Great!
I quietly ask the server if there are salads without shrimp because I have a shellfish allergy. He looks at me all wide-eyed and says no and that all the dishes tonight have some sort of shellfish in them. I sit back in my chair as everyone starts to eat, not believing that this is happening. I watch the server who I just spoke with confer with Jacqueline who is at the end of the table a few chairs down from me. After the server tells her the issue, which I am assuming is about my shellfish allergy, she simply shrugs at me sheepishly before dismissing the server. She mouths ‘sorry’ to me before continuing her conversation with the person to her right.
Jacqueline knows of my shellfish allergy. Hell, she was there when I had an allergic reaction back in twelfth grade and ended up in the ER because the restaurant we ate at used the same utensils for the French fries and fried shrimp.
I quietly excuse myself from the table. Jacqueline stops me and I tell her I am going to the bathroom and will be right back. She gives me a disapproving look. I am sure that in her book I am breaking some kind of social rule by leaving the dinner table to use the bathroom. I probably am, but I really don’t care.
Instead of going to the bathroom, I head towards the front door and ask the butler for my purse and coat. He promptly gets my items and I leave.
I make it home a little before 1opm. I order a pizza before I wash off my makeup and change into pajama shorts and a sweatshirt. Chewy and I ring in the new year cuddled together on my bed watching the first Avengers movie.
Chapter 2 – Isaac Rossi
Isaac - New Year’ Eve – around 8pm
I am bored out of my fucking mind.
I shouldn’t be because it’s New Year’s Eve and I am at a New Year’s Eve party – my family’s New Year’s Eve party to be exact. My pop and uncle own a construction company (R&R Construction) and every year they have a New Year’s Eve party for their clients and family friends. This year is the 22nd year they have had the party and this is the first time I have been this bored.
I should be having a good time – my family and friends are here and I have a gorgeous date – yet I have chosen to hide out in the shadows of the balcony that overlooks the busy hotel ballroom below.
From my hiding place, I have a good view of the crowd. I see my baby sister, Zoe and her husband Charlie, who is also one of my best friends. Hell, he is more like a brother since we have known each other since we were ten-years-old and he practically lived with us. I smile to myself, watching them sway to the slow song playing. They look happy.
I let my gaze scan the crowd some more, looking for my other friends. My gaze doesn’t go far as I spot Ivy and her husband, Wood, along with Maddie and her date. My date, Claire is a few feet away talking with…I don’t know who the fuck who. I take a sip of my neglected and now watered down drink as I think about my date.
Claire Barnett has been my steady piece of ass for the past six months. We are not dating nor are we ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’; as I said, she is just my steady piece of ass. I know that may sound crass and just down right doggish, but it is what it is. I am by no means a dog, a player, a pimp or whatever some men seem to aspire to be. I am not one of those men who hate women and therefore treat them horribly. I am the total opposite actually.
I absolutely love women. Apart from the way they smell, how they feel, how they taste, I also love a woman who is independent and self-assured. There is nothing more sexy than a woman who can handle her business and still allow a man to protect and comfort her. I love how they can render me speechless with something as simple as giving me a glimpse of their thigh high stockings or seducing me with verbal foreplay. I love everything about women and would never hurt them intentionally.
With that being said, the women I get involve with know what to expect. I tell them upfront that I am not looking for a relationship beyond a physical one. Most of time, this works out well. I get a steady diet of pussy without the emotional attachment. Yet, on a few occasions, a woman that I am involved with will become attached and wants something more than just sex. That is when I end things. I just don’t want a real relationship.
Claire has been the perfect physical relationship - until recently. She has been hinting to wanting more. Which to be honest, I am not ready for – well, with her anyway. I think if the right woman came along who piqued my interest beyond sex, I think I would be ready to try a real relationship.
At the beginning of December, I told Claire that we should end things because I couldn’t give her what she wanted - she upped her game by bringing another female into the mix – offering me a threesome. I hadn’t had a threesome since my college days, so of course I was all over that shit – on two separate occasions.
Even with that, I know I am going to end things with Claire and I need to do it soon. I don’t want to lead her on any more than I might have already by not ending it when I should have.
I see a figure coming up the winding staircase that leads to the balcony. I step back further in the shadows, not wanting to be discovered.
“Isaac.” The voice calls out.
It’s my brother, Judah.
“I know you are up here, so stop hiding,” he continues. I smile to myself because no matter what, he can always find me, even when I don’t want to be found.
I step out of the shadows and greet him with a chin nod. He hands me a glass tumbler of amber colored liquid. I give it a sniff. It’s scotch. I see that he has one too.
“Thanks Judah,” I say, pulling a chair from the corner and taking a seat. He does the same. I place my watered-down drink on the floor beside my chair.
“So why are you up here hiding little brother?”
I shake my head with a slight smile as I take a sip of my drink. Judah and I are identical twins. He was born at 11:53pm on October 29th while I was born at 12:11am on October 30th. Just because he was born eighteen minutes earlier that me, he likes to refer to me as his little brother.
“I’m not hiding per se; I am just bored as shit and I really don’t feel like mingling.”
We sit in silence for a moment before I speak again.
“So why are you up here hiding? Are you bored too?”
“Maybe,” he says before taking a sip of his drink.
As I said before, Judah is my identical twin and since we shared a womb, we pretty much know everything about each other. If he is up here with me – ‘hiding’ – I know he is bored too. Judah is usually the life of the party - the wild twin some would say. Truth be told, he is not the ‘wild twin’ - our personalities are very much identical, although how we show them to the world is quite different.
With Judah, what you see is what you get. He will say whatever is on his mind – inappropriate or not and he makes no apologies for it. While I may think the same inappropriate thing as Judah, I will run it through my mental filter first – making it acceptable before I speak. That is not always the case though. When I am with my boys, I am very much like Judah – spewing out whatever pops into my head. However, in mixed company, I try my best to run it through my mental filter, so I don’t come across as crude and/or crass.
“So I think Claire and I have run its course,” I finally say.
Judah looks at me with a raise eyebrow.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah,” I respond before taking another sip of my drink. “She has been hinting to wanting more, beyond the physical.”
I know that Judah understands, because he is just like me when it comes to relationships. He only does the physical relationships too. And before you think we are like this because we come from a broken home or some girl broke our hearts or some shit like that – trust me, it is nothing like that. Our parents have been married for 37 years and we know what a healthy and loving relationship looks like.
My last girlfriend was almost seven years ago. We broke up because she accepted a job in New York and I wasn’t willing to move. Since then, I have been content to keep things with females on a strictly physical l
evel.
“So when are you going to end it,” Judah asks me, taking a sip of his drink.
“Tonight – before midnight. I know it may be shitty to do it now, but I don’t want to give her false hope. I mean, how would it look if I fucked her and then ended it?”
He agrees with me and we sit in silence, watching the crowd below.
__________________________
Around 9pm, I find myself seeking out Claire. I plan to leave the party before midnight (alone) and I need to talk to her. I finally spot her speaking with a couple near the bar.
I catch her eye and she excuses herself from the couple and comes over to me. Claire is really quite beautiful. Her café au lait coloring is radiant as she walks toward me; her black dress showcasing her curvy and luscious body; a curvy and luscious body that I can fuck six ways to Sunday if I want. She saunters up to me.
“What’s up Isaac?” she asks before she gives me a kiss to my cheek. I raise my hand and stroke my thumb down the soft skin of her cheek. Claire is definitely wife material. In addition to being beautiful, she has a good head on her shoulders with a career in Public Relations (which she excels in), she’s a homeowner, she’s independent, she’s dislikes relationship drama, she can cook and she’s a freak in the bedroom. Yet as much as I think she is a good catch, I can’t see spending the rest of my life with her.
I wrap my arm around her waist and guide her out of the ballroom into the hallway. I walk us away from the people milling about and to a private area. I remove my arm from her waist and step back, stuffing my hands into my pockets.
“So, I think I am going to head out. I am not really in the mood to celebrate tonight,” I say as I look down at her.
She gives me a long and searching look – I can see the realization and understanding seep into her eyes as she looks back at me.
“So this is it?” she asks with a resigned sigh. “We’re done?”
“Yeah – I know you want more, but I am not at the point in my life where I want to give more. I’m really sorry.”
I witness her eyes get teary, but they clear quickly.
I really hate doing this, because no matter how I say it or what I do to try and soften the blow, I know it still hurts. And if I am being honest, it makes me feel like an asshole.
She visibly inhales a deep breath before giving me a beautiful smile. She steps closer to me and places her palm flat against my chest.
“I know we could be great together. Are you sure I can’t change your mind?”
I give her sad smile and a shake of my head. She reaches up and palms my jaw before guiding my head down to give me a slow and deep kiss.
“Thank you for always being honest with me,” she says, using her thumb to remove her lipstick from my bottom lip. She backs away slowly. “Happy New Year Isaac,” she says before turning and walling away.
I stay where I am for a few minutes, trying to shake this shitty feeling. I pull out my phone to text my brother.
Me - I’m going to head home
I get a reply about thirty seconds later.
Judah – You okay to drive?
I have only had two drinks tonight – neither of which I finished.
Me – Yeah, I’m straight. You coming home later or staying out?
My brother and I live together. We own a renovated farmhouse on the outskirts of Henrico County.
Judah – I’ll be home in the morning.
Me – Ok – Happy New Year Bro
I pocket my phone, not waiting for a reply. I really should wish the rest of my family and friends a happy new year before I leave, but I don’t feel like it.
A few hours later, I am kicked back in front of the TV with chopsticks and a big container of shrimp lo mein as I bring in the new year watching old Walking Dead episodes.
__________________________
Mid-March
I sling my gym bag over my shoulder as I enter the gym. I silently curse all the alcohol I drank last night. We (as in my brother, Charlie and Wood) were supposed to be at the gym at 7am this morning, but because we decided to drink our weight in alcohol last night, we are arriving at the gym some three hours later. We work out together Monday through Friday at 7am, but on very few occasions, we start later.
Today is one of those days.
We all stumble out of the locker room about a quarter after ten, ready to start our workout. Out of the corner of my eye, I spot a cute female who appears to be finishing up her strength-training workout. She is walking toward us but seems to be oblivious to her surroundings as she walks with her head slightly down. However, even with her head slightly down, I can see that she is very pretty.
She has a headful of light brown braids pulled into a high ponytail, but a few wayward pieces cling to her slightly sweaty butterscotch complexion at her nape. I can’t see her eyes, but I can see her lips – they are juicy and pink and have me licking my lips.
As she passes us to exit the room, I take in her semi-fitted black and pink t-shirt that she is wearing along with a pair of form-fitting black workout pants - showcasing her curvy little body. Her plump little ass has me staring longer than is socially acceptable.
“Nice ass,” Judah says to me once she leaves the room.
I turn my attention to my brother. Even though I just thought the same thing, I don’t like that he noticed her ass and commented on it - it pisses me off a little.
“Have some respect,” I say before walking away from him to start my own workout.
I am trying my best to ignore the curvy cutie in pink and black but as we go through our workout, I find myself seeking her out. I locate her in the cardio room above as she does walking and running intervals on the treadmill.
“Why don’t you go up and talk to her,” Judah says as I start my bench press and he spots me. “You keep looking up at her – we all see it,” he gestures to Wood and Charlie as they gather round.
From that point on, every time they catch me looking her way, they razz me; I ignore them for the most part. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to her; it is just that I know that she came here to work out and not to get hit on. My sister Zoe, Ivy and Maddie belong to the same gym and they have told me plenty of times how some guy has hit on them when all they want is to be left alone so they can work out in peace.
I finally relent and make my way up to the room.
Chapter 3 – Sparks
Olivia - Mid-March
I pull into the parking lot of my new (ish) gym, glad to see only a few vehicles in the parking lot. I joined this particular gym back in January, deciding that my twice a week yoga classes were not enough if I wanted to stay in shape. For the first month, I came for my workout at various times, trying to gauge when the gym was the least crowded. I am not big on crowds so that is important to me.
I discovered that the time between 9am and 11am, the gym is the least crowded. The hardcore morning people have all cleared out and the stay-at-home moms (and dads) haven’t invaded the gym yet.
It is almost 10am and I am starting my workout. I was assigned a complimentary trainer when I signed up at the gym and I am following his program of strength-training first. It takes me almost twenty minutes to check off the exercises from his list. I make my way upstairs from the weight room to the cardio room and walk to the treadmill at the end of the row and against the wall.
The cardio room overlooks the weight room and I have a good view of the room below as I start my treadmill workout. I put my earbuds in my ear, open my iPad and find a playlist before opening up a book to read. I lose myself in music and words as I do my interval training on the treadmill.
I have been on the treadmill for almost ten minutes when I hear raucous laughter bleed through my ear buds. It is coming up from the weight room below. I look and see four guys - three black and one white. From what I can tell from this distance, they are all quite attractive. The more I let my look linger, I see that two are twins.
Double the fun.
I am caugh
t off guard when one of the twins looks up and looks right at me. I stumble and grab the treadmill rails so that I don’t fall and embarrass myself. I quickly look away, my face heating up that I have been caught looking. I go back to my book and forget about the handsome men below.
I have five minutes to go in my treadmill work out when I sense someone stepping on the treadmill next to me. I glance over briefly and see one of the twins. I stumble briefly before I gather my composure. He gives me a smile and he has dimples that make my tummy do flip-flops.
I will tell you now, when it comes to guys and flirting – I seriously suck at it. I have no idea how to be flirty, witty and alluring. I am painfully awkward. I try my best to ignore him, but I can sense him looking at me and that makes me curious. I power down my treadmill and when it comes to a complete stop, I turn my attention to him. I give him a shy smile as I remove my earbuds and he gives me that dimpled smile again, making my insides all jittery.
“Hi,” he says. His voice is very deep and it vibrates through me.
“Hi,” I reply shyly. I can feel my face heat up.
“I’m Isaac.”
“Olivia.” I quickly wipe down the treadmill with the disinfectant wipe from the dispenser mounted on the wall. I gather my things and step off the treadmill, making my way to the door. His very deep voice stops me.
“So – that’s it Baby Girl? Are you gonna leave me hanging?”
I stop and turn around. I am so out of my element and comfort zone. This man is gorgeous and I have no idea why he is talking to me. He is tall – well over six-feet. His coloring reminds me of melted dark chocolate. His head is bald. His deep brown eyes have a boyish innocence about them while also conveying a sense of mischief. His mouth and jaw line have me almost transfixed. His jaw is square and sharp with hint of stubble and his lips look oh so kissable. His mouth is wide – the top lip is only slightly thinner than his full and plump bottom lip and he has the cutest ears that stick out a bit.
When Sparks Fly (Sexy Secrets Book 2) Page 2
