Cheaters Anonymous (16 page)

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Want a drink?” he asked.

I remembered I’d left my glass at the table with Zoey and Ace.

“Yes, please. But I do need to use the restroom. I’ll meet you at the bar.”

“Sure.” He lowered his mouth to mine for another quick but luscious kiss, and I thought I’d fall over.

How could one man’s lips make my world spin out of orbit?

I headed to the bathroom where I quickly removed the wet vibrator from my panties. In fact, I was sure my panties were worthless at this point as well, so I stashed them in my purse along with the toy. My mother had often gone commando, and I only knew this because she bragged about it, and said the freedom was like skydiving – not that I’d jump out of a plane the way my over-adventurous mother had.

“No time like the present to try something new,” I whispered to myself as I zipped up my skin tight pants.

I couldn’t wait to return to Scar to see what the rest of our evening would bring. As I squeezed through a hallway, I bumped into a brawny man. And when I looked into Brad’s eyes, I knew that my wonderful evening had just ended.

C
HAPTER
14

“Hello, Julia.” His voice reminded me of someone pulling their nails along a chalk board from the very top down to the bottom.

You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.

“Excuse me.” I ignored Brad, desperately trying to push past him. There wasn’t enough room between him and the wall for me to squeeze through, but I still had to try. For his sake, I prayed that this was an accidental meeting, but my gut twisted, warning me it wasn’t.

“Oh, come on, don’t be like that,” he said, grasping me by my wrist. I yanked it out of his grip and gave him a deadly look.

“Do not touch me! You need to stop following me, Brad.”

“Don’t get too high on yourself. I wasn’t following you. I’m here celebrating my fiancée’s birthday.” It was either a one in a million chance that I’d seen him for the third time in one week, or he was really that good. Unfortunately, I was afraid it was the latter.

“Then you should go back to her.” I crossed my arms over my chest, somewhat covering my cleavage.

“After I buy you a drink. I owe you.”

My back was pressed against the wall, and the way Brad stood, blocking me, I had little chance of escaping without brushing against him. And the last thing I wanted was for any part of my body to touch his.

“You owe me nothing. What part of ‘I’m not interested’ do you not understand?” I realized that my voice was getting louder and louder and passers-by were beginning to stare, but I couldn’t care less.

“Listen...” he grasped my hand again.

“Get your fucking hands off her.” Hearing Scar’s voice, Brad let go of my hand and took a step back.

“Well, if it isn’t Mr. Wagner. How are you, man?”

When I looked at Scar and Brad side by side, Scar was only a bit taller, but he definitely overpowered Brad. While he had a muscled physique of iron strength, so did Brad – except Brad’s had that “I’m full of protein” look. It appeared forced. Either way, I wouldn’t like to see these two collide.

“Stop bull-shitting, Brad. What the hell do you want with her? I thought one broken nose would have been enough.”

“Just to buy her a drink. I was an asshole the other day and wanted to say I’m sorry. No harm done.”

You have a funny way of apologizing to women!

I wanted to roll my eyes at the crap Brad was feeding us, but I also wanted to get out of there as fast as I could. From the quick spark of confusion in Scar’s eyes, I knew he was wondering when ‘the other day’ had occurred, but it passed as fast as it appeared and Scar’s gaze bore daggers into Brad.

And there was no point in explaining anything to Scar right now. He was in the zone, looming over Brad like some sort of a giant. I was afraid that anything I said about Brad’s “accidental” run into me at the park might push Scar over the edge, and he might squish the former football player with his thumb. I hated the guy, but there was no need for carnage.

“If she says no, then it’s a no. Do you understand?”

“I’m glad I ran into you as well, buddy.”

Since when were they buddies?
This guy didn’t know when to give up. Maybe that’s why he’d been such a good football player back in the day, but this was not a game.

“Maybe we can finally make those plans I talked to Julia about for the three of us to have dinner.”

“What plans?” Scar asked and before I got a chance to jump in.

“There were no fucking plans,” I said. “He’s as creepy now as he was in high school. Get it through your thick skull, Brad. I don’t want an apology, I don’t want a high-school reunion, and I don’t want to see you again – ever.”

I hoped that was clear enough, but I doubted it. My body was beginning to shake, and if I were to bet, Scar not only saw my discomfort but also felt it.

“I swear to God if I ever see you near her again, I will rip your throat out,” Scar said to him.

“Whoa. Hold on there, tiger. I mean, I know she likes to get frisky, but there’s no need for violence.”

“Did you just insult my girlfriend?” Scar asked. He took a step toward Brad and was totally in his face.

I loved hearing those words come from Scar’s lips, but I didn’t like that it had to be under these circumstances.

Brad lifted his hands in self defense and backed away. “Wait a minute. I didn’t mean to. I just get nervous around beautiful women. No harm done.”

“You better get the fuck out before I shove your balls down your throat to shut you up.”

The scary thing was that I actually believed Scar was capable of fulfilling his promise.

Brad nodded without saying a word and left. While I could only hope that was the last time I saw him, something told me otherwise.

C
HAPTER
15

“Jules, you should have told me Brad’s been following you.” Scar’s voice over the phone was gentle and full of concern. He wasn’t too thrilled about our run-in with Brad, and at one point said that I shouldn’t be alone at home. I insisted that Brad was just being stupid and there was nothing to worry about. Hey, I never implied I had street-smarts. But this was a boy I’d gone to high school with. He couldn’t possibly get any creepier, could he? Scar of course hired a private investigator to do a background check, and from the looks of it, Brad’s past of abuse in relationships wasn’t pretty – although Scar didn’t appear too surprised by this information.

At the club, when I gave Scar more details about the first two times I’d run into Brad, at the strip club and at the park, Scar went out on a search for him. He spoke to each bouncer and to the security guy, but it seemed that Brad knew what was good for him and had left right away.

“I thought it was a coincidence. I didn’t want to make a big deal out of nothing.” I grabbed the last sip of my morning coffee and bit into the toasted bagel. “We just reconnected and honestly, Brad was the last person on my mind.”

“Is that a nice way of you telling me that I’ve been pre-occupying your mind?”

“Yes, you have been,” I said with my mouth full.

“Are you coming straight home after work?” he asked.

“Yes, I’m coming...” I paused, as the meaning of the word sank in, and then chuckled, wondering whether he was planning to use my little device this afternoon again. According to Scar, controlling what happened between my legs was the highlight of his day. And I was willing to give him all the control he wanted in that department. I grabbed my car keys and headed toward my beat-up Honda.

“I knew you’d get that right away,” he laughed. “Call me when you get home, and I’ll make sure you come.”

“Shit!” I said.

“What’s the matter?”

“My tires are deflated.” I walked around the car. “All four of them.”

“Fucking bastard!” I pictured Scar pacing back and forth. He huffed and puffed like the big bad wolf – except that I believed Scar could actually take down brick houses.

That couldn’t be Brad’s doing, could it? I crouched closer to the ground and pulled my finger over the cut in the rubber. Shit! If it had been him, then Brad was the perfect definition of a stalker from hell.

Well, there goes the benefit of doubt I gave him.

And yeah, I guess he could get creepier after all. Maybe this was a sign that I should get a new car; preferably one that was bullet-proof as well. Did they make jerk-proof cars?

“I think they were slashed.” My voice must have dropped an octave as tickles of fear and anger ran up my spine. I turned around looking down one end of the street, then the other, as if the cuprit would somehow appear from behind one of the parked cars.

“Jules, I’m coming over.”

I heard him hurrying and fumbling with something. In fact, I was sure that he tripped. The sound of clunking metal echoed in my ear.

“No, wait. I have to go to work. I can take Zoey’s car. But if you can ask Ace to maybe keep her away from here until we figure this out, I’d really appreciate it.”

The last thing I wanted was for Brad to try to get to me and find Zoey instead.

“Fine. But you text me the minute you set your foot in that hospital.”

“I will, I promise.”

I left a note for Zoey that I’d borrowed her car and asked her not to open the door for anyone. Working dayshifts, I usually found time to spend the evenings with her, but since she’d been dating Ace, she filled her entire schedule with him. At least now I knew why she’d been away so much. While I had a feeling of disgust each time I thought about her current boyfriend, there was something about him being with Zoey that made me feel at ease. Maybe it was because he was Scar’s brother? If he was anything like Scar, he’d jump in fire before he let another man hurt her. Now if Ace could only help her find a decent job, maybe I’d give him a chance to crawl back into my respect zone.

Once at work, I quickly typed a message to Scar, changed into my scrubs, and pulled my hair up in a ponytail. Committing my mind to my patients’ health was the best way to keep myself busy. Unfortunately, I never got the chance to start my day on the right foot. Chris ran in before the start of my shift and tugged on my arm.

“There was a guy here asking about you.” Her nose scrunched up with confusion.

“A patient?” I asked.

“I don’t think so. He seemed kind of creepy.”

That summed up a lot of people, but I only wanted to know whether it was one particular creep: Brad Watson. Chills swept through my body.

“Did he leave a name? What did he look like?”

“Dark hair, easy on the eyes. But no name.”

Was it possible it could have been Scar? Had he decided to play bodyguard after all?

“Did he have a tattoo on his arm?” I asked. If there was one thing I knew Chris would notice, it was a man with an interesting tattoo – especially since she’d said the guy was wearing a t-shirt. What I found even weirder, was that despite saying that the man was good looking, Chris wasn’t gushing over him. Her rules about doctors and patients not mixing and not crossing the line were as stringent as mine, but that didn’t stop her from joking behind closed doors. But she hadn’t made one inappropriate comment.

“No, no tattoos.”

That’s odd.

“What did you tell him?”

“Confidentiality and all that stuff. He said he’d catch you later.”

A light knock on the door sounded and Olivia stuck her head from behind the door. “Doctor Blakely, you’re needed at the front.”

“Thank you.”

“How did your meeting go this week?” Chris asked, walking behind me.

I froze half-way out the room. So much had happened that I haven’t even had a chance to tell her about me seeing Scar again at the club and clearing things up between us. Sometimes I felt like time chose to fly by at warp speed without warning me.

“I owe you big time. It turns out the guy at the club with the girl was Scar’s brother. We’re really easing into this relationship with extra lube.”

“You can never have enough lube.” She winked. “Especially with the equipment I saw on your guy. That will be one heck of a ride, Jules.”

I forgot Chris had been here when Scar was admitted with the defective cock-pump.

An image of me straddling Scar’s lap flashed through my mind, and I just wanted to yell out
Yee, haw!
. Instead, I said, “Scar’s been unbelievably understanding. It’s a nice change from me having to lay everything on your shoulders.”

“Please don’t make me feel like an old shoe.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it that way. If it helps, you’re an old shoe I will never throw out.”

“I’ll take that,” she laughed. You know if you need a tattooed man out of the way, all you need to do is ask.”

As much as Chris liked to joke around and flirt with men, she was tougher than The Hulk. I wasn’t sure whether Brad had any tattoos, but I knew I wouldn’t be introducing him to any of my friends.

Friends! Shit!

I was definitely not a good friend. I was supposed to call Trish and maybe talk to her about taking a break from her fiancé. But that would be playing with someone else’s fate, wouldn’t it?

I shouldn’t influence her decision. She’s a grown woman. She knows what she’s getting into.

Or did she? At one point in my life, I had been the one failing to make the right choices. And if it weren’t for friends like Chris, I doubted I’d be alive today.

By this time, we’d caught up to Olivia, who was holding a tablet in her hands.

“He sounds promising.” Chris’s brows rose up and down in a sequence. “Okay, you and me. Coffee on break. Hopefully no more cock-pumps this week.”

Yeah, that image would stay a while with anyone who’d seen Scar the day he was admitted to the hospital.

Olivia pulled the curtain away for me to see my next patient.

“How are you feeling, Mrs…” I slid my finger over the tablet to find the patient’s name. “Watson?”

Brad’s mother?