Since Last Time: A Bad Boy Second Chance Romance

by Sienna Ciles

  “Well, see that’s kind of the thing. I don’t know where he’s taking me,” I confessed with a shrug and a grin of pure cluelessness.

  “What? How the hell am I supposed to dress your ass up properly when I don’t even know where the fuck you guys are going?” she exclaimed, half-joking and half-serious.

  “Oh, come on, Jo! You’re the expert, here. Just work your goddamn magic on me and quit asking me questions!”

  Three cocktail dresses later, she had me looking—and feeling—like a million dollars all over again. Jo was like the sister I never had.

  She had picked out a long, form-fitting scarlet-colored cocktail gown that dipped down into a V-shape in the front and had shiny little rhinestones along the cleavage line. The back of the dress hung down below my waist, revealing my entire back, giving it both a sexy but elegant look that made me feel like I had stepped right out the pages of a fashion magazine. She matched it up with a pair of strappy burgundy stiletto sandals that crisscrossed around my toes, and a silver necklace, earring, and bracelet set that completed my ensemble with flawless perfection.

  She also did my makeup—again—piling on the mascara and eye shadow and making my eyes pop in a way that I’d never seen them do before.

  “I’m gonna start charging your ass by the hour if you keep calling me over here to dress you up every time you go out with Mr. Fancy Schmancy Long Schlong!” she said bossily, with her hands on her hips.

  “And I will gladly pay you each and every time, bitch!” I replied, rolling my eyes teasingly.

  I turned back around to admire my appearance in the mirror, smiling proudly at my own reflection.

  Just then, I heard a horn blow outside my apartment.

  “Oh, my God, that must be him!” I said anxiously.

  “Well, come on, don’t keep the man waiting,” she said as she ushered me out toward the front door.

  I put a shawl around my shoulders in case it cooled off during the evening and picked my purse up as I headed toward the door.

  “Thanks again, Jo!” I paused to turn around and embrace her. “I don’t know what I’d do without you!”

  “You would absolutely fucking die without me,” she said in a teasingly stern voice. I burst out laughing as I opened the door to leave.

  * * * * *

  As it turned out, Alex actually ended up taking me to the opera. Now that was something I hadn’t expected. In fact, it probably never would have even crossed my mind to go to the opera in a million years.

  The performance was absolutely mind-blowing, though. I found myself experiencing so many emotions all throughout the entire show. One minute I was laughing, the next I was crying, and a moment later, I was fervently standing up to applaud. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before.

  The opera was so much more than just people singing on a stage. There was a story—an emotionally-charged story to the presentation— and it was like a play and a concert and even a movie—all rolled up into one incredible performance.

  The show was about two young star-crossed lovers whose families didn’t get along. They were seeing one another in secret and got married without each other’s families knowing. Then, one day the young man was sent off to fight off in a battle. While in battle, he realized he was fighting the brother of his beloved wife. He couldn’t bring himself to kill his wife’s brother, so the brother killed him. As he was dying, he revealed who he really was and the brother began to weep. Then, the brother had to tell his sister that he’d killed her husband, she revealed that she was with child, and her family came together to help raise the child. When the child grew up, he brought the quarrelling families together.

  The performers captured every emotion in every scene and it really moved me. Every time I looked over at Alex, he would glance back at me with a proud grin on his gorgeous face. It was definitely a night I would never forget.

  * * * * *

  When we finally got back to Alex’s place, we were all over each other. We had barely made it through his front door before we started kissing, caressing, and grabbing at each other’s clothing. Sex with him was becoming like a fucking drug for me and it was like I couldn’t wait to get high.

  We kissed passionately, intertwining our tongues and biting each other’s lips as I frantically undid his suit jacket and practically ripped it from his shoulders. He unclipped the top of my dress and pulled it down to expose my breasts. Our mouths muffled our moans and heavy breathing as we hurriedly made our way over to his bed, stepping out of our shoes and tossing our garments off along the way.

  I sat down on his bed wearing nothing except my black lace boy-cut panties and pulled him over to me by his leather belt. He was already shirtless and I immediately looked up at him with a sexy smirk on my face and began to tug at his pants, undoing his belt buttons and zipper, and sliding them down over his hips and buttocks. He had on a pair of dark silk boxers and I licked my lips as I pulled them down, freeing his erection.

  I took him into my mouth, slowly, looking up at his face. He sucked in a breath, closed his eyes, and threw his head back. Running my hand along his length, I twirled my tongue around the tip and he arched his back and let out a moan. It turned me on to no end to see him so hot with desire for me. I could already feel myself becoming wet between my thighs.

  My moans of passion were muffled by his girth as I bobbed my head back and forth, taking him deeper into my mouth each time, until I could feel him all the way in the back of my throat. He hissed with pleasure and grabbed my head, massaging my hair as I ran my lips up and down his shaft.

  “Oh, Holly, I want you so bad,” he groaned, pushing me down onto the bed. Reaching between us, he yanked my panties down over my legs and tossed them onto the floor.

  “God, Holly, you’re so fucking sexy,” he said in a gruff, seductive voice, and I felt sexy. I always felt so sexy, comfortable, and free when I was with him.

  And then, his face was between my thighs and his tongue was sending sensation after sensation shooting all throughout my body, causing me to moan and writhe with pleasure. I grabbed his head and thrust my hips upward, crying out in sheer delight as he continued to flick his tongue against my clit. His fingertips found my slit and he slid two inside me, applying just the right amount of pressure to send me into a frenzy.

  He knew just how to bring me right up to the brink of my climax, and then he would stop, leaving me hot, wet, and panting with overwhelming desire. He pushed my legs back until my knees were damned near touching my ears, then he let out a deep, long moan as he slowly entered me. A cry of passion escaped my lips as he filled me with his length and I gasped as he began to thrust into me.

  “Oh, yes, Alex!” I breathed, between pants and moans of pleasure as he continued to move in and out of me, holding my legs back and speeding up his rhythm until he was thrusting into me so fast and so hard that both of my legs started shaking uncontrollably.

  I felt myself about to explode in climactic bliss and my entire body tensed up.

  “Oh, fuck, Alex, I’m about to…” He plunged into me deep and hard and I was unable to finish my statement as it sent me over the edge and my orgasm peaked. I let out a long, loud cry of ecstasy as my back arched and my hips bucked reflexively.

  Alex groaned loudly as he came soon after, and his eyes closed and his mouth dropped open. Then, panting and sweating, he collapsed on top of me.

  * * * * *

  The following morning, I was awakened by the smell of fresh coffee. I sat up and realized that Alex was no longer lying beside me. There was a black satin robe sitting on the bed next to me so I threw it on and went out to the kitchen.

  “Morning, beautiful,” he said with a smile. He was already dressed in a blue button-down and a pair of slacks. “How do you like your coffee?”

  “Two creams and three sugars, please,” I told him as I sat down at the table.

  “I wanted to make you breakfast but I have a meeting I need to get to,” he said.

  “A
lex, there’s something I need to tell you,” I said, sipping my coffee and then sitting it back down on the table.

  “What’s up?” he asked, taking a seat across from me.

  “I’m moving back to my hometown at the end of the school year,” I said solemnly.

  “Oh,” he said, looking down at his coffee cup.

  “Well, actually, I had already decided this before you and I met,” I told him, unable to look into his piercing blue eyes. I could feel him staring at me. He seemed to be at a loss for words.

  “But I thought you said you really loved it here in the city?” he asked.

  “No, I do! I really do. I mean, there’s really nothing else I’d love more than to buy that little Italian bakery and reopen it myself—but—well, that’s never gonna happen, anyway. Besides, my mom said she could get me a job at the hospital where she works—at least until I find something else…” My words trailed off and the two of us sat there in an awkward silence.

  Chapter 9

  Alex

  After that awkward, uncomfortable conversation we had at my dining table that morning, I found myself feeling—weird—for the lack of a better word. For the first time in my life, I was actually feeling more interest in a woman after sleeping with her than I did before sleeping with her. And, on top of that, I had already slept with her more than once. This foreign feeling was both amazing and horrifying to me. I had only been in love one other time in my life, back when I was much younger, and it had ended badly. However, I knew that I was feeling something for Holly, and it ran much deeper than our bedroom frolics.

  I found myself thinking about Holly more often than not and whenever I wasn’t around her, I was always either thinking about the last time I’d been with her or looking forward to the next time I was going get to see her.

  The realization of how strong and deep my feelings had become for this woman had been all but confirmed when she told me about her plans to move away at the end of the school year, which was only a few more weeks away. It felt like my heart was literally falling into pieces. It was the one of the saddest and most confusing feelings I had ever experienced.

  Usually when a woman told me she was moving away, I was already fantasizing about the next woman I would meet. But when Holly told me her plans, just the mere thought of not being able to see her whenever I wanted and not being able to touch her whenever I wanted—it was a thought that I had a hard time bearing. That had never happened to me before.

  Just thinking about her being so far away and me not being able to spend time with her—it was something that I didn’t even want to think about.

  I had to see her and I wanted to surprise her, so I came up with something I felt would be thoughtful and romantic—something she wouldn’t expect and couldn’t ignore. Perhaps it would help me in my efforts to change her mind and persuade her to stay here in New York and give our love a fair opportunity to develop into something much deeper.

  After checking my Rolex and seeing that it was right around lunchtime, I hopped into my black BMW and headed over to the elementary school where Holly worked. Making a pit stop at the local flower shop, I picked out an enormous bouquet of red, white, yellow, and pink roses. I paid the lady for the bouquet and rushed back out to my car. A few moments later, I pulled up in front of the school and put on my emergency flashers—not wanting to waste any time trying to find a place to park in the lot behind the building.

  I walked into the front entrance and entered the main office.

  “May I help you, sir?” the fair-skinned African-American lady at the front desk asked with a friendly, professional smile.

  “Ah, yes. My name is Alex Westbrooke and I am here to see Ms. Holly Shaw,” I stated proudly.

  Her eyes widened, as did her grin as she realized what was going on.

  “Ohhh! A surprise visit?” she asked, cocking her head to one side and eyeing me with a look of admiration.

  “Yes, it most certainly is,” I affirmed with a sweet smile.

  “She’s in the teacher’s lounge on the first floor,” she said with a wink. “Go down this hall and make a left, and it’s the third door on the right.”

  “Thank you very much,” I told her, returning her wink with my own.

  I made my way down to the teacher’s lounge, opened the closed wooden door, and stepped inside. As I carefully closed the door behind with my free hand, every single eye in the large, spacious room turned to look up at me.

  “Oh, my gosh! Alex?” The sweet sound of Holly’s voice rang in my ears as I stood there in front of the door holding the huge bouquet in my hand.

  “Surprise!” I said as my lips spread out into a warm, cheerful smile. She came rushing over to me and threw her arms around me in a welcoming hug.

  “Holy moly! What are you doing here?” she asked as her entire face lit up and her bright brown eyes widened in awe.

  “I just wanted to surprise you, that’s all,” I explained. “These are for you.”

  I handed her the giant bouquet and kissed her on the cheek. I noticed that all the other teachers in the lounge were still staring at us—not that I minded in the least. It was actually kind of a turn-on for me, seeing them all basically drooling over us. The women were staring with looks of envy and wonder and the small number of men were staring with expressions of approbation.

  “This is really nice, Alex! Really sweet! These are absolutely beautiful! Thank you so much! What a lovely surprise!” Holly stated, her grin stretching from one ear to the other. She put the roses up to her face and inhaled, her smile widening even further. “I’ll have to find something to put these in.”

  “I’m glad you like them,” I said gleefully. Just then, my cell phone started ringing loudly. “Excuse me for just a moment.”

  Looking at the screen, I saw that it was my father calling. I turned around to answer the call.

  “Alex, here,” I said firmly.

  “Alex, where the hell are you? Danny is here at the office waiting for you,” he barked into my ear. “Do you know how important his contract could be for our company?”

  I rolled my eyes and sighed. In my effort to be spontaneous and romantic, I had forgotten about the meeting I had scheduled with my father and Danny earlier in the week.

  “I’ll be right there,” I assured him. I turned to glance back at Holly, who was still standing behind me, ogling her sizable rose bouquet. It pleased me to see her so delighted, and it pained me to have to turn around and leave so abruptly. I slid my phone back into my pants pocket and turned back around to face a smiling, radiant Holly.

  “I’ve got to get going, Holly. I’ve got another meeting with this prospective former pro athlete. My dad—who is also my boss for the time being—has been very adamant about me convincing this guy to sign an endorsement contract with our company. It could mean a great deal for the family business—and also to the client.”

  “Oh, okay,” Holly said sweetly. “I totally get it.”

  “But don’t worry, we’ll be getting together again, very soon,” I assured her, gazing directly into her baby browns. “As soon as I get Danny to sign this contract, I’ll have more free time to spend romancing you.”

  “Wait, Danny? What kind of former pro athlete is this prospective client of yours?” she asked suddenly, cocking her head to the side and narrowing her eyes inquisitively.

  “He’s a former pro football player, actually. His name is Demphrey—Danny Demphrey.”

  Holly’s face went pale as soon the words left my mouth. I wanted to ask her why, but I really had to leave. My dad was not one for patience—nor did he have a kind attitude toward me whenever I arrived late for a meeting with him and/or his clients. I planted a quick kiss on Holly’s cheek before I left.

  Chapter 10

  Holly

  “Joana, you’re not going to believe this!” I exclaimed as I shut the door behind me.

  I had rushed right over to her house after school. I could hardly believe the coincidence—Alex’
s prospective client was Danny. Unbelievable.

  “What is it, Holly?” Joana asked, as she plopped down beside me on her living room sofa.

  “That prospective new former pro athlete client Alex has been raving about is actually Danny!” I shouted at the top of my lungs.

  “Oh, my gosh! Are you fucking kidding me?” she exclaimed almost as loudly as I had shouted.

  “I kid you not.”

  Joana rolled her green eyes and shook her head. “That’s just fucking unbelievable,” she said, shaking her head again.

  “Tell me about it. And he feels like Danny is just soooo goddamn important for his company’s reputation and how badly his father—the CEO of the company—wants the deal to go through.”

  “Well, Danny is still a pretty popular.”

  “Yeah, only because no one out there in the real world knows how much of a total asshole he really is!” I shouted.

  “Well, maybe you should tell Alex the truth about Danny,” Joana said, her voice stern.

  I stopped dead in my tracks and thought for a moment. Perhaps she was right. Maybe I should tell him about Danny and then let him make the decision on whether to take Danny on for an endorsement deal or keep me in his life. Because, there was no way I was going to continue to see Alex if he chose to work with Danny on an ongoing basis. I just could not psychologically handle the emotional stress of dating Alex on a regular basis if he chose to take Danny on as a client. There was no way in hell.

  Whether either of us liked it or not, it was going to come down to either Danny or me—period. Alex was going to have to make a decision. I’d already been here in this situation before and I didn’t like those odds. I didn’t like them one fucking bit.

  * * * * *

  “Alex, there’s something I need to tell you,” I said firmly as I gazed into his deep, sultry, alluring blue eyes.

  We were out on a casual lunch date, at a swanky, upscale rooftop café. I had just finished the fanciest salad I’d ever tasted, and Alex was packing up the other half of his huge, extravagantly-prepared sandwich.