I found another spot and walked toward the front door of the building.
As I opened the door, I heard someone whistle.
I looked back.
I saw the asshole who had parked in my spot.
Reed was here.
* * *
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I said. “How did you find me?”
“You auditioned, honey,” Reed said. “You filled out paperwork.”
“No, I…”
Sasha.
She must have filled out whatever paperwork was needed.
And now I had fucking Reed approaching me.
“What happened to your motorcycle?” I asked.
“This is more low-key,” he said. “Plus, you got me in trouble earlier.”
“I got you in trouble?” I asked.
“Yeah. There’s a video of me flipping off some lady in a car. Because you wouldn’t stop and talk to me for a second.”
“We have nothing to talk about,” I said.
“That I agree on, Abby,” he said.
Abby…
I hated the way he said my name. It was like he was saying Ah-be.
Fuck, who was I kidding. It was the sexiest way any guy had ever said my name.
But… not anymore.
Yeah, it used to make my knees weak.
Now I just felt like throwing up.
“So, if we have nothing to talk about,” I said, “why are you here?”
Reed looked around. “This your building?”
“Yeah. I own the entire thing. I'm a real estate mogul. I’m worth fucking billions, Reed.”
He laughed. “Wow. It was just a question.”
“No, I don’t own the building.”
“But you live here.”
“I share an apartment.”
“With your boyfriend?”
I shook my head. “What do you want?”
“I guess to throw some reality at you.”
“How about I throw a really big rock at your face and we call it a night?”
Reed touched his lip. “I think you got me once already today.”
“That was nothing,” I said.
“So you want to hit me again?”
“I want to do more than hit you.”
“Now you’re talking my language,” he said. “We both know angry sex is hot sex.”
I looked up and laughed. “This isn’t happening. The worst person I’ve ever met is seriously talking about sex…”
“Nothing we haven’t done before,” Reed said.
I looked at him. “You know what? You couldn’t make me come if I gave you a lifetime. Never once, Reed. All I did was just lay there in your bed and stare at the ceiling. I used to make grocery lists while you were fucking me. I used to think of song lyrics. I used to replay movies in my head. Okay? You’re not the rock star you think you are.”
I wasn’t sure what I was thinking.
A guy like Reed wasn’t going to be hurt. He wasn’t going to turn and tuck his tail between his legs.
“Honey, we both know that’s a lie,” Reed said. “Those sheets were so wet when I was done with you, we could have wrung them out.”
“Those were my tears,” I said. “I felt so bad for you. It made me cry.”
Reed smiled. “It didn’t taste like tears. Believe me, honey, I know what your body tastes like.”
I swallowed hard. “Goodbye, Reed. Do not come here ever again. I will call the police. I don’t care how much money you have, I still have a voice.”
“Yes, you do,” he said. “That’s why I’m here. About your voice.”
“Okay, good. You want to make fun of me? About what I wear and what I do? Go ahead.”
“I’ll have plenty of time to do that later.”
“No, you won’t. I never want to see you again after tonight. Got it? It’s my turn to get the final word. Goodbye.”
I turned and opened the door again.
“Then I guess I’ll just go to Sasha’s place next,” Reed called out.
I gritted my teeth.
I turned around again.
“What?”
“If you don’t want to do it, she will.”
“Do what?”
“What you auditioned for, honey,” Reed said.
I laughed. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”
“No. The band agreed. Well, not me. I don’t want you in the studio. I don’t want to be anywhere near you. They voted it. Four against one. I lose.”
“I’m going to sing for FILTHY LINE…”
“That’s the plan,” Reed said.
“No.”
“No?”
“No,” I said. “I’m not going to do that.”
Reed nodded.
He walked toward me.
He put his hand into his pocket and took out a piece of paper.
When he reached for my hand, I pulled away.
Reed made another move and grabbed my hand.
“I’m not playing games, Abby,” he said.
God… stop saying my name like that… aahhh-beeee…
He put the piece of paper into my hand.
“That’s got my number on it,” he said. “I know you don’t want that. The other number is what you really want. Look at that and make a decision. Then text me. I’ll give you until tomorrow.”
“Oh, so you’re a fucking hero now?” I asked.
“No. I hope I don’t hear from you, honey.”
“Fuck you, Reed.”
He nodded. “It’s nice to see you too.”
“You just gave me your number,” I said. “Who’s to say I won’t post it online?”
“Go ahead,” he said. “I’ll just change the number. Or maybe I’ll use some of that rock star cash I have hanging around and get a lawyer and ruin your life.”
“You’ve already done that.”
“Hey, if you decide not to take the gig, I’ll book an appointment so you and your quartet can come sing to the guys. Can you do that? Sing something like so sorry but in a sliding harmony?”
I opened the door to the building and finally went inside.
I stood there for a minute.
When I peeked back outside, Reed’s car was gone.
I looked at the piece of paper and quickly closed my fist.
It was a lot of money on the table.
To go into the studio, sing a song, and then leave.
That was it.
I walked to the apartment and opened the door to find Valerie in her bra and panties, butt in the air, head upside down, looking at me from between her legs.
“Hey, Abby,” she said. “I’m just stretching my back out.”
I had nothing to say to that.
I walked around her and blinked really fast, hoping the image of what I had just seen would go away.
“Oh, Abby, before I forget,” Valerie called out. “Someone else called for you. Don’t you tell people your cell phone number?”
I looked at the table.
It wasn’t Clementine that called me this time.
It was Harriet.
Another fake name.
But a real reason to call me.
I looked back at Valerie. She bent her legs and threw her head back. There were parts and skin that was twisted and sagged that I never wanted to see ever in my life.
I opened my hand and unfolded the piece of paper.
I looked at both numbers.
Reed’s cell number.
And the number with the dollar sign in front of it.
I shut my eyes.
I already knew what I had to do.
* * *
My phone started to ring.
Reed told me to text him.
So I did.
And now he called me.
That was him being an asshole.
As usual.
“Reed,” I said.
“So you’re in?”
“I want the exposure,” I said.
“And the mon
ey.”
“Who doesn’t want money?”
“I’m not judging you for it,” he said. “Money is great.”
“You told me to text,” I said. “Why are you calling?”
“My hands are a little full,” he said with a laugh.
In the background I could hear music playing.
I heard the occasional voice.
“No, no, no, honey, don’t leave yet,” he said.
“What?”
“I wasn’t talking to you, Abby,” he said.
“Is that your girlfriend or wife?” a voice asked Reed.
“Are you serious?” I asked. “You have some whore with you and you call me?”
“She’s a Line Whore,” Reed said. “There’s a big difference.” Then he groaned. “Fuck, right there, honey. Just stay right there.”
“Goodbye, Reed.”
“Don’t hang up,” he said. “You need to know where to meet the band.”
“I know where the studio is.”
“We’re not going to the studio.”
“What?”
“We have to run through the song a… ahhhh… a little bit.”
I gritted my teeth. “What is she doing to you right now?”
Reed laughed. “You want to know? You want to be part of this?”
“Sorry I asked,” I said. “I’m hanging up.”
“No, you’re not.”
“Forget it then, Reed. I’m not going to play games.”
“I’m not playing a game,” he said. “You bothered me. I was in the middle of something.”
“You told me to text you.”
“I didn’t think you were going to go for it. Everything okay in life?”
I laughed. “Fuck you, Reed. You’re not saving me. It’s not like it was before. I want the money. I want my name on the song. I want to be paid every time it gets played.”
“And the live shows?”
“What?”
“The lives shows, honey,” he said. “You’ll get paid for those too.”
“Live… I didn’t realize…”
“I’ll text you the address to our practice space,” he said. “I better go. If I come while on the phone with you, it’ll be like we hooked up again. No need to make that mistake one more time, right?”
The call went dead before I could tell him to go fuck himself.
I put my phone next to me on the bed.
I pictured Reed in his house. Sitting in a chair. With women and music, booze and drugs everywhere. With some woman on her knees, her mouth on his…
And I was in my crammed bedroom.
Alone.
He did this to me.
“Live shows,” I whispered.
I hadn’t realized that was part of the gig.
Did that mean going on tour? Did that mean being on a tour bus with Reed again?
If so, that was a deal breaker for me.
Last time I did the whole tour bus thing, I ended up on the side of the road in the middle of the night. Stranded with nothing but a little bit of money in my pocket.
That was supposed to be the end of Reed and I.
But the band went on to become bigger by the day.
I had to hear the songs. See the videos. Get offered to go see them live.
It was in my face, all the time.
I could still turn the offer down.
That would mean dressing up in pinstripes or as a princess or in a costume… singing for… what? Most of the time it was just a big joke to those paying for the entertainment. It would mean coming back home to Valerie. She was a sweetheart of a woman, but the bra and panties stretching was going to make me lose my eyesight.
And that was nothing compared to the phone calls.
The random texts.
The laughter at the other end of the phone line.
My darkest secret in life.
The dollar amount on the piece of paper Reed gave me would be a hell of a start.
Being near Reed could end up making things worse.
Or maybe I could finally get my revenge on him.
I could hit him where it hurt.
I could leave him on the side of the road.
I fell back to my bed and shut my eyes.
My phone notified me of a text message.
It was from Reed.
The address where the band practiced.
He wanted me there around noon.
Then he sent another text.
Bring coffee and pills… we’re all going to need it.
I put my middle finger to the screen.
I hated him.
I truly hated Reed.
But this time… I was going to break his heart.
7
REED
I sat up in my big bed and had a smoke that wasn’t a cigarette.
To my left, a naked woman slept, face down, blonde hair sprawled out behind her, her left shoulder showing off a butterfly tattoo that I had kissed quite a bit during the filthy midnight hours just a short while ago.
When I turned my head to the right, I saw another woman. Again, naked. Her thick, dark, curly hair looked messy, but it was her lip ring that caught my attention, just like it did when she walked through the door to my house. I moved the covers to look at her bare breasts, where her pierced nipples rested so perfectly.
I nodded and shut my eyes, taking a deep drag off my something that wasn’t a cigarette.
Looking forward, there was another beautiful woman.
She was in a neon-green thong, curled up with bright blonde hair, looking like she was shivering a little.
I was pretty sure there were two more women in the room somewhere.
My guess was either the floor, the bathroom, or the closet.
That might have sounded a little strange, but women loved my closet. They loved walking through it and fantasizing it was theirs. Hell, maybe the other two went into the closet for a little fun. A little Line Whore on Line Whore action.
I moved my right foot and shook Miss Neon-Green Thong.
She popped her head up, eyes shut, and she sniffed the air.
Her eyes opened and she looked right at me.
The color of her eyes were crystal blue.
She had a hell of a story to tell about her life. I pictured her as a small town midwest girl. Probably a cheerleader. Smart in school. Good to her family. But always dreaming of exploring her wild side. Thinking she could pack it up and move west to make it big. Doing what? She was going to be an actress. Find some good, wholesome TV show and have a good life.
Instead, she faced the realities of the city. The way it dug into your heart and whispered in your ear that everything was up for grabs.
Not that she was living a bad life.
But the hunger in her eyes as she grinned at me and slithered her way back up the bed… she wanted nothing to do with a wholesome TV show. She wanted to share my smoke. She wanted another hit of anything and everything. She wanted to drink until she felt really good. She wanted to fuck to chase away the pain.
And at the end of it all, she made more money here than she ever would back home.
It was called a trade-off.
Her small fingers reached for my smoke.
“What time is it?” she whispered.
“Time isn’t real, honey,” I whispered. “Come here. You’re shivering.”
I opened the blanket and pushed it down a little.
Miss Neon-Green Thong wiggled her way under the covers, her chilly body resting on my warm body.
I always kept the air conditioning going full force.
Except when I was fucking.
You had to get hot and sticky to make everything work, right?
But after that, it was time to be in an ice box.
Miss Neon-Green Thong was cuddly as hell. She looked good when she took a hit of my smoke. Putting her head back, shutting her eyes, letting the smoke dance from her mouth.
I kept my hands to myself.
I wasn’
t in the mood for anything at the moment.
I just wanted to make sure she was warm.
See? I’m not that bad of a guy, right?
Of course, my mind was stuck on fucking Abby.
She was going to be in the practice garage with the band in just hours. And then she was going to end up in the studio. From there, she was going to end up on stage.
On stage was where I met her.
Excess made me do what I did to her.
Now she was floating through again.
Floating through…
That was the key.
Let her sing. Let her collect a few bucks. Let her disappear again.
Hell, if need be, I’d talk to the band and give her a little something extra. Enough to get her back on her feet and let her go for good. Or maybe I could have Toby find something for her to do.
Then again…
Why the fuck would I do that for her? After everything that happened? It wasn’t my fucking job to care for her. She was on her own. She always had been on her own. That was for damn sure. She wanted to play the game… and she did. Or, she tried. And, hey, it was a good thing while it lasted.
“Reed, what’s on that mind of yours, baby?” Miss Neon-Green Thong whispered to me.
Smoke danced from her lips.
I looked at her and I grabbed the back of her head with my left hand.
I pulled her close to me and kissed her, tasting the smoke still in her mouth.
I broke the kiss right away.
I touched her hand and plucked the smoke from between her fingers and helped myself to another drag.
“Someone has a messed-up heart,” she whispered.
I looked at her. “No. Someone has a hard cock that needs to be tended to.”
Miss Neon-Green Thong lifted the covers and looked down at me.
Of course I was rock hard.
She was topless. Her body was against mine.
My blood had no problem pumping as needed, even if I was thinking about something else.
“Let me see what I can do about that,” she whispered.
She dipped her head down under the covers.
Her lips slid over the full head of my cock.
Then she kept going, groaning and fighting her way as she tried to take all of my cock into her mouth and throat.
I put my head back and took another drag of smoke.
I could come twenty times and smoke myself stupid…
But I was still going to have to face Abby today.
A FILTHY Enemy: a filthy line novel Page 6