River... Redeemed (Studs & Steel Book 2)

by Heather Mar-Gerrison

Jake shook his head, “Guess not.” He said, “He said he’d probably be out – he works two jobs.”

  I nodded, “Hard working guy.” I murmured.

  Jake nodded, “Always has been.” He agreed. He ferretted about under the plant pot and came out with a key, a beaming smile on his face, “Ordinarily I would say it was stupid to put a spare key under the plant pot – but since it saves us from being attacked by the poultry I’m all for it.”

  I laughed, “Yeah, me too.’ I agreed, “Let’s get in!”

  Inside, the house looked a little… neglected.

  It definitely screamed ‘bachelor pad’ but there was just no real sense of ‘home’ there, which struck me as really sad.

  I didn’t like to think of anyone living such a solitary existence. “Not even a photo.” I murmured to myself.

  Jake walked up behind me and put his chin on my shoulder, “You okay, babe?” he asked.

  I nodded, “It’s just so…”

  “Bleak?” he asked.

  I nodded, swallowing a lump in my throat. He had to be lonely, living like this in the middle of nowhere with no one to share something as simple as breakfast with.

  Jake nodded, “I’m sure he’ll get around to making it a little cosier one of these days when he finally finds that special someone.”

  I nodded, “God, I hope so,” I agreed heartily, “because this is ten different kinds of depressing.”

  Jake’s mobile phone rang at that moment and he shot me an apologetic smile as he reached for it. His face lit up as he checked the screen, “It’s River.” He said.

  I smiled back at him, glad for him that he was going to see his oldest friend again after such a long time.

  “Sure – what time are you up?”

  A silence ensued as River must have been telling him what time to come to the club and when they’d be able to talk.

  He nodded and then, “Sure – we’ll swing by now, then and we’ll watch a couple of dances and then we should really get back and get some shut-eye.” Another pause and then, “Sure – see you in a bit.”

  He put his phone back in his pocket and grinned at me, “Come on – shower and a change – and then we’re going clubbing.”

  Chapter 4 – Eyes…

  River

  I was bouncing out of my own skin with excitement at seeing Jake again. We chatted on the phone a couple of times a month – but Skype wasn’t really my thing and I wasn’t desperate to look at him – just knowing he was out there and happy to talk to me was enough – but when he walked in I could have shouted with joy. He was finally here! And he hadn’t changed one little bit – still the same dark wavy hair that never quite sat right, still the same dark eyes and that huge, welcoming smile. He was absolutely gorgeous and I loved him to bits. He was my brother in every way but biological.

  I jumped off my stool and weaved my way through the throng of dancing guys until I’d reached the doors, “Jake!” I shouted, “Just in time, dude – my dancing slot’s been changed – well, extended,” I rolled my eyes, “Justin’s called in sick – some bug or other he picked up from his little sister.” I glanced around him, “So – where’s the boyfriend?”

  He smiled, “He just needed to take a leak – he’ll be right back.”

  I hugged him, “He’d better be quick – I’m on in like, two minutes.”

  He shook his head, “Then we’ll make the introductions later or even tomorrow – Jodie won’t mind – he’s really nervous to meet you anyway so he’ll likely be relieved.” His grin made me melt a little. I adored this guy. He was totally my knight in shining armour for standing up to Mum and Dad when they almost beat me worse than the bashing I’d taken from my so-called mates.

  I leaned up and kissed his cheek, “See you later then – let me know what you think of my new moves.”

  He chuckled as I made my way to my podium. It was Thursday night and that meant I was wearing a little more clothing than I did on the weekends. I had on my ripped skinny jeans that showed off my muscled thighs beautifully, teamed up with a sleeveless tee shirt that was also artfully ripped. I had my good old red Converses on and I felt a million fucking dollars.

  The music changed to indicate that the dancers were about to start off their numbers and I glanced to my left and then my right to Simon and Chase. They were my co-dancers for the night and we all had moves that gave the crowd instant wood.

  I closed my eyes, a smile on my face. I was as close to being in heaven tonight as I’d ever been.

  I opened my eyes again, my body knew exactly what it was doing to the music and I could scan the crowd to see if I could get eye contact with Jake. I was really looking forward to getting home later, having a few drinks and getting to know his new boyfriend a little better – because if Jake reckoned Jodie was the love of his life then I wanted to at least be able to be friendly – even if it did make me feel a little jealous… Even as I was planning on getting off as early as possible I found myself staring into the most startling pair of bright (I’d guess at blue but they could have been green, same as mine) sparkly eyes and they were staring back at me with as much interest as I was feeling for him. I’d never felt such an immediate attraction to anyone else, ever before in my life – it was almost like we had a connection. It was so intense I almost lost the beat of the music. Wow. He was seriously attractive. Maybe I’d have to blow Jake and his boyfriend off in favour of this seriously hot twink… Oh… maybe not. He’d turned to the guy stood with his back to me. Damn. It looked like he was with him… I was wasting my time, then – but I still couldn’t tear my eyes away. The guy with his back to me turned to the side to hear what Gorgeous was saying to him... Holy fucking shit – the beautiful guy was with someone, alright – and that guy was Jake.

  Well, wasn’t that just the story of my fucking crap life? The guy I was having seriously dirty thoughts about and planning to sneak off with, leaving Jake and Jodie to fend for themselves for the night was Jodie. I’d just fallen in lust with my best friend’s boyfriend – the total love of his life. There was no way I could do that. I returned my attention full force to the guys who were crowding my podium. I started to grind my hips to the music with renewed energy. There was absolutely no way I was going to act on my instincts this time – sure I’d had affairs with guys in what they’d previously considered committed relationships in the past. They couldn’t have been though, not really – my idea of a committed relationship was committed. I would never sleep with anyone ever again if I’d found ‘the one’ but some guys just weren’t that bothered. There was no way on this earth that I would ever hurt my best friend though – whether his adorable twink of a boyfriend would or not… No way. Not even if hell froze over… Nope. Not even then.

  Chapter 5 – Cocktails and dancing

  Jodie

  I turned away from the bar, a fancy cocktail with all the trimmings in my hand and looked over to where three sexy looking guys were grinding and shaking their booty for all they were worth. I’d been to clubs with dancers before but these guys were seriously good.

  My eyes settled on the one in the middle. Damn. He was ridiculously sexy. That was all I could compute as I stared at him. Oh. My God. The guy was just… sex on a stick.

  I couldn’t tear my eyes away and I was horribly aware that he was doing the same to me.

  Thankfully at that moment Jake put his hand on my back and leaned in to brush a soft kiss across my lips. Pulling away he nodded towards the dancer that I’d been quite openly ogling. “That’s River, right there,” he nodded towards sex-on-a-stick guy, making my stomach just about drop through my arse – I’d only been eyeing up my boyfriend’s best friend – holy shit! How bad was that?

  Jake was happily oblivious that he’d just shocked the hell out of me, “He’s the one in the black skinny ripped up jeans and the lime green tee shirt – gorgeous huh?”

  Well, at least he could appreciate his best friend’s outstanding sexiness and total beauty. Who couldn’t? I nodded. There
was absolutely no point in pretending otherwise – half of the punters were watching him with open desire on their faces and bulges in their jeans. “Yeah,” I agreed, adjusting my sitting position to hide the bulge in my own jeans, “He’s incredible,” I was sure Jake had told me they’d never been anything other than mates and I was seriously wondering if he had something wrong with his eyesight, “But you reckon you two never...?” I trailed off. Why the hell hadn’t they ever gotten together?

  “Ew,” Jake wrinkled his nose, “that would be like incest dude,” he said and I could see he totally meant it in his expression, “We’re like brothers. We’ve been friends since we were tiny.”

  I nodded. I kind of got it but even so, wow...

  Jake was grinning at me knowingly, “He’s a total man whore.” He said, “I’m sure you’ll love him – but you’re really not gonna like the way he lives his life – it’s guy after guy after guy – he might as well get a revolving front door.”

  I wrinkled my nose, “Ew,” I said. I was actually pretty disgusted to hear that about him; as beautiful as he might be – that was a total turn off. “And we’ve decided to share his house because…?”

  He grinned, “Because regardless of being a man whore, he’s a really good guy too – he just needs to find that special someone.”

  I smiled, “Like you and me, you mean?” I asked.

  He grinned and wrapped me up in his arms. Kissing me on the end of my nose, he nodded, “Yeah, just like you and me.”

  Chapter 6 – Off limits…

  River

  The rest of my evening went pretty well. I tried my best not to watch Jake and Jodie getting cosy at the bar and I really tried not to watch them on the dance floor. I loved to dance – obviously – but I knew it wasn’t really Jake’s scene. He didn’t really like to flaunt his sexuality – and at Studs everyone loved to flaunt their sexuality. The more outrageous the outfit the better for most guys. I kind of got that Jodie was more that type – and I could see that he could totally shake it too. He was the perfect example of what a twink should look like. Big blue eyes, blonde hair and the most perfect rosebud lips. I couldn’t stop imagining them around my cock. He had a firm, slightly skinny build – but a great looking backside in those tight, tight jeans – and they accentuated his dick beautifully. I really had to stop checking him out. It was utterly stupid to be having all these thoughts about him – he was totally off-limits.

  Of course, during my fifteen-minute break I couldn’t exactly avoid them so I made my way over to where they were back at the bar. “Jake.” I slapped an arm around him and gave him a side hug, “How about introducing me to this gorgeous guy.” I flashed a grin at Jodie and was kind of pleased to notice that he blushed.

  Jake smiled, although it didn’t quite reach his eyes, which looked slightly worried. I vowed to myself that I would not let him down, “River – this is my boyfriend, Jodie. Jodie – River.”

  I stuck my hand out and Jodie grabbed it. He had a firm grip and I couldn’t stop myself from wondering how it would feel around my dick. Stop it! I commanded myself. Off-limits! I smiled at him, “It’s really nice to meet you – Jake tells me that you’ve been a couple for around a year?”

  He smiled brightly at me and I swear my heart did a little flip-flop in my chest. Oh, dear – I was seriously in trouble here… I’d never reacted to another human being like this before. Why him? Why now? Why was I doomed never to be happy? Never to find the right one? Well, hello! He was right here in front of me… but he belonged to my best friend. Fuck my life… Fuck it all to hell.

  Chapter 7 – Totally star-struck…

  Jodie

  It was really difficult to shake River’s hand when all I really wanted to do was to run my hands through his beautiful tousled hair and to explore the body beneath those amazing ripped clothes. But I was sure that was exactly the same way every other red-blooded male in the room felt about him too and I understood that all I was feeling was hyped up lust for the semi-celebrity. He was fucking gorgeous, there really was no other way to describe him – but he was only a dancer – and I had an equally hot and ten times as adorable guy right next to me – one that I’d moved halfway across the country for – that had to count for more… didn’t it?

  “Gotta go, guys – I’ll see you both at home, right?” River grinned, his smile was absolutely mesmerising.

  I nodded along with Jake, “Sure,” Jake said, “See you later dude.”

  I raised an eyebrow to Jake, “Isn’t he coming home with us then?”

  Jake snorted, “That would all depend on who he’s got his eye on tonight.”

  Well, that would be me. I thought. His eyes had been on me all night… I’d done my best to ignore it but it was definitely true – he knew it and so did I. “Right,” I said with a smile. I couldn’t stop the bubble of excitement in my stomach that he’d be coming home with us. I was quite sure no one else had been in his sights tonight. I wasn’t sure what I thought was going to happen between the three of us but I was just happy to get to know him without the complication of him bringing some random guy home for a quick hook-up… Yeah, right. Who the hell was I trying to kid? I was just delighted to get to know him, period.

  Chapter 8 – Never to be opened…

  River

  I grabbed my jacket from behind the bar and turned to find Jake and Jodie waiting for me patiently on the other side. “Ready to go?” I asked.

  Jake grinned and nodded, “I’m beat.” He said, “I’m about dead on my feet here.”

  I swallowed down a knot of guilt that I’d made him stay up all night when he’d been up since the early hours the day before, “Sorry, dude.” I said, “I was just so excited to see you.” I walked around the other side of the bar and flung my arms around him, gathering his large form to me in a bear hug of sorts – not that I was built anywhere near bear-like…

  He chuckled and hugged me back, “It’s so good to see you.” He said, “And you’ve been totally working out!”

  I sniggered, “Yeah,” I agreed, “I wasn’t about to let what happened to me back in Rempton happen again here.”

  He nodded, his frown marring his features, “No.” he agreed, “Never again.”

  Jodie gave us both a bit of a puzzled look, “What happened in Rempton?” he asked, “Or shouldn’t I ask?”

  Jake and I looked at each other. I shrugged, “It’s hardly a secret.” I said, but I wasn’t exactly comfortable for this beautiful creature to know I was beaten to a pulp by a bunch of guys that I was stupid enough to think were my friends. The fact that they’d actually preyed on me, knowing what I was and groomed me before trying to kill me was the most mortifying aspect of it all. They’d planned everything and if it hadn’t have been for Jake – I probably wouldn’t still be around. They’d have killed me for sure. I shuddered. It still wasn’t something I liked to think about and I really didn’t want to ruin my high by talking about it now.

  Jake shook his head, “I’ll tell you about it another time.” He said, “It’s not a conversation for now – are we going back home?” he looked at me with a hopeful smile.

  I nodded, “Have you been drinking?” I asked him.

  He held up two fingers, “I’ve had a couple of beers.” He said.

  I nodded, “Then I’m driving since I’ve just had juice all night – I’ll run you to the office in the morning and then we’ll pick your car up tomorrow – it’ll be fine here – it’s a decent enough neighbourhood.”

  We made our way out to my car. She was sat there looking beautiful, as always. Jodie got all excited, “Oh, my God – I love these babies!” he crowed, breaking into a bit of a jog as he worked out that the cute little car was mine. He turned back to Jake with a massive grin, “This is exactly the car I meant when I was talking about what I wanted.”

  Jake smiled indulgently, “I know – you’ll have to get one.”

  His face fell, “Yeah, when I finally get a job I will…”

  “Can yo
u drive?” I asked.

  He nodded, “Yeah, I passed my test in my last year of uni.”

  I grinned, “Then you can drive her back for me tomorrow – we’ll drop Jake off, come here and then I’ll drive Jake’s car back and you can have a spin in mine.” His smile was enough to give me a full on woody…

  We pulled into the drive of my house. There were no chickens around at this time of the morning so I didn’t have to drive at a snail’s pace. “So you found the house okay earlier?” I asked Jake, who was riding shotgun.

  He smiled and nodded, “Yeah,” He said, “It’s really nice.”

  I pulled a face, “Don’t be polite – it’s just a box with no personality, no love, no nothing – it’s totally lifeless.”

  I glanced in the rear view mirror and my eyes met with Jodie’s. He grinned at me, “But we’re here now.” He said, his gorgeous eyes shining and a feeling went through me that I really didn’t want to feel – desire. I wanted Jodie. I had no reason to feel this way. I didn’t even know him but from the moment our eyes had met I’d felt drawn to him.

  Jake chuckled and turned around in his seat. He reached back and ruffled Jodie’s hair, “You’re too cute, man.” He said, his voice full of love and affection for him.

  I swallowed down my feelings. I could do this. I could just be friends with the guy. I could ignore these stupid feelings that I didn’t understand and didn’t know what to do with. He was totally off limits – he was my best friend’s boyfriend. I gathered up the feelings and put them to the back of my mind where they belonged in a padlocked box labelled ‘never to be opened’. I smiled. I was so happy for Jake to have found someone so special. It was gonna be fine… If I kept telling myself that, sooner or later it really would be fine… Maybe.