Caught Looking
Book One of the Hot-Lanta Series
Meghan Quinn
Chapter 1
It has been two years today since George Lawrence broke Jane’s heart. She can’t believe it has been two years already. It seems like only yesterday she was picking out her wedding dress and talking to florists. Little did she know her fiancé was about to ruin her life.
This is the second time she will sit alone in her apartment and mourn the loss of one of her biggest dreams: becoming a wife. She decided last year that January 23rd was dedicated to getting absolutely plastered by herself while listening to sad old lady music and wasting her life away in pizza boxes and cartons of cookie dough ice cream. The first time she celebrated her fiancé cheating on her she found herself waking up in the stairway of her apartment building, with blender in hand sporting shorts, a sports bra and one sock. Her neighbor, Mr. Mendez, woke her up by poking a broom stick at her and yelling vamanos! She pulled her pathetic carcass out of the stairway and retreated to her empty apartment. This year she decided to go for a replay, since last year was so successful.
Why is it that a guy thinks it is alright to propose to the woman they “love” and then find it ok to go and sleep with the office slut on many occasions? One would think that proposing means that said man wants to be with said woman for the rest of their lives, in a committed monogamous relationship. Apparently, she missed the memo that cheating was ok when it came to George’s proposal.
It felt like yesterday when she just finished up with her final dress fitting and wanted to surprise George with a lunch and lay. She wore her sexy lingerie to spice things up since their sex life had been a little dry and thought the element of surprise would also send his shaft into high gear. Well there was surprise awaiting her for sure. When she walked in, all she could see was George hovering over Rebecca, the office slut, and plowing her so hard on his desk that she thought she may have seen the desk denting. God Rebecca was gorgeous. It was hard to compete with someone who had massively fake boobs and a body toned in all the right areas. She should have known earlier when George was working late and helping Rebecca with her new office position that something was going on between them. Jane stormed out of the office throwing her ring at the hooker and proceeded to move out of their beautiful home and in with her parents.
The one good thing about George and his cheating ways was it gave Jane drive to prove to everyone that she didn’t have to be a wife; she could actually succeed on her own. She took the education she earned at Duke University and applied it to her superior organizational skills to start her own event planning business, JB Events, also known as Jane Bradley Events. Although, JB Events was still a small business, she put on some great events thanks to her gay friend, Albert Winchester, whom has many connections.
Jane pulled into her apartment complex, grabbed her pizza and ice cream from the passenger seat, booze was already chilling in the freezer and she headed for her door. As she reached for her key to open her door, it flung open startling the crap out of her. Molly, her best friend, stood in the doorway and yanked her inside.
“What the hell are you doing here?” Jane shouted. “I gave you a key for emergency reasons only!”
“Girl, this is an emergency, have you seen your eyebrows? They’ve become one!” Molly said. “I have come to rescue you from your January 23rd self-destruction. I will not sit back again and listen to Mr. Mendez bitch about how he had to poke you for 5 minutes so you would get out of the stairway. It is time you get out of this rut you are in.”
“What rut? I’m doing fine for myself, thank you very much. JB Events is really starting to take off!”
“Yea, great your business is doing well, wonderful! What about your sex life? Or how about a social life?” Molly retorted. “If I go in your bedroom right now I bet I will find a couple of vibrators with worn out batteries.”
“MOLLY! Jeeze, is there a censor on that mouth of yours? So I haven’t had any men lately, I have been focused on work.”
Molly stared at Jane and said “You are so lucky and you don’t even know it, you can have sex whenever you want and yet here I am acting as the Virgin Mary until Luke gets back from wherever the government sent him this time. Skype and phone sex only go so far and that is when I actually hear from him.”
Jane always hated when Molly pulled the “girlfriend of a soldier card.” She and Luke had the best relationship you could ever imagine. It was sort of sickening actually. They loved each other so much and had an undying admiration for each other. Luke was out on a mission for 5 months now and it had been one of the worst since he had been in the army. He has worked his way up to be on an Elite Special Forces team and now Molly not only had no clue where he was, she barely heard from him. Occasionally she might get a letter, if she was lucky.
“When was the last time you heard from Luke?” Jane asked quietly. She knew of the stress Luke’s new job put on Molly.
“Since the last time I told you. I know he loves this new job but I’m not so sure I can take it. I started taking it out on all the kids in my classroom. I felt so bad I snapped at them, I am just so nervous all the time that a representative of the Army is going to knock on my front door and apologize for my loss. Then on top of that, add the fact that I am so fucking horny I can barely walk. Things are looking bleak over here.”
Molly was a third grade teacher but had a mouth of a sailor. Jane didn’t mind it sometimes. Before Jane met George she could keep up with Molly’s sexual banter but George put a kibosh on that when they started dating. He really reined her in and made sure she was “more class and less sass.” That’s how Molly always put it.
“How you were able to become a 3rd grade teacher with that mouth is beyond me” Jane stated. “So why are you here again?”
“Well first off, I need to get you back into the game! We need to pluck that uni-brow you have developed on your forehead, get you back in your sexy clothes and go hit the town.”
Jane so did not want to go “hit the town.” She wanted to crawl in a hole and forget this retched day ever happened. Sometimes she just wanted to punch Molly, but she knew she was coming from a loving place.
Molly noticed Jane’s hesitation and said “I already called Alby, he has his credit card ready and a VIP area roped off for us at Deuces.”
Oh Albert Winchester, the gayest man she had ever met. He had every connection you could think of thanks to his high powered job in communications. No one really knows what he does in their group of friends, all they know is he has great connections. He knows everyone and always has somewhere free to go to or something free to give. Albert also has lots of money and no one to spend it on so he is always very generous at the bar. When going out with Albert one could plan on getting drunk and not paying a dime.
“I love Albert, and I love you Molly but I’m just not up for it. I just want to sulk and be by myself.”
“Too bad that won’t be happening tonight, Albert instructed me to pluck those beasts above your gorgeously blue eyes and get you in that little red number you have hanging up. We are going out lady and we are going to get you some action!”
***
Jane found herself looking in her compact applying some lip gloss and squirming in the lacy thong Molly made her wear. She was not opposed to thongs, she preferred them actually but when she was wearing a red lace skin tight dress that went a little above mid-thigh, she had a slight problem with not having much covered up underneath. After she did her hair and put some make-up on she couldn’t help but get a little excited. Maybe Molly and Alby were right, she needed to get out. As the taxi pulled up to Deuces Jane noticed there was a massive crowd waiting to get i
n. Every hooch in town was waiting to dance their asses off and all the men were claiming which eye candy they planned on taking home. She hated being back in single land, but sooner or later she was going to have to jump back into the pit hole of dating again.
Molly paid the driver then proceeded to yank Jane out of the taxi. Molly went straight to the bouncer and by passed everyone in line, which made every hooch glare at the girls, making death threats with their over processed smoky eyes. Jane tried to squirm out of Molly’s grasp and make her way to the back to be polite but Molly wasn’t having any of it.
Pulling on Molly’s purse strap Jane said, “Come on Molly, we just can’t walk up to the front. We should wait like everyone else.”
“Oh Jane you are such a square! When have we ever waited in line? Alby has us on the VIP list, come on!” Molly said while jerking Jane toward the door.
Surprisingly the bouncer held the door open for them with no problem, Molly looked Jane up and down and winked at her, implying it was the dress Jane was wearing that got them access, not their VIP status. Why she bought this dress was beyond her but it seemed to be doing the job.
They spotted Alby in the back with a couple of men, no doubt his boyfriends. He was a bit of a man whore and they loved him for it. He was all talk though and no action. He lost the love of his life, Ricky, to AIDS about 5 years ago and he never really got over it. Now, he just has men around for show but always retires alone to his house after the end of the night. Jane clearly remembered the day Alby pulled her and Molly to the side and told them Ricky was sick and only had a couple months left. She had never seen such sadness in a person’s eyes. Albert made the last couple months of Ricky’s life the best he could. They went to as many destinations as Ricky could handle and tried to cross as many things off Ricky’s bucket list Albert could manage. It always made Jane and Molly very sad to think about the pain Alby carried around with him, but Ricky was never talked about. As Alby always said he is “too fabulous to be depressed.”
“Darlings, finally! God, I think I grew five new grey hairs just waiting for you.” Albert looked Jane up and down giving her what he calls his “gay once over.”
“Holy crap! Jane, you look hot! If I was a straight man my boner would be touching you right now!” Alby said with ease.
“I guess a thanks is in order?” Jane responded “Molly really made me come out of my comfort zone tonight and to be honest, I’m feeling rather sexy.”
“That’s my girl!” Molly said while patting her on the back. “I knew you had it in you. Now let’s get some drinks. I’m dying to get you wasted and screwed tonight.”
Molly and Jane headed for the bar and ordered two fruity concoctions, which turned out to be free thanks to the elderly gentleman with the bent nose at the end of the bar. The girls held up their drinks and blew kisses in his direction as a thanks. They turned to face the room and surveyed what they were in store for. While there were a lot of creepy men staring at the women bumping and grinding on the dance floor, there were some mildly attractive men and one table of men that were beyond gorgeous and vaguely familiar.
Jane leaned over and said into Molly’s ear, “Hey, do you recognize that African American man over there, the one with the very tight shirt? Is that Michael Banks?”
“Holy shit, it is! Let’s go say Hi!”
“Hold on.” Jane said holding Molly back. “We have not seen him in quite some time. Do you think it’s appropriate we just go say hi? I don’t want to be rude and interrupt his night.”
“Uh Jane, we were roommates and best friends with him for three years in college. He would fly us out to watch him play in some of his games. Yes we went our separate ways when George came about but we would never have made it through our college years without each other. So pull on your big girl panties, we are not in some country club, we can go say hi.”
Jane knew Molly was right. She sighed and started walking toward the table of luscious men. He must be out with some of his fellow baseball players, but last she knew he was still playing in New York, so why was he in Atlanta? Maybe the Braves and the Mets were playing each other, wait no that makes no sense it is not baseball season right now.
As they started getting closer, she noticed the guys Michael was sitting with. Marc Sullivan the Braves catcher and the oh so gorgeous Brady Matthews, the Braves first basemen and leader in homeruns, RBI’s and batting average, pretty much all around stud. Jane was a fan of the Braves just because Atlanta is her hometown team, but she wouldn’t consider herself a die-hard fan. The chant the Braves’ fans always do with their fake tomahawk makes her clench her teeth but she puts up with it whenever she goes to game with Alby. She just likes to sit back and stare at Brady Matthews.
He was all man, definitely over six feet tall, pure muscle but not bulky by any means, dark brown hair, green eyes that could melt any heart and an amazing tan that didn’t stop where his jersey met his skin. Thanks to GQ she knew exactly what he looked like under his uniform. She might have once or twice looked at his player profile but he was mostly known outside the sports world for his celebrity girlfriends and flings. He was a little bit of a player but with those muscles and eyes, he had the right to be.
“Michael! How are you sweetheart?” Molly shouted above the booming music.
“Molly? Jane? How the hell are you?” Michael exclaimed “You girls look fantastic, if I were not married I would pounce you both right now!” Michael stood up and gave them both hugs.
“Married?” Molly said surprised “Where were we when those invites got sent out? Jane did you get one?”
“Molly, don’t be rude. Did you marry Kelly?” Jane asked shyly. She was nervous to see Michael, they use to be very close but George cut off all friendships she had with any guy when they were dating. He said it was inappropriate to be friends with guys because no matter what it always led to trouble. She was not sure how Michael was going to react seeing her again.
“Jane, I’ve missed your sweetness. We eloped in Las Vegas, went through a drive-thru chapel, one of the most romantic moments of my life. The old wife is back home right now setting up the house and spending my money on a decorator. The boys wanted to take me out and get me acclimated to my new environment.”
Jane looked stunned. “Wait, you were traded? To the Braves?”
“That is correct Darlin’, looks to me like the Terrible Three are back together in the same city once again,” Michael exclaimed. “This has made my night! Oh crap, I’m rude. Molly, Jane these are my team mates, Marc and Brady.”
Both men got out of their chairs and shook the women’s hands. Jane nearly trembled when Brady looked her up and down and smiled. Oh boy was she in trouble. She needed to make sure her intake of alcohol did not exceed her drunk limit, she didn’t need to look like a sloppy idiot in front of professional baseball players.
Michael asked the girls to sit down and join them, feeling bad Jane looked over to Albert who was watching the whole transaction between them and waved her off to have fun and forget about him. Looking at the crowd of men around Alby now, it seemed like he was occupied anyway. Oh she loved her Alby. She only wished she had as much confidence as Albert right now, she could really use some so when she talked she didn’t sound like a teenager going through puberty. Maybe she should drink a little more to ease her nerves. Another fruity concoction needed, pronto!
Chapter 2
Brady was irritated when Marc asked him to take out the new guy with him to Deuces, it wasn’t that he didn’t like Michael, he actually got along with him very well and enjoyed his company. Brady was just tired of all the stories about him in the gossip magazines that portrayed him as a playboy with every girl that came up to him. None of the stories were true, paparazzi just always happened to be in the right place at the right time. He couldn’t go anywhere without being followed by someone with a camera. It came with the territory though so he couldn’t be too upset. His bank account was looking rather sizeable and he gets to play a sport for a l
iving, he has no room to complain.
Except for the fact that there were paparazzi hounding the front of the club when they arrived, the guys were having a pretty decent night but once Michael’s friends from college came over, his night started to look a little bit better. He knew he shouldn’t be looking, but he couldn’t help himself. Jane was a bombshell. One of the sexiest women he had ever met, not even because of the blatantly come fuck-me-dress she was wearing. She had gorgeous long brown hair, a body to die for, breasts that just screamed to be touched and eyes that bore through a man’s soul. There was a certain sweetness about her with an inner sex kitten dying to come out.
When she shook his hand he nearly split in two. Her hand was soft and feminine and her eyes glittered with passion. He could not stop staring at her or let go of her hand, it was strange but he felt an immediate connection with her. He reluctantly let go of her hand once everyone got quiet and started at him.
His zipper got real tight just at the sight of Jane which was utterly embarrassing, as if he had never seen a women before. All he needed now was for some stupid paparazzi taking a picture of him and selling it to a gossip magazine with the headline, “Brady: Boozing and Boners.” Nope, he had to stop letting the gorgeous women in front of him affect him so much.
“Isn’t that right Brady?” asked Michael
Oh crap, what were they talking about? Great he was thinking about hiding his boner and wasn’t even paying attention to the conversation.
“Sorry Michael, I was so distracted by these gorgeous women, I wasn’t even paying attention.”
“That’s what I thought,” accused Michael. “You know buddy, you really need to get over your infatuation with anything with two legs and a pair of tits. These women want nothing to do with a playboy like you.”
Yup, thanks Michael. That’s all Brady needed, his own teammate spreading wrong accusations about him. Granted Michael was most likely just pulling his leg but Brady was getting pretty sick of everyone thinking he was some kind of womanizer. Thank you Hollywood media!
Caught Looking (Hot-Lanta Series) Page 1