The Right Kind of Love (19 page)

“As if my night couldn’t get any better, you just topped it. I can’t wait, babe. We can start looking for houses tomorrow.” I looked to Damien. “You up for house hunting tomorrow, Damien?”

“Yeah, I’m off, so that’s cool. I know of a few areas we can look at. I’ll go out and pick up a paper in the morning. In the meantime, we can look online.”

“Sweet, we’re going to do this! Best night ever!” And it was the best night ever.

A very good night.

Damien

“A
strip club? Really, ladies?” I looked between all of the women in the group. Bee clearly the ringleader, even though she’d been in Vegas for all about five minutes, was corralling all of these girls.

“Yes, Damien, I’ve always wanted to go, and this is my last night in Vegas. I want to do it up right,” Bee said with a huge grin on her face.

“Bee, honestly, I’m not sure if I can do it,” Sydney said while looking down at the ground.

“Oh, come on, Syd. Don’t be such a prude. Shaina, Damien, and I want to go. Not to mention the hottie, Jensen, I met earlier.” Bee called it right. Sydney was being a prude.

“Sydney, if you don’t like it or feel uncomfortable, I’ll leave with you.”
I hoped that telling her I would leave with her if she wanted to would make it easier for her to agree to go.

She put her hands on her hips. “Please, like you would leave a room full of naked women.”

I placed my hand under her chin and lifted her eyes so that they were staring into mine. “For you, I would.” And I meant it. I would do just about anything for her.

“Well… um…” She dropped her arms. I knew right then that I had her. “Fine, I’ll go.”

Bee started bouncing up and down and clapping her hands. “Sweet, I can’t wait.”

“Yeah, yeah, you’re lucky I love you so much, Bee,” Sydney said with half a smile.

“You are such a good best friend. Come on, guys. Let’s go catch a cab and get this show on the road.” Bee rushed out in front of us and practically skipped to the entrance.

I grabbed Sydney’s hand. “Sweets, I hope you know I mean what I said.”

She didn’t relinquish her hand from mine, which was a huge shocker. “Thanks, I really appreciate it, Damien. You have turned out to be one of my best friends.”

And with that, my heart swelled and almost burst at the seams. If she only knew how much more I wanted with her. I would take all the stars out of the sky and hand them to her if it meant she would accept me as more than just a friend.

A hell of a lot more than a friend.

For the first time in my life, I didn’t want a random girl to fuck every night. I only wanted one girl.

The girl who had stolen my heart.

Fucking stolen.

“I’m going to show you just how good I can be,” I whispered in her ear, and I noticed that there were small goose bumps rose on her arm. Could she be feeling it too?

We walked right into Cheetah’s because I had just given the guy who worked the door a tattoo last week. When he saw me, he immediately moved us to the front.

We sat ourselves at the booth as we all took in the atmosphere around us. The women were gyrating on the poles to the music pumping through the speakers. The neon lights were bright enough to give anyone a headache, but the best part about coming to Cheetah’s was the service. A cocktail waitress was instantly at our table taking our order.

“I call shots!” This was Bee getting loud and crazy. “Bring us two rounds of Crown.” The waitress didn’t blink an eye. No doubt that she was used to people partying when they came here.

Sydney was sitting next to me. I nudged her. “You doing all right?”

“Absolutely, I’m not going to let a little flesh get the best of me. Bring on the titties.” She gave me a devilish smile.

Hold up. Was this girl fucking crazy? Not twenty minutes ago, we had to drag her ass here, and now she was all confident and into it. No doubt, she was a confident girl, but this just seemed out of character for her. “Um, okay, this is kinda unlike you, babe. But hey, I like it. I like it a whole fucking lot.”

She slapped me playfully on the chest. “I can adapt. Hell, I’m not going to be the party pooper.”

Just then, a topless chick came up to me. “You want to get together in the private room?”

I couldn’t fathom getting a lap dance right now. I was a changed man and didn’t roll that way any longer. The only lap dance I would’ve taken was from the girl I was sitting next to. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Why didn’t you let her give you a lap dance?” This was Bee looking at me like I was crazy.

“Just not in the mood.”

“How could you not be in the mood? Did you see her? She was flipping gorgeous.” Bee had a shocked look on her face.

“I’m not doing a lap dance unless Sydney does one with me.” I looked at Sydney and winked. I knew she would never get a lap dance.

“Well, I don’t think that will happen, but if you want to get one, then by all means, go for it. Don’t let me stop you.” She turned to me and gave me a wink. This was completely out of left field for her.

The shots arrived at our table. “Here’s to lap dances and titties,” said Bee, and we all knocked back our shot of Crown. It was smooth as silk going down.

We were all plastered two hours later. The shots had kept coming. I was one that could hold my liquor, but I had practically reached my limit. Jensen, who I didn’t know, was all over Bee. They were groping one another, and let’s just say that they could really use a room. Sydney and Shaina had been laughing like school girls for the last hour, and I just sat there drinking.

Bee disconnected her lips and body from Jensen and got up. “Okay, everyone is doing a lap dance, and I’m buying.” One of the girls walked by our table and she grabbed her arm. “Can we get five lap dances, please?”

“You got it, sweetheart. Let me just get some of the girls.” She walked away with her tits bouncing in the air. They had to be fake for sure.

I slid out of the booth and Sydney came right along with me. “Let’s do this,” Sydney said with a drunken smile.

She was plastered for sure, and I was concerned that she was making the wrong spontaneous decision. I put my hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eyes. “Are you sure? You don’t have to do this to prove anything.”

“How can I refuse Bee? I just figure what the hell. So a skanky woman grinds on me for fifteen minutes. I can totally do this. Not a problem.” She slurred her words, and then almost fell over when she waved her hand in the air.

Bee came up behind her. “You ready to do this? It’s going to be so much fun!”

Bee walked away as Sydney followed her. “Whatever will make you happy, Bee.”

I was really uneasy about this idea. Hell, I wasn’t even in the mood to have some chick get wet on me and that was saying a lot. I loved pussy.

We all followed stripper number one to the back room. I had been there many of times. Mirrors on all sides. It was a fucking wet dream, but I wasn’t feeling it.

Stripper number one seated us all in a row and the girls came over to us. Bee graciously paid, although she had a hard time counting money. Shit, I don’t think I would be able to keep the denominations straight, either.

The stripper who had asked me if I wanted a lap dance earlier made her way over to me. She was attractive. Jet black long hair down to her waist, crystal blue eyes that I was for sure was contacts, and tits that had to be a tripled. But she wasn’t the one who I really wanted the lap dance with.

Sydney’s stripper walked over to her. She was a petite redhead with shoulder length hair and green eyes. Her tits weren’t as big, but she was fucking fit.

They climbed on our laps and started grinding up against our bodies. Much to my betrayal, I could feel myself getting stiff. Who wouldn’t in my position? My eyes stayed trained on Sydney. She was the only woman I wanted on my lap.

The stripper leaned over and whispered in my ear, “Sugar, what’s your name?”

“Damien.”

“Well, Damien, I’m gonna show you a good time.” I looked over at Sydney and the stripper I named Heather was working her over, and I could tell her breaths were labored. Now she was totally turning me on watching her get all excited, but not from the chick who was grinding on my cock.

Sydney looked at me and then took my hand in hers. Before I knew what was happening, she leaned over and rammed her tongue down my throat. I kissed her for a minute, but then quickly pulled away.

“What the hell, Damien?” Sydney stood up knocking the stripper off her lap. And then just stood staring at me with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

“Baby, this is all wrong. I want to kiss you, but not like this. I want it to be
special
.” She turned away from me.

God, I had waited to taste the sweetness of her lips, but I just couldn’t do it. She didn’t deserve to be kissed while we were in the middle of getting lap dances and completely drunk off our asses. It needed to be
special
and unforgettable.

Fucking unforgettable.

I would make it my mission to show her just how unforgettable it could be.

She didn’t talk to me the rest of the night. I hoped like hell tomorrow would bring a new day, and then I could really show her how
special
a kiss could be.

And I planned to make it
special
. I would wine and dine her until she relented and I made her mine.

All fucking mine.

Sydney

R
olling over in bed, I squinted my eyes at the numbers on my phone. We had slept until noon. It seemed like Bee was still fast asleep beside me. My stomach heaved, which was what woke me up in the first place, and I sprinted to the bathroom unloading all of the contents of my stomach.

I got off my knees and sat my butt on the tile floor. It felt nice and cold. I wasn’t hung over this morning, though. This was actually something else. It had to be that stomach bug I’d been fighting all week.

I sat there on the floor of the bathroom thinking about the night before. I made the biggest ass out of myself. Like hide your head in the sand ass. I can’t believe I’d actually kissed Damien. HE was the one who pulled away. HIM! It was embarrassing. But the whole wanting it special thing? It rocked me to my core.

I knew we were dancing around feelings for one another, but being turned down by the biggest man-whore I had ever met was humiliating. Well, ex-man-whore.

Today I would act as if nothing happened. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of thinking that he ruffled my feathers.

And for the love of God, what was I thinking getting a lap dance? Totally out of character for me. But I’d done it with the rest. Since it was Bee’s last wish before she headed back to Detroit, I wouldn’t be a prude with a stick up my ass. I showed them I was a fun girl. But I was ashamed of myself for allowing something like that to happen. So not me.

Very fun girl.

Fun enough that I rammed my tongue down Damien’s mouth.

My stomach heaved again, and I expelled more of what was left.

Damn.

Zeus came into the bathroom whining. I guess he hadn’t been out in a while, so I needed to get myself together and get him outside before he had an accident. My stomach felt like it was a little more under control, so I got up off the floor, went to the sink, splashed some water on my face and the back of my neck, and brushed my teeth.

Much better.

“Come on, Zeus, let’s get you outside to potty.” I picked him up and grabbed his leash off the dresser.

We were outside taking in the hot sunny day. I felt the sun beat down on my head and it caused my stomach to become queasy. I needed to get inside before I threw up again.

Just as we were making our way up the stairs, Damien came out of the apartment. “Hey, baby, what’s wrong? You look as white as a ghost.”

“Oh, I don’t’ feel so hot.” I started climbing the stairs.

“You hung over?” He followed me inside the apartment.

“No, I think I have a stomach bug. I’ve been fighting it all week.” I went to the pantry and grabbed a Diet Coke. Maybe something room temperature and with bubbles would help calm my turbulent stomach.

“I’ve wanted to talk to you all morning. I’ve been up since nine. About last night—” He looked at me with sincerity.

I put my hand in front of his face stopping him. “I don’t want to talk about it. Can we just forget that little part ever happened?” But I couldn’t forget it. The kiss that could’ve been so great was all I could think about. When I pressed my lips to him, it was as if we were two magnets drawn together. What I knew could be so right never stood a chance.

He looked at me and I tried not to access the look on his face. He looked gutted, completely devastated. The awkward moment stretched between us. “Yeah, that’s fine.”

Thank all that is holy for him agreeing. I didn’t know what I was going to do if he wanted to talk it out. What’s done is done, and I wanted to move forward. And honestly, I couldn’t wait for when he gave me
special
. I knew it was only a matter of time, but I wouldn’t push it again.

“So I’ve been online looking at houses for rent, and I found a few I think would be perfect for us.” My ears perked up to this news. I was super excited about moving into a house. We would have more room and Zeus would have a backyard to play in.

“Oh, that’s awesome. Do you have any pictures you can show me?”

“I’ve got something even better than that. I’ve called a few places and they said we can come see them if we want.”

“Oh, that is awesome. Bee doesn’t leave until seven tonight so she can join us to help make the decision since she is also going to be our roommate. That’s okay with you that she’s going to be our roommate, right? I mean, we really didn’t discuss it. She just said she was moving in.” I gave him a pleading look, because I really wanted him to agree. I think the three of us would have a blast.

“Not to worry, I’m totally fine with it. Bee is a fucking hoot, and I think she would make one hell of a roommate. Plus, I grew up in a big family. I like having lots of people around me.”

“Tell me about your big family. I mean we’ve talked a lot, and I feel like I know them well from spending Sundays over there, but no one has given me the nitty-gritty details of what life was like between all of you. Did you fight with your siblings all the time? What was Damien Blue’s life really like?” I really wanted him to open up to me, so that I could learn more about him.

“Growing up in a big family fucking rocked. I won’t lie, though. Sometimes we were all fighting for our parent’s attention, but we always had one another. As kids, we fought over toys and trivial things like that, and then as we got older you could find us wrestling on the living room floor. You know typical shit for young boys. Even my sister, Destiny, would get into the mix with us. But in the end, we were all one tight knit group. We were really close and still are.” He had a smile on his face. One that only talking about his love of his family could bring. I wondered to myself what it would be like to have siblings.

“I wish I would have had that. You have a great family, Damien. What brother would you say you are closest to?” I was curious, because they all seemed tight.

“Well, that’s hard to say. We are all so different, but then so much alike in many ways. Although I don’t think any of them was as much of a man-whore as I was.” We both chuckled.

“Yeah, right.” We both continued to laugh.

“I guess I would say I’m closest to Justice. We have very different career choices, and he is a slight bit more reserved than I am, but we are tight. Being only a year apart, we are like Irish twins.

“Then there is Reeve. He and I roomed together for a few years and that was fucking awesome.
Sabastien
and I are in a band together, so that brings us close together. He’s just so damn shy. I wish I could help him emerge from his shell. It makes no sense, because the rest of us are pretty loud and crazy. But not him. He’s reserved, which from being around him, I’m sure you’ve noticed.

“Destiny, she wants to be like me in every way. She is crazy talented with her painting and drawing. I had thought my parents would protest about her going to art school, but they shocked the shit out of me, and are really supportive. She’s a really good girl. The best. Sometimes I don’t know how she puts up with all of us men. But she gets along with all of us. We all take care of her and look out for her. The day she gets serious with a guy, we are all going to lose are marbles. But I’m sure you have this all figured out since you have been around the family so much.” He heaved in a breath. “Damn, I’ve been talking a lot.”

“Hey, how are you feeling this morning?” I asked Bee genuinely as she strolled into the kitchen. She looked like hell.

“I need a serious dose of ibuprofen, maybe like an entire bottle, and one of those Diet Coke’s you have in your hand.” She pulled the can out of my hand and took a sip.

“Give me that. I don’t want you to get sick. I think I have some sort of stomach bug.” She gave me a questioning look and seemed like she wanted to say something, but didn’t.

Opening the refrigerator door, I reached in and grabbed a pop for her. “Here you go sass, drink up. We have to get a move on so that we can see the houses that Damien has lined up for us today.”

“Houses?” She seemed confused.

“Yeah, you know—a place to live when you move here. You are still moving here, right?” God I hoped she still was.

“Oh, duh. Absolutely. As I said, it will most likely be about a month. I need to find a job first. I was talking to Shaina, and she said that I would be able to easily get in at the hospital.” She took a sip of her soda.

“Hospital?” Damien asked.

“Duh, I’m a nurse.” She rolled her eyes at him. Got to love my girl.

“Sorry, it completely slipped my mind. What area do you want to work in?”

“Pediatrics. I adore taking care of kids even though it is hard seeing them suffer when they are really sick.” Sadness washed over her face.

“My brother, Reeve, is an ER doctor at Mercy General. I can see if he can put in a good word for you.” That was really nice of Damien. He really didn’t know Bee that well, and he was willing to help her out.

“Thanks, that would be great, Damien. I could use all the help I can get.” She gave him a warm smile. I was so glad the two of them got along well.

“I’m going to go give Reeve a call now and see what I can do. I’ll be right back.” Damien headed down to his room, and I couldn’t help but check out his ass. The way he filled out those jeans made my mouth water.

Bee cleared her throat. “So are you going to tell me what the hell happened with you two last night? One minute, you are shoving your tongue down his throat, and then the next you are so pissed off that you see red.”  And the inquisition began.

“Oh, it was nothing.” I looked down at the ground trying to make myself invisible. I really didn’t want to talk about it.

“Like hell it was nothing. You really like him, don’t you? I’ve never seen you more smitten before.”

It was hard to detour Bee when she grabbed onto a topic, especially when it came to my love life. I took a deep breath knowing I was about to admit something I had yet to say aloud. If I could tell anyone, it was my best friend.

“Yes, I do. I really like him. He has been incredible to me. When he talks, I linger on his every word. He makes me feel special, like I’m the only woman that matters to him. It didn’t start out that way, but so much has changed. We’ve become really close. But I’m scared.”

She set her pop down and then clapped her hands together. “I knew it. I can tell from the way you look at him that you are into him. Oh, and girl, the look isn’t one-sided. You should see the way he looks at you.”

“Really?”

“Yes, really.”

My stomach did a whoosh, and it wasn’t the kind it had done earlier. This was a good kind of whoosh.

Damien picked that moment to come back into the kitchen. “Okay, I talked to Reeve, and he said to list him on your resume. He said they are always looking for good nurses.” He reached in the fridge and grabbed an Energy Drink, opened it, and took a healthy swig.

Bee rushed over to Damien and threw her arms around him. “Thank you so much Damien, and please pass along my thanks to your brother.”

“No problem, I’m happy to help.” He winked.

Everything was coming together nicely. My best friend was moving to Las Vegas, she was hopefully getting a job, and we were going to move into a house with the man that had stolen my heart.

And he wanted to kiss me.

And make it
special
.

Special
.

My belly whooshed again.

“Okay, so ladies, you need to get ready so we can go see these houses. The first appointment is in an hour and a half. Hopefully, it won’t take you long because I’m fucking starving, and I want to hit a kick ass burger joint on our way.” He rubbed his stomach.

“We totally can. And a giant greasy burger sounds really good right now, despite my stomach feeling jacked up. Maybe if I ate, it would make me feel better. I’ll try anything at this point.” I could easily put away a double. My stomach was completely empty.

“Gotta love some grease with this hangover. I’m sure it will be the magic cure. It’s always worked before,” Bee said.

Damien leaned down and picked up Zeus. “Hey, little guy, when are you gonna come sleep with me?”

I placed both hands on my hips. “Try never.”

“Oh, come on, Syd. You can’t share him for one night?” He gave me puppy dog eyes.