by Naomi Porter
I hit the doorbell again as irritation flooded my veins. This woman wouldn’t ignore me.
The door flung open.
Rita glowered with her plump lips puckered. “What are you doing here?” she whispered through clenched teeth.
I took her in, raking my gaze over her tan legs and those damn short-as-fuck shorts. Her nipples were teasing me. Who needed food? Not me. I’d suck on her little buds all night with my cock deep inside her, and it would be all I needed.
“You invited me.”
“I rescinded the offer.”
“No take-backs. That would be rude.”
“Is that Nik, Rita?”
“Yes, Granny.” She sighed. “I guess you can come in.”
I smirked at the disgust in her voice. She so wanted me.
“Don’t sound so excited.”
“Shut it. Let’s just get this over with so you can leave.” When she closed the door and went in front of me, I swatted that pert ass of hers.
She yelped, face instantly red. Her wide, dilated eyes betrayed her. “Dream on, lover boy.”
She definitely wanted me.
“How are you, Nik?” Lucia asked as I appeared in the living room. Rita had stormed off, to the kitchen I assumed.
“Fine, Ms. Rocha. And you?” I leaned over and kissed her cheek just as I used to when I was a little boy. I hadn’t seen her for the last eight years while I served in the navy. I’d joined straight out of high school. Come to think of it, I didn’t recall ever seeing Rita around while I lived with Nana Bea.
“Oh, getting old. Have you seen Bea? How is she this week?”
“I saw her Monday. She’s doing well.”
“That’s good. Rita is taking me to see her tomorrow. I can’t drive anymore.” She twisted her lips. “You look good, Nik. Handsome as ever.”
“Thank you, Lucia.” She was just as sweet as my nana.
“Dinner is ready, Granny. I’ll serve it up. Two or three pigs’ feet for you, Nik?”
I choked on my spit. She hadn’t been kidding. Sick.
Lucia cackled, slowly making her way to the table. “Stop teasing him, Rita. She made her delicious spaghetti sauce. One taste and you’ll be hooked.”
I was already hooked on Rita’s smart-ass mouth. I needed to feel her full lips wrapped around me.
I thought I smelled Italian food, but Rita got me. Little shit. I’d have to teach her a lesson about teasing a starving man. And my appetite wasn’t all about food either.
“I was hoping he’d run out the door.” Rita snickered as she leaned over the table, placing a bowl of salad and garlic bread on it.
That fine ass stole my attention.
“Be nice,” Lucia chided. “Sit down, Nik.” She pointed at the chair at the head of the table. There were two place settings on the sides, and Lucia took one. That put Rita on my right side.
“Water, iced tea, or wine?” Rita asked.
“Water. Thanks.”
She arched her brow, seemingly surprised by my answer. I didn’t drink when I had to work, which was in two hours.
A glass of water and a bowl of spaghetti appeared in front of me. The slight brush of Rita’s breast against my shoulder nearly unraveled me at the seams.
Was she teasing me on purpose? Tempting me?
Rita seemed different from the usual type of woman I screwed. But I couldn’t put my finger on what the difference was compared to others. I didn’t do relationships or have girlfriends. I just liked to fuck. It’d been my experience women couldn’t be trusted, so I was a one-and-done kind of man. My opinion of the opposite sex was why Nana wanted me to stay away from Rita. She didn’t want me to use Rita for a night and then never see her again. It would undoubtedly make life complicated with her living across the street and our grandmas being best friends.
Shit. I should have thought this through before coming over.
“Eat, Nik, before it gets cold,” Lucia told me as she put a slice of garlic bread on my plate. So much like my nana.
I nodded, twirling my fork in the noodles. My mouth watered from the aroma. Hard as she tried not to, Rita’s hazel-green eyes kept flicking my way. I stuck a large bite into my mouth and groaned. I couldn’t help the obscene sound I made; the sauce was the best I’d ever tasted.
“See. You’re hooked, aren’t you?” Lucia grinned as she forked a bite.
I turned my attention to Rita, my heart beating uncharacteristically fast. “I am hooked. I may want seconds or thirds.”
“There’s plenty.” Lucia didn’t notice Rita and me staring at each other.
The heat radiating off Rita would be my undoing. Now that I was in her granny’s house, having dinner, I remembered all the times Ms. Rocha had fed me dozens of popsicles and cookies by the handful. Suddenly her words ran through my head as I held Rita’s gaze. Eat all the cookies you want, Nik. My sweet Rita isn’t here to enjoy them.
It all came back to me then. Lucia’s sad face each time she mentioned Rita. The little girl who lived thousands of miles away on the east coast because Lucia was estranged from her daughter. Nana had told me Rita’s dad was an alcoholic and controlling. He wouldn’t let Rita and her mom visit Lucia. It fucking broke my heart back then.
And now? I was at war with my fucking conscience.
I couldn’t be a selfish jerk and dirty up Lucia’s sweet Rita. I couldn’t break my promise to Nana.
Shit. Why did I come?
No question Rita wanted me as much as I wanted her. But I wasn’t the right guy for her. I’d only hurt her because no woman would ever have my heart or the power to destroy it. I could tell Rita was the kind of woman who would want a relationship, a commitment, and I couldn’t give her one.
“Do you need help unpacking, Nik?” Lucia’s voice painfully cut through my thoughts.
“No. I got it.”
“Rita can help you.”
“Granny, I’ve got work.”
“I don’t need help, but thanks for the offer, Lucia.”
“Two people will get the job done faster.” This little old woman was relentless, much like my nana. It was no wonder they were best friends.
“My girlfriend will help me.” Where the hell did that come from?
“Ooh. Bea never said you had a girlfriend. That’s so nice. You should bring her over for dinner.” Her gaze moved to Rita. “Don’t you think? What are you making Sunday?”
Daggers were shot my way. It was better if Rita hated me, then she wouldn’t want me. Though I didn’t know what this stabbing pain in my chest was all about.
“That’s okay, Lucia.”
“No, no. You come to dinner on Sunday with your girlfriend.”
“Excuse me.” Rita was out of her chair and disappeared from my sight.
Dammit.
Why did the draw to Rita have to be stronger than my resolve?
“What’s your girlfriend’s name?”
I looked at Lucia, baffled. I blurted the first name to pop into my head. “Kira.” I shortened Shakira’s name in case Lucia recognized it.
“Oh, Kira is a pretty name.”
“Yeah…” I took a gulp of water, hoping it washed down the disgust I felt with myself.
I looked up when Rita appeared. Tension filled the room to a suffocating level. As much as it would potentially hurt both of us, I hoped she hated me and would stay away.
“Ready for seconds?” Rita asked but didn’t wait for an answer. She snatched my plate and took it to the stove.
“Sure.” What else was there to say? I watched her slop noodles and sauce onto the dish. She did it with attitude, and those goddamned pursed lips gave away her frustration. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t turn me on even more.
“There’s more if you want.” She set my plate in front of me.
I almost grabbed her by the wrist. Almost. The need to touch her was like nothing I’d ever felt. Sure I touched women when I had sex with them. But I didn’t want to hold or caress them. I wanted to plow into them
with my rock-hard cock. I wanted to do that to Rita too, but it went deeper than fucking. It was the craziest shit I’d ever experienced.
Lucia talked about the recent fires up and down the state of California. I nodded and made the typical sounds to show I was interested in what she had to say. But I wasn’t.
All my thoughts revolved around Rita. Rita Rocha, who now avoided eye contact and only responded to questions in the fewest words possible.
As I finished the last bite, I was ready to go. I couldn’t take being in the same room with Rita. I wanted to confess that I didn’t have a girlfriend. But it didn’t matter. She was off-limits. I’d known she was before I moved in across the street. But here I was hours later, eating with her and Lucia. I’d always been a glutton for punishment.
“Thank you for dinner. It was delicious.” I wiped my hands on the napkin.
“You’re welcome. Rita is an excellent cook.” Lucia smiled proudly at Rita. “When you come on Sunday with your girlfriend, she’ll make something extra special.”
Rita groaned as she cleared the table. I felt bad for her, which was strange. Lucia was just as pushy as my nana.
“If she’s available, I’ll bring her.” I pushed back my chair. “I should be going. I work tonight.”
“Oh yes. Don’t want to be late for work. Thank you for coming, Nik.” Lucia gingerly stood. “I’ll tell Bea what a good boy you are.” She patted my arm. “Walk him to the door, Rita.”
“I can find it.”
“Oh no, Rita will see you out.”
“Come on,” Rita snapped after tossing a dish towel onto the counter. “Don’t want you to get lost finding your way out.”
I snorted at her sarcasm. It would be my horrible luck that I liked everything about the woman I wasn’t supposed to like or pursue. Maybe that was it. I only wanted Rita because she was forbidden. That had to be it.
She opened the door and gestured, waving me out. “Make sure to be sick or have to work Sunday, okay?”
Her request stopped me in my tracks. “You want me to lie to Lucia?”
“Don’t act appalled. I’m sure you’re quite familiar with lying.” She started to close the door, but I stuck my foot in the way.
“Come here.” I reached for her hand and tugged her out onto the porch.
She gasped and swatted her hand at me. “What are you doing? Don’t touch me.”
“Why? Because I get your juices flowing?”
“Believe me, the only juice you get flowing is stomach acid. And even if I did like you, I don’t screw around with another woman’s man.”
I grinned, caging her in against the wall. “So you do want to screw me.”
“Is that all you can think about? No. I don’t. I don’t even like you. Now go on, I have a date to get ready for.”
The muscles in my neck coiled. “What date? With who?”
“Neighbor Nik, that is none of your business.” She ducked under my arm and had the door open before I could stop her. “Good-bye.”
“You don’t really have a date.”
“Oh, but I do, and he gets my juices flowing like a waterfall.” She closed the door and left me standing there with my hands fisted. I was ready to beat the crap out of any man who dared to touch Rita Rocha.
What the fuck was happening to me?
I stalked across the street to my house on the verge of exploding. I couldn’t feel whatever the hell I was feeling for Rita. It had to stop. Stop now.
After work, I’d drink a little and find me a blonde to bring home. I couldn’t be with a brunette anymore. I’d imagine she was Rita.
3
Rita
“RITA, YOUR ORDER is up!”
I tucked my phone into my back pocket, grabbed the Belgian waffle and sausage from under the heat lamp, and took it to my customer.
“Hey, what’s up?” Toni hip-bumped me while I stewed near the water station.
I hadn’t told her about Nik moving in or having dinner with him at my place. I dreaded going home because this evening, Granny had wanted him to bring his girlfriend to dinner.
I pinched my face tight, bracing for Toni’s reaction. “It’s a guy.”
“Excuse me? Did you say guy?” Toni’s blue eyes darkened as she narrowed them at me.
“He moved into Bea’s house across the street three days ago. Her grandson, Nik.”
Toni grabbed my arm and squeezed. “Three days ago!” she whisper-shouted and squeezed my innocent arm even harder. “After work, you’re telling me everything. Promise?”
I nodded. “Promise.”
We were in my car two hours later with the AC blasting. Toni had a stupid grin on her face. I knew she’d totally be into me hooking up with Nik, but I didn’t want to only have sex with him. There was something about him, a vibe that made me want so much more than dirty, likely mind-blowing sex.
“Sucks he has a girlfriend.”
“Yeah.”
“Steal him away from her.”
I glared at Toni. She was ruthless when it came to men and getting what she wanted. Me, not so much. I respected people’s relationships. I wouldn’t appreciate a woman trying to take my man away from me, like the bitch who stole my dad away from my mom.
“No.”
“Don’t be such a goody-goody.”
“I’m not. But I do live by a code.”
Toni snorted, tossing her blonde locks off her shoulder. “If the boy cheats on his woman, he was never really hers to begin with.”
“I don’t agree.” Not entirely anyway. Even if a person wasn’t really in love with their significant other, they should end it and not cheat. I never thought my dad really loved my mom. The way he yelled at her and hit her was proof. But did he leave? Divorce her? Hell no. He fucked around all the time until Soria forced him to leave my mom.
“So, what are you going to do?”
“Nothing. He’s my neighbor. Bea’s grandson. I’ll treat him as a friend.”
“Ooh, you friend-zoned him.”
“Yup.” And it was torture every time I saw him.
“Good luck not crossing your imaginary line.”
“I don’t need luck.” I tapped my hand on the steering wheel. “Granny wouldn’t want me with him anyway.”
“How do you know?”
“I just know.”
“You’re an idiot. You don’t know shit.”
“And you’re a bitch. Now get out of my car. Granny is waiting for me.” I wasn’t angry at Toni. Just irritated because she might be right like always.
She laughed, shoving my shoulder. “Neighbor Nik has you all moody and sexually frustrated. He’ll be taken out of the friend zone in a week.” She winked and got out of the car. Before closing the door, she said, “I can’t wait to meet him!”
I rolled my eyes at my best friend. She was probably right about Nik getting out of the friend zone, but only if he ended it with his girlfriend.
I wouldn’t be the other woman or the reason a relationship ended.
4
Nik
I RAPPED ON my boss’s office door like a respectful employee. When Wolf said, the boss wants your ass in his office, I had nearly punched him… for no reason. I just needed to blow off some steam. Of course, I hadn’t hit Wolf. He was a scary motherfucker, and I valued my life.
“Enter.”
“What’s up?” I stayed in the doorway, hoping this wouldn’t be a long talk. I hated talking.
“Shut the door and sit.” Derek folded his hands on his desk.
“What’s going on?” I dropped into the chair beside him and eyed the monitors on the table. Derek was in charge of security and the bouncers at Club Rendezvous. He was a good guy. We weren’t all that close, but we sometimes partied together after hours.
“You tell me. I hear you’re meaner than usual these days.”
I smirked, cocking my head. “Says who?”
“The girls… Wolf.”
“Fucking Wolf. Did he get his feelings hurt when I
snapped at him yesterday?” Wolf was twice my size and a fucking biker. A one-percenter. I was sure he didn’t think twice about me. “What girl complained?”
Derek crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “Doesn’t matter. What’s got you wound up and rejecting pussy?”
“Ah, I see. Monica complained.” I knew the bitch was pissed at me because I turned down her offer to suck me off in the supply closet three nights in a row. She apparently missed my cum after a week of not getting it. Whatever. I didn’t want her anymore, not with Rita fucking Rocha living across the street, taunting me with her tight little ass in shorts that should be illegal to wear.
Derek chuckled, shaking his head. “Dude, it’s Monica. That pussy might be well worn, but her mouth can handle giant cocks with ease.”
“And pencil dicks like yours will get swallowed.” I so didn’t want to be talking about this with Derek. Being a smart-ass was just my way of derailing an unpleasant topic.
He slapped his leg, laughing. “Fuck off, asshole.”
“Just calling it how I see it.”
“Enough. You’re deflecting. I’m worried. Thought I’d ask what’s up.”
“Nothing’s up.” Quite literally.
“I heard through the pussy grapevine that your dick is broken. I got some shit in my desk to help with that… just sayin’.”
I saw red. “Which one of the bitches was talking shit about my dick?”
“All of them. You took ’em home and then left them horny and shit? That’s bad form, my friend.”
I scratched the top of my head. “It’s a woman. She’s cock-blocking me and doesn’t even know it.”
Derek’s blue eyes went wide. “You’re shitting me. You really can’t get it up?”
This was why I never talked. “Fuck off.”
“Man, this is serious. But it’s an easy fix. If she’s cock-blocking you, it’s because you like her.” He tapped his chin with this finger. “You need to fuck her. It’ll get you back on track.”
“Great advice, Dr. Derek.” He wasn’t usually such a pig. He had his own woman issues and had recently started rejecting the ladies too. I was sure he was blue-balled like me. “She’s off-limits.”