Chapter Six
Three weeks later
“Chocolate chip with peanut butter sauce, with double chocolate brownie bites,” Kirk said.
“Damn, that sounds like it would clog the heart,” Bella said.
He watched her lick her ice cream as they walked across the beach front. It had been three weeks since they’d seen the lawyer that believed he could bring a court case to Eric, but also allow Bella to earn half of the royalties that her ex had taken. The fucker not only uploaded it, he’d sold it, and earned a decent figure from it as well as other costs that Kirk’s friend Chad had been able to find out.
The instant Chad had looked into Eric, he’d not liked him, and Kirk was happy. He’d also gotten Chad to deal with the little hiccup of what happened on set, and all matters had been resolved.
So that Gus or the company didn’t bring a lawsuit to Bella or himself, Kirk had forfeited his paycheck, and also paid damages. He’d demanded they pay Bella her salary though.
When it came to Bella, he wanted to take care of her. Since that last day with her on set, he’d called his manager to start the process of retirement from the industry. It had been a long time coming, and now he was ready for it.
He wanted to do other things, like take Bella out on dates, which they were on right now. Their tenth, actually.
“You asked what would be my favorite dessert, and that would be it, totally.”
“Mine would be a strawberry cheesecake with chocolate sauce, yum.” She licked at the ice cream, and watching her tongue tease the cool ice did things to his dick.
“So, have you had any calls? Or anything?”
She’d been looking for other kinds of work, and he’d actually put her in contact with his manager. Bella was a great secretary, and they were always looking for people to help. He also knew from listening to his manager that she was in need of someone reliable that would file away contracts, deal with complaints, and wasn’t squeamish about the industry.
“I spoke to Lindsey, your manager. We’re having a trial run right now. I’ve had a couple of calls about doing scenes and movies, but I’m not interested.”
He finished his ice cream and pulled her close. “You’re not?”
“No. I’ve done my stint in porn, I hope. I don’t know. I was working the other day, and I heard a couple of women say that it can never just be one. That from one it ends up being two, and three, and I guess I’m scared. I have a plan, and I wanted to make some quick money because mine had pretty much run out—”
Kirk slammed his lips down on hers, silencing her fears. Sliding his tongue into her mouth, she wrapped her arms around his neck and moaned.
“You keep doing that.”
“You need to learn to stop freaking out. You’ve done nothing wrong. You’re an amazing woman, and it’s about time you saw that.”
“I don’t know. Maybe you should kiss me again and make it all better.”
“You’re a wiseass.”
She opened her eyes and smiled. “I love this, being with you. I feel like I’ve known you for a long time.”
“The feeling is entirely the same. I don’t … I want you to be mine, Bella. I know I’ve been with a ton of other women, but I can be faithful. I’m out of the business. I want to start a new life, one away from it all, and even though we’ve known each other such a short time, I want to take that chance with you.”
“You do?”
“Yeah. I mean, we’ve already gotten the sex out of the way. We know we’re compatible.”
“That is so true.” She chuckled, then sighed. “I’d like to be yours as well. I thought I already was though. You keep taking me on these amazing dates.”
He took hold of her hand and led her down to the ocean. Sitting down in the sand, he drew her between his thighs, wrapping his arms around her. Resting his chin on top of her head, he watched the sunset, marveling at the raw beauty in front of him. The woman in his arms who he was falling for.
“I think it’s time you met Cathy,” she said.
“Your landlady?”
“Yes. She wants to meet you herself. Keeps asking about you as well.”
“Well, that could be fun, I guess.” He’d heard a lot of tales about Cathy, but not all of them were flattering, so he wasn’t exactly thrilled at the idea.
She chuckled. “She’s not that bad.”
“We’re meeting friends and relatives now.”
“My parents are both passed away,” Bella said.
“I didn’t have any. I was a foster kid. Bounced around the system until I got to leave at eighteen. Stumbled into the porn business and ta-da, here I am now.”
“So it’s just Cathy then.”
“You’ve met most of my friends.” He didn’t have a lot of time to build bridges with people. “I’ve spent a lot of my time working. There wasn’t much else to do.”
“It sounds really lonely.”
“It wasn’t so bad. I was always surrounded with people. I’ve had a pretty decent life, and you know what, I’ve got a feeling it’s going to get better. Unless I don’t survive Cathy.”
“There’s no doubt for me. You’ll survive her. She’s not a bad woman.” She tilted her head back. “Like you, she didn’t judge me or what happened. She welcomed me with open arms and helped me out.”
“And that’s why I will put up with whatever she has to throw at me. I’ll do it for you.”
With her head back, it gave him perfect access to her lips, and he dropped another kiss on her mouth.
Yes, he was definitely falling for this little blonde.
****
“And you think screwing all those women makes you a fine lover?” Cathy asked, glaring at Kirk.
Maybe inviting Kirk in for drinks and to meet Cathy wasn’t her best idea.
“Cathy!” Bella stared at her friend in shock.
“It’s okay,” Kirk said.
“It’s not okay.”
“If he can’t handle a few hard questions then he doesn’t deserve you, and I’m right to be hard on him. Are you now a man?” Cathy asked.
Bella dropped her head into her hands, not really sure what to do or to say.
“It was part of my job to be a lover, and no, I don’t think it made me a good lover. Me wanting to be good is what makes me so,” Kirk said. “I get it, you’re worried that I’m going to hurt your girl here.” He touched her knee. “I’m not going to hurt her, Cathy. I just want to help her, and to show her that not all men are assholes.”
“A good portion are,” Cathy said.
“That I don’t deny, but so are a lot of women,” Kirk said.
Bella burst out laughing and looked at Cathy. “We can’t deny that.”
“No, we cannot.” Cathy lifted her fruit juice. “To men and women who are worth the time of day, and to those that aren’t, fuck ’em.”
They all raised their glasses in a toast and took a long drink. After enjoying some dinner and conversation, Cathy gave a thumbs-up to Kirk.
“He’s a keeper. You don’t want to lose him.”
“Well, you could have sent him on his merry way with the way you were talking.”
Cathy wrinkled her nose. “Why do you think that I consider him a keeper? He didn’t run, and he also put up a fight for you. Now that makes him a keeper in my book.”
She hugged her friend tightly before she went. Cathy also extended an invitation to Sunday lunch, only this time Kirk demanded she come to his place for food.
“I’m really sorry about Cathy,” Bella said. “She’s always so opinionated and she has her own mind, and she’s not afraid to speak it.”
“I loved her, actually. I found her really refreshing. She spoke the truth and her mind. You’re lucky to have someone like her. She clearly cares about you a lot, as do I.”
He held her hand as they drove back toward his place. She loved it when he touched her or found any excuse to be near her.
When they were apart in the mornings and he’d call her up they could spend hours talking. He also found a reason to stop by Lindsey’s office building. Her new boss had told her that she’d never seen so much of Kirk before.
Arriving back at his place, he got her a drink before he started cooking. They’d gotten into a routine with each other, and instead of knowing each other for weeks, it had started to feel like years.
She felt so comfortable with him, and that kind of feeling normally only came from years of friendship.
While he was finishing cooking her cell phone rang. She saw it was Chad, and left Kirk cooking as she answered.
“Are you ready for some good news?” Chad asked.
“Yes.”
“Eric has to present you with a formal apology, and also serve ninety days community service. He also has to provide you with fifty percent of the royalties that he has already earned, along with subsequent film right deals.”
When Chad told her a figure she was surprised. “That is … wow.” She knew the money in porn wasn’t always great, but the deal Eric had gotten was quite good. With the money earned from the clips she’d done with Kirk, she’d be okay for a little while.
“I was hoping the son of a bitch would serve some prison time, but he agreed to a more lenient charge so long as you get your money.”
“It’s fine. Thank you so much, Chad. Really, it means a lot to me that you did this.”
“I’m also waiving my fee for this, Bella. I don’t like this kind of thing. I find it a personal affront to relationships and one of the reasons I have come to despise technology.”
“I bet you’re saying all of this on your cell phone.”
“I have to be part of it, but it doesn’t mean I like it,” Chad said. “I will have a written apology from Eric by the end of the week.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Anything out of Eric’s mouth, she didn’t want to hear or read. To be honest, the fact she had gotten anything out of the situation was a shock. Since he unleashed that video, her life had turned upside down.
Ending the call, she went back to the kitchen and updated Kirk.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I don’t know. I’m angry, I guess. Frustrated. I mean, at least something has come out of it, right?”
“I found you. If I ever see this Eric I will have to shake his hand before I punch him in the face.” Kirk cupped her face and pressed his lips against hers. “You’re the gain I’ve gotten, baby.”
Damn it.
He always had a way of saying and doing the right things that aroused her. Only his words also made her fall for him as well.
Watching him in the kitchen, she kept her confession on the tip of her tongue. It wasn’t the right time to tell him that she’d fallen for him, not that she believed any time was the right one.
Instead of putting unnecessary pressure on the both of them, she sat down, drank her fruit juice, and watched him cook.
Life was okay for the time being, and she was just going to enjoy what happened.