The last thing she wants is anything to do with me; she know’s I’m nothing but trouble — until a fight with her parents pushes her straight into my arms.
I’ll be damned if I’m letting her walk away, no matter what her rich parents think of their precious princess with a bad boy.
I finally have a woman I wanna keep. I’m not letting her go.
*** A steamy STANDALONE contemporary romance with a smoking hot alpha. No cliffhanger, no cheating, and a guaranteed happily-ever-after.***
Epigraph
Never opened myself this way. Life is ours, we live it our way — Metallica
Ride to Live, Live to Ride (Steel)
“Cocksucker, watch what you’re doing!” Whiskey yells, snapping his hand away from the Ferris wheel car and shaking it.
“Kill it, Whiskey,” I say. “I know what the fuck I’m doing better than anyone here. Pay attention, you might learn something.” I’ve spent ten years in the carnival, there’s nothing I don’t know better than everyone else here.
“If you know what you’re doing, why’d you push it when my finger was still in the slots?” Whiskey says, pushing his long hair away from his eyes.
“Shithead, even greenies know not to stick their finger in the slots. That is what a screwdriver’s for.” I grunt as I adjust the hundred-pound pig iron in my hands.
“What’s the matter, Steel? Whiskey high already?” Razor asks from the other side of the half-assembled Ferris wheel. He’s my closest buddy. He’s like a brother, but I don’t even know his real name. When you join the carnival, real names are left at the gate.
“Shit, seriously? I thought you were just hungover like the rest of us. This ride’s a bitch to put up. What the fuck are you doing spliffing up before we get it together?” I say, dropping the heavy piece of metal. I wipe my sweaty forehead, getting a whiff of the diesel and grease on my hands.
“Whiskey, you better not let Papa Smurf find out you’re working fucked up, he’ll slough your ass so fast you’ll be stuck in this town begging for bus fare,” Razor says, walking over to us. His short brown hair is soaked in sweat from busting his ass all morning.
“Like I’m supposed to believe you two fuck ups never do?” Whiskey says, his bloodshot eyes moving between Razor and me.
“Not in the morning,” I say.
Razor laughs. “At least not on mornings we’re working.”
“You guys are full of shit,” Whiskey says.
“Go get Zombie, I’ve had enough of you today,” I say, shoving Whiskey’s shoulder and sending him scrambling.
“Fuck you, man.” Whiskey collects himself and saunters away. He’s so stoned, it’d be faster for me to walk to the bunkhouse and back several times.
“Come on, Razor, work with me. I want time to shower before it’s beer o’clock.”
Razor and I get on with our work. I’m surprised how fast Zombie appears, and after busting our balls for eight hours, we finish assembling the wheel.
“Safety check,” I say. As if.
I hook my hand around the outer frame and hop up, landing with my feet on the radial strut. Like a monkey, I make my way up the side of the wheel, stopping at various points to examine the lights.
When I’m near the top, I swing myself into the red car. Sitting, I pull off my sweaty Metallica t-shirt and use it to dry my face before letting it drop to the ground. It feels good to sit down for the first time since breakfast.
It’s great up here, I can see all over this shitty little town. I don’t even know what it’s called. I don’t care about nothing, and number one on the list of things I don’t care about is the name of the town we’re in.
The Golden Arches tower over the place. It’s not quite a one-light town, but close.
Most of the houses are average, full of average rubes with average lives. Lives full of nine to five, bills and debt collectors. Fuck that shit, I need my freedom.
My life is all right. I work hard, but it’s not nine-to-five bullshit. I have a place to lay my head, food in my belly and every day is a different adventure. That’s about all I need in life.
I turn my head in the other direction. East of the park we’re in, there’s a cluster of big houses. You can even see their perfect lives from here. Now that’s something I might consider leaving this life for.
It’s actually a pretty nice town, I’ve seen a lot worse.
“Steel! You think we’re going to stand around busting our asses while you have a chill out session?” Razor yells.
“I’m doing a safety check,” I say, banging my fist against the metal car.