Authors: N. E. Henderson
“Nonsense, it wouldn’t be gentlemanly of me if I
didn’t carry them to your car,” he says, while stepping off the sidewalk and
walking in the direction of my car.
“I’m in the black Porsche,” I say as I unlock the
passenger side door, and let him put everything in the seat. There is no room
in my trunk or back seat. “Thank you for your help,” I say, shutting the door.
“What are all your things doing in your
car? Are you moving?” he asks as he follows me around to the driver’s
side.
Hmm…personal much!
“I moved out of my apartment this morning,” I
reply, without going into detail.
“Oh? I noticed you aren’t wearing an engagement
ring any longer. Did you and what’s his name…it starts with an “L”, I think...”
he says, but I finish his sentence because I want to get out of here quickly.
He’s being too friendly and getting too personal
for my liking.
He is an attractive man, but not my type. Although,
no one else is my type since Nick came into the picture. Jeffery is tall and
lean with blond hair and deep grey eyes. I don’t like his eyes. Their chilling
color sends a shiver down my spine when I look into them. They make me remember
things I’ve pretended didn’t happen for a very long time. “It’s Luke,” I
finally tell him. “And yes, we broke up a few days ago,” I finish while opening
my door.
“Shannon,” he coos my name as he places his hand
on my shoulder. I turn around to face him. And here’s that uncomfortable
feeling I get when I’m in his presence alone. “When you’re over him, I’d like
to take you out to dinner,” he states, rather than asks. What he doesn’t know
is that I’m already over Luke.
“I’m kinda seeing someone already,” I say, because
it’s somewhat true and I’m currently staying with him. I really have to get an
apartment quickly. Nick is going to get tired of seeing so much of me.
“Already?” he draws out. “Is it serious?” he asks,
still touching my shoulder, and still making me uncomfortable. I start to
squirm. I hate these types of situations. Especially when the guy isn’t taking
no for an answer, but I can’t lie. Nick and I aren’t serious. At least, I don’t
think so. We just met.
“No, it’s not, but I want to see where it’s
going,” I say, sounding like I’m making excuses for myself. In a way, I am, but
I wouldn’t want to go to dinner with him even if there was no Nick.
“Well, the offer is on the table,” he says and
pulls out a card and hands it to me. “My cell number is on the back should you
reconsider. Have a lovely day, Shannon,” he says, turns on his heel and walks
away. I take his card and stick it in the back pocket of my jeans.
I rush inside my car and take a deep breath. Those
eyes give me the creeps. There’s no chance in hell I’d go on a date with him. I
push him out of my mind and start the ignition.
Pulling out of the parking lot, I head in the
direction of Knocked Out. The drive is only about twenty minutes from my
gallery. I’m hungry. I hope Nick hasn’t had lunch yet.
I arrive, get out of my car and walk into the
building. The gym is large and the main area is open. There is a boxing ring, a
steel cage, lots of weights, and punching bags scattered around.
“You must be Shannon.” I hear a soft feminine
voice say from behind me. When I turn around, I find an attractive woman with
long, wet, dark-brown hair standing in front of me. She has intense, fiery blue
eyes; the same eyes Nick has. In fact, she looks just like him, only the female
version. I assume this is his sister, Nikki.
“What gave that away?” I ask as she approaches me.
Her smile matches Nick’s. She’s about my height and size. She’s wearing a tight-fitted
white sleeveless shirt and long black gym pants. On her wrists, I notice some
ink, but I don’t want to come off as staring so I don’t see what the tattoo
says. I do, however, catch the ink on her right upper arm. It’s a beautiful
scene of small and medium size black birds. They look like they are flying
away. I get the sense of freedom and peace etched on her arm.
“He told me to come get him if a hot redhead
walked in.” She places her hands on her hips. “I’m Nikki by the way,” she says.
“Nice to meet you, Nikki. So where’s your
brother?” I ask.
“He’s over there, beating the shit out of my
boyfriend,” she smirks, pointing to the cage with two men inside.
Fuck,
that’s hot!
Nikki starts to walk in the direction of
the cage and I follow.
“Hey, Nick, your girl’s here,” Nikki yells as we
approach the cage. Nick looks in my direction and smiles. He immediately
receives a punch in the mouth from Jase.
“Thanks, baby,” Jase says without taking his eyes
off Nick. Jase and Nick stop and exit the cage. Nick immediately comes up to me
and pulls me into a passionate kiss. His kiss has a metallic taste. There is a
small amount of blood in the corner of his mouth. I assume this is where Jase
hit him. He has a little blood on his bicep too, but I don’t think it’s his.
Jase is bleeding a little from the side of his eyebrow.
“Nick, get off the girl. You’re going to get her
sweaty and bloody,” Nikki says, a disgusted look at her brother.
He releases me and grabs a towel. “It’s my sweat
and blood, so who gives a fuck,” he says to his sister.
“Maybe she does,” Nikki retorts.
“She doesn’t,” he replies, walking up to me to
towel off the small amount of blood he left from the kiss. Strangely, I don’t
mind. His sweat and blood taste rather good. Why does this not gross me out?
“Nick, have you eaten lunch yet? I’m starving,” I
say when he removes the towel from my mouth.
“Holy shit, he lets you call him Nick?” she asks,
looking at me and laughing hysterically. “He’s never let anyone get away with
that except me,” she says, continuing to laugh uncontrollably.
“Fuck off, Nikki.” Nick glares at his sister.
“Get off the man’s back, Nikki. He can’t help it
if he’s pussy whipped after two days,” Jase says, taking the towel Nikki is
holding out for him.
“Fuck you,” Nick responds, eyeing Jase. Jase and Nikki
laugh. He turns to me. “Yes I could eat. Let me shower and we’ll get out
of here,” he says, and leans down to kiss my forehead. He walks off in the
direction of the back of the building. I assume that’s where the showers and
locker room is.
Fifteen minutes later, he emerges and looks killer
wearing a white Ralph Lauren polo shirt, jeans that fit perfectly, and
sneakers. This man is hot.
Hot like sin I tell you.
“Let’s go, babe,” he says while guiding me to the
door.
* * * * *
Fifteen minutes later, we are settling into a
booth in a small pub. He orders a Heineken and I go with a Red Stripe. He
hands me a menu and I scan it deciding on a grilled chicken club sandwich with
honey mustard and chips.
Hey, a
girl’s got to eat!
The waiter returns with our drinks and I tell him
my order. Nick orders the same thing, but without honey mustard. “So
what did you have to do today?” he asks after taking a long pull of his beer.
“Did some shopping, stopped by work to check on
Jenny and then I got all my things from my apartment or…former apartment I
guess I should say,” I reply with a small laugh and take a small sip of my
own beer. It’s cold and feels nice sliding down my throat.
“You what?” he says, looking concerned. “You
didn’t go there alone, did you?” A look of shock forms across his face.
“Yes, of course I did. I used to live there and
needed my things,” I say and take another sip. Maybe I should have left
the last part out of my story. No, it would have come up later when he saw
all the stuff in my car.
“Why didn’t you fucking tell me? I would have gone
with you,” he barks. I think he’s getting angry with me.
Really?
“I didn’t need anyone’s help. What’s the big effin
deal?” I ask. My tone is a bit of a bark too, but I want him to get my point.
I’m an adult and I don’t need a bodyguard.
“What’s the big deal? Are you serious? That
asshole assaulted you…twice. That’s the big fucking deal.” The last part is
said through clenched teeth.
“Calm down and drink your beer. You look like you
need it.” I really can’t believe he’s acting like this, and then again, I
really don’t know him all that well. I continue, “Luke didn’t assault me. Well,
not really, or at least not intentionally. The first night he was really drunk,
and yesterday...well, I wouldn’t call a scratch an assault.”
“I’m not going to calm down, and
yes,
he did assault you,” he says as
he’s balling a fist.
“Fine, next time I’ll ask you to go with me so you
can hold my hand.” I don’t hold back my sarcasm.
“There won’t be a next time,” he says as he tosses
the entire half a glass of beer down his throat.
The waiter brings our food and we eat in silence.
Nick seems to be calming down, so I’m going to keep quiet. I would probably say
something smart mouthed and piss him off at this moment.
I finish my meal and down the last of my second
beer. Nick pays the bill and we walk out. Or rather, I walk out and he follows
behind me. When I get to the car and reach for the door, he stops me and turns
me to face him.
“I’m sorry, okay? I just don’t want you to get
hurt; the thought makes me crazy,” he says. He pushes the hair off my shoulder
and bends to kiss right below my ear. He can’t reach his favorite spot on my
neck because my t-shirt comes up too high, but he seems to like this spot just
fine.
“Forgive me?” he asks.
“Yes,” I murmur, closing my eyes, letting his kisses
wash over me. It’s warm and heavenly, and I want to melt into his arms. All is
forgotten. He pulls away and opens the door for me. I get in. He closes the
door and walks to the driver’s seat. Once inside, he starts the ignition.
“I’m going to drop you off at
Knocked Out
so you can get your car, then let’s go home,” he says,
and I nod in agreement.
Home?
His home. Not mine. But I feel so comfortable in his home and that’s a little
scary. I don’t need to stay there too much longer. I need a place to call my
own. It will be good for me. I’ve never lived alone. I went from living at my
mother’s, to a college dorm, and then moving in with Luke. I like to think I’m
an independent person, but am I really?
* * * * *
Arriving back at his house, I park next to his
car. I get out and grab the stuff from the passenger seat. Nick walks over to take
my belongings from the back seat.
“You can leave that stuff in there. There’s no
point in pulling it out just to put it back when I move into a new apartment
next week,” I say while walking to the front door.
“Who says you’re going anywhere?” he replies while
coming up behind me and unlocking the front door.
Following him inside, I walk to the kitchen to
place the bags on the counter. He doesn’t follow; instead, he takes my bags to
his bedroom. I unpack where I am, just my few bits and pieces I’ve brought in
with me. I put my clothes on the counter in the laundry room. I really need to
wash all my things. I need to get the scent of my old life off my clothes.
I let the dogs in and sit on the couch waiting for
Nick. Niko jumps on one end of the couch and curls up. I pick Charmin up, place
her in my lap and start petting her. It’s only about five o’clock in the
afternoon, but it’s already been a long day.
First dealing with Allison’s drama, then being hit
on and asked out by a client who weirds me out every time he’s around, and then
Nick freaking out at the pub.
What next?
Four days ago, my life seemed simple and free of
drama. A picture perfect life, or so I thought. How wrong I was!
I lie back on the comfy couch with Charmin in my
arms. I shut my eyes while I wait on Nick who seems to be taking forever in his
bedroom.
When I open my eyes back up and look out the
window, it’s dark. I must have falling asleep for at least a few hours. When I
sit up, I see Nick sitting in a chair staring at me. He’s holding a small glass
of amber liquid. I look to my right and Charmin is now curled up with Niko on
the other end of the couch. I beam from ear-to-ear. They are so cute. Beautiful
really.
“How long was I asleep?” I ask, placing one leg
underneath my butt, getting comfortable on the couch. The way he’s watching me
makes me nervous, much like the first night I met him.
“About three hours,” he says, still looking at me.
He downs the rest of his drink, but he doesn’t stop watching me with his intense
blue eyes.
“What have you been doing?” I ask as he stands and
walks to the couch. He kicks off his shoes and takes a seat in the corner of
the couch. He gets completely on the couch, feet and all.
“Watching you,” he says as he pulls me back to
lean against his chest. I lay my head back against his shoulder and inhale his
scent. I could overdose on this man.