Not Looking for Love: A Cowboy Romance (10 page)

“You know, I didn’t tell you. She turned downed a hundred thousand dollars,” Richie said to Logan as he helped him clean out Logan’s barn. It was the one job he hated, mucking stalls, but he’d help his friend. Richie traveled a lot and needed care for his horse, Bentley, a blue roan paint gelding. He was beautiful, with three socks and a snip between his nostrils. Bentley also had a black mane and tail with a patch of white in them, and a patch of white on his neck and a bigger patch on his shoulder. He was also a well behaved horse thanks to Logan’s training.

Logan had been stalling his horse for the past two years. He wouldn’t take any money either. Even if he did, Richie would still help him. This is the kind of work that humbles a man.

“Who?” Logan asked, manure fork in hand, bringing it down on the dirty shavings. He was in the stall directly across the aisleway.

“Simone.” Richie picked up his head as he flung manure into the wheelbarrow and looked to Logan when he heard him laugh. “What?”

“You’re hooked.”

Richie clicked the roof of his mouth with his tongue. “I am not.”

“Dude, you always have a silly-ass grin on your face whenever you mention her. You’re hooked.”

“I wouldn’t say I’m hooked. I like being with her. There’s some chemistry there. You know what I mean?” He wiggled his eyes. “But it can’t go further than a good time. She knows… We’re doing our own thing.”

“Your three rules?”

“Yep.”

Logan nodded as he scooped up droppings and tossed them in the cart.

“I even offered to pay her college bill if she went back. She only finished one year,” he said as he shoveled shit.

“What are you crazy?” Logan looked across the aisle.

“What? I was hoping she’d want to change her profession. She told me she’s into interior design, and she even has a little job on the side designing book covers.” He looked up. “She refused.” He shrugged. “Never had a woman refuse money before when I offered to pay for something.”

Logan paused as he studied his friend then went back to shoveling.

“I mean, can you imagine I introduce her to my parents.” Richie chuckled. “That would go over well,” he said sarcastically.

Logan chuckled. “Can you imagine your Uncle Ted knowing her work?”

Richie looked from his full manure pitchfork to Logan, his mouth in the shape of a big O.

“Hah!” Logan couldn’t help but laugh. “And you don’t even know her name either. What would you say? Mom, dad, this is Simone no last name.”

Richie just blew out a breath and went back to scooping shit.

“What are you ladies talking about?”

“Hey, Brett. How’s it going?” Richie said to Logan’s brother who strolled into the barn.

Logan just clicked the roof of his mouth and continued to work.

“You two, free tonight? I need a couple of wingmen.”

“For what?” Richie asked.

“There’s a dance over at the lodge and I heard Dana Thomas is going to be there.”

“Who’s Dana Thomas?” Richie asked.

Before Brett could answer, Logan picked his head up. “A new filly in town. She owns the florist that just opened. My brother’s got his eye on her. The only problem is, she doesn’t even know he exists.”

“She knows,” Brett said. “It’s just that she is in mourning. Her husband only died less than a year ago.”

“I can’t. After this I gotta pick up Heath. I got him for the weekend,” Logan said.

Brett, turned around to Richie. “You free?”

Richie shrugged. “Yeah, I got nothing going on?”

“Great, thanks.”

“How come you’re not flying to L.A. to be with you know who?” Logan asked Richie.

“She’s in Florida, visiting her brother.”

“Who’s you know who?” Brett asked.

“Richie’s seeing a porn star,” Logan said.

“Dog!” Brett said, a grin breaking out on his face. “Damn, you’re one lucky son-of a-bitch. How?”

Richie shook his head with a grin on his face and gave Brett the short version.

“Have you seen her film anything yet?” Brett asked.

“No.” Richie said and quickly wondered why he lied.

*

“What?” Simone asked as she picked her eyes up from examining a pair of shoes she was admiring on the sale rack. It was too hot in Florida that day, the pool wasn’t even cutting it, so Simone suggested going to a mall for a few hours.

Her sister-in-law just stared at her with a little smile on her face.

“What?” Simone asked again as she moved a little to the left, eyeing another pair of shoes.

“Who is he?”

Simone looked back up to her again. “Who is who?”

“Don’t… I know you a long time, girl. Way before I ever started dating your brother. I know that look.”

Simone laughed to herself. Lauren and she did go way back. If it wasn’t for her boyfriend at the time cheating on her with Lauren she never would have become close with her, let alone friends. They’d known each other since ninth grade when they were on the cheerleading squad together. At first Simone got along with all the girls. She had more male admirers then any of the girls on the squad and Lauren somehow convinced the other girls to flout her and that they did. Never a quitter, she stuck it out for the year and at the beginning of the next year she dropped out.

Lauren sat next to her in their eleventh grade English class and they were paired for an assignment. It was rough at first, but soon the two of them without even realizing it put their heads together and came away with a ninety-nine. During that time Lauren found out she was the other woman in the relationship with Johnny Trainor and Simone. She went ape-shit and went to Simone and told her what was going on. Heartbroken though Simone was, she knew something had been off with her relationship with Johnny.

Lauren had asked if she wanted to get even with him and Simone said yes. They came up with a plan. Simone had Lauren call Johnny and ask him to the mall, promising him some sex afterward. Johnny was supposed to go to Simone’s house, but he called her and told her his mother was sick and he was going with her to the doctor’s office. As Lauren was sipping a soda at the food court with Johnny sitting on the same side as her, Simone watched and waited until they were in a lip lock before making her presence known.

After a lashing from both girls, Johnny practically ran away, tail between the legs. He had the nerve to go up to Simone that next Monday at school and try to win her back. Needless to say, it didn’t work, but she and Lauren became great friends and Lauren went on to marry Simone’s brother, Eric.

“It’s nobody, really. It’s mutual between us that we’re just having fun. He knows I’m an adult film actress, and he runs in an elite circle. I don’t expect anything from him.” She picked up a pair of black crystal studded sandals by Jimmy Choo and walked over to an empty chair. Lauren sat down beside her and as Simone slipped a foot into the sandal she turned to Lauren. “Do you know the name Warren?”

Lauren tilted her head to the side and Simone could just see her going through her mental databanks. Then Lauren shook her head. “No. Should I?”

“The Warren hotels?”

“Oh, that Warren. Yes. What about them.”

“The nobody I’m seeing is Richard Warren the third,” she said with a silly grin. She was never one to brag and so it felt good she was able to tell someone.

“Oh. My. God. Richard Warren!”

“Shhhh.” Simone looked around. She caught an older woman turning her head their way. “Keep your voice down, and I actually call him GQ. Not to his face though.” She grinned.

“Oh my God,” Lauren whispered. “Richard Wa—uh, GQ is gorgeous. I saw a picture of him recently. His hair was a sexy curly mess, he had this million dollar smile with blue eyes that captivated you. Oh, and that body. Chiseled chest, tapered waist. He was in nothing but swim shorts standing on the deck of a boat, with a pretty dark-haired girl who looked like a model. They were on the Mediterranean Sea near a Greek island I never heard of before…I think. I don’t know." She needed to change the subject having seen Simone’s smile fade. “So what does his cock look like?”

Simone had just stood up and was taking a step in the shoes she was trying on. “What?” She turned her head back and almost tripped over a young boy who ran in front of her. “Oh, excuse me.” She looked to the woman who chased after that boy.

“No. I’m sorry. Get over here, Jeremy!” the woman yelled and ran after Jeremy.

Simone turned around. “I’m not going to tell you.” Her lips curled up.

“It’s big, right?”

“I’m not answering.”

“It’s small, isn’t it?”

“What? No, not by a long shot.” She had a big ass grin on her face.

“Aha!”

Simone sat back down. There was no way she could concentrate on how the shoes felt. It was just as well though, even on sale they were just too expensive for her budget. “I am not going to discuss the size of Richie’s cock with you, nor how well he knows how to use it.” She grinned.

Lauren squealed and a passerby looked at her.

The next time Richie got together with Simone, he took her to a car collector’s auction in Pebble Beach. There were a lot of high-rollers there that Richie nodded a hello to. He even introduced her to a few of them. He’d nonchalantly watch these men ogle the sexy woman on his arm. In the back of his mind he wondered how many of them recognized her.

A photographer got in front of them as they were walking over to check out a nineteen sixty-three Ferrari 250 GTO going up for auction, and snapped a picture then strolled off. Richie harrumphed.

“Is that going to be a problem?” Simone asked as she looked up to him.

“No.” He gave her a quick kiss on her lips then continued walking over to the car.

He didn’t buy anything that day, but there was big money there with it being one of the most exclusive auctions in the world. Tickets were extremely hard to come by and that Ferrari he was checking out sold for forty-six million dollars.

That night they stayed at an exclusive hotel in Monterey and banged all over the suite. At one point when she was on top of him as his hips thrust up like a piston while his finger was circling her clit, he stopped just at the brink of sending her over the edge. “Tell me your name.” He had the most charming grin on his face.

Breathing heavy, she began to get off of him, but he held her down.

“No. Don’t go.” He began thrusting and fingering her clit again. And again, just when she was about to go over, he stopped.

Her moans and movements subsided again. “Richie? Please?”

There was something in her countenance that told him she wasn’t going to tell him, and his cock was starting to get pissed at him, it wanted release, so he began thrusting again, this time, hard and fast, and there was no turning back. He flipped them and continued his assault, egged on by her quick moans and breaths. They came simultaneously with her gloriously squeezing him.

By the next day the two of them were so exhausted they slept till one in the afternoon. That was when Richie finally heard his cell phone. His arm was around Simone and he tried reaching over without disturbing her, but he didn’t succeed. She roused from sleep with a smile and he kissed her before answering the cell, knowing it was his father. She rose up and went to the bathroom to take a shower and to give him privacy while talking.

“Hi, dad,” Richie said with a smile as he watched her sexy ass having trouble just walking to the bathroom.

“Richie, what the fuck are you doing?”

Richie’s eyes grew wide and he moved the phone back from his ear as he heard his father’s thunderous voice.

Simone laid down the tarp on the floor by the wall she was getting ready to paint. Mindlessly mixing the copper colored paint while she thought about Richie…again. She had hoped Richie would have been around to give her a hand with her new home. Not that she expected anything special from him, just a friend helping out.

She sighed. It was going on three weeks since she had last seen him, ever since the weekend in Pebble Beach. She called him a few times and left messages for him to call her. After the third time he called her back and told her he wouldn’t be in California for a while, but didn’t offer any explanation. She hung up not understanding why his voice sounded distant. Try as she might, she couldn’t figure out what went wrong. She had a wonderful time with him, at the car auction, at dinner in a little romantic hide-away, and back at the hotel. They were up all night fucking their brains out in every position imaginable. It was so hot, every time she thought about that, she’d feel a sensation between her legs.

But, then she thought about how they left off. It was abrupt. During the car ride back home, he wasn’t really his talkative self. When she moved in to kiss him, he quickly moved in and gave her a quick kiss. Usually they had a make-out session before they went their separate ways. His only explanation was he was running late to catch his plane back to Texas.

Simone had tuned her stereo to the country music station Richie had turned her on to. She looked around the room again making sure she made the right decision with the accent wall color she picked out. After mentally nodding, she picked up the roller and began painting while singing along with Rascal Flatts to ‘Fast Cars and Freedom’. Keeping busy was the only way Simone could keep her thoughts off of Richie.

After cleaning up the mess from that task, Simone started another task, organizing her walk-in closet. In-between these tasks she must have checked her phone a hundred times.

*

The deal was signed. Richie now owned the ranch he had funded to keep going. He had brought it out of the red only to have the Rollins’ bring it back in. It was losing money again so when Richie offered one and a half times the going rate to buy it, they jumped on it and vacated immediately. Well, Richie soon realized why they fled. Nowhere in the files they turned over to him was any data on medical checkups and shots. While he and the Leitners rode around the property, they found dead and dying cattle all over. He had his work cut out for him, but he was up to the challenge and immediately got Doc. Wilson over there, hired some hands, and soon had the ranch up and running again.

He and Logan were in the Town Café eating lunch and he leaned back in the booth with a full glass of sweet tea and drank half of it.

“Rafe start yet?” Logan asked, referring to Rafe Dickerson who with Logan’s help, Richie hired as his cattle manager.

“Oh, yeah. He’s been there for the past week. And Chuck is back too.

“Chuck’s a good man. He got a bums rush when the old man died. I still can’t believe his daughters fired him.”

“It was his older daughter, Bobbi Joe’s, husband. He thought Chuck had the hots for her.”

“Hah, that man has never looked at another woman since he married Stella over twenty years ago.”

“I know.” Richie shook his head. He put his glass down. “Maybe now people won’t keep referring to me as ‘the trust fund baby’,” he said as he picked up half his turkey sandwich and took a bite. If one thing bothered him over the years, it was the media always referring to him as such. He was determined to make a name for himself.

“I’da thought you’d be happier,” Logan said.

“I’m happy.” He picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth.

Logan just studied him. He actually knew him well. “So you heading to L.A. Friday?”

Richie sighed as he put his napkin down. “No.” He picked up his glass and finished the rest of the tea.

“So what’s going on? You terminated your three rule stipulation with her?”

Richie placed his glass down and looked around the café, not seeing the life-size cutout of Elvis in the corner nor the old player piano against the wall by the hall that led to the bathrooms, before settling his eyes on Logan and noticed his intense stare. “No…Who am I kidding? She’s a porn star. She’s never gonna change.”

“Why would you want her to change?”

Richie just looked at his friend.

“I thought that was the draw. It’s all just a good time.”

Richie sighed.

Logan picked up his roast beef sandwich. “You’re hooked.” He took a bite of the sandwich with a grin on his face that Richie wanted to knock off.

*

By Friday of the next week, Simone still didn’t hear from Richie. It was over. Whatever they had together was over. She thought about how he lied, back when they first started seeing each other. Whatever happened to his whole speech about just hanging and having fun, and when one of them was ready to move on they should be upfront.

Also by the end of that week, she had just wrapped up her third film and on that Saturday, Poppy and his wife took the cast and crew to a well-known trendy club in Hollywood. She didn’t feel like going, but Poppy insisted she did, even when Simone pointed out she only had a bit part in it. Simone decided her rabbit just didn’t take the place of a sexy hot-blooded man and gave in and decided to go. She hadn’t been with anyone else since Richie and it was about time she changed it up. Only problem was, no one did it for her. She didn’t find anyone she’d want to be with besides Richie.

As she was dressing for the evening her cell phone rang. It was already in her evening bag and because she was running late, she didn’t bother to check it. Wearing a little black A-line skirt with a black thong underneath and a white halter that accentuated her breasts and showed off her toned stomach, she paired it with mile high black strappy sandals and ran out. Poppy and his wife were already in front of her house with a stretch limo and she knew Poppy hated to be kept waiting.

When the driver opened the door for her she got in and saw their director Lou Grossman, Lolita, who was in the film with her, Kenny ‘Bang, Bang’ Bagem, the man she had to bang, and Lexi Bush and Mari Yum who had a girl on girl scene with each other, and finally, Rod Long, who together with Lolita had a smokin’ anal scene.

As soon as Simone got in, Poppy handed her a flute filled with Cristal Champagne. They all raised their glasses as Poppy congratulated all for a job well done.

“Here,” Lou stretched his arm across to Simone and opened his palm.

Simone saw the little pill and shook her head. “No, thank you.”

“Come on, baby, you gotta catch up to us. It’ll make you feel good.”

Simone mentally sighed. She was probably the only one in that car that didn’t do drugs.

“I. Don’t. Want. It,” she tried to keep her voice down. She didn’t want to piss him off too much, he was her director.

Poppy caught the exchange and fended Lou off. There was some tension in the car, but it quickly died and they all resumed their excitement, even Simone. She downed another glass of champagne, then looked at her cell phone.
Richie.
She sighed and flung the phone back in her bag. She was not going there tonight, having made up her mind to let loose and have some fun.

The stretch pulled up in front of the club and the driver jumped out to open the back door. Everyone piled out as the line of people trying to get into the club looked on from the roped off section on the side of the building.

Poppy palmed a bill to one of the two bouncer outside and he escorted them into the club.

The club was in full swing. Electronic dance music created by a well-known DJ blared from the speakers, and the dance floor was packed. Poppy and his crew were escorted to a table reserved for them on the second floor balcony. Simone looked down over the balcony rail and watched the dancing. When the strobe lights illuminated the floor it looked like people were dancing in slow-motion.

After everyone made their own toast with shots of tequila Simone was feeling good, loose, and ready for a little dancing. Lolita grabbed her hand. “Come on.” She pulled Simone up from her seat, and the both of them made their way down to the dance floor, each of them dancing to the music on the way there. A sea of dancers parted as they passed.

Twirling, jumping, and swaying to the music, Simone boogied with anyone who danced in front of her, losing Lolita along the way. One guy got in front of her and she sensed another guy behind her. She shimmied down with them and when the three of them rose up, the two guys moved in, dancing seductively close to her body. She played along and wiggled into them, feeling their bodies.

The guy behind her threw his arms around her waist and pulled her into him as he brought his mouth to her ear. “Sexy, bitch.” He thrust into her backside letting her feel his hard-on.

She quickly grabbed his hands and removed them from around her waist and turned around to look at the guy, shocked to see one of the hottest movie stars in Hollywood at the moment. “Asshole.”

As soon as the guy who was in front of her tried to grab her waist, she took off into the crowd and found Lolita. She continued dancing as she watched some guy hanging all over Lolita. His knee kept thrusting in-between Lolita’s legs and she was humping it. Simone looked all around and notice there was quite a bit of that going on. This was one sexed up club. The music changed up and she walked off the dance floor.

“Come with us to the bathroom.” Kenny ‘Bang Bang’ grabbed her hand as she was heading up to the table. He was with a tall, lanky guy she didn’t know.

Between the drinks and the dancing, she felt no pain and let Kenny lead her. As his friend opened the door to the bathroom a cloud of smoke escaped and Simone breathed in the pungent smell of pot. They walked to the back of the bathroom as Kenny said something. She didn’t catch anything he said. She’d never heard him talk that fast before, like he was on speed or something

Kenny’s friend had unusually large obsidian eyes behind his thick lenses in black circular framed glasses. He took out a little clear plastic bag with a white substance in it and began pouring out the contents into a pile on the counter next to one of the sinks, and Kenny pushed Simone against the wall and began roaming his hands all over her as he smiled into her eyes and continued to talk a mile a minute about their scene in the movie. She swatted his hands a couple of times as she looked around the bathroom. Under one of the stall doors to the side of her were two sets of shoes, men’s shoes in back of women’s shoes, and the woman’s shoes were resting on the toes. To the side of the urinals, a guy was on his knees blowing a dark-haired man while a bald-headed guy, with his hands down his pants, stroked himself and watched.

She vaguely felt the weight of a hand change as she watched the guy stroking himself shove the guy who was receiving the blowjob, and pushed down his pants in the face of the guy on his knees. When she looked back to Kenny, she realized she was staring into his friend’s face, and he had white powder on the rim of his nose, and his eyes were wide open as he caressed her waist.

“Let’s take thees leetle party back to my place. I don’t leeve far from here. Kenny says you’re an awesome lay,” he said in a thick accent she had trouble deciphering, as he moved his hand up dangerously close to her breasts.

Simone shook her head and struggled to get loose from his grasp. She looked to Kenny who was wiping his nose with one hand and offering her a rolled up bill in the other as his hand squeezed her breast.

“Stop it!” She tried to fend this guy off as he shoved his other hand under her skirt and raised it as he tried to get into her panties.

“No, stop it!” Again she tried to push him off, trying to sidestep away from him.

Two middle aged men grinned from behind Kenny, clearly enjoying watching her struggle. One stuck his tongue out and rapidly moved it when she made eye contact with him.

The guy removed the hand on her breast and lifted up some of the powder on the sink with his index finger and swiped it against Simone’s lips, then he reached in and kissed her as she tried to turn her head. She only succeeded in cracking her head against the tiled wall.

Though Simone wasn’t out cold, she felt dizzy and didn’t notice the weight on her finally lifted. And her legs, weak and wobbly, started to give way. She was going down. She felt someone grab her by her arm.

“I got ya,” she heard someone say by her ear.

She felt someone lightly slapping her face. Trying to focus, she saw Richie’s face. Shaking her head of him, and angry at herself for constantly thinking of him, she started to come around. More focused now, she still saw Richie in front of her lightly slapping her cheek.

“Simone, You all right?” He moved his hand up to the side of her head making sure she wasn’t bleeding.

“Richie? Owww!”

“Yeah, baby. Oh, sorry. Come on; let’s get you out of here.” He removed his hand from her head and grabbed her hand.

She looked around. The bathroom was empty. “What happened?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

She let him lead her out of the bathroom. “My purse is upstairs,” she said to him as they walked through the crowded dance floor. “And I have to tell Poppy I’m leaving.”