Force of Love (12 page)

“Sean and Scar coming?” Cortland asked.

“Uh,
no,” I said. “They got into a fight.”

“Poor Sean,” Cortland said.

“Yeah.” I wanted to tell him the reason why they were fighting but Monnique was standing there.

Janice leaned into me and kissed me. “I’m going to powder my nose.”

“Okay, baby.”

“I’ll go with you,” Monnique offered.

They both walked away and entered the girl’s bathroom on the other side of the room.

“I don’t think you and I have ever gone to the bathroom together,” Cortland said.

“You sound disappointed.”

He
rolled his eyes. “You caught me.”

“The reason why Sean and Scar are fighting is because he found out about you two.”

“What?”

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“The other day.”

“He must want to kill me.”

“Probably.”

“Is she okay?”

“She’s pretty bummed. I can tell she misses him.”

“Wait. Are they not living together?”

“No. She’s staying with me temporarily.”

“So this is serious?”

“They are still getting married. Sean just wants his space.”

“Damn.”

“Yeah. You should take her out and do something with her. I’m there for her as much as I can be, but I know she connects with you on a different level.”

“You’re her best friend—I’m not.”

“But you slept with her.”

“So?”

“You obviously have a different connection to her. I’m not saying it’s stronger than ours, but it’s different.”

“Won’t that piss of Sean?”

“I don’t know, but I doubt it. It seemed like he cared about the fact that she lied to him—not because she slept with you. Since they’ve been best friends for so long, I think that’s the issue.”

“I should check on her.”

“Take her out—get her out of the house. She’s come to the shop with me a few times, but I can’t entertain her all day.”

“Yeah of course. I want to see her. I can’t imagine how she must feel.”

I nodded.

“I’m surprised she isn’t with you now.”

“She’s okay. I can’t hold her hand all the time. It’s not like they broke up—they are just arguing. They’ll get through it. Sean told me he couldn’t live without her. That’s why he
’s still in the relationship. She can do whatever she wants and he still wouldn’t leave her.”

“That’s a relief—Scar does some pretty stupid things.”

I laughed. “You’re telling me. She slept with you.”

“That wasn’
t smart, but I don’t regret it. Neither does she.”

“Well, she probably does now.”

Cortland averted his gaze. “Yeah. She might.”

When I looked across the room, I saw a familiar face. “Damn.”

Cortland followed my gaze. “What? Is that the girl you had a threesome with?”

“Yeah,” I said with a sigh. She looked straight at me. I knew she was going to stay something to me. I turned to Cortland and
avoided her stare. I didn’t want to invite her over here. Janice could come back any second.

“Hey stranger.”

Cortland looked at me, waiting for me to do something.

“Hey,” I said. I drank my beer and avoided her look.

“Playing hard to get?” she asked.

“No.”

“Well, it’s working.” She had on a tight pair of jeans and a low cut shirt. I could see her cleavage. “I was just talking about you to Missy.”

“So she told you I had a girlfriend?”

“Yeah—is that for real?”

“Yes—I’m going to ask her to marry me.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I’ve never gotten your sense of humor.”

“Because you can
’t tell when I’m being serious.”

“Are you being serious now?”

“Yes,” I said as I stared at her, trying to intimidate her with my look.

“Well, I have an idea.”

“No.”

“Let me finish,” she said with a smile. She placed her hand on my arm but I pulled away. “How about a threesome? I want to see what the fuss is about with this girl.”

Cortland’s jaw practically dropped to the floor. He never believed my story about the threesome, saying girls weren’t really into that. I finally proved that my story was true.

“No. I can barely
handle my girl as it is.”

She pouted her lips. “Come on, Ryan. Don’t be annoying.”

“You’re the one who’s being annoying.”

When I looked away from her, I saw Janice and Monnique leave the bathroom. I had to get rid of this chick. “Fuck off and leave alone,” I said quickly.

“Excuse me?”

“Just go!”

Janice and Monnique were almost upon us. Desperate to get out of the situation, I put my beer down and walked to Janice. When I reached her, I grabbed her face and kissed her hard. She immediately responded to my touch and wrapped her arms around my neck, slipping her tongue in my mouth. We were making out in the middle of the bar but I didn’t care. I just wanted to get away from Shelly, the girl who was desperate to sleep with me. Janice said she trusted me but I didn’t want to piss her off. If some guy kept pestering her to sleep with him I would be livid.

When she pulled away she smiled at me. “What was that for?”

“Because I love you.”

“I love you too.”

I grabbed her hand and led her back to our friends. Shelly was still standing there, her arms across her chest. She had a grin on her face. I didn’t understand why she didn’t leave. Wasn’t my public display of affection enough to set her straight?

Janice looked at her. “Uh,
hi.”

Cortland looked at the ground then the ceiling, unsure what to do. Monnique looked just as confused as Janice did. I wasn’t sure how this was going to play out, but I knew it wouldn’t be good.

“Hey,” she said. “Who are you?”

“Janice,” she said hesitantly. “And you?”

“Shelly.”

“Are you a friend of Ryan’s?”

I glared at her, silently commanding her to play nice.

“Well, I wouldn’t say friend.”

I was going to punch this bitch.

She smiled at me. “Ryan and I had a threesome a few times. It was a lot of fun.”

Cortland pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. I could tell that he wanted to leave. Monnique’s eyes widened to the size of grapefruits. Janice’s face was stoic, not showing any emotion. I wasn’t sure what she was thinking.

“Oh. Well, it’s nice to meet you,” she said politely.

“She isn’t my friend,” I said quickly. “You don’t have to be polite, Janice. In fact, I wouldn’t mind it if you punched her a few times.”

Shelly rolled her eyes. “You said I was the best sex you ever
had and now I’m nothing to you?” She looked at Janice. “I’m sure he said the same thing to you. He says it to everyone.”

“Don’t listen to her,” I said.

“I’m just saying the truth,” she said with a shrug.

Monnique glared at her. “Can you shut the fuck up and just leave?”

I stiffened at the hostility in her voice. Cortland dropped his phone on the ground, stunned. Shelly looked at her, an amused expression on her face.

“If you think you can talk to my best friend like that and not get a beating, you have another thing coming.” She stepped toward her and got in her face. “Now go. Or I’ll make you.”

Shelly kept smiling as she walked away. She trailed her fingers down my chest as she passed. When she was gone, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I knew Janice would be pissed but at least that fucking whore was gone.

Monnique looked at Janice. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” Janice said quietly.

I looked at Monnique. “Thanks for saying something.”

“Anytime,” she said. “No one threatens my best friend and gets away with it.”

“My words would have been useless because she knows I would never hit
her or do anything else.”

“I get that,” she said.

I turned to Janice, waiting for her to yell at me. She said nothing.

“You okay, baby?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m sorry about that. I tried to get rid of her.”

“I know.”

I sighed. “Are you mad
at me?”

“No.”

“I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”

“Why would I be? What did you do?”

“Well—I—I don’t know. My past never seems to go away.”

She said nothing.

I stepped away and pulled her close to me. “I’m so sorry. I really wished that this would stop.”

“Does it happen often?”

“Uh, well…”

“Don’t answer that.”

I sighed. “Baby, I love you.”

“I know you do. It’s okay. Let’s just forget about it.”

“I really meant what I said—you’re the best I ever had.”

“Did you say the same thing to her?”

I was quiet for a moment. “I did when we were—in the threesome.”

She nodded.

“But I really mean that with you. I just meant that was the most sexual experience I ever had—until you.”

“Have you had a threesome before?”

I avoided her gaze. “A few times.”

“What was that like?”

“I—I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That sounds kinda hot.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Are you being serious?”

“Yeah,” she said with a smile. “Maybe we should try one.”

I stared at her for a long time. “How about with Monnique?” I asked with a smile.

“That would be nice.”

I laughed. “I don’t think Cortland would like that.”

“Probably not.”

“We should try it.”

I stared at her for a long moment. “No.”

“No?”

“I don’t
want to be with anyone else—for the rest of my life.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I enjoyed that in my past because I didn’t care about anyone but myself. While I loved it, it didn’t mean anything. Being with you is far more satisfying than all the women in my life. I mean that.”

Her eyes softened. “Sometimes I can’t believe how much you’ve changed.”

“I can—easily. Sometimes it just takes one life-changing event to make you change everything. That event happened when I walked into my apartment and saw you sitting on the couch, your gorgeous legs extending from under your dress. You remember how stupid I sounded, right? I’ve never don’t that before. I’m usually a stud that gets my dick wet within the hour.”

She laughed. “That was pretty funny—and hilarious.”

“I’m glad you find my love at first sight moment hilarious.”

“Love at first sight?”

“Yeah. At least that’s what it was to me.”

She was quiet for a moment. I knew she was overcome by my ridiculous obsession with her. She always seemed to be surprised by my overwhelming affection toward her. I didn’t understand why. She was gorgeous—perfect. I assumed guys made idiots out of themselves on a daily basis when they saw her.

“I love you, Ryan.”

“I love you too, baby.” I leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. “You wanna get out of here?”

“Yes. Before that psycho ex of yours comes back.”

I averted my gaze. “Sorry about that.”

“Don’t worry about it. You did nothing wrong.”

“I’m so lucky you’re so cool. I would probably have killed Shelly if the situation was reversed.”

“Well, I’m not threatened by her. You live with me, you sleep with me every night, and you never lie to me. I don’t care how much other girls want you. You only want me.”

I smiled. “I’m glad you realize that because it’s completely true.” I turned to Cortland. “Janice and I are going to turn in for the evening.”

“Alright. See you later,” he said.

I hugged Monnique. “Thanks for being a badass.”

She laughed. “No problem.”

“Are you busy tomorrow?” I whispered in her ear.

“I work at night.”

“Can you meet at the shop at noon? Don’t tell Cortland.”

She pulled away and raised an eyebrow. “Cortland said you think I have a nice ass.”

I laughed. “I did say that, but that has nothing to do with it. I need your help with something.”

She glanced at Janice then back at me. “Okay.”

“Thank you.”

After Janice finished saying goodbye to Cortland, she hugged Monnique then turned back to me. We left the bar then walked outside.