Side Effects Read online

  “You want to play with Reed’s beanbags, don’t you?” he teased.

  “Shut your face, or I’ll shove my beanbag up your Cornhole,” I retorted.

  Did I mention that I was just as immature as my brother?

  “You’re awfully defensive, Curley Q. Did I hit a nerve there?”

  I ignored my big brother, afraid to consider the answer to his question.

  My dad threw the first bag, and it landed on the board. He grinned and eyed Reed, who was getting ready to toss his bag.

  I watched as his white polo shirt stretched across what I hadn’t noticed before was quite a broad chest. I felt an involuntary sharp intake of breath pass through my lips as his toned and tan arm threw the bag across the yard. The bag landed squarely in the hole.

  Why did that simple act send a rocket of lust right through me?

  This was Reed. Repulsive Reed.

  And then Grant looked at me and grinned. “He played baseball in college,” he said.

  Oh. My. Fuck.

  Repulsive Reed was an athlete?

  It was my turn to throw, and I tossed the beanbag like I always did, but I missed the board by a mile. I wasn’t even close.

  Reed chuckled, and I was back to hating him.

  I was lucky that he was my teammate, because we won by a landslide – no thanks to my less than stellar abilities that morning. I blamed the tequila from the night before. Fucking tequila.

  When Reed had sunk the winning beanbag, something happened.

  I didn’t see it coming, but for some reason, what happened wouldn’t get the hell out of my mind.

  My ritual after winning was always to high-five my teammate. We’d meet in the middle of the playing area, slap hands, and switch sides to start a new game.

  Well when Reed met me in the middle, we slapped hands. But he held onto my hand, and I felt that same rocket of lust permeate all the way into my core.

  And then it happened. He dropped my hand and grabbed me around the waist in a celebratory hug, lifting me off of my feet and swinging me around once before setting me back down. In that split second, I memorized his scent. It was perfection; it was clean and masculine and just Reed.

  My heart sped up its beat and color crept into my cheeks. Lucky for me, the sun was bright and I was wearing sunglasses, so no one could see the rare blush grace my face.

  And the same question formed in my head: Why was I giving him so much attention?

  He was all wrong for me. He wasn’t my type. He was annoying and preppy and irritating as hell.

  So why did I want him to slam me against the wall and fuck me until my eyes rolled into the back of my head?

  God.

  That thought was all wrong. He wasn’t the slam against the wall type. He’d probably gently press his lips to mine, and his hands would shake as they ran the length of my torso. He’d be too shy to touch my tits, and, worse, it would probably only ever happen in a bed.

  After he set me down, he looked slightly embarrassed, like he hadn’t meant the impulsive swinging hug. No one else seemed to think anything of it, but it was stuck in my head.

  He tugged on my ponytail gently, like a little boy pulling the little girl’s hair, and I shot him a dirty look that was pretty ineffective behind my sunglasses.

  We played another round, this time against Grant and my mom while my dad kept score, and Reed and I won again. I still played like shit, and he clearly carried the team. He simply high-fived me after our second win, and a little tremor of disappointment shot through me when he didn’t swing-hug me again.

  I hugged my family goodbye and pretty much ignored Reed, and then I headed home.

  But damn Preppy Porter wouldn’t get out of my mind. He was a baseball cap forward kind of guy. I went for baseball cap backwards kinds of guys.

  And as that popped into my mind, I realized that it was the first time all day that I had thought about Tyler. The funny thing was that I hadn’t even thought of Tyler until I was comparing him to Reed.

  I spent the rest of my Saturday afternoon brooding, and then Veronica called me to arrange a girls’ night out.

  A girls’ night out sounded like exactly what I needed to forget about Repulsive Reed and that sexy little swing me in the air hug that I couldn’t stop thinking about.

  I took another shower after my intense (sweaty) game of Cornhole and this time I actually did my hair and make-up, and then I headed to Veronica’s house.

  We always met there for our girls’ nights because she had the biggest house. She had guest rooms for us to crash in if we needed to, she had a kitchen stocked with food and drinks, she had a sexy husband, and she had the most adorable baby girl in the universe.

  I worked with Veronica at Central Valley High School along with Avery and Reese, who would also be joining us that night. Avery was dragging Reese out against her will since she wanted to sit at home and sulk over her recent break-up. It would just be Avery and me on the manhunt that night.

  “Strikers?” Veronica complained when I voiced my opinion for where we should go that evening.

  “Ty’s working.” I shrugged, not caring where we went but needing to dispel the sexual tension racking my body.

  Avery grinned. “Ty?”

  I stuck my chin out in defiance. I was fully aware of everyone’s opinions on Ty, but I didn’t care. It was my life, it was my vagina, and it was my decision.

  “Yeah. Ty. You got a problem with that?”

  “Nope. No problem.” Avery held up her hands with a placating tone.

  Whatever.

  Per my request, we headed to Strikers. Ty looked totally delicious behind the bar in a black shirt and jeans, his work and life uniform. The place was packed, so we took the first available table we could find. We ended up in a far corner away from the bar, but at least I had an unobstructed view of the Mr. Yummypants that was Talented Tyler.

  He was grinning at some blonde bitch with a huge set of tits on her when I spotted him. I knew I’d get him back into that dark “Employees Only” hallway just to the left of the bar. Only a curtain hid what happened behind there from the bar patrons, and the exhibitionism of it all was thrilling. It was just a little hallway that led to the break room, and it was the place where I’d first taken Ty in my mouth. Over the months I’d known him, it had become somewhat of a weekly occurrence to meet him in that hallway so that we could have a quick moment together.

  I texted him, trying to pull his attention from the blonde slut he was flirting with. If there was any blonde he should be flirting with, it was me.

  Let me know when it’s break time.

  I watched him carefully after I sent the text. He pulled the tap for Miller Light and filled a pint glass, setting it in front of a hot guy at one end of the bar. He took the guy’s money and made change, slipping his phone out of his pocket to glance at my text while he tapped the screen to cash out his customer.

  I saw him glance around the bar quickly, and his eyes met mine. He was far away, but I saw his eyes turn up with a wicked grin, and then he gave the guy his change and made a few more drinks.

  He was busy, but it was nice to know I’d at least hooked his attention.

  But, then, what straight, red-blooded male’s attention wouldn’t be hooked with the promise of a guaranteed blow job from a woman?

  Our waitress delivered our first drinks of the evening. I opted out of tequila for the night, so while my friends shared a pitcher of margaritas, I went with Jack and Coke.

  It was strong, and by the time I had drained my first one, I was already tipsy. My phone buzzed just as the waitress set down my second drink of the evening.

  I glanced at the text, feeling a thrill chase up my spine when I saw that it was from Ty. Or, as I had named him in my phone, “Talented Tyler Bartender.” Fifteen minutes. Our hallway.

  I grinned, liking having something that was “ours.” Even if it was a hallway where I was going to suck his cock and likely not get anything in return.

  I
replied, See you in 15.

  “What’s that all about?” Veronica nudged me in the ribs. I glanced over at Avery and Reese, who were deep in their own conversation.

  “Nothing. Why?”

  “Your smile is giving you away, Quinn. What’s up?”

  “Meeting Ty in fifteen minutes.”

  Veronica rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”

  I nodded.

  “You know that you could do so much better. Don’t you?”

  I appreciated my friend’s concern. I did know that. I deserved better than the way Ty treated me. But he was so ridiculously gorgeous and so perfectly my type that I just didn’t care. Someday the right one would come along, and I’d know it and I’d act on it. But that day wasn’t today, and I liked making Ty fall apart because of something I did to him. I liked the moans and grunts that emitted from his sexy mouth while I pleasured him. I liked the way he gripped my hair in his hand almost painfully. And I especially liked when he was appreciative enough to return the favor.

  “Some people are happy with things just the way they are, Veronica.”

  “I know that. But are you one of those people?”

  I avoided answering her question by drinking down half of my Jack and Coke and thought about it. I was happy with things the way they were. My life wasn’t perfect, but by living the way I lived, I was also avoiding the inevitable hurt I’d feel when the person I loved most in the world let me down. It had happened every time I’d fallen in love, so it just seemed like falling in love wasn’t really worth the trouble. I was glad that Veronica was happy and that she’d found the love of her life, but that didn’t mean that my life would lead me on the same path.

  Lucky for me, Pink’s “Here Comes the Weekend” started playing. It was my jam, and Avery’s too, so the four of us headed to the dance floor.

  Avery was already pretty drunk, and honestly so was I, so the two of us grinded on each other while Veronica and Reese danced much more sedately beside us. The song ended. “Order me another drink, okay?” I instructed Avery.

  My heart pounded harder with each step I took toward the black curtain, and when I pulled it aside, there he stood. He leaned against the wall, one knee bent with his foot flat against it while he took a long drag on a cigarette.

  “You know, Arizona has laws about smoking in bars,” I admonished.

  “You know, shaking your sexy ass like that on the dance floor is going to get you fucked,” he retorted.

  “Maybe I want to be fucked.”

  “Maybe I want to punish you.” His voice was gravelly and deep, and it awakened the dirty girl inside of me. “Maybe you should come over after my shift so I can teach you a lesson.”

  I shivered at his words. “Maybe I’d like it if you punished me.”

  “Oh, my dirty little slut, you would most definitely like it.”

  He took another long drag, and then he stubbed out his cigarette on the brick wall behind him. He felt the tip to make sure it wasn’t hot, and then he threw it on the floor. He held one finger up in the air and crooked it, indicating that I should come to him.

  And so I did.

  He slung one arm around me and drew me into him, crushing his lips against mine.

  He knew better than to pin me to the wall with his body after the one and only time he’d tried it.

  I had severe bouts of claustrophobia, and thinking back to being stuck in that smoking car while the jaws of life pried me out was enough to give me a fear of confined spaces that spread out to every facet of my life, even in the throes of a sexual encounter.

  Small spaces caused my vision to blur, my breathing to quicken, and my heart to race. Even the thought of being in a small space gave me severe panic attacks.

  I pushed my phobia to the back of my mind and focused on Tyler.

  His tongue was quick, and he tasted like cigarettes mixed with beer. Something about the combination mixed with Tyler was absolutely fucking lethal.

  “I only have ten minutes,” he said against my lips, hinting at what he wanted.

  I pulled back and gazed at his sexy face, and he arched an eyebrow. I got down on my knees as he unzipped his fly, and then I went to work.

  “God dammit, Quinn,” he groaned as he buried his hand in my hair and pulled my face closer against him. It wasn’t the first time I’d been praised for my skills, and I was certain it wouldn’t be the last.

  I knew what he liked, and when his hand painfully pulled my hair, that was the signal that he was getting close. And then he exploded in my mouth, and I sucked it all in, happy to please him and hoping that I’d get mine later that night. I stood, and he groaned as he pulled me close against him.

  “Maybe instead of punishing you tonight, I should reward you for that.”

  I was wet and desperate for him, and I immediately regretted what I said next. “I’ll take whatever I can get.” I sounded whiney and needy and desperate and I hated myself in that moment. But the next second when I turned around, all of those thoughts were erased as I saw him. Standing there by the curtain, holding it slightly to the side as he stared at us and presumably what we’d just done, was Reed. I gasped in surprise when my brain registered that it was him, and I felt dirty for what I’d just done to Ty as my heart sped up to an alarming rate. Reed’s eyes widened, and as my eyes met his, he moved uncomfortably and then let the curtain drop. I turned back around to Ty, who’d lit another cigarette, completely oblivious to the fact that my world had just shifted.

  What I totally didn’t understand was why my world had just shifted. I didn’t understand why my heart beat faster when I saw Reed. I didn’t understand why I regretted what I’d just done with Ty. And I especially didn’t understand why tingles raced up my spine just at knowing that Reed was in the same space as me.

  “What?” Ty asked when he saw the expression on my face.

  I shook my head to clear it.

  Was I seeing things? Or had Reed actually been there? And if he hadn’t been there, why did he pop into my head when I’d just finished giving Tyler head in a secluded hallway?

  Fuck. I needed another drink.

  Ty grabbed my arm and pulled me closer, and then he kissed me hard, his scruff scratching against my face. “I’ll text you when my shift is over. I’m closing, so it’ll be late.”

  I nodded, and then I returned to my table, where my friends were giggling and toasting their margaritas. “Is the line for the bathroom long?” Avery asked, unaware of what I’d just done.

  “Not bad,” I said, settling back into my chair next to Veronica as Avery and Reese continued their conversation across the table.

  “You okay?”

  I glanced at my best friend, her brows knitted together in concern. I nodded, masking the tsunami of emotions whirling around in my brain.

  “Yeah,” I said, faking a smile. “I’m good.”

  “Good time with Ty?”

  I nodded, faking another smile. It had been a good time. Why did Reed have to appear and ruin it? Why was he suddenly ruining everything that had happened in my life in the past twenty-four hours?

  I put down half of the fresh drink sitting at the table when the waitress appeared with a shot glass filled with a tan liquid and topped with whipped cream.

  She set down the shot in front of me. “From Tyler. He said to check your texts.”

  I pulled out my phone. Blow job for a blow job. Now we’re even.

  God, what an asshole. He meant it as a joke, but it was just demeaning. I glanced toward the bar, and Ty was grinning down at the blonde with the tits. I suddenly felt a little cheaper.

  Three sets of curious eyes turned in my direction.

  “Well?” Avery finally prompted. “What did his text say?”

  I deleted the offending text. “Nothing,” I muttered, and I pushed the shot away from me.

  “You don’t want it?” Avery motioned to the shot with her chin.

  I shook my head, and she picked it up and swallowed it down. “Mmm,” she grin
ned. “Best blow job I’ve had in a long time.”

  I chuckled at Avery, but suddenly I didn’t feel like laughing anymore. I kind of just wanted to go home and sulk.

  Avery and Reese headed to the dance floor a few minutes later. I opted to stay back, and Veronica stayed with me.

  “What’s going on with you?” she asked as soon as our friends were out of earshot.

  “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “I mean you’ve been quiet since you got back from the hallway with Ty.”

  I shrugged, not wanting to get into this conversation. I wasn’t prepared to defend myself against things I didn’t even understand yet.

  But she was my best friend. I didn’t have to defend myself or my actions because she would love me no matter what.

  “Do you regret what just happened?” she pressed.

  I felt unfamiliar pricks behind my eyes. I never cried. I was tough. I was strong. I was independent.

  So why the fuck was I so out of sorts? I was acting fragile, weak, and needy.

  I nodded my head slowly, squeezing the bridge of my nose as I felt tense at the admission. “It’s not regret. It’s just…” I trailed off. I hadn’t told Veronica about Reed yet because there wasn’t anything to tell. But I was starting to realize that maybe there actually was something to tell.

  I was just about to confess that even though it had only been twenty-four hours since I’d met him and I hadn’t given him a second thought at first, he was suddenly at the forefront of my mind, this preppy, obnoxious, totally wrong for me guy. And then he appeared at my table.

  So he had seen me in that hallway. Whether he’d seen exactly what I had done remained to be seen.

  “Quinn,” he greeted me. “What a surprise to run into you here again.”

  He looked at me like he was looking through me, and I flushed like I was in menopause and having a hot flash.

  Why did he constantly inspire these reactions in me? I didn’t even like him.

  “Introduce me to your friend,” he said, looking between Veronica and me.

  I rolled my eyes childishly, annoyed as ever at his demeaning tone. “Veronica, this is Reed.”

  “Reed, how nice to meet you.”