Awakened (The Fighter Series Book 3) Page 2

  I look to Emily and Sarah, silently begging for help, and then back to him. My phone vibrates in my back pocket. “I, um,” I say reaching for it. Sarah’s name lights up and I jerk my head back up to him. “I have to take this. Thanks for the dance.”

  Quickly, I turn and flee, pretending to answer my phone while pushing my way through the crowd. Who am I kidding? I’m acting like a moron.

  Chapter 2

  The whole ride home last night, I got blasted by Emily and Sarah. Emily gave both Sarah and me shit for the phone stunt, but Sarah’s excuse was that I made the whole place reek of awkwardness. Instead of arguing my point they would never understand, I sat quietly listening to what I should’ve done and what could’ve been.

  Have you ever looked back on something and wondered what the hell you were thinking? Even hours after, you still find yourself embarrassed by it? Yep. I’m sinking in that boat right now. I’m an idiot. I panicked and didn’t know what to do, so I handled it worse than a middle school girl. Yay. Go me.

  Once they dropped me off, I crawled in bed with one thing on my mind—Adam. I feel bad for him. I’m sure my juvenile actions deflated his ego. I tossed and turned waking up many times in the middle of the night dreaming of him. Some were unreal and marvelous. Others were poking fun at my distress.

  I’ve been up since seven, poring over some financial statements and intermittently allowing the TV to keep my attention. I knew better than to turn the damn thing on, but when I’m trying to drown out my humiliating moment from the night prior, I’m desperate for distractions.

  My phone rings and Emily’s name blesses my display. “Hey, girl. Whatcha up to?” she chirps.

  “Working on the—”

  “Kelsie Stratton!” she yells. “Why are you working on anything on a Saturday?”

  “For your information, I enjoy it.”

  “You’re pitiful.”

  “Career driven is a better term,” I snort.

  She exhales a small laugh. “Well, be ready at seven. Sarah and I are getting something to eat and you’re coming with us.”

  “I am?”

  “Didn’t I just tell you? Besides you’re not doing anything.”

  I sigh as I hang up with her. I used to have the weekends to myself. All quiet and content. But my tipsy mouth got me in trouble. A few weeks ago, Sarah and Emily were here and we started talking pretty deep. I hadn’t told them much about Nick and our marriage, but on this particular night, my alcohol-saturated brain decided to delve into it. I made the mistake of drunkenly saying I wished I had a different life. They took that and masterminded a plan. Since then…they try pulling me out of the house as much as possible. Unfortunately, I can’t do too much with Nick being such a resentful prick.

  My day flew by and before I knew it, seven o’clock was here and so were the girls. As promised, we went out to eat at a little Greek restaurant, but after…well, let’s just say I’ve been tricked. Duped by my two beautiful friends who had alternate ideas to their taking me out for dinner. While we ate, I quietly wondered why they both were dressed more for partying than eating. But they sprung the surprising answer on me by yanking the car into Club Ivy’s parking lot.

  I tried talking them out of it, but there wasn’t any use. Their minds were completely made up. Emily’s argument was the place was crawling with hotties, which explains her scantily-clad outfit. And Sarah’s plea was she had a great time.

  Guess who won the squabble? Not this girl. I was beat two to one. So here I am with a drink in my hand, standing with my friends a nervous wreck in the very same place I award-winningly embarrassed myself last night.

  “Hi.” A short-ish, blond haired man approaches Sarah.

  He starts to sway his hips from side to side and grins drunkenly. His smile is too big for his face, and his hair is greasy and messy. He’s got to already be plastered.

  Sarah politely smiles leaning away and into Emily. “Hi.”

  “Care to dance?” he slurs.

  She scrunches her face disgusted. “No. Thanks.”

  His hips stop moving and he stares at her for a moment as if her words are being slowly processed by his brain. Finally, he turns and stumbles away.

  “Whatever happened to sober small talk or introducing yourself?” Sarah slams back a shot of tequila. “He had a creeper vibe,” she hisses.

  “I think the times have changed and we fall into the old women’s club. We’ll either have to start square dancing at the elderly home or learn how these young bucks do it,” I joke, bursting in laughter.

  Emily smacks my arm. “We’re freaking in our mid-twenties. Who the hell are you calling old?”

  “Look around you. We’re cougars.” I snicker.

  “Roar.” She claws the air. “Newbies. I guess I can train them the way I want them.”

  I roll my eyes. “Oh, God.”

  “You realize you’d scare them off?” Sarah chuckles.

  “Think about how fun it will be before I do.” Emily winks.

  You know that feeling you get when you know someone is staring at you? The hairs on the back of my neck are standing on edge and spreading out to all my limbs. I’m completely engrossed by the acute sensation crawling all over me.

  I pull my straw to my lips and scan the crowd in the direction I think the feeling is coming from, half-listening as Emily continues the subject of us not being old. That’s when I spot him. His eyes are locked onto me. He’s lazily resting his elbow on the bar with a carnivorous smirk. Predators tend to stare, stalking prey intently before they pounce. He has me absolutely tranced and unable to unlatch my eyes from his. My heart sinks and flutters simultaneously. It doesn’t know if it’s coming or going. And even though I have my drink, my mouth has gone dry.

  Adam doesn’t move and continues peering at me through the moving people. He’s got an unreadable but intense expression. He’s confidently quiet, owning and dominating the space around him. It’s as if he’s waiting for the environment to adjust to him and not the other way around. A tremble jolts down my spine. I offer a weak smile watching him watch me, and that’s when he pushes off the bar and heads my way.

  It’s as if everything slows—the time, the dancing bodies, the lights, the music. Everything dissipates and it’s him, me, and my rapid heartbeat. His crimson shirt stretches tightly across his chest and crinkles as he swings his arms, sauntering confidently toward me.

  In the blurry distance, I hear Emily say something, but I’m stuck in this stupor. My limbs are tingling from the rush of adrenaline surging through them. Panic is setting in. What the hell am I going to say to him after my ridiculous actions?

  “Oh.” I’m grounded at Emily’s remark and I look to her observing Adam.

  Just as I bring my attention back to him, I’m eye level with his barrel chest. “It’s the dashing queen,” he says in a low, sarcastic, but extremely sexy tone.

  I look up to him. “I, um, I…” I’m stumbling for words.

  “Am I allowed to say hello or will you get another perfectly timed phone call?” he smarts off.

  “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”

  He puffs a laugh under his breath and licks his lips. “The vision I have of you is your vibrant ass running away from me like I was the boogie monster. Didn’t hurt my feelings a bit.”

  He smiles and nods toward the drooling Emily and Sarah and grabs my hand, pulling me to follow him. My legs have their own mind and off they go with the rest of my confused body. He strides to the other side of the room, away from all the hustle and bustle of the music, to a dimly lit spot.

  “What the hell was that shit last night?” he asks dropping my hand.

  I swallow hard. “I—”

  “And don’t feed me any bullshit,” he adds.

  I squint, rocking back on my heels, jamming my hand on my hip. “You’ve got some nerve,” I hiss.

  “Is this before or after you had the nerve to act like you had a phone call and run away?”

&n
bsp; I drop my gaze to my drink and exhale a long breath. “I’m sorry.”

  He ducks down into my sights and stands back up. “Tell me, Kelsie. Why’d you do that?”

  “I told you last night I wasn’t interested in dating,” I admit.

  “So asking for a number is automatically dating?”

  I shake my head.

  “I’m not looking for anything serious. I prefer to just have fun.”

  “Yeah. I’m not that girl either,” I say.

  “What? Someone who enjoys having fun? You did last night.”

  “I know exactly what you’re talking about.”

  Where the hell is my attitude coming from?

  He drags his hand over his face. “Is there any winning with you?”

  “You’ll have a better chance with someone else,” I say.

  Mentally, I’m shocked at my words. In my dreams, he had me worked up. I yearned to feel his lips and his touch all over me. There’s nothing wrong with these imaginary instances until the very thing I dreamt about is in front of me with pleading determination. I feel like he knows he was “with” me all night.

  He puts his arm around my shoulder, tucking me into his side and turning me to the crowd. “Have you looked around? Out of all of them, I’m intrigued by you.”

  I look down to my feet. “You’ll quickly lose interest in me.”

  He places his lips to my ear and whispers. “I’d like to lick the wounds he left you.”

  I gasp as my knees nearly buckle under me.

  He chuckles. “Dance with me, Kelsie.” He drags his hand down my arm and clenches my hand. “Come on and have some fun.”

  I try fighting my grin, but it appears anyway. He winks and we head to the dance floor. He makes a path into the thick crowd and twirls me just as he did the night before. I lose myself in the music, rocking my hips and rolling my body. His chest to my back, my ass to his groin, he grips my hips and we grind against each other. He slides his hand over my right arm and wraps it behind his neck. I close my eyes, relaxing into him and letting the music, along with his body, take over. I’ve never been good at dancing with someone, but there’s something different about him. He feels good against me. Plus, he has the reigns making it much easier.

  We rock and bounce as one when his grip on my hip tightens and he turns me, pulling me into his chest. His heart is thumping hard under my hand.

  His eyes are fixed on me with something behind them. A powerful pull buzzes my skin and scares the shit out of me causing me to take a step back.

  “I need a break,” I rattle off before striding toward the girls.

  He steps up beside me and envelops my hand with his. “I’m not ready to give you back to your friends yet.”

  I flick my eyes to him. “And why not?” I ask flirtatiously.

  “I like your attention.” He smiles wickedly.

  “Look at you two!” Emily beams eyeing our interlocked fingers.

  My hand rests perfectly in his and it feels pretty damn good—too perfect. Quickly, I pull out of his grip and reach for Sarah’s drink, taking a long swig of it.

  “What do you want to drink?” he asks.

  “Water,” I answer.

  Just as he rushes off, Sarah nudges my shoulder. “I think someone is into you.”

  “You really think so?”

  “He’s still talking to you even after what you did last night. Either you have him thrilled for the chase or your perky boobs have him interested in seeing them bounce.” Emily flicks her eyes to my breasts with a sly grin.

  “Oh my God.” I roll my eyes. “You’re so dirty.” I laugh.

  “I’m ready to hear how they bounced all over the place. I’ve known you for a year and you’ve never said anything about getting your groove on.”

  “Maybe I keep my personal life to myself,” I tell her.

  “Pffft…what personal life?” she deadpans.

  “Romeo is coming back,” Sarah hushes us, nodding toward Adam striding back.

  He sits on one of the stools and pulls me into his lap, placing the water before my face. “If I have to share your attention, you’re sitting here with me.”

  I twist a little in his lap turning toward him. “Are you an attention whore?” I whisper.

  His dimples emerge. “Only for yours.”

  “Are we going back to the cheesy lines again?” I giggle.

  He doesn’t answer me verbally, but his eyes do and from what I gather, that wasn’t meant to be cheesy.

  Emily and Sarah start talking about some expensive purse they want when Adam opens my hand, places a piece of paper in my palm and folds my fingers around it.

  “What’s this?”

  He’s beaming devilishly. “Since asking you scares the shit out of you, I’m giving you my number.”

  I tense and he squeezes my leg just above my knee.

  “Don’t freak out. I’m giving you the control, which, by the way I like to have.” He winks and then moves me from his lap and stands. “Call or text when you want. Maybe that will ease your wild mind.”

  “And what if she doesn’t call?” Sarah butts into our conversation.

  “She will,” he answers her with his eyes still glued to me. He squeezes my hand. “I’m heading out, but I hope to talk to you soon.”

  His stare lingers while his fingers cling to mine for a long minute, and then he releases my hand and strides away blessing me with an amazing view of his backside. My lungs empty of air.

  “I don’t know about you, but that was the hottest thing ever.” Emily rests her head on her hand.

  “Yeah,” I sigh dreamily, watching him disappear into the masses.

  “I hate that he had to leave,” Sarah says. “I was having fun roasting from his hotness.”

  That knocks me out of it and I burst out laughing. “Like he’s the sun?”

  “Oh hell yes!” she squeals. “I could tan all day on him.”

  Emily smacks Sarah’s arm. “You’re starting to sound too much like me.”

  “You’re both bad influences,” I tease.

  Chapter 3

  I groan, cussing the sunlight that slams itself across my face as it bursts through the blinds just to make a grand appearance. A measly four hours of sleep just to get up and do nothing today. I glance at my phone. No notifications.

  Dragging my ass out of bed, I head down the hall to the kitchen for some coffee. Researchers have contradicting studies about coffee. Some say it’s bad for you. Other’s rave that in moderation, it’s great for you. Either way, they haven’t seen me without it. I’m a danger to all, especially on only four strained hours of sleep.

  I hit the button to start the brew and head to the bathroom. After brushing my teeth, finger-combing my hair, and deciding not to shave, I go back for the much needed energy boost. I lean back on the counter with my mug and only one damn thing on my mind—Kelsie.

  I met her at the club. Chick was banging ass hot—long golden blonde hair, plump silky lips, a picture perfect smile, curves in all the best places I’d like to undress, and legs that went on for miles.

  The first night didn’t end so well and on a gamble I went back the next night. I threw the dice right because she was there. She ate me up with those incredible hazel eyes. As badly guarded as she was, I knew she was interested…turned on by me. Why wouldn’t she be? I know I’m pretty damn good looking.

  She was so fucking reserved, I ended up shoving my number in her hand and giving her the damn control I normally require. Now, it’s a game of patience, which are already running thin. It’s been four days and I haven’t heard a thing from her. Maybe I placed my wager on the wrong girl. But for some fucked up reasons unknown to me, I’ve sat back and waited for her phone call, not giving a damn about any other amusements.

  I finish my coffee, change into my gym clothes and hit the road. The gym is only ten minutes from here and I enjoy going early in the morning. It’s more quiet, less of a sausage fest. Most of the guys come in after their
nine-to-five jobs, and some straggle in throughout the day. I’m neither. I’m either early or nothing.

  I hope you didn’t think Levi was the only one who worked out. But there’s a big difference between us. He needs the gym. He has to have a place to release his frustrations. We established that years ago when his temper constantly got the best of him. Dude can’t go without hitting the heavy bag or he turns into a raging fucking dickhead, just as bad as when he’s not getting any ass.

  I’m not addicted to the gym like he is. If I miss it, I miss it. I go to keep in shape because I sure as hell don’t need to look like a slum going to Levi’s events. Plus, most women enjoy the benefits of a muscular body, and I enjoy reaping the benefits of having beautiful women wanting it.

  I pull in the parking lot and hop out, ready to get my day started. Just as predicted, the place isn’t busy at all. Only two other guys are on the other side of the gym. I pop in my earbuds and hit the treadmill to warm up and allow my imagination to take me where it wants. Of course, it goes straight to Kelsie.

  I played Mr. Nice Guy at the club, keeping my hands to myself, but that didn’t mean when I had her hips in my grasp, my mind didn’t wander to the rest of the curves of her body. With her ass rubbing against me…my cock woke right up.

  I’m sweating, running at full speed and jamming out to Killswitch Engage, when the music silences and is replaced by a ring from an unknown number.

  I smile.

  “Yeah?” I answer out of breath, stopping the treadmill.

  There’s a long pause. “Adam?” the female voice asks.

  I learned years ago, although you know who it is, it’s best to play dumb. Just in case you’re wrong. Most girls don’t exactly enjoy being called by someone else’s name. “That’s me.”

  “This is Kelsie,” she says. “I’m not bothering you, am I?”

  She sounds like a nervous wreck.

  “Not one bit,” I answer.

  She clears her throat. “What are you doing Saturday?”

  “Hopefully something with you.”