Permanent Lines (5 page)

“Does Kayla know this?” I asked now, wondering who knew, especially Kayla, who I was
sure would have a field day with this information.

He shook his head, biting down on his bottom lip nervously. “No, no one knows. So
keep your mouth shut.”

I knew Kayla couldn’t have known even though I asked the question. She would’ve been
on my doorstep within seconds had she found out. Kayla wasn’t uptight, actually far
from it, but after some shit went down with her sister and Kayla’s ex, Kayla had a
close grip on Maddy, watching out for her every move, making sure that no one hurt
her sister again—protective was an understatement.

“My lips are sealed,” I told him. “But I’m not going to lie if she asks.”

He glared at me, his irritation evident.

“Dude, it’s Kayla!” I reiterated. “I tell the girl everything. I’m not about to lie
to her.”

Micah’s shoulders relaxed and his jaw loosened, realizing what he was asking and knowing
it wouldn’t be feasible. Kayla’s and my relationship was never normal, and to an outsider
they would probably think that something was there, but it had never been that way—she
was actually engaged to be married to the wealthiest man in Manhattan. She was the
closest thing I had to family and someone I could relate to on more levels than one.
We just clicked … instant best friends.

“Yeah, I know,” he said somberly, still washing dishes as I wiped and listened. “I
actually don’t care. It’s Maddy; she’s worried Kayla’s gonna go ape.”

I tilted my head back and forth, contemplating what Kayla would really think. “I don’t
know,” I began, “she might be cool with it. She knows you’re not some fuck-up or an
ass just looking for a quick fuck.”

He shrugged it off. “Eh, we’ll see.”

Fifteen minutes later the bar was cleaned, the stools flipped up onto the tables to
do a quick mop of the place. Kara’s friends had already left, waving goodbye. One
gave me a stern look, making sure I knew not to hurt her friend. I nodded in acknowledgment,
letting her know as much as I could from across the bar that I was a decent guy—just
a typical one.

I threw my dirty rag in the laundry bag hanging on the back of the kitchen door before
Micah clasped my shoulder and told me to go ahead; he could get the rest.

“Thanks, buddy,” I replied before meeting Kara at the end of the bar where she was
waiting.

My devilish grin was on my face as I approached her, grabbing her hand to lead us
to the back staircase to my apartment. Her hand was small and delicate and incredibly
smooth as I caressed the top with my thumb.

The sexual tension that I held on to all evening watching Kara shake her ass on the
floor was alive and I was ready to burst, making me push her against the inside of
the door once we stepped inside. Our lips immediately locked and our tongues slipped
inside each other’s mouth, wrapping and caressing aggressively.

My hands held firmly on her waist while hers found the hem of my shirt, pulling it
up and over my head. The girl was focused and to the point; I liked how she worked.
She was exactly what I needed right then. Her lips slid to the side of my face while
her hands started to work the top of my pants.

“Where’s your room?” she whispered seductively in my ear, making my cock rise with
excitement.

Responding with action instead of words, I picked her up, letting her legs wrap around
my waist. Her mouth was back on mine, moving at a pace I wasn’t sure I could keep
up with as I walked us to the back of the apartment, pushing open the door to my room
with my foot.

Grasping the fact that this girl probably liked it rough, I tossed her down on the
bed so that she was on her back looking up at me. Immediately, she pulled her dress
up the length of her body then over her head, revealing red, sexy as hell lace panties
and a matching bra. Just with the image alone, her platinum hair draped over her tanned
skin, my cock grew impossibly harder.

I watched her move onto her knees and crawled to where I was standing at the end of
the bed, looking up at me with her tongue pressed against her upper teeth as she finished
what she started with my jeans, letting them fall to the floor after. Her hand cupped
my balls and cock through my boxers, getting a grip on what I had to work with. I
wasn’t about to toot my own horn, but God had blessed me with a sizable package—this
I knew and was by no means shy to admit.

My eyes drifted shut, lulled by the comfort and sensation her hand provided, imagining
in my head what that beautiful mouth and aggressive tongue could do wrapped around
my length. I didn’t have to wait much longer to find out—seconds later her hands slid
inside the seams and my boxers were off no more than a second later.

Kara’s mouth was warm and held tight around my cock, taking the tip to the back of
her throat easily. The feeling was overwhelming and so damn good. I could only allow
her to take a few strokes more before I gently moved her face back and brought her
mouth back up to mine—I wasn’t going to lose my shit this early in the game. Our tongues
and lips moved again synchronously and assertively together. Slowly I inched her back
to the mattress, letting my body cover hers.

My hand gripped her tit as my mouth skimmed her ear then down her neck, sliding my
tongue to the top of her chest. Kara’s back arched and she moaned erratically, making
the need to be inside her grow even more. Pleasurable moans killed me every fucking
time, pushing me to the brink of ending foreplay, and onto getting much more.

My hands slid down her sides and over her curves, slipping beneath the elastic of
her panties. Her hips lifted slightly, allowing me to push them down and off. I reached
to the drawer of my nightstand, pulling out a condom before sitting back on my heels
to slide it over my length. It was in that moment that I froze, questioning what the
fuck I was doing as a picture of a different woman popped into my head.

Amelia.

I closed my eyes, trying to erase it. Amelia was just a girl, a girl that left me
high and dry with no word or anything after. She was nothing to me. I tried to focus
on Kara, all tits and ass in front of me, but it was no use. Amelia was there, lying
on my bed, naked for my eyes only—the most beautiful girl I’d ever seen.

Dammit!

I dropped my chin to my chest, pissed off at myself. I couldn’t believe I was letting
her get to me, allowing her to consume my brain
again
when I had a hot, willing, and ready female spread eagle in front of me. But I couldn’t.
I couldn’t think about anything but her. It was her … again …

I chucked the condom across the room before looking down at Kara, who was confused
as all hell, propped up on her elbows with an adorable wrinkle between her eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I told her, shaking my head in frustration, “I can’t do this.”

She didn’t reply as I got to my feet, grabbing my boxers from the floor and slipping
them on. I reached for her discarded dress on the side of the bed, handing her the
tight black number before making sure she knew that it had nothing to do with her.

“I’ve just got some personal shit going on that I need to get over first,” I explained,
feeling like a prize asshole.

She seemed okay with it as she slipped the black material over her head.

“Yeah, no—whatever,” she answered, blankness in her tone.

I had a feeling she wasn’t used to rejection and I felt bad since that was exactly
what I was doing to her. Truly, the girl was fucking hardcore amazing—I’d have been
all over her shit if it weren’t for Amelia. But Goddammit, Amelia controlled me every
fucking day. I couldn’t fucking handle it anymore. The girl ruined me. I was going
out of my motherfucking mind!

I called Kara a taxi before walking her down and out front as it pulled up to the
sidewalk. “Have a good night,” I said and kissed her on her cheek before holding the
back door open for her to leave.

She didn’t answer, only gave me a tight, forced grin instead. I think it’s safe to
say that I wouldn’t be seeing her again. And until I got my shit straight with Amelia,
it was probably a good idea anyway.

“Mmm, smell these flowers.” Amelia held the bouquet of pastel flowers up to my face
after sniffing them herself. Her face was adorable, all bright and happy. It was a
visual I knew I would never forget.

I sniffed them just to appease her. They smelled all right—they were flowers, so they
all pretty much smelled the same to me, but I smiled and nodded my head, making her
believe their scent was the most amazing thing that I had ever inhaled in my life.

She exhaled, putting them back in the cone thing that was holding them in the water.
“I love the way spring flowers smell,” she gushed.

It wasn’t spring yet, but apparently sidewalk florists carried the flowers already.
The sidewalk was awash with bright colors and scents. Amelia had given me the tour,
making me smell daffodils, tulips, lilies, lilacs, and something called hyacinths.
The lilacs I was particularly unsure of. They weren’t bad looking, but holy shit,
they made me sneeze like fucking crazy. It seemed to make Amelia laugh, though, so
whatever; everything else seemed all right—as much as a shitload of flowers would.

Since the assorted tulips seemed to tickle her fancy the most, I picked them up, pulling
my wallet from my back pocket.

“No!” she sternly insisted, taking them from my hand and putting them back. “Flowers
are a waste of money.”

I look at her, puzzled, especially since she just got all hot in the biscuit just
by their smell. I thought all girls liked when a guy bought them flowers.

“They just die after a few days.” She shrugged her shoulders and kept walking, looking
at the next stand full of knockoff purses and sunglasses.

“So, if I wanted to buy you some kind of flower or plant or something, what would
I buy you, then? Aren’t you supposed to buy girls shit like that?”

Amelia’s eyes squinted and her lips pursed to the side like she was thinking, still
holding the handbag that she was just looking at in her hand.

“A cactus!” she said enthusiastically before turning back to perusing.

I followed closely behind, picking up a pair of sunglasses and putting them on to
see what they looked like on me in the mirror. “A cactus?” I questioned. Cacti weren’t
something I’d ever bought for a girl—or anyone, for that matter. They were strange
and really dull-looking, in my opinion.

She stopped again, looking at me to explain. “Yeah, you don’t have to really do much
to take care of them. You can leave them for days without watering them, and just
when you think they should be dead, they’re still alive. They’re like a plant that
keeps going without needing constant nourishment,” she said nonchalantly before turning
again to look around, this time picking up these crazy ass sunglasses that curved
up at the ends, making her look like one of those librarians in the sixties or seventies—cat-eye
glasses, I think they’re called. I don’t know, but they looked hilarious on her.

I nodded my head. “A cactus. Got it.”

My eyes jolted open, making me sit up straight in my seat. I looked around to make
sure no one was looking at me. I was shocked to check my watch and see that I slept
for most of the flight—I never was one to fall asleep in cars or planes or really
anything that moved, but since I had only gotten a couple hours of sleep after Kara
left last night before having to be at the airport, I guess I could understand why
I was so tired.

My seat started shaking from behind, making me roll my eyes. Why in fuck’s sake I
kept bringing this dumbass with me on trips was beyond me.

“Sweet dreams, handsome?” Micah asked, his head over my shoulder, peeking through
the space between the seats.

I turned slightly, hitting my palm against his forehead and making him fall backwards
into his seat, almost making him hit the less-than-enthused guy next to him.

“Sorry,” I heard him say in an embarrassed tone, causing me to snicker before slipping
my headphones over my head to listen to music.

My stomach was in knots worrying that I had talked in my sleep, knowing perfectly
well who I was dreaming about. As much as I loved seeing her face, I hated that the
only time we spent together was in my dreams, and I hated how fucking much I loved
it regardless. It was almost like she was a figment of my imagination. I hated it.
Never had someone consumed me like Amelia did and I hated every fucking minute of
it. I needed her to go away and leave me the fuck alone. I tried calling. I tried
texting. She never answered or responded, and now her damn phone was disconnected.
There was no hope of getting back in touch, together, or anything. It was done, over
with! I just needed my brain to understand that.

It was just after nine in the morning when our plane landed. Since we were the last
ones to show (most everyone got here yesterday for registration), we had to go right
to the track. It was a huge Pro Circuit, one of the races I most look forward to every
year because there was good competition and a nice prize check for the winner.