention of a club and dancing, I don’t think it’s a stretch to say this chick is or used to be a stripper.
Perfect.
Fucking perfect.
My girlfriend is off somewhere thinking God knows what. Probably that I haven’t changed. That I’m still the same man that used to fuck anything easy and in a
skirt.
I’m not that man anymore.
I hate that I ever was that person.
I’ve got to find her.
“Get out of my house.” Without giving her another ounce of my time, I pull out my cell phone from the pocket of my jeans. Finding Tara won’t be hard as long as her cell phone isn’t shut off.
Unlocking my screen, I scroll until I find the app that will show me her location. This isn’t stalking or creepy, I assure you. Tara has the same capabilities as I do. We both know each other’s phone ID and password.
Within seconds the GPS within the app locates her, giving a small amount of relief to my chest.
I recognize the location instantly. She’s at the shop. Why, I don’t know, but I’m not sticking around and I don’t attempt to call her. I need to see her face-to-face. A part of me is afraid that if I call, she won’t answer.
I grab my keys and I’m out the door. My friends don’t stop me and I don’t ask them to come with.
Typically, the drive to work takes close to fifteen minutes. I make it to Wicked Ink in less than ten. Her car is parked outside. That’s good, I hope. I pull the truck to an abrupt stop, slamming the gear into park before hopping out and running inside.
I won’t let anyone cost us our happiness. I fought tooth and nail to get her back; to get all of her back. It didn’t happen overnight. Tara didn’t let me back in that easy; not all the way until recently. When I showed up at Jacob and Katherine’s house, I got her to listen to me and she believed me. Not at first, but by the time we woke up the next morning she believed me. But that didn’t get us back together. I had to work my ass off to get back into her good graces, to get back to her trusting me again. She’s was hesitant with us for months. We’ve just recently gotten back to the relaxed easiness we had before I messed up.
I will not let another lie ruin us. We’re more than lies and we’re damn sure stronger than them.
When I walk in, I scan the room, looking for her. Everyone turns, and I notice they are eying me strangely.
Shit, that can’t be good.
Finally, I spot her, but when my eyes land on her, I suck in air in a long pull.
More Than Lies Page 36