Hold On (The 'Burg #6)(31)

Not even Mia?

No. Unh-unh. I didn’t give a shit.

I tried to turn his mind from his thoughts, and me, by reminding him, “You learn that shit when you strip, baby.”

“Then at least that line on your CV was worth somethin’; you got that outta it. Then again, baby, not complainin’ about other skills you learned through your former occupation when you finally managed to climb on top, and I am not f*ckin’ with you on that. You’re not hidin’ shit from me, Cher. I don’t know if you’re tryin’, but if you are, stop. You got your head wrapped around an idea, and I get that. I get why. I get there’re a lot of folk out there who’d think that idea is spot-on. But they are not me. I do not mind, not even a little f*ckin’ bit, that I got you drunk, naked, and wild, givin’ the lap dance to beat all lap dances, just as long as that’s happenin’ to me.”

“You are so full of shit,” I bit out.

“Jesus, f*ck me, Cher. Seriously?” he retorted. “Due to biology being unbalanced, a session like that, I got one shot. We had one session. Seein’ as it’s clear you didn’t pay close attention, when you get more, you’ll know I liked what I got a whole f*ckin’ lot.”

“So we did negotiate a friends-with-benefits deal yesterday. Is that what this is?”

“I don’t know what it is, Cher. You want me to put a ring on your finger after f*ckin’ you once, I can tell you on that you’ll be disappointed. What I know is, for years, I’ve had good times with you. Friday night, I had a great time with you. Friday night. The night Mia no longer was a possibility for me. Got a lotta people who mean a lot to me, but only one took my back, and you did that more than just f*ckin’ my cares away. You took my back and my side when everyone’s been tellin’ me to pull my head outta my ass about my ex-wife. You made me see it different. You made me think. You showed me what it meant to have a friend who had a mind to me and what I should expect from the bitch who owns my dick.”

That meant a lot to me too.

But Merry wasn’t done hitting me with the velvet blows of his honesty.

“What I want is more good times with you, Cher. I wanna f*ck wild and I wanna laugh hard, and while we’re doin’ that, I’m gonna look out for you. More, I can’t promise. That’s not enough, then I’m still gonna look out for you. There it is. You gotta get off break, but before I let you go, you gotta know it’s your play now. Make it.”

With that, he hung up on me.

I dropped my phone to my lap and kept staring at the floor.

Merry wanted to f*ck wild and laugh hard, having no clue my heart was involved.

He’d been tagging ass for so long with his heart belonging to another woman, he forgot that shit could happen, it did, and it did it all the time.

I knew two things.

I wanted to f*ck wild and laugh hard with Merry.

But I didn’t need the heartbreak that would lead to in my life.

I lifted my phone, hit the text button, and tapped in my play.

I didn’t send it until hours later, when I was off shift, sitting in my running car, ready to put it in gear and go pick up my kid from my mom’s.

I hit send, threw my phone on top of my purse on the passenger seat, my eyes so dry they stung, and I set my car on course to get my boy.

* * * * *

Garrett

I’m happy spinning my wheels.

Garrett stared at the text.

Then he drew his arm back and let fly, the phone sailing through the air and embedding in the shitty-ass drywall of his living room.

He stared at it a beat before he walked out to his balcony to have a smoke.

Chapter Five

Proceed

Cher

Late the next morning, I was leaning over the basin in Ethan’s and my bathroom, stroking on waterproof mascara, when my cell on the counter rang.

I looked down at it, and since I’d seen that number before, I knew who it was.

God, my life sucked.

I hit the screen to take Walter Jones’s call.

I then immediately hit the screen to hang up.

I went back to stroking on mascara.

The phone rang again.

The motherf*cker probably thought he lost connection.

I took the call and then hung up.

He called again.

I engaged and disengaged.

Done playing, I went in, blocked his number, and went back to finishing my makeup.

* * * * *

I walked into J&J’s, surprised to see the place was deserted.

Then I saw Feb pop up from behind the bar.

Years ago, when I’d first met her, seeing all that was her did not do good things for my mental health.

There was a reason Dennis Lowe picked me, having obsessed on Feb and Colt since they were all in high school together.

Wanting Feb for his own, he’d found a replacement in me.

In other words, we looked a lot alike.

Obviously, we still did, both of us tall, built, blonde, and brown-eyed.

Though, there was more to it and it was uncanny.

Honest to God, she looked like my older sister.

For obvious reasons, these making me a target of an ax murderer, even when she turned out to be awesome, it had f*cked with my head. Lowe had even called me Feb and February, saying it was a nickname because we’d met in that month, but doing it because that was who he saw in me.