Smug Bastard - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,45

a climax of a horror film but set on a loop, waiting for the murderer to jump out, the music shrill, the anticipation shredding at your nerves. Yet it simply circled around and round with no resolution. The strain and unsaid friction screamed through the air, and even when we tried to make small talk, it layered underneath, embedding in every nuance.

She barely talked to me, but we continued our journey, orbiting around each other like planets, our routine seamless like a well-rehearsed play, but under the scripted dialogue was a whole universe of animosity, turbulence, and hate…

Just like I said I wanted.

Touching her was never supposed to happen. I hated myself, but not for the reason I should have. Remembering where my fingers had been hadn’t knocked sense back into my head, reminding me who she was. Baby K. Kyle’s little sister. No, if anything it did the exact opposite. My cock let me know constantly. I also felt like we were on some painful cycle with no release in sight, no matter how I tried to ease my endless blue balls. They wanted the real thing and were as stubborn as the girl sitting next to me.

The moment I walked away from her that night, my body screamed to turn my ass around, but my head kept stepping in, showing me all the reasons why I couldn’t.

My life was a mess. Beyond convoluted. Kinsley knew Becca existed, but she had no idea the truth of my situation. The dark secrets I kept hidden.

Standing in the dark, my dick throbbing painfully for the girl I had walked away from, my phone beeped with more messages from both Kasey and Becca, drawing me back to reality.

I had been set on leaving the next morning. Packed, note written, wanting to escape before she woke up. Ending the temptation and taking myself out of the situation. Giving her what she probably wanted from the start.

Me gone. To continue her trip as she had always planned on.

But I didn’t. Instead, I made coffee and took Goat on a walk.

Four times the goodbye was on my tongue, my bag ready to go, but I found reasons to stay. Painfully obvious ones, which even made me cringe. Most having to do with her being alone, going to bars, men taking advantage of a smoking hot girl by herself.

Kinsley was strong and feisty, but I knew better than anyone if a few wanted something, feisty didn’t stop them from taking it, no matter how safe she tried to be. Plus, the girl was going to bypass New Orleans, staying on Route 66, heading north. Right there I knew I had to stay. No one could skip The Big Easy. It had to be against the law.

When I left Rhode Island, I had no idea where I was headed. New Orleans was supposed to be a pit stop. I stayed there for six months before moving on.

“Where is this dog boarding place again?” Kinsley’s stiff voice broke through my thoughts, jerking my head to her. Her mouth pinched, a hint of a snarl that had been on her face since Santa Fe deepened slightly.

I’d talked her into boarding Goat so she could actually experience and see the city for a few days without worrying about him. And I just happened to have a connection to one of the best dog babysitters in the city. New Orleans was a big/little city, teeming with thousands of tourists and locals. But when you lived there, the city was small with a large heart. The degrees of separation here were less than six, everyone knowing everyone somehow, and all were in your business. When I lived there, I whittled that number down, especially with the women, my reputation getting around, though it seemed to bring them to me not scare them off.

“It’s not some torture camp. Goat will be spoiled to death. Believe me, he’ll be sleeping on a bed and eating steak, knowing Angie.”

“Oh right. You know the woman who owns it.” She lifted an eyebrow. “How do you know Angie again?” She kept her head forward, but her tone tightened over her name, causing a smile to twitch at my mouth.

“Someone jealous?”

“Please.” Kinsley snorted, glowering over at me before changing lanes. “Not even close. Just wanted to know if I should board you as well. Sounds like you might have been sleeping on her bed and getting tummy rubs too.”

Definitely jealous.

Jealousy was not a quality I usually liked in