Into The Fire (32 page)

Smart move.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Mom said.
“It’ll be too difficult to be a mother while working that kind of
job.”

“Exactly.” Maybe my mom would wear Alessandra
down.

Alessandra was dead silent.

We ordered our food then made small talk
about the shop. It was nice to hear them ask me questions about my
work and what I loved rather than me hiding it from them. Maybe
they finally accepted who I was. It’s what I wanted for so long.
Who knew having Alessandra in my life was the answer to that.

Our dinner arrived and we continued to talk
while we ate. Alessandra was still in a sour mood but she hid it
from my parents. I picked up on it because every time I touched her
thigh, she pushed my hand away. She would give me an earful later.
But I could handcuff her to the bed and blindfold her. Then I could
do things that would make her forget all her anger.

I wanted to add pepper to my meal so I turned
to Alessandra. “Could you pass the pepper, cream queen?”

Alessandra noticeably stiffened at my
words.

I waited for her to pass it.

Both of my parents stopped eating and stared
at me with terrified looks.

What did I say?

Alessandra slowly passed me the pepper, her
cheeks bright red. Then she kicked me hard under the table.

“Ouch.” I rubbed my shin.

An awkward silence filled the table. It had
the weight of a thick blanket. It was suffocating and heavy. We
continued to eat but now everyone’s faces were glued to their
plates. No one made small talk.

“I’m going to kill you,” Alessandra whispered
to me.

“Why?”

She kicked me again. “If you can’t figure it
out, you’re hopeless.”

***

“I hate you.” Alessandra smacked her clutch
against me once we were in the apartment. “I told you not to call
me that in front of them.”

“It slipped out, alright? It’s not a big
deal.”

“Not a big deal?” she shrieked. “You
humiliated me.”

“Look, you really think my parents think we
aren’t having sex? My parents know how I am, Alessandra.”

She chucked her clutch at me. “Argh!”

When she growled like that it was pretty
hot.

“Your parents must think I’m a whore.”

“No, they don’t. They think you’re my better
half.”

She gripped her skull. “I’ve been embarrassed
a lot in my life but that has to be the most humiliating thing
that’s ever happened to me.”

“They probably forgot about it by now.”

“No, they didn’t!” She stomped her foot.

“And I doubt they even know what that
means.”

“They aren’t stupid, Ash.”

“I don’t know…have you talked to them
lately?”

She pointed at her front door. “Just go. I
don’t want to hear you speak right now.”

“But I have more to say.”

“I don’t care! How dare you tell them I’m
quitting my job.”

“You are.”

“I’m sorry my job bothers you but I’m not
walking away from it.”

“This is what’s going to happen. You’re going
to quit and I’ll cover your bills until you find something
new.”

“But I don’t want something new,” she barked.
“I don’t want to have a boss and sit in a cubicle all day.”

“This job isn’t practical and you know it.
How do you expect to ever have a serious relationship when you do
this for a living? You’re acting like I’m crazy for having a
problem with it but I can guarantee any other guy would. You really
see yourself doing this when you’re a wife and mother? Let me tell
you right now, my wife isn’t going to be an escort. I told you if I
ever settled down, I would be insanely possessive and never let a
man even touch her arm. You wanted me all to yourself and you got
what you wanted, but there’s a lot of extra shit that comes along
with it.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and
stared me down.

“It’s just a job, baby. You’ll find something
else.”

“How would you feel if I asked you to
quit?”

I rubbed the back of my neck. “It’s not the
same thing and you know it. How would you feel if I went out every
weekend and held some girl’s hand and wrapped my arm around her
waist while I pretended to be madly in love with her in front of
her family? Don’t act like that wouldn’t make you uncomfortable. We
both know it would.”

She released a breath of defeat.

“Quit your job and we’ll go from there.”

“I can’t look at you right now.” She turned
on her heel and walked into her bedroom. “Just go.” She slammed the
bedroom door shut when she was inside.

I sighed then looked around the room as I
tried to figure out what to do. I spotted the handcuffs on the
couch and an idea came to me. I snatched them then walked into her
bedroom. She was getting ready to go to sleep.

I threw her on the bed then handcuffed her
wrists to the headboard.

“What the hell are you doing?” She tried to
escape my hold but it wasn’t working.

“Now you can’t get away from me.” I pulled
down her bottoms and her panties.

“Ash, seriously don’t. I’m not in the
mood.”

“Neither am I.” I wanted to strangle her,
actually. I pulled my clothes off and shoved a pillow under her
hips.

“Ash, I said no. Now uncuff me.” She tried to
slip her wrists through the hole.

“Sorry, baby.” I found her entrance then slid
inside. “We have to have make up sex.”

“But we aren’t making up,” she growled. “I’m
still pissed off at you.”

I thrust into her. “Because of that cream
queen thing?”

“Yes,” she hissed.

“Well, I’m sorry.” I gripped her hips and
pounded into her.

Her protests slowly diminished as my cock
ring hit her in the right spot. Within seconds, moans escaped her
mouth and she bit her lip in enjoyment. She pressed her palms to
the headboard and thrust back into me.

Sex always made everything better.

I leaned over her and gave her a slow kiss.
“I love you, cream queen.”

“I love you too, cock ring.”

I smirked from ear-to-ear. “I like that
name.”

“Then I’ll call you that in front of your
parents.”

I laughed. “I dare you.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Alessandra

“Shelly, I need to tell you something.” I sat
at my desk and looked across the room at her.

She was playing solitaire, like usual. “Yes,
I know Brad got back together with his ex. And she’s still a
troll.”

“No, not that.”

“Then what?” she asked.

“I’m thinking about quitting.”

She stopped playing and set the cards down.
“Quitting this job?”

I nodded.

“Why?”

“It’s a long story…”

She narrowed her eyes. “Ash. There, that was
the short version.”

I cringed. “Yeah…”

She nodded in understanding. “It’s okay,
Alessandra. I get it.”

“You do?” I asked in surprise. “I assumed you
would be upset or tell me not to let him boss me around.”

“It doesn’t sound like he’s bossing you
around,” she said. “It sounds like you’re making this decision on
your own. And the guys who owned Beautiful Entourage before we
bought it sold it for that exact reason. They settled down and got
married and their women weren’t happy about their profession. I
think it’s not absurd for Ash to feel uncomfortable by what you
do.”

That wasn’t the reaction I was expecting.

“My only comment is…don’t quit your job and
change everything for him unless he’s the one.” She searched my
gaze for a reaction.

Ash was such a pain in the ass. He had no
filter when it came to his words and he blurted everything out
without thinking. He was argumentative and stubborn. He was so full
of himself that it was borderline conceited. But I loved him so
goddamn much. All the bad and the ugly didn’t change the way I
felt. “He is.”

She smiled. “Then I think you’re making the
right decision. You’ll find something else.”

“Like what?” I asked. “I didn’t go to college
and I don’t have any skills other than being pretty.”

“Be a model.”

I cringed. “Ugh, no. I would never want to do
that. I love food too much.”

“You’ll find something, Alessandra. It’s not
like this is your passion.”

“But I don’t hate it either.”

“Believe me, working nights and weekends will
get old when you’re in a serious relationship. And with marriage
and kids…it’s just not practical. I’m all for doing what you want,
but his request isn’t totally unfounded.”

“I don’t want to do it just to spite him.” I
knew that made me ugly but I didn’t care. “I don’t want him to
think he’ll always get his way when he wants something.”

“Tell him he won’t,” she said. “And you’re
done.”

“You don’t think I’m a pussy?”

“No,” she said. “Do you have any idea how
many dates I’ve been on that went so well but then went to shit the
second I told them what I did for a living? Honestly, would you
want to date someone with your profession?”

I sighed because I knew she was right.
“No…”

“See? If he weren’t Prince Charming, I would
tell him to take a hike. But if you really love this guy and you
see it going somewhere, you should do it. I know you said he had
weird commitment issues. Is that still the case?”

“No.” He told me he loved me and couldn’t
live without me. On paper, he seemed like a distant guy, but in
real life, he did everything he said he wouldn’t do. He was with me
all the time and clingy just like he claimed all the girls were to
him. He poured his heart out to me without holding anything back. I
was certain all his insecurities were gone.

“Then go for it. If it doesn’t work out and
you fall hard on your ass, Beautiful Entourage will always be
here.”

I smiled. “Well, thank you.”

“Let me know how it goes…” She picked up her
cards and started playing again.

I couldn’t believe I was really considering
this.

***

I got a coffee at the shop around the corner
and turned to grab a sleeve when I bumped into someone. “Oh my god,
I’m so sorry. Did I get anything on you?” I looked at his collared
shirt and blazer and was relieved I didn’t see a coffee stain.

“Alessandra?”

I looked into Tony’s face when I recognized
his voice. “Oh…hi.” We hadn’t spoken since our painful breakup. I
didn’t think about him anymore, and forgot he existed until just
now.

“I thought you might be here. I know you used
to come here.”

Why was he looking for me?
“Sorry I
bumped into you like that.”

“No, it’s okay. I crowded you.” He gave me a
smile but it didn’t seem genuine. His brown hair was exactly how it
used to be. It was a little long and messy. His blue eyes were
intense, like always.

“Well, I should get on my way.” I grabbed a
napkin and turned around. I had nothing to say to him and I didn’t
want to make small talk about shit neither one of us cared
about.

“Whoa…hold on.” He moved in front of me. “You
need to be somewhere?”

“Just work.” And I just wanted to get away
from him.

“I was hoping we could talk. I tried calling
you a few months ago.”

And Ash picked up the phone. I remembered.
“What did you want to talk about?” I couldn’t care less what he had
to say. The way he tossed me aside was unforgiveable. I didn’t hate
him, but I would never be friends with him either.

“I saw you in a restaurant awhile ago…”

I knew the incident but I acted like I
didn’t. “Oh?”

“Yeah…you were with some guy and his parents.
I was actually at the table next to you…” His eyes fell in
disappointment. “I guess you didn’t see me.”

“Nope.” Well, I did and I had a small break
down. But after my overdramatic moment passed and Ash put me back
on my feet, I kept my head high and proud.

“Well, I was there. It was the French
restaurant we used to go to.”

So he remembered but he took his lovely
fiancée there anyway. How sweet. “Well, that’s an interesting
story. I should be getting on my way now.”

“Whoa, hold on.” He didn’t grab me but he
stayed in my way. “So…are you serious with this guy?”

“Super duper serious.” Ugh, why did I have to
talk like a child right now? “We’re very happy and I know this is
going to last forever.” I wasn’t putting up a show anymore and that
scared me a little bit. Tony and I were in a strong relationship
but I didn’t necessarily feel that way at the time. But with Ash, I
did.

“I see…”

I knew he had a fiancée but I couldn’t act
like I knew that. How would I know unless I saw him that night?
“What about you? A special lady in your life?” I held my coffee and
felt the warmth through the sleeve.

He shifted his weight like he was
uncomfortable. His gaze left my face for a few seconds like he
didn’t want to look at me.

Squirm, bitch.

“Yes. Her name is Jessica.”

Boring name. “Well, good for you.” I forced a
smile and tried to act cheerful. I really couldn’t care less that
he had a nice woman in his life, one that he was going to marry.
When it came down to it, if Tony hadn’t broken my heart, Ash
wouldn’t have come into my life.

How could I possibly regret that?

“I hope you two are very happy together.” But
you won’t be as happy as Ash and I.

“Yeah…” He didn’t seem happy at all.

I just wanted to get away from him. I had a
million other things to get done that day—and one of them was
Ash.

“Look.” He put his hands in his pockets. “I’m
sorry for the way things ended with us.”

“It’s fine,” I blurted. “Tony, I’m over
it.”

“You are?” A hint of sadness was in his
voice.

“Yes. If you’re the kind of guy who goes to a
strip club then ridicules the women on stage while you’re on the
floor, then I don’t want to be with you anyway.”