Thinking of that brought tears to my eyes and I blinked hard and tried to focus on something else. I stopped at the light and looked out the window. I saw a couple of kids on the sidewalk. He was walking away from her and she was standing calling to him, begging him to stop. Watching this brought me back to the day that Hope had finally come back to me. I smiled to myself at the memory of that night and continued on my way to the office.
8
Carter — Thirteen Years Earlier
I lay with my hands behind my head, my eyes closed, my mind drifting, wondering what her mouth would feel like wrapped around my cock. I reached down and ran my hand through her silky blonde hair; she turned her head to face me, those beautiful blue eyes staring back at me as her head rested on my chest. She smiled that beautiful sleepy smile I remembered so well. I jumped, the sound of the door opening pulling me from my dream state. The girl I had picked up last night stood there looking at me with a smile, her dark curly hair framing her face.
“Hi.” She sauntered over to the edge of the bed and sat down beside me, running her hand down my chest.
“Hey.” She started rubbing her fingers in tiny circles over my chest just like the girl from my dreams used to; I grabbed her hand to stop her. After her, I stopped any woman from doing that to me. That was her thing, and her touching me that way brought back too many memories of Hope.
“Want to go for round three?” she asked, placing a few light kisses over my abs. I felt my half-stiff cock start to harden at the thought. She continued to kiss her way down my abs, her hands running back up and over my chest and back down again. She was just about to pull the covers down over my now painfully hard cock when I stopped her.
“Something wrong?” she asked, her devilish brown eyes looking up at me.
“Nope, just tired.”
“He doesn’t look too tired.” She grinned.
“I just need to get some sleep.”
She stood up from the bed and looked around my room in search of her clothes. I couldn’t help but take in her perfect form. She was an attractive girl, as were all the girls I brought home, but they were nothing more to me. They were here merely to fill a void that I had felt for the past three years.
“Are you taking off?” I asked.
“I think so. Maybe I’ll see you tonight?” she asked, avoiding eye contact with me.
“I doubt it, babe. Got to study.” It didn’t really matter, I didn’t normally hang out at the bar I had met her at, and I was always careful not to divulge my local hangout. I normally didn’t bring girls back to my apartment either. I may have slipped up on that one. Chances of running into her again were slim to none unless she came back here, which I prayed she didn’t.
“What about over the weekend?” I watched as she covered up her beautiful legs in jeans; not too long ago they had been wrapped around my neck.
“I work most of it, and I have to finish off a few assignments,” I said, stretching.
She threw her shirt on and grabbed her coat from the back of my desk chair. “You going to walk me out?” she asked, batting her eyelashes at me.
I sat up and pulled my sweats on.
“Perhaps dinner?” she asked quietly as we got to the door. I was going to be in trouble with this one. Three times in the last five minutes she has asked to see me again. I guess it was time to lower the bomb. It wasn’t the first time; I’m sure it wouldn’t be the last time that I had to do this either.
“Honey, I’m not really looking for anything serious right now.”
I watched her eyes drop to the ground. She turned away and slipped her shoes on. “I had a good time,” I whispered in her ear, before sucking her lobe into my mouth.
“Me too,” she mumbled, stepping out into the hall.
“I’ve got your number. Maybe I’ll call you sometime. You suck dick like a fucking champ,” I said, winking at her. I’d become a total asshole when it came to women, and it wasn’t something I was proud of. My mother would have slapped the smile I wore right off my face if she’d heard me say something like that. Regardless, it had to be done.
“Don’t bother,” she called back as I watched her perfect ass walk away from the apartment door before heading back inside my apartment to study.
9
Hope - 13 Years Earlier
I had been in the city a little over two days and hadn’t heard a thing from Carter. In fact, he hadn’t even read my message. I had gotten myself a dingy little hotel room for the week. It was a dump. There were stains on the sheets, and the room smelled of urine, but it was cheap; it would have to do. I had barely slept. I had listened to two people fight on one side of my room and two other people fucking on the other. My dad would go haywire knowing this was where I was staying.
I opened the door to my room and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. Pieces of garbage lined the outside wall of the building, and dirt was caked on the windows so thick, it looked like they hadn’t been washed in years. As I shut the door to my room and turned to walk toward the stairs that would take me to the parking lot, two men sat outside of their rooms. They both looked at me and smiled. Both were missing teeth, and a heavy BO smell poured off them. They probably hadn’t washed in months. I hurried past them both as they whistled and catcalled after me. Once I was down to the street, I headed off in the direction opposite to the one I had come from two days ago. First thing I needed was to find some type of a job. I certainly wasn’t planning on ever going back home, but there was no way I could stay in this place any longer than necessary.
Soon, I was in a better part of the neighborhood and I walked past a bunch of restaurants and storefronts hoping that one of them had a sign stating help wanted. I was feeling defeated as I came to the end of the buildings—there was nothing. I was just about to turn around when I saw a sign for Joe’s Bar and Grill. The place looked like a hole in the wall. It was in the basement of this building, but they had a help wanted sign out front. As I approached the stairwell, I was greeted by a bunch of bikers. Most of them ignored me, but one of them stopped me before I went in.
“Look at what we have here...” he said, eyes raking over me. “Sweetheart, you look good enough to eat.”
I felt a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach, but I ignored him and pushed past him into the pub. I looked back over my shoulder to see his face pressed up to the glass, continuing to watch me from outside.
The place was empty inside. One or two people sat in booths against the far wall sharing some food. I walked over to speak to the girls behind the bar. “I’m here to inquire about the job?”
She looked me over. “One moment, darling,” she purred. “I’ll get the manager.”
I sat down while I waited. Within minutes, this guy walked around to where I was sitting. “Hey, I’m Mike. Holly said you were here to inquire about the help wanted sign.”
“I am.”
“Well, it’s a waitressing position. You ever waited tables before?”
I shook my head. “I can learn. I’m sort of in a desperate position.”
He thought for a moment. I was pretty sure he was going to turn me down. “I’m a fast learner and a hard worker. I don’t have any references, but if I don’t turn out to be any good, you can just let me go.”
“Whoa, hang on. I can tell you need this job badly and you are the first person to inquire in over two weeks. I guess maybe we could give you a shot.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, when are you able to start?”
“Anytime. Right now.”
He grabbed his phone from his back pocket, checking something quickly. “All right well, you’re in luck. One of the girls called in sick; I need someone tonight. We will see how tonight goes, and if you work out, your hours will be four until close, three days a week, at least for now, summer may change that though. Days will be determined depending on the needs of the business.”
“What does it pay?”
“Four dollars an hour plus tips.”
He looked me over. “I know it doesn’t sound like much, but we do split tips in here, so you should be fine. Uniform is black skirt or pants and black tank top, nothing too revealing. If you can be here today at two, we can go over the basics, and I’ll have one of the girls help you out tonight.”
I glanced at my watch. It was already eleven and I would need to find a place to get what I needed to wear. “One question: I’m new in town, where is the closest mall?”
“About three blocks away. I’ll see you at two.”
10
Carter - 13 Years Earlier
I sat staring at my calendar. It was clear—I needed no distractions over the next three months; I was getting ready to take my last set of exams this month and then I would be taking the BAR exam in September. Carson was getting ready to go to Europe for the next three months before going on to study his specialty, and I was going to have the place all to myself. It couldn’t have come at a better time, to be honest. My future lay in my hands, and there was no doubt, I had to pass.
My phone vibrated against the desk. I finished penciling in my study schedule for the week and then grabbed my phone, checking to see who it was. I knew Carson was standing over my shoulder and I prayed he didn’t look at my phone. As soon as I saw the name, I excused myself and headed into my room.
FELICE: HAS HE LEFT YET?
ME: NOT YET, HE’S JUST FINISHING PACKING.
FELICE: I CAN’T WAIT TO SPEND SOME ALONE TIME WITH YOU.
I didn’t respond to that message. I wasn’t going to lead her on.
“Carter, have you seen my spare charger?” Carson stuck his head in the room. I dropped my phone beside me.
“I thought I saw it in the kitchen.”
He took off again in search of the last few things he needed for his trip. My phone vibrated again.
FELICE: WHAT TIME IS HE LEAVING?
ME: I TAKE HIM TO THE AIRPORT AT SEVEN.
FELICE: OH WELL. I PROBABLY WON’T BE AROUND TONIGHT, BUT I AM FREE TOMORROW.
ME: NO PROBLEM.
Just then a picture message came through. Clicking the message open, I was faced with a picture of her perfect tits on the screen. Fuck me! I could feel myself grow hard.
“Carter, do you have an extra bag I can borrow?” I shut the screen off, dropped my phone down beside me, and pulled my spare pillow over my lap.
“Yeah, in my closet.”
My phone vibrated again. I didn’t dare look at it while Carson was in the room. As he dug through the closet, looking for my duffel bag, my phone went off again and again. “Fuck, man, are you going to get that?” He stopped, turning to look at me.
“It’s just one of the guys at work.”
Then my phone rang. I lay there ignoring it, knowing exactly who was calling. “What the fuck, Carter, are you going to answer that?”
I peeked at my phone, Felice’s name and picture covering my screen. “It’s the wrong number.”
He stopped what he was doing, turned to me, and held out his hand. “Give me the phone. You know how I love those wrong numbers.”
“Na, never mind, man, you’ll be late.” I took my phone and buried it deep in my pocket. If he saw who was on the phone, I would be a dead man. Carson had been after our neighbor Felice for the past year, but lately she was more interested in me. She had just suffered a bad breakup and, like me, wasn’t looking for anything too serious. She just wanted to have fun, but I’d been down the Felice road already and wasn’t too keen on doing it again. “It’s all good, man, they’ll stop calling.”
“You’re acting strange. Are you having a bad day or what?”
“No, man, just tired and stressed.” Carson shrugged and finally went back to searching for my bag, which he finally found at the bottom of my closet.
“Okay, I just have to pack this, and we can be on our way to the airport.”
I nodded. “I’m just going to rest. Let me know when you are ready.”
As soon as he was out of the room, I picked up my phone again, this time opening up the chat window. Three more pictures lay across my screen—Felice in all her glory. I looked over the pictures once again, taking in the round curve of her ass and her perky, full breasts. I adjusted myself, and then another message came through.
FELICE: I SAW HER LEAVE THIS MORNING. WAS SHE FUN AT LEAST?
ME: SUCKED DICK LIKE A CHAMP.
FELICE: DID SHE NOW?
ME: YEP, FELT DAMN GOOD TOO. IT’S BEEN A WHILE.
FELICE: THAT’S TOO BAD. YOU KNOW THERE IS A WILLING GIRL RIGHT ACROSS THE HALL. NO NEED TO GO SO LONG. YOU HAVEN’T HAD ME SUCK YOU OFF IN A WHILE.
ME: WON’T HAPPEN. AS ATTRACTIVE AS YOU ARE, I REFUSE TO MIX THAT WITH OUR FRIENDSHIP AGAIN.
I had made up my mind after the last time I had made that mistake, for the second time. The first time was right after I moved here, after seeing Hope when I returned home with the infamous Trent King. The girl who ultimately took my heart and broke it into a million pieces in only a few weeks’ time. The second time with Felice, well that had just been a lonely night and a drunken mistake. I knew she was just seeking comfort because she had just broken up with the man she had been seeing. I shut my phone off and closed my eyes. I guess she wasn’t going to respond to me, which was a good thing; these types of conversations with her had to stop.
“I’m ready, man,” Carson yelled.
I got up off the bed, quickly changed into dark blue jeans and a white button-down shirt, shoved my phone in my pocket, and left to take Carson to the airport.
11
Carter
I walked into Joe’s place, the smell of stale beer and fried foods hitting me hard. I grabbed a seat at the bar, while waiting for my brother Hunter and a couple other guys from school. I should have been studying, but I needed to unwind, and I was hungry. I looked up from the menu and saw my buddy Mike approach from the far end of the bar.
“Hey, man! What can I get you?”
“Hey, Mike! Grab me a pint of whatever you have on tap tonight.” Joe’s Bar and Grill was a small neighborhood bar and restaurant. I had spent many nights here throughout my years at school; it was my home away from home. The best thing for me was it was close enough to home that I could walk if things got out of hand.
“Here.” He slid the glass across the bar to me. “You’re in here earlier than usual tonight.”
“Yeah, I just got back from taking Carson to the airport. I still have about three hours of studying to do tonight when I get home.”
Mike chuckled to himself while pouring a couple beers for the two men who had just walked in. “Yeah, so you decided to come down here and drown your sorrows instead.”
“Yeah, the sorrows of having an apartment all to myself for the next three months.” I let out a deep laugh.
“Hey, how’d that chick turn out, the one you took home from the dance club last night? She was all over you.”
“Fuck, she stayed the night. She was at least good for some tension release.”
I took another mouthful of beer, emptying the glass. “Can I get another one, and a couple pounds of wings while you’re at it?”
“Sure thing. You going to be here for a bit tonight?”
“Probably, the guys are coming, why?”
“Just want you to check out the new waitress I hired. She is hot as fuck and sweet too. I think she might be good for you. She’s a cute little blonde with gorgeous blue eyes. Suddenly I’m upset at myself for instilling the ‘I don’t date my waitresses’ rule,” he chuckled.
“Sweet, but you know I don’t tend to mix with any of your girls. Too close to home.”
Mike let out a laugh. “You really don’t want any attachment, eh?”
I shook my head and took a drink, not with a blonde-haired blue-eyed girl I didn
’t. “Nope. The broad I had last night, I probably shouldn’t have taken home. She was persistent this morning. I had to lower the bomb.”
Mike let out a laugh. “All right, man, you guys going to grab a table?”
“Probably, just put us in a good section.”
“No problem. Why don’t you just take your usual spot?” I nodded. I knew the guys would be here soon, so I walked over to our usual table and took a seat.
I glanced at my watch; it was almost midnight. I stood in the bathroom, my head against the wall, more to hold me up than anything, while I emptied my bladder. I heard the door open and the bathroom fill with loud music, getting quieter as the door shut, and then I heard my brother’s voice behind me. “Carter?”
“What is it, bro?”
“How many drinks have you had tonight?”
“The usual. Why?”
“No reason.”
“If there is no reason then why ask? It’s not like I am driving home.”
“I was just wondering because I fear we may have a slight problem on our hands.”
I zipped up my pants. I’d had way too much to drink, but I wasn’t letting him know that. I dragged my sorry ass over to the sink and washed my hands before turning to face my brother. “Don’t tell me that chick I picked up last night is here?” That was the first thought that entered my mind, and I laughed it off.
“No, no, but you may wish she were here. I think this may be a little worse.”
The Malone Brothers Boxed Set Page 21