Seven Years of Bad Luck

by J. L. Mac

  I guess I just might see Ben again after all.

  If I were being truthful with myself, I didn’t mind seeing Ben again in the slightest. The whole disaster was a huge misunderstanding, and I was hoping that Ben would help make sure that we didn’t face any charges.

  “Cheyenne, I have a friend who is a lawyer, I think I should call him.”

  She looked at me astounded. “You have a friend?”

  I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh. “Yes, Chey. I know it must be hard to believe, but yeah, I met this guy the other day. He gave me his number and he happens to be a lawyer. I should call him. Don’t you think?”

  “You met a guy the other day?” I was getting impatient.

  “Oh my God Chey! Seriously? We are going to do this right now? Can we discuss this later? Can I call him to help us or not?” She smiled at me and nodded her head. The officer who was babysitting us allowed me to make the call. I dialed Ben’s number and I felt myself turn crimson. The phone rang twice and he picked up much to my relief.

  “Uh, Ben?”

  “Kathleen?” I inhaled deeply and braced myself for the utter embarrassment that was to follow.

  “Ah, yeah, this is Kat from the book store and from the airport.” He chuckled into the phone.

  “How are you?”

  “Uh, listen Ben, I’m alright I guess but I’d be better if I was not sitting at the police station giving a statement and waiting to potentially be charged with a crime. Please say you know someone who can help us.”

  “Us?”

  “Um, yeah, me and my someone special, and some guy who accidentally got thrown into this whole mess.”

  “I see.” I was beginning to worry when he didn’t say much. There was a long pause then he finally spoke.

  “Okay, let me see what I can do.”

  “Oh, thank you Be-” He hung up before I could say anything more.

  Oh God please put me out of my misery already! So humiliating. I’m not a criminal I swear I will never go to another club for as long as I live!

  All three of us were cuffed and sitting in chairs in front of an officer’s desk when Ben himself arrived. He was speaking with the police while we waited. I had assumed that he would make some calls and send someone to help us but he showed up instead.

  Oh this is rich! It just keeps getting better!

  Cheyenne was less concerned about our predicament and just sat there smirking at me with her hands cuffed.

  “So much for a great birthday Cheyenne. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have instigated those women.” She frowned at my apology.

  “Are you kidding?! This is the most excellent birthday ever! I got some fancy new bracelets.” She leaned forward and jiggled her handcuffs and laughed. Ben approached us, and I immediately wanted to hide under the nearest rock…forever. He looked incredible and casual of course, which made the blush on my cheeks deepen to the nth degree. He approached Cheyenne first.

  “Hello. You must be Kathleen’s someone special.”

  Maybe if I try to escape the officer will shoot me and end this nightmare.

  “Yes, Ben. This is my best friend Cheyenne Reed. Cheyenne this is Ben.” After introducing them, I realized I had no idea what Ben’s full name was even though he knew not only my full name, but my address too. I sat in my chair with my head down only peeking up through my eyelashes to see him lay his hand on her bare shoulder and jealousy reared its ugly head.

  What the fuck is that? I have no reason to be jealous.

  Cheyenne looked at me puzzled as an ‘oh my god he is gorgeous’ grin spread across her face. I simply smirked and gave her a slight nod confirming that I, too, thought he was beyond gorgeous with his wavy brown hair, golden skin, blue-green eyes, tall, muscular frame and to die for scent.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Ben turned to the officer and demanded that the hand cuffs be removed from his clients immediately unless we were being charged and arrested and made it clear that none of us were drunk and didn’t pose a threat to ourselves or others. After a moment of arguing, the officer removed the cuffs. Once we were free to go, Cheyenne and I piled into Ben’s black Cadillac, and he drove across town to our apartment. The tattooed man had not uttered a word the entire time. He just walked out of the police station and didne stˀ and dit look back. Cheyenne and I didn’t think too much of it. We dismissed his behavior as a bad attitude since we had accomplished dragging him into our mess, and he found himself cuffed at the police station. I watched him as he walked down the sidewalk and disappeared around a corner. I wondered who that man was and why was he so reluctant to speak. Ben seemed to know exactly where we lived, which caused Cheyenne to quirk up a questioning eyebrow at me. I waved her off with my hand, and she once again smiled from ear to ear exposing every pearly white tooth. Ben parked, and Cheyenne quickly gave her thanks and made a bee line for our apartment. Before I could stop her, she disappeared behind the doors. Ben slipped out of the driver’s seat and began walking towards the entrance with me in tow.

  “You know where I live. How?”

  “Your hospital bracelet gave me your full name. A person can find just about anything on the internet with a very little information to start. Like a full name.” He smiled down at me, and I half smiled back at him.

  “Yes I guess that is true. But that’s a tad creeper-ish, don’t you think Ben?” He didn’t respond except for smirking at me while we stepped into the elevator. I had to admit that his lack of interest in me was very frustrating. I was incredibly attracted to him, but it seemed that the feeling was not mutual.

  “What floor?”

  “What? You mean you don’t already know that it’s the third floor?” He playfully narrowed his eyes at me in response to my sarcastic question. When the elevator stopped, we both stepped out and began walking to my apartment door. He wrapped his strong hand around my wrist bringing both of us to a halt and my heart began to speed.

  “This dress looks beautiful on you. Your exposed back is breath taking.” His voice was low and throaty making my insides stir gloriously. A blistering blush scorched my cheeks.

  Oh my! This man may be an arrogant ass and a book thief who subsequently returned said book, but geez he is great to look at.

  I glanced down, and ran my hands across the tiny bit of material that dared to be called a dress, smoothing invisible wrinkles. That dress couldn’t have a wrinkle if it wanted to with as tight as it hugged my curves. “Oh, um, this isn’t even my dress. I don’t own anything like this. My clothes are boring really. This is Cheyenne’s dress.” He eyed me closely and nodded his head.

  “Well, you wear it well.”

  “Thank you for coming to get us. This whole thing was just a big misunderstanding. We didn’t mean to get into a bar brawl, but those women just came up to us looking for trouble and then-” He stopped me from speaking any further by placing his hand just beneath my jaw and tilting my head back until I was forced to look him in the face.

  “When you speak to me, you should look at me in the face Kathleen.”

  And here’s Mr. I’m-so-damn-cocky-and-full-of-myself!

  I quickly moved to a different subject as he lightly stroked his thumb across my chin before his hand fell away, and I felt a tiny ache at the loss. His mesmerizing blue-green eyes stayed locked on mine in a way that made me feel naked and exposed before him. “Why do you call me Kathleen? Everyone calls me Kat. Only one person calls me Kathleen.” It was out of my mouth before I could stop it.

  “It’s your given name. I’ll call you by it. Who is the one person who shares my opinion about this subject?”

  Oh, you two share a lot more than just an opinion about my name.

  I could tell these two men were exactly the same. Handsome, successful, arrogant, self-absorbed jerks who probably go through more women in one month than a gynecologist. I glanced down again staring at the nail polish covered toe nails that barely stuck out of the front of my peep toe heels. Ben immediately grasped my chin again, tilting my
head back up to look him in the face. “I told you Kathleen that you should always look me in the eye.” His voice was lower that time and held a menacing undertone. I jerked my jaw from his grasp and scowled.

  “And what if I choose not to do as you say? Would you just boss me around some more? What are you really going to do?”

  A chuckle rumbled low in his chest. Then in less time it takes to blink, he had my back to the wall. He caged me in with his amazing body. My breathing caught in my throat when I realized that his body was pinning my lower half. He rolled his hips into mine, and a current shot through my body, ending in my groin, where my steadily building arousal was in full swing. My body was humming with need. He gazed at me for a moment with a wild look in his eyes. His nose was just a hairs breadth from mine. I was panting and wanton in his grip. His lips appeared so full and soft. I wanted his mouth on me more than I wanted anything else. He broke our silent stare down and leaned forward placing his lips just slightly against my ear and whispered.

  “You won’t want to find out. Goodnight.” He stepped back releasing me from the wall, slipped his hands into his pockets and walked casually back to the elevator where he disappeared inside.

  Holy shit!

  When I made it inside my apartment, I was still reeling over the things Ben had said and done and slightly pissed off that he walked away from me when I so clearly wanted more. I somehow managed to side step Cheyenne’s barrage of questions by giving her the gift that I safely stowed beneath my bed and telling her the short version of my story about Ben

  . She loved the book, but she loved my story more. She sat and listened while never wiping the smirk off her face once. I couldn’t blame her. We both enjoyed a glass of wine and toasted to a get out of jail free cards, overly handsome strangers and memorable birthdays. I went to bed with thoughts of the gorgeous, bossy, book thief swirling in my head.

  Chapter 8

  Someone Special

  I woke sometime in the early morning after our night out starting fights and going to jail. I was panting heavily, and my body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat. My legs quivered, my heart was racing and my clit was pulsing ferociously, demanding attention. After catching my breath I huffed and flopped back down to my pillows and did my best to silence my eager body’s demands for sex…with Ben.

  Is this what it’s come to? Wet dreams starring Ben?

  Monday, May 20th, 2013. Day 223 since Aidan. I woke early to prepare myself for my interviews. The first interview was that morning and the second one was in the afternoon, so I would have a couple of hours to burn between the two. I decided to stop by a few tattoo parlors with my spare time so I made sure to bring my sketches along with me. I wore a navy pencil skirt that rested at the knee coupled with an ivory colored cap sleeved blouse that flared at the hip and a pair of new taupe colored high heels. The heels were torture devices, but Cheyenne insisted that they completed the look; her words. I wore pearl stud earrings, and my matching pearl pendant necklace. My fingers were bare of any rings, which reminded me of my single status. All that remained of my wedding band was a faint tan line, and I wondered when it would finally disappear.

  My first interview went fine, I suppose, but I was less than impressed with the pay and benefits they were offering. Not to mention the lawyer who interviewed me gave me the creeps. I decided that if they called me back I would decline the offer. I had time to burn after the interview with the creepy lawyer, so I made my way to the nearby coffee shop and decided to use my laptop to gather information about local tattoo artists and parlors. If there was one thing I was very good at it was research and gathering information. It was why I was quite good at my job. I sat outside of the coffee shop at a small table and accessed their internet connection to begin my search. I was caught off guard when an attractive black man began talking to me. I had seen him when I took a seat at my own table. He sat at the table behind me and had a clear view of my computer screen.

  “Looking for a tattoo artist?” His deep voice caused me to jerk, and I swiftly turned to face him.

  “It’s rude to snoop on people, you know? But yes I am looking for the best artist this town has to offer. Do you have any recommendations?”

  The man smiled at me before he spoke again. “Well I know who the best is. It’s Tuck.” He spoke as if I would know who this Tuck person was.

  “Excuse me?” He shrugged.

  “Tucker Barrett. He is the best. May I?” The man motioned his hand towards the empty seat at my table, and I nodded, giving my permission to join me. He sat at my table and began unbuttoning his dress shirt.

  “What are you doing?” I squeaked out while my eyes flitted around us to see how many onlookers were staring at our table.

  “I’m showing you the best. Syoung at our” Just then the man opened his shirt allowing me to view his tattoo. “This is Tuck’s work. He is the best, but he stays booked months out, and being the best, he charges a pretty penny.”

  “Wow. That’s beautiful,” I mumbled. I gazed at the man’s tattoo and admired the exquisite work. It covered half of his chest and wrapped over his should and extended down his bicep and forearm. It was an intricate tribal design that decorated his flesh. There was no denying whoever this Tucker person was his work was indeed the best. The man gave me the name and address where I could find the artist, and I thanked him before he left the coffee shop. I continued sipping on my latte and decided to Google this Tucker person, but before I could clear the search and start a new one I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

  “I wouldn’t picture you as being the tattooed type Kathleen.” I spun around and placed my hand above my brows to shield my eyes from the sun while I stared up at Ben from my seat. He was dressed in an outfit very similar to the one he wore when I first saw him at Book Ends. He looked good enough to eat.

  “You know Ben, I am beginning to think this town is not as big as I thought.” He smiled while he made his way around me and sat at my table without bothering to ask.

  “Why sure Ben, please, do sit.” I rolled my eyes at his presumptive rudeness. I mentally noted that the old me was making appearances more and more often. I loved it.

  “I come here for coffee often. May I remind you that you are the new kid in town? It’s not my fault you chose to come to the same coffee shop that I frequent.” I groaned at his taunting words.

  “So, tattoos?”

  “No Ben, I was only doing some research…for a friend.”

  “A friend? I see.”

  “Well, I would love to sit and entertain you but I have to get going. I have an interview in a while.”

  “Oh?”

  “Yes, I have to get a job at some point. I had an interview this morning, I have one this afternoon and I have another tomorrow.” He smiled at me and slightly nodded his head while he sat across from me with his arms folded comfortably across his muscular chest. I couldn’t help but wonder why he had a look in his eyes that told me he withheld saying something. I had no clue what it might be and quite frankly didn’t really care…much. I stood and began walking away from him then froze when my curiosity got the best of me.

  “Oh, Ben, one more thing; who was your someone special? Who were you buying the book for?” His features went completely serious and I instantly regretted asking him.

  Stupid curiosity!

  “I’m looking at her. I gave you the book didn’t I? I saw you. I wanted to talk to you. The opportunity presented itself. I went wi Slf.Roman"th it.” He shrugged then stood from his seat and walked towards where I stood with a stunned expression on my face. He grasped my chin between his thumb and index finger and tilted my head until my eyes met his smoldering blue-green gaze. His thumb stroked a slow path across my bottom lip while I got lost in his all-consuming eyes.

  “Someone special.” He whispered for just me to hear. His hand brushed down my arm then fell away as he walked casually away from me. I stood there dazed and utterly shocked for a long moment before I was able to gather m
yself enough to finally leave.

  Well Kat, at least you now know where to find Ben, the disgustingly-sexy-and-seriously-lacking-fundamental-manners-book-thief…just in case you get a wild hair and decide to act out one of those dreams.

  I had to shake my head at my private thoughts.

  I walked into the tattoo parlor, which was called ‘The Ink Well’ and began looking around. It had a very vintage feel to it, which reminded me of Fred’s shop. The floors were waxed to a high gloss shine and were checkered black and white. There were a few red patent leather and chrome chairs near the entrance. There were six work stations that each had a pendant light fixture with a red shade hanging down. Only one tattoo artist sitting at his station concentrating on his task which appeared to be some sort of sketch.

  Without looking up from his work he spoke to me. “Can I help you?” His head stayed bowed, concentrating on his art.

  “Um yes, I’m looking for an artist named Tucker.” The man suddenly stopped what he was doing and lifted his head to look at me.

  “I’m sure you are lady,” he scoffed at me and returned his eyes to his work.

  “Pardon me? What’s that supposed to mean? I was told he is the best around so I’m here to speak with him.” I crossed my arms over my chest and kicked out one foot with attitude. The man once again lifted his head from his work and looked at me with a cynical look on his face.

  “Lady, listen, you don’t really look like someone who is here for a tat from Tuck, so what is it you want?” I was becoming impatient with this man.