As I got into my jalopy of a car, I remembered the day she took me to her home and I came face to face with Judge Joe. I smiled now as I drove, thinking about Joe’s brown eyes, the same ones that peered over the bench at me when I was younger. He’d had my case from the start. That man was nothing less than respectful and kind, allowing me to live in their garden house while I finished college.
When I crossed the tracks into the ‘hood, I said a silent prayer thanking God for Joe’s approach with the idea of doing something for the court. A paying back of sorts for the things Joe had done for me. After graduating with my bachelor’s degree, I pushed forward and got my master’s, incurring massive debt but praying this would pay off. Without question, Joe hired me to be a counselor to do parenting assessments, psychological evaluations and counseling. Truth be told, it was therapy for me. I loved what I did so far, but today…set me back.
Kieran Scott scared me. Kieran Scott intimidated me. And worse, Kieran Scott irritated the hell out of me.
How could I be a successful counselor if I let punks like Kieran fluster me? Or worse, turn me on. I needed clients. I couldn’t afford to not accept what Joe sent to me. I was barely surviving as it was.
As I turned into my apartment complex of four weeks, the familiar thugs on the corner nodded as I drove past. In the beginning they’d stare at the young white girl invading their territory. But now…now they seemed more accepting.
My lights flashed over Usiah sitting in a lawn chair outside his apartment. Relief. I adjusted my purse and briefcase strap on my shoulder before I unlocked the car, then with practiced confidence walked quickly to my door.
“Hey li’l missy.”
“Hi, Usiah,” I said with a smile.
“No need to hurry. They knows not to bother you,” he said tilting his head toward the street corner. “As scary as this neighborhood is, we protects our own.”
I smiled at him. “I know, but I really stick out.”
“You don’t wanna fit in here,” he said. “Now get your tail indoors.”
“Hi, Megan,” my 11-year-old neighbor, Andrew, called out from the open window next door.
“Hey there, cutie! How was your day at school?”
“Didn’t go today. Mom was asleep.”
My heart sank. His mother drank about as much as my father had. I knew from past history what it was like to try and wake up a drunken parent.
“I have to be up early; ask her if I can take you tomorrow.”
He bobbed his head up and down and held up the I love you sign with his hand, which I instantly shot back.
Amazing how resilient kids can be. And the connection we’d made in the thirty days I’d been here with just a little attention…that’s all he needed to thrive.
Usiah smiled at me as I slid my key into the lock, unlocked my door and went inside. I loved him looking out for me. Somehow, in this shithole of an apartment complex, I felt safer.
Judge Joe and I had an agreement. I’d only signed a six-month lease and I was in my second month. Joe didn’t like where I was living but Usiah was one of his old clients. And for some reason, I had a strong feeling Usiah wasn’t doing this simply out of the kindness of his heart. Joe had given me six months to make it on my own and get the hell out of here. I needed more clients. And that is why I couldn’t lose Kieran Scott.
But when I went to get undressed for the night and found the building moisture between my legs—that drew out one final scream.
Chapter 3—Kieran
Being a bouncer at Winks had its pluses. Hot girls were one of them. I covered the back door, only because Wink complained the line got too long with me at the front since girls tried to stop and talk. So he put me at the back of the bar, claiming they moved quicker to get in. I’d worked for him for years. Tending bar first, then moved to bouncer. Wink turns 60 in a few weeks and the party of the decade was in the making.
He was now the closest to a father that I had outside of Joe. Wink had lost his wife to ovarian cancer when she was only 48. When I met him, he was completely lost and his bar had become a meat market/fighting club.
My buddy Todd and I went to college together and it was our job, for about five years now, to turn this place around. Which we did, and Wink was indebted to us for the changes we’d made.
Todd had gotten his law degree and I’d become a master level accountant, but working for Wink was fun for both of us. Neither was willing to give it up.
A dark-haired girl with a tattoo sleeve nudged me as she walked past, and then offered me a smile—a cute little piercing flicking off her tongue. A groupie from tonight’s band. Local bands debuted and played here, so the pub had come alive with a little marketing. Sitting next to the dance floor and band was better than the front door, as far as I was concerned. From where I sat, I could see my entire playing field.
Wink named the bar clearly after himself but he’d also become somewhat of a phenomenon. Wink had Tourette’s and, well, he blinked an awful lot. He wasn’t one of those fellas that shouted things. But he ticked a lot and grunted sometimes. His name came from his wife. When they met, she always thought he was winking at her and thought it was ‘adorable’…turns out, he couldn’t help it. Hence the nickname Wink. I’m not sure what his real name even was.
When I spotted a redhead walking into the club, I became hell-bent on getting her in some way that night. She was with a group of friends. They all seemed young but if they were in the bar, they were legal. There was no doubt Todd would have verified their IDs. Since three days ago, I’d become obsessed with redheads. As arrogant as it sounds, I’d never had trouble getting any girl in bed and I’d certainly never had the reaction like I had with Ms. Clark. But, it also annoyed the living shit out of me that she’d been in my head since that day. Maybe actually fucking a ginger would get her out of there.
The band was tuning up on stage and tonight they were an alternative bunch. Weird looking group. The redhead made her way to the bar, got a colorful girly drink, then spotted me perched on my stool where I could see everything.
First, I tilted my head, in a what-are-you-thinking sort of look. Not that I gave a shit because I truly didn’t. I wasn’t one of those guys that took a girl’s feelings into consideration. Cold? Maybe. But she’s an adult and if she’s going to jump into the bed of some guy she barely knows…is it really my fault?
Following my head tilt, she tapped her friend then pointed at me. They carried on some giggly discussion before she finally shuffled over to me. A few songs and drinks later, I ended up knocking it out on the picnic table out back. After her telling me that I didn’t need a condom given that she was on the pill, I nearly backed out right there. Wondered how many men she had said that to. But I banked on that thin little piece of latex keeping me safe. The worst part about it was, I totally wasn’t into it—bored…it took me forever to finish.
The unoccupied waiting room was a welcome sight. No overdressed, counting people, no snickers and no leg crossing. Perfect. I sat in the chair furthest from where she called me from last time and listened to the music over the speakers. Impatiently, I watched the slow movement of the clock. To be honest, the thought of seeing her again annoyed me. But I wasn’t sure if it was because of her or that I was being court-ordered to do something I really thought was bullshit.
My phone buzzed. A text from Stacy. Wait…scratch that. A picture of her tits. I smiled at the snapshot. Not always a daily treat, but a least a couple of days a week.
“Mr. Scott.”
Quickly, I hit the button at the bottom of my phone to close the screen, and stood.
“Hey,” I greeted.
She offered a tight-lipped smile then I followed her back.
“How are you today?” she asked, sliding into her seat and grabbing the notepad. Her skirt was short and I tilted my head to see if I could catch a peek.
I gave one nod. “Good. Yourself?”
“I’m good too. Thank you.”
I couldn’t help
but notice she had the daintiest of hands when she scratched her nose.
“Mr. Scott. Where’d you grow up?”
I guess there would be no small talk. Always the professional. “Here.”
“Do you follow sports?”
“Some. Yes. You?”
“Some. Yes,” she answered but I think she was mocking me.
I rested my ankle on my knee and stared at her. Did she think I was going to navigate this bullshit? Though I had to admit, this was more intimidating than I thought it would be. Exposing myself. Talking to girls was like breathing. But opening up to an incredibly beautiful woman was paralyzing.
She wrote on her pad, unsettling me more. Finally, I resigned to laying my head back and closing my eyes…that way, I didn’t have to look at her or see what she was writing. I hated being judged.
After a good twenty minutes of agonizing silence, my phone buzzed again and I retrieved it from my pocket, stealing a glance at her as I opened my phone. She was staring at me.
I didn’t recognize the number on my phone but I recognized the tattoo. Deanna. I wondered how many guys had seen that ink. I remembered tracing it with my tongue. I hadn’t visited Deanna for a while, I thought with a wicked chuckle.
“Something you’d like to share?”
I shook my head. “I don’t think you’d like to see it.”
“Why is that?” she asked.
Opting for shock factor, I said, “Unless you dig naked girls,” and I turned the screen toward her for a short second.
She didn’t even flinch. “I can appreciate a woman’s body. The tattoo says what?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know, to be honest. I never paid attention to what it said.”
“Have you ever had a serious relationship?” she asked.
I braced myself for the psychobabble bullshit on lack of meaningful relationships that was coming.
“Define serious?” I asked for clarification, maybe stalling.
“Acting in an earnest way…sincere…”
“I didn’t mean Webster’s version. Do you mean like dating for a length of time?”
She wrote on that damn pad again. “No. I don’t think time means serious as much as what the girl meant to you or you meant to her.”
“I dated Lorraine for a year and a half during high school. She took my virginity and I took hers. Was that earnest?” I asked with an ornery grin.
“I’d say answer the question from age 21 forward.”
The answer to that would unequivocally be no. I wasn’t sure I’d even had a date. And given that I hadn’t made my mind up about getting this ginger into my bed, I wasn’t sure I wanted her to know that part of me.
“I probably haven’t had an earnest relationship for a while.” I couldn’t hide my smile.
My phone buzzed again but this time I ignored it.
“Do you want a serious relationship? A wife? Kids?”
Unintentionally, I chuckled out loud. I’d never met anyone where that even crossed my mind. I wanted to throw that notepad out the window.
“Doc. A player’s gotta play,” I stated and watched as she swallowed, her little throat clenching.
“Your session is over today. I’ll see you in three days,” she said, standing.
“Hey, Doc?”
“Yes?” she asked with raised brows.
“Want to get a drink?”
“Mr. Scott. You are my client. I can’t.”
She opened the door to her office and I pushed it closed.
“Would you if I wasn’t your client?”
The door opened again as she smiled and stepped into the hallway, outright ignoring me. My fucking blood started to boil. Did she think she was that much better than me?
A tall, dorky guy was passing through the hallway.
“Mr. Ross. Would you be willing to show Mr. Scott to the door?”
“Absolutely,” this Ross guy said.
“Goodbye, Mr. Scott.”
How about you fuck off, Doc!
“See ya,” I said.
Chapter 4—Megan
Day two in a week that I collapsed in my chair due to the antics of Kieran Scott. If his sexy ass wanted to sit quiet for an hour…by all means have at it, you stubborn fool. “I didn’t mean Webster’s version,” I mimicked out loud.
“I’ll give you some definitions.” I threw my notepad, talking to no one but myself. “Torturous: staring at Kieran Scott for any length of time.” I kicked the ottoman in my office, pain radiating through my foot. “Agonizing: wanting to touch such perfection if only for a second,” I continued my rant. “And…distressing: knowing I have to endure meeting with him for eleven more weeks.” I stomped over to the calendar on my wall and drew an X in the past seven days… week one down.
“And seriously? Girls sending naked pics to his phone. Who does that?” I nearly yelled as I pulled out my car keys and slammed my chair under the desk.
Irritation crept into every inch of my body as I thought about his raspy voice…his piercing gaze. As much as the thought of Kieran touching me made my lower abdomen ache…oh sweet Jesus, I needed help! I’d never met anyone in my life so damn arrogant. There was no doubt in my mind that I would remain professional, and clearly would be fighting the battle for both of us.
Only three short days later, the Portland weather was hotter than normal and my window unit at the apartment wasn’t keeping up. Usiah was, of course, sitting outside when I went out, where I immediately slid in the small puddle of water that accumulated beneath the air conditioner, hitting my head on the metal unit.
“You OK?” little Andrew asked. I spotted him driving a tiny Matchbox car in the dirt.
“Yep. Maybe that knocked some sense into me,” I laughed, but damn it hurt.
“Wanna play?”
“Oh buddy. I have to go to work. Why aren’t you in school?”
“I’m not goin’ to that school no more. Momma’s mad at them so I’m changin’ schools. Can’t start ’til Monday.”
Momma’s mad at them because they probably turned you in for truancy. My heart broke. All humans may be CREATED in the same way but that’s as equal as it gets. There was nothing equal about the circumstance of which you’re born into. I knew that better than anyone. It made me sick and I prayed that it was a cycle that Andrew could break.
I leaned down and patted his back. “I tell you what buddy, I’ll take a rain check.”
He glanced up at the sky. “What’s a rain check?”
I couldn’t help but giggle. “It’s not really a rain check,” I explained, rubbing his head. “It means I’ll play with you later.”
“OK. Have fun at work.”
“Will do, Squirt.”
Usiah watched me all the way to the car.
The heat inside the cramped space was even more intense, taking my breath. And when I turned the key…nothing.
“NO!” I shouted, banging my fist against the wheel. I was already running late. I gave it another turn in the ignition…the engine stayed quiet.
Both Usiah and Andrew stared at me and as much as I wanted to cry, I smiled.
Chapter 5—Kieran
THREE DAYS! That’s how much time had passed since my last brutally long hour of torment. My life was awesome outside of these hour-long bullshit sessions each week…twice a week! And how one woman, albeit freakishly attractive, could get under my skin like this one was far beyond my understanding.
I laced my fingers, popping my knuckles, then cocked my neck from side to side, cracking it as well while I waited. “What the fuck ever,” I said beneath my breath.
I could lay down any damn woman I wanted at any time of the day. Had I met Doc at some bar on a weekend—I had no doubt she’d have been mine by now. But she had some bullshit code of ethics to hide behind to keep me at bay. So, I sat, thinking of my next move. How to piss her off. How to get under her skin too. And as I sat in that damn lobby…again…I released an exasperated, loud sigh hoping for her to hear. Waiting was not
my specialty.
Forty damn minutes later, she blew through the door, and my blood was beyond boiling—my lip pulled into a snarl, ready to rip into her for disrespecting my time. At least until I noticed her disheveled appearance. Her hair was blown over to one side of her head and for whatever reason, she appeared flustered. A goose egg the size of a golf ball was near her right temple, where sweat trickled down.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Scott, please come on back with me.”
“Would you like to reschedule?” I asked, trying to watch my tone.
A file folder dropped from her hands and papers scattered. I bent down; helped her pick them up and watched her cleavage sway as she moved. My anger slipped away and for whatever reason, the tension left my body.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Scott. If you can meet, I can as well.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry. What happened? Why are you late?”
“I’m sorry,” she winced. “Please, Mr. Scott.”
As I handed her the papers, I held on to her hand a little longer than necessary, forcing her eyes to meet mine.
“Please Doc, you say Mr. Scott and I look for my father. And you know what happened to my father.”
Her eyes flickered away.
“Fine…Kieran. I’m sorry for being late. I really am. You have an obligation to be here and I don’t want you to think I’m not taking this seriously. If you don’t show a warrant is issued. If I don’t…well, I’m sorry,” she apologized quietly.
There was a sadness in her rounded eyes, and annoyance crept over me that I even cared a little.
“No worries. Let’s get this show on the road.”
She offered only a simple nod and spun around.
I followed her back, which I have to say was the best part about this deal. Watching her walk. She had the sexiest ass. For the time being, it was hidden under her skirt. But the bare calves and thighs leading up to it…yum. Someday.
After closing her door, she sat with her pad and paper, and the professionalism had overtaken her again. The mask was in place.
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