The Right Kind of Love (17 page)

Reeve raised an eyebrow while everyone else laughed again. “Interesting, very interesting.”

“Yes, I totally agree.” I turned and looked at Justice. “So where is Camden tonight?”

“Oh, he’s with his mom.” His face lit up talking about him. He was an adorable little boy and so well behaved.

“He’s such a good kid. I’ve really enjoyed the time I’ve spent with him at your parent’s house.”

“He seems to really like you, too. In fact, we all do. We think it’s great our brother has you. You have helped tame him a bit.” He took a sip of his beer.

“Tame him?” I pointed to myself. “Me?”

“Yes, when he comes over for family dinner he seems more relaxed and not as on edge. He’s also not talking about the last girl he slept with. He actually talks about you a lot and your little dog, Zeus.”

I gave him a puzzled look. What the hell was he talking about me for? I mean, we had started to become good friends, but why? “Really? How sweet, I guess, well, I’m really flattered.”

“You should be flattered. He’s quite fond of you and has a lot of respect for you.”

Reeve chimed in. “He’s right, Sydney. He told me just the other day that he respects the hell out of you.”

I felt my face flush. That was the nicest thing I’d heard. How sweet of him to feel that way about me. And to hear he liked Zeus melted my heart a little more.

“He’s a good guy,” Destiny said with a smile.

“Yes, he’s been good to me and Zeus.” And really, he had been. I thought back to all of the countless selfless things he had done for me and my belly whooshed.

A deep whoosh.

How sweet.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the signature fog coming off the stage. “Show time!” I clapped my hands, got up from my chair, pulled Shaina and Destiny with me, and headed toward the dance floor.

The lights went on, and they started strumming the first notes of Sweet Home Alabama by Leonard Skynyrd. It was one of my all-time favorites. I started dancing my ass off and the girls joined right along with me. The dance floor was packed, but we had pushed ourselves up to the front. They rolled right into Paralyzer by Finger Eleven.

I leaned over in Shaina’s ear. “I love this song!”

“Me, too, girlfriend.”

Looking up at the stage, I saw Damien’s eyes trained on me. And only me.

My belly whooshed again. My heart sped up and my mouth watered. He was so flippin’ sexy and he was singing to me. And only me. At that moment, I felt like we were the only two people in the bar.

And I melted just a little. Maybe even more than a little.

I smiled at him, and he gave me a panty-dropping smile back.

Damn, he looked good tonight. He had on a pair of black jeans, combat boots, and he was shirtless. His tattoos were showing and his hair was a tousled mess. I could actually see a light sheen of sweat forming on his chest, and I’d be a liar if I said I didn’t want to ravish his lean body.

I didn’t know where these feelings were coming from. It was like my body craved his. It was strange, and I didn’t exactly know what to do with these emotions, but I knew I could never act on them. We were roommates and friends. We couldn’t get involved, and besides, I didn’t want to be the next notch on his bedpost. I had more pride in myself than to be someone’s one night stand. Although the walk of shame would just be across the hall or maybe I wouldn’t even half to do the walk of shame if he came to my bed.
Sydney, what the hell are you thinking? You’re not getting involved with Damien. 

The song ended and Damien took over the mic. “Hey, how’s everyone out there doing tonight?”

The crowd went wild cheering and hollering. I heard several girls yell, “We love you, Damien.” I just rolled my eyes.

“We want to thank everyone for coming out tonight to see The Fade. We have a special treat for you.” He grinned at the crowd and then shook his head, his hair flying everywhere. The crowd went nuts and my belly whooshed again.

“Sydney Summers, get your ass up here and sing with us.” He trained his eyes on me and the rest of the crowd looked my way.

I shook my head no clearly telling him that I wasn’t going up on the stage. He came down the front of the stage and the girls swarmed him. He walked right over to me and whispered in my ear. “Come on, baby, you can do this. We’ve been practicing for a couple of weeks now, you got this.” The way his lips caressed the word baby made my heart skip a beat. It was a term of endearment he used often, but tonight it felt like it was so much more personal.

Destiny came up to us. “Come on, girl. Show us what you got.”

Yes, I guess I could show them what I had. I was no louse in the singing department. I put on a face of confidence, gave Destiny a huge smile, and then looked up at Damien and winked. This was going to be amazing. I could feel it down to my bones.

The rest of the crowd cheered as I walked up on stage. Damien came over to me. “We’re gonna do Jackson.”

The band started playing and we eased right into the song singing our hearts out like we were meant to be on stage together. He was standing center stage with me as we shared one microphone doing our duet.

The song ended and the crowd erupted with cheering and whistles. We had blown that song wide open and had completely nailed it.

“So what did you all think?” Damien looked at me and then at the crowd. They went nuts. “She’s got some talent, doesn’t she?” Again, the whistles and cheers exploded.

I couldn’t believe how good it felt to be up on stage again. I wasn’t nervous in the slightest. In fact, I felt pretty damn good and proud of myself.

“All right, you want more?”

The crowd screamed yes.

Damien leaned over to me. “We’re going to do Wild Horses.” And then he said to the crowd, “This is a slow one, but it’s fucking awesome. So grab yourself a partner.”

The band started playing the song, and Damien and I started belting out the song. This song was a favorite of mine, and the way we sang it was beautiful. It actually made my eyes a little misty it was so pretty. When we sang, we looked into one another’s eyes, jade green to espresso brown, and we got lost in one another. It simply was breathtaking.

He was simply breathtaking.

We finished the song, and I stepped away from the microphone. The place was going ape shit. Damien walked over to me and placed a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you for that, you were amazing.”

I looked him in the eyes, like really looked him in the eyes. “No, thank you, Damien, but I have a bone to pick with you, Mister Sneaky.”

“What’s that, baby?” And there was that word again, baby. My belly wooshed again and my palms grew clammy.

“You tried to buy my drinks all night. It was a sweet gesture, but you’ve done so much for me. So the drinks are on me tonight.” I gave him a wink and a smile that held so much promise.

And with that, I walked off the stage, but not before Damien could place the tenderest kiss on my cheek.

My belly whooshed again, and this time it was a big whoosh. I felt that kiss all the way to the bottom of my toes.

Sydney

“Y
ou little cock tease, you think you’re going to fight me on this I will make you pay.” He took my hair between his fingers and pulled it tight making my scalp burn.

“No, No, No, please don’t. Please don’t do this to me. I know you don’t mean it, Wes.”

“Sydney.”

“No, Wes! Please, get away from me!”

“Sydney.” I felt myself shifting back and forth. “Sydney, baby, it’s okay. I’m here.”

“Get your hands off me!”

“Sydney, it’s me, Damien. Open your eyes. See that I’m not here to hurt you. Come on, girl.”

I sucked in a breath and immediately sat up completely startled and out of sorts. My sleep shorts and cami were plastered to my body and half my hair fell down out of my ponytail. I was covered in sweat and my body was trembling. The bile rose in my throat from what I was about to relive in my dream. Swinging my legs off the bed, I ran as quickly as my short little legs would take me to the bathroom where I violently started throwing up.

Feeling a presence at my back, I felt my hair being pulled away from my face. “Get it up, I’m here. I got you. I so got you. I’m never going to let anyone hurt you.”

His words were touching. I only wish he could have stopped Wes before. My stomach churned and I heaved some more.

“Hang tight, babe, you’re burning up. I’m gonna grab a cool towel. The vomiting finally subsided, and I sat on the tile floor trying to pull myself together.

That nightmare had to be the worst one yet. No doubt, those bone chilling text messages were the cause.

Damien came back over to where I was sitting with two washcloths. He placed one on the back of my neck and then started wiping my face with the other one.

My body began to shake and the sobbing began. He took me in his arms and cradled me to his chest. “Shh, baby it’s going to be okay. I got you.”

I sobbed on his chest for what felt like an hour. He was so caring and saying soothing things to me and tenderly rubbing my back. He truly was my savior.

Pulling away, I looked him in the eyes. “Thank you, Damien, for being there for everything. You really are an amazing friend.”

“It’s no problem, Sydney. I just wish you would let me in and tell me what these nightmares are about so I can help you work through them.” I took a deep breath. “I already know they have to do with that Wes.”

“Yeah.” I sighed and put my head on his chest again.

“I promise I won’t tell anyone. This will be between us. I won’t judge you or think any differently of you. I just want to be your friend and help you through this. Do you think you can find the courage to tell me?”

It was time. I couldn’t live with this secret anymore on my own. He seemed to really care about me, and I needed someone here that I knew to support me when times were rough. He had come to my rescue on more than one occasion when I had a nightmare, and I couldn’t forget how he’d protected me at the hospital or in the club.

But could I really do this? I wasn’t a weak person, I was strong, and I’d gotten away from the situation. I was safe. But what would happen if Wes found me? Damien already was so protective of me, and I couldn’t imagine what he would do to Wes if he tried to hurt me.

I brought my head away from his chest and looked him in the eyes. This was going to be hard for me, but I could do it. I just needed to get out three words.

“I was raped.” I instantly put my head back on his chest and sobbed like a baby.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Damien

What I heard totally and utterly gutted me.

It gutted me whole

Fucking whole.

That motherfucker did this to her and he would pay.

“Oh, baby, no.”

She just sobbed and shook her head yes.

My heart was hammering in my chest, and I felt like I could go ape shit at any given moment. My jaw started popping while my leg went to its own staccato. I was livid, but at the same time, my heart went out to Sydney. She needed to know that no one, not one single soul, would ever mess with her again.

I pulled her away from my chest. “Look at me, Sydney.” I locked my eyes on hers. “Look at me hard, because what I’m giving you is deep, down to the pits of my soul deep. I vow to never let anyone ever, and I mean fucking ever, hurt you again.”

She laid her head back on my chest and sobbed more. Her whole body shook. “It’s going to be okay, just get it all out. We’ll get through this together. You’re not alone anymore. You have me. All of me.”

We stayed glued together for a while, her body pressed hard against mine. I had never dealt with someone who had been through something this horrific. All I felt I could offer her was security and my undying words of protection.

I wanted to fly to Detroit on the next plane out and massacre him. What would be even better is if that motherfucker was behind bars so he knew what it was like to be violated.

I pulled her back from my chest to ask her a very important question. “Did you press charges?” She put her head down and shook it. “Sweetheart, you don’t strike me as the shy type. You were wronged. I would have expected you to say something to the cops.”

Looking up at me, she took her hands and brushed away the tears. “I know, Damien. It’s just—”

I took her in my arms again. She didn’t need to explain anymore to me. I supported her decision no matter what it was. “Don’t worry about it. What’s done is done.”

“I did end up in the hospital and had a rape kit done. They confirmed that I was raped and torn, not to mention they photographed my black eye, busted lip, and a broken rib.” She whispered this to me and it broke my heart to pieces. “Well, that’s good that you have it documented. I’m not sure what the laws are for going after him now.” I would have to talk to Justice about it, but I wouldn’t tell him it was Sydney.

“I don’t plan to press charges. I got as far away from him as I possibly could. Starting a new life here was my goal for leaving behind the past.” She took her ponytail holder out of her hair and readjusted everything.

“And I couldn’t be happier that you are here, with me, so I can protect you.” I would have to see about getting a deadbolt on our apartment door and maybe an alarm system. I wanted her to feel safe when she was here.

“Does he know you’re here?” Hopefully, she covered her tracks.

“Not a clue. I swore my best friend Bee to secrecy, and I didn’t tell my step-dad where I am. I told him I’m in Texas.” She got up and stood on her feet. She walked over to the sink to brush her teeth and wash her face. She had been through a lot in just a few hours.

I felt something tapping on my legs and looked down. Zeus was looking at me, and then he ran to the door and let out a little bark. “I’ll take Zeus out, babe.”

“Thanks, I’ll be out in a second.” She had soap lathered all over her face.

Grabbing Zeus and putting him in my arms, I grabbed the leash off the dresser. Stopping off at the kitchen, I picked up a smoke and my lighter. Lord knows I really needed my fix right now. In fact, I could use a shot of something. When I got back into the house, I would take one.

Zeus was doing his business, and I was smoking like a machine as Sydney walked down the stairs. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“You changed.” I took in her outfit. She was in pink plaid shorts and a pink cami. She looked fucking cute.

“Yeah, my clothes were disgusting, you know.” She wrinkled her nose up and rolled her eyes at me.

“There’s that little firecracker that I know.” I winked at her.

“Actually, I’m a very strong person. I may have been violated, but I’m not gonna lie down and let it consume me. I’m a fighter. You would have been proud of me for the fight I put up that night. Let me tell you, I didn’t go down easily. Everyone reacts different in that situation, but I’m determined to survive and live a happy life. I may be damaged, but I’m certainly not broken.”

“Damn, woman, I admire the shit out of you.” She truly was amazing. I flicked my cigarette out into the parking lot, picked up Zeus, and then threw my arm around Sydney’s shoulders. “Shall we head up?”

“Definitely.”

We walked back into the apartment and I sat Zeus down. He ran straight back to Sydney’s bedroom. No doubt the little rat wanted to get under the covers again. I knew the way he worked. Little shit.

“Hey, Syd, come into the kitchen for a sec.” I went to the cabinet above the sink and grabbed down the Jack. “I think we need to take a shot to help calm our nerves. It’ll make you feel better. Promise.”

“That actually sounds perfect. I’m calming down, I just feel on edge and scared that he’s going to hurt me again.” She put her head down and looked at her feet.

Placing my hand under her chin, I lifted her face to mine. She looked up at me with swollen eyes. “He will never hurt you again.”

She reached over and hugged me hard. I rubbed circles on her back to try to ease her some.

“You ready for that shot?”

“Yes.”

I poured us both a shot and we knocked them back. “Wanna do another one?”

“Might as well.”

Again, filled glasses, we slung them back.

“I think that is enough for one night.” I took the shot glass from her and rinsed it out and put it in the dishwasher.

We walked back toward our bedrooms and she stopped just outside her door. “Um, Damien.”

I turned around and looked at her. “Yeah?”

“Um… well…”

“You don’t want to be alone again tonight, do you?” I could read her like a book. She was still scared shitless.

She shook her head no.

“No problem.” I walked over to her and we made our way to her bed. She snuggled up in her corner, but this time I did something that I hadn’t done before. Scooting in the bed, I pressed my front to her back spooning her and threw my arm over her waist. She didn’t say one word about it.

“Goodnight, Sydney.” I placed my lips on the back of her head and gave her a kiss.

“Thank you, Damien. Night.”

And just like that, I fell asleep with a girl who needed me, but what she didn’t realize was that maybe I needed her, too.