Always Remember (Memories) (3 page)

Bing is sex on legs and then some, and he knows it. He knows he
’s got that sexily styled messy hair that looks like he’s just run his fingers through it, and he knows his smoky, mocha brown eyes can draw you in to another world with just one look. He also knows he has a better six pack than Carlsberg could ever dream of making.

Him
knowing it is the problem because he flaunts it every second he gets. Like this morning, when he came out of the shower wearing nothing but a little white towel. I’m pretty sure my face went seven shades of pomegranate and well, if I was a lesbian, which I’m definitely not, the sight of him all wet and dripping would have made me straight again.

I shake my head and unlock my flat door. I think I
’m mentally disturbed. I just broke up with my boyfriend of three years and I’m dreaming about licking water droplets off my best friend’s brother.

God, someone call the men in white coats or,
better – pass me the vodka.

I nudge the door shut with my hip and set my suitcase down against the wall. After a day of travelling, being attacked by my crazy yet loveable niece, that final day in Lilac Bay, and a night sleeping next to the guy who has inappropriately appeared in my dreams for the last six months, I
’m ready for a holiday abroad. Or maybe, if I’m lucky, a trip to space.

Crap on a lollipop. I shake my head at myself, and chuck my c
oat on the sofa. My phone rings, and I jump, my heart thudding. Okay, it’s too damn quiet here.

“
Hello?” I hold it to my ear.

“
Are you back? Mum said you were stranded with Bing. You have no idea how sorry I feel for you right now!” Lexy exclaims.

“
Considering you’re ringing on the landline phone then yes, I am home, you moron.” I laugh. ‘“And you have no idea how torturous it was.”

“
Torture? Tell me more.”

I can envision her sitting down with Alec leaning in to listen.
“Your mum rang ahead and booked us two rooms, or so we thought. We get there and there’s only one. Your brother, the fucking genius he is decided that because it was a double bed, we’d share. I wanted to toss him into the snow.”

“
And he sleeps naked,” Lexy muses.

“
I’msorrywhatdidyoujustsay?” I spit out without breathing. “
Naked
?!”

I had that fine, naked piece of ass next to me all night and I didn
’t even realise?! Wait, “fine, naked piece of ass?” Mother Nature must be on her way ‘cause this is definitely my hormones.

“
Mm, he usually does. I think its habit from when he used to sleep around,” she explains almost apologetically. “I don’t know if he did last night though. Probably not.”

I remember the way he leaned over me, his lips millimetres from mine.
“He probably did. It’d be just like him to do that.”

“
You have a point. But he didn’t crash you into a lamppost or anything, did he?”

“
No, if he did I would have crashed his ass into a tree or something.” I shrug even though she can’t see me and take the orange juice from the fridge.

“
I don’t doubt it. Anyway, I just wanted to make sure you got back okay. We’ll be back in like ten days.”

“
I’m fine. How is... Um, how’s Carl?” I flinch at the guilt that slices through me. Wait, I don’t have anything to be guilty about, do I? Oh, I am so not on board with this self-doubt shit.

“
He’s... Okay, actually.” I imagine her frowning. “I dunno, this was for the best, Jen. Neither of you have really been happy lately, have you?”

“
No, I don’t think so. The arguments and all that crap was just wearing us down. We were trying to hold onto something that slipped away a long time ago. We have totally different paths in life. He’s happy to stay in that small town and I’m... not. You know, there’s a part of me that wishes he could be more like Alec.”

“
Why?” She’s incredulous.

“
He followed you to London because he couldn’t be without you. For everything me and Carl shared, he never did that. He didn’t even visit me once. But it’s done now, right?” I put the carton down.

“
Jen, are you okay?”

“
I am. Really, I’m fine. I guess I’m just a little upset things had to end the way they did, but at least it was a mutual thing.” But not upset enough that I can’t think about your brother in an inappropriate way.

“
Okay. Look, I gotta go. We’ll speak later, yeah?”

“
Of course. Have fun. Bye!”

I drop the phone, and watch it slide across my counter. There is another guy in this city I could use to get the break up out of my mind, and get my inner Jen back out. But again with the best friend
’s brother. The best friend’s stupidly hot here-have-it-on-a-plate brother. Ugh. Again with the inappropriate thoughts.

The photos stuck to my fridge with magnets taunt me, especially the one of me and Bing at Si
’s 50
th
birthday party last year. Carl couldn’t make it up, as usual, so I went with Bing. I sigh at the teal gown I wore that made me feel like a princess, and him in his sharp, tailored suit. His arm is hooked around my waist and we look, for all intents and purposes, like a couple. That picture was taken not long after our almost kiss.

The almost kiss that has haunted me ever since.

I snap out of it and focus my attention on unpacking my suitcase full of clean clothes. I need to stock up on Vino, chocolate, and ice cream ready for this month’s visitor. I can already tell she’s gonna be a bitch.

Did u sleep naked last night?

I frown at
my phone and laugh out loud. I think that tops the ten weirdest text messages ever received.

Why? Are u hoping I did?

I hit the send button and chuckle to myself. Jen is the only girl I know with big enough balls to send me a message like that.

In
ur dreams, space cadet. I’m wondering if I need to de-flea myself, that’s all.

I shake my head at her. Space cadet? The girl is random as shit.

No de-fleaing necessary. Cold shower maybe.

Ur not that hot.

Not what ur eyes said last night.
I smirk to myself, wondering how she’ll come back to that one. I know she’ll have one.

I need to go to
specsavers apparently. I must be half blind if I looked at u like ur hot.

I laugh. Loudly. Goddamn, she has enough fire inside her to set this city alight. I
’d love to be the one to cool her down for five minutes. Actually, make that five hours. I’d need more than five measly fucking minutes with a goddess like Jennifer Mason. My dick stiffens at the thought of spending time with her... In my bed.

U win. U going out tonight?

Wasn’t going to. Who’s out?

I know
Saph is out with us.

Get her to ring me and I
’ll see.

I shoot a quick message off to Mitch telling him to tell
Saph to ring Jen. Too many tellings, and I’m still as hard as a fucking rock. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath, and head towards the shower, doing whatever I can to keep that blonde bombshell off my sexually inclined mind.

~

My eyes scour the club as I lean by the bar with Mitch, pint in hand. As usual, there are a million girls in here tonight. And, as usual, I only give a crap about one.

Said girl is looking so hot in the little black dress and pink heels she
’s wearing that she should come with a warning.

Warning; erection guaranteed.

I bring the glass to my lips, watching as she moves her body to the beat of the music, her hips swaying round tantalisingly. Her body undulates, her curves move like they’re made of liquid, the fluidity begging me to touch.

I clench my free hand and try to focus on something, on anything other than her.

When the song ends, Jen and Saph come bounding up to us. Jen’s cheeks are flushed from dancing, her eyes shining. What would she look like if I was the cause of that? Would she still have that bead of sweat dripping down her neck and running teasingly into her cleavage? Holy...

“
Squashed frogs! Two!” Saph yells at the bartender. Despite how busy it is, Saph gets served immediately. Some people would say it’s the bright red hair piled on top of her head, the watermelons attached to her chest, or the legs that go on forever. In reality, it’s because Red belongs to her Daddy.

And
Saph is nothing if not a Daddy’s girl.

“
To freedom!” Saph toasts, and both her and Jen sink the yellow, red and green shots. Jen wrinkles her face up and does a little shiver, making me smile.

Well, if that
ain’t cute, then I’m fucked as to what is.

“
Nice?” I ask as she leans on the bar next to me.

“
Not particularly.” She smacks her lips together. “But it does the job.”

“
The job being what?” I lean in closer to her and she laughs, slightly bitterly.

“
To forget, for just one night.” She gazes at the bottles behind the bar. “To just be Jen without all the fuckery doo.”

“
And what, can I ask, is fuckery doo?” I try to hide my smile, but she glances at me and grins. She drops her face down and her shoulders shake.

“
I have no idea,” she admits with a small shrug. “It sounded good at the time.”

“
Hey, Joe!” I shout to the bartender. “Can Jen get a drink?”

“
What do you need, gorg?” Joe calls over.

“
Hmmm.” Jen scans the bottles. “You know what, handsome? Give it to me hard.”

“
Sounds like an offer you can’t refuse, Joe!” Mitch laughs.

Joe winks and picks up and empty cocktail shaker.
“Okay, Jenny baby, you asked for it. I’ll give it to you hard.”

Jen smiles her most charming smile at him, and it
’s a damn good job Joe is gay.

If the guy wasn
’t, that cocktail shaker would be shoved so far up his fucking ass it’d be coming out of his ears.

I watch as he mixes vodka, Malibu, cherry
sourz, advocaat, Sambuca, and a dash of Martini. He finishes with a dash of lemon juice and a couple squirts of lemonade. I suck in a breath as the odd coloured drink is poured into a fresh glass and set in front of her.

“
Joe, you know I love you, but what is this crap?” Jen picks up the glass. “It looks like a cross between cats piss and goblin snot.”

“
Triple O by Joe.” Mitch nods his head. “Every time.”

‘‘
Triple O by Joe?” Jen questions, looking between us.

I grin like the Cheshire cat and crook my finger, motioning for her to come closer. I smoothly push her hair away from her ear
, and put my mouth close to it. “It’s rumoured that Triple O by Joe is the best drink to get if you’re gonna get some. The mix of the spirits heightens your senses and relaxes you, so much so that when you do get your way you’ll have three explosive orgasms that toss you into oblivion.”

Her chest rises and falls as she takes a deep breath, and I can almost hear her heart pounding over the music in the club. I look at the smooth skin on her neck, and the temptation to touch my lips to her pulse point to see if her heart is beating as fast as I think it is almost takes over. I
exhale hard, letting my breath travel over her bare skin, and she shivers.

Bing’s low, husky voice sends tremors through my body in an intense, primal way I haven’t felt in a long time. And it isn’t just because of the crazy froggy shots I’ve been throwing back all night.

And it isn
’t just his voice. It’s the way he says it – the inflections he adds in that makes it both threatening and exciting at the same time. It’s a promise woven into a seductive statement that makes me want to rip my knickers off right here, right now.

I
’m single. Being single means inhibitions can be thrown out the window, and that’s what I want to do right now. I want to throw them all away, turn my face to the side, and finish what we almost started more than a year ago.

Because I need to get him out of my system.

His breath is hot on my ear, and I turn my face slightly towards him. “Is that so?” I ask.

“
Mhmm...” He nearly moans it out, causing my heart to pound, and oh for the love of all things shitfaced, someone get me some ice so I can go and cool the fuck down.

“
Well, then.” I smile slightly, and look up at his mocha eyes between my lashes. “I’m not likely to get any tonight, but I’m still gonna drink it. Maybe Saph will join me.” I spy my bright red haired friend rolling her eyes at Mitch.