by DC Renee
“Brooklyn, you’re not a one-night stand.”
I probably looked like a gaping fish as I stuttered a response. “I … uh … what? Then what exactly do you call this?”
“I’m not sure, but if you think I’m done with you, you’re wrong.”
“Yeah, so … um, no offense, but you’re Grennan Larter …. so, uh … what the fuck?” I was apparently very eloquent when confused.
He laughed a full belly laugh. “I knew you were special.”
“Yeah, I’m starting to believe that,” I responded dryly, although his definition of special and mine was probably way off.
“Brooklyn J. Cooper—”
“How do you know my full name?” I cut him off.
“It’s on your driver’s license.”
“You snooped in my purse?”
“I wanted to know more about you,” he answered unapologetically.
“You could have just asked me.”
“But you were sleeping, and I didn’t want to wake you up.”
“Who does that?” I asked more to myself, trying to determine if Grennan was being cute or being creepy
“Uh … someone who likes you?” he answered as a question.
“Who are you?” I asked him. I didn’t mean his name or what the world knew about him because that was obvious. I just couldn’t correlate the rock star I got lucky enough to have for one night with this man who clearly didn’t want me to leave.
“Grennan Larter?”
“Ugh!” I threw up my hands and realized too late that they were covering my still naked girlie parts. I quickly brought them back down, but Grennan kept his gaze glued to my body. “I mean I know who you are, but what are you trying to get at here?”
“Look, I’m not good at this whole dating crap, okay?” he started. Dating. My mind sort of froze on that word even as he continued. “I’ve never had to try to get a girl. They usually just come to me, and I sure as hell never wanted to see them in the morning and convince them to spend more time with me. I’m the one usually trying to find a way to get the hell out of there. But I like you, and I don’t want to see you walk out that door, all right?”
“You like me?” I squealed. I actually squealed.
“Isn’t this how guys usually act when they like someone?” It was actually cute how clueless he was.
“Not exactly, no. They usually go on dates and whatnot. The whole sex thing comes after the getting-to-know-you part.”
“Yeah, about that.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, and I took the opportunity to scan his body. His hard, chiseled, sculpted body covered only with a small towel wrapped around his hips. He had a few tattoos, but his body was mostly a blank canvas, one I wanted to mark with my tongue. “We’re not skipping the whole sex thing. I like that too much, especially with you. But I like the dating idea. So where should we go?”
“Did you just ask me out on a date?” I was stunned.
“I’m trying to.”
“Grennan, really, you’re a nice guy. And from what I know, I do like you. But you … well, you’re Grennan Larter. I’m just a normal girl. I don’t live here. And you … you travel. I have to head back home later today. And frankly, I’m not really into the whole sharing thing. So let’s just call this what it was. A really fun night. Thanks for that, and well, um, yeah, bye.”
I ran to the bathroom and locked myself in there to change before I headed out. When I opened the door, he stood just outside the door with his arms crossed, but he had put on clothes.
“No,” he said.
“No what?”
“I’ve never had to work this hard to get a girl.”
“Sorry,” I responded, not sure what to say.
“It’s kind of nice, actually.” He smiled. “I like a challenge.” I had already gathered that.
“Yeah, I’m not trying to challenge you. I just need to head out and make my way home.”
“Breakfast first, your number second, and then I’ll let you go.”
“Yeah, okay, how about no? I don’t have time for breakfast because we’re going to miss our flight, and I’m not giving you my number because I’ll expect you to call it, and you’re not going to, so again, thanks.”
He cocked his head to the side and studied me for a long time until he finally nodded as if he agreed. I felt a tinge of disappointment, but I knew it was for the best. What was the point in getting my hopes up, right?
He walked me to the door and hailed a cab for me all in relative silence, but just before I got into the taxi, he leaned in close, his lips practically touching mine, his eyes boring into me, and he mirrored the words from the night before that had me trembling with fear and anticipation. “It’s okay, Brooklyn, I’ll get you to like me.” With that, he shut the door and watched me ride off while a smile played on his lips.
And just like that, I knew he didn’t need to try. I liked Grennan Larter. I liked him too much.
Brooklyn
If I thought Grennan would forget about me the minute I was out of the picture, I was wrong. Well, not entirely wrong. After I had left his place, I made my way to my hotel room and told Cassidy all the juicy details. She wasn’t the kind of girl to get star struck, so the fact that I had been with Grennan wasn’t a big deal to her, but the fact that he had blown my mind with his bedroom skills was newsworthy. I probably told her too many details, but if you didn’t know, girls gossip … a lot. I was talking package size, tattoo descriptions, even little antics like lip biting and dirty talk. Oh yeah, we described it all. So, naturally, Cassidy squealed like a little girl and threw a pillow at me. “I’m so jealous!” she told me. “I haven’t gotten any like that in so long,” she added whimsically.
Then I told her about the whole morning conversation, and she grew serious. “What the hell does that mean?” she asked me.
“No clue, but I doubt he’ll even remember my name tomorrow. I was just fun for him.”
“Yeah, yeah, I bet you’re right,” she responded skeptically. “You don’t want to get swept up in that kind of life. It’s all drugs, sex, and rock ‘n’ roll,” she said with a smirk.
I smiled in return. “I’m sure it’s not all like that.”
“Yeah, you’re right. But that guy is dangerous. He’s hot, and he knows it, and he can get any girl to drop their panties with just a crook of his finger. One night was fun but don’t let him mess with your head. You’re too smart for that.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be upset or grateful. On the one hand, she was a great friend by keeping me grounded. On the other, she was all but saying I was just another nobody to Grennan—not that I didn’t know that, but I didn’t need to hear it out loud. I brushed it off, and we spent the rest of the day hanging out then we went to a bar that night and headed back home the following day.
Three days had gone by since I’d been home, and I hadn’t heard from Grennan, not that I was waiting or anything. Okay, that was a lie. I’d secretly been hoping he meant it when he said he’d get me to like him. I knew it was a fool’s dream, but what girl didn’t want the super-hot rock star to fall for her. Of all the women in the world, he’d pick me out of a crowd and change his playboy ways to win my love. Okay, maybe I’d seen too many romance movies. So sue me.
On the fourth day, I was working the register at my parents’ fishing shop so my dad and mom could do some things around the house. I kind of shuddered to think what that actually meant. I mean, good for them, but they were my parents. They did not do those kinds of things anymore.
A little boy walked into the store, walked straight up the counter, and handed me a dark pink tulip. I literally stuttered “Oh, um, wow, thank you, little guy. What’s your name?”
“Robert,” he told me.
“Well, Robert, thank you, but what’s this for?”
“The guy gave me twenty bucks to give it to you.”
“What guy?” I asked, panicking.
Robert just shrugged and then ran out the door before I aske
d him what he meant. And then another little boy came in, then a little girl, another little girl, followed by a little boy. This happened until I had a full bouquet of tulips.
Every time I asked one of them what was going on, they’d all answer the same way. “I got twenty dollars to deliver this to you.” If I asked for more, they’d ignore me.
“And one for good luck,” a raspy voice told me as I stared down at my flowers. I hadn’t heard him enter, hadn’t heard the door open, but the minute I heard his voice, my head shot up.
“Grennan?” I asked as he strode over to me and handed me a tulip. “Wha— what are you doing here?”
“Well, your address was on your driver’s license, and it wasn’t hard to find out your family owns this place after that. I would have been here sooner, but I had to take care of some business in New York first.”
“I … uh … what?” I knew I sounded like a blubbering idiot, but I couldn’t process that a) Grennan Larter—I repeat, Grennan Larter—had noted my address from my driver’s license, b) took the time to find out where and when I worked there, c) came there for me, and d) had given me a scene straight out of one of those romantic movies.
“Like me yet?” he asked, a lazy smile on his lips.
“I don’t understand.” I finally got a full sentence out, even if it was a weak one.
“No, huh? That’s all right. I’m not done yet.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked, but it sounded more like a screech.
“Brooklyn, I’m a very determined guy. If I say I’m going to do something, I do it. So I fully intend on getting you to like me.”
“Why?”
“Because I like you.”
“But why me?”
“Call it the universe, fate, whatever makes you happy, but I like you. It’s as simple as that.”
“So what does that even mean?”
“It means we have dinner reservations at seven thirty tonight, and I’m picking you up at seven. After we have a great time at dinner, I’m going to take you back to my hotel room where I’ll have my wicked way with you.” He raised one eyebrow, forcing a giggle out of my mouth. “And then we’ll spend the day together tomorrow, and the following day too, and so on until the next thing you know, you’ll be mine and mine alone.”
“And if I don’t go out with you today?”
“You will,” he answered confidently.
“But if I won’t?”
“I’ll keep at this until you do.”
“And if we don’t hit it off.”
“We will.”
“If we don’t?”
“Then we chalk it up to nerves and try again until we do.”
“You’re persistent.”
“I already told you I’m determined. I want you, Brooklyn, and I’m not going to stop until I have you.”
“You already have,” I tried to joke, but it came out terse.
“I had a taste of your body and a snippet of your mind. I want everything. I want all that is you.”
“You write your own lyrics, don’t you?” I asked.
“Yeah, I do,” he responded with his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Where’d that come from?” he asked with a chuckle.
“You’re a charmer, Grennan, and it shows.”
“As long as I’m charming you,” he responded, his voice low, his tone serious.
“You’re really not going to give up?”
“Not a chance.”
“See you at dinner tonight.”
“I told you that you’d say yes.” He winked, bowed—yeah, he really bowed—and then walked out the door.
After he left, I immediately called Cassidy, who was at the shop in under five minutes. “I guess he really likes you,” she told me. “But still, Brook, this is all crazy. The guy found out where you lived off your driver’s license. Sounds kind of creepy stalker to me. And then he shows up here and pursues you like you’re made of gold and diamonds when he doesn’t even know you.”
“It’s crazy, right? I thought so too, but it’s also romantic.”
“Yeah, I guess it is,” she responded almost reluctantly.
“Hey, would you be happy for me, please? It’s not like anything is going to happen from this. We’ll go out a few times while he’s here, then he’ll go back to his life, and I’ll continue with mine.”
“Then why bother doing this? Won’t you be hurt when he leaves? I just don’t want to see you heartbroken because of him.”
“I love you, Cass, for worrying about me.” I hugged her. “But right now, I need you to be my cheer girl and at my house at six sharp. You have to help me get ready.”
“You know I will … even if I think this is a bad idea.”
“Thank you!” I hugged her again and spent the rest of the day entirely distracted.
Luckily, my parents were out when it came time for me to get ready and then head out. I was an adult, and they wouldn’t stop me from doing what I wanted, but sometimes, they thought I was still a little girl and needed their protection. Cassidy came over and primped me up to perfection, picked out a classy but sexy outfit, and then handed me a stack of condoms. “If you’re doing this, you’d better do it right. And I want good stories. I’m living vicariously through you.”
When Grennan picked me up, he looked scrumptious. Why, yes, I did actually want to take a bite of him. He wore a navy blue button-down rolled up at the sleeves and dark jeans that hugged his butt just right. His hair was styled to the side, but it looked like he’d ran his hand through it a few times. It made me smile to think he had because of nerves. When he saw me, he smiled so wide, it lit up his whole face.
“You look beautiful,” he told me. I wore a blue and white striped dress with a scoop neck and a flowing skirt. It was simple but cute, and it showed off my boobs and legs. It was just a bonus that the blue in my dress matched his shirt. Cassidy had blow-dried my hair, so it was straight but with a touch of volume. I knew I looked darn good.
“Not so bad yourself,” I told him as I took his arm.
The cocky bastard had been right. We had a blast at dinner. We talked about our childhoods, our families, our friends. We even talked politics without chewing each other’s heads off. And then, just as he said, we headed to his room and had some adult playtime. Was it good, you ask? Let’s just say I wanted more play dates … immediately. And what do you know, so did he … four times … oh wait, make that five.
So Grennan had accomplished what he’d set out to do—he’d gotten me to like him. He just didn’t know I already did.
Grennan
I first saw her from the corner of my eye, and I admit it was because she and her friend wore significantly more clothing than the rest of the girls at Brady’s party—not that it was a lot by normal standards, but I was used to seeing half-naked, if not fully nude, women at Brady’s parties. We had met after he did a part in one of our videos, and we clicked. It helped that we had the same taste in alcohol, parties, and of course, women.
So when I saw two girls standing out, my eyes naturally drifted to them. I couldn’t see them clearly, but you could tell they were both stunning, and I contemplated which one I could get into bed. And then the brunette turned, and though she wasn’t looking at me, I got to take in all that she was, and my breath literally caught in my throat. Something was so very familiar about her, but I’d never seen her before. And those eyes. They took me to another place, a place I didn’t like to remember. They were the clearest shade of forest green, so mesmerizing, and I’d only seen eyes like that once before in my life. They were framed by thick, dark lashes, above a small nose, a thin upper lip, but a full lower one, high cheek bones, and it was all on top of a body that my body was responding to quite well.
In my line of work, I had seen the crème de la crème of beauties, all shapes and sizes, all types, and definitely in various stages of dress and in more positions than I could name in a single day, but I hadn’t had this reaction to any of them. I hadn’t even me
t the girl, let alone talked to her, but I wanted her, and not just in the physical sense. It was like something inside me was calling to something inside her—only, she hadn’t gotten the memo, but my body had. I needed to know her, and fuck if I knew why.
I stared at her for longer than was probably considered appropriate, but I just couldn’t comprehend why I wanted to get to know her so badly. I believed in all that cheesy love-at-first-sight bullshit because every time her gaze passed over mine, those eyes lured me in, capturing my very own heart. One time, her eyes locked with mine, and I swear I saw an entire history textbook—past, present, and future—in those eyes of hers. She avoided me all night, but I learned a long time ago that if you wanted something, you had to go after it. You couldn’t just let it pass you by because if you did, you might never get a second chance. I had gotten that lesson loud and clear, and I never waited for something to come to me after that. I knew many would call that arrogance, maybe even say I was a pushy asshole, but I was of the mindset that if you sat back and waited for things to happen, you’d be sitting a long time. If you believed something would happen, it would … maybe with a nudge or two. I might have shoved instead of nudged, but the life I lived made me that way. I wasn’t apologizing for it.
I wanted her, and I’d be honest. I thought I was experiencing some weird lust-driven moment of craziness, but I figured once I got her into my bed, I would have satisfied whatever overwhelming need was driving me to chase her. But one night with her hadn’t been enough. Being with her just intensified whatever I was feeling.
People said musicians were passionate. Well, let me tell you, we’re very passionate about our music, but I had never felt that way for a girl … well, not since high school, but I was a different person then, and even so, that was a very passionate crush. I had never experienced passion with a different person as an adult, and so I always assumed that phrase was about our line of work. It wasn’t until I had Brook in my arms that I realized it applied to every aspect of our lives; you just had to wait for it to kick in. And with her, it kicked into overdrive and went zero-to-sixty in point-one seconds, maybe even point-oh-oh-one seconds. The minute my lips found hers, I was a goner. Was it too soon for my feelings to announce themselves like that? Most definitely. Was it insane? Affirmative. Did I care? Not a chance. Insta-lust was a real and tangible thing, but that occurred all the time. The prime example being one-night stands. But insta-love? I wasn’t in love with Brook, but it was definitely more than lust. And whatever it was, I liked it.
