Connections (13 page)

“
Shayla, are you still with him?”

“
We broke up when I got cast on the show. I moved out, into here actually thanks to my first paycheck. I hadn’t seen him at all until Saturday morning, when I opened the door of my parent’s house expecting my friend Zach and instead came face to face with Brad Carlisle.”

“
The sports agent?” Tyler was on his feet, surprising himself.

Shayla just nodded, “How much do you know about baseball?”

Tyler cocked his head to the side, “You know I have season tickets to the Yankees.”

“
Ever heard of Zach Jensen?”

“
Short stop for the Colorado Rockies, rumor has it he’s up for a position with the Yankees.”

“
He was the guy I was waiting for that morning. We’d gone on a date the night before.”

“
So you have a past with Brad, but Zach is someone you would like to have at least a roll in the hay with, right?”

“
Except, that yesterday I went to see Brad at the apartment we used to share.”

Tyler ran his hands through his hair, “Shayla, you slept with him didn’t you?”

“
Yes, I didn’t plan to. In fact I was just going to tell him to stop calling me. Brad had a cocktail party at his house Saturday night; Zach brought me as his date. Seeing me, stirred things up in Brad.”

“
Does Zach know?”

“
No, no one does except you.”

Tyler nodded, “Okay, this is how I think you should handle it. Don’t take Brad’s calls. If you want to be with Zach, you have to be honest with him.”

“
You’re right, thank you Tyler.”

“
You’re welcome.” He hugged her, “You will be fine. You are a strong woman, you just got hit with a lot of information at once.”

Shayla held onto Tyler, “I wish Cassandra was answering her phone. I need my best friend.”

“
Well, for now you can call me, anytime you need someone to talk to.” He kissed the top of her head. “I’ve got to go run some errands, but my phone is on.”

Shayla pulled away, “I’ll remember that. I guess I should start answering some fan mail, I’m a little bit behind.”

“
I’ll leave you to it.” He grabbed his jacket, “Seriously Shayla, don’t let Brad Carlisle drag you into something that you don’t want.”

“
I’ll do my best.” She opened the door for him, watching him walk down the hall towards the elevator, wondering if she really had the strength to let Brad out of her life once and for all.

Her phone rang again, a tornado of fear formed in her stomach as she looked at the caller id, settling only a little when she saw who it was. “Hey stranger; how did the meeting go?”

“
Press Conference tomorrow, I’m the newest Yankee!” Zach’s voice was thick with pride. “Where are you? Can you hang out?”

“
I’m at my apartment, come over. I’ll text you the address.” Her heart beat quickly, the urge to see Zach was overwhelming.

“
I’ll be over soon. Bye.”

“
Bye.” She could feel the smile on her face as she texted the address, suddenly she realized just what she was wearing. She couldn’t let Zach see her like this. She had to have something sexier she could put on.

She started to look at her closet and realized she wasn’t sure what she was thinking of wearing. If she got dressed up, he might think it was just for him. If she got naked, well that would, could send the wrong message. She grabbed a black bra from her drawer and put it on under her black tank top she was already wearing. She toweled off her hair a bit more before she heard the knock on her door.

“
Just a moment!” She called out, trying to push her breasts up a little bit before spraying on some body spray and swiping on the deodorant.

She stood straight up, projected her breasts forward as she opened the door, feeling her body sink when she realized it wasn’t Zach, instead it was Brad waiting on the other end. “What the fuck are you doing here?”

Brad pushed his way in, his expensive cologne lingering in the air as he removed his scarf and jacket. “I just signed a client to a very lucrative deal and I wanted to celebrate. You weren’t answering my calls so I thought I would drop by. Besides I’ve been curious all this time about where you live.”

Shayla couldn’t believe this as she watched him. “Zach is on his way over. You have to leave.”

“
Shayla, why would I leave?” He took a step forward, his hand caressing her cheek, “Don’t you want to celebrate?”

“
With Zach, not with you Brad, yesterday shouldn’t have happened.”

“
But it did Shayla, it did and it was amazing. Are you telling me you didn’t enjoy yourself, because my sheets tell another story?” Brad sat down on her couch, looking as though he belonged there.

The elevator dinged down the hall, Shayla realized she still had the door open as Zach appeared in the doorway. His face immediately changed from joy to confusion when he saw Brad. “What in the world?”

If her floor was ever going to open up and swallow her whole, this would be the time, but it didn’t. “This is. Shit. Fuck it.” Shayla slammed the door shut and looked at the two men before focusing on Zach.

“
I used to be Brad’s mistress. We were together for over four years.”

Zach looked at Shayla and then to Brad, “This is the older guy? I thought Carter was trying to scare me away from you.”

Shayla closed her eyes, remembering now that Carter had accused her of cheating on him after Prom—it was true, she’d been sleeping with Brad for months at that point. “Yes.”

“
So, you said you
were
together, and then what is Brad doing here now?”

Shayla looked at Brad, the smile on his face reminded her of the cat that ate the canary, “He wants me back.”

Zach’s head was pounding with confusion, the building blocks of rage, “Am I wasting my time by chasing after you?”

Shayla reached out to him, “No, I want you Zach. This is just complicated, it shouldn’t be, but it is.”

Brad rose, “We have a connection Zach. When we’re in each other’s orbits, we can’t control ourselves. We give into the sexual energy between us.”

Zach’s hands were clenched, “Okay, someone needs to explain to me, what the fuck I am missing.”

Brad stood behind Shayla, his hands on her shoulder, “Yesterday afternoon, Shayla came over to our old apartment.”

“
Brad, stop.” Shayla felt her stomach tighten.

Brad ran his hands down her arms, “We made love Zach, for hours. We did things that I don’t think either of us has done in years.”

Zach couldn’t believe what he was hearing, “You slept with him?”

Shayla nodded, “Yes, I did.”

Brad ran his hands down to her waist, pulling her body against his. “She’s dynamic in bed. She lets go of everything around her, gives into the passion, the moment.”

Zach looked at Shayla and then at Brad, “So what, you got me a deal with the Yankees, and thought you would come over and fuck her to celebrate?”

Brad brushed some of Shayla’s hair away from her neck before he started to kiss it.

Shayla caught her breath when she felt his lips on the back of her neck. She was going to lose whatever control she had left as she reached out for Zach, “Please don’t go.”

He took her hand, feeling the energy from her. She was scared, but he wasn’t sure of what. “I will only go if you tell me to.”

“
Stay Zach” She gasped as Brad slid a hand into the waistband of her yoga pants.

Zach wasn’t exactly sure what was going on as he moved closer to Shayla and Brad before kissing her.

Shayla’s body gave into the pleasure she was feeling as Brad’s hand slid under her yoga pants and between her legs, while also giving into the passion that she felt when Zach kissed her. She was confused, torn, aroused, and afraid to take the lead.

Zach pulled away first, running his hands through his hair as he tried to figure out what the hell he was getting himself into at this moment. “What are we doing?”

“
Pleasuring Shayla,” Brad looked at him, “You know you want to Zach, touch her. Make her feel as good you can.”

Shayla bit her lip as Brad pulled away from her for a moment and Zach was in front of her, his hands on her breasts. His thumbs found her nipples under the thin materials of her tank and bra.

“
Is this what you want?” Zach asked as he looked in her eyes, he could feel the heat from her and Brad’s bodies.

She couldn’t find the words to say what she wanted; she let her body speak for her as she pulled away from both of the men. She looked at them, both dressed in suits and ties; here she was in Yoga pants and her tank top which she peeled off, dropping to them to the floor.

Brad loosened his tie as he watched her strip out of her clothes. He loved the way she did this. He looked over at Zach who looked terrified and full of desire all at the same time. This wasn’t the ideal situation, but Brad was sure by the end of this Shayla would know that the right man for her was him.

Zach shrugged his sports coat off and tugged at his tie, trying to release it from becoming a noose around him. Watching as Shayla started to back out of the living room, Brad looked like the wolf about to eat Red Riding Hood.

Shayla stood at the doorway of her bedroom, was she really going to do this? Were
they
really going to do this? She unclasped her bra, revealing her breasts for the first time to Zach, and for who knew how many times to Brad.

She continued to back up until she stopped at the bed. Now she would wait, they would join her, perhaps one would defeat the other, but that seemed unlikely.

Zach and Brad both squeezed through the door, their ties in hand as they looked at her, as though she were a delicious steak waiting to be devoured after months on a diet.

Zach dropped his tie on the bed as his eyes trailed her naked body, burning this image into his mind, fearful this would be the only time he ever saw it, fearful that whatever else happened in here would ruin this image for him, forever.

Brad smirked as he picked up the discarded tie, watching as Shayla moved up the bed, perfectly into position as if she had an idea of what he was planning. He quickly wrapped her wrist in his tie before moving to the other side of the bed and wrapping the other.

“
Brad, what are you doing?” She finally found words that could come out.

“
Making this easier for us.” He had a wicked smile as he unbuttoned his shirt and looked over at Zach, “This is about her, not us. Nothing between us.”

“
Agreed” He unzipped his pants, his eyes on Shayla only. “Where are your condoms?”

“
That drawer, by you.” She struggled against the ties as she felt Brad on her other side, his hand on her stomach.

Zach grabbed two, feeling slightly sick before he looked at Shayla, realizing her eyes were only on him. He crawled over to her, kissing her slowly as his hands raked through her hair. He moved to her neck, then her ear, “I’m here, don’t be scared. I’m not leaving you.”

Shayla felt herself relax when Zach spoke into her ear, it was everything that she needed to hear, to know and she hadn’t realized it until now.

Brad spread her legs apart before crawling between them, the hungry look on his face that Shayla knew so well, and if she had to be honest still used the memory of on nights when she was alone and needed to get herself going. He kissed and nibbled her thighs as he moved closer to the part he truly wanted. His fingers explored her throbbing lips, feeling the sleek wetness as he looked up to see her kissing Zach.

As far as Brad was concerned, Zach was an interloper, this was all about him and Shayla. Zach would be left in the cold, watching as Brad made her come.

Shayla’s body opened up to Brad, receiving his tongue teasing her clit, his fingers inside of her. All while Zach kissed her, played with her nipples and earlobes.