by Joanna Blake
GRIND
Joanna Blake
Copyright © 2015
Joanna Blake
Pincushion Press
All rights reserved.
For my sexy Man Candy.
Chapters
Chapter One - Shameless
Chapter Two - Shirtless
Chapter Three - Princess
Chapter Four - Fondness
Chapter Five - Fruitless
Chapter Six - Sickness
Chapter Seven - Ruthless
Chapter Eight - Pitiless
Chapter Nine - Tactless
Chapter Ten - Softness
Chapter Eleven - Boldness
Chapter Twelve - Fearless
Chapter Thirteen - Kindness
Chapter Fourteen - Reckless
Chapter Fifteen - Mindless
Chapter Sixteen- Elusiveness
Chapter Seventeen - Smugness
Chapter Eighteen - Courageousness
Chapter Nineteen - Luckless
Chapter Twenty - Loneliness
Chapter Twenty One - Progress
Chapter Twenty Two - Rootless
Chapter Twenty Three - Nearness
Chapter Twenty Four - Limitless
Chapter Twenty Five - Happiness
Two Months Later - Togetherness
PLAYER Excerpt
BRO’ Excerpt
A Bad Boy For Summer Excerpt
Chapter One
Chandler
Something wet slid against my ear. I brushed it away, still half asleep. It grazed my skin again and I rolled away from it. I tried to wipe it off on the pillow beneath my head, grimacing at the slimy sensation. Now I was awake and I didn’t want to be.
Damn.
I opened my eyes to see a woman bending over me. Her long blond hair brushed my face. I turned my head away.
“Cut it out.”
She sat up, glaring at me.
“You didn’t seem to mind last night.”
Normally, I would have soothed her. Called her by name. Trouble is, I had no fucking clue who the hell she was.
I looked around.
I had no idea where I was either.
“Fuck me.”
She grinned at me, tossing that long bleached hair over her shoulder.
“I already did.”
Belatedly I noticed that she was wearing some serious lingerie. Black and cream lace. It matched her bedroom. Her very expensive looking bedroom.
I was swimming in a sea of neutral toned sheets and blankets. Silk probably. Expensive, definitely.
“I’d like to again.”
I shook my head.
“Sorry babe, I gotta go.”
She pouted. I rolled out of bed, looking for my clothes.
“Oh come on… Didn’t we have fun together last night?”
I smiled and nodded. It’s not that she was bad looking, even if she was at least a decade older than me. It was hard to tell with these rich older broads. She was toned, buffed and polished to a high shine.
Well preserved didn’t even begin to cover it.
Yeah, she was hot. Not just for a cougar. But I wasn’t in the mood. I didn’t usually go for seconds anyway.
Hell. I never did.
Hit it and quit it was my motto. It served me well. I didn’t want any entanglements and I doubted I ever would.
I looked at her, giving my best impersonation of someone who gave a shit.
“Where are my clothes?”
She smiled back and shrugged.
“I really couldn’t say.”
Fucking hell.
“That’s great. Just great.”
I looked around the room, lifting cushions and opening drawers. Nada. On the bedside table were my keys, wallet and phone. I scooped them up, thanking God for small favors.
“Have a nice day, Ma’am.”
“Wait- you aren’t leaving like that!”
I coyly waved bye bye to her and left. I jogged through her palatial house in the buff. The marble floors were cool under my feet. The place screamed mega bucks. But not in a tacky way. It was tastefully done, just like the lady herself.
She was chasing me through the house, becoming less composed by the second.
“Seriously, you can’t! What will the neighbors think?”
I stopped at the front door of her mansion, glancing back over my shoulder.
“You should have thought of that before you hid my shit.”
She screamed in frustration and threw a vase at me. I heard it shatter against the door as I closed it behind me. Just in the nick of time.
“Damn. That would have left a mark.”
I made a call as I strolled down her manicured driveway to the gate.
“Joss, can you pick me up? I need a ride.”
I leaned against the wrought iron gate and waved at a neighbor who was walking their dog.
“Take your time.”
Carolina
I wiped down the chalkboard with a wet rag. It was the end of the school day. Nearly the end of the year. I looked around the empty classroom and smiled.
I was going to miss these kids.
I knew I’d never forget them.
At first, I’d been overwhelmed. Unprepared. It was my first job as a full teacher. I’d been a TA, sure. All the way through school.
But this was something else entirely.
These kids had put me through the ringer. Challenged me from day one. No free pass here. I’d had to earn their respect. And eventually, their love.
I sighed and grabbed my non-toxic cleansing wipes, cleaning my desk and chair, and then the children’s desks one by one. Just like I did every single day after class. The janitor would do the floors but that’s it. I loved the clean herbal smell as apposed to the dingy bleach smell the mops left in the hallways.
The reason I had such good attendance was simple. It wasn’t because the kids loved my class, even though they did. It was because I cleaned.
Less germs meant fewer sick days.
I threw the last wipe into the garbage, pulling out my little notepad. I added more wipes to my school shopping list. Just because the year was almost over, there was no reason to start slacking.
Nobody wanted to start summer vacation with the sniffles.
I rubbed my shoulders and grabbed my purse, taking one last look around. I walked through the empty hallways. It was always a bit eerie to be honest. Too quiet after hours.
I glanced over my shoulder as I stepped outside.
And was tackled.
My arms were bound in front of me. A blindfold was pulled over my eyes. I felt it being tied behind my head. I would have panicked, except for the giggling.
I sighed, resigned.
I knew what this was.
I was being forced to attend the thing I dreaded most.
A bachelorette party.
My bachelorette party, to be exact.
They bundled me into a car, carefully guiding me inside. The moment the door slammed the car started rolling forward. I heard more giggles and someone shushed. I lifted my hands, reaching for my blindfold.
“Alright you guys, enough.”
Silence. Another giggle broke the tension.
“Shari, I can hear you.”
My blindfold was lifted abruptly. I saw my friend Shari, not surprisingly. She was sticking her tongue out at me. Very mature, considering she was also a teacher at the school I worked at.
She leaned back, pouting.
“You are no fun at all to abduct!”
I rolled my eyes and held my hands out.
“Do you mind?”
My friends were all laughing as Shari untied me. I shook my head at Shari, amazed that she’d managed to organize all the women I knew from the various parts of my life. My
fellow teachers. My best friend from home. The ladies I took dance with at the Y. Even my friend from church.
My very liberal friend from church.
Things were very different here in Miami compared to back home.
Very, very different.
The moment my hands were untied Shari shoved a plastic cocktail glass into my hand and splashed something into it. I sniffed, wrinkling my nose.
“No thanks.”
I tried to give it back but she thrust it back into my hand.
“Uh uh. You are getting shellacked with the rest of us damn it!”
“Darn it.”
She snickered.
“Fine, you are getting hammered darn it. Besides, where we are going, you are going to need it!”
“For God’s sake Caro, lighten up!”
“Yeah, you only get married once!”
“If you’re lucky!”
Katie looked a little shocked at hearing the Lord’s name taken in vain. She shrugged at me from across the limo and held up her own glass. I tried to ignore the strong smell coming from my cup. Everyone started chanting, drink drink drink drink.
I drank.
It burned on the way down, followed by a curious warmth that spread through my body.
“What was that?”
Shari winked at me and held the bottle up, splashing more into my cup.
“Tequila!”
I groaned. I had only ever drank wine before and not much of it. I didn’t care for spirits. I didn’t like to lose control. Ever.
I’d seen enough of that growing up from my neighbors.
And my father.
Especially my father.
Gone by the time I was 12, he’s still left quite an impression. He was a mean drunk and frequently gone for weeks at a time. Most kids wanted their dad home.
Not me.
It was like a thundercloud lifted when he was gone. I could breath. My mother even smiled now and then.
That was saying a lot, considering she’d been raised to believe it was her Christian duty to suffer.
I loved my church and believed the gospel.
But I did not believe suffering was necessary. In fact, I was of the ‘God helps those who help themselves’ way of thinking. I was never going to be a doormat. Or a punching bag. Or a drunk.
But I couldn’t tell my friends all that could I?
Besides, they were right.
You only get married once.
Chapter Two
Chandler
I tilted my head as I worked, careful not to get the razor too close to my nipple. That would hurt like a motherfucker. I knew. I’d nearly shaved the damn thing off the first time I shaved my chest for a show.
I’d learned to be very careful with my manscaping after that.
Working out, tanning, and of course, being baby smooth for show time. I didn’t diet. But I didn’t have to. Most of the guys did.
After all, looking good was a vital part of the job.
The very, very lucrative job.
I grabbed a jar of Vaseline and slid a bit on my recently whitened teeth. I smiled at myself in the mirror, running my hands through my wavy blond hair. Finally I used some eye drops to make my bright blue eyes sparkle.
A lot of the guys used bronzer and eyeliner. A few even went further than that, adding glitter or even a bit of red on their lips. I wasn’t into all that. My look was clean. Manly. Besides, I was pretty enough.
The ladies sure as shit seemed to think so.
Chaz stepped into the room carrying a tray and shot glasses. Normally I didn’t drink before a show but I was feeling a bit tense tonight. I wasn’t sure why. So when he handed me a shot glass over filled with tequila, I downed it.
“Another?”
I nodded and tipped my head back a second time. It burned going down. Damn, if that didn’t hit the spot.
There. Now I was in the right headspace.
I dropped and did a set of a hundred pushups. That made the muscles really pop and gleam. Some body oil rubbed into my chest and shoulders finished up my prep.
The crowd outside sounded big tonight. Not that it ever wasn’t. We packed the house almost every night, with standing room only on weekends.
But tonight, something felt different.
They sounded off the wall.
Fuck me if I didn’t have goosebumps. I hadn’t had stage fright in years. Not that I had it now. But something was up.
I walked to the edge of the curtain and looked out.
“Packed house tonight. They’re edgy too.”
I nodded. Maybe that was it. A good performer caught the energy of the crowd and went with it.
And I wasn’t just good.
I was the best.
The music started pumping as the guys lined up for the opening act. The lights went out and we took our places. Strobe lights and fake fog filled the air as the crowd went absolutely bat shit crazy.
Showtime.
Carolina
This could not be happening.
I closed my eyes and groaned. The room was spinning very slightly. I grabbed onto the wall and shook my head. That just made it worse.
I’d had more drinks tonight than I’d ever had in my life. Combined.
The limo had taken us to happy hour and then to this place.
The Show.
That’s what it was called apparently. To keep an air of respectability about the place most likely. But I’d known as we walked through the lobby. This was a strip club for women.
There was nothing respectable about it.
The walls were lined with posters of men. Large, muscly men. They were almost naked. I lowered my eyes¸ afraid to look.
It’s not that I disliked looking at good-looking men. And from what I saw out of the corner of my eye these were. Very, very good-looking. It’s just that… somehow…they were extra naked.
Maybe it was the oil. Or the teeny tiny things covering their private areas. Or the sunglasses. Something about a mostly naked man in sunglasses was alarming to me.
It’s not like we were at the beach.
Even at the beach, I knew I would find all those aggressively carved muscles unsettling. I’d never even known someone built that way. Well, just one. But that was so long ago.
I felt dizzy at the thought of him. I groaned, looking around for the exit. Enough was enough. It was time to go home.
I tried to turn around and walk out but the girls held my elbows, boxing me in as they marched me the lobby. I was being held hostage. There was no escape.
“Oh no, you are not going anywhere!”
“You guys. I am not feeling well… I really don’t think…”
They ignored me completely as we stood in line. Katey stated drunkenly singing ‘here comes the bride’ and I shushed her. But it was too late. Everyone was staring at us.
Shari snickered and paid for the tickets. Fifty dollars each. I groaned. I couldn’t very well make a run for it now, could I? They’d just bought my ticket as well. And it’s not like any of my girlfriends were rich.
I resigned myself to the inevitable. Maybe if I was lucky they’d put us in the back. I could sneak out to the bathroom once the lights went out.
We stood there for a couple of minutes before we were ushered inside by an extremely muscular man. His blond hair was in a ponytail. He wore very tight looking pants and a vest. He showed us to our seats. Right at the very front of the stage.
Oh no.
This could not get any worse.
But it did.
It got so, so much worse.
The girls ordered more drinks. Shari flirted with the blond waiter. At least someone was having a good time. Heck, Shari could have a good time at the dentist’s office. Or a convention. For bank tellers.
“Keep ‘em coming. And make sure she gets special treatment.”
“Bride?”
She giggled and nodded. I saw the blond giant wink at her. I felt dread settle in the pit of my stomach. What
the heck were they up to? Nothing good, I was sure of it.
The lights faded and I sunk into my seat, hoping to avoid notice.
Suddenly the room got quiet. Very, very quiet. Then the lights came up again. The music started pumping. And the men came out.
My mouth was dry as I stared at them. They were perfect specimens. All of them in their own way. Big, strong, strapping.
And they were taking their clothes off.
Just a little at first. A suspender. A hat. But then they reached down in unison and tore their pants away.
For a minute I thought I might faint.
I barely noticed as the waiter came back and set our drinks down. I didn’t even blink as a cold glass was pressed into my hand. I was staring at him. The lead dancer who stood center stage.
He was clearly the star.
His sunglasses obscured his eyes but his face was gorgeous- beautiful even. But not in a feminine way. No, he was all man.
Especially his- I looked away finally, realizing that I was staring at the very obvious bulge in his skimpy underpants. If you could even call them that.
Actually, that was insulting to underpants.
This was a little scrap of fabric. Like a washcloth. Or a handkerchief.
I could almost see his… manly part… it was huge. It moved with every twist and turn of his body. Then the lights changed and he was gone.
I realized I was holding a drink and wrapped my lips around the straw. The cold fruity slush was heavily spiked. I felt a wave of dizziness come over me again.
The MC came onto the stage and welcomed the crowd. He named all the dancers, including one he called Candy, It made me laugh a little. What a silly name for one of those big, oversexed guys.
It reminded me of him too.
Chandler.
The girls back home called him Candy. I’d been too innocent to understand why. But now that I was older, I had a much better idea.
It wasn’t because he was sweet.
I shook my head, dispelling the memory. That was so long ago. I would never make a fool of myself like that again.
The MC was still talking, laying down the ground rules. No flash photography. No videos. Then he leaned towards our table and grinned.
