Often
by Danielle Norman
Copyright © 2018 by Danielle Norman
and F Squared, LLP
All rights reserved.
Without limiting the rights under the copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission from either the author and or the above named publisher of this book with the exception for the use of brief quotations in a book review. This is a work of fiction. Names and characters are the product of the author’s imagination. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction.
To the figurative Tommy and all the assholes like him in the world,
You sir, should have been swallowed.
By the way, is fuck off an emotion? Because I feel that bitch deep in my soul.
Sonnie,
You’re a motherfucking dragon.
To my husband,
Thank you for always loving me for my personality. Hell, I have ten of them for you to choose from. At least you can’t ever say that you’re bored.
I survived because the fire inside me burned brighter than the fire around me.
~Unknown
Contents
Prologue
1. Leo
2. Ian
3. Leo
4. Ian
5. Leo
6. Ian
7. Leo
8. Ian
9. Leo
10. Ian
11. Leo
12. Ian
13. Ian
14. Leo
15. Ian
16. Leo
17. Ian
18. Leo
19. Ian
20. Leo
21. Leo
22. Leo
23. Ian
Epilogue
Often Playlist
Untitled
Meet Danielle
Lets Socialize
Also by Danielle Norman
Enough
These people deserve a cape — oh, and a Tiara.
Prologue
Siri
Two weeks ago...
“Calling Ian.”
1
Leo
I should have guessed that it was going to be one of those days and just gone home and gone back to bed.
First, I decided to swing by Starbucks, which I never did but I was dragging. Apparently, “just fuck me up” did not translate to large coffee in their fancy barista language. Things only got worse when I pulled into work to see Tommy, he was from another Harley-Davidson shop and would come by sometimes to help us out for the day. He drove me crazy, it wasn’t the fact that he thought that he was God’s gift to women it was more that he couldn’t understand why women didn’t agree with him. When I looked at him I couldn’t help but think, how in the hell out of one-hundred-million sperm was he the one that won out?
“Hey, Leo, did you order from Snap-on Tools?”
I opened my toolbox and grabbed a ten-millimeter socket for disconnecting the bike’s battery. “That’s original, female mechanic, I’ve never heard that one before.”
Unfortunately, he didn’t let up…by the end of the day, I was ready to leave or commit murder—I didn’t care which.
“Hey, Leo, you know why women are supposed to cook, right?”
I rolled my eyes and didn’t answer as I cleaned up my workstation so I could get the fuck out of there.
“They already come equipped with milk and eggs.”
“Wow, I guess that Viagra is really working for you because you seem like twice the dick you were last time. But, keep this in mind, maybe your woman stays in the kitchen because you have no clue what to do with her in the bedroom.”
I turned to pick up my helmet and caught Mike’s eyes. My boss was giving me a thumbs-up. What was wrong with this world when it became near impossible to fire asshats like that guy?
“I’m headed home.”
“Have a great weekend,” Mike hollered back. “And tell Kayson congratulations from all of us.”
“Will do.”
Most of the time, everyone thought of me as one of the guys, but I had my girly side and tonight it was doing the Sex in the City thing and heading to Club Bed. Only I wasn’t going to be drinking. I had a hot date with DJ Pillow and ZZ Blanky. Then I’d be showing my sheets some ass and giving my pillow some head.
I needed sleep if I had any hope of making it through another wedding. There was a wedding in April, a wedding in July, and this one. Fuck, I was something old and something newed out, if there was such a thing. I was sure in the list of phobias there had to be one that was against weddings.
Starting my ignition, I turned the throttle, and twenty minutes later, I was whipping into my apartment complex. After unlocking my door, I was greeted by one pissed-off cat. “Mewwah.”
My cat Throttle hated that I had a job, and everyday when I got home, she made it a point to let me know her feelings on the matter.
“Oh come on, you have water, and if I don’t work then you don’t eat.” I bent and picked up my calico fur-baby, nuzzling her under my chin, and she let out another annoyed meow. “Listen, cat, you can stop your bitching right now.” But she was having none of that, not until she was done meowing her entire temper tantrum.
After dropping my keys and helmet onto the kitchen counter, I put Throttle down and moved through my tiny apartment. When I had first started looking for my own place, I had been excited. I was getting away from my mother, so I was willing to take anything. To me this place was as grand as Caesar’s Palace, mainly because it was mine. I was sure anyone would be happy to be away from my mother and her religious Hell, fire, and brimstone lectures. Ten years later, though, the apartment was nothing but a claustrophobic space.
It was still mine, though, and it was home.
When I finally did move out of here, I was going to miss the sirens at all hours and not be able to sleep, kind of like New Yorkers when they go to the country or country people in the big city.
By seven o’clock, I was in cutoff jeans and a T-shirt, and was curled up on my couch, doing the one thing I’d never admit to doing...watching a Hallmark movie. This one always tore me up. It was about a woman who lost the love of her life when he went off to war and never returned home, and the last thing she’d given him was a homemade card. I’ll never understand how Hallmark always knew just how to get you, but they did—each and every time. Right there in the heart. They always made you ugly cry.
I was in the middle of dabbing my eyes with the tissue that I clutched in my hands when my phone rang. Fumbling for the remote control, I turned down the volume before I answered. I’d never hear the end of it if anyone heard the mushy talk coming from through the line. I was Leo, they expected me to be tough.
“Hello?”
“Yo. Whatcha doing?”
“Hey, Soph, not doing much just watching Sons of Anarchy.”
“Haven’t you already seen every episode a gazillion times?”
“Yeah, but Jax is hot.”
“Are you crying? There’s no crying over bike gangs.”
“Nah, it is just one of the emotional episodes. Plus, I think that I’m getting my period. I’m feeling a little bit like a whiney weak-ass bitch. Anyway, what can I do you for?” I trailed my fingers through Throttle’s soft fur. Her rumbling purr was soothing.
“I still can’t get over the fact that you’re crying while watching Sons.”
“Yeah, it’s the one where Opie dies. You have to admit it, even you cried at th
at one.”
“I think everyone did. I just wanted to confirm that you are meeting us for lunch tomorrow. I promised that I’d help out.”
“I’ll be there. Don’t worry, I’ll tell the bride that you are being a good wittle bridesmaid and doing what you’re told to do,” I said in my most kid-like voice.
“Bite me. See you tomorrow.”
I hung up and grabbed the remote so I could turn my volume back up. Throttle purred, and I laid my head on a pillow as one movie ended and the next one began. I’d seen this one before too. It was about a girl wanting a ring, and a fortune teller.
It took me back to when I was fourteen years old, nervously waiting to get my fortune told. I remembered that day well.
“You two stay together.” Ms. Kostas had given her daughter, Sophie, and me each some money. My best friend and I had raced across the street, ran up the stairs, and pushed the large door open. A bell tingled and everything in the room looked smoky, but it didn’t smell like smoke. Incense, looking back, I knew that it had been incense.
“Don’t tell me. You two young ladies came to have your fortunes read,” the woman sitting at the table said.
Sophie looked at me with big eyes shocked that the woman had guessed correctly. But I wasn’t buying it. Duhhh, this was a fortune teller shop, and we were in Cassadaga, Florida, why else would we have been there? The entire town was known for its mysterious things.
“I’m Madame Avenir. Won’t you have a seat?” She pointed to the two chairs across from her. “What would you like to know? Will you be rich? How old will you be when you get married? Let me see your hand.”
If she was a fortune teller, shouldn’t she already have known what we wanted? I stuck out my palm anyway, already skeptical as she ran her weathered fingers over it, turning my hand this way and that to get better light. Her voice got deeper and at the same time more voodoo-guru. “You’ve already met the man of your dreams. Misunderstandings can keep you apart.” Then she shook her head and reached for Sophie’s hand.
I shifted, and Throttle let out an annoyed noise. She was pissed at being jostled from her comfy position, I ignored her, I was too lost in memories. God, I hadn’t thought about that day in forever. Sophie swore that the fortune teller was referring to her cousin Ian since I’d had a crush on him from the moment I’d laid eyes on him. But let’s get real, what girl meets the man that she’s going to marry when she’s only five? I didn’t burst Sophie’s bubble, but I had known better than to get my hopes up because Ian thought he and I batted for the same team. Granted we were young, and he was being a dick, but I’d never forget that day I overheard him talking to his brothers.
“Have you ever wondered about Leonora? It’s not just the way she looks at Sophie but even though she wears skirts she’s not very girly. I bet she ends up coming out of the closet.”
Looking back, I probably should have run out of hiding and kicked him in the nuts. For fuck’s sake, I had been forced to wear the ankle-length drab skirts and plain, long-sleeve shirts, even in the summer in fucking Florida. My mother was a freak, and she considered them “modest biblical wear.”
That was the day my twelve-year-old self had put Ian away as a possibility and placed him into the category of just-a-fantasy. I picked up the remote, turned off the television, and then headed to bed with thoughts of Ian swirling. The man belonged on a Dolce and Gabbana ad and not in an engineering office all day. Although, he sure did look good in his suits with his perfectly shaped body, especially when he took off his jacket and I could see how his pants sculpted to his ass. I allowed my mind to wander to Ian’s hair, which was just the right length to run my fingers through and pull as he crawled on top of me.
Those images, yep, tonight I was using my hand. I figured if a threesome was with three people, and twosome was two people, then a handsome was the perfect name for using my hand. Yes, tonight was definitely a handsome kind of night.
2
Ian
When I jogged up to my brother’s house, I was ten minutes early, but it looked as if I was the last one to arrive. The driveway was already packed with cars, and I could hear dozens of people chatting and laughing inside.
Sighing, I pulled open the front door and strode in.
“Hey, Ian.” I had a hard time deciphering exactly who said that as the house was packed.
“Hey, I thought that I was early. Seems I was wrong. Didn’t Mana say noon?” I leaned down and hugged Ariel, my soon-to-be sister-in-law.
“Yes, but you know your mother, she was at our house at seven cooking breakfast so I didn’t have to worry about something so trivial.”
“More like she was at your house cooking her baby’s favorites while he was still just hers.”
Ariel laughed and bumped my shoulder. “Your mom is the best mother-in-law.”
“And I’m the best brother-in-law? It’s okay, you can admit it. Tristan and Damon are used to coming in second behind me in a lot of things.”
Ariel giggled, and I heard groans and a muffled, “Fuck you,” from one of my brothers.
“I better go find Mana, you can go lie to those two and tell them they are equally as important.” I winked and headed off. On my way to the kitchen, I stopped to fist bump Damon and bump shoulders with Tristan.
“It is done,” Tristan whispered so only Damon and I could hear. “Their bags are already at the dock.”
“Ariel is going to kill us.” I glanced back at her to see her lost in conversation.
“Yeah, but Kayson is going to thank us,” Damon reminded me.
“I don’t know,” Tristan cut in. “Stella seems to think that Ariel is going to like it just as much. Of course, she only said that after I told her that we’d switched out one of their suitcases for one full of sex toys and kinky lingerie.” Tristan had a hard time keeping a straight face as he said that last part.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I left them in the hallway and stopped to say hello to my brother Kayson.
“You ready?” I gave him a pat on his back.
“Ready to get this circus over with,” he whispered.
Smiling and giving him a reassuring shoulder grip, I nodded. “Ready as everyone else here is.”
“Everyone except her.” His chin jutted in Mana’s direction. This was where my mother loved best. She was in her element, cooking for our family. The other element she loved being knee deep in was getting her sons married off. Sunday, her focus would either turn to Tristan or me—the last two who were single.
“Can I help with anything?” I leaned over and kissed her cheek.
“O gios mou, here.”
Some things in life never changed, and my mother greeting me as her son and then immediately shoving food into my mouth was one of those things.
“Perfect. You did make extra for me, right?”
“Of course, silly boy. I know that my koulourakia is your favorite. I have a tray with extra sesame seeds cooling just for you.”
“You’re the best!” I turned my smile to the other woman standing next to us. “Hi, Aunt Dion.”
“Hey, Ian, about time you got here. You work way too hard.”
“Pot meet kettle.”
“You always were the cheeky one.” She reached up and lightly pinched my cheek. Yes, some things we never outgrow of in a Greek home.
“Hello, beautiful.” I moved around the island to Katy, who was married to Damon.
“Did you talk to your brother? He’s second-guessing your brother prank.”
“Yeah, it’s all good.”
Working my way to the last woman in the kitchen, I smiled. “Hey, brat,” I said to my cousin Sophie just as she lifted one foot and lightly kicked the back of my legs.
“Can you take that”—Sophie jerked her head over to a giant bowl of Greek salad—“and hand it to Leo. She’ll know where to put it.”
“Will do.” I ate a Kalamata olive from the pile of warm potato salad stacked on top of the Greek salad and then headed out to the lanai
. This was why I never ordered Greek food when I was eating out, no one did it right. Greek salad was supposed to also have potato salad.
When all the food was done and we were all seated, I couldn’t help but smile, not counting the kids, there were twenty of us all gathered around. Besides my family, there was also Ariel and Sophie’s friends from their motorcycle group, and then our most colorful addition, Ringo. He’d started adding color to our family get-togethers a couple of months ago and just kept coming back.
Tristan sat next to me and had a shit-eating grin on his face. I rolled my eyes at whatever he was up to. “So, are you dating anyone, Ian?”
I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing exactly which fucking reindeer game he was playing, and mouthed, Fuck you, before facing Mana so she could clearly hear my reply. “No, I’m not dating anyone, I don’t even have time right now. How about you, Tristan? I mean, come on, you are older than I am. After this weekend, we will have two married brothers, it’s only normal that you would be next.” I lifted a glass of iced tea and smiled behind it. Since there were several people tuned into our conversation, I kept going. “Tristan, you have all those nurses around you, you’re bound to have someone in mind.”
I looked over to see if Tristan was planning a comeback, but I ended up locking eyes with Leo.
She wasn’t loud like Stella or Sophie, and I had never pictured her as a damsel in distress like Katy or Ariel. She didn’t bring attention to herself. She just melded in to the group. She was also breathtakingly beautiful in a way that most men overlooked. For some reason, I didn’t want to be the one to break our stare.
Often (Iron Orchids Book 4) Page 1
