One Shot Too Many

Nikki Winter

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

Copyright©
2012
Nikki Winter

Editor:
Stephanie Parent

Proofreader: N
ovellette Whyte

Cover Artist:
Nancy Grayson Donahue

Published by Mocha Memoirs Press, LLC

All rights reserv
ed. No part of this book may be
used or reproduced electronically or in print
without written permission, except in the case of
brief quotations embodied in reviews.
Due to
copyright laws you cannot trade, sell or give any
e-books away.

This is a work of fiction and may contain descriptions of adult situations, explicit language, and
scenarios
.
This story is for adults only.
Please keep this out of the hands of peopl
e under the age of 18 years old.

Can I just say that this story was
full of awkward starts and stops
from beginning to end? Why you ask? Oh just because I laughed every few sentences so it was sort of hard to focus. Then there was the fact that I
originally
wrote in a separate name while working on this so I wouldn’t damage mine eyes due to imagery that a certain someone’s name conjured.
Thank God for “find and replace.”
(grin) Love you Billy! Mean it! Honest! Although I have to say, I damn well better be getting my own Italian after this Londoner
. O
r heads will roll!
Roll
I say! Okay, I’
m done being strange now. G
o forth and enjoy this lovely little short! –Nikki

Chapter One

Two a.m. It was
two a.m.
Yet the asshole banging on her door apparently hadn’t caught that memo. Billy Calleira ran a hand down her face, trying to wipe some of the blurriness from her eyes. For a second she considered lying in bed and pretending she didn’t hear him, but then came, “Biiiiiiiiiiiiiillllllllllllyyyyyyy! Open the door! Pleeeeeeeeease. I need to....I need to talk to you.” Pause. “It’s....It’s important. Biiiiiiiiiiiiiilllllllllllyyyyyyyyyy.”

Her brows lowered. “Oh Jesus Christ.” She
knew
that voice. With a groan, Billy slid out of bed as the banging and the pleas continued. Finally she reached her condo’s front door and stood on her tiptoes to peer through the peephole.

With a roll of her eyes and another groan, she unlocked the door and swung it open. “Noah? What the hell are you doing here?”

Barely holding his six-foot-four frame up, Noah Perugino—her fiancé’s best friend—squinted down at her from the hallway of her building, the glare of the scattered lights no doubt burning his eyes. “Need...need to talk to you.”

The smell of whiskey reached out and wrapped itself around her olfactory glands. With a grimace, she backed away. “You’re drunk.”

One side of his mouth curled and he spread his arms out wide. “I’m not drunk.” He stumbled then chuckled a bit. “I’m just a little…” Pause. “
Fuzzy
around the edges.”

Billy rubbed her temples. “Noah, why are you here? You’re supposed to be doing that bullshit last-night-as-a-single-man thing with Kasey.” Otherwise known as the man she was set to marry in just a week; a man she had more and more doubts about each day. Not to mention she was partially in love with the blasted-off-his-ass fool standing in front of her, but that was really neither here nor there. She couldn’t have Noah.

It was something she’d accepted from the first moment she’d laid eyes on him four years prior—courtesy of Kasey. She and Kasey had only been dating a month, but things had been going well enough. The pair had met at a late night sports bar, only introducing themselves after getting into a rather entertaining argument about that year’s Super Bowl.

Kasey had asked her out, and at the time Billy found him too cute to pass up. That changed in no time. Kasey was still cute. And apparently too cute to ever have any time for her anymore. Three years later, and every day she wondered what would’ve happened if it had been
Noah
that she’d met first—Noah, who ironically was supposed to be with Kasey that night at the bar.

The day she’d met Noah was the day her life changed. One look at him and she was
lost.

You can’t have him.
It was a thought she had often. Despite Kasey’s constant absence as of late, she was going to marry him, she was going to love him, and she was going to be happy.

Liar.

Noah’s ice-blue eyes narrowed on her before he glanced up at the ceiling and then quickly down at the floor. “We did dooooooooo that.” He bit his bottom lip. “But
I
…left because...because...”

Billy started away from the door. “I’m calling you another cab.”

Noah reached out and gently gripped her forearm before he pouted, the hard angles of his face suddenly turning boyish as he shook his head slowly. “Noooo...I came all the way here just to talk to
you.”
He pressed his index finger to her nose. “I always thought this was cute.”

Okay...
Billy sighed. “Noah, you need to go
home.”

He frowned as he ran a hand through the short-cropped black curls on his head. “No! I want to talk to
you!”
Noah shouted.

Billy heard Mrs. Heche’s door open from across the hall; her neighbor was otherwise known as the “Hallway Nazi from yore.” Nosey old sow was standing in her doorway, glaring like an old-school principal.

She looked back to her uninvited guest. “Jesus. Keep your voice down.”

Noah leaned down until they were nose to nose. “Either you let me in or...I get waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay louder,” he sung. “Your choice, imp.”

Eyes narrowing, she backed up until he could step across the threshold before slamming the door on Mrs. Heche’s peering. Noah stumbled around her living room, staring at everything as if he’d never seen it all before. Irritated now, Billy snapped, “Go in the kitchen and sit.”

He turned those eyes on her, tilting his head like a confused puppy. “You’re yelling at me.”

“You show up at my doorstep at two in the morning and you think what?” She folded her arms across her chest. “That I’m going to be speaking in soft dulcet tones?”

Look turning to sorrowful, Noah slurred, “You’re angry with me.”

Billy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she re-opened them he was still staring at her. “I’m not angry with you.” How could she be when he was standing there looking so damn adorable?  “Just go in the kitchen and sit down. I’ll make you some coffee.”

With one last glance in her direction, he did as she asked. Billy took a second to get herself together before she followed after him. Noah had his forehead pressed to the kitchen island and was humming softly. Not surprising, seeing as how he owned a bar downtown where he played with his band as lead singer and guitarist on a regular basis. Billy guessed that was where he and the rest of the Cro-Magnons had spent their night of male celebration—which begged one question.

“Noah?”

He lifted his head, only resting his chin on the granite counter as he peered up at her through obscenely long black lashes; his large arms were folded, dragon tattoo sleeves clearly in view.

“Where are the rest of the guys?”

Noah spoke, but it was mumbled because his arms were blocking his mouth. Reaching across, she moved them. “What?”

“I said...
they’re
in a”—his voice dropped to a whisper as he looked around like someone was watching—“hotel room...with...with...”

Billy’s brows rose. “With?”

Abruptly he sat up, flinging his arms out to his sides. “They’re with strippers!” Noah cried, obviously no longer worried about whomever his imagination had conjured into watching them.

She slapped a hand to her forehead. “I should’ve seen that coming.”

Her guitarist shook his head. “
No...
you don’t understand.” It was back to the whispering.

Frowning, she asked, “What don’t I understand?”

He leaned across the counter and gently grabbed her shoulders. “Kasey is
with
them.”

“So...” In Billy’s mind she knew she’d be kidding herself if she thought Kasey
wouldn’t
have strippers at his party. Hell,
she’d
had strippers at hers a few days prior.

Noah huffed like he was put out and shook his head again. Billy had the feeling that if he kept that up he’d get dizzy and slip right off the barstool he was resting on. “You don’t get it...you never get it...” he murmured. Then he stood and started out of the kitchen.

“Where are you going?” Billy questioned as she followed. He walked into her living room and plopped down on the couch, his eyes sliding closed.

“Don’t wanna go home...wanna stay here with you,” he was muttering.

She walked closer. “Noah, I need to call you a cab.”

Opening his eyes, he glared at her. “No.”

“
Yes.
”

That glare became harsher. “
No.”

This was getting exhausting. “Noah—”

Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her over to stand between his legs before he placed his head on her tummy and wrapped his arms around her waist. Tingles swept her body like a wildfire, leaving every erogenous zone heated and suddenly awake. Her clit swelled at the same time as her nipples hardened. Just like that, she wanted him from the simplest of touches. “Don’t make me go, Billy. I can’t...I can’t do it another night,” he slurred.

Letting out a breath, she ran a hand through his hair, enjoying the silky feel of it beneath her fingertips. “Can’t do what?” she queried softly.

He looked up at her but didn’t lift his head from its resting place. “Be without you...”

Her stomach dropped.

His brows lowered. “Why...why are you doing this to me?”

Billy’s mind ran a mile a minute. “Doing what?”

Noah’s lip curled. “Marrying
him.”

She tried to slip out of his arms. They were in dangerous territory now. “Noah—”

He gripped her tighter. “He doesn’t...he doesn’t...he doesn’t
love
you, you know?” Pressing his cheek back to her tummy, he added, “Not like
I love you.”
His hands ran down her hips to the backs of her thighs, his fingertips creeping up the bottoms of her pajama shorts.

Mouth gone dry now, she tried to slip out of his arms once again, and once again she failed. “Noah—”

“He cheats on you,” he said softly.

Billy  froze. “What did you just say?”

Noah shrugged his huge shoulders, still keeping his hold on her. “I said he
cheats on you.”
He gave a desperate chuckle. “All the...all the time. Bastard is probably cheating right now.”

“You’re drunk.”

“I’m telling the truth!” Finally letting her go, he sat back and stared at her through glassy eyes. “I saw him!”

Billy backed away. “I’m going to bed and you need to sleep this off.”

Noah stood. “I’ve watched him, Billy. He...he does it
all
the time. And I asked him.” His voice rasped. “I asked him
why?”
Pause. “I said why are you doing this to Billy? She
loves
you...she’s gonna...she’s gonna
marry
you.” Those blue eyes went stormy with fury. “And do you know what he said?” He leaned toward her. “Hmm? He...he said... ‘Nice girl, great fuck, and she’s dependable. But I like my freedom. She doesn’t have to know.’”

She sucked in a deep breath.

“And do you know what I did for you, Billy? Do...do you know what
I
did for
you?”
Noah smirked. “I
hit
him.” He pointed to his jaw. “
Right
here. I hit him
right
here for
you.”

Billy swallowed. “You should...you should lie down and get some sleep.”

He bit his lip. “He went in the room...he went in the room with one of the women and, Billy, he didn’t come back out. Don’t believe me?” Pulling a card from his back pocket, he placed it in her hand. “Here’s the room key, go...go see for yourself.”  His eyes turned sad. “I didn’t want the strippers. I just want...I just want you.” Reaching out, Noah ran a hand down the side of her face. “I’ve
always
wanted you. He doesn’t...deserve you. I do.
I
deserve
you.” He slapped a hand against his chest. “Marry
me.
You should marry
me,
Billy. Not him. Not Kasey.
Me.”

Placing her hands against his chest, she tried to slow the hammering of her heart. “Noah, I want you to listen to me, okay? You had one
way
too many, and we both know you don’t really want to—”

He placed his fingers against her lips. “Don’t do that. Don’t tell me what I...I feel for you. I
know
what I feel.” Framing her face, he stared down into her eyes. “I
love
you.” He kissed her
hard;
his tongue slipped into her mouth and tangled with her own, leaving the taste of Jack in its wake; leaving her pussy aching to be filled by him.  Then he let go and sat on the couch once again before passing out cold.