Fear of Falling(7)

“Yeah,” he grinned crookedly. “CJ’s gone. You can stop pretending…that you girls are together. That you’re gay.”

“Excuse me?” Angel piped up, her voice laced with annoyance. “What makes you think that we’re pretending to be gay?”

Blaine’s eyes darted to Angel for a split second, and he shook his head lightly. “Not you.” Then his chocolate brown gaze was back on me, sweeping over every inch of my face. It was like he was studying every feature, trying to unveil some big mystery. “Her. She’s pretending.”

“How do you know I’m not a lesbian too?” I asked. The question was meant to come out with a trace of attitude, but it ended up being breathy and light.

As if the sound of my betraying voice amused him, Blaine flashed that boyish grin. My tenacity was going…going….gone.

“Because I’m pretty sure you’re feeling the same thing I’m feeling right now.”

Then he did something that had me yanking my purse open, throwing down a twenty, and high-tailing it out of there in 3.5 seconds.

He took off his worn cap and ran a hand through his hair, the light brown locks settling into perfectly messy “just-fucked” hair. Hair I wanted to grab and tug while his tongue slid against mine. Hair that I wanted to feel tickling my sensitive areas while he worked me over with that metal-studded tongue.

I was in my car and flying out of the parking lot before Angel even made it outside.





“Oooh…a little harder,” Angel cooed. “You don’t have to be so gentle. It won’t break.”

“Like this?” I hummed.

“Yes, yes. That’s right. Feel it swell and vibrate…see how good it feels on your fingertips.”

I gasped in surprise. “Oh yeah, you’re right. Wow…that’s incredible.”

“Feels good, doesn’t it?”

“Mmmm,” I hummed, too caught up in the moment to say much more.

A flirty giggle escaped her red glossy lips. “I told you; it’s the best.”

I sighed with contentment then returned Angel’s brand new, very expensive, top-of-the-line guitar to her waiting hands. “Well, it certainly sounds like it. Too bad I can’t even think about a new one until I find a job,” I frowned, diverting my attention back to the listings on my laptop screen.

“I told you, Kami; you don’t have to worry about rent,” Angel remarked, strumming a tune of her own. She hummed along with the melody.

I let out a breath then looked back up at her. “There’s no way I am skipping out on rent. What Dom and I pay is already peanuts. Plus, I am getting sick of you two feeling like you have to foot the bill for every outing.”

“Well, you know you could always dip into your money…” she said, her voice trailing off into a whisper at the end.

I gave her a stoic look. “No. Absolutely not. I’m not touching it and I don’t want it.”

“Kami, that money is yours. It was owed to you. You have every right to spend it.”

“No,” I answered, shaking my head. “It was owed to my mother about fifteen years ago. It can rot away at the bank for all I care.”

I wanted the satisfaction of earning my own way, not taking something that my mother could have desperately used to raise me. But Angel Cassidy, bless her heart, knew nothing about that. She came from money—old money. And since her parents were ultra-conservative and didn’t accept her sexuality, or “lifestyle choices” as they called it, they were more than happy to buy her a plush condo, car, and anything else her pretty little heart desired to keep her from showing up at the country club in her scandalous rocker motif with a busty groupie on her arm.

I went back to scouring the Help Wanted ads while Angel jotted down lyrics as they came to her. Seeing my frustration at the lack of options, she asked, “Why don’t you just go back to the firm? I’m sure Kenneth would be professional about the whole thing.”

I shook my head. No, that definitely wouldn’t be a good idea. “I can’t, Angel. You didn’t see the pain on his face. I really wounded him.”

“But it’s been a couple weeks. Maybe he’s gotten over it. I’m sure he wouldn’t hold a grudge.”

“Angel, honey, I was his secretary and he is a partner at his firm. And I basically told him I didn’t want him anymore after he confessed to being in love with me and seeing a future for us. Does that sound like a situation that’s easy to get over?” I asked with a raised brow.

“But you guys only dated for a couple months! And a guy like Kenneth…he’s probably too concerned about his reputation to make a scene on the job.”