Blind Love (Sulfur Heights Series) (2 page)

“Care to wager on that, Jake?” Reggie’s stone cold poker face gives nothing away,
however I’ve never been one to turn down a bet.

“Sure, you call it.” I lean over and wink to the
hottie at the end of the bar, keeping her dangling on the hook.

“Okay, if I’m right and Presley’s new friend is staying this summer
, you owe me fifty bucks.” Reggie wipes the bar top and changes out an empty bottle of whisky, pouring the last of its contents into a shot glass and passing it over to me.

“And if I’m right,” I down the shot and revel in the burn
, “you have to cut your hair. Shave it down, so it’s just like mine.” I’ve been trying to get Reggie to shave his head, but he refuses; probably because he’s worried he’ll lose his edge along with his balls after Darcie snatches them off his body.

“Deal.” He sticks
out his hand and we shake.

I move away from the bar and head back to the pool tables, smirking the entire way.
The money is too good right now to walk away from the tables. Before I abandon my post, I walk over to the hottie at the end of the bar and let her know I’ll be back then I’ll be buried deep inside her. She, of course, doesn’t argue.

I smile to myself.
I have a good feeling Reggie will be finally cutting his hair tonight. I can’t wait to see that. I wonder if he will let me do it.

Delilah

Hours after arriving in Sulfur Heights, we pile into Jeremy’s car and head to the bar where everyone hangs out.
I’ve felt increasingly nervous from the moment I saw Presley in Darcie’s bedroom.  They’re both wearing jeans and t-shirts where as I’ve decided to dress a little nicer for the occasion. I can hear my mother’s words embedded in my head,
“The first impression is the lasting impression.”
I debated on changing, but as soon as a snide comment fell from Darcie’s mouth, I decided to keep my dress on just to irritate her. I will walk into that bar like I’m walking the red carpet at a major movie premier.

From what Presley
has described, I will get along with everyone, but she still seems wary of introducing me to new friends, and after meeting Darcie, I now know why. She’s a little stuck up, and I feel like she’s sizing me up, ready to throw insults at me. Honestly, that’s exactly how I’ve expected her to be—crude and outspoken. I know she has Presley’s best intentions in mind, but what she fails to realize is that I know that girl better than anyone.

Believe
me, I can handle my own after being a part of the pageant world growing up. It will make the nicest person ruthless and catty. However, the minute I met Drake, I could tell immediately why Presley is so in love with him. Not only is he gorgeous, but he’s chivalrous and polite. Jeremy is quiet, but I get a sense of calm about him. I can definitely tolerate calm.

This place is completely the opposite of what I
’ve expected. When I drove through the streets, South Sulfur Heights was anything other than glamorous. Presley has said her uncle lived in a house similar to mine, however what I’ve seen so far of this town is run down and trashy. Even now, when I look out the window of Jeremy’s car, it hasn’t gotten any better. Nothing so far seems nice, only broken and hollow.

I’m pressed to the side of the back
seat when Jeremy takes a sharp turn. I think he’s the drag racer; well, him or Jake. I can’t remember which. The anxiety is building higher as we pass through the town, getting closer to the bar. My hands are a little sweaty with my growing nerves about using my fake ID for the first time.

Presley and I got them right before her parents died. I
was totally against it. I don’t drink or have the desire to go to bars, yet Presley was insistent. She said we needed to start living. She was just out of her hospital stay and it was the happiest I’d seen her. There was no way I could have turned her down.

We pull into a parking lot of what looks like a
n old, rundown warehouse. The words
The Slab
painted sadistically over the entrance. The dripping red words scare the bejesus out of me, and my anxiety increases that much more.

Exiting the backseat, Presley grabs my hand
, trying to comfort me. Where the heck have they taken me? I feel like I’m the sacrificial lamb walking into a cult, ready to get slaughtered.

The idea of walking in
to the bar like I’m gracing the red carpet vanishes. Large, tattooed men are standing off to the side of the entrance, smoking cigarettes and laughing. The minute I walk past them, the catcalls start. It makes my worry grow to unimaginable heights. I grab tightly to Presley as Drake drapes his arms around her shoulder.

The huge, scary
looking man takes one look at my ID and gives it back. Once we’ve passed the mammoth at the door, I get my first look at the place Presley says is a lot of fun. I look around, trying to find where the fun is.

Hard
rock music is blasting through the sound system, men of all ages are laughing, playing pool or drowning in the alcohol. Women, on the other hand, are completely shameless. They’re dressed like tramps, throwing themselves at anyone who will pay attention, or they’re rough and looking for a fight. I keep my eyes plastered on the floor as Presley leads us through the crowd.

We find a seat near the bar and off to the side. It’s much quieter over on this side and it gives me a
chance to study my surroundings.

Drake
leaves to get our drinks and I take the opportunity to question Presley about Sulfur Heights. She explains the south side is a horrible place to live and no one seems to care about anything that happens there. I’m finding it impossible to wrap my brain around this. How can a town’s government and population allow such horrible things to happen around them? Regardless of whether they are living on the northside or not, it’s still a city they need to have a vested interested in. Memphis is no fairy tale place, but the crime and lack of concern for a certain demographic does not go unseen. I find it sickening. Not to mention how much Presley’s changed since I’ve seen her last.

Granted her parents’ death was very traumatic,
though she looked better after they died than she does now. She’s been living in Sulfur Heights since the age of sixteen, however now at eighteen, she looks so much more weathered and broken. I really hope her depression is under control. I don’t want to see her like that ever again.

Drake makes his way back over to our table and
our conversation is put behind us; well, for now. I want to know what’s going on with her because she doesn’t look like herself.

We sit for several minutes
, visiting, and I get the opportunity to get to know Drake better. He is an absolute perfect man. Very mature and responsible, and he loves Presley unconditionally. Plus, he’s very cute. She has definitely hit the jackpot on this one. Girls from my country club would be swarming a man like Drake, and adding the taboo of his ethnicity, every girl would treat him like a God.

The crowd begins to part when I notice Jeremy and his exact replica moving through the
crowd. This must be Jake. He oozes bad boy if I’ve ever seen one. His arms are covered in tattoos; he has short brown hair cut almost to his scalp; and a hard, lean body without overly huge muscles. When my eyes meet his, I’m instantly captivated. He stops slightly, intensely taking me in until the smallest grin appears across his face and his gaze travels down to my chest then back up. Yep, on second thought, there’s nothing about him that’s intense; he’s a typical pig.

Jake

Coming off
two more wins, I will leave tonight a thousand bucks richer. Jeremy comes across the floor, congratulating me on my win. “Drinks are on me, bro,” I say.

“Yeah, thanks
, considering I don’t drink anymore.” Jeremy hasn’t drank since we were juniors in high school. He’s the only person I know who becomes someone else entirely from a sip of booze. It’s best for everyone if he lays off the poison.

“Oh
, yeah! Well, more for me then.” Slapping Jeremy on the back, we move toward the bar.

Drake’s mug comes into view and then I stop in my track
s. Sitting next to Presley is the sexiest woman I’ve ever seen. She’s nothing like the girls in this place. Her long, blonde hair makes me want to wrap it around my hand, yanking her neck back. Then I can watch her ocean blue eyes glaze over with pleasure while I suck on those full, perfect tits. Damn!

“Well, well, well
, who do we have here? Because, from what I see, it looks like my night just got better.” I hook her with my eyes and spread my award winning smile across my face. The goddess only rolls her eyes. A challenge—my favorite.

“Jake, this is
my best friend from Memphis. She’s staying with us for the summer,” Presley squeaks out.

Dam
mit! Reggie wins this round. “Oh, shit! I thought Reggie was just fucking with me. Looks like I owe him fifty bucks. I didn’t believe him when he told me we were going to have a new roommate.”

Then she stand
s and my dick begins to stand as well. This woman is perfection. She’s small, maybe five or so inches shorter than me, but her body is curvy. The perfect hour glass figure is accompanied by flawless skin, a tiny waist and round, full hips. She looks like a fucking Hollywood star. I want to slam her against a wall and feel every inch of her wrapped around me.

Her hand reaches out to mine and I can’t help
noticing how soft her skin is and how sweet she smells. Shit, I’m sounding like a pussy right now. Actually, I sound like Drake right now. “Hi, I’m Delilah St. James. You must be Jake.”

“That’s right
, sweetheart, and I’m the luckiest son of a bitch alive to have you as a roommate. What can I get you to drink?”

Delilah releases my hand and her perfect
ly tan skin reddens. “Old fashion cherry Coke, please.”

An old fashion
… huh? “What the hell is that?”

Drake belts out a huge laugh, which confuses me even more. Yep, I’m definitely missing something.

“Hasn’t anyone here ever heard of it? Coke mixed with cherry grenadine.” Ooh, she’s got a little fire in her. I can’t wait to bring that out.

I shake my head from its perverted thoughts and focus on what she wants to drink. I’m completely confused. “…and what else?”

“Nothing, that’s it,” Delilah replies and then she turns around, walking back to her seat.

M
y eyes immediately go to her perfectly round ass. I just fucking died! This woman’s body is flawless. She’s not rail thin or filled with silicon or as huge as a truck. She’s sexy and her body is amazing everywhere it needs to be.

Drink
, damn it. Focus on the drink. “No whiskey or rum?”

“Oh
, no, not for me. I don’t drink.”

What the hell
? I release a huge laugh and grab a hold of the table to keep from falling over. “You don’t drink? That’s the best thing I’ve heard all day, cupcake.”

The
little vixen inside her appears as Delilah stabs me with her eyes. “Why is that so amusing? There are a lot of people who don’t drink.”

“Yeah
, and those people were or are in rehab,” I counter.

Delilah look
s over to my twin drinking water. “He doesn’t drink.”

I immediately get pissed. If I’m too much for a woman
, they always flock to my brother. Jeremy looks just like me, minus the tattoos. He treats chicks the same as I do—bags them and splits—but it’s in a less Jake-like fashion. If I don’t play my cards just right, this little hottie will be fucking my twin instead of me, but I’ll be damned if she’s going to have the last word.

“Exactly my point, he’s been rehabilitated from booze.”
Smoke looks like it’s coming from her ears, she is so lit on fire that I wouldn’t be surprised if she ripped my head from my shoulders.

Delilah readjusts herself then clears her
throat. “Well, I assure you, Mr. Evans, I am not in rehab nor have I ever been. I do not drink because it only causes people to act like idiots, which leads me to believe that you’ve had several drinks because that is exactly how you’re acting. There is no way a gentleman would question a lady’s choice of whether or not she drinks.”

Have I mentioned I love a challenge? “Well
, lucky for you
I’m
not a gentleman and I assure
you,
by the end of the summer, I will have you so hot that the only way you’ll cool off is to take a drink.” Just to piss her off more, I lift her chin, cupping it in my fingers.

“You’re disgusting.”
She crosses her arms over her chest and pulls her head back, getting her chin out of my grasp.

Now
I need to deal with my raging hard-on. I walk away and finally claim the piece of ass waiting for me at the end of the bar.

Chapter 2

Jake

I’m pressing
the hot girl from the end of the bar against the wall in Reggie’s office. Her skirt is riding high on her hips and the strap of fabric that used to be her thong is dangling from her ankle. It didn’t take long for me to rip it off and slam her against the sheetrock.