Harley's Choice Page 4

  Carson stood there shirtless and with the button undone on his jeans. He was defined with an edge. “Hey Harley, step on in.” His body was exactly what I thought it would be, but then I’ve seen everything in the movies, well they showed his butt, but he had other bits that I was intrigued to see. His chest was round and it looked as if the top half of his chest and shoulders sat atop of the washboard abs and his obliques wrapped enticingly around his sides and slipped so enticingly into his jeans that I really wanted to follow them. His shoulders were cut so wonderfully that it brought thoughts of cartoon characters when they stick round items in their shirt to look burly, but his weren’t under his shirt they were under his skin and right now I wanted to join them.

  “So tell me a bit about what you do now. Who’ve you become in the last ten years, and more importantly what classes are you taking tomorrow?” He turned around and an odd sort of feeling came over me. I felt numb from the eye balls down and thought the top of my head would pop off.

  Breathe I reminded myself.

  I took a deep breath and felt immediately better. There was so much movement under his skin that it reminded me of a conga line. One movement caused a ripple effect down his back – the cords of his muscles all strapping his back and all meeting in the center had a waterfall effect down his back. I would give my brand new car to see this man Salsa dance.

  I watched him walk into the bathroom. I sat and put my head between my knees. I’ve seen his back and chest in the movies, hell I’ve seen his ass in the movies, but nothing prepares one for real life. I wanted to go into the bathroom with him and throw him in the shower and lick the water off his stomach as it rippled down.

  I heard the lock disengage at his door and tensed till I heard Kyle yell in “Hey Carson, I’m ready.” Kyle walked in wearing a t-shirt and pajama bottoms. Damn I’d have to wait, but I then common sense told me I wouldn’t be able to handle both of them tonight. “Oh, hey kitten, decided to open the portal huh?” I nodded it was all I was capable of at the moment. Speech was beyond me. I was still regaining composure when Carson walked back out wearing his pajamas and a tank top.

  “I’m sorry Hars I didn’t hear you; did you say what you do now?”

  I laughed, god I now wished I had thought more about a back ground story. I went with a vague truth. “I work as an office manager in my father’s company.”

  “Oh yeah that’s great.”

  “Yeah it pays the bills.” I realized I could speak somewhat normally when they’re dressed. Maybe I should have them walk around without clothes so I can become immune to it. Maybe that would never happen. I can do this. I’ve bled men his size in the corner of a crowded room. I’ve manipulated my way into beds of men like him before. I’ve seen his type of skin.

  These were all lies.

  I may have done those things, but I wasn’t invested in them like I was these two. Though it had been ten years since last we spoke it was really like time never changed, at least for them. They haven’t had multiple personalities installed into their brains. What was it about these two that curled my toes and dampened my panties? I’m sure they get this response from all the girls.

  That thought iced me down.

  All the other girls. Carson was a Hollywood star and Kyle writes best sellers I’m sure they get panties in the mail. I watched Carson sit on the bed and wait out whatever he was waiting out. Then I realized he was looking at me. “I’m sorry what?”

  “I asked if the pizza has come yet.”

  “Oh, no nothing yet.” Ok so I needed to level the playing field. They have bodies plus and I was standing in my jeans and tee. “So I didn’t realize we were having a pajama party. I’ll go change.”

  ‘I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.’ I chanted to myself as I fell into my training and, well I wouldn’t call it muscle memory, but it’s something like that. My body swayed and my hips rolled; I bent to get my pajamas out of my bag and smiled when I heard two male groans behind me. I smiled; I can do this. I twisted with my ass still pointed at them and innocently asked. “Did you say something?”

  “Nope!”

  “Nu-uh”

  “Oh, ok.” I stood up and sashayed to the bathroom. “Be right out.” I shut the door hard and once again cracked it silently. I heard…nothing. Giggling to myself I changed into my pajamas. Second Freudian slip of the night, the pajamas I packed were my favorite pair and they looked like my favorites. They were worn and faded, but the worse part…the horribly ironic part were the pants had Kyle’s character Harrison Scarlet’s PI Store sign all over it and the shirt was one that Kari had gotten me, mainly as a joke…I wasn’t sure how Carson was going to take it though.

  As I thought about it I decided to do what any red blooded, brave girl to do. I turned the entire outfit inside out. I turned and looked at myself in the mirror and besides looking like a braless, cold dork I realized from the laughing and the issue with the man in alleyway, I looked a mess.

  I washed off my face and brushed my hair and put in a loose braid over my shoulder. I looked in the mirror again well at least one boob is covered. “Hey kitten the pizza’s here.”

  “Say no more I’m on my way out.” I opened the door and stepped into room and they both turned and looked at me, I gave a sheepish grin. “These were the only jammies I packed.”

  “Um, kitten you do know the shirt is inside out? In fact so are your pants?” The question was implied

  “Yeah, no biggie, gimme food.” I grabbed a piece of pizza and bit into heaven. “Oh, moonseed this is so good.” I moaned and finished that piece and grabbed another. I was about done with that piece when I finally looked to my dinner companions. “You guys going to eat?” I picked another slice out of the box.

  After I had finished that piece I was thirsty. “Anyone got a soda?”

  “Yeah, came with the pizza.” I saw Carson point to the desk and there sat two, two liters.

  “Mind if I crack one?” Two shaking heads answered my question so I got up and got the soda cracked the top and lifted it to my lips. I drank a third of it in one sitting then the carbonation caused a bubble that came back up and I belched wiped my mouth and turned to face to slack jawed men. “Oops, sorry.” I was rewarded with applause. “Thank you?”

  “That was amazing!” Carson shouted.

  “I was just eating guys. I told you I lost my food in the alley.”

  “You didn’t used to eat like that.”

  “Yeah, but I found out that being constantly tormented and always slightly pissed will not feed the appetite. But being forced to work out six days a week and fast the seventh will cause one to get very hungry.”

  “Forced?”

  “Fasting?”

  “Ok so maybe not forced …but it certainly felt like it. Those personal trainers can be hell.” I laughed but I don’t think they bought it. “So tell me how you guys went from high school to…well this.” I waved my hand up and down at them and sat on my bed and watched them look at each other, do some sort of silent communication thing and images flooded my mind. These two obviously spend a lot of time together. I wonder if they do a lot of things together. The images just kept firing away. I was getting hot and very wet. I squeezed my thighs together in what I hoped was nonchalant like.

  Kyle stretched out across the head of the bed and Carson stood to clear off the bed. I wondered for a moment if there was any way we could put the bed to good use, I scolded myself. I wasn’t that desperate that I needed both at once. Of course now that I had thought that it was a whole new ball game. I watched as Carson walked back and lay across the bottom of the bed and as I got closer to the bed I was suddenly their rag doll. Carson grabbed my feet and placed them on his stomach and put his arms behind his head at the same time Kyle pulled me down against his stomach just like we did when we were kids, but then it was innocent, now, now there was still that thing floating around that I couldn’t put a name to. “We joined the Marines.” Kyle’s statement had me refocusing my atten
tion from my sex dried body to them.

  Then Carson continued. “We did that for four years and decided it was time to come home and do something else. At first we weren’t sure what to do. I thought about becoming a cop, but it didn’t hold my attention. Then Kyle had a wonderful idea of becoming an author.”

  “It was a good idea!” Kyle huffed at Carson’s sarcastic sound. “I did it. I set out to write a mystery book, I took the time we spent in the military and added a mystery and now I’ve done it six times over.”

  “Wow!” I was rather impressed. “But I’m missing something…how did you go from Marine to author to the scene in the bar?”

  “Well that was my fault Hars; I decided to go into acting. In three years I went from stunt double to supporting actor to ‘A’ list actor and that’s when it became clear I was getting too much attention and suddenly pulled out and backed away. I decided to move to a little town in the middle of the country and Kyle, against my wishes came with me. If there is one thing the populous loves more than a good scandal story, it’s a disappearance. I was famous, they said I had a great future ahead of me and then one day I was gone.”

  “Why?” I asked while playing back any and all information that I could think of about the disappearance of Kit Carson.

  “One day I woke up and decided I hated where my life was going. I was constantly surrounded by people who wanted things from me and the media always getting in my way, I could never escape. Then I was checking my email one day and along the bottom of the screen was an article about how my girlfriend at the time was pregnant and I was the father. Needless to say I was pissed. I mean we’d had but one date, with no sex. So I asked her if she heard about and she just said ‘sit back and enjoy the publicity, isn’t that what your manager wants?’ I hung up on her and changed all my numbers and found an obscene amount of land in North Carolina and commissioned a house built.”

  “When I heard what he was doing I knew I had to go with him. There was no way he was leaving me in LA to face the vultures by myself. They knew we were best friends and they were already starting to divulge into my back ground and everyday getting closer to the truth.” Kyle smiled at me and let Carson finish the story. I could see there was more to his story, but I waited for Carson to finish his.

  “So I had a house built. I used my real name on all the documents, because the one thing I was able to do was keep my real self out of the lime light. It seemed to work, for a while. But then I had to get my possessions out. The media started speculating about the movers I first hired. So I fired them and Kyle and I devised a plan.

  I went out and bought a new car, well a truck really and we started, under the cover of darkness, moving my things into a series of PODS parked at his house. It took a full month before I had what I wanted to take loaded, and then we cleared out Kyle’s house. It took another week to get everything together.

  I sold my truck, and didn’t buy another one. The media had a field day with this tidbit. I simply rented a car for the few days I had left in this town. Then one day I drove it into the return lot and got into Kyle’s car and we drove straight through to North Carolina.” I watched as he stretched out longer on the bed causing saliva to fill my mouth. I swallowed.

  “Finally I called my manager somewhere in New Mexico and told him he was fired and that I quit the business and I would send his final payment.” He leveled a look at me. “So you see until this weekend neither one of us have been back, that’s why they call him a recluse and I’ve tried very hard not to be spotted. I’ve done alright, there were a few time when we first got to North Carolina, before my appearance changed but other than that we haven’t been spotted.”

  “Oh my belladonna! You mean you two came out of hiding to see me?” I kicked him off the bed with my feet and jumped up and stood accusingly. Hands on hips and feet planted shoulder width apart. I was moved, touched, and angry at the same time. “Oh, why would you do that? You should have just sent a note.” That way I wouldn’t have come at all. I thought it but didn’t say it.

  “Hars calm down!” Carson had jumped up off the floor not even a second after I had kicked him off the bed, letting me know he’s had plenty of training in self-defense. I watched him glance at Kyle with a bit of confusion in his eyes and approached me cautiously and wrapped me in his arms. “We made a promise Hars and we stood by it.”

  Kyle snuggled up to my back. “He’s right kitten…we wouldn’t have left you here to fend off the bitch without proper back-up.” His arms came around my waist and I was suddenly very content and felt I was where I belonged, and all anger fled by the way side. We stood like this for a few minutes before my phone rang out ‘Hells Bells’. We all jumped apart accusingly and I jumped for my phone.

  “What!” I was still angry after Carson’s confession, but more so over the interruption to the ‘me’ sandwich that was warming me to my toes.

  “Now, now, be nice.”

  “That was,” I looked back to the guys and took a deep breath as I watched them get settled on the bed again. “I’m sorry what?” I said when I realized my brother was talking to me.

  “I said dad is on his way back from New York, but we are heading to Cali tomorrow.”

  “Um, hold on.” I turned to face the guys and covered the phone. “Mind if I, uh?” I nodded towards Carson’s room. I walked into his room on his nod. I shut the door then very calmly said “WHAT! Why?”

  “Well that’s what the trip was about; the New York office had a problem with a missing contractor.”

  “What happened?” concern filled my voice. This is the first time something like this has happened since I’ve been working for the company.

  “Well they found him.” His voice morose

  “Who and where?”

  “It was Charley and they found him in his apartment…”

  “Oh no. But if it happened there, why are you guys coming here?”

  “Delta reported a rogue.”

  A funny feeling came over me. “Who?” My voice broke.

  “Marcus.” I fell on to the bed.

  Marcus Ortiz.

  He and I were hot and heavy a few months back and had been that way for almost two years. Then about four months ago he asked me to marry him. It was perfectly coordinated and well thought out. The only problem was I didn’t want to get married. When I said no, he snapped. I mean I was nice about it, never once did either one of us speak of marriage, so the proposal came out of nowhere.

  I asked him ‘Why do you want to get married to me?’

  ‘Because I love you Harley.’ He said to me in a way that reminded me of talking to a child that has the same question over and over.

  ‘Marcus I love you too, but I decided years ago that I never wanted to get married. Why can’t we continue the way we are?’

  ‘Because I WANT you as MY wife.’ He yelled in my face.

  My response was to frown and I looked at him. ‘I’m sorry Marcus but I can’t marry you or anyone.’ I turned to walk out of his apartment and realized the moment he grabbed my hair never to turn your back on anyone, even if they claim to love you.

  He transferred to L.A. about a month later.

  “Is she sure?”

  “Yes…the last intel we got was that a Marvin Lovebreed caught a flight to LA out of New York.” I knew that name, it was one of Marcus’ aliases.

  “So he’s coming here to what?”

  “We are not sure, but I don’t think it’s to go home and relax.”

  “Ok, got that but why did he take out Charley.”

  “Best guess, Charley’s the company’s accountant, he deals with all credit card invoices…”

  “But what’s that got to do with anything? I paid for this trip with my personal card.” I was confused as to what Charley could have told him.

  “Yes, but the car mods were done on company dime.”

  “My car?” I felt a little faint.

  “He should now know the model, make and color of your car, if not ev
erything else.”

  “My car?”

  “Sis! It’s just a damn car! I’m more worried about you!”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll stay on the hotel grounds and if I go out I’ll make sure to be with people. Not that I want innocent bystanders getting hurt, but unless he’s flipped his wig completely, he was best at hand to hand and didn’t like crowds.”

  “Is that a risk you’re willing to take?”

  “No, look I’ll send Delta an email when we hang up and let her know that I’m going to need a half package and have her meet me away from the hotel.”

  “Better yet, why don’t I meet you at the hotel tomorrow at 1400 with a full package?”

  “Wanna tell me how my range of poisons is going to help me?”

  “One never knows.”

  “Fine. Thanks for the heads up, I’ll see you tomorrow.” I disconnected and sat a second before I got up and went into my room. “Sorry I was-” I went silent at the sight on my bed. Kyle was sleeping sitting up against my head board and Carson was sleeping along the foot of the bed, with his feet hanging off the edge.

  I looked at my phone and realized it was a good hour into Friday. I wondered briefly where the day went but decided I could use sleep too. I didn’t want to presume that they would want me in bed with them, or that they wanted to be in bed together, but there was nothing I could do about that, so I got the comforter off Carson’s bed and covered them up and then crawled into Carson’s bed. I wiggled out of my bottoms and turned to my side and hugged a pillow and promptly fell asleep.

  Chapter three:

  My eyes snapped open and I stretched in bed. Never in ten years have I slept much past five. Today was no different, but then I realized where I was and who I was with and smiled to myself. “Do you always wake up with a smile on your face?”