Heavy: A Contemporary Romance by J. C. Mells Read Free Book Online Page B

benefit.
    Without waiting for her to reply, I opened the door and left the room.
    The elevator opened almost the second I reached it and a small group of partygoers stumbled out into the foyer. Ignoring me completely, they headed towards the living room.
    I got into the elevator and pressed the button for the casino level.
    Just as the doors were almost closed, a hand shot between them causing them to reopen again.
    California stepped into the small space with me.
    “I need to say something to you before you leave,” she said in a small voice. The doors slid close behind her as she stood facing me.
    “I don’t th ink we have anything else to discuss, do we?” I glared at her.
    “You’re the one who said there was something inexplicable between us – something neither one of us ha d experienced before.”
    “Yes, but I’ve been known to be wrong before . Very wrong.” My mind flooded with thoughts of Charity, the girl I’d fallen for when I was sixteen. I was so stupid at sixteen. That was only six years ago. Apparently, I’m still just as stupid now as I was then.
    “So , what happened between us back there was just… nothing… a one-night-stand?” California asked.
    “Apparently . Apparently, you’re quite… used … to them.” I knew it was a low blow, but I couldn’t help myself.
    Her eyes flashed with anger at my words , which caused my dick to twitch again.
    What the fuck was wrong with me?
    “Fuck you, Thatch Reston. I’m not going to apologize for my past. I’m sure you’re no angel, stud . I’m sure you have a past full of one-nighters that you’re probably quite proud of. If I were a man, my past would be meaningless.” As she spit out the words, her eyes glistened from held-back tears – the natural brightness I’d seen in them all night was gone, completely switched off.
    “If you were a man , I wouldn’t have just fucked the shit out of you – twice.”
    “I seem to remember that at least one of those times it was me fucking you , asshole.”
    Now , we were just throwing out insults that probably neither one of us meant. Regardless, I was done. I learned my lesson a long time ago. This girl – with her drugs, and her alcohol, and her manipulative and controlling pimp of a sister – was bad news. I didn’t need someone like her in my life – ever – regardless of the mind-blowing sex we just had.
    The elevator reached its destination and the doors slid open.
    “You’d better get back upstairs and put some pants on, California,” I said as I turned away from her and headed out into the casino to get to the parking garage.
    I heard the doors close behind me . California didn’t follow.
     

{2}
     
    Thatch
    Two weeks later…
     
    “We wouldn’t be having this problem if you could just keep it in your pants for once in your life, Rufus.”
    “Come on , Thatch,” Rufus responded with his signature cocky grin. “You know I have a thing for blondes.”
    “And redheads and brunettes, male or female - just about anything with a pulse,” I interjected. Openly bisexual, no one was safe if Rufus was in the room.
    The blonde in question was the current manager and receptionist of Reston Tattoos.
    “If Lisa wasn’t so pissed with you and always having to go home early because of it, perhaps the appointment schedules wouldn’t be as fucked up as they are right now,” I said.
    I’d been overbooked today and it was already nine at night , and I was still at work. We were open until midnight on weekends, but Rufus, and sometimes my dad, took the late shift. I was usually long gone by this time. I had to be long gone by this time.
    “If you hadn’t been featured in Tattoo back in April, we wouldn’t be in this mess,” Rufus winked at me.
    I rolled my eyes at him . Being booked solid for the next few months was hardly a ‘mess,’ and he knew it.
    After I’d done Max Rivers’s elaborate back piece, it started with recognition and acclaim for my work by his fans, which,