Coolly slipping a cigarette from his pocket, Aries lit it and tossed his lighter on his bedroom dresser. He caught a glimpse of himself in the long closet door mirror. Smoke eddied from the side of his mouth and his bloodshot eyes from lack of sleep rivaled the innards of a cherry. He’d just showered and put on a pair of clean gray jogging pants. The cool air felt good against his bare chest after being in a suffocating room all day, all decked up in a suit and tie, with a bunch of rich, stuck-up folks who didn’t know their asses from a hole in the wall. It had been a long day with many hours spent in court. Wasted time. Testing his patience.
He’d had to deal with yet another legal snafu, a silly lawsuit brought against him with no basis thanks to the Creed clan who refused to back down without multiple fights. Perhaps it ran in their blood to be so argumentative, him included. Through his time in the courthouse, he’d done nothing but bite his tongue.
A portion of the snake tattoo showed on his right side, starting from his hip and curving across his chest to the base of his neck. This morning, the black forked tongue of the serpent had peeked from his shirt collar, daring to be seen. Thankfully, everything else aside, the judge had ruled in his favor and decreed the case frivolous. He tossed out the DNA request, too. Benjamin Creed’s intentions were clear: Aries inherited the land and the majority of the financial assets. Case dismissed.
Although finally over, the shit had set him back an obscene amount of money. Good lawyers cost a pretty penny. Thankfully, he received those costs and legal fees back. The Creed clan was forced to cover them since they lost the case. Nevertheless, he’d also lost precious time and patience. Thank God we’re done.
Aries ran his hand down his face and took a deep inhale. Then, an exhale. His lungs burned for smolder. Bringing the cigarette to his lips, head tilted up, he took his fix. Another drag, relishing it. Aiden would be home at any moment. He needed to sit down and talk to the boy about a few things.
The faint ding of the microwave sounded in the kitchen, and that snatched him out of his contemplation. His frozen dinner was ready. Hopefully, it would be enough to sustain him for the rest of the evening. If not, there was always popcorn and beer. His cellphone rang just then. He snatched it off his nightstand.
“Hey, baby.” The sound of Lauren’s voice was music to his ears. He rested his cigarette in an orange ashtray with a motorcycle painted on the bottom of it, which he’d placed near him on the bed, then lay back and propped his arm behind his head.
“Hey, sweetie. Just checking on you. Are you back home from court yet?” Lauren asked. The familiar earthy music and sounds of talking patrons in her shop drifted through the speaker. He loved how she enjoyed staying busy, just like him.
“Yeah, been home for a while now,” he said, taking a drag of his cigarette. “The judge tossed that shit out, baby, and told them not to bring another charge against me. Said he was sick of it.”
“Oh, good! I know that was driving you crazy, all this time wasted. What about the DNA test business? It’s obvious as the day is long that you’re Benjamin’s son. They should be ashamed of themselves but I know damn well they aren’t.”
“Gone, too. All of that shit was tossed out the window and what is so fucked up is I told one of the cousins, who acted decent enough at first, that I was going to give him some things I found in my father’s house. But with the way they acted in court, him included, I’m not giving him a damn thing. I told him straight to his face, too. I’m not the one. You shit on me, you get nothin’. And I mean that.” He snorted. “I miss you, my sweet little cherry pie.”
She giggled. “I miss you, too.”
“Hey, I was thinkin’, Ms. Sexy, you wanna go camping?”
“No.” She wasted no time responding.
“Come on, baby.” He chortled. “You need to stretch your wings. It’ll be fun, I promise.”
“I don’t think so. It’s not my thing.”
“I bet you never thought you’d be with the likes of a