by E. L. Todd
“A friend of ours is a model for Satin Magazine,” I said.
“Oh my god, that’s where he works,” Cal said. “It’s a small world. Who is it?”
“Her name is Monnique,” I explained.
“Oh,” he said. “I’ve met her.” He didn’t sound warm.
Janice and I exchanged a look. “Where did you meet her?” I asked.
“At one of the release parties,” Cal said. He sipped his drink and said no more.
“I get the impression you didn’t like her,” Janice said.
He shrugged. “I’m not here to start a war. I’d rather be merry.”
I was too curious. “Did she do something…?”
“You guys are really interested, huh?”
We waited for him to explain.
“She was just very…catty.” He shrugged again. “I can’t think of a better word. You know, very superficial, mean, vain…typical things for a model who thinks she’s hot shit.”
That didn’t sound like Monnique at all. But Cal was a great guy who got along with everyone. If he immediately didn’t like her, that was alarming.
“Anyway,” he said quickly. “Any plans for the wedding?”
I knew this would come up eventually.
Janice took the lead. “We haven’t decided anything yet.”
“Actually, we’re having a Tuscan feast with yellow lilies, and the guest list will be about a hundred and fifty people.”
Janice raised an eyebrow when she looked at me.
“But no ice sculptures.”
Cal smirked. “Sounds like he’s helping you with the wedding.”
“We have a binder,” I explained. “We’ve been picking things out together.”
“Weddings are expensive,” Cal said. “Especially in the city.”
We were silent for a while.
“My fiancé has given me a very generous budget,” Janice said.
That’s more like it.
“With twenty thousand, you could make a fairytale,” Cal said.
“He’s giving me thirty,” Janice said.
“Wow.” Cal winked at me. “He’s a keeper.”
She rubbed my arm. “I know he is.”
I gave her a smirk, silently knowing our feud was finally over. We hadn’t made love in several weeks, and I was excited to go home and be with my fiancé again. Now we could plan this wedding with a realistic budget.
“You still owe me two spankings,” she whispered.
My spine shivered. “I’ll give you more than two.”
“Ooh…”
Cal watched us. “ I can tell you guys are going to last. It’s nice to see that for a change.”
That was something I already knew. I knew it the moment our eyes connected at my old apartment in Seattle, the moment she made me ramble on like an idiot. Call me crazy, but I think she was meant to come into my life. The stars aligned and the clouds cleared. She landed in my arms and I never let her go.
My sister invited us over for dinner. We grabbed a bottle of wine then headed to the house in the countryside. Since they were trying to have a baby, I figured the conversation would be full of that. But the idea of my sister having sex was pretty disgusting.
When we came inside, Scarlet gave Janice a big hug.
“Pregnant yet?” Janice asked.
“No,” Scarlet said sadly. “We’re still working on it.”
Janice hugged Sean next. “You’ll knock her up. Just give it time.”
“I’m determined,” Sean said with a smile.
When I used to look at Sean, I used to think about him fucking Janice. Over time, I forced myself not to think that way. It was in the past and it should stay there. Now I thought of him as my brother. “Your sperm handicapped or something?” I teased.
He glared at me. “My swimmers are just fine. Scarlet isn’t ovulating yet.”
“Blame it on that…” I handed him the wine.
“Thanks,” he said. “But Scarlet isn’t drinking.”
“Good. I think she has a problem.”
Scarlet glared at me before she hugged me. I noticed she was wearing the necklace I gave her. “Don’t be a jerk.”
“Why do you even bother to ask?” I pulled away then headed to the table. Pot roast and rolls were on the surface. “Yum. I’m starving.”
“You’re always hungry,” Scarlet jabbed.
“Not as hungry as you, fatty.” I pulled out Janice’s chair and helped her get situated. Then I sat beside her.
Scarlet watched the interaction. “You guys are back to normal?”
“Yep,” I said. “We did lots of lovemaking for the past few days.”
“Isn’t that what you were doing before?” Sean asked.
“No, they are very different,” Janice said. “There were no spankings.”
My sister cringed. “Anyway…”
“Where’s Cortland?” I asked. “Did you invite him?”
“I did but he said he was busy,” she said sadly. “I never see him anymore. Whenever I stop by at work, he’s always on the phone.”
“Or he pretends to be on the phone,” Sean said. “I have no idea who he would be talking to for that long.”
“I’m worried,” Scarlet said. “But every time I ask him if everything’s okay, he assures me it is. And I haven’t talked to Monnique either. She’s always busy with work.”
I was worried for my friend. “I think he’s hiding something.”
“What?” Scarlet asked. “There’s nothing he would hide from us. We’re his family.”
“Flynn asked to meet him so they could talk. Flynn said the conversation went well and he didn’t notice anything odd with Cortland, but he also doesn’t know him very well.”
“Should we attack him?” Scarlet asked.
“Attack?” Sean asked. “What does that mean…?”
“Like, corner him so he can’t get away. He’ll be forced to talk to us.”
Sean gave me a grim look. “Baby, I know you’re worried, but if he is going through something and he doesn’t want us to know, we should respect his privacy and wait for him to come to us. The reason he’s probably avoided you so much is because he knows you won’t quit until you drain everything out of him.”
“But…” Scarlet picked at her food. “He tells me everything.”
“Maybe he’s pissed at you,” I said.
“No,” Scarlet said immediately. “There’s no reason for him to be mad.”
“Mike?” Janice asked. “Maybe Mike pissed him off.”
“No,” Sean said. “He’s had his own problems to deal with.”
There was only one other person. “Hazel?”
“What about her?” Scarlet asked.
“I haven’t seen her around much, and Cortland’s been an ass to Flynn since the moment he met him, even though Flynn is liked by everyone. Maybe there’s something going on there…”
“Like what?” Sean asked. “Are you implying Cortland has a thing for her?”
“No,” Scarlet said immediately. “He wouldn’t do that to Monnique. That’s not possible.”
“And Cortland turned Hazel down when she wanted to be something more. That can’t be it.”
I remembered what Cal said the other night. “Janice’s coworker said he met Monnique at the magazine, and basically, she was a bitch.”
“Monnique?” Scarlet asked. “No. That’s not possible.”
“That’s what he said,” Janice said. “And he’s a nice guy. Even when Ryan was a total ass, he still liked him. It takes a lot for him to dislike someone.”
“Thanks,” I snapped.
She shrugged. “What? We all know how much of a jerk you were.”
“Anyway,” Scarlet interrupted before we could get into another fight. “If there was something wrong between them, he would definitely tell us. There’s something else going on. Maybe a relative died or something…”
We spent the next thirty minutes discussing Cortland and what his problem
was.
Scarlet cleared her throat. “We actually invited you over for dinner for a special reason.”
“Great…” It was probably for something stupid.
She glared at me. “Sean and I know you’ve been working on your wedding and trying to figure things out so we wanted to offer you something…”
“We don’t want your money,” I snapped.
Scarlet rolled her eyes. “I know you better than that, Ryan. Actually, we wanted to offer the house. We have a big backyard and a beautiful view of the beach. If we ordered a catering company and a chair supplier, we could make it look amazing. And the house is big enough to accommodate everyone and all the food. You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, but it’s just an idea. At least you wouldn’t have to leave by a certain time and you can make it your own. At the Plaza, there will be tons of traffic and it might be difficult to arrange everything. Anyway, it’s up to you.”
I looked at Janice and a silent conversation passed between us. It was a very generous offer, but it didn’t surprise me that my sister was willing to do that. There’s nothing she wouldn’t do for me. Personally, I preferred to have it at the house. I think it would be more intimate and meaningful. But this was Janice’s time to shine. She could have whatever she wanted.
“Thanks for the offer,” I said. “We’ll consider it. Actually, Janice will. She gets to choose.”
“I do?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“I can have either one?”
“Yep.” I went back to eating my dinner.
“Well, what do you want, Ryan?”
“I’m not falling for that,” I said with a laugh. “It’s your call. I’ll be happy either way.”
Janice was quiet for a moment. “Let’s do it here. It will be lovely.”
Scarlet clapped her hands together excitedly. “That’s wonderful.”
“What?” I asked. “You want to?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes shined bright with the love she had for me. “And I know you do too.”
9
Mike
After a long day of work, I hit the gym then sat on my couch, watching TV while I downed a beer. Laura was coming over later to get nasty so I wanted to save my energy for that.
She was cool, for the most part. She was still stripping, much to my annoyance. Now she was working two jobs, and as a result, she was struggling at the office because she was half asleep most days. My patience was waning. The last thing I needed was for Ryan to find out she was stripping and I knew about it the whole time but I never told him. I’d be a dead man.
I didn’t tell anyone we were sleeping together because it was no one’s business. And Ryan and Janice couldn’t get mad because their sister was a damn whore. She’d done a lot of things in the bedroom a normal chick wouldn’t do. Someone had obviously burned her like me. That was why we were so much alike.
My phone rang in my pocket so I pulled it out, expecting Laura to send me another nasty pic. She usually took pictures backstage at the club wearing slutty lingerie. It was something for me to look forward to later that night.
But it wasn’t her. Cassandra’s name was on the screen.
I stared at it, watching it ring over and over. Why the hell was she calling me? What did she want? I should just ignore it but I couldn’t. I kept staring at it. If I picked up, what should I say? I felt paralyzed on my couch, dealing with a phone call I didn’t want. I didn’t want to see her or talk to her ever again, so what could she possibly want to discuss?
I finally unlocked the screen and answered it. “Yo.” Yo? Why the hell did I just say that?
“Mike?” She sounded distressed.
“Yours truly.”
“Mike, I’m so sorry to call you but I didn’t know what else to do…”
The hair on the back of my neck stood up. A shot of adrenaline kicked in. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. But…Zander’s outside my apartment and he won’t leave. I don’t know how he figured out where I lived. I would just take care of it myself and beat him senseless, but I have a feeling that’s exactly what he wants me to do. Once I open the door, he’ll overpower me and get inside…”
Anger surged through my body in a huge wave. My hands shook and I started to see red. I was about to rip someone’s head off. That fucking piece of shit was going to pay for messing with her. I’d shatter his skull right in the middle of the hallway. I’d feed his brains to a homeless dog.
“Mike?”
“I’m coming.” I hung up then sprinted out of my apartment.
When I got inside the elevator, I paced back and forth through the tiny enclosure, my fists tight. I was breathing hard, ready to go ape-shit crazy. My left eyebrow was twitching because I was so insane.
The doors finally opened and I dashed out. I changed into an old t-shirt because I knew it was going to be covered in blood. I didn’t bring a knife or gun because I wanted to strangle this guy with my bare hands.
When I saw him leaning against the wall, facing her apartment, his arms across his chest, my head exploded. I rushed him, my feet thudding heavily on the hard wood floor.
He jerked at the sound and his eyes widened. He dodged out of the way then hit the opposite wall.
“You fucking shit head.” I grabbed him by the neck and slammed his head into the wall.
His eyes saw stars for a moment before he punched me in the gut. I flexed and deflected the blow. He kicked me next but I didn’t notice the pain. I was too livid. I punched him square in the nose and made his head jerk up. The blood squirted out, staining my shirt.
He tried to move down the hallway, heading to the stairwell, but I tripped him then grabbed him by the ankle, dragging him back. I started laughing maniacally, high-pitched, and full of pleasure and joy. I never stopped thinking about the way he hurt Cassandra in that alleyway. I never forgot the bruises and cuts on her face. And I would never forget it. “I’m going to enjoy this so fucking much.” I stomped on his hand, breaking two fingers.
He screamed as they bent in an odd way.
“Fucking pussy.” I grabbed his head and slammed his face into the wood. “I’m going to kill you. Your last moments will be as a damn pussy. You think hurting a woman makes you strong? Well, I’m about to remind you how weak and pathetic you are.”
Cassandra opened the door to her apartment and covered her face when she saw all the blood. It was smeared against the floor from his desperate fingertips. Zander tried to scramble away but I stepped on his broken fingers again.
“Ahhh!” He screamed loud enough to break my eardrum.
“Mike, stop,” Cassandra said.
“No way,” I said with a laugh. “This is way too much fun.” I kicked him hard in the ribs, making him moan in anguish.
“You’re going to kill him,” she hissed.
“That’s the point,” I said with another laugh.
“Mike, stop,” she said firmly. “He gets it.”
I turned to her, giving her a glare full of hatred. “He gets it? I’m going to kill him? What the hell do you think I rushed over here for? To politely ask him to leave you alone? Forget it.”
Zander made a run for it while I spoke to Cassandra, dashing to the fire escape. I moved to chase after him but Cassandra grabbed me.
“Let him go.”
I twisted out of her grasp but didn’t pursue him.
“I don’t want you to get into any legal trouble, Mike.”
“You think I care about that?” I spat.
“You don’t deserve any trouble because of me,” she said quietly.
I put my hands on my hips and caught my breath. “Are you okay?” Now that the danger was over, I stared at her face, seeing the features I stared at so many times. With an empty heart that lacked love or empathy, I felt nothing. She was just some woman who broke my heart.
“I’m fine.”
I massaged my knuckles, feeling the ache. “Why was he here?”
“I don’t
know. I haven’t taken anyone back to my apartment, not even Zeal. He probably found out we weren’t together anymore and hunted me down.”
“Pussy,” I muttered.
We stood there awkwardly. There wasn’t much left to say. I didn’t belong here.
“Thank you for coming,” she whispered. She looked at me with eyes full of emotion. I recognized the look. I’d seen it so many times.
“You can call me for anything.” I looked at the wall because I didn’t want to see her face anymore.
“I didn’t meant to bother you…”
“It’s fine,” I said immediately. I looked down at my shirt and saw the blood. “Well, I should go.”
She didn’t say anything.
“If you don’t feel comfortable staying here, I can get you another place.”
“No. I’m not going to run,” she said simply. “I refuse to live in fear.”
“Will you be okay here tonight?”
A slight smile formed on her lips. “I think you scared him off pretty good.”
“If he’s smart, he won’t come back, “I said darkly.
Silence descended again.
“Bye,” I said. I turned away.
“Mike?”
“Hmm?” I looked at her, just wanting to leave.
“I miss you.” Her eyes were heavy with emotion. I saw the moisture build up.
I couldn’t do this. She already snapped my heart in half like a piece of firewood. And now she was pulling this shit again. Did she want to get laid again? Well, I wasn’t interested. Wordlessly, I walked down the hallway and disappeared. I wasn’t an idiot that could be strung along like a chump. I didn’t have any emotions to entice. I was done with her, over her, and I didn’t feel anything for her. But it still pissed me off that she tried to pull another stunt. I headed back to my apartment so I could get laid, not thinking about the blonde that broke my heart permanently.
“When the hell are you going to quit?” I asked after another night of good sex.
“Soon.” She pulled her clothes on, hiding her pierced navel.
“When the fuck is soon?” I lay on the bed, still naked.
“I have to put my two weeks in.”
“Strip clubs actually implore those rules?”
“I’d prefer not to burn any bridges,” she said as she adjusted her bra.