by K E Osborn
He looks at me and tilts his head. “Did this bitch say peachy?”
“I think he did,” one of his goons says.
“Well, this bitch ain’t going nowhere, dog. You got the 411 there, homeboy?” I say not knowing why I’m talking like a prepubescent teen.
He raises his eyebrow at me and growls, like a dog, he literally bares his teeth and everything. “You dare mock me, son? Well, I’m gon’ show you bitches who the mac daddy is right now! Beau, Jangles, sick ‘em.”
I smirk at his goon’s name but it quickly falls as I see Jangles’ fist flying right for my face. I don’t have time to duck before his fist the size of a dinner plate smashes right into my nose. A sharp pain radiates right through my face as I groan out loud hunching over while another blow lands in my stomach, forcing my knees to give out and I collapse to the floor. I hear muffled moans coming from Danger too, and I squint opening my eyes to look at him.
He’s on the floor, his face covered in blood too.
“Oh, you showed them Debt Money, you’re my big teddy bear daddy,” Harmony or Melody, I don’t know which one she is, jumps up into his arms as he chuckles above us, while the other girl records it all on her cell.
“And that’s called getting your ass whooped by the man,” Debt Money says as he leans in kissing the girl.
“Now get out,” Jangles says grabbing my shirt and hoisting me off the ground. I wipe my nose and blood smears across my arm and runs down my chest. I guess Debt Money has no idea who we are, that we’re in the same industry, and I have no doubt we’re going to make it bigger than him. And when we do, we’ll be the one throwing him on his ass!
Danger staggers over to me and we turn heading for the exit as they laugh at our backs.
“You okay, bro?” I ask.
He slaps my back. “Yeah, just a sore jaw. Nothing’s broken I don’t think. Except there’s a cut to my lip. How’s your nose?”
I crinkle it and it aches but it’s not agony. “Not broken, I don’t think.”
“Fucking rappers thinking they own the joint,” Danger sneers.
I chuckle. “They’re not all like Debt Money, he’s just an exception to the asshole rule.”
“You’re telling me!”
“Let’s go home. I’m sure Lunar’s gonna flip when she sees us,” I say.
“Shit! She’s gonna kill me for getting in a fight.”
I laugh. “A fight? I don’t think that qualifies. We’d have to have thrown a punch too for it to equal a real fight. No, we had our asses handed to us,” I say, and he chuckles as people look at our bloodied faces while we walk to the car.
“Yeah, we kinda did, hey? Damn it… we were pussies!”
I chuckle. “No, we were smart. We know when we’re outnumbered.”
He nods opening the car door. “True.”
I slide in the driver’s side and start the car to drive us home.
***
We walk through the front door to see Lunar on her cell. I prepare myself for when she turns around to see us and she slowly turns her head, her eyes open wide and she stands up tall and lets out a small ear piercing scream making Danger and I both jump slightly.
“Jesus Christ! Mum, I’ll have to call you back, Ryan and Danger have tried to kill each other.” She hangs up her cell and stands up pursing her lips, folding her arms across her chest, tilting her body to one side. “Okay… someone talk. Talk fast… and I want the fucking truth.”
Danger smiles as we walk in and we both take a seat at the dining table. “We were at the VIP lounge and Debt Money came in with his crew.”
She opens her eyes wide. “As in the rapper?”
Danger nods as she gathers a clean dishcloth, wets it and comes over wiping away the blood from his face. He winces slightly from the pain and she smirks enjoying the show.
“So anyway… his whores wanted to play pool with us. We said no then they dibba-dobbed on us. So Debt Money wanted us to leave,” I say and she raises her eyebrow and murmurs out a groan.
“Let me guess… Danger got all pissy?” she asks.
He chuckles and she pushes harder as she wipes his mouth. He winces and I smirk at her.
I love this chick.
“We didn’t really do anything and he set his goons on us. They attacked us unprovoked, we didn’t fight back. Some skank was recording it.”
Lunar groans shaking her head. “You know that’s going to end up online, right?”
Danger and I both exhale slumping in our chairs as she grabs another cloth and comes over to me wiping at my nose. It stings but at least she’s gentle with me.
“It better not end up online! I don’t want people seeing us being beaten and not fighting back, we’ll look like pussies,” Danger says.
“Shut up! You’ll look like you were being attacked unprovoked… fucking cock sucking mother fucker. If I ever see him out I’ll sucker punch him myself for doing this to my favorite men,” Lunar jibes.
I smile loving the protective mother hen instinct she has going on for us.
“Well, hopefully, it won’t go live and we’ll have nothing to worry about,” I say.
“Yeah, ‘cause Tillie would love to clean up this mess,” Lunar murmurs making my stomach flip, but in a very bad way.
***
I wake to the sound of my cell ringing. My nose is aching and my head is pounding so much the incessant ringing is like a sledgehammer to my skull. I struggle for my cell and when I finally find it I pick it up placing it to my ear. “Mmm,” I murmur as a hello.
“Okay, first… are you okay? Is anything broken?” Tillie’s concerned but beautiful voice soothes my aching head instantly.
“Nothing’s broken. I’m fine. A little sore and bruised. A dented ego maybe, but everything’s fine…” I pause. “Wait, how do you know?”
“Because it’s all over the entertainment news, Ryan. Debt Money posted a clip of him ‘taking it to the man’ as he put it and it’s gone viral. People have identified you and Danger in the clip and tagged you in it. Debt Money came out saying he thought you guys were locals, not celebrities, and he has publicly apologized. I don’t think it’s good enough, though, and his apology is more of a ‘well if they weren’t there this wouldn’t have happened’ type of thing. Very insincere and definitely fake. Everyone’s commenting saying how the apology is a joke and how we should take action.”
She’s talking so fast I can barely keep up. “Take action?” I question.
“I’ve talked it over with Oliver and if you and Danger agree, we’re going to sue Debt Money and the men who attacked you. I’ve already contacted the police with the footage. The two men who hit you… unprovoked I might add, as the video shows complete evidence… they’re going to be charged with assault and battery. We can’t let them get away with this.”
Opening my mouth wide, I smirk slightly and nod. “Okay, I agree. Let’s have them charged and sue their asses. Make people realize that they can’t treat people this way.”
“Exactly, Debt Money has apparently been doing this for a while, but it’s never been caught on video in full before. Whoever uploaded the video obviously were only supposed to upload the punch up, but they put the whole thing showing the entire incident.”
“Well, thank you Harmony… or Melody… whichever dumb blonde it was,” I say.
“Huh?” Tillie murmurs.
“Never mind… how’s Las Vegas?”
She exhales. “It’s good, things are progressing well. Looks like a deal will be made with Zaria, Ryan. I was so worried when I saw that video, though. Are you sure you’re okay?”
Warmth encases me that she’s so concerned, and it makes me feel so fucking good that the pain in my face almost completely disappears. “I’m good, I promise… wishing you were here, though,” I say honestly.
She’s quiet, a little too quiet, for a little too long. My heart starts to pound as I wonder if she’s changed her mind about us.
“You mean that?” she says so quietl
y I barely hear her as she finally breaks the tension, her voice barely above a whisper.
“Of course… I miss you.”
She sniffs, and my chest squeezes at the sound. I hope like fuck she isn’t crying. I’d hate it if I’ve made her upset.
“I miss you, too. I thought… I thought from our last call things were… well, different between us.”
Exhaling, I run my fingers through my hair. “I was a dick, Tillie. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
She sighs and is quiet again.
“When are you coming home?” I ask breaking the silence.
“This afternoon.”
“Can I pick you up at the airport?”
“I’d love that. Then you can take me back to mine and we can have dinner?” she says more like a question.
“Yeah, I’d love to see your place.”
“Great, it’s a date. My flight lands at ten past five. Don’t be late.”
Chuckling, I nod. “I won’t. I’ll be there three hours early just waiting to see your beautiful face.”
A noise like a gasp echoes down the cell and I smile.
“Smooth talker.”
“Only for you.”
“Are you really okay? Did you go to the hospital to get checked out?”
I smile at her concern. “I didn’t go to the hospital, but I don’t need to. I’m fine, I promise.”
She exhales. “Okay, I’ll see you a bit after five.”
“See you then, beautiful.”
“No more fights, okay?”
I chuckle and nod. “I promise. Now go snag us an Oscar winner.”
“It’s practically a done deal, just have to see when she can fit us into her schedule.”
“Shit, really?”
She giggles. “Yep, I’m that good. Don’t tell the others, though, I want to tell them when I get back, well tomorrow anyway.”
“Okay done. Can’t wait to see you.”
“You too, but really I have to go this time. I’m glad you’re okay.”
“See you in a few hours.”
“Bye, Ryan.”
“Bye, beautiful girl.”
She hangs up and I sit in my bed feeling so much happier than I did last night. My face still hurts but at least I know Tillie’s tension with me has now eased. At least something good came from the disaster that was last night.
Getting up, I head downstairs to find Danger and make sure he’s okay this morning.
Chapter Twelve
TILLIE
Heading for the baggage claim, I spot Ryan waiting for me with a couple of bodyguards. I walk faster to him as he looks up, spots me, and starts rushing toward me. Once he reaches me, he picks me up and spins me around in a circle surprising me as I giggle and melt into him completely. He slides me down his body, and I look up at his bruised face with a sigh as I lean up caressing his cheek. I frown and swallow hard.
“It looks worse than it feels,” he says.
I roll my eyes and half-laugh. “Yeah, sure.”
He smiles, leaning in to kiss me. I press my lips to his softly, I don’t want to hurt his nose. He pulls back and smiles. “You don’t have to be gentle with me.”
“Hmmm… well, I should kick your ass for getting in a fight. It’s a PR nightmare. But to be honest any publicity is good publicity as they say, and so a whole new audience of people have now heard of Recoil thanks to Debt Money. More radios are playing your songs, and today I even saw TMZ playing an old music video of yours to show people who the guys were that are taking on Debt Money. If this was a publicity stunt, I’d say it was going very well for the band.”
He tilts his head just slightly. “Really?”
“Yep, really.”
“See… maybe I am better at this PR gig than you give me credit for, Tillie.”
I laugh poking his nose and he winces with a slight groan. “You go around getting bashed up for PR. Very smart, Mister Hunter. Now take me home, please?” I demand, and he raises his eyebrows at my bossiness and grins.
“Yes, ma’am.” He fake salutes as I grab my luggage, of which Ryan quickly takes from me, and we head to his car.
“So it’s really a done deal with Zaria then?”
“Sure is,” I reply as he loops his fingers with mine while his other hand drags my suitcase.
“Nate’s gonna flip. Hopefully, it will cheer him up, the grumpy old fart.”
“He does seem extra grouchy lately.”
He lets me go as I slide into the car, then he hoists my bag into the trunk and walks around hopping into the driver’s seat. I pull on my belt as he starts the car, the radio turns on and a Recoil song is playing. We look at each other and grin.
“I’ll never get tired of that,” he says, and I nod.
“It must be amazing to hear something you’ve created being broadcast for everyone to hear.”
“Amazing doesn’t cover it. There’s no word in the English language fit to describe it, Tillie. It’s utter euphoria every single time.”
I link my fingers with his on the gearstick as he pulls out of the parking space.
“So I wanted to apologize for being an A-grade fucker to you.”
“You weren’t that bad.”
He looks to me briefly and chuckles. “I tried to scare you with a rat, I ruined your computer, I farted on your live streaming and I treated you like shit… so for all of that, I’m sorry.”
Exhaling, I nod. “I get it, you were hurting. I took your job and although childish and immature of you… your methods to try and out me… I understand why. You want to be needed. Hey, I’m the same. I cared for my grandmother while she was terminal up until she passed, and doing that left me with the feeling of having to be needed. She gave me the computer you glitter bombed.”
His head snaps around, his eyes wide as he stops breathing. “Fuck! You’re kidding, right?”
I shake my head and wince.
His whole body slumps as he looks back to the road and exhales loudly, tightening his grip on my hand. “Fucking hell, Tillie, I’m so sorry. If I’d have known, there’s no way… Fuck! I’m such a goddamned moron.”
“It’s okay. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t work anymore. I still have it. It would have died eventually one day anyway, and I would have only had the shell. So at least now I can retire it, and have the advantage of a brand new computer.”
He huffs and shakes his head. “Still, I’m very sorry. What an asshole thing to do. It just shows how beautiful you are that you can forgive me for something like that.”
“There’s no point being angry about something you didn’t know about. Sure you shouldn’t have done it in the first place, but you were trying to get rid of me.”
He glances at me and smiles. “I’m glad it didn’t work.”
I chew on my bottom lip to hide my smile. “Me too.”
He pulls my hand up to his mouth and gently kisses it. Goosebumps litter my skin and now I can’t hide my smile as we drive the rest of the way to my house in semi-silence.
***
After dinner we’re cuddled up on the couch. It’s getting late and after my long day I can’t help but let out a long drawn out yawn.
Ryan looks at me then unwraps his arm from around me and moves to get up. Opening my eyes, I watch him as he picks up his cell and keys from the coffee table and puts them in his pocket. “You’ve had a big day, and you’re obviously tired. I’m gonna head off.”
My stomach flips and my heart races faster, being in his arms has been the calmest my body has felt for ages. I don’t want him to leave. “You don’t have to go.”
He raises an eyebrow and his lips turn up either side of his mouth slightly. “Are we ready for sleepovers?”
I swallow hard and talk without thinking. “Well, you can stay over but it doesn’t necessarily mean we have to… you know. Unless you want to… you know. But we don’t have to because we may not even be at that stage yet, you know what I mean? It’s just that sometimes I think that—”
“Y-You w-will?” I stutter.
He nods putting his hand out to me. I smile and click the off button on the television remote sending the room into a darkened state. It’s only lightened by the blue hues of the moon shining in through the window.
“Let’s go to bed,” he suggests.
My abdomen clenches as my nipples grow into tight buds. My hand slips into his, sending warmth and sparks through my hand as he pulls me off the couch. He smiles but says nothing as he starts walking us out of the living room, through the archway, and into the hall. The sparks flying through the air are electric as his fingers interlace with mine. My blood is pumping so fast the whooshing sound in my ears almost drowns out the rapid fire of my panting breaths. My skin is prickling with goosebumps already and all we’re doing is walking down the damn hallway!
We get to my door, walk in and move straight to my bed.
He turns around to face me, his eyes hooded and glassy. “How tonight goes is up to you. There are no expectations, and I won’t be disappointed if we just sleep cuddled up to each other.”
I love that he isn’t putting pressure on me to have sex with him, but every inch of my body is screaming for him to touch me. It has been from the moment he called me a pompous asshole.
“Shut up and kiss me, Ryan,” I say, running my hands through his hair and pulling his face to meet me. He chuckles then his tongue dances frantically with mine.
His hands move to the bottom of my shirt and he starts to lift it up slowly as if he still isn’t sure about where I want this to go. I smile against his lips moving my hands from his hair down to my shirt and help him pull it up over my head, parting our lips to lift it up over my head. He looks into my eyes and smiles wide, now knowing I’m in this. All the way.
His eyes drift down to the white lace bra that holds my breasts in place, and he licks his lips as his hands slide around my back. He leans in, his lips gently peck at my neck sending a wave of goosebumps to prickle down my side as he unclips my bra. It slides off my arms leaving my top half naked while he breathes heavily and kisses down from my neck taking a nipple into his mouth and sucking on my taut bud. I gasp at the wet warmth as he nips firmly with his teeth sending a shudder through my core. My thighs pull together to dull the ache throbbing between them as my hands run through his dusky blond hair.
