by T. L Smith
“Business or pleasure?” I ask him. He then decides to eye me up and down, a lazy grin playing on lips.
“Pleasure,” he draws it out and I see a peek of his tongue. He smiles and then the unexpected happens. Gabrielle walks up, wraps her arms around him and kisses his cheek. He doesn’t move as she does, instead watching me for a reaction. One he will not get. Gabrielle smiles at me, walks over and kisses me on the lips. She then steps back so her back reaches Mika’s front and his arms go lazily around her.
“I’ve missed you so much, I haven’t seen you in over a month,” she gushes.
I wave my hand out indicating my business. “I’ve been busy as you can see.”
She giggles and nods her head. “I can tell. I love this place. So different to what we used to do,” she says, smiling.
“Used to?” I question, taking my eyes from her then back to Mika, who stands there letting Gabrielle do all the talking.
“You haven’t heard? Well, we closed that business down. Actually, it was right after you left.” She looks back to Mika. “Isn’t that right, baby?” She smiles up at him showcasing her beautiful smile and pushing her breast up and leaning back on him.
“That’s right.”
“Interesting,” I mutter. He hears me and his head snaps up, looking at Gabrielle then to me.
“Well, you two lovebirds have fun. I have some work to do.” I walk forward and kiss her cheek then turn to look up at Mika. I surprise him when I lean up and kiss his cheek. His sharp intake of breath is hard to miss. “Have fun,” I whisper, turning and walking away.
I don’t get far before strong hands wrap around my waist, lifting me off the floor and hugging me so tight I might pop. “You want it hard or soft?” a voice murmurs in my ear. I turn to see Sebastian, one of Jagger’s college friends. I haven’t seen him since he left for Chicago three years ago. I fucked him in the back of his car before he left, as my goodbye present.
He’s dressed in slacks, no jacket and a pink shirt bunched up at his elbows. His hair is cut short, with a mixture of blond highlights and brown. He drops me and I turn to him and he picks me up, wrapping my legs around his waist.
“Should we try one of your rooms? They sound interesting.” His smile is all lust. I look past him and see Jagger standing there, dressed similarly to other work colleagues, shaking his head at us. He hated us together, mainly because it was all sex with us, nothing more.
“No, I have work to do. So you need to put me down.” I lean back, lifting my arms from his neck and his smile drops like I’ve wounded him.
“Just one taste? Just one taste is all I need.” His face is close, his lips an inch from mine. He licks his lips, wanting more. I lean forward and kiss him with a closed mouth, no tongue, and lean back.
“Now put me down. There are hundreds of willing ladies out there for you. Hell, I could set you up with one tonight.” He places me on the ground, his arms loosening his hold on me.
“You’re a buzz kill. I came here to have you.” Jagger walks over and slaps him on the back. Walking off back to his group of friends, he looks wounded until Jagger hands him a drink.
“Did you bring all your friends?” I groan, hearing and watching them become rowdier as the night wears on.
“Only a few,” he says, looking past my shoulder. “He looks pissed,” he says. I turn to see Mika standing there, watching us. I turn and shrug my shoulders—it’s not my problem.
Chapter 30
The night is wrapping up and security is starting to clear the club. I stay in my office unless I’m due on stage. I have mountains of paperwork to clear up and get through, things that have to be organized and men that need to be paid. My head hurts from looking at it. I may have to hire someone because I sure as shit can’t do this all by myself.
There’s a light tap on my door, then it’s opened and Gabrielle walks in. Smiling, then taking a seat in front of me, she crosses her legs. Her short pink dress riding up when she does so.
“Can I ask you not to make contact with him? I think I’m in love with him,” she says.
She loves him? Do girls just do that? Love someone so quickly?
I lean back in my chair and she watches me, playing with her fake nails and waiting for my reaction. She’s nervous, but about what I’m not sure.
“I haven’t made contact, Gabrielle,” I tell her. She can’t tell me who I can contact, though.
“I know, it was his idea to come tonight. But, I’m not you. He tries with me, I know he does. I’ve wanted him for a such long time, but that night you walked out it was my first taste. I couldn’t stop after that and neither could he.” She blushes.
“Gabrielle, don’t come in here telling me what to do. If you’re comfortable enough in whatever it is you two have going on, don’t come in here and stir trouble. You won’t like the answers you end up with.”
“I just wanted to tell you that I love this place, you’ve done great. And thank you for leaving him, for giving me a chance to have him.” She stands and walks out, leaving me with a ‘what the fuck just happened?’ look stuck on my face.
I stand and walk out and she heads for the front door. I smell him before I see him, his musky scent reverberates through my nose. I stay where I am, leaning against the outside wall of my office still watching the doorway.
“She loves you,” I tell him.
“I know,” he says. I chance a look at him. His eyes are also focused on the door. I walk in front of him claiming his full attention.
“Don’t bring her back again,” I warn, walking back inside my office and shutting the door in his face.
*****
Every morning before I go into work to start on the paperwork, I stop at the coffee shop. I like to think I’ve grown slightly. I’m not exactly the girl going out and trapping men anymore. I do it differently now, without forcing their respect for me. Today, I’m served by the same barista who serves me every day. He’s cute, in a geeky kind of way. He always smiles and, some mornings, gives me a free muffin. This morning when I walk out, I notice written on my cup is his name and number. I stop at the door before I leave and see him watching me, waiting to see if I notice. I walk back to him and he looks shocked. I guess it doesn’t help that I have a bitch face on.
“Is this your number?” I ask him, he nods, unsure of what to say. “Is it for a date?” I ask again. He goes to speak then stops and clears his throat.
“Yes, I was wondering…do you want to go on a date? With me?” he mutters, looking anywhere but in my eyes. I consider it for a moment. Then decide, why the hell not? My first date can’t be all that bad, can it?
“Okay, I’ll text you my address. Pick me up at seven and take me to a sushi place. Actually, I’ll book.” I walk out, wondering what the hell I’m going to wear. What do I say on a first date? I sit in my car and call Bexley maybe she can help me.
“What do you want, Aria?” Zeke’s voice comes through my car Bluetooth system.
“I need to talk to Bexley. Is she there or tied to your bed?” I question him.
“Actually, she’s tied to the shower. So can you make this fast and just ask me whatever it is you need to discuss?” Damn it, I didn’t want to talk to him. He probably knows as much about dating as I do. Nothing.
“I have my first date and I don’t know what to do.” I run my mouth off really fast. He laughs in my ear.
“First, huh?” he questions.
“Well, they say it’s bad to fuck on the first date. That’s about as much as I know, though, I don’t play by the rules and neither do you. God, why am I talking to you about this?” I slam my head on the steering wheel making the horn beep loudly and causing people to stare. “You don’t even know how to get a single gift for a birthday. You bought her the whole damn store.”
“And guess what? I do it every year now. Get the best fucking blow job in return for it, too.” He laughs again. “Just be yourself…” he pauses, “Actually don’t do that, act like someone different, any
one but you.”
“Fuck you!” I swear at him.
“Shit, Bexley is screaming, her wrists are sore from being tied to the shower. If I don’t get in there now, I will hunt you down for interrupting my fucking.” The phone beeps and I look at it to see he’s hung up on me. Prick.
One hour later Bexley calls me back. She doesn’t say much at first and I can hear her telling Zeke to leave her alone.
“Sorry, Aria, Zeke said you needed help with a date. Anyone I know?” she asks.
“No, just some guy who serves me breakfast.”
“Okay, tell me where he’s taking you.”
“Well, I picked the place.”
“What do you mean you picked the place? Didn’t he ask you?”
“Yes,” I sigh, “and no. He left his number. I wondered why so I asked him, and he said he wanted to go on a date with me. I told him to pick me up at seven and that I’d book the restaurant.” She doesn’t say anything at first, and I hear Zeke’s booming laughter. Bexley is obviously trying to cover the phone as she tells him to shut up, but I can still hear him.
“Honey, that’s what the man is supposed to do. You don’t initiate. He started it, he should have been man enough to follow through.”
“I think he was too shy,” I murmur into the phone. Zeke’s laughter booms again.
“God help him with you then. You’ll have him running back to his mother with his tail between his legs.”
“Zeke, you better shut your fuckin’ mouth,” I swear at him over the phone. “Bexley, get away from him or I’m hanging the fuck up.”
“I can’t. He is, well, he is, kind of, in me.”
“Didn’t you just have sex in the shower?” I ask, shaking my head at them.
“Yes,” she squeaks.
“Why would you call me back then?” I ask, not understanding them at all.
“Zeke said you had a major emergency that it was life and death.”
“I’m going. Zeke, you’re a fuckhead,” I say, ending the call.
Chapter 31
I’m dressed in jeans and a jacket when Toby the barista picks me up. He stands at my front door, not looking much different than how he’s usually dressed. Jeans, plain shirt, glasses on. He smiles at me and he looks nervous. Walking me to his car he opens the door, and I give him the directions to the restaurant. We walk in, me in front and him tailing me. We’re seated with menus and some bottled water. He doesn’t speak much just sits back reading his menu. I put it down without even glancing at it because I already know what I want.
“How many woman have you fucked?” I ask him. He drops his menu, looking at me with his mouth hanging open. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that? Bexley was no help on what to do on these dates.
“Um…do you really want the answer to that?” he asks, removing his glasses and cleaning them, avoiding eye contact.
“Well, I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t,” I state, my eyes boring into him.
“I don’t think that is, well, I don’t believe that we should be discussing things like that on a first date,” he stutters.
“Do you plan on having sex with me after this date?” I ask a different question and, once again, his mouth hangs open. The waiter comes over and takes our order. It takes Toby just as long to order as it did to read the menu and it irritates me.
“So, do you?” I ask again when the waiter is gone. He sits back in his seat, touching his glasses again but not removing them.
“I didn’t think so, no,” he finally answers me.
“Why?”
He shakes his head. “Could we maybe discuss something else? Like maybe what you do for work?” He changes the subject.
“I run a male entertainment venue,” I tell him and his face goes white.
“Like strippers?” he whispers.
“Yes, amongst other things.” I nod my head.
The date becomes boring and soon I’m playing with my food while listening to him talk about video games. I shouldn’t have asked him what he does for fun because it’s boring the ever loving shit out of me.
He talks, and talks, and talks about a stupid video game and I have no idea what he’s talking about. I tune him out and look out the window. The night is bright, the moon is full, and it’s a beautiful evening.
A face appears in front of me on the other side of the window, and I jump slightly. Mika stands there with a sign that reads Escape? I scan over it and fight to hide my smile. I excuse myself though I’m not sure Toby’s even listening, as he’s now playing a game on his phone.
I walk straight out the door to see Mika back in his usual suit and tie.
“You come to rescue me?” I ask him with a broad smile. He nods his head and gives me his arm. Wrapping my arm through his we start to walk down the street. It’s quiet, there’s not many people out due to the change of season. Winter is coming and the air is cold. We are silent as we walk, watching our surroundings and enjoying the quiet.
“How was it?” he asks, half laughing, I playfully hit his arm and drop my head.
“Absolutely awful. He wouldn’t tell me how many people he’d slept with. He wouldn’t tell me if he planned to sleep with me. All he talked about was his stupid video game,” I mutter, kicking a rock with my boot. He stops and laughs so loudly he drops my arm and bends over holding his midsection. I stand there with my arms crossed over my chest clearly not impressed with his reaction. He finally stands a huge grin still on his face.
“You didn’t ask him that, did you?” His mouth twitches, trying to stop himself from falling into fits of laughter again.
“Of course I did. Why wouldn’t I want to know if he planned to bed me later?” I ask confused. Maybe they have the dating thing backward—idiots.
“You don’t do that!” He shakes his head, offering me his arm and walking again.
“Okay Mr. I-Have-This-Shit-Down-Pat, tell me. How did you woo Gabrielle? Did you take her on lavish dates? Wait for a certain amount of time to fuck her?” I ask him, actually wanting to know the details. He stops walking, jolting me as he does.
“It doesn’t bother you?” he asks.
“What?”
“Asking about my relationship with her?”
I give him an odd look. “Why would it?” I question. He shakes his head and continues to walk.
“I didn’t woo her as you like to put it. She kind of planted herself in my path giving me what I needed.”
I nod my head and tap his arm. “I’m glad,” I say sincerely. He needs that, wants that. He doesn’t respond and we walk for a long time, talking about nothing and everything. I continued to tell him how awful my date was and that I don’t think I’ll ever be doing that again. He laughs and tells me he can’t wait to tell Zeke. I ask him not to and he holds his hands up in mock surrender.
“She asked me not to see you again. Did she tell you?” I ask, bringing the subject back to Gabrielle.
I didn’t realize we’d been walking for so long as we approach my house.
“So, I’m very confused as to why you’re here,” I finally say.
“I needed to get out of the house, take my mind off things. You seem to do that well,” he mutters.
“Does she know where you are?” I ask and he nods his head.
“She knows.”
“And she’s fine with you being in the vicinity of a seductress like me?” I bat my eyelashes. He smirks as he watches me, then turns back to look at the street.
“No.”
“Interesting. She won’t be some crazy girlfriend that comes and sets my car on fire or something?” I question seriously.
“No. She’s too afraid of you to do that shit.”
I nod my head and mutter, “good,” under my breath.
We stop at the front of my house, all the lights are off. I walk the stairs with him still on my arm, breaking our arms apart upon opening the door. I step inside and he stands there rubbing his head.
“You sleeping okay?” he asks, looking down the
n back to me.
“Better,” I tell him, but it feels odd. He seems nervous, which is unlike him.
“Good,” he states, looking around anywhere but at me. “Can I see you tomorrow?” he finally asks.
“I’ll be at work in the morning, you can come then if you like though I won’t be much fun. Paperwork,” I mumble and he laughs lightly.
“Okay, I’ll see you then.” Turning, he walks away and I realize he doesn’t have a car. Running down the steps, I see he’s already past my house and walking past the neighbor’s as I yell, “Do you want a ride to your car?”
I watch the slight shake of his head and he turns so he walks backward as he talks, “No, I think I may just walk a bit longer.” He keeps walking backward watching me until he disappears in the dark.
I walk upstairs, lock the house up and have a shower. I wonder why Mika showed up. Why all of a sudden is he’s wanting to see me, with no intention of sex. I try not to dwell on it. Thinking about one thing too long never turns out well, especially where the opposite sex is involved.
Chapter 32
He’s standing at the door of my work when I pull up outside. Jumping down from my car, carrying paperwork in one hand and my bag full of more paperwork in the other, I fish my keys out. Mika is dressed like he was the other night in jeans and a nice plain shirt that shows off his bulky arms. In each hand, he holds a coffee. I laugh when I see them. They’re from the same coffee shop that Toby works at. I didn’t get a chance to go there this morning as I slept through my alarm. Not realizing the time, I threw on the first thing I found on the floor and walked out the door, grabbing a jacket as I went.
“You. Are. A. Life. Saver. Marry me now,” I exclaim, eyeing the drink and pushing the door open with my hip. He walks in, sliding past me. I smell him and then smell myself, thank God I don’t stink. I didn’t even think about whether these clothes were dirty when I threw them on this morning. He smells like heaven—clean, shaven, Mika. I don’t even want to describe what I smell like.