Chapter 32

DREW.
I thought having Kate would quell my desire for her. I thought wrong. I wanted her even more than I did before, if that was possible.
The memories of how I fucked her on the counter and how I had woken her up with my head between her thighs the next day was making me hard. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't keep the memories from coming. I was gone. So fucking gone for this girl.
It had been on the tips of my lips to tell her that I loved her this morning. I had walked into my kitchen and found her in just my shirt, making breakfast for me. I just wanted to say it. Tell her how much I loved her. But I was scared. Fucking scared she didn't feel the same way. Her putting up with my baggage was one thing, but expecting her to love me as scarred and as fucked up as I was, saw really hoping for too much.
But again, when I thought of how lovingly she treated me, almost as if she was grateful to have me, made me second guess everything. I should just tell her right? I mean, she could love me back. You never could tell. But, alas, my fears won over. And also, that fear wouldn't keep me from telling her soon though. Because with everyday that passed, I found my falling more in love with her.
"Okay, got them. Here are the transactions. "
I glanced at the computer screen from my position behind Michael. The screen showed the amount of cash entering my dad's account every month. They were insanely huge numbers, and it made me wonder how deep he must be into this to get this amount from customers. Because from what I could see, he wasn't transporting them to one person alone, he had other customers. He had kept this going on for a long time and thankfully, I knew about it now.
Michael printed the transactions out for me and I took them, intent on keeping them with the other ones I had already. Tom Rutledge was in hot soup. One he didn't know of yet, but soon.
I stepped out of the house that Michael used as his work place and made my way outside, trekking the short distance to where I'd parked my car. I got in and saw my phone was lighting up with a call from Arash. How long had he been calling?
I swiped to answer the call and placed the phone against my ear.
"Where are you? Up to some shady shit, I assume. "
"Why does that not surprise you? " I answered flatly.
"Because you're Drew fucking Rutledge. Listen, I don't have time for this shit. Are you free right now? "
"Free how? " I pulled into the road, making my way over to the penthouse. I hadn't seen Kate today and I missed her badly. I was trying to come up with a way to see her. Maybe take her out or something.
"Like, not busy, Einstein. I need you to call me in about five minutes, reminding me of a meeting. "
"Why? "
"Because I think I might have met Emily's twin. Only, I think she might be even worse. This girl is clingy as all fucks and she wouldn't leave. "
"Then just fucking tell her to. "
"Unfortunately, Rutledge, I'm not las much of an asshole as you are. "
"I'll call you. "
"Thanks man, I appreciate. "
"I'm not doing this for free. You're meeting me up later. "
"Whatever. " he hung up, and I placed my phone in the cup holder, so I could focus on driving.
I could take Kate to a restaurant. Have her come with Bailey since she said she was catching up with her today, after she had spent almost all week with me. Then just so it wouldn't be awkward, I could get Arash to come. He seemed to have a thing for Bailey, and if she was the forward person I knew she was, then this would work for her too.
Before I could think twice about it, I called Kate.
"Hey, babe. " her smoky voice greeted me.
I never thought I'd be a fan of pet names, but apparently, I was a big one. "Hey. How's your time with Bailey going? " I asked like the caring boyfriend I was supposed to be, even if I didn't really care about Bailey. Well, I did, but not right now. She was preventing me from seeing Kate right now. And that wasn't something to take lightly.
"We're having so much fun. Bailey needs slipping and falling down for some reason. " she giggled, "I think she might be drunk. " I heard a sudden commotion, then, "Oh, yeah. She's definitely drunk. " Kate was full-blown laughing now, and it put a smile on my face. I loved it when she was happy.
"Can you get your drunk Bailey to be sober in about two hours? "
"Well, I'm not a magician. " she giggled again, and I wondered if she, too, night be drunk. "But why? "
"Chase and I are going to meet up at a restaurant later. And I thought you guys could join us. "
"Um, no. That's definitely not going to work. Bailey needs about four more hours to become relatively sober. "
"Oh. " my mood dropped. Four hours would be already too late. Unless we wanted to have dinner. But that could work too, right?
I was about to tell her that when Bailey yelled 'let's go to the club'. And damn, the girl was smart as hell. The thought never occurred to me. A club would be nice. And I knew Kate liked to dance from what I'd seen. I couldn't wait to see what she would wear. She never disappointed.
"What do you think? Want to go clubbing with me and my girl, Mr. Rutledge? " she purred in a raspy voice.
And I said four words. "Be ready by nine. "
I parked my car out front, not in the underground garage, because I would be using it again soon.
I called Arash to tell him to meet me at the club.
"Are you asking me out on a date right now, Drew? I hate to say it, but your line sucks. "
"It was Bailey's idea for us to go. " and it worked just how I expected. Her name changed his mood instantly.
"Damn. A woman after my own heart. " he murmured.
"You don't have a heart, you have a dick, asshole. "
"Same difference. "
I hung up and took my little piece of information I'd gotten today, keeping it neatly with the other ones.
•••••••
Four hours later, I was sitting in a lounge with Arash, waiting for Kate to show up.
They were already ten minutes late and I was about to lose my damn mind. What if something happened? They were drunk. She'd said so herself. Jesus. What if some asshole was taking advantage of them? I felt panic clawing at my throat.
"Slow your roll, Drew. I can literally hear your thoughts running one thousand miles a minute. " Arash distracted me. "They'll be here. "
My eyes caught movement by the door of the club –which our carefully selected seat gave us.
"And speaking of the devils... " Arash muttered, his gaze glued to the door as two figures appeared, making the crowd part for them.
My eyes roved over Kate's body as I took in what she was wearing. And almost had a heart attack. It was a short black gown, that stopped just on her mid thigh. There was just a tiny strap on each shoulder, holding the gown in place. It was body hugging and it showed the outline of her pebbled nipples, no doubt from the cold. My eyes dropped lower and I took note of the five inches heel she was wearing. How in the ever loving hell could she walk in that without breaking her neck? By the time my eyes went back up, I was already hard as stone.
I glanced at Bailey and saw she had on a something that looked like an oversized T-shirt with just a cream colored belt at the middle, paired with sneakers. Nothing more.
Together, they drew attention. Without even trying.
"Fuck my life. " I mumbled.
"Yeah, I was thinking something along the lines of that, but I couldn't get it out. " Arash murmured.
Bailey's eyes landed on us and she touched Kate, pointing in our direction. Kate's eyes lit up when she saw us and they made thier way to us. Her hips moved seductively, destructively as she closed the distance between us.
"Hey. " she murmured, leaning in to kiss me before she pulled away.
"Hi, Drew. Arash. " Bailey gave both of us a little wave. She turned abruptly, scanning the crowd, "Where are the drinks? I need a drink. "
"Bailey, we just got here. " Kate laughed, sitting on the opposite lounge. Bailey sat beside her, in front of Arash –who still hadn't uttered a single word. Very unlike him.
He shifted slightly, as if in discomfort. And I knew he was probably battling the same thing I was. A hard on.
This was going to be a long night.
KATE.
"Why were you guys late anyway? " Drew asked.
I glanced at Drew, then to Bailey. I opened my mouth to talk, but Bailey pinched me on my hip, probably not too discreetly, seeing as she was tipsy.
"Bailey had –" Bailey hit me on the thigh, "some things to do. " I completed, snorting.
Arash raised his eyes at that, but didn't say anything. The man looked at Bailey a certain way –I didn't know exactly how to describe it– maybe, intrigued? I wondered at the possibility of something happening between the both of them.
"Gah. I need a drink. " Bailey tugged on my arm.
"If you start at this rate, you're going to be wasted at the end of the night. " I tried to reason with her, but she was already pulling me up with her.
"No. We are going to be wasted. "
I looked to Drew for help, but he only shrugged, with a mischievous glint in his eyes. He probably wanted me drunk for his own selfish reasons.
Bailey and I shouldered through the crowd to get to the bar and instead of waiting for our turn like normal people, Bailey decided to snag the bartender's attention.
"Hey, blondie. " she called, snapping her fingers.
He paused in the middle of pouring a drink into a glass. He turned to her with slightly shocked eyes, "Hey... "
I climbed into a stool beside her and she took one too. I had an idea about where this was going and if I was right, I was going to have a good laugh. Bailey loved making guys go uncomfortable, and I loved watching her make guys go uncomfortable. If that made sense.
"How about we strike a deal? " she made her voice low and seductive, "You make our drink and I let you do body shots off me. "
His eyes grew wide and he sputtered, "Um... There's... I don't.... "
I stiffled the urge to laugh. Bailey glanced at me and wiggled her brows, then turned back to him. "Or even better, you could do body shots off the both of us. "
His eyes automatically went down my body, as if he was doing an X-ray scan. I swear, I felt them everywhere. I could sense the moment he made his decision. "Deal. " he abandoned the drinks he'd been making, leaving the girl at the other end to attend to the piling customers. "What do you want? "
"Two dirty martinis. "
He made quick work of pouring the both of them then pushed them over to us. "Okay, time for the shots. "
We collected our drinks and slid off the bar. Bailey slapped a couple bills on the counter as we turned away, "Later. "
"Hey, what about the shots? " he called behind us.
"You'll get them in your dreams. " I yelled, laughing. "Oh my God, Bails. That never gets old. "
"Right? "
"We're going to get into trouble one day though. Probably with big guys we can't run away from. "
"Probably with people like those. " she murmured when Drew and Arash came into view.
"Yeah. " I agreed, taking in the view of the both of them together. Arash was showing something to Drew on his phone, laughing, and while Drew didn't flat out laugh, he grinned. That was an improvement. He needed to be with people besides me, that's why I had been thrilled when he asked to take me and Bailey out.
"That man is so fucking hot. Do you think I should bone him? " she asked me, her face scrunched up in concentration as if she was actually considering it. Who was I kidding? Of course she was actually considering it. This was Bailey we were talking about. She would do anything. Absolutely anything.
But wouldn't that make things awkward between us? If she and Arash slept together? It wouldn't be if they dated, but I knew Bailey. She didn't do relationships. So she was definitely talking about sleeping with him for one night.
"Are you going to date him? " I asked, even though I knew the answer to that question.
"Do you know me? " she rolled her eyes, "Of course I'm not going to date him. One night. That's all. "
Thought as much. "As long as you know what you're doing, Bails. " I tugged on her hair, as we took our seats back.
Arash looked up from his phone, scowling when he saw we were carrying just two drinks. "You guys got drinks for just yourselves. What the fuck? " he glanced at Drew and they both shared the same expressions.
I bit my lip as I tried not to laugh, "You don't know how we got these. " I raised my glass up.
Drew raised a brow, "How? "
"We promised to let the bartender to body shots off us. " Bailey explained with a sly smile on her lips.
"What the hell? " Drew snapped, "Who's idea was this? "
Oh man. He was pissed. This was all Bailey's fault. And although Drew was hot as hell when he was angry, I didn't want him angry right now. This was a fun night, so that's all we were going to have. Fun.
"Mine. " Bailey narrowed her eyes at him, as if challenging him, "Have you seen the line for the bar? "
"Yeah, it would've taken ages for it to get to our turn. " I supplied.
Arash glanced between the both of us with narrowed eyes, "Huh. From now on, we're going to be getting the drinks. "
"I have got no problem with that. " Bailey murmured, giving him a look that promised all the dirty things she wanted to do to him. There was no other description for that look. Really. That had to be PG rated.
"Were you going to let some guy do body shots off you? " Drew asked, drawing my eyes to him.
"No, of course not. " I reassured him when I saw the unmistakable look of fear in his eyes.
Somehow, I'd always known that beneath all that toughness he showed to the whole world, he was actually a very sensitive man. He thought poorly of himself and I tried to reassure him every chance I got. He thought he was undeserving of me when he didn't know it was actually the other way round. How a man like this could be so damaged that he couldn't see the kind, lovable person he truly was baffled me.
His eyes softened and he relaxed back in his seat, his shoulders falling back into that easy confident pose. He was wearing a dark long-sleeved button down shirt that looked too good on him and jeans. Drew wearing jeans were one of the many wonders of this world. It wasn't describable. It was something you had to witness for yourself. And it was something I had special access to. At least I was the only one that knew how good he looked under those clothes.
My breaths grew shallowed as I remembered how he had woken me up the next morning after we had sex with his head between my legs. God, the man was really talented with his tongue.
I clamped my legs together as more and more memories assaulted me, turning me into a hot mess. He caught the look I was giving him, and he smirked, no doubt figuring out my train of thoughts. He was definitely enjoying himself watching me squirm like this. And I knew just how to pay him back.
"I'm hitting the dance floor, guys. " Bailey said, as if she read my mind.
"Want to dance, Drew? " I asked, no doubt giving my intentions away with my mischievous smile.
"Um, no. Not really. " he declined.
"Oh, come on. Don't be such a killjoy. " I gripped his hand, trying to pull him up but he easily refused, slinking back in the lounge.
"Have some fun, my man. " Arash said from somewhere behind me. I turned and saw he already had his hand around Bailey's waist as she led him into the dance floor. He smirked at Drew, glancing at Bailey then back at him, "I think I'm about to be murdered. "
I laughed. I liked Arash. I think it would be impossible not to like him, really. I bent low, making sure my lips were on the same level with Drew's ear, "You're going to love all the things I'd do to you, babe. "
When I pulled back, his pupils were dilated with lust and his eyes were glued to the cleavage my dress provided. "Fuck. "
I dropped his hand, keeping my eyes on his as I walked backwards into the dance floor. Unfamiliar arms snaked around my waist as the music hit my ears and I went into party mode. I lost consciousness of my surrounding as I grinded on the body behind mine, twisting, and moving anyhow I felt like.
Drew appeared in front of me with a scowl plastered on his face, and fuck, he was sexy as hell. He pulled me by my waist into him and I stumbled from my dance partner into him, bracing my hands on his shoulder.
"Hey, Drew. " I murmured, and because my body wasn't my own right now, I leaned up and kissed the scowl off his lips, pulling his head down for better leverage. Lips touched my neck from the back and Drew growled. "Get lost. "
The man left, probably realizing he didn't want to get in a fight, and Drew took his place behind me. I twerked on him, titling my head back as I locked my hand behind his neck. I saw Bailey and Arash dancing together and I smiled to myself.
Drew panted as I moved my body against his, in nothing short of a seductive dance. His eyes promised wicked ways of how he was going to take revenge on my body tonight.
And I couldn't wait, because I knew I was going to love it.