Travis felt bad and took me out to lunch after the gym. I didn’t eat much. I wasn’t thinking about food. He kept conversation light. When he noticed that I didn’t have much to say in responses he just kept talking about his weekend. He had gotten a call back for an audition. He also told me a crazy story about someone who auditioned beside him. It was funny, but I didn’t feel like laughing. I just felt like sulking a little while longer. It wasn’t making me feel better, but it was helping me get it out of my system.
When we got back to our place, Travis kept asking me questions. He kept begging for more detail. The more I talked about the weekend, the worse I felt and the more I missed the good times that had happened. They could have still been happening if I were smart enough to just let Tom be alone.
Tom still tried to call and text me. He did it semi frequently until he finally got the hint. He would leave several messages, and the more he called the drunker he seemed to get. They would have been funny to listen to before but now I just felt bad for the guy. He was spiraling out of control and he had no idea what to do with his life.
Travis saw my glum look when I played the most recent one. “Maybe with his fiancée gone he will be able to focus on work now.”
“Let’s hope so.”
“They can’t fire him if his life is falling apart.”
“That never stopped him from breaking up with me.” We stopped talking again. I deleted the messages.
I hadn’t talked to either of my parents yet. I didn’t know how. I didn’t know what I should say to them. “I told you I shouldn’t have gone,” was all I could think of, but I didn’t even want to say that. I didn’t know how much they knew about Grant. I only knew that they knew he had left early. I thought Tom was a decent enough person to keep his mouth shut, but I have been surprised by him time and time again. It was hard to say what he had told everyone.
Tom was back to “Single” on Facebook. He had changed his profile picture, too. He was now single and showing it off. The selfie that was in place now was from before his new girl. I went to Grant’s Facebook and flipped through all of the pictures he was tagged in for the third time that week. He had grown so much through the photos. He was so handsome. He didn’t have many photos, so it didn’t take long to flip through them all. He didn’t seem like he actually used his account very much at all. I considered adding him, but if he still wasn’t answering my texts I didn’t see the point.
Travis left me in the living room while I flipped through them. He stayed in his room for a while and I heard him on the phone. I wondered if Alex knew about this. And if he did, I hope it was through Travis and not through Grant. I didn’t like the idea of having a stranger that was so close to my best friend dislike me.
Travis came back in the room and hung up. “That was Alex. I called him to get this for you. Please don’t make me regret it.” He handed me a piece of paper with an address on it. It was in Vegas.
“Is this real?”
“Yes. He lives in the penthouse of this building. If you get a restraining order, I don’t know how much more help I can be. Just be… careful. Use your best discretion.” I hugged Travis tight and put the paper in my pocket.
“You should probably pack a bag. Just in case.”
It took about 5 hours to get to Vegas so I left immediately. It was hardly noon. If I budgeted time right, I could get there in four hours. I didn’t know his schedule, or if he was even home for that matter but I didn’t care. I could drive back the next day and the day after that until I saw him.
I wanted to take Travis with me. Going on an adventure like this alone was frightening. I hadn’t done something like this ever before and now was a very emotional time for me. I stocked up on all the road trip necessities like gummy worms and energy drinks. I put in a Blonde CD and began the journey.
The car ride went fast. Too fast. I had memorized a monologue for an apology over and over again in my head, but I still felt like I didn’t have enough time to prepare. I had never been to Vegas before, so when I pulled through it was a culture shock. I saw all the signs on the buildings. This place had to be lit up at night almost as well as it was during the day time. There were people everywhere, scrambling from casino to casino. You could tell by the cars on the street where the good and bad neighborhoods were.
I grew more anxious the closer I got to my destination. When I went through a gated community, I was worried I went too far. I was in the right area though. As I pulled up to the largest, most lavish hotel in the area it began to sink in just how much he was worth. It was all Egyptian themed. The entire building looked like it was made of gold. Even the parking lot was paved with shinning bricks. I felt nauseous as I walked closer. I didn’t belong. This was all a mistake.
I didn’t drive across state for nothing, though. No matter how badly I wanted to turn around, I knew I couldn’t. Even if this was the last time that I ever stepped foot in Vegas, I knew that I had to do what I came to do.
26
Grant
My doorbell rang while I was in the middle of packing the last of my things. I had finally decided to go on a small vacation. Okay, a big vacation. I thought that Australia would be a good place. I heard only good things about it. Hawaii was on the list too, but I was getting a bit disenchanted with it by the amount of times that I have visited it on business. I didn’t know how long I wanted to be gone either. I know I wanted to leave long enough to get a break from everyone and everything, but I wanted to be back in time to see my half brother be born.
Thinking about it made my skin crawl. I wasn’t going to be the youngest anymore. I would have none of the privileges with all of the down side. This was sure to take some of my dad’s attention off of me, but it would just make my mom that much more desperate for all her kids. If I had kids, they would have an uncle that was only a few years their elder. I hated the thought.
It took me a bit to sort through the things of mine that were by the door to get to it. I didn’t bother looking through the peephole. I would regret that.
It was her outside my door. I had no idea what to do when I saw her there, standing outside. I began to shut the door again and I groaned with it.
“Wait!” she said. She pushed the door and let herself in. I plopped down on my coach and I waited for her to talk until she was done bothering me. She followed me to the coach and sat beside me. “Let me just talk to you. It won’t take long.”
I said nothing. I walked further into my house. She followed. I was starting to regret not locking my door. I would always check the peephole from now on.
“Talking to me is the least you could do after ignoring all my calls and texts. Besides, driving here by myself is probably the boldest thing I have and will ever do so this is your one chance to hear me out.”
I turned back to look at her. She followed me everywhere I went. I should have gone on vacation the minute I got back. I decided there was no more point, and I went back to the coach. I would be gone soon. I laid with my face down.
“You have five minutes. Anymore, and you won’t be able to afford me.”
She sounded annoyed. I might have hurt her by saying that. “Ouch, okay. That’s mean. But fine.”
“Time starts now.”
“Okay, so originally when we went away, I was using you. And what I wanted to happen happened exactly.” She wasn’t helping herself. I considered cutting her time short. “But that isn’t what I wanted after all. When you saw me downstairs with Tom, I’ll be honest, he came on to me. He said he missed me. He said that he wanted what we have and I couldn’t let him think that. I didn’t want him to miss me anymore. I just wanted to be done with him. And now I am done with him, but I don’t have you anymore.”
I turned my head to look at her while she spoke. She picked at her nails, but she looked me in the eyes with sincerity. I thought about the drive from her place to here. It had to have taken at least 4 hours. I didn’t know how she got my address. I didn’t care at this point. I just w
anted to hear what she had to say until there was peace in the world again. “Keep talking.”
“So, when we went away, I was already confused. I have had an awful two years, and just when I think that my life can’t get worse, it does. But then, with you, I was having a really great time. I didn’t worry about the next day, and I didn’t worry about the day before. You made me feel like I didn’t have anything to worry about at all. It was so easy to hang out with you.”
It had been easy to get to know her. I still didn’t want to talk to her. She made me feel used. I knew that that had been my job, and it was my fault for being emotional, but I didn’t think that she would have been the type of person that took advantage of another person like that.
“The whole time I was getting to know you, it seemed like we spent most of that in front of other people, so it was hard to tell if you were acting or not. And then we had that dumb fight, and I knew you weren’t acting. I knew that maybe we did have something after all. I was pretty sold. I don’t know why I decided to listen to Tom. I was going to tell him off. I didn’t even let him talk me into seeing him again. He has been calling me nonstop all week, and I haven’t answered him once. That is so unlike me. When he and I were together I would wait on him hand and foot, and now I see him groveling and begging for me to come back. The only difference is that now that I have seen him, I don’t feel that way anymore. He wants me, but I don’t want him.”
I was starting to get frustrated. I had heard enough about Tom in the past two weeks for me to write a novel on how big of an asshole he was. It made me think back to that morning. I checked all around the room for her. I looked out on the balcony, even, and she wasn’t there. When she didn’t come back with breakfast I started to worry. I went down. I was betrayed. She hadn’t done anything wrong, but she didn’t do anything right either. “Well, what exactly do you want, April? It seems like you and Tom are both confused by each other and you’re taking down other people in the process. If you know you don’t want him so bad then tell me, what is it that you do want?”
I sat on the edge of the couch, staring at her. My breathing had come erratic and I wanted to disappear. I didn’t want her to come visit me. I didn’t want to see her. I didn’t want her to know how much she effected me, how much she hurt me. She looked back to me. I saw the sadness in her eyes. I had no idea I meant anything to her.
I could feel her starting to lose her patience. I asked again. “Tell me, what do you want?” This time I said it softer. I crossed my fingers and prayed for the best. My wish came true.
“You.”
27
April
I couldn’t believe those words came out of my mouth. I had gotten caught up in the heat of the moment again. Again, I wanted to take the words back, scooping them into my mouth and swallowing them like a magic trick. I didn’t babble over it this time. I just looked back at him.
I had shocked myself, and I could tell that my answer shocked him too. After the silence filled the air for a few moments, I saw a smile spread across his face. I became nervous. Had I used the right combination of words? Did I win him back?
I didn’t know what to say, and I wasn’t sure why he wasn’t saying anything either. I had laid all I had on the table. I drove over 5 hours to get here to apologize, and now I wasn’t sure he deserved or wanted an apology. I still wanted him. It was true. He was what I wanted.
If I could go back and time and change it so that I never went to the lobby to meet Tom, I would have. If I could have just stayed in bed and kept my eyes and mouth shut, I would have. It was too late now. I messed up again. He didn’t have to date me in the first place, he certainly wasn’t going to after I hurt him.
Grant had called it, though. I don’t know if he had a premonition or just experience, but he had known from the beginning we were going to have sex. Maybe it happened because he said it would. Maybe it happened because I actually wanted it to, too. Even when I looked at him now, I still wanted him.
I noticed the suitcases around the room. The furniture stayed here, but it looked like most of the things around here were being moved. The inside was just as fancy as the outside. His place was well furnished and finished, even when it was bare of all decorations. Was I too late? How long had he known he was going to be moving? He never mentioned it to me before. I guess we really never talked about much before.
I wanted to know him better, though. I wanted to be able to tell everyone his favorite movie, his pet peeves, and I wanted to know his birthday. I wanted to know if his family was as crazy as mine, and I wanted to know about what he has been doing the past 27 years. But I wasn’t going to be able to learn anything new because I blew it. Even when I didn’t do anything, I still messed things up. I was just a walking wreck. He was smarter for avoiding me. I saw that now.
A few more silent moments went by and I stood to leave. I didn’t want to stand here and be mocked by him. I had had enough damage in the past week to need to buy a new life. If he could be an escort, maybe I could too. It would get my parents off my back about money, for sure. It might even get Tom off my back for good. I clearly didn’t know what to say or do to win him back, so I was going to have to give up my dream. I turned and walked to the door. I had never done anything that soul baring before and it still didn’t work out for me.
“Wait.” I stopped and turned around. He was standing up, but wasn’t looking at me. He looked at his nails and began to pick them. That was my nervous habit, too. “I don’t know if you can have me.”
I looked at the boxes again. I wasn’t sure if he meant that in an escort way, or a timely since. Maybe neither. Maybe he thought he couldn’t handle me. He was starting to get on my nerves. “Is it because you don’t think I can take it?”
“No. It’s because I know I can’t.” He smiled at me when he said it. I felt my heart flutter. Was he beginning to flirt with me again, or was I just getting my hopes up?
“That’s too bad for you.” I flirted back, inching my way back into his apartment. “Because I wasn’t going to hurt you. I just wanted to have a little piece of you.”
“Just a little piece, huh?” He walked closer towards me too, moving as slowly as I was. He walked with meaning, but he was very playful when he did it. “How big of a piece is that?”
“Oh, I don’t know. If you can’t handle it then, I understand. All I really wanted from you was one measly date. That’s all.”
“That’s all?”
“Yep.”
“You aren’t going to tear me apart, or force me to go to another engagement party?”
I giggled. “Nope. I was just hoping to maybe go get some dinner with you. I have never been to Vegas before. But I see that that might be too much for your little heart.”
“My heart? So you aren’t using me as an escort Grant? You aren’t just trying to get me to chaperone you around the city?”
“Nope. Just trying to get you to go one a date, as date Grant and date April.”
“And there is no business arrangements? You won’t pay me for holding your hand or anything like that?”
“I won’t pay you a cent. I couldn’t if I wanted to.”
“Good.” He smiled and we were inches away. “Because you’re awful at business arrangements.”
“I know.” I was pressed up against his body and I could feel his abs through his shirt. “I’m no businessman like you.”
He quieted me with his lips. It had been too long since we had last kissed. I felt the butterflies be release more and more in my stomach, being sent out by the thousands. The way he moved his lips in mine made my legs turn to jelly. My heart was weak for him. I couldn’t have pushed him away if I had wanted to, and I knew I never would have.
He kissed me again and again, moving to my neck. He was beginning to make me gasp. I put my hands around his shoulders. He moved back up to my face and gave me one final kiss.
“So then how do you feel about sushi?”
“I love it.”
&n
bsp; “Because,” his eyebrows perked and he looked mischievous, “we could just stay inside tonight, if you really want to.”
“As tempting as that offer is, I have never been to the city, and as soon as you said the word sushi my mouth began to water.”
“Sushi it is. But I’m paying this time.” He grabbed his billfold and stuffed it in his pocket.
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
THE END
Climax
I'm a cocky and self-indulgent billionaire. I own one of the hottest casinos in Vegas. I love women, but I use them. And I do NOT believe in love. Oh no, and I don't apologize for anything.
Enter Jane. She's designing our social media campaign. She couldn't be more plain. She's pretty, yes, but not model-hot like I'm used to. And yet, there's something about her. I can't stop thinking about her.
But Jane doesn't want me. At least, she's acting that way. and I'll do anything to make her beg...
**WARNING: Steamy scenes, NO Cheating, HEA!
Chapter 1 - Sebastian
“Do you work out?” One of the girls asked me. She unashamedly touched my biceps without permission. I liked girls like this. They were easy to figure out and even easier to manipulate. I was not into games or running after women that like to play hard to get. I liked girls that made it easy for me. Because why should I waste any of my time or energy on anyone else but myself?
“I’d like to tell you that all of this comes naturally to me. But, while some of it does, most of it is from hard work and dedication at the gym. I’ve got to look good so that pretty little girls like you will show some interest in me.” The girl giggled. This was so easy.
Auctioned to Him 7: The Contract Page 90