CharlieEspress-yo Self Coffee Shop must have exceeded its maximum capacity when I arrived a little before nine on Monday morning to meet Benji. I was looking forward to discussing the details of hosting his fundraiser. The door could barely close behind me as I squeezed in and immediately found myself at the end of the line. I leaned to the right to peer down toward the counter. There were a good fifteen people ahead of me.I’d be standing herd waiting to be served for at least ten minutes. Good thing I’d had the foresight to show up early.I should have asked for Benji’s number when we made the plans for coffee. I could have texted him and got his order so he wouldn’t have to stand in line when he arrived. Maybe I would order him a plain coffee. Or an Americano.Most adults liked that, right?A couple minutes passed and I had barely moved forward an inch. The woman in front of me, perfectly tailored in a crisp white business suit, muttered under her breath about how she was going to
CharlieI nodded. “Yes. I want to help you. And I have the means to do it. I already talked to some of my girls and they’re in. My bartender is pretty artsy and good with computers so she already made up some flyers and tickets. We’ve already sold nearly fifty.”“Holy shit,” he said, letting out a surprised chuckle. “I wasn’t expecting that. Thank you.”“I’ve got you covered. All the dance routines on stage will be PG based on, you know, the fact that this fundraiser is for teenagers. No nudity at all and nothing overly sexual. It will be clean entertainment—well, clean-ish anyway. If we can throw together a raffle and a fifty-fifty, that would help, too. Any other time I’ve had a fundraiser, games bring in good cash.”“Sounds like you have all the bases covered.”“You just need to show up,” I winked.“You can count on that.”I pulled the tab at the end of the string on my teabag out from under the lip of my cup, then proceeded to plunge the teabag up and down to speed up the steeping
BenjiI’d never been to Ascension before. It wasn’t at all what I was expecting.The club was located on the top floor of a high rise business building. There was a security guard in the elevator as I rode up, and he took the liberty to press the button labelled ‘A’ in cursive font. I wondered how much Charlie had paid to get that button in there.When the doors slid open I found myself standing in a lobby with a gothic sort of vibe. The carpet underfoot was dark red and plush, and the walls were black. Candle flames flickered in lanterns mounted on the walls, casting a warm but dim glow around the space.There were a few people milling around the room. I stood there, feeling a little out of place, until my gaze slid to the black double doors at the far end of the room. Another security guard was posted there. Written above the doors in the same gold cursive font as the ‘A’ in the elevator was the word ‘Ascension’. It screamed luxury, class and drama with a bit of edgy masculinity tos
Benji“Well, I—”Harley laughed. “You don’t need to explain yourself. There’s nothing wrong with it. I think my girl might fancy you too, philanthropist.”“I’m not a philanthropist.”“You’re the closest thing to one I’ve ever met,” she said simply.I looked around at the others, desperate for salvation from this conversation. “So. How long have you guys been here?”Harley’s eyes lingered on me for a while but she let the subject shift. Mason answered my question, thank God, and steered the discussion toward more comfortable subjects. “About twenty minutes or so. When we showed up the doors were closed and the whole front lobby was packed.”“It’s still filling up by the minute,” Laina said, nodding toward the door.She was right. The whole place would soon be packed to the brim and the doors would have to be closed. Talk about a successful business. Well done, Charlie.It was while I was watching people continue to file in and go to the bars to redeem their drink tickets that the house
Charlie“Fucking jerk,” I hissed, as I lashed out at the garbage can beside my desk in my office. The kick I dealt to the side of it sent it slamming into my desk, where it promptly fell over and spat out all the paper and trash. I groaned, crouched down, and gathered it all back into the can before standing it upright and putting it back in its rightful place.Then I dropped into my chair and sighed, leaning my head back and trying to ignore the pulsing pain in my hand.Why had I hit him? Usually I was able to keep my temper under control. But he’d gotten on my last nerve, and it felt so fucking good to feel his nose squish under my fist.I shook my head. Who was I kidding? If I had to do it over again I would have handled it the same way. He deserved it. Someone needed to put him in his place and I wanted to be damn sure it was me. My girls already dealt with some shady clientele. I had zero tolerance for harassment and it was my job to keep my girls safe. That included protecting t
CharlieI did as he said and he stood up and went into my bathroom. I leaned sideways to watch him crouch down and rummage around under the bathroom sink. He pulled out the red nylon first aid kit, unzipped it, and rifled through it until he found a long stretchy white bandage with metal pins. “Ah ha!” He cried victoriously before zipping the bag back up and tucking it back under the sink. He closed the cupboards and came back to me, assuming the same position in the collapsible chair.He held out his hand again and I gave him mine.Benji wrapped my hand like an expert. It wasn’t too loose or too tight, and the ice pack stayed exactly where it needed to.“You’ve done this before,” I said.“More than I care to admit.”“Ever done it for a girl?”He chuckled and shook his head. “No. This one’s a first for me.”“Is everyone okay out there?”Benji never took his eyes away from his job of wrapping my hand. “There was some chaotic energy for about five minutes, but your security guys calmed
BenjiCharlie made a mean martini—and I wasn’t a guy who drank them often.Or at all.I preferred a glass of whiskey or something simple. A one ingredient kind of cocktail. But her martini was something to be rivaled and I enjoyed every sip of it.Except, I passed off my olives to her.I liked watching her pop them in her mouth. And I liked how she chewed. In fact I liked everything she did.How she walked. How she talked. How she giggled in an almost reserved sort of way.We sat at the bar together and enjoyed our drinks and chatted about all sorts of things that didn’t really matter. Surface level things. Like how the evening went, how annoying Mason and my sister were when they were being lovey-dovey, and we even cracked a few jokes at the expense of the guy Charlie had decked earlier.“You should see if you can get a doctor to look at that hand of yours in the morning,” I said, as I finished my drink. “Just to be safe.”Charlie shook her head. “No. I’m alright. I swear. This isn’t
Benji“It looks great. Thank you so much for your help, Benji. You saved me a lot of time.”“It’s the least I could do. You helped me out big time tonight. You had to punch a guy and everything.”Charlie laughed and shook her head at me. “He would have been here tonight regardless of the fundraiser. Sit tight. I just have to grab my jacket and helmet and turn off the lights.”I did as she said and dropped down into one of the chairs near the stage. I’d been on my feet for the majority of the evening and could feel the tension gathering in my lower back. Falling into bed tonight would feel good.After sitting down for about two minutes the house lights dimmed until they were completely out. The club seemed to grow quieter with the dark, and as I sat there my eyes were drawn to the chandelier above the stage—the only light still on save for the strip of lights along the foot of the bar and the emergency exit signs above the back doors.The crystals dangling from the chandelier glimmered
Harley“I can’t believe it, man,” Rick said.“I couldn’t for a while either,” Mason said. “But this is something we’ve wanted for some time now. Now it’s happening. You picked a good time to go away. I was going to ask for your help building the crib and setting up the nursery.”Rick chuckled. “Well, you have Benji for that.”The men looked at Benji. His shoulders slumped. “Yay.”Everyone laughed.“Are you going to find out the gender, or let it be a surprise in the end?” I asked Laina.She lit up like a light bulb and instinctively put her hand on her belly, even though she wasn’t showing yet. “I think we’re going to wait.”I smiled. “Beautiful.”Within the next half hour, everyone migrated to the dining-room table, which Laina had set beautifully with a white tablecloth, gold chargers, and white plates. The candles were in gold holders, and even the cutlery was gold. She had an eye for detail.While we devoured the spaghetti and meatballs, we talked about life and babies and all the
HarleyTwo Months Later“Careful,” I said as Rick took a sharp righthand turn and drove the Jeep into Mason and Laina’s driveway. The appetizer I’d thrown together slid across the backseat and bumped into the door panel. I scowled at him. “I slaved over those for fifteen minutes. Don’t ruin them before we walk in the door. I want to knock everyone’s socks off with how much of a homemaker I’ve become.”Rick killed the ignition and arched an eyebrow at me. “A homemaker? Really?”I lifted my chin. “What?”He snorted and got out of the Jeep. “Nothing. I just doubt anyone is going to think ‘homemaker’ just because you’re showing up with a plate of—what do you call these?” He opened the back door and picked up the plate covered in three layers of saran wrap.Wrapping the plate had been more difficult than whipping up the food.“They’re caprese salad skewers,” I said.I’d spent the fifteen minutes before we left sliding cherry tomatoes, bocconcini cheese, and basil leaves onto toothpicks. I
RickThe corner of her mouth twitched, giving away the beginning of a smile. “A trip, huh?”I nodded. “We can narrow it down to some destinations and start mapping it out. There’s no better time than now, right? We can get out of the city, figure out what we want, and make up for lost time. Just you and me and beaches and sand and—”“Lots of sex?”I chuckled. “That’s not what I was going to say, but I assumed it was part of the package.”Harley nodded. “That sounds like a plan to me.”“Good,” I said. “Now stay still.”She opened her mouth to ask me why but promptly shut it when I ran my hands over her shoulders and then to her breasts, which I gently massaged, loving how they felt all lathered in slippery soap.“You’re such a guy,” she said playfully.I snickered. “I know.”She let me lather her entire body in the shower. Then we switched places, and she did the same for me. Having her run her hands all over me was heavenly, and it helped me forget about the tight pain in my bruised r
RickAll the aches and pains that had plagued me on Saturday night were still with me when I woke up on Monday morning. I was lying on my back, and Harley was tucked into my side. Her cheek was on my chest, and her left leg was draped over me. Her breathing was deep and slow and soft, and I didn’t open my eyes.I just lay there and listened to her. And felt her closeness.Yesterday had been dedicated to recovering and covering our tracks from Saturday’s race. I hired a tow-truck driver to come get the Saleen and bring it back to my place, where I got it in the garage so that if the cops came looking for it, the car wasn’t sitting out somewhere. It needed a lot of work, and the downside of street racing was obviously that it didn’t have insurance. I couldn’t claim a hit and run when the car was beat to shit on both sides and the rear end.Fucking Torq.But it was just a car, and I liked working on vehicles. The Saleen would be my project for the next year or so while I figured out what
HarleyHe watched me like a hawk as I started going down to my knees, pulling his boxers down as I went.His cock sprang free, teasing and taunting me as I got comfortable below him. I gazed up at him and took his shaft in one hand, working him over softly and warming him up. His gaze was dark and heavy as I ran my tongue from the base of his shaft to the tip and then swirled it around his meaty head.I drew him into my mouth, suctioning my lips around his thickness. I worked him slowly at first, taking my time, easing him into it. I knew he was hurting, and I wanted to be gentle with him.If he’d let me.He had a way of taking over halfway through and showing me who was boss. Not that I’d be mad if that happened.I swirled my tongue around his length before taking him deep in my throat and holding him there as my mouth filled with saliva. Then I bobbed my head, sucking him off hard and fast and fitting as much of him in my throat as I could take.He let me suck his cock for a long ti
HarleyIt was a wonder that the Saleen had even started back on the track, and it was even more mind blowing that it made it back to my house without losing several more pieces along the way.I parked at the back of my building in the private parking lot. I didn’t want to leave it on the curb in case any police drove by. It would be easy for them to link the Saleen to the scene down by the docks, and then we’d be done for.After parking the car, Rick had to climb out of the passenger window again. Every move he made was gentle and controlled. I knew he was hurting and hated that there was nothing I could do to take the pain away.Once he was out of the car, I climbed across the console and slipped out too. He offered me his hand, and I took it but didn’t lean on him for support. I was pretty sure he wasn’t in much of a position to be offering it in the first place.We walked soundlessly across the parking lot, our footsteps drowned out by the sound of rain pinging off the metal garbag
Rick“Fuck me fucking sideways,” I said.I couldn’t afford to waste any time. Either I was getting his ass out of the car, or I was bailing.“You owe me, motherfucker,” I said as I leaned in through the driver’s window and reached up to unclip his seatbelt.Torq crumpled to the ceiling of the car, landing across my arm beneath him. Shattered glass from the windshield bit into my bicep and forearm, but I gritted my teeth against the burn and worked to drag Torq’s ass out of the car. He was a heavy motherfucker.He started groaning.I stumbled to my feet and hauled him backward. “Work with me you fat bastard. I’m getting you out of here. Your asshole buddies bailed on you.”He mumbled something incoherent.“Yeah, I know. They’re your friends, not mine. I guess that’s what you get for being a piece of shit.”I collapsed when I had him clear of the car. I struggled to catch my breath, and my side screamed with pain. I tucked my arms under his armpits, stumbled back to my feet, and kept dr
RickI landed heavily on the wet pavement after managing to climb out through the passenger window of the Saleen. My right leg was tender and bruised from Torq driving into me, and my chest ached from the seatbelt and being jostled around roughly as I’d lost control of the car.But I was alive, nothing was broken, and there was no blood. So, overall, things were pretty good.Aside from the approaching police.I used the car to push myself to my feet, slicking my wet hair off my forehead as I rose. Then I stood and waited for the dizziness to pass. I didn’t think I’d hit my head at any point, but it sure felt like I had. Maybe it was just severe vertigo from whiplash.It didn’t matter. I could figure that out later. I had to focus on getting the hell out of there and making sure Harley was safe, too.She had a lot to lose if this race got busted, and so did I. She was everything. If I lost her, I would lose my damn mind. After all this time, we were finally together, and there was noth
HarleyBenji and Mason took off for the registration table. I swung my attention toward Rick’s car. The whole passenger side was busted up. The damage looked pretty bad, and I had no idea what sort of injuries he might have acquired. I leaned forward to look down the road.The last drivers were only twenty or so seconds away. Maybe less.“I think his door is jammed,” Laina said, nodding at Rick’s car.I narrowed my eyes. She was right. He couldn’t get out. His car was too crumpled and too fucked up for him to get the door open. I wondered if it would still run.If we had to leave it behind, it was a sure-fire way for the cops to trace the car back to Rick. Then all our dreams of starting a new life together would be over. He’d be in jail for a long time.Charlie shook my arm. “What do we do, Harley? Tell us what to do!”I swallowed and took a deep breath. “Okay. Okay. We need to clear the area. Rick can handle himself. Help me get people the hell out of here. Send them off in differen