Fight Me Read online

  *****

  It’s been two weeks since Erin and I shared that unforgettable kiss in her doorway. I’ve been doing everything I can think of to get her out of my head. I might be able to buy her I’m-not-interested-in-you bit if it weren’t for the intensity of that kiss. So, I’ve decided to go to Jack’s on this particular Saturday night and maybe take someone home with me. Nothing helps get your mind off your troubles more than mindless no-strings attached sex.

  Gabe’s manning the bar when I get there and order a beer. James and a few other guys are already here and back by the pool tables, so I head towards the back to hang out for a bit.

  “Hey, man. What’s up?” James asks.

  “Not too much. How’s it going?”

  “Good. Is Maddox coming up?”

  “I sent him a text, but I doubt it. He won’t take his balls out of Avery’s purse long enough to come up here,” I say which makes James and Collin laugh.

  “You guys up for some pool?” I ask as I head to the pool table to wrack the balls.

  “You bet,” James says.

  After a couple of games, James catches my attention. “Dude, check out the hotties that just walked in.”

  I look up towards the door and notice four very pretty girls walk in and stroll up to the bar. The four girls order their fancy, fruity drinks and turn to survey the Saturday night crowd. When they see our small group in back, they start to make their way towards us.

  “Evening, ladies. How’s it going tonight?” I ask. They all reply in their best, flirty voice. The brunette in back walks up towards me. She’s definitely a looker. She has straight long brown hair, brown eyes, and legs a mile long. She’s tall and lean, and her chest is practically spilling out of her top. All things I love in a woman.

  “I’m Lauren. What’s your name?” she purrs at me with a sexy look in her eyes.

  “Jake.”

  “Well, Jake. Do you have plans this evening?”

  “Nope.”

  “What do you say we head out and get to know each other somewhere else a little more private?” Lauren is batting her long – and probably fake - eye lashes at me as I reach for my coat. This is just what I need to get my mind off of a certain redhead.

  “Absolutely.” I turn back towards James who is in the thick of his own babe-heaven, and throw him a wave. As I guide Lauren through the crowd towards the door, I can’t help the extra spring in my step. This is exactly what I need.

  Stepping out into the cold air on the street, Lauren links her arm in my own. The feeling of a woman touching me, rubbing up against me like a cat used to make me hornier than hell. Knowing that we are leaving to go have hot, and hopefully very sweaty, sex used to be a huge turn on. But right now, I have this feeling I can’t describe come over me. Now that she’s touching me, I don’t really want her to.

  As we approach my truck, I start to slow down like my feet now weigh a hundred pounds each. I’m practically shuffling along feeling weighed down by my own traitorous body. Lauren stands outside of my truck, waiting for me to open the door. I want to open the door, but my body has a mind of its own and won’t do it.

  “Are you ready?” Lauren purrs against my side.

  “Uhh, yeah. Let’s go,” I say as I throw my passenger side door open. Lauren slides in but doesn’t stop at the passenger seat. She slides right on over to the middle to ride ‘bitch’.

  As I walk around the front of the truck, I give myself a pep-talk and try to pinpoint what the hell is going on with me. Lauren is beautiful with long legs, long hair, and is eager to jump into my bed for a one-night stand. And yet, I’m thinking of dozens of reasons of why I should just take her back inside and head home. Alone. What the hell?

  I climb in and throw the truck in gear. “Where to?” I ask as I get ready to pull out into the street.

  “How about your place? I’m not close.”

  Do I want to take her to my house? Not really, but what other choice do I have? “Sure. Let’s go.”

  The entire ride to my house, Lauren is rubbing my thigh with her long, boney fingers. Normally, I think fingers are sexy, especially as they grip a hold of certain parts of my body, but hers are just boney with long fake fingernails. She’s babbling on about working out – or something – and I have a hard time focusing on what she’s saying. All I can think about is what I’m about to do at my house. Since when is sex with a beautiful woman supposed to be torture? But that’s what this feels like. Torture.

  When we pull in, I find myself unable to get out of my truck. Lauren takes that as meaning the party is starting right here. She practically throws herself on my lap and starts kissing me, hands wandering up and down my chest.

  I try to kiss her back, but it’s just wrong. She doesn’t taste right, and she’s too aggressive as she slides her hand down to the crotch of my pants. I pull back and just look at her brown eyes.

  “What’s wrong?” she snaps.

  “Nothing. I’m just not sure that this is the best idea anymore.”

  “What? You don’t think this is a good idea? My friends told me you were a sure thing. That you sleep with everyone. What the hell is wrong with me?”

  “Nothing’s wrong with you,” I defend to the woman in front of me on the verge of hysterics. You’re just not the one I want to be kissing right now. “I’m just tired tonight from work.”

  “Whatever. You can take me back to my friends, now,” she replies in a cold tone, scooting over to the passenger side of the truck. “I can’t believe this,” she mumbles as I back out of my driveway.

  We’re completely silent the entire trip back up to Jack’s. Hell, I don’t know what to say, and she’s obviously pissed off at me. When I pull up in front, she doesn’t say anything as she slams the door shut and stomps back inside.

  Well, that went well. Smooth, Jake. Real smooth.

  *****

  The first weekend in February, I can’t take the radio silence with Erin any longer. It’s Saturday and all I want to do is see her. My walls are starting to close in on me so I decide to go out for a drive. It hasn’t snowed in several weeks so the roads are pretty clear and drivable. Maybe I’ll head over to Avery & Maddox’s place and hang out in the man cave.

  As I’m driving through town, I notice a little red bug sitting in the parking lot between the library and City Hall. As if my hands have a mind of their own, they steer my truck into the parking lot. I park next to Erin’s VW bug and head inside the library.

  When I pull open the door, I stop dead in my tracks at the sight before me. Erin is leaning over the counter handing a small child a book. The way her little body is spread out across the top of the counter like a buffet makes my pants tighten below the belt as desire courses through me. I want to walk up behind her as she’s spread across the counter and have my wicked way with her.

  “Thank you for stopping in today, Caleb. Come see me again soon,” Erin says, pulling me out of my dirty fantasy.

  I walk up to the counter and can’t help but smile at the little boy grinning from ear to ear as he holds his new book.

  “What are you doing here?” Erin asks with a look of surprise etched on her face.

  “I was in the neighborhood and saw your car. I wanted to see how everything was going since it’s been so long since I saw you last.”

  “Everything’s fine. Thank you for checking. See you later,” she says quickly as she turns back towards the stack of books sitting on the desk behind counter. I’m stunned by her reaction as I stare at her back. Did she just dismiss me? Erin gathers up the books and places them all on a cart and starts pushing the cart out from behind the counter. “Oh, you’re still here.” It wasn’t really a question.

  “Yep. What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to put all these books away,” she says as she pushes the cart towards the back of the library. I notice that the library is empty and realize that it’s almost closing time.

  “Want some help?”

  “Umm, that’s okay.
I got it,” she says but I continue to follow her. I watch the gentle sway of her small hips behind her long skirt. It’s definitely not a sexy outfit by any means, but she makes it look pretty good. I want to rip the skirt up over her hips and explore what’s underneath.

  She reaches the last row and starts searching the shelves. After finding the correct spot, she places the book back on the shelf. “I haven’t been here in ages,” I say, hands in my front pockets, casually leaning against the shelves.

  “I’m surprised you’ve been here at all,” she says as she goes about searching for the next book’s proper place on the shelf.

  “What is that supposed mean?” I’m instantly on guard, standing up straight.

  “It means just that. I’m surprised you know what the inside of the library looks like.”

  “I’ve been to the library before.”

  She turns and faces me, eyebrow raised slightly. “To read?”

  “Baseball.”

  “Baseball? What the heck does that mean?”

  I can’t help the cocky smile that spreads across my face as my eyes twinkle with mischief. I relax my stance slightly, leaning back against the bookshelf. “I wasn’t so much into the books here as I was with rounding the bases.” Erin’s mouth drops open and the shock is evident on her beautiful face. I walk up to her, looking down into her eyes, and lean forward until we’re a breath apart. “Back here, in the back row. First, second, and even third base.”

  She gasps as her eyes become wide with shock. “You did not do that here! That’s disgusting! What if someone caught you?”

  “That’s what makes it so thrilling, darlin’. You’ve never done anything sexual in a public place before? Somewhere where someone, anyone can see you at any moment?”

  “Never.”

  “Well, darlin’, you are definitely missing out.” Erin turns her attention back to the books on the cart and grabs the last few. Her hands have a slight tremor to them, and it’s evident as she holds the books close to her chest.

  I walk around the cart and stand right next to her. I can hear her breath coming out in a slight pant. She’s definitely affected by me or what I’m saying. I love it when she gets all worked up and flustered. I can’t help myself. “Do you want to know something I’ve never done in the library before?”

  “You mean besides read a book?”

  I lean in over her shoulder so that my mouth is barely touching her ear. That little contact – the only contact I’ve had with her in almost a month – sends lightning straight to my pants. I’m half hard just from the slightest touch of my lip to her ear. I want more. “I’ve never hit a homerun in the library before,” I whisper.

  Erin drops the books she’s holding and spins to face me. I grab her little face in my big hands and crash my lips into hers. She tastes like heaven. She immediately responds and opens her mouth for me. As my tongue plunges into the recesses of her mouth, she grabs onto my forearms and lets out a little moan. That noise is the greatest fucking noise ever. I want to hear how she sounds when I’m buried deep inside her.

  The sound of the front door opening and slamming closed breaks into the trance we are in. She immediately pulls back, eyes as big as hubcaps, and touches her lips. Erin takes a few steps back until she’s out of my reach and runs out of the aisle, heading towards the front of the library.

  I go ahead and take a few moments to collect my thoughts – well, tame my hard on is more like it – and pick up the dropped books before I head towards the front of the library. Erin’s at the desk checking back in a few books brought in by a couple of kids and their mom so I hang back by the magazine rack and wait until they’re finished.

  “Have a nice day,” I hear Erin tell the group as they head out the door. I turn and head towards the counter, where Erin is clearly still flustered. She’s nervously shifting her weight back and forth and is making herself look very busy by rearranging things on the top of the counter. She also won’t make eye contact with me.

  “I should probably head out,” I say deciding to take pity on her.

  “Okay. It was good to see you. Have a great day,” she says quickly with too much forced happiness.

  “Erin.” I pause and wait until she looks up at me. When her green eyes find mine, what I see in her eyes almost stops my heart. Lust. Desire. “Have dinner with me tonight.”

  She stares at me for a few moments and I think she’s going to ignore my question all together. “Is that a question or a demand?”

  “Both. Will you have dinner with me tonight?”

  She hesitates, and I can practically see the wheels turning inside of her head. She wants to, I can tell, but something is holding her back.

  “Why?” she asks quietly. So quietly, in fact, that I almost miss the question.

  “Why what? Why do I want to go out with you?”

  “Yes,” she whispers.

  Because I want to spend time with you. Because I can’t stop thinking about you. Because I want to finish that kiss we started in the dark back corner of the library. Take your pick. “I thought it would be nice to spend the evening with you and getting to know you.”

  She still stares at me with a weird look on her face. It’s part confusion, part perplexed, part curiosity. I honestly have no idea how she’s going to reply.

  “What do you have in mind?” she timidly asks.

  “I haven’t really gotten that far yet. I didn’t think you’d say yes.”

  “I haven’t. I was just wondering what you were planning.”

  Oh, I can come up with a few things, but of course, I can’t tell her that. “Dinner. Wherever you want to go.”

  “Just dinner?”

  “Yes, just dinner.” I lean forward, resting my elbows on the counter. “Unless you have something else in mind for afterwards,” I tease, eyebrows arched up in a suggestive manner. I can’t hide the big smile on my face.

  “No! Just dinner.”

  I straighten up. “Well, dinner it is. I’ll pick you up at six,” I say as I start to turn towards the door.

  “I can meet you at the restaurant. You don’t need to pick me up.”

  “I’ll be there at six, darlin’,” I throw over my shoulder just before I step outside, a big smile spread wide across my face.

  Chapter Six

  Erin

  I think I’m having an out of body experience. I can see myself standing in front of the mirror in my bedroom, but I can’t seem to move my body. I can only stare. Who is this person staring back at me? I used to think I knew her.

  That person would not be wearing tight jeans and a very form fitting black sweater. That person would not have applied make-up – more than just a light dusting of eye shadow and mascara – all over her face. That person would not have accepted a dinner date with Jake freaking Stevens! He is the bane of my existence. The thorn in my paw. The rainstorm on my parade.

  This person staring back at me is someone I’ve never met before. She’s dressed up in trendy clothes. She’s wearing make-up. She’s watching the clock and waiting for Jake to pick her up. When did I become this person?

  Before I can dive further into this dramatic turn of events in the life of Erin Anderson, my doorbell rings signaling the arrival of my date. My date. AKA Jake Stevens. I grab my small purse from my bed and head out of the room and down the stairs.

  When I open the front door, I’m struck stupid at the sight of Jake at my front door. He’s wearing dark jeans that hug his incredible legs and hips, a dark grey tight ribbed Henley shirt that shows off his broad, sculpted chest, worn boots, and a worn brown leather jacket. He looks delicious and I can’t seem to process words.

  “See something you like?” he asks with that big, cocky grin on his face. My face burns with the worst blush ever as I quickly turn away, realizing I was just busted ogling his chest.

  “No. I was…” I stutter but can’t even come up with a good lie.

  “Darlin’, you can look at me all you want,” he says with a chuckl
e.

  “I’m ready to go,” I say, quickly changing the subject and making a grab for my warm black pea coat.

  Jake grabs a hold of my coat and holds it open for me. He can actually be a gentleman when he’s not being a pompous, arrogant jerk. Jake places his hand on my lower back as we walk out the front door towards his old pick-up truck. I can feel his hand burn me through my clothes, sending shivers of delight coursing through my entire body.

  “Cold?” he asks. “We’ll be inside in a second and I’ll crank up the heat.” If he only knew that the heat was already cranked.

  Once we’re backing out of the driveway, he turns his attention on me. “So, what do you feel like eating for dinner?”

  “I’m not picky. You choose.”

  “Well, I was thinking about Laverne’s Steakhouse. Is that okay?”

  “That sounds great. I haven’t been there since I’ve been back in town. Does Laverne and George still own it?”

  “They retired a few years back, and their granddaughter, Lizzy, runs it now. She was a few years younger than us in school. Her brother, Pete, was our age.”

  “That’s right. I remember him.”

  “So, how was the last half hour at the library before closing? Did you get all your books put away?”

  I feel the blush creep up my neck as I recall the reason I was running behind on my end-of-the-day tasks. “It went fine once I was able to actually focus on getting my work done without any distractions.”

  “Is that what I am? A distraction?” he asks with a little grin on his face.

  “Today you were. You came in there with the sole purpose of distracting me from completing my work.”

  “No, I went in there with the sole purpose of saying hello. The distracting just sort of happened.”

  “Well, it can’t happen again. You can’t come in there and try to round the bases in the back of the library just because you feel the need. It’s a professional, family friendly place and anyone could have walked up on us.”