We woke up in blissful ignorance, though groggy with a slight hangover. But much more of my grogginess was down to our endless play. Cody was lithe, strong and athletic in a way I hadn’t expected, his clothes had always hidden the fantastic definition of his body. He was toned, and because of that, I was smitten with touching all the emblems of manliness over his body. His had good pecs and well defined abs, and biceps which sprang up when he leaned over me, inside me, filling me up, while I gazed at his rapturous face. I enjoyed his body, the feel of him, and the taste of his kisses, soft, hungry and sweet. I knew he was enjoying my body as I was enjoying his, and there was such electricity between us when our eyes met – especially when we were busy in the depths of pleasing each other, that I wanted to make him happy all the more. I desired to see him cum, because it drove me over the edge to see how my body drove him wild. We made love for the last time that night around 3am, and it was a slow-motion affair, with Cody unable to sleep until he’d sampled holding me tightly from behind as I pushed my ass against him and he ground his cock up into the slick mess we’d both made inside me. I remember a soft, tired orgasm and then we were asleep. The morning light slapped us both round the head at eight-thirty as we remembered Joanna Laws warning.
“Jeez, I’m tired,” said Cody, hauling his slim body out of bed.
“No, Mr Barnes, you’re not tired, you’re knackered. And it’s all my fault. Remember to relay that to Joanna, for me.”
He made a kind of laugh, but he was mildly down. “Man, am I in trouble.”
“Cody. One question. Was it worth it?”
“I wouldn’t swap last night for the world, Ash,”
I glowed with happiness at the thought of finally being with someone who cared about me as I cared about them.
I stayed in Cody’s room while he got busy. He had to meet Joanna shortly after he showered. I made him a cup of instant coffee and wished him luck, but there was no chance in hiding that Cody had had a busy night. Part of me was pleased that Joanna would see how much my new man was enjoying my company, but I felt guilty too. I hoped he wouldn’t get in too much trouble. I slept it off until eleven and then I cleared off into town, and spent some time feeling happy that I had an ally and a friend again. After this adventure, whatever was going to go down back at college would be faced far easier now I had a sweet, loving ally. I wasn’t even stressed any more. I wasn’t worried about my fate. Life was panning out as a great adventure to be relished to the max and no one was going to stop me. I even had a lover to share the magnificent journey of life with.
I saw the first reality-shaking flyer of the day as I was eating a late lunch in a student bistro outside the city walls. There was a sheaf of abandoned cheaply made flyers in the corner window of the joint near the front door, where a load of other leaflets were kept in very loose order. I saw the name Brandon across the front. My stomach twisted. My chest burned. I picked up the green paper flyer and read every detail. Each word felt like a needle jab. The guy behind the counter was a hipster in a tight black Tee and an apron with a chunky beard filling his face. I showed him the leaflet. Someone like him was sure to know the low-down.
“Hey, have you heard about this?”
“Yeah. Some good looking chick came in this morning with those. They’re doing a special one off show at The Reading Room. It was only announced late last night. Must be a special kind of gig because there’s hardly any space in that pub and this guy’s getting to be a star. I’m definitely going along.”
The bearded hipster changed tack, seeing an opportunity in my question. “Are you going to be there?”
“Me? Oh… I doubt it. If I am I’ll be throwing tomatoes.” I looked at the time of the gig. I knew Cody came on just after eight pm. Brandon’s show started at nine. It was dropping into place as I looked at the leaflet. The guy wanted to prove a point to me, to Cody, to the whole world. I knew then the night was going to be tense and embarrassing. And there was a fair chance that it was going to be much worse than that. The night had the potential for disaster.
Eighteen
“We’re going to ignore Brandon Lynes presence at this festival, totally and utterly. Are you with me?” said Cody.
I loved Cody’s attitude. It was so obvious and it was exactly the right thing to do, even on such a big occasion. Causing a stir, getting everyone else het up because of his own emotional retardation – these things were Brandon’s oxygen. Now he wanted to treat everyone as badly as he was treating me. Man, Brandon was a fuck up, and I wanted no part of it. Besides, if Brandon’s performance was as bad as the last time I’d seen him there was an excellent chance that Brandon’s reputation was going to go Chernobyl.
“I’m with you stud,” I laughed.
Joanna Laws was talking to one of the venue organisers at The Grand, not far from us. Even though she was busy talking, I could see she’d been listening to the stud comments. She glanced over and fixed me with the look. I’d only just arrived after my last day perusing the city, enjoying the giddy feeling of a great new guy in my life, accompanied by the sweet ache my body felt from such a love making marathon. Joanna Laws couldn’t take any of that away, no matter how much she wanted to. I planned to hang around until Cody finished his 8.30pm gig. As soon as he was done we planned to take flight back to the hotel room and bolt the door. I was as excited as a school girl about the prospect of being intimate with him again, but I wondered how my body was going to feel tomorrow… still, I was sure it was going to be worth it.
“I’m having the time of my life right now,” said Cody. “I hope you feel the same. Promise me you won’t worry about a thing, because you don’t have to. We can fix it all together…”
I nodded and we wrapped our arms around each other. “I know. I’m not worried.” We broke apart under scrutiny from Joanna Laws. I felt a cloud brewing from her direction, and it wasn’t long before the rain drops fell. She waited until Cody was busy scanning the sections he was going to read from tonight when Joanna happened to walk by my shoulder. The woman always looked so damn good, she made a business suit and pencil skirt look as hot as any off the shoulder number. I wished I had that kind of smouldering thing going on. But I guess I didn’t need any more sex appeal right now. Cody seemed to like me as I was.
The woman narrowed her beautiful eyes and whispered at me. Her whisper was like a shout. “Cody came in here this morning looking like he’d been in the ring with Floyd Mayweather. I asked you to keep him fresh… Do you realise how important tonight is for his career? I thought you might care about that.”
“Oh, I do, Joanna. I care about whatever’s good for Cody. And Cody cares about whatever’s good for me. Believe me, if there was any way I could have stopped him, I would.”
In one of our late night conversations, I had asked Cody about his relationship and Joanna. He told me he’d been tempted, but he had said no. I don’t like being told what to do at the best of times. I couldn’t help but rub it in.
“He was insatiable…”
Joanna’s face changed from angry to curious – her eyes widened at the detail – and a hint of jealousy in her pursed lips.
“Really?”
“Really. He’s relentless,” I said, keeping my mirth just below the surface.
She scanned my eyes for sarcasm, but didn’t find any, then she ‘humphed’ and walked away probably wishing she’d experienced some of Cody’s relentlessness herself.
***
Elsewhere, Amanda stood behind Brandon Lynes in their hotel bedroom. Last night he cancelled the booking for the second room, which overjoyed Amanda. She was back in a flirtatious and queenly mode. Surely victory was not so far away. Brandon had overstepped the mark in pushing Ashley over outside the theatre, and Amanda had seen first-hand the sheer hatred in the girl’s eyes. There was no way that Ashley was coming back to him. And Amanda was ready to pick up the pieces – ready to be the solution Brandon Lynes didn’t realise he needed. Brandon stood bare-chested before the hotel dressing roo
m mirror. His reading notes were laid out on the desk before him. There were scribbled notes in the margins and he’d highlighted his favourite sections. “Roar at the crowd here,” said one of his notes. “Send out your power to the audience” he’d written by his grand conclusion.
He faced the mirror. His big blue eyes roamed the page, then looked at his own male beauty, his firm body and his eyes. He saw the unsettled quality in himself, how his eyes wanted to move all the time, how restless he was. His mind was careening between his rehearsal, to just how bad things had gone with Ashley… then again how much he wanted her… then how he would still force her back into line until she finally realised she was still in love with him. He looked at the beautiful face of Amanda in the mirror, as she kissed his shoulder and wrapped her bare arms around his waist, pressing her bosom against him.
“Mine, all mine,” she thought. And Brandon her claim on him as if he could read her mind. No, that’s not how his life was going to be. Brandon gently rubbed her elegant hands with his own, then held them tightly and turned around to face her. As she was pulled against him, and she let out a little sigh as she looked up at him. There was a challenge in Amanda’s eyes, and yet there was submission. She was in her underwear. Of course they had slept together last night, it was only right and natural. The girl loved him, it was the only right thing to do. She was a wonder to make most men jealous, but he already had this one. And what a man owns soon seems cheap. He wanted the gold almost out of reach, and he had to have it, no matter the cost.
His fidgeting mind needed quiet. He knew one quick way he could stave off his angst. From the desk he pulled up a tumbler with a half inch of amber liquid swirling in it, and tipped it down his throat. Then he looked at Amanda, unwilling to reflect the lust which he saw in her eyes.
“Get on the bed,” he said.
Amanda seductively moved onto the bed, kneeling upright so he could see her fine shape in every respect. She held out her arms for him. Brandon moved towards her like a bull facing the slightest toreador. After showing Amanda who was boss, Brandon planned to finish his reading, then plot his strategy for reclaiming Ashley Pearson and returning her to his side.
Nineteen
The Reading Room was crammed wall to wall with folks facing the stage, peering into the dark recesses of the venue. It would have been snug without a hundred people in it, and with them hectic tension was the dominant mood. Cody made out the figures of a few of the journalists from his own reading across the street. Before he arrived Cody had felt a prick of jealousy and fear that Brandon Lynes was going to burst his bubble. Now he was here, that feeling drained away. Instead he felt like he wanted to leave, but he looked at Joanna, and saw she was excited at what lay ahead. Yes, she deserved her fun. There was a microphone and a spotlight on the stage, and nothing else.
“I can’t wait to see this,” said Joanna. She grabbed hold of Cody’s arm and gave him a squeeze. Cody didn’t respond and felt awkward as Joanna was forced by the crowd to press close to him. He could feel the shape and softness of her breasts against his shoulder, the curve of her hip against him. She wasn’t apologising for her proximity – clearly he was the only one who felt awkward about it.
“Yeah, I can’t wait,” said Cody, lying as best he could. He looked at his mobile phone, checking for a message from Ashley. She’d gone to buy supplies for their love nest, and stupidly, Cody was worried that a beautiful tough cookie like Ashley was out in the city by herself. There was a sudden cheer, a whoop, a round of applause and a flash of camera lights as the muscular figure of Brandon Lynes appeared from behind a curtain. He held a folder of his notes. But Cody noticed his strange manner, and odd choice of clothes. Bizarrely, Brandon was dressed in fashion jeans with slashes through them, and a T-shirt with a graffiti style emblem on it. The T shirt was snug to his muscles. He looked good, manly for sure, but at the same time, why the hell was he dressed like the lead singer of a rock band? And why was he wearing sunglasses indoors? Cody felt a cringe coming on.
Cody saw the figure of Amanda standing not quite hidden by the curtain. He saw she was wearing similar fashion clothing. It didn’t fit the scene or the purpose. They looked all set to be a double act.
“Good evening, York, Good evening festival goers. I am Brandon Lynes author of 57 Pages and In Free Fall. You may have heard of them. I heard about your festival and I got so excited about it, and thought I should come along and share some of my work with you.”
So far so good, but Cody heard a slight slur in the man’s voice. He wondered just how many looseners Brandon had downed before he arrived on stage.
“And I heard there was another guy from my college performing right across the street. The red haired dude. Did you enjoy it? I hope you did. But now it’s time for a sharper pen, my friends.”
Cody looked at Joanna. “Did he just say that?” said Cody. Joanna Laws looked ecstatic. She leaned her head onto Cody’s shoulder.
“Yes, OMG, this is just gold. He is setting you up for headlines, isn’t this just delicious?”
Cody saw the hungry sparkle in Joanna’s eyes, and though she was addictive to look at, he felt the woman trying to seduce him with her look. Cody determinedly looked away to the stage as Brandon Lynes launched into his reading.
Cody decided Brandon’s performance was totally ham. No, he changed his mind. Brandon’s performance was serving a cheese and ham main course. The guy’s writing was passable at best, but his on stage delivery, tainted by drunken slurring and ridiculous theatrics, made his ham and cheese main into a soufflé which had all but collapsed. Ten minutes in and Cody was willing Brandon Lynes to finish the reading… for Brandon’s sake. This was a suicide. It was humiliation. Cody shook his head as he heard muttering around the room. There were a few camera flashes as Brandon Lynes grunted a few words and almost stumbled over his lectern.
Finally, the man himself realised something was up. He stared at the audience. There was silence. He looked around with his hands in his jeans pockets.
“I told you I was sharp, huh? This writing is sharp enough to cut steel, right?” Right then – Brandon’s face froze. He caught sight of Cody with Joanna Laws pressed up and cosying against him in her suit.
“Well, well, well. Mr Barnes,” said Brandon, not caring that he was on the microphone, “it looks like you and your agent are getting along very well. Good to have you here. And as you’re here I may as well take a word with you now. So, that’s it folks. You can buy my books at TheRightLynes.Com. I’ll do autographs at the bar.”
Brandon Lynes took his notes and jumped off the stage towards the bar. Amanda walked out from the curtain at his side. The crowd whispered, and then came furtive jeers and a few boos. Joanna joined in the booing.
“Don’t Joanna!”
“Why not, he tried to mock you. And he was as lame as they come. That performance was shocking!”
The crowd parted around Brandon Lynes. He appeared before Cody and Joanna carrying three tumblers of amber liquid, no ice. He was still wearing his shades, glinting with the light from the bar. Amanda appeared beside Brandon, she made the briefest smile at Cody and Joanna, but it was more like a wince of pain.
“Here, I got you a drink, pardner,”
“No thanks, Brandon.”
“It’s rude to turn down a drink, don’t you think?”7
“No. Not on this occasion,” said Cody.
“So, what did you think?” said Brandon, downing one of the drinks in one hit.
“Of your performance? Interesting, is all I’d say. But why you ever came here, I’ll never know.”
“Oh, you know why I came here, Mr Barnes. You know very well. I came to get what’s mine.”
Cody shook his head in disbelief. “Are you serious?! I mean, can you even hear the words coming out of your mouth? Have you got any self-awareness whatsoever? And you,” he looked at Amanda now, direct into her huge pretty eyes. “What do you think about this? I mean, come on, you two are way more than friends, anyo
ne can see that…?”
“Leave Amanda out of this.”
People in the crowd were looking at them now. So far the argument had been managed quietly enough, but Brandon’s voice was getting louder. The tendons on his muscular neck were starting to raise as he spoke.
“No, I’m very keen to hear what she thinks…”
“I- I think Brandon is just… hurting and confused right now… and I… I’m going to try and help him with that.”
Brandon span around to face Amanda. “What the hell did you just say? When did you ever say anything like that?! Amanda, how dare you…”
“I’m worried about you, honey… that’s all…” Her eyes filled up and she laid a hand on Brandon’s shoulder. He viciously shrugged it off and tipped a second tumbler of liquid straight down his neck.
“Leave me alone,” he hissed at her and put the glasses down.
“You my friend, need to get a grip right now, or your career will be in tatters, do you hear? That’s advice from an agent. Get a grip and back off, now,” said Joanna.
“Listen, lady, I earned your annual salary in thirty days. It’s you who should reel your neck in. If you’re backing losers like this one, you’re the one who need some career guidance.”
“This ‘loser’ is going to beat you in every possible way, Mr Lynes. When his novels are winning awards and being made into movies, it’ll be Brandon who?”
“Get out of my face. He knows why I am here. I’m here because of Ashley. She’s coming back with me.”
Cody kept his tone low. “Brandon you’re embarrassing yourself. It’s over between you and Ashley, get it? We’re an item now, her and me. You were a bully and now she’s free of you.”
“Free of me? She’ll never be free of me and I’ll never be free of her. She’s not here, is she? If she was here she’d been talking to me instead of this chicken shit. I’m going to look for her,” Brandon made past Cody and Joanna and stormed towards the street, downing his final drink on the way.
Questing Heart: Fighting Heart Erotic Bad Boy Romance Series Book 2 Page 10