CHAPTER ELEVEN

Grady

I slammed a hand down on the steering wheel. “Shit!” My voice was gruff and hoarse as it broke through the crisp morning air that filled my truck’s empty cab.

Ten hours later, no sleep, and I still had no idea what the hell had happened last night. She was pissed, that much was clear. Where had I made my misstep? She’d practically thrown herself at me, not that I’d minded, but if it hadn’t been what she wanted then why did she do it? Was this some sort of twisted game she was playing? Had that been Princess Peach instead of Naomi? Was she even able to separate the two anymore?

I pulled into the fire station and was greeted by an eager and smiling Jose standing next to his Camaro. He was the last person I wanted to deal with today.

“Hey, Grady. I need to get your picture for the website before breakfast.”

“Who put the rookie in charge of the website?” I asked as we walked through the parking lot and into the station.

“Hey, I have degrees in web design and computer science.”

“Seriously?” I looked over at him and raised my eyebrows. “How’d you end up here?”

“My grandpop was a fireman. He passed away a few years ago, thought this would be a good way to honor his name. Besides, I’m no geek who wants to sit behind a computer all day long.”

“Nice. I need a cup of coffee and then I’ll be ready.”

The day had been long. A quiet day at the station had left too much time to sit and stew. By the time I’d gotten off work and stopped by Naomi’s, her Jeep was gone. I knocked on the front door just in case she’d parked down the street to make me think she wasn’t home when she was hiding out, but no answer. I stayed put until half past eight and still no sign of her. I navigated to the Wet & Wyld website on my phone, but Princess Peach was offline. Where was she? I should have been glad she was offline, but I felt awful. This wasn’t the way I had wanted it to happen.

I drove to the bar adjacent to the fire station, hopeful that a few beers would dislodge the giant boulder in my stomach. The dive bar was already busy. Jose and a few of the other guys had gone straight after work and still wore the navy shirts with our fire emblem on the chest. Usually, we were the main attraction in the bar — women loved to hit on us to fulfill some sort of fantasy and we ate that shit up. Tonight, though, even Jose was sitting down and watching across the circle bar to the other side where a lot of commotion and noise was taking place. My eyes followed and I stopped dead in my tracks, seeing red.

Naomi wore a black dress that showed a generous amount of cleavage. Her hair was loose and hung around her shoulders, face free of the bright colors she usually wore on her lips and eyes when she was on camera, but there was no mistaking her. It seemed the crowd hadn’t been misled either.

One particularly obnoxious guy stood at her side while his friends watched off to the side. I couldn’t hear his words, but her face told me everything I needed to know.

I reached her just in time to hear his slurred words. “Princess Peach, what’ll this get me?” He held up a dollar bill and placed it on the bar in front of her.

“It’s enough for an ass-kicking.” I stepped in between her and the smiling jackass.

He looked me up and down and then as if deciding he was in over his head, held his hands up. “Didn’t mean any harm. Can’t blame a guy for asking.”

He shrugged off, and I took his place.

“Oh, like you’re any better. Ninety-nine more dollars and he’d have paid as much as you,” Naomi spat and then stood, wobbling on her feet.

I placed my hands on her waist, feeling the same shock I always got when I touched her.

“I don’t need you to save me. I can take care of myself.”

She pulled out her keys and I grabbed them, holding them tight in my palm. “Yeah, that’s clear. Come on, I’ll have Jose follow in my truck.”

I held her elbow and guided her toward the exit. She didn’t resist, but I could feel her annoyance.

“Rookie sober?” I asked the guys as we approached the other side of the bar. They all nodded and Jose pointed to the water glass in front of him.

I tossed him my keys and motioned toward the door. “Follow me in my truck.”

Jose looked like an awe-struck teenager, but he kept his mouth shut as I got Naomi in the passenger side of her Jeep.

“You so much as put a scratch on my truck and I’ll kick your ass,” I called out to him and got behind the wheel.

“I’m sorry about last night,” I said when it was clear she wasn’t going to be the first to speak. “I wasn’t paying you for sex. I was just trying to make up for the time you missed. I know how important your job is to you, and I don’t want to screw that up for you… even if I do hate what you’re doing.”

“I never intended to go online last night. At least not while you were there. I made that decision before you ever stepped foot into my apartment so you can stop feeling guilty for costing me an hour of work.”

“I don’t understand. You said you needed to —”

“I know what I said. I thought if I could show you that I’m a woman now, you’d stop treating me like a child.”

“Sweetheart, I stopped seeing you as a child years ago.”

Her eyes went wide in surprise.

“So it was Princess Peach last night then? You were proving a point so I’d stop bothering you about your job?”

“No, not exactly. Yes, I wanted to prove a point, but I didn’t intend to let it go that far. Princess Peach started it, but I finished it.”

“Why?”

“I’ve had a crush on you since I was a kid. Two birds, one stone I guess.” She shrugged like it was no big deal.

I pulled up in front of her apartment, and my truck’s lights flashed behind us.

“You should sleep it off tonight, but I’m coming by in the morning, and we’re talking about this.”

“I’m not drunk. I haven’t had a drop of alcohol. I was waiting for you. I thought you’d show up and I could make you jealous like you made me last night.”

“Last night?”

“Your hot date,” she said in a clipped voice.

“That’s what you think?” The pieces were starting to fall together. Between the money and my running off to an alleged hot date, she’d felt used. “There wasn’t anyone else last night. I’m not sure I could even get it up for another girl after seeing you naked,” I admitted with a chuckle. “My dick has a one-track mind, laser-focused on Naomi.”

“You mean Princess Peach.”

“No, I said what I meant.” Jumping down from the Jeep, I quickly circled behind it to open her door. Grabbing her hand, I tugged her down beside me. “Come on, I have an idea.”

I got her inside and ran back out to my truck, filling Jose in and then hustling back to Naomi before she changed her mind and locked me out.

She stood at the counter between the kitchen and living room and looked from Jose to me as we entered.

“This is Jose. He’s a big fan of your work,” I said, patting him on the back. “He’s going to help you set up a website so you can get out from under your Wet & Wyld contract and stop giving them a cut. It’ll be more profitable, and you’ll have more control.”

She shook her head. “That’s not necessary.”

“No, it’s absolutely necessary. I’ve been acting like an ass. I just wanted to help, but I realize now I acted no better than one of your customers telling you how to run your life, then throwing money at you and running out the door. This was never about Nathan. I’ve wanted to look after you for years.” I offered a shrug and a half-smile. “Way before he ever asked.”

“Why?”

“Because you’re perfect and beautiful, and you drive me absolutely mind fucking crazy,” I admitted running a hand through my already disheveled hair.

Jose chuckled and I leveled him with a look. I stepped forward and took her hands in mine. “I want a shot at this — whatever this is.”

She pulled away and walked to the couch where she picked up a polo shirt with the logo of our local gym splashed across the front. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do, but I don’t need it. I got a new job today working the front desk at Fit Club.”

Shit. Had she given it all up because of how I’d treated her?

I tugged her down the hallway and into her bedroom. “You don’t need to do this. I’m sorry I did that to you. I was awful. I wanted to help, and I just made things worse. You’re perfect, and if this is what you want to do, then I’ll support you however I can. Although screaming other dude’s names is off the table. You’re going to have to wear a gag or something.” The sound of her screaming Andrew’s name still gave me chills.

She giggled, and I drank up the sound. “The only name I’m going to be screaming is yours. I don’t know what’s next, but I know I don’t want to go back to pretending to enjoy other men. You’ve ruined me.”

“You’re sure?”

She nodded. “Nathan was always saying I should look into modeling, maybe I’ll send some photos out see what happens.”

“As long as I’m the only one that gets to touch you, that’s perfectly fine by me.”

“All right, tell Jose to get out of here then and touch me,” she begged as she wrapped her arms around my neck.

I kicked the door shut. “He can find his own way out.”

THE END

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