Blue Streak: A Blue Series Novella (6 page)

I’d like to blame it on the tequila, but I didn’t have
that
much to drink last night. The only thing I can use to defend myself for winding up in his bed is that I was a starved girl. Once I had access to the guy I’ve been dreaming about, I gorged—and promptly fell asleep.

Geez, I’m like a man. Take what I want and pass out.

My stomach sinks. What if he regrets it? I mean, I got naked in front of him. And then cried. Holy crap, what if what we shared was
guilt
sex out of some kind of pity he felt toward me?

I should leave. Get out of here before he wakes. Because if he wakes and looks uncomfortable, or tries to shoo me to the door, it would break my heart. I can’t deal with that right now. I need a shower. And a toothbrush. And some sugar at hand before I tackle that kind of letdown.

Light streams through the window, but it’s faded and blue, as if it’s still early out. I slide my hand across the mattress to the side of the bed, and glance over to see if he stirs.

No signs of life. I slowly ease myself out of bed and stand, watching him like he’s a rabid animal about to pounce. I’m so intent on searching for possible movement, I’m not looking where I’m going.

My pinkie toe strikes the foot of the bedframe. Pain bursts up my leg and it’s all I can do to keep quiet.

Son of a bitch!

Hopping, I hold my toe, lose my balance, and land on my ass. I crawl toward the bathroom and spy over my shoulder to make sure Zach’s still asleep.

I am an idiot, on the ground, stealing away like a thief in the night.

And I’m totally okay with that right now.

I quietly close the bathroom door until only a crack stands between me and the other room. Holding on to the counter, I pull myself up and catch my breath. I prop my foot on the toilet seat cover and check out my pinky toe. It’s bright red and swelling. Awesome.

Dressing quickly—without my bra and panties, dammit, because they’re still in a damp pile by the hot tub—I glance in the mirror, and holy shit. I have mascara smudged below my eyes and—I press my finger to the side of my neck—a red splotch on my skin. Is that a hickey? He
marked
me?

Wow. My face warms, my belly clenching. Last night was—I fan myself with a hand. I really need to get out of here before I do something stupid like crawl back into bed with him. He could very well regret last night.

I quickly remove as much of the mascara below my eyes as I can and stare at my hair. It’s knotted and sticking up, as though I’ve rubbed it on the side of a balloon. I don’t remember rubbing my head into the mattress, but well, I was preoccupied. Good Lord, I’ve never felt that good before. My body still hums from what Zach did to me. No wonder the ladies like him.

Gack! I hate thinking of him with other women. What if he goes right back to doing what he’s always done, hooking up and calling me Pipsqueak? How will I deal with it? I brace my hands on the counter and take a deep breath. This is exactly why I’m leaving before I’m forced to face truths too difficult to contemplate in my lovesick state.

I hobble out of the bathroom, my shoes and purse in hand. There’s no way I can walk in heels with my toe twice its normal size. Plus, I’m in stealth mode. I don’t need noisy heels waking Zach.

He’s in the same exact position he was when I left the bed. He hasn’t moved, his muscled leg peeking out from under the blanket. My chest tightens.

I hate leaving him, but I can’t suppress the fear he might regret last night, or worse, treat me like any other woman he’s slept with. I couldn’t handle that.

What if our night together ruined everything?

*

Zach

I blink away
sleep.

Something isn’t right. Staring at the closet door, I try to figure out what feels off…

I sit up abruptly and glance at the empty spot beside me. “Nessa?” I call.

No answer. I leap out of bed and pull on gym shorts. I stride across the bedroom and nudge the bathroom door open the rest of the way. She’s not there, and neither are the clothes she folded and placed with her purse.

I walk down the hallway, my heart racing. My limbs are like liquid, serene and calm, while my chest is tight and anxious. I’ve never felt so conflicted after a night with a woman. But then, this isn’t just any woman. It’s
Nessa
. And she’s not where I left her.

She’s not in the kitchen or the living room, and the chain isn’t on the front door. I never forget to attach the chain before I go to bed. Though I wasn’t exactly thinking of burglars last night. There are a lot of things I
forgot
last night. Like my promise to never go there with Nessa.

But I went there anyway.

And it was amazing.

I knew I’d been cheapening myself with Alexis and the women I slept with afterward to cleanse myself of the guilt, but nothing prepared me for making love to Nessa. She would never use me, and I held nothing back. Because with this girl, I am myself.

Since the day I lost my virginity to Alexis, sex with women has never been serious. With Nessa, there was none of that crap. I care so much about her, and now that we’ve crossed the line, I’m not letting go.

I’m also about to go out of my mind if I don’t figure out where she went. Not a fan of her running out on me.

I scan the living room and storm toward the sliding glass door, peering out. The hot tub is uncovered. The bubbles shut down after a certain amount of time, but the light is still on. I didn’t even shut the sliding glass door all the way when I carried Nessa inside. That’s how much of a rush I was in to get her to my bed.

I open the slider and walk out in my shorts, the crisp morning air and cool deck chilling my feet and skin. I shut everything down and spy Nessa’s panties and bra by the hot tub.

I smile and walk over to pick them up. They’re sexy as hell, and I would have liked to see her in them, but not as much as I enjoyed seeing her out of them. I wring them out and set them along with my swim trunks across a chair to dry, and go back inside. Nessa didn’t even stop to grab her underwear before she left. Was she upset?

We were plastered against each other all night. I know, because I woke a few times and watched her sleep, until exhaustion stole my ability to creeper-stare at the beautiful girl next to me.

How could she leave without saying goodbye? If she thinks we’re going back to only being friends, she’s mistaken. And I’m going to show her how wrong she is. Just as soon as I find her. Think I’ll enjoy proving how well we fit together.

I don’t know why I fought things between us for so long, but I’m finished with all that. I may not have planned this, but I’ll do whatever it takes to make her happy. Nessa deserves everything.

I check the time.
Eight.
She couldn’t have been gone long, because the last time I woke it was five in the morning, and she was sound asleep. I’d rolled over and tucked her sexy little body up against mine. Took all my strength not to wake her too.

My lips twitch into a smile. I’m striding toward my bedroom, preparing to take a shower and hunt her down, when a loud knock sounds at the front door. Thinking it’s her and that she’s returned, I swing the door open with that ridiculous grin plastered to my face.

A whoosh of disappointment washes over me. “What’s up, Dad?”

“Someone had a late night.” He brushes past me and heads into the kitchen.

My father is average height, with broad shoulders and a few extra pounds, thanks to all the casino comps he gets. But he’s a good-looking older dude, or so I’ve been told.

I hover near the door. This better not take long. Can’t leave things the way they are with Nessa running off like that. Did I upset her somehow? Maybe I’ll swing by Muffin Top and grab bagels and coffee on my way to her place.

“What do you have to drink around here?” my dad asks as he opens and closes cupboard doors.

“There’s orange juice in the fridge and some milk.”

Dad grabs the orange juice, frowning. He zeros in on the cupboard above the fridge and finds the vodka I keep there.

“Dad, I’ve got somewhere to be. Can we catch up later?”

He raises an eyebrow, and I sigh. When my dad digs in his heels, there’s no budging him. I walk toward the kitchen and sink into the chair at the peninsula.

“What have you been up to?” He pours orange juice in a tumbler and adds a heavy splash of Absolut. He raises the glass to me and quirks his brow. I shake my head.

“Work. And work. More work.”

“Can’t only be work.” He glances around, his gaze narrowing on my swim trunks and Nessa’s panties on the chair outside. “Who’s the girl that left this morning?”

Leave it to my father’s powers of observation, honed by years of gambling, to scope out the incriminating items lying around. “How do you know she left this morning?”

“You’ve got a fire lit under your ass, and you’re”—he raises his hand and gestures at the side of his face—“peaked.”

“Seriously, you’re going there? Dad, I don’t want to talk about my personal life. We’ve never discussed it. No need to start now.”

He hands me a glass of orange juice, sans vodka. “Well, maybe we should. You still spending time with Alexis? What’s she up to?”

Fuck.
I do not want to talk about Alexis. Not while I’m still high on Nessa.

Sometimes I wonder how much my dad suspects about my past with Alexis. “I don’t know what she’s up to. I don’t keep tabs.”

As far as I’m concerned, whatever Alexis and I had is over. And I plan to tell her so as soon as possible.

“Too bad—she’s got a hot little body on her.”

Now he’s just goading me. I don’t for one minute think my dad is after Alexis. She might be physically attractive, but I can’t see that anymore. All I see is what she’s like on the inside—something my dad saw years ago when he warned my mom about being friends with her.

“If Alexis is so great, why don’t you keep in touch with her?” I snap, and grab the glass he filled for me.

“Out of my league. She likes ’em young.”

I choke on my juice.
Fuck.

Dad slams back his screwdriver. “Well, I’m outta here. Got an appointment in Reno. Go find
your girl
.” He winks.

“Try not to lose your shirt. Luck doesn’t last forever.”

“Bite your tongue. It’s lasted me six years and counting. And it ain’t luck, it’s
skill.
”

He walks out and I drop my head into my hands.

No doubt there’s skill, but my dad has had his share of bad runs that almost put us in the poorhouse when I was in high school. Back then I had a part-time job in the afternoons and on weekends. I couldn’t add more hours without dropping out of school, and I wasn’t about to do that. I’m no genius, but I knew I needed a diploma to get anywhere. Thank God my dad’s shit-streak didn’t last long. He had more faith than I did, and won some big hands at the blackjack tables while rubbing shoulders with Alexis’s ex-husband.

Alexis divorced her husband when I was in high school—and took a good portion of his cash when she did. Now she plays the tables as often as my dad. She’s smart, though. She gambles
other
people’s money and lives off her cushy alimony payments. Alexis used to tell me I was the most important person in her life. It didn’t bother me that she dated other men. I thought we had something special, and I was pleased as punch to be called her favorite. That shows how young and stupid I was when our affair began.

Now, I don’t give a shit. I’m so sick of whatever it is we’ve been doing. Literally sick. The sneaking around, the crap she tells me to keep me strung along… I’m over it. What I want is so clear now. And this time, I’m reaching for it.

I shower off the filth that thinking about Alexis leaves on my skin, and dress quickly, my need to find Nessa and ensure everything is okay stronger than ever. But because this has been a hell of a morning, Alexis walks in the front door as I’m tucking my wallet in the back pocket of my jeans.

And it’s my fault, because I stupidly gave her a key to the place years ago.

There goes what’s left of my Nessa high—the beautiful feeling she infused into me last night with her gorgeous soul, taunting mouth, and incredible body. All of that lingering goodness gone the moment Alexis arrives.

“Hello, darling.” She closes the door and walks up, wrapping her arms around my waist.

I ease her back, but she’s got me in an arm lock. “What do you need, Alexis?”

She glances at me incredulously. “Is that any way to welcome your lover? What’s gotten into you lately?” She finally steps away, probably because I’m still pushing her back.

I walk to the sofa and take a seat. Because we need to have this out. I won’t put it off any longer. Everything has changed. Well, it’s been changing for a while, but now I want it finalized. No way am I risking things with Nessa because of Alexis.

“Look, there were feelings in the beginning.” I clasp my hands between my knees. “Or at least I think there were. I was young…”

She pouts and slides next to me, running her hand down my chest. I push it away and shift gears. Alexis is too aggressive to let down easily. “I’m not interested in a relationship with you anymore. We’ve both grown and changed. I should have ended things years ago. I want to end it now, and I’d appreciate my house key back.”