Chapter 5
My entire body was tender and throbbing as I showered at Jadyn’s. Touching every ache brought on a new memory of what happened at the garage. Just thinking about it drove my hand between my thighs to relieve some of the pressure—as if I could do myself any justice after that .
I was incredibly sore, standing proved to be just as challenging as walking, yet mentally I was fully charged. I’d never been touched like that, and even if another round would surely break me, I wanted to do it again. Keith hadn’t made love to me. He fucked me—hard, without restraint, and without an apology.
In the aftermath, I felt empty. His sex filled me and overwhelmed me as he took me on a journey I would never forget, bursting my expectations until I was seeing stars. The moment we separated I felt his absence and a blanket of coldness I couldn’t shake.
For the first time in my life, I had been going through a dry spell. At least, I was, until that .
Ruined. Just one taste of him and I felt ruined for other men. Or, I definitely thought he was way better than my ex.
Keith was a stranger to me, but he’d left an imprint I felt in every step I took.
In hindsight, I was glad I hadn’t kissed him. I would’ve left that garage without my soul intact, and I was going to cling to it while I still could before I handed it over to my future husband.
Okay, I was probably being extra dramatic about marrying Cain, but I deserved to be.
Had we been a real couple, then perhaps I would’ve considered my little liaison “adultery,” but because my hand was forced, I didn’t feel guilty at all. A part of me wanted to go and rub it in his face, but then I considered the darkness surrounding Cain’s person and I didn’t want to test him.
It all came crashing back to me, the engagement and the truth of what this was. My last night of freedom where I’d had a one-night stand with a stranger, but come morning, I’d have to face reality and the rest of my life.
I came out of the bathroom after my shower at Jadyn’s place wearing a nightshirt she’d lent me. Typically, we weren’t the same size, due to Jay being five-one and all. Still, the shirt hung heavy on me, as she’d gotten it in two sizes too big for occasions like snuggling up on the couch or in bed.
I gathered my clothing and stuffed them in a plastic grocery bag. Mentally, I penciled in the idea of hitting the drycleaners as soon as possible. I may not have wanted to go to my engagement party, but I did love that dress.
Jadyn was out in the living room when I found her. Her house was small and intimate, the perfect size for her since she was single and childless. The most company Jay kept was the stray cats she often fed. She had a penchant for feeding the felines. Even more, when they became regulars, she’d name them. As of now, I recalled there was a Sylvester, a Greyer, a Midnight, and a Lionel. It was wholesome how she’d get excited about each visit from one of her furry friends and send me a photo of one eating from the paper bowls she’d set out her door.
That was one of the things that made me cling to Jadyn when I met her at UCLA. We’d both attempted to join a sorority and ended up being a sisterhood of two when we realized it wasn’t for us. Right away I’d admired Jadyn’s friendliness and kind heart. In the business world, there weren’t many true friendships, and being the daughter of an elite, I never found any bonds with any of the girls and boys from my schooling.
Jadyn was different. She was from Bedford Heights and kept a glass-half-full persona that made me more grateful for what I had. Outside of her positivity, I loved her for her dreams. As I went and sat on the sofa beside her, I took in the blown-up movie posters from directors John Singleton and Gina Prince-Bythewood.
“It’s always about boys in the hood, why not girls? And why not instead of a girl trying to make it out, she’s trying to make it through and just live her ordinary day-to-day life? Girlhood or womanhood is just important a journey to follow than our counterparts,” Jadyn had said to me when I’d asked her major or aspirations freshman year. Needless to say, she quickly became my favorite person and someone I looked up to.
I hadn’t a clue what I wanted to do with my life. Hence my dropping out of school after my sophomore year.
Currently, Jadyn was going the starving artist route as she worked in collections for her day job while penning the perfect screenplay whenever she could get a minute.
I settled in beside her, making sure the large T-shirt covered me as I tucked my legs underneath myself. It had been over half an hour since I’d slept with Keith and still I felt unsteady, sensitive, and branded.
As if the act were a scarlet letter burned onto my chest, Jadyn was staring at me from her end of the couch, her big dark eyes eagerly awaiting my explanation.
“So…” Jadyn said patiently. “What’s got you walking funny? Or should I say who ?”
My cheeks burned as I began to smile. There were no secrets or judgment between us. “Jay.”
She leaned close, a lock of her blonde hair getting in her face. She’d fallen in love with the shade a month after we met and had been faithful to blonde bundles or frontals ever since. “Well?”
Ugh, there was no hiding the truth. I was walking different. “So, I was going to call, but I didn’t want to chance my mom tracking my phone.”
Jadyn’s dark eyebrows teetered down as her brown features appeared confused. “Oh, yeah, you had that engagement announcement and party tonight.” Suddenly, she lit up, her eyes tripling in size as she looked at my body and back at my face. “You fucked him, didn’t you?”
Disgust bubbled in my belly at the thought. Wrinkling my nose, I quickly shot down that idea. “God, no. I took off. I ditched my phone and I ran out of there. I blew a tire on the way here and had to get a mechanic to tow me in.”
Jadyn assessed me for damages as she again was perplexed. “So what happened?”
I sighed, lifting my gaze to the ceiling, searching for CliffsNotes on what I’d done this evening. “The mechanic brought me back to the shop…and one thing led to another and we…you know.”
Jadyn blinked. “Damn.”
“Yeah,” I let out. I’d never been so brazen before in my life. I’d had a couple of meaningless hookups in college, but even then I’d known the guys. And then Gaius happened and I was all things monogamy with him. What happened with Keith was so unlike me, but I didn’t regret it. He was good .
“This calls for wine!” Jadyn announced as she rushed to her feet to grab a bottle.
I gagged. “Ugh, pass.”
“Girl, grow up already,” Jadyn said as she often did of my not drinking. I didn’t care for wine, beer, liquor, or anything alcoholic. It just wasn’t my taste. Occasionally, I’d celebrate an accomplishment with champagne if out at brunch or a party, but at home in my penthouse, I kept it simple with water and my beloved white cranberry-peach juice.
When I’d officially turned twenty-one and was vocal about my distaste for alcohol, my father made it a point to provide sparkling grape juice in champagne flutes at all the parties or dinners he and his company hosted, in my honor.
My mood sank. I did not want to think about him.
Jadyn came back from her kitchen holding a bottle of wine tucked under her arm, a wineglass in one hand, and a bottle of water in the other for me.
I accepted the water and watched as she went about pouring some of her wine.
“Please tell me it was worth it,” Jadyn said as she gathered her glass.
It was complicated and messy, due to my fiancé, but God, I’d never had an orgasm like that. Everyone in my life, from the time I was a little girl, treated me like a princess, delicate and fragile. Keith had done no such thing. He’d taken me brusquely. When he came, he’d grabbed a fistful of my hair, tilting my head back as his teeth grazed my neck. I shattered beneath him and thought nothing of him stepping all over the pieces.
He hadn’t treated me like a lady, but like a good and hard fuck—and I liked it.
“That was probably the best I’ve ever had,” I admitted.
“And you sure he had a job? The best dick I ever had was unemployed, but then again, he had somethin’ to prove and was also hobosexual.”
I was trying to be serious, but leave it to Jadyn to make me laugh. “Girl.”
She threw a hand out in an innocent gesture. “Just sayin’. It look like he broke you off something good.”
He had.
That dick tapped my soul.
I was still in my Valentino dress, wearing another man’s ring, making the whole encounter dirty and illicit. I regretted nothing. “ So good.”
Jadyn chuckled. “Did you at least get his name? Or did you just pounce on him as soon as y’all pulled into the garage?”
“Keith,” I spoke up. Keith Avery . A man with three first names, sexy tattoos, and a handsome face that had briefly broke out into the cutest smile when he’d laughed.
“Now that you’ve had a taste of the Heights, you ain’t never going back to them pencil pushers in the Hills.”
It all happened so fast, leaving me wondering if this was just a one-night stand, or if there was potential. I mean, I wouldn’t have minded having another go at it with Keith.
If the circumstances were different.
I uncapped my water and took a hearty swig as my shoulders sagged. “Right, because now I have to go and face my maker.”
Jadyn frowned. She reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “Right, your ‘fiancé.’ Was he weird? Was he the reason you ran off, besides the obvious?”
Cain hadn’t said or done anything weird, but he was still odd. I’d turned him down and he went behind my back and manipulated my father into handing me over. He didn’t even seem apologetic about it.
I set my water on the coffee table. “I ran because I didn’t want to be there, because I don’t want to be engaged to this man.”
Jadyn picked up her cell phone. “What’s his name again?”
“Cain Carter,” I told her. “He’s the newest CEO of the Cartier Casino. He’s been on a few blogs, but he’s super low key. No one knows a thing about him.”
That was what made me uneasy about Cain. The very mystery of who he was and where’d he come from. The illegitimate heir to the late James Carter appeared like a ghost within thin air and he was causing a stir amongst the power circle of all of California and Nevada.
Jadyn began cyberstalking Cain as she sat up and scoured her phone.
“He looks good in a suit,” she observed as she took in a photo of Cain standing outside the Cartier Casino.
“ Not helping,” I pointed out.
“You could have it a lot worse. I mean, they set you up with a fine ass fiancé at least,” Jadyn said with a pitiful shrug.
On paper, Cain was immaculate, wealthy, attractive, quiet, and reserved, but in reality, I wasn’t buying it. “There’s something off about him, Jay. Something… lethal .”
I couldn’t prove it, but I just knew.
Jadyn continued to scroll through her phone, disappointment soon covering her face. “He seems squeaky clean online.” She flashed me yet another photo of Cain at the Cartier. In it, he was standing with some pop legend, one of the many performers who did residencies at their hotel and club.
Cain was about his business. No drama. No legal issues. No major headlines—outside our recent engagement.
By the looks of it, I would be nothing more than a trophy for Cain. A shiny object fit for his ego and image. Arm candy he got to fuck whenever he wanted.
I paused as I sank back against the sofa cushion.
Maybe, maybe I was writing Cain off too quickly. Keith had seemed scary, but then he wasn’t.
God, he wasn’t.
“At least you got options,” Jadyn tried to reason.
Option #1: Put my foot down against this marriage, be disinherited, and be out on the street.
Option #2: Make nice with my parents and become betrothed to Vegas and LA’s hottest eligible bachelor.
Option #3: Drink bleach.
Sure, my final option was purely over-the-top, but it sounded better than my alternatives. Really, I was still holding out I could talk my way out of this. That my parents would see the error in their decision. This alliance could be done without my hand in marriage.
“Yeah,” I said hopefully.
“I mean, thinking positive, maybe he’s not a horrible guy?” Jadyn tried to think on the bright side of things.
“Oh sure, this is a fairy tale all right. The one where the huntsman hands Little Red Riding Hood to the Big Bad Wolf instead of protecting her.”
Jadyn laughed and took a sip of her wine. Soon, she pouted. “I want to be someone’s Darling Nikki.”
Confused, I scrunched up my face. “You want to be…caught self-loving in the lobby?”
Jadyn chuckled. “Okay, maybe not an exhibitionist, but I’d love to be this sexual oasis or goddess. Nikki owned her sexuality, and I just know she left a mark.Bet you this Keith guy remembers you.”
I would remember this sex for the rest of my days. “What about you? Anything new and exciting in your life?”
Jadyn groaned. “Talking to new men is exhausting. They’re either too direct or too dry. There’s never any middle.”
I cringed, thinking of my time in the dating pool. “Know what my biggest pet peeve is with men?”
Jadyn turned, giving me her full attention. “What?”
“Dick pics,” I confessed. “Like, I know it’s for reference, but I still can’t wrap my head around them sending pictures of their dicks next to household items like remotes and Febreze bottles.”
Jadyn cackled as she drank more of her wine. “And you know they’re not sanitizing that shit either when they’re done. Bet you their families are always wondering why they keep gettin’ pink eye.”
I was laughing again, loosening up despite my ordeal.
But then, I decided to be realistic and come back to Earth. I shook off Jadyn’s words and my pleasure. Keith and I had a simple fling. Nothing more and nothing less. My last hoorah before I spent the rest of my life in a loveless marriage.
* * *
In the morning, Jadyn dropped me off at Rod’s Repair before heading off to work. She’d let me borrow some jeans she’d been meaning to return to the store. While they hadn’t fit her, they clung to me like a glove. Her striped T-shirt she’d given me barely covered my stomach, but at least we were the same shoe size.
Note to self: next time you run away, make sure to pack a change of clothes .
“Go with the flow, and give me all the details!” Jadyn demanded after I’d climbed out of her Volkswagen.
Business was alive and well this Monday morning as I turned from Jadyn’s exit and faced Rod’s Repair. Several vehicles lined the parking lot and inside I could see people waiting around the lobby and some standing at the front counter.
This didn’t have to be awkward. This semi-walk of shame could be casual, friendly.
After telling myself to believe that lie, I walked into the shop and threaded my fingers together as I approached the front counter. A female mechanic was ushering an elderly couple toward the back of the shop that led out into the garage area. Nowhere in the vicinity did I see Keith.
The male receptionist was typing away at a laptop when I came over to the counter. “Just a second.” His eyes were glued to the screen and I took a moment to look around again for Keith. Nowhere .
There was a young mother and two of her kids seated on the chairs against the front windows in the waiting area. SpongeBob SquarePants was on and the little ones were engrossed as they looked up at the screen with snacks in their hands. Across from the family was an older man sitting back browsing a magazine.
Another man was standing by the vending machines debating on the options before him. Outside of the echoes of SpongeBob, the shop radio was on, creating a lively atmosphere.
“Can I help you?” The receptionist pulled my attention back toward him.
His name tag read Jake . His face said he was friendly, but also busy.
“Uh, yeah, I’m here for the Lexus…?” Why had I said it as a question? Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t filled out any paperwork with Keith before we’d hooked up in the back office. I was sure he knew my full name now after bullshitting me about needing to see my license.
Jake’s brows furrowed and he glanced down at the paperwork cluttering the desk behind the counter. He grabbed a clipboard and held it up, scanning for something. “Oh, yeah, Nichols, right?”
“Yes, Kennedy Nichols,” I said. “Is Keith around?”
Jake shook his head as he was back to the laptop. “Busy, and does not want to be disturbed.” His fast fingers danced across the keyboard in seconds. “All right, looks like he got you all set up. Let me pull up the invoice and we?—”
“Excuse me?” I cut him off, not understanding what he meant by Keith being too busy to see me. “Where is he?”
Jake looked at me funny. “In the back, working on some reports. You’re good to go. All you have to do is pay for the spare.”
I didn’t care about my Lexus. It sounded like Keith was blowing me off, or maybe he was busy and didn’t want to be bothered. Still, he knew I was coming by.
“He’s expecting me,” I said.
Jake didn’t look convinced. “Uh-huh, he fixed the car, and then he went into the back and said he didn’t want to be bothered while he was back there.”
Jake was only following orders, and judging by his demeanor, he didn’t want to break them.
One thing about me, I tended to always get what I wanted. It wasn’t often I was told no and it stayed that way.
So, I put on my charming I’m-a-princess-and-you’ll-obey-me smile and attitude. “Jake, he knows I’m stopping by. If you let me go see him, I won’t tell.” I pressed my finger to my glossed lips. “It’ll be our little secret. I promise.”
Jake frowned, his eyes shooting to the people in the lobby and then toward the mechanics in the garage. He hung his head and shook it. “I didn’t see you go back there. It’s all on you.”
Keith must’ve had him intimidated, because I was too tempted to laugh at the threat.
Feeling perky, I quickly settled the bill and handed over my debit card. It was a smoke signal for my parents on where I was, but I didn’t care in the moment. I’d needed last night away from them and that party. I’d needed to clear my head. And while my head wasn’t exactly clear or less anxiety riddled, I was ready to face them, and Cain.
I shoved my receipt in my clutch and made my way down the familiar corridor to the back office. Each step found my heart beating hard in my chest. Here it was, my return to the scene of the crime—quite an illustrious crime at that.
The hard part was over; we’d already seen each other naked. There was no reason for me to be so nervous as I gripped the doorknob and felt relief when I saw that it wasn’t locked. I blew out a shaky breath and opened the door.
Dr. Dre’s “Still D.R.E.” played through the shop’s radio system. Keith was in the office bobbing his head to the classic late ’90s song. He was caught up writing something in what looked like a ledger before he noticed me.
Today he was wearing glasses, an added bonus, because they only seemed to make him finer. The round gold frames complemented his skin tone and gorgeous face. Usually, I liked men clean shaven, but on Keith, I liked the scruff.I even kinda liked that he looked mean, the male version of Resting Bitch Face—or Resting Asshole Face . It worked for him, and facing him again after seeing him less than twenty-four hours ago, I now understood why Jake was intimidated by him. One thing evident about Keith’s demeanor and energy, was that he wasn’t to be played with.
Suddenly, I wasn’t nervous. I almost felt playful when I thought about the way he hadn’t done a thing about my changing his radio station in his tow truck.
“Kennedy.” Keith placed the pen he’d been using in the spine of the ledger and stood up. Like the other mechanics, he was sporting a dark gray short-sleeved work shirt and matching pants. His name was scrawled in cursive on a patch above his right pec.
He must’ve changed last night, as he’d been about to close up when I’d called.
Keith kept his distance, staying behind the desk as he took me in. “How are you?”
Formalities, huh ? “Good. You?”
He shrugged, his face grim. “I’m okay. But I need to apologize for last night.”
Apologize? “What for?”
Keith searched my gaze for something, determination etched across his face. “I crossed the line, in here , and I’m sorry.”
“What? No, you didn’t,” I responded. Of all the scenarios I’d considered this morning when I was getting dressed to come here, I hadn’t imagined him feeling remorseful.
“You sure?” Keith questioned. He rounded his desk and parked himself in front of it, still a safe space from me. He folded his arms and gestured at me with a tilt of his head. “A young woman from out of town stranded in the road, and here I was supposed to help you, and I ended up taking advantage.”
Now was not the time for chivalry. “That’s not what happened. I flirted with you. I wanted you. I had a good time last night, and now, I guess I’m the only one who did.”
What a great way for my rebellion to blow up in my face.
“That’s not what I said,” Keith was quick to say.
Oh.
He was quiet as he began to scratch at his neck. A tic he seemed to have whenever he appeared thoughtful.
“You liked it,” I said, needing to hear his confirmation.
Keith stared at me impassively. “I did.”
We needed to work on his emotions, but I would take his enjoyment in what we’d done. “Good. So did I. Really, if my life wasn’t so complicated right now I’d try to make a thing of this.”
“And as flattered as I would be at the offer, I’d say no,” Keith said matter-of-factly.
His words startled me. “What?”
Keith sighed and looked elsewhere around the room before coming back to me, lifting and dropping his shoulder lazily. “I was distracted last night, but ordinarily, I don’t fuck with OPP.”
OPP.
Other People’s Pussy .
Crass, but I got his point. He’d noticed my ring. But how could he not with how huge the thing was?
I plucked the ring off my finger. As if it would rid me from the whole engagement.“It’s not what it seems…exactly.”
Keith folded his arms again, perking a brow as if to call bullshit. “I’ll bite.”
At least he was hearing me out. “I…I wasn’t asked to be married in the normal way.”
“Then why did you say yes?”
“I didn’t,” I clarified. “My father’s a hotel tycoon. He’s been trying to do business with this… asshole who runs a casino in Vegas for a while—or, before he got sick.”
Sympathy crossed Keith’s face. “What’s wrong with him?”
I gazed at the floor. “He’s got ALS.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” Recognition set in Keith’s eyes and I knew I didn’t have to explain further the fatal disease stealing my father from me.