by Xyla Turner
Ever.
Tears streamed down my eyes by the buckets, but I would be fine in the morning. That’s what I kept telling myself.
* * *
No sleep came that evening and my eyes were red from crying all night. No makeup would fix the puffiness that gathered as bags on my face.
Shit.
My brother was due to get out of the hospital that evening, so I wanted to help him adjust but his girlfriend was on top of everything, which was such a relief. She seemed like a genuine girl and much better than his knuckled-headed friends. Though, I couldn’t be mad at Carl, since he helped me get something I needed to repay.
I felt like I was in debt to Shiz but there was no way I was talking to him. Not after what he’d said; what he insinuated about me. He didn’t know me, know what I was, who I am. He didn’t know Avery West.
Not for real.
The next day was horrible, since I had a bad night, I was in no rush to deal with customers about the fact that they didn’t read the fine print from when you sign up for a free giveaway, their number would be in our call registry. Period. I hung up on one lady and the other one I raised my voice. My manager came and must have seen the state of me, which was worse than normal. She asked if I was okay, I told her that I wasn’t, so she gave me the rest of the day off. This would cut into my hours and money, but I had some left over from the car that I sold.
Therefore, when I arrived back at my place, I was shocked to see a bouquet of flowers being delivered and the courier had placed them on the porch.
With no thought, I started speaking.
“Who are those from?” I called to the short delivery guy, who looked to be a college student with freckles splattered over his cheeks.
“Hi, ma’am. Uh,” he looked down at his pad and said, “They’re from a Shiz?”
He said the name like it was a question or a mistake. However, I wasn’t in the laughing mood. Therefore, I told him, “Take them back. I don’t want them.”
He blinked once and then again.
“Uh, ma’am,” he started to say, so I put more emphasis on my voice.
“I don’t want the fucking flowers, so take them back.”
He quickly jogged back up the steps, nabbed the bouquet and nodded to me as he went to his delivery truck.
“Good day, ma’am,” he murmured.
I slowly walked up the steps, put the deadbolt and latch on the door, and crawled in bed. My chest still hurt by the sting of what was said but now I also hurt because of his absence.
An hour later, I heard knocking but I put my headphones on and went back to sleep. By the time I got out of bed, I was tired and starving. Quickly, I made some food and ate in silence, only to have that pang in my heart again.
I didn’t want to call my mom, because she would know something was wrong and that woman is like a pit bull with a bone, once she discovers a mystery. So, I opted for Dad.
“Hey, Dad.” I answered when he said hello.
“Hey, baby girl. Everything alright?” he asked.
“Yeah,” I replied. “How are you?”
“Good,” he said in a hesitant voice. Then he let the word linger when replying, “Baby girl?”
I sighed.
He was no better than Mom.
“So, if I said I didn’t want to talk about it, would you let it go?” I asked.
“I could, but I suspect you did want to talk, since you called me,” he surmised.
Right.
“Okay,” he reluctantly said. “Let’s try this. It’s about a boy? Assuming it’s that guy, the landlord, and he’s made you mad.”
“Dad,” I whined.
“I must be right,” he chuckled.
“It’s really not funny Dad.” I huffed. “The thing is he’s acting like we’re together or something and we’re not. He’s my landlord, that’s all. And he’s super alpha. Wants to know why I’m talking with other guys. Completely interrupts and he won’t quit. Then he said something really mean and he don’t know me like that. I smacked him Dad. Right across his face, so I know he’s fuming. I shouldn’t have hit him, actually. But then he brought flowers and I refused them because I remembered what he said. Sort of forgot that I smacked him. But, ugh.” I groaned in the receiver.
Silence met me over the phone, then I heard light laughter.
“Dad?” I called.
“Sorry honey,” he said through louder laughter. “It’s just.” He sighed. “If you aren’t your mother’s child. I swear it.”
This had me confused.
“What do you mean by that?” I asked.
“Baby girl, your mother has the same temperament. Just feisty to the core. Act first, think later. That woman done got me into so much shit,” he laughed. “I love her to death. She speaks her truth, mine, yours and everybody else’s. She’s a little volatile at times. Then I have to reel her in but that’s my lady. That’s what I do and that’s what makes us perfect. That, uh guy of yours, the landlord, honey, you and he may be the only ones that don’t know but he likes you a lot. He ain’t about to sit back and let some other man invade his territory. The first thing he did was put you in a house. Made sure you were covered, a place where he knew you’d be, were safe and invited you into his family. That was the very first thing he did. Shit, the man so smooth, he made the rent something no one could refuse. Oh, he likes you, which is why me and your mamma made the trek over there to check him out. He’s legit. At first, I wasn’t too keen on what he’s doing with you, but he’s legit.”
Holy shit.
Why hadn’t I thought of that?
It was right there all the time and I was moseying around like a little girl, just oblivious.
“Do you think I should move out?” I asked. “I don’t want handouts or to be kept.”
Dad huffed and said, “I reckon he knew that too, which is why you pay any rent at all.”
Huh.
“And no, you shouldn’t move out. You two need to talk. Don’t do that running away from shit. Deal with it. Deal with him. Then if you don’t like what you see, do what you need to do. Don’t shortchange yourself because of pride. You got a lot going for you girl, don’t miss out by being bullheaded.” Dad shared, “And I ain’t talking about a house.”
My mind tried to process what he meant and just when I was about to ask a question, he told me.
“Gotta run, your mother’s coming and she’ll want to know what’s wrong. You don’t want her on his ass.” He chuckled and clicked off.
The man had a point. I did not need Lenora in on the drama. That woman wouldn’t leave a stone unturned.
No, this was something I’d have to deal with.
So, I acted first and would think about it later.
I found my way to the Guardians compound and asked the first person I saw if Shiz was around. Between the grunts and I don’t know, I walked up to the kitchen counter, where Bear was sitting.
“Hey Grizzly Bear,” I greeted with a huge smile and sat down at the counter. “What cracking?”
He slowly turned his head, saw it was me and then turned back around.
“Hey, tiny terror.”
I smiled at the man.
“Ha, you made a joke.” I laughed. “Who knew you were a ball of laughs?”
“Riots,” he answered dryly.
“You nervous about the wedding?” I asked for no particular reason.
“Fuck no,” Bear quickly said. “Trying to hurry up and get the shit over with. My woman is nervous and that makes her agitated, which puts me on edge.”
Man, if someone would have told me that this big hunk of a man, was head over heels in love with this feisty girl who had him wrapped around her pinky finger, I would have called them liars. Anything that woman wanted, he was all about it. He didn’t argue with her and though I wasn’t in their bedroom, I’d guarantee she was pleased first as a rule.
She seemed so sweet and innocent but I’m sure she had to be a pistol to carry on with someone like Bea
r.
“Gotcha, it must be stressful. Do y’all have a planner?” I asked.
“No, she’s doing it herself. Still working at the bar. Trying to help out Shay with the pregnancy. And some other shit, I’m sure,” he shared.
“Man, sounds like your best bet is to hire a planner and that will be one thing she won’t have to do,” I advised. “Then you’ll be less stressed too.”
He looked to me again with the side eye and chuckled.
“You may be on to something, tiny tot.” He nodded. “I’ll get on that. Oh, Shiz is at his store.”
What?
“Huh?” I asked.
“He’s at his store,” Bear repeated.
“What store?” I asked with my eyebrow raised.
Bear eyed me again and asked, “You shitting me?”
“Uh, definitely not shitting you.” I replied as all sorts of thoughts scrambled my mind.
What store? What kind was it? Did he own it? Was he the manager? Inherited? I was so confused, because he never, not once, mentioned this.
“Fuck, ain’t my place to tell ya if he didn’t. But his place is on Main Street. It’s called Sh-Ink.” He nodded and turned back around.
What in the world? I could not believe it, but I didn’t wait around to hear more.
“Thanks Bear. Owe you one,” I called back as I made my way to Main Street, which wasn’t far from the compound. Well, thirty minutes walking and about half of that driving. I walked up and down the busy street and looking from side to side, I finally saw the place.
Sh-Ink.
The S and h in bold Arial letters and every letter after the dash were in a multicolor cursive font. With a black canvas mounted above the store’s matching awning.
My heart raced as I stood debating whether to go inside or not, then my default mode kicked in. Opening the doors, I saw a woman at the main desk with spiked hair like I occasionally wore mine, a goth look to her and black nails.
I liked her already.
By the time I went to say hi, the vibe had hit me almost instantly. My head turned to focus in on where the energy was coming from and lo and behold, there he was standing behind a podium on an elevated floorboard.
The nameplate read, Shiz, Owner.
His eyes burned into mine until the woman said, “Are y’all through eye-fucking each other?”
My head turned to see the woman, whose nameplate read Addy, Administrative Sh-Ink Assistant.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“You two. Eye fucking.” She jerked her thumb towards Shiz. “Guess you’re the reason he been moving around here like somebody stole his dog, huh?”
A grunt came from Shiz, causing me to turn my attention back his way. The distance between us was deafening, but at the same time was loud and clear. The man must have read that, because he rounded the podium he was behind and began to stalk towards me.
Oh shit.
He was probably going to throw me out like I threw him out of the place that he technically owned. Therefore, I quickly semi-yelled, “I’m sorry for smacking you. I shouldn’t have done that because it was completely rude. Even though what you said was rude too, mean and untrue, I shouldn’t ….” Shiz dipped down while in stride, put a shoulder in my stomach and flipped me over him like I was an inflatable Barbie doll. So, after my initial grunt, I kept talking so I could at least say what I came to say. “I’m sorry again and for kicking you out. It’s your house, like, you own it. But I just felt like you were…”
My body tilted upward, and since there was sudden light, I knew I was outside.
Damn.
When the blood came back to my brain, my eyes were able to focus. It wasn’t outside but we were in a really bright room.
I looked at Shiz and asked, “What’s the full rent on your place? I would like to either pay it or move out because my dad told me, that you like me and that’s why I pay so little. Is that true? I, mean, that’s what he said, not me. I totaled a motorcycle that has been in your family for years, so I know I’ve done the unimaginable. I just…”
“Avery,” Shiz cut me off. “For fuck's sake, stop talking.”
I opened my mouth to say something but shut it right back. We continued to stare or more importantly, Shiz stared as my eyes wandered from his to other objects that weren’t as piercing as that gaze.
He was taking too long to say anything so I just sallied forth.
“Why didn’t you tell me you owned a tattoo parlor?” I rushed out. “Was it some sort of secret?”
“Fuck!” He growled. “No. It wasn’t a secret. It’s just you got under my goddamn skin and I can’t get you out. I don’t want you out. I just…fuck.”
“What?” I asked because he was making no sense. “I can move out or just pay you the full rent. Let me know.”
Shiz’s eyes were wild, almost feral as he stared at me with the look of a tormented madman. His hands kept running through his hair, every agonizing minute of him trying to say whatever he didn’t want to say.
“Look, Okay. I came to apologize. I did and that’s that.” I interjected into the deafening silence, then I turned on my heels to leave since he wanted to be a statue.
“Fuck, will you give me a moment?” he snapped with his hands still in his hair.
My huff of annoyance came out quickly, but I wasn’t sure what he was going to say, so my anxiety rose. I just wanted to apologize because he’d been great until that last scene. I wasn’t sure he would think of me in that way.
“Didn’t mean to say that shit, at your place,” he said in a low voice. “That wasn’t legit. That was fucked.”
My head nodded because I gathered he had more to say. Shiz’s eyes were full of conflict and I was not sure how to help him or even if he would let me. Being the impulsive person that I am, I moved towards him and said, “I shouldn’t have hit you. I’m really sorry.”
“No, sweetheart. That was some hit worthy shit,” he said as he took a step towards me. “I don’t believe that, it just threw me off. Those Skullz bikers are so fucked up, it’s crazy. Swag told me and I nearly lost my shit. It’s no excuse, but I want to protect you. Want you to be safe and…”
He trailed off but I was already moving towards him as my hand extended to touch his face. I was an idiot, I knew, but this man’s obligation to protect me drew me in. Completely.
“I don’t need protecting,” I told him.
He laughed out loud as my hands framed his face. Then he placed his on my cheeks.
“You, Avery West of the Westonians, need to be protected more than anyone,” he said before his soft lips touched mine. “Nobody else is taking the job because the position is filled. Got it.”
He wasn’t asking, the man was telling me.
I didn’t want anyone else taking the job, so I said against his lips, “I got it.”
That was when his hands moved from my face and were on my hips and we were moving back up against the wall. My arms wrapped around his neck as he went in and took his fill of my mouth. His tongue explored every facet of me, his hips were grinding into my stomach so I could feel the indent of his hard cock. My fingers grabbed locks of his hair to pull him closer and deeper into me, which resulted in Shiz’s growl as he grabbed my ass and kissed me harder.
It was messy but fucking sexy. I started to nibble on his slippery tongue, then his bottom lip before I dared put my tongue in his mouth. Once he started to suck on it, my panties grew instantly wet and my leg started to climb up his to get a better feel. Shiz grabbed my thigh and dipped down, so my core connected with his rigid hard-on.
Holy Moses.
He was big and hard as hell.
My small whimper must have pulled Shiz out of our haze because he pulled back and placed his forehead on mine.
“Shit,” he breathed. “Can’t do this here. I want you spread out, so I can feast on every single part of you.”
Shit.
My breathing was coming in at a fast pace from the intensity of the make-out s
ession. Everything seemed to be moving so fast, but I was a thrill seeker. There would be no running away from this and we both knew it.
“What’s stopping you?” I asked, causing his head to jolt back and those piercing eyes pinning me to the spot.
I couldn’t move, breathe or even say anything else. The man looked ready to devour every morsel of me, like an unleashed lion who wasn’t on the prowl, but had found his prey. The sweet innocent prey that knew no better than to mouth off to a caged beast.
With no further words, Shiz grabbed my hand and nearly dragged me until we reached the door.
“Woman, don’t tempt me to take you right here and now.” He nipped my bottom lip. “Swear, I couldn’t stop even if I wanted to.”
I nipped his lip back and that’s when he growled before pressing into me again. I could feel just what he meant by not stopping.
“Tonight,” he murmured in my ear. “Taking you out so we can talk. Then we decide. Okay.”
Yeah, I was hard-headed, as my dad would often say.
“What if I’ve already decided?” I mused.
“Fuck, sweetheart.” He groaned. “Then don’t change your mind.”
As if he were forced, Shiz backed away from me and put his hands in his pockets. The intensity behind those eyes was blazing still but his mind was made up. I knew no matter how much I wanted him to throw caution away, he had something to do, so I stopped.
“Okay.” I said. “I’m going to go home now and not freak out about tonight.”
Shiz laughed but he nodded and replied, “Put on one of those pretty dresses for me. I’ll be at your place around seven.”
My head nodded as I made haste to the door of the bright room. It almost looked like a doctor’s office. I waved at the spunky woman at the front and said, “Have a good day.”
“Oh, you too. I’m sure you are having one now.” She was smiling from ear to ear.
I guess she knew what I knew.
My day just got that much brighter.
Chapter Eight