Dangerous Curves Ahead 2 (Cowboy / BBW Erotic Romance)

Dangerous Curves Ahead 2

Road Block / Detour

By Arabella Quinn

Dangerous
Curves Ahead 2

Copyright
© 2013 by Arabella Quinn

All
Rights Are Reserved. No part of this book can be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in
writing from the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in
critical articles and reviews.

This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are
products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously and are not
to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, actual
events, locale or organizations is entirely coincidental.

Dangerous Curves Ahead 2

Men like Jake
didn’t date women like me. He was handsome beyond imagine and he just oozed
self-confidence. I had guarded my heart for years and still, one moment of
weakness-
one moment of
hope-
had led to this soul crushing
heartache.

~~~ 

Jenna stood at the door to Krista's
apartment and rang the doorbell for the third time. She still felt guilty about
ditching her friend the night before at the bar, but it had been for Krista's
own good. Without a firm push in the right direction, Krista would have given
up without even trying. But she hadn't answered her phone all morning; so
finally, Jenna had decided to make the ten-minute trek over to her friend's
apartment to make sure she wasn't too angry with her and Sarah.

She knocked loudly on the door.
"C'mon Krista, open up. I'm not going anywhere until I talk to you."

The door swung open. Krista beckoned her
in. "Sorry, I was just getting out of the shower. I must not have heard
the bell."

Jenna's eyes narrowed as she followed
Krista into the kitchen. "Your eyes are puffy."

She saw the slight frown on Krista's face
before her friend turned away. "Would you like a cup of coffee?"

Jenna sat on the barstool at the counter.
"No thanks. I've already had breakfast and ran my five miles. So, whatever
happened with that hunky cowboy from last night?"

Uh-oh. She could see the look of anger
burning in Krista's eyes. "You mean,
Jake
?"

This didn't sound good. Krista's words
had come out in a sarcastic sneer. "Yeah, I guess. What happened? The last
that Sarah and I saw of you two, you were lip-locked on the dance floor. You
made quite a hot scene together. I thought someone was going to have to break
out a fire extinguisher and hose you two down."

"Well, after you guys
ditched
me, I was forced to bum a ride home off him." Krista poured herself a cup
of coffee and began adding sugar to it.

Jenna prompted, "And?"

Krista arched an eyebrow and then looked
downward. "And, that's it. He left. I won't be seeing him again." She
raised her coffee mug to her mouth to take a sip, but Jenna distinctly heard
her mutter, "Thank God."

She was clearly not getting the whole
story. "Wait a minute. What did Jake say or do that got you so riled up?
Was he an asshole to you?"

Krista seemed defensive. "He just
drove me home and that's the last of him. Can we just drop it now?"

Jenna put her hands up in surrender.
"Sure. No problem."

A single tear streaked down Krista's
cheek before she quickly turned away and angrily swatted at it with her hand.

"Whoa, Krista. What's going on? Are
you upset that you're not going to see him again?" Something was wrong and
Jenna wouldn't rest until she figured it out.

Krista was much too forceful with her
reply. "No! I never want to see that liar again!"

They stared at each other for a few moments,
Krista obviously regretting her outburst. Jenna was concerned. "Krista,
I'm your best friend. Tell me what's going on. Please."

A few moments of silence lingered before
Krista answered. “I let down my guard with him and I got burned. Well, I certainly
learned my lesson and I’ll
never
let it happen again.” Krista’s eyes blazed
with a fiery anger.

Jenna felt sympathy for her friend who
was obviously in pain. “You have to take chances in life every once in a while
or you’re not really living. Sometimes you lose, but you’ll never know if you
don’t try. Tell me, what exactly happened that was so awful?”

Krista started wiping at imaginary crumbs
on the counter as she talked. “He drove me back here and we really hit it off. We
had great chemistry. I ended up having sex with him. Which I
never
would
have done without all the needling you guys gave me last night.”

Jenna saw the accusation in her friend’s
eyes. “Krista, there's nothing wrong with having sex with a man you’re
attracted to. You've got to let all that sex guilt go. You're both responsible,
consenting adults. There’s nothing- Oh my God, is he married?”

“No. Well, actually I don’t even know. He
could be. But, after he got what he wanted, it slipped out that he had
overheard our conversation in the booth.”

Jenna tried to remember the conversation.
“What were we talking about? What did he hear us say exactly?”

Krista groaned. “That I was desperate.
That I hadn’t gotten laid in forever. God, I forgot about that until just now.
But even more humiliating, he heard that I had never had an orgasm with a man.
And I guess he made it his special mission to change that.”

Jenna had to suppress a smile. “Well,
that’s a little embarrassing, but it’s hardly devastating. So did he succeed at
his mission?”

Krista’s mouth dropped open. “That’s not
the point. The point is that he knew how desperate I was. That I was an easy
target for a quick no-strings fuck.”

“Isn’t that exactly what you wanted too,
Krista? I don’t see what the big deal is…” Jenna’s voice trailed off when she
saw the look of pain flash over Krista’s face.

Krista frowned. “It wouldn’t be a big
deal if I hadn’t allowed myself to think that he might just be interested in
me. That he could
ever
be interested in a girl like me for even a
moment. I was so stupid.”

Jenna studied her friend. “What do you
mean – a girl like you?”

“I mean, fat. Don’t give me that look,
Jenna.” Krista began wringing her hands. “You saw him. He was gorgeous.”

Sighing, Jenna spoke carefully. “You’re
gorgeous, too. You’ve got a killer body, Krista. Lots of men prefer voluptuous
and curvy over boney and stick-thin. Your real problem is all in your head,
girl. It’s your self-esteem that needs work. Trust me, I saw the way Jake
looked at you; he was definitely interested.”

Krista laughed bitterly. “
Jake
. His
real name is Neil. He just used a fake name to get laid. Then he slunk away
afterwards when he got what he wanted.”

Jenna shook her head in disbelief. “What?
That doesn't make any sense. That man doesn't need gimmicks to get a woman into
his bed. Are you sure, Krista?”

Krista walked over to the trash can and
opened it. She pulled out a familiar looking cowboy hat and handed it to Jenna.
“Jake must have forgotten this during his mad dash to escape last night. Read
the inside.”

Jenna took the hat and read the faded
words:
For Neil, With Love Forever: Cassie. “
So, maybe he’s not
with this Cassie anymore and he just kept wearing the hat. He’s not necessarily
a cheater. Did you ask him?”

Jenna was busy pulling some ripped up
pieces of paper out of the hat while her friend answered. “He gave me a fake
name! I don’t care how great the sex was; he overheard our conversation and
swooped in for an easy lay. He’s a liar and probably a cheater. I’m just mad
that I let myself get played so easily.”

“So he
was
great in bed? Did he
give you that elusive orgasm?” Jenna smiled at her friend’s exasperation.

Krista groaned as she headed over to the
coffeepot to refill her mug. “Several of them. And now, on top of everything
else, I know what loser guys I’ve been dating.”

Jenna put the two halves of the miniature
envelope together recognizing the name of the local floral shop. She attempted
to piece together the shredded card that came with it and could read only a few
bits: …
big misunderstanding. Please let… Call me. Jake.

“
If he was that terrific in bed, maybe you should at least talk
to him. Give him a chance to explain?”

Krista whirled around. “No! I never want
to see him again. He humiliated me and used me. I just want to forget it ever
happened. And don’t tell Sarah about it either.”

Stuffing the papers surreptitiously into
her pocket, Jenna answered. “Okay. Okay. I won’t mention it to Sarah. But don’t
let this one guy sour you on the whole male species. At the very least, you got
some good sex from him.”

“It was
too
good. Now I’m just going to scrub him from my mind somehow and I mean it,
Jenna, I never want to hear his name again. Whatever the hell it actually is.”
Krista picked up the cowboy hat and dumped it unceremoniously back into the
garbage can.

****

Still no
call.
Jake was surprised that he was so anxious for her phone
call. They barely knew each other. He had to at least admit to himself that he
had
been looking for some mindless sex to drown his sorrows. Her accusations were absolutely
correct. But spending time with her had been enjoyable. And the sex had been…
well, sexy. Not cold and mechanical. Her body had responded to his every touch,
and what a fantastic body it had been. Just thinking about it now made his
groin ache with renewed need.

When he had
blurted out that stupid comment about no man being able to give her an orgasm,
he saw the absolute shock and humiliation wash over her face.
God, if he
could only take that back.
He could understand how upset she was, but if
she would just let him explain, he was sure he could convince Krista to give
him another chance.

But she
wasn’t calling. She must have been really hurt and that didn’t sit well with
him at all. He had never intended to hurt her. Even the expensive flowers,
which almost always worked to patch things up with other women he knew in the
past, didn’t seem to do the trick. Krista wasn’t impressed by money or gifts.
She was more impressed by a person’s character.
And he had blown it
.

What would
he do if she didn’t call? He wasn’t a man to sit idly by and wait for someone
to act. He liked to take things into his own hands. But he didn’t know her
phone number; hell, he didn’t even know her last name. He could show up on her
doorstep, but that seemed too much like stalker behavior. He could hang around
at the bar and see if she ever dropped in again, but that just seemed pathetic.

No, if she
didn’t call him, it was her decision. He would just move on and find another
woman. But she had shown him one thing; he would look for a more sincere and
genuine woman- like her, not the cold and calculating trophy wife types that
seemed to move in his social circles. And of course, one that had a luscious
body, with curves that could bring a man to his knees, just like Krista’s.

Jake groaned
with frustration. Giving up was not in his nature, especially with someone who
turned him on as much as Krista. The chemistry between them was unmistakable.
He
would find a way.

When his
cell phone rang thirty minutes later, he didn’t get overly excited until he saw
the unknown phone number register on the screen.
Could it be her?

He smiled to
himself when he felt the butterflies flitting in his stomach. “Hello?”

He couldn’t
believe the bitter disappointment he felt when he heard the voice.
It wasn’t
Krista.
“Hello. May I speak with Neil, please?”

He sighed,
“No, I’m sorry, you must have the wrong number.”

The woman
read out his phone number. “Is that the number I called?”

Jake sank
onto his couch. “Yes, that’s correct, but there’s no Neil here.”

“But, that’s
the number he gave me. Who are you?” She sounded suspicious.

The phone
call was getting tedious, but he felt a little pity for the woman who was
probably tricked by some guy giving out a fake number, so he didn’t hang up
right away. “I’m Jake. Look, I’m sorry-

The woman
interrupted. “Jake! So that
is
your real name. Krista said your name was
Neil.”

Now the
crazy woman had his full attention. “Krista? You know Krista?”

“Yes, I’m
her friend, Jenna. The one who was sitting next to her in the booth.”

Jake vaguely
remembered her. He grinned as her recalled that he had spent most of the time
staring at Krista’s chest. “Yeah, I remember. So, she had her friend call me? I
guess I really blew it, huh?”

“Yeah, you
did. And she doesn’t know I’m calling you. She would kill me.” Jenna suddenly
sounded cautious again. “Are you sure your name isn’t Neil?”

He laughed.
“I’m pretty positive. Why would Krista say my name was Neil?”

Jenna answered
cuttingly, “Well, you left your cowboy hat at Krista’s place. And it says
inside, ‘To Neal with love forever from Cassie’. Does that ring any bells?”

Jake
groaned. “Oh. That’s not my hat. I borrowed it from some guy at the bar because
I heard you ladies mention that you were looking for a cowboy for the night. I
know how lame that sounds right now… Wow, Krista must be really angry.”

“Uh, that’s
putting it mildly.” Jenna replied.