by L. M. Heidle
“Nope, I’m fine, but I need that drink.” We changed to Vodka shots this time. I threw it back as soon as the bartender sat it down. I grabbed the beer next and took Meg’s hand, “Dance.”
I felt eyes on me as we danced, but somehow I found the strength to not look back. The one time I looked, his ‘dates’ were all over him.
We spent the next two hours dancing our butts off. Neither one of us sat out another dance unless we went to the bar to get water. I felt a little bad about dancing with other guys, but Andrew and I weren’t technically exclusive. Plus, I danced more with the Meg than anyone. Besides, I was just having fun. I wasn’t planning on going home with anyone.
“Are you ready to go? My feet are killing me.” I was too tired to do anything except nod.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Saturday, October 12
I woke with one hell of a headache. The drums someone was playing didn’t help. I put a pillow over my head to drown it out but of course, that didn’t help. Guess I was up for the day. As I got closer to the kitchen, I realized it wasn’t drums but my front door.
I opened the door to find Andrew. Crap! I’m sure I looked like a hot mess. I’m going to kill Meg for buzzing him in without warning me.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
“Andrew, what are you doing here?”
“Not the reaction I was going for. I can leave if you want.”
“No, no, I’m sorry. I just woke up and I’m surprised to see you. Come in.”
“Well, I have a meeting this morning, so I thought I’d bring you breakfast in bed. I brought smoothies and of course, donuts.”
“Wow. Andrew, you’re so sweet. You didn’t have to.”
“I know but I wanted to.” He leaned over and kissed my cheek as we walked to the kitchen. “But now I have to go or I’m going to be late. Are we still on for tonight?”
I started walking him back to the door before I replied, “Yep. I thought we would all meet here at 6, grab a bite to eat, then dancing.”
“Sounds great.”
“Oh, I left the paper too.” He kissed my cheek before leaving.
Meg was already eating donuts when I made it back to the kitchen.
“Please help yourself,” I giggled.
“Sorry, I was starving. I’m starting to like him. I think you’re wrong about him. Maybe he just didn’t like Kade being around you. You know, like he wants to be the only man in your life.”
“Maybe, I hope so. I think I’m starting to like him.” I picked up a donut and froze. There was a picture of Kade standing by the Barbie bimbos from last night with the heading, ‘Ladies, the Playboy is back and in Full Force.’ “I gotta go call Brent to remind him about tonight,” I said before she could say anything. Like the masochist I am, I tried to grab the paper so I could read it, but Meg snatched it before I could get it.
“There is no reason for you to read that. You know he was there. End. Of. Story.”
She was right. I already knew what the article would say. I nodded and grabbed my cell, “Brent, you didn’t forget about tonight did you?”
“Nope. We’re still going.”
“We’re meeting here at six to get a bite to eat before clubbing.”
“Sounds great. How are things going with him, anyways?”
“Interesting. He’s been amazing. We may have been wrong about him.”
“I hope so, or it would make it incredibly awkward for me,” he joked.
“Wow! Think of yourself much? How’s Amber?”
“Just keepin’ it real. We’re doing great. I’m thinking about moving closer.”
“W-O-W!”
“I know, right? Hey I gotta go. My aunt needs me. See you guys tonight.”
The rest of the afternoon, Meg and I barely moved off the couch. “Guess we should get ready.”
I moaned, “Is it already that time? Why did we go out last night? I’m exhausted. After tonight, we are taking a month off.”
“Suck it up! Having fun takes work!”
I stood in front of my closet with ‘what to wear, what to wear?’ running on repeat through my head. After putting on the black mini sequin dress I drug out, I went to the bathroom to curl my hair. I decided on red lipstick with smokey eyes. With all that done, I only needed shoes. I hollered across the hall, “Meg, can I borrow your red peep toes?” They came flying into my bedroom. “Guess that’s a yes,” I mumbled.
When I opened the door for Andrew, a slow smile slid across his face, “Holy…Liz, you look hot.”
I blushed, “Thanks. You look great too.” He was wearing a yellow button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and jeans. Brent and Amber arrived next, followed shortly by Derrick. “All right, we’re all here. Let’s go.”
“Geez, Andrew. You’re making us look bad. Every time we go out, the girls are going to want a limo.”
“Sorry, Brent, just trying to impress a certain someone.” He leaned over to kiss my forehead as Meg elbowed me in the ribs. “I went ahead and made us reservations at that new Mexican restaurant.”
We were ushered to a table as soon as we entered. “A round of your best Tequila for everyone,” Andrew told the waitress.
The place had amazing food. Everyone had a blast laughing and joking with each other. It felt so natural for all of us to be together, but I still felt something was missing. I liked Andrew, but he wasn’t Kade. I hated that I kept thinking that way, but I couldn’t stop.
“All right, let’s go get our party on,” Andrew said as he took yet another shot. Apparently, he was on a mission to get drunk tonight.
“Don’t you think you should slow down? We haven’t even made it to the club yet.” I whispered in his ear. He just winked at me.
“Hell ya!” Derrick and Brent fist pumped.
“Yeah, we probably better leave before they kick us out for being too loud,” Amber giggled.
As soon as we were in the car, Meg turned towards Andrew, “So where to next?”
“Well, since you guys went to Legacy last night and I’m tired of Gotcha, I figured we could try Blue.”
Meg nodded her approval, “Sounds great! I’ve never been there before.” It didn’t take us long to get there and once again we were ushered in right away.
I felt it as soon as we walked in. “You have got to be freaking kidding me!” I all but yelled.
Andrew and Meg both looked at me. Meg knew what the look on my face meant, but Andrew leaned over, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I thought I stepped in gum.” At that moment, I was glad he didn’t know me that well.
Brent must have seen him because he looked back at me with a worried expression. I just shook my head. So much for that relaxing night. Even better, we were taken to the VIP section where of course he was.
He smiled at me as his eyes roamed over my body. Even from where I was standing, I could see his body posture change and his eyes change to a cloudy blue. That look had my body reacting instantly. It felt like there was a fire slowly burning inside. He gave me a sly smile because he knew exactly what that look did to me.
Then like a light switch being flipped, his eyes went to steel and his body went rigid. That’s when I felt Andrew’s arm on my hip. “Are you going to be okay with him here or do you want to go somewhere else?”
“No, it’s fine.”
“Okay well, if he tries anything, let me know and I’ll take care of it. I’m going to get a drink. Want anything?”
“Why don’t we dance instead?”
“We will, but I want a beer first.” With that, Andrew was gone.
Amber walked over to me, “Watch Andrew. He can get a little crazy when he drinks.” Oh great, just great, this night keeps getting better and better.
Meg grabbed Amber’s and my arms to drag us to the dance floor. “Stop talking and get your butts moving. We came here to dance.”
“Okay, okay we’re coming. For someone so small, you can be so pushy! Shouldn’t you be with Derrick, anywa
ys?”
“Nope, he can drink with the boys for a little bit.” The three of us danced for a couple of songs before the guys joined.
Andrew grabbed my hips, pulling me against him, moving my hips against his. The longer we danced, the more aggressive he became. At first it was pretty innocent, but the more he drank, the worse he got. It was starting to make me uncomfortable.
The last time he went to the bar, Brent stepped over to me, “Are you okay?” The fact that he knew me so well came in handy sometimes.
“Yeah, I guess.”
Brent leaned in to whisper in my ear, “Let me talk to him.” I nodded, but I doubted it would do any good. He wasn’t exactly the type of guy to be told what to do. I had a feeling I was going to be leaving soon, alone.
When Andrew came back, Brent pulled him aside. I don’t know what was said, but Andrew looked at me and nodded.
I was surprised when he dialed it back a notch. The next few songs were great, and everyone was having fun. Meg and Derrick were in their own little world. Brent and Amber were in that super annoying puppy stage.
Andrew whispered, “How about a drink? It’s not exactly fun watching my sister put her tongue down someone’s throat.” I just laughed as he led me back to the VIP area.
I felt eyes on me as soon as we sat down. I don’t know why I did it, but I turned to look at him. For some reason, I was shocked by what I saw. He was surrounded by two women. One was attacking his neck, and he had his tongue down another one’s throat. The whole scene was disgusting, but I couldn’t tear my eyes away. He winked at me and never looked away as he continued kissing the blonde slut.
If I were being an adult, I would have turned away or at the most flipped him off, but when he winked, that logic went out the window. I pulled Andrew’s face down to press his lips to mine. He grabbed my waist and pulled me closer as he deepened the kiss. The whole time my eyes never left Kade’s. When I winked at him, he stopped kissing the slut and glared at me.
Andrew brought me back to the present, “Do you want to get out of here and go somewhere more private?”
Crap! Shoot! Crap! That’s what I get for kissing a guy who already pushed my limits on the dance floor. “Andrew, we can’t leave. We’re here with friends.”
“Ha! I could care less who we’re here with. I want to get you out of that dress.” He started kissing my neck as his hand slowly started traveling up my thigh.
“Andrew.” I tried to pull his hand off my thigh. “Come on, stop. Not now.” Not ever, if he didn’t stop.
He grabbed me by the hips and lifted me so I was straddling him. He put one hand at the nape of my neck and one on my back holding me to him as he kissed me. When he realized I wasn’t going to kiss him back, he moved on to my neck working towards my collarbone. He went to pull the top of my dress down when I yelled in his ear, “Andrew, stop!”
“Don’t be bashful; you’re beautiful.” I pushed as hard as I could against his chest, but that was useless. I tried to crawl off his lap, but he grabbed my arms, “Where do you think you’re going? I’m not done with you yet.”
“I’m done with you. Now let me go!” Where in the hell was everyone? I looked at Kade, but his attention was elsewhere. “Let me go now!” As soon as I got one of my arms free, I smacked him as hard as I could across the cheek.
“You bitch!” He grabbed my arm before I could smack him again or crawl off his lap. His grip on my arms was beyond painful now and the more I struggled, the tighter he held. He sneered, “Guess that means you like it rough. Well, I can do that.” He slapped me hard enough to knock me off his lap onto the ground.
The next thing I knew I was in Kade’s arms and he was setting me down by Derrick and Meg. He kissed me on the forehead before he looked into my eyes. What I saw scared the crap out of me.
He turned away right before I heard what sounded like bone cracking. I turned to see blood coming from Andrew’s nose. Kade punched him a few more times before yelling in his face, “If you ever fucking touch her again or even breathe in her direction, you’ll regret it.”
He punched him again in the stomach before Brent could get his arms around him, “Okay, Kade, that’s enough.” Kade just stared at Brent for a minute before turning back to spit on Andrew. He swept me into his arms and walked out of the club.
“Are you okay? Do you want to go to the ER?”
“No, I’m fine. Are you?”
“Not my blood,” he replied as he got into the car. Nothing else was said as we drove to his penthouse. He was clearly still fuming and honestly, I was a little scared.
He took me straight to the bathroom where he helped me undress before setting me in the shower. We still said nothing as he carefully washed me from head to toe. When we were both clean, he wrapped a towel around himself before drying me off.
He sat me down by the bed before disappearing into the closet. He came back with a t-shirt and boxer briefs. I didn’t argue when he dressed me. He tucked me into bed before walking into his closet and getting dressed. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me back against him once he was in bed. He kissed my hair over and over. “I won’t let anyone hurt you ever again, H.” I fell asleep with a smile on my lips.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Sunday, October 13
When I woke up, it took me a minute to realize I wasn’t in my room. Then I felt arms wrapped around me, legs intertwined with mine, and my head on something hard. Shoot, did I sleep with Andrew? I took a deep breath, which only made him hold me tighter before I looked. I swear my heart stopped when I saw Kade’s face. I stared at him as last night came rushing back to me.
He looked so peaceful and I couldn’t help but run my fingers through his hair. He made a little moan before opening his eyes. “That feels good.” He sat up while detangling our legs, much to my disappointment. My heart fluttered when he didn’t let go of me, but sat me up with him. He put one hand around the back of my neck and the other across my stomach to my hip to pull me closer. I had no problems wrapping my arms around him and snuggling into his side. We sat in silence, just content to hold each other. That was until my traitorous stomach growled.
He laughed, “Well, I guess it’s time for breakfast.” He helped me out of bed. “Mother. Fucker. I’m going to kill him.”
Whoa, what just happened? “Kade, what’s wrong?” He ran his fingers over my cheek, and I winced a little. He lifted the sleeves of my shirt and closed his eyes. I knew Andrew gripped me hard, but I didn’t think he would leave bruises.
Kade didn’t say anything as he turned me around and lifted up my shirt. He ran his fingers over the middle of my back, causing me to shiver. He dropped his hand right before he punched the wall.
I tried to lighten the mood by joking, “Let me guess, there’s added color back there too.”
Not a good idea, so not a good idea.
He turned me around and stared in my face. “You think this is a joke? He left bruises on you! I want to kill him right now.”
Geez, he was scary intense. “No, it’s not, but Kade, he isn’t worth it. I don’t want you to do something you’ll regret.”
“Trust me, I won’t regret what I’m about to do.” He was dressed, had his wallet, keys, and phone before I could comprehend what was going on. “Stay here. I’ll be back.” With that, he took off towards the elevator.
I had to run to keep up with him. “Kade, where are you going?” I knew damn well where he was going, but I was trying to buy myself some time. I had to come up with a plan to stop him because the look in his eyes told me someone would end up in the hospital and someone in jail. Since Kade used to be a fighter in college and still boxed weekly for exercise, I doubted he was the one going to the hospital. I couldn’t let him go to jail. The paparazzi were already going to have a field day with last night; this would only make it worse. Plus, it would kill me for him to get arrested over me. “Kade, please stay with me. He isn’t worth it.”
He hit the elevator button before turning
to look at me. I did the first thing I could think of; I jumped on him. I had my arms around his neck and legs around his waist before he could stop me. “If you go then, I go too.”
He tried to untangle me, but I gripped tighter. “Elizabeth, let go. Now! You’re staying here.”
“Kade, I’m sure we can find another way to release your anger.” With that, I bit his bottom lip before slowly kissing down one side of his neck and back up the other. When my lips met his, he put up no resistance. He put a hand under my butt and one against my back as he practically ran to his room.
“Finally,” he murmured against my lips. I knew exactly what he meant. I had been dying to be with him again.
We couldn’t get each other’s clothes off fast enough. His shirt lost a few buttons in the process, and I ended up with ripped briefs. He tossed me on the bed. He slowly crawled on top of me, whispering, “H, you are so beautiful.”
“And you’re sexy as hell. Now shut up and kiss me.” I didn’t have to tell him twice.
We lay on the bed, trying to catch our breath. “Wow” was the only thing I could get out. I don’t think I could move if I tried.
“Yeah,” he murmured as he got up and went to turn on the shower. He came back in the bedroom and carried me into the shower. He slowly, very slowly washed me from head to toe. That, of course, started round four or five or six or…hell, I lost count. Then I tried to wash him and ended up getting pushed against the wall.
“Okay, Kip, get out. Apparently, we can’t shower together.” He had a wicked smile on his face as I pushed him out the door and closed it in his face.
I walked out into an empty bedroom. What in the heck was I going to wear? I didn’t feel like wearing my clothes from yesterday and what I slept in was in a heap or shreds. I knew he wouldn’t mind, so I made my way into his closet. His closet was huge; it took me forever to fine a pair of briefs, but eventually I found those and took a t-shirt.