by Sandi Lynn
“Yeah. I think you should.”
I set down my glass of wine and walked over to him, lightly running my finger across his bruised eye.
“Does it hurt?” I asked.
“A little bit, but I’ll be fine.” He smiled. “I’ll pick you up around seven forty-five tomorrow since we need to stop at the drug store. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine.” I lightly smiled.
He leaned over and kissed my forehead.
“I hope this doesn’t make things awkward between us,” he spoke.
“Nah. It was just sex. No big deal. Look at it this way,” I spoke to lighten the mood. “When I want it, I know who to call.”
“You can give me a booty call anytime.” He winked. “I’ll see you in the morning. Sleep well.”
“You too.”
Chapter Twenty-two
Chase
Having sex was the best part of my life and it always put me in a fantastic mood. So why wasn’t I? I drove home asking myself that very question over and over again. Sex with Kinsley was amazing. So amazing that the condom broke. In all my years of having sex, I’d never had that happen.
As soon as I got home, I pulled the condom box from my nightstand and examined it. Shit. The condoms expired three months ago. What the fuck! This was a brand new box I’d just picked up last night. I threw it onto my nightstand, changed into a pair of black pajama bottoms, and poured myself a scotch. I took it out to the patio and stared at the water as the moonlight glistened down on it. What the hell was my problem? Why did I feel like I was in a god damn funk? I’d finally had sex with Kinsley. It was my dream since the day my eyes laid sight on her. I’d won. Then why was it that I felt like such a loser?
The next morning, I arrived at Kinsley’s house promptly at seven forty-five. Just as I was about to get out of the car, she came walking out of her apartment.
“Good morning,” I spoke.
“Good morning,” she replied as she climbed in my car. “What’s in the bag?”
“A box of condoms.”
“Oh, so now you’re carrying the whole box with you? Don’t want to run the risk of running out too soon?” She smirked.
“No.” I smiled as I glanced at her. “I’m taking it back to the drugstore. They’re expired. That’s probably why it broke.”
“Oh. You didn’t notice the date before you bought them?”
“I never look at the date. I just assume they’re fresh. God knows they probably restock every other day. Did you sleep well?”
“I did. How about you?”
“Yeah. I did,” I lied.
“Let me see your eye,” she spoke.
As soon as we were at a stoplight, I removed my sunglasses.
“Ouch.” She brought her hand up to my face. “Your dad is going to be asking questions.”
“I know. I’ll come up with something on the spot. I always do.” I smirked as I put my sunglasses back on and took off from the light.
We reached the drugstore, and while Kinsley went to go get the morning after pill, I returned the box of condoms.
“Can I help you?” the saleswoman asked.
“I need to return this box of expired condoms.”
“Do you have a receipt?”
“No. I don’t usually keep the receipts for condom purchases.”
“Then how do I know you didn’t buy these before the expiration date, used a couple, and now are exchanging them for non-expired ones?”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh.
“Sweetheart, it’s obvious you don’t know who I am. I don’t use just a couple. I use the whole damn box and rather quickly. I just bought these a couple days ago.”
Kinsley walked up to the counter and stood next to me.
“You don’t have proof you bought them a couple of days ago, and without a receipt, I can’t take them back.”
“Listen, darling. This woman and I had sex last night and the damn condom broke because it was expired. Do you understand the danger of selling expired condoms? Because it broke, she had to get the morning after pill.”
“Two forms of protection is the way to go, sir. Personally, I wouldn’t have had sex with her if she wasn’t on birth control.”
I stood there and took in a deep breath, for I could feel the heat rising in my body.
“I didn’t know she wasn’t on birth control,” I spoke softly through gritted teeth.
“Then you shouldn’t be having sex with her if you don’t know her that well.”
“Again, it’s obvious you don’t know who I am.”
“Oh for fuck sakes.” Kinsley grabbed the expired box of condoms, walked over to the trash can, and tossed them in. “Ring up the new box, please. This is absolutely ridiculous.” She reached in her purse and threw some cash on the counter. “Have a good day.” She grabbed the new box of condoms and threw them at me. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late and I don’t want to have tell your father that you were in a heated discussion with the salesgirl at the drugstore over a damn box of expired condoms.”
“Someone’s grumpy this morning. Did you take your pill?” I asked.
She held it up to me, popped it in her mouth, and chased it down with the bottle of water she’d bought. I pulled into the parking garage of Calloway Tech and we both took the elevator up.
“Have a good day, Miss Davis.”
“You too, Mr. Calloway. I can’t wait to hear what Daddy has to say about that nasty bruise.” She smirked as she continued down the hallway.
“Looks like someone is in a good mood despite that nasty-ass bruise on that beautiful face,” Lexi spoke as she followed me into my office.
“Good morning, darling.”
“So what happened last night after you took Kinsley home?”
“Nothing. She put some ice on my hand and eye,” I spoke as I wouldn’t look at her.
“Oh my God, you slept with her!” she voiced loudly.
“Who did he sleep with?” Steven asked as he walked into my office.
“Kinsley!” Lexi answered.
“Bro, good job.” Steven smiled as he walked over and tried to fist bump me.
“Will the two of you knock it off. I don’t want to talk about it.”
“Oh, Chase. What happened?” Lexi asked with a disapproving tone.
“As much as I want to stay and hear the juicy details, I just came to drop this file off and now I have a meeting to get to before your dad has my head. Fill me in later.” He walked out of my office and shut the door.
“Spill it, Calloway. There’s something you’re not telling me,” Lexi spoke as she took a seat across from my desk and folded her arms.
“I don’t know. It was just weird.”
“Sex with Kinsley was weird?” She arched her brow.
“No. Sex with her was amazing. It was after.”
“I don’t follow you.”
“I left her place, went home, and found myself in a funk. I can’t explain it, Lexi.” I got up from my seat and paced around the room. “I’m always in a fantastic mood after sex, but last night, I wasn’t. I was in a not-so-good mood.”
“Wow, Chase. I think you’ve had feelings for her all along and last night sealed the deal.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t have feelings for women and you know it. Not even for Kinsley.”
“So how did you leave things? You have to see her every day. If you hurt her, Chase, I swear to God…”
“I didn’t hurt her.” I scowled. “We both agreed that we wouldn’t let things be awkward between us.”
“So she doesn’t want anything more now that she’s had the Chase Calloway sizzle stick.”
“Jesus, Lexi. And no, she didn’t lead me to believe she did. But, if she does, I’ll have to set her straight. In fact, take her to lunch today and get some information from her about last night. I’ll expect a report when you get back.”
“She’s my friend. I’m not doing that.”
“And I’m you
r best friend in the world and your boss and I just gave you an assignment. If she wants more, then I’ll have to make a plan on how to let her down gently.”
“Well, if that’s the case, then you better wait and do it when she leaves here, or else Daddy Calloway is going to be pissed as hell.”
“I can handle my father. Just do it.”
“Can’t wait to hear what he says about that bruise.” She smiled as she strolled out of my office.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chase
As I was sitting at my desk, I couldn’t stop thinking about the way Kinsley grew up. Her mother was a horrible and piss poor excuse for a woman and a parent. Not too far off from my own mother. I owed Kinsley the money for the box of condoms, and to be honest, I wanted to see her. So I walked down to my father’s office, knowing damn well I was about to receive his wrath.
“Hello, beautiful.” I smiled as I pulled some cash from my wallet.
“Hello.” She batted her beautiful blue beauties at me.
“Here’s the money for the box of condoms.”
“Thank you.” She took it from me with a smile.
Suddenly, my father’s door opened.
“Chase. Please step your bruised face into my office.”
Rolling my eyes, I walked in and took a seat.
“Care to explain what happened?”
“Some idiot punched me, so I punched him back.”
“What did you do? Have sex with his girl?”
“No.” My brows furrowed. “It was just a misunderstanding. He was a total douche.”
“Was Kinsley involved?” he asked.
“No. Why would you ask me that?” My brows furrowed.
He turned his laptop around, which displayed a video of the events of last night.
“See, there’s my temp standing next to you at a club. Now I’m going to ask you one last time, what happened?”
“I didn’t know Kinsley was at the club. I was there with Alex and Steven for a guys’ night out and she was there with Lexi. I saw her dancing on the dance floor with some douchebag and he had his hands all over her ass. It was totally inappropriate, so I intervened and pulled her aside. I explained to her that he could be a rapist, murderer, or kidnapper, and that if anything happened to her, you’d blame me because I was there. Then the douche walked over to us and I politely told him to go away and that’s when he punched me, as you can see in the video.”
“Okay then. That’s good enough for me. I believe you did the right thing by getting her away from that guy.”
“Seriously, Dad? You’re not mad?” I asked in shock.
“No. You possibly saved her from making a mistake and I probably would have done the same thing. I’m actually surprised you cared enough since the two of you don’t seem to get along.”
“Well, she works for the company and I suppose she’s not that bad.”
“I swear to God, Chase, if you slept with her…” He pointed at me.
“I didn’t.” I put my hands up. “I drove her home and that’s it,” I lied. “Are we finished here? I have work to do.”
“Yes. We’re finished. Stay out of trouble, and I mean it.” He scowled.
I walked out of his office and stopped at Kinsley’s desk.
“I didn’t hear any yelling.” She smirked.
“That’s because he was cool with my saving you from the douche-looking guy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You don’t know that he was a douchebag.”
“He had his hands all over your ass when you were dancing. That makes him a douchebag. And another thing, I can’t believe you let him do that.” I cocked my head.
“Like you said, I was letting my party girl out.” Her brow raised. “You act like you’re jealous. Are you jealous, Mr. Calloway?”
“Fuck no. Why would I be jealous?”
“Because some stranger had his hands all over my ass and I wouldn’t let you.”
“For the record, darling, my hands were all over your ass and other delicious parts of your body. Have you forgotten already? And you better be very careful with your answer.”
“I haven’t forgotten, but that was after the fact.” She smirked.
“You can rest assure that I was in no way jealous. I’m not the jealous type.”
The phone rang and she placed her hand on the receiver.
“I’ll talk to you later,” she spoke.
As I walked to my office, I gave serious thought about her jealousy accusation. Fine, I’d admit that I was a little jealous when I saw the douche-looking guy all over her. But it was only because I hadn’t had her first. That was what I chose to believe, even though another part of me was disagreeing.
****
Kinsley
Things were a little slow at the office. Mr. Calloway left for the afternoon, and I was all caught up on my work.
“It’s lunch time!” Lexi smiled as she approached my desk. “How about some Thai food?”
“Sounds good.” I grinned.
I grabbed my purse and the two of us headed to the Thai place around the corner.
“Thanks for helping Chase out last night with the ice. I asked him if he put ice on it as soon as he got home and he said you made him when he drove you home.”
“No problem. To be honest, I didn’t trust him to do it himself. You know how stubborn guys are.”
“For sure.” She smiled. “How are the two of you getting along?”
“We’re getting along. Has he told you anything?”
“About what?” Lexi narrowed her eye.
“About last night.”
“All he said was that you helped him with the ice. Why? Did something else happen between the two of you?”
I sat there, biting down on my bottom lip, debating whether or not to tell her.
“Did you sleep with him?”
“Yes.” I sighed. “It just happened. It was in the heat of the moment.”
“Okay. That’s understandable, but you told me you’d never sleep with him.”
“I know.” I rolled my eyes.
“So how are you feeling about it or him now?” she asked.
“I don’t know. I saw a different side of him last night, and I’ll admit it was nice, but I can’t let myself feel anything, and I won’t. I just got out of a yearlong relationship and I don’t trust men, especially Chase. Plus, I came here to find and reinvent myself and the last thing I need is to get wrapped up in some guy. I was never known as Kinsley Davis. People always referred to me as that poor girl whose mother was an alcoholic. Or that poor girl whose father overdosed on drugs. Or Henry’s girlfriend. That’s how I grew up, as ‘that poor girl.’ I want people to see me for who I really am and that’s Kinsley Davis. I can’t be me until I find me and detach from the ‘that poor girl’ label.”
“I’m so sorry, Kinsley.” She reached over and placed her hand on mine. “And I totally agree with you. You need to find and love yourself first.” A small smile crossed her lips.
Just as we finished lunch and headed back to the office, my phone rang.
“Hello,” I answered.
“Kinsley, it’s Carl. Your car is ready. You can pick it up anytime.”
“Thanks, Carl. I appreciate it. I’ll be by after work to get it.”
“Great. See you then.”
I walked Lexi to her desk and popped my head into Chase’s office to see if he was in there.
“Hey.” I smiled as I saw him sitting at his desk.
“Hello, beautiful. What brings you by?” He grinned.
“My car is ready. Do you think you can drop me off after work so I can pick it up?”
“Sure. Just swing by here before you leave.”
“Thanks, Chase.”
“No problem. I’ll see you later.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chase
“Lexi,” I yelled from my office. “Can I see you for a moment?”
She walked into my office and shut the door.
/> “I know what you’re going to ask, so I’ll just tell you. She doesn’t have feelings for you.”
“She said that?” I asked as I narrowed my eye.
“Yes.”
“Impossible. Women always have feelings for me.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, Kinsley isn’t like other women.”
“Maybe not, but she’s still a woman, and after sex with me, their feelings intensify.”
“Not with Kinsley. And why the hell do you seem disappointed? Isn’t this what you wanted? Now you don’t have to worry about it.”
“I’m not disappointed. I’m relieved. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Can I get back to work now?”
“You mean shopping online for new clothes?” I arched my brow and pursed my lips.
“And?” She smiled as she walked out of my office.
It was five o’clock when Kinsley stepped into my office looking as beautiful as ever.
“You ready?” I asked as I got up from my seat.
“Yes. I can’t wait to get my car back.”
As we were driving to get her car, she glanced over at me.
“What are you doing tonight?” she asked.
“I haven’t decided yet. Why are you asking?”
“I don’t know. I just thought maybe you’d want to come over and put those new condoms to use.” She smirked.
“Kinsley Davis.” I looked over at her with a wide grin on my face. “Are you letting your party girl out again?”
“Yes, Mr. Calloway. I am. Is that a problem?”
“No. No problem at all. What time should I be over?”
“Eight o’clock. And bring a pizza.” She smiled.
Shit. My cock was already getting hard. I pulled into the parking lot of the auto repair center and Kinsley got out of the car.
“See you later.” She winked with a smile.
I shook my head in disbelief. What happened to her? Then it hit me, and I slowly nodded my head with a smile on my face as I headed home. I had hooked her. She was becoming addicted just like I knew she would. As long as it was only sex she wanted, I was willing to give her as much of it as she needed.
****
Kinsley
I was a little shocked myself that I invited Chase over for sex. This wasn’t me. Or was it? California was bringing out a side in me that I never knew existed. Why not? It was only sex and I had needs. After last night’s performance, and not being able to get it out of my head, I wanted round two. I could do this sex-only thing. I was strong enough. Plus, all I had to do was keep thinking about what Henry did to me and it would be easy peasy.