Angels & Whiskey

by Kimberly Knight

  I swallowed down my need to object and nodded. “Yes, but if I get pregnant, I’m going to gain weight.”

  He reached up with his hand and tucked my hair behind my ear. Not removing his hand from my face, he cupped my cheek with a little too much force. “That will be under different circumstances and you’ll still be required to stay healthy for our baby.”

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  “Now, be a good wife and go wait naked for me. I’ve had a long day and I need to relax.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Gabe

  One thing was certain.

  Autumn wasn’t the weak person I thought she was when I’d first met her.

  I’d like to think it was because of me—that I was her savior which made her stronger. But for that to happen, she needed to have the strength within her the entire time.

  Checking my back office, I didn’t have a date until the following Saturday. I was okay with that. I didn’t need the money—I had enough saved from the past three years.

  During the week leading up to my next date, Jackson and I met Autumn at the gym and then went to Starbucks. I wanted to go to the range and teach her how to shoot, but she needed to figure out how to go without her husband finding out.

  Everything was platonic between us, but I’m not gonna lie, I watched her ass while she ran every single day. I’d watch her breasts bounce through the reflection of the mirror as we both ran side by side. And I’d watch her stretch. God—watching her stretch put thoughts in my head that I’d dream about. No joke. Each night, I dreamt about us together in bed.

  And when I saw her at the bar, a few weeks back, I knew there was no getting her out of my system. After almost five years of drowning myself nightly with at least a half a bottle of whiskey before bed, I stopped needing it. Each night my dreams were vivid. They were of Autumn; they were of Alyssa and Autumn, and they weren’t about the last day of Alyssa’s life that used to haunt me.

  The more I thought about it—the more I was convinced Autumn was an angel sent to rescue me.

  My past was haunting me.

  But now my future looked promising.

  “Hey,” Jackson called, coming into the living room where I sat on the couch watching TV. “The guys want to grab a drink. You down?”

  I nodded. Guy time would be good. “Yeah. When?”

  “Now.”

  I looked down at my jeans and blue T-shirt. I was ready. It was the middle of the afternoon and I didn’t have anyone to impress.

  We met the guys at Oak & Ivy, a whiskey cocktail bar in Container Park. The bar was narrow with wood lining all the surfaces, and there was only enough space to sit at the bar or outside. The copper lamp shades that hung above the bar gave everything a rustic feel. I’d never heard of the bar, but I fell in love as I walked in, noticing the forty-plus different kinds of whiskey they had to offer.

  “You’re a whiskey man?” Brad asked as we all looked over the menu as we sat belly up to the bar.

  “The glass can be half empty or half full as long as there’s whiskey in it,” I replied with a smile.

  “We’re gonna be great friends.” He laughed.

  I settled on trying the Brown Sack Special, which was bartender’s choice. I had no doubt the man dressed in his bow tie and suspenders could make me a drink to my liking.

  “How are you two liking Vegas?” Vinny asked, looking from me to Jackson.

  “Dude, the women…” Jackson began, shaking his head. “This is my first night off since we got here last week.”

  “Same with you, Gabe?” Nick asked.

  I shook my head. “Nope. I guess the ladies don’t like the bald head.” I laughed.

  “That’s kinda true,” Vinny said, rubbing his bald head. “These fuckers get more dates than me.” He motioned with his thumb to Nick and Brad.

  “I’m not complaining. I’ve been helping out a friend.”

  “A girlfriend?” Nick asked.

  “Nah—”

  “He wants her to be,” Jackson interrupted.

  “Does she know what you do for a living?” Brad asked.

  I chuckled and took a sip of the concoction the bartender placed in front of me. “Nope. Not sure how that’s going to work out.”

  “It’s not,” Nick and Vinny said in unison.

  Nick looked at Vinny. “We’ve both tried to have relationships, but they only last a few months before jealousy takes over. Women can’t grasp that it’s just work and we have no feelings for these chicks.”

  “Yeah, but I wouldn’t be okay if she were an escort either,” I countered.

  They all nodded in understanding. I had no idea what I was going to do when I had Autumn in my house. Once she left her husband, I wasn’t going to hold back how I felt for her. It was already hard enough seeing her every day and not being able to touch her as I wanted too. It felt like it had when I was with Alyssa.

  I just hoped it didn’t turn out the same way.

  On Thursday after our daily Starbucks post-workout rendezvous, I checked my back office again to make sure I didn’t have any dates besides the one for Saturday—I didn’t. I also double-checked the instructions for Saturday’s date.

  Trista was hiring me to escort her to a black tie party. I was to be her boyfriend and eye candy on her arm for the night. The problem—I didn’t have a decent suit to wear. Since working out five days a week, sometimes six since being in Vegas, I’d bulked up, causing my suit to be uncomfortable.

  “Hey, want to go with me to the mall?” I asked Jackson as he sat on the brown leather couch watching baseball on our giant sixty inch flat screen TV.

  He furrowed his eyebrows, turning his head toward me slowly. “Did you just ask me to go to the mall?”

  I laughed, realizing what I’d asked. “Sorry, I just wanted to know if you wanted to go with me to get a suit for my date on Saturday.”

  He chuckled. “Yeah … Cap. I’m gonna pass. Baseball is much more entertaining than seeing you strut your stuff.”

  I shook my head. Hanging out with Jackson every day was turning me into a chick. “What? You don’t think my ass looks good in these jeans?” I asked, turning and sticking my butt out.

  I had driven around for a good thirty minutes before Siri helped me find a good place to go. My plan was to go to the first store I saw that sold suits and get one that fit enough to get by for one night. I didn’t need anything custom tailored.

  However…

  My plans changed when I saw her.

  Autumn was walking along the sidewalk of the outdoor shopping area, and I watched as she slipped into one of the stores. I crossed the street, following her. Even though I had just seen her a few hours before at Starbucks, I wanted to see her again. After all, we were friends.

  I searched the store, looking for the women’s department until I found her where she was looking in the dress section.

  “Angel,” I greeted, walking up behind her. “If I would have known you’d be here, I wouldn’t have made an ass out of myself and invited Paul to come.”

  She jumped as if I scared her, holding her hand to her chest as she turned to look at me. “Oh my God, what are you doing here?”

  “I have to get a suit for work.” How could I tell the woman I was interested in I was going on a date with another woman … a date I was paid for? I knew I needed to tell her. If she found out on her own, it would more than likely be the end of whatever we were and whatever we were going to be once she was free.

  “I was starting to think you and Pal didn’t have jobs.” She laughed, looking around—probably for a spy. There wasn’t anyone around but us.

  I chuckled. “We have jobs.” My gaze roamed her body as I took in her perfect frame in tight jeans and a simple black T-shirt and flip flops. I usually saw her in casual workout gear, but damn if I didn’t love her in jeans as well. And the icing on the cake: She smelled like warm vanilla sugar.

  “What do you two do then?”

  “It’s complicated
,” I answered with a shrug. “Why are you here? I thought you’d have to go home after Starbucks?” I asked, changing the subject. Luckily she didn’t press the issue about my job.

  She shrugged. “I did go home, but I wanted to go shopping. I’ve been pushing the envelope with my husband for weeks now.”

  “And everything’s okay?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

  “Yeah,” she answered, giving a tight smile.

  I followed Autumn as she went from rack to rack, grabbing a couple of dresses. “When do you meet with an attorney?” I asked. Whenever she was going, I wanted to go and at least wait for her in the parking lot for support. If her husband’s spies told him she was meeting with an attorney, there was no telling what would happen. I wanted to be there in case he showed up.

  “I haven’t found one yet. My luck, my husband knows all of them.” She moved a few hangers, looking at different dresses as she spoke.

  “I highly doubt that. When are you going to tell me what he does for a living?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “When I’m safely in your house.”

  I groaned, liking the sound of that scenario as it came from her mouth. “It’s been a month, angel.” A month too long.

  “I know,” she groaned. “This is part of my plan. Your plan can only work if my plan works.”

  “What’s your plan? I thought my plan was our plan.” I gestured between the two of us.

  She grabbed a couple of dresses and started to walk toward the fitting room. “My plan is to push the envelope. Get him to let me go places other than just the gym and Starbucks. That way, when I find an attorney, I’d have more of an excuse to be in that area—wherever that may be.”

  I followed her as she walked, thinking of her plan. “Well, since you’re here and I’m here, want to help me pick out a suit?”

  “Sure,” she beamed. “Just let me try these on and then I’ll help you.”

  Sitting in a chair outside of the fitting room, I waited for her to pick which one she was going to buy. I thought about her naked as she changed from dress to dress.

  I wanted to see her naked … I wanted to help her change … I wanted to zip up the back of the dresses as my fingers brushed along her smooth neck … I wanted to be on the other side of the door, my head between her thighs as she moaned my name … I wanted to bury my dick so far in her that we’d feel connected as one.

  Fuck…

  I just wanted her.

  This friend thing wasn’t working out too well.

  As I wondered what color underwear and bra she had on, she stepped out in a long black dress with a laced top, and all thoughts of her naked vanished. She was breathtaking as she twirled, looking at all angles in the floor length mirror. The dress had a slit that ran from her upper thigh on her right leg to the floor, exposing her smooth, toned leg as she turned.

  Fuck, I was instantly hard.

  “The bruises are gone,” she said, looking at me through the reflection of the mirror.

  My gaze darted up from her ass to meet her staring eyes. “I’m not looking at your arms, angel.”

  She huffed with a smile. “Gabe! We’re friends, remember?”

  I stood, walking toward her. When I reached her, I stepped flush with her body, bringing her ass back so she could feel how hard I was.

  “I can’t help what you do to me—friend or not.” I saw her swallow hard as our gazes met again in the mirror. I rested my chin on her shoulder and started to glide my hand up her thigh. “I’m not sure how much longer I can wait,” I confessed, whispering in her ear. “I think we should revise what we are. I’m thinking—friends with benefits.”

  She took a deep breath, my sight lowering to her chest as her breasts moved up and down with the moment. My hand continued to slide up her thigh, and just as it was about to slip past the slit, she caught my hand with hers.

  “You have no idea how much I want to say yes. I do. I really, really do. But if you’re right and I get more money if my husband’s cheating on me, then I can’t cheat on him.”

  I groaned out of frustration. “Next week, angel,” I whispered into her ear. “You better find an attorney or I will.”

  She nodded her head and I stepped back, breaking our contact. My dick was like stone, and I had a half a mind to take her behind one of the fitting room doors and fuck her while she watched in the mirror.

  Fucking friend zone bullshit!

  “I’m having a hard time controlling myself. I’ll be in the men’s department looking at suits.” I turned on my heel, adjusted myself, then went to find the men’s department.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Autumn

  Rich hadn’t laid a hand on me all week because he was rarely home. When I’d see him, he’d tell me he was busy with his campaign manager and getting ready for his big announcement.

  I honestly didn’t see the big deal about announcing at his party at his own home that he was going to run for mayor. It wasn’t as if it were going to be televised and he needed to make a long speech for Christ sake.

  He hadn’t touched me all week…not even for sex. But he also hadn’t bothered to tell me when he was or wasn’t coming home, so I still felt like a prisoner at night.

  I was finally able to get him to let me go shopping. He didn’t like it, but I told him that I was bored since he wasn’t coming home often. Plus, I still needed to get my dress for his party. So far, my plan was working.

  Gabe happened to be shopping at the same store and damn if he didn’t look fine in a suit! I was instantly turned on when he walked out of the fitting room, asking me if the simple black suit with a white dress shirt and black tie looked all right. I wanted to answer his question by throwing him against the wall and letting him pleasure me with his hard cock—the hard cock that pressed into my backside as he whispered into my ear, soaking my panties when I was in my dress.

  Gabe was right; I needed to find an attorney fast because this whole friends thing sucked ass.

  Fridays were bittersweet. Rich worked and I went to the gym to meet Gabe, but then I’d have to wait an entire weekend before I saw Gabe again. When I walked into Club 24 the morning after dress shopping, I could still feel Gabe leaning into me as he’d said, “I can’t help what you do to me.”

  I shivered as I recalled his words.

  It felt amazing to be wanted again—to be desired. It had only been a few weeks, but I was starting to think about Gabe a ton. I hated that I could only be with him for a couple of hours a day. I wanted to go to the gym, Starbucks and then on a date with him. I didn’t want to go home and wait for Rich—if he came home for the night.

  Just like every morning I went to the gym, I waited for Gabe to arrive. I began to warm up with a brisk walk on the treadmill where he knew to find me. Usually, after they arrived, Paul went his separate way and Gabe picked a treadmill next to me that wasn’t being used. We’d run together without talking, stealing a few glances here and there. Knowing he was there to see me felt good—really good. I was starting to have feelings for him, especially after feeling how much he wanted me the day before.

  Today, instead of jumping on the treadmill, Gabe handed me a folded piece of paper. I smiled, looking from the paper and back to meet his green eyes. Without a word, he turned and walked away. I furrowed my eyebrows as I opened the paper, trying not to trip as I continued to walk on the treadmill.

  Angel,

  I wanna get sweaty with you. Meet me in a racquetball court.

  Mr. Green Eyes

  That whole “trying not to trip” thing, went out the window. I tripped over my feet and clung to the rails of the treadmill, trying not to fall and make a fool out of myself. After steadying myself, I stopped the machine and wiped it down, not knowing what I was doing. I was still married, but I wanted to see what Gabe meant.

  I took hesitant steps as I looked around, wondering who was watching as I walked down the stairs to the racquetball courts. I finally found Gabe in the last court, leaning ag
ainst the wall in his black workout shorts and a black fitted tank top that showed off his strong arms. His legs were crossed, and he held two racquets in one hand and a blue ball in the other.

  So he meant get sweaty by actually playing racquetball…

  “I don’t know how to play,” I admitted, closing the door behind me.

  He shrugged with a smirk. “Me either.”

  Walking the few steps to where he stood, I said, “But you want to play?”

  He pushed off of the wall, reaching out to hand me a racquet. “Figured it would be fun.”

  I chuckled. “All right. Do you know the rules?”

  “Rules are made to be broken, angel.” God his fucking smile was plastered across his face and I wanted to run up to him and kiss him again.

  I bit my bottom lip and smiled. “Not in sports. That’s called … cheating.” I hesitated on the words as a slight pain pinged my heart. “All right,” I shrugged and reached my hand out to take the racquet that was slightly smaller than the ones I’ve seen for tennis. “I go first.”

  He laughed and tossed me the ball. I bounced it then swung the racquet and hit the blue rubber ball against the far wall. It flew passed my head and bounced near Gabe where he swung and hit it on a different wall. I went for it and missed.

  “Point for me.” He nodded a cocky nod.

  I glared at him. “How do you even know you hit it on the right wall?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t, but we can play that whoever misses it, loses the point.”

  I tilted my head a little, still giving him my evil eye. “You’ll hit it over my head. You’re stronger than me.”

  “In that case, it will hit off the back wall and come right back to you.” He laughed and tilted his head to mimic mine.