A Wedding Tail

by Casey Griffin

  “Don’t worry. Once you meet Kimura-san, I’m certain you will like him. And he is rich, so once you are married, we won’t have to worry about all this.”

  Zoe rubbed her temples, feeling the pressure build behind them. “Mother, I haven’t agreed to marry him. I might not even like him. He might not like me.”

  “What’s not to like?” she asked. “Everything will work out. You will see. My sister assures me he is a very reliable man. He will take care of us.”

  For wanting such an independent life away from her family, her country, her traditions, Junko Plum was the most dependent person Zoe had ever met.

  Because her mother had needed a man all her life, Zoe understood why her mother felt that she did too. But that wasn’t Zoe’s view of things. That wasn’t going to be her.

  “But Mom—”

  Suddenly, her mother clutched her head. Moaning a little, she let her head fall back against the headrest.

  Zoe jumped to her feet. “Mom. Are you all right?”

  Her mother sighed. “Oh, I’m fine.” But she didn’t sound so fine. “I just worry about you. It causes me so much grief.”

  Zoe crouched down beside her mother. She sighed, patting her hand. “You don’t have to worry about me.”

  She reached out and stroked Zoe’s hair like she did when she was a child. “You’re all I have left to worry about.”

  Zoe suddenly remembered the doctor’s advice. The best thing she could do was reduce stress—for her mom, anyway. Zoe’s stress was an entirely different story.

  “I told you I would meet Taichi. And I will. You don’t have to worry.”

  Her mother straightened in her chair, her dizzy spell miraculously over. “Good, because you have a date with him this weekend.”

  A date, Zoe thought. So soon? No stress. No stress. No stress. Her face formed what she hoped looked like an excited smile. “Great.”

  Yet another reason to get things back on track with her business. So she could prove to her mother once and for all that she was fine on her own. She could take care of herself. And now it looked like she was going to have to take care of her mother too. But without many upcoming events booked, it was hard to do that.

  Zoe crossed the room and swiped the other letters off the desk. “In the meantime, I’m taking these with me.”

  Her mother stood up. Setting Freddy on the floor, she made as if to take them back. “I’m the parent. You’re the daughter. It’s not your job to worry about matters like this.”

  Zoe held them out of her reach, which wasn’t very hard, considering their difference in height. “Not my job? Well, too bad. You didn’t raise me that way either.” She threw her words back at her.

  Shoving the stack of letters into her purse, she kissed her mother on the cheek and headed out to Levi’s van with Freddy in tow.

  16

  Like a Dog with a Bone

  Thud. Thud. Thud.

  Levi’s metal door vibrated with each beat from within, as though his studio apartment was alive, its heart beating. Zoe raised a fist to knock out of automatic politeness, but then realized it was pointless since anyone inside wouldn’t hear her over all the racket—or maybe because of their acquired hearing loss.

  Balancing her box of supplies under one arm, she slid the metal door open. It rolled aside, releasing the chaotic noise within like she was stepping into a nightclub from a quiet street on a Saturday night.

  Freddy strolled inside like he had VIP access. He was getting used to being at Levi’s. Heck, they’d practically spent more time there that week than in her own apartment.

  It may have seemed like a club, but there were no bouncers here, no drunk girls taking selfies at the bar, no perverts rubbing their junk all over chicks and calling it dancing. There was, however, a band. A pretty good band by the sounds of it.

  She put her supplies down on the table and headed for the music room. As it came into view, Levi noticed her, but carried on with the song. When he hit the chorus, his voice, which had been so sweet and melodic during the verse, growled with an extra grittiness. It rolled over her and through her like cool, hard marbles.

  Zoe had heard him sing a few songs off the playlist for Piper’s wedding, but this was different. At that moment, she couldn’t see the cheesy serenading boy next door and definitely not Martha Stewart. He wasn’t singing silly lyrics that he’d made up on the spot rhyming like a Dr. Seuss book.

  He was rocking. Hard.

  Everything about him in that moment fit the bill. The rocker look, the sexy voice, the way his body moved in time to the music, flowing through him naturally like he was born backstage at a Led Zeppelin concert and swaddled in leather.

  She tried to combine this new Levi she was seeing with the guy who’d made her dinner the other night, the guy who’d wanted to get to know her as a person rather than using her for sex, who followed her around the expo like an innocent teenage boy with a crush.

  He was practically every girl’s dream. A hard exterior with a gooey interior. Not that she really noticed much. It’s not like his performance was melting her insides like hot caramel or making her clench with yearning or anything.

  Her breathing wasn’t coming faster from desire. It was because she’d just carried her supplies all the way from her newly repaired van. And that wasn’t her heart throbbing in her chest with lust. It was the kick drum pulsating through her.

  Nope. Levi had no effect on her at all. She was so over it.

  Freddy came to sit next to her heel, slapping his tail in time to the beat on the cement floor. He glanced up at her, as though he could see right through her. Liar.

  She glared back like “Who’s side are you on, anyway. Remember who feeds you.”

  Levi’s eyes held Zoe’s while he sang. She felt that powerful voice resonate deep inside her like the floor vibrating beneath her shoes. His gaze darkened, and as he held his last note, that feeling lingered, sinking lower until it settled somewhere between her thighs.

  Watching him sing with his band, a rock star for real, it definitely gave him that bad boy lead singer factor. And while Zoe wasn’t going to take of her bra and scream like a crazed fan, something about the way he looked behind that mic made her want him to take off her bra and make her scream.

  As the music ended, Zoe had to take a deep breath and remind herself of what he wanted in exchange for sex. More.

  They were just business associates, Zoe told herself. He was giving her a place to store the supplies she had to replace after the explosion. A quiet space to work with more room than her disorganized apartment. She just had to resist ripping the clothes off his tall, tight body. She could manage that for a few days until she found a new office space. Probably.

  “Good set, guys,” Levi said, placing his guitar in its stand. “Let’s wrap it up for the day.”

  Zoe felt a little giddy as he approached, like he’d picked her out from the crowd. That is, until she reminded herself she wasn’t at a concert, and Levi was just Levi.

  “Hey. Sorry I just let myself in,” she said.

  “No worries. Mi casa, su casa, remember? That’s why I gave you a key.”

  “What’s in the box?” one of Levi’s bandmates asked, the bass player, she thought. He was already leaning over the box on the table, peeking inside.

  “Dildos mostly,” Zoe said.

  He leapt back like she’d just said it was a box of scorpions. “You’ve got a whole box of dildos?”

  Once he recovered, he pushed the cardboard flap aside with a single finger as though it were contaminated. His eyebrows rose an inch at what he saw inside.

  “That’s nothing,” Zoe told him, hiding a smirk. “I’ve got a whole van full of sex toys.”

  His mouth dropped, like he wasn’t sure if she was joking. Maybe he thought they were all for her personal use.

  Levi laughed. “Zoe, this is Brody.”

  The drummer of the band didn’t seem as shy as the bass player and started digging through the box,
pulling out toys. His eyes lit up as though it were Christmas morning at the Playboy mansion.

  Levi shook his head. “That pervert is Aaron.”

  “My favorite kind of customer,” Zoe said. “They tend to spend more money,” she stage-whispered, not bothering to lower her voice.

  Aaron’s hands were full of toys, so he waved the purple dildo clenched in his fist. “Nice to meet you. What else do you got?” He gasped and dug for the bottom. “What’s this?”

  He drew out a long, flesh colored tube.

  “That’s a Beater Cheater,” she said.

  As Aaron turned it around, his grin widened when he realized what you’d beat with it.

  “It’s for my male customers,” she said. “It comes equipped with a hole on either end.”

  The keyboard player stood back, watching on with a dubious look. He frowned, clearly trying to do the math. “Why two holes?”

  Levi shrugged. “Variety?”

  “Probably because they couldn’t fit all three holes?” Zoe offered.

  His ears turned red as he finally figured out the equation.

  “And this is Jett,” Levi said. “He’s clearly not as quick as the other two.”

  Zoe could tell he was trying to act cool around his friends, but she noticed a telltale flush crawling its way up his neck. It gave her a strange sense of satisfaction. In fact, she wanted to make him blush harder.

  “I’ve heard of those things,” Jett said, still not willing to get any closer to the box. “Do they actually feel like the real thing?”

  “It’s very realistic,” she assured him. “But nothing can replace the real thing.” Her voice automatically took on the sultry tone she used for parties. People trusted the opinion of someone who felt sexy, who acted sexy, who believed they were sex on a stick. So of course, Zoe did very well in the sales department.

  Shaking his head, Jett slapped Levi on the back and headed for the door. “You’re a lucky man.”

  Zoe wasn’t sure what he meant exactly. Maybe that he got to spend time with a girl well versed in sex. Or was it more specifically related to her? Had he talked with his band mates about her?

  Brody followed Jett toward the door, pausing by Zoe as he left. “You know, I’ve got a big apartment. I’d be happy to let you play with your toys there.” He flashed her a playful grin.

  “Good-bye, Brody.” Levi shoved his friend toward the door.

  Brody threw his hands up in the air, like “What did I do?”

  Aaron seemed more reluctant to leave the toy box behind. At the last second, he grabbed the Beater Cheater and waved it. “Can I have this?”

  The guy was hilariously unabashed compared to his band mates, but Zoe would never laugh at someone’s sexuality. Hell, she encouraged people to express it for a living. Instead, she pulled a business card out of her purse.

  “Only if you tell your friends where to get one when you try it and love it.”

  “Woo-hoo! Thanks!” He headed after the rest of his band. “I’m going to go home to love it right now.”

  Groaning, Levi slid the front door shut and locked it like he was afraid they’d come back. “Sorry about them.”

  Zoe laughed. “They seem nice.”

  The blush was slowly fading from Levi’s neck, but she noticed him reach for his jeans a few times to rearrange them. “Well, I’ll let you get to work. I’ve got some errands to run for a bit.” Picking up his phone, he tapped the screen a few times until music started playing through the speakers placed around his apartment. “There. Just in case Freddy gets any ideas.” He looked at him pointedly.

  Freddy’s tail slapped against the cement floor, but he didn’t seem to understand what was going on.

  “Sorry about all the merchandise.” She gestured to the wedding and sex toy supplies piled in the corner. “Don’t worry. It won’t be for long.”

  Aiden had offered to help Zoe look for an office for rent. With all the properties he owned in San Francisco, she hoped something would pop up soon.

  “Trust me,” Levi said. “There’s no rush.”

  He grabbed his keys off the counter nearby and gave her a wave, rearranging himself one more time before slipping out the door. Zoe grinned but tried to focus on the work ahead. The longer she went without an orgasm, the harder it was going to be to work around him. But she had to. There was still too much to do before Piper’s wedding.

  She spent the rest of the morning organizing her merchandise, taking stock of what hadn’t been blown into a million pieces. She’d lost a lot of her event decorations both in the explosion and the vandalism at the Hilton. She brought up a copy of her records from her laptop, making a list of what she needed to replace for insurance purposes and prioritized it based on what event was booked next.

  Once she’d placed a few calls and ordered replacement decor and supplies, she set it all aside to sort through her mother’s bills. She’d been working on them all week. Even after tallying up the numbers, she realized her mother was right. There was more money going out than coming in. San Francisco was an expensive city, and her father’s death left her with very little to survive on.

  If only she’d talked to Zoe sooner. She wouldn’t have been able to hold off the sale of the house forever, but she could have ensured her mother came out of it all in the black. There were years of equity built up in the home. To lose it all was an insult to her father’s years of hard work and savings.

  Zoe crumpled a bill and tossed it in the garbage. She felt neglectful for not intervening sooner. Finances were not her mother’s forte. But she never would have guessed things would get that bad. Then again, when things got tough, her mother became a turtle and tucked into her shell, just like when it came to her health.

  When numbers began to blur together, Zoe popped a couple of aspirin and called the mortgage company. After an hour of waiting on hold, and a talk with some higher powers that be, Zoe managed to get the bills up to date and work out a payment plan—in exchange for some hefty penalties, of course.

  But her mother couldn’t pull money from thin air to get back on track. She needed help. She needed Zoe. But sinking money into her childhood home meant Zoe was going to have to give up on her dream of buying her own place. It meant she was going to have to buy part of her mother’s house.

  In the end, she called her mother and proposed putting her name on the mortgage. Being a practical woman, she agreed that it was the best course of action. That, and because it was only temporary. After all, once Zoe married Taichi, they wouldn’t need to worry about it anymore.

  Zoe didn’t really want to get into that one, so she let it slide and ended the call. However, this new agreement opened up a whole new list of phone calls to make in order to get the ball rolling.

  The first call she made was to her landlord to give notice for the end of the month. One thing was certain. Her mother was struggling to live on her own. Who knew if she was taking her medication right or eating as often as she should? Zoe’s frequent visits just weren’t enough anymore. She’d have to move in as soon as possible.

  Her phone vibrated on Levi’s desk in front of her. It was a call from an unknown number. She was tempted to let it go to voicemail, but with all the calls she’d made to mortgage lenders and bill collectors that morning, she hit the accept button.

  “Zoe Plum here.”

  “Hey, girlfriend!” Holly’s voice screeched through the phone. “Just wanted to catch up. How are things since the big blow up? Were there any irreplaceable items for Piper and Aiden’s impending wedding that were destroyed?” she asked casually.

  Zoe’s head began to throb at the sound of the reporter’s voice. It reminded her of her news report about the bombing that appeared on the five o’clock news Monday evening. Of course, Holly just had to slip Zoe’s name into the segment.

  Even though another San Fran Slayer tragedy was headlining the news—this time, a Pizza delivery boy had been attacked—it obviously didn’t overshadow her small-business mis
fortunes. She’d already received calls from three weddings, two parties, and five Pure Passion Party bookings, wondering if they should cancel her services. Whoever said there was no such thing as bad publicity was wrong.

  Now the entire city knew that her business was falling apart. Who was going to book an event with her when they saw what chaos her life was in? Not to mention they’d assume she had no resources left to work with.

  Unwilling to give Holly any more to use against her, Zoe said, “Everything is on track and their wedding will be beautiful. You can quote me. Otherwise, no comment.” She hung up before Holly could argue and immediately blocked the number.

  She slammed the phone down on the desk. Feeling the throbbing behind her eyes intensify, she laid her head next to it. Just as she closed her eyes, the front door slid open and Levi strolled in.

  He took in both Zoe at the desk and Freddy curled up on the area rug, chilling to the music in the background. “Nap time already?” He flopped down on the couch. “How are things? Making any headway?”

  “It’s official,” she said. “I’m going to be a thirty-year-old living with her mother. I’ll be taking on half of the mortgage payments in order to prevent the repossession.”

  “Really?” He seemed to think about that for a moment. Finally, he huffed and shook his head. “I’m not sure I could do the same thing. My parents would drive me insane. I think it’s sweet you want to help her out.”

  Feeling anxious, Zoe stood up and started digging through her boxes of toys, pulling out the ones she needed for the pleasure party she was hosting that weekend.

  Each party paid a couple hundred or more, depending on the information requested and the number of guests. And of course, she received a commission on all sales. While it was just a side gig, the two grand a month helped supplement her income—she was very good at selling sex.

  She set them down on the desk, organizing them from thickest to thinnest. To keep her hands busy, she began to clean them with a gentle cleanser spray.

  Zoe tried to think about it from Levi’s perspective, but it didn’t seem strange to her. “I guess I never thought of it any other way. She and my father took care of me for the first twenty-some years. Now it’s my turn to pay back the favor. It’s just happening sooner than I thought it would.”