Read Meadowlarks 3 : Endless Online
Authors: Ashley Christine
It’s Sara.
Fuck
.
I sit and stare at the screen for a while, deciding not to text her back. Instead, I tossed the phone on the seat next to me and drove back to the hotel. Once I got there, I sat down on the bed with my laptop and briefcase both flipped open in front of me. Ready to get down to business, but nothing was happening. The deafening silence of the room was going to drive me crazy. I needed to get out of there.
I packed up my stuff, and drove to the nearest coffee house. Even if I had to be surrounded by other people, I can drown them out and focus on my work. I don’t want to be alone.
I flirted with the pretty barista while waiting for my coffee. She kept blushing and tucking her loose strand of hair behind her ear. I tipped her ten bucks for a four dollar coffee. Maybe it’ll be her sweet brunette head on my pillow tomorrow morning.
I find a table, sit and open my laptop. An email from Bob Stanton; my buddy in Cody who has been hunting properties for my new venture, is the first in my inbox.
August 30, 2014
8:34 AM
From: Robert Stanton
To: Weston Casey
Subject: Building
Weston, got one.
22 Mardan Street.
Buffalo.
$479,000 two-storey, 2500 sq. feet.
Photos attached.
Bob.
A smile washes over my face when I click through the pictures he’s sent of the potential purchase. It’s a newer custom home that is priced to sell fast. Even though Buffalo isn’t where I planned to be, it’ll do. I reply to Bob.
August 30, 2014
2:59 PM
From: Weston Casey
To: Robert Stanton
Subject: Building
Perfect. Slap that sold sign down.
Meet Monday?
W.C.
I sit lean on the table on my elbow with my hand in my chin, clicking through the pictures of the house once more.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you it’s creepy to look at porn in public?” A husky and sexy woman’s voice quietly whispers from across my table.
I don’t know what popped up first. My grin, or my erection.
“So quick to assume, Miss Harrison.”
“Cole. Riley
Cole
.” She stands and crosses her arms, making her perfect cleavage bulge.
The excitement in my pants mimics her breasts, straining against the material. I’m thankful for the table over my lap.
“Right. Cole. Anyway, I’m looking at photos of our new brokerage. Care to join me?”
She thinks about it for a moment, then shrugs and sits down across from me. “I only have a minute, I’m meeting my girlfriend for coffee.”
“The redhead?”
“Yes, you creeper. The redhead.”
I grin. “What? It’s not a crime to remember a beautiful face…or body.”
“And here I am actually considering working for you again…” Riley laughs and leans back in her chair. “How did it go with Elsa? Rob texted me right after you left.”
“Did he? Well, it went just like I had expected. Good for me, good for her.” I sip my coffee and close my laptop. “How’s married life?”
“You really want to know? Well, okay. It’s fabulous. Mind-blowingly fabulous.” Riley rolls her eyes in her head and makes a slight
O
with her mouth.
Tease
.
“Second thought; I don’t care. I’m just sorry you’re going to have to put up with the same bland sex for the rest of your life. It’s such a shame you didn’t let me show you how—“
“Weston. Shh!” Riley glares at me while her friend approaches the table. “Addy, hey girl. You remember Weston Casey?”
“Hello, Mr. Casey. Always a pleasure.” The redhead smiles.
Well, it could be a pleasure, gorgeous.
“Nice to see you again…” I fade off, not recalling her name.
“Addison.”
“Yes, Addison. Would you join me for coffee too?”
The girls share a quizzical look between them, shrug, then Addison sits down.
That ‘a boy, Casey.
Now, a black and red mixture would be even hotter on the pillow tomorrow.
Yeah, fat chance
. I have to think about something else if I’m going to be able to sit here and carry on a conversation with these two.
“Are you treating us to coffee too, Mr. Casey?” Riley asks sweetly.
Fuck
. I push the idea of these two sprawled naked on my bed out of my mind, and pull in the most un-arousing considerations.
Sumo wrestling. Cleaning the toilet…Elsa.
Ding ding ding! We have a winner!
“Of course. What can I get you ladies?” I ask, and raise an eyebrow suggestively.
After they tell me what they want, and I am confident enough to stand without knocking the table over, I walk back up to the counter and place the order. This time the barista is not as perky; probably because she’s been eyeing up my current company.
I slip her my card after she hands me the coffee. “Call me when you’re off.”
“Umm…okay,” she says, timidly, then bites her lip.
This is too easy.
***
Coffee with Riley and Addison was torturous. They kept giggling and smiling and being too damn hot. I can see why they got locked down into marriage. Unfortunately for me, it seems they’re the rare breed of faithful, too. As much as I persist, I know Riley will never give in to me.
If she didn’t tear my door down in Cheyenne after hearing me almost break Sara over and over, she’ll never give me the pleasure of being inside of her. Then again, Weston Casey isn’t known to be a quitter.
I give Riley one more signature smile, and lift my arm to run my fingers through my hair before she leaves. I see her eyes dart to my inner arm and her cheeks redden. If only I knew what was going through her mind when she left the coffee shop.
The next hour is spent drinking another coffee, checking my stocks on the market, and typing emails to associates in New York. I need to get all my ducks in a row before I really jump into this. If I’m going to open a real estate agency here, have Riley run it, and start a partnership in New York at a world renowned corporation—I’m going to have to put on my Big Boy pants and stop dicking around.
I glance over at the brunette behind the counter again. Well, maybe I’ll stop dicking around tomorrow.
CHAPTER TWO
The brunette did a fantastic job of keeping my mind off everything, but once she fell asleep (or passed out from exhaustion), my mind wouldn’t turn off.
As much as I’m trying not to admit it; I’m not dealing all too well with my divorce. I hated Elsa for what she turned into, and what I resorted to from our unhappy marriage. I wasn’t always like this. Sure, I slept around in high school and college. But the moment I met her, I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
I am the middle child of two
very
successful, and now retired, real estate sharks in New York. Naturally, I followed in the footsteps of my parents and kept the Casey name in the market. While my older sister and younger brother both went off and took their own paths. Janelle is the head master of a private school, and Liam is a firefighter for NYFD.
The big city started to choke the life out of me. I couldn’t handle it anymore, so after college I busted out of there and travelled up and down the country. I considered laying down roots in Las Vegas, but the dry heat would have eventually killed me. I’m used to the cold. When I met Bob Stanton at a casino in Nevada, he convinced me to check out a convention in Wyoming. While it didn’t have the best appeal…I mean, it’s
Wyoming
…I shrugged and agreed to go with my new friend.
Damn, was I wrong...The landscape was unlike anything I’d ever seen before. Not to mention, the people were just nicer than most New Yorkers. We pulled up to the convention center, I took a few deep breaths and got out of Bob’s truck.
Cue Elsa Lawrence.
She stood with a group of other woman near a landscaper’s booth, holding her hand over her heart while she laughed at something one of the other women had said. She sounded beautiful, and she looked even hotter. There was something about the way she cocked her head to the side, letting her blonde hair fall over her shoulder that put me in a trance.
I stood there, watching her, until Bob snapped his fingers in my face to break me out of it.
“Casey. Hello? What are you gawking at?”
“That.” I pointed to Elsa.
“Oh, ha ha…figures. And you’re just her type too. Fresh from the cradle.” Bob snorts.
I give him a questioning look and straighten my tie before confidently walking over to the woman who sucked all the air from my lungs. She saw me coming, and I think I actually saw her breath hitch.
“Excuse me, ladies,” she said quietly, before turning away from them and walking away from me.
I followed her. Prowled. Pursued. Already hardening.
She looked over her shoulder, her eyes quickly met mine, and she blushed. I kept my distance, but didn’t slow my pace. I followed her into the washroom and pushed her right up against the wall. I put my hands on either side of her head, and leaned in close.
“Just what do you think you’re doing?” She asked, breathy and panting.
“Whatever I want. Do you have any objections?” I leaned my face down to her ear and brushed it with my lips.
“None.”
I turned her around, lifted her dress, and slowly ran my fingers along the hem of her underwear. She turned her head and rested her chin on her shoulder, watching me intently. I pulled the silk to the side, unzipped my pants, pulled on a condom (like a Boy Scout, I’m always prepared), and slowly pushed into her.
If I thought I lost my breath from the first sight of her, I was wrong. I completely lost everything, including my mind in that instant. I fell hard and fast for Elsa Lawrence. She had me in a tailspin, and after a month I proposed to her.
We lived in Cheyenne for four years, then moved to Sheridan for the last four. I was faithful in Cheyenne. Then, once I turned twenty-six, Elsa started to change. Her fortieth birthday came and went, and I saw less and less of her. There was always come excuse why she wasn’t home for dinner, or why she wasn’t in the mood to make love.
Even though we worked together at Pine Ridge, I rarely saw her. One night after work, I celebrated a big deal that had just been finalized, thinking she would join me. She didn’t. Instead I found solace in the bed of someone else, and that’s when Weston Casey turned from dutiful husband, to adulterer.
Our relationship started and ended in the shitter. I should have seen it coming.
Wanting to forget about it for good, I turn on my side and snuggle into the woman beside me. I wrap my leg and arm around her warm body and pull her in close. Her hair still smells like the coffee shop. She stirs when I press against her.
“Wake up, baby,” I whisper in her ear.
It’s just after midnight, and I can’t sleep. So, to be selfish I’m going to wake her up and fuck her silly again.
“Mmm,” she moans. “Again?”
“Yes,” I growl. “Lift your leg.”
***
I bent to kiss the brunette on the cheek before she left at five-thirty for her six AM shift. She groaned playfully that she was going to be tired all day at work, and damn if she didn’t slightly walk bow-legged down the hallway. I stood and watched her for a minute, smiled at my latest conquest, and then closed the door and fell back into bed. I slept right through Sunday.
Bob Stanton called early on Monday morning.
“Weston? How are ya buddy?”
I groan. “Fantastic. You?”
“You sound like shit.”
I chuckle. “I feel worse. Are we still meeting at eleven?” I look over at the clock, realizing that if I’m going to shower, dress, and make it to Buffalo by then, I need to get out of bed now.
“Yes. Everything is good to go, your offer was accepted. They want a fast transfer and you’re the only one willing to pay the whole amount with cash.”
“Perfect. See you at eleven.”
We say our goodbyes, and hang up. I lazily get out of bed and wander into the bathroom to take a shower. The water feels amazing and for what seems forever, I stand under the spray and let myself get immersed in the heat. My body turning a little pink from the temperature.
I dress in a charcoal Calvin Klein suit, and style my hair in the mirror. Grabbing my shoulder bag, I glance around the room quickly to see if I’ve forgotten anything. Nope. I open the door to leave, and almost walk right into Sara.
“Sara? What are you going here?” I ask, extremely annoyed. I push past her, slamming the door shut behind me.
“Why haven’t you replied to me? I don’t know why you shut me out!” She trails clumsily behind me, trying to hold my hand.
I push the button the elevator, and turn to face her. She looks tired, thinner, and completely distraught. I did that to her, and I feel awful about it. I didn’t intend to have her fall for me, but I’m not surprised she did.
“Sara,” I lean in, and push the hair off her forehead. “We’re over, I’m sorry. We weren’t supposed to happen, but we did…and I never intended it to go on for so long.”
“That hurts…you fucking used me.”
“I think we used each other.”
Sara shakes her head and starts to laugh softly. “You’re making a mistake.”
“Wouldn’t be my first. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” I try to brush her off when the elevator doors open and I step inside. “Take care, Sara.”
She doesn’t say anything else, she just stands and watches me while the doors close.
I peek out of the doors when I reach the lobby, half expecting to see her down here waiting for me, but she’s not. I walk out, find my car and drive to Buffalo to meet Bob.