Simon... Spellbound Read online

  Simon… Spellbound

  Studs & Steel #5

  Heather Mar-Gerrison

  Kindle Edition

  Heather Mar-Gerrison Copyright 2018

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  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronically or mechanically, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work.

  Prologue

  Bailey

  Oh, my God. I really must have been losing my mind since breaking up with Joss.

  Just what the hell was I doing here? It might have been a classy place but this guy was a total creep – even compared to Joss, he was bad... I really had to get out of here. I stood up and picked up my jacket.

  He looked up with a puzzled frown as I stood up. “Hey,” he scowled at me and grabbed my arm as I made to leave, “Where do you think you’re going? We only just got here.”

  I shrugged, “I have something better to do.” I said truthfully – even though it meant watching Netflix alone in my room – it was still preferable to spending another second in this twat’s company, “I’m going home.”

  He shook his head, “Nuh-uh,” he said, “You’re not going anywhere. I was told on good authority that you were a sure thing.”

  A sure thing? How fucking rude? I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, “And, uh, who told you that?” I asked.

  “I believe she said she was your sister.” He grinned at me but it was really more of a snarl. In that split second moment all I felt for my foster sister was utter hatred. But no... Laura wasn’t that bad, he had to be exaggerating. She could be a right bitch when she wanted to be, but she wasn’t that bad… not deep down.

  Taking a deep, calming breath I decided that I was prepared to give her the benefit of the doubt and to believe that she meant well and was trying to set me up with a new guy to make me feel better following my utterly disastrous relationship with Joss – after all, I was a better person than that… So why was there still that nagging feeling that I couldn’t let go of that she’d totally set me up with this creep? I made a mental note to give her a piece of my mind when I got back…

  “Laura?” I scoffed, “Are you actually serious?” Would she really be so crass? Actually yes, she totally would but not in a malicious way. Laura was my foster sister and we were definitely not what you could call particularly close. It hadn’t always been that way – when we were little we got on great guns... It was just lately that we’d become a little more distant with each other – what with both of us looking for boyfriends…

  I shook my head as he continued to grin at me in that predatory way – I was no one’s bitch… “Well, she was mistaken – and she’s not my sister anyway, dickhead, she’s only my foster sister and we don’t really get along.” Okay so it was a lie but I was beginning to get a little desperate, “I’m guessing she thought this was some kind of joke, so I’ll apologise on her behalf and I’ll be on my way.”

  His grip on my arm got tighter and his expression turned ugly. Well, that was just great, wasn’t it? I could see that I was going to have to show him that being gay didn’t mean being a pansy as so many people seemed to labour under the misapprehension of… “Let go of my arm, dude.” I said in a warning voice.

  “Hey!” Another voice to my left shouted, making us both jump. I turned to find the most gorgeous guy I’d ever had the pleasure of seeing stood in front of me and Dickhead looking heartily annoyed, “You heard him,” he snarled, “Let go of my friend’s arm.”

  I was about to open my mouth and tell him quite indignantly that I was not apprehending Dickhead at all when Dickhead spoke and I realised that Gorgeous was actually speaking to him.

  “Your friend?” Dickhead sneered, looking him up and down as if he were a cockroach or something equally as horrible.

  Gorgeous took a step closer, “That’s what I just said, isn’t it?” He asked sarcastically.

  Dickhead dropped my arm and snorted, “He was a crap date anyway,” he muttered and walked away.

  I turned towards Gorgeous, “Thanks.” I said awkwardly, “I was handling it – but thanks for the support all the same.”

  He just smiled and nodded, “Glad to be of help.” He said sticking his hand out, “My name’s Simon, Simon Porter.”

  I grinned and took his hand in mine. It was warm and slightly roughened making me wonder what he did for a living. “Bailey.” I said, “It’s uh, it’s really nice to meet you.”

  Simon nodded, “Likewise.” He said looking at me with unguarded interest, “Do you really have somewhere you have to be, or would you like to stay for a drink with me? I promise I’m not a creep and I will let you go whenever you’re sick of me.”

  I grinned. Being hit on by someone that looked like him was rare – and very welcome… “A drink sounds pretty good actually.” I agreed.

  Chapter 1 – Wading in…

  Simon

  Sitting in my booth at the club I rarely frequented, while nursing my glass of cola, just to be doing something rather than being at home on my night off where it was becoming more than unbearable to be, I couldn’t help overhearing a conversation going on in the booth right next to me.

  Some guy was having a drink with another guy – but the arsehole of the two of them seemed to be under the impression that the other one wanted to go home with him – and that really wasn’t what it sounded like to me…

  “Let go of my arm, dude.” His voice had gone up in volume and he sounded kind of annoyed as opposed to scared, but you know how you get a feeling sometimes?

  That was it. I’d heard enough… I shot out of my seat and rounded the corner, “You heard him.” I snarled, “Let go of my friend’s arm.” I’d acted on instinct and well before I’d even had a good look at the aggressor. I wasn’t unduly worried – being built like a rugby player (I played at school but I really didn’t fancy ending up with cauliflower ears or a broken nose and missing teeth and gave it up before I left for university) I was pretty well built and strong enough to take on pretty much anyone – that said, I wasn’t a street-fighter kind of guy and I wouldn’t dream of carrying a knife – but I knew nothing of this guy... At this point I still hadn’t even looked at the guy being manhandled. As much as I knew, he might have been totally able to take care of himself for all the notice I’d taken before wading in. It was a terrible weakness of mine...

  I decided to check at that moment and I’m not gonna lie to you, my knees about buckled when he looked around at me with a slightly surprised look on his beautiful face. Holy fucking shit, Date Guy was the most beautiful guy I’d ever laid eyes on – and since he was on a date with another guy, I was pretty confident that he must also be gay…

  The bully decided it was time for a sharp exit as he looked up, and up again (six feet five – what can I say? I’m huge) and Date Guy smiled up at me, “Thanks.” He said, “I was handling it – but thanks anyway.”

  I smiled back at him, my heart in my mouth. He had dark wavy hair and dark brown eyes that I swear were made up with mascara and a little guy liner – something I’d only used when I was staying over at a friend’s house or when Mum and Dad were away on business. They would totally freak if they saw me wearing anything other than jeans and a tee shirt and make up was definitely not an option at home – it was something they would never accept in a million years.

  Date Guy was looking at me with open interest but I had no idea what I
was going to do now that I’d charged in and helped – I was utterly crap at the whole chatting up thing. Hell, I was crap at the whole dating thing, truth be known...

  My brother had come out when I was only around thirteen but his confession that he was gay had struck a chord with me. It had never really occurred to me that I didn’t really find girls all that attractive like some of my mates did. I’d just thought I might be a bit too much into rugby – but actually it was because I liked the guys that played rugby...

  My parents reacted badly to Buzz coming out and that made me feel really uncomfortable about doing the same, so I played it down, telling them I thought I might like guys as well as girls and then, I actually allowed them to try to talk me out of it.

  Since they were now convinced that they’d had me cured, I was terrified of anyone ever finding out and enlightening them again.

  Still, there was something about this particular guy that I couldn’t help being drawn to. I stuck my hand out – I know, I know – I’m way too formal and old before my time… “Glad to be of help,” I said, “My name is Simon.”

  His answering smile made my heart beat even faster. He grabbed my offered hand and pumped it, “I’m Bailey.” He said, “It’s really nice to meet you.”

  Chapter 2 – Knight in shining armour?

  Bailey

  I got home a couple of hours later – with Simon’s phone number and a promise that he’d call if I didn’t.

  Rich, one of my foster dads was still up when I got in. To be fair, we weren’t really their foster kids anymore – we totally just lived with them still, having both turned eighteen a while ago. Hell I was twenty already and Laura was nineteen. We’d just been with them since forever and they wouldn’t hear of us leaving them just because we’d become young adults and they no longer got any funding. I loved them so much. They were my parents as far as I was concerned – and Laura’s too.

  He looked up from his laptop, “Hey Bailey.” He said with a grin, “Good night?”

  I shrugged, “I’ve had better,” I said, “…And worse.” I added as I recalled Simon and his incredible body and cute face. Damn, he was everything I’d dreamt of in a boyfriend…

  He frowned, “Wasn’t this a friend of Laura’s?” he asked.

  I shrugged, “Yeah, well…”

  He shook his head, frowning at me, “What happened?” he growled.

  “He wasn’t a nice guy.” I said shortly, “Let’s just leave it at that, shall we?”

  Rich’s frown became a scowl, “Do you need me to have a word with her?”

  I shook my head, “I dealt with it – he won’t be bothering me again.” Thanks to Simon…

  Rich raised an eyebrow, a small smile on his face, “So if it didn’t work out with him – where have you been until this time?”

  I couldn’t stop the wide smile from breaking out across my face, “Well, as it happens, I met this other guy…”

  Rich nodded, his smile growing as he looked at me hopefully, “And?”

  I sighed. He might have been the most beautiful guy on the planet but there was something about him that made me think he was so deeply buried in the closet he’d have to dig his way out, “Well, if he is gay – I uh, I don’t think he’s out.” Understatement of the century…

  Rich sighed along with me, “Then keep looking,” He said shortly, “You’ve nothing to be ashamed of and that’s the way he’ll make you feel if you allow him to.”

  I shook my head, “No, I don’t think he will – we exchanged numbers – I’m... hopeful, Rich.” And I really was. For the first time in a long time, I’d met someone who made me feel alive and excited and looking forward to the future.

  Rich nodded, “Well, just so long as he doesn’t try to pull you back into the closet with him, son.” He muttered, “you’ve had enough to deal with recently – what with that Jools fellow.”

  I smirked, “Joss,” I corrected.

  “Whatever his name was,” Rich grumbled, “He didn’t deserve a boyfriend like you.”

  I smiled, “Don’t worry about me,” I said, “I’m out and proud and I’m never gonna let anyone bring me down again.”

  Rich smiled at me fondly, “Good for you.” He said, and then chuckled, “You were out and proud even when you were only five years old.” He said, “Chris and I both knew – even when you first came to stay with us, you brought one prize possession with you – your fairy princess bike. It was too small for you and really needed throwing out but you wouldn’t have any other – and you came home all excited from your first day of school saying you’d met the most perfect boy and that you were going to marry him, just as soon as you were both all grown up.” He chuckled.

  I chuckled along with him, “Well, it didn’t seem weird at all to me – I had great role models in you and Chris – and Nathan Matthews was... well, Nathan Matthews,” I said with a bit of a sigh. Christ, Nathan was everything I’d ever wanted growing up, “He’s a great guy and damn, he’s still beautiful.”

  Rich laughed with me, “Beautiful,” he agreed, “But sadly, straight as a die.”

  I nodded, “Yeah, well,” I shrugged, a big grin all over my face, “can’t win ‘em all – he still loves me.”

  Dad grinned and nodded, “But not as much as he loves his wife.” He reminded me with a wink.

  It was true, Nathan and Sophie had dated since they were sixteen and had gotten married a year ago after five years of dating. As his best friend, I was his best man even though most people probably thought I’d have been better suited as a bridesmaid...

  I was blessed with good friends that accepted me for being the way I was without thinking there was something wrong with me. It made me wonder what sort of a life Simon had, to be so reluctant to be out…

  Chapter 3 – Sneaking around…

  Simon

  I sneaked back into the house, my heart in my mouth. I’d moved back in with my parents a couple of months back after graduating from university. I still hadn’t gotten around to admitting that my degree was in Art and Design rather than engineering as Dad believed – long story...

  Previous to moving back here, I’d lived with my brother and a couple of our friends and things had been great for a while. Inevitably, now that we were all in our early twenties we were meeting other guys – and in Seth’s case, girls. Seth was the first to move out. He and his girlfriend had moved in together with her son and they had been blissfully happy and I knew that Seth had been planning to ask her to marry him later on in the year, when her life had been cut short and his had been changed forever. He’d been badly hurt in the car accident too. Thankfully, he was going to get better but still being in an induced coma to assist with the initial damage to his skin through the burns he’d sustained, it was going to be a long, slow, process.

  After Seth left, Buzz, my brother, was approached by the owner of the flat and asked if he wanted to buy it. He jumped at the chance and I’d rented a room off him for a while, but I was staying over at my mates’ houses more than I was staying there since we kept different hours to each other – and once he’d started to get serious with Franz, which happened incredibly quickly, it made more sense for me to move out permanently. It was all well and good staying with friends, and River and Jodie had been kind enough to let me stay with them – and we got on really well – but night after night of hearing those two having absolutely awesome sex got a little tiring after a while – or maybe I was just horribly jealous that I didn’t have my own guy to have awesome sex with, I don’t know – all I knew was that I had to get out of there but it was a huge mistake to move back with my parents and I’d regretted it almost immediately. It was only ever supposed to be a temporary measure – I hated having my wings clipped once I’d been free to do as I pleased – and I’d been looking more or less constantly to find a reasonably priced flat or maisonette to rent ever since – but I still didn’t have a full time job and even though I was working at Studs and part time at another bar there was no way I co
uld afford my own place at the moment without having a roommate to share the costs with.

  Looking ahead, I guessed that Seth would probably need a little help with the upkeep of his place, he definitely had room at his place and it would be a great solution – but I couldn’t very well bother him about that now. For starters it would be completely insensitive of me – he’d just lost the love of his life – he certainly didn’t need me reminding him of that fact while he was trying to learn to walk again, and having skin grafts and the like, which they would no doubt have to do... On the other hand – he wasn’t earning anything much at the moment and he needed someone to pay the rent... Maybe I’d have to talk to Peyton about it. He was close to Seth, having Siobhan and Will in common with him...

  Heaven only knew what was going to happen once Seth got out of hospital but right now he was in no fit state to discuss it, having been put into an induced coma for a few days following the accident. I was hopeful he’d be awake next time I went to see him.

  Day to day living with Mum and Dad was pretty much the same as it had always been and I might be twenty-two years old but if my parents found out where I’d been last night – well, let’s just say it could start to get awkward since I was playing the straight card around them at the moment.

  Dad had finally accepted that Buzz was a lost cause – and weirdly got on really well with him these days – well, he had to really after Buzz saved his life with a bone marrow transplant – and he really liked Franz too. But where he and Mum had once rolled their eyes and chuckled that I thought I was gay – they really didn’t wear it well once I’d brought a couple of boyfriends home.

  Buzz was totally unaware that after putting up with their awful attitude for a few months, I’d told them I’d made a mistake and that actually I was pretty certain that I was straight after all. I’d never told Buzz that I’d lied to them, and quite clearly Mum and Dad had never mentioned my straight status because I’m quite sure that Buzz would never have agreed to save Dad’s life if he knew.