Secrets, Lies & Imperfections

by Pamela L. Todd

  “Monday. And don’t forget to text me,” she reminded.

  “Like I could forget.”

  * * * *

  Well, my bags weren’t packed and waiting for me at the front door like I half expected. Neither was there an irate Blake or a sobbing Marley. Things couldn’t have been too awful after I’d left. The sound of the TV came from the kitchen. I could either sneak past and tiptoe upstairs, or I could get this over and done with now.

  I’m not a natural procrastinator, despite what many people would think.

  Blake sat at the island, nursing a coffee, his attention on the news that played from the TV. He glanced at me when I hovered in the doorway, but that was all I got. No screaming. No marching orders. Not even a goddamn frown.

  So he was going for indifferent? I think I would have preferred an angry Blake. Actually, I know I would prefer an angry Blake. Because if he didn’t give a shit, it meant he couldn’t care less about the things he’d said to me last night. What a fucking prick.

  I moved into the room and poured myself a cup of coffee. Taking a seat opposite him, I stared at Blake until he had no choice but to look at me.

  “Must have been a good night. You’re wearing the clothes you had on yesterday,” he mumbled before taking a sip of his coffee.

  Really? “Yeah. Cass took pity on me since my brother told me not to be in his house when he came back from wherever he stomped off to.”

  Blake scowled. “I was pissed. Can you blame me?”

  Actually…not really. Since I had done everything to provoke him in the first place. But still, it would be a while before the sting would be taken out of his words. I shrugged and dropped my eyes to the island. “Where’s Marley? At work already?”

  “It’s almost eight. Of course she’s there already.”

  I wanted to tell him to fix this shit with her. I wanted to tell him that I was getting a taste of what life was like with a female worth keeping around and he was blowing it. But things were too fragile, and I didn’t feel like getting permanently booted from his house.

  Maybe it was about time I kept my nose out of his business. It had nothing to do with me. And look where my good intentions had gotten me the night before. Now I had better things to focus my energy on. My upcoming date with Cassidy would keep my mind busy, especially now I had to romance her socks off. It had to be personal. It had to mean something. No generic shit. No roses, no expensive restaurant. Man, had I learned my lesson from that disaster.

  I could do this. I could totally do romantic.

  Maybe.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The music from the club pulsed in my office like a heartbeat. If I ever had my own place, I was totally soundproofing my space. Sometimes it faded to the background until I wasn’t even aware of it anymore. But then there were nights like tonight, when it drove me batshit crazy.

  I was reading the resumes for a few new potential bartenders, sorting them into piles consisting of Resounding Yes, Has Potential and Hell Fucking No. To a layman, any old Joe can sling drinks. But in all my years of service behind a bar, I’ve discovered it takes a certain breed of person. Fun-loving but hard-working, smart enough to remember recipes, comfortable enough in their own skin to work on top of other people, and trustworthy—so they didn’t rip you off. But most importantly, they had to understand that accepting a job behind a bar, especially one in a club in a thriving resort hotel, meant kissing their social life goodbye.

  A knock on the door came as I tossed another applicant into the ever-growing Hell Fucking No pile. “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here!” I called.

  The door opened and Ashley, one of the team leaders on the main bar, stepped inside the office, closing the door behind her. “You really have a knack of turning something ordinary into something weird, boss.”

  I sighed and reached for the next resume. “It’s a gift. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah, I just thought I should let you know that it looks like Jason and Carly have made up.” Ashley lifted one well-maintained eyebrow and I groaned as her meaning sank in.

  Jason and Carly were my resident Romeo and Juliet. Except they were more like Sid and Nancy. One minute they were all over each other and messing around on the job, the next it was all over and…well, let’s just say the incident with the corkscrew had to be finely edited in the club’s accident book.

  “Are they slacking off?” I asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Only if you call dry humping slacking off,” Ashley drawled.

  Great. I’d had the displeasure of seeing them in action before. Actually, had I not been the boss and therefore the one with his ass on the line, I would have pulled Jason aside and congratulated him for his moves. I’d worked with hundreds of hot girls over the years, but I’d never seen the subtle art of grinding while still giving the appearance of working done to such a fine degree, let alone perfected it myself.

  “Tell them both I want a word when their shifts are over, would you?”

  “Are they getting canned?”

  “If they were, they would be the first to know, not you.” Ashley, while a great team leader, sucked as a person. She was the longest serving member of staff and knew the place like the back of her hand. She was quick on the job and sharp as a tack…and therefore she still had a job. Ashley had too much venom for my taste. Took too great a pleasure in seeing others fall from grace. And made it no secret she wanted her mouth wrapped around my dick.

  She laughed softly. “Point taken, boss. How are the potential newbies looking?”

  I leaned back in my chair and laced my fingers behind my head. “Not too bad. I’m hoping for five full-timers and at least three more for the weekends. God knows we need it.”

  “Amen to that.” Ashley stepped closer and perched on the edge of my desk. “Have you ever thought of taking on a second in command? It would free up so much more of your time.”

  And…there it was. I’d wondered how long it would take for her to hint at such a thing. “How do you know I don’t love spending my time here?”

  Ashley smiled and leaned her chest into my space. “Much as I’d love to think it had something to do with my pretty face, I doubt it. Don’t you have a few girls waiting around for you to shower them with attention?”

  I laughed. “A few? No. One, maybe.”

  “Just one? I’m almost disappointed.”

  “This one is nothing to be disappointed about and is plenty to keep me on my toes.” I eyed Ashley, wondering if she was in touch with her inner feminine side, or if the driven and man-eating front was all there was. “Let me pick your brain a sec. What’s your idea of a perfect date? Like, the most romantic date humanly possible.”

  Now it was Ashley’s turn to eyeball me. She folded her arms beneath her chest, pushing her tits up and almost making them spill out of her uniform tank. “I’d want to be treated like royalty—like I was the only thing he saw, thought of and wanted. He’d pick me up in his hot car and take me to the best restaurant money could buy. The whole night would be foreplay, every glance, every touch a promise to what would come later. Then we’d go to a hotel suite where there would be strawberries and champagne waiting for us. In the bedroom would be a selection of underwear he’d bought for me and I’d model my favorite set for him before he ripped it off and spent the rest of the night screwing my brains out.”

  A full minute went by before I could formulate a thought.

  Jesus Christ, was she for real? She wanted a rich guy to buy her dinner, take her to a glorified rent-by-the-hour and fuck her? Well, to each his own devices—or whatever.

  Ashley sighed and stood. “Really, just give her whatever she wants. That’s the only secret you need to know about women. You just have to know the woman.”

  I cleared my throat. “Yeah. Sounds good, thanks, Ashley.”

  “No problem, boss.”

  One thing was for sure—at least I now knew one option not to take.

  * * * *

  Monday came
and I had a plan. It was either totally genius or seriously sucked. Cassidy, whether she liked the actual date or not, would appreciate my individuality and creativity. Hopefully. Maybe. We’ll see, I guess.

  I’d texted her earlier in the day to let her know not to dress fancy and to be ready by seven. And at six fifty-nine I was buzzing her apartment number.

  “Hello?” Cassidy’s voice came through the intercom.

  “Hey, it’s Seth.”

  “Come on up, I’ll just be a second,” she said, the door buzzing a moment later for me to open.

  I took the elevator, bouncing on the balls of my feet the entire trip. My body was alive with energy, but unlike the last disastrous date I’d taken Cassidy on, this time I knew it would be a marked improvement. I was excited, not flat out terrified. Always a positive sign.

  Giving the door a soft tap, I stepped back with my knuckle still raised as it swung open. Only it wasn’t Cassidy who was eager to see me.

  A short brunette grinned at me, a bundle of energy with corkscrew curls and purple scrubs. “You must be Seth.”

  “The one and only,” I said, swallowing back laughter.

  “I’m Jules, Cassidy’s roommate. Or, one of them, at least. Come in. Come in,” she said, opening the door wider and waving me inside.

  I crossed the threshold and didn’t know where to put myself. This Jules girl was staring at me as if I were about to perform some kind of trick, maybe wow her with wit and conversation. I’d never done the impress-the-roommate-slash-friend thing before… I’d done the roommate-slash-friend before, but I was pretty sure that would be frowned upon for this occasion.

  “I’ve heard a lot about you,” Jules said, perching on the arm of the couch, her grin managing to widen even farther. “I can’t wait to find out what you’ve got planned for tonight.”

  More pressure. Awesome. “I’m hoping Cass has a good time.”

  Jules laughed. “She will. It’s all she’s talked about for days.”

  My eyebrows shot up. “Really?”

  “Really what?” Cassidy asked from behind me, her voice suspicious.

  I swiveled around to answer her, but my voice lodged in my throat. Fuck me, she was beautiful. Cassidy stood before me in simple skinny jeans, peep-toe stiletto boots and a navy sleeveless silk blouse. Like usual, she wore little makeup, and her long hair hung in loose, shiny curls down her back. On anyone else it would have been a simple outfit. On her, the effect was staggering.

  “Speechless… I like it. I’ve wondered what it would take to shut you up,” Cassidy said, taking a few slow steps toward me.

  I reached for her, sliding my arm around her waist and closing the remaining distance between our bodies. The heels brought her a few inches taller, only two or three inches shorter than me. Pressing a kiss to her temple, I murmured, “Well, now you know.”

  Cassidy laughed quietly, flattening her palm against my chest but making no attempt to push me away.

  Spinning us around, I faced Jules. “How did you two end up as roommates? You’re so nice and she’s like a hell spawn.”

  Jules giggled while Cassidy huffed and pinched my nipple through my shirt.

  I hissed and rubbed the bruised skin. “You’d better kiss that better later.”

  “I make no promises,” Cassidy said, her eyes full of laughter.

  Letting out a sigh, I dropped my hold on her waist. “Come on, the taxi’s waiting. The meter will fucking love me by now.”

  She frowned. “You’ve got a cab waiting? Why don’t we just drive?”

  Why didn’t I have a car again? “Cass, I’m not making you drive on our date.”

  Cassidy rolled her eyes and headed into the kitchen area to grab her purse. She opened it and pulled out her car keys, which she tossed in my direction. “There. Now you can drive us.”

  I opened my mouth to question her action, to ask if she was joking. But when her face softened and she closed her purse, I knew she was trying to make a point. Those damn car keys were like a symbol for what I wanted in my life, and I had to wonder if maybe it wasn’t as impossible as I once thought.

  Cassidy walked to Jules and kissed her on the cheek. “Have fun at work. Give Mr. Jenks a hard time for me.”

  Jules laughed. “He only likes a firm hand from you. But I’ll do my best.”

  As we headed for the front door, Cassidy slipped her hand into mine and gave me a smile that made my heart thump. God, this girl was dangerous.

  Cass took her keys back so she could get her car while I paid the cab and sent it on its merry way. When she pulled up in front of the building, Cassidy put it in Park and climbed over the console to the passenger side. I grinned at her and jogged around the car to get in the driver’s seat.

  She crossed her legs and lounged in the seat. “You know, I could get used to being chauffeured around.”

  I glanced at her. “I’ll bet. If it keeps me in your good graces, I’ll go out and buy a car right now.”

  Cassidy laughed. “Date first, car later. But I’ll hold you to it. Will you let me choose the color?”

  Snorting a laugh, I reached over and squeezed her knee. “You won’t be happy until you have my balls as earrings, will you?”

  She laid her hand on top of mine, slotting our fingers together. “You take all the fun out of it when you guess.”

  “Sorry. Next time I’ll keep my guesses to myself,” I drawled. It was a short drive to the restaurant, and Cassidy shot up in her seat when I pulled into the parking lot. Billy’s didn’t look like anything special, but I swear it was Vegas’ best kept secret. A steak and grill joint, it was one of my favorite places to eat in this entire town. “Should I take that to mean you like it here?”

  Cassidy grinned and got out of the car. “No, love it here.”

  I slung my arm around her shoulders as we walked inside. “Good. Me too.”

  The hostess took my name and led us to the booth in the back that I had reserved. Instead of sitting opposite her, I slid into the booth beside Cassidy.

  “Are you expecting someone else to join us?” she asked, accepting the menu from the hostess.

  I leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Why would I sit all the way over there when I could be right next to you? Besides, for what we’re having, we need to be close.”

  Cassidy frowned. “What are we having?”

  As she spoke, a waitress passed our booth carrying a huge wooden slab with an enormous rack of ribs.

  I pointed. “That.”

  “Christ, are you serious?” Cassidy asked with a laugh.

  “Why not? It’s what this place is famous for.”

  “At the risk of sounding like a typical girl, I don’t usually eat something so messy on a date.”

  “Where’s the fun in that?” I asked. “So, are you in?”

  Cassidy sighed. “Sure. Why not?”

  We ordered the rack with fries to share and a couple of sodas. Cassidy didn’t seem surprised when I didn’t have at least one beer. I was responsible for her life behind the wheel of her car, and no way was I putting it at risk by indulging in even one sip.

  I tied the bib around Cassidy’s neck for her when the waitress brought them out and spread the napkin across her lap. She was being more willing than a ton of other girls would be about eating ribs on a date with a new guy, and I wanted her to know that I respected the hell out of her for it. But I didn’t want those clothes to get wrecked in the process.

  When the food came, Cassidy’s eyes were like saucers. “Jesus, they smell good.”

  “They taste even better,” I promised, cutting into the ribs.

  Once she got started, I don’t think Cassidy spoke a single other word. She dug into those ribs like a true carnivore and earned herself a spot in my hall of fame for sexiest woman eating. The girl was incredible.

  The waitress cleared our table, taking with her the mountain of wet wipes needed to clean off the BBQ sauce. I leaned back in the booth. “Damn, that was good. I forget how good the
food is here until I come again.”

  Cassidy laughed. “Tell me about it. You must have missed it when you spent all those years touring Europe.”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe.” I lifted her hand and kissed the back it. “So, as the opener for our date, what do you think?”

  She smiled. “I think you’ve got top scores so far.”

  “Nice,” I said with a grin.

  Cassidy placed a hand on my thigh and leaned closer to me. “You’ve got a little something…” On instinct, I raised my hand to wipe at my mouth, but Cassidy caught it and pressed her lips to the corner of my mouth. Her tongue flickered out, lapping at the stray smudge of sauce I must have missed. She pulled back and gave me a challenging look. “Got it.”

  I was hard as a fucking rock.

  My cock strained against my jeans and it took all my self-control not to drag Cassidy onto my lap and grind into her as I fucked her mouth with my tongue. And by the gleam in her eyes, she fucking knew it, too.

  Cassidy kissed me full on the mouth, brief and dry, before sliding out of the booth. “I’m going to the bathroom. I’ll be right back.”

  When she was gone I let out a heavy breath and tried to think of the un-sexiest things on the planet.

  The president.

  Worms.

  Cheese.

  My fifth-grade teacher.

  Mud.

  Cassidy in the mud.

  Cassidy naked in the mud.

  Oh, Christ help me…

  When she came back to the booth I was no less aroused than when she had left. Cassidy turned down the offer of dessert or coffee, so I settled the bill and we headed outside. At the car, as she reached to open her door, I caught Cassidy by the hips and spun her around and backed her against the car door.

  Her breath caught in her throat right before I lunged and took her mouth in an open, hungry kiss. Cassidy shoved her hands into my hair, tugging on the roots as I thrust my tongue inside her warm, luscious mouth.

  She scraped her teeth against my lip and moaned—a noise that I felt all the way to my balls.