by Frankie Love
“They didn’t want what happened to them to happen to me.”
Jules looks at me with pity, with a brokenness I hate seeing in her. “But it already happened to Sawyer.”
Her words cut hard, the truth a fucking blade that my heart can’t take.
I am the reason Sawyer died.
I should have immediately fought harder—louder. More. I should have come clean and demanded the culprit to show his fucking face.
But I didn’t.
I was a goddamn coward and now Sawyer is gone and for what?
For my own security?
It means nothing, not now. Not ever.
Sawyer is gone and who knows who might be next.
I can’t let it be Jules. I can’t let this go on. I need to tell my side of the story and demand justice for the death of my best friend.
“You make me want to be a better man, Jules.”
“You are a better man. You are the best man. And I love you. You can do this next thing, even if it’s terrifying. Even if it’s scary. You can show your face. Remember what I said earlier, you can’t keep anyone safe if you’re in the dark. Step out of the darkness and enter the light.”
I nod, knowing she is fucking right. Then I undo the belt on her jacket, and pull back the fabric, revealing her bare shoulders, her perfect breasts, her everything.
“I’m going to make love to you, baby,” I tell her.
She nods, her face full of hope. Full of belief in me. It makes my cock fucking hard and my heart fucking hers and I know that whatever comes next we will be okay.
Because we have one another.
On the floor, I brush the loose strands of hair from her heart-shaped face, I kiss her ears, her neck, her lips. She tastes sweet and smells like home and when I press my hand between her legs, feeling her soft wet pussy, I know where I belong.
“Take me, Cal,” she whispers. “Take me with you.”
“Always.”
My fingers slip between her folds, pressing against her beautiful flesh. She moans against me, echoing my movements as her hand reaches for my cock, taking hold of my shaft and running her hand up and down it.
“Oh, Jules,” I growl, grinding against her perfection. She lies against pink pillows, our bodies melting together as I rub my thumb over her clit. She buries her face in my shoulder, then biting my neck, then begging me to fill her up, to take all of her right here, right now.
I ease my fingers deeper in her, teasing her, wanting to get her so close to coming that she goes crazy. Her pussy loves to be finger fucked, and I move inside her, her juicy cunt letting me know this is what it needs. I grind my hand against her, the walls of her tightness throbbing in pleasure.
“Oh God, Cal,” she whimpers. “I’m so close, oh, oh—” And then her pussy is squirting, more than it ever has, she arches her back, her thighs dropping and giving me as much access as I want. I want it all.
I move faster, my fingers finding the spot she likes and she keeps gushing. Lowering my head, I taste her sweet pussy, loving it when she comes against my mouth, and I lick up all her release, sucking hard on her round clit, her thighs wrapping around my face, locking me in place.
Good, I don’t want to move from this position, I could lick and suck on her pussy all damn day. She twists away, though, and pushes me to the ground. Straddling me backward she fills her mouth with my cock again, telling me to keep licking her, and with her ass on my face, I start eating my baby out again.
Oh god, she tastes so fucking sweet, my cock throbs as she sucks me hard, 69ing me like she can’t get enough. My hands are on her round ass, squeezing those cheeks, my mouth licking her slit up and down as she keeps coming all over me.
And fuck, she knows how to blow me. My cock is ready to burst, our bodies slick with sweat as we fill one another up.
She moans, her mouth so fucking full of me, and she takes so much of me I know my girl is gagging, and I love that she wants to take more. Her lips are so tight against my cock, sucking me off until I’m ready to explode.
I come in her mouth, my tongue fucking her pussy as she swallows my seed, sucking as hard as ever as she pumps me in her, then her tongue swirls against my tip, licking my length, plunging me back into her mouth. And her cunt is just dripping, my tongue as deep as it can go, her ass pressing hard against me as I roll her back over, the soft cushions beneath us, around us. We are in a plush oasis of pleasure and I climb on top of her, both of us catching our breath.
“You taste so good, Cal. I love your cock so much.” She bites her bottom lip, her hand still holding me, fondling my balls, making me hard as fuck all over again.
“And I love your dripping pussy,” I say, pressing my cock into her. “I didn’t know you were a squirter.”
Her tits are round and I can’t help but kiss her nipples, sucking them hard, wanting to press my cock between them. “I didn’t know I was either.”
I can’t help it, with her on her back her tits are too fucking tempting. I put my cock between her full breasts. It’s rigged and ready, and she squeezes her tits around my cock as I pump against her. “You like to be titty-fucked, love?” I ask, thrusting myself against her.
“Oh yeah,” she moans, looking at my tip with such desire. “I want you to come all over me.”
I know she does, she wants to be covered in my come, wants it all over her and I’ll give my girl exactly what she wants. I move faster, her tits turning me on like a mother fucker. Her hands reach for my ass, pulling my body closer to her face, and my cock is pumping so hard, I’m ready to explode all over her.
“Don’t make me wait, Cal,” she begs. “Don’t be a dick tease.”
I grin. “You don’t know what that means, and I sure as hell hope you never find out, sugar.” I come then, not wanting to make my baby wait. She grips my ass cheeks hard as I come all over her big round titties, her mouth wide open, lapping up all my cream like a good girl.
“Don’t stop,” she moans. “Fuck me again.”
I shake my head, wiping my come off her lips, leaning down to kiss her like she deserves. Hard and deep and forever. “I’ll fuck you as long as you need.”
“I need it now. I’ll need it later too, but my pussy wants you so bad, Cal.”
I move my fingers back to her sweet spot, feeling how wet she is. I press two fingers deep inside her, where I finger fucked her hard earlier. Damn, she does need more.
And when she starts licking my cock up and down, getting it hard as a rock, I know I need more too.
“I fucking love you, Jules,” I tell her.
She closes her eyes, wrapping her hand around my cock. “I love you too, Levi Callahan. So much it hurts.”
“Let me take away all of your pain,” I whisper, kissing her again, my fingers rubbing circles over her hood, right where she needs it.
She blushes, wrapping her legs around my body as I fill my baby up. Her arms are around my neck, and I lower myself to her, our bodies one.
I love that when we explore one another’s bodies, we learn more about ourselves.
She’s learning that her pussy is so perfect she could be a goddamn porn star, and I’m learning that I could eat my girl out every day of my fucking life.
“I love you, Jules,” I tell her, filling her up and rocking against her gently.
“Whatever comes next,” she tells me, “I have your back.”
Her words are a fucking gift I will never tire of.
Jules is my forever, and I will never make her question that again.
26
The next Monday Danny calls Gretchen, Collette, and me into a meeting. In the elevator, on the way to his floor, we can’t stop talking about the fact that the Sports Illustrated magazine hit shelves today.
“You both look phenomenal in it,” Collette says. Her attitude is really something else. She could have become jaded or bitter over losing this spread, but instead of making this about her—she has been beaming over our photographs all day.
When
we get to Danny’s office, he has champagne for us, and he gives us hugs as he offers us his congratulations.
“All three of you have really made a place for yourselves in this city in just a month.”
“I’m sorry if I let you down,” Collette says. We each hold flutes of champagne and click glasses.
Danny shushes her. “Not a word. You did nothing wrong. It’s the people who did this to you who should pay.”
“It would help if we knew who that was,” Gretchen says, downing her glass in one swig.
I lower my gaze, knowing Cal’s plans this week to meet with Exposé and tell his story. Doing so is going to change his life forever, but it will also put him in control of his life. It will let him take the wheel and drive his story in the way he wants. The Fuck Club hasn’t reopened, and even though he hasn’t quite figured out what he wants to happen to the place, he is determined to do something good with the property.
I’m so proud of him, though of course I just want to tell everyone about who he really is, but I know it isn’t my place. It’s Cal’s story to share, and soon enough everyone will know it. And whether or not the person who was selling photos gets caught—at least no one will have any questions about the Fuck Club’s role in Sawyer’s death.
“You have really lit up this town, and the fact I was able to sign all of you in the same month feels like I landed the luckiest break in the world.”
I nod, and can’t help but think that even though the last month has been harder than I expected, there has been a lot of good from it too. I don’t have all the money I need for the farm, but I’ve made a dent in the bills.
Danny grins and reaches for three envelopes on his desk. “These are for each of you.”
“What is it?” Gretchen asks reaching for hers eagerly.
“What in the world?” I say, pulling the check from my envelope. Collette whistles as she looks at hers.
“Bonuses,” Danny says, holding up his hands to explain. “I know the paychecks were lower than you initially hoped, but I hope these make up for it.”
The checks are for twenty thousand dollars. “I don’t know what to say,” I whisper. This is going to really help with Dad’s debts.
“Don’t say anything. It is the least I can do for the way you three have gone above and beyond for me this month. And I have another surprise, “ he says.
“What?” Collette asks, her eyes lit with happiness.
“I got you tickets to the premier of the new Jezebel movie tonight.”
“Jezebel?” My heart sinks. “Isn’t that Sawyer Bennett’s new film?”
Danny nods. “I promised Exposé you’d be there. And I have tickets for each of you to bring a date.”
I shake my head, unable to swallow my emotions. “I don’t think I can go, I mean... Sawyer just died and it’s gonna be really hard to watch that.”
“Sorry, darlin’, but you’ve got to go if you want that check,” he laughs.
“Are you serious?” I ask. “You’ll cancel the check if I don’t go?”
“Aww, no, I know you wouldn’t let your old Danny Bruneau down.”
Gretchen reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “We will be with you. And maybe Cal will want to go. It might be good for him, actually.”
Danny speaks up, “It might be. They are doing a whole tribute to Sawyer at the premiere. His parents will even be there.”
“Oh, really?” I ask, feeling slightly better. Maybe it just felt callous, when actually it’s going to be a really meaningful and tasteful event.
“See,” Collette says. “It’s going to be good. You should totally invite Cal. Although, if he and Sawyer were best friends, don’t you think he already has an invite?”
“He didn’t mention it, but of course I’ll ask him.”
“Great, ladies. Once again, you are going to be a smashing success.”
Cal had been invited but had declined the invite.
“It’s fine,” I tell him over the phone. My roommates and I are in an Uber headed back to our apartment.
“Look, I don’t want you to go to your first red carpet event alone,” he tells me. “I want to be there with you. But I think it’s kinda strange Sawyer’s parents wopuld even go.”
“I know,” I tell him. “It’s so soon.”
“It might sound crass, but they’ve always seemed to like the spot light more than necessary.”
“Ouch,” I say. “Kind of a cold assessment, isn’t it?”
“I know,” Cal sighs. “I sound like an ass. I’m sure they are going with good intentions.”
“Look,” I tell him. “I’ll be fine, you don’t have to be with me to make sure I’m safe.”
“I’d feel a lot better if you weren’t alone.”
“I won’t be alone. And honestly, I don’t have to go.”
“I thought you said there was twenty grand on the line?”
“There is,” I say, already having cashed the check in my mind. “But I bet Danny would let me keep it if I asked very nicely.”
“You shouldn’t owe anyone anything in this town. And look, I can do this for you. Besides, Sawyer’s parents will be happy to have the support, I’m sure of it.”
“If you’re sure,” I say, slowly.
“I’m sure. Now I need to go find a tux. Haven’t worn one in years.”
“I love you, Callahan.”
“I love you more, Jules.”
When I hang up, my friends tease me relentlessly for having fallen so hard, so fast.
I don’t mind their teasing, not for a second.
“So, what are we going to wear?” I ask them.
Gretchen grins. “Something tight and gorgeous.”
“And something expensive. Because we just got a hella big bonus,” Collette squeals.
We laugh and tell the driver to turn around, headed to Rodeo Drive.
I may not buy something as ‘designer’ as my roommates, but I will do what my dad and grandma insisted—appreciate this time in LA for what it is.
In the limo, Cal squeezes my hand. We decided to arrive on our own, separate from my roommates, who are going with Danny. This is a big moment for Cal, and while no one is going to recognize him as the son of the Mallones, it will still be the first time he has been in front of cameras since his parents died.
His fingers run up my thigh. “You look insane in this dress, Jules,” he tells me. I found a vintage Dior, and the shop offered to lend it to me if I agreed to mention them on the red carpet. It is soft blue, strapless, and fitted to my knees. With black stilettos, I feel classy. “Oh, take a photo of me to send to Grandma,” I tell Cal. He takes my phone and snaps a quick picture.
“Looks like they knew you were talking about them,” Cal says handing me back my phone. My dad has texted.
“He loves his new smartphone.” I send the picture to my dad and pull up the text. Before I can read it, though, the door to the car is opened by the valet. “Oh, crap, we’re here,” I say, stuffing the phone into my sequined purse. Looking at Cal, wanting him to have my undivided attention tonight, I smile. “We’re going to do great.”
“Yeah, we are,” he says, holding my hand as we step out of the limo. “We’ve got one another.”
I turn, blinking hard, as my eyes fill with flashing lights as the press document every step we take down the red carpet. Cal laces his fingers through mine.
“And later,” I whisper in his ear between poses for the camera. “You get all of me.”
“Is that a promise?” he asks.
“It’s a guarantee.” I laugh. “Now, be good arm candy and smile like you mean it.”
He looks at me, shaking his head. “Girl, when I’m with you, I do mean it. You can’t fake real.”
“Are you always going to be so cheesy?”
“It’s not cheesy when you mean it.” He kisses my cheek. “Now stop giving me a toothache.”
I frown. “And how am I doing that?”
“You’re just so damn sweet.”
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I swat him with my purse, shaking my head, our laughter helping us forget the tension this moment could bring. We finished walking the carpet and are safely inside the theater doors.
We got through it. We did. We can get through anything.
But then we see Sondra standing with Sawyer’s parents and the fear I had about being here forms around me again like a cloud of dust.
Cal’s fingers tighten around mine. “Fuck,” he mutters.
I hold on to him, but I already feel his energy shift, his memories resurfacing.
We shouldn’t have come.
27
When I was younger, I’d come with my parents to events like this. Everyone would stop and watch as my mom and dad walked down the red carpet. My mother would look like a Hollywood movie star from another era, my father, always right next to her, would watch her smile at the cameras with adoration in his eyes. I’d be beside them, looking at them with wonder, believing I was the luckiest boy in the entire world.
Before we walked down the red carpet though, I remember being at home, watching my parents get ready for the evenings out. Mom would be in her dressing room, make-up artists fussing around her, stylists pinning up her hair—but she never seemed to notice any of that. She would catch my eye in the mirror, and smile at her only child. She’d mouth the words I love you, Levi—she only had eyes for me.
And I knew she did love me. It grounded me, kept me stable in a world that could have easily got me all kinds of fucked up, especially as I got older.
But my mom loved me, and my father loved me, and that was more than enough. Even as I got older, after they died, and I learned how to play as a bachelor, I still never let the excess get to my head. I had vacations all around the world, women when and where I wanted them—but it never caused me to think I was more than a man. I didn’t let it get to my head because I grew up watching my father remain loyal and devoted to my mother and me. I may be a bit of an ass, but I never became jaded, cruel, or entitled.