The Beginning of Us (229 page)

Now I stand here, gathering up my things as last night and this morning play over and over in my head. My mind keeps telling me that I should have done something. Maybe I should call Samantha now and explain what I know. I know it’s none of my business, but I just have this overwhelming desire to hear her voice again.

“Slade.” I look up to see Jensen, an attorney who is helping me out on this case.

“Come in.” I lay my phone down and pick up some paperwork.

“You want to go out tonight?’’ Jensen asks as he walks in the office.

“No. It’s been a long day, and I’m tired.”
I’m tired mentally and physically
. I zip up my bag, getting ready to leave.

“Come on, man. It will be fun. My ex-girlfriend called and said there’s a big party down at…well, wherever it is. I’ll call her on the way.” He sits down in the chair that faces my desk, looking at me and waiting for an answer.

I look down at his wedding ring and suddenly think of Samantha. I feel sorry for these stupid women. The ones that are constantly cheated on and don’t know it, or choose to ignore it for whatever reason.

“I don’t know.”

I look around the room like it can give me an answer as to what to do. Nothing. My ass is worn out. It could be a good distraction from the sweet voice overpowering my every thought, though.

“You know you want to go. My ex has a lot of girlfriends, and most of them are hot.” He wiggles his dark eyebrows.

I never have been one to pass down women and alcohol. “When are you going?” I sit back down in my chair, defeated.

He claps his hands together once as he smiles and stands up. “I’m going to head over to the bar now.”

I know why he’s doing that. If he went home, his wife wouldn’t let him leave. They have three kids, and there’s no way she would let him go out while she stays home.

I nod my head as I follow him to my door and close up my office. “I’ll follow you.” I call out as he walks to his car. I get into my rental car and take off my suit jacket, vest and tie. Unbuttoning my sleeves, I roll them back a few times. I’ll just go dressed like this. I don’t plan on spending all night there anyway.

*****

It doesn’t take us more than ten minutes before we are pulling up to the bar. We walk inside, and there is already a table full of girls waving us over. Jensen was right; they’re not bad looking. I find myself giving a second look to the one that Jensen introduces as Julie. She has light brown hair with chunks of red in it, brown eyes, and a smokin’ ass body. She continues to stare at me. She’s not being subtle about it, which I like. I’m not into games. If you want me, and I want you, then we are going to have some fun.

I’ve never been one who does relationships. I’ve actually never even been in a relationship. I’m more of a keep it just sex kind of guy. I don’t lead anyone on, or tell them sappy shit. If they don’t like what I have to say, or how I act, I just go to the next one. No loss for me. It’s not like I’ve had my heart broken by someone, or that I haven’t found the right one. I’m not even looking for the right one. I don’t want to be with one person.

“Slade?” Julie gets my attention.

“Julie, isn’t it?” I eye her up and down, thinking this will be easy.

“Yes,” she blushes. “I was wondering if you would like another drink?” She eyes my full drink that Jensen had just set down in front of me.

“That sounds great.” I smile, then down half of my beer.

“Dude, she likes you,” Jensen leans over and says to me after Julie walks away.

No shit, Sherlock.

I just nod with a small smile.

“Here, I thought we could do a shot,” Julie says as she sets down two shots of tequila and two beers. I groan. I cannot get trashed tonight. I have to be in court early in the morning. “Come on. Everything is better with shots,” Julie leans over and whispers in my ear as she rubs my thigh roughly with her hand.

I start to get hard and instantly think of Samantha. I wonder what’s she doing right now, or if she’s with Jax. I wonder if she knows that Jax was with Bridgette last night.

I give my head a shake. Why would I care if she’s with Jax? I look over to Julie. I just need to take her back to my hotel and fuck her. I’ve never been one to dwell on a woman, and it’s really starting to piss me off that I can’t get Samantha out of my mind.

“Cheers.” I raise my shot glass and clink my glass against hers before we down the shots.

“I just love this shirt on you. It brings out your blue eyes.” She runs a hand down my chest. “Do you work out?”

I can’t help but snicker. “Yes.” I take another drink of my beer.

“I work out.” I look at her body. There is no doubt in my mind that she works out. Although, if you ask me, her arms are a little too much on the muscular side for a woman.

“So, Slade, how old are you?” she purrs as she leans into my ear.

“Twenty-nine,” I say flatly.

“You’re older than I thought. I’m twenty-five.”

I just nod my head. This is the only thing I can’t stand about fucking someone new. They want to know everything about you. I could care less how old she is. I mean, I can tell by looking at her that she is old enough to be in this bar, and that’s all that matters. I wonder how old Samantha is? That sweet voice made her sound innocent, although I doubt she is. Her voice is probably just a façade.

I lift my beer and take another drink.
Quit thinking about Samantha!

“Do you have a girlfriend, Slade?” Julie rubs her hand on my thigh again, getting my attention.

I look at her with a raised eyebrow. “No.” Does she think I would let her place her hands on me if I wasn’t single? “I don’t do girlfriends.”

Her smile brightens.

Then a thought crosses my mind, and a bald man flashes in my memory. “Why? Do you have a boyfriend?” I take another drink of my beer, finishing it off. I’m in no mood to get into a fight with some guy over another unfaithful girlfriend, again. She is not worth the trouble.

“No,” she shakes her head. She reaches over, grabbing the shot glass Jensen hands her, downs it, and then looks at me. “Want another shot?”

I can tell she’s drunk. She’d had several shots before she even sat down to talk to me. I shake my head. “I’m good.” I stand up out of my chair. I’m already tired of being here; it’s not getting Samantha out of my mind and I’m fucking exhausted. “Think I’m going to call it a night.” I pull my car keys out of my pocket.

She stands up. “Want some company?” She gives me a devious smile.

I look her over for a few seconds, debating if I want to take her back to my hotel or not. “Sure.”

Thinking about Samantha all day has got me horny as fuck. I reach out to grab her hand, and walk towards the exit. I didn’t even bother to tell Jensen goodbye. I’ll see him tomorrow. I just want to go to my hotel, fuck, and go to bed. It’s been a long day.

“So which one is your car?” she asks as we walk in the dimly lit parking lot.

“The white Hyundai. It’s my rental.”

“Rental?” She stops walking and slides me a confused look.

Fuck, I’m too tired for this shit
. I stop, and turn to her. “Yes. I’m only in town until tomorrow.”

“Oh. I thought you just started working with Jensen.” She starts walking again.

“Nope.” I shake my head. “I got put on a case out here a few weeks ago. I head home tomorrow.” I get in to the Hyundai and start it up.

“So, this is like a one night thing?” she asks unhappily.

I just sit there and stare at her. I can tell she is wasted, and I’m praying she doesn’t get sick in my car. I’m not cleaning that shit up. “Yes,” I say slowly enough to let her understand that all I want from her is a one night fuck. “So, if that’s not going to work for you, you can go back inside.”

She tilts her head to the side and frowns as if she’s having a hard time thinking.

I run my hand through my hair.
I just told her I didn’t do the girlfriend thing!
Did she think I was lying? Did she think I was going to start up a relationship with her? I mean, I could tell as soon as she started rubbing my thigh that she wanted to fuck, and I didn’t hide the fact that I wanted that too. But where in there did she think I was going to give her more than a one night fuck?

“No. I’ll go with you,” she finally says with a smile. I watch as her eyes slowly travel the length of my body where they come to rest on my hard dick through my pants. I can’t hide my smile. That’s what I thought. I lean over and kiss her as I let me hand trail up her shirt and grab her breast over her bra. Her hand instantly goes to my pants. Fuck, I am so horny I could do it right here in the car.

I pull away. “Let’s get to the hotel first.”

“I could take care of you on the way.” She leans over as I exit the parking lot. Fuck, I knew I liked her for a reason.

She unzips my pants and takes me into her mouth. I try concentrating on the feel of her tongue, but all I can think about is that voice saying my name. Doesn’t fucking matter what I do, Samantha is still there, in my mind.

I try to push her out of my mind as I start pumping my hips and fuck Julie’s mouth. I grit my teeth, trying not to show how fucking awful she is. I try thinking about Samantha again, trying to ignore the piercing feeling of Julie’s teeth. I could just stop her, but who the fuck cares? I’d rather have her suck my dick, then listen to all the questions she could be asking me.

I pull on her hair to remove her from my dick once I park the car. She follows me through the lobby and we enter the elevator. She moves her body flush to mine, bringing her lips up to kiss me. I push her back a bit, and grab her hand as the elevator opens. I don’t want to kiss her. I just want to fuck. I’m fucking horny as hell, and pissed off at myself. Samantha has too much control of my thoughts.

I close the door behind her, and grab my wallet out of my back pocket for a condom as I unzip my pants. I turn around, and she’s already kicking her jeans off. At least we are on the same page.

“Where do you want me?” She licks her lips as she walks towards me.

I roll the condom over my dick, then walk up to her, turn her around, and bend her over the couch. “Right here will work,” I say as I plunge into her.

Samantha

I lay on the bed in Micah and Holly’s spare bedroom, looking up at the ceiling and thinking about what I’m going to do next. My life has completely changed in a day. My heart hurts. It’s broken. I loved him as much as I could, yet it wasn’t enough. Is love ever enough when it comes to a relationship? I don’t think anyone really knows.

The more I think about why I moved here with him, the more I realize the reasons had to do more with me than him. There had been nothing left for me in Dallas anymore. I was only there for school. My parents were divorced. My mom lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma with her current husband, lucky number 4.

My dad also lived in Tulsa, and owned a large very well-known concrete company. He couldn’t even speak my mother’s name without his face turning red with rage. They had divorced when I was very young, so I don’t even remember how life was when our family was together, or why they even divorced. My parents never spoke of it.

He passed away in a car wreck at the beginning of my high school senior year. When he passed away, we’d found out he had left me everything in his will, including his house, two vehicles, and his company. We were all pretty shocked about that one but after I gave it some thought, I don’t know why it had surprised me. He had never remarried, and I’m an only child.

My dad always planned for the future and the unexpected. When he passed away, his attorney had letters he had written for me regarding the company. They informed me that he wanted me to sell it. He knew I wouldn’t want to run the business, and he had a guy that had wanted to buy it for years. He left me a name and number to contact. The attorney and I met with the man that was interested in Dad’s business. I about had a heart attack when I saw his offer for the company and all the equipment that went along with it. I told him that was way too much money, but he said that was the price he told my dad he would pay.

My relationship with my mom was never the same. My mom and I were always close, but I was a daddy’s girl. When my dad passed away and left me everything, it put a big strain on my relationship with my mother. She thought I was too young for it and should hand it over to her. Dad’s attorney advised against that. Once I told her I was selling it, we no longer spoke. I pretty much spent my entire senior year locked in my bedroom, or just stayed at my dad’s house.