by Stella Rhys
“You tell me. Rochelle or Racquel. Could even be Rachel.”
“Not that one. The one you keep talking about,” Julian said as he opened his beer. I groaned.
“Fuck. Lia.”
“Right.” Julian leaned forward on his knees and took a swig from the bottle. “Fun fact: she hasn’t had sex in three years and she’s planning on fucking some sad sack to get you out of her head.”
My brows lifted then pulled tight as I stared at him for what felt like a full minute. “What the fuck are you talking about?” I finally asked.
“I heard her and a friend downstairs at the coffee place. There’s a coffee place across from your apartment with surprisingly decent espresso.”
“I don’t need a review of the espresso right now, asshole, I need details on what the hell you just dropped on me.” A sudden sense of urgency rattled my bones. “When is she meeting this guy? She’s about to go home with him now?”
“Easy.” Julian pulled me back down. “I don’t think so but you also better not go Cam on him. You’ve known this girl one day. Try to wait till you’re dating before you break any arms for her.”
“That’s not going to happen. I just don’t appreciate when others reap the benefits of my work.”
“Shit. What did Cam do now?” Emmett asked upon joining us.
“We’re actually not talking about him,” Julian replied with amusement. “We’re talking about some guy who gets to claim Lukas’s prize. He got the neighbor all worked up and now she’s trying to forget him by having mediocre sex with someone else.”
“Oh, shit.” Emmett faced me with a look of gravity more befitting of an emergency room. “So you got her pussy wet and some other dude gets to fuck it?”
“That’s an extra charming way of putting it but yes, apparently.”
“Well, shit, that’s not fair. Go find her,” Emmett implored. I turned to Julian.
“She was still at the café when you left?”
“Yes.”
“Then hold down the fort while I’m gone,” I said, getting up and handing Emmett my drink. Two fingers of Scotch and he shot it like vodka. I had to stare at him as Julian handed me my keys.
“Bring her friend back if you can,” he said, already back to work emails on his phone. “She looked better from the back than any of the girls here look now.”
“I’ll try,” I said. “You piece of shit,” I added as I headed for the door. Since I spotted Ponytail and Redhead on my way, I whispered for them to Google Julian Hoult and waited around till I could witness them bursting into shrieks over the fact that he’d just bought the New York Empires. I swung the door open just as the stampede of heels clattered over to him, grinning from ear to ear with a feeling of petty justice.
And right as I ambled out into the hall, I saw Lia coming up the stairs.
My smile faltered only because I wasn’t prepared for what she was wearing – a casual black dress that went down to her ankles. Thin straps to show off those gorgeous shoulders and an even thinner belt to cinch that waist. Topping it all off was her hair piled loosely at the top of her head, a couple strands falling down to frame her face. I couldn’t stop staring even when she caught my eye.
“Why are you already shaking your head at me?” I laughed.
“Variety of reasons,” Lia said slowly, a hint of suspicion in her voice as she walked toward with me with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed.
“Care to share?”
“Well, we can start with the extremely loud party you’re having right now.”
I glanced at my door then back at her. “Right. I figured I’d made the worst possible impression on you already. Might as well go all in.”
She almost laughed but bit it back. “Seriously, Lukas, what’s going on in there?” she asked, stopping two feet from me. I eyed the distance between us.
“Well, I came in around eight with two friends, and Rochelle from downstairs ambushed me with about six or seven of hers. Emmett took it upon himself to invite them up, so apologies on his behalf.”
“I see.” Lia studied me. I grinned because I knew she was trying to figure out if I knew – if the guy she’d spotted at the café was in fact my friend, and if he did in fact tell me everything he heard her say. But instead of confessing that, I let her play detective. She was too fucking adorable biting that lip and squinting at me, somehow pissed off, embarrassed and playful at once. “And this friend Emmett… what does he look like?”
“Why? Interested?” I teased.
“Maybe. Just answer my question.”
“Alright.” I blew air out of my mouth as I thought about it. I’d known Emmett nearly ten years, but I could probably name the Empires twenty-five-man roster faster than I could physically describe him. “I don’t know. He’s my height. Same dark hair as me. His eyes are brown or blue. I think? I think they’re brown. I’m not totally sure.”
“Alright, don’t hurt yourself,” Lia snorted, making me grin. “You mentioned another friend though,” she said, shy again as she chewed the corner of her mouth. “What does he look like? Did he by chance leave your apartment at some point tonight?”
Fuck.
I meant to play this out longer but I couldn’t help the smile I broke right into.
“Oh my God, he told you!” Lia immediately groaned, burying her face in her hands.
“Alright, hey.” I laughed as I went over and tried to pull her hands off of her face. “Lia. It’s not a big deal.”
“Yes, it is a big deal.”
“Why?” I guided her to lean on the wall. I took a second to adjust when she finally dropped her hands from her face because Jesus Christ, she was gorgeous. There was a glow to her cheeks and her bright eyes were even brighter all big and wet. For how hard the woman got me, she definitely knew how to soften my mostly black heart. “Come on, Lia. What are you even upset about?”
“Are you serious?” Her voice was small but commanding. “Just say it back to me, Lukas. Tell me everything you heard, exactly as you heard it.”
“I heard that you were downstairs with a friend. As far as dating goes, you haven’t been with anyone in awhile and you were talking about… changing that. To get your mind off of me.”
“Oh, so now you’re the one speaking in euphemisms?” she rolled her eyes.
I smirked at the return of her attitude. “Fine – you haven’t fucked anyone in three years, Lia, and your plan is to fuck someone else so you don’t give into your temptation to fuck me. And if we’re being blunt here, that kind of fucking pisses me off.”
A spark lit her eyes. “Oh really. Why? You think I owe you sex just because you saw me half-naked the first day we met? Because you forced me to think about sex because all you could talk about was sex?”
“Did I force you to stare at my cock the other day?”
Her jaw dropped. “Fine.” I stepped back with a laugh when I realized she’d pushed me. “I looked. I was curious. And interested. So what?” she huffed. “I still reserve the right to sleep with whoever else I want.”
“No.” I stepped forward. “That’s not how it’s going to work.”
“Shut up! Are you really going to be that person who’s known me a week and tries to tell me who I’m allowed to fuck?”
“No, I’m going to be that person who fucks you and gives you what you need because you know you don’t actually want anyone else,” I muttered, walking into her despite her hands pushing my chest. “You’re attracted to me, aren’t you? You haven’t been this attracted to anyone in awhile. I woke up your need to fuck, so if you’re planning on fucking someone, why isn’t it the person you actually want?” I removed her hands from my chest and held them at her sides. “Why go for your second choice when your first wants you just as bad?”
“’Cause I don’t trust you!” she hissed, undaunted by my face barely inches from hers. “Or any man like you, for that matter. I mean look at you! I barely know you and I already know that you have frequent threesomes, you fuck e
mployees and you have friends who bring all-girl parties home at night. So why not fuck you? One, because to be honest, I don’t think I can handle you. Two, I don’t think I want to try and three, you’re going to forget me anyway – probably in two seconds, when you walk back into your apartment and twenty girls trip over themselves to give you anything you want.”
“There could be four of them begging ass naked to be fucked and I wouldn’t be as hard as I get from just looking at you,” I said, close enough now that I could feel her chest grazing me with her every breath she took in. I watched her peer down, mouth parted and breathless as she watched her own tits press against me. I groaned, so turned on I hardly knew how to handle myself. “Just let me fucking kiss you,” I finally muttered.
She breathed out. “Fine.”
Grasping her hips, I slammed my lips over hers, thrusting my tongue in her mouth and tasting every corner as she yanked me closer by the belt. I groaned as her body pulsed between my chest and the wall, grinding hard against my cock. The sound of her short, frenzied breaths was driving me halfway insane. I could hear her desperation and I could imagine just how wet her pussy was for me as I nipped under her jaw now, licking down her neck till I was cupping her ribs in my hands and bringing her tits to my mouth. I sucked her nipple over her dress, feeling my cock swell against her thigh as she finally let out a moan.
“Stop,” Lia gasped suddenly, jerking away. There was a half-second of apology in her eyes as she blinked in shock at me but before I could say a word, she was rushing into her door, slamming it fast behind her.
6
LIA
“I’m sorry, let me just get this straight – you don’t know your budget and you’re already shopping for leases?”
I could hear the irritation in my realtor’s voice as we stood in the empty shop space on Orchard Street. It was beautiful with brand new hardwood, floor-to-ceiling windows and a commercial kitchen ready to go in the back. It was everything I wanted and so absolutely perfect.
But I was a mess.
It’d been three nights since my kiss in the hallway and I hadn’t slept much. On the night itself, I’d tossed and turned till 4AM. I’d listened to the girls streaming out of Lukas’s apartment around that hour and tried desperately to eavesdrop for anyone giggling about him taking someone to bed. I was jealous. And envious. And I couldn’t stop thinking about how his lips alone were better than any sex I’d ever had in my life.
I also refused to leave my apartment in the morning till I’d gotten visual confirmation that he’d left the building. I even waited till I saw the car he climbed into drive off.
It was ridiculous. And distracting. And while I tried to tell myself the crazy brain would go away in a few days, it didn’t. The late-night tossing and turning continued every night since the one I’d felt Lukas’s body on mine with every, and I mean every rock-hard inch of him pressed up against me.
“Lia?”
“Yes!” I snapped back to life. “I’m so sorry, Abby. Um, so, the thing is, I have a potential investor and pending that deal, I’m projecting to afford a monthly rent between the ranges of, um – ” I tore through my purse looking for the notes I’d written up last night. “I have it somewhere. I apologize. And I’m never like this, I just – ”
“Relax. Have you even secured the investor yet?”
“No. Not officially.”
“And have you ever considered small business loans? Like everyone else does?”
“Yes, but it’s a complicated story with my credit ‘cause my ex – ” Nope. Wasn’t gonna go there. Abby rolled her eyes.
“We don’t need to talk about your personal issues. We’ll just meet another time, Miss Pope. Alright?” She left me no time to answer before walking ahead of me to the door. “But don’t expect this space to be available by the time you decide to figure your – ” She paused. “By the time you figure everything out.”
God, she was tempted to say figure your shit out, that was how much I’d just pissed her off.
“Of course,” I said in defeat, feeling like a dejected first grader as she held the door open for me to leave. “Thank you for your time, Abby. I promise I won’t waste it again.”
“Try not to make promises you can’t keep,” she said, flashing me that deliberately fake realtor smile before leaving me on a final insult. “Besides, there’s always Craigslist.”
On that, she turned on her red-heeled pumps and strutted up the street, already laughing on the phone within her first few steps away from me.
Wow. Red in the face, I gathered myself on the sidewalk, in awe of what a total shitshow that just was. And while Abby had certainly been ruder than necessary, the fault was solely mine because I couldn’t frickin’ focus. I couldn’t gather the pieces of my scattered brain because I couldn’t stop thinking about Lukas. I had to slam my thighs together every time I remembered him touching me. Sucking on me. I was sure Abby had actually caught me one time and I was still shuddering from the hot embarrassment.
“Fuck it,” I muttered to myself, fishing through my purse for my phone. Whatever was plaguing me, I couldn’t let this go on for another second. I had to nip it in the bud before it claimed another day or even another hour of productivity. So pacing fast up the block I made a call.
“Darling,” Sara answered on the first ring.
“I need help.”
“Talk to me.”
I pressed my finger against my ear as I turned on Houston, warding off the sounds of blaring traffic. “I need you to help me set an actual date with Dog Hater.”
“Ooh, okay. When?”
“Tonight.”
Sara paused. “Are you serious? I thought you said you needed time to mentally prepare for this night.”
“Yeah, well I think what I need more now is to clear my mind. I have to draft up a business proposal and pitch it to the investor this week and I need to frickin’ kill it. But I won’t if my brain is still trashed over Lukas.”
“Mm. Mine would be trashed too if he kissed me like that in the hall.”
“You’re not helping.”
“I know. But can I quickly say that I still think neighbor-with-benefits could be a great solution for you?”
“No! I lost three nights of sleep over a kiss from this guy – I can’t imagine how much I’d lose if I actually had sex with him,” I protested. “So please, pretty please, help me message Dog Hater. The app is in your phone and I’m desperate.”
“Fine. I’m letting him know you can only do today.”
“Thank you.”
“Seven o’clock work for you?”
“Works perfect,” I said, waiting around till I heard a little ping on her end. “Is that him confirming?”
“Sure is…” Sara trailed off, audibly trying to contain her excitement. But I could practically hear her bouncing all giddy in her chair. “You know what this means right?”
“Yes. Maybe.” I breathed out, letting the reality sink in.
“It means you’re breaking the dry spell tonight. Probably around the 9PM mark,” Sara giggled. “You ready to finally have sex tonight, baby girl?”
I hailed a cab as I gave my confident answer. “Nope,” I said, climbing in to get home and get ready.
It had been ages since I’d taken time out to get all dressed up – probably because the last remotely cool or sexy event I’d attended was a bachelorette party two years ago, for Sara’s cousin. Since then, socializing was limited to a quick coffee in the afternoon or a single round of drinks at night. And of course there were Sundays – the official day of the week that Sara came over and drank wine all day while watching me make truffles, hawking the finished batches for the “ugly ones” that she was allowed to eat.
As far as time and money went, I couldn’t afford to have much more fun than that.
But tonight was different.
Tonight was practically a business investment because I needed this date to scratch an itch and clear out brain space. And in order to
go through with it, I needed to feel a hundred percent. So I bought a couple new things and let myself have a few hours to get ready, trying on a dozen old dresses before eventually settling on the one I’d borrowed from Sara for the bachelorette. Setting my wine down, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at myself for once dressed up and giving myself a twirl.
“Good Lord, Sara…” I murmured to myself. Considering my best friend towered over me, I wasn’t sure how she ever fit into this dress. It must’ve been a Band-Aid on her because it was already short on me. Then again, it might’ve just felt that way because of the heels. They were four, maybe four-and-a-half-inch black stilettos. Combined with the plunging V of the little white dress I had on, I felt myself veering into vixen territory – definitely a road less traveled for me, which was intimidating, but that was what the second glass of wine was for.
SARA: Hi. Something tells me you’re forgetting lipstick. Also if you’re wearing a bra with that dress, lose it.
I snorted at the surprise text that happened to be completely right.
ME: Fine. Can I wear a nude lip or does it have to be red?
SARA: Nude lip is perfect do it up now
SARA: But chill with the wine. No need to get shitfaced before meeting him.
ME: Are you WATCHING me?
SARA: Nope just got the BFF ESP. You still nervous?
ME: You know it.
SARA: Don’t be. You’ll be fine
SARA: And if not you know who to call to save you. I can be there in 20 min with crazy eyes and pepper spray.
I giggled, sending a reply before tossing my phone aside and busting out the fancy makeup bag full of good stuff I never used. Admittedly, I went the safe route and blended lip liner instead of using full-blown lipstick but I did lose the bra, so in that department I made Sara proud. Of course, I probably canceled it out by chugging another glass of wine before throwing on my coat and waltzing out the door.
