First and Only Read online

  “No need to apologize. You reacted like any woman would have. I should’ve left a note or something. Please forgive me.” He places a kiss on my hand, causing me to smile.

  “Is he okay?”

  He nods. “He’s going to be fine. He shot up way too much heroin, but the doctor said he will be perfectly fine.”

  “Fine? Are you going to put him in rehab or something?” I blurt out, though I know I shouldn’t be pushing too much into his personal life.

  “I can’t make him change his life. I’ve tried before and it doesn’t work. He has to want to change himself. Until then, I can’t do anything but be there for him.

  “Wait, you have a drummer?”

  He laughs. “I’m the lead singer in a band, Lauren. I didn’t tell you that?”

  “No…”

  “My band is Dark Rises.”

  “I had sex with a rock star,” I whisper.

  Mark laughs out loud, grabbing his stomach. “Yes, yes, you sure did.”

  “I can’t believe I didn’t know you were a rock star.” I squeeze his hand, loving the feeling of his skin against mine.

  “Yes, ma’am. We’re on tour right now. We aren’t a huge band, but we’re getting there. It helps that we open up for Broken Crown next month.” He squeezes my hand back.

  “I wanna see you perform sometime.” I stare into his eyes. He definitely looks like a lead singer in a rock band.

  “Well, let me make it up to you and take you to my show tomorrow night. You’ll see me and my band perform and then we can snag some dinner or something. Anything you want.”

  “That sounds tempting.” I wink at him. His smile informs me that he knows I’m kidding. “I would love to.”

  “It’s a date then. I’ll pick you up at your place at five. How’s that sound?”

  “It’s a date then.”

  I watch Mark walk out the door. He looks sexy in his leather jacket and chains on his jeans. He brushes his hand through his hair and then pushes the front door open.

  I miss him already.

  CHAPTER 12

  I DECIDE TO TAKE THE DAY OFF from writing. I need time to think what I want to have happen next with my characters. Lauren and Mark are really important to me. It’s like they’re real people and I’m just writing my friends’ story.

  I grab lunch at a local café. It’s small and smells like eggs and pancakes with a side of French fries. Adam is going to be surprised to see me walk through the doors to the gym. Ever since he got the call about Madison Square Garden, all he wants to do is train. Binge training.

  I balance the coffees and food on one arm so I can let myself into the gym. I spot Adam in the ring with Eddie. Eddie’s shouting words of encouragement as Adam hits the punching pads on his trainer’s hands.

  “Take a water break. Hustle!” Eddie says.

  Adam exits the ring and spots me by the doors. “What are you doing here, babe? I didn’t know you were coming.” He places a soft, sweaty kiss on my cheek.

  “I wanted to surprise you with lunch.” I hold up the bag of food and coffee. “I hope I’m not interrupting your training time.”

  Adam rips the gloves off and pulls me close into him. “You are never interrupting. I would love to have lunch with you.” Here come the butterflies. I flash him a sweet, innocent facial expression, and a smile spreads across his lips. “Put these down, and meet me in the ring.”

  “What?” I ask, confused. I came for lunch, not to fight.

  “I wanna teach you a few things. You should know how to throw a good punch, just in case I’m not there to defend you.”

  I do as he says, resting the food on a nearby bench, along with my purse and sweatshirt. As I enter the ring, Jimmy is right by my side, wrapping my hands, and then he puts gloves on me as Adam grabs the punching pads.

  “How in the world do you hit with these things?” I ask.

  “I’m going to teach you. Hands up.” He hits my hands, causing them to fly up. “Keep them in front of your face at all times. You need to protect it. Your hands are the only thing standing in the way of your attacker. Understand?”

  I nod. “Yes, sir.”

  He laughs. “Now hit the pad.” I throw a punch. “Come on, you can do better than that. Hit it.” I try it again. “Mandi, throw your whole body into your punch.” He stands behind me, showing me the technique. “You got this, babe. Hit the pad.” I do as he says, hitting it as hard as I can. “Good, you threw your whole body into that one. How did it feel?”

  “Like stress just flew off my shoulders.”

  Adam’s laugh makes me laugh. “Again. Hands up.” He pops my hands up in front of my face. I hit the pad. “You’re getting better each time. Now, I want you to throw a right punch along with a left in there. Can you do that?”

  “Yep!”

  “Okay. Hit it.” With all my strength, I throw with my right hand, connecting with his, then my left right after. It pushes him back a little. “There you go, babe. Maybe you should be the one fighting in Madison Square Garden.”

  Playfully, I punch him in the stomach. “Ass.”

  I throw another punch, and he ducks it, grabbing me and spinning me around. Now he’s holding me from the back, my hands wrapped up. “You know how sexy you look when you do that?” he whispers in my ear.

  I push my ass between his legs. “Oh, really?”

  He lets out a moan into my ear. “Come with me.”

  I smile, knowing he wants to take me right here, right now. I follow him into the back of the gym. He pulls me into an empty bathroom, ripping my pants down instantly.

  Adam pushes me against the wall, pinning me with his hands. I’m locked in his grasp, exactly where I want to be. I want to feel every part of him on me and all around me. I need him in me.

  He delicately trails kisses down each side of my neck all the way to my breast. His fingers travel all over my body, discovering, teasing, tickling.

  “You’re crazy beautiful,” he whispers in my ear then slides his pants down and puts a condom over his shaft.

  He picks me up. With my back against the wall, he slides himself inside of me slowly, giving me time to mold into his shaft.

  “Adam,” I moan out. I know it drives him over the top to hear me say his name while he’s deep inside of me.

  “Mandi, you’re so tight.”

  Minutes pass. He still has me in his arms, fucking me like I’ve never been fucked before.

  I squeeze there, rolling into a spasm of pleasure.

  Soon after, he finishes inside of me. We’re both sweating and panting heavily, our bodies pressed up against each other.

  With me still in his grasp, his head falls on my shoulder.

  “We just had sex in a bathroom at the gym…” I point out the obvious, but it still makes us both laugh.

  ***

  Adam takes me out back of the gym where we find a picnic table under a large oak tree. The sun is beaming down upon us, warming my body.

  We eat lunch quietly, enjoying each other’s company. We’re quiet, but it’s not silent around us. People are walking by while a family next to the gym are having a cookout. Car horns are honking. It’s busy.

  “You’re beautiful, you know that?” Adam says, breaking the silence.

  Shyly, I put my head down. “Thanks.”

  “I’m stupid.”

  “What?” What does he mean by that? He’s far from stupid.

  “You’re the one I wanted in high school, not Clarissa. You’ve always been the one, Mandi. I can’t believe it took me this long to realize it.”

  “Twelve years…” I whisper.

  “I’ve never been this happy before. You’re the reason for my happiness, love. Just the thought of you makes me smile.”

  “Not only are you my lover, but you’re my best friend, Adam.”

  His eyes meet mine. “For always.”

  “You’re so cute.”

  “I’m gonna marry you one day.”

  I’m in shock. I don�
�t know what to say. Did he really just say he’s going to marry me someday? “I’ll hold you to it.”

  “I hope you do.” He smiles, showing his dimples. I reach over the picnic table and kiss him passionately. The wind picks up, blowing my dark locks wildly.

  “I should get back to training. Do you want me to walk you home first? Or do you want to stay?” Adam’s such a gentleman, always have been.

  “I have to go grocery shopping or we’re going to end up starving, if I keep putting it off,” I say, smiling.

  “Are you sure you’re okay to walk by yourself?” He’s so cute when he worries about me.

  “Babe, no need to worry. I’m going to walk to the small grocery store around the block. I’ll whistle for a cab after.” I wink as I get up and throw all my trash away.

  “If you need me, I’ll be here.”

  “Dinner at six?” I ask, wanting nothing more than to be with him every minute of my life. But he needs to train. He has a big life-changing event coming up shortly. Two months are going to fly right by.

  “I’ll see you then, sweetheart.”

  I kiss him softly before I take off to get much-needed errands done.

  ***

  Before I go get groceries, I stop at Mickey’s Bar to check on Mick. I’ve been worried about him. I need to start coming by more often. As I walk to the bar door, it’s closed. Hmm… He never closes the bar.

  The door is unlocked, though, so I walk inside. “Mickey? It’s Mandi. Is everything okay?”

  I don’t hear anything. I check the back office for him, hoping to find him there doing paperwork or something. There has to be a logical explanation for the quiet.

  “Mick, where are you?” I walk into the back office. “Oh my god, Mickey!” I shout, tears rushing down my face.

  Mickey is lying on the office floor and doesn’t look conscious. I check his pulse. It’s barely there, but I can still feel it. I call 9-1-1 quickly.

  “Hold on, Mickey. Don’t you dare leave me. You can’t leave me, Mick. You’re going to be okay. Just hold on. Please hold on.”

  I’m crying, a total mess. I can’t lose one of the only people who’ve been there for me through all of my ups and downs in Chicago—relationship problems, getting on my feet with an incredible job, pushing me in the right direction. He’s like a grandfather to me and a father-figure, too.

  I hear the ambulance sirens. The EMTs rush inside and push me out of the way.

  Tears fall rapidly down my face.

  He needs to be okay. I can’t live without him.

  ***

  I hate waiting. I’m so impatient. I’m the most impatient person in the whole entire world. I called Adam and told him what was going on. He told me he would be here as soon as he can.

  Waiting is the hardest part. I don’t know what’s going on behind those doors. I don’t know if Mickey is alive or dead. It’s the waiting that hurts the most.

  A doctor comes out. “Mickey Laputo’s family?”

  “Is he okay?” I jump up.

  “I’m Doctor Marley. Mr. Laputo has suffered a heart attack. He’s stable and okay now. Are you his only family?”

  “He has a daughter in California, but other than that, there’s just me.” He doesn’t have anyone besides me who is there for him all the time.

  “And you are?”

  “I’m his…” What am I to him? “Granddaughter.”

  “Mickey’s going to be fine. He’ll need a lot of rest. You should contact your mother. He’s going to need someone to take care of him for a few days while he gets back on his feet.”

  I wonder why the doctor said that the way he did? I can take care of him! What, does he think I’m incapable of caring for Mickey?

  “I’ll contact her right now.”

  The doctor opens Mickey’s file, turning page after page. “Elsa Laputo. We have her information here. We’ll contact her, if you want us to.”

  “Thank you, sir. Thank you for everything.”

  “It’s my pleasure, miss.”

  As the doctor walks away, I hear Adam’s voice shout my name. I turn and run to him. I hug him, and he holds me close. I cry uncontrollably on his shoulder as I tell him, “He’s going to be okay.”

  Adam rubs my back. “I’m glad to hear that, baby. Everything is going to be fine. I’m here with you now.”

  ***

  The doctor informs us that Elsa is already on her way here from California. She should arrive by the morning. Adam takes me home. I need to sleep. I had a huge scare today. If I hadn’t checked on Mickey, he would have died. I’m so thankful that I showed up just in time. If not… Well, I don’t even want to think of the outcome.

  I strip down to my sports bra and panties and crawl in bed with Adam. I’m so emotionally drained. Today scared the hell out of me. I never want to experience something like that ever again.

  I lie on Adam’s chest, cuddled up close to him, and fall fast asleep in the arms of the man of my dreams. I’m so lucky to have him in my life. He’s my other half. Without him, I wouldn’t be whole.

  CHAPTER 13

  I WAKE UP IN THE MIDDLE of the night. I can’t seem to be able to sleep. I’m tossing and turning. Adam is out cold. I decide to get up and try to distract myself for a little while.

  I sit down at my computer, and my hands start gliding across the keyboard…

  ***

  Mark takes me to downtown Portland and a small club where he and his band are going to play. He slips his hand into mine as we walk down the street. I smile, and he looks at me intently with hungry eyes.

  “You’re beautiful.”

  I know my face is turning a billion different shades of red and pink. “Thank you. You’re pretty handsome, yourself.”

  He winks at me, and we continue walking in silence. It’s not an awkward kind of silence; it’s more peaceful.

  As we get closer to the club, I can hear the noise. I pull down my tight black dress and fix my leather jacket. These pebbles are really messing with my five-inch heels, and I don’t want to break my neck. Not tonight.

  We walk up to the bouncer. He notices Mark and says, “Hey, man. Have a good show tonight.” The bouncer pats Mark on the back as he lifts up the velvet red rope to let us enter. I feel special as I watch the line of people stare at us in envy. Women are screaming Mark’s name over and over again. I look at the crowd of groupies and wink. I know that pisses them right off.

  The club is hopping. People are scattered around drinking, dancing, talking, and having a good time. My arm is wrapped around Mark, as he greets everyone we pass.

  Backstage is hectic. The stage crew is running around, getting everything ready for the show. The band is having a few shots before they go on stage.

  “Mark, where you been, man?” a tall, skinny man asks, as he flips his long, curly blond hair.

  “Everyone, I would like you to meet Lauren. Lauren, this is Axel, our drummer.”

  I shake hands with the tall, skinny man. “Nice to meet you, Axel.” This has to be the man who has the drug addiction, I think.

  “You too, Lauren.”

  “This is August, our lead guitarist.” He nods toward me and smiles, his chocolate brown eyes observing me. “And last but not least, we have the second guitarist, Ivan.”

  Ivan’s big blue eyes pop out at me. “Hi, Lauren.”

  “Hi. It’s nice to meet you all.”

  “Now that the introductions are out of the way, let’s all do some shots. Where’s the Patron?” Mark looks happy and content in this rock star environment of his. There’s a sparkle in his eyes.

  We all take shot after shot, and the men get all riled up to do their show. They whip their hair around, smoking cigarettes and cracking joke after joke. I could get used to this.

  “Let’s get this show started!” August shouts. He puts his arm around me and leads me out of the green room. “Are you ready to be blown away? Mark is a fucking badass.”

  “I’m excited.”

  Mark
pushes August out of the way. “Hands off, man.” They both laugh. Mark’s the jealous type, which can be sexy sometimes.

  I take my spot out in the crowd. The lights go down, everyone eager for the band to appear.

  The music starts, and a roar of shouting ripples in waves through the club.

  Dark Rises is amazing. They’re like Nirvana meets Godsmack. Mark’s voice is hot and raw. I’m blown away by their set. The crowd goes totally insane for them, wanting more.

  Song after song, Mark impresses me. I stand in the crowd, cheering him on. He deserves all this attention. His voice, the way he sways back and forth, it all screams rock star.

  Five songs and an encore later, I meet the guys backstage after their set. They’re all talking about being ready for some big after-party to begin. Groupies flood in from every corner, and Dark Rises loves it.

  I look for Mark. He’s in the crowd looking for me, too. “Let’s get some drinks and get away from this chaos.”

  “Whisky, please.” His eyebrows rise like he’s in shock that I prefer whisky over any other type of alcohol.

  Mark grabs the bottle of Canadian whisky and slips out before anyone can notice. We run down the hallway like two love-struck teenage kids hiding from their parents. We exit the club and walk down to the waterfront. It’s a beautiful night out. The stars are twinkling, and the moon glares off the water’s flat surface. It’s romantic.

  We take a seat on the first bench we find. Mark cracks open the bottle of whisky.

  “Do you do that often?” I laugh, taking a gulp.

  “Run away from the groupies? All the time. At first, it was fun. I loved the attention. But now, it’s too much. I’m more of a peaceful guy. I would much rather sit at home with a beautiful woman who I truly care about.” He looks at me as if he’s trying to hint at something.

  “I feel the exact same way as you. Not with the beautiful woman, though, but with a handsome man.”

  Our eyes meet and stay connected for a minute. His eyes are glowing, and I know he has strong feelings for me. The feeling is mutual. I think I’m falling head over heels for this man, for this rock star.