Page 25 of The Tempted

Chapter Nine

Mondays were my day off the salon was closed so I usually used the day to take care of my errands. However today I didn’t even want to move from the couch. Rico surprised me last night, taking me to my favorite sushi restaurant and a movie afterward. He was really trying I’ll give him that. He apologized to me again at dinner even tried to embrace my friendship with Mikey asking me if I thought he was grasping the whole nightlife scene. He offered to talk to him if I thought it would help him. Rico was a prominent figure in the club scene headlining the hottest clubs. He was even offered a gig at this year’s upcoming music conference in Miami so any insight he could provide Mikey would probably be helpful. I thanked him for the offer, but we both knew that I wouldn’t mention it to Mikey. He would never accept Rico’s help.

I tried to enjoy Rico’s efforts tried to be the girl that once was completely taken by the man in front of me, but in the back of my head, I kept wondering what Mikey was up to. My fingers betrayed me itching to text or call him. I actually had to turn my phone off to stop myself. After the movie, we went back to Rico’s apartment he had my favorite wine chilling in hopes that our dry spell would be rectified. He started kissing me and I kissed him back more out of habit than out of lust. I didn’t know what was wrong with me. I wanted sex. I craved it but I couldn’t get into it. His mouth traveled down my neck, his hands were everywhere I closed my eyes, trying desperately to get into the moment working my hands down his body when I felt him suck on my neck his teeth grazing my delicate skin branding me.

Suddenly I snapped, pushing him off me with all my strength. His words from earlier ringing in my ears telling me he claimed me as his. Now he thinks he can mark me like a dog pissing on his territory. Hell. Fucking. No. He tried to reel me back in telling me that I was over-thinking things he wasn’t marking me. Bullshit! His patience teetered, and he told me to go get my head fucked. Real nice Rico that’s the way to a woman’s heart. I slammed the door in his fucking face and haven’t spoken to him since.

So now I’m sitting on my parents’ couch watching daytime television wondering if I did over think it because my head was all over the place. It wasn’t like it was the first time Rico gave me a hickey, in fact, it was in one of the less offensive places than where he usually likes to leave them. I sometimes find myself blushing in the shower when I see a trail of love bites down the inside of my thighs reminding me all the ways his mouth traveled up and down bringing me pleasure.

My phone chimed alerting me of a text message.

Mikey: Hey. What are you up to?

I bit my lower lip nervously contemplating whether I should answer. I think I’m spending too much time with him and the more time I spend with Mikey the more I want him the more I think of him. For someone who is so against drugs and despises the power of addiction, I am becoming an addict and my drug of choice is Mikey. Point proven as my fingers work to respond to his text because heaven forbid I ignore him. Nope. I need my fix.

Me: It’s my day off so I’m pretty swamped with errands.

Lies. I’m not strong enough to pretend I never received the text and I concede that I’ll engage in conversation but I won’t hang out with him. I won’t make myself available to see him because seeing him will just confuse me more. I needed to put my foot down and in some ways Rico was right, I needed to get my head straight and that meant not letting Mikey consume it twenty-four seven.

Mikey: I wanted to see you.

No! No! No! I won’t do it. It’s time to practice self-control fuck at this point it’s more like self-preservation.

Me: Sorry babe. No can do.

Shit! I shouldn’t have typed babe. Too late, already sent the goddamn message. Oh my god! My fingers had a mind of their own as they drafted another text message. I was possessed that was my story, and I was sticking with it. Yep, that’s it, I thought as I pressed send again.

Me: Why, what are your plans?

I threw my phone across the room as if it was on fire begging for the insanity to end. I covered my face with my hands. I should’ve ignored him.

Chime.

I groaned miserably.

Chime.

Go away, Mikey.

I chewed mercilessly on my nails as I stared at the phone laying on the floor across the living room offensively singing. I’m not going to do it. I don’t care what his plans are hopefully they involved a plane ride to Tahiti. So why was I crawling across the floor to retrieve my phone? Because I was fucked up, and it was all Mikey’s fault. It was his dark, mysterious eyes that showed traces of vulnerability. It was his lips and how they always seemed so inviting. It was his unruly hair that I wanted to run my fingers through, tugging on the ends as my body arched inviting him to do all sorts of wicked things to me. Take me!

Mikey: You suck. (Not really, but if you want to change that I’m sure I could do something to help)

Mikey: I can’t believe you are going to subject me to an afternoon of torture with Jimmy Gold.

Mikey: So much for friends. You threw me to the wolves. I’m disappointed Princess.

Poor Mikey. I could only imagine what my father had him doing. The fact that Jimmy was his chaperone didn’t sound very promising.

Me: Sorry. Jimmy’s not that bad. Try to ignore him.

Mikey hated Jimmy. He was the most colorful of my dad’s associates. He wasn’t really a bad guy he was an acquired taste being that he was eccentric and completely off the wall. Mikey’s head would be spinning in an hour.

I stared at my phone waiting for Mikey to respond, but he never did. I should’ve been relieved. It was what I had wanted right? I wanted to distance myself. I needed to. So why was I dialing my dad’s number with every intention of getting him to tell me where Mikey and Jimmy were headed? I wasn’t going to show up there. No, I was just curious is all. Just curious.

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