“We’re having a party this weekend to celebrate. I know it’s short notice, but I’ve already talked to Cassie. She’s going to close Serendipity early so she and Nate can come, at least for a little while.” Lisa’s exhilaration was infectious as she chattered away. “You don’t work tomorrow, do you? I’m taking the evening off to shop. I thought maybe you’d want to come?”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been shopping with a girlfriend. My friends and I used to go to the city regularly for weekend expeditions. I wanted to replace the memories with new ones that didn’t hurt so much.
“I’d love that. And I could make cupcakes for the party,” I offered.
Hayden’s arm came around my waist, surprising me. “What’s this about cupcakes?”
“For the party this weekend.” Lisa flashed her ring in explanation.
“Right. Good plan. You’ll make extra?” Hayden burrowed his nose into my hair and whispered, “Maybe I can come over and help with the icing.”
* * *
Hayden didn’t get the opportunity to help me, because Lisa and I spent the next two days planning her party. He was miffed by my lack of availability, but in the wake of Lisa’s announcement, I welcomed the space. Almost. The nightmares returned without him, and his absence in my bed made me anxious. It reaffirmed how much I’d come to depend on him.
Sarah wasn’t working, so I invited her to join us with the party planning. She and Lisa hit it off right away.
The three of us congregated in the kitchen, the counter overflowing with baking supplies and cooling cupcakes. Sarah measured icing sugar and dumped it into the mixer. It puffed up in a sugary cloud and she shrieked, batting it away.
“It’s sugar, not poisonous gas,” I said sardonically.
“I don’t understand why the two of you like baking,” she grumbled as Lisa hip-checked her out of the way and took over.
“Why don’t you pour some wine?” Lisa suggested.
“Excellent plan. I’ll take care of drinks, and then I can be the delegator or something. I’m good at that,” she said with a cheeky grin.
“How’s your stalker situation as of late?” I asked.
Sarah rolled her eyes. “Don’t get me started. He has to be the most persistent man I’ve ever met.”
“What’s this about?” Lisa asked.
“Oh, just this guy Chris who’s been at my work a lot lately. He won’t take a hint.”
“What she’s not telling you is that Chris happens to be covered in tattoos,” I prompted.
Lisa’s eyes went wide. “Not our Chris?”
“The one and only.” I grinned.
“Oh my God!” Lisa gave Sarah a speculative look. “Well, it all finally makes sense.”
Sarah’s hands went to her hips. “Does someone want to fill me in here? What exactly does ‘our Chris’ mean?”
Interesting. She sounded jealous. Maybe his persistence was paying off. “I meant to tell you a while ago, but it slipped my mind. Chris and Hayden work together at Inked Armor.”
“Excuse me?”
“Oh! You didn’t know?” Lisa asked. “This just keeps getting better and better!”
“How did it slip your mind? It didn’t strike you as vital information to pass on?” Sarah looked flustered. She rushed across the room and peered out the window at the backlit sign across the street. “He works right across from where I live? I can’t believe you didn’t tell me until now!”
“I’ve been preoccupied.” The morning I put things together, I’d been overwhelmed by more stressful revelations. Since then, Chris hadn’t come up in conversation, and I hadn’t thought to unveil that little tidbit.
“Right, of course.” She sashayed back to the counter and grabbed her wine, downing half the glass in one gulp. “Wait. So this party he invited me to—” She rooted around in her purse and pulled out the postcard-sized invitation. “This is for you? He invited me to an engagement party? What the hell?”
“You have to come. Please?” Lisa begged. “Chris will totally expect you to blow him off. I would pay to see his face when you show up. He’ll cream his pants.”
Sarah crinkled her nose. “Ew. I hope not. That wouldn’t say much about his stamina.”
“There’s nothing wrong with Chris’s stamina,” Lisa said dryly.
“How do you know?” Sarah asked.
“Word of mouth.”
“The rumors must be true then.” Sarah looked upset by the possibility.
The oven timer went off, so I checked on the cupcakes.
“So, where is it you work?” Lisa asked.
“The Dollhouse.”
There was a beat of heavy silence as I took the tray out of the oven.
“I worked there before it changed hands,” Lisa said. “From what I hear, it’s still a pretty loosely run establishment, and management isn’t any better now than it was then.”
“You used to bartend at the same nightclub Sarah works at?”
Sarah cough-choked on her wine. “The Dollhouse isn’t—”
“That was part of my job detail, but it was a long time ago.” Lisa switched off the mixer and turned to me. “Let’s check out your closet and plan your outfit for tomorrow.”
* * *
Lisa picked me up early Saturday afternoon. Together we loaded six dozen cupcakes into the trunk of her car. Before we headed to her place, I stopped at Inked Armor to let Hayden know he should meet me there. He hadn’t slept at my place since Wednesday. He was in a foul mood.
“I’m staying over tonight,” he said testily.
I was looking forward to a peaceful sleep. I stretched up on my tiptoes and kissed his chin. “That sounds good. I’ll see you in a few hours?”
“You’re really excited about this shit, aren’t you?”
“I guess. It’s nice to have girlfriends, to be involved in something normal.”
He leaned down and kissed me. “I love that Lisa fits into your idea of normal.”
“Everything is relative, isn’t it?”
Lisa poked her head in the door. “Hands off, Hayden, she’s mine today.”
“She’s been yours for the past two days. I want her back.”
“You can have her tonight. I’m double-parked, so we have to go.”
Lisa hauled me out of the shop before I could steal another kiss. Hayden watched me through the window as I got into her car and we pulled away.
Lisa’s house was magnificent. It was clear both she and Jamie were artists in the strictest sense of the word. Her 1950s-era décor blew me away. Everything appeared to be original and in pristine condition.
It was very different from my own jumble of mismatched furniture. It dawned on me that Hayden only ever came to my place, which I guess made sense because of TK. She was still just a tiny thing; as silly as it might be, I didn’t like the idea of leaving her alone overnight. He always stocked my fridge with various snacks and drinks, but the only personal item he left behind was a toothbrush and body wash so he didn’t end up smelling “girly” after a shower. I wondered what his place would look like. I imagined it would have a distinct absence of clutter; stark, neat, organized. It stung that in all the time we spent together, he never invited me to stay over. Not once.
Lisa and I spent the rest of the afternoon decorating her house and preparing appetizers. She knew how to throw a party. At six o’clock we went up to her bedroom and changed. The theme reflected her love for all things ’50s, and she poured me into a red-and-white dress with a flouncy skirt and a narrow bodice. The back came down low, showing off the outline of my tattoo. Lisa pulled my hair into a high ponytail, and the effect was complete.
We were in the kitchen, testing Lisa’s spiked punch, when Jamie came home. She swatted him away from the food and sent him straight upstairs to get ready. When he came back down twenty minutes later he was wearing black pants, a matching vest, a white dress shirt, and a bowler hat. The vest he’d worn before, without a shirt under it. Leave it to Lisa t
o make a costume party out of her engagement celebration.
Chris showed up shortly after, decked out in a suit. When he saw me, he gave a long, low whistle. “Hayden’s going to flip his shit.”
“In a good way or a bad way?” I asked.
“That depends on who hits on you tonight.”
“Will he be here soon?”
“He’ll be a while yet. He ended up with a last-minute newbie.”
Cassie and Nate stopped by for a drink. There was talk about Thanksgiving dinner preparations. I’d tried not to think about the upcoming holiday. It was too close to the anniversary of the crash for comfort. Both Cassie and Lisa informed me I was to come for dinner, enlisting me to make cupcakes. Apparently it was quite the event, followed by Black Friday shopping.
Just after nine, the tone of the party changed. The house began to fill with Inked Armor clientele and acquaintances of Lisa’s and Jamie’s. I felt inadequate among the inked and the pierced, like an imposter surrounded by those who had embraced the lifestyle to an extent that I hadn’t. Hayden was such an extremist that it made me curious about the kind of women he’d been with prior to me. I didn’t have to wonder for long, though.
A tall blonde with death trap shoes came into the kitchen and shrieked when she saw Lisa. They hugged, obviously old friends. The blonde didn’t even acknowledge my existence as she looked around the adjoining rooms. “I don’t see Hayden. Is he busy already?”
“He’s not here yet,” Lisa replied, shooting me a quick glance.
“Well, when he gets here, tell him I’m looking forward to catching up.” She winked at Lisa and sauntered off.
“Who was that?” I asked, watching her long legs disappear around the corner.
“Just a friend.” Lisa poured more wine into my glass. “Hayden should be here soon.”
Several more women asked after him. While some of them wore designs that were clearly his, not all of them seemed to be clients. I shouldn’t have been surprised. He was gorgeous and talented and recalcitrant, a heady combination of masculine energy. They all preened as they surveyed the room and wore the same look of disappointment when Lisa informed them he had not yet arrived.
When he did, he was a sight to behold. Dressed in black pants and a white button-down, he obviously decided he’d tried hard enough. His sleeves were rolled up to his forearms. The top two buttons of his shirt were open, revealing a white undershirt. His hair was out of control, as if he’d been in too much of a rush to bother with it. He didn’t look happy as he scanned the room, his frown deepening as he took in the crowd until he saw me standing alone in the kitchen. His eyes burned with a predatory gleam as he took a step toward me.
And then some she-banshee threw herself at him.
27
HAYDEN
Son of a mother-fucking bitch.
Of the dozens of people packed into the living room, I could count four that I’d been with. And not as in dated. As in fucked once and never repeated the act again. Getting through the throng of bodies to Tenley would be like crossing a minefield. I’d be lucky if I didn’t come out with shrapnel in my ass.
Lisa had warned me, but I hadn’t factored how many of the girls Lisa and Jamie were friends with were also familiar with me. Not much had been off-limits back in the day. I probably should have prepared Tenley a little better for who or what she might encounter.
To make the situation worse, Tenley looked disconcertingly hot dressed up like a ’50s housewife, with her hair pulled back in a smooth ponytail. People were looking at her. She’d been here for hours without me, and any number of assholes could have hit on her. I wanted to flip her skirt up, wrap that ponytail around my hand, and bend her over the closest surface available, just to make a point. I didn’t even have a chance to close the door before Trina, a former fuck, came hurtling at me. I’d been with her once, three years ago. Sienna had participated, too. I flinched as she vise-gripped my neck in a hug. She blatantly rubbed her tits on me. I kept my hand up, refusing to return the molestation, and watched Tenley’s smile dissolve.
Fuck.
“Hey, Trina.” I disentangled myself from her.
“Hayden! How are you? You look gorgeous,” she tittered.
I had a vague memory of what she’d sounded like when she’d come. It wasn’t pleasant. Her hands were like annoying little birds, flapping around my face and my chest.
“I have someone I need to talk to. I’ll catch you later.” I stepped around her and headed for a very irritated Tenley.
“Friend of yours?” she asked and took a sip of her wine.
“We used to hang out.”
“Is that a euphemism?” There was a bite in her tone I’d never heard before. It made me nervous.
“It wasn’t meant to be.” Though in this case it was. I moved on to a less detrimental topic. “Sorry I’m late. Chris stuck me with a closer who needed a break every five minutes, even after I gave him a pussyball.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “Pussyball?”
I smiled and leaned in close so my lips were at her ear. “Say it again, but whisper this time, and just the ‘pussy’ part.”
She poked me. I grabbed her finger and bit it right above the first knuckle, dragging my tongue over the pad. “Please?”
That did it. Her glower disappeared and she parted her lips. Her palm flattened on my chest, and she rose up on tiptoes. I bent to accommodate her, until my ear was at her mouth.
“No,” she whispered in a voice that sounded like sex.
“I’ll eat yours later if you do,” I whispered back, bargaining.
“Hayden!” she exclaimed loudly and glanced around the room.
“Later then.” I’d get her to say “pussy” again, in the privacy of her bedroom. Then I could make good on my promise. Right now there were eyes on us. More specifically, her. I didn’t like it.
“Who put you in this?” I asked. Her dress was practically backless, most of the outline on display.
“Lisa.”
“Where is she? I need to have a chat with her.”
“Why?”
“Because.” I touched the marks I’d left on her neck. I could barely make them out anymore. “You look entirely too fuckable.”
She adopted a sugary smile. “It seems we both have that problem tonight. I need more wine.”
She tipped her head back and downed what was left in her glass. With a flip of her ponytail, she spun around and strutted to the makeshift bar. Tonight would either be very good or very, very bad. Tenley was already half in the bag, judging from the fluidity of her movements and her willingness to chug white wine.
I remained by her side, introducing her to former and current clients, but only the ones I hadn’t engaged in illicit activities with. Tenley gravitated to the rooms where the crowd was less dense. She was inquisitive and engaging. She didn’t gawk or grow uncomfortable around the guy with the fucked-up neck tattoo depicting a very realistic open wound, or the chick with more steel in her face than an android. I hovered over her protectively when people checked out her ink. She accepted compliments with humble grace, defaulting to me when they praised the artwork. I’d never been so proud of an outline in my entire career.
The party started to get a little more raucous as the evening wore on. Around midnight, Sarah waltzed in the door in her nine-inch stilettos. Tenley was ecstatic to see her. Sarah and Lisa petitioned to steal Tenley from me to do whatever the hell chicks do together at parties. I wasn’t keen on the idea. If Sarah and Lisa took her, I couldn’t monitor her alcohol consumption. Or ensure my post-fucks wouldn’t approach her.
Lisa patted me on the arm. “Don’t worry, Hayden, we’ll take care of her.”
“I’ll come find you in a bit,” Tenley said and kissed my cheek.
I pulled her up tight against me, unconcerned with the audience. “Don’t talk to strangers,” I murmured.
And then, because I couldn’t help myself and I was a territorial asshole with issues, I parted my lips and
sucked on her neck. Hard. I released the skin and smiled down at my handiwork. Then I looked around to check if anyone noticed. Lisa seemed like she was trying not to laugh. Sarah clearly thought I was insane. Tenley was pissed. Superpissed.
She ran her hand over the purple-pink mark. “Why would you do that?” she asked, loud enough that several conversations close by came to a halt.
“Uh . . .” I couldn’t answer the question without sounding like a complete dipshit.
“I haven’t been able to wear my hair up for two weeks, Hayden.” Her hands flailed and wine sloshed over the edge of her glass. “Now I have to walk around with a hickey for the rest of the night.”
Tenley was irate. Her cheeks were deep pink, her eyes burning. I had a feeling the hickey wasn’t really the problem and that later, when we were alone and she was sober, I was going to get it. Most of the time I liked it when she got feisty. Unfortunately, this might be one of those occasions when the feistiness could end in a fight if I wasn’t careful. The potential for hot sex in the aftermath might not be so bad, though.
“Do you think this is funny?”
Shit. I must have been smiling.
She tugged me forward by my shirt. Her lips parted and her tongue swept over my neck. Then her teeth pressed down and she sucked so hard it hurt. When she was done repaying me for my transgression, her teeth scraped over the sensitive skin and she nipped me. I rubbed the spot, half expecting to feel blood, but my fingers came away clean.
“Maybe that’ll keep the bitches at bay.” She turned away, stomping through the crowd.
Sarah shot me a look that would neuter a weaker man. Lisa smiled sweetly. “I love you, Hayden, I really do, but you have a lot to learn. I hope you enjoy the couch tonight, or the solitude of your own bed.”
“You think she’s that mad?” Tenley’s ponytail swished angrily as she headed for the sliding doors that led to the backyard.
“You just gave her a giant hickey because you can’t stand the thought of anyone looking at her but you. Yes. She is that mad.”
Clipped Wings Page 29