Chapter Five
Calvin
I sit in my car, watching her from the back of the car park as she climbs the steps to the library. Of course the little minx works in a library. What could be more sweet and innocent? But I can see the fire behind her eyes. Nixie Black is her name. It was quite easy for my people to track down—which, I suppose, is good for me, but we”ll have to work on that. You never know who is watching you.
As she gets to the top of the steps and goes to unlock the door, she turns and scans the area. It”s like she knows I’m here, watching her. The thought alone makes me chuckle. She’s so aware yet not at the same time.
Waiting for the library to open, my phone starts to buzz in my pocket. Taking it out I notice that it”s my brother—again.
I answer the phone with a huff. “Reid, how many times do you need to call in one single morning?”
I can hear the annoyance in his voice when he starts talking.
“Hello, brother. Nice of you to actually pick up this time.”
“What’s going on? I don”t think I’ve had this many phone calls from you since you ‘accidentally killed someone.’” I chuckle, and then it makes me question. “Wait, who was it this time?”
Reid takes a deep breath. “No one of importance, but that’s not why I’m ringing. Care to tell me why you’ve had the guys track down some random girl from the club on Saturday?”
Fucking traitors…
“Calvin. I mean this in the nicest way, but you can’t just start stalking a woman because you think she’s pretty and you want to get your dick wet,” he says with a very serious tone to his voice.
“Don’t know what you mean. I just wanted to make sure she was okay, after what I saw on Saturday night,” I tell him.
I hear him groan at my response.
“Cal, have you even spoken to her, or are just watching from the shadows like a creep?”
I roll my eyes at his response.
“Fuck off, man. I just wanted to see if she was okay.”
“Yeah, well try doing that by actually talking to her, brother.”
I have nothing more to say to him, so I stay quiet, waiting for him to carry on. After a minute or so, he finally realizes that I’m not going to reply. He lets out a deep breath, and I can already picture him standing in his office, holding the bridge of his nose.
“Look, Cal I’m just trying to look out for you. I don’t want you to do something stupid.” He takes a break, waiting for me to reply, which I don’t. “Make sure you attend the meeting on Friday night, and please, for the love of god, introduce yourself to the girl and don’t do anything stupid,” he rattles off to me.
I end the phone call without saying goodbye. I let out a breath and roll my head back so it hits the headrest of the seat. I know he’s just looking out for his little brother but fuck, he pisses me off. I can feel the tension building in my body.
I can’t get her like this, so I turn the car back on and speed off to cool down.
It’s late in the afternoon when I pull the car in, grabbing my cap from the passenger seat. I pull it firmly down and tilt it so you can’t see much of my face. Wouldn’t want to give away all the fun at the start now would we? Walking through the library, seeing her work, I can see how much she loves helping people find what they need. Grabbing a random book from the shelf, I take a seat at one of the tables in the middle of the space. I can see her standing behind the counter, helping some guy check out his stack of books. She is just oblivious to the attention she gets from any man, and the thought of anyone having her makes my blood boil.
Keeping my eyes down but on her, I watch as she makes her way into the backroom. Judging by the time, she’s probably having her lunch. The thought of not being able to see her or keep track of her creates tensions that travel throughout my entire body, I crack my neck to each side and pull out my phone, going through my emails whilst I have a minute.
As I place my phone back in my pocket, I look up towards the backroom, just in time to see some guy walking in. I narrow my eyes at him. He turns slightly and I’m able to see his face better.
Fuck off! You have got to shitting me. This fucking guy again!It’s the man that was all over her in the club on Saturday. The guy I could quite literally kill with my bare hands.
He works at the same place as Nixie. The thought of him being in such close proximity to her makes me want to punch the shit of him. My guys let him off without so much as a scrape on Saturday night. Something about it not looking good on opening night. My eyes roll again just thinking about it.
My nerves are on edge, wondering what the hell is going on in the room with both of them in there. Because I know for a fact that it’s just the two of them in there. Now my mind is fucking racing. Just as I’m about to get up and see for myself, the fucking sleezeball walks out, holding his hands to his nose and looking beyond pissed.
A smirk etches on my face, looks like this girl can handle some shit on her own. The thought alone sends jolts of pleasure down to my dick. Shaking my head, I look back up to the door and see the security guard walking out, shaking his head, a smirk on his face as well. Nice to know he’s on her side. Well, I hope he is.
I spent the rest of the afternoon in the shadows of the library, watching her go about her day. I caught the dick glaring at her a few times, but he never had a chance to get close to her, thanks to the old guy on security. Noticing that she is starting to get ready to leave, I make my way towards the door with every intention of just slipping by her. What I don’t expect is for her body to crash into mine as she turns away. I grab her by the waist to steady her.
Having her this close to me, I’m hit with the smell of strawberries and vanilla. It isn’t helping. All I want to do is go all caveman on her and throw her over my shoulder right now.
Jesus Christ, what is wrong with me?
Having my hands on her waist, being able to feel her skin and her curves, I’m using every ounce of restraint inside me right now to keep my dick from stirring in my pants—she will get a feel of it, being brushed up against me. She looks down at my hands and I swear, I feel her tremble. Well, it seems like she is just as affected as me.
She looks up at me and I”m grateful that my hat is pulled down. She can barely see my face. I wouldn”t want to give away all the fun so soon.
“I”m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.” Her voice floats through my mind like silk.
Using every bit of power in my body, I finally let go of her, smirking down at her.
“That’s quite alright, darlin’.” I wait to see if she replies, but she just stares at me. I make my way out the door and down the steps, walking back to my car. I glance back at her, still standing in the doorway of the library, staring at me. I chuckle to myself and climb into my car.
Speeding away, the smirk on my face says it all. This is going to be fun.
I drive back to the club. Parking my car round the back, I climb out and stroll through the doors, nodding my head at the bartenders getting set up for another night. My ass has only just sat in my chair when my phone starts ringing. Picking it out of my pocket, I see that it”s my brother, attempting a video call. Letting out a frustrated breath, I answer.
“Yes, brother, how may I be of service to you today?” I question him.
“Cal…did you really spend the day stalking a poor girl at her work place?”
“Have you been stalking me, big bro? That’s not very nice, now, is it?”
“I”m just doing what you’re doing to her, Cal. You need to get out of your head.”
“I was just using my time to make sure she was okay after Saturday night. That is all.”
I can see the frustration on his face. It is highly amusing, I must admit.
“Calvin, I’m going to say this in the nicest way possible. Stop fucking stalking a poor innocent woman. This shit is not normal, brother, and I can’t have my men coming off my jobs to watch your ass over and over again.”
Now it”s my turn to be frustrated with him, rolling my eyes at his outburst.
“Have you finished whining, Reid? I know you think you are this big, bad man, but you don’t scare me. So keep threatening me brother, see how I handle it. And for fuck’s sake, call off your men. I’m not going to do something stupid, I promise that to you now.” I hang up l before he has a chance to respond.
I find it ironic that he’s having a bitch fit at me for “stalking” her when he’s getting his men to do the exact same thing to me. I can feel the tension rolling through my body, which always seems to happen after speaking to him. He’s my brother, and I would literally die and kill for him, but boy does he fucking piss me off when he gets involved in my personal life. It’s not my fault that he doesn’t get his dick wet. Not since his ex left. It’s been three years now. Poor guy has got some serious pent up frustration going on.
Rolling my shoulders to try and ease the tension, I go about answering some emails about the next lot of alcohol delivery, as there seems to be a problem with the whiskey I have for myself getting discontinued. Over my dead body. That is one of the best whiskeys I have ever tasted in my life. Picking up my phone, I ring the company.
A woman’s professional voice comes through the speaker. “Good Afternoon. This is Pete”s distillery, I’m Mandy. How may I be of service to you today?”
“Mandy, this is Calvin Hayes. I would like to purchase every bottle of your Sundown whiskey.”
She pauses. “Sorry, sir…did you say every bottle?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I said. And every bottle that you can craft together with what you have left.”
“Okay, sir…but that will be very expensive, not to mention that it will make us run out, and we have other custom—”
Cutting her off before she can continue with that sentence, I say, “Yes, Mandy, I know, but I am buying it all. I don’t care about the price or the other customers, if I’m honest. Just bill it to my card and get it sorted. If there are any problems, you can get Pete himself to give me a ring, okay? Thanks, Mandy.”
I hang up and throw my phone down on the desk. People are really pissing me off today.
Picking it up again, I search my contacts and find just the person I need to see to get rid of this tension. I hit the call button, and after a few seconds they pick up. Before they have a chance to say anything, I let my words fly out.
“I need to let out all my frustrations, so I”ll be down in about ten minutes. You better be ready, because I am not holding back on you today.” I hang up before they respond.
Closing my laptop, I grab my car keys and walk over to the cupboard. Grabbing my duffel bag and double checking the office door is locked, I make my way back down the stairs. Unlocking my car, I throw my bag on the passenger seat and climb in the driver’s side. I make the ten minute journey downtown to my favorite place to let off steam.
Pulling up outside the gym, I can already feel the tension easing a little. I head inside to the changing rooms and change into my gym shorts and top, putting all my belongings in the locker. I make my way through the gym towards the back where the rings are, smirking when I see the mouth guard and gloves waiting for me on the side of the ring. I put them on and climb in, seeing my dear old friend standing in the middle with his own gloves and mouth guard on, as well as headgear, which makes me chuckle.
I step up to the middle of the ring. Tapping our gloves together, we tiptoe around each other for the first five minutes, getting a few light punches in on each other. The tension slowly starts to leave my body, but it”s just not enough for me. I pick up the pace and start hitting him with a few harder jabs to his ribs, head, and stomach. My mind blacks over and I just let myself lose on him, the punches getting harder and harder. I grab him, bringing him down to the ground and wrapping my arms around his neck and legs around his torso. Pulling my arms tighter and tighter around his neck, I don’t stop until I feel his slight tap on my arms. Only then do I let go and unravel myself from him. He moves away and starts to take off his gear.
“What-the-fuck-was-that?” he asks in between his coughing fits.
Taking off my gear, I respond. “I did warn you, Jake. I had some tension built up.”
He looks at me like I’ve just grown a second head. “Some? Fucking some? Mate, you almost fucking killed me!”
“I see you”re still as dramatic as ever, Jakey boy. I wasn’t going to actually kill you.” I roll my eyes at him before climbing out the ring. He follows, catching up to me.
“Get fucked, Cal! I was literally about to pass out.”
“Fucking hell. Don’t get your panties in such a twist. You didn’t die, did you?”
“Not this time, no, but you can fuck off if you think I’m getting in that ring with you again.”
I chuckle at him. “Awww, Jakey, don’t be like that. You know you’re my favorite sparring partner.”
“That’s because I’m the only one in this gym stupid enough to get in the ring with you, you crazy bastard. Now, are you going to tell me what’s got you all built up like this?”
We walk into his office and I take a seat around his desk and wait for him to sit. Jake and I go way back, so I do consider him to be a very good friend, and he’s the only one besides my brother who is not afraid to chew me out about the shit I do.
“Well, that depends. Am I going to get good friend Jake, or judgemental Jake?”
“You know I will always have an opinion on the shit you do.”
I sigh at his reply. “Okay. I met this woman at the club on opening night.”
“You? You met a woman? What’s she like? I mean, she’s got to be a little tapped in the head to like you,” he chuckles.
Bastard. I narrow my eyes at him and he smirks. “Sorry, please continue. Tell me all about this mythical creature who’s taken a liking to you.”
I clear my throat. “Well, that’s the thing. She kind of doesn’t know I exist. I tracked her down after she left the club, and then I spent the morning at her work place,watching her from the shadows.”
He looks at me with a blank stare.
“Just going to put this out there…you do know you have to…you know, introduce yourself to someone to get to know them, not go straight to stalker mode? How the fuck did you manage to track her down, anyway?”
Smirking at him, I explain. “I got Reid’s guy, Tanner, to look into her, but he was hesitant, so instead, I got the Uber driver who picked her up and asked where he dropped her off. He was hesitant too at first, but you’ll be surprised what people will do for a vast amount of money.”
“That’s fucked up, even for you, Cal.”
“You know, you sound just like Reid.”
“Oh, good. Your brother knows as well.”
“Yeah, he got his men to watch me this morning to see what I was doing and report back to him. How fucked is that?”
He looks at me and cocks his head to the side with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, how fucked up is it having someone watch your every move without you realising it?”
“Yeah, that’s what I just said. It’s messed up.”
He continues to stare at me.
“Cal, that is exactly what you’re doing to this poor woman. She has no idea that you are watching her. Imagine what she might feel like if she was to find out she has a fucking stalker?”
Hmmm. I mean, that kind of makes sense. I get the feeling she would be pissed. Which is a normal reaction, of course.
“I just wanted to make sure she was okay after she had some weird interaction with some fucking prick. That’s all.”
“Well, maybe next time try introducing yourself to her and, I don’t know, physically asking her if she’s okay. You know, like a normal human being would do?”
I smile at him. “Well, it’s good thing I’m not a normal human being, isn’t it”
He runs his hands through his hair, a sign that he’s getting annoyed. I stand up from the chair and lean my hands on his desk, looking at him.
“And on that note, it’s been great seeing you, Jake. We must do it again sometime soon. Next time, I just might actually kill you.” I smirk at him and head toward the door. Just as I turn the handle, he speaks up again.
“Calvin, please don’t do anything stupid. You know you are like a brother to me. I would really hate to see you do something fucked up.”
I just nod at him and walk out and head back to the changing rooms. Not bothering to shower, I grab my shit and walk back to my car.
That’s two people now who have said about me doing something stupid. They don’t have a lot of faith in me, and that’s fucking insulting. I might be a little messed up in the head, but I know I would never do anything fucking stupid. I”ve learnt my lesson with shit like that.
I mean, if she gets into trouble, I’m going to have to step in, but for now, I’ll just continue watching her from the shadows.