The Billionaire From Cleveland: A BWWM Billionaire Romance (United States Of Billionaires Book 14)

by Simply BWWM

  “Hey, I’m sorry, I was just teasing,” said Ian sympathetically, feeling guilty that he joked about something that was so obviously sensitive for Sasha to confront.

  “It’s fine, I’m just in my feelings. I just thought I knew someone, but it turned out that he was actually a completely different person,” she told him.

  “I’ve been there before, for sure,” he told her reassuringly.

  “Oh yeah? Tell me!” she said, taking a big gulp from her drink. Ian waved at someone and moments later a fresh drink was brought right to Sasha.

  “You don’t want to hear, trust me,” he replied.

  “Hey, I told you something personal, now it’s your turn,” she teased.

  “Not that personal. Just said something vague,” he said. She gave him a look, letting him know she wasn’t going to let him off easy. “All right, fine. I got a story I’m still a little sensitive about, too. There was this girl I was with for a little while, she was a bit younger than me. Some people told me she was after my money, but she reassured me over and over she wasn’t interested in that. Eventually, I figured I wanted to propose to this girl. I thought she was the real deal. A day before I planned to propose to her, I walked in to find her poking a hole in one of my condoms.”

  “No way! I don’t believe that for a second,” she told him.

  “Why would I lie?” he asked.

  “Fair enough,” she responded. She realized they had some similar things happen in their background and felt a little bad for what he had experienced. “You must be pretty guarded now, huh?”

  “Yeah, it’s not easy. I don’t often find a real connection with many people, not anymore…” he trailed off, looking into her eyes. Did he mean that he was having a true connection with her? His gaze was so powerful that she had to look away. “You’re probably guarded too, huh?”

  “I have a limit, you know? I can’t let myself mix business with pleasure too much,” she responded. “Definitely don’t let myself trust anyone. It can get lonely, but I don’t like to get too dependent.

  Ian started to lean into Sasha, enabling her to feel his warmth and smell his scent better than ever. “How big is your limit?” he asked in a deep whisper.

  “It changes. Everyone’s different,” she whispered back.

  “How close am I to the limit?” he asked, almost touching her face.

  “Not close enough,” she said, pulling his head into hers, locking lips immediately, not afraid who might see.

  He pulled back just to look at her, putting his hand around her neck. He used his thumb to stroke her cheek, leaning in for another kiss. “We should sit down,” he said, pointing to some empty seating on the crowded patio. They hurried over before it got snatched up.

  They moved toward some couches that were set up by a heater. She kissed him again, putting a hand on his lap. He was taller than her sitting down, but it felt nice to have someone so large protecting her. She felt safe as he towered over her, keeping her warm even though the heater was glowing. Being so close to the lake and so high in the air meant that some nights were still a bit chilly in June. It had been snowing in Ohio just over a month ago. It wasn’t quite warm enough to be outside in such a short dress.

  “Your eyes are just breathtaking,” he told her as he pulled away from their kiss. “I’ve never seen brown eyes that sparkled so much. It’s almost like there are silver lines in them,” he said, staring right into her eyes.

  “Yours aren’t so bad either. They look like emeralds,” she said, looking into his green eyes.

  “Can you tell I’m Irish?” he teased. It was clear from his bright red hair and intense dark green gaze where he came from. He leaned down and kissed her slowly, cupping a hand around her face. She squeezed his leg, and he pulled her in close with his other arm as it draped over her shoulder.

  “How do you keep your lips so soft?” she asked, leaning in for another kiss. She normally didn’t like to engage in so much public display of affection, but at the crowded bar filled with intoxicated people, it seemed easy for them to make out and go unnoticed.

  “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you since the other night,” he explained. “Your body just felt so good. I could have spent all night with you.”

  “Me too,” she responded, using her other hand to grab his, lifting her right hand from his leg and clasping both hands around his fist. She leaned up and gave him another kiss. It felt good to be in a little kiss buzz with him on the patio. She was feeling drunk from the drinks she’d been sipping all night, but even more, she was feeling drunk from his kiss. She was in total bliss when their lips touched, and it hurt when she pulled away.

  Sasha felt the bright flash of a picture being taken smack her in the side of her face. She looked over to see a dweeby-ass guy holding a camera toward the two snuggled up on the couch. “Hey man, I’d appreciate it if you’d ask for a picture. I’d be happy to pose with you,” Ian said gently to the photographer. Sasha realized he probably experienced people taking pictures of him all the time. He seemed to have a pretty good handle on the situation.

  The man just started to walk away without saying anything.

  “You can’t just take pictures of people, dude,” she told him, getting a little upset herself. She started to follow him, getting mad that he didn’t have the decency to ask if he could keep the picture. “Excuse me, I’m talking to you.” Sasha was getting mad and started to follow him back into the bar.

  “Sasha, let him go, it’s fine,” Ian shouted as she walked through the crowd to track down the guy.

  “Hey! Delete that picture! Who do you think you are, you lil’ punk ass boy!” Sasha shouted, letting her temper really show through her foul language.

  “Sasha! Stop!” Ian shouted as he grabbed Sasha’s arm. The bar was completely packed, and it was hard to move through. Sasha looked through the crowd to see the small man who took the picture run into a large bald man wearing all black. The bald man whispered something to the photographer, who then handed his phone over reluctantly for a moment, only for the bald man to clearly delete the picture and hand his phone back.

  He led her back to the patio as she watched the dweeby-looking photographer get dragged to the elevator by a security guard.

  “I’m so sorry about that. I can’t complain about my fortune, but it certainly does have its negative sides,” he told her. “I just wanted to stop you because I knew that my security guard was going to take care of it.”

  “Oh, I didn’t realize,” she said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to get all… loud and crazy.”

  “It’s fine. I like that you’re passionate and protective,” he joked. Sasha was a little embarrassed but at least relieved that she didn’t have to worry about her picture getting around. Then again, would it be the worst press to get caught noodling with a billionaire? Sasha realized that wasn’t the kind of relationship she wanted with him.

  “I didn’t know what to do. I just felt so violated,” she explained.

  “I know, it’s a hard feeling to get used to,” he explained. Used to? Did he expect her to be around long enough to have to adjust to a certain lifestyle? She remembered telling him about her limit earlier. She was starting to realize maybe they were approaching that limit. She leaned into his chest, and he kissed the top of her forehead.

  “Do you want to come back to my place?” he asked as a cute smile crossed his face. Sasha looked up at him while he rubbed her back. The sky was illuminated by the city, so she missed the sight of the stars. Still, the glow of the city was enough of a romantic light cast over Ian’s smooth face.

  “I’d love to,” Sasha said. She realized she’d said love, hoping Ian didn’t look as cryptically at the little words she let slip as much as she did. Now more than ever Sasha wanted to take his clothes off. She had also purchased a lace set for the day while out shopping with Giselle. It wasn’t often she got to show off a new set for a lover. She had only been with two men in her life before Ian, so letting s
omeone explore her body wasn’t a common occurrence she was used to.

  “We can just walk to my apartment downtown if you’d like,” he responded. He kissed the top of her head. She remembered Giselle and wanted to make sure she was okay.

  “Can we check on Giselle before we leave?” She asked, thrilled about getting to spend the night with him. She looked forward to spending the night wrapped in his arms.

  “Of course. Oh wait, I think I see her coming toward us,” he said. Being so tall certainly had its perks when it came to spotting people in a crowd.

  “We have to get out of here,” Giselle said running into Sasha, tears streaming down her face. “Please, Sasha, I don’t want to talk about it, just come home with me please.”

  “Oh my god, honey, what’s wrong? What happened?” Sasha said, not understanding what was going on. Giselle was hysterical, and Sasha didn’t know what to think. It was clear she was intoxicated, so Sasha wasn’t sure how to handle the situation.

  “Giselle, let my driver take you home,” Ian said, reaching out a hand. She was hysterically crying, and people around were starting to notice.

  “No, leave me alone. Let’s just go,” Giselle cried. She pushed Ian’s hand away and pulled Sasha through the crowd, not giving anyone much of a choice. At that point, Sasha just wanted to get out of the crowded bar as the crying girl hung onto her hand for dear life.

  “I’m sorry,” Sasha mouthed to Ian as she let Giselle drag her away. She watched all hope of her night fade along with his face, as Giselle led her through the crowd.

  Chapter5

  Giselle threw the apartment door open, not caring how loud it slammed into the wall. The renovated lofts had several people on either side. Sasha hadn’t realized that several hours had passed while she was cuddling and holding Ian on the patio of the bar. She thought that it was still early, but Sunday had already existed for a few hours. Surely most of the neighbors were in bed, and anyone who wasn’t a heavy sleeper snoozing had probably heard the slamming of the apartment door and all the other loud noises Giselle had made on their way home.

  She had been incredibly loud the entire time they walked up to the apartment. She was slamming doors and shouting in the elevator about how much she hated Frank. She was crying, blowing her nose, and stomping around all throughout the apartment building. Sasha had lost what little buzz she had left as soon as Giselle ripped her from the bar. She thought about pouring another drink once they made it back, but figured it would be better to just rush Giselle through the long explanation.

  “Are you going to tell me what happened now?” Sasha angrily asked. Giselle had been quiet the entire cab ride home, only sniffling and whimpering a bit. She really knew how to be dramatic, a trait she likely learned throughout her spoiled childhood in trying to get the attention of her busy and wealthy parents. She’d cycled through nannies, and with four older sisters, Giselle had a lot of competition when it came to getting any love from her family. Sasha envied her friend’s wealthy background sometimes, but at the same time, seeing her act so spoiled reminded Sasha that she would never be caught acting that foolish.

  “He has two other girls,” Giselle said through tears. “They’re both younger than me.”

  “Who, Frank?” Sasha asked, confused as to why Giselle was so upset about this.

  “Yes, Frank. Do you know anyone else that I’m seeing?” Giselle angrily asked Sasha. Honestly, she wasn’t sure. Giselle always seemed to be texting, so she figured she might have a few other male suitors.

  “No. But why are you so upset? Did you not know he was seeing other girls?” Sasha asked.

  “No, I had no idea! I mean, I thought maybe. So, I guess I had a little bit of an idea. But I didn’t know for sure until one of the girls showed up tonight. She was from Brazil and had a beautiful accent and eyes that could paralyze you. He had the audacity to introduce her to me! He said she was just a friend, but then I asked if he slept with her,” Giselle said as fast as she could, almost in one breath.

  “Of course, you did,” Sasha said.

  “And he told me that he did and that they’d had a client/call girl relationship in the past and that he would occasionally still take her out on paid dates!” Giselle screamed.

  “Oh yeah, I’m sure he told you all that right away,” Sasha said sarcastically.

  “Well, no, it took like two drinks and a shot for him to spill that. But then I finally convinced him to let me use his phone, and I saw that he had another call girl named Crystal, and she has red hair and is a cheerleader- “Giselle started hysterically crying, not being able to talk about Frank’s other relationships any more.

  “You made a huge scene,” Sasha said, a little more annoyed now than she was earlier, “all because your client has other girlfriends? Giselle, what did you expect? It’s Frank. It’s not like you guys were going to end up with him,” Sasha explained, confused as to why she just went through all that when Giselle should have clearly known better.

  “I mean, you never know. People fall in love in strange ways all the time,” Giselle cried.

  “Giselle, you’re kidding right? Frank? You think you might be falling for Frank?” Sasha asked in utter shock.

  “What? You’ve never thought about it with Ian?” Giselle asked. Even though she was supposed to be Sasha’s best friend, she wasn’t completely in the loop about how Sasha had almost moved in with her last client. Sasha made up a story about a trip that got canceled.

  “That’s different,” Sasha responded. She had thought about a real relationship with Ian, how could she not? He was handsome and successful. Still, she stayed guarded, remembering how her last paid relationship turned out.

  “Why is it different? Because Ian is better looking than Frank? Don’t you think that’s a little superficial, Sasha?” Giselle asked.

  “You’re not supposed to be falling for him,” Sasha said, being a little harsh to the sensitive Giselle. “You don’t want to get mixed up in that, Giselle. Don’t you want a real relationship? Someone your own age? Someone who didn’t pay to get you into bed?”

  “I didn’t do anything I didn’t want to do. Money just happened to be an added benefit,” Giselle said back. “I don’t care if our relationship isn’t normal. I thought it was real, but instead I had my heart broken tonight.”

  “Give me a break, Giselle! Are you listening to yourself?” Sasha asked. She was being insensitive at this point to the weeping Giselle.

  “Why are you being so mean?” Giselle said through tears.

  Sasha wasn’t so sure why she was being mean either. She started to cry. She wasn’t sure if it was the tequila creeping back up from earlier, or if it was the fact that she realized she might be talking to herself a bit. Everything she was yelling at Giselle she had thought about in the back of her brain, not wanting to confront the truth. Part of her wanted a real relationship with Ian, but the other part knew that wouldn’t happen.

  “Sasha, I don’t want to fight with you. I just wanted you to make me feel better.”

  “Why are you being so sensitive?” Sasha shouted back at her. She realized she wasn’t being a good friend, but it was hard for her to not snap back at Giselle. Giselle was the reason she wouldn’t get to spend the night with Ian. She had worked so hard to look so nice that night and smell so good, and it was all going to be wasted on herself. She had cut herself shaving just to get a smooth look on her long brown legs, but instead, Giselle had ripped away the opportunity of anyone getting the chance to see her soft skin.

  “I’m in love, okay? How can I not be sensitive?” Giselle cried back. Sasha wondered if she would be over this in the morning.

  “You’re being stupid, Giselle,” Sasha said. She wasn’t sure herself why she was being so angry. Maybe part of her was mad at Giselle for getting her involved in this relationship in the first place. It was Giselle that got her set up with the last man who broke her heart, so what if this guy did the same? Sasha looked at the crying Giselle and wondered if that wou
ld be her in a few weeks, or even days.

  She was feeling something for Ian, and as hard as she tried to push it to the back of her head, it also felt good. Ian had said she was the only girl, but was that something he told all his sugar babies? She started crying hard, both her and Giselle drunk and weeping in their living room. The girls had spent the day drinking and shopping, and this is how they ended up. Sasha felt sick thinking about how different the night had ended from what she had been fantasizing about all day.

  “You’re the one who needs to check yourself, Sasha,” Giselle said, slurring her words the more she talked. It was clear bed was the best option for her. “You’re going to stand there and pretend you’re not feeling something for Ian? You loved that boy before you even knew him. Come on, I saw you watching his shows. Don’t even pretend like you’re not into him. And the way you guys were all over each other at the bar. Everyone was talking about it. It was embarrassing.”

  Sasha wasn’t about to believe her. She knew Giselle was drunk and just trying to hurt her back. Still, Sasha couldn’t help herself. She had to instigate her back. It was in her nature to be defensive and quick to want to fight. “I don’t believe you… Let’s just go to bed. We’re just being drunk and dramatic, Giselle. I’m sorry.”

  Sasha didn’t want to say anything else she would regret, wanting only for the horrible night to end.

  “I’m not just being dramatic, Sasha. Come on, you know as well as I do you’re trying to trap Ian. You said after Peter you’d never hustle again but look at you now in that yellow latex dress. You look desperate, Sasha, like a girl that got dumped by someone who found something better,” Giselle said as clearly as possible. She was pretty good at cutting deep when she wanted to as well.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about, Giselle,” Sasha said as calmly as possible. Giselle was really testing her at this moment. “I told you to never say his name again. I told you. You don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sasha started crying. She was being harsh to Giselle and deserved to get some of the heat back. It stung to hear her own thoughts thrown right back at her. When she heard Giselle say them out loud, it only validated all the anxious thoughts she had about the relationship.