Licentious

by Jen Cousineau

  “It’s fine.” I shrug. If I were she, I probably would’ve done the same thing, but I don’t like being ambushed. “You can make it up to me. Drinks on you. All night,” I tell her as I grab my purse from her hands and head to my car. I turn back around and see her feet planted at the same spot I left her. “Are you coming or are you going to make me get drunk alone?” I force a smile in her direction.

  A huge grin spreads across her face. “Hell, yeah, I’m coming!” she yells before nearly running to my car.

  *****

  I swear I can hear a buzzing noise flying around somewhere near me. I roll over onto my other side and snuggle back into the lumpy pillow under my head. Why won’t it buzz somewhere else? Groaning, I stretch out and pry my eyes open. Ugh! I feel like I was run over by a semi. The room is dark, and I realize that buzzing is my cell phone’s alarm. I reach over to my nightstand and feel around for my phone. Nothing. I slowly sit up, roll off the bed, and fumble around the floor for it. My head becomes clearer as my hands grasp my jeans and panties on the ground. “Not again,” I whisper. I quickly grab my clothes and heels and find my phone lit up under the bed. I turn the alarm off and creep out of the bedroom as quietly as I can.

  I check my phone and see its 5:37 in the morning. Crap! I need to find my purse and call a cab, or I’m going to be late to meet my first client. I slip on my clothes and start to search the apartment. Pictures of a couple decorate almost every wall space. Feminine touches are littered everywhere. Are you kidding me? I slept with a taken man? “Nice going, Jo!” I chastise myself as I rub a hand through my hair. I turn my screen of my phone on and see a text from Addison.

  Addison: Hey babe! You were lit! You left your purse on the bar. I have it! Call me :)

  Shit! That means I don’t have any keys or money. Crap! I slip out the front door before slipping my heels back on and start to walk. When I get down the driveway, I realize I don’t have a clue on where I am. Nothing looks familiar. My head is pounding and my stomach feels like something died in it. I send a mass text to my clients cancelling due to a family emergency, slip my heels back off to ease the pain in the balls of my feet, and then continue to walk to the nearest street sign. Bellvue Ave. Hmm… never heard of it. I google the road and the closest Bellvue Ave to my apartment is forty minutes west. Are you serious? What the hell happened last night?

  I sit down on the curb and bury my face into my hands. Oh, my God. I just need to go back to bed and mourn this hangover. I groan, lifting my head, and quickly dial Addison to have her come get me, but it goes right to voicemail. Crap. I scroll through the options in my mind, and the first name that comes to mind is Alé. I shake my head no. I’m not sure that’s a good idea. Cameryn’s name filters through my brain next, but I quickly dismiss it. He already thinks I’m a whore, and the way he acted yesterday kind of scared the shit out of me. Not a chance. My mind goes back to Alé and my stomach turns in knots. Sighing, I pick up the phone and call him. It rings three times, and I almost hang up, but a sexy, sleepy voice fills my ear.

  “Jo?” he asks sleepily. Weirdly enough, it doesn’t bother me when I hear my family nickname coming from his lips.

  “Mornin’,” I croak. Clearing my throat a few times, I open my mouth to speak again, but he beats me to it.

  “Is it?” he asks. “It’s not even six.” He laughs.

  “I know, I’m sorry. I… I just didn’t know who else to call when Addison didn’t answer her phone,” I say quietly. My nerves are going strong, making me feel as if I’m going to throw up.

  “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asks as worry fills his voice.

  “I’m fine,” I reassure him. I’m just… ah… stranded. And… I don’t exactly know where I am besides a street name.

  I hear him sigh heavily into the phone. “You’re okay?” his gruff voice asks.

  “Yeah, I’m okay,” I answer quietly.

  “Don’t move. I’ll be there soon,” he orders before hanging up on me.

  Hm. How is he planning to find me? Should I walk to try to find the nearest gas station and call him from there? Well, he told me to stay where I’m at, so maybe… I should listen? I pull my knees to my chest and rest my head on them, my arms wrapped around my knees. “Oh, my God, I need coffee,” I groan. I close my eyes to rest for a minute, willing the beating of a drum that’s performing in my head to shut up. The next thing I know, someone’s shaking me.

  “Joey,” I hear someone say as they shake me again. “Joey.”

  My head snaps up and my arm comes out to swing at whoever is touching me. Before my eyes can focus, I feel a hand grasp around my fist, freezing it in mid-air. Alé’s beautiful face fills my vision. Instantly, I relax and exhale the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. How long was I asleep?

  “You okay?” his brows pinch together, his hand frames my face as his eyes roam over my body from the top of my head to my feet.

  “Yeah,” I whisper. “Sorry for waking you,” I force a smile as I notice his eyes growing dark and narrow. Wow, I didn’t think he’d be that mad.

  “What’s this?” he growls as he holds my arm up with his hand, his eyes latch onto the angry bruises marking exactly where Cameryn’s fingers gripped me last night.

  I look down and groan loudly. “It’s nothing,” I try to reassure him.

  “Who did this?” he asks, his voice cold, his eyes sending a chill down my spine. I don’t say anything. I’m frozen in place at the sound of the venom in his words.

  “Who?” he asks more firmly.

  “It was stupid.” I shake my head.

  “Who?” he nearly yells.

  “Cam,” I whisper. I take a breath before forcing my eyes to his. His jaw clenched, mouth tight, but his eyes have softened.

  “You’re sure you’re okay?” he asks worriedly. I nod my head and start to stand, groaning at the pound of my head shifting to include taking residence behind my eyes. Alé ushers me around the car and helps me inside. He leans down and opens the glove compartment retrieving a pair of sunglasses and hands them to me. “This should help. Coffee’s next to you,” he says with anger edging his voice before slamming the door shut. He slides into the seat next to me, puts the Miata in gear, and speeds off.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper. I look over at him and see his jaw tick.

  “For what?” he mutters.

  I shrug. “Waking you. Asking you to take a goose chase to help me.”

  He sighs heavily. “Jo, I’m glad it was me that you called. But, yeah, the fact that I know you were with someone last night.” He shakes his head but doesn’t finish his thought. “And the bruises—” He grits his teeth, his hands on the steering wheel grasp so tight that his knuckles are turning white.

  “It’s nothing,” I say quietly. “All of it. It was nothing.”

  He doesn’t say anything. He just nods his head once. I reach for the coffee and put it to my lips, slowly tipping it until the glorious taste hits my tongue, and I can’t help but moan at the enchanting taste. I don’t know how people can go without coffee. “Thank you,” I nearly whisper. Again, I get no response. “So, how did you find me?” I ask curiously.

  “I tracked your phone,” he says casually.

  “You can do that?” I ask surprised.

  “Yep.”

  Okay. Awkward. The rest of the drive is uneasy and silent. I could feel the tension rolling off him and filling the car almost to the point it was suffocating. He pulls up to my apartment and slams into park. He hops out and stalks around the front of the Miata as I’m just stepping out. He holds the door for me and closes it once I step out of the way. When I look at him, I see his eyes are locked on the bruises that Cams’ fingers left behind.

  “I’m fine, Alé,” I tell him softly, my hand reaching out to rest against his face. His eyes don’t move. His face is hardened, body stiff. I step forward, place my other hand on his face, and force him to look at me. “Alé,” I say more confidently. His eyes snap to mine before softening, but
he doesn’t’ say a word. “I’m okay,” I say gently.

  “I’m going to kill him,” he growls.

  “Alé,” I say in a scolding tone.

  “No,” he shakes his head, eyes hard. “I’m going to kill him,” he growls again.

  “Let’s just go inside and talk about this,” I say calmly as I reach for his hand and head to the door. Halfway up the walkway I stop. “Shit!” I say as my hand covers my face.

  “What?” Alé breathes close to the back of my neck.

  I turn to look at him and concern fills his eyes. “I don’t have my purse, which has my keys in it,” I clarify. “Apparently, I forgot it last night, so Addison took it with her. His jaw clenches, and then he walks forward and hits all the buttons on the security intercom. A few people sound on the intercom asking grumpily, ‘who’s there’ while someone else just buzzes us in. I cock a brow at Alé. He looks at me and shrugs.

  “It’s how I got in last time.” He smirks.

  “Hm. Well, that’s safe,” I quip. He tugs gently on my hand and leads the way to my door. “So, how are you going to manage to get through this one?” I sass.

  He turns and looks at me as he reaches into his back pocket and pulls out his black leather wallet. He retrieves a credit card, slips his wallet into his back pocket, and then jimmy’s the lock with the card until the door pops open. My eyes are glued to the lock, my mouth gaping open.

  “Your place really isn’t that safe.” He laughs as his finger pushes my chin back up until my mouth is closed. “Come on, kitten,” he says as he pulls me into the apartment. “You should think of getting new locks. I have a guy that can do it. Best locksmith around.” He smiles.

  “Um,” I turn to look at the door as I close and lock it. “Yeah. Maybe.” When I turn back around, his hands are on his hips, eyes narrowed.

  “So, what happened?” he asks, his voice hard.

  “Alé, really, it’s nothing,” I tell him again.

  “What happened?” he growls.

  “We got into a fight a few days ago and saw each other again last night. We fought again.” I shrug. I watch his eyes grow black, hands clenching into tight fists as his mouth forms a tight line.

  “And?”

  “And that’s it.”

  “I thought you said we were going to talk about it?” he asks through clenched teeth.

  “We just did,” didn’t we?

  “What was he so upset about that he had a right to put his hands on you?” he asks angrily.

  My heart rate speeds, my palms begging to sweat. I’m not a liar. I avoid, but I don’t lie. Lying isn’t who I am or how I was raised, but I’m afraid if I tell him that it’ll make him snap.

  “Jo?” he snaps.

  “Um… well, apparently Cam’s been in love with me since college,” I tell him hesitantly. His head snaps back, nose scrunched as if he just smelled something foul.

  “You didn’t know?” his voice shocked.

  “Know? Of course not!” I defend myself. “Wait,” I hold a palm up, “did you?”

  “Yeah. That was apparent the first night I met you.” He stares at me, as if me not knowing is appalling. “Okay. So a man who’s supposedly in love with you,” he chides, “puts bruises on your arms because you didn’t know?” he questions.

  “Not exactly.” I bite my lip.

  “Then what exactly was it?”

  “We were… fighting about you,” I whisper as my gaze falls to the floor. Silence. I look up slowly and see his eyes on fire, yet a smirk graces his lips.

  “Me?” he asks. I just nod. “What about me?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” I shake my head.

  “Yes, yes, it does,” he grins.

  “Alé,” I say annoyed.

  “What about me?” he asks slow and firm.

  “That I’ve known him a lot longer and you hardly at all,” I say rushed.

  “So?” he asks confused.

  “Oh, my God. Alé, I like you. Not him. You.” I spell it out for him. I’m not exactly sure what he’s not getting. A slow, wide smile takes over his mouth as he stalks toward me. I hold out a hand and press it against his chest. ‘Alé, this doesn’t change anything,” I say firmly.

  “It changes everything,” he proclaims.

  “It changes nothing,” I say regretfully. I feel like I just took a child into a candy store and told them they couldn’t have any.

  “What’s stopping you? You want me. I want you. It’s that simple,” he says, obviously frustrated.

  “It’s not that simple,” I tell him as I pull back irritated.

  “I don’t see why it wouldn’t be,” he snaps.

  “Dammit, Alé! I can’t be with you,” I yell. With each word, it’s like a punch to my gut.

  “Can’t or won’t?” he growls.

  “Both,” I answer quietly.

  “Why won’t you just let me in?” he nearly shouts. “Talk to me,” he orders.

  “I can’t,” I shake my head, biting my lip.

  “What happened at Monsoon?” he asks.

  My head snaps up, anger and embarrassment flooding my veins. “What?”

  “Answer me,” he orders.

  “Do you already know?” I tip my chin up defiantly, eyes narrowed on him.

  “No,” he says. “But I’m sure I can find out easily enough,” he tells me.

  “So why don’t you?”

  “Because I’d rather hear it from you. What happened to Eve?” he asks softly.

  Tears spring to my eyes at the mention of her name. Every time, it’s like a knife through my gut again. I shake my head angrily.

  “What happened to Eve, Jo?” he asks again.

  “Joey,” I grit my teeth. “Jo’s a family name.”

  “Oh,” he nods. “So now you’re going to push me away? Of course, you are.” He laughs bitterly. “That’s what you do, isn’t it? Find any reason to push every person who wants to be a part of your life away,” he accuses angrily. “You want to be alone forever, Joey? Fine. Wish granted,” he mutters as he walks out, slamming the door in his wake.

  I immediately lock the door before stepping back and covering my mouth with my hand. I turn, walk to my bedroom and slip off my clothes. I pull my brother’s favorite CCR shirt over my head before slipping into bed and crying myself to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Aléssandro

  It’s been three months since I’ve talk to Joey. Three months, and no matter what I do and no matter how many women I sink my dick into, I can’t get her out of my head. I see her from time to time when she’s here training with Maria, but I do my best to avoid her if at all possible. It guts me every time. Apparently, she and Maria have grown close, and Maria now has Ma, Enedina, and Nina joining in their sessions a few days a week. Kellan comes around when he knows Joey’s here, trying to mend things. According to him and Maria, it’s a slow process, but she’s getting there.

  Great. She forgives Kellan, and she lets my family in, just not me. I had my locksmith change her locks, with strict orders not to accept payment from her. She did send me a thank you text for it. I almost replied. Almost. I want her. I want to be with her, and I want her to let me in. Let me protect her. I would cherish her more than anyone else ever could.

  “Alé,” Dad says gruffly breaking into my thoughts. Looking up at him, I say nothing. “Son, you’ve been looking at those books for a while now. Find anything?” he asks as he sits up in his king chair, resting his elbows on his desk.

  I drop my pen on my desk, sighing, and pinching the bridge of my nose. I can feel the beginning of a killer headache creeping in. “So far, I found the same discrepancies as you,” I tell him without looking up.

  “Uncle Jack, Nikolas, and Tommy are coming over tonight. I’m calling a meeting to discuss this business with Cameryn Martin that you mentioned to me. I’ve gone over everything you said, and I agree something needs to be done, but how we go about it is important.

  “He’s Joey’s busine
ss partner,” I say bitterly. I wonder since I walked away if they’ve patched things up by now.

  “Precisely,” he states knowingly. “Alé, you’ve been different since your fight with Joey. Talk to her,” he says.

  I look up and see Dad staring at me intently. “What fight?” I ask cautiously. Did she actually talk to my family about it? She can talk to them, but she can’t talk to me?

  “The fight that apparently made you go from finally being happy for the first time in ten years to being cold again. You’re avoiding each other, and yet always watching for each other,” he tells me as he slips his glass off his face and sets them on his desk.

  “We don’t watch for each other,” I growl.

  “I see you peek over at those damn monitors every time you are in here when she’s here training,” he smiles. “Your grandfather told me something one time, when your mother and I hit a rough patch,” he says. I cock my brow wondering when they’ve ever been in a rough patch. Sure, I’ve seen them bicker, but nothing serious. “When your mother found out about the family business, and that I had chosen to be a part of it, she wasn’t okay with it at first,” he answers my unasked question. “Your grandfather took me out for drinks and said, ‘Frank, Amore regge senza legge. Sequi il tuo euoxe, vivere una vita bella,” he says in perfect Italian, a faraway look in his eyes as if he’s reminiscing of that moment.

  I clear my throat, “That’s great, Dad. But as you know, I speak only a little Italian. What did you say?”

  “Love rules without laws. Follow your heart, live your life.” He smiles.

  “That’s beautiful, Dad, but that’s easier said than done,” I say bitterly as I look back down at Tricks’ books in front of me.

  “No one said it’d be easy, Alé. They just said it would be worth it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Joey

  “Cheers!” Addison and I clink our shot glasses together before tipping them down our throats. The burn of the tequila soothes me. It brings the annoyance, the anger, and the hurt that I’ve been stewing over for three months down a notch.