Tell Me No Lies Read online

  “Why don’t you take the window seat?” I said, hoping to contain him. Knowing Clay, he would stand up and start singing mid-flight. And then, I’d have to beat his ass.

  “Thanks, man. Don’t tell me you’re still afraid of heights.” He chuckled. “Remember that time when—”

  “Yeah, I remember. Now that’s enough. I don’t think all of these fine people want to relive my college days.” I glanced around and caught a few people smiling, including one woman I’d seen around Williston. No sense in showing off for the home crowd.

  I managed to contain him for most of the flight, but he still managed to flirt with the flight attendant and get her number.

  I wasn’t sure how Beth was going to like him fucking around. Even if she had told him to beat feet, it was probably just a scare tactic or a test, and if so, he was failing miserably.

  Halfway through the flight, he leaned over and whispered to me. “Do you think there’s time for a quickie in the bathroom?”

  “A quickie? You mean with the attendant?” I couldn’t believe the guy. He had absolutely no self-control.

  “Well, I certainly don’t want to fuck you, big boy, but yeah, she’s hot. Do you think she’d lose her job? I bet no one would even notice. I mean, look around. They’re all about to nod off.”

  I glanced around. “If you make them land this plane, I swear to God I’m going to mop the tarmac with your guts.”

  “Why are you always so violent?” he asked. “I know your parents didn’t raise you that way.”

  “Maybe it’s from being your friend all of these years,” I said, giving him a smirk. Although we liked to taunt each other, I would never really hit the guy, unless he hit a woman. Then I’d knock his teeth loose. And that was better than knocking them out. At six foot one, he was three inches shorter, but I packed on more muscle in the field than he had behind his piano or that pretty boy gym.

  We joked with each other until the idea of banging the flight attendant was a distant memory, and he finally settled for her number and a smile every time she passed.

  Before we got off the plane, he nudged me. “I hope she calls me up next time she’s in town.”

  “That’s just what you need,” I said. “A woman who can get the fuck out of town in a hurry. Especially when Beth hears about her.”

  His face fell. I could tell he didn’t want to think about his baby mama. “She made her choice. She can live with the consequences.”

  “Can you?”

  The question was a little too deep. He turned to get his bag out of the overhead compartment and didn’t respond.

  When we walked out of the airport, there was a huge limo waiting. The driver was holding a sign that read, Black, Party of Five.

  “I think that’s us,” I said. “I can’t believe that fucking car.”

  “Let’s hope it has a minibar. I could use a drink.” He gave me a devilish grin and strutted to the car. I picked up the rear, and the driver stepped over and opened the door. “Your ladies await,” he said. “Compliments of Mr. Black.”

  Before I could react, Clay turned to me and wagged his brows. “Now that’s what I call service.” He rubbed his hands together and climbed in the back.

  When I stuck my head in, I nearly busted my gut laughing. There was a cardboard cut-out of Grady sitting in the seat, holding a drink with a stupid smile on his face. And by his side, two blow-up dolls both with gaping mouth holes.

  “That motherfucker.” I laughed.

  Clay looked too disappointed to laugh. I was in for one hell of a trip.

  Chapter 6

  Tara

  As I stood at the kitchen sink waiting for hot water to come out of the tap, I thought of how many times I’d reported it to the landlord and how many times he had promised to come and take a look at the water heater. My apartment had been economy size in the eighties, and its last update was just as long ago. Everything was in working order, barely functional, but it was all I could afford.

  I kept it clean and had scrubbed the yellowed walls white when I moved in and even had given them a fresh coat of paint.

  I turned off the faucet, giving up, and went to get the kettle to boil some water so I could wash the few dishes I’d dirtied. It wasn’t like my dishwasher was going to work. Nope, it had been my designated drying rack, but that was the only way it functioned.

  I had just stepped away from the stove when I heard a knock at the door. “Open up,” called Karen. “It’s party time, sexy. We’re going out tonight.”

  I couldn’t believe her. She had already earned me a couple of noise complaints, and now she was probably going to get me thrown out.

  “Hey,” I said, opening the door with a hard look. “Thin walls, okay? Thin walls.”

  “Right,” she said. “Sorry. So are you ready?”

  “I’ve already told you, no. I’m not ready.” I had called her an hour before, telling her that I wasn’t feeling like getting fixed up to go out and that I was going to have to pass.

  “You’re not getting out of it this time. I can’t let you keep doing this. You need some attention, girl, and I’m going to see that you get it.”

  “I don’t need attention.”

  “You’re starved for it, and you just don’t know it. Come on. When are you going to stop fooling yourself? It has to be lonely.”

  I looked to the floor. “I have no hot water, okay? I’ve been trying for an hour to get water to wash dishes. And I don’t feel like taking a cold shower just to go out.”

  “So take a hot bath.” She walked over and stroked my hair. “Look. You need to get out of this apartment now and then. It’s depressing. It’s already bringing me down. And I’m in the same boat, so I know what I’m talking about.”

  She didn’t have it any better. Her apartment unit was the next one over, and while it was owned and managed by a different man, he wasn’t that much better about keeping things up as my own landlord. But at least her place was newer and nicer.

  “My clothes are still in the dryer, and I don’t have anything to wear.”

  “We can find you something.”

  She looked over to the kettle. “Draw a hot bath, and I’ll find you something. I know you bought that cute little top I showed you the last time we went out. You should wear that.”

  “It doesn’t fit right.” I hated wearing anything that showed off my breasts. She had talked it up in the fitting room and talked me into it, but once I got it home, I decided it was a bit more revealing than I was comfortable with.

  “What do you mean? You loved it in the store.”

  “I do love it, and it’s just not me.”

  “It’s so you. Not everyone has your curves to pull it off.”

  “You should wear it then.” It would look better on her anyway. Most things did.

  “Again, not everyone, including me, can pull it off. You have the body of a goddess. You’d give men whiplash if you ever found the confidence that went with that figure of yours.”

  “I have confidence.” I was strong, just more conservative. “And to prove it, I’m going to wear the stupid blouse.”

  Karen smiled big. “That’s my girl. And we’re going to have the time of our lives.”

  After a cold shower, I dressed in a pair of my favorite dressy jeans and put the blouse on with some heels that Karen insisted I wear and the right amount of jewelry.

  By the time I got to the club, I was feeling good and actually loved the outfit.

  The music pulsed with the lights, and the crowd moved to the beat. Karen and I made our way through to a table.

  “We should get a drink,” I said. I had brought enough money for a couple, but that was going to be my limit.

  “Wait,” she said. “Put your money away.” She glanced over her shoulder and smiled. “See those men over there?”

  “No way. I’m not having them buy me a drink.”

  “You don’t have to.” She smiled when the man flagged the waitress, and after their exchange, h
e smiled and waved.

  “He’s actually good looking,” she said. “But I don’t know. He looks like he’s full of himself, doesn’t he?”

  I glanced over to the man, who winked.

  Karen giggled. “Looks like you’re the lucky one.”

  About that time, the waitress came back from the bar and placed a drink on the table in front of me.

  “Oh, I didn’t order this,” I said.

  “It’s from the gentleman,” she said as she put one down for Karen as well.

  “I wonder if he thinks he’ll get a threesome,” she said, making my cheeks burn.

  “No way. I’m not accepting this.”

  “Go for it. He’ll come over and talk and then we can thank him and move on.”

  “Shouldn’t I at least dance with him or something?”

  “Not unless you want to,” she said with a smile. “Do you want to?”

  Before I could respond, a couple of men walked over to the table and sat down in the extra chairs. “Ladies, how are we doing tonight?”

  “Just fine until you came along,” I said. Who did they think they were? They just barged right up and sat down. I didn’t like anyone who was that pushy.

  “Oh, wow,” said the one guy. “Someone’s got PMS. What about you, darling?” The man turned his attention to Karen. “Are you in a better mood?”

  “No, I’m afraid I’m not. You see, we’re besties, and so our menses have coordinated.”

  The man who was sitting across the way at the other table got up and walked away, and Karen cursed.

  “Great,” she said. “Now you’ve totally fucked up my game. You can go now. Run along, shoo.”

  The men exchanged a look and shook their heads. “Your loss, bitches.”

  “Charming men,” I said.

  “Yeah, you’re one to talk. You don’t have to come out swinging, you know? I could have gotten us free drinks all night with those two clowns.”

  “Look, Karen. I’m not going to sit here and be treated like a piece of meat for attention and alcohol. I just want to have a good time with a nice man.”

  “Well, the good catch ran away with the bait.”

  “I’m not baiting anyone.” I saw her eyes glance down at my chest. My eyes followed, making my cheeks even redder. “I wore this because you said I looked good in it, not to dangle a carrot.”

  “Call them what you want, but I’m pretty sure that you’re going to get another bite soon.”

  No sooner than she said it, another man walked over to the table. “Hello, ladies,” he said. “There must be a meteor shower in here tonight because I see two stars from heaven.”

  “Did you just make that up?” I asked, giving him a sideward look.

  “Off the cuff. Did you like it?” He laughed and searched my eyes as the smell of his cheap cologne penetrated my nose.

  “I’m pretty sure you could do better if you rehearse.” It was hard to keep a smile when the man’s eyes were stuck on my chest. He hadn’t even seen the look I was giving him.

  “Why don’t you let me take you somewhere for private lessons?” He licked his lips and leaned in on the table. “I’ve got a nice car. It’s roomy.”

  “Roomy? Is it your grandmother’s? Because you look like the kind of man that lives with your grandmother.”

  He glanced at Karen, who was trying very hard not to laugh and failing miserably, and he walked away without another word.

  “And another one bites the dust,” she said. “I have to say. This is kind of fun.”

  “Maybe I’ll teach you a thing or two,” I said, taking a sip of my drink. Karen had nearly finished hers, but then, she’d had a lot of time to drink with most of the attention on me.

  It must have been some strange cosmic phenomenon because usually, she was the one draped in attention.

  “No, I doubt that. But it’s humorous.”

  “I’m glad you’re having a good time. And don’t even try to say that you could have gotten anything out of Mr. Stars from Heaven. He only had one thing in mind.”

  “Oh, no. You were right about him. He’s a total douche. He’s here all the time, and the lines only get worse. I just wondered how you’d handle him.”

  “Oh, thanks. So you know the crowd?”

  “Some, not all. But that’s the beauty of our great city. Always a new face in the crowd wanting attention.”

  Finally, some attention came her way, and by the time her first drink was gone, she had another one waiting in the wings. She raised the glass to the gentleman across the room, whom the waitress indicated, and a moment later, he walked over to the table.

  He was a good-looking man, with dark hair, deep-set eyes, and an expensive suit, but there was some underlying creep factor to him that made my skin crawl.

  “Hello, beautiful,” he said in a thick French accent. “I couldn’t help but notice you from across the room. What is an angel like you doing in Sin City tonight?”

  Karen smiled. “Just having a drink. How about you?”

  “Admiring the view. It’s almost as nice as the one from my hotel room.” He cocked a brow. “Maybe you and your friend would like to come up for a drink? I have a hot tub.”

  Karen glanced at me, and I was already shaking my head. I wasn’t going up to any rooms with any of the men there.

  She gave him an apologetic look. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m waiting for my boyfriend. He’s the bartender.” She turned her head and gave the bartender a little wave. He waved back, giving her a cocky grin. She obviously knew him.

  The Frenchman looked at me as if Karen never existed. “We could go alone if you’d like?”

  “No thanks.” I kept my voice stern and took another sip of my drink as I looked away. Hopefully, when I looked back, he’d be gone.

  As he walked away, I looked over at the bar. “Do you know him?”

  “Yeah, he used to work at the Golden Flower’s bar. I always sit here close to the bar, and he keeps an eye on me.”

  I breathed a sigh of relief. “Well, at least I don’t have to worry so much.”

  “Hey, I’m not crazy. And I use my intuition. If anyone seems out of line, I don’t entertain. You can tell the harmless from the scum. Or at least in my experience. The point is to talk to men.”

  “I don’t think these are my type of men.”

  Karen giggled. “What do you want? A biker bar? Or how about a saloon?”

  “A man who is smart and attractive, as well as a hard worker. Someone who knows how to treat a lady.”

  “You’re husband hunting. Have you ever thought about just having a good time? You can have sex with someone and it not mean anything. It can just be a one-night, one-time thing.”

  My mother had had her fair share of those, all while we were traveling across the US. It wasn’t a good time in my life. The type of men she brought around—the lazy ones who had everyone taking care of them while they laid up on their ass—weren’t anything I wanted to return to.

  “I don’t want to be my mother.”

  “Again, your final choice can be better, but you aren’t going to meet Mr. Right unless you go through a few Mr. Wrongs.”

  Maybe she had a point. But I still didn’t see one man around me who I was even remotely attracted to.

  After a few hours of sitting and dancing with Karen, which only got us even more unwanted attention, I knew it was time I bowed out. It was getting late anyway, and I had a headache from the cheap cologne and alcohol. “Hey, I should go. I need to rest up for tomorrow morning.”

  “Aww, really? It’s just starting to pop here. Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I’m beat.”

  She gave me a disappointed look and downed the rest of her drink. “Fine. But I think I’m going to stay. Do you mind?”

  “Just be safe and call me when you get home. I’ll see you tomorrow.” I hugged her and left, hoping it didn’t take too long to get home.

  I needed another cold shower to get the funk off of me.
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br />   Chapter 7

  Zane

  We had gotten to Grady’s house as the sun was setting, and we spent all evening having dinner in his mansion, which was a lot more grown-up than I expected, even though it had a huge game room and a theater that would fulfill any kid’s dream.

  His billiards room was the place we hung out the most, and as we started a round of eight-ball, he explained that he had designed it to have a speakeasy feel.

  It was good to reminisce about our college days, but as it got later and the tournament ended up between Grady and Nick, I couldn’t help but wonder how my little girl was. I checked the time.

  “I didn’t know you were taking medicine,” said Clay, who was propped up on a bar stool nursing his umpteenth drink.

  “I’m not. I’m just thinking about Mila. I hope she’s okay in a strange place. Mom and Dad were taking her to Animal Kingdom. I don’t think she’s ever stayed away from home in a hotel before.”

  “Well, I’m sure she’s fine and getting spoiled, man. Your parents are good with kids. But Daddy needs to get laid, and so do I, so I wish we’d get this party moving.” He raised his voice across the room so the others could hear. He had been anxious to meet a woman the whole evening.

  “Relax,” said Grady, taking another shot. “It’s Las Vegas. The party is just getting started.”

  “Yeah, well, I’m about to deflate one of those blow-up dolls if you don’t get me to the clubs, and I’m not talking about pulling its plug.” He turned to the barstool beside him where we had put the dolls from the limo ride. He turned one around and bent it over the barstool, working his hips at it like he was fucking it in the ass.

  He had already told everyone that getting laid was his goal because of how terrible Beth had treated him, and he hadn’t slowed down with the drinking since we had gotten on the plane.

  “Hey, man, don’t you think you should take it easy?” Rylen asked. He was always socially awkward and the most reserved out of the bunch, and when someone was getting out of line, he was worse than me about telling them to calm down.