The Right Kind of Love (7 page)

She pulled her juicy bottom lip between her teeth. I could tell she was really thinking on this hard. “I think I’ll actually wait to get a piercing if that’s okay with you?”

“Totally. It’s your body. In all actuality, it might even be best to wait because your skin has to be pretty raw from the tat.” I grabbed a bandage out of the drawer and some tape.

“You’re right. It sounds like I’m making the best decision then?”

“Yes, you are. All right, so I’m going to put a bandage over your fresh ink.” I reached the top of the cabinet and grabbed the aftercare instruction sheet. “Here are the aftercare instructions. You and I live together, so if you have any questions or you’re having problems, just let me know. K?”

“Totally. I can’t thank you enough for this, Damien. It’s perfect! You are truly talented.” And that compliment felt good coming from her.

Real fucking good.

“No problem, babe.” I started to make quick work of cleaning up my area.

“So you still up for grabbing a bite to eat?”

She picked up Zeus and cuddled him and started giving him kisses. “Well, I need to take Zeus back home first. It’s too hot for him to stay in the car while we eat.”

“Huh.” I was so lost in thought over this girl, and I’d be damned if she didn’t smell fucking sensational.

“You know eat? As in dinner.” She looked mildly annoyed.

“Oh, yeah, sure. Well, we can leave him here. Chubby’s is just on the other side of the street a few blocks away.” Let’s hope the little rat would behave himself in my room while we were gone.

She looked like she was contemplating her decision. “Well… I guess that could work. I just worry about someone letting him out and him getting lost or something.”

“Not to worry, Sweets, I got it covered. I’ll just lock my door, and we can leave him here.” I took out my keys from my pocket and dangled them in front of her.

I’d be damned if this was a lot of back and forth just to decide on dinner. She needed to make up her damn mind already.

“Sure, that’s fine.”

“All right, let’s go. I’ll drive and then we’ll come back out to get the rat.”

“For the last time, he’s NOT a rat. He’s a Chihuahua and he has a name. It’s Zeus, so why don’t you try using it.” She walked past me and rolled her eyes.

I walked over to Troy’s room. He was just sitting and sketching while he waited on his next appointment. “Hey, man, I’m taking off, but I’ll be back because we left her dog here. He’s locked up in my room so make sure no one goes in there and lets him out.”

He looked at me skeptically. “Yeah, no problem.”

“Let’s roll, Sweets.”

We headed out to the front door, and she followed me over to my baby. I had parked her on the back row away from other cars. I couldn’t risk any nicks or dings. This car was my pride and joy and sweet muscle perfection.

“This is me,” I motioned to my 71’ Super Sport Chevelle. It was black, complete with two grey racing stripes on the hood. It was badass. I had actually restored it with my brothers and dad.

“Nice ride, Damien. This is one sweet car. My step-dad would be in hog heaven if he got to take a spin.” I unlocked the door and opened it for her.

“Your step-dad is into muscle, huh?”

“Totally. He has an old Charger. I forget the year. He keeps it covered under a tarp in the garage.” She folded herself into my black leather seats and I shut the door.

Going around the back of the car, I got into the driver’s side and fired her up. There was nothing better than the sound of pure muscle perfection.

We zipped across the parking lot and made our way over to Chubby’s. We both opened our doors and got out. I followed her to the entrance. I spotted a booth toward the back and led the way.

“I hope you are hungry for a greasy burger. This place is the shit.” I passed her a menu.

Our server came over and we placed our drink orders. Of course, we both ordered beers. There was nothing better than booze and burgers.

“Yes, I’m completely famished. A greasy burger and some fries sound phenomenal. Thanks for suggesting we grab something to eat. I’m not big on cooking for one.” She put the menu down.

The server came back over with our beers and set them down in front of us. “So what’ll it be?” She directed her attention to Sydney.

“Well, I think I’ll have the mushroom Swiss burger with smothered onions, seasoned fries, and a side of onion rings.”

“Damn. Where are you going to put all of that food, Sydney? You’re a half pint.” I admit I could eat much more, but damn! I wondered where she put it all. A girl who didn’t mind getting down on her food was quite refreshing. I hated when I went out with a skinny bitch who would only order water and a salad and would barely touch either.

The server cleared her throat, and I could only assume she was waiting for my order. “I’ll have a triple bacon cheeseburger with rings and fries. Oh, and keep the beers coming.”

“Great, I’ll have your order out as soon as it’s up.” There was something strangely familiar about our server. She seemed to linger on my every word. Fuck, I probably took her home and banged her. Keeping track of which woman I fucked was a challenge.

“So, Damien, you come here a lot? The waitress seemed like she knew you.” She took a draw off her beer.

“Yeah, I do. I’m pretty sure I fucked her.” I didn’t care if I just laid my shit right out there for her. I was pretty much tell it like it is kind of guy.

“You. You have no couth, Damien. Do you screw everything that walks?” She gave me the wicked eyes.

“Well, yeah, pretty much. If it walks and is willing, then absolutely. I don’t mess around, Sydney. I get right down to business.” I couldn’t help it that I had a healthy appetite for sex, and I wasn’t particular about who ended up in my bed.

“You disgust me. You have absolutely no regard for women and their feelings. Aren’t you worried about pregnancy or HIV?” She deadpanned.

“Well, babe. That’s what wrapping your shit up is for. I wear condoms. I’ve never gone bareback nor do I plan to anytime soon.” Our food arrived, thank fuck, saving me from this damn conversation.

We dug in with gusto. My hands were dripping with grease. And she was shoving down just as well as I was. The way she ate with vigor really shocked the shit out of me.

I had to wonder what she was thinking. Obviously, she thought I was a pig. And well yeah, I admit maybe I was. But I wondered if she saw more to me than that. I mean, when she fell to pieces earlier today, I was there right by her side. I didn’t care that I had to be at work soon, I didn’t leave her because I could tell she needed me. I was a good guy. I just liked the women.

“These burgers are delicious.” She licked her lips. Damn those lips had my cock twitching in my pants.

“They are good. I had a feeling you would like them.” I popped a French fry in my mouth.

“Yep, thanks for bringing me here.” She took a bite of an onion ring.

“No problem. So what are you plans this week?”

“Well, I start my job tomorrow. I’m nervous but excited at the same time. It should be fun, and hopefully, I’ll get to know some of the girls.” She ate the last bite of her burger and then followed it up with a fry. The way her mouth slithered around the fry made my dick twitch again.

“Don’t make any plans on Friday night. I want you to come see my band play. Maybe you can bring a few of your girlfriends from your work and hook a guy up.” I gave a wink.

She threw her napkin at me. “Pig.”

“Prude.”

The waitress came over with our bill and I snatched it right up. I took out my card and gave her the bill and card back.

“Damien, I was going to pay half.” She frowned.

“Nonsense. I asked you to eat and I will pay. That’s how my momma taught me.” The waitress came back over with my receipt and card.

“For the love of God. She wrote her name and number on the back of the receipt.” She rolled her eyes at me.

“Women. They can’t get enough of me.” I gave her my megawatt grin and then laughed to let her know I was joking. But in all reality, I didn’t have a problem getting women.

She laughed back and gave me a smile, but it didn’t reach her almond shaped eyes. She knew I was full of shit and maybe even full of myself.

Sydney

N
o, No, No… Please stop. Take your hands off me. He took my panties and ripped them clear away from my body.

“NO!”

“Stop let go of me!” His horrid breath assaulted me as he grabbed me by the hair and pulled it. Hard.

“Please, don’t do this,” I pleaded with him. However, his eyes told me that I could beg all I wanted.

“Someone help me. Please stop!” I pushed him with my hands and he didn’t move an inch, he slapped me across the face and my head jerked and my face felt like I had stepped into the cauldrons of hell.

I felt someone shaking me.

“Stop! Take your hands off me.”

“Syd, wake up! Wake the fuck up! You are having a nightmare.” I thought I heard Damien from the haze my body was trying to snap out of...

“Sydney!” It was Damien. He’d come to rescue me.

I opened my eyes and flew across the bed. I huddled near the headboard and stared into espresso eyes. They weren’t the green eyes that were haunting me from my dream. They were warm pools of ebony trying to caress me back to the here and now.

“Babe, are you okay?” It was Damien, and he was trying to soothe me.

I looked down out myself and noticed that my clothes were stuck to me with sweat. Tears were quickly cascading down my face and my hair was falling out of my ponytail.

I heaved a breath of relief. It was just another bad nightmare.

“Yeah, Damien, I’m fine. It’s nothing. You can go back to bed.” But really, it wasn’t
nothing
. I had been raped, one of the most violent acts one can go through. I still didn’t understand how it happened. Up until that point, Wes had been a good guy. We saw one another on occasion and got along well. I should have known something was off when he came over drunk that night. The way he looked at me and the crude things he said about other women were so out of character. But maybe it was his true character, and I hadn’t discovered it until that dreadful night. When I’d gone to bed, I’d left him on the couch. I thought he’d passed out, but I was mistaken.

“The hell it was nothing, you were thrashing around like a wild woman and scared out of your ever-loving mind.” He ran his hands through his hair.

I could tell I had completely taken him off guard. I hope I hadn’t woken up the entire apartment complex.

Admittedly, I was scared to death. Wes’s text message must have made the nightmare so much more intense than the others before.

I felt violated.

“You know I’m here if you want to talk about it, babe. I won’t judge you or hurt you. I’ll just be there for you. Like any friend would.” He looked at me, and I could tell he was completely sincere. It was a nice feeling to know that I had someone there for me in a huge city where I didn’t know anyone.

“I really appreciate it. It’s just nothing I feel comfortable talking about right now. It was just a bad dream.” I pulled my ponytail from my head and rearranged it. “Honestly, I’m fine. It’s nothing to worry about.” But I could still feel my body quivering from a nightmare that had completely consumed me, and frankly, fucked me up. But I had to keep a brave face. I didn’t want Damien to know to what extent I was affected. A few more tears fell and I quickly wiped them away.

“If you say so. Just know I stand behind my words. I’m here for you always.” He stared at me. They were sincere and kind like he really did care about what was going on with me.

“Hey, Damien. Are you going to come back to bed, Sugar?” I looked up from my hands and saw a woman at my door. She was scantily dressed in Damien’s Rolling Stones shirt and talk about sex hair. It was out of control. She was a petite thing sorta like me with auburn red hair and pale milky white skin. I had to admit she was a looker. I looked at Damien, really looked at him. I hadn’t noticed before, but he was barely dressed. He had on a shirt and a pair of boxers. My God! What had I interrupted? I’m surprised he even heard me over what I could only imagine was a sex fest going on in his room.

“Yeah, Mindy, I’ll be back in a second. I’m just checking on my roommate. Head back into the room.” He looked from her to me.

“It’s Miranda, not Mindy.” She had a sneer stretched across her face.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant. Miranda.”

I looked at Damien. “Seriously, Damien?” How could he not know this woman’s name? What a flipping joke.

He played innocent. “What, babe?”

“You know what and don’t call me ‘babe.’” I lashed out at him. He so disgusted me. I gave him a push on his chest indicating he needed to get his ass off my bed.

This time Mindy, Miranda, whatever the hell her name was, decided to put in her two cents. “Sugar, seriously come back to bed with me. I want to finish what we started.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “You better get back to your little play thing,
Sugar.”
I completely exaggerated the sugar part. This guy had no bounds. I think he was totally serious that he would have a different woman in his bed every night. He was a complete and total player.

I, on the other hand, didn’t take lightly to casual sex. The only sex I had was with serious boyfriends. First, my high school sweetheart, and then a guy I dated about a year ago. I had only had two partners, and I wasn’t about to go all wild and sleep with everything that walked. It just wasn’t my style. so be it if Damien thought I was a prude. It just wasn’t how I rolled or how I was gonna roll. I believed you chose carefully who you gave your body to and that when you did, it should mean something. Not all of this careless, casual sex. His lifestyle was one that I wasn’t used to and I didn’t take it lightly. Sex wasn’t casual. It was a meaningful joining of two people to express their love for one another.

“I said I’ll be there in a minute, Mindy,” Damien said through gritted teeth.

At the same time, both Miranda and I said, “It’s Miranda.”

She just huffed and then stomped back into his bedroom. Seriously, was he that good that woman were begging him to fuck them? I mean, really.

He turned his attention back to me. “Babe, I’m going to go back to my room.” He let out a frustrated sigh. “If you need anything at all, please don’t hesitate to come get me.”

“What and interrupt your romp in the sheets with Miranda? No flippin’ way.” If he thought I was going to go barge in on his sexcapades with ol’ red, then he had another thing coming. “Seriously, I’m fine.” For just one smidgen of a second, I had to admit he was being very caring. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again—he is a player, man-whore, pig—whatever you want to call him, but maybe, just maybe, there was a good guy hidden behind the parade of women he had in his life.

“All right, babe, I’m headed back to my room. I’ll see you in the morning.” Damien got up off my bed and walked over to the door. He then looked over his shoulder. “Anything at all. I’m here for you.”

“Thanks, go back to your skank.” I couldn’t help it. I had to throw that into the mix. Because, let’s be real here, it was completely true. I was a little disappointed he didn’t stay with me, although I made it clear I was okay and wanted to be alone. He had let down his armor a little and I had just been a nasty bitch back to him. I needed to get a reign on it, but he just had a way of pushing every button.

He shut the door behind him and I grabbed the remote to turn on some TV. I settled for a Friend’s rerun. My ears perked up when I heard the front door slam. I guess Miranda didn’t like being put on the back burner because of my time of need. I felt bad, but I couldn’t help it. Hopefully, he wasn’t upset with me.

The truth was that I wasn’t fine. Not one bit. I felt used and completely violated. I felt like that dream brought everything back to the surface. I really needed to talk it out. I scooted over to the edge of the bed and picked up my phone. It was four in the morning here, which meant it was still too early to call Bee and talk to her. I would call her in the morning when I woke up, that is if I could even sleep.

Zeus got up from the bed and ran to the door tapping on it with his paw. I guess duty called once again. I grabbed his leash picked him up and strolled out of my room.

Damien’s door was shut and it was eerily quiet. I walked past it making my way toward the front door. Fortunately, they hadn’t been rocking the headboard like the night before unless they did that while I was having my nightmare.

Zeus and I went down the stairs. I noticed a plume of smoke again. The haze-filled air told me that Damien wasn’t sleeping. He was the only person I knew who got up in the middle of the night to smoke. Oddly, I hadn’t noticed him smoking any other time.

Reaching the bottom of the steps, I saw him leaning up against his car. My mouth watered a little bit seeing him in all his glory. His hair was tossed every which way. Sex hair was clearly a good look on him. He had his shirt off and I could see all of his sexy tattoos. He was barefoot with a pair of jeans that rode low on his hips. Then I felt something else. I felt relieved in a sense.

He caught my eye and walked over to me. “Hey, you okay?”

I set Zeus down. “Yeah, I’m fine. Zeus just needed to do his business.”

“Ah, okay. I was just worried.” He took a drag and blew the smoke away from me.

“I told you, I’m fine.” I lied through my teeth. This guy really cared and it was a refreshing feeling to have someone here in this big city where I didn’t know a soul.

“All right, no reason to get testy.” Zeus finished his business and walked over to Damien putting his paws on his leg for him to pick him up. I couldn’t believe that little shit wanted him to hold him.

Traitor.

“I’m more worried about you smoking.” Which wasn’t really a lie. I was worried about his health, but I needed a serious subject change and that was the first thing that popped into my head. Because, yeah, I did actually care.

“I don’t smoke that often. I just have the urge after meals sometimes, when I’ve been drinking, which I have tonight, by the way, and after a good fuck.”

“Pig.”

“Prude.”

I was a distracted when he started cooing at Zeus and giving him kisses. This was more of his softer side he had exposed to me.

“I think you should let Zeus spend the rest of the night with me?” It was a question, but I could tell he totally meant it.

“He’s not spending the night with you. There’s no telling what kind of diseases you have on your sheets.”

“So you would let him spend the night with me if my sheets were clean?” He looked hopeful and smiled. Even though he called him a rat, I think he was serious.

“Hell no! He’s my dog. Besides, you think he’s a rat and you call him that all of the time. I’m sure you hurt his feelings.” I put a pout on my face and walked over to him and took Zeus back.

“We’re going back up to bed, and he’s sleeping with me, thank you very much.” I started up the stairs and looked over my shoulder. Damien was still watching me.

I didn’t fall back asleep that night. I ended up watching more reruns until the sun came up. My nightmare wouldn’t let me rest. Yes, I was a strong, confident woman, but I still felt like I was fighting my way out of the darkness.