I grin and reach into the drawer myself.
“Always prepared,” I whisper.
“It’s not what you think,” she says. “I don’t do this…”
She’s fucking perfect.
I just can’t stop thinking it.
My right hand stays wrapped around her, my fingers spread wide against her stomach.
I take care of myself with one hand.
It’s not that hard.
Just tear the wrapper with your teeth and sheath yourself with one hand.
Simple.
In a matter of a few seconds, I pull at her hips.
Jolie moves to the bed and looks back at me.
“Oh, fuck, sweetie,” I groan.
She wants it like this.
She wants me…
I get on the bed behind her, slide my right hand around pulling her body against me. Then I move up. Between her breasts. Up to her neck. Then to her hair. I turn her head and I kiss her.
I move as needed to settle between her legs.
Her warmth is better than any blanket I could ever imagine.
I suck in a breath mid-kiss and press forward and up.
I break her threshold and she sighs into my mouth.
And we’re together.
I thrust, then Jolie puts her head back while reaching back to grab my leg.
Then she whispers one word that I know is going to spiral my fucking life out of control.
“More.”
I carry two plates to the table.
Jolie has a cup of tea in front of her. Steam rises from the cup and she hovers over it. She’s wearing nothing but the sweatshirt that started this night off.
I’m in jeans and nothing else.
“I’ve never made this for anyone else, sweetie,” I say.
“I don’t believe that for a second,” Jolie says.
“I swear,” I say.
I sit across from her.
We each have a grilled cheese sandwich.
I have the bottle of vodka.
I’m not exactly a cup of hot tea after sex kind of guy.
You probably already figured that out about me, right?
Jolie takes a bite of her grilled cheese.
Her eyes go wide.
“Wow, Mac,” she says with a mouthful of food. “This is really good.”
I lean forward and reach across the table.
She has a little bit of stubborn hair stuck to her forehead.
My beautiful and messy girl.
I use my pointer finger to move the hair out of her face.
She blushes.
Her hair is messy for the obvious reasons.
I devour my grilled cheese and wash it down with vodka.
Not the greatest meal in the world… I prefer whiskey.
“So I’m trying to picture something,” Jolie says.
“Yeah? Everything I pictured came out exactly the way I thought.”
Jolie smiles. “No. Listen. I’m trying to picture you in a fancy jacket. Because of Brooks Crest. You wear one of those, right?”
“When I have to,” I say.
“And you have a bag full of… whatever… and a gun. And you smoke. And you wear whatever you want under it…”
“Are you trying to turn yourself on again, sweetie?” I ask. “I mean, if so, go for it. But I can do that for you.”
“Mac,” she says.
I laugh.
“I just… it’s a lot to think about.”
“So don’t think about it,” I say. “Why even think about it? We’re here right now.”
“And there’s a gun on my nightstand.”
“Want me to move it? I will move it. When I go to sleep on the couch.”
Jolie cocks her head to the side.
I nod.
Oh, yeah, sweetie, you’re going to have to beg to get me into your bed. You know I want to hear that, right?
Jolie moves her eyes down.
She eats her grilled cheese and sips her tea.
Something about this… fuck me, it might be the most innocent moment of my life.
And to Jolie, this is wild.
She invited some bad boy criminal over to fuck her and is now eating a grilled cheese, while that same bad boy is drinking vodka like it’s water, staring at her with the intentions of fucking her again before they go to sleep.
“You know, for a pretty and innocent girl, this has been one hell of a first date,” I say.
“This isn’t a date, Mac,” she says.
“Oh?”
“This is what I wanted you to do,” she says. “And you fell for it.”
Jolie sounds sexy and bold.
She stands up and takes her plate to the kitchen.
I hurry to follow her.
She puts her plate in the sink and turns.
I’m right there, my hands touching where the sweatshirt ends and her smooth skin begins.
My fingertips tease her into shivering.
“So let’s talk about that card game,” I whisper.
“What about it?”
“I can’t see you playing strip poker, sweetie.”
“You weren’t there. That’s why you can’t see it.”
“Tell me what happened.”
“You know what happens in strip poker.”
“I want to hear you say it.”
“It was just something we did… during the summer.”
“Yeah? Where?”
“At a lake house.”
“So… summer camp?”
“Sure, Mac. If that’s how you want to think about it.”
“I’m just asking, sweetie.”
“It was just a summer thing,” she says. “A bunch of us had a long weekend away. And we were enjoying ourselves and played strip poker. Just for fun. Three girls. Three guys. You know…”
She wants me to be jealous.
I want me to be jealous.
What the hell is wrong with me…
“How far did it go?” I ask.
Jolie touches my chest. “You’re almost cute, Mac. Trying to get me to tell you the dirty details.”
“I doubt they were dirty, sweetie. Want to hear what I think?”
“Sure.”
I lower my lips to her neck.
I kiss it.
“I think you all said you were going to play,” I whisper. “And then when two guys had their shirts off, it got intense.” I kiss her again. “And then came your turn. Shirt off… right? But you weren’t sure about it. And I bet there was one of the three girls that was wild enough to take her shirt off. One shirt off and all the guys end up flustered and rock hard. And that’s where the game ends.”
I back away and Jolie looks irritated.
I nod.
“It’s called having fun,” she says.
“That’s weak fun,” I say.
“Oh, and what’s your version…” She shakes her head. “Never mind.”
“Our parties have strip poker,” I say. “Just without the poker.”
Jolie’s cheeks turn red. “Good for you.”
“Want to know what else happens?”
“No,” Jolie says.
“Even playing strip poker you find a way to make it sweet and innocent.”
“If you don’t stop talking right now, Mac, you’re going to end up on the couch for real.”
I slide my hands around to her firm ass and pick her up.
She cries out and throws her arms around my neck.
“If I go to the couch, you’re coming with me, sweetie,” I say.
I start to walk and she doesn’t tell me to stop.
The fantasies must have been running rampant in her mind.
I tell myself to detour back to her bedroom to get something out of her nightstand drawer.
Or maybe I’ll just use my mouth for something better than talking and making Jolie mad at me.
19
I never did the whole I don’t want to leave thing.
Mornings were mornings.
Grab a cigarette. Think about what needs to get done. Get it done.
Waking up next to Jolie threw that shit off course.
She was on her stomach, hair messy, her eyes opening once, looking at me, then she shut them again.
But the smile on her face…
I want to stay here all day with her.
My phone is going off though.
Text after text.
Shit going down without me around.
Not to mention tonight is the night I have to take care of that thing for Mama Dae.
I think about it as I stare at Jolie.
She doesn’t know what I’m going to do.
It’s protection for her.
But in a way I don’t like not telling her.
Leaving that part of my life lingering but not too close.
“I hate to say this, sweetie, but I have to go,” I whisper.
“Of course you do,” she says. “That’s your thing, right? You leave the next morning.”
“No… well… yeah…” I sink down into the bed again and put my nose to hers. “But it’s not you. It’s just shit I have to do today.”
Jolie opens her mouth and then quickly closes it.
That’s good.
I don’t want her to ask anything.
“I need to see you again,” I say.
“Again? We’re still together.”
“The second I leave I’ll need to see you again.”
“Mac…”
“I know. It’s all crazy. But I mean it when I say it.”
“What’s happening between us?”
“I think you know what’s happening between us,” I say. “If you want to label it, then do it.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“Good.” I kiss her forehead. “You’re amazing, Jolie. You’re smart. And sexy. And you have so much more than you realize or try to give yourself credit for. I hope you keep smashing coffee mugs off anyone who gets in your way.”
“That’s kind of romantic,” Jolie says. “And you’re talking like this is goodbye. Did you get what you wanted from me?”
“Not even close, sweetie,” I say. “I’m just always going to assume one day you’ll wake up and realize you can’t be near me. And when that happens, I’ll understand.”
“That makes you seem so human,” she says. “It’s kind of sad though too. Like you don’t have a choice in your life.”
I kiss her cheek. “Don’t worry about my life. And I will see you again. Sooner rather than later. I know where you live now.”
“Great,” she says. “Now I’m going to have to move.”
I laugh. “Love you too, sweetie.”
Jolie lifts her head.
I roll out of the bed.
I know what I just fucking said to her.
Flirting and fun? Sure.
Serious? Getting there.
I find my shirt and I grab my gun off the nightstand.
I walk to the door and look back.
Her feet are sticking out from the sheets.
Of all things, that’s the thing that makes my stomach feel all fucked up. Light and jumpy.
How the hell does she do that to me?
She’s the calm and the innocence.
And it’s nice to breathe that in.
Because the world outside Jolie’s bedroom is nothing but violence.
I throw one more right fist and I feel everything give way.
Chestnut’s cheekbone breaks and my middle knuckle feels like it’s jammed up into my fucking elbow.
He goes down for good and I step over him, grabbing my hand.
I curl my lip and shake my head, chasing away the pain.
Blood drips from my nose into my mouth.
I wipe my nose and mouth with the back of my hand.
“We’re good,” I call out.
I turn and look down at Chestnut.
He’s dazed, holding his cheek.
“You fucking prick,” Taz says to him.
He spits on him.
Les, Aric, and Raf are blocking the path to make sure nobody gets in the way.
This fucking guy… Chestnut.
Chester’s his real name. Everyone calls him Chestnut because apparently at some fucking party once he filled his cheeks with pretzel nuggets and looked like a fucking squirrel.
He was on his run and it was time for him to pay on a debt.
He knows what he did a few months ago and even though he tried to defend himself, he knew the beating was coming.
One fucking punch clipped my nose, making me bleed.
Damn did that piss me off.
But Chestnut is feeling it.
Taz crouches down. “You tripped on your run. Got it? And I’m assuming in those cock hugging shorts, you don’t have any cash.”
“Forget about the cash,” I say.
Chestnut looks at me. He’s taking deep breaths. He knows to stay down.
The fight’s over.
It’s time to listen.
“No cash, bro?” Les asks.
I shake my head. “He knows what to do. How to make this right. Right, Chestnut?”
“Yeah,” he says.
“He’s going to need something for the pain,” I say with a grin.
Taz starts to laugh. “Fuck. That’s perfect.”
“Let’s get out of here,” Les says.
I walk around Chestnut.
We all walk away.
I smoke a cigarette.
“That’s good stuff, bro,” Les says a few minutes later. “You broke his cheek.”
“That I did,” I say.
“Something for the pain…”
“And he’ll keep his mouth shut,” I say.
I don’t need to talk about what Chestnut did. Because it doesn’t matter.
The situation is over.
My mind is on tonight.
Everything has to go according to plan.
“Just a heads up, Mac,” Raf says. “Ado is looking for some money.”
“Looking?” I ask.
“He’s been asking questions about getting something up front,” Raf says. “His mother…”
“I know about his mother,” I say.
“Cash up front…,” Les says. He shakes his head. “Never mind.”
“Don’t worry about it,” I say. I flick my cigarette away. “We have to focus on tonight.”
I’m close to the house and I can see Ado on the porch.
Pacing back and forth.
I break up the group so I can talk to Ado alone.
The conversation about to happen warrants another cigarette, but I skip that part.
I climb the steps and put my hand out. “Stop fucking pacing.”
“Okay,” he says.
“I know where this is going.”
“They told you.”
“You wanted them to tell me,” I say.
“Yeah. You’re right.”
“Your mother is sick,” I say. “She’s dying, right?”
“Yeah,” Ado says. “It’s going to get worse.”
“Of course it is,” I say. “That’s what death is, bro. It fucking sucks.”
“There’s things though, Mac…”
“Things.”
“You know… medicines. Procedures.”
“Ado, you’re part of BC,” I say. “You’re fucking rich. What the fuck are you doing sniffing around for cash?”
It’s like he doesn’t expect me to say that.
What the fuck is this? He thinks I’m going to open the safe and let him take what he wants?
“It’s not what you think,” he says.
“What?”
“It’s just… it’s not what you think. And if I can get this shit together for her, it’ll work. I can pay everything right back. That’s the point. Yeah, there’s money, I just can’t get to it. But if I do this on my own and it works…”
I lean against one of the p
illars on the porch. “That’s the grand plan?”
“Yeah.”
“We can help you hack into her bank accounts, bro,” I say. “You can have it then.”
“No,” Ado says. “Believe me. It won’t work.”
“Well, this doesn’t work.”
“What?”
“What the fuck do you want me to say here, Ado?” I ask. “This isn’t a fucking bank.”
“If it was one of the others…”
I nod.
So now he’s going to get smart with me.
Act like a fucking prick to me.
I move toward him.
His chest puffs out.
“Are you going to fight me over this?” I ask.
“I’m asking for one thing, Mac,” Ado says.
I laugh. “How about I give you one thing… to think about… Claire.”
Ado’s face turns a little red.
I keep nodding.
Now, if you’ve been hiding under a rock and don’t know who Claire is… well, figure it out yourself. We have been bumping into Claire for a while. She’s got her space and business and we have ours. Sometimes things cross, shit gets bad, then it goes away.
It’s the same with Hidden Creek High and Bay Falls High.
Except Claire is…
Whatever.
Now I mentioned it before about Ado and what he did with Cade and Bain.
Shit got intense.
Weapons were involved.
Pres, Kip, and Barr from BFH were involved too.
And, of course, Claire. Now that was mostly because at the time Tinsley was living with her.
Again, that’s a whole other story.
“You’re here as a fucking reminder,” I say to Ado. “And you can go away in a second, bro. Keep that in mind.”
“So that’s it?” Ado asks. “All I’ve done…”
“Shut up, Ado,” I say. “You’re not going to pretty boy guilt your way into getting what you want with me. And if it’s that serious, then go talk to Mama Dae. See what she says. I bet it’s the same thing.”
“My mother is going to die.”
I grab Ado’s shoulder. “Look at it this way then, bro. She dies, you get her money, and you get a hell of a story to tell. You’ll get laid without even trying. Everyone loves a sad story. Good girls and bad girls alike.”
Ado shakes his shoulder away.
He looks ready to cry.
Is this where I’m supposed to care? Where I’m supposed to cave and do what he wants me to do? Give him cash?
Not a chance in hell.
Ado finally walks away.
He hurries down the steps, pissed off, and breaks out into a slow jog.
Mess You Up (Brooks Crest Book 1) Page 17