There was another hesitant knock, and I rushed to pull it open. Charles’ cologne moved through the room, and I backed away to get some fresh air.
“Hi,” he said with a sly smile. His eyes moved over my face, and his smile dropped. “Are you okay?”
Crap!
“I’m fine,” I said with cheer I didn’t feel. I plastered on a big, fake smile as I looked him over. “You look nice.”
He was dressed casually in a white, Polo shirt, dark jacket and jeans and that made me feel better about my own outfit.
“You look… amazing.” His brown eyes lit up.
I flushed and looked down at myself. “I forgot to ask what we were doing, so I wasn’t exactly sure how to dress.”
“It’s a surprise, but you’re dressed perfectly for tonight. Are you ready?”
“Yes,” I said as I reached over and snagged my purse from the entrance table.
I shut the door behind me, and we walked together down the hallway. It threw me off guard when he grabbed my hand and his fingers intertwined with mine. I didn’t want to make it awkward by looking at him, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from our hands.
I took long, deep breaths as we walked toward his car, trying not to hyperventilate.
The ride to where we were going was quiet. Charles held my hand the entire time and I kept wishing he’d let it go. I didn’t want to be rude and pull away, but my hand was starting to feel sweaty. It was gross.
We pulled up to a big, grassy park. There were people as far as the eye could see, and off in the distance there was a large movie screen. I sat and waited as Charles came around to my side of the car and opened the door for me.
I waited by the trunk as he opened it and pulled out a blanket and a basket. Then again, he grabbed my hand and we walked onto the field full of people. Half way to the screen, we found a great spot and Charles set the basket down to spread out the blanket.
“This is amazing,” I said, grabbing one end of the blanket and helping him spread it out.
I was happy we’d found such a great spot because the park was completely full. We sat down, and I looked around as the massive crowd surrounding us. There was a constant stream of chatter and laughter while everyone mingled with their groups.
“Yeah, I love coming to these things. They do them about once a month. I’m surprised you’ve never come out to one of these before.”
“School is crazy. and I try not to fall behind by staying ahead, which means having no social life.”
“Glad I’m not the only one.” He snorted. “Are you not from New York?”
“Nope. I was born and raised in Georgia. Do you need any help?” I asked when he moved the basket in front of him and started to remove food.
“I got it.” He smiled and winked at me.
He looked down before he could see my reaction and I was glad for that. There was Blaine’s kind of winking, and then there was Charles’ kind. There was no competition.
When I realized where my thought process was headed, I shook my head to rid my thoughts.
“Are you from New York?” I asked.
“Yep. My parents live in the city, but they might as well live on campus as much as they come to see me.”
I laughed. “I consider myself lucky that my parents don’t live close to the school. They’d probably live on campus, too.”
“Was Columbia your first choice?”
I nodded. “It was my only choice since I could talk. My father went to Columbia so he was very excited for me to follow in his footsteps.”
“Yeah, gotta love the pressure of following in family footsteps. Both of my parents went to Columbia, so there was no doubt in their minds that I’d go, too.”
“What do your parents do?”
It was nice to know I wasn’t the only one with strict parents, although, it sounded like Charles’ parents might’ve been a level above mine.
“My father’s a broker and my mom’s an art director.”
I heard his response, but it went in one ear and out the other. My lingering eyes landed on the one person I’d hoped I wouldn’t see again. Blaine.
Was New York not big enough for the two of us or something?
My heart sped up, and I silently prayed he wouldn’t see me. He was walking across the park like he owned it. Maddie, his little sister, held his hand and laughed at something he was saying to her. And then he looked up, and his eyes landed on mine.
His expression changed from happiness and into confusion, before his brows pulled down and anger passed over his face. Then him and Maddie changed direction, and I stopped breathing when I realized they were headed our way.
10
BLAINE
EVERYTHING WAS A FUCKING MESS. EVERYTHING.
I couldn’t think, and every time I could, my thoughts went straight to Chelsey. My bed smelled like her. My car reminded me of her. And even Maddie was asking who she was. She’d somehow pushed herself right back into my life without even trying.
I was even starting to forget all the reasons I was supposed to hate her. I had to constantly close my eyes and replay the most horrific night of my life, just so I could get the hatred to move back in. I needed to hate Chelsey. It was the only thing that kept me going every day.
So for two weeks, I walked around pissed off at the world. I snapped at Grandma a few times and had to apologize, and I’d even made Maddie cry, which made me feel like shit.
I decided it was better for everyone if I stayed at work and stayed busy. So, when Chris asked me on Friday if I could work some on Saturday, I agreed. I spent the day out in the sun working on some shrubbery around Butler Library, one of the twenty-two libraries on Columbia University campus.
The place was massive, with huge columns and windows tucked behind them. Something about the place reminded me of the Lincoln Memorial in Delaware, minus the big statue of President Lincoln. I’d gone there once with my parents when I was younger, and every time I looked at Butler Library it sent me back to that memory. It was a good memory so that was fine by me.
I knew I’d be tired as hell when I got to the banana later that night, but fuck it. I was always tired anyway. I clipped at the shrubs, making them perfectly square, and wiped at the sweat that formed on my forehead.
Reaching over to grab my water, I saw Chelsey making her way into the library. I debated following her, but decided to keep working. An hour later, she still hadn’t come out. A man only had so much self-control. So knowing it was a bad idea, I left the spot I was working, and went into the library looking for her.
My plan was only to see her and leave. I didn’t plan on actually talking to her, but I did, and once again she made me so angry I felt fire inside. When she mentioned going out on dates I thought my head was going to explode, but I couldn’t let her see that. Instead, I laughed away my anger.
I shouldn’t have been upset with the thought of Chelsey going out with other guys, but I was. Jealousy ripped through me, scarring me inside with just the thought of her being with another man. I wasn’t sure if I was the only guy she’d even slept with, but I liked to think I was. There was no telling what Chelsey had done during the year after I left, but as long as I didn’t know about it, it couldn’t affect me.
I’d know she was dating. I wouldn’t necessarily see it, but I’d know.
After I was done for the day, I went home and showered before heading out on the two-hour drive to The Golden Banana. I wasn’t in the mood to have a bunch of women grabbing all on my shit, but again, bills didn’t pay themselves.
I danced five different sets, and as much as it disgusted me, I fucked Rosie with a Viagra cock until she was screaming and collapsing on the couch. It wasn’t sexual for me at all. I was taking out my anger on her. It was good she just so happened to love rough sex.
Once I was home and in the shower, I couldn’t even get myself off. I went to bed hungry with a painful hard-on and the fucked up desire to cry. Chelsey being in my life again wasn’t good. It bro
ught up memories that were still so raw, painful things I didn’t think I’d ever get over. I needed her to go away, but I still wanted her so badly.
**********
SUNDAY, I DECIDED I needed a day off. I’d been going non-stop and I could feel myself crashing mentally and physically. Still, I went to the gym and took out my frustrations with a hard workout.
Once I was done at the gym, I went home to shower and get ready for the night I planned for Maddie. It had been so long since I’d taken her anywhere fun. I worked so much that it was easy to forget my little sister didn’t have much of a life outside of Grandma’s house.
I strapped Maddie into the backseat of my car, and we sang along to the radio on the way to a park in the city. Once a month they’d set up a movie screen and play something decent. I figured it would be nice for Maddie to get some fresh air and we could catch a movie at the same time.
I held a basket of sandwiches in one hand, and Maddie’s hand in the other on the way across the park. Every time I looked down, Maddie was smiling up at me. It was a good moment. One I wished my mom and dad could be there for.
Then I looked up, and my eyes clashed with Chelsey’s. The park suddenly felt too small, the basket too heavy. She was looking right at me, and she wasn’t alone.
Ivy League sat across from her, plucking things from a basket and smiling entirely too much. I took in the scene the two of them made together, and decided right away I hated it. He was too stiff for her, too clean. Then again, wasn’t that what she wanted? Wasn’t that what her parents wanted for her?
She looked delicious in a pair of jeans and a light blue sweater. Her hair was down, but I could tell she’d taken her time to put some curls in it. Ivy League reached out and grabbed her hand, and anger spilled into my stomach. She smiled up at him like the sun shined out of his ass and fire licked up my spine.
Fuck no. This wasn’t going down. Not if I had anything to say about. Chelsey hurt me. She’d destroyed me at a time in my life when I needed her the most. She didn’t get to go out and date. She didn’t get to be happy. It wasn’t fucking fair.
My legs were moving, and I was pulling Maddie along with me before I realized what I was doing. Then I was at their side looking down at the two of them. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words got stuck in my throat. Chelsey looked up at me anxiously like she was waiting on me to say something to ruin her date. She had to know I would’ve.
“Blaine,” she said. “How are you doing?”
Her question caught me off guard.
Maddie tugged at my hand, taking my attention away from Chelsey. I looked down into her sweet, blue eyes and I knew I couldn’t make a scene in front of her.
So instead of lashing out the way I wanted to, I turned back to Chelsey and smiled. “I’m good. Just spending some time with Maddie,” I said, swinging Maddie’s arm and making her giggle.
“Well, it’s nice to see you again.” She smiled and then turned her eyes on Maddie. “Hi, Maddie. What a pretty shirt you’re wearing.”
Her smile was stiff and all for show. I could tell by the stiffness in her spine she was still nervous. My eyes moved over her face and took in her anxious expression.
Maddie tugged at her shirt and bashfully hid her face in my leg.
“Blaine, this is Charles,” she said, motioning toward Ivy League. Charles was his name. Like the fucking King of England or some shit. His name was perfect for his stiff ass. He reached out to shake my hand, and I shook it, wishing I could rip it off. “Charles, this is a friend of mine from Georgia, Blaine.”
A friend from Georgia. A fucking friend.
I needed to go. I couldn’t stand there and say nothing. Especially when something sarcastic and angry was simmering just beneath my skin. The fact that she’d called me a friend made me want to lose my shit real quick.
“Well, we’ll leave you two lovebirds alone to enjoy your date. How else is Columbia going to get their next generation?” I adjusted the lunch basket in my hand. I needed to go before the anger exploded, but apparently, I didn’t move fast enough. The words flew from my mouth before I could stop them. “Good luck getting a response from this one, Charles. She’s a dead lay. Ask any of her friends.”
Chelsey’s mouth dropped open and her face turned pale. I didn’t wait around to hear what she had to say. Instead, I tugged Maddie across the park toward my car. The movie and everything I planned was forgotten. I’d take Maddie somewhere else, somewhere away from Chelsey and Ivy League.
11
CHELSEY
MY DATE WITH CHARLES WAS A BUST.
I spent the rest of the date wishing it was over. After Blaine left us, Charles’ attitude toward me changed. I didn’t even bother filling him in on the situation. Another date with him was out of the question. Not only did Blaine ruin it, but I was completely bored, which said a lot.
After Charles dropped me off at my door with a chaste kiss on the cheek, I went inside and went straight to bed. I didn’t get much sleep. Nightmares haunted me, and I kept waking up out of breath. By the time the sun was creeping in through the window, I knew my day was going to be crap. I had three classes to deal with and I’d gotten no sleep.
I was lying in bed, watching the fan above me turn, when a loud knock sounded on my door. I never had unexpected company, so it was a shock to me. I climbed from the bed and dragged myself across my apartment to the door. Another knock sounded before the doorbell began to ring over and over again.
“I’m coming!” I yelled out.
Pulling the door open, Lynn stood there staring back at me.
“Hey!” Her smile was huge as she tugged her suitcase behind her and squeezed between me and the doorframe.
“Um… hi. What are you doing here?”
“I’m surprising you, silly. Are you surprised?”
She slammed her suitcase down on my couch, and fell beside it. Blowing a piece of hair from her face, she propped her feet up on my coffee table.
“Yeah. I’m surprised.”
“Good. Things are getting kind of crazy back home with Momma and Daddy so I thought I needed a break. Plus, we had such a great time together last time I was here.”
Shutting the door, I turned to her with my hands on my hips. Something was off. Lynn wasn’t someone who’d just show up out of the blue. She wasn’t telling me something.
“Okay. Now tell me the real reason you’re here.” I sat beside her on the couch.
She laughed. “We’ve known each other too long.”
“You’re stalling,” I pointed out.
“Okay, so I met someone.”
“Okay. And?”
“And he lives in New York.”
“Wait. I’m confused. How did you meet someone in New York when you live in Georgia?”
“Well, I kind of met him last time I was here.”
“Oh my God. When? Why didn’t you tell me?” I pushed playfully at her arm.
“Because I know you, Chelsey. You’re not going to approve of him.”
“What do you mean? What’s wrong with him?”
“Nothing. It’s just—”
“It’s just what?”
“Well, he’s kind of a male stripper.”
“How can he be kind of a male stripper? Either he is or he isn’t.”
“Okay. He’s a male stripper. I met him at The Golden Banana when we went for Sherry’s bachelorette party. And before you say anything, he’s amazing. He’s just working there to pay for college. He goes to Julliard. He’s an amazing dancer.”
“Yeah. I bet the ladies shoving money in his underwear would agree.”
“Come on, Chels. Don’t be like that. Anyway, we’ve been talking; Marshall and I, and well, I thought maybe I could stay here for a bit and get to know him better. I can help out anyway you want. I just really like him. Actually, I think I might be falling in love with him.”
“You’re more than welcome to stay. Just be careful, Lynn.”
“Always.” She smiled. “S
o, while we’re on the subject, I’m supposed to go to the club this Thursday to see Marshall.”
I knew where she was headed. “No, Lynn. I’m not going back to that place. You can’t make me.”
“Oh, geez, Chelsey. Don’t make it sound like I tortured you. You had a good time. What girl wouldn’t in a place like that?”
“Me. I’m a girl who wouldn’t. It was hell.”
“Yes. I saw the devil there. He was the one in the red thong with the six pack abs and monster cock. He possessed me with his moves. I need a preacher. Stat,” she said sarcastically.
“I’m being serious, Lynn. I can’t go back there.”
“Come with me.”
“No. You’re not pulling me into that strip club again. Seriously, it was hell last time.”
I didn’t tell her I couldn’t go back because of Blaine. I had yet to admit he was there. Let her find out on her own. I didn’t want to see him again, and I definitely didn’t want to spend another night watching a bunch of guys get groped.
“Please,” she begged. “Are you really going to send your best friend out on her own all the way to New Jersey? You’re my wing-girl. I need your support. Plus, I could get murdered and left in a ditch.”
“I’m pretty sure Jersey doesn’t have ditches.”
“Fine. I’ll be taken hostage by a fist-pumper with an orange tan and too much gel in his hair. That sounds equally bad. Is that what you want for your best friend?”
I wasn’t going to win. I might as well give now and save myself the argument.
“Fine, but I think there’s something you should know first.”
If I was being forced to go to the strip club again, I at least didn’t want any surprises.
“Blaine works there,” I blurted out.
Lynn’s expression dropped and her face paled. “What?”
“I saw him the last time we were there. You would’ve noticed, too, if it weren’t for the lighting and all the alcohol you’d had.” I ran my hands down my face roughly. “And now he’s everywhere. During the day he works for a lawn care company and every time I leave class he’s there trimming bushes and mowing the lawn. It’s been hell.”
Jack Hammer (The Stripped Duet Book 2) Page 7