Mr. Right Now: Vol. 1: Party Boys Who Get What They Want (5 page)

“No fucking way,” Dax blurts out as soon as the elevator doors close. “No fucking way that’s Chloe Thompson. She used to be so plain. I popped a fucking boner grinding with her last night. Creepy.”

“Shut the fuck up.” Eli sends a croissant flying toward Dax’s head.

“Seriously, man.” Dax never knows when to give up. “That bitch is fucking hot. Yesterday, during her presentation, it took everything not to fucking bend her over.”

The other men try to ignore Dax’s comments. They are typical behavior for him, but it’s an unspoken rule not to dis or dog on any of the brothers’ girls. And it’s well known that Chloe was Eli’s, and always has been.

“Shut up, fucker.” Eli stands and squares his shoulders. “Leave it alone.”

“Dude, I would’ve fucked her.” A dreamy look covers Dax’s face. “All night long.”

Eli storms from the room, not acknowledging his fucking impossible brother. He knows it’s a hopeless cause to argue with him. Dax is only blinded by one thing, and that’s pussy. That look on Chloe’s face when he grabbed the charm nearly killed him. It took everything he had to keep his poker face on. He wanted to crumble, take her in his arms, and pick up where they left off five years ago.

He recognized her the moment he stepped in the conference room. Her body has changed over the years, but it’s one he’d recognize blindfolded. When he brushed her shoulder walking past her, he nearly fell to the floor. Eli knew he was a dick, taunting and misleading, pretending he didn’t recognize her, and then trying to get distracted with other women. But god damn, his girl, Chloe. When she walked in wearing that black dress, he nearly came undone.

Visions of dragging her to the nearest closest and fucking her brains out consumed him during dinner. He remembers how amazing it felt to sink into her sweet pussy. It’s a feeling he’ll never forget. The waitress tried sucking him off last night in his hotel room, but he couldn’t even stay hard. Jesus Christ, is he really referring to Chloe as his girl? This shit has to stop, and stop now. He pushed her away years ago for a reason, and by damn if he’ll let his dick fuck it up for him now.

He needs to be strong and bold like his brothers. Eli knows he is the softie of the group, and he’s okay with that. After losing his parents, he vowed to never lose his brothers, and the one person who threatened that was the love of his life. Eli would do anything for Chloe, and that scares the ever-loving piss out of him.

***

Five-mile run and hours later, Chloe still has one man on her mind…Eli. She shared an amazing afternoon with Landon, filling him in on everything. It was hard leaving him, but she didn’t feel like hanging out with his friends and club hopping. They were a loud, obnoxious group and super fun to hang with, but Chloe just didn’t have the energy.

Her feet beat the pavement in front of her apartment and she slows, bringing her heart rate down. She pushed herself hard on the run, hoping to vanquish thoughts of Eli. But in a strange way, the harder she pushed, the more he was in her forethoughts, remembering their time together.

She thought it hurt the day he told her to leave, but it didn’t compare to listening to him screw another woman. Or at least that’s what she thinks now. It was bittersweet finding out it wasn’t Eli making the blonde scream, but when he kicked her to the curb again it was a fucking bitter pill.

Bending over and stretching out all the muscles in her legs, she tries to push him away and focus on something else. She continues to stretch and think about her options for dinner. Chloe feels so empty, but hunger hasn’t even entered her mind. Maybe a movie, she thinks. She takes off the sweat-soaked light t-shirt covering her tank and tosses it to the cement steps. She takes a seat next to it and checks her phone for new releases. She peruses through the Redbox app until she finds a couple of movies she puts on hold.

Chloe’s body has cooled in the evening air. Her skin is sticky from the evidence of her workout, but she doesn’t care. She quickly jogs up to her place, washes her face, grabs her purse, and trots back outside. She realizes the chill in the air was relaxing and may be the one thing to soothe her soul. It’s just a short three-block walk to the grocery store.

Chloe’s thankful the store is dead and knows it’s because the majority of adults her age are out partying and living it up. There’s a club in town that will become Made To Sin’s rival, and she knows heads will spin soon. She grabs popcorn and plain M&M’s. Chloe doesn’t even flinch when she throws the junk food in her basket. She ran her ass off and is going to go wallow on her couch while making herself sick. It’s what every girl does, right?

Several bags of M&M’s clatter to the ground when Chloe lifts her bag off the shelf, causing quite the commotion. She places her basket on the ground and begins picking up the bags as quickly as possible. A large hand comes into her view to help her. Looking up, she stares into Eli’s face. She flinches when her brain puts all the pieces together. She tries to form a word, but nothing comes. She stands and backs away from him. It takes her only moments before she grabs her basket and turns, walking away and leaving Eli bent over cleaning up her mess.

The thudding of her heart fills her eardrums. Chloe grabs a case of Diet Mountain Dew and heads straight for the checkout stand. She fumbles with her wallet, trying to locate her debit card. Her fingers tremble, making it hard to find it.

“Ma’am, are you okay?”

Chloe looks up to see a young male cashier staring at her. She simply nods and finally finds the right card and swipes it through the card reader. She runs the card as credit since her fingers aren’t cooperating with her. She has her bags in her hand and is out of the store before Eli can find her. Not like he would. It seems he’s revolted by her presence.

Chloe nearly forgets to retrieve her movies from the machine. She walks backward and stops in front of it and wills herself to calm down. If she can’t handle running into the asshole in the candy aisle of a grocery store, how is she ever going to get through months of working with him? Something has to give, and it’s not going to be her. She tucks her DVDs in her bag and begins her trek back home.

The coffee shop near her apartment tempts her when she sees the flashing sign. Chloe steps in and orders her favorite cup of joe. Just one swig of it and she feels better. Chloe’s often wondered what magical ingredient coffee farmers use to make this shit work so well. Her own thought process makes her giggle, and she wonders how in the hell she’s come so far in life when she’s so easily distracted by shiny things.

The bell rings as she opens the door and steps out into the cool air. It’s right at dusk, when the sun is still providing a bit of sunlight, but will soon lose the battle to the darkness. Chloe’s muscles are sore as she walks the last block back to her apartment building. She really should’ve taken a hot shower before going to the store.

A hand grabs her shoulder, whirling her around, and she’s face to face with Eli once again. He is out of breath with a thin layer of sweat covering his forehead.

“I can’t stay away from you, Chloe.”

She doesn’t know how to respond, but does know she can’t handle his touch. She takes two steps back and his hand falls from her shoulder. His touch lingers, causing her pain. She wants Eli so bad, but promised herself to never be turned down by him again.

“Chloe, talk to me.”

She drags her tear-filled eyes up from the sidewalk. She’s not sure she can get a word out without shedding those tears, and it’s the last fucking thing she wants to do in front of him.

“I love you, Eli. I’ve never stopped.”

He closes the distance between them. Eli’s hands cover Chloe’s cheeks and hold her possessively. His lips are on hers in an instant. Chloe’s body freezes with his touch and scent. The feel of his lips is like a distant memory she never thought she’d experience again. Her tears roll down her face as his tongue enters her mouth. Something breaks inside her. An unbreakable dam inside of her heart is destroyed with the simple touch of his lips.

Her lips join his, moving in unison. The kiss is demanding and full of need. They stand on the sidewalk in public, trying to make up for five years. Grocery bags fall to the ground while Chloe’s hands find Eli’s hair and tug it. Her hips buck into his torso, wanting more and unable to wait one more second for him. Eli grabs her by the ass and hoists her up, and her legs instantly wrap around him. He backs them up against the brick wall of the apartment building.

“I need you, Eli.” Chloe’s lips remain on his as she tries to talk. “Fuck me. Please fuck me.”

Her hand sneaks down between their bodies while the other remains locked around his neck for stability. His gym shorts make it easy for her to find what she wants. She wraps her fingers around Eli’s girth, causing even more delightful memories to flood her mind. The way he used to make her feel and rule her body. It’s what she wants right now.

“Now,” Chloe growls. “Fuck me, Eli.”

His lips leave hers, and Chloe’s feet gently land back on the ground. Eli grabs her by the waist when her legs threaten to give out on her. She can’t find the courage to look up at him since she knows what his next move is. When she regains her balance, Chloe moves to her bags lying on the ground, avoiding any further contact with him.

She falls to her hands and knees and gathers the items that had escaped from the bag. Her heart sinks lower and lower with each item, knowing that when the last one is placed in the bag she’ll be closing the door on Eli forever. If he hasn’t already walked away.

Her pain turns into anger and her anger into tears. It’s always been her downfall and it pisses her off to no end. When she’s pissed off and yelling, tears always accompany her anger and make her look weak. She tries to hold them back this time, but one splashes down on the cement. Followed by another one, and then another one. Soon she loses count of the tears splattering the sidewalk. She feels remnants of their splash landing on her hands splayed out on the ground. Her long hair hides the sides of her face.

“Chloe.”

“Why do you keep leaving me? I can’t do this, Eli.”

He doesn’t respond, and Chloe finds herself cradled in his arms like a newborn baby. The grocery sack rattles around Eli’s wrist as he enters the elevator and pushes the button. In moments he’s standing in front of Chloe’s door, still holding her.

“How did you know?” Chloe’s voice trails off as she asks the question.

Her feet hit the ground once again, and she digs for her key. Once in the apartment, Eli sits Chloe on the countertop in the kitchen and squeezes in between her legs.

His forehead rests on hers while his eyes droop down

“Telling you to leave me was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. Chloe, I had to. There was too much pressure from my brothers and building the clubs. They had to be first in my life, and when you were around…” Eli throws his head back, staring up at the ceiling and resting his palms on the back of his head. Chloe instinctively places both hands on his side and holds him. She doesn’t want to miss one opportunity to touch him, and she fights like hell to burn every single one of their moments together in memory.

“Chloe, when I was with you, it consumed every part of me. I wanted to be with you every second of the day, and if I was ever forced to choose between you and my brothers, I know without a doubt I would’ve chosen you, and I couldn’t do that to them after losing our parents and being left with the responsibility of the clubs. I mean, I just don’t know what I’m trying to say to you.”

Eli’s eyes remain locked on the ceiling. Chloe listens to his words as she watches his Adam’s apple bob up and down.

“So, are you saying you loved me too much and had to get rid of me?”

“Fuck, it sounds so bad like that, but yes, Chloe. I loved you more than anything.”

“Normal people don’t do that. They stay and work it out. Find a happy medium.”

Eli finally drops his head down to look at Chloe and grabs her face.

“I’m not fucking normal, and there can never be a happy medium when it comes to you. You fucking consume me. When you’re in the room you take all the oxygen out of me.”

Chloe leans forward and places her lips on his, silencing him. She begins to kiss him tenderly, taking her time to remember how it feels to be with her old Eli. The one she prefers to remember. The one who loved her without end. It’s the same one who’s standing in front of her telling her so. A hunger builds in her, and she needs more than his lips and this tender kiss.