by C. A. Harms
Just One Night
Oh, Tequila Series #6
By C.A. Harms
Just One Night
Copyright © 2020 by C.A. Harms.
All rights reserved.
First Print Edition: February 2021
Limitless Publishing, LLC
Kailua, HI 96734
www.limitlesspublishing.com
Formatting: Book Pages By Design
Cover Design: Deranged Doctor Design
ISBN-13: 978-1-954194-03-8
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to locales, events, business establishments, or actual persons—living or dead—is entirely coincidental.
Dedication
The best way to predict the future is to create it.
~ Author Unknown
Don’t be fearful of the future, make it what you dreamed it would be. If you want it, make it happen. If you love it, love it with every fiber of your being and if you fall, pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and soar to new heights. For the fear is overwhelming at times but you are strong enough to conquer it.
Thank you all so much for your support, you mean the world to me. There are no words to explain how your dedication has humbled me. I adore you all!
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Epilogue
Bonus
Prologue
Isaac
There are certain things one should never ever do. Things that are forbidden, events that you cannot make right once you’ve done the wrong. The kiss of death so to speak, the king of all fucking screw-ups. Nail in the coffin, boulder tied to your ankle, well, you get the hint.
I was the motherfucking God of screw-ups!
Sleeping with the sister of one of your best friends is one of those things a guy should never do. Especially when you are so drunk that you had no idea until the next morning that the girl you did all sorts of nasty things to was in fact the sister of said best friend.
And when I say nasty, I do mean freaky, life-altering things. Those that should be illegal, but feel so damn good, nasty.
Things can get complicated, and fast. Especially when you are the brother known in the fraternity as he who never sleeps with the same girl twice. I never made promises I didn’t intend to keep. Going in, I always made sure the other party was completely willing and knew the score. I was in college, I had no intention of settling down anytime soon. I was young, free, and I wanted to keep it that way.
I knew one day I would be ready for that lifelong commitment, but for now, I was just having fun.
My parents―they’ve been in love since middle school. Two people that, from the way they told it, were always meant to be. They didn’t experiment, they didn’t explore, they’ve been joined at the hip, and neither ever felt the need for anything more. I swear each year that passed they fell more in love, and yes, I aspire to one day find the happiness they’ve found.
One day…not now!
I’m almost twenty-three. I still have years ahead of me before I become the man I want to be. Long hours, late nights, and demanding shifts. I knew going in that the path I chose would be grueling, which is why I chose to remain uncommitted. Girls couldn’t handle a guy who didn’t give them one hundred and ten percent.
I’d be lucky if I could give them ten, and that alone would lead to nothing but messes I wanted to avoid.
Chapter One
Jade
Scrolling through Facebook, I wrinkled my nose in disgust when I found an image that my ex, Alex, had been tagged in. It was him and three girls, each hanging on him like he was the greatest man ever created. I didn’t want him, I wasn’t harboring the lost love, jealous emotions that most would think I carried. Not even close. It was more related to the fact that one of my closest friends, or should I say once closest friend, was on his lap. I’d always wondered about the two of them, they were always a little too friendly if you ask me. It was the way they looked at one another, or the occasional skim of a hand and brush of a shoulder. It made me uneasy during our time together and now it was like a slap in the face.
There they were with his left hand cupping her chest and she was staring up at him seductively. It was disgusting. And all too comfortable, like it was most definitely something they had been doing for quite some time.
Alex was abusive, not so much physically, but emotionally. He’d found my weaknesses, and he preyed on them as often as possible. He made me feel like I was never enough, like every little thing I did or said was wrong. Any confidence I’d gone into the relationship with disappeared within the first six months.
He’d slowly destroyed me, and I was too emotionally distraught to accept that our relationship was yet another failure in my life. I woke up every day with a delusional image of what we could have been had I just tried harder. And every night I would go to bed feeling like I failed.
I left our relationship with one thing, an excessive amount of self-doubt. I was a shell of myself, one that felt as though I was destined to be sad and alone.
Tossing my phone to the cushion at my side, I stood and moved across my tiny apartment toward the refrigerator. Completely from boredom alone, I gathered everything I needed to make an omelet. Mindlessly, I mixed the eggs in a bowl and then worked on cutting the items I would use to fill it…cheese, mushrooms and a little onion. I poured the mixture in the pan and stared at it as it gradually began to bubble from the heat.
The sound of my phone ringing gained my attention and I hurried to grab it before getting back to the stove.
Looking down at the screen, I smiled when I saw the text from Ruby, my brother’s girlfriend. He did good with her, she was a gem. I felt as lucky as I know he did to have her a part of my life. I adored her, and with the little time we’d spent together, we’d actually grown quite close. It’s almost like she and I were meant to meet so I’d have that sister I’d always dreamed of.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my brother, but there are some things you never share with your brother no matter how much you look up to him. If I’m being honest, my brother is my hero. For years he was my one and only supporter. He was my rescuer on more than one occasion and when push came to shove, I knew he would always be there to save me from falling.
Seeing him love and be loved was truly an honor. The two of them had the type of connection I’d been chasing from the moment I was old enough to desire that type of attention.
Ruby: Please tell me that you’re coming to this party tonight. I don’t understand this group yet, I feel so out of place. Save me!
I couldn’t help but laugh at her text. I’d spent enough time with her to know that she had lived a sheltered life―well, that is until my brother met her. Poor girl had witnessed more chaos and crazy than she could handle. Talk about circuit overload! Sweet, innocent Ruby was still trying to recover from being trapped in the jungle with all the gorillas. That fraternity was insane, and nothing was ever surprising when it came to them. What’s surprising was when there was a quiet night. That’s when you felt like something was wrong. The calm before the storm that would no doubt knock you on your ass. Quiet was a word none of them seemed to understand.
Me: Nah, I think I’ll pass.
Wait for it. I already knew it was coming. I imagined her head spinning with the idea of facing the party without me at her side as a buffer.
And so it began, rapid fire, one text after another.
Ruby: Evil!
Ruby: And I thought we were friends.
Ruby: How dare you abandon me in my time of desperation.
Laying the phone down, I allowed her to worry a bit longer. I could practically visualize her staring at her phone, her leg bouncing, her thumb hovering over the phone as she determined whether to send another text. Her lip worrying, her brows furrowed, Ruby was so predictable you’d think I’d known her my entire life.
Ruby: ANSWER ME NOW!
Oh my, she resorted to shouty capitals so quickly. I was impressed, from our sweet little Ruby no less. I found myself smiling for the first time since I crawled out of bed this morning. Some days were easier than others, but this one, the loneliness was lingering in my heart from the moment I opened my eyes.
Truth was I was that girl who never felt she was enough. I hid it well, behind sarcasm and my nonchalant ways, but on the inside my emotions were a wreck. I was in a constant battle with myself and my thoughts.
My mother, she was never that loving, accepting mother a girl needed. My father, he’d spent his life worrying more about his next conquest than giving his daughter a second thought. I didn’t have a good example of what true love should be, which was why I think I was always in search of it. But I’d made a complete mess of my life chasing after all the wrong things and somehow along the way I’d destroyed all hope that the right person for me was out there somewhere.
The right person…what does that mean, anyway? Is there such a thing?
Ruby: I will kidnap you.
Again I smiled. This girl. Ruby was a breath of fresh air, one that I was extremely thankful for. Made me love my brother even more for finding her and keeping her.
Me: Jeez, girl, calm down!
Ruby: So, you’ll be here then?
Having a sister felt amazing. At this point I honestly think if something happened between her and my brother I would choose Ruby. She kept me sane.
Me: Since you twisted my arm.
I might not be up for a party, but for her I’d deal. Who knew, it could be just what I needed to get out of my funk.
***
I stood in front of my full length mirror, turning from side to side. I’d changed my outfit four times, and not because I was attempting to impress someone. It was more related to that evil twin on my shoulder constantly telling me that I was too thick, or that I should put on a pair of jeans to cover my chicken legs.
I’d gone from jeans to capris, to a dress, and even a skirt, only to come full circle back to my favorite pair of jeans once again.
I was supposed to be at the party by seven and by the continuous texts that I’d been receiving and the clock that was practically screaming at me, I was more than an hour late. I was half tempted to send Ruby a message that something came up, but she would know I was lying. I had no life, no friends, and no ambition. I was a mess. Not to mention I would have to go into hiding due to the fact that Ruby would kill me.
With one last look and a humph of dissatisfaction, I gave up on trying to make something imperfect, perfect. I grabbed my keys and made sure my apartment was locked up behind me before I descended the one flight of stairs to the parking lot below.
Fifteen minutes later I was pulling up in front of the frat house with a knot the size of Texas in my stomach. Or so it felt.
I was just about to pull away and go grab a burger, fries, and a shake, then sit in my car somewhere and scarf them down when I saw none other than Ruby standing on the front porch. She was waving her arms around like an insane person. I knew there was no way out.
My feet felt like they weighed five hundred pounds each as I walked toward the front of the house. Ruby’s smile alone made the torture I was going through almost worth it.
“I was starting to worry that you’d abandoned me.” She didn’t even give me the opportunity to say anything in return before she hooked her arm through mine and dragged me toward the front door. “You look hot by the way.” If only. “That color brings out your eyes.” She was good for my confidence even if there was always that nagging in the back of my mind that made me second guess her every compliment.
“Your brother and his friends started with the shots about thirty minutes ago and I have a feeling that things are going to get wild real soon. Something about them continuously chanting last man standing makes me feel a little unsettled.”
She was so innocent, it was almost funny. Wild didn’t even begin to describe how things around here got when the tequila started flowing. My brother has video proof that will follow him around for life. Video that I’d heard of often but still refused to watch. That was one thing I never wanted to see when it came to my brother.
Chapter Two
Isaac
“Come on, you’ve got to be feeling something.” My vision was blurred and my words all ran together, but Red looked like he could climb a mountain in flip-flops blindfolded and survive. The guy was built like a brick house. What the fuck was I thinking when I took this bet? No one could outdrink this guy.
“I’m good.” He smirked as he sat tall on the barstool, and to make matters worse, he gave it a little twirl to prove he was, in fact, feeling nothing. I got dizzy just watching him spin.
I teetered on my own two feet, feeling my stomach roll in a sickly way.
“Uncle.” I had to stop before I hit the ground, or worse, was hauled off in an ambulance to get my stomach pumped. Alcohol poisoning was not worth beating him. Fuck that. My dad would kill me if he got that type of call in the middle of the night. My parents had to be the coolest set of parentals ever, but they’d draw a line there for sure. They knew when to parent me and when to be a friend.
That kind of call would get my ass kicked.
“You give?” Elijah was smug. The bastard loved getting the best of any of us.
“Yeah.” I flipped him off and his satisfied chuckle echoed around us.
Not sticking around to get hassled, I stood, holding on to the edge of the counter until I had my footing. Took a little extra time, but I made it. Slowly exiting the kitchen, I walked through the living room and circled around, intending to go toward my room and sleep this off.
As I made my way down the hall it grew darker, or who knows, it could have been because my head was growing foggier and foggier with each step.
“Ow!” A sharp squeal startled me and I realized that what I was bracing the weight of my body against was not my door, but another body. A tall, statuesque body that smelled real damn good.
“Sorry.” Leaning in, I rested my forehead to the wall just above her right shoulder and concentrated on soothing her after I’d apparently copped a feel.
“Forget it.” She tried to move around me, and it was a blurred view, but her blonde hair tickled my nose when she tried to move away. Caging her in, I smiled, or at least
I thought I was smiling, and she paused. “Are you gonna move out of the way?”
“I should, but I can’t seem to. Truth be told, I kinda like where I am, or maybe it’s not the where but more the company I’m in the presence of.”
“Do those sorry ass lines actually work for you?”
“Sassy, I like that.”
“You are more pathetic than I thought you were.”
The more I tried to focus, the worse off I was. The girl was nothing more than a blur. I wanted to see her, but shit, the effects of the alcohol I’d consumed were fucking with me big time.
“You’ve thought about me, then?”
She didn’t respond as I gripped her hip and moved in a little closer. “It’s okay to admit it, I won’t tell anyone.” Because I have no fucking clue who you are and most likely tomorrow I won’t remember this even happened. But I kept that to myself. She seemed sober, so allowing her to take advantage of me was all right by me.
“Don’t you ever just want say to hell with the rules and feel good for a change?” When she didn’t reply, I figured this was my chance to maybe break through the barriers of her doubt. The challenge was always the best part. Drunk or not, I had this. “Stop worrying about tomorrow, or even a week from now, and just concentrate on the now? I’m more than happy to be your getaway.”
Leaning in a little further, I skimmed my lip over the side of her neck, and when she didn’t move away, I nipped at her ear. The sweet vanilla scent of her perfume was intoxicating.
When she lifted her hand and placed it against my chest, I half expected her to push me away, only she didn’t. Instead she fisted my shirt and then her mouth was on mine. Suddenly I was the one with my back to the wall and she had gained control.
