“I don’t have time right now for a relationship. I need to stay focused on business, which is what you should be doing instead of worrying about my love life. The added stress can’t be good for the baby. Why don’t you go back to work and calm down some,” Paige replied
“I am calm and the baby’s doing fine. You, on the other hand, are the one who needs to let go a little and start living.”
“Marlene…”
“Don’t ‘Marlene’ me, Paige. You’ve taken this sun sign crap too far.” With that she walked away.
Paige didn’t bother to tell her she also had a daily calendar for Sagittarius’ and today’s message had been—Beware of strangers. They aren’t what they appear.
Chapter Three
“And so, I’d like to propose a toast…to the bride and groom,” Mike said, concluding his speech. Looking around at the guests, he hoped to catch Paige in the wings. He’d done as she’d asked; the glass of champagne was his first hit of alcohol in hours but she was nowhere in sight.
Mike turned to his best friend and lifted his glass. Jason did a mock salute with his own, arm around Mia. Mike looked at her and smiled, thinking her wedding dress had to be the sexiest he’d ever seen. They looked happy and he knew he needed to just let his dreams of Mia go. She was his friend’s wife now and he needed to find Paige. “Happy wishes to you both.” Mike lifted his glass again. Jason grinned and kissed Mia on the cheek who mouthed ‘thanks’ to Mike.
“And now,” Mike said turning back to the guests. He caught Paige who was standing by one of the side bars, watching him. He raised his glass to her and she smiled, shaking her head. “I believe it’s time for the first dance.”
And time for Mike to hunt down an elusive woman. He moved away from the head table quickly, keeping his eyes on Paige. The small orchestra started to play and Mike knew Jason would be leading his wife to the dance floor. Music floated through the air as he moved towards Paige.
“Well?” he asked as he finally stood in front of her.
“I’m impressed. Not only did you pull it off, you said some nice things and not once did you act drunk.”
“That’s because I’m not drunk,” Mike added. “I barely touched the champagne.”
“Good for you,” she said laughing. “Now that your duties are over, you can get rip-roaring drunk and have a good time.”
“I’d rather not,” he said taking in the way the evening light softened her face even more. He thought she was prettier than Mia, even sexier, if that was possible. “I’d much rather take you away from this place and get to know you better.”
“Do we have to go through this again?” Paige asked quickly.
“No we don’t. Just say yes. I promise to be a perfect gentleman the entire time…until you tell me not to be.” He couldn’t take his eyes off her. He wanted her and not just for an hour. He saw her thinking and that was a good sign. She wasn’t outright telling him no.
“Mike…” Paige started, as one of the bridesmaids rushed up and grabbed Mike’s arm, wrapping her other arm around him.
“There you are,” the woman said quickly and Mike jumped at the sudden impact. He looked down and there was…shit…what was her name? “I’ve been looking everywhere for you.” Mike knew she had been; he’d just made himself scarce, keeping an eye and a lot of distance on his previous evening’s sex partner.
“Hey,” Mike said totally uncomfortable. He could see Paige’s face and she didn’t look happy. “Paige, this is…” Shit, he’d done it again. He wished he was drunk.
“I’m Christine,” she said, smiling at Paige.
Mike watched Paige force a smile. He could tell she was uncomfortable—hell so was he—especially when Christine hugged him. He’d been in a lot of situations but one that was never quite this embarrassing. This wasn’t supposed to happen. “We’re needed on the dance floor and you promised to meet my parents.” Dancing with the bridesmaids was news to him and he never promised to meet anyone’s parents…or had he?
“I’ll be there in a moment,” Mike said as he untangled himself from Christine. He just needed her to leave quickly so he could finish his pursuit of Paige.
“You said last night…when we…you know…” Christine said smiling sweetly as she stared at Mike and he knew he was turning all shades of red. He hoped Paige couldn’t see his face in the light.
“I better get back to work,” Paige said and Mike knew she was trying to find a way out. Hell, he was trying to find a way out but little, Miss fuck-my-ass wanted his attention and now.
“Wait,” Mike said, grabbing Paige’s arm and turning to Christine. “I’ll be there in five minutes, okay?” His voice was hard but he wasn’t going to let some three-hour fuck session interrupt something that could possibly be more.
Christine looked as if she’d been slapped. She let go of his arm and slowly walked away. He let out a breath and turned to Paige, still holding her hand which she pulled free.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Paige said as she watched Christine walk away.
“Look,” Mike said, “I don’t like to be accosted when I’m talking to someone.”
“Me either but you could have been a little kinder.” He probably could have been kinder but right now, all he wanted was some time with Paige.
“I never promised her anything last night,” Mike said honestly. Paige stared at him and then a look came over her face. He recognized that look anywhere—realization.
“You slept with her,” Paige said. For once Mike was speechless. “You slept with her and made promises to her and now she expects you to deliver and you don’t want to have anything to do with her.”
“I never promised her a thing, Paige.”
“But the rest is true, isn’t it?”
Mike wondered why it mattered. “So, I slept with her,” he said casually. “It’s you I’m trying to get a date with now.”
“So you can fuck me and walk away just as easily?” she asked sarcastically.
“No,” he said forcefully. “I really want to get to know you, Paige.”
“Look, Mike, I can’t. I’ve got a job and you’re here for a reception. Have fun, go meet the parents and do whatever else you promised Christine, but leave me alone.”
Paige turned towards the house and Mike wanted to follow. He wanted her to understand that this woman meant nothing to him.
Realization dawned on him, stopping him in his tracks.
Paige already knew it and that was the problem.
* * * *
“So, I saw you and stud-muffin chatting,” Marlene said as she walked into the kitchen, eyebrows dancing, her face lit up in a smile. Paige was in no mood for Marlene.
“The parties not over and I saw a line waiting at the bar.”
“Jeffrey’s got it covered,” Marlene said nonchalantly. “So tell me that you and the Best Man are going to get freaky later.”
“No,” Paige said, clearing away dishes and whatever else she could find to keep busy.
“Why not? For the love of God, Paige, what’s it going to take to get you to follow your heart and not some list a person wrote for you?”
“I’d follow my heart but that stud as you call him is really the wedding slut.”
Marlene’s mouth opened and closed, then opened again. They’d done a few weddings since opening the business and they found there was always one person in the wedding party—male or female, it didn’t matter—who slept through the rest of the party.
“You’re telling me he’s the one who’s bonking all the bridesmaids?” she asked surprised.
“I don’t know about all but I do know about one and it wasn’t pretty the way he treated her.”
Marlene stared for a moment and then looked at Paige. “Well, I guess that’s that.”
“You got that right.”
“But I still think you should have fucked him, just because,” she said looking at Paige who couldn’t believe her friends response. “You need to stop following that stupid
list.”
“It’s not stupid, Marlene. It’s gotten me…”
“I know, ‘this far’. But it hasn’t given you a life and don’t tell me your job is your life. It will make me feel sorrier for you than I already do.”
“You only feel sorry for me because you’ve got a man who loves you waiting at home and I don’t.” Actually, at times like these, Paige felt sorry for herself but this was the life she made and had no one to blame but herself.
“You could, if you quit playing this silly little game.”
“It’s not silly,” Paige answered, tired of defending the plan which was making her business grow by leaps and bounds.
“It is and I’m going back to work. But I’m going to say one thing.” Paige knew Marlene always had to have the last word. “Get a life, Paige.”
Chapter Four
Mike cursed as his phone vibrated in the pockets of his khaki’s for the fifth time.
If whoever was calling kept it up, he’d come where he stood. It was bad enough that his cock was hard and he only had an electronic gizmo to thank. What was worse, he was staring at practically naked men, sporting a hard-on.
Christ, life was fucked up.
He pulled the phone out as he watched the swim team of USC get ready for the five-hundred meter medley. He glanced at the call log of his phone and saw a number he knew by heart.
Shit, Jason knew better than to call him while he was working. He didn’t take phone calls during practice. Just then, the phone began to vibrate in his hand and Mike was glad he was holding it versus letting it jingle against his cock. He hadn’t slept with a woman in weeks and he felt a few more jolts of Ma-Bell and he’d be shooting his load.
“Yeah?” Mike asked as he moved away from the side of the pool, taking a seat on the bench as the first lap of the relay was underway. He kept his eyes on the swimmers, watching their strokes, looking for anything that could help or hinder their chances against Berkeley next week.
“Where in the fuck are you?” Jason asked. Mike put a finger over his other ear to listen. The noise in the pool area vibrated off the walls and wherever Jason was calling from was just as loud.
“Working…I thought you were on your honeymoon?” Mike asked. He never expected Jason to be calling him so soon after getting married. In fact, he’d seen very little of Jason since he started dating Mia and the few times he did, Mia was always there.
“We got back last week,” Jason said. “Listen, man, I need your help.”
Mike heard the words and they replayed back in his head as if Jason had said, ‘I need you to come over and satisfy my wife for me.’ His cock was practically standing in his lap.
“Sure, what?” he said as the second set of swimmers took the block, ready to dive in.
“You need to get to Hannigan’s quick, man.” Mike hadn’t been to Hannigan’s in ages. There was a time when he practically lived there. Now, it was a place he’d visit every third moon.
“Why?” he asked. He was in no mood to go out drinking. All he could think about was getting his hand on his cock since he couldn’t have Paige and relieving the tension his damn phone had built up for the past half hour.
“There is this woman here that I want you to meet.” Normally Mike would have jumped at the chance but lately, his hand had been the only visitor his cock saw.
“Nah,” he said as the second group dived, almost one after another. He mentally rearranged the orders of the swimmers, thinking if Tom went before John, they might pick up a few more seconds.
“Come on, Mike. I need help.” Jason very rarely asked for help so his pleading made Mike think something was up.
“What’s going on there?”
“Mia’s work is having a going-away party for her,” he said, yelling into the phone. Mike tried hard to listen but all he heard was party. “Her boss, Veronica…man, she won’t leave me alone.”
Mike watched the swimmers and listened to the garbled words.
“Just get down here,” Jason said. Mike said nothing as the third group of men took the block and dove in over the heads of their teammates. He checked the time. Yeah, he should move John. He could get at least a tenth of a second if John ran the second heat of the relay.
“Are you listening?” Jason asked. “I’m desperate. I don’t need this shit. I just had a fantastic honeymoon with the woman of my dreams and now this. You need to get your ass over here now!”
Mike laughed. He’d never heard Jason begging. It was kind of fun.
“I’m at practice.” Mike said. He had fifteen more minutes and then his hand was getting busy.
“Then get here right after. I need you man. Delta Tau Delta.”
Mike heard that loud and clear. That wasn’t good. Anytime a member of their fraternity mentioned that sign, they knew the other person was in trouble.
“Okay. I’ll be there shortly,” and he hung up the phone, holding onto it instead of putting it back into his pocket.
The way his luck had been running lately, he’d go off half-cocked in front of a bunch of scantily clad male college students and life as he knew it would be over.
* * * *
Mike walked into Hannigan’s, and as usual, it was packed.
There was nothing special about Hannigan’s except it was a good place to drink and meet people who drank. They didn’t serve food or run a whole lot of specials except for happy hour from four to seven each night. It attracted people from all walks of life and tonight wasn’t any different. The place was filled with just about an equal amount of women as men and as usual, it was a happy hunting ground. He looked over the tops of everyone’s head. At six-four, he was usually the tallest guy around and he used that to his advantage trying to find Jason who was a couple of inches shorter.
Glancing towards the back room, a room he was more than familiar with after holding too many fraternity scavenger hunts there, he saw Jason with a woman who wasn’t Mia. Maybe Jason did need Mike’s help to satisfy his wife. Mike watched as the woman put her hand on Jason’s chest and lean in close, saying things only his best friend could hear. She was looking very friendly and Mike watched in amusement. Jason looked up, catching Mike’s eye and he noticed Jason wasn’t smiling. He grabbed the woman’s hand and pulled it off his chest, saying something as he moved toward Mike.
“Man,” Jason said when they stood in front of each other. “You just saved my ass.”
“Who was that?” Mike asked. She was nice-looking with curves in all the right places and her long brown hair was shiny.
“That is trouble and I need you to keep it away from me.” Mike laughed. Not too long ago, Jason would have taken Miss Trouble up on her offer.
“What do you want me to do?” Since the night Paige turned him down, Mike had lost his appetite for chasing women and having anonymous sex. Or maybe it was the fit Christine threw later on when he said he was going home, to bed, alone.
“Talk to her, keep her busy,” Jason said quickly. “I don’t care if you fuck her on top of the bar or in the bathroom but you’ve got to keep that woman away from me.”
“Who is she?”
“That is Mia’s boss, Veronica.” Jason acted like that knowledge should give Mike enough information to fuck her.
“And?” Mike asked.
“And she hates Mia and is trying to make a play for me and I’m this close to grabbing Mia and leaving. But I can’t. This night is for her and she’s having a good time while I’m getting felt up by the bitch from hell.”
Mike remembered when Jason would have given as good as he got when it came to women. Times had certainly changed.
“So you want me to what? Amuse her?” After Christine’s fit, Mike no longer wanted to be near anyone of the female persuasion.
“I don’t care what you do with her. Just keep her the hell away from me until I can get Mia out of here. I’m so glad she’s quitting her job and writing full time. I can’t take anymore social functions where I’ve got to protect the family jewels ever
y time I move.”
Mike laughed at Jason’s serious face, not feeling sorry for him. After years of watching and participating with Jason on picking up women, it was funny to see the man so desperate to be away from them. Jason frowned hard and Mike laughed even more. It was funny but Mike could see that Jason was really uncomfortable. In the past, Jason was like a tiger, going after his prey quickly and mercilessly until he had his conquest. Now, he had eyes only for Mia and Mike realized he was going to have to take one for the team.
“All right,” Mike said. “Introduce us.” Jason looked at him like he was insane. “It’ll make it easier if she knows you know me. I won’t have to work as hard.” To be honest, Mike didn’t want to work at it at all. Right now his could be fisting himself big-time, coming like Niagara Falls. Instead, he was going to jump in front of a bullet so his friend could keep his cock in his pants.
“Fine but after that, she’s yours,” Jason said turning. They moved around groups of people until they made it to the entrance of the back room were Veronica stood.
“Veronica, I’d like you to meet Mike,” Jason said and looked at Mike with raised brows. Mike smiled slightly, seeing Jason’s cheeks color some as he quickly moved away.
“Mike,” Veronica said as she turned her body towards him, moving closer. Mike caught a hint of her perfume and it did nothing for him except make him think how much he disliked that particular scent. It was overpowering on the senses and he wanted to take a step back but he didn’t.
“Veronica,” Mike said, letting her name roll off his tongue clumsily. Normally he was smooth, especially if he remembered the woman’s name but right now he felt like he was acting.
“How do you know Jason?” she asked quickly. Mike wondered if they were going to spend the whole night talking about his friend. It would be better than having to fuck her. Not that there was anything wrong with her. He just wasn’t interested and that thought alone surprised him. In fact, not sleeping with any women for weeks surprised him. Maybe he was sick.
Follow the Signs Page 3
