The Right Kind of Love (4 page)

The funny part was that I knew I was a pig. I loved women and had to have a variety. Once she heard how loud we got, that was going to send her through the fucking roof, and I would just sit on my throne and fucking laugh my ass off.

I did have to wonder, for the love of God, what the hell I’d gotten myself into with this one.

I turned on my heel and headed toward the front door. I’d be damned if she interfered with my libido. I planned to have a chick in my bed tonight.

But the more I looked at her, the more I knew there was more behind those eyes than she was letting on. There was a reason that stick was clearly planted in her ass, and I was going to have to find out why. She might be a diva, but I could see some of her soft side poking through. The way she cared for her dog spoke volumes about the type of person she was. I could tell she was caring and loving just by the way that she treated Zeus.

Sydne
y

I
rolled over on the mattress, which wasn’t covered with sheets, and looked at my phone. It was two a.m. and the noises from Damien’s room were out of control. I could hear the bed hitting the wall every time he pounded into one of his skanks and her moans sounded more like a cat than a human. It was disgusting. How I ever got myself into this situation, I would never know. I should just pack up my shit and try a different city. But I did have a job lined up here with a great salon. The banging on the wall started to get louder and it became more frequent. And I swear I heard his skank meowing. I didn’t have much experience with sex, but who the hell meows? I grabbed one of my other pillows and pulled it over my head while Zeus snuggled further into my side. He just looked at me and then put his head back down while his poor little ears twitched. I’m sure he didn’t like this any more than I did.

The lust-filled sounds finally stopped and I fell into a light slumber. I was woken up again at four a.m. this time with the same freaking noises. This was unbelievable. What kind of stamina did this man-whore have? I was about to go march my ass over to his door and knock some flipping sense into him, but then it stopped. I laid my head back on the pillow and then went back to sleep.

Not twenty minutes later, Zeus was nudging me with his paw and then he jumped off the bed and ran to the door. Duty calls. I guess it didn’t matter what time of day it was. My little buddy had to go. Rearranging my clothes that I had slept in from the day before, I walked over to Zeus and picked him up, and then grabbed his leash off the dresser.

“Come on, little guy, let’s go do your business.” I walked out of the apartment and made my way down the steps. For the love of God, is he everywhere I go now? Damien was standing on the sidewalk with a cigarette in his hand and not a care in the world.

“You know, smoking isn’t good for your health,” I said casually as I walked by him and over to the grassy patch to let Zeus go potty.

“Neither is that stick up your ass.” He took a drag off his cigarette.

“Whatever, Damien. I don’t know why I even started talking to you. It’s too early to get into a fight with you.” I put my hand up to ward off any further conversation.

“Does he always wake you up in the middle of the night to take a piss?” He took another drag off his cigarette.

“Well, sometimes. He’s a good dog, though. He’s never had any accidents and holds it all day while I’m at work. So you won’t have to worry about him when I’m not here.” I leaned over and picked up his tootsie roll he left for me.

“That’s cool. You know I can take him out if you need me to when you’re not here. We should probably exchange digits just in case we need to get ahold of one another.” God, I’m sure I looked dreadful with my bed head.

“Sure, we can do that, but Zeus won’t be a problem. I usually kennel him while I’m gone or leave him in my room with the door closed.”

“Great, just let me know.” He put his cigarette down on the ground and stomped it out.

“Yeah, thanks. You know what would be really nice if maybe you can tone down the noise some. I’m no prude, but damn, I bet you had the whole building up listening to you and that skank meowing.”

“Like I said—stick up your ass.”

“Pig”

I picked up Zeus and walked up the stairs slamming the door behind me. I padded my way down the hallway and went to my room slamming yet another door.

Thankfully, I didn’t have a nightmare. Since the night that monster had taken advantage of me, I often woke up in a pool of sweat and breathless for fear that he was attacking me again. My roommate and best friend Bee had been woken up on many occasions from my loud cries. She said I had actually been screaming on occasion. It was a secret I was going to take to the grave with me because it’s such a horrific situation that I hoped someday it wouldn’t always be in the forefront of my mind.

I didn’t tell her who it was and maybe I should have, but I just didn’t want to stir up any more drama that would come from the situation. And let me tell you to divulge who it was would be sheer drama and turn my life more upside down than it actually was already.

I walked over to my bed and settled back down to sleep. I heard the front door open and close again. Hopefully, Damien’s skank was leaving for the night or shall I say morning. Doing the walk of shame.

Zeus cuddled up next to me, and I fell back into a dreamless, restful sleep.

Rolling over on my back, I let the smell of bacon and coffee fill my senses. Something smelled yummy, and I needed to get out of bed to find out what it was.

I know I called him a pig.

A lot.

But maybe he would share his food with me since I hadn’t eaten anything at all after arriving yesterday. I was starved, and my stomach was violently growling. Sitting up, I ran my hands through my blonde tresses and finger combed it. There was no doubt it had to be a rat’s nest. My clothes were so wrinkled and I just felt dirty. I hopped out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom. A much-needed shower was in order before I could face the day.

I jumped out of the shower and put on a denim skirt and a black halter top. It was simple and would keep me cool in this hot as Hades weather. I pulled my damp hair up into a ponytail and then added a bit of mascara to my lashes and a light sweep of lip gloss. This would have to do for now. I normally wore my make-up when I worked and did a hell of a lot more with my hair. Being a hair stylist, people looked at you by example. They didn’t want someone who clearly didn’t give a shit about their appearance to cut and style their hair. You had to look the part.

Today I was just going to run some errands and unpack. I really didn’t have much on my schedule, and let's be honest, there was no way in hell I was trying to impress Damien.

I gathered Zeus and his leash up and headed out of my bedroom following the delicious smells to the kitchen.

Damien was standing at the stove wearing a pair of worn jeans and nothing else. His jeans looked so soft that I could only imagine what they felt like against his skin. His bare feet exposed and his tattoos in all of their glory. He wasn’t as muscular as I originally thought. He was lean and fit, but he wasn’t overly bulky and his skin had a beautiful, healthy glow. He was simply mouthwatering. He turned to me and I could see the V dip below his low slung jeans. Holy hell, those baggy jeans were sexy as hell on him.

“Hey, Sweets, you hungry?” He gave me a warm smile.

“The name is Sydney, not Sweets, and yes, I’m famished.” I peered around him to see what he had cooked. “Looks like you did the works. Bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee smells divine. I actually think it woke me up, which is much better than your little sex fest waking me up.” I snatched a piece of bacon. He looked at me and I giggled. I put the bacon to my mouth and savored each bite as I chewed. “I’ll be back.”

“All right. Take your time. The food will be here when you get back.” He winked at me. What was up with the winking? I swear this man had no couth. We were so hot and cold it was giving me whiplash. “Do you have something in your eye, Damien?

He just stared at me and smiled. I swear. Men.

Zeus and I strolled outside. He did his business rather quickly, and then we hustled back inside. I set him down on the ground and he went around sniffing everything checking out his new place. Walking back into the kitchen, I went to check to see what was going on with the food.

“You ready to eat?” Damien handed me a plate of food.

“Thanks. I’m starving. Are we eating at the breakfast bar or the table?” I asked genuinely.

He walked past me, and I checked out his fine as hell ass.
Sydney, knock this shit off. You shouldn’t be checking out his ass. First of all, he’s a pig and secondly, why are you even thinking about a man. They are off limits.

“Let’s eat at the table.”

I followed him over and set in the chair across from him, my view now of the entire living room and him sitting facing the kitchen. I dug into my food with gusto. “Damien, this is delicious. Thank you so much for cooking and sharing with me. Despite being a pig, you still can whip up some tasty food.”

“So you still think I’m a pig?” He looked at me with humor in his eyes. I’m glad he thought this was some type of joke.

“Yep.” I popped my P.

“Well, we’re even because you, my friend, have a stick so far up your ass I can almost see it coming out the other side.” He took a sip of his coffee and then had the nerve to smile at me.

Boy, was I glad his skank was gone already. I honestly didn’t think I could have sat there and ate with her in my presence. She would probably meow each time she took a bite.

“So what are you plans today, Sweets?” Nice change of topics. First, he insults me, and now he wants to know what my plans are. Geez. Men can be so callous sometimes.

“Well, if you must know. I plan to go to Target to buy bedding and then to the grocery store to get some food.” I brought my coffee to my mouth blew on it and took a sip. My eyes about rolled back into my head once I tasted it. It was the best coffee I’ve had in a very long time. “Mmm, this is good.”

“Yeah, it’s the shit. I only like to buy the dark roast. It’s Mahogany by Caribou.” He took a sip of his, and I’m sure, savoring the flavor. “There’s a Target just on the other side of the highway and then the Whole Foods grocery store is in the same parking lot, so it should be pretty convenient for you.”

“That sounds perfect. Would you mind giving me directions when we’re done so I know where to go?” I ate some more of my delicious breakfast.

“How about if I take you? I don’t have to be at work until one and it is only ten now. We should have plenty of time. It won’t matter if I’m a little late since I own the shop and all.” He took a bite of his toast followed by washing it down with some coffee.

He wanted to go with me.

Hmm.

I’m not sure I really wanted to spend any more time than necessary with this man-whore, but well, honestly, I didn’t know where anything was, and I could really use a tour guide.

“Sure, I suppose that’ll work out just fine. I appreciate it.” I took the last bite of my toast and followed it down with more of the delicious coffee.

Zeus ran over to me and jumped in my lap. “Hey, little buddy. Do you want to share the last piece of bacon with me? His tail started shaking like he was having a seizure. I tore off a piece and fed it to him and then took a bite for myself.

“You feed him human food?” Damien looked at me with surprise.

“Yeah, so, he likes it.” I tore off another piece and fed it to him.

“I don’t want him shitting all over the apartment, Sydney.” He looked like he was getting pissed.

“Geez, Damien. Will you chill the hell out? It’s just two tiny pieces of bacon. I feed him table scraps all of the time, and he never has a problem controlling himself.” I took another sip of my coffee and then leaned over and gave Zeus a kiss on top of his head while he lavished me with puppy kisses.

“Fine, you better be right. If he starts shitting all over the house, then he’s going to have to go.”

What an asshole.

“He goes, I go. Don’t worry, asshole, he’ll be fine.” I set Zeus down on the floor and got up from the table. I walked into the kitchen, rinsed, and then loaded my plate and fork into the dishwasher. I turned my head and looked down in front of the window. There was a bowl out with water.

How flipping sweet that he thought of Zeus.

“Thanks for putting a water bowl out for Zeus. I really appreciate it,” I tossed over my shoulder.

Damien walked into the kitchen and went about washing his plate and loading it while I worked on getting everything off the stove.

“What are you doing, Sydney?” Damien looked at me, his arms crossed over his chest.

“Well, you cooked, so I thought I’d clean.” I started washing out the frying pan.

“You’re going to clean up this mess?” He looked at me like I was doing something wrong.

“Well, yeah, that’s the way we do it where I’m from,” I told him while I scrubbed.

“So where exactly are you from?”

“I’m from Detroit.” I guess we didn’t really know much about one another.

“Cool.”