by Mathew Ortiz
“How filthy! I’m impressed,” he chuckled.
He changed into a nice cowl-neck burgundy sweater, black corduroys and Bass shoes. Linking his fingers with mine, he led me out of the house, shouting out a cheery ‘bye to his mother and grandmother and down to his car. I had to keep from laughing as we approached the vehicle. For all his working on motorcycles—he’d recently completed one and sold it within twenty-four hours—his choice in cars baffled me. He owned a hunter green Mini Cooper with a white hard top. I mean, really? I expected a truck or a jeep… not a Mini Cooper! Cotton Myer never ceased to amaze me. One minute, just when I thought I’d figured him out, he did or said something to throw me off. He started up the car and, within minutes, we were zipping through the evening roads of Atlanta. Our reservation was for eight o’clock and I was looking forward to eating at Vermillion Crush. I think the only reason we were able to get a reservation was because of Avery. He worked as the butcher and second chef at Whisper’s Green, Valentino DaCosta’s third restaurant. Avanti Blue was the flagship and Vermillion Crush was the second place he’d opened.
Cotton parked, killed the engine and I attempted to get out of the car but he stopped me. A light, drizzly rain had begun to fall and he grabbed the umbrella from the back seat, opened it and got out. Slamming the driver’s door, he came around my side of the car. Damn him and his gentleman’s manners. He opened the door and I stepped out under the relative dryness of his umbrella.
“You are one charming devil, Cotton Myer,” I purred.
“My momma taught me manners.” He cocked his head at the door. “Ready for some serious romancin’?”
“Bring it on!” I shivered both from the cold and excitement.
The door whore nearly derailed our evening. Cotton had gone to confirm our reservation and she claimed it wasn’t there. Cotton’s face tightened and I knew he was close to blowing. I fished out my phone and called Avery. He’d given me his number, along with Boone’s, in case we needed to contact them and Cotton didn’t have a working phone. I tapped the number and Avery’s voice came over the line a moment later.
“Hey, Caleb. What’s up?”
“Having a spot of trouble at Vermillion Crush. Shall I put Cotton on?” I asked and Avery said yes. “Cotton. Avery for you.” I handed him the phone. He stalked away from the blonde monster in the black dress and from the terse words Cotton was giving his brother, something interesting was going to happen. Cotton abruptly shut off the phone and walked over to me. I reached out and took his hand, it trembled in mine. He was angrier than I’d ever seen him.
“Cotton? Talk to me.” I nudged him and he huffed out a furious breath.
“She’s only doing this cause I ain’t some uppity snob that usually comes here. She’s done this before and gotten in trouble accordin’ to Avery. She’s infamous and why did you call Avery? Didn’t you think I could handle this myself?” He scowled and puffed up his chest. I immediately regretted what I’d done. I’d inadvertently dinged his manhood.
“I’m sorry, Cotton. I only called him because he works for the owner of Vermillion Crush.” I rubbed his arm and the scowl disappeared.
“I can’t stay mad at you.” He shook his head and was about to continue when a sharply dressed Latin man walked into the entry and I almost swallowed my tongue. There stood Valentino DaCosta himself. Still as gorgeous as the first time I met him. He spotted Cotton and I and smiled. The hostess noticed and stiffened as Valentino walked toward us. He extended his hand to Cotton, who shook it.
“I am so sorry this happened, Cotton. I just got off the phone with Avery. I thought when I spoke to Micheline the last time this happened, she’d learned her lesson. Being the hostess doesn’t mean she can act like that.” He paused and, when he looked closer at me, it hit him. “Madre de Dios! Caleb?”
“Took you bloody long enough,” I chided and he took my hand in both of his. Cotton stared at us curiously.
“Mr. DaCosta and I met several years ago, on a flight to Boston. We, or should I say I, planned to meet him for drinks when he flew back to Atlanta. It never happened. The next time I saw him, he had a gorgeous ginger man on his arm.”
Valentino laughed and rubbed a hand over his neck. “That would be my husband, Shamus DaCosta.”
Cotton frowned but, as we explained, his face relaxed. I slipped my arm through his and said, “Fate knew what should happen. I was meant for you, Cotton.”
Valentino, gracious as always, led us to our table. As we passed Micheline, we noticed another woman coming up behind her. Valentino stopped and addressed the hostess directly.
“Micheline, Leigh is going to take your place. Please go to the back office. Dane and I want to speak with you.” The coldness in his voice chilled my spine and from the way she blanched, it did hers too. She skittered off and her replacement instantly slipped into the booth and began to go over the reservations. DaCosta led us to a prime table and sat us personally.
“This happened before to a friend of my extended family. She was warned and she did it again. Tonight, was the last straw. Please, dinner is on me.”
Cotton and I thanked him. We settled down and within minutes, our waiter had taken our orders and disappeared into the kitchen. The whole restaurant dripped romance. Deep reds and lush patterned fabrics made up the furniture and the walls were covered in wood slats. Long glittering pendants sparkled above the tables and each table was dressed with crisp, white table cloths and cool white dishes. I ordered a whiskey and Cotton a sparkling water.
“It doesn’t bother you that I drink?” I asked around a sip of the amber liquid in my glass.
“I’m fine… mostly.” He gave me a lopsided grin. “I know you like to drink, Caleb.”
“I try not to in front of you.”
“It’s fine… really.” His hand covered mine. “I don’t expect you to change and I appreciate the consideration.”
“I love you, Cotton Myer.” The admission came from depths of my soul.
“Love you too, Caleb.” He tugged at his beard. “My sponsor questioned my feelins’ for you and suggested I should step back and rethink gettin’ involved so soon after my stint in rehab. I admit, I didn’t plan on meetin’ you, likin’ you and fallin’ for you, but I did. Things happen when they’re meant to and we’re meant to be together, Caleb. Good or bad, I’ve got your back.”
“I’m going to need your strength, Cotton. The court date is in less than two weeks.” He clenched my hand and I soaked up his warmth.
“I’m your rock.” And that had to be the most romantic thing, he could have said to me.
The main meal came and I enjoyed the lamb lollipops glazed in mint balsamic vinegar. The whipped parsnips melted on my tongue like a soufflé. Cotton noshed on his medium rare steak with gusto and I sampled his root vegetable mash-up. I took a long sip of water.
“Cotton, can I ask you something?”
He looked up from cutting his steak and looked at me. “Of course, babe.”
“I was thinking. I don’t want to not wake up to you in the mornings.” My voice wobbled. Cotton set his fork and knife down. “I wanted to know if you would move in with me.” There, I said it.
He chewed, swallowed, and said, “No.”
My mouth fell open and the hurt of rejection rushed over me. “Oh. My mistake.” My face grew hot and embarrassment roared in my ears.
“Caleb, look at me,” he ordered and I did so, reluctantly. His warm brown gaze held me captive. “I said no because it’s too soon. You have the trial to go through and we need to date more. I’m sure you love me and I know I love you, but I think we should wait. How about I spend my nights with you when you’re not on a run. When you’re flying off to London or Rome, I’ll stay at my place.”
“I guess so.”
“I’m not rejectin’ you, Caleb. So get rid of that hound dog face,” he chided and I sighed. “I want us to go slow and spend more time gettin’ to know each other without me being fresh out of rehab and you having to te
stify hangin’ over our heads.”
He had a point and that annoyed the crap out of me. The trial could go on for months and, in reality, moving in together at this point probably wasn’t the best of idea.
“You’re right.” I narrowed my gaze. “Don’t look so smug.”
“I’m not,” he replied. “But I do like bein’ right.” He leant his elbows on the table and gave me a slow, sweet smile. The corners of his mouth disappeared into his beard.
We tarried over our dessert, spicy chili chocolate soufflés, until we realized that most of the clientele had finished and gone home for the evening. The staff puttered around us discreetly, starting to close up for the night. I peered at my watch and was surprised to see we’d been here for over three hours. I didn’t want the evening to end, especially with the nice buzz I had going, and I planned to jump Cotton’s bones as soon as we got back to my condo. As we left Vermillion Crush, I nodded to DaCosta, who was in the lobby. He really was a nice guy and I wished him well as we walked out the door and into the parking lot.
The cold night air burned my lungs and I looked forward to going home and snuggling under my new bed linens with Cotton. Well, snuggling and snogging! Cotton’s hand warmed mine as he interlaced our fingers and the crunch of gravel from our shoes echoed into the night air. I adored this time of year: the chilly nights, the cool days and early sunsets. I didn’t care for summer at all and looked forward to the first changing of the leaves. Cotton tugged at me and I smiled, clumsy in love. He swung me around and in the harsh light of the carpark, his soft lips touched mine. I opened my mouth to him and melted into his body.
“You were supposed to go away!” A shrill voice cut the quiet night. Cotton and I spun around to face its owner.
“Excuse me?” I called out to the person standing on the other side of a car in the shadows. Unease slammed into me. Who was this person? I squinted to get a better look at them. Small, the person was small and slight. A woman? Cotton surged in front and pushed me behind him.
“You should have just shut the fuck up, Jaspers.” Fuck! I know that voice. She stepped out of the shadows cast from the carpark lights.
“Lily?” I blinked twice in disbelief. Lily Burr, Robert Davenport’s best friend, stood no more than twenty feet from me. A shallow, wraith of a woman, who hung on Robert’s every word, Lily hated all of Robert’s boyfriends—me included. Their relationship dynamic perplexed me. She did his bidding without question, almost as though he’d cast a spell over her. She detested me because I took Robert’s time away from her. She’d laughed at my injuries when she came to Robert’s apartment. She bullied and harassed me, belittled me at every turn and in front of Robert. The bastard only laughed at her nastiness and I hated the emaciated blonde cow. I palmed my phone and touched dial.
“You didn’t get it, did you, dumbass?” There was a flash of metal and a cold hand tightened around my heart. Fear froze me to the spot and a cold sweat broke out all over my body. She had a gun.
“Whoa, hang on a minute. I don’t know you miss, but why don’t you put the gun down?” Cotton backed us up slowly.
“Shut the fuck up, trailer trash.” Brandishing the gun wildly, she strode toward us. Her face, as she walked into the light, held no emotion. Her eyes… oh, God her eyes… were flat, like a doll’s. The woman was mental and was pointing a gun at us.
“I won’t let you hurt him. All you little blond whores try to hurt him. I told him not to worry. I’d shut you up. Most of them ran, or I gave them enough money to leave.” She tottered closer and I shrank back. “All except you and Alex-fucking-King. I can’t kill Alex. I love him like a brother. But I can kill you, Caleb.”
“You can’t kill him. I won’t let you,” Cotton shouted and I prayed the last number I’d dialed went through.
“I guess I’ll shoot you first then, beardy boy.” She waved the gun at Cotton and I acted on instinct, shoving myself in front of him.
“No! I won’t let her hurt you, Cotton.”
Her cackle raked across my spine as I turned and walked slowly toward her. I raised my hands in surrender.
“Let him go, Lily. Please.”
“In your dreams, faggot.” She aimed and time seemed to slow. I could hear my heart racing. I closed my eyes, waited for the pain, and heard Cotton shout, ‘No’. Hands roughly shoved me as the boom of the gun going off split the night air.
Cotton’s scream joined the echoing clatter of the gunshot along with the sudden rumble of footsteps. Voices crashed around me and Lily screamed. All of this happened in the space of seconds and I opened my eyes to find Cotton at my feet, moaning. I scooted over and took his face in my hands.
“Stupid, bloody fool. She wanted me!” I cried and finally looked around. Valentino and another woman had Lily pinned to the ground. Three other members of his staff gathered around us. A tall, young man knelt beside me.
“I’m Grover, you’re safe. The boss clocked her and he and Margie have her pinned. You were smart calling Avery. He heard everything and called Valentino. He gathered us up to search for you when we heard the gunshot. Don’t worry, the cops and EMS are on the way.”
Sure enough, mere seconds ticked by and the wail of sirens filled the air. Cotton’s face was screwed up in pain and I ran my hands over him, trying to find out where he had been shot.
“Did she shoot you?”
“Why do you think I’m cryin’?” He snapped and I continued my examination.
“Where did the bullet hit. I can’t find it. I—” Cotton grabbed my face and pulled me closer. His breath, ragged and low, carried his voice and he told me where he had been shot. I started, shocked. I looked around as much as I could and saw a small puddle of blood. “Hang on, love. The paramedics are on their way.”
“Wonderful.” He rolled his eyes. “You can’t tell Avery and especially not Boone. Not. Boone.” He growled. I smirked and kissed his cheek,
“Too late. I dialed Avery when Lily came out of the shadows. Your whole clan knows by now.” I lifted my phone and there were twenty missed calls: five from Avery, twelve from Lynda and three from Boone, along with at least fifteen texts.
“Fuck,” he moaned and promptly passed out. The EMTs thundered over to us from their ambulance and peppered me with questions. They stopped dead when I told them where he’d been shot. They appeared to be having trouble holding in their laughter.
Chapter 10
Cotton
“My name’s Cotton, Cotton Myer. I’m an alcoholic and I’ll be one ‘til the day I die. I’m ownin’ it. I’m ownin’ the truth. I let alcohol control me. I’m never goin’ be cured. It’s always in the shadows, waitin’ for a moment of weakness, a stumble… and sweet God I’m terrified one of those moments will happen to me. I can’t guarantee I’ll make the right choice. I can only guarantee I’ll use all the copin’ skills I’ve learned, to fight the temptation. I hope I make the right decision. But I’m not alone. I have my family to love and support me and the love of a wonderful man. One hundred and thirty-one days… and countin’.”
*
The exam table’s cold surface made my nipples pebble as I lay on my stomach in the pathetic excuse of a hospital gown—meaning my ass was hanging out for anyone who walked by to see.
The last few hours were a blur and I had to focus to recall some of the details. One of the medical people working on me said the trauma of being shot had futzed up my memory. I lay there as they drew blood and took my personal information. I do remember having a wonderful evening at Vermillion Crush with Caleb. After that, it got kind of sketchy. Caleb filled in the missing pieces for me.
Only once had my temper reared its ugly head and I’d held it at bay. In the end, I was able to let it blow away without losing my shit. We’d lingered over dinner and after telling Mr. DaCosta goodnight, we’d walked out to my car. I knew Caleb had balked, when he saw my car. I adored my little Mini Cooper. Yes, I loved my bike and loved restoring them. In fact, a new one was in the works right now and I had t
he engine and some of the shell of a new bike already in the garage. I rode my bike everywhere, however, sometimes, I did need a vehicle to move parts, put groceries in and crap like that. I wanted economy and style and my hunter green Mini Cooper fit the bill, perfectly.
The night was crisp and glorious and I planned on some smooching in the car, then a long lazy evening of fooling around and cocoa. Silly, huh, but I loved cocoa with little mini marshmallows! Falling in love with Caleb had grown organically. One minute the lust for him overwhelmed me and the next, I cared how he felt and I accepted it happily. Anyway, the night had gone well and as we approached my car, I had a weird itch behind my ear and I should have paid it attention. The same itch kept me from getting punched more than once during high school. A grating voice cut the air like a knife and broke the sensual spell I had so carefully woven around Caleb. The screeching voice hit me like a bucket of cold water and we both turned to see a hooded figure. Caleb recognized the woman as Lily Burr, his abusive ex-boyfriend’s BFF who, of course, had a gun. I pushed Caleb behind me then he pushed in front of me. That pissed me off no end. Here I was, trying to protect him and he goes and puts himself in harm’s way. Next thing I knew, she’s aiming to pull the trigger, so I jumped in front of Caleb, shoving him out of the way.
Stupid huh? Getting shot for a guy? I didn’t think, only acted. The pain took my breath away and, as I hit the ground, it dawned on me exactly where I’d been shot. I remember thinking, Oh fuck, I’m never going to live this down… then I passed out. I woke up in an ambulance screaming its way to the closest ER, probably going to City of Hope Hospital. The pain, throbbing and deep, raced along my spine lighting up all my nerves in searing agony. Some guy in an EMT uniform was asking me questions and I answered through clenched teeth. I cursed when he started my IV and connected me to a monitor. I sighed and stopped cursing. The guy rummaged through a toolbox and retrieved a syringe that he checked for air and screwed off the top. His movements were so fluid as he connected it to a spot in my IV and pushed something into the IV tubing. I almost asked him what he had given me when a warmth spread across my chest and over my body. The pain lessened and I got happy… stupidly happy and muzzy. Whooeeee, this feels great. I feel great! I felt soft skin covering my hand and I turned my head, pulling the oxygen tubing in my nose. Caleb sat to my right, his face wet with tears.
