Abby knocked my hand away from her arm.
“Some guy grabbed my ass today, okay?”
“What?” I asked.
Oh, hello there, little spark of jealousy…
“It’s… it wasn’t even that he did it. It was the way he talked. And the way he acted in front of his family, you know?”
“Wait a second,” I said. “Who grabbed your ass? What are you talking about?”
Abby shut her eyes. “We had a birthday to go to. To sing. We were dressed as princesses.” She opened her eyes. “Okay? The father of the girl was this sick pervert. His wife was taking pictures and he was touching my ass. It just…” She sighed. “That little girl was so happy we were there. And then at the end, he asked me how much to…”
“To what?” I asked, my lip curling with anger.
“Nothing.”
“How much to… what?” I asked.
“To sleep with me,” she said. “Okay?”
“So this married guy offered to pay you extra to fuck you while you wore a princess costume?” I asked.
“Wow, Reed,” she said. “That’s one way to put it.”
“I’m just saying the truth,” I said. “And that’s fucked up, Abby. You don’t deserve that.”
Abby laughed and clapped her hands together. “There it is. You finally said something right. I don’t deserve it. That’s right. I don’t deserve it. And there’s plenty of other times I didn’t deserve it either. Right?”
Now she was throwing knives at me.
Going for my heart. And my memory.
I watched her wipe the corners of her eyes.
She turned and walked into the night.
I didn’t chase after her.
I just stood there and thought.
Thinking wasn’t a good thing for me.
Thinking led to decisions.
And decisions led to my life changing.
I wasn’t going to let Abby change my life again.
But maybe it was already too late for that.
* * *
I went back to Jay’s place to crash for the night.
I just needed the noise and the people.
He and Sab were in the pool, playing a game of who could stay under the water longest…
They were enjoying a little underwater snack.
I went to the bar and got caught up on some whiskey drinking.
I tossed back three shots to start.
I noticed Dex wasn’t around.
He must have bolted to hang with Candice.
When I saw Nash, he was sitting on the top of the hot tub while Liv was in it.
She was fully clothed.
Too bad.
I grinned.
I got another shot.
Then one more for the road.
And by road, I meant working my way into Jay’s house to crash hard.
The pit of my stomach was on fire and it wasn’t from the whiskey.
I couldn’t stop picturing some asshole grabbing Abby’s ass. While she was dressed as a princess, trying to make ends meet…
Because of what you did to her.
“No,” I whispered to myself as I walked through Jay’s house.
It wasn’t me.
Right?
I couldn’t stop picturing her crying and walking away.
I moved into one of Jay’s hallways.
It had a long curve to it that led to the guest wing of the house.
There were guitars all over the walls.
Each one from a show that meant something to him.
At the middle of the curve in the hallway there was a window that looked out to nothing.
I was sure the view was better in the daytime.
I put my hands to the glass and just stood there.
The whiskey was kicking in.
That was good.
I saw a movement to my left and when I turned my head there was a woman coming my way.
Her hair pulled back. Wearing a long, black FILTHY LINE shirt.
I nodded to her.
She nodded back.
“Coming or going?” she asked.
“I’d prefer to come and then go,” I said.
She stopped walking right behind me and touched my back. “Long day? You look stressed and tense?”
“And who the fuck are you?” I asked.
“A masseuse,” she said. “Jay’s personal masseuse.”
Her hands ran down my back and dug into muscle.
I laughed. “I bet I can guess what you spend most of your time rubbing.”
“Your point?” she asked.
“I have none,” I said.
“I’m showered and going to crash for the night,” she said. “What kind of company are you looking for? Business or personal?”
“You know the answer to that, honey,” I said.
Her hands moved down to the front of my body and she opened my jeans.
I looked down at her hands as they worked their way into my jeans.
She pressed her body against mine as her trained hands went to work.
She pulled my cock free and stroked with precision.
I swallowed hard and knew I stood no chance against this battle.
This wasn’t going to be a hold back from coming kind of deal.
She knew where to grip, when to twist, and how to tug.
That was fine by me.
I needed to blow my load and then find a bed.
Which is what I did.
All over Jay’s window.
I left a creamy, streaky mess and zipped up my jeans and walked down the hallway without looking back.
To me, that’s the perfect relationship to have.
12
ABBY
I wasn’t proud of it but I wasn’t ashamed to admit that I tried to cry myself to sleep. I thought by just letting it all out, I would eventually tire out and just sleep.
It made sense but it didn’t work.
Crying didn’t get me anywhere in life.
I didn’t want to be the woman that cried when things got tough either.
I also didn’t expect Reed to show up to Ungro and bother me.
I told him what happened and he got pissed but then it was… nothing.
Which was good.
I didn’t need him fighting my battles.
There was no battle to fight either.
What happened with Don and his family was done and over with.
Someday his bullshit would catch up to him. His family would be crushed but they’d get over it.
And it shouldn’t have even been on my mind.
But it was.
Because of Reed.
Crying didn’t work.
Thinking about Reed was a bad idea.
Obsessing over what happened wasn’t going to help.
Valerie was passed out.
Jess texted me an eggplant emoji which was her way of telling me she was with a guy and not to bother her.
So that’s when another idea came to me.
I had a piece of paper with a phone number on it.
Another rock star.
Ven… Venom… RAUNCHY RECKS.
I sat up on the edge of my bed and put the number into my phone.
Hey
A quick, little text.
I wasn’t sure if he would actually respond.
Well, well, well… I bet I know who this is.
My face blushed.
Are you sure about that?
I wait and licked my lips.
Singing with the enemy. Of course I know who this is. Want to come over?
I laughed.
“Wow,” I whispered.
That’s a little right to the point. Can’t we just say hi first?
I slowly fell back down to my bed.
Ven replied back.
I just don’t like wasting time. Life is too short. You can tell me your middle name over a drink or while I’m inside you. Both will feel good. I know which I’d prefer.
/>
Rock stars… they were all…
Depends on the drink.
Ven replied back with a wink emoji.
Then another text came through.
You’re not coming over tonight. You just wanted to see what I would say or do. So tell me when do I get to see you, Abby.
I swallowed hard.
My cheeks were really warm.
Not sure. I guess I’ll text you.
Ven replied with a peace sign.
I put my phone down.
For the first time all day I felt like I was in control of something.
* * *
I woke up and was on rock star time when it came time to get to the studio.
That meant showing up after noon and then waiting for the rest of the band to show up.
They all did, one by one.
Dex looked sober.
Nash looked a little hungover.
Jay and Sab basically crawled into the studio.
Sab asked for caffeine.
Jay wanted more booze.
And then there was Reed.
And once again, he acted like I didn’t exist.
Like I was fucking invisible.
Yet just hours ago he stood outside Ungro and looked ready to punch a wall because I told him some guy grabbed my ass.
What a dick.
But that didn’t matter.
I was in the studio for a job.
I was getting paid to sing back up for FILTHY LINE.
The band all took their spots.
Sab twirled his drumsticks and then played a quick solo.
Jay stretched his back and strummed his guitar.
There was no sound.
Same for Dex.
Reed leaned against the piano, his bass around his neck.
Staring forward.
I felt like waving my middle fingers at him to see if he would react.
Instead, we played the song again.
This sweet, almost haunting melody that told the story of a relationship…. Beginning to end. Meeting, falling in love, living through that elusive honeymoon period. Then getting serious, life getting in the way, and then the eventual breakup.
It was a really good song.
It ended with a sense of redemption.
Of love making it through all the bad.
That was the twist that would make the song a monster hit. It would be played at every school dance, every wedding, and probably in movies and TV shows.
All the money they were going to make…
I collected my thoughts and got through the recording session.
We sang the song three more times.
Then the band went into the other room and Toby came to get us.
“You’re free to go,” Toby said. “I think that’ll be it for the recording sessions. We may need you to come to the practice area to run through the song for the live shows. Nothing is set yet. And before anyone asks, we will talk about money later.”
“I’m just happy to get the exposure,” Dawn announced.
Screw you, Dawn. I want money.
“Well, you’ll get plenty of that,” Toby said.
He walked us to the door like we didn’t know where to go.
I left the studio, got into my car, and drove away.
Without a word from Reed.
I hated myself that I felt disappointed.
Disappointed that Reed didn’t talk to me, look at me, nothing.
Like I was some dirty secret.
The rest of the day I had nothing but time.
Something I had been begging to get for a while.
Now that it was there, I felt uneasy.
I called Jess and asked if she wanted to meet up for an early dinner and a drink or two.
She was always down for that.
Unless the eggplant emoji was being shared.
I met her at a place with outdoor seating.
I just wanted to be outside for some reason.
The first thing Jess did was look around.
“It’s just us,” she said.
“Yeah. Why?”
“That’s never a good thing. Or a good sign. What’s going on?”
“Nothing. Why?”
“It’s never nothing when you do this,” she said. “Something happened.”
I panicked and told her the story about Don.
She made a fist and hit the table. “Fucking perv. Goddammit. Why didn’t you say something then? We could have beat the shit out of him?”
“It’s nothing. Just a horny, married man. I don’t know. I shouldn’t have told you. I shouldn’t have let it get to me.”
“No way,” she said. “Fuck that. That guy is a piece of shit.”
“I know. And he has a family. That part bothers me the most.”
Jess nodded. “I’m so sorry, Abby. I want to go slash his tires. Can we do that?”
“After a few more drinks, okay?” I asked.
“Deal. And don’t think I won’t.”
I laughed, but my heart raced.
Jess was serious.
And to me, it wasn’t the worst idea either.
* * *
“We may need to call for a ride home,” Jess said.
“Can we leave our cars here overnight?” I asked.
“No choice. I think we’re one too many into this night now.”
Jess’s phone vibrated on the table again.
She smiled.
“That’s been going off all night,” I said. “Who is it?”
“Just a friend.”
“Ah. A friend. That’s always nice to have.”
“Oh, this friend is really nice to have,” Jess said.
“So why are you here with me?”
“Because you called me.”
“Jess, if you have a chance to-”
“I’ll call him when I get home. He’ll come over. I’m good for it.”
“You should go now,” I said. “You don’t need me bringing you down.”
“You know, this is the drinks talking, but the story you told me… the ass grabber… I believe it and all… but that’s not the only thing on your mind.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I just know you.” Jess stood up. She wavered for a second. “I’m going to text my friend and see if he’ll come get me. As long as you’re okay with that.”
“Definitely okay with that,” I said.
“Good. And you… what’s going on?”
Jess kept standing.
“Just the studio stuff,” I said. “It’s bringing back memories. That’s all. And I’m pretty sure it’s already done and over with. I had a distraction for a little bit. It was nice.”
“Shit. I’m sorry, Abby. You deserve so much more than singing happy fucking birthday to spoiled kids.”
“Well, we all do,” I said. “But it’s a job.”
“Oh, he texted me again,” Jess said. “I’m going to go call him. How do I look?”
“For a call?” I asked.
“Shut up.”
Jess scampered away.
I sat alone.
It was slowly becoming night again.
I checked my phone.
I was one text away from a wild night myself.
What would a night with Ven from RAUNCHY RECKS be like?
My phone buzzed in my hand and I gasped.
I looked at the screen.
No strings attached bullshit, honey. I have something for you. I’ll pick you up in thirty-ish. Where are you?
I studied the text.
My eyes moved from the text to the name above the text.
Reed.
He had something for me, huh?
What were the odds it was going to be an apology?
I knew the answer to that one…
Slim to fucking none.
* * *
When I heard the distant rumble of a motorcycle, I shook my head.
No fucking way.
There was no way in hell R
eed was going to show up on his motorcycle and ask me to climb on the back of that death machine.
Yeah, I wasn’t a fan of motorcycles.
I didn’t like the feeling of not being protected.
And I knew a few people throughout the years who took a tumble that cost them either a limb or their life.
With Reed… look at who he was.
He was fast, wild, thought death could never touch him, or that death could even catch him. He thought he would play a FILTHY LINE song, get drunk with death and keep things going.
It was sexy in a way.
But not Reed.
Just that mindset.
It was sexy from afar.
The motorcycle got closer and closer.
I stood on the sidewalk outside the restaurant and watched the two wheeled ride come down the street.
Jess was long gone, probably pulled over to the side of the road, humping her friend.
When the motorcycle stopped right in front of me, I turned around.
The engine became quiet.
“Abby!”
His voice sent chills through my body.
A mix of icy and nice, which I wasn’t sure of.
I turned back around. “I’m not getting on that thing.”
“Yes, you are,” Reed said with all the confidence in the world.
“No. I’m not.”
He stuck his hand out to give me his helmet. “Trust me, honey, you’re going to want to get on this ride with me.”
“I hate motorcycles,” I said.
“I know you do.”
“So you brought one here?”
“Face your fear.”
“I’m not afraid of them. I just hate them. There’s a difference.”
“You can’t trust me?”
“Why would I trust you?”
Reed held the helmet out. “I’ll wait.”
I laughed. “Oh, now you’re going to wait for me?”
That’s when Reed closed in on me.
Inches from me.
Staring down at me.
“Look, honey, you want to walk down memory lane? We can do that. We’re long overdue. But tonight, I have something for you. And I’m asking you to just trust me. I don’t want to be here as much as you don’t want me here.”
A FILTHY Enemy: a filthy line novel Page 11
