I sighed. “All right, Mom. Spit it out.”
“What are you talking about?” she asked.
“Tell me the reason you wanted to meet.”
“Can’t a mother have lunch with her son? A son I haven’t seen in ten years and have barely spoken to since he got home, I might add,” she said.
“Mom, come on. You called me in the middle of the day on a Friday, which I know is one of your busiest days of the week, and asked to have lunch. You also mentioned that you had just left that salon you go to, which means that you are going to try and talk me into calling that girl you keep pushing on me,” I said.
I thought she would try to defend herself, but surprisingly, she said, “Oh, Liam, she’s such a nice girl.”
I threw my hands in the air. Laughing, I said, “I knew it.”
“Just hear me out. She’s funny, intelligent, quick witted, and absolutely beautiful.”
“Yeah, well so is a golden retriever, but you don’t see me dating one of those, do you?” I said.
“Ugh, I hope not,” she laughed. Then her tone turned serious. “Liam, I am only trying to help. I just want you to be happy, and I think that Rory will be perfect for you.”
“Rory?”
“Her name. Rory Shaw.” Cute name, I thought to myself.
“Look, I know you mean well, Mom, but I’m just not interested. I am happy with my life right now. I’m on my own, I just got my own place, and I like it. Please respect that.”
She sighed. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. I will respect it. I don’t want to be like your father,” she said sadly. “I really might never see you again. For good this time.”
I place my hand over hers. “Thank you, Mom.”
“It’s just a shame. I’ve never seen a more stunning red head in all my life,” she said.
“Maybe you could date her,” I teased.
She laughed. “Hey, this is the modern world. If I was thirty years younger I might be up for it,” she said, and I laughed out loud.
“Mom, you’re a trip, you know that?” Just then, Maria came over to our table carrying a beer and another glass of white wine.
“Here you are. Your food will be out soon,” she said, and looked at me again, blushing.
“Thank you sweetie,” I said, winking at her again. She smiled widely and walked away.
After we had our lunch, we were sitting at our table, still chatting. “So, what are you up to tonight?” Mom asked me. I cocked an eyebrow at her, and she smiled. “I’m just asking, I’m not suggesting anything.”
“I didn’t have anything planned. I thought I might call Nick and hit up a bar or something.”
“I’ve heard good things about this club called Shadow. You could check it out.”
“Where did you hear about Shadow?” I asked, amused.
“Darling, everyone knows about Shadow. I hear they have great music,” she said, smiling.
“Uh huh. I’ve heard about it too, but I’ve never been there. I might check it out.” Shadow definitely had a good reputation. They always have some kind of big band playing there, but I hadn’t been and wanted to check it out. Guess tonight was the night.
“Great. See, I’m not totally out of the loop,” she said, still smiling. I looked at my watch. If I was going out tonight, I wanted to get home and shower. I didn’t want to smell all sweaty from moving all day if I wanted to get laid tonight. Maria had already brought our check over, and I leaned across the table to pick it up. “Oh no, Liam, let me get this. I invited you,” she said.
I shook my head. “Now what kind of gentleman would I be if I didn’t pick up the bill for a beautiful lady?” I asked.
She smiled warmly at me. “You’re such a sweet man, Liam. Thank you.”
“Anytime, Mom.” I said, as we stood up.
“I’ll let you go. You have fun tonight, and be careful, okay?” she said, a twinkle in her eye.
Kissing her on the cheek, I said, “I will. Have a good evening,” I said, and watched as she walked out.
As I walked up to the register to pay Maria was standing with a group of other waitresses, and they were all giggling to each other. As I got closer, one of them locked eyes with me and blushed, said something excitedly to Maria and she turned around to face me. “Hi,” she said meekly. “How was your meal?” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and lightly bit her bottom lip.
“Everything was great,” I said, handing her my credit card. “Especially the waitress.” Her breath caught in her throat and she smiled sweetly at me. She swiped my card through the machine and after a moment she handed it back to me with a slip of paper to sign. After I quickly signed my name to the paper, I handed it back to her.
“Thank you, Liam Tanner,” she said, reading my name off the paper. When she handed me the receipt, her fingers touched mine for a brief moment. I was about to put the piece of paper in my pocket when something on it caught my eye. It was a phone number. I looked up at her and she was grinning. “I’m off at eight,” she said. I smiled sexily at her and with a wave I walked out of the restaurant. Well, I knew what my bad decision for the night would be.
Three hours later, I had dragged Nick out and we were at Shadow listening to music and drinking in the scenery. There were definitely some hot ass girls here. I’m glad I had decided to come. I hadn’t had to pay for a drink all night because women kept sending them to our table, but even though I was getting a lot of female attention, I still had planned on calling Maria after I left. She was really cute, and wasn’t shy about putting herself out there. Hopefully she knew this was just going to be a one night stand. I may sound like a dick, but I wasn’t about to dive into some relationship. I was just looking to get my rocks off.
“Damn, these chicks here are unbelievable,” Nick said, taking a drink from his beer. He had on his predator face, as I liked to call it. I don’t know why he tried so hard. He was actually a pretty good looking guy. He had dark hair that he kept buzzed almost to the scalp, tan skin, and was pretty built. He had a few tattoos, but not as many as I did. For all that he had going on, for some reason he felt the need to use cheesy one-liners to pick up girls. “Why the hell haven’t we been here before?”
“I don’t know. I heard this place was cool, but I’ve just never been.”
“Well, I am definitely loving the scenery around here,” he said, letting his eyes scan the room. “Here, have another shot,” he said, sliding a bottle of bourbon toward me. “I think it’s on that blonde at the bar that’s been staring at you since we got here.”
“Well, I don’t mind if I do,” I said, picking up the bottle and pouring a shot into my glass. After slamming it back, I sucked air through my teeth and set the glass down on the table.
All of a sudden, I heard Nick gasp loudly and mutter, “Son of a bitch!” What I saw when I looked up knocked me on my ass. My breath caught in my throat. Two women were walking toward the table next to us. One had long, straight brown hair and was wearing a tight black skirt, and the other…she was a goddess. She had long wavy red hair, creamy ivory skin, and more tattoos than I had seen on most men. She was wearing a pair of skin tight skinny jeans and a tight black tube top that showed off her tattoos. She had a tiny diamond stud in her nose, a pair of tiny snake bites in her lip, and I could make out a pair of gauges in her ears when she threw her hair over her shoulder. It was like she’d stepped right out of my wettest dream. I wanted to touch her, to see her naked and writhing in pleasure on my bed. The only thing I knew at that moment was that I had to know her…I had to have her in one way or another.
Chapter 3
Rory
The rest of the day went by in a blur. I am usually busy, because I am booked three to four weeks in advance, and I was happy because that not only made the days go by fast, but it kept my mind from wandering. After my last client for the day was gone, I started to do my usual end of the day cleaning. After every color bowl was washed, every trash can had been emptied, and every station had be
en cleaned with disinfectant, I looked at my watch and realized it was past time for me to leave. I walked quickly to the break room and grabbed my bag. I looked out around the salon floor, and most of the stylists had already left. Brian was putting on his jacket, and was scrolling through his phone, checking his messages. “So, are you heading to the airport now?” he asked me.
“Yeah, Marissa and I are meeting there and we’re going to wait together.” She had to be a ball of nerves at this point.
“All right, well, have fun girl. And make sure to bring your brother by,” he said with a wink.
I rolled my eyes and smiled at him. “Yeah, okay. Bye, babe. I’ll see you next week,” I said, and kissed him on the cheek. Saturdays were usually busy, but I was so anxious for Brody’s arrival and was dying to show him the city, so I cleared out my entire schedule for the week of his arrival.
“See you girl,” and he walked out the door. I slid into my jacket, and walked out behind him after waving goodbye to Samantha. As I was hailing a cab, my cell phone started ringing. I looked down at the caller ID, and saw Marissa’s face on the screen. “Hey, I’m heading to the airport right now. You on your way?”
“Yes, I am almost there. Should we meet by the east entrance?”
“Sounds like a plan. You okay?” I asked, noting the panic in her voice.
“Of course I am, everything is find, er, I mean, fine. Everything’s fine,” she said.
“Take a deep breath. It’s just Brody. You’ve known him for eleven years. He probably looks the same as he always has.”
She paused on the other end of the line, and finally said, “Oh god, you’re right, he probably does. Better even, which means I’m really going to say something stupid. That is if I can even speak at all.”
“Marissa, it’s going to be fine, I promise. I’ll see you in a few,” I said, and we both hung up. For her sake, I hope her nerves calmed down before he stepped off the plane, but I just didn’t see that happening.
The cab got to the airport right on time and I grabbed my bag, paid the driver, and jumped out. I had only been inside the airport for about five minutes when I felt a tap on my shoulder. “Hey, Rory, there you are.” It was Marissa, all fidgety and nervous.
“Yeah, I just got here. When was his plane getting here again?”
“It’s already landed, and they should be letting the passengers off any minute. He’s coming out at gate thirty seven,” she said, and I turned and followed her. We stood there at the gate waiting for a good two minutes, not really talking. I looked over at Marissa, and she looked white as a sheet.
Placing my hand on her shoulder, I said, “Just breathe. You look like you are going to pass out, and Brody is going to know something is up. If you don’t want him to find out you are in love with him, then be cool. He’s living here now, so there’s plenty of time to let him know how you feel, if you want to. Until then, just have fun and be happy to see your friend that has probably missed you as much as you’ve missed him.”
She turned to me, and pulled me into a hug. “Rory, I love you. You always know what to say. Thanks.” We pulled apart, and we waited for my brother to come off the plane.
The passengers started to come through the gate one by one. After about twenty people walked by, I was looking around, anxiously waiting to see him, when I heard a voice say loudly, “Rory! Marissa!” I looked up and there was my brother Brody, handsome as ever, coming toward us in a half-sprint. My sometimes-icy covered heart started to thaw at the sight of him. He was wearing a white button down shirt with the top two buttons undone, faded jeans, and black Docs. His dark hair was in a faux hawk style, and he was rocking a five o’clock shadow. He dropped his bags in front of us, and pulled Marissa and I into a tight group hug. We must have stood there for a full minute, just hugging each other.
“Brody, we are so glad you are finally here!” I squealed, and he released us.
“I’m glad to be here too. Sorry about grabbing you guys like that, but I was so happy to see you both I didn’t want to hug one before the other,” he smiled. He looked at me, and said, “Rory, you look beautiful, little sister, as always. You’re doing okay?” he asked. I know he was asking if I was doing okay mentally…that’s what everyone means when they ask me that question.
I smiled reassuringly and said, “I’m doing just fine, big brother.”
I then looked over at Marissa, and his eyes followed mine. As soon as their eyes met, her breathing picked up slightly. Be cool, girl, I thought. “Brody, it’s great to finally see you. I-uh, we’ve missed you so much.”
He smiled a wide, all-white-teeth killer smile at her. He pulled her into a big, warm hug, and whispered, “I’ve missed you too, Minnie.” ‘Minnie’ was Brody’s nickname for Marissa because he always said she was as quiet as a mouse. Pulling away, he took her hands in his and said, “Marissa…you look absolutely incredible.”
Marissa cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink. She smiled widely, and simply said, “Thank you.”
He continued to smile, and said, “I mean, seriously. You look amazing! Did you do something different?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “No, I’m still the same as I’ve always been. Just a year later.”
“And with an awesome new job at Vogue,” I bragged. Marissa was one of the photographers that took the pictures of celebrities for their photo shoots.
“Yeah, I’ve seen some of your stuff. You’re really talented, but then again, you always have been,” Brody said, and I saw Marissa slightly blush.
“Since when do you read Vogue Magazine?” I teased. “Which reminds me, did you leave your purse on the plane?”
He shoved me playfully, and threw his duffel bag over his shoulder. As I leaned down to pick up his other two bags, he said, “Very funny, you brat. I saw a copy of Vogue in the doctor’s lounge one time, and I was flipping through the pages. I saw Marissa’s name on some of them, and I got so excited I think I showed them to the whole hospital staff. The pictures I saw were very beautifully done. You should be proud. I know I am,” he said, smiling at her. She looked down at her feet for a brief moment, but I saw her smile to herself.
“Well, what’s say we all pile into Marissa’s Beamer, drop your stuff off at the loft, and then head out to celebrate?” I asked.
“That sounds awesome. I dozed off on the plane for a bit, so I am rested and ready to go.”
“Let’s go, I am parked this way,” Marissa said, and began walking in front of us. As Brody and I walked through the sliding doors together, I looked up at him. His eyes were fixed on Marissa, and he had a slightly surprised look on his face. After a few moments, he looked at me and noticed I was staring. “What is it?”
“Oh, nothing. Just happy to have you here,” and we linked arms and followed Marissa out to her car.
“Wow, you girls have an amazing view,” Brody said, staring out the large picture windows that took up half of the living room wall. “I need to look for a view like this when I go apartment hunting.”
“Well, you just got here, don’t even worry about finding something yet,” I said, smoothing out my shirt. We had all decided to freshen up before we headed out, and even though I didn’t want to change, Marissa insisted I doll myself up. I ended up wearing a tight black tube top with “I Heart New York” written out in silver and red rhinestones, a tight pair of skinny jeans, and I wore my favorite pair of black suede stilettos. Brian would be so proud. I had had my hair up in a messy bun all day, and when I took it down it was soft and wavy. I had teased my hair to make it full and added some large curls to it. My ears had small gauges, so I took out my usual black ones and put in ones that had diamonds in them. Brody was wearing dark wash jeans, the fitted ACDC tee I bought him last Christmas, and a black leather jacket.
“Well, I don’t want to get too comfortable here, I’m a guy. This place is all girly, and I’ve got to get settled into my bachelor pad,” he said.
“Whatever. Just take your time. You need to find the right
place. Besides, Marissa and I have missed you so much. We don’t want to let you go yet,” I said, and he pulled me into a brotherly hug. Everything felt complete with him here. Even though I had Marissa, my life had been, to be honest, depressing and lonely the last four years without Mason. Having Brody here was making me feel better already.
At that moment, Marissa came out into the living room, and I smiled as I caught Brody’s expression. His mouth fell open slightly, and he quietly cleared his throat. Marissa had straightened her usual wavy brown hair with a flat iron. She was wearing a tight black mini skirt that showed off her toned legs, and a black asymmetrical top with a lace back with a hot pink camisole under it, and finished the look with black strappy heels. She usually dressed pretty tame when we went out, opting for jeans and a fitted graphic tee or tank, but tonight she looked like a total babe. She was obviously dressing for Brody’s attention, and it seemed to be working. She was checking her makeup in her compact mirror, not noticing Brody’s reaction to her. “Okay, you guys ready to go?”
“Yeah, ready,” I said, clapping Brody on the shoulder. “Are you hungry?”
“I actually had a late lunch, so I’m not really hungry. What about you Brody? Do you want to go eat? Because if you are hungry, we can go wherever you want. It’s your night,” Marissa said, slightly blushing after her last statement. I bet if he asked her, she’d roll over and play dead too, I thought.
He looked at her, and then seemed to realize he was looking at her a little longer than he should. Clearing his throat again, he said, “Uh, no, I’m not hungry. But I definitely could use a drink. Why don’t we just go to a bar or a club?”
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