by Alexa Davis
CHAPTER ELEVEN
NICK
I forced myself to keep the smile on my face. She had a date with an attorney. That wasn’t going to fit in with my plans at all. I got her to agree to go out with me as friends, and as long as neither of us were seeing anyone else, I was sure I’d be able to convince her to take it to the next level, even if it was a friends-with-benefits kind of thing. But if it worked out with this attorney and she started seeing him…I was screwed.
The waitress interrupted my thoughts. She was a cute, little redhead that filled out her black, leather bra and chaps nicely. Strangely, though, the sight of all that firm, female flesh barely fazed me. The only one I wanted lately was sitting across from me.
Over the past couple of weeks since meeting her, she’d dominated most of my thoughts. She was like the girl next door every guy fantasizes about: pure and simple beauty and grace…and she didn’t seem to have any idea. I could hardly look at her without smiling.
When the waitress was gone, I said, “So, where did you meet this lawyer guy?”
“He gave a lecture to our class a few weeks ago.”
“Oh, and then he asked you out?”
She laughed. “No, don’t make it sound all creepy. I ran into him at The Venetian a few days ago and that was when he asked me out. Well, to a masquerade party.”
I suddenly remembered Dad’s fundraiser. “Hey, that reminds me! I have to go to a fundraiser next weekend. It’s a masquerade thing, too. Maybe you could go with me?”
“Oh, I’m sorry; that’s when my date is.”
I felt like I’d been kicked in the guts. I was losing ground here fast. I wasn’t used to losing and I hated it. I didn’t want to come off sounding jealous or whiny, so I changed the subject…for now. “Okay, next time. You have any tats, Karli?”
She blushed. “No, but I have this picture in my purse that I’ve been carrying around for months…just in case I work up my nerve.”
“Aw, are you afraid of needles?”
“Not afraid…really…”
I laughed. “You’re afraid of needles.”
“Fine, I don’t like needles. But I’m going to do it, one of these days.”
“Can I see it?”
“What?”
“The picture.”
“Oh, yeah.” She took out her wallet and took a piece of paper out of it and unfolded it. She handed it to me just as the waitress sat our meals down in front of us. I thanked the waitress and when she left again, I looked at the picture. It was a big, blue flower with the words, “Find Beauty in Your Strength,” stenciled around it. It was nice and that color would look good on Karli. A tattoo was just going to add to her sex appeal, if that was even possible.
“I like it. Where’s it going?”
“I haven’t decided yet,” she said. “What do you think?”
“Well, mine were easy because they only add to my image as far as my job is concerned. But I’m guessing as an attorney to be, you’ll want to put it someplace it will be easy to cover up.” I was thinking about Ethan. He had two on his chest, but he wouldn’t put any on his arms because of work.
She took a bite of her steak and I waited for her to chew and swallow it and then I said, “Stand up.”
“Stand up?” She looked around, confused. “Why?”
“Just trust me, I want to see something.”
She cocked an eyebrow at me, but did as I asked. I reached out and put my hands on her waist. I felt her stiffen up. “Don’t worry, I’m just going to see where it might fit. Come closer.” I let go of her and let her step toward me. When she was close enough, I took the paper and pressed it to her dress where it just covered her upper thigh. I desperately wanted to lift the hem of that dress and slide it up underneath, but I resisted. “Hmm, turn around backwards.”
“I don’t think I want it…there,” she said, coloring slightly.
I laughed. “Don’t worry, as much as I’d love to put my hands on your sexy ass, I’ve promised to behave. Trust me, Karli.”
She sucked in a shaky breath and turned her back to me. Her body curved and dipped in all the right places and God, it was hard not to touch that nice, round butt. I held the paper against the small of her back and again said, “Hmm…I don’t see you as the tramp stamp type. I’d go with the thigh.”
She turned away from me so quickly that the skirt of that little dress caught on my fingers. I got just a glimpse of her satin, peach-colored panties and all the blood in my body went straight to my cock. Damn.
“Do you have any on your legs?” she asked. I tried not to smile, but I lost the battle. “Oh, stop it! I didn’t even look at you that day.” I didn’t have any tats below the waist, but it was fun to tease her.
“Sure, you didn’t,” I said.
“God, you’re so arrogant,” she said.
I laughed. “Just confident,” I countered. “But back to the tattoo; what are you doing after dinner?”
“Studying?”
“How about you just take the plunge tonight? I’ll go with you, for moral support.”
“Tonight? Oh, I don’t know about that. I think I’d need an appointment and I’m not sure I can afford it this week. I can’t very well ask my father for money for a tat, you know?”
“Yes, I do know.” The trust fund money I used before I made my own was technically mine, but as Dad enjoyed reminding me, it all came from him. He nearly had a heart attack the first time he walked out and saw me getting into the pool without my shirt on. He wanted to know what each tat cost and he tallied them up as I told him. His response to me spending a total of six thousand dollars on ink was purely livid. “But, I know a guy and I have an account there.”
“I’m not letting you pay for my tattoo.”
“Why not? I’m your friend.” I took a bite of my own steak. Talking to Karli made me forget just how hungry I was. The steak reminded me.
“I’d rather wait until I can pay for it myself,” she said.
I stopped shoveling food in my mouth and said, “Fine, but if I asked him, he’d put yours on a tab, too, and you could pay him when you get the money, or even on payments.”
She looked like she was thinking about that and while she was, I attacked my baked potato. At last she said, “You really think I should do it tonight?”
I smiled at her. “It’s up to you. Whenever you decide to do it, though, I’d like to go with you.”
“Why? To see if I cry?”
To see a little more of that sexy body. To spend another few hours with her. I had a list. “Nah, I’ll bet you handle it like a champ. I just like watching my buddy work.” On smooth, sexy thighs.
She didn’t say anything else about the tattoo as we finished our dinner. We both passed on dessert and after I paid and we started toward the front door, Karli stopped to watch the action on the mechanical bull up front near the bar. The guy on the bull’s back was thrown headfirst into the mats surrounding the bull. He had only stayed on for three seconds.
“Damn, three seconds; that’s shameless.”
She smiled. “Have you ever done it?”
“No, but it doesn’t look that hard.”
“Oh, really? I have an idea. You ride the bull for the full eight seconds, and I’ll get the tattoo tonight.”
I laughed, but she didn’t even smile. “You’re serious?”
“It’s okay…if you’re scared, you don’t have to.”
I laughed again. I was terrified, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. “I’m not scared of anything.”
She folded her arms. Damn, she’s cute. I wanted to kiss her so fucking bad. “Nothing? How about Dad?”
“I’m not scared of your dad.”
“Okay, ride the bull for eight seconds or come home with me and have a beer with Dad.”
“I’m going to ride the bull…but only because you’re getting your tattoo as soon as I finish.”
She smiled sweetly and said, “Okay, but only if you go eight seconds. And if you do
n’t, I get to tell Dad you’re scared of him.”
That did it. If it took me all night, I was staying on that mother fucker for eight seconds. No way was I facing Charlie after she told him I was scared of him…which I was not, much, really.
I pulled my phone and wallet out of my pocket and said, “Watch this.” I winked at her, and she laughed. I didn’t think she had any faith in me. Before I went through the little gate, I turned back and said, “How many chances do I get?” She laughed again but said,
“Three.”
“I’ll only need two.”
“There’s that arrogance.”
“Confidence,” I told her.
I was already sweating as I got ready to climb up on the big bull’s back. I unbuttoned my silk shirt and pulled it off. There were two girls behind Karli that suddenly stopped in their tracks and said,
“Oh my God, it’s Nick Storelli!” I wasn’t looking at them; I was watching Karli. The look on her face was classic. She was giving them the stink eye. It gave me even more confidence to know she was jealous as I climbed up on the mechanical bull’s back.
I put my hand through the hole in the rope like the dude operating the bull told me to. When I was as ready as I was ever going to be, I nodded at him. As soon as the bull started moving, I put my other arm up to balance myself. I looked over at Karli and grinned. This was a piece of cake.
I watched as Karli approached the control guy and said something to him. He smiled and told me, “The little lady says her great-grandma could ride him at that pace. You want me to speed him up?”
I narrowed my eyes at Karli and nodded. Suddenly, the bull was rocking and rolling and I was rolling, too – off the side. I was still holding onto the ropes when the buzzer rang, but the rest of my body was on the mat. My arm felt like it was about to be pulled out of its socket. I finally let go and then I had to roll around on the mat trying to get back to my feet. When I did, Karli was cracking up.
“You think that was funny, do you?”
“It was hilarious,” she said. “I wish I would have thought to get some video.”
“That was it, right? I was still holding on at eight seconds.”
“Your ass was on the mat, not the bull.”
“You did great, Nick! We love you!” the groupies that had bellied up to the gate said. I looked at them, smiled, and winked. Karli was glaring at me when I looked back at her pretty face. I leaned in close to her ear. Damn, she smelled good.
“Flirting when you’re out with a friend is okay, right?”
“I don’t care when or who you flirt with.”
I grinned again. “Good. Now, watch this.”
I got back on the bull and put everything I had in my legs and right arm into holding on. I was inches from slipping off when the buzzer rang that time, but my ass was still in the saddle. I dismounted, trying to look cool, and then I fell into the mats on my ass. Karli laughed and kept her phone pointed at me the whole time. The groupies covered their mouths with their hands and then called out to ask if I was okay.
Karli kept laughing as I crawled off the mat and finally stood up. “That was spectacular,” she said.
“Did you get that one on video?”
“I think I missed the ride, but I got the dismount.” I grabbed for her phone and she moved back and giggled. The two girls still standing next to the fence gave her a dirty look and then looked back at me with adoration and said,
“Nick, can we get your autograph?”
I looked at Karli. She rolled her eyes. Laughing to myself, I turned on the charm and spent the next fifteen minutes flirting with my fans. Karli’s pretty, little face was practically green. I loved it.
CHAPTER TWELVE
KARLI
When Nick finally tore himself away from his fans, we walked from Treasure Island down the street about half a mile to Nick’s friend’s tattoo shop.
“Hey, Daniel!” Daniel was a tall, muscular Hispanic man covered with tattoos on every visible part of his body except his face. I wondered if he did his own. They were good.
“Nick!” The two men shook hands and spent a few minutes catching up before Nick said,
“Daniel Cervantes, this is my friend Karli. She’s a tattoo virgin.”
I shook my head at him and his friend laughed. “Nothing I love more than popping that cherry,” Daniel said. “You know what you want?” I took out the picture and handed it to him. He looked at it and nodded. “Cool, you guys got lucky; it’s slow tonight. Give me a minute to work this up.”
“Thank you.” Nick and I sat down and waited. I was a nervous wreck. He looked amused. I was on the verge of chickening out when my phone rang. It was Michaela.
“Hey, girl, I thought you—”
“Karli!” her voice was pressured, and she sounded like she had been crying.
“Michaela, what’s wrong?”
“Trent and I got in a big fight. He said I was flirting with this guy, Jay, but I wasn’t. Jay keeps putting is hands on me and I keep telling him to stop. He pushed me against the counter in the kitchen and kissed me, and Trent walked in. Even though I was pushing the asshole away when Trent came in, he didn’t believe me. Karli, he left me here. I’m alone in a frat house with eighteen drunk, horny college guys, and at least one of them thinks he has a right to touch me.”
“Oh my God! Text me the address. I’m on my way. Wait outside.”
“Hurry please. Maybe I should start walking.”
“No, Michaela, just wait outside. Remember the assaults on campus just last month? Do not go anywhere alone, okay?”
“Okay, but please hurry.”
“I will. I promise.” I ended the call, and Nick was already on his feet. “You heard?”
“Yeah. Come on, I’ll drive.” I didn’t argue with him. I took the hand he held out to me and as we went out the door, he yelled, “Daniel, we have an emergency; we’ll get back to you!”
He was walking fast and practically dragging me along behind him. I struggled to keep up. As soon as we got to Treasure Island, he yelled out, “Mickey! I need the truck fast.”
It was only minutes later when Mickey was there with Nick’s huge truck. Nick pulled open the passenger door to help me in, and he was behind the wheel and we were pulling out on Las Vegas Boulevard in a matter of seconds. My phone dinged and I looked at it and said, “The house is right on Maryland Parkway across from the main buildings.”
“Okay.” Nick broke every speed law in the state getting us there, but somehow I didn’t feel nervous at all. I was anxious about Michaela and pissed at Trent. I wanted to kick his ass, and I might the next time I see him.
“It’s that big, yellow one,” I told him as we approached the house. There were cars everywhere. Nick drove up into the driveway behind two cars and then up onto the lawn where a bunch of guys were standing. They scattered. As soon as he stopped, I jumped out of the truck. I didn’t see Michaela anywhere.
I looked at the closest guy and said, “I’m looking for my friend Michaela Taylor. She’s blonde, about my height…”
The guy was checking me out. He didn’t look like he was even paying attention. Before I could react, Nick grabbed the guy by his shirt. His friends took a step back instead of trying to help him. Nick pulled the guy, who wasn’t small, off his feet.
“Where is Jay?”
“In the house,” the scared frat boy stammered. I wouldn’t doubt that as Nick tossed him onto the lawn, he peed his pants. I hurried into the house and Nick was right behind me. As soon as we walked in, I heard Michaela’s voice. She sounded scared and was saying,
“Stop it!”
Nick ran toward the sound, and I followed him. He pushed a door open and there was Michaela in only her bra with two guys playing keep-away with her blouse. The next few minutes, everything happened so quickly that I missed a lot of it.
Michaela cried out my name, and I pulled her into me. Meanwhile, Nick snatched the shirt out of midair and tossed it to me. Then he hit one of th
e guys square in the face with his big fist. The guy flew back and hit the wall. He might have been unconscious, but I didn’t care. The other guy tried to run. Nick caught him and used one hand to throw him against the wall.
He looked over his shoulder at me and said, “Take her out to the truck.”
I didn’t argue. I helped Michaela put on her shirt and as we were leaving the room, I heard Nick say, “We’re going to have a talk, boys.”
I smiled to myself. He’d never know how much I appreciated his help tonight. I only hoped he didn’t do anything to get himself into trouble.
Michaela was shaking all over, and I had to help her into the truck. The guys that had been out front had disappeared. I guessed they all decided they didn’t still want to be there when Nick came back out. By the time I helped Michaela buckle into the passenger side and climbed up into the driver’s side, Nick was coming out of the house. I scooted over to the middle and let him climb in.
His presence alone was comforting. I had my arm around Michaela as she sobbed quietly into me, but I couldn’t help but feel the thrilling sensations that touching Nick’s thigh to mine on the other side was sending through my body. “Will you just take us to my car? She can stay with me tonight.”
He nodded, but then he said, “How about I just take you to your house. I’ll go back and get Mickey to deliver the car to your house. She’s pretty upset.”
I didn’t even think about it. I touched his leg with my hand and I could almost feel the heat from his thigh on my palm. He actually groaned when I touched him. I moved my hand quickly but I said, “Thank you, Nick.”
He gave me a small smile and told me, “It’s what friends do.” I only wished that the feelings coursing through my veins at the moment felt more “friend-like.”
********
I walked into the gym the day after our “date” and Nick was the first person I saw. Maybe it was because I was looking for him. He was working on the speed ball and for a few minutes, I just stood near the office door and watched him. I didn’t realize Dad was in the office until I heard him say,