Just Go (3 page)

It wasn’t until a month after I started using his services that the driver screwed up by dropping me off at the wrong location and I realized how Vick really makes his money. The driver was cute, and I might have been distracting her. So when I opened the door, she sped off embarrassed. I still remember the confusion and anger that was rolling through me when I realized I wasn’t at the art gallery that she was supposed to be taking me to. Until I saw where I was actually. Once I saw the first blow, saw the blood fly, I was hooked. I needed the rush of watching someone get the shit beaten out of him. When I added in gambling on the fights, I was set. I could keep using his business on a day to day, as needed, basis, but once I started throwing more money into the fighting, my contract with him went down a few grand, making it easier to stay connected to him.

The same night my life changed from my newfound hobby was the first time I heard about Annaliese. Up until last night, that was the best night ever.

Parking the car at my condo, I sigh and close my eyes. Shit, this isn’t how I wanted this afternoon to go. I should have called up one of the many nameless women in my phone to meet up for a quick fuck, but my mind wasn’t in tune with my dick apparently. I ended up back at my condo where the only thing that’s waiting for me is a full dishwasher and a very eager English Bulldog puppy that my sister just begged and begged me to get until I finally caved.

At least Thor will be happy to see me.

I hit the remote to lock my car and head to the elevators. The penthouse suite, my home sweet home, is a fifty second ride to the top, no interruptions, as soon as I put my key in its place. On the entire ride up to the top, I’m plagued with the vision of Annaliese perched on the counter, waiting for me to taste her, to fuck her.

Shit.

The elevator doors open and I walk into my lobby. My lobby. What twenty-nine-year-old man can say he has a lobby in his house? Me. That’s who.

Adam
fucking
Callahan.

The man who’s letting some brown haired, heaven sent, goddess... nope... she’s not a goddess. She is just another lay. It’s just been too long since my last one, and that’s why my body doesn’t want to forget her.

If I keep lying to myself, one day I’ll believe it.

As soon as the door opens, Thor comes running towards me, full speed ahead. I laugh and scoop him up, laughing at his slobbery kisses.

“Oh... hey, buddy! Did Auntie not take you out yet today?” I ask him in the stupidest voice I can muster as I walk towards the leash.

“Of course I did, dimwit!” My sister’s voice booms from the hallway. “He’s just a puppy. So freaking full of cuteness and energy,” she says as she smiles at me.

My sister and I are two totally different people but it’s obvious we were raised in the same household. She’s all kinds of professional on the outside, as am I, but we differ on the inside. She’s a romantic woman at heart who wants to find ‘the one’ with the house in the ‘burbs and kids. I shudder at the thought of all of that anymore. It’s crazy how much a person can change in less than a year.

“Thanks for letting him out, Bug.” I smile at her childhood nickname, knowing full well how much she hates it. When we were kids she used to scream anytime she saw a bug. Any bug, it didn’t matter.  She was so tiny though, that soon ‘bug’ became her only word. So it stuck, and she’s hated it ever since.

“You know I’d do anything for you,” she says in her playful, puppy dog voice.

“Aww thanks, little sis.” I laugh at her as Thor licks her open mouth then runs away to grab a chew toy from his box of dog play things.

“You know I meant Thor, nutso. Hey, Mom and Dad are expecting you at dinner tonight.”

She plops on my couch and I cringe at how backwoods she seems sometimes. We were raised with money, wealth, and status. This girl walks around naked half the time and eats while standing in front of the fridge. Sure she’s sophisticated when she needs to be, but she’s definitely not as upscale as she lets on to the public.

“I had dinner with them last night, Bug,” I grind out. How many nights a week are they going to keep me under their thumb? I have a business to run.

That’s why I’m sitting at home in the early afternoon. Because I’m such a busy motherfucker.

“Don’t care. Just here to let my precious baby out to potty and inform you that you will be attending with me tonight,” she cringes at the thought of dinner with my parents and I have to agree with her.

“Where?” I ask pulling out my phone, ready to text Benton that I might be late to the fight, but I’ll definitely be there.

“One of those dumb cook-it-in-front-of-you places, and don’t be late this time. Mom was all up in arms this morning on the phone that you were late to dinner last night,” she complains as she stands to leave.

“That’s bullshit. I would have made it if I didn’t have to help that girl,” I mumble to myself.

“What girl?” She stops and turns to look at me.

I never bring up the women I sleep with to my family. It would more than likely break my mother’s heart if she knew all of the times I have sex with random women in a week. My sister wouldn’t be heartbroken but I know I’d never hear the end of it. I’m not sure why I let the fact that I had to help Annaliese last night slip, but knowing my sister, she’s not going to let it go until I tell her.

“I, ah.... I saw a girl getting manhandled in an alley on the way to dinner last night. She needed help and I stopped to help her. End of story. Don’t you have somewhere to be?”

“I did, but this sounds more interesting. My brother, a knight in shining armor?” She grins and crosses her arms.

“Hardly. She was kind of a bitch,” I spit out the lie and it tastes horrible. She was a vixen with a fucking hot body and smart as hell mouth.

“Hmm.... I seriously doubt that. I’ll find out the real story. You can count on that.” She winks at me and is out the door just like that.

“Shit.” I rake my hands through my hair and try to breathe out the stress that’s taken over me ever since I realized I screwed myself with Vick. Jesus, if he ever finds out he’ll have my balls on a stick, and roast them for good measure.

Thor comes running down the hall full speed and tries his hardest to jump on my lap, yipping at me the whole time. I laugh and pick him up, helping him onto the couch. It bothered me when my sister sat on this and didn’t show the Italian leather the respect it deserves, but Thor’s my boy. I couldn’t care less if he damaged this couch.

I’ve had Thor a few months now and ever since the first night when he snuggled up next to me on my pillow, I’ve been hooked. He’s been jogging lightly with me or my sister every day since city dogs need the exercise due to being cooped up all day long. He sleeps in my bed at night. Sometimes he waits in the bathroom for me to get out of the shower. He’s pretty much the longest running true companion I’ve ever had. I don’t count my ex-wife.

It only takes me an hour or so to get ready, so before dinner I head out to my sister’s apartment to pick her up. Now we have an excuse to leave early together. I’ll just make up a work event that I forgot about. Then I leave and my sister will be without a ride so obviously she’ll have to leave also. A win-win for both of us.

“Hey Bug, you ready?” I ask in her intercom.

“Be right down!” I hear her yell.

As soon as we’re in the car it only takes us a few minutes to get to dinner and I shake my head in disgust at the hole in the wall restaurant I’m supposed to be eating at tonight.

“Are you sure this is right?” I ask reading the text my mom sent me.

“Absolutely. Yum-O,” she says dripping with sarcasm.

“What’s so special about this place?” I wonder out loud as we walk inside.

It’s insanely busy, and it looks like there’s a half hour wait for the poor patrons that don’t have reservations. Luckily, the Callahan name comes with an automatic reservation everywhere in the city.

“Come on, let’s grab a drink,” I say as my sister, stunning in her black dress and straightened black hair, wraps her arm with mine.

“Why would Mom and Dad make us eat here?” she grumbles, obviously pissed that she’s wasting a good dress on tonight’s dinner.

“Hell if I know,” I say.

As soon as I round the corner, I’m slammed into by a body. A body I’ll never forget.

Annaliese.

Shit. She looks so hot tonight.

She looks at me, then at my sister, and after mumbling an apology, takes off like a scared cat.

What the hell? Maybe she didn’t remember me?

I’m not one to easily forget; however, if she can’t remember me, I’m just going to have to rectify that situation.

Chapter 3

Annaliese

I rush back to my group, trying my hardest not to look like I just saw a ghost. He’s definitely not a ghost, and he’s most definitely the man from last night. And I’m fairly certain that he’s watching me walk away like a crazy woman.

“What the hell has you so spooked?” Gabby asks curiously as I walk up to her and take my now room temperature drink out of her hand. Not that the temperature registers much as I down it in two gulps. Her eyes narrow at me, but before she’s able to ask any questions about my behavior, our group is called to be seated.

“Whoa there, Ann,” Becker, an old roommate, warns as he takes the glass from me and guides me to our table.

“Don’t. It’s been a long day. Just let me not have any cares tonight, okay?” I’m not certain if he’s still watching me, but if he is, I don’t want him to see another man’s arm around me.

Why, though? What good would it do for him to think I’m pining over him? I’m not pining over him. I just can’t get his perfect body, and smell, and mannerisms, and voice out of my head. No biggie, right? It's nothing, and that just tells me I need to have sex more often with other men. That way the next time I do have a great lay, I won’t be constantly thinking about how amazing it was. Right?

Sure, I’ll tell myself that. Especially since he’s obviously not stuck on it. Not with the arm candy that he’s sporting tonight.

“Hey, chick, you sure you’re okay?” Gabby leans in and whispers in my ear as the rest of our group sits around the long, rectangle table.

“Sure, fine. Why?” I smile sweetly at her, discreetly wiping my sweaty palms on my skirt.

“You look a little frazzled, girlfriend. Have anything to do with running into Mr. Chicago himself?” Her eyes are pinned on mine and my heart drops.

That’s why he looked so familiar. Shit! How did I not recognize him last night!?

Adam Callahan.

Holy shit! I had sex with Adam Callahan. Not just sex either. Rough, dirty, hot, messy... the hottest sex I’ve ever had with the biggest man-whore of the entire city of Chicago. I almost feel dirty, in the way of ‘hey, I’ve practically fucked half the population of Chicago just by fucking Adam’, but the excitement of being one that he picked is enough to keep that feeling wrapped up tightly. Really, he didn’t have much of a choice. I didn’t give him one when I forced him to take me home.  The memories of last night play through my head.

“Good Lord.” He hums as he places small kisses everywhere near the one place I want most. My hand comes to rest on the top of his head and I start to thrust towards him. He growls and nips my leg, then  pushes two fingers inside me smoothly and curls them up, finding that perfect fucking spot to set me into my first of many mind blowing orgasms.

“Ah FUCK!” I yell out as his fingers play me. He growls again, a sound I’m beginning to really enjoy, then leans in and starts sucking and licking in a rhythm that has me coming for the first time tonight in mere seconds.

So much has happened today that it feels like so long ago, when in all reality it was just twenty-four hours ago that he was throwing that man off me in the alley. Twenty-four hours ago. That’s all.

Why does it seem like so much longer?

“You need a drink, Miss?” the waitress snaps me out of my daydream and I see my entire table of friends staring at me, waiting for me to answer so she can get to them.

“Oh, uh. Yes please. Martini. Dry,” I smile at her as she writes down my order and moves on to Gabby.

Soon after drinks are delivered and orders are placed, our chef comes to the table and cooks our food right in front of us, making a show of cracking and frying the egg without using his hands, sautéing the onions in an ‘onion volcano’, and using his flippers to make different beats and songs. When it comes time for the shrimp, he makes everyone at the table attempt to catch a shrimp in their mouth, no hands involved. I’m laughing and enjoying myself so much, especially since I was one of two of us that actually caught the shrimp, that I don’t notice
him
staring at me from the table next to us until I get up to use the bathroom. Our eyes meet and his immediately flash back to the stuffy group at his table, obviously annoyed with the loud, young crowd enjoying the dinner at the table next to them.

I walk by him, full of liquid courage, and run my hand lightly across his shoulders, slowly, then continue on my walk to the bathroom. I can’t stop from smiling at myself at how brazen I’ve become in the last day. Sure I can party like the rest of the girls my age, but as far as men go, I really don’t have too much experience outside of my ex and a few one-nighters in college. Something tells me that’s all about to change though.

There isn’t a line for the one room ‘family’ bathroom, so I look around to make sure there aren’t any parents needing to use it, then attempt to slip in unnoticed.

“You’re really going to do that?” I hear his voice behind me and smile.

Turning to face him, my hand still on the door handle holding the door wide open, I smile.

“I’m a family. I’m pregnant,” I whisper, trying my hardest to laugh at my insane joke. The effects of the drink I downed a few moments ago is starting to make my body buzz and make me say things I normally wouldn’t.

His face turns white and I realize what I just said. Stupid alcohol!

“You’re not,” he says quietly, all confidence from earlier gone.

“Ha! No. Not for me.”

“Okay… so my question still stands. You plan on using that big old bathroom all by yourself?” His grin sets me off and I know exactly what he’s doing.

“Looks like it,” I say as I slowly bite my lip and glide my fingers down my neck.

His jaw clenches and he starts slowing shaking his head. When his eyes flick back to his table, more than likely to see if anyone is watching him, I turn and slip into the bathroom. I make it in, but the door doesn’t close behind me. Not until he’s standing inside with me, locking it, and turning to face me.

“What’re you doing?” I ask feeling the effects of my drinks more and more as I stand in front of him. Or is that just the effect he has on me? I’m not sure, but either way I need to lean on something. I back up against the wall farthest from the door and smile, realizing there’s a counter for me to sit on. Sweet! I hop up and sit, keeping eye contact with him the entire time. His eyes have darkened and his expression more menacing than it was out in the hallway, out in public.

“I could ask you the same thing,” he grinds out as he slowly walks towards me and spreads my legs to stand in between them. Thank God I wore a loose skirt tonight or this would be incredibly awkward. Taking my right leg, he extends it to inspect the red heels Gabby let me borrow. “Very nice,” he purrs as his hand slowly lets my leg drop and he brings his gaze back to mine.

“Thank you,” I smile and sigh as his hands start rubbing my thighs. Gently, he massages my legs and his lips come close to my ear.

“I can’t stop thinking about how you looked last night. How you felt and reacted to me with your ass on display for me. The only thing you had on were those damn heels. I can’t get you out of my mind,” his breath is warm on my ear, making every part of me light up with electricity and need. “Problem is, I see you here tonight with these sexy heels on and think, ‘Damn, now I have to have her in those heels, too,’ so here I am. And you know what I’ve decided?” his lips connect right behind my ear and waves of pleasure start rolling through me.

“What’s that?” I manage to get out as he attacks my most sensual spots making me gasp.

“I want to fuck you in every pair of heels you own,” he growls then bites down on my collarbone.

I gasp then smile when he plants kisses all around the fresh bite.

“Mmm... really?” I kid and he nips my earlobe making me squirm from the need for more friction between my legs. “These aren’t my heels, though,” I smile and he backs up to look at me, seriously.

“Then I’d very much like to buy you every pair of 'fuck me' heels in Chicago, then do you in them, and nothing more. Preferably up against the glass window in my top floor penthouse.”

That kills every piece of desire I had for him. That one dumb, stuffy comment.

“Does that really work?!” I push him back, astounded that I almost fell for his lame ass line and him throwing his money in my face like that. “Is that all it takes to get one of your nameless bimbos back to your place? Throwing your money around like that?”

Why am I suddenly so mad?

“What?” he asks, his voice full of confusion, but I don’t stop there.

“You know, I’m glad I fucked you when I was drunk. It was amazing but I’d never do someone as stuck up as you in my right mind. Either get some class or get some new lines. I’d hate to know the number of women you’ve actually fucked against that window.” I shutter in disgust and grab my purse, prying myself away from the beautiful man currently staring at me like I’m nuts.

“You’ve got me wrong, Annaliese,” he growls gripping gently onto my wrist before I make it to the door. “Give me a shot. Just me and you. Exclusive. What do you say?”  His eyes are begging me and the heat radiating from our connection is making me so hot my panties are soaked, but I pull my arm back and force a laugh.

“Me and you… and half the population of Chicago,” I whisper shaking my head, then leave the bathroom before realizing I completely forgot to pee.

“Crap,” I say and sneak into the women’s bathroom before he’s able to walk out and back to his table.

I can’t believe I let myself get wrapped up in him. My father has warned me to stay away from him. He told me that he’s just a no good cheater. His poor wife was left with nothing after he apparently cheated on her multiple times with multiple people. Grade-A asshole. I almost let him seduce me for a second night in a row. I’ll blame last night on being drunk and not really knowing who he was, other than some insanely good looking gentleman who helped walk me home. Now that I know who he is, however, I’m going to be more careful. My body is still screaming for him, but my mind is currently winning.

Would I have liked to screw him in the bathroom just now? Sure! What girl would give up a chance to be with Mr. Chicago, especially two nights in a row? Apparently I would, and I did. Washing my hands, I smile at my reflection.

I’ve come a long way from the chubby, awkward teenager phase I went through. Now the dark hair, side-swept bangs, and perfectly applied makeup fits me perfectly. Heck, I surprise myself sometimes at how put together I actually look. There are plenty of men out there that are good enough for me, I just have to find them.

I sigh and wash my hands, taking a breath before leaving the bathroom. I keep my eyes down and walk back to our table without looking around. It takes everything I have not to see if he’s in his chair at his table, but I don’t.

Sitting back down, Gabby leans over to me and smiles.

“Have fun in there?” she grins and I see her eyes flick towards Adam’s table.

“Stop. Please,” I whine grabbing my water and downing it in a few gulps.

“I’m not sure, but it looks like you two went into the same bathroom and came out looking incredibly flustered,” she says, her eyebrows raised and grin plastered on her face.

“Gab, drop it. Nothing happened.” She doesn’t know he’s the man from last night, and I’d like it to stay that way.

“Fine, leave a girl hanging,” she huffs and straightens herself in her seat, sipping her drink and looking my way every few seconds.

The rest of dinner is uneventful. What started out as such a great evening quickly became torture when I realized I couldn’t look straight ahead without seeing him in my peripheral vision. The one time I glanced over at his table, his arm was draped over the back of that woman’s chair. The woman who was so beautiful it was hard for me to look away. Why would he follow me to the bathroom, why would he pursue me like he did when he has someone like that wrapped around his pinky finger?

“Who’s up for shots?” I hear one of the girls in our group yell and roll my eyes.

Some of us have grown up and grown out of the ‘go out and get shitfaced every night of the week’ part of college. Others in our group are still getting there. This girl, Magan, I think her name is, is dating Chad. So far tonight, she’s been incredibly annoying. From whining about her new Audi that her parents bought her not having the right color leather, to complaining that her shoes don’t match her dress perfectly. So freaking annoying. I’m not sure what Chad sees in her.

“Maybe she has a golden pussy,” Gabby leans over and whispers in my ear, reading my thoughts.

I laugh and shake my head. “Be nice,” I warn.

“What? You had that look. I can’t stand her either,” she says, then groans and stands. “Alright you youngins’! I’m out. Let’s go, Ann. This bitch needs her beauty sleep before her interviews tomorrow.” She grabs my arm and helps me up as we walk out the front door.

Her mention of a job hunt makes me nervous of never finding something that I truly enjoy doing. The state of Illinois isn’t the best place to go into education right now and if I don’t end up in a classroom, I’m not sure what I’ll do.