by Starr, Jude
Sweetness,
He said
By Jude Starr
Copyright © Jude Ouvrard 2015
Published by Jude Ouvrard
The right of Jude Ouvrard to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted
by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000.
License Notes: This novel is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This print may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please purchase your own copy.
Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental.
The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
This work is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
KINDLE VERSION
Cover Artist: JC Clarke
Cover Model: Forgiss
Table of contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Acknowledgment
Who is Jude Starr?
Chapter 1
Last summer didn't exactly end the way I had planned. It was on June 13th when I discovered my best friend was pregnant with my boyfriend's baby. Carolina and I had been best friends for over fifteen years. We grew up together, we had ‘Best Friend’ matching tattoos and we shared so many things in common. Unfortunately, one of the things we apparently shared was the fact that we had slept with the same guy. Maybe sharing all my dirty secrets about Damien hadn’t been a good idea. Temptation had the potential of ruining everything, and in this case, it did. Damien had been my boyfriend for six years. He was my high school sweetheart, my first love, and my first lover. My first, in everything.
Apparently it was no secret to half of the University of Florida, but to me learning about Damien and Carolina was a shock. I had never been this humiliated in my entire life. People laughed, gossiped behind my back and it hurt me. I was devastated.
I spent the whole summer trying to get transferred to the University of Columbia in New York City. For my own survival, I needed to get away. Thankfully, I had very good grades and I had a gift with communication. I spent hours writing letters and calling the University and it worked. In September, I started a new life, far from the person whom I’d thought was my friend, and far away from the future daddy. I had been accepted at the Broadway Hall residence. My room was small, but I had no options, I was in New York City after all and rentals were expensive.
Heartbroken almost covered how I felt. I had really loved Damien and part of me still did even though he had destroyed any trust I could ever hold in a man.
My parents took it hard when I chose to move so many miles away, because it meant more work for them on the ranch. They were barely able to stop working to drop me at the airport. I felt bad and somewhat responsible for their misery, but my place was no longer in Florida. I had been betrayed enough.
A true country girl living in the Big Apple. The adjustment was hard. Does this city ever sleep? I missed the nature, my house with the big yard, but mostly, I missed my parents, my twin sister and my horse. The only thing I had here which felt a little bit like home was Central Park and thankfully, it only took ten minutes to walk there from my dorm.
It had been a few months now since I moved to New York and my money was running low. I had to find a job urgently. I tried to find a decent job, but no one was willing to take a chance on me. I’d worked on the ranch my whole life, and I had no other work experience. I applied to a fast food restaurant because I figured they would give me a chance and they did. Krystal, who lived down the hall from me, was working there too. I had been serving burgers and French fries for over eight hours today when I took my last order before going home.
“A big coffee, please, with two sugars and two creams,” the city worker requested. He was a tall man with dust covering every inch of his overalls. He had a stern look on his face, not someone I would intentionally displease.
He paid and one of my co-workers got his coffee. He took a sip and spit it on the floor.
“I said two sugars, not two cups of sugar! I want another one,” he ordered angrily and almost spat in my face.
I stood there speechless. This had never happened to me before.
“Hey, blondie, I said I wanted another coffee. I don’t have all day,” he yelled, intimidating me.
“One moment, sir, I'll get it for you.” I tried to smile, but I just couldn’t do it. He was scaring me.
I turned to the coffee machine and took a new cup and added the coffee, along with two spoons of sugar. I made sure it was well stirred and added the cream. “Here is your coffee, sir.” I hid my frustration. Some customers had no problem treating us like garbage, and he was one of them.
“What kind of name is that, anyway? Iris?” His angry voice echoed through the restaurant and startled the other customers. He rolled his eyes, turned around and I walked away. He was supposed to be my last customer, but a man wearing a burgundy suit stood before me on the other side of the counter and smirked when the rude guy left. “Iris is a beautiful flower, an even prettier woman and a name I won't forget.”
I had seen him before, but this was my first time serving him. We had exchanged a couple of shy smiles in the past, but I never thought anything of it. Today marked the first time he’d talked to me and he took my breath away. My name had never sounded better than it did, coming out of his mouth.
I blushed, instantly forgetting the asshole I had just served.
“Hi. What can... Want... Humm.” Shit! “Thank you, you don't look bad yourself.” Since when have I stuttered because of a man?
He chuckled and looked at me, and I noticed how blond and thick his eyelashes were. “I'll have an iced cappuccino, please.”
“Okay.” I pressed the correct buttons of the register. “Three dollars and thirty four cents, please.”
He handed me a credit card, I’d never seen one like it before and I slid it into the machine. I gave him back the all-black card and turned around to prepare his drink myself. One unhappy customer was enough for the day. Although, I highly doubted he would cause a scene.
“Here, your iced cappuccino. Thank you.” Our fingers touched when he took the plastic container from my hand. I gave him my best employee smile, trying to ignore the delicate way he had touched me. If this moment could have lasted longer, it would have made up for all of the crappy days I’d worked here.
“Thanks to you. You work here often?” he asked curiously, holding my gaze.
I nodded. “I’m done for the day though. You were my last customer.”
“Alright, I'll see you… soon, Iris.” I noticed how he waited before he said soon. Strange.
He left the restaurant with the straw glued to his lips, sipping his drink. His hair was dark blond
e, stylishly flicked towards the back of his head. He was good-looking, but definitely not my style. I had noticed that he always wore tailored suits, with a matching tie. Probably a young professional businessman and his dress screamed wealth.
“Did he just flirt with you?” Krystal asked, way too excited over a chance encounter.
“I think he did.” We both chuckled.
“I feel like I’ve seen him somewhere before,” Krystal announced. “Anyway, your shift was over ten minutes ago, so you should go now, before the boss realizes you’re still here and asks you to stay.” She gave me a quick hug and pushed me gently toward the employee area.
I hurried out of the restaurant with my skateboard in hand. As soon as I could, I dropped my board to the ground and started rolling.
I was startled by a black car with tinted windows when it stopped abruptly a few feet ahead of me. The window slid down and the blond man poked his head out. “Do you want a ride, Iris?”
Was he following me? “No, thanks. I'm all good.”
I waved and continued along on my skateboard. As if I would accept a ride with him! We’d talked briefly for the first time ever and he believed I would agree to get in a strange car with him? Men were a bunch of weirdoes, but he had still managed to make me smile.
Exhaustion hit me on my way to the residence; I was physically and mentally drained. I couldn't wait to get back to the dorms and take a well-deserved nap. My legs were too tired to ride my board any longer, so I walked the last block to the dorms, almost limping.
“Hey, Iris!” Zach nudged me on the shoulder as I stepped into the dorm room. He’d obviously been waiting for me.
“Hey, Zach.” I yawned heavily.
“No, no, no. Don't back down about tonight. You promised,” Zach said, grabbing my arm.
I rolled my eyes. “I'm still going, chillax. I just need a little nap, okay?” My eyes were so heavy, I could barely see him.
He nodded and flipped me over his shoulder. “I better get you into bed, now.” He slapped my behind and dropped me onto my mattress. “Sleep tight, sugar crisps.” He kissed my forehead twice and tucked me under the comforter.
“I will, lucky charm.”
Only we could give ourselves pet names which referenced breakfast cereals. That’s how we had become friends, Zach had run out of Lucky Charms so I gave him a bowl of Sugar Crisps and the next morning, he’d shown up with a brand new box. We’ve been friends since that day and hung out together as if we were joined at the hip.
I set my alarm to get two hours of sleep. Then, I planned to study for an hour, get ready and leave for our night out. Zach and I had been planning this for a week. With the studying, work and the finals, we barely had time to hang out together and I missed him, a lot. Zach had the brain of Einstein and the looks of Heath Ledger. Thankfully, he didn't have the Australian accent or I may have fallen for him already. We had been friends for over three months and we often pushed the limit of what friends should be to one another. He liked me, and I liked him. His beautiful brown eyes haunted my dreams, more than I wanted them to, given I’ve been celibate for months.
Krystal had a thing for both girls and boys and she was extremely at ease with her sexuality. I thought it made her special. She talked about it in a very open way, never skipping any details. Her bisexuality seemed to help her reach her highest levels of happiness. She never failed to remind me she was sexually content. Unlike me. I hadn't had sex since Damien and trust me I missed it, but it’s as if I have some sort of mental block. With Damien, I thought we were it, together forever. Our sex life was great – at least it was until I discovered he’d slept with my best friend. It still gave me shivers thinking about it after all this time, which annoyed the heck out of me. The hell he’d put me through afterwards should have turned me off permanently when it came to thinking about sex with him.
During the last year of our relationship, we’d begun talking about getting engaged and renting a small apartment in town. We had already decided on the type of furniture we would get to furnish our new home. It was a done deal. All the money I made at the ranch, teaching horse riding to kids had gone into a saving account for our project and I was truly excited about it. Damien meant everything to me, I truly believed he was the love of my life. I would have done anything for him, but I couldn’t accept what he had done to me. It represented way too much. All of the lies he told me, to be with Carolina, it nearly killed me. When the pieces started to come together, I couldn’t believe what I discovered. I had never been so hurt in my life and I promised myself to never again become so blind because of a man. I left everything behind and only now, in recent months had I started to feel alive again.
The last time Zach and I got carried away together, we almost did the deed. We were only seconds away from having sex together. A knock on the door was the only thing which stopped us. It left us with unfinished business, and desire still lingered between us. All I could think about was tonight, I expected him to ask if he could sleep with me and I wanted him. I had thought about this way too much and I was certain he had, too. From the looks he gave me, it seemed as if he was constantly undressing me with his eyes. Every time he touched me, my heart hitched.
I put on a red mini skirt with a black top which flattered me in all the right places and paired the clothing with knee-length black leather boots. The weather here had been one of the hardest things to adjust to. December brought cold weather and my thin jacket clearly didn't do enough to keep me warm anymore. With my next paycheck, a winter jacket was going to be a priority. If only I made more money, it would make my life a lot easier. Christmas was coming and I was going to stay at the dorm alone, with no money available to afford the trip home. It sucked, my parents were angry at first when I told them I wouldn’t be coming, but they’d eventually come to terms with my decision.
“Sugar!” Zach entered my room, he stared at me, practically drooling.
“Hey, lucky.” I blushed. “I'm ready.”
He stepped closer, his blue eyes filling with desire.
“I’ve change my mind. What about staying here for the night?”
I knew what he was suggesting, but there was no way I would cancel my night out. It represented my only Christmas celebration. The only fun I expected to have until the beginning of January when he would return to the residence. “I want what you want, lucky, but we have to go out. I want to have some fun. A crazy fun-filled night is ahead of us.”
He took me prisoner in his arms and his lips found mine. God! Tingles overwhelmed my body. I had to stop him, now, while I could still think.
“Zach, stop, not now, okay?” He looked down at me, lust plastering his eyes. “I feel it too. Whatever this is that we have… but Krystal is waiting, and I really need a drink.” Lame excuses, Iris.
“Later, then.” He kissed me one last time, making me regret stopping him in the first place. All part of a game I was meant to lose.
Krystal waited at the end of the hall, all dolled up and looking sexy. She had no partner for tonight. She was on her own, living the good life, she said.
“If the party sucks, I know a place where we could have a good time.” Krystal had some connections here in New York. Her cousin was into the nightlife scene in a big way and always kept Krystal on speed dial if an opportunity presented itself.
“Will your cousin be there?” Zach asked, inevitably, because he liked her. At the time, he hadn’t specified how much he liked her, but I knew he thought she was hot.
I rolled my eyes at him. “I’m hungry, I forgot to grab something to eat before leaving. I was distracted.”
“Do you want to stop by work before we go out, then we can use our discount,” Krystal proposed, since we were both short on money.
“Okay, let’s go.” I didn’t think Zach's love of fast food would ever die. Walking with heels on a cold night, and with a short skirt, soon proved to be a bad idea. I missed both my sneakers and my skateboard.
The warmth of the res
taurant was welcome and the smell had me convinced I was starving. My coworkers eyed Krystal and I as if we had just arrived from a different planet. “Hey, guys.” Krys broke the silence.
“We'll have three number ones with Diet Coke.”
We sat at a table by the front window and ate in silence. My brain couldn't process anything other than eating. I was famished and half way through my meal when Zach spoke. “Come on, girls. I don't want to get there after everyone is already wasted.” I took a last sip of my Diet Coke before throwing it into the garbage disposal. With a full stomach, I was ready to party the night away.
We entered the house where the party was taking place. There were people everywhere. The house was crowded to the point that I feared for our safety. What if something happened?
Zach grabbed three beers from the counter and offered us one. We stood face-to-face unable to move in the sea of people. The night wasn’t turning out as I had imagined. No dance area, no place to sit, just a big mass of people drinking and sweating. After five minutes, I wanted to leave. The parties in Florida were a lot more fun to be honest, and I’d expected the opposite.
“What about we finish our beer and get the hell out of here?” Zach proposed.
“Good idea. I got our names on the guest list for the grand opening of the Whiskey Bar & Lounge at the Health and Fitness Tower.”
“Is there a place to dance?” I asked.
“Probably.” Krystal didn't seem certain but I was willing to take the risk. It couldn't be as bad as this party.
“I heard this place is huge, different sections and all.”
I drank the remainder of my beer and hurried outside, needing some fresh air. The brisk wind hit me head on. God, how I missed home and the warm weather.
We got into a taxi, warming up before attending what seemed like the ultimate event. A valet was waiting for the cars as they arrived. Although we had arrived in a taxi, the valet opened the door for us and let us out taking Krystal’s and then my hand to steady us as we stepped out. We were escorted by a tall man at the entrance and Krys was telling him about the invitation we’d received. He confirmed all three of us were on the guest list. Our jackets were taken to the cloak room and we were offered a small glass of whiskey. It tasted like no other whiskey I had ever tried before. So much flavour and I felt the warm liquid trickle all the way to my stomach. If I could afford it, I would have bought a second one, but I doubted I could afford the price.
