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Authors: Chelle Bliss

Hook Me (4 page)

BOOK: Hook Me
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I checked over the schedule while I waited for everyone to finish. Anthony sat first and began to tap out a beat against the plastic chair. Leaning back, he put his head against the wall, and closed his eyes looking lost in the rhythm.

By the time Izzy and Joe made their way to the front of the shop I wanted to rip Anthony’ fingers off and shove them down his throat.

Izzy sat down next to Anthony, resting her head on his shoulder.

“Anything new since yesterday, Mike?” Joe asked, leaning against the desk. He cracked his neck with a quick push to his chin.

Izzy laughed as she whispered in Anthony’s ear. They looked at me and smiled.

“Totally booked. No room for walk-ins unless anyone wants to work extra.”

No one met my eyes.

“Didn’t think so.” I tapped the pen against the schedule and tried to avoid the looks from the two assholes against the wall.

Joe turned toward them. “What are you two giggling about over there?”

I waved my hands in the air and shook my head. I hoped Izzy would take pity on me. I knew the bullshit that was about to take place if she didn’t.

“Talking about the nuptials between Tammy and Mike.”

Fucking little sisters and their big mouths.

His head turned quickly in my direction. “What the fuck are they talking about?”

“They’re being jackasses.”

“You didn’t elope or anything stupid like that did you?” Joe asked.

“Fuck no! Give me an ounce of credit, will you please?”

We spent the next ten minutes laughing about Tammy and all the problems our dicks had caused through the years. It’s strictly a male issue.

I had to own that shit.

When my first customer arrived five minutes early, I wanted to kiss her feet for saving me from my siblings’ harassment.

Chapter 3

I groaned, burying my face in the pillow and tried to avoid facing the world. My body felt heavy and I didn’t want to get out of bed. Even after a full night’s sleep, I couldn’t shake my sadness from work last night and I figured why the hell not. It was worth a shot.

The only thing that usually helped my mood was a good ass-kicking workout at the gym.

When I walked in the gym and the man knocked me on my ass. The impact scared the hell out of me as I fell on my ass, dropping my purse, and spilling the contents everywhere.

He was the object of my anger. It wasn’t from being knocked down; looking back I was more mortified by it than pissed. I felt helpless over the lost lives that piled up during my shift. The night before had been one of the lowest in my short career, but when I looked up into his rich caramel eyes something inside me shifted.

My brain must have been rattled by the force of my fall.

I’ve seen him before. I knew it.

I lost my breath as I stared into his eyes. I’ve never had a reaction to someone like I had with him. Something unspoken passed between us as we looked into each other’s eyes.

It took everything in me to not react when he helped me off the ground. The moment our skin connected electricity passed between us. There was a snap, crackle, pop.

I couldn’t get him out of my damn mind as I started to run on the treadmill. As my thighs burned and sweat trickled down my chest, I thought about only him.

How did I know him?

Tall with broad shoulders, muscular tattooed covered arms and completely not my taste.

The track pants he wore hid his legs, but there was no doubt in my mind that they were as solid and powerful as his upper half.

When our bodies were inches apart in the doorway, my heart pounded in my chest– if he were any closer he would’ve heard the frantic rhythm.

“Hey, Mia.” A voice pulled me out of haze.

Blinking, I looked over to see Rob leaning against the treadmill. “Oh. Hey, Rob.”

“You’re looking beautiful as always.” He stared at my chest as my body bounced.

“If you don’t stop staring at my chest, I’ll knock you on your ass,” I warned.

He snickered, covering his mouth with his hand but his eyes remained glued to my breasts. “Promises, promises. Why don’t you let me take you to dinner?”

“Rob, I’m sure you’re a nice guy.” I coughed.

He was the farthest thing from nice. He wasn’t an asshole, but he sure as hell wasn’t boyfriend material.

“We wouldn’t work. I’d spend too much time repairing the injuries I’d give you.”

A giant smile crept across his face before he finally looked at my eyes. “You say the sexiest shit, Mia.”

“Not happening. Who was that guy that left when I walked in?” Grabbing the towel, I blotted the sweat from my chest.

Moving his eyes to follow the path of the towel, he asked, “You mean Mike?”

“I don’t know his name. Tall, muscular, walked out right after you opened.”

Brawn didn’t equal brains when it came to Rob.

“Mike, yeah, he’s a friend of mine.” His eyes flickered between my breasts and eyes.

If they were friends then in all probability he was an asshole too. I had attracted more of those in my time than I wanted to admit.

“Tell me about him. I think I know him from somewhere.” I couldn’t help myself; I had to figure out how I knew him.

“He’s a fighter. He has a big fight coming up that I’m helping him train for.” Rob flexed and punched the air.

“Is that all he does?” Fighter – code word for unemployed and a workout junkie.

Rob shook his head and laughed, “Nah, he’s part owner in a tattoo shop. He’s a piercer there.”

A busty blond walked by and started to set up camp at a treadmill nearby. Rob’s eyes wandered in her direction as he licked his lips.

“Thanks. You can go now,” I said, wanting to be alone with my thoughts.

He put his hands over his heart and stammered backward as though he were in pain. “You just dismissed me like that? I’m wounded, Mia.”

“Maybe the girl over there,” I moved my head in her direction, “will have the remedy.”

“You may be right, beautiful. I’m off to find out.” Winking, he tapped my treadmill with his palm before whistling as he walked away.

CNN played on the tiny screen in front of me but I couldn’t focus as my thoughts drifted back to Mike. The powerhouse that literally rocked my world this morning was a body mutilator. He pierced and punched his way through life while I patched up the damage caused by fists and dirty needles.

I grabbed my phone from the cup holder as it began to chirp.

Lori: Girls night out. Game?

I needed a night with my friends. I needed to laugh and hear the latest gossip. I had two days off and an evening to let loose sounded like heaven and a great way to get my mind off work.

Me: I’m in. When and where?

I didn’t give a shit if I had to drive to Orlando, I’d be there.  My restless night would require a nap to keep up with the ladies or I would do a face plant on the table after the first drink.

Lori: Ybor City. Be ready to party your ass off. I’ll pick you up at 9.

Me: I can drive.

Lori: Fuck no, your ass is getting drunk. I got it all worked out.

She knew me so well. Lori and the girls went out all the time. They lived without their work to weigh them down emotionally. Unlike me, they didn’t have to hold someone’s heart in their hand and try to get it to beat again. Their pressures were different but I could never stumble into work nursing a hangover.

Lori was a lawyer, Sarah a receptionist at an advertising agency, and Jamie was a bored housewife.

I wanted to buy a new outfit for tonight. I had a closet full of clothes, but screw it, I deserved something special. I worked my ass off and didn’t feel ashamed to splurge on myself every once in a while. International Plaza called my name.

I straightened my hair; the humidity in Florida wreaked havoc on my long brown locks, before starting my makeup. I didn’t wear much to work; the long hours typically had me questioning their claim that make-up was twenty-four hour wear. It never stayed put and caused my eyes to look more tired than they did naturally.

I took my time, gave my lids a smoky treatment to bring out their color before applying an obscene amount of Barely There mascara. It made my eyes look bright and my eyelashes long and lush. Lori texted me that she was almost at my house as I spritzed my body with Gucci Guilty and stared in the mirror, giving myself a once over.

The short, tight black tube top showed off my stomach and hourglass figure perfectly. My tits didn’t stick out too much but would be noticed without flashing a sign that read ‘lookie’ here. My form-fitting denim capris made my ass look perky. The leopard print stiletto heels caused my calves to tighten and pulled the entire outfit together.

I sat on the front step as I waited for Lori to pick me up. The neighborhood was bustling. People waved as they walked past with their dogs and sat on their front porches enjoying the warmth of the Florida air. Summer would soon be arriving in full force and people would be scarce at this time of day. The summer sun felt like a flame against my skin and even the mornings were stifling from the humidity.

Closing my eyes, Lori’s headlight blinded momentarily, as she pulled in. The car shook from the loud bass of whatever hip-hop song she had blasting inside.

“Oh my god, I’m so excited. Fuck, you look amazing, girl.” She bounced a little in her seat and held the steering wheel with a giant smile on her face as I climbed in.

I leaned over and planted a giant kiss on her cheek. “I’ve missed you.”

“Me too, Mia. Got everything?” She applied a layer of lip-gloss before smacking her lips together and checking her reflection in the rearview mirror.

I nodded at her with butterflies in my stomach. “Yep, let’s hit it.”

Lori and I met in college. I was pre-med and she was pre-law.  We became thick as thieves sophomore year. Any free moment we had, which weren’t as many as we wished, we spent together at the beach or clubs. We danced our asses off and loved every minute of it.

When college ended and the real world sucked us in, we didn’t have the time to hang out together and drink Corona’s on the beach. We were lucky to see each other once a month and to get everyone together had become virtually impossible.

We could go without speaking for weeks and pick up right where we left off. She was
that
kind of friend. I envied her beauty though. Her blond hair had a wave that I couldn’t achieve no matter how hard I tried. Her crystal blue eyes sparkled in the light and her teeth were so white they almost glowed in the dark.

“Did I tell you I started seeing someone?” she asked, as she turned the radio down when Justin Beiber started to sing. His high-pitched girl voice made me cringe.

“No.  You’ve been holding out on me.”

When most people were getting married and starting their families, we were still in school, finishing our degrees before starting our careers. Families and marriage were put on the back burner. Now that we hovered around the big three zero, we both felt a pang of jealousy and remorse that we may have missed out on so much for our careers.

“His name is Sal and we work together. We’d been eye fucking for months before things got interesting one night when we both worked late.”

“Dirty girl, doing it at work.” I shook my head and laughed.

“Jesus, I can’t even describe what it’s like being with him. The first time I could barely think. We were going over a case. We argued about how to win and he went all cavemen and threw me on the table. It was fuckin’ hot.”

“Mm, that sounds nice. So are you guys casual or are you officially a couple?” I felt a big jealous. Hospitals weren’t sexy.

“We’re not officially dating. We are seeing other people, but then again who the fuck has the time with our schedule?”

“So, you picked a Guido. Hmm.”

“What’s your issue with Italian men?” She looked at me, wrinkling her nose, before returning her eyes to the road.

“I don’t have a problem with them. They’re typically bossy and believe a woman’s place is in the kitchen.”

“He’s not like that.” Her blond hair swayed as she shook her head.

“Mm hmm, not yet maybe.”

“Bitch, don’t rain on my parade.” She laughed.

BOOK: Hook Me
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ads

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