Obsession (4 page)

“He’s very handsome, but you’d never
be able to come to this bar again.”

Nathan bobbed his head as though I had
a point. My lip twitched in satisfaction. I loved when he let on
that I was right.

***

My lips were tingling as I tried to
hold a conversation with the woman sitting next to me. “See, I
can’t get close to a man. It’s just not worth it,” I slurred,
holding my shot of tequila in the air.

The older woman sighed as she clanked
my glass. “Amen.” We downed our shots, and I closed my eyes,
relishing the feeling of all control beginning to fade from my
body.

Nathan was leaning comfortably back in
his chair at a table close by, his tie loosened and his dress
sleeves rolled to his elbows. Miguel was sitting next to him,
batting his long eyelashes, hopeful for Nathan’s attention. Every
now and then Nathan would lean over and whisper something in
Miguel’s ear, causing him to blush. His apron was set on the table,
so I assumed he was either taking his break or done for the night.
I had no idea what time it was.

“So money bags isn’t your man?” the
older woman asked in her raspy voice. She sounded like she’d smoked
her entire life. “Thought for sure he was straight with your cute
little tush on his arm.”

“Ha!” I laughed loudly, waving my hand
in the air for the new bartender to bring me another drink. “Been
there, tried that. He wouldn’t ‘even fuck my ass—’, those were his
exact words.”

The woman laughed. “Hard to find
bi-guys. Seems only the ladies like to swing both ways.”

“Hmm, maybe for you darlin’, but not
this woman. I love me some nice, thick co-”

“Jay!” Nathan said way too loudly as
he flung his arm around my shoulders. I grasped his wrist with both
hands to steady myself. “What are you going on and on about to the
lovely Beatrice?” He was very smooth and collected, and I hated
that he had the ability to drink half the tequila at the bar and
not be affected. Miguel was standing next to him, looking like a
puppy wanting to be picked to take home.

“What? You worried Beatrice is going
to be my new best friend?”

Nathan howled, squeezing me to his
side. “Oh please, no one will ever replace me.”

“Ah, you’re forgetting Becca,” I
tisked.

Nathan rolled his eyes, his Conklin
grin forming on his plush lips, lips that looked extremely kissable
to me at the moment. I bit my lip in contemplation, wondering if I
should give them another taste.

“Oh boy. I think it’s time Jay and I
head home.” He turned to Miguel, flashing him a smile. “Sorry,
Miguel. See you next time I’m in town.” Miguel’s big brown eyes
lost their hope as Nathan began to pull me off the
stool.

“I’m perfectly capable of walking on
my own,” I slurred. I tried to elbow him in the side as I stood,
but I completely missed, causing my body to lurch forward, nearly
falling to the ground. Thankfully, Nathan caught me, laughing
hysterically as I tried to find my footing in my too high red
heels.

“And this is why it’s time to call it
quits. Have a good night, Beatrice.” Nathan laughed as he wrapped
an arm around my waist, coaxing me to walk toward the
exit.

“I can walk!” I slurred, trying to
shove him away. “I didn’t drink that much!”

“Yeah, yeah, tell that to the drag
queen you were chattering at all night.”

“Drag queen?” I said in
shock.

Nathan chuckled, then lifted me,
carrying me to his car.

He gently slid me into the Ferrari,
buckling my seat belt and taking off my heels. I felt his hand move
stray strands of hair from my face, noticing a slight tremor to his
touch as he held in his amusement. The car door closed as I made
myself comfortable in the small space.

Nathan smoothly pulled out of the
ramp, his hand turning the music down. “Don’t turn off Elton! This
is my favorite song!”

“Tiny
Dancer
? Really?” Nathan asked in
surprise.

“Well, duh. I know your
favorite is
Candle in the
Wind
, but come on,” I groaned
dramatically.

“How do you know that?”

“Because every time I get
in your car that song is blasting. And you’re constantly humming
it,
everywhere
.”

“Like where?”

“At your desk, in the elevator,
waiting in line for takeout, the shower…Where don’t you hum that
song?”

“Whatever,” Nathan exaggerated. “Why
don’t you just count the lights on the highway.”

“I will if you lay me down in sheets
of linen,” I flirted.

Nathan began to sing. “You had a busy
day today…”

“Hold me closer Tiny Dancer…” Nathan
and I sang full out at once, continuing until the chorus was
over.

The smile couldn’t go unnoticed on
Nathan’s face as he shook his head. “You’re something
else.”

I giggled, then sighed as I closed my
eyes. My heart was beating fast, the alcohol running through my
veins, drowning out all my worries and memories.

My hand wandered, finding the
expensive fabric of Nathan’s dress pants, gently stroking his firm
thigh.

I heard Nathan chuckle,
then felt his hand grasp mine, holding it in his lap as he
continued driving us home. The ride was long enough for Nathan to
serenade me with “
Candle in the
Wind”.

While he sang I hummed, my mind
drifting to other thoughts as I pulled his hand in my lap. The warm
skin of his forearm was on my exposed thigh, and I widened my legs,
slowly pulling our entwined hands close to my hips. The course hair
of his arm brushed against my smooth skin, and I let out a soft
moan, wanting to feel his skin all over my body.

Nathan’s hand was dangerously close to
my panties as he shut off the car, and I pouted when he pulled away
from me. I couldn’t move my legs, and found myself very comfortable
in the plush leather seats. I was almost irritated when he opened
my door and hauled me out of the car.

“Come on Jay, I thought you could
handle your liquor,” Nathan teased.

“Hmm,” I murmured as I wrapped my arms
around his waist, not only because I could hardly walk, but because
I wanted my hands to roam across his torso, hoping to get a feel of
the definition I knew was there. I tilted my head up, taking in the
scent of his expensive cologne. I rarely got close enough to smell
it because he dabbed it on his neck so little and
rarely.

Nathan grunted as he tried to pull me
up the stairs. I licked my lips, my hand finding the front of his
belt, slowly tugging at his shirt. “Nathan, are you sure you only
like boys?” I murmured into his neck.

“Positive,” he said quickly as we
finally found our way to the front of the condo. He ignored my hand
beginning to play with the button on his pants.

I licked my lips again, then slowly
peppered kisses along his neck. He stopped his movements of trying
to find his keys while holding me upright. “Jay…”

“What?” I whispered innocently, my
lips finding the shell of his ear as I stood on my tiptoes, my hand
wandering. I lost my footing though, and stumbled into him, letting
out a giggle as he caught me.

“My God, you’re wasted.” His arms were
holding me upright, pinning me to his chest so I couldn’t move. “I
need to get the keys out of my pocket so we can go inside and get
you to bed,” he patronized.

“Hmm, to bed. That sounds wonderful,”
I purred.

“No, no, no… to your own
bed.”

“Nathan…” I pouted, my lips mere
inches from his.

Even though my eyes were closed, I
knew he was smiling at me. “Jamie, we both know what’s not going to
happen.”

I pouted my lips even more. “Just kiss
me one more time.”

Nathan laughed even harder, but I
stood confident in his arms, my eyes still closed, lips still
tingling. “All right, one kiss. But I’m warning you, it’s not going
to change me.”

Just as I parted my lips to protest,
his hands found my cheeks, tilting my head upwards to meet his
mouth. His movements were gentle, softly plucking my bottom lip
between his. As quickly as my arms moved to wrap around his waste,
the quicker Nathan moved his lips from mine, tenderly plucking them
once more before he spoke.

“Got nothing. Sorry,
sweetie.”

My eyes sprung open as a frown spread
across my face. Nathan smiled and winked at me, turning to open the
door.

“I don
’t believe you,” I
challenged.

“Honey, you were pressed as close to
my dick as possible with clothing on. Now tell me, did you ever
feel him rise to the occasion?”

I furrowed my brows as his cocky grin
set in place

“
Oh come on!” I
whined.

Nathan laughed out loud as he unlocked
the door. His arm locking around my waist as I stood there
perplexed. “No, you come on. It’s time to go to bed.”

With a strong grasp on my hip, Nathan
led me inside. I shoved him away, nearly falling into the wall when
he let go. Using the wall for support, I tugged my heels off in the
most unladylike way possible. Nathan removed his shoes as though it
were any other day.

“You really didn’t feel anything?” I
asked in disbelief.

“Nope, not sexually. I
know I got to you, though. I have that effect on men
and
women.”

I huffed in annoyance as I sluggishly
stood. “You wish!”

Nathan laughed again, then swiftly
picked me up, carrying me to my bedroom.

I laid my head on his strong chest.
“We could be together. It’d be the perfect marriage. We both care
more about our work than anything else, so we’d just hang out on
the off chance we weren’t working. I don’t think it’d be as
complicated as a real marriage.”

Nathan set me down by the foot of my
bed. “Me fucking a man on the side might make things
complicated.”

He gently urged me to sit. “That
wouldn’t be a good headline for the business. Nathan Conklin, guru
of the business industry, caught cheating on his beloved wife with
another man.”

“Another man in an elevator would be a
better headline. But only if it included a photo,” I
added.

We both laughed under our breaths.
“You know that even in your wildest dreams a gay man wouldn’t be
able to tame you.”

I looked into his eyes, and he was
right. My drunkenness faded slightly as our friendship solidified
to an even higher place than it already was.

“Maybe not, but he could make me feel
safe,” I whispered, looking down into my lap. His thumbs caressed
my cheeks as he studied me.

“If you can’t kiss me or fuck me, can
you at least hold your drunk best friend until she falls
asleep?”

Maybe the real reason I wanted
intimacy with Nathan was because I thought it would take away a
fraction of fear. My heart beat faster, wondering what measures Rod
would take this time, and wondering how far he’d go to try and
control me again.

Nathan’s hands brushed my
hair behind my ears. “
Yeah, but don
’t get used
it.” His words were stern, but I knew he would always have my back
just as I’d always have his.

Chapter Four

“Jamie, we’ll get there on
time. Stop worrying,” Landon assured me as he sped through town in
the beat up Toyota Corolla we shared. He had to drop me off at my
internship before he had to be at his own job at the Country
Club.

“I can’t be late,
Landon.”

“You worry too much. Not
like Dad’s going to fire you from your work study,” he scoffed
while taking a left at the stop sign. Our father was the sheriff at
the Canal Point Police Station where I’d been doing my work co-op.
Dad didn’t like me working during the evening times when the cadets
would bring in the low lifes, but money was tight for our large
family. The little bit of money he could give me by working at the
station made him feel better knowing we could buy the things that
he and my mother couldn’t help purchase. Plus, the down time worked
well for me to study.

“That’s not the
point.
I
don
’t like to be late. Deputy Garreti likes
to take his dinner break right at 5 pm every night.”

“I’m sure he could wait a
few minutes,” Landon teased.

“I don
’t want to disappoint
anyone,”
I
sighed, hugging my bag tighter.

Landon slapped his hand on
my shoulder. “You need to loosen up, little sis.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’m not
that much younger than you.”

“Every minute counts in my
book.”

“Whatever, thanks for
getting me here.” I darted out the door.

The station was tiny, and
only housed a handful of employees. I flew to my normal spot in the
corner just in the knick of time. Deputy Garreti greeted me with a
smile as I took my seat. “No need to rush, Jamie.”