Haring

"Hey, Gaugin," my sister says, sitting down across from me in the C&C cafeteria.

It's a game we play, calling each other by different painters than the ones we were named after. Growing up as Matisse and Haring was not exactly easy.

"Hi, Villers."

"How's the new job? How's the new girl? Tell me everything."

"Everything?"

"Not the sex, obviously," she says, tossing a wadded-up napkin at me.

"There's none of that happening. Yet."

"Excuse me? Did my brother, who lives and dies by his dick and the one-night stand, just tell me he hasn't slept with the girl he took out last night?"

"I can keep it in my pants." I don't want to, but I've proven that I can. "We've had two dates already."

“Someone call the world record people.”

“It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Lies. All lies.”

I sigh, and tell the truth. “Okay, so it’s not my usual thing, but it’s nice.”

“Nice?” she asks, sticking out her tongue as she pokes her finger into her mouth.

“You are such an annoying little sister! You know that, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Fine. I like her. More than just as a fuck.”

“That was harder than it should’ve been.”

“I have trust issues.”

“I know,” she says softly, and I feel like an ass now. I got myself into trouble all on my own, and she helped to get me out of it.

“None of that has to do with you.”

“I’ve kept things from you.”

“We’re not supposed to tell each other everything. Most stuff, yeah, but not every single thing.”

“You’d tell me if you had any trouble again, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah, I would.”

It’s the truth. If I’d told my sister, or my good friend, Aiden, things would never have gone as far as they did. I would still have my rink, and I’d still be in D.C. Looking at my life now, I’m thinking maybe it’s good I left there. I have this great new job, and a woman I want more than sex from. It’s the first time I’ve felt this way, and it freaks me out a little, while also allowing me to realize I’m finally getting past what I lost.

“I’m glad you’re here,” she tells me, placing her hand on mine.

“So am I.”

Her smile gets even brighter, and I know this is where I need to be right now. For both of us, and maybe for Natasha too.

“Tell me more about this lady of yours.”

“She busts my balls, and not in the sexy way.”

“Perfect.”

I toss a fry at her, but admit the truth of it. “She kind of is.”

“It’s adorable to see you finally being twisted up because of a woman.”

“She’s different. Sexy as hell, but like I said, she doesn’t take any bullshit.”

“You met at a bar?”

“Yep. I didn’t know she managed it until the second time I saw her.”

“So, she’s seen you at your worst.” My sister doesn’t pull any punches, which is one of the things I love most about her.

“Pretty much. She still asked me out.”

Matisse stops with her fork halfway to her mouth, which is hanging open. “She asked you out? The plot thickens.”

“She’s not the first woman to ask me out.”

“I didn’t say she was. I just know you usually send the women who ask on their merry little way.”

“I like to be doing the asking,” I agree. “I would’ve asked her if she hadn’t asked me first.”

“When can I meet this woman, who’s captivated you enough to make you break your rules?”

I roll my eyes. “I didn’t break anything. And, maybe in a couple weeks.”

“Planning ahead? I like it.”

Yeah, so do I, and for once in my life, it doesn’t scare me. Natasha doesn’t scare me. And building a new life for myself here doesn’t scare me. I don’t know if it means I’m finally a grownup, or just that I’ve really accepted things, and moved on. Either way, I’m embracing the fuck out of it.

Natasha

“You working here tonight, boss?”

It’s not an idle question, even though my head bartender pretends it is. He works for the same person I do, and there’s no chance in hell I’ll ever trust him. He’s asking because no one completely trusts me. Hell, no one trusts anyone in this business, but I’m the biggest fish in this particular swamp right now, so all eyes are definitely on me.

---

“Yes.”

He shakes his head. “You should be out with Kingston.”

“And you should stick to your job, and leave me to mine.”

He hesitates, and I know he wants to say that I’m his job, but he doesn’t. We both know it already, even though we pretend we don’t. “Whatever you say.”

The problem is, it doesn’t work that way. I have no say in what’s happening. Well, almost no say. I don’t have to kiss Haring, or sleep with him, even though it’s encouraged. I don’t have to crave his company, or the happiness I feel when I make the shadows disappear from his eyes for even a moment. I don’t have to, but at the same time, I do. For me—and him. Not for my boss, who just wants me to help cause him pain.

My cell phone rings, and I smile when I see Haring’s name on the screen. “Hi.”

“Hey, Vixen. I know you have to work tonight, but I was hoping you’d come hang out with me and my friends tomorrow for a barbeque.”

“Your friends? Would that include your sister?”

“It would. Does that scare you?”

“Should it?”

“Nah, although lots of people get intimidated by her. And, yeah, her bite is just as bad as her bark, so they aren’t wrong.”

“Not reassuring me here.”

“I’ll hold your hand, and keep you safe.”

“That’s better.”

“So, it’s a yes?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll pick you up at 2.”

“Okay.”

I hang up, and my phone immediately rings again. I don’t need to look to know who it is this time. My phone isn’t really my own, either. I walk toward my office, because I need to sit down, and looking weak in front of the men in the bar is not something I can afford to do.

“He trusts you. Good work. You know what to do now.”

“I do.”

“You’re going to be rewarded for this, Natasha.”

“I know.”

“You do not sound happy.”

“I am.”

“Good. I’d hate for you to have the same fate as Kingston.”

“You know I’m loyal.”

“We shall see.”

He hangs up as I sink into my chair. I reach into my bottom desk drawer, pulling out a bottle of whiskey. Drinking it straight from the bottle is not something a proper lady would do, so it’s a good thing I’m neither of those. Once, I was expected to be a lady and also proper, but that ship sailed a very long time ago. Right about the time I sold my morals to the highest bidder.

Haring

I walk up to Natasha’s door, feeling like it’s my first date. I guess, in a way it is. Even in high school, I didn’t really date as much as take the head cheerleader under the bleachers for a blow job. Yeah, I know I’m a class act. But, in all fairness, I’ve never pretended to be anything other than who I am. With Natasha, I want to be classy, and treat her how I know she deserves, but not because she expects it. I do it because I want to be the man who deserves her.

When she opens the door, I can’t help but smile. My woman always over-dresses for things. My woman? Huh—yeah, in my mind, she is, and the thought’s not as weird as the player in me would expect it to be.

“Everyone’s probably going to be in jeans, babe.”

“I thought about jeans, but I don’t usually wear them to gatherings, and it would just make me feel more awkward,” she tells me, pulling at her dress.

It’s a wrap style on top, with a gathered part in the middle, and another one of those flippy little skirts she favors. She looks gorgeous, as always. I take her fidgeting hand, and bring it to my mouth for a kiss.

“You’re beautiful in anything.”

“Thanks.”

I reclaim her hand after she locks her door, and hold it in mine until I help her into my car. I like seeing her there, all fancy and shit, against my leather seats. She looks like she belongs in this fast car, even though she’s all about taking things slow.

“So, who all am I going to meet at this gathering?” she asks, as we drive away.

“My sister, her man, most of the people she works with at the Corrigan & Co. Foundation, and some of the C&C guys. Oh, and one of them is my best friend from D.C., Aiden Ford.”

“The VP’s son?”

“Yeah. I’ve known him and his dad for years. We were college roommates for a couple weeks, and stayed friends after I moved out.”

“Did you not like the dorms?”

“I loved them, but I love my sister more, and I was all she had when our parents died.”

“Oh. I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks, but it was a long time ago, and we managed. Sort of. Matisse pushed every button I have, and more. If it wasn’t for Aiden and his dad, I’m not sure either of us would’ve survived.”

“But you did. How much older are you than her?”

“Almost five years. Thankfully. If I’d been seventeen, she would’ve gone into foster care. Hell, without Tim Jones on my side, I wouldn’t have gotten custody of her, even though I was of age.”

“Aiden’s dad helped you that much, huh?”

“Yes.”

There is so much I could say about Aiden and his dad. About how Aiden was like a second brother to Matisse, and his dad picked her up when she got into situations she didn’t want to call me for. I owe them so much, and even more for what Theo did in D.C. If he hadn’t come there, and thrown their weight around, I would probably be dead. And yes, ladies and gentlemen, that is exactly why I find myself at the bottom of a bottle most days. Or at least I did, before Matt and Natasha gave me reasons to stay sober.

I force myself to concentrate on now, and not then, as she reaches over, and squeezes my thigh. “I don’t know what happened, but I’ll be here if you need to talk. I know I told you that already, but I want to make sure you know I mean it.”

“Thanks.”

The thing is, I might just take her up on that offer. Not today, and probably not tomorrow. But, it’s going to happen. It has to if I want whatever this is to continue—and I do.