I know people have one-night stands all the time, and I guess this might not be a new thing for her, but it still doesn’t feel right.
“Why did you do this for me? I could have been a total psycho, and you just came up to my place.”
She shrugs. “You seem harmless enough. And I just couldn’t leave you like that.”
I look at her in question. There’s more to it than that. I can hear it in her tone.
She shudders. “My brother choked on his own vomit after a drinking session once. He would have died if his girlfriend wasn’t with him that night to clear his airway and call an ambulance... I just couldn’t risk you being another one of those statistics.”
I don’t know why, but my arms have goosebumps. This girl is seriously genuine, and I like that – even if she’s taking risks with her own safety that she shouldn’t.
“So…” She shrugs. “Are you going to tell me why you were down there drowning your sorrows?”
I wince again. I have no idea how much or how little I’ve told this woman but given that she’s emptied out a bucket filled with my spew, I figure I owe her the truth at least.
“My fiancé. Ex-fiancé actually… she told me last week that she’d been cheating on me… with a mate of mine.”
She grimaces. “Oh ouch. That’s low.”
“Yup.”
“That level of drunk was probably quite justified then.”
“I clearly thought so,” I drawl.
“So, you still love her?”
That’s not what I was expecting her to ask, but it would seem that Katie isn’t like any of the women I’m used to meeting.
“I can’t seem to turn it off,” I admit.
“So, you’re all over then?”
“She left me for him.”
She nods. “Explains the empty frames. That really sucks.”
I probably should care that she’s seen all that, but surprisingly I don’t. I feel comfortable around Katie… like I could tell her anything.
“You’re preaching to the choir.”
“Is her name Lizzie by any chance?” Katie asks me with her brow raised.
I groan. “How much did I say last night?”
“Not much. You called me Lizzie a couple of times…”
I frown at her. I don’t know how drunk I would have had to be to call her Lizzie. They’re nothing alike. I must have been well and truly on my own planet last night.
Lizzie is pale, blonde, stick-thin, and has light blue eyes.
Katie is olive-skinned, dark-haired, curvy, and has eyes like the night.
They couldn’t be more different.
“Yup… that’s my ex. She looks nothing like you… fuck, I’m really sorry if I called you that, her name is basically Satan at this point, so sorry for the insult.”
She smiles at me. It lights up her whole face and causes deep dimples in both her cheeks. “Don’t sweat it. And for the record, she sounds like an idiot.”
“She is. Giving up all of this.” I gesture to myself and she giggles softly.
I might not know anything much about Katie, but I like her. This chick is seriously cool. I haven’t talked like this – this real – with someone in a long time.
She’s looking at me as though she can feel it too – this connection between us.
“Thank you for looking out for me,” I murmur as I watch her lips rubbing together.
“It’s really not a problem,” she whispers back.
I can feel this tension building in the air that I can’t explain. We’re strangers. It shouldn’t feel like this.
“I didn’t touch you last night, did I?” I ask as I inch a little closer to her.
“Your hand rubbed my leg,” she says as she moves nearer too.
“Just your leg?”
“Just my leg,” she whispers.
We’re close now, so close that I could just lean forward and kiss her if I wanted to.
It shocks me that I do want to.
Bryn took me out right after Lizzie broke up with me and told me to screw her out of my system, but I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t even look at another woman, let alone fuck one.
But I’m looking at Katie now. And I like what I’m seeing. I like it a whole lot.
She’s nothing like Lizzie. She’s exactly what I need right now.
I reach out under the covers and find her thigh.
I don’t know what I did last night, but I touch her how I imagine I would have.
Her dark eyes haven’t left mine as I run my fingers up and down her leg.
“Like that?” I ask.
“Higher,” she whispers.
I follow her request and go higher.
I can feel the hem of my t-shirt and if I go much higher, I’ll find her underwear – if she’s wearing any that is.
The thought of her bare in my sheets gets me hard in an instant. I didn’t think I’d want a woman in this way for a long time, but damn, I don’t just want her. I need her. I need her bad.
“If you don’t want me - this, you better say something, Katie. Right now. Because fuck I want you.”
She doesn’t say a word. Her only response is to slide her hand down my arm and urge my hand higher until I’m cupping her ass in my palm.
“Thank fuck for that,” I growl as my mouth finds hers.
Every ounce of built-up tension pours from me to her as our lips fuse together.
My hands are all over her body, the concept of being a gentleman or taking things slowly is long forgotten.
I want her, and I want her now.
Her hands are making short work of the buttons on the front of my shirt, but it’s still taking too long. I reach for it and tug, sending the remaining buttons flying onto the floor and the bed.
I shrug it off and throw it behind me before tugging on the hem of my t-shirt that she’s got covering her body.
It’s over her head in a flash and I’m staring at her hungrily.
She’s got a body made to do wicked things.
She’s curvy and full in all the right places, and tight and toned everywhere else.
She’s barely covered with a black thong and lace bra, but even those aren’t going to last long, not if I have anything to do with it.
She’s clawing at the button of my pants and I shove her hand away so I can undo it for her.
I don’t even bother taking them off all the way, instead just pushing them down around my thighs – it doesn’t feel like there’s time to remove them entirely.
I’m beyond frantic.
She shimmies her underwear down her legs as I watch from my position above her, my hard dick in my hand as I reach for a condom from beside my bed and slide it on.
I’ve heard of foreplay, I swear I have, but I don’t think either of us needs it today.
I lower myself down and push into her in one fluid stroke.
“Jackson,” she moans, and it’s the best thing I’ve heard all week.
CHAPTER FOUR
Katie
I sit the note down on the bedside table before slipping out of his room, my heels and bag in my hand.
I hope like hell that the place down below doesn’t open until evening, or I’m about to do one hell of a public walk of shame.
I probably should have woken him up to say goodbye instead of escaping into the morning light, but I get the feeling the last thing he needs is another woman giving him any kind of drama.
It sounds like he’s got enough of that on his plate already.
I creep down the stairs and am met with silence, which is a total relief.
I smile as I think about having to lug him up these steps last night as he muttered this and that about his ex.
I don’t know a single thing about this Lizzie chick other than her name, but she must not be quite right in the head, either that or the guy she cheated on Jackson with must be a freak in the sack, because my god, this morning was amazing.
I haven’t had sex that good in a long time. I
t was more hard, fast and to the point than it was long and teasing, but it was more than satisfying – for both of us.
Even though I know it’s never going to happen, I can’t help but imagine what it would be like to be with him again, once the lust-filled haze wore off and we could really take our time.
A man like Jackson knows exactly how to use what he’s got.
I reach the front door and push it open, the cool morning air hitting me in the face.
I don’t even bother putting my shoes back on before looking around for the cab I called.
If you’re going to do the walk of shame, you may as well do it right, and besides. I’m not actually ashamed in the slightest.
***
Tillie sips on her takeaway coffee and glances over at me suspiciously as we stroll down the pier.
“You look like you got laid.”
I shake my head at her total lack of tact. “Well that’s because I got laid.”
“What? When?! Ew you didn’t have sex with that wasted dude, did you?”
I laugh. “Actually, I did… but this morning, when he wasn’t drunk at all.”
She holds her knuckles out for a fist bump. “Get it, girl.”
I laugh again. Tillie always has me in stitches.
“Was he hot?”
“Mmm hmm,” I reply as I sip my hot chocolate. I can’t stand coffee. Not even the smell of it.
“Hot hot?”
I groan. Tillie has always insisted on using this ridiculous grading system of hers that’s utterly ridiculous.
“Please god, no.”
“Face?” she prompts, not having a bar of my objecting.
“Brad Pitt fifteen years ago,” I say with a roll of my eyes.
“Oooo.” She nods in approval. “I do love a good Brad.”
I sip my drink again and pray that she’s done.
“Body?”
“Ryan Gosling. At least. Actually, he’s probably more Chris Hemsworth.”
“Dayummm.”
“Voice?”
I shake my head. “I don’t freaking know, Tils, okay? For the love of god, he was hot alright. A total dreamboat.”
She pouts. “At least tell me if he was packin’?”
“Please tell me you’re not seriously asking me about the size of his dick?”
“It’s like you don’t even know me at all sometimes.” She shakes her head in disappointment.
I ignore her and speed up my walking pace.
“You know I’m just going to keep nagging until you spill about the goods...” she calls as she jogs to catch up with me.
She’s not even kidding. She’s like a dog with a bone when it comes to getting the goss.
“He had a very nice penis, okay? Very functional. Did the job well,” I inform her.
She claps her hands together in a slow, show of appreciation.
Sometimes I curse the moment I met Tillie Green. I really do.
“When are you seeing him again?”
“I’m not.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes.
“What? Why not? If he gave you the flick, I’ll go down there and kick his ass. No man drops my girl like a sack of potatoes.”
I laugh and cover my eyes with my free hand. “Seriously, Tills, you need to do something about all of this pent-up rage.”
She opens her mouth, no doubt to spill out some more ridiculous nonsense, but I cut her off.
“He’s just broken up with his fiancé because she cheated on him. He wasn’t looking for anything more than a good time, and neither was I. We had fun. That’s all there was to it.”
She pouts again and grumbles something under her breath that I don’t catch.
She rests her hand on her hip and shoots me a less than impressed look. “So, it was just a one-night stand?”
“Well technically it was a one-morning stand, but I think the sentiment is still the same.”
“I do love a good morning roll in the hay... start the day with a bang.” She sighs. “Are you sure you won’t go back? He sounds kinda perfect. Hot… well equipped…”
I roll my eyes in response.
Tillie has been trying to set me up with my ‘dream man’ for years now, but she’s the only one of the two of us that’s concerned about it.
I’m not looking for a guy. I’m happy doing my own thing, and if one day the right one comes along, then so be it.
She’s a hypocrite anyway, it’s not as though she’s even got herself a man.
Tillie is the most single and ready to mingle person I’ve ever known.
“I’m sure, Tills, he’s not looking for a repeat performance any more than I am. Trust me.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Jackson
Four months later
“Are you coming out with me tonight?”
I don’t even look up from the order sheet I’m filling in. There’s no way I’m going out tonight, and neither is he.
He already knows this, yet every god damn Saturday night he’s rostered on, he insists upon asking this stupid fucking question.
“Yeah, I’ll be there, save me a drink,” I answer sarcastically.
“C’mon, boss man, let’s shut the place down at eleven and go out on the town.”
“Stop talking. Even you aren’t going out with you tonight.”
“When did you get so old and boring?”
I check the contents of the box that has just been delivered and look up at my best mate with a glare.
“It’s true what they say, you know? You should never, ever hire your friends.”
Bryn chuckles and shoots me that smug fucking grin of his.
It’s the one he uses to get the girls — they seem to come running towards a hint of arrogance, but it sure as hell isn’t doing anything for me.
I don’t know how I’ve survived this long with this idiot as my head chef. If it weren’t for the fact that he’s the best on this side of the country, I would have dropped him a long time ago.
“Go do your prep before I kick your ass.”
He waves around a kitchen knife like some type of wannabe ninja and gestures for me to come at him.
“Seriously, dude, have you even heard of health and safety?”
I’m trying not to be amused by him, I really am, but it’s fucking hard — the guy is the class clown that never grew up.
“I’m going out front. To do some actual work. You might be unfamiliar with the term, but give it a try.”
“You really need to get some action,” he calls after me.
“Because that worked out so well the last time,” I mutter under my breath.
I tried the one-night stand thing, and the chick walked out on me when I was sleeping.
Katie.
I still think about her every now and then… and not just about the sex. I actually liked her. She seemed cool. Like the type of distraction I could’ve used.
I go out front and start checking over everything that has to be done before opening in an hour.
There’s a reason this place is booked solid for over a month in advance. I run a tight ship.
Thanks to my moron of a best mate, we serve the best food in town, and thanks to me and the team I’ve trained, we have some of the hottest tricks in the country being pulled behind the bar, and table service that is second to none.
Some people come here to eat — some to drink. Some to do both.
People will queue for an hour just to get to try one of our cocktails — they’re just that good — and that’s not even me being cocky, I’m just being honest.
Matilda will be here in an hour to work front of house and charm the hell out of everyone that walks in the door. People don’t often realise just how important of a job it is, but I do. She’s worth her weight in gold. She’s the first person a customer sees when they walk in the door and the last person to speak to them before they leave.
If people leave happy, they come back. They tell their friends, and then they tell t
heir friends too.
That’s how this business does so well. There’s nothing quite like word of mouth.
I’ve built this place from the ground up. It was meant to be the future for Lizzie and me, but instead, it’s all I have now. And since I have no control over anything else in my life right now, I exercise my power here.
I flick the sound system on and adjust it to just the right level.
I glance at my watch again.
Almost show time.
***
“Jackson, there’s a woman at table three that wants to talk to you about making a booking for a function.” Clay leans into my office.
I grin at him. “Does she look newly engaged?”
Weddings are solid gold in this industry. You can add an extra zero to the price tag of our services and nobody bats an eyelid.
“It’ll break my heart if she is.” He grins. “She’s a beauty.”
I shut my laptop and stand up. “Well, for your sake, I hope she’s single and for my sake, that she’s planning a wedding.” I chuckle as I follow him out.
I do a quick sweep of the room as I walk out into the dining room. I don’t need him to lead me, but he’s well trained — he’ll introduce me when we arrive at the table and then vanish.
I’m looking at the three people at the table curiously. There’s a couple looking very much in love facing my direction and I can almost see them begging me to take their money and help them have the reception of their dreams, but it’s the woman with her back to me that has piqued my interest.
Clay reaches the table ahead of me and says something to her that I don’t catch. Just as I realise who she reminds me of, she turns to face me.
She doesn’t just remind me of her – she is her.
“Katie?” I ask in surprise.
“Well would you look at that, if it isn’t the dreamboat himself? I’m impressed you remembered my name this time.” She grins at me, and just like the last time, it lights up her whole face.
She stands from her chair and gives me a hug like we’re old friends.
Mr. February: A One Night Stand Romance (Calendar Boys Book 2) Page 2
