January (Calendar Girl #1) (8 page)

I held out my hand. “Hi, Jeananna, right?”

She nodded and shook my hand. “So…” she drew out the word looking at her brother then at me. “Friend, eh?”

Wes chuckled. “Yes, Sis,
friend
.” He emphasized the word ‘friend’.

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever,” she said as her blonde hair bobbed and her green eyes sparkled with happiness.

After full introductions were done and we were at the table, that’s where the fun really began.

“So Mia, what is it that you do?” Jeananna asked me. “Did you two meet on the job?”

I looked over at Wes and could see he was at a loss for words. “You could say that,” I hedged shoveling in a bite of quiche.

Without preamble, Claire Channing butted in. “Oh please. Of course you met on the job. Mia’s an escort. I picked her out myself. Don’t I have the best taste, Wes?” Claire’s tone was nonchalant, unbothered by the fact that in normal circumstances, it was unusual to pick out an escort for your son. Definitely high on the bizarre-meter. .

Jeananna’s eyes widened in shock. “You’re a call girl?”

Both Wes and I spoke at the same time. “What did you say?” I said as Wes scolded, “No she’s not!”

I blanched. That quiche suddenly felt heavy in my gut. “So you’re not sleeping with my brother?” she asked not a hint of malice to her tone. She could’ve been asking about the weather.

“Um…” I started to respond.

“That’s none of your business.” Wes stood and threw his napkin on the table. Redness colored his cheeks and neck. “I will not have you insinuate such hateful things about Mia.”

Jeananna stood up and ran around the table. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. It wasn’t intentional! I just heard the word escort and you know, came to the wrong conclusion. I didn’t mean anything by it.” She worried her lip.

Claire stood up, “Now, now, Jeananna didn’t mean any harm. It was a simple mistake,” she placated but Wes wasn’t having it.

“Not simple,” he grated. “Mia is my friend, and she may have been hired to help me get through a month’s worth of tedious lunches, dinners, and events, but she’s not a lady of the night.” His eyes snapped to mine. “Sorry, sweetheart,” his eyes shone bright with remorse. I knew then I had to make it right.

I took a deep breath in. “Look, it was a simple mistake. I thought the same thing when my Aunt Millie broached the subject. But I decided to give it a shot, and I’m glad I did. Meeting Wes, and now you all has been quite the highlight of the experience for me.” Claire’s eyes warmed and she took her seat, as did Jeananna after she hugged her brother. “Besides, have you seen the shoes I scored?” Right then I turned in my seat and put my leg out to the sky like my dance teacher taught me to do back in high school. “Hot as hell!”

Claire’s hand went over her mouth, covering her laughter. Jeananna looked at my heels with a hint of envy. Her husband didn’t say anything but stared at my leg as if it held the answers to the universe, and Wes’s dad clapped him on the shoulder with a “Well done, Son!”

“Anyway, I want to know more about you guys.” I changed the subject and took a sip of my champagne and OJ. “Wes here tells me you’re a teacher, and you’re a principal. How does that work out?”

The rest of the afternoon went off without a hitch. Claire and Weston,
the Second,
along with Jeananna and her husband, Peter, shared story after story of Wes as a baby and growing up in the Channing family. I laughed more in that afternoon than I had in the last year. The lighthearted vibe was almost too much to bear for someone like me who never had a real family unit myself. It had always been my drunk father, and my baby sister, Maddy, who I spent most of my childhood and teen years raising. Even though I knew Daddy loved us more than anything, he could never stop his gambling or drinking away the memories of what our life had been when Mom was around.

When we left, Claire made Wes promise to bring me back next Sunday. He agreed. As we made our way to his Jeep, he hugged me to his side and planted a sweet kiss on my lips. “That was fun, you know?”

I smiled back, warmth filled my heart to bursting. “It was. One of the best days I’ve had in a long time. Thank you for bringing me.”

He grinned and winked. “Anytime, sweetheart. They liked you.”

I buckled up and looked out the window as he drove out the gates back down the winding road out of their posh neighborhood.

“I liked them. Very much. You have a cool family. You’re lucky.”

His lips turned down into a frown. “What’s your family like?” he asked so softly I could barely hear him over the sound of the wind whipping my hair around.

Leaning back, I watched the beach in the distance and the waves crashing over the shore. “My sister Maddy is amazing. She’s brilliant. Going to be a scientist. I spent most of my time growing up taking care of her.”

“Where were your parents?”

“Parent,” I corrected. His eyes shot to mine briefly. Within them I could see remorse and sadness. Not for himself, but for me. I turned away. “My mom was a showgirl in Vegas. Left my Dad and us girls when I was ten, Maddy only five.”

Wes worried his thumb nail but kept his eyes on the road. “She never came back?”

“Nope,” I shook my head. “And because of that, my dad started drinking. A lot. Gambling, even more.”

He grabbed my hand and twined our fingers together before pulling it against his lips kissing the top of my hand. “Is that why you’re doing what you’re doing?”

I could’ve lied and told him some made up bullshit story, but that would’ve ruined what we had—the complete and perfect honesty we’d come to rely on in order to make this situation work for us both. Instead of responding, I just nodded.

“Want to tell me about it?” His tone was soft and pleading.

It was too soon. I wasn’t ready to share my burden with someone. He was such a good guy he’d just want to fix it. Pay off the debt or something crazy. It’s my problem. My father and my own constant desire to save him. I have to be the one to do this.

“Will you tell me someday?”

“Yes,” and that was as much as I could promise for now.

Chapter 6

“Wake up, sweetheart,” I heard right before the tingling burn of Wes’s hand met the bare skin of my ass. 

“Jesus, Christ,” I jumped up grabbing at the comforter to cover my unmentionables. “What the hell is wrong with you?” I yelled.

I was greeted with a grin instead of an apology. “Come on, get your suit on and some comfy clothes. We’re hitting the beach!” Wes exclaimed, clearly thrilled with the prospect of a new day and visiting the coast.

He’d been working his ass off the past week. I only saw him late in the evening, excluding one unbearably boring business dinner. Though in the meantime, I’ve had lunch with Jennifer Underwood, the director’s wife on his current movie, and Wes’s mother, Claire. Everyone seems to be taking things in stride. Wes didn’t have a problem with it either. Said it was great I was making new friends while he was busy. He seemed to be more concerned with me being bored all day rather than the potential blurring of any emotional lines by me hanging out with his family and getting close to his coworker’s wife.

“What do you mean we’re going to the beach? You realize it’s January and cold as hell?” I pulled the comforter over my head and slouched back into the cozy hidey hole it offered.

I felt the mattress dip, caging me in. Wes pulled the blankets off my head and did a ninja-like maneuver getting both of my hands locked over my head with one hand. He leaned down and kissed me, slow, wet, and so deep my toes curled. The space between my thighs started to heat and throb. Jesus, the man could kiss. He pulled the blanket further down and nudged at my nipples, first with his nose, then pulling one tip into his mouth, drawing from it.

“Now, this is how you wake a girl,” I said through a low moan.

He rewarded me with deep, penetrating suction from his mouth against my breast. “I’ll remember that next time. If I get you off, will you be in a better mood?” His tongue came out and flicked just the tip of my nipple while playing with it. The fingers of his other hand plucked and twisted my breast’s twin.

I nodded dumbly, too lost in the sensation that was building, a slow burn that made me weak and incapable of speech.

He chuckled against my breast. “If I put my mouth on you, give you the relief you seek, will you do what I say?”

It was impossible to deny him. With his mouth and fingers worshipping my tits, I couldn’t help but give him anything he asked. “Yes, God yes!” I moaned. His head moved from my breast down my ribs where he bit and nibbled, along the center of my abdomen, until he was
there
. Right there, giving me all that I wanted and more. Wes could have been a gold medalist in the art of cunnilingus. He knew exactly when to give, when to bite, nip, suck, lick. And he did it with finesse. .

Bite.

Nip.

Suck.

Lick.

Followed by a swirl and flattening his tongue as he rubbed around the center of my pleasure over and over until I broke. My body arched, hands flying into his hair to hold him against my wet flesh. He growled as he ate, lost in the moment as much as I was. Possibly even more by the way he plunged his cock into me.

We didn’t make it to the beach for another hour.

When we arrived, we were met by another man, a surf instructor named Amil.

“You brought me here so I could watch you guys surf?” I asked immediately after shaking the hand of Mr. Surftastic. My tone was not pleasant.

Wes looked at Amil, then at me, and grinned. His smirk was mischievous, and I knew in that moment that I was in for it.

“No, as a matter of fact, I brought you here because
we
are going to surf. Amil is going to help me show you the ropes. He also has all the equipment and ladies’ wetsuits. He runs the Surf Shack farther down the beach.” He pointed to a spot far off on the horizon.

I looked at Wes, his blond hair blowing in the chilly morning air. A sparkle in his green eyes made them look almost emerald in the early light of day. He was as sweet on the eyes as the heavenly waves hitting the beach.

“You’re serious then?”

He nodded and gestured to Amil. The instructor turned around, giving me an amazing view of his tanned muscled back, and pulled out a wetsuit that looked to be about my size. “Should fit. You’re what, five ten, a hundred and forty pounds?”

“Five nine, and didn’t your mother teach you that you don’t ever discuss weight with a woman?”

Amil shook his head and laughed. “Can’t say that she did.”

“She fell down on her job,” I said deadpan. “It’s rude, and women hate it. You married?” He shook his head. “Girlfriend?” He shook his head again, still grinning. “Case in point.” I clapped my hands together as if I’d just proven Einstein’s theory of relativity.

Wes laughed out loud beside me. “She’s right, dude,” Wes said. I was a little taken aback by his use of the very Californian word. Not that Wes wasn’t a cool guy, he was. Very much so. It’s just, he’s always had a bit of formality.

“Sorry Mia. My deepest apologies, but I wanted to make sure the suit would fit.” He handed me a black wetsuit.

After repeated attempts at getting myself into the impossibly tight wetsuit, which I dubbed my Cat Woman suit, we finally got the sucker on and in place. My boobs were smashed against my chest and the neoprene fabric. I wanted nothing more than to unzip the top and let those babies loose! Looking down at myself, I couldn’t help but snicker. The suit reminded me of catwoman from
Batman Returns
. I felt ridiculous even though Wes’s heated gaze told me I did
not
‘in fact’ look ridiculous. More like he was ready to rip the sucker right off me. Amil however didn’t appreciate the lack of attention we were giving to his surf instruction. I just wanted to get out there and try this damn thing already!

Finally Amil was done with his “art of surfing” instruction and Wes led me down the beach. He held his surfboard and mine as we trudged through the sand. “I can carry my own board, you know?”

His eyes twinkled as the sun caught them. “I’m certain there’s a lot of things you can do, sweetheart. But, I wouldn’t feel like a man if I didn’t help my girl. Besides, you’re being a really good sport.”

His girl?

Did he just say that?

“My girl?” I asked before the thought could turn into something wickedly emotional.

He grinned. “Yeah, you know what I mean.” He shrugged.

Um, no, I fucking didn’t know what he meant. Just as I was about to dig further into this landmine, Amil interrupted us.

“Okay, we’re going to do some paddling and practical lessons out there on the calmer section of water.”

“Come on, don’t be a scairdy cat,” he said, adding a mutilated meow sound for effect. Men just can’t make kitty noises. They end up sounding more like an animal dying than a cute little furball.

As I was about to protest, Wes smacked my ass hard and pushed me forward towards the ocean. He was a perfect gentleman in the ocean, though. He helped lead me to the appropriate area in the water as well as worked with me on the positions, poses, and the balancing I was attempting. We decided I should attempt to get up on my knees first and get the hang of it before attempting to stand. 

Once the newness and nerves wore off, I found I could actually ride small waves when on my belly. It took over an hour to get up on my knees, but I couldn’t have been more proud of myself. As I was on my knees riding a wave, I could hear Wes hooting and hollering. I’d never felt more pride in myself than in that moment. Usually, I was cheering on my sister, Maddy, or my best friend, Ginelle, and her dancing. Even when I was in contemporary dance and had kickass performances I still didn’t feel this sense of accomplishment. Maybe now it was because of the tall six-foot plus hunk waiting on the shore as I paddled in. His surfboard was sticking straight out of the ground. I shuffled towards him, dropping my board on the sand as I ran further up the shore.

“Did you see it?” I screamed with glee as I ran toward him.