by Sandi Lynn
“What’s going on over here?” I smiled.
“Hello, Kinsley.” Chase grinned. “I’d like you to meet Karina and Renee.”
I gave them each a small smile.
“Where’s Adam? The two of you seemed to be attached at the hip.” He smirked.
“He had to make a phone call,” I spoke.
“Would you like to join us? I’m afraid, though, I only have two arms.”
“Umm. No. That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your little ménage a trois.”
“Darling, the more the merrier.” He grinned. “Right, ladies?” He glanced at each of them.
“Yeah. The more the merrier.” Karina smiled.
I wanted to vomit as I rolled my eyes and walked away. And to think I slept with him. Jesus, what was I thinking? That he was a hot and gorgeous man? That he had the body of Adonis? That I knew he would be incredible between the sheets? Yeah. That was exactly what I was thinking. I sighed as I walked over to where Lexi was talking to one of our co-workers, Dana.
“Hey, you.” Lexi smiled. “I saw you talking to Adam. What’s going on?” She grinned.
“Nothing.” I grinned back. “Actually, we’re going on a date tomorrow night.”
“Good for you!” Lexi high-fived me. “He’s a nice guy and he’s hot.”
“He is. We seem to have a lot in common, but I did tell him I wasn’t looking for any type of relationship and he said he wasn’t either. He just got out of a three-year relationship.”
“Well, I’m glad you’re meeting new people.” She smiled as she hooked her arm around me.
“Hello, ladies.” Ben smiled as he hooked his arm around both me and his fiancée. “How about we get some food?”
After getting our food, we took a seat at an empty table where Adam joined us. While we were talking, Chase walked over and sat in the empty seat next to me.
“May I join you?” He smiled as he sat down.
“What happened to your little ménage a trois?” I raised my brow.
“I got bored.” He grinned.
“Still nobody special in your life, Chase?” Adam asked.
“And lose the title of Los Angeles’ sexiest and most eligible bachelor?” He smirked.
“I guess you’re right.” Adam chuckled.
“So, what happened between you and Mary? I thought the two of you were getting married?”
“We decided to call it quits,” he replied.
I sat between them feeling very uncomfortable and in disbelief that Chase would even ask him about his prior relationship.
“Who cheated?” Chase asked.
“Nobody cheated.”
“So that girl I saw you with in Vegas who wasn’t Mary was just a friend?”
The look on Adam’s face turned serious as he glared at Chase.
“Yeah. She was just a friend.”
“Of course. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” He winked.
“I know you’re the expert on that,” Adam spoke.
“Not really. What or who I do never stays in Vegas.” Chase grinned. “I have nothing to hide. I’m an open book.”
“You are not.” I laughed.
“Is there something going on between the two of you?” Adam asked as his eye slightly narrowed at us.
“Other than the fact that we’ve had sex, no, nothing,” Chase spoke and I wanted to fucking throat punch him.
“And when was this?” Adam asked.
“A few days ago.” Chase smiled.
I sat there with a lump in my throat and a sick feeling in my stomach. The anger that resided in me was ready to unleash.
“Okay then. Listen, Kinsley, I better get going. I have somewhere else I have to be in a while. It was nice meeting you and I’ll be in touch. See ya around, Chase.”
“Of course. Let’s do dinner one night and catch up,” he shouted as Adam walked away.
I turned to him and began hitting his arm several times. He backed away as he grabbed hold of my hand.
“What the hell are you doing?” he asked in a calm tone.
“Why did you tell him we had sex?!” I angrily spoke through gritted teeth.
“He asked.”
“No, he didn’t! He asked if anything was going on between us, and all you had to do was say no!”
“I did say no, besides us having sex. What’s the big deal?”
“We were supposed to go out on a date tomorrow and now you ruined it!”
“Oh. Well, if he’s that insecure, then that’s his problem. Besides, you don’t want to go out with him anyway. He’s a cheater. I saw him in Vegas with a woman, and trust me, they were not just friends. Need I remind you that he had a fiancée at the time? And considering what you went through with Henry, I just saved you some heartache. So, you’re welcome.” He smiled.
I stared at him while taking in three deep breaths to try and control myself from killing him.
“Stop telling people we had sex or I’m going to tell your dad!”
“You’re going to tell my dad what?” He chuckled.
“That we had sex! Twice!” I got in his face.
“Now, Kinsley. Don’t do anything rash.” He put his hands up.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chase
Kinsley got up from the table and walked away. I found out she and Adam were going on a date because Lexi slipped and told me. I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t want her to get hurt. I knew Adam, and he would ultimately hurt her.
“What did you do to Kinsley?” Lexi spoke as she sat down next to me and shot me an evil look.
“I did nothing to her.”
“Then why did I just see her stomp away all pissed off?”
“I may have told Adam we slept together.”
“What the fuck, Chase! Why would you do that?”
“Because he’s a cheater. She doesn’t need to be going out with him.”
“That’s not for you to decide.” She cocked her head with a narrowed eye. “Wait a minute. You couldn’t stand the thought of her going out with him.”
“You’re right. I know him and he’s a douchebag,” I spoke.
“No. No. No.” She shook her head. “You can’t stand the thought of her going out with anyone besides you. You’re jealous.”
I sighed. “I am not jealous, Lexi. I don’t do jealousy. How many times do I have to tell you that?”
“I don’t care what you say, Calloway. If you didn’t care or weren’t jealous, you wouldn’t have made it known the two of you slept together. You knew it would bother Adam.”
“So what?” I shrugged.
“You can’t control other people’s lives. Shit. Either you step up to the plate and tell her that you like her or leave her the hell alone!”
Lexi stood up and walked away. I sat there with my drink in my hand, giving my actions some serious thought. Fine, maybe I shouldn’t have told Adam that Kinsley and I had sex. Maybe I needed to apologize. I got up from my seat and went to look for her.
“Hey, Chase.” Alexandria stopped me by placing her hand on my chest. “You up for a little fun?” She winked.
“I’ll have to take a raincheck, sweetheart. I need to find someone and talk to them.”
“Can’t you find them after?” She smiled.
“No. I’m sorry.” I removed her hand from my chest and walked away.
I searched the whole outside and couldn’t find her.
“Hey, Steven.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Have you seen Kinsley?”
“She left a while ago.”
“She left? Did she say where she was going?”
“I’m assuming home. I don’t know, bro. I didn’t ask.”
“Thanks.” I sighed.
I left the party and drove to her apartment. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her car in a parking spot. I knocked on the door and alerted her that it was me before she opened it.
“What are you doing here, Chase?” she spoke with an irritated tone.
<
br /> “I need to talk to you.”
“About what?” She cocked her head.
“Can I come in?”
“Fine.” She sighed.
I stepped inside her apartment with my hands tucked into my shorts pockets and paced around the room.
“I wanted to apologize to you for earlier. I’m sorry I told Adam we slept together.”
“Why, Chase? Why are you apologizing?” she asked.
“Because I saw it upset you and I wanted to say that I was sorry.”
“What does it matter to you if it upset me?”
“You’re my friend, Kinsley, and the bottom line is I shouldn’t have said it.”
“We’re friends?” she asked as she took a seat on the couch.
“I thought we were.”
“I was under the impression that I was just another notch in your bed post.”
I walked over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her.
“I consider you my friend. We’ve had some pretty good times together.” I smirked.
“You’re referring to sex, aren’t you?”
“Yes.” I smiled.
“Then I am just another notch in your bed post.”
I reached over and lightly grabbed her hand.
“No, Kinsley, you’re not.”
“Then why won’t you tell me anything about you?”
“The only thing you don’t know about me is my childhood and I’m not going there. I need you to respect that.”
“You’re wrong. I don’t really know a thing about you except the fact that you’re a sex addict and love beautiful women.”
“First off, I’m not a sex addict. And yes, I do love beautiful women. Second of all, go ahead and ask away.” I smiled. “I’ll answer any questions you have except about my childhood.”
“Did you always want to work for your dad’s company?”
“My dad’s company was nothing more than a computer sales company. It wasn’t until I developed a program when I was ten that his company took off.”
“Ten?” she asked in shock.
“Yes. Believe it or not, I’m actually tipping the scale between being highly intellectual and genius level. I graduated high school when I was sixteen, went straight to Stanford, where I met Alex and Steven, graduated before I was twenty-one, and then my father gave me an office and a high-ranking position at the company.”
“So, Steven and Alex are older than you?”
“Just by two years. I’d actually been working for my father since I developed my first program. I coded, he paid me. I own half the company. That was the deal I made with him if he wanted me to continue developing systems and software for him. If it wasn’t for me, he’d still be just selling computers.”
“I guess you are very smart.” She grinned.
“Career smart at least.” I smirked. “He runs the company and my team and I develop the products.”
“Why didn’t you just work for him instead of going to college?” she asked.
“And miss out on the great college experience?” I smirked. “I wanted to continue to learn, especially with the way technology changed so much. Plus, I needed to learn about business. When my father retires, I’ll be taking over the company.”
“Did you play any sports?” she asked.
“Nah. Sports never interested me. The only thing I cared about was technology, until I moved to California and started surfing.”
“So you were a geek and now you’re a hot surfing geek?” She smiled.
“Yeah. I guess I am.” I laughed.
I stared into her beautiful blue eyes, and in one uncontrollable movement, I found my hand stroking her cheek. She stared back, unsure if she was enjoying it or if she wanted me to stop.
“I’m sorry I ruined your date.”
“It’s okay. You did say he was a cheater.”
I leaned forward and lightly brushed my lips against hers. I wanted her and I hoped she wouldn’t say no. Her lips greeted mine and our kiss turned passionate. My cock was already hard and standing at full attention. If she didn’t want to have sex, I needed to know now.
“Are you sure?” I asked as I broke our kiss.
“Yes. I’m sure.” She smiled as she brought her hand up to my face.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Kinsley
I lay in bed, three orgasms later, feeling elated. It was one a.m. and Chase went to get out of my bed when I grabbed his hand.
“Just stay. It’s late,” I spoke.
“Are you sure?”
“If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have asked.”
He gave me a small smile and climbed back in, wrapping his arm around me as I lay my head on his chest. Feelings. They were developing faster than the speed of light, and I was trying so hard to stop them.
“I have a question for you,” he spoke.
“What is it?”
“How could you not think we were friends? After all, I did make sure you got home safely from my party, I stayed the night, and I made you coffee the next morning. I just don’t do that for anybody.”
“I don’t know. I just thought you did those things because you were trying to get into my pants.” I smirked as I lifted my head and smiled at him.
“True. I was.” He smiled back.
I laid my head back down and listened to the beating of his heart.
“Kinsley, I just need to make it very clear that I don’t want anything more. I mean, I like you and I love having sex with you, but that’s all I can give. Nothing more. It’s not who I am, and I think you know that by now.”
“I do know that and I’m not looking for anything more either. I love being on my own, discovering who I am, and trying to find the best version of me.”
“Well, if it makes you feel better, I like this version of you.” He kissed the top of my head.
We both fell fast asleep, and when I woke up, I was lying on my side with Chase’s arm wrapped tightly around me. I liked it, maybe a little too much. He was closed off. Sure, he opened up to me a little bit last night, but not about his mother or his childhood, and I believed that was where his relationship issues stemmed from. He was a playboy who flirted with anyone of the female gender. I could never trust him, even if we did get into a relationship. So, for now, I’d take what I could get from him until I was ready to be with someone.
****
One Month Later
The moment I climbed out of bed, I ran to the bathroom and threw up. I had hoped it was a one-time thing, probably from the Chinese food I ate last night. But it wasn’t, and I had to call in sick to work. I felt bad because I only had two weeks left working for Mr. Calloway.
“It’s okay, Kinsley. The most important thing is that you get better. Don’t worry about it. I’ll have Lexi fill in for you.”
“Thank you, Mr. Calloway. I’ll be there for sure tomorrow.”
“Feel better soon.”
I hung up the phone, lay on the couch, and turned on the TV. A few moments later, I received a text message from Chase.
“Dad said you called in sick. Are you okay?”
“I think that Chinese food we ate last night didn’t agree with me.”
“I’m fine.”
“We didn’t eat the same thing.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No. I think I’m going back to sleep for a while.”
“Okay. Text or call me if you need anything.”
During the past month, Chase and I had been seeing each other a lot. We’d have dinner and then sex. The nights he wasn’t with me, he’d go out to the clubs and party. I would go to my yoga class or hang out with Lexi and a few other friends I made. We’d go to the bars and I would get hit on by multiple guys, but no one I was interested in.
As the day went on, I felt better, so I took a shower and decided to clean my apartment. Six o’clock rolled around and there was a knock at the door.
“It’s me, Kinsley,” I heard Chase yell.
Openin
g the door, I saw him standing there holding up a brown bag.
“I’ve brought you some soup. How are you feeling?” he asked as he walked inside.
“Thank you. I’m actually feeling better.”
“Good.” He smiled as he took down a bowl from the cabinet and poured some soup in it. “I can’t stay. I’m having dinner with my dad and bridezilla.”
“Sounds like a fun time.” I smirked. “Is there a special occasion?”
“It’s Penelope’s birthday this weekend, and since they’re going on a trip and won’t be here, dear old Dad thought tonight would be a good night to get together for dinner.”
“Did you buy her a birthday gift?” I asked as he set the bowl of soup down in front of me.
“As much as it pains me to do it, I’m going to stop at the florist on the way and pick up some flowers.”
“I like Penelope. She’s really nice. I don’t understand what you have against her,” I spoke.
“I’m just not fond of her.” He shrugged. “I better head out. I don’t want to get yelled at for being late. You good?” He smiled.
“I’m good. Thanks again for the soup.”
“No problem. I’m glad you’re feeling better.” He kissed the top of my head and then walked out the door.
I sighed. I promised myself I wouldn’t fall for him, but I had. I hated him going to the clubs and doing God knows what with other women. I hated myself for feeling like that, but I couldn’t help it. I knew damn well he wasn’t good for me. As a friend, yes. As a sex partner, yes. As a boyfriend/lover, no. I still needed to find out what his real issues were. I had asked Lexi about it, but she wouldn’t say. She told me that when Chase was ready to tell me, he would.
The next morning, I woke up with the same feeling as yesterday. I cupped my hand over my mouth and ran into the bathroom. What the hell was going on? I was fine last night. I couldn’t call in again and, with any luck, I’d feel better like I did yesterday, so I did my best to put on a smile and head to work.