BeForeplay (8 page)

Jack and I are back to our pre-dating selves.
Tasha and I, of course, made up and I’ve come a long way with my
therapy. She and Danny were worried about me for a while. I had the
fuck it attitude toward everything after Derik passed. You know the
kind, where it doesn’t matter what you do because we’re all going
to die anyways? Yeah, I went through a couple of phases. Racing,
partying and one night stands. Then that turned into no racing and
a fuck buddy. Ten months later and I’m feeling like myself again.
No more one night stands or fuck buddies. I want to meet a nice man
and settle down. I’m not actively looking. I figure it’ll happen
when it happens.

This was just my beforeplay.

Now
Available

Chapter 1

June

I'm sitting in my living room doing some work
on my laptop when I hear the door open. I know it must be Danny
because Tasha is still at work. They’re my neighbors and best
friends. We don’t bother knocking anymore. As much as we run in and
out of each other’s homes, it’s too much of a hassle.

"Hey Danny. What's up?" I say, turning
around.

Damn
. He has someone with him who is
freaking gorgeous. I've never seen this guy before. I can't stop
staring. He's about 6'2 with dirty blonde shortly cropped hair, sky
blue eyes, a wide bright smile, strong jaw, broad shoulders and
pretty lips. Yup, pretty lips because they are just that. They
belong on a woman. I can tell he works out and keeps himself in
shape. I also know I’m drooling.
Wet t-shirt contest!
Danny
just chuckles. He knows what's going through my mind.

Danny introduces us. "Hey Sid. This is Sam.
Sam, this is Sidney." He comes and gives me a big bear hug.

Sam gives me a mega smile and holds out his
hand to shake. "Hi, Sidney. Nice to meet you."

I reach my hand out and take his. He has a
nice, firm handshake. I like him already. “You too.”

"I can’t believe Danny’s never told me he had
such a beautiful neighbor."

I smile at him. I know I’m blushing. I can
feel it in my cheeks. "So how do you two know each other?"

"We went to high school together." They say
at the same time.

We all laugh and I get a really good look at
him. "Did you move away? I don't remember seeing you around." I
already know the answer because if I would have seen him I wouldn't
have forgotten. He's so good looking you can’t forget.

"Yeah, I joined the Air Force after college.
I'm stationed in England right now."

I smile at him and think about him in a
uniform,
YUM!
"I'm so rude, sorry. You guys want to sit and
have something to drink?"

"No thanks. We just dropped by real quick to
see if you wanted to come over tonight for a coming home party.
He's here on leave for a couple weeks." Danny looks at his watch.
"Tasha will be home in about an hour to start cooking. You should
come over and visit with her while she gets everything ready."

He's not fooling me. "Visit huh? Not cook
anything myself or bring some of the goodies I already made?"

His expression changes. His eyes plead and
the corners of his mouth tip up slightly. "What did you make?
Please tell me it's my favorite."

I feign innocence. "If you like chewy
brownies with homemade peanut butter frosting, then yes."

Before I can get past the word brownies he’s
heading to fridge to get them. I love to cook and bake. I made them
for him anyways, he just got them sooner rather than later. Before
I make it into the kitchen he has them out, open and cut into. “You
have to share.”

He grumbles at me but shares them anyway,
only because he doesn't know I made them for him. Otherwise he
wouldn't share at all.

Sam acts like he hasn't had anything sweet to
eat in ten years and dives into them right behind Danny. They
praise my baking skills and I don't think I can smile any
bigger.

When Danny’s done licking his fingers, he
tells me, "Why don't you text Tasha and let her know you’ll come
over to help and visit with her."

“Okay.” I walk with them to the door.

"Thanks, Sid. So we'll see you in about an
hour then?"

"Yup, see ya then.” I look at Sam, “Nice
meeting you, Sam."

He turns his head and grins at me. "You too,
Sidney."

After they leave, I close the door. Shit, of
all the days to sit around in my bummy house clothes with my hair
piled on top of my head in a messy knot and no make-up on. I'm not
one to wear much make-up to begin with. I live in Florida for god
sakes. It would just melt off anyway.

I'm sure he was flirting a bit by the way he
was looking at me. I didn't see a wedding ring. That doesn't mean
anything nowadays though. If he's not married, he probably has a
girlfriend.

I can tell he knows he's good looking by the
way he carries himself. I hope he's not a dick. Really, dick or
not, I'd still like to see him in uniform. God, I love a man in
uniform. I'm not prejudice. It could be the delivery guy or a
mechanic. As long as a man's sporting a uniform, I'm gawking. Mmm
hmm.

I must need to get laid. It’s been a while
now that I think about it.

I text Tash to see if she needs me to do
anything before she gets home…and, of course, get the low
down
on Sam.

Me: DO NOT REPEAT! Is he
married/girlfriend?

Tasha: I see you met Sam. Neither

Me: YES!! I'm helping you cook. What do you
want me to do before you get here?

Tasha: Nothing. Be there in about 30.

Me: Okie Dokie. Love Ya!

Tasha: You too!

I think I'll run to the liquor store and pick
up a few things. I'll get Sam a welcome home bottle of JW Blue
Label. It'll be a 'thank you' for serving our country too. I change
clothes quickly, put my sandals on, grab my purse and head out the
door. I wonder if they've got everything they need yet.

I walk across the yard and go into Tash's
house. I yell out, "Danny!"

Sam walks into the living room wearing only a
pair of shorts. It looks like he just got out of the shower.

Damn, what a body and the tattoos. Just an
extra helping of the yumminess he already has going on.

"He had to run over to his mom's. Did you
need him or is it something I can help you with?"

"I...ah, I'm heading to the liquor store and
was wondering if you guys needed anything."

"Well, if you don't mind, could I ride along?
I'd like to get a few more things. I went to the store this
afternoon but, with word getting out about me being home, I think
I’d better get some more."

"I don't mind at all." Nope. Not. At.
All.

"Let me finish getting dressed and we can
head out."

"Okay. I'll go start the car and get the air
going." I leave, go get my baby started and back her into the
driveway from the garage.

I watch Sam's face as he walks through the
yard. I love the look on people's faces when they see my car. I
know girls shouldn't love their cars like I do, but I can't help
it. She has so many great memories and is so beautiful.

My guess is Danny didn't mention my baby to
him. Yup. I'm a proud mama
.

The look on his face is priceless. He's
stunned. He gets in and looks around the inside without saying a
word. He’s rubbing the leather on the seat and a slow smile creeps
across his lips.

"Let me tell you about my baby. She's a 1970
Chevelle LS6 with a 454 4 speed, and is about as bad ass as they
come. I had her painted Cherry Candy Red with a high-gloss for
depth. I want people to see her and feel like they could stick
their hand in the paint. I also bought the softest leather I could
find for the seats."

I'm impressed with this girl. She's
beautiful. She has long dark brown hair, light blue eyes, and lips
that are begging to be kissed. She’s maybe five foot three, thin
like a runner, a decent rack, a great ass, and her face isn't
painted all up. Plus her car is fucking awesome!

Something has to be seriously wrong with her.
Why else is she single? She's beautiful, seems nice, speaks
intelligently, and has a man’s wet dream of a car. I’d bet she is
C.R.A.Z.Y. Danny has only said good things about her though.

"If I'm really, really nice will you let me
drive back?" I ask her hoping to test out the speed.

"Not a chance in hell! Ask Danny. He's been
begging for a year now. No way! Not happening. She's my baby. If
something happens to her at the hands of someone else, I'd
literally hurt someone."

"Okaaay." I’m a little shocked at how
attached she is to this car.

We pull in the parking lot of the liquor
store, get out and go in. She grabs a buggy so I walk along with
her. She’s putting all sorts of stuff in the cart. Three cases of
different kinds of beer. Vodka, tequila, gin, mixers and sodas.

“Damn girl! Please tell me you’re not going
to drink all of that by yourself. Or are you having a party
too?”

“No. Just a couple things I’ll drink but I
needed to stock the house back up for when I have company.”

“Good. You had me scared for a minute.”

I grab a couple cases of beer and we head to
the checkout. When we get to the counter the cashier says, “Hey,
Cherry. How’re you doing?”
Cherry?

She smiles at him and replies, “I’m good,
Jim. Can I get a bottle of Johnnie Walker Blue Label, please?”

Damn! She must make some good money. I wonder
what she does. She has an expensive home and vehicle. I know she’s
single and lives alone.

I don’t have to wait long because a minute
later I have my answer.

When Jim gets the bottle and starts ringing
her up he asks, “Will you be at the strip…”

I shut down as soon as I hear the word strip.
Yup. I knew it. She's a stripper. Fuck the luck.

There’s nothing wrong with strippers, just
the crazy ones I’ve fucked, so I have sworn off fucking strippers
all together.
Damn it!
Nope, no it doesn’t matter how put
together she looks or is, I'm not going there EVER. AGAIN. She just
got put in the friend zone.

When she's paid, I check out and we leave. I
load everything in the trunk and we head back to the house.

I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. How
could I not be? I know one thing, I'm going to throttle Danny. He
never said
anything
about her profession. I ask him to
introduce me to someone and this is what he does to me. I bet he’s
laughing his fucking ass off.
Bastard!

Sidney glances over at me on the drive and
asks, "How long are you staying with Danny and Tasha?"

"The whole two weeks. I prefer to stay with
friends. I love my parents but they're used to it being just the
two of them. Sometimes they forget I'm home on leave and I
do
not
want a repeat of what happened the last time I came home.”
I shudder just having to say it. “I have cousins that I'm close
with. They're like brothers to me but they all live together. With
five of them, sometimes it's too much, even for me. You’ll meet
them. They're all coming to the party tonight and you'll see
exactly what I mean." I roll my eyes and grin.

She gives a light chuckle. "That bad,
huh?"

I shrug my shoulders. She'll have to see for
herself. I bet the tag team goes after her. That's what I call my
twin cousins. They're fucking nuts. There aren’t many boundaries
they won’t cross.

When we pull up in the driveway, I notice
Tasha is home. We take everything of Sam’s, and a few things I
picked up for Tash and Danny, into their house. I give her a big
hug then we start to put stuff in the coolers.

I love this girl. She's had a hard life
because of the way her family is. They're a bunch of drunken
assholes with men coming and going because of her needy mother.
We're kind of the same in a way. She never became her mother and
isn't a drunk like the rest of them. Just like I never became
either of my parents.

"Okay girlie! What do you want me to do when
we get all of this stuff put away?"

"Well, that depends. Do you want to slice and
dice or mix and stir?" I hear the smile in her voice because she
knows which one I’ll pick.

I stand up and look at her. "Duh, mix and
stir of course," we both laugh.

“Okay ladies,” Sam interrupts. “I’m going to
go take a nap unless you need my help with something else.”

Tasha tells him, “No. You go get rested up
for your party, we’ve got everything else covered. Thanks,
Sam.”

I smile and tell him, “Sweet dreams.” He nods
and heads down the hall.

I look over at Tash and she has an odd
expression on her face. "Everything okay? You look a little
off."

"Yeah, just a long work day.” I can tell
she’s lying. Something is on her mind.

“Spill. What is it?”

“Okay, I know you want the scoop on Sam so
here it is. He's a manwhore. I love him and he never promises
anything more than a good time to the girls he’s with, but still.
He's a nice guy and a good friend but I don't think you should get
involved with him. Besides, he leaves to go back to England in a
couple of weeks. I love you too much to see you get involved in
something like that right now."

I stop dumping the ingredients into the bowl
for the crab salad and sigh. "You don't have to worry about that. I
don't think he's interested in me. He seemed to be flirting with me
on our way to the store and then, on our way home, he was
umm…different.” I start adding the stuff to the bowl again. “I
don't know how to explain it, just different. Plus, you know I’m
not looking for a fling. I mean, the man is gorgeous but I’ve been
out of my booty call stage for a while now. Although, if I look at
him long enough I’m sure I could be put right back in it."