by Nina Crespo
That pleasant conversation, however, had quickly turned into an argument over her leaving for Seattle two days after the event, which was also when Brad and Karma would arrive. Her mom remained resistant to the move and still wouldn’t accept her decision. In the end, Alexa had cancelled the lunch date she was supposed to have with her mother later that afternoon. They’d just end up disagreeing again. Even though her mom refused to admit it, stress had made her ill more than once since the wedding. It was probably not wise to rock the boat even more. Their arguments weren’t healthy for her mom, or for her.
Frustration and compassion for her mother battled in Alexa. If only she could have ignored her mother and her meeting with Cori to stay with Rafe. He wasn’t interested in her past or her future choices. Lust. That’s all she’d sensed from him.
Memories resurfaced from last night, after they’d come across the cowboy hat on the floor outside his studio. Her returning his demanding kisses as he drew her back inside toward the bed. Their clothes piling on the floor as they’d undressed each other. The weight of his body pinning her to the mattress. How quickly she’d orgasmed after he’d thrust inside of her…
Heat flushed her face.
She swept the memories away as the driver pulled into the driveway of her two-story house.
Cori lounged on the wood bench seat on the porch, legs crossed, sipping from a tall white, disposable cup. She appeared cool and summery in a tangerine sundress and white tennis shoes—the perfect adornment for the beige-bricked, white trimmed Colonial.
Alexa thanked the driver and got out of the car. Her heels crushed a dusting of white petals from the shrubbery surrounding the manicured lawn into the stone pathway leading to the front steps. “Sorry I’m late.”
“I was early.” Cori stood.
Alexa unlocked and opened the front door. "Give me a sec. I need to change.” She ran up the beige carpeted stairs on the right.
Upstairs in the master bedroom, she kicked off her pumps and left her dress on the taupe spread covering the king-sized four-poster bed. Jeans and T-shirts. She’d left some unpacked, hadn’t she? As Alexa dug through the hodgepodge of clothes in her dresser drawers, she came across a cache of skimpy lace lingerie she’d never worn, along with a black-and-white bikini with the matching cover up. Damn. She’d envisioned wearing the gold-and-silver earrings with it at a pool party.
You could go back by his place after you finish packing. It wasn’t like she didn’t have an excuse. She had lost one of her favorite earrings, and if it led to something else… No. Sure, she had an excuse to keep in touch, but she wasn’t some clingy hookup. If she showed up uninvited, all she’d face was embarrassment for not realizing last night was a one-time deal. What happened with Rafe was over, done, part of the past. She’d just have to kiss her favorite earring goodbye. It was time to pack for her future.
Alexa pulled on a faded blue T-shirt and jeans. Strange. Usually Cori would have peppered her with more questions about what had happened after the party or been anxious to share the details of her own adventures. In her text last night, Nat had mentioned Cori was set for a ride home. Who did she leave with?
Downstairs in the kitchen, Alexa found Cori taping the bottom of a small empty packing box. She frowned, as if deep in thought about something else. She noticed Alexa in the doorway and offered a quick smile. “Hey. I thought I should start getting the boxes ready. Do you have bubble wrap or packing paper to wrap up the fragile stuff?”
“Some. I need to buy more.” Alexa grabbed her last three rolls from the living room. Dealing with her mom all week had distracted her from getting the things she needed.
She slid a red, metal step stool in front of the counter near the fridge then climbed up. Like every cabinet nestled amidst the stainless steel appliances, it was full. She and Brad had moved in without paring down kitchen items from either of their apartments. They’d planned on doing it later. Good thing they never got around to it.
Alexa stretched to the top shelf and perused the numerous logoed mugs. She selected the mug with NorthStar emblematized on it in blue letters topped by a gold star and another one proclaiming, Pour coffee. Drink. Repeat. She handed them to Cori. “Where did you run off to last night?”
“I didn’t run off.” Cori wrapped the mugs then packed them in the box on the beige marble counter. “I got into a conversation with an acquaintance.”
“Was it one of your angel investors?”
In Cori’s position as a liaison between budding businesses and potential investors, she was constantly networking.
“Nope. No one special.” Cori’s smile fell short of genuine as she wrapped and packed dishes as Alexa continued to hand them to her. “Hey, have you spoken to Nat? Something was going on with her last night.”
Concern for Nat usurped Alexa’s curiosity about Cori’s mystery acquaintance. “I called, but she answered with a text saying she couldn’t pick up.”
Cori frowned. “She didn’t say it last night, but I think her ex-husband was raking up trouble again.”
“I got that feeling, too.” Alexa started pulling out wineglasses and handing them to her. “I wanted to leave with her, but she told me to stay put.”
Cori paused in wrapping a glass. “Nat left you behind? I assumed when I—ugh, doesn’t matter what I thought. We suck. You should be mad at us for ditching you.”
“It turned out okay.” Truthfully, her night with Rafe would keep her well stocked with vibrator sex fantasies for months.
Cori laughed. “From the look on your face, I don’t feel so bad about leaving you behind. Spill. What happened? Did you meet someone?”
“Kind of. Do you remember that Hot Body Hunk who danced for me at my bachelorette party?”
“Ha! How could I forget? You kept pushing everyone out of the way to jump on his lap during the Musical Hunks game.”
“I did not.” Well, okay, maybe she had been a tad aggressive. “Anyway, I saw him again.” Alexa couldn’t stop a grin.
Cori’s mouth hung open as she connected the dots. “You hooked up with him, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. I didn’t leave his place until this morning.”
“Guess I owe Nat lunch. She was right about you.”
Alexa crawled down. “I can’t believe you guys had a secret bet going on me.”
“A small one.” Cori taped the box shut. “I thought you’d join in the fun of watching the Hunks but go home alone. She predicted you’d live up to the Bash motto and get your freak on.”
“No wonder Nat kept throwing condoms at me. Too bad you guys didn’t get a chance to put them to good use, too.”
“Yeah.” As Cori added more strips of tape to the box, she released a hollow laugh. “Too bad nothing exciting happened. At least not for me. Nope. Nothing to report.”
Before Cori completely covered the box with tape, Alexa slipped the roll from her hands. “I think it’s sealed. What’s wrong? And don’t say nothing. I know you. What is it?”
Cori opened her mouth to speak then shook her head. She smoothed her hand over the top of the box. “I can’t say. I need to sort it out in my mind first.”
Alexa put the tape on the counter. Here she was going on about her night of fun. She hadn’t thought about how Nat’s or Cori’s night had turned out. Cori and her boyfriend had always seemed destined to be together forever. The breakup had blindsided everyone, especially Cori.
She nudged Cori. “You know I’m here for you, right?”
“Stop worrying. I’m fine. Now enough about my boring life. Tell me more about your sexy stripper.” Cori’s face animated with a mischievous smile. “How was it living out your fantasies with him last night?”
“It was…” Sinful. Exciting.
“So great, you can’t even describe it. That says it all.”
Happiness raised goose bumps on Alexa’s arms. “I honestly don’t know what to say. I couldn’t keep my hands off Rafe. I just wanted to have sex with him over and over again.”
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br /> “Ooh. He even has a sexy name. It must have been hard walking away from him this morning.”
“It was. I’m still tempted to go back to his place for a quickie.” She hadn’t meant to confess that. Damn. Alexa braced for a recitation from the gospel of Cori that would squash that desire as a completely bad idea.
“Why don’t you?”
“Excuse me. What happened to never retrace your steps back to a one-night stand?”
Cori pushed the packed box farther down the counter. “If being with him was that enjoyable, I can’t blame you for wanting seconds. After all you went through with Brad, you deserve thirds and fourths.” Her gaze drifted downward as if she was talking more to herself. “It’s not like you’re going to take him seriously. Right?”
Alexa unfolded a flattened packing box and taped it open. “Theoretically… But what if the experience is like eating a piece of dark chocolate? I mean the really good kind.”
“Well…” Cori’s shrugged. “Then you have to apply the moderation principle. If you get just enough, you’re satisfied. But eat too much and you end up feeling worse than when you started.”
“True.” Alexa took a plate from the lower shelf and wrapped it. But it was difficult to imagine having just enough sex with Rafe.
Chapter Eight
When the DJ finally cut the music, the house lights brightened on the dance floor and over the bars at Club Escapade. At three in the morning on a Sunday, it was mostly sloppy drunks and die-hard partiers who remained. The remnants of cologne and perfume wafted in the air, along with body funk and beer fumes.
In a low-lit corner booth upstairs, a young blond woman straddled a twentysomething, dark-haired guy. Her dress was nearly hiked up to her hips, and the straps of her dress hung off her shoulders. The guy played with her tits while she fumbled with the front of his pants.
Rafe approached them. Seriously? They weren’t blind to the club closing. “Feel free to hook up all you want, but you can’t do it here.”
The girl fixed her dress straps and went to move off the guy’s lap.
The guy held her in place and gave Rafe a bro nod. “Come on, dude. Give us a sec. You know how it is.”
Yeah. He knew his type. The guy got off on pushing buttons and boundaries, but Club Escapade was Rafe’s house, and whoever entered it abided by his rules. He’d like to educate the guy on respect, but diplomacy was the better route.
Rafe crossed his arms over his chest and faked a knowing smirk. “You’re going to need more than a sec, chief, and the staff ain’t got that long. Take it outside.”
The guy studied Rafe, as if sizing him up. “You’re right.” He smacked the girl on the butt. “Zip me up. We’re going to the parking lot.”
Rafe didn’t hold back a derisive snort. If she was only worth a second or two of fun, she needed to skip the parking lot and leave the guy’s sorry ass behind. But it wasn’t his place to judge.
Xan and the bouncers corralled stragglers to the exits.
Rafe joined Shannon at the bar where she sipped a dirty martini.
The auburn-haired bartender at the other end of the counter pointed at him and signaled the offer to get him a drink.
He shook his head.
Shannon sighed and slipped off her heels. “There’s at least an inch of glitter on the floor in the back ladies’ room. We’ll be sweeping it up for days.”
“Be glad that’s all it is.” Bad judgment and too many drinks had prompted customers to leave more than a few nasty surprises behind.
“Amen to that.” Shannon picked out the olives skewered on a plastic toothpick from her drink. She gave them to Rafe.
He slid them into his mouth. The bite of vodka and the tang of olives woke up his taste buds. “Do we know who dropped the glitter bombs?”
“One of the servers noticed a couple of women in the area acting weird, but no one saw them do it. What happened to the guy that flashed his bare ass in the lobby earlier?”
“The bouncers saved him from getting a beatdown from the guy who didn’t appreciate him waving his dick in front of his girlfriend’s face.”
She giggled. “Why? Was it bigger than his?”
“Laugh all you want.” He tossed the toothpick on Shannon’s beverage napkin. “It could have gotten ugly. This isn’t the first time Flasher Dude pulled out his junk. I warned him what would happen if he did it again. I banned him from the club. I also comped the guy and his girlfriend and gave them free passes for next time. From what I heard, they and their friends ran up a hefty bar tab and tipped the servers well.”
She toasted him. “As always, your wisdom and voice of reason prevails.”
A chuckle shot out of him. “In our last meeting, you called me unreasonable and claimed I was the voice of doom and gloom.”
“You vetoed zombie clown night.”
“Zombies and clowns in the same space. Hell fucking no. Drugs and therapy combined wouldn’t erase that crazy shit from my mind.”
“Crazy is good for business.” She sipped her drink. “Speaking of insane, did I imagine seeing the girl you danced for at the Bash leaving your place yesterday morning?”
Eagle-eye Shannon. He should have guessed her indifference about him not returning to the club after he’d danced didn’t supersede her usual keen observation. “Uh-huh. And wherever you’re planning to go with that question, don’t.”
“No need to get touchy.” She raised her hands in defense. “Just checking in.”
Checking in—that was the code phrase they used to alert each other that they weren’t trying to intrude but had concerns. “We had sex. End of story.”
“One encounter is the end of a story. Two opens up potential for a continuing saga. The latest buzz is that you danced for Pretty Miss Rich Girl the night you settled our bet, and things got heated between you two back then, just like they did the night of the Breakup Bash.”
The latest buzz. That shit had obviously come from one of the veteran Hunks. And everyone claimed women were the ones who liked to gossip. “Drop it. I know what I’m doing.”
“Sleeping with a woman who snuck backstage and into your bed is a bad idea. It’s the door opener for her to weasel her way into your life, just like Eden did.”
“You know what’s a bad idea? You sticking your nose into my business.”
“I overheard women like her at the Bash saying they wanted to hook up with a guy who was different than what they were used to for kicks, especially a Hot Body Hunk. That woman you were with undoubtedly had the same thing in mind. She’ll just keep popping up, trying to instigate another hookup with you.” Shannon shook her head. “I shouldn’t have pressured you into dancing again.”
“Pressured me? What the fuck? I’m a grown-ass man, not a child. I made that decision on my own to perform at the party to help the club. And as far as what happened afterward, I don’t need your input or permission about who I can and can’t hook up with.”
“Sorry.” Shannon slid her glass away. “I just don’t want to be responsible for putting you in the path of women you should stay away from…again.” Guilt flickered in her eyes.
Sure, she’d introduced him to Eden, but no matter how many times he’d told Shannon she wasn’t to blame for his ex fucking up his life, she wouldn’t believe him.
His irritation lessened. “You worry too much.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Go home. I’ve got the club.”
She opened her mouth as if to speak, then shut it. “Fine.” She slid wearily from the stool and snagged her shoes from the floor. “I’m leaving.”
Nearly two hours later, he finally crawled into bed. So much for giving up being a handyman. His list of repairs had gotten longer. A sink behind one of the bars had a leak. Stools and chairs on the main floor needed tightening. A tile in the lobby had cracked. Then there was all that glitter clogging up the toilets in the ladies’ room. Plumbers were expensive. He’d rent equipment and get one of the maintenance staff to help him snake it out.
&nb
sp; He folded his hands behind his head. As he settled back, something pricked his shoulder. What the…? He dug a gold-and-silver earring from inside the pillowcase. How the hell had it gotten there?
A vision of Alexa with her face buried in the pillow, moaning out her encouragement as he drove into her from behind, reared up in his mind. He’d more than welcome her coming by to pick up her earring…and for them to hook up again.
Pretty Miss Rich Girl. Shannon wasn’t trying to bust his balls by reminding him he didn’t belong with Alexa. She’d witnessed how hard he’d fallen for Eden six years ago.
When he and Eden had started dating, they were inseparable…so he’d believed.
The signs were all there. Hushed phone calls behind doors. Expensive gifts she’d said were from her parents. The trips to New York to see her family without him that became longer and longer each time. Eden had claimed they’d made her feel guilty for disobeying their wishes and returning to him instead of reuniting with her wealthy ex-boyfriend. Proposing marriage was his way of giving her the freedom to live the life she chose, with him at her side. He’d loved her, and he’d thought she’d felt the same way about him.
Alexa’s earring winked in the light.
He’d planned to pop the question during Eden’s surprise birthday party at Shannon’s apartment. Good thing nerves had gotten the best of him and he’d held off. Just after Eden had blown out the candles on her birthday cake, she’d announced that she was returning to New York to marry her ex-boyfriend.
Emotional scars pulled tight over painful recollections. The feeling of Alexa’s earring digging into his palm, almost to the point of piercing his skin, made him suck in a breath. He opened his hand.
It was amazing how a large city like Miami suddenly became smaller than the town he’d grown up in. It seemed as if everyone knew Eden had dropped him. He’d put up with stares, insensitive comments, and he’d accepted all the pussy thrown at him, as if those women had some magic power to erase Eden from his mind. He couldn’t forget. A few months after her big announcement, he’d moved to Maryland.
