Up All Night Long: From Lust to Love (Romance Anthology)

by Ali Parker

  "All right boys and girls. Now for the big event. We have one of our favorite big wigs here with us today. He's been running this great state from the center of Washington DC and is the reason we have regulations on the big bad oil companies, and pot on every corner. Let's give a big hand to our leader and your friend, Senator Mitch Moore!"

  The crowd went wild and I lifted my hands, clapping a few times for the old man too. He was pretty all right in my book and had worked hard a few years ago to put together a program that helped juvenile delinquents push toward a better life. Between his programs and my brother... I was a different man with a future and a bit of hope.

  A flash of silver caught my eye as the sun shifted. The Senator lifted his hands in the air, saying something that caused the crowd to scream again. Must have been about pot.

  I didn't hesitate for a second, but jumped off the chair I stood on and bounded over people and benches, reaching the guy about the time he lifted his gun.

  "Get down!" I screamed in the loudest voice I could muster, the crowd's screams giving acknowledgment that my warning worked. I plowed into the guy and popped the gun from his hands as it went off. Holding his arms above his head, I growled at him menacingly.

  "Move and I'll fucking tear your head from your shoulders."

  Someone tapped my shoulder and I glanced back, my body still pressed to the weasel below me. Jake extended his hand to me and smiled.

  "Great job, man. The cops are on their way. Get up and we'll fill out paperwork and get the hell out of here."

  I glanced behind me as the Senator jogged off the stage, turning and lifting his hand toward me. I nodded and turned back to my brother.

  "No one was hurt?"

  "Nope. Thanks to you. Impressive. Beers on me tonight."

  "Then it was all worth it." I winked and turned back to stare the weasel in the eye, daring the fucker to get up or even twitch. Letting off some steam sounded wonderful and he would do just fine for my punching bag of choice.

  Chapter 1

  Two Weeks Later

  "Summer vacay!" Alyssa screamed as she walked into my dorm room, her hands waving in the air as she danced to a song in her head. She pranced around as I finished packing everything up, a smile on my face as I watched her.

  "I'm not ready for summer. I'm going to miss all the tests and parties and the late night lattes," I pouted, putting on the show they all had come to expect from me.

  "Well, I will too, but at least you're headed down to the beach. I gotta go work in my father's restaurant in Times Square for the summer. Ugh."

  "Then why the hell are you dancing around like you have a vacation coming your way?" I pulled my long blond hair up into a messy bun and gave up on trying to remain organized. Picking up my last duffel bag, I dropped it beneath the dresser and started opening drawers and dropping crap by the armful into the waiting bag.

  "Anything is better than studying and classes. I fucking hate school." Alyssa rolled her eyes and ran her hand through her dark hair. "Is Jeremy going with you to San Diego?"

  "No." I glanced over my shoulder. "We broke up a while back. You knew that."

  "I know, but I've seen you guys together off and on." She wagged her eyebrows as I rolled my eyes at her.

  "Just no. He's like ten years older than me. Why I decided it might be a good thing to try dating a non-traditional student here, I have no clue. I guess the fact that he loves politics and really gets along well with my dad." I shrugged and picked up the bag, lugging it back to my bed.

  "He's a little creepy about your dad, like he has a man crush on him or something." She moved to the door.

  "Yeah. It’s better that we ended things. I'm looking forward to hanging out with some old friends from high school and reconnecting with a few beach hotties I grew up with." I smiled and sucked my bottom lip into my mouth.

  "You're so bad." She swatted at me before pulling me into a tight hug. "Be careful and text me three hundred thousand times a day. Promise?"

  "I promise." I laughed and squeezed her until she grunted. She was new to UCLA and to our sorority, but she had made quite an impact her first semester. We had become close fast. She had extended an invitation to join her in New York, but I needed my beach and my sun for a long rest from the hectic course load I forced myself to take this last year. Impressing my father was the only way to get noticed, so impressive is what I had become.

  "I'm out. Lots of love for you girlie." She walked out and I let out a long sigh, not sure about what time to leave. My father wanted to meet for dinner, but he was leaving the time up to me. I knew the minute I got into San Diego I would be bombarded with old friends. Growing up in the sunny beach city and being the daughter of the most-loved Senator in Cali history left me more popular than I wanted to be. I played the part well, but I was as fake as a California tan on an Alaskan cheerleader.

  I heaved my last bag over my shoulder and walked down the hall to the long staircase that led to the first floor of the house. Having been the longest-standing member in the Sigma Kappa's, I got to choose my bedroom for the spring semester. I took the smallest one, simply for the fact that it had a great view of the outdoor track. All the boys in the shorty shorts would run each morning as I got ready for school. Nothing to get you in the mood to study like watching men who took care of themselves huff around in something shorter than undies.

  I smiled at the thought and jogged down the final few stairs as my least favorite sister, Lizzy, opened the door.

  "Who's going to have a great summer? You are! That's who." She smiled and flipped her arms around as if holding pom-poms. I had no clue why we had let a cheerleader into the Sigma's, but we did.

  "Thanks, Lizzy. Have fun." I walked out into the lazy day, the sun sitting at the far end of the sky.

  It was going to be a great summer. I had absolutely nothing planned other than a week-long vacation with my father. He was going on the campaign trail and wanted me with him when he went to New Hampshire for a festival. Something about showing family values and such. It would make him look good, which would keep him busy like he had been all my life. I accepted his absence simply because there was no other option.

  I walked to the bright red beamer at the far end of the parking lot and dropped my bag by the trunk, letting out a long sigh and waving at a few of the basketball guys who called my name.

  "A whole summer of just being me." I opened the trunk and heaved the bag into the back of the car, smooshing it down on top of the other bags. I hated to pack up my whole room, but not knowing who was staying in the house for summer school, I just wasn't willing to leave my stuff laying around for anyone to take.

  My phone chirped in my purse as I walked to the front of the car and got in. I started it and rolled down the windows before pressing a button on my dash.

  "Hi Dad." I pulled my sunglasses from the visor above me and turned as I backed the car up.

  "Hi pumpkin. Where are you? I'm back in town and hoped we were sharing a meal today."

  "Yeah. I'll be in San Diego around four. Are you here in L.A. or already there?"

  "I'm down in La Jolla at a beach house for a few days. Just call me when you get into town and I'll take you to dinner."

  "Sounds good. Flight go okay? Nothing else happen as of late?" I pulled the car out onto the busy side street just outside of UCLA. Students swarmed the campus, everyone preparing to leave for the summer, or mostly everyone.

  "No, honey. I'm fine. It was just a one-off situation. Stop worrying." He chuckled and I tried to release the anxiety that seemed to be part of my new life. My father had decided to run for President, and the world went ape shit. Most of the constituents in California seemed pleased with his decision, but there were always a few crazies. Funny how they kept showing themselves in various manners. The last one had pulled a gun at an open-air concert a few weeks back. I still had nightmares of my father bleeding out on the stage.

  He was all I had left in the world, which wasn't saying too much.
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  "All right. I'm gonna let you go. I'll see you soon, Daddy."

  "Okay, baby. Be careful. I have some news to share with you. I think you'll be pleased."

  I saved my huff for after we got off the phone. His surprises were never a good thing. He was single minded and his success held his attention for the entirety of my life. Anything he thought might be exciting or good usually had to do with protecting or promoting his assets, namely himself.

  I cranked up the radio and let my concerns fly out the open windows of my convertible beamer. All I wanted was a Honda, but my father refused, his gifts the main means for him to show his love. He hadn't figured out in the past twenty-one years how to simply say that he loved me with words, so he felt the need to show me with tangible items.

  My favorite song came on the radio and I sang at the top of my lungs, ignoring the stares and odd glances I received as I jumped on highway five and gunned it all the way back home. San Diego was my paradise and the beach was my playground. I planned on diving into lust and intoxication and not coming up for air unless I was forced to.

  "Welcome to summer, Chloe. Welcome to summer."

  Chapter 2

  I lifted my eyes to the pretty waitress who paused beside me and my friends at the bar, her hair half blond and half red. She could be the joker’s girl, but I didn't press my luck by telling her. Number one rule of getting fucked up was to make the hot piece serving your beer happy... even if you had to lie.

  "Can I get you boys another round?" She winked at me and I nodded, as if I might be interested. I wasn't. Girls could sit on it and rotate. I'd fuck a bitch every once in a while, but I'd had my heart torn out so many times when I was younger that I had a flap on my chest to save me the cost of stitches.

  "Yeah. This one's on me." My brother walked up and pulled a seat up beside me. I reached over and patted his back, smiling.

  "Tough day at the office?"

  "Naw, Cindy is on her period and just won't relent." Jake rolled his eyes and ran his fingers through his blond hair. The roots were starting to show his true colors and even though I shouldn't, I just couldn't help myself.

  "Yeah well, maybe if you'd just be your fucking self." I tugged at a small pinch of hairs as he popped my arm away.

  "Fuck off. Blonds have an easier time in life. I'm just trying to get mine." He smirked and turned to the other guys, clapping hands and greeting everyone.

  It was a tradition to meet at Billy's in Ocean Beach on Sunday afternoons and spend a few hours getting shit faced together. Most people did it on Friday's, which meant that Sunday evenings at the bar were open wide and the beer was free flowing. No crowded rooms or bitches dry humping my leg. It was bliss.

  "How's the hospital gig going?" Jake turned to me before picking up the cup of peanuts on the table in front of us.

  I reached out and jerked them from him. "Don't eat those. Pinkie washed them off for anyone who was interested."

  Jake glanced at our buddy Pinkie as he wagged his eyebrows and pretended to swish something in his big-ass mouth. I laughed as Jake gagged. He was called Pinkie for a reason, the fucker had twenty tats and every damn one of them was pink.

  "Answer my question." My brother pulled out his phone and turned it on silent before looking up at me and tilting his head.

  "It's a job, dude. I'm glad to have it, but it’s hard work for little pay."

  One of the guys in the group started bitching about his girl and I stood up, stretching and turning to look back at Jake. "Let's go out on the patio. The sun's about to set and I want to see it."

  "Pussy." Jake stood and took our beers from the waitress as he handed me mine and walked out on the deck. A few girls sat to our left, the gaggle of them seeming to take notice of us, but my attention was on the big guy next to me.

  "I'm going to start putting in applications for something a little less hectic and more dangerous I guess. My job’s a constant rat race because of the crazy fuckers that get brought in on meth or cocaine or some other fucked-up drug. Those guys are constant and the hospital has to treat them, but it's me who has to hold them down half the time while they're vomiting, shitting themselves and twitching half to death."

  Jake shook his head, the look of disgust on his face a mirror to my feelings. "That's not good. I think I might have something if you're interested."

  "Yeah? Why didn't you say something earlier?" I pushed at him as he chuckled.

  "It's not exactly your kinda job and honestly, I don't think you'll take it. It's security detail." He took a long drink of his beer as I growled.

  "I'm down, depending on the money and who I'm detailing." I followed suit and emptied half the bottle before taking a breath.

  A blond moved in between us, her friends watching with anticipation from the large table just a few feet from us.

  "Hi. I'm Sandy."

  "Hi, Sandy. I'm talking with my brother right now. How about when we're done, I come talk to you and your friends and see who's up for a little late night wrestling?" I nodded at her, putting on my best ‘come fuck me’ smile.

  Her eyes widened and she giggled, the beer having done half the work for me. "Oh, yeah sure. That sounds... hot."

  "Good. Now run along and tell your friends you have plans to bend over for the big guy with all the tats later." I popped her butt and she giggled again, running toward her table as they erupted in laughter.

  "Why did you have to give the poor girl hope?" Jake turned and looked out at the water. "I swear you're going to get payback from your disrespect of women when you have a daughter."

  "Firstly, I'm not having kids, and secondly, she wanted what I gave her. A bit of juicy gossip and nothing else."

  "You're going to take her home and fuck her, no doubt." Jake lifted the beer to his lips and turned toward the women as they continued to get louder.

  "Sure. Why not? I'm an ass-grown man and a release might do me good. I've been a bit tense lately."

  "Masturbate." Jake turned back to me. "You're not good with fucking and leaving. You'll fall in love and the floozy will break your heart."

  "You make me feel like the tender flower that I am."

  Jake laughed loudly and lifted his beer toward mine. "The job's protection detail for Senator Moore's college-aged daughter. She's home for the summer and he's concerned with her being here in San Diego. He's looking for someone that he can trust to stay with the girl twenty-four seven."

  "With no days off? No."

  "You'd get Sundays off. He actually asked about you."

  "Me?" I jerked back as surprise rushed through me. "Why in the world would he ask about me? Has he not reviewed my rap sheet?"

  "Yeah, he actually has, but you saving his ass at the event a few weeks back gave you his nice shiny seal of approval. His only concern was whether you would try and hit on the girl."

  I snorted and tapped my beer bottle against the railing in front of us as the sun began to set. The sky burst into crimson and dark yellows, stealing my breath for a minute and causing me to forget where I was.

  "Did you hear me?" Jake popped me in the arm with his empty bottle.

  "About hitting on the girl?"

  "Yeah. I told him not to worry."

  "Good. There's nothing to worry about. I'm not interested in bleeding for anyone for a long time." I shrugged. "I'm sure she's as fake as the rest of these chicks that snuggle up to me every time I leave the house."

  "It's the big bad-ass sign you have tattooed to your forehead."

  I brushed my hand along my face and forced my brow to contract.

  "Me? Naw... I'm as sweet as a kitten. Speaking of pussy’s..." I finished my beer and leaned over, pointing to the busty blond who had approached us moments ago. "Sandy... come here baby. Let's get our night started."

  "Oh fuck. You're not really gonna..." Jake stood up and turned to me.

  "I am. How much is the gig?"

  "It's for the entirety of the summer and it's around ten grand a month."

  My jaw
dropped. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

  That was three times what I was making at the hospital. I could work all summer and take the fall off completely. That would really give me time to find the right job.

  "Yeah. You want an interview?" Jake moved back as Sandy slipped in between us and snuggled up to the front of me.

  "Yeah. I want in." I glanced down at the girl, winking as she giggled at the hidden meaning behind my words.

  My brother lifted his hand and gave me a look.

  I shook it and glanced down at the girl. "Where you wanna do this, baby?"

  "How about at your place?" She slid her hands up my chest, purring like a cat.

  "Naw... how about the women's bathroom as you walk into the bar? It's a single room with a lock." I leaned down and brushed my nose along her cheek, breathing in.

  She smelled good and a quick fuck wouldn't hurt anyone.

  "Yeah," she whispered and turned, capturing my lips with hers.

  I meant as much to her as she meant to me. Absolutely nothing.

  Chapter 3

  The beach house in La Jolla was a bit much, but my father always did go off the deep-end in gift giving. I unpacked slowly, taking my time and ignoring the constant buzz of my phone. It was the group of girls I went to high school with, most of them friends with me simply because it gave them status and something to brag about.

  A soft sigh left me as I finished putting everything up. The big house was still basically empty after I unpacked. I should have invited some of the girls from UCLA to come down with me. There were two or three bedrooms, but each had multiple beds in them.

  I checked the refrigerator to see that my father had paid someone to come pack it with all of my favorites. My childhood rushed past me, sickening me as it always did. All those years of growing up with nothing more than nannies and butlers to raise me. With enough snacks and presents dropped sporadically around the house I was supposed to be okay with not having a father.