The Significant Other (The Relationship Quo Series Book 4)

by Nicole Strycharz

  She dropped her spatula so I stood and she turned to wrap her arms around my neck. I held her against my body and squeezed until I lifted her toes off the floor. “I’m sorry.” I proclaimed again. It’s easier to say once it’s said.

  I kissed her ear and she pulled back for my lips. I tasted her mouth with tenderness but strength and she melted into my arms.

  The guys hooted then went back to their talks.

  “Where were you?” She asked in a whisper.

  “To cool my head.”

  “You scared me,” she slid down my body and stood as I let her back on her feet, “You scared us. We don’t know this place and you wouldn’t answer your phone-.”

  “I said I was sorry. I’m sorry.” I held her face. “I love you.”

  Blaze changed the subject, “Where’d you go?”

  I let Trix get back to cooking and turned to him, “Out and about. It’s crazy here. There are so many people.”

  Diego pointed to Trix, “Ma will have to navigate us.”

  We all laughed a little.

  She turned around and narrowed her eyes, “I was born here- I’m not from here. My Aunt and Uncle would take me, my sis and my cousin, Jenzy here on short trips but we were really little.”

  “Two out of three of you anyway.” I teased.

  She glared at me, “Don’t,” she warned but there was a playful glint in her eyes.

  Blaze grinned, “That’s right! Our little Trix used to be a tubby wubby.”

  Trix groaned.

  Diego tapped the table in thought, “That’s right…wasn’t her twin super skinny?”

  I took a handful of Blaze’s popcorn, “What twin? Trix ate her when they were babies-.” My laugh was cut short when Trixie elbowed me hard in the stomach. I made a ‘puh’ sound and rubbed my wound before wrapping her close.

  “I was a feeling eater,” she defended. “And I lost all the weight in elementary school.”

  “Hey,” Blaze winked at her, “Is your twin single?”

  Trixie grimaced, “She’s always single. Jolee, is a slut.”

  “Ouch,” said Diego.

  I nodded, “No, we all love Jolee but let’s face it, she’s a slut.”

  Blaze waggled his brows, “You know that from experience, Adam?”

  “Ew!” Trixie made a disgusted face, “Really, Blaze? God, keep your perverted thoughts to yourself. I would never share a guy with my sister.”

  Blaze looked genuinely put out.

  “Threesomes are healthy,” said Diego. “I love them. At least when they aren’t involving related people. Then I’m with Trix.”

  “They’re weird.” I said in a matter a fact tone, “Who the hell would sit and watch the person they’re with getting fucked by someone else?”

  Knox handed Trix more batter as he jumped in, “Sure you would say that. The thought of being intimate with anyone outside this room scares you to death, not to mention your jealousy knows no bounds.”

  “He’s right,” Trix announced.

  I gave them all a look, “I’m not jealous.”

  They all burst into laughs and I felt a twinge of annoyance.

  “If a guy,” Blaze began, “Even looks at Trixie’s ass, you grow legit fangs, man. Don’t even.”

  I crossed my arms, “I trust Trixie, I don’t trust men.”

  Diego took a bite of popcorn, “I don’t know what they’re talking about amigo, I look at Trix’s culo all the time and you never say nothing to me.”

  I gestured to Diego and looked at the others, “See… Thank you, Diego?”

  Knox shook his head and pulled back his hair in a bun, “Nah, you don’t mind us looking. You trust us. We mean men in general.”

  I don’t have much to say. It’s true. I don’t trust men. I never will again. Especially not with Trix.

  Blaze came in on it, “Pop swore men off cause some prick broke his heart. Now he’s scorned.”

  I swallowed as my face flushed, “Alright, that’s enough.”

  “Is that why?” Diego asked looking at Trix. “I always thought your tits turned him straight.”

  She shrugged because she knows this is touchy ground for me. “Adam is just Adam.” She said trying to end it.

  Blaze stuffed more popcorn in his mouth and talked around the chewing, “Do you ever miss cock? If I turned gay I would miss pussy.”

  We all winced.

  “Come on!” Said Knox, “You are so gross.”

  I tried not to look annoyed or he would keep poking. “Trixie’s pussy does me just fine.”

  She winked at me. They laughed.

  After dinner, we all went to bed. The guys went to their apartment and Trix and I lay in bed. I was propped up against the wall and she had her head across my stomach.

  Silent thought filled the room until she spoke her mind. “I wasn’t implying anything today. Before you left I mean. It was more my own insecurities talking.”

  I glanced down at her as she entwined our fingers. “I know.”

  She laced and unlaced out fingers over and over before smiling, “Do you remember how we met?”

  I smiled at the thought, “Yeah,” I tilted my head to see her, “At that competition. It was our first audition. We were supposed to perform separately since it was a competition. You weren’t eighteen, though.”

  She laughed, “You told them I was your backup singer so they never thought twice to ask. I’d of never gotten a chance on my own. What made you do it?”

  “I heard you singing in the bathroom of the place. You had great pipes and I felt you deserved a chance.”

  She turned on her side to look up at me, “It was a chance, though. Lucky we harmonized. Sounded like we’d been doing it forever. The guys were so cool about letting me join. I only said yes, because I thought you were gay and just being nice.”

  I laughed, “I was.”

  “Until the dressing room.” She sat up, laughing like a teenager, “You were so funny. All I wanted was an opinion.”

  I knocked the back of my head against the wall and fought the laughs. “That was a fucking mess.”

  “As soon as that bra came unsnapped, you were mine,” she made a fake villain laugh that got me cracking up before scooping her in my arms so she was close.

  “It wasn’t just your boobs.” I smelled her hair, “It was just you. Everything about you.”

  She drew her finger over the silhouette of a tree I had tattooed on my shoulder. In a circle around it, were the words, ‘one needs roots to grow.’

  “I guess what I should have asked today was,” she met my eyes but acted afraid of the words, “Do you miss it? Being with men? I wasn’t accusing you of anything, I swear. I just, was curious I guess. Do you miss it like Blaze said?”

  “You know I hate talking about this. That part of me is over. I’m not ashamed or anything. I liked men, yes everyone in the world knows that; I don’t anymore.”

  “I know,” she massaged my bicep, “Could you answer anyway?”

  “I fell in love with your soul, Trix. Your body happens to make me hard. That’s a plus but I fell in love with you.”

  Her hair fell across her face so I pushed it back.

  She drew a line down my chest, “I think you’re right. I think love is bigger than the body. I think what makes people gay is almost like a greater kind of love, you know? They love the other person so much that the body they are in doesn’t change that. I just… well, sexual appeal still helps.”

  I pushed her hand into my boxers, “Does it feel like you don’t appeal to me?” She wrapped her small fist around my cock as it hardened under our touch.

  “No.” She admitted. “But-.”

  I kissed her before she could argue. I can’t have her asking questions I don’t know the answer to and luckily she’s a submissive personality.

  I rolled us so I was on top and started pulling her sleeping shorts off. “I’ll show you what you do to me, Trix.”

  TRIXIE

  Yes. Well played A
dam.

  I got up the next morning in one of his shirts and went down to make us coffee.

  He really knows what he’s doing. He fucks me like he’s chasing demons. Chasing them out of his body by burying himself in mine.

  It makes him a bona fide orgasm slayer. He can rock me into the night and leave me pretty lifeless. My friends used to say that’s why I stay. I’m thinking between my legs. I might be. He really does wreck me between the sheets but it’s never gentle. It’s never making love. It’s fucking.

  I’m not exactly an R&B, slow grind type a girl, but the connection between Adam and I is more of a need, not want. He needs me. I need him.

  Today while he goes to buy the last of the essentials we need I catch a cab to the Club Rebel Vision. He wants me to talk to Mr. Urban and get our schedule and the set up down. I’m more social than he is so this has always been my job.

  I pulled up in front of a very old warehouse. It’s all brick with clusters of windows all over. It’s got a bunch of extremely skilled graffiti art along the sides. Wow. Kinda already love this place. The word Rebel is spelled with words that are painted to look like barbed wire and the word vision has a bullet hole where the ‘o’ is. The I’s are dotted with heavily lashed cat eyes. Just wow.

  I pulled my coat tighter and took the steps to the front door. It was locked so I gave it a good hard knocking. It’s a glass door but it’s tinted so I can’t see a thing. This place seems huge. I balled my fist and banged again when the door opened. My fist collided hard with a tall handsome black guy. He didn’t even make a sound from the force.

  “Oh, God!” I held my fist to my chest, “Sorry!”

  “It’s okay, little girl, I won’t bite.”

  He carries a winning smile. Almost too dashing.

  “Um,” I fumbled before pulling off my sunglasses. “I’m here to see Mr. Urban.”

  “You are?” he questioned.

  “Oh! My brain is scattered, uh, I’m part of the new band he hired. Riders of Beat. He said we could come and get a feel for the place, so here I am.”

  He looked me up and down the whole time I jabbered on. It was uncomfortable but whatever.

  “Mr. Urban don’t like walk-ins, hon.”

  I swayed on my feet from the cold, “Oh, well, I just. I uh… so I can’t come in?”

  “You can but he won’t like it.” He opened the door wider and I thought about leaving. I’m honestly too curious about this place. I went in against my better judgment and looked around. The place has a dark aura but strongly inviting.

  “Whoa,” I said on a breath, “This place is massive.”

  “This is just the upstairs, little girl. Come on,” he started walking and I followed. “My name is Zeus, by the way,” he told me.

  “Trixie,” I provided, “but everyone calls me Trix.”

  He glanced down at me, smiling in his eyes at some personal joke going on in his head. “I bet they do.”

  “So, the club is downstairs or upstairs?”

  He pointed to the ceiling as we neared an iron staircase that winded in a spiral. “You’re going to meet the boss first.”

  “Right,” I said taking a step up with him. It didn’t feel steady at all but Zeus didn’t look worried. The steps rattled making me a little iffy but when we got to the top he knocked at a solid white door.

  “What?” Someone yelled in a deep tone from the other side.

  “Fresh talent, Brother,” Zeus said back, looking me over. I flashed a tense smile. This all feels very Drug Lordy.

  There was no answer, so Zeus added, “Riders of Beat.”

  “Come on,” came the muffled reply.

  Zeus opened the door lazily and held it out of my way. I stepped in unsurely but before I could rethink it, Zeus was gone, the door closed behind him.

  Nice. After taking my eyes from the door I could appreciate the beauty of the spacious apartment before me. I think this is what Adam wants for us. Expensive and big. The living room was wide open with lots of window along the wall. They only have the view of the next door building. Nothing but wall. The inside is lined with a long white couch shaped like an L. Under the windows, there are long short shelves filled with cd’s, DVDs, Blu-rays, cassettes, VHS’, vinyl records and holy shit, 8-tracks!

  The floors are covered in thin white rugs and it made me look down at my boots.

  I heard a metal clinking sound and when I turned to my right I saw a whole corner devoted to work out equipment. It was all very impressive, as was the very large man-hunk that was coming my way.

  I think I swallowed my tongue. Yep. I feel it lodging in my throat. Oh, holy hell fire! He was as tall as Adam with the body of a porn star. His skin was glistening in sweat, and what I’m sure might be the tears of women that looked upon him. I’ve only seen one other guy this hot and it’s Adam. Adam is broad and toned as well, but I figured he was the last of his beautiful kind.

  Tattoos marked this guy all over. It was crazy. He had a skull and crossbones across his chest and all kinds of symbols up his arms. There was script up the side of his ribs and a spider web up his neck. He dried his face with a white towel so I could see his knuckle tats.

  “So you don’t have a name?” He asked. He was looking at me with pointed blue eyes.

  Was he talking to me? How long had he been doing that? What did I miss?

  “Ummm,” I hummed as my eyes roamed with a life of their own.

  A slow smile pulled across his lips, “What’s your name, Sweetheart?”

  I frowned like I had to think about it, “Uh, Trixie. Trix. They…ummm, call it- I mean, me, they call me, Trix.”

  He swung the towel behind his neck and held it at both ends as he appraised me. “Trix.” He tried the name out on those beautiful lips.

  I took in too much air and got light headed, “Uh, huh.”

  He took the towel down and tossed it into a basket before walking up to me. Oh, hello. No body space. Okay. He loomed like a hawk, and then circled me. What the fuck? And why the fuck won’t I talk?

  “I don’t like people in my apartment, Trix.” He stopped and stood before me. “I’ll make an exception for you, though.”

  I found my voice, “I’m the…the…new…the backup singer.”

  He smirked. He obviously knows the effect he has on people. “The band I hired?”

  I nodded. “I came to check you out and um, meet the club. I mean,” I shook my head, “Check out the club and meet you. We perform tomorrow night so…”

  He walked away and I scoped out his ass. It’s perfect, even in workout, sweat pant, things. This is how dumbfounded I was when I met Adam. He had this same effect on me. He still does when he gets that look in his eyes. That I want you, look. This guy is seriously his equal. I don’t know if I can work under both men. Not unless I was in the true sense ‘under’ them.

  Oh, snap! A vision of Adam and this guy in bed with me hit me in the face like a frying pan.

  “Sit,” he said as he went to stand beside a fairly large work desk. It was made of glass. There were white chairs on either side. What is it with this guy and white?

  I came to the chair he offered but before I could sit he was behind me, “Let me take your coat.”

  I tensed, “Oh, I’m okay.”

  “Let me.” He repeated.

  I gulped too loudly before unbuttoning the front. He took it off my shoulders and placed it behind my chair as I sat.

  He went around to his own side and sat down. He lounges in his chair like a king. “What do you want, Trix?”

  “We just…needed our schedule.”

  He opened a drawer to his side and grabbed a folder. He set it out and frowned as he flipped through the papers. “Here,” he slid me one and I leaned forward to look. I wrapped my long beige sweater around myself. My flannel shirt was one of Adam’s and it was long and comforting. I picked at my skinny jeans as I looked over the hours then took a quick pic with my phone.

  “This is great,” I said. “I can’t
believe we have a secured lineup like this. It’s so hard to catch a break.”

  He put away the rest of the folder, “You sing?”

  “Yeah,” I sat up, “I do backup vocals and tambourine. I write all our songs and I play a mean harmonica…”

  “Do you solo?”

  “Oh, no,” I felt myself going red. “That’s Adam’s gig. He’s the singer. I’m the…I back him.”

  He studied every blink. It’s unnerving.

  “So, what’s the story of this place?” I asked trying to switch topics.

  “It was a warehouse all through the early 1900’s. In the twenties, it became a stocking place for illegal alcohol. Bootleggers. Then it was a speakeasy until a prohibition officer raided it. Place went dormant for about fifty years and now it’s full of booze and bad decisions again.” He pointed to the floor, “The cellar is apparently haunted.”

  I rubbed my palms together, “I’m excited to work here. That’s a neat history.

  “Twenty-seven?” he asked.

  I squinted in thought, “I’m sorry?”

  “You’re about twenty-seven. Am I right?”

  My eyes bounced around the room like he read the information from somewhere. “I’m twenty-six.”

  “How old is the leader of your band?”

  “Thirty-one…”

  “And,” he paused to sit forward like he was about to tell me a secret. “I’m going to guess that you are the mother hen of your group. You look like a responsible girl, even with,” he gestured to my hair and I held a lock of it self-consciously. “So, I’m also guessing that by how you speak of, Adam, that you’re his girlfriend? Or are the two of you casual?”

  I opened my mouth but he interrupted, “-No…” he watched me some more, “You love him. Might be a little one sided, but, its love.”

  I felt really exposed and suddenly uncomfortable. “Is my personal connection to Adam a factor toward my working for you?” My question came out a little bitchier than I meant it too.

  “I like to know who’s working for me. That’s all.” He smiled in a way that made my stomach lurch and my head throb. God, he’s gorgeous. He just erased my memory of why I was bitchy. “Let’s go tour the club, Trix.” He came out of his chair and grabbed a hoodie from off the side of his chair. Aww, what a shame. That body should be on display all the time.