Force of Love (6 page)

“Is everything okay?” she asked. She didn’t sound concerned at all. I was surprised. I don’t think I would be as calm if a guy called her three times in a row on a Friday night.

“Yeah it’s fine, baby.”

“Are you sure? Why did she call you three times?”

“I don’t know. I don’t care.”

She yawned again. “Okay.”

I was shocked. I never had a girlfriend before but I didn’t expect this absolute trust. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” She placed her hand on my heart and felt it beating. She did this every night and I wasn’t sure why.

“Baby?”

“Hmm?”

“Why do you do that?”

She rubbed my chest. “I want to make sure you’re okay. My father used to do it to me when I was little every night before I went to bed.”

I smiled. “Thanks for checking on me.”

Her hand stopped moving and I knew she was asleep.

3

“Ryan?”

“What?”

“What’s this?” she asked, staring at the box.

“It came in!”

“What came in?”

I dragged the box into the kitchen and placed it on the ground. The delivery man must have just brought it. I opened the box with shaky hands. “Thank you, priority shipping.”

She crossed her arms over her chest while she looked at me. “Do I want to know?”

I pulled the Styrofoam away and revealed the long, thin beam. “It’s beautiful.”

She smiled. “You actually got one?”

“Hell yeah.”

“I didn’t think you were being serious.”

“Then you don’t know me very well.”

“Where are we going to put that?”

“In our bedroom where I can get a private show.”

She shook her head. “We can’t hook that up without drilling into the floor or ceiling. We’ll have to pay for damages.”

I ran the cold metal across my palm. “That’s what the security deposit is for.”

She rolled her eyes. “You’re insane.”

“Yep.”

“Well, at least you’re aware of your insanity.”

Now I was just ignoring her. I knew exactly where I was going to put it.

“Don’t you think this might be a little dangerous?”

“There’s supposed to be another package,” I said more to myself than her.

“What?”

I grabbed the box and dragged into the bedroom.

“Ryan?”

When I got in the room, I grabbed my tools and started my work. Janice came to the doorway and watched me for a moment.

“Can you not hear me?”

I situated the pole and began to use the screws. “Huh?”

She shook her head as she sighed.

There was a knock on the door and she turned away. “I guess I’ll get it because you are temporarily unavailable.”

I rose to my feet and walked past her. I never let her open the door when I was home. If it was Cortland, he would either just walk in or he would let me know he was on his way. I knew it wasn’t him.

When I opened the door, I was happy to see the delivery man. “Thank you so much,” I said as I took the package.

“Sure,” he said before he walked away.

When I turned away, Janice looked at me.

“Do I dare ask?” she asked.

I smiled at her. “This is for you.”

She stared at me. “It’s slutty lingerie, isn’t it?”

“You know me so well, baby.”

She sighed. “What have I gotten myself into?”

“I’m almost done with the pole.” I walked away then returned to my bedroom. When I finished, I stepped away and admired my handiwork. I checked it by b
earing my own weight onto the beam. It was sturdy and strong. I was very, very excited about this.

When my phone vibrated in my pocket, I cursed.

“What?” I asked, still staring at the beam.

“Uh,
are you coming?” Cortland asked.

“I said I was.”

“Then why aren’t you here?”

“What time is it?”

“Past nine.”

“Oh—sorry. Lost track of time.”

“What are you’re doing?”

I smiled. “I’ll let you know when I see you.”

“Uh, I don’t want to know.”

“I’ll see you soon.” I hung up then walked into the living room. “Baby, I’m headed out.”

“Okay,” she said. “Are you done?”

I wrapped my arms around her. “It’s all ready to go.”

She shook her head. “You’re psychotic.”

“I expect a show when I get home.”

She shrugged. “We’ll see.”

“And wear one of those pretty things I got you.”

“Maybe.”

I kissed her on the forehead. “I’ll see you later.”

“When will you be home?”

“I’m not sure. It might be late. You might already be asleep.”

“I’ll wait for you.”

I smiled. “I was just kidding about the pole dancing. You don’t have to do it tonight.”

“It’s not that,” she said quietly. “I don’t want to go to sleep without you.”

I felt my heart squeeze. “Okay.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck, pressing her chest against mine. I felt her soft breasts push against me. “Have a good time.”

“I’ll try.”

“And don’t come home with any more lingerie,” she said as she rubbed her nose against mine.

“I can’t promise anything,” I said with a smile.

“Be safe.”

“Always.” I kissed her on the lips then walked through the door. When I closed it behind me, I locked it. I was always afraid that Janice would forget to do it. We lived in a good neighborho
od of the city. Sometimes break-ins happened, but nothing violent or dangerous occurred. I knew I was being paranoid, but I couldn’t help it. As soon as Janice kissed me for the first time, I immediately felt the need to protect her like I protected my sister.

When I reached the bar, the guys we
re already standing at the bar.

“Hey man,” I said as I shook hands with Jason.

“Long time, no see,” he said as he looked at me. “I heard you got married.”

I laughed. “Pretty much.”

“And so did Cortland.”

Cortland approached us and took a drink of his beer. “Yeah, we’re boring now.”

“Dang,” Jason said sadly. “You guys were the best guys to pick up chicks with.”

Cortland raised an eyebrow. “Really? I’ve been in a relationship since I can remember.”

Jason rolled his eyes. “I meant Ryan. I was just trying to be nice.”

I laughed. “Well, that went right over his head.”

Jason looked at me. “I need my wingman back, man. Times are hard. It’s like the dustbowl now.”

“You don’t need me,” I said with a laugh. “You got all those girls on your own.”

“But we work well together. I need you.”

I shrugged. “I’m sorry. I’m off the market now.”

“You can still help me out,” Jason said.

“And how would I do that?” I asked.

“You can still be a wingman.”

“No,” I said quickly. “I can’t. If word got back to Janice, I would have a hard time explaining myself.”

He rolled his eyes. “You really are married.”

Cortland stared across the bar at the crowd of people. His mind seemed to be elsewhere. I knew he felt
left out of the conversation. Cortland was a great guy and could get any girl he wanted, but he never slept around like I did. Well, except for my sister.  He was too traditional for that. When he turned around quickly and hid his face, I knew something was wrong.

“What is it?” I asked.

He sighed. “Elizabeth is here with Cheyenne and Tanya.”

I looked across the room and spotted them. “This is the first time you’ve ran into her?”

“Since I started dating Monnique. I’m not sure how she feels about me living with her. I doubt she’s happy about it.”

Jason glanced at them. “
Who cares? She’ll get over it.”

Cortland took another
drink of his beer. “I hope so.”

I grabbed my beer from the table
and took a drink. When I looked back across the bar, I saw Missy with a girlfriend. I groaned. I seriously couldn’t get away from this chick.

Cortland noticed my frown. “What?”

“Missy,” I said with a sigh.

Jason shook his head. “You guys have bad luck with women.”

“Tell me about it,” Cortland said.

Jason turned away from them. “Well, ignore them. If you don’t pay attention to them, they won’t pay attention to you.”

“You obviously don’t know women very well,” I said.

“Well, I know they have pussie
s and that’s all I need to know,” Jason said. “Now come on. I could use some wingmen to nail that chick in the red.”

I looked over at the girl. She wore a tight dress that highlighted her prominent breasts. She was beautiful with the right curves in the right places. She was sitting next to two girls who were equally attractive. Jason chose well.

“Let’s move,” he said. “You distract the other two while I move in for red.”

“I already said no,” I repeated.

“Grow a pair,” Jason said. “I didn’t say you have to sleep with them.”

I sighed. “Fine.”

We walked over to them and they looked up at our approach. One of the brunettes immediately looked at me. I already felt like I was cheating on Janice.

“Hey,” J
ason said. “May we join you ladies for a moment?”

Red smiled at him but said nothing.

The brunette was staring at me hungrily. I felt awkward. “Uh, yeah.  Hi.”

Jason raised an eyebrow as he looked at me. I definitely wasn’t on my game.

“I mean, hi,” I repeated.

“Hi,” she said as she twirled her hair.

“Hi.” Damn, I just said that.

Jason kicked me below the table. He started talking to the
girl, striking up a conversation with her.

“I’m Stacy. Who are you?” she asked. She wore a tight dress with
a silver bracelet and matching necklace. She was beautiful and that made me feel more awkward. I was wondering how Cortland was doing with the other woman.

“Cortland—I mean, Ryan,” I said quickly.

She nodded. “So, Cortland—Ryan—what do you do for a living?”

“I’m a tattoo artist.”

She smiled. “Do you have any tattoos?”

“No.”

“Do you not like them?”

“Uh,
they just aren’t my thing.” I glanced at Jason, hoping his conversation was almost over. I was feeling guiltier by the second. I couldn’t do this while Janice was sitting at home waiting for me. Now that I had her in my life, I couldn’t even remember how to talk to women. It was like the knowledge fell out of my head. Janice had me wrapped around her finger.

“I’ve always wanted a tattoo.”

“Uh, cool.”

I looked at my watch. Time was moving so slow.
I just wanted to get the fuck out of here. I shouldn’t have left Janice. I was depressed that my former life of fun and adventure was gone, but the life I had with Janice was much better than that. I didn’t realize how sad my life used to be until I started living in this new one—my life with Janice.

When I felt a tap on my shoulder, I sighed in relief. Hopefully it was a way out of this.

“You either lied about having a girlfriend or you have no problem cheating on her, so I’m tired of your excuses,” Missy said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

I sighed. Okay, maybe this was worse. “I’m tired of having this conversation with you.”

She looked past me and waved at the girl. “This one is mine.”

I glared at her. “No, I’m not.”

She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear as she looked at me. She wore a tight black dress that pushed her tits up. The tattoos that covered her body were very sexy on her, but I was immune to the sexual attraction between us. “Come on, Ryan. Don’t act like this is over.”

“Leave me alone, Missy. I mean it. And stop calling me. Do you really need to get laid that bad?”

“I told you the others aren’t as good as you.”

“Well, train them.”

“I don’t want to,” she said as she stepped closer to me.

I stepped back. “Knock it off. I’m in love with my girlfriend. I’ve said this so many times.”

“And I still don’t believe you.”

I never punched a girl in my life, and Missy was about to be my first. “If I slept with you she would never find out about it.”

She smiled. “No, she wouldn’t.”

“And I still don’t want to sleep with you. I think that’s pretty indicative. Now get the fuck away from me.”

Cortland looked at me when he heard me snap. He came over to us and stepped in between us. “Calm down.”

I didn’t look at him. “Get this whore away from me.”

She glared at me before she turned on her heel and walked away.

“What the hell was that?” Cortland asked.

“Stupid whore still wants to jump my bones.”

“So? You guys almost came to blows.”

“She called me three times last night. I don’t want Janice to find out.”

“That you slept with Missy?”

“No. That she still wants me. I don’t want to make Janice worry, and I definitely don’t want to scare her off.”

Cortland nodded. “I get it. I would be pissed if Monnique’s ex was still trying to sleep with her.”

“Exactly.”

“But I wouldn’t worry about it. It seems like she’s finally given up.”